Manila Standard - 2018 September 19 - Wednesday

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NOT VEGGIE GOOD.

The display in Manila’s Zurbaran market on Tuesday is the antipole of a luxuriant supply of vegetables, particularly from the country’s vegetable bowl of Benguet, whacked by the recent powerful Typhoon ‘Ompong.’

Sonny Espiritu

VOL. XXXII • NO. 216 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

Food imports to avert shortfall RESCUERS DIG FOR MISSING IN ITOGON LANDSLIDE

By Purple Romero HUNDREDS of rescuers used shovels and their bare hands Tuesday to sift through a massive landslide where dozens are feared dead in the region worst-hit by deadly Typhoon “Ompong” (international name: “Mangkhut”) as the storm’s toll hit 74.

The storm, 2018’s most powerful, smashed homes and flooded key agricultural regions in Northern Luzon before battering Hong Kong and southern China with fierce winds and heavy rain.

Hong Kong was still struggling to get back on its feet on Tuesday with a massive cleanup operation to clear broken trees, repair torn-up roads and fix damaged power lines.

The violent typhoon killed four in China’s southern province of Guangdong and the toll climbed on Tuesday to 74 in the Philippines, with the number expected to rise.

Up to 40 people are still feared buried in the landslide in Itogon, unleashed Saturday as the typhoon stalled over the area

By Nat Mariano

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HE Palace on Tuesday said it will open up imports of food, particularly corn, to make up for the P14 billion worth of damage done to crops by Typhoon “Ompong.”

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DIG FOR LIFE. Rescuers Tuesday dig (above) through the rubble of a building—hoping for signs of human lives—swept away by an appalling landslide in Benguet caused by the violent winds and rains from Typhoon ‘Ompong’ which lashed the Cordilleras and the nearby regions of Cagayan Valley and the Ilocos. But rescuers carry instead (below) a body bag retrieved from the landslide site. AFP

Benguet Corp. ‘never allowed illegal mining in landslide area’ THE landslide that destroyed the shanties of small scale miners in Ucab, Itogon in Benguet―where at least 34 bodies have been recovered―following “Ompong”’s wrath was described by Benguet Corp. as “tragic enough.”

But the firm, which had been accused as “endangering the lives of small scale miners by allowing them to operate within [Benguet’s] property” did not hit back at its detractors and opted, according to its statement released to media, “to prioritize the giving of assistance to victims and helping in the search, rescue and retrieval operations first.”

In its statement, Benguet Corp. said “Instead of hitting back at detractors, it has used its resources to support the efforts of government agencies to mitigate the effects of the natural calamity not only in Ucab but in other areas of Itogon, where numerous landslides Turn to A3

‘Game of Thrones’ wins Emmys plum LOS ANGELES—HBO’s recordbreaking fantasy epic “Game of Thrones” stormed back onto the Emmys stage on Monday, winning the coveted best drama series prize on a night full of surprises, including an on-air marriage proposal that stunned the audience. Next page

Damage to corn crops severe, says Agri chief

“We can’t deny that P14 billion was a very high cost to agriculture. However, we now have policy shift, we have allowed the entry of food products, which we hope will bring down the cost of goods,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque.

Quoting Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol, Roque said the storm damage done to corn crops was particularly serious, and that imports would be required.

“We’re hoping that inflation will not worsen because institutional steps were already taken by the government to help rein in inflation,” Roque said.

He said tarrification, which will liberalize the importation of rice, would bring down prices and lower the rate of inflation.

“The open importation of other food products will also offset whatever shortage may result—or whatever lower supply may result brought by Ompong. In other words, we hope to compensate for the loss because of Ompong through Next page importation,” he added.

Inflation seen easing up in 4th quarter

By Julito G. Rada

Little can be done to solve mining woes, Rody admits

By Nat Mariano and Rio N. Araja PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said he could do only a little to solve the problems besetting the mining industry, as its practices, though detrimental to the environment, are allowed by law.

“Even before, I wanted to stop mining.

But if it were not for the fact that it’s allowed by law, little could [be done] about it,” Duterte said in a briefing in Isabela Tuesday evening.

“I cannot stop mining because I’m not allowed to abrogate any law here. But I want to stop it because it has created a

monster,” he said.

According to Duterte, there are a lot of big open pit mining locations that have been abandoned and taken over by the illegals .

He added that his economic managers would not like the idea of closing down Next page

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects inflation to slow down in the fourth quarter, even though the country can expect five to six more typhoons before the close of the year.

In an economic briefing, BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said inflation would peak in the third quarter and decelerate from October to December.

“The government’s approval of more rice importations would address any impact of weather disturbances on rice prices,” Guinigundo said.

Also present in the economic briefing were Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, and National Economic and Development Authority Director-General Ernesto Pernia.

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Foreign aid, relief goods start to pour in

DISASTER MATTERS. President Rodrigo Duterte, at the provincial capitol in La Trinidad, Benguet, discusses Monday relief, rescue and rehabilitation matters with officials up front in the government efforts to help bereaved families of landslide victims in the province. Presidential Photo

THE South Korean Embassy in Manila on Tuesday announced a $300,000 or P16.2 million worth of humanitarian assistance to the typhoon-hit regions in the Philippines.

“To help relieve the suffering of communities from the typhoon damage, the government of the Republic of Korea has decided to provide the Philippines with humanitarian aid of $300,000 through an appropriate channel,” the embassy said in a statement.

In other developments: • The latest batch of medicines and relief goods from the national government was delivered Tuesday morning to Tuguegarao City for distribution in Cagayan, one of the provinces hardest hit

by Typhoon “Ompong.”

• The Cebu Pacific Air on Tuesday re-

sumed its operations at Tuguegarao Airport to help in the relief efforts initiated by the government following the damage wrought by Ompong.

• The Energy department-led Task Force on Energy Resiliency reported that 54 percent of the affected households in the typhoon-hit areas already had electricity.

• The Philippine National Police has deployed its elite unit to hasten the rescue and retrieval efforts for the landslide victims at a mining site in Itogon, Benguet.

The Korean Embassy expressed optimism that the victims of Ompong will recover.

“The Korean people and the Government of the Republic of Korea are deeply saddened by the news of hardship Filipinos are going through, including the massive Next page

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

House amends 2019 budget proposal

By Maricel V. Cruz

T

HE House of Representatives, sitting as a committee of the whole, adopted several amendments to the proposed 2019 national budget.

Rep. Rolando Andaya, former Budget secretary and former chairman of the House committee on appropriations, proposed the amendments containing the realigned budget coming from the alleged questionable P55-billion ‘insertions.’

He made the proposals even as Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday vowed to go after the P55-billion budget that he claimed to be the “pork barrel” stuck in the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget for next year.

Responding to the question if he would chase the so-called pork barrel, Lacson answered, “that’s right.”

“Because that can be changed. If they agreed yesterday if the P55 billion was realigned... we will look

Rescuers...

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for it now. But that is still pork. From pork to pork.”

Malacañang on Tuesday withdrew itself from the budget ruckus in the House, saying it will let Congress “exercise its power over the purse” to approve the proposed 2019 budget amid the alleged insertion into next year’s National Expenditure Program.

“Let me put it this way: Malacañang proposed the budget through the NEP, and therefore, we take responsibility for what appears in the NEP,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said in a press briefing.

“If it is true that there are items which were not in the NEP, then we do not know where that came from; we leave it to the House to do as it deems proper with these items,” he added.

The proposed amendments, that were read by presiding speaker and Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, included the following: • Additional National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund, P5.5 billion for rehabilitation following Typhoon “Ompong”’s destruction of the cereal and salad bowl of the Philippines; • Health Facilities Enhancement Program, Department of Health, P3 billion. This was reduced to practi-

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and dumped a month’s worth of rain in a matter of hours.

“While I said there is a 99-percent chance that all of them are dead, there is still that 1-percent chance,” local Mayor Victorio Palangdan said.

“The rescue effort will continue until the President orders us to stop,” he said.

Because the slide destroyed roads, authorities have been unable to bring heavy equipment into the area to accelerate the search.

As a result the teams were using human chains to extract debris.

The area was primed for disaster before Ompong hit, as it came on the heels of nearly a month of continuous monsoon rains that left the already hazardous area soggy and dangerously loose.

Almost all the storm’s victims were killed in dozens of landslides unleashed along the Cordillera mountain range, a key gold mining area.

Many of those buried in Itogon were small-scale gold miners and their families who took refuge in a building abandoned by a large mining firm.

The Philippines has a poor record of regulating mining, with tunnel collapses and landslides in recent years regularly killing people in other gold-rush areas.

Tearful families surrounded a whiteboard bearing names of the dead and missing as others inspected recovered bodies in an attempt to identify their loved ones.

“We found peace that his body has been found. We can’t really do anything, it was an accident. Maybe this is God’s will,” Teresa Buucan said after her nephew’s corpse was pulled from the debris.

Across Northern Luzon, which produces much of the nation’s rice and corn, farms were under muddy floodwater. Farmers were seeing what of their crops could be saved, however, it appears the losses will total more than $100 million.

That could add to the Philippines’ inflation woes and worsen a spike in rice prices that has hit hard for the nearly quarter of the nation’s population that survives on less than $2 a day.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the number of families affected by Ompong has reached 218,492.

In its 6 am update on Tuesday, the NDRRMC stated that this is equivalent to 893,844 persons living in 3,237 barangays in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, National Capital Region and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Of the figure, 43,603 families or 162,399 persons are being assisted in 1,780 evacuation centers while 18,106 families or 73,661 individuals are being aided outside.

Also, a total of 215 road sections and five bridges were affected in the Ilocos region, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol, and CAR. Followup reports showed that a total of 96 road sections and one bridge are now passable as of Sept. 17.

Flooding was also reported in 229 areas in Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon and Mimaropa as of Sept. 17. Floods had subsided in at least 35 areas out of the number.

A total of 1,264 houses were reported damaged, 130 totally and 1,134 partially, in the regions of Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon and CAR. Damage to agriculture was placed at P9.36 billion in Cagayan Valley and CAR alone.

The number of affected farmers in the Cordillera was placed at 171,932, the NDRRMC added. AFP and PNA

The Department of Agriculture reported that the typhoon caused P14.27billion damage to the country’s agriculture, affecting 553,704 hectares of farmlands in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, and the Cordillera Administrative Region.

“Now the rice sector could recover, because we have coordinated with the National Irrigation Administration, especially for the Cagayan Valley region, not to close the irrigation systems,” said Piñol.

“But for corn, it’s a sad sight actually... I recommend to the President the opening up of the importation of corn to fill up for the shortfall,” he added.

The Agriculture chief then assured the public that prices of rice and goods would not go any higher.

“It would not make a dent right now because it’s harvest season in other parts of the country,” Piñol said, adding that the loss in rice was only 3.6 days of national supply.

Senator Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, meanwhile, urged the President to order the National Food Authority to buy storm-damaged palay from farmers in

Foreign...

Inflation in August rose to a nine-year high of 6.4 percent, faster than the 5.7 percent in July, due mainly to higher prices of food, particularly rice, fish, meat and vegetables. This brought inflation in the first eight months to 4.7 percent, well over the target range of 2 to 4 percent this year.

Guinigundo said the impact of Typhoon “Ompong” on inflation might be limited and confined in certain areas.

He said he hoped the rice tariffication bill, which would liberalize the imports of rice, would be approved by the fourth quarter and ease the impact that rice prices would have on inflation.

On Monday, Bangko Sentral Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said the Monetary Board was not looking at any off-cycle move amid the higher inflation environment but another strong monetary action remained on the table.

Espenilla was non-commital on the pos-

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number of casualties and injuries,” the embassy said.

“We are confident that the people of the Philippines, under the leadership of President Rodrigo Duterte, will recover from the damage soon.”

South Korea is among the foreign governments and international organizations that have provided aid to the Philippines on its recovery and relief efforts in the aftermath of Ompong.

Earlier, the French Embassy in Manila also expressed readiness to extend possible assistance to the country. PNA with Joel E. Zurbano and Francisco Tuyay

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the mining industry as it generates P70 billion in earnings in a year.

“The economic managers are very hesitant at the very least. We only earn P70 billion, but you know when the consequences of mining happen, you spend more than just that,” Duterte said.

“It cannot cover the whole devastation of plants and palay and everything, not to mention the destruction of the marine life and tributaries along the way,” he said, encouraging people to travel Mindanao and the rest of the country to look at the negative effects of mining.

“They [miners] are not only destroying marine life, but it also puts in jeopardy and peril the stomach of Filipinos,” the President said.

“I do not hate mining, it’s allowed. But I would say a time must come when our motherland is overused and abused, and this cannot go on,” he said.

He then called miners who occupy watershed areas “downright stupid.”

“I don’t know if I have to call a revolution just for mining. Revolution in the sense that I’m not using arms, but I’ll force them [miners] out,” said Duterte.

“So, I’d like to ask them, how much P70 billion can do to the country if you compare it to the losses of the Philippines because of mining?” he said, addressing his economic managers.

In a similar situation in Benguet Monday, Duterte said there would come a day when he will just have to talk with lawmakers about closing the mining industry.

“One day, I said, I will just have to confront Congress. I will really tell them, ‘We

Inflation...

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cally nil at P50 million, but hospitals need equipment.

• Health Human Resources Development, DoH P3 billion, to stave off the mass layoff of 6,000 nurses, doctors and dentists; • Capital Outlay for State Universities and Colleges, P1.2 billion to complement free public college; • Technical Vocational Laboratories in the Department of Education, P3 billion to address the missing link in K-12, to guarantee that graduates are job-ready; • Roads to Decongest Traffic in the Urban Areas, P11 billion. This is to decongest traffic in urban areas in the hope of partially relieving the daily calvary of commuters; • Roads to Identified Tourism Areas, P10 billion, intended to boost tourism receipts by easing the access to tourist draws; • Roads to Trade Areas, Economic Zones, Livelihood Centers and Markets, P10 billion,because to create jobs, roads through which commerce and workers will pass are indispensable; • Department of Agriculture-Farm to market Roads, P5 billion. This partially restores the P5 billion cut in the DA, and to comply with the safety net pledge to rice farmers.

With Macon Ramos-Araneta and Nat Mariano

areas devastated by Ompong to help them and their families get back on their feet.

This, he said, would give farmers a chance to recoup the capital used to buy seed, fertilizer and other inputs.

Aquino said this would not be the first time the NFA has bought stormdamaged palay, the price of which would depend on the quality, moisture content, purity and extent of damage.

The government, Aquino said, can use the President’s Social Fund or the Calamity Fund, which are both under the Office of the President, to fund the initiative.

Senator JV Ejercito, on the other hand, cited the need to immediately pass a bill that establishes a Department of Disaster and Emergency Management.

“I filed this bill after Super Typhoon “Yolanda,” which brought severe calamities to our countrymen, and exposed the gaps in policies of the government in terms of disaster preparedness, mitigation, and response and rehabilitation,” he said.

The passage of the bill would be timely, given the destruction wrought

by Ompong, he said.

The NFA said Tuesday it has already released a total of 32,391 bags of rice

to relief agencies and local government units in Regions 1 to 5 and Metro Manila for distribution to victims of Typhoon Ompong as of Sept. 18.

Initial releases to Department of Social Welfare and Development were already recorded as early as Friday, Sept.

14, or before Ompong made landfall, the agency said.

NFA Operations Centers in the affected regions are still monitoring the situation and are ready to provide quick response to any rice needs for typhoon victims, the agency said.

Under fire for rising rice prices, NFA Administrator Jason Aquino said the agency’s food security role can only be efficiently handled if it has the operational autonomy to plan and implement its own plans, based on actual experience, credible data, and accurate information that are necessary for more responsive decisionmaking.

“The NFA is a 46-year-old institution and majority of its current officials have stayed with the agency for an average of 30 years. But when their recommendations, based on solid data and bolstered by past experiences, are ignored by decision-makers, what else can they do?” said Aquino, who has already asked to be relieved.

have to close the mining industry or better still plan a period then give Mother Earth a respite [from] the continued and endless digging’,”Duterte said.

The President added that if he cannot end mining because there’s a law, it is then the Congress’ job to abrogate the law and end mining.

The Palace on Tuesday said the President has made clear his desire to repeal the Mining Act to stop destructive mining practices.

“He has insinuated already, that is high time for everyone to consider doing away with mining,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque in a Palace press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

Roque also said the rehabilitation of Boracay Island could be used as a model for rectifying the small-scale mining practices and help miners affected by the suspension of all small-scale mining operations in the Cordillera Autonomous Region.

“The administration accepts this Itogon incident as a challenge, it’s good that we have model, and that model was Boracay,” Roque said in Filipino.

“It’s akin to rehabilitating the mined out areas in the Cordillera and it could be an attempt to actually allow the environment to recover because this is actually the result of environmental degradation,” he added.

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu ordered the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to “revisit and validate” all applications for people’s small-scale mining areas or “minahang bayan” sites to determine their safety against geological hazards.

“We will be stricter in approving ‘minahang bayan’ sites, and affirm whether they conform to standards that are safe, especially for the miners,” he said.

He also ordered the MGB to ensure the shelters provided to small-scale miners are safe and do not pose risk to them.

“Their residences should be far enough from identified geohazard areas,” the DENR chief said.

He issued the statement after the MGB office in the Cordillera Autonomous Region confirmed that 10 associations of small-scale miners had been granted temporary mining contracts in Itogon, Benguet, pending the declaration of a “minahang bayan.”

At least 35 people died due to landslides in Itogon at the height of typhoon “Ompong.”

Cimatu immediately ordered the revocation of all the temporary contracts effective immediately, and called a stop to all small-scale mining activities in the region.

Cimatu said he would request the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to help the MGB impose complete stoppage of all mining activities in CAR. He urged local government units to consult geohazard maps prepared and issued by the DENR, which clearly indicates landslide and flood prone areas.

A panel in the House of Representatives has created a technical working group that will review proposals on a rationalized fiscal regime applicable to all mineral agreements.

The bill, authored by Rep. Estrellita Suansing of Nueva Ecija, proposes to retain the imposition of the corporate income tax on the mining sector to level the playing field among all other sectors. It also proposes to impose an additional government share when the basic government share is less than 50 percent of the net mining revenue. With Maricel V. Cruz and PNA

sibility of another 50 basis-point rise in interest rates at the next policy meeting on Sept. 27.

He said it was too early to tell the impact of Typhoon Ompong to the economy and consumer prices.

“Historically, typhoons cause disruptions in supply. But the impact tends to be localized and transitory,” he said.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s economic team has recommended to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council the declaration of a nationwide state of calamity to avail of a $500-million loan from the World Bank to be used for rehabilitation and recovery for the areas affected by Typhoon Ompong.

Dominguez said during the Philippine Economic Briefing held at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on Tuesday that the WB loan has “favorable terms and interest rates.”

“We recommended that proposal to the NDRRMC,” Dominguez said during the briefing.

Estimates from the government show

that agricultural damage from the typhoon cost P14.27 billion, affecting more than half a million hectares of farmlands with an estimated production loss of 731,294 metric tons.

Reports from Cordillera Autonomous Region showed huge losses in rice, corn, high-value crops and livestock. The typhoon also claimed the lives of 66 people and around 138,000 people were displaced.

Dominguez said the economic cluster was awaiting the final assessment on the crops damage. He declined to comment on the impact the typhoon would have on the economy pending the receipt of the needed reports.

But Dominguez said if there were infrastructure projects affected by the typhoon, the government could handle an additional cost for these undertakings.

Pernia said NEDA will lead the planning for the rehabilitation of regions devastated

by Typhoon Ompong last week that mostly affected Northern Luzon, particularly the rice-producing provinces of Cagayan and Ilocos Norte. With PNA

Trillanes cites own case to bolster amnesty defense

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday said his case will be among those to be used by his lawyer to bolster their assertion that his amnesty was valid.

“That would be one of those to be presented by my lawyer. The process done to us was the same,” Trillanes said.

Unless someone actually questioned its application and validity, the amnesties granted by the five former presidents are still entitled to respect, the Palace maintained following the revocation of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s amnesty.

“Under the law, even if his act is null and void unless it’s actually questioned then it is entitled to respect,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque told reporters.

“Senator Trillanes is only unlucky that Solicitor General Jose Calida studied his application. Then it was found out that his amnesty is defective.”

On Tuesday he taunted resigned Davao City Mayor Paolo Duterte for charging him with libel over his allegations of extortion instead of his accusation that the presidential son was involved in drug smuggling.

“For some reason, he charged me based on an interview in Cebu which I can no longer remember, whatever was that, but he did not charge me about my accusations that he has links to illegal drugs, a graver crime,” Trillanes said.

The Justice department on Tuesday disparaged the relevance of some reports trying to assail the validity and constitutionality of President Rodrigo Duterte’s Proclamation 572, which nullified the amnesty granted to then military rebel leader and now Senator Trillanes.

Malacañang on Tuesday belied Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s claim that he and his family were under the surveillance of the military.

“First it’s drama. And now it appears to be paranoia,” Roque told reporters.

Trillanes said then President Benigno Aquino III first declared amnesty before he created an amnesty body to process and grant an amnesty.

In doing this, he insisted that this would not counter their stand that it was former President Noynoy Aquino who granted him an amnesty and not then Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. With Rey

E. Requejo and Nat Mariano

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The other big story of the Hollywood gala, television’s answer to the Oscars, was the huge success of “The Marvelous Mrs Maisel,” Amazon’s story of a 1950s housewife-turned-stand up comic, which took home eight Emmys overall, including the best comedy award.

“The Handmaid’s Tale”—last year’s best drama and an early favorite for more hardware in 2018— went home empty-handed from the star-studded event at the Microsoft Theater, after winning three minor awards handed out a week ago.

The ceremony hosted by “Saturday Night Live” regulars Colin Jost and Michael Che took on a decidedly political hue at the start, with a barrage of edgy jokes on hot-button issues from diversity in Hollywood to #MeToo and Donald Trump.

Looking to boost audience ratings, Emmys organizers said they were hoping to shake up the broadcast —and indeed they did, intentionally and unintentionally.

A surprise marriage proposal from Emmy-winning director Glenn Weiss won over the audience—and the internet.

As Weiss accepted his award for directing the Oscars, he asked Jan Svendsen, who was sitting in the audience, to marry him.

“You wonder why I don’t like to call you my girlfriend? Because I want to call you my wife,” he added to cheers, applause and a few teary-eyed actors in the audience.

Svendsen then joined Weiss on stage as the director got on one knee and formally proposed.

The moment was especially poignant as Weiss revealed his mother had recently passed away—and offered Svendsen the ring his father had given his mom.

The gala also saw several sentimental favorites take home their first Emmys.

Matthew Rhys won for best drama actor for spy thriller “The Americans,” Claire Foy was named best drama actress for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in “The Crown” and Henry Winkler triumphed for supporting comedy acting on “Barry.”

But the coveted drama prize went to “Game of Thrones,” which was ineligible for last year’s Emmys, and series star Peter Dinklage took home the best supporting actor prize for his portrayal of Tyrion Lannister.

“Writing for these actors behind us is the honor of a lifetime,” said the show’s cocreator David Benioff.

“But we didn’t invent these characters.

That was George R.R. Martin. The show could not be without the mad genius of George.”

“GoT” won nine Emmys this year, meaning the blood-spattered cinematic tale of noble families vying for the Iron Throne—which returns in 2019 for an abbreviated eighth and final season—now has 47 awards overall.

That breaks the program’s own record as the most decorated fictional show since the Television Academy first handed out prizes in 1949. AFP

News Benguet...

From A1 (with fatalities) have occurred (in Baguio City, and other parts of Mountain Province as well).

“Without going on the defensive, BC is confident the facts will bear out the truth.”

According to Benguet Corp., the affected small scale miners whose shanties were swept by the landslide were illegally operating in the Company’s Antamok claims.

“Their illegal mining and gold processing activities in Antamok are without the permission of BC,” Benguet Corp. said, adding “following the suspension of its Antamok underground mining operation in 1992, and open pit mining operations in Antamok in 1997, the small scale miners gradually encroached into the area despite the Company’s efforts to stop them.

“Not even a mining moratorium issued by the DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources] through then Secretary Lito Atienza in 2009 was able to curtail the unregulated small scale mining activities.”

Benguet Corp. said warnings were issued by the Company over the years, criminal cases were filed and counter actions taken against the illegal miners to the point that BC even conducted blasting/blocking of portals but said the tunnels were reopened by the small scale miners afterwards.

Benguet Corp. said “The problem of illegal small scale mining affects the entire Itogon municipality and the ill effect of their illegal mining is the progressive degradation of the environment “As early as 2000, the Company diligently gave notices to the small scale miners and their families occupying illegal structures in the vicinity of Antamok underground mine including the old bunkhouse near L070 portal in Ucab or who have built numerous shanties there, to vacate the area, only to have the notices totally ignored and resisted by them.

“The entire area has been classified by MGB-CAR to be within geohazard zone and prone to landslides.”

While Benguet Corp. said it had not abandoned Antamok during the suspension period because of its remaining resource potentials, its present condition, with rampant uncontrolled small scale mining activities, had permanently damaged the underground infrastructure finally forced upon the Company the decision to give up Antamok and to offer to the DENR in December 2017 the donation of the patented claims as Minahang Bayan.

Benguet said in its statement: “In donating the property, the Company wants that all small scale miners in its surrounding claims relocated and their activities confined within the proposed Minahang Bayan where their mining will be strictly controlled and regulated by government.

“On May 15, 2018, the Company wrote a letter to the DENR National Task Force Mining Challenge requesting assistance for the permanent closure and stoppage of all illegal mining and processing activities within its Itogon mining claims and for the relocation of the displaced small scale miners into the planned Minahang Bayan sites in Antamok.

“The regulatory bodies like MGB-CAR and its mother agency, DENR, are also being blamed for the incident by these opportunistic groups and accused of laxity and negligence.

“But the problem of small scale mining is very complicated.”

Benguet Corp. said joint efforts by the company and the regulatory agencies in the past to address the problem of illegal mining was “met with resistance by the community and the local government unit. At the core of the issue is livelihood.

“The small scale miners, who are mostly Indigenous People, are forced to dig the earth for lack of other viable alternatives and take certain risks in the search for gold because of the need to earn sustenance for their families and mining has always been their traditional source of work.

“Government has to carefully tread the fine line between necessity of livelihood and its regulatory frameworks.”

For its part, Benguet Corp. said it had done its share to help the small scale miners in its Acupan mine to legitimize their presence, to keep safe their mining activities and to bring to regulatory mainstream their operations.

In 2002, the Company in coordination with MGB-CAR and LGU established its Acupan Contract Mining Project (ACMP) which is intended to provide livelihood to the community.

It said the small scale miners from the community who had encroached into Acupan, were organized into groups as cooperatives or associations to become legitimate mining contractors (rather than to forcibly remove them from Acupan).

It said: “The contractors were accredited

by MGB-CAR and were given by the Company fixed contracts to work in the upper levels of Acupan underground.

“Under a large scale mine setting, the mining activities of these contractors are regulated

by MGB-CAR and supervised by the Company’s mining and safety engineers.

“The ACMP contractors observed all labor, health safety and environmental standards of the government.

“There is a centralized mill operated by BC where the ore production is processed to contain pollution and where the gold output is properly monitored/reported for taxation purposes.

“Compared to Antamok where unregulated small scale mining activity is uncontrolled, the former small scale miners in Acupan have been incorporated into large scale mining operation of the Company in partnership with the community.

“Unlike in Antamok, there were no untoward incidents that happened in Acupan after Typhoon Ompong that threatened the safety of the miners of the contractors or place them in any danger.”

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SC hikes salary of judges under De Castro watch

By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE Supreme Court has approved the implementation of increase in the salary of firstlevel court judges in the country.

Chief Justice Teresita Leonardo-de Castro ordered the implementation of the SC’s administrative order mandating the increase in the salary grade of judges in municipal trial courts, municipal circuit trial courts, municipal trial courts in cities and shari’a circuit courts, as one of the several judicial reforms implemented during her brief term as top magistrate.

In an en banc resolution dated Sept. 11, the SC approved that from salary grade 26 and 27, the judges in lower courts will now be increased to 28.

This means that their salaries will increase from P102,000 to P114,000 to about P127,000 effective last July 1, under the third tranche of increases in salaries of government personnel this year.

“The funding requirements for the corresponding salary adjustments shall be sourced from the available savings of the lower courts pending issuance of the Notice of Organization, Staffing and Compensation Action [NOSCA] and release of the corresponding funds by the Department of Budget and Management [DBM],” the resolution said.

The De Castro’s Court approved the recommendation of Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez for the implementation of the increase in salary of judges even ahead of issuance of the NOSCA and issuance of funds by the DBM. “The Office of the Court Administrator, through the Financial Management Office, will use the lower courts’ savings deposited in the Local Bank Account to augment the requirement for the grant of the above mentioned upgrading of positions effective 1 July 2018, pending the issuance of NOSCA and release of corresponding funds by the DBM,” Marquez said, in his memorandum to the SC chief.

The tribunal issued the order upon petition filed in August last year by Camarines Sur Ricky Begino, president of the Philippine Trial Judges League who was killed last June 12 on his way home.

When she assumed her post as chief justice last August, De Castro said she wanted her brief leadership in the judicial branch to be remembered as the one

“that restored collegiality in the Supreme Court” and “which was able to institute several reforms in the judicial processes.”

Meanwhile, Senator Richard Gordon has proposed the creation of judges-atlarge in the lower court to address the overloading of cases in the trial courts which defeat the Constitutional provision on the speedy disposition of cases.

Gordon, chairman of the Committee on Justice and Human Rights, filed Senate Bill No. 2002 or the Judges-At-Large Act of 2018 which seeks the appointment of assisting judges in regional trial courts or second level courts and in the municipal trial courts or first level courts that are overloaded with cases.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. Article III, Section 16 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution specifically states that “all persons shall have the right to a speedy disposition of their cases before all judicial, quasi-judicial or administrative bodies,” he said in the bill’s explanatory note.

However, Gordon pointed out that while the Constitution guarantees the peoples’ right to speedy disposition of cases before the courts, the clogged dockets of the courts cause great delay in the disposition of cases.

Hence, he proposed the appointment of assisting judges—100 to the RTCs and 50 to the MTCs, to assist the regular judges in the disposition of cases in courts with overloaded dockets and ensure speedy dispensation of justice.

5.3-m families to benefit from DSWD’s poverty alleviation drive A TOTAL of 5,387,000 households stand to benefit from the government’s poverty alleviation program nationwide, an official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development said on Tuesday.

During the DSWD Knowledge Management forum in Quezon City, Undersecretary Maria Lourdes Jarabe said “Kalahi-CIDSS [Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services] is one of the government’s povertyalleviation programs implemented by the DSWD, which uses the community-driven development [CDD] approach that empowers communities.”

“The CDD approach empowers communities in 847 targeted poor and disaster-affected municipalities in 14 regions to identify their own needs, and collectively implement and manage solutions to these needs,” she added.

By the end of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s term in 2022, the DSWD hopes to help in reducing the poverty incidence rate to 14 percent from the current 22 percent.

As of June this year, there a total of 5,387,000 households had been targeted to benefit from the KALAHICIDSS project, 5,161,000 of which, are enrolled in the DSWD, which is 96 percent accomplished. PNA

Sultan’s ICC bid ‘propaganda’

POWER HUDDLE. Committee on Accounts Chairperson and Leyte (1st Dist) Rep.Yedda Marie K. Romualdez (center) is in a huddle with Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo ‘Albee’ Benitez (right) and Party-List ALONA Rep. Anna Marie Villaraza-Suarez (left) during the spornsorship debate of House Bill 8165 at the plenary of the House of Representatives. Romualdez is the principal author of HB 8165, an Act creating the Department of Disaster Resilience. Ver Noveno

Grieving parents of missing UP activists want to see daughters SAVING LIVES. Two days after Typhoon ‘Ompong’ left the country, the Department of the Interior and Local Government lauded the local chief executives and the Philippine National Police for their timely action which saved lives in seven regions across the country and give updated reports on the ongoing retrieval operation in the landslide that happened in Itogon, Benguet. Photo shows PNP officials, from left, Chief Codix Edgar Allan Tabell, Usec. Bernardo Florence For peace and order and Asec.

Jonathan Malaya. Manny Palmero

Lawmaker bats for passage of bill creating DDR after ‘Ompong’

By Maricel V. Cruz A PRO-ADMINISTRATION legislator on Tuesday pushed for the enactment of the measure creating a Cabinet-level department that will deal with the year-round onslaught of natural disasters which have been worse by climate change.

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte was referring to the bill creating a Department of Disaster Resilience that was principally authored by Leyte Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez.

The consolidated House Bill 8165 is now in the period of sponsorship and debate in the House of Representatives. In the Senate, several bills are pending seeking to create a similar department.

Villafuerte said creating a Cabinet-level department would enable the government to institutionalize disaster preparation,

risk reduction and relief and rehabilitation efforts, rather than tackling these on an adhoc basis, which has now become untenable with climate change.

“In relation to this, I am supporting the President’s directive to build permanent evacuation centers to replace the usual practice of converting public schools as temporary shelters for calamity victims.

This should be the first order of business for the would-be department,” Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House committee on appropriations, and local government, said.

Villafuerte said with permanent evacuation centers, “the government can better achieve its zero-casualty goals as the would-be department could go full-blast on preemptive evacuation, especially of people in coastal and mountainous villages.”

THE parents of missing University of the Philipines students Karen Empeño and Sherlyn Cadapan, who disappeared in 2006, now have only one wish—to see their daughters, or their daughter’s bodies, dead or alive.

Karen’s mom Concepcion and Sherlyn’s mother Erlinda, has made known their wishes now that Major General Jovito Palparan Jr. has been convicted by a Malolos City court.

The court found Palparan guilty for the abduction of the two UP students.

“Hanggang hindi po nila nililitaw at hindi namin nayayakap ang warm body ng aming anak, I think there’s no closure yet,” the elder Cadapan said in a television interview a day after Palaparan was sentenced to life in prison.

“Para sa akin first step pa lang itong pag-convict kay Palparan na siya ay guilty. Tulad din ni Nanay Linda kailangan din namin na si Karen ay ma-surface. Kailangan namin makita ang katawan niya, maaaring buhay o patay,” the elder Empeño added.

Karen, a sociology student, and Sherlyn, who was taking up sports science, were abducted in Hagonoy, Bulacan in June 2006. Both had volunteered for peasant group Alyansang Magbubukid.

The students, who were branded as rebels, were reportedly abducted, and tortured by Palparan’s men during the height of then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s anti-communist insurgency drive “Oplan Bantay Laya, the mothers’ lawyer, Josa Deinla, alleged.

THE plan of an alleged a sultan from Marawi City to testify against President Rodrigo Duterte in a global court is a “propaganda proceeding” initiated by the Left, Malacañang said Tuesday.

“That’s not an official proceeding.

That’s a propaganda proceeding by the Left,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said in a Palace press briefing Tuesday afternoon.

Roque made the remark when asked to comment about the report of human rights group Karapatan saying Sultan Hamidullah Atar of Marawi City will attest before the International Peoples’ Tribunal in opposition to the President.

According to Karapatan, Atar will testify on Sept. 18-19 at the IPT2018 in Brussels, Belgium. He will talk about the human rights violations allegedly committed under the Duterte administration during the Marawi City siege, and the declaration of martial law in Mindanao.

Roque, meanwhile, remains confident that the Sultan’s testimony would not be a cause of concern on the part of the President. Nat Mariano

Military in relief mission attacked THE military’s relief and humanitarian mission in ‘‘Ompong’’-stricken areas in Nueva Ecija and Nueva Viscaya was disrupted after New People’s Army rebels fired at troops manning a patrol base at the outskirts of Bongabon town in Nueva Ecija the other day.

Maj. Ericon Bulosan, head of the Public Information Office of the Army’s Northern Luzon Command said at least 10 NPAs attacked the patrol base of the 70th Infantry Battalion of the 7th Infantry division in Brgy Labi Tuesday morning.

He said the rebel group from the Kilusang Sierra Madre positioned 500 meters away from the patrol base fired at on-duty personnel forcing an ensued fighting. The troops who were on their way to villages affected by Typhoon Ompong was forced to reinforce, derailing the ongoing humanitarian mission.

Francisco Tuyay

PAL to implement new ‘closure time’ BEGINNING Oct. 28, 2018, the Philippine Airlines will strictly implement a new closure time for check-in counters of international flights departing from all airports in the Philippines and around the world, except flights out of Quanzhou (Jinjiang).

The airline management stated that check-in counters will now close one hour before departure time instead of the usual 45 minutes before departure time.

Ahead of the Oct. 28 implementation, the following international stations are already observing the new one-hour-before-departure counter closure time rule, namely: PAL stations in Bangkok, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, London, JFK (New York), Riyadh, Shanghai (Pudong), Toronto and Vancouver.

Joel E. Zurbano

A4

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

A wake-up call

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

what he said that if he had a choice, he would close down all mining firms because they destroy the environment and cause landlines and mudslides like what happened in Itogon. Smallscale miners were reported buried in SANTA Banana, read this and weep! a landslide.

Initial estimates of the devastaCould this be a sign of his frustration brought by Typhoon “Ompong” tion or exasperation? have climbed to P14.27 billion affectI have covered the mining indusing more than half a million hectares try and I have seen how responsible of farm lands. Losses were placed at miners take care of the environment.

731,394 tons of produce, mainly rice, Mining contributes billions of pesos to corn, high-value crops and livestock. the national coffers and employs thouThis means some 436,000 tons of sands of Filipinos. rice went down the drain, representThere are exceptions, of course. But ing 62.82 percent of losses or P8.97 the industry, as a whole, has shown billion. They say this is equivalent to that it could be responsible.

8.64 days of rice consumption for the With regard to small-scale mining, entire country. however, why won’t the President These estimates can even grow! stop this practice in Diwalwal, in Since rice and corn crops are near- Compostela Valley? I ask this quesing harvest this October and Novem- tion in the wake of reports that gold ber, domestic rice production would taken here is smuggled to Davao be severely affected. We might have City, for the rich Chinese to smuggle to import more rice from Thailand and to Singapore or elsewhere. I cannot Vietnam. verify it, but it is Just how much possible. will all these afResponsible fect the country? mining is an inEven before Omtegral part of our President Duterte pong we were national econoalready reeling should ban small-scale my. And if Presifrom high prices mining. dent Duterte of goods and serwere serious vices. about banning I have been a mining altogethjournalist for 70 er, he would in years and I have never seen such devas- fact be throwing the baby along with tation and agricultural losses. How the the bathwater.

Duterte administration will cope with *** this, I don’t know. My only hope is that I have raised this concern before his critics will not make political capital in my column. The Commission on out of the miseries of the people.

Audit f lagged lawyers of the Office I also hope that the President and of the Government Counsel for gethis economic managers will do more ting excessive allowances from certo lessen the suffering of the people, tain Government-Owned and -Coninstead of just blaming Ompong and trolled Corporations where they are climate change. assigned.

More than ever, what happened The former government corporate should be a wake-up call for Congress counsel had also raised this because to enact the Department of Disaster he suspects that excessive allowances Resiliency Act. The country needs were some form of a bribe. this like yesterday!

The law on government allowances I have long been saying that we need says that government lawyers should a more permanent government body, not receive more than 50 percent of unlike the National Disaster Risk their annual salaries. And yet these Reduction and Management Council lawyers have expensive cars and diswhich is convened only in the event of play a lifestyle beyond what their salaa disaster. ries could support. My gulay, this is *** government corruption!

I am not sure if the President meant Turn to A5

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

N

Silence is golden

O AMOUNT of spin by the Palace apologists can excuse President Rodrigo Duterte’s insulting remarks Sunday about state auditors.

In a post-typhoon briefing in Ilocos Norte Sunday, Duterte called on local officials to defy “stupid” Commission on Audit circulars after Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos complained about various prohibitions that the audit agency imposes on local government transactions.

“Who’s from CoA here? Push him down the stairs so he won’t be able to file a report anymore,” the President joked in Laoag City Sunday afternoon.

Marcos said the local government offices in Ilocos Norte were only allowed to request cash advances only for food of up to P15,000 even in times of calamity, adding the prohibition made the rehabilitation efforts in the province “even more difficult.”

Duterte then belittled CoA for coming up with circulars.

“Don’t believe in CoA’s circulars. You know, they just do it by circular and they expect everybody to obey. Why would I care about your circular? That’s

yours,” said Duterte.

“So this CoA, some guys in the government went to jail based on a circular and other guys went scot-free because of the same circular. It would depend on where the swing of the legal arguments there,” he added.

Elated by Duterte’s comments about CoA, Marcos also complained that the CoA had issued an audit observation memorandum against Ilocos Norte for applying for too many loans since the onset of monsoon rains in August.

“Tell CoA Duterte told them to shut up,” the President told Marcos.

On Monday, the President’s spokesman tried to justify those remarks, saying Mr. Duterte merely wants relief and rescue efforts for victims of calamities expedited.

There are so many restrictions on the delivery of assistance in times of crisis that the COA, which will conduct a post-audit anyway, should just allow the delivery of these goods that people need, Roque said, interpreting the President.

“There should be no bureaucratic red tape in the release of assistance to the people,” Roque continued. “The President said, if a CoA circular will be violated, so be it.”

Sadly, what Mr. Duterte and his spokesman fail to appreciate is that we operate on the basis of a government of laws, not of men, and that everyone must follow the rules or we will descend into chaos. These are not rules cooked up by the CoA on a whim, as the President suggests. They are rules that all government agencies are mandated to follow.

And if the rules are no longer responsive, then they must be amended. We should not encourage people to violate them, as the President did.

Finally, Mr. Duterte’s unkind joke about pushing a CoA auditor down the stairs to stop him from reporting flies directly in the face of his vow to stop graft and corruption in the government.

The men and women of the CoA, a constitutional commission, work diligently and often courageously to keep government officials and employees from straying, and expose those that do. For this they deserve a pat on the back, not a push down the stairs.

With all due respect to the President, maybe it is not CoA that needs to shut up. Particularly for those who do not weigh the impact of their words, silence is indeed golden.

Nature’s force, man’s folly mining.

Like others who did not heed the government’s warning to evacuate, they paid for their sense of fatalism and folly of not leaving their homes ALEJANDRO despite the weather forecast of OmDEL ROSARIO pong’s gale force winds and heavy WHILE Man is helpless against the rains. that would soften the ground onslaught of Nature’s force, we can particularly mountain sides causing still, and should, mitigate its toll on landslides. The mining families of Itogon can hardly be faulted for stayhuman lives.

What happened in Itogon, a mining ing their ground. They did not want town in Benguet, illustrates this case. to leave their homes for fear their few More than a hundred people living earthly possession would be stolen by at the foot of a mountain were bur- looters. Yes, even in life-and-death ied alive by a landslide. So far, only situations, there still those who will around 16 bodies have been recovered steal even from the poor.

State of calamities were declared in by rescue workers from the muddy soil and rocks that cascaded on the houses Cagayan Valley and Isabela the two hardest hit provinces in the hurricane’s made of light material.

The death toll in Itogon is ten times path. The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and more than the Astronomical Serwhole number of vices Adminiscasualties in other areas which suftration or Pagasa What happened in predicted that fered the brunt Ompong would of “Ompong”’s Itogon illustrates this be worse than tywrath. Cagayan, phoon Ondoy or Isabela, Ilocos case. the super typhoon Norte, Ilocos Sur Yolanda that and the Cordillera suffered billions of killed thousands pesos in damage to agricultural crops in Leyte and Samar in eastern Visayas and property. But the body count in in November 2013.

True enough, as predicted by Pagasa these provinces are only in the single digits because the people followed (which has improved its weather foretheir local government’s advice to casting), Ompong unleashed strong evacuate to LGU-designated facilities. winds and heavy rains that pried off Why the high number of casualties the galvanized roofs of small homes in in Itogon? In deference to the dead, we its path.

Ompong, international name are not going to play the blame game.

But the Itogon mayor said the mining “Mangkhut” left the Philippine Area families living near the mountain side of Responsibility three days ago to were told to flee to the nearest evacu- wreak its fury on Hong Kong and ation center but they did not. Where Macau canceling flights to these two the men made a living out of small- popular tourists destinations. Hong scale mining was also the site of their Kong, formerly known as the Crown graveyard. Buried with the men were Colony before the British turned it over their families for whom they risk all to China, is known as Asia’s economic in braving the perils of unregulated Turn to A5

BACK CHANNEL

Three lessons from ‘Ompong’ VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

At an impromptu Cabinet meeting at the provincial capitol in Tuguegarao Sunday, Sept, 16, President Duterte complained about expensive plane fares

THREE things stood out in the aftermath of “Ompong,” one of the strongest typhoons to hit the Philippines in half a century.

One, infrastructure in this country is poor, inadequate, and grossly overpriced.

Duterte’s marching orders: Save lives.

and a serious shortage of boats, servicing the Manila-to-Davao route for instance. The X-ray machine in Tuguegarao conked out, rendering the facility useless for commercial use. Duterte ordered that all airports must have three to four spare X-ray machines.

Two, in times of disasters and calamities, there is nothing like the national government having what Duterte calls, “a human face there” at the local level.

Three, Duterte really needs to do Turn to A5

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

A5

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Getting busted for disaster response

The day after

like clock work. As of this writing, government and private relief and rehabilitation efforts are continuously being mobilized to ensure a modicum of normalcy in the areas affected by Ompong across Northern Luzon over the weekend.

Rescue teams are busy retrieving bodies from an abandoned mining tunnel in Itogon, Benguet where some 50 small-scale miners defied orders to move out of their bunkers and decided to wait out the storm from underground. They did not see the light of day after heavy downpour inundated the area and a landslide crashed the tunnel to its foundations. While we are saddened by the extent of casualties, both of lives and properties, it has not

to negative territory.

NFA has a stand-by authority to buy 250,000 metric tons more, or fivemillion bags more. But when will they LITO buy, and when will it arrive? From BANAYO where I sit, we will have a prolonged rice supply crisis.

I WROTE too soon. When I wrote my *** Monday article on Sunday morning, reIf poor consumers will have to enlieved that Metro Manila did not seem dure the “pila-bigas” longer, pity the to have suffered much damage, and poor palay farmer whose blood and based on initial reports from broadcast sweat of hard toil are now washed down media, I concluded that the damage to by tears. standing palay crops was not as extenThe little they were able to premasive as in previous typhoons. turely harvest in the days leading to Now the Department of Agriculture Ompong’s landfall are of poor quality. tells us that the estimated area of pa- As in fruits, “hinog sa pilit”. When lay loss is 731,924 metric tons. Con- milled, the grains tend to break easily. verted to rice after milling, that means NFA and the commercial traders, if 435,997 metric tons. All in a few hours at all, can buy rain-soaked and mudfrom the time Ompong made landfall caked palay at P10 to P11 per kilo. If in Baggao, Northern Cagayan, until it at all. exited via Ilocos Norte.

From a bonanza of P23 to P27 per But the amount of rain it brought in- kilo of palay down to P10, if there are undated a much wider area than I wrote any takers. about on Sunday. I was amazed to find In 2011, after Typhoon “Pepeng” hit out that Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Zam- Central Luzon, some 900,000 metric bales, even Bataan and Pampanga were tons of palay, also ready for harvest flooded by rains cascading from the Si- in two weeks, were lost. That meant erra Madre.

540,000 tons of rice, a hundred thouIn 2012, the daily consumption of sand tons more than what “Ompong,” Filipinos, as per as DA reports, exthe Bureau of Agacted. ricultural StatisWe asked tics (now removed Malacañang and from DA and DBM on Sept. 28 Thank God we are subsumed into a patient and resilient to release funds the newly-created to buy stormPhilippine Statis- people, hardened by damaged palay at tics Authority at- misery, hopeful as 11 per kilo, just to help farmers retached to Neda) always. cover part of their was 32,000 metric cost of production. tons.

It was not until Some reports Oct. 15 that then these days state a lower average national daily consump- President PNoy and then DBM Secretion, as low as 30,000 metric tons. NFA tary Abad listened to us. By then, there spokespersons sometimes use this con- was little if any storm-damaged palay sumption figure when it wants to assure to buy. Commercial traders had beaten people they have enough rice yet. In government to buy whatever salvagemuch the same way that NFA, at least able value there was.

NFA could not by itself buy stormbefore the present dispensation, always measured and reported rice in metric damaged palay of little if any comtons. Today, they “bloat” the statistics mercial value because CoA audit procedures would not allow funds to be by using bags of rice as metric.

Mas marami nga naming pakinggan. “wasted” by buying something of no Sako ng bigas, rather than metric tons, equivalent value. NFA was required to or tonelada that ordinary people do not get DBM, through a presidential direcquite understand. In this way, a chi- tive, to buy “useless” produce. It was mera of sufficiency of stock is falsely like an insurance coverage post-facto. created, when “millions” or “hundreds More social responsibility than anyof thousands” of sacks are reportedly thing else.

What was it we once wrote in this available. Truth is, 32,000 tons daily means we consume 640,000 bags each space about “talking too much, doing so little, and acting too late?” blessed day. *** Twenty bags, each with 50 kilos of And that is only rice. There were rice, constitute one metric ton which is 1,000 kilos, as our elementary students massive losses in corn as well, as Isabare taught. So, if 435,997 metric tons of ela reeled from Ompong. Isabela is the rice were destroyed by Typhoon Om- country’s largest corn producer, and pong, that is the equivalent of 8,719,940 the second largest rice producer. Watch bags of rice. Assuming 32,000 metric the prices of pork and poultry in the tons daily average consumption, that months yet to come.

Benguet’s vegetables and strawbersingle day of wind and rain caused a loss equivalent to 13.62 days. At ries were extensively damaged as well.

30,000 per day, that’s close to 15 days News reports last Monday showed carrots and cabbages in wet markets with consumption. triple the normal price.

That is a lot.

It’s difficult days and weeks ahead NFA has imported 250,000 metric tons from Vietnam and Thailand, for the consumer. It’s dark months most of which has arrived. They are ahead for farmers. *** importing another 250,000 metric tons Our hearts bleed for those who were to augment what by now is fast vanishing with long lines of angry consumers killed, with the greatest loss being that each day. So what is yet to arrive in late of families buried in a landslide in ItoOctober or early November (assuming gon, a few kilometers away from the NFA’s purchasing procedures are quick debauched summer capital.

Even the “oratio imperatas” were enough) will not augment current inventories, because an almost equivalent too late to prevent the onslaught of naamount of harvestable rice was lost due ture’s fury. But thank God we are a patient and resilient people, hardened by to Ompong.

Back to square one. Or rather, back misery, hopeful as always.

CROSSROADS

JONATHAN A. DE LA CRUZ IT’S like this. Anti-administration critics are having a field day busting President Duterte for the government’s response to the victims of Typhoon “Ompong.” One mainstream paper quoting a farmer who was devastated as the typhoon made landfall in his hometown of Baggao in Cagayan bannered: “Where’s the government?” after the man complained he had not seen any relief good or a local official in his barangay since after the 250-kilometer-per-hour howler passed by. Some critics quoting another source from the town of Lallo blasted government efforts as selective and “too little, too late.” Apparently, the source was talking about relief operations not getting fast enough to his barangay as workers walked to his place. Roads were near impassable with all kinds of debris and landslides.

But wait. While these two sources, if true, were being quoted, President Duterte was in the provincial capital, Tuguegarao City, together with members of his Cabinet barking out orders on priority tasks to be undertaken.

A day or two earlier, Cagayan Gov. Manny Mamba was in touch with Secretaries Silvestre Bello and Arthur Tugade who are both from Cagayan Valley. They were putting together all the available funds and resources for the backbreaking task of relief and rescue after the typhoon passes.

They also were giving instructions to all concerned to get people evacuated to safer places and wait out the storm from there. These were done not only in Cagayan and Isabela, the two mosthit provinces, but in the other provinces in the typhoon’s way.

Three days after Ompong brought damage in Northern Luzon, the disaster response seems to be working

Three...

From A4

something drastic about the rice shortage and the high prices of food items.

So on Thursday, Sept. 13, a day before Ompong struck the north, Duterte forced the hesitant Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, who is an Ibanag, to go to Cagayan, and Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello, who is a second-generation Ilocano, to take charge in Isabela. Duterte’s marching orders: Save lives.

“It was a very wise decision,” gushed Tugade later, “when the local officials saw us, their resolve was strengthened because of the presence of national officials.”

To minimize damage and reduce casualties, Tugade executed what he called “preemptive information, preemptive communication, preemptive evacuation.” Anybody who resisted mandatory evacuation was threatened with arrest. It is not a human rights violation to force people out of danger areas, according to Rep. Joey Salceda, who as longtime Albay governor, initiated what he called “zero casualties” during typhoons and volcano disasters. He achieved it by sheer political will.

Except that some 100 small, if illegal, miners in the mining town of 60,000 people, Itogon, Benguet, had their own ideas. So when landslides slashed a 200-sqm gash on the side of the mountain, at least 59 died and 42 others were injured and scores more went missing Saturday afternoon. Another group of 70 hard-headed victims in Gonzaga town, Cagayan also resisted evacuation.

On poor infra and high-priced transportation, addressing Transportation Secretary Tugade, Duterte wondered in Tagalog, “the plane fares, who con-

Nature’s...

From A4

hub. Macau, a former Portuguese colony, became a gambling spot where Las Vegas casino operators like Wynn set up gaming houses.

President Rodrigo Duterte dispatched relevant Cabinet officials to go on site to assess the damage and supervise the doling out of relief services. Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Roy Cimatu ordered the closure of illegal smallscale mining operations. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello was told to go to his home province of Isabela while Public Works Secretary Mark Vil-

In fact, disaster work is continuing like clockwork.

distracted us from doing what needs to be done in disasters such as this. Government is moving in as organized a manner as can be with all the resources and resolve it can muster at this point.

Compare this with government’s response to the devastation caused

by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” during the previous administration. True, then Secretaries Mar Roxas and Volts Gazmin were in Tacloban City, the regional center to discuss with all government functionaries the needed response plan to cope with the incoming storm. After satisfying themselves that everything had been taken care of, they hied away to their hotels to wait out the howler. They were roused from their slumber and almost did not make it to safer grounds themselves.

The whole city and most parts of Yolanda’s path were mowed down by

super strong winds and in many areas got submerged, in a manner of speaking, in waves upon waves of surging water that left thousands dead. The two very powerful officials of the administration had to scout around for a safe place to compose themselves and reconnect with the outside world.

There was one problem though. The lines were cut off and they forgot to have their satellite phones in place. It took them hours to steady themselves and when they did they found a city totally washed out, in a sense, with bodies strewn all over the place. It took a number of more days before the real relief and rescue operations could take hold. In fact, the first responders aside from the surviving employees of local and regional government units were private humanitarian organizations one of which, a Taiwan based organization, was credited with clearing the debris the day after Yolanda passed by.

And what was the immediate government effort even as relief was on the way? The government started off with finger pointing, their favorite blame game with that famous repartee “Remember you are a Romualdez and the President is an Aquino?”

This went viral and remains one of the oft-quoted statements every time people ask whatever happened to the billions poured into the Yolanda areas not only from the national budget and local relief and rescue groups but internationally. Tales of woe and disappointment if not anger over the government’s response reverberate up to this day. In fact, the COA and international audit groups have yet to account for all the billions of monies and resources poured into the areas on Yolanda’s path. Even up to now the promised housing and infrastructure works already funded out of taxpayer money have yet to be completed.

And President Duterte and his administration is being busted for their disaster response? Come on!

trols it? The airlines or we (the government)?” “The Philippines has one of the most expensive airline fares,” the President complained, “with the same distance, you can get it about $100, outside,” or half overseas.

In reply, Tugade lamely laid the blame on the Civil Aeronautics Board, which is under the DOTr, for its fare matrix that consists of fuel and the consumer price index which is a formula for surefire fare increases.

The Philippines, says Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi, imports half of its energy requirements.

Crude oil went up, from an average of $52 per barrel in 2017 to an average of $69 this 2018, up $17 or 33 percent.

The peso against the dollar went down, from P50.40 in 2017 to $54.20 this year, down P3.80 or 7.5 percent. Combined cost increases: 40.50 percent. Add the government’s fuel tax on diesel which went up this 2018, from zero to P2.50 per liter, and you have a price spiral.

According to Tugade, half of the cost of food items is transportation, if available.

Duterte is sad that there are no vessels plying the Batangas to Davao route.

“There is something wrong there,” the President grimaced at the meeting. “For the small Filipino, there’s something terribly missing there. So we have to correct that. Ang kumikita, ang airlines [so the airlines are raking it in].” Tugade promised to talk to the shipping companies. He will offer them incentives to make the route profitable.

Dueterte is appealing to the airline and shipping companies: “Live and let live, tayo,” he pleaded. “Just maintain the equilibrium” between actual costs and pass-on rates.

On high prices, when Duterte took over as President in July 2016, inflation was a sheepishly low 1.3 percent per

year. In August 2018, prices were jumping at the rate of 6.4 percent annually, a leap of 4.92 times or 3,920 percent. Ordinarily, a 3,920-percent bounce in inflation rates in three years and one month is what you call “galloping” but Budget Secretary Ben Diokno, who is an economist, calls the term irresponsible.

Inflation, by the way, has four movements—creeping, walking, galloping, and hyperinflation.

Jumping five times (4.92 times) your normal speed is certainly not walking.

A horse gallops at 48 kms per hour, four times the average human marathoners (Usain Bolt excluded), 14 kph.

Perhaps Ben should do occasional marketing. He will find leeks selling for P600 a kilo and wansoy for P1,260 kilo. These are weeds, virtually. Can you imagine buying a kilo of grass for more than P1,000? Weeds are supposed to climb, not gallop.

Amazingly, Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol reported at the Sept. 16 meeting, “the price of rice is going down, from P2,400 per bag, to P2,000, in spite of what happened here (in the north).” The buying price of palay has gone down from P25 to P20, even P18, per kilo. “There was no rice shortage!”

Now, that’s what you call Pollyanna talk, a glad game you sell to the marines or giggling girls who don’t know any better.

Fortunately, Duterte knows bs when he hears one. He has fired the head, a retired general, of the state rice monopoly, National Food Authority, and will replace him, with another general. The President will also open up rice importation to anyone and everyone who offers the highest bid.

Now, that’s what you call preemptive action.

lar was instructed to facilitate the repair of damaged roads and bridges to ease the delivery of relief goods.

Meanwhile, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez monitored the prices of prime commodities to prevent unscrupulous traders from jacking up their prices.

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol was directed to distribute imported National Food Authority rice to typhoon-stricken areas and give for free confiscated smuggled rice to the poor.

The Itogon, Benguet disaster, if at all, should make the government focus on regulating mining which could help spur the economy. Other countries have done this to contribute to their economies’ growth. A country

like the Philippines imports its crude oil from the Middle East which causes the peso to plummet against the dollar at P54 to $1.

Since the importation of oil is paid in dollars, this resulted in prime commodities skyrocketing. I need not be a rocket scientist nor an economist to know this. My grocery bill went up from P1,000 to P2,000 a week. I live alone and have observed that the cost of my food for a week has doubled. Can you imagine the hardship of those with families of five or three dependents? Taxi drivers I talk to said they can hardly bring food to the table because of the continued rise of pump prices of oil, gasoline and kerosene for cooking.

biznewsasia@gmail.com

SO I SEE

A wake-up...

From A4

The CoA also red-flagged the Office ofSolicitor General Jose Calida for excessive allowances.

Just why the President has not acted on the CoA report is a mystery. The President believes Calida is one of the bright boys in his administration.

Is there a double standard in the Duterte administration—one for allies, and one for critics? *** Senator Nancy Binay reminded Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson and blogger Drew Olivar not to mock the deaf/mute community.

I agree.

Binay is the author of the justpassed Filipino Sign Language bill to help the deaf/mute community. They are already struggling to air their concerns and aspirations. Uson and

Olivar must be condemned.

I think we should also require sign language in every television appearance of government officials. *** I have registered my car and I still have no plate. Like thousands of others who are still without vehicle plates, I feel like I am being swindled by my own government.

Actually, what the government is doing—requiring every owner to register his or her vehicle and then pay the registration, on pain of penalty for lateness—is plain estafa. But then I know I cannot sue the government without its consent.

The Philippines is perhaps the only country that cannot deliver this simple service. *** I had more than a hundred wellwishers when I turned 91 last Saturday.

I thank them all.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

A6

News

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Koreans still top foreign arrivals in PH K

By Vito Barcelo

OREANS remain the top foreigners who visited the country from January to August this year, but the total foreign visitors dropped by more than 1 percent, compared to the same period last year, according to the Bureau of Immigration.

Records from the BI showed a total 4,352,929 foreign arrivals were recorded from the eight-month period, compared to 5,831,996 in 2017 or less than 1,471,067.

The bureau said China came in second while on the third spot is the United States.

Data received from the BI showed that from January to August 2018, at least 1,214,463 Koreans visited the country while in 2017, there were 1,734,246 or

lower by 519,783.

Last year, Chinese visitors recorded an arrival of 1,095,188 but this year, only 973,614 came to visit the country, the BI record showed.

Despite the dispute in the South China Sea, the Philippines and China continue to maintain good diplomatic relations and may have boosted last year’s number of Chinese visitors.

Chinese visitors may increase as the holiday season nears and that thousands of Chinese prefer to celebrate the Chinese new year which falls on Feb. 5.

For Japanese, only 467,461 came into the country this year, a decline of 161,302 visitors compared last year with 628,763.

Almost all the top 10 foreign visitors in the Philippines dropped this year, the BI statistics showed.

Republic of the Philippines COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS Intramuros, Manila EN BANC IN THE MATTER OF ADOPTING RESOLUTION NOS. 10285 AND 10293 RE ACCREDITATION OF MASS MEDIA AND FOREIGN OBSERVERS, RESPECTIVELY, PROMULGATED IN CONNECTION WITH THE 23 OCTOBER 2017 BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN ELECTIONS (BSKE) FOR PURPOSES OF THE SEPTEMBER 22, 2018 BSKE IN MARAWI CITY, LANAO DEL SUR. x---------------------------------------------------x

ABAS, S. M., PARREÑO, A. A., GUIA, L. T. F., GUANZON, M. R. A. V., INTING, S. B., CASQUEJO, M. S., KHO, Jr., A. T., Promulgated:

Chairman Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner

September 18, 2018

RESOLUTION NO. _________ WHEREAS, the Commission on Elections (Commission) promulgated the following Resolutions for the 23 October 2017 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections: (a) Resolution No. 10285 dated APRIL 5, 2018 entitled “GUIDELINES FOR MASS MEDIA ACCREDITATION IN CONNECTION WITH THE MAY 14, 2018 BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN (SK) ELECTIONS; and (b) Resolution No. 10293 dated April 11, 2018 entitled “GUIDELINES FOR ACCREDITATION OF FOREIGN OBSERVERS IN CONNECTION WITH THE MAY 14, 2018 BARANGAY AND SANGGUNIANG KABATAAN (SK) ELECTIONS”; NOW, THEREFORE, the Commission on Elections, by virtue of the power vested in it under the Constitution, the Omnibus Election Code and other election laws, RESOLVED, as it hereby RESOLVES, to ADOPT the abovementioned Resolutions for purposes of the 22 September 2018 BSKE in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur, subject to the dates and periods as provided in Resolution No. 10412 containing the calendar of activities in connection with the 22 September 2018 BSKE. RESOLVED further, that any and all references to the date 23 October 2018 and the “election period” are to be read and understood as referring to the 22 September 2018 BSKE in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur and the election period set under Resolution No. 10412 which is from 17 August 2018 (FRI) to 29 September 2018 (SAT).

RESOLVED, furthermore, that all activities to be covered or observed under such accreditations shall be limited to all BSKE activities which shall take place in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur; RESOLVED, finally, that the guidelines for accreditation set under the relevant sections of the following Resolutions, viz: (1) _Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 of Resolution No. 10285; and (2) Sections 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11 and 15 of Resolution No. 10293 are hereby amended and shall be read as follows: 1. RESOLUTION NO. 10285 SECTION 5. Application Forms. - Application forms for accreditation shall be available at the COMELEC Education and Information Department (EID) and in Offices of the Regional Election Director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ORED, ARMM), Provincial Election Supervisor of Lanao del Sur (OPES) and Election Officer of Marawi City (OEO). Application forms may also be downloaded from the COMELEC website (http://www. comelec.gov.ph) SECTION 6. Period for Filing Application.for Accreditation. - The period for filing application for accreditation shall be from the effectivity of this Resolution until September 14, 2018. This period shall be non-extendable and applications filed after the last day of filing not be entertained.

SECTION 7. Personal Filing of Applications for Accreditations. - Filing of applications for accreditation shall be made personally at the EID, for national and foreign media, or at the Office of the Provincial Election Supervisor of Lanao del Sur (OPES), for local media.

In case of other media, both domestic and foreign, such as novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, and those involved in the production of feature films and documentaries, the filing of applications for accreditation shall be made personally at the EID. SECTION 8. Approval of Applications for Accreditation. - Approval of applications for accreditation shall be made by the COMELEC Chairman, through the Director of the COMELEC-EID, for national and foreign media and by the PES of Lanao del Sur, for local media.

SECTION 9. Treatment of Applications for Accreditation. - Within five (5) days from the last day of the period for filing of applications, the PES of Lanao del Sur shall furnish copies of all applications, with attachments, to the EID through facsimile, indicating which applications were approved and which were denied.

SECTION 10. Media Card. - Upon approval of the application, the EID and OPES, Lanao del Sur shall issue media cards to all accredited media representatives. Media cards must be personally claimed from the EID, in the case of national and foreign media, and the OPES, Lanao del Sur, in the case of local media.

The COMELEC media card is strictly non-transferable and is valid only for the purpose for which it was issued. Any improper use of the media card shall be considered as abuse in the use thereof and carries with it the penalty of revocation.

The media card shall be worn prominently whenever the media representatives are covering or observing COMELEC or electoral events.

2. RESOLUTION NO. 10293 SECTION 2. Application for Accreditation - Foreign nationals, whether as individuals or in groups, whether representing governmental or private interests, who are interested to observe the conduct of the September 22, 2018 BSKE, shall file personally an Application for Accreditation at the COMELEC Offices of the Education And Information Department (EID) or the Regional Election Director of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ORED, ARMM).

SECTION 4. Period for Filing Application for Accreditation. - The period for filing applications for accreditation shall be from the effectivity of this Resolution until September 14, 2018. This period shall be non-extendible, and applications filed after the last day of filing shall not be entertained.

SECTION 5. Opposition to the Application for Accreditation. - Any opposition to applications for accreditation of any foreigner, foreign group, organization, committee or association shall be filed at the EID or ORED, ARMM within five (5) days from the filing of the contested application in the office where it was filed.

SECTION 7. Application Forms.- Application forms for accreditation shall be available at the COMELEC EID and ORED, ARMM. Applications forms may be also downloaded from the COMELEC website (http://www.comelec.gov.ph).

SECTION 8. Identification Cards. - Upon approval of the application, the EID or ORED, ARMM shall issue identification cards to the accredited foreign observers.

SECTION 11. Term of the Accreditation. Accreditation of foreign election observers shall be valid from the date of issuance until the end of election period or until September 29, 2018.

SECTION 15. Dissemination. - The EID and ORED, ARMM shall implement this Resolution.

The EID shall cause its publication and shall furnish copies thereof to the Philippine Information Agency, and the Department of Foreign Affairs which shall cause dissemination thereof to its foreign service establishments and to representatives of foreign countries in the Philippines, Further, the Office of the Regional Election Director, ARMM shall furnish copies of this Resolution to the Offices of the Provincial Election Supervisor of Lanao del Sur and Election Officer of Marawi City as well as all candidates, for their information and guidance.

This Resolution shall take effect immediately after its publication in two (2) daily newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines.

SO ORDERED.

(MS-SEPT. 19, 2018)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

RELIEF GOODS. Soldiers and police join hands in unloading relief goods for distribution to families affected by powerful Typhoon ‘Ompong’ at the Tuguegarao Airport in Cagayan on Tuesday. Ompong left a wide swathe of destruction in the province. PNA

Robredo to High Court: DoJ to appeal SC ruling on Lee Ballot boxes retrieved

By Rey E. Requejo

By Rio N. Araja THE camp of Vice President Leni Robredo on Tuesday told the Supreme Court, sitting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, of its observations during the first day of retrieval of ballot boxes in Negros Oriental in connection with the election protest filed by ex-senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. In a four-page manifestation, Romulo Macalintal, Robredo’s counsel, told the PET the ballot boxes from Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental were immediately loaded in the containers after inventory due to lack of space in the staging area.

He said during the loading of the ballot boxes, the representatives of both parties expressed their apprehension with the way they were being arranged in the container that might lead to damage.

“However, both parties were assured that the manner by which the ballot boxes were placed in the containers will prevent any damage during transport,” he said.

Only one damaged ballot box from Guihulngan City was turned over to the PET, “meaning that if more ballot boxes end up damaged, it happened during its transport to the PET headquarters in Manila,” the camp of Robredo said.

Macalintal cited another incident in Bindoy town, where only one damaged ballot box was accounted for during the inventory, but two more ballot boxes sustained damage during the transport to the staging area.

“Noteworthy is that the ballot boxes have been arranged in a similar manner which risks damage to the ballot boxes and the red plastic seals,” he said.

THE Department of Justice on Tuesday vowed to file a motion for reconsideration seeking to overturn the Supreme Court decision ruling last July allowing property developer Delfin Lee to post bail in criminal cases over the alleged anomalous housing projects of his firm Globe Asiatique in Pampanga worth P6.6 billion.

Acting Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon said the National Prosecution Service, prosecutorial arm of DoJ, was scheduled to file a motion for reconsideration on the SC ruling though the office of the solicitor general.

“Yes, we will file an MR,” Fadullon said in an interview.

The head of the National Prosecution Service stressed that they hoped to convince the SC justices to reverse their affirmation of a Court of Appeals decision in 2013 that downgraded the cases against him from syndicated estafa to simple estafa.

“We will insist that it is a syndicated estafa case which is non-bailable case, so he (Lee) should not be allowed to post bail,” he said.

Last July, the High Court voted 7-5 with two abstentions to affirm the CA ruling and dismiss the petition filed in 2014 by the DoJ and Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG Fund).

The tribunal also lifted the temporary restraining order it issued in March 2014 that prevented Lee’s release from the jail as ordered by the appellate court.

Insiders said a reversal of the SC ruling was probable considering the close margin in the voting of the justices.

The source, who requested anonymity, pointed out that the DoJ would just need to convince two justices to switch sides to have the ruling reversed.

Lee was indicted for syndicated estafa charges for allegedly defrauding the government of P6.6 billion in housing loan proceeds for home buyers, whom investigators later found to be fictitious or had incomplete documents.

Misuari asks court: Dismiss graft cases

By Maricel V. Cruz FORMER governor Nur Misuari of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has asked the Sandiganbayan to dismiss the cases filed against him by the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged anomalous purchase of educational materials during his watch as the chief executive of the area.

Misuari told the anti-graft court’s Third Division said there was an absence of evidence that would pin him down to the allegedly irregular transaction.

He also raised the issue of inordinate delay against the Ombudsman.

Misuari, the former ARMM governor, is facing two counts each of graft and malversation by falsification owing to the alleged anomalous procurement of educational materials worth P115.2 million during his term.

Misuari said he could not be held liable for the transaction that was done when he was no longer the ARMM governor.

Misuari and his co-accused allegedly conspired to give “unwarranted benefits, advantage and privilege” to MBJ Learning Tools, CPR Publishing, and White Orchids Printing. He said the payments to MBJ Learning in December were released in 2003, CPR Publishing in July 2004, and to White Orchids Printing in July 2004 and September 2005.

RECOVERED LAPTOPS. Quezon City Police District Director Chief Supt. Joselito Esquivel presents Tuesday to DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones two women (not in the picture) he identified as Salvacion Marco and Jellyn Gabito during a news conference nabbed for selling government-issued laptops in Barangay Pasok Putik in Novaliches.

Manny Palmero

PCSO donates P10-m grant to Red Cross PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan said on Tuesday the agency had donated P10-million financial assistance to Philippine Red Cross to further enhance its programs and services, especially in times of calamities and disasters.

“This will benefit the National Blood Services of PRC. We hope that with this support, the PCSO through the Philippine Red Cross, shall be able to extend its services to even more Filipinos in the performance of its mandate to raise and provide funds to strengthen the health and welfare programs of the government,” said Balutan.

The grant was received by PRC chairman Senator Richard Gordon, which was witnessed by PRC’s Board of Governors,

Secretary General Elizabeth Zavalla, PCSO chairman Anselmo Simeon Pinili, PCSO board of directors, and PCSO and PRC officers and staff.

“We all know that PCSO and PRC have been in the forefront in providing assistance to our countrymen especially those who have less in life. We have become partners in these endeavors because we both recognize each other’s contribution in making the lives of the Filipino better through our various programs in the fields of social, medical, and health services,” said Balutan.

The grant was given by PCSO under the Institutional Partnership Program which aims to augment the financial resources of institutions engaged in welfare and charity services with emphasis on medical and health needs of its beneficiaries.

Sports

A7

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Tiger’s Ryder Cup return caps amazing comeback

W

ASHINGTON—Playing in the Ryder Cup will be the culmination of an amazing comeback season for Tiger Woods, one the 14-time major champion feared might never happen after back surgery.

The 42-year-old American has shown flashes of the form that made him golf’s dominant player in younger days in his first campaign after spinal fusion surgery, a lastgasp operation to try and extend his legendary career.

“It was a last-ditch effort,” Woods said. “I tried everything else because fusion is the last-ditch effort and nothing beyond that. So didn’t know what my playing career would be like. This is all uncharted territory.”

So far, Woods’ performances are steadily improving and the medical charts are showing no back issues after years of nagging problems.

Woods has hit drives longer than his youthful days, led the British Open in the final round in July, finished second in last month’s PGA Championship and fired a 62 earlier this month, his lowest US PGA opening round since the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic.

And the former world number one achieved his goal of securing a Ryder Cup captain’s pick from Jim Furyk,

Laguna swimmer leads multiple-gold winners BAGUIO CITY—Roz Encarnacion of Laguna Province bannered multiple gold winners in swimming yesterday in the 2018 Batang Pinoy National Championships at the Baguio Swimming Pool here.

Fresh from winning the girls’ 12-under 200m individual medley and the 50m breaststroke on Monday, the 13-year-old student from Alaminos Integrated National High School swam 2 minutes and 55.02 seconds in the 200m breast for her third gold medal.

She guns for a sweep of all her five events, when she competes in the 200m free and 100m breast today.

Also winning three gold medals were Quezon City’s Althea Baluyot, Laguna’s Roshanne Biglete and Lucena City’s Mervien Jules Mirandilla.

Baluyot won in the girls’ 13-15 50m freestyle (28.70sec) after reigning supreme on Monday in the 100m free and 100m fly; Biglete topped the girls’ 12-under 200m backstroke (2:34.33) and the 50m free (29.85sec) after winning the 100m free on Day 1; and Mirandilla pocketed his third gold in the boys 13-15 50m butterfly in 27.27sec.

who pulled him from a planned assistant captain’s role after seeing the quality of his game.

“Deep down, I wanted to make the team. I really wanted to play on it,” Woods said. “I had not started playing golf really yet, but still, it was a goal at the end of the season to make this team.

“As the year progressed, I gained some traction and was somehow able to get some high finishes and lo and behold, I’m a part of this team. It’s incredible, it really is, to look back at the start of the year and to have accomplished a goal like that. To be a player is just beyond special.”

Woods still hasn’t won a major since the 2008 US Open and hasn’t won any event in more than five years, but has rediscovered the joy of playing after fears it might never happen again.

Tiger Woods plays his tee shot on the fourth hole during the weather delayed final round of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. AFP

Manila

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

traditions and ideals of the Filipino people. I have all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications under Republic Act No. 9139.

001508 TODAY

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

PETITION Pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9139, petitioner hereby submits a petition for naturalization to become a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines and respectfully declares: 1. My full name is NEHA MOTIANI, but I have also been known since childhood as NEHA, or I have been judicially authorized to use the alias name(s) N/A .

2. My present place of residence is Icon Residences 26th St., 3rd Ave. Tower 2 Unit 14 DE, BGC City/Municipality of Taguig Province of Metro Manila ____,and all my former places of residence are (please indicate periods of residence): 40 Santa Rosa, Kapitolyo, Pasig (1995) Valle Verde 6 (2007-2015) 11 Santa Clara (1995-1997) Icon Residences (2015-2018) 12 Saint Martin (1997-2003) 18 E Brgy. San Antonio (2003-2009)

BRENT Cortes pulled off a rare three-title romp while Sydney Enriquez stretched her winning run to Lanao del Norte as they shared top honors in the Palawan Pawnshop Palawan Express Pera Padala Tubod age group tennis tournament last Monday.

Playing before hometown crowd, the 14-year-old Cortes upended top seed Nash Agustines, 7-5, 6-2, to rule his age division.

He repeated over Agustines in the 16-U finals, 6-4, 6-4, then repulsed unseeded Keane Pepito, 3-6, 6-4, 10-7, to snare the 18-U diadem in the Group 2 tournament presented

by Dunlop.

Unranked in the centerpiece division, Cortes shocked top seed Steven Sonsona, 0-4, 5-4(5), 10-6, in the quarterfinals and dominated Lex Estillore, 6-2, 6-1, before subduing Pepito to complete a grand finish in the event hosted by Stanley Noval at the Tubod-Laneco-Baroy tennis courts.

Enriquez, which swept the 16and 18-U crowns in the three-leg PPS Zamboanga del Norte swing last month, including in her hometown Salug, sustained her charge and came away with another twotitle feat, beating Camille Padilla,

6-1, 6-0, in the girls’ 16-U finals and holding off Janmarie Anghag, 6-2, 7-5, for the 18-U diadem.

“While Enriquez is coming off an impressive sweep, Cortes’ feat was worth noting since he even proved his mettle in 18-U play, gaining ground and confidence through his regular participation in the circuit,” said Palawan Pawnshop president/ CEO Bobby Castro.

Other winners were Cagayan de Oro’s Janus Rosales (10-unisex), Aslan Carbonilla from Maranding (boys’ 12-U) and Ozamiz City’s Ma. Judy Anne Padilla, who took the girls’ 12- and 14-U titles.

La Salle nails 4th straight title

DEBUT WIN. Argentine legend Diego Maradona speaks during a press confer-

ence after his first match as coach of Mexican second-division club Dorados, against Cafetaleros, at the Banorte stadium in Culiacan, Sinaloa State, Mexico.

Maradona made his Mexican coaching debut with a 4-1 win for his new club. AFP

Southwoods hosts PSA Cup Sept. 25 MORE than 80 players will be seeing action on Tuesday when the Philippine Sportswriters Association holds its first-ever PSA Charity Golf Cup presented by Manila Soutwoods and the Philippine Sports Commission at the Legends course in Carmona, Cavite.

Golfers from the PSC headed by chair Butch Ramirez, the PBA through commissioner Willie Marcial, the Philippine Olympic Committee led by Ricky Vargas and the ranks of sportswriters take part in the 18-hole event that aims to raise funds for the projects of the country’s oldest media organization.

Attractive prizes are up for grabs including a round-trip ticket to the United States courtesy of Philippine Airlines for a hole-in-one on the picturesque 16th hole aside from handsome trophies for individual champions in all divisions.

The maiden PSA Cup will also see a battle among teams from the PSA, PBA and PSC-POC for the team trophy. The System 36 method of scoring will be used with the top 10 scores counting for each team.

The team that wins the event three straight years will get to keep the perpetual trophy.

LA SALLE Green Hills-Team A thumped Ateneo De Manila University, 64-44, on Sunday to annex its fourth straight title in the 33rd Season of the Small Basketeers Philippines-Passerelle Twin Tournament at the Colegio San Agustin Gymnasium in Makati.

Andre Mikael Minas scattered a game-high 13 points, while Joaquin Alessandro Torres also had nine markers for the Greenies.

LSGH-Team A wound up with a perfect 4-0 card in the eliminations and clobbered De La Salle Santiago Zobel-Team A, 49-33, in their semifinal tussle last Sept. 9 to forge a title match with the Blue Eaglets in the tourney sponsored

by Milo and supported by Rain or Shine and Chris Sports.

With the runaway victory, the Greenies advanced to the SBPPasserelle Twin Tournament National Finals set early December in Pampanga.

In the Passerelle division final, Nazareth School of National University proved untouchable in ruling the tourney with a 7457 whipping of La Salle Green Hills-Team A.

3. I was born on November 8, 1995, in 40 Santa Rosa Kapitolyo, Pasig, Philippines. I have been a resident of the Philippines since birth. At present, I am a citizen or subject of Pakistan.

4. My father's name is Narerdar Kumar Motiani and he was born on March 20, 1966, in Mirpurkhas, Pakistan.

He is a citizen or subject of Pakistan. My mother's name is Pushpa Motiani and she was born on October 26, 1971 in Sanghar, Pakistan. She is a citizen or subject of Pakistan.

5. My trade, business, profession or lawful occupation is student and from which I derive an average annual income of P N/A , inclusive of bonuses, commissions and allowances.

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

(Where the above does not apply): I am exempt from the requirement of lucrative trade or occupation and from submitting income tax returns for the past three (3) years because I am a college degree holder [please state (1) degree obtained:_N/A_ , (2) name of school: __ N/A__ and (3) years graduated: ___ N/A___who cannot practice my profession (the practice of which requires a government licensure examination) by reason of my citizenship.

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

Date of Birth

N/A

Place of Birth

Residence

Place of School Humpty Dumpty School 15 East Capital Drive, Kapitolyo, Metro Manila Creative Learning School 52 Sta Rosa St.,Bgy Kapitolyo, Pasig Our Own English High Muwailih, School UAE Saint Paul College, Pasig St. Paul Rd., Brgy Ugong, Pasig City University of the East 2219 Recto Ave., Sampaloc, Manila

Dates of Highest Grade Study Completed 2000-2001 Kinder 1

2001-2002

Kinder 2

2002-2004

Grade 1-Grade 2

2004-2013

Grade 34th Year High School

2013-2019

Bachelor’s Degree

10. I am able to read, write and speak Filipino and/or any of the following dialects of the Philippines: Filipino-Tagalog.

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

Name of Child

14. My character witnesses are Danielle Villanueva Bangato and Perla Dela Pena Jocson both Filipino citizens, of legal age, and residing at 7953 Teka St., San Antonio Village, Makati and 149 Scout De Guia, Brgy.

Sacred Heart, Diliman, Quezon City respectively, who have executed sworn statements attached hereto in support of my instant petition, together with: (a) brief biographical data about themselves; (b) detailed statements on the dates they first came to know me, the circumstances of our initial acquaintance and the reasons and extent of our continuing familiarity; and (c) the number of times they have acted as character witnesses in other petitions for naturalization.

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

Dated at Makati City, Metro Manila, this 7th day of MARCH, 2017.

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

Name of School

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

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

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

Cortes, Enriquez sizzle in PPS tennis in Tubod

In archery, Carleen Sophia Flores won in the yeoman girls (644), while Francine Navor prevailed in the bowman girls’ (663) to give La Union two golds at the Benguet State University in La Trinidad.

Also winning were Koronadal bets Christian Gabiosa and Jeremiah Basadre in the 72-round yeoman boys (686) and the 72-round bowman boys (668), respectively.

In athletics, Marinel Abuan of Botolan, Zambales posted 1.55m for the girls’ high jump gold, Dian Rysiamie Hurano of Bohol ruled the girls’ long jump (5.45m), and Laurize Wangkay of Laguna Province prevailed in the 2000m walk (11:29).

Weightlifting competitions at the YMCA gym saw Zamboanga lifters dominating the boys’ and girls’ 12-under events.

Mango Prince David Tarro lifted a total of 86kilos to win the boys’ 34kg class, Albert Ian Delos Santos posted a 107 total to win the boys’ 38kgs, Christian Rodriguez prevailed in the over 38kgs (115 total) and Jeaneth Hipolito ruled the girls’ 36kg with an 82-kilo lift.

Name and Place of School

NEHA MOTIANI Name and Signature of Petitioner Address: Icon Residences 26th St., 3rd Ave. Tower 2 Unit 14 DE, BGC Telephone Number: 502-7182

Right Thumbmark of Petitioner

Petitioner's signature and right thumbmark

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) CITY/MUNICIPALITY OF MANILA) S.S. I, NEHA MOTIANI of legal age and a resident of Icon Residences 26th St.Tower 2, BGC, Taguig after being duly sworn, depose and say that I am the petitioner herein, that I have read the foregoing petition and know the foregoing petition and known the contents thereof, and that the same is true of my own knowledge.

NEHA MOTIANI Name and Signature of Petitioner SUBCRIBED AND SWORN to before me at Pasig City, this 16 day of April 2018.

Date of Enrollment

N/A

12. I shall never be a public charge. I am of good moral character. I believe in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution. I have conducted myself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of my residence in the Philippines in my relations with the constituted government as well as with the community in which I am living. I mingled socially with Filipinos and have evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs,

(MS-SEPTEMBER 5/12/19, 2018)

Pradera starts bid to retain PAL crown

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

A8

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

Sports CEREMONIAL TEE OFF. Asian Games double gold medal winner Yuka Saso, wearing a cowboy hat to go with the PAL Ladies Interclub theme “Hoedown at the Rancho,” hits the ceremonial drive launching the 13th edition of the event on Tuesday at Rancho Palos Verdes layout in Davao.

Cardinals improve on last year’s 3 wins

Gov Cup resumes: Elite eye 3rd win

By Jeric Lopez FOLLOWING a two-weak break, the Philippine Basketball Association resumes its 2018 Governors’ Cup, pitting an intriguing doubleheader featuring the top teams battling squads in the lower echelon.

Riding a strong 2-0 start, Blackwater aims to keep in step with the teams above as it shoots for a share of first place when it plays abysmal Northport (0-4) at 4 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Hours later, Phoenix (3-1) goes for a second straight victory as it gets tested by Meralco (1-2) at 7 p.m. in the nightcap.

Led by resident import Henry Walker, the Elite are gaining some attention following their strong early surge.

Blackwater caught a big fish right before the break as it took down goliath San Miguel Beer, 103-100, in a tight battle.

The victory obviously boosted the Elite’s confidence moving forward.

“We’re off to a good start. We’re able to beat one of the best teams in the league by playing our game,” said Walker. “Hopefully, this is just the beginning for us.”

While Blackwater is unbeaten, the Batang Pier remains winless in four games despite the consistent scoring efforts of star Stanley Pringle and import Rashad Woods.

All is not lost, but Northport is in need of a win to avoid a deeper hole.

The Fuel Masters are on a mission as well, also having a good start to its campaign.

The last time they were in action, they annihilated TNT KaTropa by 30 points, 112-82, as Eugene Phelps and Calvin Abueva continued to show the way.

On the other hand, the Bolts are yet to find their groove, dropping two of their first three assignments.

Meralco is looking to arrest a two-game slide to get back into the thick of things.

J

USTINE Serrano struck hard in final period and the Mapua University Cardinals went on to edge the College of St. Benilde Blazers, 86-83, yesterday at the Arena in San Juan.

Games Thursday (Filoil Flying V Centre, San Juan) 10 a.m.- SSCR vs JRU (jrs) 12 nn.- SBU vs EAC (jrs) 2 p.m.- SSCR vs JRU (srs) 4 p.m.- SBU vs EAC (srs)

Laurenz Victoria led with 16 points, including five points in the last three minutes to help the Cardinals hold their ground and post their fourth win in 12 matches in the 94th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.

In holding off the the Blazers, the Cardinals already eclipsed their three wins last season as they stayed in pursuit of the last Final Four seat.

Serrano, who had 12 points, shattered a 72-all deadlock with an 8-0 run that he and Victoria erected, scoring the first three baskets with his

penetrations for an 80-73 count.

After the Blazers fought back and came to within, 77-80, Victoria was there to keep the Blazers in front by a safer margin, 82-77.

“Nakabawi kami kay Justine nu’ng lumapit sila. Si Laurenz, siya naman talaga, siya ang senior, siya ang in charge,” said Cardinals’ coach Atoy Co. Justine Gutang had 22 for the Blazers, who, however, still stayed in contention for a Final Four seat for the first time in years with their 7-5 slate.

Perpetual Help leaned on a monster effort by Prince Eze and the return of Edgard Charcos as it dumped Arellano University, 57-45, yesterday to enhance its Final Four bid.

Eze muscled his way to 20 points, 19 rebounds and four blocks while

Charcos, back after sitting out a whole month due to a hyperextended knee, had six points, four caroms, four assists and four steals to help lift the Altas to their sixth win against five defeats.

They also exacted revenge on the Chiefs, who beat the Las Pinas-based school, 76-72, in the first round on Aug. 28.

It was also a triumph that pushed Perpetual Help just half a game behind College of St. Benilde at No. 4.

In junior action, Dan Arches scored 23 points, including 10 in the second period to lead the Mapua Red Robins to a 93-87 beating of the defending champion La Salle Greenhills Greenies.

Arches, who subbed for an injured Clint Escamis, hit a triple with Roseller Sarias, and sank two charities during a 7-0 blast, allowing the Red Robins to take charge, 65-54.

The Red Robins, with Jonnel Policarpio making 23, took control of the game and stayed behind the Greenies with their 9-3 slate. P. Atencio

DAVAO CITY—Asian Games champion Yuka Saso kicks off Pradera Verde’s title-retention bid Wednesday at the start of the 13th Philippine Airlines Ladies Interclub golf team championships at the Palos Rancho Verdes Golf and Country Club.

The 17-year-old Fil-Japanese will play her first tournament since collecting two gold medals in the recent Asiad in Jakarta, Indonesia.

“Mag-eenjoy lang ako. Tingin ko maganda naman ang tsansa naming,” said Saso who set a record 59 points, five-under in stroke play, last year.

Pradera Verde made a smashing debut last year in Cebu City, clobbering the field with a record 638 points, 43 points clear of five-time champion Manila Southwoods.

Only two members of that team remain, Saso and Annyka Pineda-Cayabyab, 14-year-old daughter of Lubao Mayor Mylyn Pineda Cayabyab.

Reinforcing the squad are four Malaysian juniors, a Korean teen based in Angeles City and Rianne Malixi, the youngest at 11 years old.

Pradera Verde captain Norman Sto. Domingo said Saso and Korean Luna Shin will definitely see action in the first round with either Cayabyab or Malixi and one of the Malaysians backing them up.

Except for the Malaysians who were set to arrive later in the day, the rest of the squad played their first practice round Wednesday.

The Malaysians making their debut in the country’s premier ladies’ team event are Ika Nasser, 16; Charlayne Chong, 16; Vinisha Gunaseelan, 16; and Eliza Mae Kho, 17.

Manila Southwoods is coming to the event with a re-tooled team, infusing new blood in its desire to restore its dominance in the annual event.

Led by internationalist Sofia Chabon and Sunshine Baraquiel, the Carmona-based squad is tapping Annika Guangko, Mafy Singson, Laurea Duque, Mariel Tee, Samantha Dizon and Tin Torralba, who played for Pradera last year.

“Our players have been together for more than a month now and are playing fairly well,” Southwoods captain Claire Ong said.

“The players are in high spirits.”

Wade returns to Heat for ‘Last Dance’

Dwyane Wade, shown here against the Lakers, is playing his final season for Miami. AFP

MIAMI—Three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade will play a final season for the Miami Heat, announcing his decision in a YouTube video entitled “One Last Dance.”

The 36-year-old star guard played his first 13 seasons with Miami, joining forces with Shaquille O’Neal to bring the Heat their first NBA crown in 2006 and with LeBron James for further titles in 2012 and 2013.

Wade departed for a season with his hometown Chicago Bulls in 2016-17 and began last season as a teammate of James in Cleveland before being traded to the Heat.

The 12-time All-Star, who helped the United States capture Olympic gold at Beijing in 2008, said in the 10-minute video released Sunday night he was ready to make this his final NBA campaign.

“I feel like it’s right to ask you guys to join me for one last dance, for one last sea-

son,” Wade said. “This is it. I’ve given this game everything that I have and I’m happy about that. I’m going to give it for one last season, everything else I have left.”

Wade averaged 16.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists last season for Miami, which lost to Philadelphia in the opening round of the NBA playoffs.

“This decision is bigger than the game of basketball,” Wade said. “This decision don’t have nothing to do with the talent in my body.”

Wade mentioned the support and devotion of his family several times, thanking them and his fans through the years for support.

“My family has put me first for so many years,” Wade said. “But I feel like there comes a point in time where we all got to think about someone else, especially the ones around you that have supported you, supported your dream, supported your journey like my family has.” AFP

Aguilar: Teamwork keyed PH win over Qatar UP questions officiating in loss to Ateneo

By Peter Atencio COMEBACKING Japeth Aguilar said Qatar proved to be a tough team to handle during Team Philippines’ 92-81 win in its closed-door FIBA Asia World Cup 2019 Qualifier Monday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“Hindi basta-basta ang Qatar team. Total teamwork kami sa kanila. Sa start ng second namin sila na-pressure. Unti unti namin nakuha ang lamang,” said the 6’9” Aguilar, who returned from a onegame suspension with Matthew Wright.

When Qatar missed its outside shots in the second half,

the Philippines got big plays from Aguilar’s inside game, which netted him 10 of 16 points.

The big efforts of Aguilar with Matthew Wright, allowed the Philippines to pick up its fifth win in eight games and stay on course towards earning a spot in the tournament proper.

Coach Yeng Guiao said it felt strange for Team Philippines to play without a home crowd cheering them on.

“It’s kind of surreal. Maglalaro ka sa sariling mong bansa, sa iyong home court and nobody is cheering for you. So, ang ginawa namin, kami na lang ang nag-cheer sa sarili

namin,” said Guiao.

“The first half was just really bad shooting percentage from the three-point range. We were 6 percent. And to think that these are the best shooters in the country,” added Guiao, who experienced his first win as a national coach after the Philippines took a 73-81 loss to Iran in Tehran last Friday.

The Philippines next faces Kazakhstan in an away-game on Nov. 30.

Team Pilipinas is now in third spot behind Australia, which leads Group F with its 7-1 winloss card, and after winning over Kazakhstan, 94-41.

Iran is at second (6-2) after a 70-56 loss Japan.

Games Today 2 p.m. UE vs Adamson 4 p.m. La Salle vs NU

UNIVERSITY of the Philippines questioned the officiating that was done during its game with the defending champion Ateneo Blue Eagles last Wednesday in the UAAP Season 81 men’s basketball tournament.

The UP camp made its thoughts known in a letter by Atty. Agaton Teodoro O. Uvero, team manager of the UP men’s basketball team after the Fighting Maroons’ 87-79 defeat to the Blue Eagles.

Team officials are seeking the suspension the referees and reconsideration on the one-game suspension that was handed to

Perasol following his ejection.

In the letter addressed to UAAP executive director Atty. Rene “Rebo” Saguisag, UP urged the UAAP to take action against what it deemed “deplorable” calls made by “incompetent” referees.

“We write to officially protest and implore action against what transpired during the University of the Philippines vs Ateneo de Manila University game last Wednesday, September 12, 2018.

We are not writing because we lost,” wrote Uvero in a letter sent last Sept. 14.

Uvero added: “The UAAP must do something about this not because we lost. Losing is part of the game. But unfairness and bad officiating is certainly not. Nobody wins when bad calls or non-calls

by game officials are not rectified and are allowed to continue.”

He explained that UP’s game against Ateneo was a “recurrence” after the Fighting Maroons only shot seven free throws as compared to the Blue Eagles’ 31.

Meanwhile, the Adamson Falcons may have beaten the Ateneo Blue Eagles, but this does not make them a championship contender.

Coach Franz Pumaren said this after their 74-70 triumph over the Blue Eagles nine days ago as they get ready to face the University of the East Warriors at the resumption of the tournament.

“We are still a team that’s trying to improve from our position last year,” said Pumaren as the Falcons brace for a 2 p.m. matchup with the University of the East Warriors. P. Atencio

IN BRIEF

Filipino banks seen to sustain expansion

THE Philippine banking system is expected to sustain its growth over the next decade on the back of rapidly-growing prime-age population and increasing proportion of working people, global debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service said in a report Tuesday.

Moody’s analysis was contained in the recently released report on Asia Pacific banks authored by Christine Kuo, Moody’s senior vice president.

The report covers 17 banking systems in Asia Pacific that include Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Moody’s said rapid and divergent demographic changes in Asia Pacific would lead to opportunities for some banking systems in the region and challenges for others.

“Over the next decade, of the 17 banking systems in Asia Pacific, banks in Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan, in particular, will face challenges from the effects of shrinking prime-age populations and declining proportions of working people,” Kuo said.

“By contrast, banks in India, Indonesia and the Philippines will see growth opportunities in the same period from the effects of rapidly growing prime-age populations and increasing proportions of working people,” Kuo said.

Julito G. Rada

Business

DBP extends P2b loan to army co-op STATE-RUN Development Bank of the Philippines, the eighth-largest lender in terms of assets, extended a P2-billion revolving fund to a military cooperative.

Philippine Army Finance Center Producers Integrated Cooperative is one of the largest cooperatives in the country composed mainly of members of the military.

DBP president and chief executive Cecilia Borromeo said the bank’s loan assistance to the cooperative was aimed at broadening support to small borrowers like soldiers and microentrepreneurs who wish to set up their own business or expand their operations.

“Through this P2-billion revolving credit line, PAFCPIC will be able to augment its working capital and enable it to grant more loans to its eligible borrowers,” Borromeo said in a statement.

PAFCPIC is the second-largest cooperative in Metro Manila and was founded in 1981 by employees of the Philippine Army Finance Center, an institution that handles the payroll and other financial matters of the Philippine Army.

The cooperative was initially created to support the agriculture activities of its members but has diversified into other types of lending such as salary, multi-purpose and business loans to its more than 120,000 members.

Julito G. Rada

THE sustained economic growth will enable the Philippines to join the ranks of upper middle-income economies by 2019, the government’s economic managers said Tuesday.

The economic team said strong macroeconomic fundamentals coupled with massive infrastructure spending by the Duterte administration would keep the economy robust in the face of domestic and external headwinds that threaten to stifle growth.

“The Philippine economy is strong and the growth momentum can be sustained by policy and fiscal reforms implemented by the government,” Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said during the Philippine Economic Briefing held at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

PLDT-Super 8 partnership. PLDT Enterprise, the business-to-business arm of PLDT Inc., expands its partnership with Super

8 through the delivery of Wi-Fi services in the grocery warehouse store’s chain of outlets. Under the partnership, Super 8 customers will now be able to enjoy 15 minutes of free WiFi with a speed of 100 megabits per second. Shown leading the signing of the partnership agreement are PLDT senior vice president and head of enterprise business Jovy Hernandez (second from left) and Super 8 chief executive Alvin Lim (third from left).

Alliance Global investing P240b in next three years

By Jenniffer B. Austria

C

ONGLOMERATE Alliance Global Group Inc., the holding company of billionaire Andrew Tan, earmarked P240 billion in capital expenditures for the next three years, as it accelerates the expansion of its property, liquor, gaming and leisure and infrastructure businesses.

Alliance Global chief executive Kevin Tan said during the annual stockholders meeting that the programmed capital spending would sustain the growth of the company as it continued to see opportunities amid current market conditions.

“We are mindful of the current domestic and global economic developments, but we remain cognizant of the vast opportunities in the market; hence, our continued aggressive capital spending,” Tan said.

Tan said bulk of the P240 billion programmed spending would be allotted for property unit Megaworld Corp. and leisure and gaming arm Travellers International Holdings Group Inc. Megaworld is looking to expand its office and mall gross leasable space to 2 million square meters by 2020 to boost its rental income to P20 billon.

Megaworld is also building a portfolio of 12,000 hotel rooms over the next three to five years.

Travellers International is currently completing phase 3 of Resorts World Manila, which would have three new hotels―Hilton Manila, Sheraton Manila Hotel and Hotel Okura Manila.

It will also add 14,000 square meters of gaming space, doubling Resorts World Manila’s gaming capacity.

“We expect the infrastructure program to hit a stride in the coming months,” Dominguez said.

National Economic and Development Authority director-general Ernesto Pernia said an upward growth trajectory remained possible because the economy was more broad-based now, driven not just by consumption but also investments.

Pernia said the country could become an upper middle-income economy by 2019, adding the government was “more than on track” to meet this target.

“Government spending continues to boost economic activity,” Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said.

“Our expansionary fiscal policy is prudent, sustainable, and supportive of development objectives,” he said.

Diokno said with a robust growth

target of 7 percent to 8 percent in the next five years, the Philippine economy would be the fastest growing among the top five Asean economies. He said this would be supported by strong fiscal performance.

“The revenue effort is projected to increase from 15.7 percent in 2017 to as high as 17.6 percent in 2022,” he said.

“In nominal terms, revenue collection will rise from close to P2.5 trillion in 2017 to as much as P4.6 trillion in 2022,” Diokno said.

Government spending is expected to surge from just over P2.8 trillion in 2017 to as high as P5.4 trillion in 2022.

Diokno said with a strategy to keep the deficit at 3 percent of GDP in 2018 and eventually to 3.2 percent in 2019, the strong momentum in infrastructure spending was poised to be sustained.

Travellers International started to develop its second integrated leisure and resort development called Westside City in Entertainment City. The master plan for the project is currently being finalized and the company is looking at the soft opening of the casino by 2021.

Meanwhile, Golden Arches Development Corp., which owns the local franchise for McDonalds in the Philippines, is putting up more stores as it aims to have 1,000 stores over the next few years.

Tan said liquor unit Emperador was looking to further expand its portfolio of domestic and international liquor brands through more product introductions. Emperador also aims to intensify its global presence, using Whyte and Mackay’s route-to-market network in 102 countries, targeting mainly the markets in Asia, North America, United Kingdom, Europe and the Middle East.

Tan said the bulk of programmed expenditures would be funded internally.

THE Department of Transportation said Tuesday San Miguel Holdings Corp., the infrastructure arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., submitted a revised contract for the P735-billion New Manila International Airport project in Bulacan province.

“San Miguel submitted the revised concession agreement [on Monday].

It’s now under review. As soon we are able to agree on the terms and conditions of the concession agreement, the same document will be submitted to Neda ICC [National Economic and Development Authority-Investment Coordination Committee],” Transportation Undersecretary Ruben Reinoso told reporters.

“Simultaneously, we are now preparing for the Swiss Challenge , which means we are drafting the terms and reference and minimum performance standards and specifications, the bid

B1

parameters and the risk allocations matrix which will form part of the tender documents for the Swiss Challenge and we hope to complete it before the end of the year,” he said.

Reinoso said the government aimed to grant final approval and award the contract by end of 2018 or early next year.

The project, which was approved by the National Economic and Development Authority chaired by President Rodrigo Duterte in April, involves the construction of a world-class, major international gateway with four to six parallel runways, modern terminals, a sea port and an industrial zone.

San Miguel proposed to build the massive airport complex on a 2,500-hectare property in Bulakan, Bulacan―just 27 kilometers away from Ninoy Aquino International Airport, or 45 minutes from any point in Metro Manila via multiple expressways.

THE Philippines remains an attractive destination for global outsourcing companies because of the country’s affordable office space market, property consultant and advisor Santos Knight Frank said Tuesday.

“There seems to be no jitters from the BPO companies. The Philippines fits into the three major qualifications BPOs are looking for―ability, accessibility and affordability,” Santos Knight Frank senior director on occupier services and commercial agency Joey Radovan said.

“The cutting down on incentives may or may not happen. Nevertheless, all factors are generally lower compared to other locations. Many BPOs are expecting this already,” said Santos Knight Frank senior director for research and consultancy Jan Custodio.

Santos Knight Frank said recent major transactions proved that BPOs continued to invest heavily in the Philippines.

Santos Knight Frank recently brokered between JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Megaworld Corp. for a long-term lease of 70,000 square meters of office space in Bonifacio Global City. It is by far the largest single office lease transaction in the Philippine real estate history in terms of value and size, the company said.

Santos Knight Frank predicted that the popular hubs outside Metro Manila such as Cebu, Clark, Davao, Bacolod and Iloilo would continue to benefit from BPO expansions.

The next wave of expansions in the next three to five years is expected to happen in the 80-kilometer corridor from Metro Manila going to North of Pampanga as new infrastructure projects connect the cities of Bulacan and Pampanga, making these places accessible to the BPO leadership based in Metro Manila.

Meanwhile, Leechiu Property Consultant said net office take-up breached the 1-million mark as of September, indicating the continued strong demand from both BPO companies and online gaming firms.

LPC chief executive David Leechiu said in a news briefing that Metro Manila accounted for 74 percent of total office take-up at 799,653 sqm, exceeding the 2017 full-year office take-up of 744,957 sqm. For the whole year of 2017, LPC expects Metro Manila office take-up to reach 950,000 sqm.

BCDA postpones Clark airport O&M bidding to mid-October STATE-RUN Bases Conversion and Development Authority said it moved the bid submission for the 25-year operation and maintenance contract of Clark International Airport in Pampanga province to the middle of October from the original schedule of July 20.

“The bidders asked an extension. I think we’re extending to around midOctober,” BCDA president and chief executive Vivencio Dizon said.

BCDA earlier said Megawide-GMR Consortium, Metro Pacific Investment Corp., Filinvest Development Corp., San Miguel Holdings Corp., Prime Assets Venture, Central Luzon Infrastructure Consultancy Inc. Consortium, GVK Airport Developers Ltd., AirAsia

and Groupe ADP purchased bid documents for the 25-year contract to operate and maintain the airport.

Megawide-GMR earlier won the bidding for the construction of a new passenger terminal in Clark Airport, when it submitted the lowest financial proposal of P9.36 billion on Dec. 14 last year.

Clark International Airport’s new terminal building is envisioned to accommodate an additional 8 million passengers per annum. The expansion project also involves the construction and installation of all required associated facilities―both landside and airside to support operations of the new terminal.

Darwin G. Amojelar

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

San Miguel revises Bulacan airport contract

By Darwin G. Amojelar

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

By Othel V. Campos

PH set to become upper middle-income economy by 2019

By Julito G. Rada

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

BPO companies remain bullish, invest in offices

Hyundai’s car sales fell 8.7% in August HYUNDAI Asia Resources Inc., the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, said vehicle sales dipped 8.7 percent in August to 2,987 units from 3,273 units it delivered in the same month last year.

Hari president and chief executive Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo said the eight-month sales also declined 8.3 percent to 22,223 units from 24,233 units a year ago, as the company continued to surmount challenges amid the difficulties surrounding the automotive sector.

“Even with the conservative economic outlook, Hyundai has proven itself to endure the odds. Backed by a strong community of Hyundai users in the country, we have proven time and again that our products and services remain relevant in the automotive industry,” she said.

The company expects its new model―Hyundai Kona―to renew consumers optimism in purchasing new and better subcompact SUV. The passenger car segment continued to be the growth driver of the brand, accounting for two-thirds of total vehicle sales, or 13,935 units in the first eight months. Accent remained a topseller among the passenger cars in the industry. Othel V. Campos

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

Tuesday, September 18, 2018

LNG JOINT VENTURE.

Officials of Lloyds Energy meets with Philippine National Oil Company president and chief executive Reuben Lista (center) to express Lloyds Energy’s interest in pursuing the development of the LNG industry in the Philippines. Shown with Lista are (from left) Lloyds Energy chief operating officer David Howe and executive director Brett Wight.

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

54.2070

Japan

Yen

0.008942

0.4847

UK

Pound

1.316100

71.3418

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127483

6.9105

Switzerland

Franc

1.039069

56.3248

Canada

Dollar

0.766754

41.5634

Singapore

Dollar

0.729022

39.5181

Australia

Dollar

0.718000

38.9206

Bahrain

Dinar

2.653928

143.8615

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266645

14.4540

Brunei

Dollar

0.726375

39.3746

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000067

0.0036

Thailand

Baht

0.030647

1.6613

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

14.7590

Euro

Euro

1.168400

63.3355

Korea

Won

0.000889

0.0482

China

Yuan

0.145873

7.9073

India

Rupee

0.013787

0.7474

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.241721

13.1030

New Zealand

Dollar

0.657600

35.6465

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032475

1.7604

Source: PDS Bridge

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market slumps; Robinsons up

S

TOCKS slumped Tuesday, following reports Typhoon Ompong destroyed more than P14 billion worth of crops in Luzon which could further tighten food supply and lift prices.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, dropped 127 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 7,286.34 Tuesday, the lowest in more than two months. It was also down 14.9 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also tumbled 61 points, or 1.4 percent, to settle at 4,488.71, on a value turnover of P6.6 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 155 to 50, while 35

issues were unchanged.

Four of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Vulcan Industrial & Mining which climbed 3.1 percent to P2.35 and Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. which rose 1.9 percent to P82.

Tight food prices pushed inflation rate to a nine-year high of 6.4 percent in August, something that could further increase this month in the aftermath of the world’s strongest typhoon which left dozens dead or missing and thousands of hectares of rice farms inundated in Luzon.

Meanwhile, Asian markets mostly rose Tuesday after Donald Trump said he would thump China with another round of tariffs but give some room for talks before jacking them up to the highest rate.

The latest volley from the White House will see $200 billion worth of goods taxed at 10 percent from Sept. 24, going up to 25 percent from Jan. 1 if the

sides are unable to hammer out a deal.

Trump also warned that another $267 billion had been lined up if Beijing retaliates. China on Tuesday warned it would “take countermeasures” after the latest threats.

With $50 billion of goods already being hit, that would mean Washington will have subjected virtually all goods China ships to the US to tariffs.

However, after an early sell-off, regional markets enjoyed a bounce on hopes officials from the world’s top two economies will be able to thrash out an agreement before the end of the year.

The optimism has been boosted by the fact Trump left off some key items from the latest target list, while he is also due to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in November and will likely want a deal in place.

“While the US tariffs salvo is hardly middling, it’s not as bad as it could have

been, so unless China hits with draconian measures, markets should remain supported after this morning’s knee-jerk reactions,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at Oanda.

“Ultimately the graduated tariff hike allows more room to negotiate before the thumping 25 percent levy gets triggered, so perhaps China may temper their response accordingly,” Innes said.

By the end of the day Shanghai had rallied 1.8 percent and Tokyo was up 1.4 percent while Hong Kong gained 0.6 percent in the afternoon. Seoul gained 0.3 percent and Wellington put on 0.5 percent.

However, Sydney dipped 0.4 percent and Singapore 0.1 percent.

“There’s still time and room for China and US to engage in negotiations,” Zhang Gang, Shanghai-based strategist with Central China Securities, told Bloomberg News. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2018

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 59.8 9,290 82.1 4,803,750 2.4 23,000 112 3,496,120 1.5 138,000 30.1 98,900 16.4 200 12.66 175,600 4.29 117,000 1.51 68,000 825 100 0.55 145,000 66 5,412,100 1.01 716,000 11.58 200 43.9 323,800 190 550 84.05 100 26.05 173,400 175 1,078,750 1,816 30 68 30,380 1.18 22,000

555,538 395,034,595 53,300 392,105,813 203,980 2,978,220 3,284 2,225,616 496,570 103,940 82,500 77,090 360,097,498 723,520 2,316 14,351,455 104,500 8,405 4,560,030 188,696,256 54,480 2,053,237 25,940

327,712 -203,579,370 -97,760,118 -376,260 -269,932 -86,000 -208,299,700.50 203,000 26,915 19,000 -2,185,090 -9,848,415 -161,475 -

35.9 17.74 1.16 1.16 0.214 102.6 3.01 13.1 31.45 17.4 72.25 1.7 7.36 9.98 15.44 8.88 6.97 7.05 16.72 64.75 28.3 7.08 11.18 1.96 265.2 4.84 3.24 23.45 11.58 16.64 362 6.44 1.83 3.96 8.78 5.05 8.5 1 10.86 53.05 5.8 4.8 2.27 2.95 1.38 12.2 92 5.66 0.125 1.01 141.8 2 2.28

INDUSTRIAL 35.9 1,917,500 18.08 2,294,000 1.19 49,114,000 1.16 520,000 0.219 3,170,000 112 290 3.02 1,739,000 13.18 36,400 31.45 506,900 18 4,100 72.25 10 1.76 220,000 7.36 2,700 10 10,036,500 15.5 121,100 9.1 14,600 7.03 465,300 7.05 3,206,100 17.1 1,015,600 65 2,845,120 28.3 30,800 7.09 84,200 11.4 1,491,600 2 899,000 272 692,650 4.84 223,000 3.24 4,000 23.5 172,200 11.68 173,400 16.8 74,000 365.6 201,850 6.44 8,700 1.83 46,000 4.15 394,000 8.87 942,400 5.08 121,800 8.5 43,000 1.01 713,000 10.86 4,100 53.5 545,140 5.8 270,200 4.85 7,000 2.58 1,611,000 2.95 39,000 1.48 1,041,000 12.2 90,600 95.5 637,970 5.75 19,500 0.125 50,000 1.03 71,000 143 809,800 2.07 3,209,000 2.35 43,812,000

69,788,935 41,213,666 60,179,220 606,060 685,940 30,551 5,271,780 480,160 16,162,655 75,200 722.5 380,530 19,872 100,446,104 1,881,004 131,178 3,267,248 22,631,877 17,216,780 184,931,168 872,525 596,890 17,034,608 1,781,340 185,698,000 1,079,590 12,960 4,046,920 2,026,358 1,242,244 73,622,306 56,235 84,880 1,634,000 8,331,173 619,667 365,500 720,120 44,614 29,175,054 1,569,670 33,900 4,019,250 116,590 1,558,900 1,110,334 60,325,880 110,949 6,270 71,790 115,757,507 6,536,340 104,564,400

-7,225,915 8,596,158.00 645,120 248,660 -66,680 -14,454,212.00 1,790,928 -14,460 -2,555,938 4,196,938 1,753,726 4,185,479 7,108,988 -26,000 -17,765,270 2,380,610 -1,060,556 -263,636 10,982,568 -66,500 156,349.00 -7,500,884.50 -929,170 9,700 -139,690 156,308 266,476.50 -16,424 25,868,315 272,950.00 1,282,480

0.4 48.3 12.7 0.94 1.36 1.34 908 5.86 12.66 7.1 0.206 834 5.71 53.65 0.6 4.95 15.96 0.63 5.33 0.042 1.23 2.6 170.8 2.59 922 1.39 366 280 0.315

0.385 45.75 12.32 0.89 1.31 1.31 901 5.7 11.96 7 0.205 814 5.71 51.65 0.58 4.75 15.52 0.61 5.13 0.039 1.2 2.56 165 2.59 890 1.35 348 274 0.29

HOLDING FIRMS 0.395 17,210,000 46.3 2,523,600 12.36 2,597,700 0.93 16,000 1.33 4,970,000 1.33 2,861,000 905 433,720 5.74 809,500 12.66 6,272,800 7.1 76,800 0.205 100,000 818 33,150 5.71 1,400 52.3 631,130 0.6 345,000 4.86 247,000 15.68 1,686,300 0.61 2,690,000 5.18 19,248,800 0.039 44,100,000 1.22 180,000 2.59 237,000 167.2 359,040 2.59 5,000 891 444,500 1.36 185,000 348 370 280 1,730 0.3 17,920,000

6,719,250 117,699,385 32,428,756 14,530 6,597,030 3,784,110 392,536,270 4,651,708 77,015,258 537,800 20,510 27,209,080 7,994 33,144,836.50 200,740 1,195,570 26,427,860 1,656,360 100,328,043 1,759,200 216,430 614,560 59,799,848 12,950 400,570,285 252,070 130,030 480,252 5,341,400

11,550 7,673,965 817,728 159,630 27,813,125 -221,242 23,706,832 -4,553,495 -2,679,619.50 260 6,319,696 31,532,187 24,600 44,110 -5,044,699 -47,245,475 6,450

7.5 0.93 2.1 0.71 41.55 2.9 4.38 0.445 0.91 0.232 0.405 8.85 22.65 0.57 0.118 1.45 1.17 2.44 4.3 0.68 0.45 0.46 4.2 36 20.45 1.95 3.19 37 1.17 7.13

7.26 0.86 2.04 0.7 40.05 2.85 4.28 0.435 0.91 0.218 0.39 8.67 20.8 0.55 0.11 1.41 1.14 2.3 4.12 0.65 0.435 0.44 4.02 29.3 19.96 1.89 3.19 36.5 1.12 6.93

216,195 11,848,400 12,480 203,640 478,893,805 13,449,300 7,821,710 1,647,600 12,503,400 3,220,280 925,000 3,034,344 10,248,065 4,970 212,750 4,685,730 1,823,840 40,410,240 78,139,830 19,820,990 1,497,500 1,904,950 4,627,660 77,970 44,347,219 2,437,920 15,950 263,555,195 438,150 5,082,586

-129,500 18,400 -28,342,885 -1,745,160 217,500.00 26,400 -1,679,105.00 -578,850 -1,273,860 -34,920,550 182,940 -96,800 -58,290.00 -9,000 -12,221,551 859,160 6,546,830 55,370.00 -133,337

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

60 85.6 2.32 115 1.48 30.25 16.44 12.7 4.28 1.55 825 0.53 69 1.03 11.58 44.95 190 84.05 26.8 176 1,816 67.5 1.17

60 85.65 2.4 115.1 1.5 30.9 16.44 12.8 4.36 1.55 825 0.55 69.05 1.03 11.58 44.95 190 84.05 26.8 176 1,816 68 1.18

59 80.65 2.3 111.8 1.46 30 16.4 12.6 4.15 1.51 825 0.53 65.4 0.99 11.58 43.9 190 84.05 26.05 172.6 1,816 67.45 1.17

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

36.95 17.74 1.28 1.22 0.217 102.7 3.08 13.1 32.5 18.9 72.25 1.78 7.36 10.1 15.5 9.2 7.08 7.06 16.72 64.95 28.3 7.12 12 2.02 274.8 4.85 3.24 23.55 12 16.8 369 6.5 1.9 4.12 8.95 5.1 8.5 1.01 11.3 53.45 5.85 4.8 2.44 3.01 1.56 12.3 95.85 5.77 0.126 1.01 145 2.05 2.3

36.95 18.08 1.3 1.22 0.219 112 3.09 13.2 32.85 18.9 72.25 1.78 7.36 10.1 15.6 9.2 7.09 7.07 17.1 65.05 29 7.12 12 2.05 274.8 4.96 3.24 23.6 12 17 371.8 6.5 1.9 4.26 8.95 5.12 8.5 1.01 11.3 53.95 5.9 4.85 2.59 3.01 1.57 12.5 95.85 5.77 0.126 1.03 145 2.08 2.46

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

0.385 47.2 12.44 0.89 1.34 1.34 906 5.72 11.96 7 0.206 822 5.71 53 0.6 4.75 15.96 0.63 5.29 0.041 1.23 2.6 170 2.59 921.5 1.39 366 274 0.315

8990 HLDG A BROWN ARANETA PROP ARTHALAND CORP AYALA LAND BELLE CORP CEB LANDMASTERS CENTURY PROP CITYLAND DEVT CROWN EQUITIES CYBER BAY DM WENCESLAO DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST EVER GOTESCO FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE IRC PROP MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP PTFC REDEV CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS

7.5 0.92 2.1 0.7 41.4 2.89 4.38 0.44 0.91 0.218 0.405 8.82 22.65 0.55 0.11 1.45 1.16 2.42 4.3 0.67 0.45 0.46 4.02 29.3 20.1 1.95 3.19 36.85 1.15 7.1

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

0.8 6.3

0.8 6.3

0.79 6.23

0.79 6.3

28,000 2,810,400

22,370 17,690,845

-13,304,405

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

12.2 20.65 1.49 0.48 0.046 13.5 2.03 8.5 0.061 72.5 6.07 8.4 2.36 20 2,220 5.4 315 11.32 2.64 2.03 94 13.34 7.81 0.116 2.86 3.4 14.98 3.7 0.97 17.1 0.43 6.06 7.04 2.7 1.73 1.75 16.36 7.45 11 8.8 3.49 103 4.76 1,412 0.94 0.445 45 81 7.71 2.25 0.66 0.56 5.16 0.76 10.54

12.46 21.35 1.49 0.48 0.047 13.5 2.26 8.5 0.062 72.75 6.42 8.54 2.36 20 2,228 5.43 315 11.32 2.64 2.03 94 13.34 7.81 0.116 2.94 3.62 14.98 3.7 0.97 17.1 0.43 6.08 7.04 2.7 1.73 1.77 16.36 7.46 11 8.9 3.49 103 4.8 1,425 0.96 0.45 45 82 8.14 2.26 0.68 0.56 5.16 0.76 10.78

12 20.65 1.4 0.47 0.044 13.5 1.95 8.02 0.061 71.75 6.07 8.4 2.34 19.1 2,190 5.35 303.6 11.32 2.4 2.03 92.5 13 7.51 0.113 2.82 3.4 14.32 3.65 0.92 16.34 0.43 5.8 7.02 2.6 1.59 1.52 16.36 7.11 10.98 8.8 3.49 103 4.65 1,410 0.91 0.415 44.05 77.5 7.7 2.12 0.63 0.5 5.12 0.69 10.38

SERVICES 12 20.75 1.4 0.475 0.046 13.5 1.99 8.12 0.061 72 6.08 8.54 2.34 19.1 2,222 5.37 315 11.32 2.4 2.03 93.5 13 7.81 0.114 2.85 3.62 14.34 3.66 0.95 16.62 0.43 5.9 7.03 2.62 1.7 1.77 16.36 7.18 11 8.8 3.49 103 4.75 1,410 0.92 0.42 44.25 82 8.07 2.18 0.64 0.5 5.16 0.69 10.4

48,600 410,900 35,000 5,180,000 99,300,000 5,000 20,054,000 8,120,900 13,000,000 83,220 2,726,800 147,500 6,000 53,800 104,560 211,900 3,000 400 4,928,000 10,000 1,962,350 12,000 13,400 2,170,000 1,594,000 7,000 6,700 724,000 311,000 708,500 220,000 256,500 14,381,500 65,000 25,000 42,000 100 2,353,000 18,600 1,800 1,000 100 581,000 76,855 30,222,000 26,860,000 173,600 1,574,640 97,800 11,146,000 7,924,000 75,033,000 411,900 7,087,000 3,879,800

587,618 8,538,505 50,550 2,466,200 4,540,600 67,500 41,394,450 66,054,574 793,400 5,987,197.50 17,014,817 1,259,110 14,090 1,040,936 231,799,310 1,140,913 934,622 4,528 12,203,170 20,300 183,468,370.50 159,570 104,354 248,020 4,573,540 24,280 96,280 2,659,280 293,980 11,767,720 94,600 1,509,392 101,108,876 170,460 40,940 68,210 1,636 16,970,196 204,590 15,860 3,490 10,300 2,758,580 108,875,530 28,176,520 11,623,800 7,685,245 123,140,723 755,171 24,355,630 5,116,950 39,041,050 2,113,729 5,101,370 40,533,188

24,200 -62,400 48,400 67,500 3,588,060.00 -15,206,328 -4,801,825 -4,397,224 -11,460 191,352,140 713,150 4,894,840 -216,090 -513,980 747,636 -614,230 35,158,599 -10,470 581,811 -352,630 36,395,605 876,470 621,750 -1,330,015 -5,941,561 -748,440 -1,386,140 -459,700 -51,000 -318,070 -1,196,872

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

0.0024 1.57 18.2 1.15 1.11 1.93 0.295 7.35 1.94 0.209 0.12 0.126 1.3 4.6 1.12 0.7 1.39 0.013 0.011 4.4 3.83 15.88 28.6 0.007

0.0025 1.57 18.2 1.15 1.25 1.94 0.3 7.35 1.94 0.21 0.12 0.126 1.3 4.7 1.12 0.71 1.43 0.013 0.012 4.4 3.84 15.9 28.6 0.007

0.0024 1.52 17 1.15 1.1 1.92 0.295 7.21 1.91 0.203 0.118 0.122 1.29 4.48 1.06 0.67 1.22 0.012 0.011 3.86 3.74 15.4 27.6 0.0065

MINING & OIL 0.0025 36,000,000 1.52 1,380,000 17.98 20,400 1.15 15,000 1.25 73,000 1.94 599,000 0.3 160,000 7.25 3,000 1.93 2,759,000 0.203 2,250,000 0.118 5,610,000 0.122 130,000 1.29 77,000 4.49 341,000 1.1 32,000 0.69 2,157,000 1.28 10,633,000 0.013 44,900,000 0.012 313,600,000 3.99 516,000 3.76 720,000 15.68 1,162,900 27.9 1,439,700 0.0066 15,000,000

86,500 2,115,540 354,672 17,250 82,500 1,154,390 47,750 21,711 5,306,770 461,480 668,410 16,130 99,620 1,544,900 34,780 1,475,900 13,870,820 582,900 3,556,000 2,054,560 2,714,710 18,205,386 40,324,755 101,300

-50,000 39,440 10,400 318,260 200,810.00 33,000 -24,660 -1,696,600 1,080,668 -8,630,975 -

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

20 490 495.2 100.6 101 496 5.18 950 97 1.02 1,011 104 77 77.5 75 75.8 75.5

20.1 490 495.2 100.6 101 497 5.18 985 100 1.02 1,011 104 77 78.4 75 76.9 75.5

19.7 490 495 100.5 101 495 5.18 950 95 1.01 1,010 104 75 77.5 75 75 75.5

PREFERRED 19.88 56,600 490 2,000 495 7,220 100.5 25,770 101 100,000 495 3,500 5.18 20,000 985 210 99.9 37,030 1.01 12,000 1,010 20 104 20,500 75 155,560 78.4 7,730 75 61,300 75.45 137,410 75.5 81,850

1,131,712 980,000 3,574,100 2,589,936 10,100,000 1,735,500 103,600 199,850 3,574,154 12,140 20,210 2,132,000 11,668,136 602,692.50 4,597,500 10,315,188.50 6,179,675

-1,129,714 248,500 1,978,800 22,500 -53,312 -

LR WARRANT

2.39

2.4

2.37

WARRANTS 2.37 66,000

156,560

-

ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE XURPAS

7.56 2.8 2.23

7.6 2.8 2.27

7.38 2.8 2.13

7.5 2.8 2.13

11,718,021 42,000 2,866,730

-142,690 -322,890

FIRST METRO ETF

111.5

111.5

109.5

3,314,061

38,775

USD DMPL A1 USD TECH B2

10.08 1

10.08 1

10.04 1

182,500.80 100

-

MS

PROPERTY 7.4 0.87 2.1 0.71 40.5 2.86 4.38 0.435 0.91 0.231 0.39 8.67 21.1 0.57 0.11 1.42 1.16 2.37 4.13 0.67 0.435 0.44 4.14 33 19.96 1.95 3.19 36.5 1.16 6.95

29,200 13,315,000 6,000 290,000 11,743,000 4,702,000 1,804,000 3,750,000 13,740,000 14,130,000 2,330,000 346,500 466,200 9,000 1,930,000 3,287,000 1,573,000 16,982,000 18,654,000 29,605,000 3,420,000 4,260,000 1,133,000 2,300 2,216,400 1,279,000 5,000 7,170,900 384,000 726,000

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

19,102,727

INDUSTRIAL

136,739,913

HOLDING FIRMS

126,681,132

PROPERTY

162,233,568

SERVICES

347,637,135

MINING & OIL

439,599,975

GRAND TOTAL

1,234,933,841

SME

1,567,500 15,000 1,326,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 109.5 30,090 DDS 10.08 1

18,110 100

VALUE 1,603.07 (down) 46.15 1,412,293,875.15 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,944.64 (down) 126.89 1,289,610,219.088 HOLDING FIRMS 7,101.53 (down) 102.95 1,339,521,570.74 PROPERTY 3,651.27 (down) 76.10 SERVICES 1,509.19 (down) 7.55 1,037,041,242.115 MINING & OIL 9,356.64 (down0 200.63 1,402,667,777.42 PSEI 7,286.34 (down) 127.22 94,924,035.6402 All Shares Index 4,488.71 (down) 61.29 6,594,003,481.90 Gainers: 50; Losers: 155; Unchanged: 35; Total: 240

Lloyds Energy, Chinese firm eyeing LNG deal with PNOC

By Alena Mae S. Flores DUBAI-BASED Lloyds Energy and China Kaicheng Energy Ltd. plan to bid for the joint venture contract with state-run Philippine National Oil Co. to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Batangas province.

PNOC is set to launch the solicited, competitive tender to select the joint venture partner for the 3,000-metric-ton LNG terminal this month.

Officials of Lloyds Energy including chief operating officer David Howe and executive director Brett Wight met with PNOC president and chief executive Reuben Lista to express Lloyds Energy’s interest in pursuing major projects to develop the LNG industry in the Philippines.

“We believe in the vision of the PNOC under the leadership of president Lista to invest not only in the development and construction of LNG facilities but also in the training of Filipino workers to improve their skills and abilities and contribute in the growth of the LNG industry in the Philippines” said Wight.

Lloyds Energy, together with China Kaicheng Energy, have an existing proposal for the development and construction of an integrated LNG hub with storage, liquefaction, regasification and distribution facility and a power plant with a capacity of 200 to 800 megawatts.

Lloyds Energy said it would also pursue other projects with PNOC particularly in the development of LNG facilities, oil reserves and the training of Filipino manpower.

Lloyds Energy also met with Energy officials to discuss their proposal. “The development of the LNG hub in the Philippines is a major achievement that would ensure the country’s gas supply and address the demand for increased energy given the high growth economy,” Howe said earlier.

Lloyds Energy is a Dubai-based company established in 2013 with the strategic aim of delivering LNG to the global market.

It has grown rapidly by establishing strong international alliances with LNG companies, off takers and major engineering groups specializing in LNG.

PetroSolar gets BoI incentives for Tarlac plant THE Board of Investment awarded a certificate of registration to PetroSolar Corp.’s 20-megawatt Tarlac-2 Solar Power Project in Central Technopark, Tarlac City.

PetroSolar, a joint venture of PetroGreen Energy Corp. and EEI Power Corp., owns and operates the existing 50-MW Tarlac-1 solar plant which started commercial operations in February 2016 as one of the early qualifiers in the government’s solar feed-in-tariff program.

PGEC is the renewable energy holding unit of publicly-listed PetroEnergy Resources Corp.

The BoI awarded the certificate of registration to the Tarlac 2 project of PetroSolar on Sept. 17.

“With BoI’s award of the incentives registration for our Tarlac -2 project, PetroSolar is closer to securing the confirmation of commerciality from the Department of Energy needed for project construction to begin. We are excited by this new investment which will see our solar asset increase in capacity from 50 MW to 70 MW,” PetroSolar president Milagros Reyes said in a statement.

PGEC also owns and operates with other partners and operating units the 32-MW Maibarara geothermal project in Batangas and the 36-MW Nabas wind farm in Aklan.

“Despite the current regulatory and market uncertainties, PGEC is pushing through with its calibrated expansion of renewable energy assets in key locations to reach our goal of about 200 MW to 400 MW installed capacity in two to four years’ time,” PGEC vice president and chief operating officer Francisco Delfin Jr. said.

Delfin earlier said PetroSolar was already evaluating the engineering, procurement and construction contractors for the project.

He said PERC through PEGC was also pursuing the expansion of the 36-MW Nabas wind project in Aklan by another 14 MW. Alena Mae S. Flores

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

World

Manila

Standard

TODAY

B3

Myanmar urged to get its army out of politics

IN BRIEF Moon in Pyongyang for summit

SEOUL―South Korea’s president and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un drove together through the streets of Pyongyang Tuesday past thousands of cheering citizens before opening a summit where Moon Jae-in will seek to reboot the stalled denuclearization talks between his hosts and the United States.

Kim and Moon embraced at Pyongyang’s international airport―where the North Korean leader had supervised missile launches last year as the tensions mounted.

The North’s unique brand of choreographed mass adulation was on full display as hundreds of people waved North Korean flags and another depicting an undivided peninsula―while the South’s own emblem was only visible on Moon’s Boeing 747 aircraft.

Thousands of residents, holding bouquets and chanting in unison “Reunification of the country!”, lined the streets as Kim and Moon rode through the city in an open-topped vehicle, passing the Kumsusan Palace where Kim’s predecessors―his father and grandfather―lie in state. AFP

ARRIVAL. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in wave to Pyongyang citizens from an opentop vehicle as they drive through Pyongyang on September 18, 2018. South Korea’s president and the North’s leader Kim Jong Un drove through the streets of Pyongyang together past thousands of cheering citizens ahead of a summit where Moon Jae-in will seek to reboot the stalled denuclearisation talks between North Korea and the United States. AFP PHOTO / Pyeongyang Press Corps

US teen shot 16 times for ignoring the police C

Strawberry saboteur evades capture

SYDNEY―Australian police on Tuesday admitted they still don’t know who has been putting sewing needles in supermarket strawberries, but warned perpetrators behind the nationwide scare face a decade in jail.

As the number of reported attacks ballooned and suspected copycat attacks were reported―with one apple and one banana contaminated in the Sydney area―police issued a warning about the seriousness of the crime.

It “is a serious offense which carries ten years jail,” warned New South Wales Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty, who described the fruit contamination as an act of “treachery.”

Police now say there have been 20 reported cases of needles or pins being found in strawberries in New South Wales alone, a dramatic leap from the half dozen first reported countrywide.

“We still haven’t any confirmed motivation or reasons why a person would want to do this,” said Doherty. “We haven’t any confirmed demands.

“Who puts needles and pins into strawberries, knowing that’s going to go to families and young kids? There’s some issues there, obviously.”

The scare has prompted supermarket recalls and for some stores in New Zealand to temporarily ban the sale of Australian strawberries wholesale.

No significant injuries have been reported. AFP

HICAGO―A white Chicago policeman shot a black teen 16 times simply for having the “audacity” to ignore police, prosecutors said Monday, as the opening arguments began in his politicallycharged murder trial.

Attorneys on both sides set out their cases in a courtroom packed with media, as well as supporters and the family of both officer Jason Van Dyke and Laquan McDonald.

The 17-year-old’s 2014 killing has become emblematic of decades of documented police abuse in the Midwestern city, which has been on edge over the concerns that violence could break out if Van Dyke is acquitted.

Lead prosecutor Joe McMahon, detailing a case heavily dependent on police dash-cam video, said Van Dyke unlawfully shot McDonald “not once, but twice, three, four, five, six, seven, eight―and we’re only halfway done― nine, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 times.”

“Not a single shot was necessary or justified,” he said.

Van Dyke simply saw “a black boy, walking down the street... and having the audacity to ignore the police.”

McDonald’s family looked on expressionless as the video of the shooting was played for the jury.

It showed Van Dyke firing at McDonald, who appeared to have been walking away from officers when shot. Van Dyke kept firing even after the teen collapsed.

None of the other nine officers at the scene fired their weapons.

Officials did not release the video footage for a year after the shooting, finally making it public only after a judge compelled them.

Protesters demonstrated for months, alleging a cover-up and demanding resignations. Chicago’s then-police chief and top prosecutor both lost their jobs.

Van Dyke’s attorney Daniel Herbert countered with a portrait of McDonald as a dangerous criminal, high on the hallucinogenic drug PCP, who had threatened members of the public during a “wild rampage.”

“The government wants you to look at just the videotape,” Herbert told the jury. “We’re going to show you the context, because it’s important in this case.”

The defense questioned McDonald’s state of mind, invoking a sense of escalating threat on the night officers trailed him following a 911 call over an attempted burglary at a parking lot.

Van Dyke’s lawyers argued that he fired because the teen suddenly began heading toward restaurants filled with people.

“Jason Van Dyke had a reason to believe that Laquan McDonald was going to hurt somebody,” Herbert said. AFP

Republic of the Philippines Department of Education REGION IV-A CALABARZON Gate 2, Karangalan Village, Cainta, Rizal

Republic of the Philippines LEYTE METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT LMWD Compound, Brgy. 74, Nulatula, Tacloban City Contact Nos.: 321-8006/832-5736/321-2480/325-1197 Website: www. lmwd.gov.ph E-mail Add: lmwd.ogm@yahoo.com/ pr@lmwd.gov.ph

INVITATION TO BID BOARD AND LODGING FOR THE WORKSHOP ON THE FINALIZATION OF PHYSICAL FITNESS (PFT) MANUAL WITH REGIONAL & DIVISION SUPERVISORS 1,

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARlON, through the Bureau of Curriculum Development fund intends to apply the sum of One Million Three Hundred Twenty Thousand Pesos Only (Php 1,320,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Procurement of Board & Lodging for the Workshop on the Finalization of Physical Fitness (PFT) Manual with Regional & Division Supervisors. Bids received in excess of the ABC per lot shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Lot I Date of activity

Estimated No. of Pax

Approved Budget

October 10-12,2018

220

Php 1,320,000.00

The DepEO Region IV-A CALABARlON now invites bids for the Procurement of Board & Lodging for the Workshop on the Finalization of Physical Fitness (PFT) Manual with Regional & Division SupeTVisors. Delivery of the Services is expected for the Contrad duration. Bidders should have completed, within five (5) years from the date ot submission and receipt of bids, a contrad similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders. Only bidders from the division of Rizal are encouraged to participate.

2.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. (i)

3.

NOTICE OF MOTU PROPRIO INITIATION OF A PRELIMINARY SAFEGUARD MEASURES INVESTIGATION ON THE IMPORTATION OF CEMENT FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES (SG CASE NO. 01-2018) Notice is hereby given that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) shall initiate, motu proprio, a preliminary investigation to determine whether increased imports of cement is causing or threatening to cause serious injury to the domestic industry. The cement covered by the Investigation is classified under AHTN Codes 2523.2990 and 2523.9000. The period covered by the investigation (POI) are the years 2013 to 2017.

Pursuant to Section 6 of the Safeguard Measures Act (RA 8800), “x x x the Secretary may, motu proprio, initiate a preliminary safeguard investigation, if there is evidence that increased imports of the product under consideration are a substantial cause of, or are threatening to substantially cause, serious injury to the domestic industry.”

A review of evidence made available to DTI shows: 1. that the volume of cement imports • in absolute terms, increased continuously from 2013 to 2017 the period of investigation (POI); • the increases compared with the previous years are; in 2014 - 70%, in 2015 - 4,391%, in 2016 - 549%, in 2017 - 72%.

• in relative terms, the share of imports also increased during the POI, from 0.02% 2013 to 15% in 2017.

2.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships. or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183.

Interested bidders may obtain further intormation from DepED Region IV-A CALABARlON (BAC Secretariat) and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hour at 8:0Dam to 5:00pm Monday to Friday.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on September 6, 2018 from the address below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (Php5,000.00) Only.

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

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

4.

5.

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on September 20, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. to be held at the Bulwagan ng Karangalan, DepEd IV-A, Cainta, Rizal which shall be open to prospective bidders.

2

Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat at the address below on or before October 20,2018 at 10:00 a.m.. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bid opening shall be on October 8, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. at the Bulwagan ng Karangalan. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted .

6.

The DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON reserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder ‘or bidders.

7.

For further information, please refer to:

3.

that the domestic industry has suffered serious injury caused by increased imports based on the following: • during the POI, despite significant increases in market size, the market share of domestic manufacturers declined; • from having a small share in the domestic market from 2013 to 2015, the share of imported cement grew to 8% and 13%, in 2016 and 2017, respectively; • while the domestic industry’s sales revenues increased from 2013 to 2016, it went down by P11.1 billion in 2017, a decline of 12% over the previous year; • as earnings before interest and taxes increased from 2013 to 2016 by 6%, 15%, and 8%, respectively the industry experienced a sharp decline in earnings of 49% in 2017; • the weighted average landed cost of imports is lower than the average selling price of the domestic product indicating a price undercutting of 14%; • cement manufacturers have been forced to reduce prices by almost 10% to compete with lower-priced imported cement. that increased imports were the substantial cause of serious injury to the domestic industry based on the following: • the significant increase in the volume of imported cement preceded the serious injury to the industry in 2017; • the conditions of competition show that the market share of locally produced cement was essentially displaced during the POI as the share of imports in the domestic market significantly increased.

Further, Rule 5.2 of the Implementing Rules and ReguIations (IRR) of RA 8800 provides that “the Secretary when establishing that the appIication of a safeguard measure will be in the public interest shall take into consideration the foIlowing factors; among others: (i) whether the imposition of the provisional measure will result in political and economic crisis: and (ii) the extent to which such imposition will cause a shortage of a product under consideration in the domestic market”.

WHEREFORE, IN VIEW THEREOF, interested parties are invited to submit their comments and position on the matter including their views on whether the imposition of a safeguard measure is in the public interest. Submissions may be made to the Bureau of Import Services (BIS), Department of Trade and Industry, 3rd Floor, Tara Building, #389 Senator Gil Puyat Avenue, Makali City, within five (5) days from the date of publication of this notice.

The non-confidential report of study containing evidence or the DTI’s findings can be accessed at this link: https://www.dti.gov.ph/media/advisories/12286notice-of-motu-proprio-initiation-of-sgm-cement.

Ann Geralyn T. Pelias DepED Region IV-A CALABARZON Gate 2 Karangalan Drive, Cainta, Rizal 6477487 & 6474914 www.depedcalabarzon.ph

10 September 2018 (SGD.) ANN GERALYN T. PELIAS BAC Chairman

2

RAMON M. LOPEZ Secretary

May be deleted in case the ABC is less than One Million Pesos (PhP1,000,000.00) where the Procuring Entity may not hold a Pre-Bid Conference.

(MS-SEPT. 19, 2018)

YANGON―Myanmar’s powerful army should be removed from politics, UN investigators said Tuesday in the final version of a damning report reiterating the calls for the top generals to be prosecuted for genocide against the Rohingya Muslim minority.

A brutal military crackdown last year forced more than 700,000 Rohingya to flee over the border to Bangladesh. Demands have mounted for those who waged the campaign to face justice.

The UN’s 444-page probe is the most meticulous breakdown of the violence to date. It says the military’s top leadership should be overhauled and have no further influence over the country’s governance.

Myanmar’s military dominates the Buddhist-majority nation, holding a quarter of seats in parliament and controlling three ministries, making their grip on power firm despite political reforms which began in 2011.

But the report said the country’s civilian leadership “should further pursue the removal of the Tatmadaw from Myanmar’s political life”, referring to the nation’s armed forces.

The UN’s analysis, based on 18 months’ work and more than 850 indepth interviews, urges the international community to investigate the military top brass for genocide, including commander-in-chief Min Aung Hlaing.

Myanmar’s army has denied nearly all wrongdoing, insisting its campaign was justified to root out Rohingya insurgents who staged deadly raids on border posts in August 2017.

But the UN team said the military’s tactics had been “consistently and grossly disproportionate to actual security threats”.

The report says an estimated 10,000 people were killed in the crackdown and that was likely a conservative figure.

Investigators said the Tatmadaw should be restructured and the process should begin by replacing the current leadership.

Myanmar only recently emerged from almost a half century of military junta rule and Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically-elected government remains in a delicate power balance with the generals. AFP

Invitation to Bid for DESIGN AND BUILD OF WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM FOR “YOLANDA” NHA RESETTLEMENT SITES (TACLOBAN NORTH) TACLOBAN CITY 1.

The Leyte Metropolitan Water District, through the 2015 YOLANDA NHA Resettlement Areas and FY 2016 NDRMMC intends to apply the sum of Four Hundred Four Million Eight Hundred Thousand Pesos only (P404,800,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for Design and Build Scheme for Construction of Water Supply System for “Yolanda” NHA Resettlement Sites (Tacloban North) GS-18-005. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

The Leyte Metropolitan Water District now invites bids for the Design and Build of Water Supply System for “Yolanda” NHA Resettlement Sites (Tacloban North). Completion of the Works required is Seven Hundred Thirty (730)calendar days. The project comprises Pipelines, Valves and Appurtenances; Pumping Stations; Interconnections and Pipe Crossings; Reservoir and Water Intake Structures; Water Treatment Facilities; and other structures including Testing and Commissioning and all other related Civil Works. Bidders should be ISO certified and have completed, within ten (10) years prior to the date of submission and receipt of bids, a single largest completed contract (SLCC) similar to the Project, equivalent to at least 50% of the ABC. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II, Instructions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act.” Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, cooperatives, and partnerships or organizations with at least seventy five percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from LMWD BAC Secretariatand inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 9:00 A.M – 4:00 P.M.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested bidders on September 19, 2018from the address below, in the amount ofFifty Thousand Pesos only (P50,000.00).

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

1

6.

The Leyte Metropolitan Water Districtwill hold a Pre-Bid Conference on October 12, 2018 at 10:00 AM at Patio Victoria, San Jose, TaclobanCity, which shall beopen to prospective bidders.

7.

Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat at the address below on or before October 26, 2018 at 9:00 AM. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bid opening shall be on October 26, 2018 at 10:00 AM atPatio Victoria, San Jose, TaclobanCity.Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8.

Source of fund:2015 YOLANDA NHA Resettlement Areas and FY 2016 NDRMMC.

9.

The Leyte Metropolitan Water Districtreserves the right to reject any and all bids, declare a failure of bidding, or not award the contract at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

10. For further information, please refer to: The BAC Secretariat: Calixto C. Llaneta Jr. 09066751033 Support Staff: Joann E. Pacunla Christian Caesar F. Saldaña (SGD) Engr. Ireneo B. Petilla BAC Chairman

(MS-SEPT. 19, 2018)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

LGUs

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

B4

wednesday, september 19, 2018

LocaL government units

QC dads allow kids to help in disaster work

By Rio N. Araja THe 37-member Quezon City council has passed a measure tapping the youth and even children to help in disaster risk reduction and management program.

“Beyond the usual fire or earthquake drill, it is time we equip the youth with the knowledge, skills, and readiness that will help them reduce disaster risk in their homes, school and among classmates, friends, loved ones,” Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said.

“This is especially necessary for a young city where the average age of our citizen is 24,” she added.

City Ordinance No. 2711 or the “Children and Youth emergency and risk reduction Management Program of Quezon City” aims to teach young people that they serve “an important role in saving lives and protecting the members of the community in times of disaster.”

The city’s Disaster risk reduction and Management Office shall provide training, drills and workshops for children and youth in schools, barangays and various youth clubs.

The ordinance would also mentor young people on how they can help during rehabilitation and relief operation.

Meanwhile, police nabbed two female suspects in Quezon City in violation of the Anti-Fencing Law for selling a stolen laptop belonging to a teaching personnel of the Department of education.

Chief Supt. Joselito esquivel Jr, Quezon City Police District chief, identified the suspects as Salvacion Marco, 27, and Jellyn Gabito, 30, both from Caloocan City.

Bank turns over new buildings for two schools SeCuriTY Bank Foundation, inc. has provided relief to the situation of 7,000 students in Lucena City, Quezon and San Pablo City, Laguna who were enduring makeshift and dilapidated classrooms.

SBFi has turned over a two-story, eight-classroom school building each to Dalahican elementary School and San Pablo Central elementary School.

A total of 16 classrooms were turned over by SBFi in the two cities after it turned over 12 classrooms in Olongapo City.

Constructing classrooms for public schools is SBFi’s way of helping the government address classroom shortage under the Build a School, Build a Nation: The Classrooms Project launched in 2011.

For the past seven years, SBFi has turned over 433 classrooms in 85 public schools located in 46 cities and municipalities, providing conducive learning facilities to more than 57,000 Filipino students. recently, Build A School, Build A Nation: The Classrooms Project received an Award of Merit under the Corporate Social responsibility category from The Philippine Quill Awards, the country’s most prestigious awards program in the field of business communication.

Officers from Security Bank graced the inauguration led by SBFi chairman rafael F. Simpao Jr., SBFi trustee Melissa Aquino, Laguna Area head Jayson Lontoc, San Pablo Branch business manager Marcial Azada, Quezon Province area head Joey Tolentino and Lucena Branch business manager Flor enriquez.

NICE AND TIDY. Some of the hundreds of volunteers mobilized by the Light Rail Manila Corporation clean and help in landscaping the Liwasang Bonifacio, the historical landmark in Manila. See story below.

Makati hits 90.4% of ‘18 income goal

By Joel E. Zurbano

M

AkATi City Mayor Abigail Binay on Tuesday announced her administration has already met 90.4 percent of its P15.67-billion full-year revenue goal for 2018 after collecting P14.17 billion as of August.

“We are still in the third quarter and yet, we have already attained 90 percent of our full-year revenue target. i am pretty sure we can collect much more than the P1.5 billion remaining balance by yearend,” said Binay.

Last year, the city government met 100 percent of its P14.25 billion revenue goal by collecting P14.26 billion in just 11 months, and in December, the city got a total of P16.97 billion collection, 12 percent higher than the actual collection in 2016.

For this year, Binay attributed their accomplishment to the 3,378 new business registrants recorded by the Business Permit and Licensing Office from January to September 10. She also noted a significant increase in the number of permit renewals with 33,729 posted as of September 10, which topped by more than 900 last year’s total of 32,790 renewals.

“We are very thankful to our new investors for choosing to locate in Makati. We welcome the opportunity you have given

us to help your business thrive, knowing that the people of Makati—our beloved Makatizens—stand to benefit directly from your prosperity,” added Binay.

The city chief executive pointed out that with more income earned from tax collections, the city government can continue to invest in highly beneficial and responsive programs on public health, education and social welfare.

“By making quality public services freely accessible to everyone, we are turning the oft-repeated phrase ‘inclusive growth’ into a reality,” she said.

The latest report of Acting City Treasurer Jesusa Cuneta showed a seven percent increase in total revenues for eight months, January to August, compared with revenue collection for the same period last year.

TREE PLANTING.

RP Energy CSR officer Jason Gavina (right) and administrative officer Aiko Mito plant a seedling in the proposed Eco Tourism Park in Barangay Balaybay, Castillejos, Zambales.

Butch Gunio

‘Ompong’leaves NV with P280m in crop damages

By Ben Moses Ebreo B A Y O M B O N G — Ty p h o o n “Ompong” has left the province with an initial damage to agriculture worth more than P280 million.

Alexander Domingo, provincial agriculturist, said the partial damage report covers rice, corn, banana, fisheries and vegetables such as tomato, eggplant, cabbage, pepper, beans and squash including citrus products and a greenhouse.

“The typhoon damaged our agricultural products on their vegetative, reproductive and maturity stages resulting to a loss of 11,793 metric tons,” he said.

Domingo added that the Provincial Farm School in this town was also damaged by Ompong’s strong winds.

Gov. Carlos Padilla also expressed dismay over the typhoon damages especially to crops due to its economic impact among farmers.

He said 80 percent of the province’s population are devoted to farming which serves as a pride of Nueva Vizcaya in terms of agricultural productivity and quality produced crops.

“We expect that damage to agricultural crops will be higher than the damage brought by the typhoon to infrastructure projects,” he said.

Padilla said farmers will soon feel the brunt of typhoon damages due to loses and reduced harvests on rice, corn, vegetables and fishery products.

“This typhoon damage will truly affect our farmers’ productivity. We will however provide interventions to enable our farmers to cope up with their lamentable situation for the moment,” he said.

Bataan teaches locals in scientific, sustainable pig farming via DA

HERMOSA―About 20 locals were trained in scientific sustainable pig farming, and will be aided by the provincial government to be able to start their own livelihood.

“They will be given native pigs by the provincial government for them to grow. As part of the program, they

will return one offspring to be given to others,” said Board Member Benjie Serrano who is the Sangguniang Panlalawigan Chairman of the Committee on Agriculture.

“The beneficiaries graduated from 6-month training in sustainable pig farming,” said the board member who

Students from San Pablo Central Elementary School show their joy at receiving their new school building from Security Bank Foundation Inc.

together with Provincial Veterinarian Alberto Venturina attended the graduation program held few days ago in Barangay Pandatung, Hermosa.

The provincial veterinarian said the pigs to be distributed will come from DA regional office.

Hermosa Mayor Jopet inton has full

support to the project as he sent his representative in the graduation ceremony of his benefitting constituents.

“Local folks are truly very grateful to the training on sustainable pig farming, which happened through the leadership of Gov. Garcia,” the board member concluded. Butch Gunio

LRMC cleans up Manila’s Liwasan

iN CeLeBrATiON of its third anniversary as LrT-1 operator, the Light rail Manila Corporation has mobilized hundreds of volunteers to give back to Manileños by leading a cleanup and landscaping project at the historical landmark, Liwasang Bonifacio.

This cleanup initiative is in line with LrMC’s ikotMNL Project, which promotes and connects tourist destinations near the LrT-1 stations.

Through LrT-1’s ikotMNL, local and foreign tourists can rediscover more of intramuros, Binondo, or Quiapo, since they can take the train and have more

time to explore Manila for food, shopping, museums and parks.

LrMC is a joint venture company of Metro Pacific investments Corporation’s Metro Pacific Light rail Corporation, Ayala Corporation’s AC infrastructure Holdings Corporation (AC infra), and the Philippine investment Alliance for infrastructure’s Macquarie infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) PTe Ltd. Liwasang Bonifacio is a 700-square meter park in the heart of Manila. it is adjacent to the historical Philippine Post Office, 300 meters from LrT-1’s Central Station.

Life

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

fashion and beauty

wEdnESday, SEptEMBEr 19, 2018

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g n u Yo

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NEW DISCOVERIES. The Tommy Hilfiger fall 2018 collection for kids celebrates youthful curiosity and freedom to explore new surroundings.

aturally curious, children love to explore and discover new landscapes.

american fashion brand tommy Hilfiger celebrates youthful curiosity with its fall 2018 collection. the fall 2018 tommy Hilfiger Kids collection is a celebration of american icons. It reimagines the brand’s signature styles with an effortlessly cool edge to meet the needs of today’s generation.

Familiar wardrobe staples, including rugby shirt, puffer jacket, skirt, and dress, are reimagined in oversized silhouettes, with bold stripes and the brand’s signature red, white, and blue color palette. the collection revisits the brand’s archive, featuring seasonal statements including varsity-inspired graphics that celebrate tommy Hilfiger’s heritage. the label presents its latest collection for kids in a global

advertising campaign launched in august that embraces the freedom to be yourself and explore new surroundings.

Shot by Mark Shearwood in Camber Sands, uK, the integrated campaign features a group of friends on a journey to the seashore. tommy Hilfiger’s latest collection for kids is available at tommy Hilfiger retail stores worldwide, at tommy.com, and across select wholesale partners.

In the Philippines, Tommy Hilfiger is located at Central Square in Bonifacio High Street Central, Greenbelt 5, Kiss & Fly–NAIA Terminal 3, Newport Mall, Rustan’s Makati, Rustan’s ShangriLa, Rustan’s Cebu, and Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

The collection revisits the brand’s archive, featuring familiar wardrobe staples including rugby shirt, puffer jacket, skirt, and dress reimagined in oversized silhouettes.

FresH like GreTcHen Ho TV host and volleybal player Gretchen Ho

looKINg fresh and presentable is one of the many requirements of being a television host. thus getting enough sleep is as important as being informed of one’s topic to discuss in front of the camera.

But sometimes, when busy schedule creeps up on her, tV host and volleyball player gretchen Ho has to forego restful sleep and contend herself with only a five-hour shuteye, which she admits takes a toll on her skin. the 28-year-old sports and tV personality shares the number one challenge she faces every day is maintaining her face fresh for the camera without wearing heavy makeup.

She also makes sure that she takes care of her skin so breakouts,

which she reveals ruins her confidence, don’t appear on her face. “as I got older, I also got smarter with the things I do on my face,” says Ho. For her, a clean face is essential as it serves as a blank canvass. Ho’s beauty routine is pretty simple: she puts on foundation and blush on, lines her eyes with an eyeliner, and applies lipstick on her lips.

She shares she used to put heavy makeup on her face, but since it made her break out, she now opts for lightweight, good-for-skin products.

Her charm, simplicity, and drive makes her the perfect face of Celeteque DermoCosmetics’

line of dermatologist-tested and hypoallergenic makeup. according to Celeteque officials, gretchen Ho is a woman of action, someone who visualizes things and actually makes it happen—the kind of woman the brand is looking for to become its new ambassador.

“She is not just pretty, she’s also intelligent,” stresses Celeteque senior product manager aC recio.

Ho is likewise proud to be the face of a makeup brand that aims to help women be beautiful without compromising their skin’s health.

She personally recommends Celeteque’s 24-Hour Photoready Matte Primer, liquid Foundation, Dual CC Matte Micro-Hy Powder, and CC Micro-Hydrating Powder, which are available in Watsons and SM Beauty stores nationwide. as Celeteque continues to promote beauty with care, be Ho hopes more Filipinas becomfort come fearless to be comfortable in their own skin and look beautiful every day, regardless of what society deems “beautiful.”

“It is time for us, for strong women to emerge, and to be proud mat of who we are, no matter what color we have, no matter what skin we have,” she says. Marianne Ilumba celeteque Dermocosmetics cc Micro-Hydrating Powder, liquid Foundation, and 24-Hour Photoready Matte Primer

Life

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wednesday, september 19, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Pantene Philippines brand ambassadors (from left) Anna Cay, Chi Gibbs, Gabs Gibbs, Alodia Gosiengfiao, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Anne Curtis-Smith, Gabbi Garcia, Joyce Pring, Kevin Balot, Stacy Gutierrez, Say Tioco and Dennise Lazaro celebrate their #StrongerNow moments.

Struggling then, stronger now:

I

True stories of ‘Pinay power’

T IS hard to be confident and beautiful when the society always makes you feel not enough. Believe it or not, all women from all walks of life—from superstars to those we see on our daily commute—have had their own struggles to overcome just because they didn’t fit into the mold.

On top of her game

Even Anne Curtis-Smith had to prove her critics wrong before she became the multi-faceted star and sought-after endorser that she is today.

She started as a foreign-looking little girl who could barely speak Filipino, making it a challenge for her to land crucial speaking roles. There have been times before she skyrocketed to stardom, when she would struggle to lock in a project, making it seem like leaving Australia was not such a good idea after all.

Still, Curtis-Smith continued to clock in hours and fight for what she was passionate about—performing.

“It was a slow climb to achieve my dream, but with patience and willingness to learn and speak Tagalog f luently, networks, directors, and producers took notice that I was improving in my craft. From then on, I have never stopped working, and now… I am ANNEstoppable,” she enthused.

From shy girl to global endorser

In a society obsessed with fair skin, Gabbi Garcia stands out for breaking through beauty standards with her morena skin that she now wears so proudly, encouraging more Filipino women to do the same.

But all this confidence she has now actually started from a deep sense of insecurity, having to get through criticisms for being too “regular-looking.”

She shared she would receive negative comments so often because she did not fit into people’s idea of what an actress should be.

“I was so insecure with all the other girls, but I tried to hide that. Although it eventually came to a point where I started to question my worth. Am I worth other people’s time and attention?” shared the 19-year-old actress.

She eventually let go of her doubts as she learned to find strength in herself and in others, working toward inspiring people that regardless of what oth-

ers think, it is important to stay true to yourself.

With insecurities thrown out the window, more opportunities came to her. Garcia was named last year the first Filipino ambassador for Pantene, for which she starred in a commercial shown in 10 different countries.

A queen named Kevin

Kevin Balot is one of the beautiful faces who brought glory to the country. She’s the first transgender Filipino to won the Miss International Queen crown in 2012. But it was not an easy straight path for this queen.

As the only boy in the family, Balot grew up with expectations from her father that she would be an engineer, but she had other plans for herself. She worked several jobs and joined beauty pageants to put herself through nursing school until Miss International Queen 2012 happened.

She has come out triumphant from her struggles and actually had a crown on her head to show for it, and now, she serves to empower more women like her.

Today she tirelessly works to continue to expand the knowledge of Filipinos about the most underrepresented segment of the LGBT.

Body positivity advocates

The women behind Plump.ph, twin sisters Danah and Stacey Gutierrez, were not always the body-positive figures people have grown to admire.

They, too, had fought their own battles with body shaming, eating disorders, and insecurities that never seem to end.

Since winning over their struggles, they are among the first women to spearhead the body positivity movement in the Philippines with their blog they started in 2009. Plump.ph aims to challenge the society’s stereotypes on body image by promoting the idea that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes.

Confidently beautiful

Before Anne Curtis-Smith became the superstar that she is today, she had to improve herself to prove her critics wrong.

vAnity COrner

These stories of women who became stronger because of the struggles they overcame are the stories Pantene Philippines wants to highlight in the #StrongerNow movement. The campaign aims to inspire Filipinas to celebrate every scar, every sweat, every struggle that made them the kind of strong they are now.

Aside from Anne Curtis-Smith, Gabbi Garcia, Kevin Balot, and Danah and Stacey Gutierrez, the hair care brand also tells the stories of Pantene Philippines brand ambassadors Anna Cay, Alodia Gosiengfiao, Chi Gibbs, Gabs Gibbs, Dennise Lazaro, Jasmine CurtisSmith, Joyce Pring, and Say Tioco.

Coinciding with the launch of #StrongerNow campaign, Pantene Philippines has also introduced the new Pantene Pro-Vitamin shampoo and 3 Minute Miracle conditioner designed to put in more nutrients with every wash, strengthening hair with resilience to take on daily hair stress.

The shampoo and conditioner come in the following variants: Hair Fall Control, Total Damage Care, Silky Smooth Care, and Color Protect.

The Body Shop’s Lash Sport and Brow Sport

Sweat-proof eye makeup Fitness and wellness have become a huge part of modern culture so much so that it has revolutionized the way we wear makeup.

Thus The Body Shop launches Lash Sport and Brow Sport, new sport-inspired eye makeup products thoughtfully formulated to ensure they stay in place while the wearer goes about their day.

The new Lash Sport is a high performing mascara that’s waterproof, sweatproof, and splash-proof, and yet easy to remove. The kind to lashes formula expertly defines, lengthens, and volumizes the appearance of lashes.

The Brow Sport, on the other hand, sculpts and defines brows to make them look fuller, shaped, and more defined. This expert tool is sweat-proof, transferresistant, and long lasting.

These eye makeup products are available at The Body Shop stores nationwide.

Multi-tasking highlighter Cop that perfect natural-looking glow, as if you have just returned from a relaxing holiday, with Max Factor Miracle Glow Duo. This multi-tasking makeup has an iridescent highlighter and a soft highlighter which can also be used as a perfector to conceal any imperfections.

Max Factor Miracle Glow Duo’s lightweight, oil-free formula is comfortable and complementary to all Max Factor Miracle Glow Duo skin colors with its choice of three different shades.

To apply, use finger to lightly tap the highlighter onto the C shape around the eyes until the highlighter is visible, do the same on the inner corner of the eyes, on the Cupid’s bow, and down the bridge of the nose.

This highlighter is available in leading department stores nationwide.

Highly pigmented matte lipsticks

Kris Matte Liquid Lipstick

No one knows how to glam up any occasion quite like the Queen of All Media herself, Kris Aquino. Her collaboration with local cosmetics brand Ever Bilena has given birth to the highly-pigmented Matte Liquid Lipstick.

The matte liquid lipstick line comes in five shades, namely Lucky, a universal mauve pink; Loyal, a deep mauve pink with slight red tones; Laugh, a coral pink shade; Life, a pink shade; and Love, a blue-based red.

Each product is infused with antioxidants to help keep the lips soft and smooth after use.

This matte liquid lipstick is available at Ever Bilena counters nationwide.

Entertainment

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

Muslim-Maguindanaoan wins Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International

By Eton Concepcion

S

HARIFA Akeel, a Muslim native of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao was crowned Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International 2018 during the pageant night held Sunday at SMO MOA Arena.

Akeel, whose real name is Sharifa Mangatong Areef Mohammad Omar Akeel, is a 21-year-old former Mutya ng Sultan Kudarat 2016 and Miss PRISSA 2017. She draws inspiration in joining beauty pageants, Mutya was her seventh, from her supportive grandmother. Akeel, who won the Best Answer and Best in Long Gown special awards, wants to work on empowering the Muslim women in the country.

During the Q&A round, Akeel was asked on what she thinks about the diversity in beauty pageants.

“I will set myself as an example of it because Mutya ng Pilipinas openly accepted me for who I am despite of my religion. It only means that Mutya ng Pilipinas promotes diversity, beauty in diversity,” Akeel answered.

Aya Fernandez, a broadcast communication student from the University of the Philippines, was named Mutya ng Pilipinas-Tourism International 2018. A native of Taguig City, Fernandez is the sister of Bb. Pilipinas-International 2008 and Mutya 2006 first runner up Patricia Fernandez.

Kesha Ramachandran was named Mutya ng Pilipinas Tourism Queen of the Year International while Pauline Amelinckx was crowned Mutya ng Pilipinas-Global Queen 2018.

Ramachandran, an 18-year-old, dusky native of Iloilo City, is a Filipino-Malaysian of Indian descent.

While, Amelinckx, a 23-year-old native of Placer, Masbate, is half-Filipina, half-Belgian who won Miss Bohol 2017. She is presently a Tourism Officer in the Municipality of Tubigon.

Amelinckx was awarded the Camera Club of the Philippines (Miss Photogenic) and Best in Terno special awards.

Jade Roberts of the Filipino community of Australia was named Mutya ng Pilipinas-Overseas Communities while Mary Justine Tengof Muntinlupa City and Kristine Micah Malicsiof Navotas City finished as 1stand 2ndrunners up, respectively.

Finishing in the Top 12 finalists were Best in Swimsuit Nina Ancheta, Agatha Lei Romero, Anie Uson, Ebony Bangit and Maria Fe Loayon. Rounding out the Top 25 were Rein Hillary Carrascal, SabrinaMerlina Binder, Odessa de la Cuesta, Honey Grace Cartasano, Nikka Marie Cristina Castro, Harmony Mayson, Allison Lorenzo, Arianne Deseree Viardo, Maraeileise Perkins, Jeserey Sanchez, Bettina Eleanor Dingemans, Geri Franchesca Camargo and People’s Choice awardee Anna Clarice Patrimonio.

Mayuko Hanawa won the Best in Talent award.

Akeel, who was crowned by last year’s Ilene Astrid De Vera, will vie at the 50th edition of the Miss Asia Pa-

Mutya ng Pilipinas-Asia Pacific International 2018 winner Sharifa Akeel with her court

cific International to be held in Resorts World Manila on Oct. 4. Fernandez, who was crowned by outgoing Mutya and the reigning Miss Tourism International 2017 Jannie Loudette Alipo-on,

THE Philippines is for the first time represented as a delegation to the Neo Cinemap Fukuoka Asian Film Market 2018 this September in Fukuoka, Japan.

Led by the FDCP’s Philippine Film Export Services Office (PFESO), the country is taking part in this market hub for professionals in the Asian film industry and projects in development.

The Philippine Film Export Services is hosting a country booth until today at Nishitestsu Inn, Fukuoka featuring Film Philippines, the country’s Location incentive program to promote the Philippines as a filming destination to foreign production companies and films from the Philippines that are looking for international sales and distribution in Japan and other Asian territories.

Present Filipino production companies in the Market include TBA Productions, The IdeaFirst Company, VYAC Productions, Aim High Productions, and Man Overboard Productions which are showcasing their best films that are ready for distribution in Asian territories such as Birdshot, Bliss, Born Beautiful (in Post-Production), Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo, Distance, Dormitoryo, Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral, Heneral Luna, I’m Drunk I Love You, K’Na The Dreamweaver, Patintero: Ang Alamat ni Meng Patalo, Iisa, Gasping for Air, Smaller and Smaller Circles, Sunday Beauty Queen, Tandem, Water Lemon, and Women of the Weeping River.

“We’re so proud that the Philippines is continually exposed to film markets which develops the industry side of our Cinema. These are exciting platforms for our filmmakers and producers to find audiences outside the Philippines and explore partnerships particularly here in Japan,” said FDCP Chairperson Liza Diño.

“Because of the continuous promotion of Philippine cinema here and the increasing opportunities to screen our films to Japanese audiences,

Wednesday, September 19, 2018 53 Bane 57 Bare or bear 61 Lahore language 62 Sailing vessel 64 Rake 65 Roster 66 Backslide 67 Actress — Watson 68 Wine sediments 69 Certain swords 70 Buy and sell DOWN 1 Unexplained sightings 2 Cattle-call reward 3 Soir follower 4 Washing against 5 Sound 6 Term paper abbr. (2 wds.)

7 Thug’s piece 8 Annoys 9 Links champ Sam — 10 Mild breeze 11 — vera 12 Furtive call 13 Recites 21 Sit-up targets 23 Somewhat vulgar 26 Zaharias and Bunyan’s ox

will vie for the Miss Tourism Queen of the Year International crown in China.

The 50 th Mutya pageant special was hosted by Marc Nelson Iza Calzadowith delayed telecast on ABS-CBN.

PH goes to Fukuoka Asian Film Market

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Coffee brewers 5 Zeus’ shield 10 Microwaves 14 Cold and rainy 15 Traffic no-no (hyph.)

16 Movie lioness 17 Mixed bag 18 Wolfgang’s thanks 19 Nosegay 20 Lift anchor (2 wds.)

22 Perfumed pouches 24 Cinemax rival 25 Shriveled up 26 Mr. Karloff 29 700, in old Rome 32 Where Asia begins 36 Strong — — ox 37 Brought up 39 Vive le —!

40 Shopper’s joy (2 wds.)

43 Use sparingly 44 Celtic tongue 45 He wrote “Picnic” 46 Food wrap 48 Canine command 49 Park feature 50 Open meadow 52 Mal de —

will compete in Miss Tourism International 2018 in Malaysia.

Amelinckx will be sent at the Miss Global Beauty Queen contest in South Korea next year, while Ramachandran

27 Feudal city of Japan 28 Less available 29 Star in Cygnus 30 Hawser 31 Diet guru Jenny 33 Boxing locale 34 Yearns 35 Positions 37 Estuary 38 PC button 41 “The Eve of St. —” 42 Reflected 47 Kayak users 49 Topaz or opal

51 Usher’s beat 52 Acts hangdog 53 Canceled 54 A Great Lake 55 Inventory wd.

56 Give a high five 57 Vacuum part 58 Iditarod terminus 59 Van Heflin oater “3:10 to —” 60 Ground grain 63 Unseal, to a poet

Films like (clockwise) ‘Patintero' 'Birdshot,' 'Water Lemon,' and 'Goyo: Ang Batang Heneral,' are ready for distribution in Asian territories.

some Filipino films like Die Beautiful, Ma Rosa and Birdshot found screening opportunities in commercial theaters here in Japan last year. Last August, Neo Manila (with ‘Midnight Assassins’ as its Japanese Title) had its Japan theatrical release in selected theaters as well. That’s a great start and we hope that the momentum continues here in Fukuoka,” Diño added.

Also happening is the Neo Cinemap Project Market, a co-production market where Filmmakers can present their ongoing project ideas and plans to meet possible co-producers or supporters for their projects.

‘Country of Focus’ With a partnership with the FDCP, the Focus on Asia Fukuoka International Film Festival joins and celebrates Philippine Cinema for its One Hundred Years by highlighting a Special Feature on Filipino Films for its 2018 edition.

Considered as a Country of Focus celebration, the Agency will lead the delegation of Filipino filmmakers, artists, and academicians.

“The City of Fukuoka which organizes the Festival has given importance to Philippine Cinema since way back. Just a year after its inception in 1991, Lino Brocka’s Insiang already found its way as the Philippines’ first official entry to the Festival. Since then, many other important Filipino films and filmmakers have been invited in Fukuoka to participate in discussion sessions as well as symposia which brought about a relationship of exchange with the audience of Fukuoka.

This is why we are very proud that this year, we finally get to partner with them so we celebrate the centennial of Philippine Cinema together and looking forward to the future of our films,” said Diño.

C3

nickie.standard@gmail.com

Simply...

From C4

The Elegant Filipinas on its 4th year at Diamond Hotel Diamond Hotel Philippines has been home to heads of state, women leaders, diplomats, international artists and celebrities, health and fitness influencers, society advocates and beauty queens.

This year, the hotel is proud to partner again with TingTing’s List: The Elegant Filipinas. Tingting R. Cojuangco, founder of the program, was one of Harper’s Bazaa’s “100 Most Beautiful Women in the World.” She will present the “Ten Women of Elegance” who made it to this year’s list in a glamorous gathering on Sept. 25at the Diamond Hotel Ballroom.

The recipients of the award are KC Concepcion, Stephanie ZubiriCrespi, Apples Aberin, Jessica Kienle Maxwell, Marga Montemayor Nograles, MaiMai R Cojuangco, Kai Lim, Carla Guevara Laforteza, Dr. Diane Cuaand Small Laude.

Albert Andrada will feature his London and New York collection.

More than the glitz and glamour, the event will raise funds for the benefit of PLDT -Smart Foundation’s Gabay Guro, a program that fosters professional development among Filipino teachers, Consul General Fortune Ledesmaannounced.

The hotel recognizes the significant role of women in today’s society and upholds great respect to their valuable contributions.

Theater group restages adaptation of García Márquez’s work The Far Eastern University Theater Guild, in partnership with the FEU President’s Committee on Culture, will once again bring to life Ang Pinakamakisig sa Mga Nalunod sa Buong Daigdig, one of the organization’s most successful plays, at the PCC Center Studio.

The musical production closes the theater company’s 84th season. It is based on Teresa Lorena Jopson’s adaptation of the short story The Handsomest Drowned Man in the Worldby Gabriel García Márquez. FTG Artistic Director Dudz Teraña .

This is Teraña’s sophomore work on a musical play. He is also a senior member, director and actor of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA).

Yet, it is his third time for him and FTG to collaborate with Jopson on her adaptation of a García Márquez’s work. In 2014, the group staged Makikitawag Lang Ako, Jopson’s take on the chapter “I Only Came to Use the Phone” from the book Strange Pilgrimsby the great Colombian writer.

Ang Pinakamakisig sa Mga Nalunod sa Buong Daigdig, which FTG first staged last year, will have the production’s original cast teaming up with the organization’s new members to bring the audience again to a musical journey to a small, remote town by the ocean.

On an island where life is stagnant and stale, the body of a drowned man is washed ashore. As the people of the town attempt to discover his identity, the barren island soon changes. How would they react when they discover that he is taller, stronger and more handsome than any man they have ever seen? How would this creature change their lives forever?

The musical runs from Oct. 3-6, 1013, 17-20 and 24-27, 6:30 p.m., at the PCC Center Studio on the ground floor of FEU-Manila Technology Building.

Tickets are at P100 for the FEU community (with valid ID) and P200 for regular viewers.

The FEU Theater Guild is a non-profit university-based organization that has built a reputation on contemporary plays, quality productions and adventurous live theater. For inquiries, contact the FTG at 09970765168 or at 736-4897 c/o PCC, or visit its social media accounts, Facebook. com/FarEasternUniversityTheaterGuild and Twitter @feutheaterguild.

Entertainment

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

C4

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2018

ALDEN

ISAH V. RED

RICHARDS soars high in

Sports TV reporter top bet in Miss World PH 2018

‘Adrenaline Rush’ concert

By Nickie Wang

A

ND we have to take that literally, and seriously, if you will.

A scene from the fourth installment of 'The Predator' movie series

Alden Richards is upping the ante in Adrenaline Rush concert as he will perform indoor and outdoor stunts that revolve around the theme of air, probably inspired by his current fantasy series, Victor Magtanggol, Magtanggol where viewers see him as the highflying Hammerman.

“We’re incorporating stunts which I haven’t done before. My superhero persona will make a guest appearance in the concert as well,” Alden told Manila Standard in an interview, “Perhaps, I have done some of them during my Sunday AllStars and Party Pilipinas days, but in this concert, the production numbers will be intense.”

The 26-year-old actor and recording artist noted that in his previous solo concert, titled Upsurge, they worked on the element of water and incorporated it in every production number. He assured the press present during the interview that he’s taking this concert to the next level.

“They should expect the unexpected. We have prepared ‘buwis-buhay’ segments,” shared the bedimpled actor adding that he felt nervous when the production team told him about the stunts that he needs to execute.

“It’s all about timing and precision for us to pull off the production numbers we intend to do. Of course, there are safety measures that we need to follow. I’m telling you, they’re no joke.”

Apart from the difficult routine and spectacular production, the concert features Alden’s charttopping songs, and tracks from his new album under GMA Records, Until I See You Again.

“The audience will hear songs of different genres like ‘God Gave Me You’ and ‘I Will Be Here.’ We’ve prepared a nice lineup of songs,” Alden guaranteed.

The concert also promises a night of pure entertainment as special guests Regine VelazquezAlcasid, Ai Ai delas Alas, Rodjun Cruz, Betong Sumaya, One Up, and Ex Battalion, to name a few, join the Pambansang Bae on stage.

While GMA Network is generous in terms of allowing Alden to explore other facets of his career, like music, he is also grateful that he is given a chance to be part of the concert’s creative process.

From the theme to the concert set list, and from the production numbers to the overall program, he’s given the creative freedom to decide what would make this major solo concert even more entertaining.

“I’m very grateful that I’m given the chance to be part of the creative process. In this concert, I challenge myself even more because I want to give my 100 percent. By doing so, it’s also my way of thanking all the fans who continue to support me no matter what,” he said.

Adrenaline Rush is produced by GMA Records, directed by GB Sampedro, with musical direction by Marc Lopez.

Lopez Ticket prices are available at P4,780 for VIP (with free album), P3,880 for Platinum, P2,780 for Gold and P1,780 for Silver via TicketNet. Alden’s five-track album “Until I See You Again” carries the single “I Will Be Here,” with backing tracks of the songs plus one bonus track. It became available for digital pre-order on Sept. 7, and will be officially releasedvia iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and various digital platforms worldwide on the same of the concert.

Adrenaline Rush will be held at the Kia Theater at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 21.

‘Predator’ slays competition at box office THE Predator,, the latest installment in the long-running sci-fi action series, chewed up its rivals to debut atop the North American box office this weekend, industry data showed Sunday.

But the Fox reboot, which cost $88 million to make, will look to earn back some money in international markets, as its estimated $24 million haul did not meet expectations.

Dropping to second place was last week’s top draw, horror movie The Nun.. It earned an estimated $18.2 million in its second week, box office tracker Exhibitor Relations said.

Opening in the third spot was A Simple Favor,, a tale about a mommy blogger (Anna Anna Kendrick) investigating the disappearance of her friend (Blake ). The Lionsgate film Lively). raked in $16.1 million on the back of positive reviews.

Matthew McConaughey’s new film White Boy Rick opened in fourth place with $8.8 million. The movie, based on a true story, stars the Oscar winner as the father of a teenage boy who became an informant for the FBI in the 1980s.

Glitzy rom-com Crazy Rich Asians,, another Warner Bros product along with The Nun, fell to fifth place. The film, with a nearly all-Asian cast led by Henry Golding and Constance Wu,, took in $8.7 million, building on a crazygood run. Its North American take stands at nearly $150 million, with another $28 million earned overseas. AFP

SPORTS enthusiasts, particularly basketball fans, should be familiar with the face of Angelica Dominque Cuyugan Tuzon (Monique Cuyugan Tuzon) who is Basketball TV and Solar Sports’ more popular sports reporter.

The grandniece of Philippine opera diva Fides Cuyugan Asensio is aiming high, beyond the basketball court, her turf on television. She has joined the roster of candidates for this year’s Miss World Philippines.

She is candidate No. 14 and if luck would be on her side, she could win one of four titles—Miss World Philippines, Reina Hispanico Americana Philippines, Miss Eco Philippines, and Miss Multinational Philippines—in the pageant on Oct. 7 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Last week the Miss World Philippines candidate met with the entertainment press to tell them why she finally acceded to her friends’ request to try the beauty pageant platform.

Now 25 (born on May 6, 1993), “It could be my last chance to join a beauty pageant [for single women],” she said.

In 2012, when she was still a student in Charlotte, NC, she won Miss Asia Carolinas (“I needed the prize. It was a scholarship,” she revealed) but never gave joining a beauty pageant serious thought.

“I am a big fan of beauty pageants.

I love watching the candidates in their evening gowns and how they answer the questions, but that’s about it.”

Momique was born in the Philippines but moved to the US with her mom when she was 11. She returned to Manila last year and started working with Solar Entertainment as producer and reporter for Solar Sports and Basketball TV. She actually dreams to be a host of a lifestyle show, “But that is far from being realized because I don’t see much lifestyle shows on free TV in the Philippines,” she said.

Sports may be her strong point as a TV reporter having interned at WBTV in Charlotte, but her interests are far ranging—she was in a Church Youth Leader and Worship Team, a team captain at University of North Carolina Charlotte Area during the Relay for Life, she found and organized “Rise Above the Storm 5k Run while on the side modeling for an apparel brand.

Yeah, it may be her last and only chance for a beauty title, yet the Miss World Philippines 2018 pageant could open more doors for this young sports TV producer/reporter. She might even accept an acting offer if any. “I can learn anything. I’m fast. Throw me something and I can learn it in a jiffy,” she said in her American-accented Filipino.

I asked Monique if it didn’t occur to her to be in Hollywood as actor either on TV or in the movies as she can pass for a Latina. She was surprised and said, “No, I didn’t think about that because I knew it is difficult to get into Hollywood. But, thank you, anyway.”

Continued on C3

Singer-actor Alden Richards holds second major concert at the Kia Theatre this Friday, Sept. 21, a follow-up to a sold-out show that showcased his biggest hits to date.

Period romance wins big at ToFarm Film Fest TANABATA´S Wife, a period romance story between a Japanese farmer and a Cordilleran woman, bagged the most number of awards, including Best Picture at the 2018 ToFarm Film Festival ceremony held at the Rizal Ballroom of Makati Shangrila Hotel on Saturday night.

The film, which is based on a short story of the same title by Sinai Hamada, received a cash prize of P500,000, and a total of nine awards including Best Director for Charlson Ong, Lito Casaje, and Choy Pangilinan, Best Actress for Mai Fanglayan, Best Actor for Miyuki Kamimura, Best Screenplay, Best Musical Score, Best Cinematography for Nap Jamir, Best Editing for May-I Padilla, Best Production Design for Martin Asadao, Hubert Tibi´s 1957 got the second best picture award and a cash prize of P400,000. Tibi also won Best Story.

Keith Sicat’s Alimuom won the third best picture trophy and a cash prize of

WINNER'S CIRCLE. (From left) Director Hubert Tibi, Richard Quan, Mai Fanglayan, and Miyuki Kamimura in a photo op after the ToFarm Film Festival 2018 Awards Night.

Photo by Mell T. Navarro P300,000. The Audience Choice award was given to Roman Perez Jr.’s Sol Searching.

Jury members for the full length competition were Manet Dayrit (chairperson), Jerrold Tarog, Sigrid Andrea Bernardo, Moira Lang, and

Mel Chionglo.

The short films’ winners were chosen

by Director Raymond Red and Cesar Hernando.

Best Actress winner Mai Fanglayan hails from Baguio City and this is her

first film ever. Best Actor winner Miyuki Kamimura is a Japanese actor and he’s delighted to have worked with the Filipino filmmakers in the Philippines.

After 25 years, Richard Quan finally bagged his second acting award.

His first was from his first film Saan Ka Man Naroroon as New Actor of the Year from the PMPC Star Awards for Movies.

Among the performers during the awarding ceremonies were Dulce and Bituin Escalante (who sang a musical tribute for Director Maryo J. Delos Reyes, original festival director in its first two years).

Executive producer is Dr. Milagros How, festival director is Bibeth Orteza, managing director is Director Joey Romero.

The film festival ended its run yesterday, Sept. 18, in Trinoma, Gateway, Greenbelt 1, SM Megamall, SM Manila, Robinsons Galleria, Gaisano Davao, and Ayala Legazpi.

Check out the official Facebook fan page updates and complete list of winners.

Miss World Philippines 2018 front runner Monique Tuzon