Manila Standard - 2018 July 10 - Tuesday

HIGH NOTES. The 47-member Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra, under the baton of conductor Jeffrey Solares, bagged first place with outstanding success in the strings category at the 12th Summa Cum Laude International Youth Music Festival held in Vienna, Austria on Sunday. They played a 25-minute repertoire consisting of music by Mozart, Dvorak, Alcala, Florante and Castillon. Other winners were groups from Israel (co-first place), Canada and Singapore. Over 30 ensembles from 14 different countries participated in the festival.

‘Vow of silence’ on God

By Nat Mariano

VOL. XXXII • NO. 145 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

Hired guns must be neutralized, top cop tells men

By Francisco Tuyay, Nat Mariano, Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta PHILIPPINE National Police chief Oscar Albayalde on Monday ordered his lieutenants to neutralize gun-forhire syndicates in the aftermath of the recent assassination of three local officials.

In a press briefing, Albayalde also ordered the more police checkpoints set up to find and confiscate loose firearms.

He said the increased security operations would tie in with a possible upsurge in violence as the 2019 midterm elections approach.

“This is all part of our preventive measures. These are all part of our target hardening measures to prevent possible hostilities or violence in view of the forthcoming mid-term elections next year,” Albayalde said.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Monday took a “vow of silence” on issues concerning God and the Church following a one-on-one meeting with the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines President Archbishop Ro-

mulo Valles, the Palace said Monday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said the President agreed to a moratorium on his criticisms against the acts and beliefs of the Church during a private meeting with the archbishop in Malacañang Monday afternoon.

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Du30 willing to cut term, wants transition leader

By Nat Mariano, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Monday that he instructed the Consultative Committee that is drafting a new constitution to include an elected transitional president following the adoption of a new federal charter.

“I am willing to cut my term to be co-terminus with start of [the] transition period [which] the committee agreed,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque quoted the President as saying.

The President added that his stepping down would remove all suspicions involving the adoption of a new form of government.

“I am tired. [I am] ready to give it to somebody else,” said the President.

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Roque said the President had reversed his earlier position that he could serve as a transition leader until 2022.

“He said he was very tired, he’s old, and maybe electing a transition leader would enable a younger leader to take over,” said Roque.

He said the President asked former Chief Justice and ConCom Chairman Renato Puno and other members of the Next page

Poe, Cayetano, Villar dominate senatorial bets’ list for May 2019

‘Probe revisors’ swimming party with Leni’s aide’

By Rey E. Requejo FORMER senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday asked the Presidential Electoral Tribunal to investigate reports that a revisor from the camp of Vice President Leni Robredo had joined PET personnel on their outing, even though they are recount of votes for the 2016 vice presidential race.

In an urgent motion, Marcos, through lawyer George Garcia, informed the PET of the trip of the tribunal’s 24 head revisors, alternate head revisor, appraiser, Next page

POE

CAYETANO

By Evalea Casaljay and Macon Ramos-Araneta ‘VOW OF SILENCE.’ President Rodrigo Duterte meets up Monday afternoon in a

private meeting with the leader of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Archbishop Romulo Valles and, according to Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, agreed to a moratorium on attacks against the Catholic Church.

Eight of 12 boys rescued MAE SAI, Thailand—Eight of the 12 Four more boys of the “Wild Boar” young footballers have emerged football team and their 25-year-old from the Tham Luang cave complex coach remain trapped as rescue yesterday.

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HOPES REMAIN. An ambulance exits from the Tham Luang cave area as operations continue for the eight boys and their coach trapped at the cave in Khun Nam Nang Non Forest Park in Chiang Rai province on Monday. Four boys among the group of 13 trapped were rescued Sunday after surviving a treacherous escape, raising hopes elite divers would also save the others soon. AFP

SENATOR Grace Poe leads the senatorial bet for the May 2019 mid-term elections, according to Pulse Asia, which released Monday its nation-

Luzon spared from TS Gardo’s fury

By Rio N. Araja

Monday but weathermen said a low pressure area was preventing Gardo TYPHOON “Gardo” had entered the (international name Maria) and the Philippine area of responsibility Next page

WEATHER WATCH. Typhoon ‘Gardo’ (international name Maria) entered the Philippine area of responsibility Monday but Dr. Esperanza Cayanan said a low pressure area was preventing the typhoon and the habagat or southwest monsoon from dumping rains in Luzon. Manny Palmero

VILLAR

wide survey—with a voters’ preference of 67.4 percent, retaining the solo lead.

Poe is followed by Taguig City Rep. Pia Cayetano, with the support of 55.7 percent, and Senator Cynthia Villar with 50.1 percent.

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PH warned vs China outings to Paracels CHINA’S recent announcement encouraging the public to apply to use the uninhabited islands in the Paracels may extend to the rest of the South China Sea if protest action is not taken, an expert said Monday.

“The Philippines, even if it’s not among the claimants to the Paracels, should file a protest as that is going to escalate the situation in the South China Sea,” University of the Philippines law professor Jay Batongbacal told a forum.

“The Paracels are still in the South China Sea and it’s clear to us that whatever China does in the Paracels, it eventually [will] also do in the Spratlys.”

Batongbacal made his statement even as the defenders of the West Philippine Sea from the Supreme Court, the Senate, the legal and academic communities Next page

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TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018

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Ombudsman strikes back at accuser

By Rio N. Araja OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio-Morales on Monday slammed Edna Batacan, a former lawyer of then Davao City mayor Rodrigo Duterte, for saying the Office of the Ombudsman was graftridden.

“God forbid” that Batacan gets appointed as the next Ombudsman, Morales said, adding Batacan dug her own grave when she told the Judicial and Bar Council that she was a victim of corruption when she was a lawyer at the Office of the Ombudsman.

“You have to have competence, honesty, industry,” Morales said.

“If she has all of these, go ahead, please. But by all indications, my God. Look at her interview. You be the judge,” Morales said.

Batacan told the JBC that the Office of the Ombudsman charged a “parking fee” in cases under preliminary investigation.

But Morales said Batacan implicated herself as part of the corruption within the Ombudsman.

Iraq rescues two Filipinas

By Evalea Casaljay TWO of the four Filipinas kidnapped by armed men on Friday were finally rescued by Iraqi authorities, the Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Monday.

The Iraqis on Sunday informed the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad that the Filipinas were rescued in Diyala Province north of the capital on Saturday.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano expressed the Philippine government’s gratitude to the authorities in Iraq for the rescue.

“Their safe recovery would not have been possible without the swift response of our Iraqi friends and for that we are very grateful,” Cayetano said.

“We thank God for their successful rescue.”

Embassy Charge d’Affaires Julius Torres said he was informed by the authorities in Diyala Province that the two Filipinas were rescued from their abductors, some of whom had been arrested.

‘Probe...

From A1 ballot box custodians or handlers and chief tabulator in a resort in Calamba City in Laguna on June 22, which was joined by Robredo’s revisor, Osmundo Abuyuan.

Marcos questioned the propriety of having a representative from Robredo’s camp present during the outing.

“Fraternizing with the party revisor for the protestee is obviously prohibited by this Honorable Tribunal since this act is proscribed not only by the Code of Conduct for Court Personnel but also by the Canon of Judicial Ethics,” the manifestation said.

Marcos said the outing would imply that Robredo’s camp had already “infiltrated and curried favor with these PET personnel in order to manipulate, influence and control the revision proceedings and maneuver the results in her favor.”

“Protestant Marcos cannot help but wonder if the ongoing judicial recount and revision proceedings have been compromised given that the same is presided by the very same PET personnel who appear to be in cahoots with the protestee’s camp,” the pleading said.

The Marcos camp pointed out that head revisors play a crucial role in the ongoing revision of votes because they are the ones who preside over their respective revision committees and control the conduct of the judicial recounting of ballots.

Poe,...

From A1 In a related development: • Senate President Vicente Sotto appeased possible senatorial candidates in the coming midterm elections who are in the vicinity of 15 or 18 percent.

“That’s nothing to worry about, you should campaign. You should follow the important tenets of winning in the election. One, you need to be known. Two, you need to be liked. Three, you need to be voted and four, your votes should be counted.”

The Senate leader said that as far as he was concerned, he did not look at the rankings.

“And that is what a candidate, a serious candidate, should consider. You should look at your percentages, what percentage of the votes won to land on top 12, approximately at 35 percent,” he said.

“I look at the percentages and not on (sic) the ranking. The ranking could be deceiving...” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte’s daughter and current Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio followed close behind and ranked 3rd to 5th with 46.2 percent of support.

JBC urged to ease rules on nominations for CJ

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Judicial and Bar Council may relax its rules on the nominations for the post of chief justice so it could still consider Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio as a nominee to the post even if he declines the nomination, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Monday.

Guevarra, an ex-officio member of the JBC, said Carpio may still be considered a candidate for the post vacated by ousted Chief Jutice Maria Lourdes Sereno despite his pronouncement that he would decline all his nominations for the most coveted post in the judiciary.

Guevarra said while the JBC rules require the nominees to accept their nomination, this rule could be waived in the case of Carpio as sought by retired Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. in his letter to the council.

“The JBC rules require the consent of the automatic nominee. But since there is a request to dispense with such consent, the JBC may have to consider it,” Guevarra said.

He said the JBC, which is tasked to vet the nominees to judicial posts. will discuss the matter in their next meeting that will be presided by Carpio himself as acting chief justice and ex-officio chairman of the council.

In his recent letter to the JBC, Davide backed the automatic nomination of Carpio for the post of chief justice and asked the council to still consider the most senior justice in the current composition of the high court even if he formally declines the nomination.

“He had earlier been bypassed twice.

Delicadeza should no longer be invoked because the decision in the quo warranto case is final. It has become the law of the case,” Davide said.

“The vacancy is real and lawful. He was not responsible for its occurrence.

Personal consideration must now yield to the demands of public interest and of the good of the service. He should not deprive the President to have the opportunity for a wider field of choice for the best for the Supreme Court in particular and the Judiciary and the people in general.”

Carpio and the four other most senior magistrates of the high court―Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Diosdado Peralta and Lucas Bersamin―have been automatically nominated for the post of chief justice.

De Castro, Peralta and Bersamin are expected to accept their automatic nomination to comply with the requirement of having at least three nominees for the post. Velasco, on the other hand, is retiring from the judiciary next month.

Lawyer Jose Mejia, a regular member of the JBC representing the academe, said no applications or nominations had been submitted to them since the vacancy was opened on June 25.

Pump prices rise amid US-China trade war

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE country’s oil firms are raising pump prices by P0.70 per liter for kerosene, P0.40 per liter for gasoline, and P0.35 per liter for diesel effective 6 am Tuesday to reflect the movement of world oil prices.

This is the second consecutive weekly oil price increase amid ongoing concerns of the tightening of the global oil supply, as American crude inventories dropped to its thee-year low.

World oil prices were also affected by speculations amid the United States-China trade war and oil disruptions in Libya and Canada.

“Phoenix Petroleum Philippines will

Du30...

From A1 committee to change the transitory provision.

Roque said he and other Cabinet members were saddened by the President’s sudden announcement.

“He said it with conviction, that’s why I was saddened... And the way he said it was, ‘I’m tired, it’s for someone younger.’ That’s his final decision. From the tone of the President, I knew he meant what he said,” Roque said.

On Monday afternoon, Duterte received a copy of the proposed Federal Constitution of the Philippines prepared by his 22-member ConCom to pave the way for a new federal form of government.

Puno presented the approved final draft in a handover ceremony.

According to Puno, the draft constitution seeks to establish a ‘bayanihan’ form of federalism.

“This bayanihan federalism installs a federal government strong enough to hold together the various federated regions and establishes federated regions that are socially, economically, and politically viable and sustainable,” said Puno, adding that the ConCom “divided the powers of government guided by the Filipino spirit of bayanihan where both the federal government and the federated regions govern the people less in competition but more in cooperation with one another and aligned with the maxim the welfare of the people is the supreme law.”

Puno also enumerated some features of the draft constitution that he thought might particularly interest the President.

The draft constitution introduces a more democratic electoral process as it inhibits the creation of political dynasties and transforms political parties as mechanisms of citizen representation and democratic governance.

“Under this draft constitution, political turncoatism is prohibited, hence, political butterflies cannot flutter anymore from one political party to another to suck their nectar,” said Puno.

Aside from the political aspect, the draft constitution levels the economic playing

’Vow...

From A1 “We have read the July 9 pastoral exhortation of the CBCP and take note of the concerns of our bishops, which the Duterte administration is currently addressing,” said Roque, as Catholic leaders urged the faithful to join them next week in three days of prayer and fasting for those who blaspheme God. In its pastoral letter after President Duterte called God stupid, the CBCP also urged the faithful to be peacemakers amid “troubled times.”

PH...

From A1 on Monday closed ranks to call for transparency and integrity in the foreign policy of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration.

In a foreign policy forum organized by the Office of Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros in Manila, Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio, former Solicitor General Florin Hilbay,

Hired...

From A1 The killing of three local officials has caused alarm among local chief executives, with the League of Municipality calling for added security for mayors and vice mayors, a call Albayalde rejected.

“We have to be concerned with these killings. We can’t just let this happen to our elected officials,” he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Earlier, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, a watchdog group allied with President Rodrigo Duterte, had called for a crackdown on gun-for-hire groups.

Last week, assassins killed Tanauan City, Batangas Mayor Antonio Halili; Gen. Tinio Mayor Ferdinand Bote; and Trece Martirez, Cavite Vice Mayor Alexander Lubigan, in three separate attacks.

“We will intensify our campaign against these guns for hire,” Albayalde said, adding that he would also dismantle private armed groups identified with politicians.

“As of this time, we are looking into at least 78 groups nationwide and most of these groups are in Mindanao,” Albayalde said.

Meanwhile, authorities said they would question Mayor Melandres de Sagun of Trece Martires in connection with the killing of Vice Mayor Alexander Lubigan.

In a radio interview, Senior Supt. William Segun, Cavite provincial director, said they have sent a letter to Interior Department officer-in-charge Eduardo Año requesting De Sagun’s appearance.

The mayor was out of the country when Lubigan was killed. With PNA

Eight...

From A1 workers dived deep inside the flooded cave site for a second straight day Monday.

Sunday’s surprisingly quick extraction of the initial batch of four, who were guided out of a network of flooded tunnels by elite divers, fuelled optimism that the others would also be quickly rescued.

“All the equipment is ready. Oxygen bottles are ready,” rescue operations chief Narongsak Osottanakorn told reporters on Monday afternoon after announcing the second phase of the rescue bid had begun.

Thais have been fixated on the crisis, hoping desperately for the safe return of the 12 boys and their coach after they ventured into the Tham Luang cave complex after practice and became trapped by rising waters on June 23.

The saga has also dominated global headlines, with the team spending nine days unaccounted for inside the cave, before British divers found the emaciated and dishevelled group huddling on a muddy bank above the flooding.

Authorities then struggled to determine the best way to save the “Wild Boar” football team, with the group stuck on a shelf more than four kilometers inside the cave in pitch darkness. AFP

increase the prices of gasoline by P0.40 per liter and diesel by P0.35 per liter effective 6 am of July 10,” the company said in its advisory.

PTT Philippines and Flying V also issued advisories of price increases, and other oil companies are expected to follow suit On July 3, the oil firms also increased the price of kerosene by P0.70 per liter, gasoline by P0.65 per liter, and diesel by P0.55 per liter.

The Department of Energy, meanwhile, released a joint administrative order with the Metro Manila Development Authority on the standards for the transport and distribution of cooking gas or liquefied

petroleum gas.

Under the order, DoE shall issue the standards compliance certificate to all LPG players who have complied with the pertinent requirements.

DoE will also revoke or suspend the SCC of players found violating the circulars on LPG and recommend the suspension or revocation of business licenses of violators to the local government units.

The department will also inspect LPG delivery vehicles together with a team from the MMDA, Land Transportation Office, and Bureau of Fire Protection.

The inspection team shall impound delivery vehicles found violating the safety standards of the DoE.

field, he said.

Puno said the draft constitution banned monopolies and oligopolies that substantially diminish market competition and abuse their dominant positions. “For this purpose, the draft constitution established an independent Competition Commission to stop these monopolies by the moneyed,” he said.

Moreover, the draft constitution also strengthens and remodels institutions of government to fight graft and corruption such as the Office of the Ombudsman and the Commission on Audit.

The 78-year-old chairman also emphasized that the draft constitution transformed the OMB to a more commission type of office to effectively investigate and prosecute violations of anti-graft laws. Meanwhile, the COA can conduct pre-audits and performance audits to ensure that the people’s money is spent strictly in accordance with law.

Puno also said the draft constitution is propoor.

“Socio-economic rights of the poor to adequate food, comprehensive health care, complete education, adequate and decent housing and livelihood and employment opportunities are included in the Bill of Rights as rights demandable against the government. The poor are also guaranteed political representation in the legislatures of the Federal Government and Federated Regions,” Puno said.

Lastly, the draft constitution establishes a lasting and indissoluble nation, because it recognizes the ethnicity, culture, religion, customs, traditions, language and distinct identities of the people in the Cordillera and Bangsamoro, he said.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said with the draft constitution finished, regional consultations will result in a better understanding of federalism and result in greater public acceptance of the proposed shift to a federal form of government.

Pimentel, president of PDP-Laban and one of federalism’s most vocal advocates, said he was encouraged by surveys that show that over half of respondents who were aware of federalism and had previously heard of this system of government were more supportive of the adoption of federalism.

In a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations from March 23 to 27, 57 percent of respondents who stated that they had knowledge about federalism agree with the adoption of a federal system of government, while only 22 percent did not support its adoption.

Twenty percent were undecided.

“I believe the numbers make it clear that those who know more about federalism are more likely to support its adoption,” he said.

With the draft constitution now finished, he said we can now have a real discussion about the proposed amendments to the Constitution, particularly the shift to federalism,” he said.

Pimentel was optimistic that the more the public learned about the distinct features of federalism, the more it would be willing to embrace the changes this system of government will bring.

“It is natural for many of our countrymen to fear what they do not understand, to resist change and the unknown,” he said.

He said federalism is really different from what they are used to “but if they see that these changes will benefit them, then they will be more open to them.”

In the same survey conducted by SWS, only one out of four respondents said they were knowledgable about federalism.

Overall, 29 percent disagree with the shift to federalism, a figure lower than the 37 percent who agree with the proposed shift, as well as the 34 percent who are undecided about the issue.

Pimentel said that knowledge about federalism and its benefits was what fueled support for it in Mindanao, where 59 percent of those polled expressed support for the adoption of federalism, with only 16 percent opposed to the shift.

“This is an issue close to the heart of the people of Mindanao––we have been discussing this for a long time—so there is greater awareness of federalism and a greater recognition of what it can do to bring peace and stability to the region,” Pimentel said.

A House leader on Monday batted for a review of the draft constitution’s economic provisions with a view or relaxing the “protectionist” provisions of the 1987 Constitution.

“Let us spend a day of prayer and penance invoking God’s mercy and justice on those who those blaspheme God’s holy name, those who slander and bear false witness, and those who commit murder or justify murder as a means for fighting criminality in our country,” the letter, signed by Valles, said.

“To those who blaspheme God as stupid, St. Paul’s words are to the point,” he said. “And I quote, ‘for the stupidity of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.’”

But Roque said the pastoral letter also mentioned peace as the common vocation and

mission of the Church, calling on the people to remain steadfast amidst violence in our communities.

“Like our brothers and sisters in the Church, the President’s program of governance is also to actively work for lasting peace by waging a war against illegal drugs, criminality, and corruption. This war is our fight for the safety of all Filipino families and for their right to live in a peaceful society,” said Roque.

Asked whether the President had read the CBCP’s pastoral letter, Roque thought it was “tame” and that he was expecting worse from the bishops.

“There was no outright condemnation, so

I thought the Church was avoiding an outright confrontation with this pastoral letter,” Roque said, expressing hope for a better relationship between the administration and the Church.

The CBCP said Monday the Church respects the political authority of democratically elected government officials as long as they do not contradict CBCP’s basic spiritual and moral principles.

Valles said in his pastoral letter that government officials must also respect the Christian values that CBCP upholds such as the sacredness of life, the integrity of creation, and the inherent dignity of the human person.

former representative Barry Gutierrez, Batongbacal and military historian and security analyst Jose Custodio took turns discussing the government’s foreign policy thrust and framework.

The event, “Kasarinlan: A Philippine Foreign Policy Forum,” coincided with the second anniversary of the Philippines’ historic victory against China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague on the West Philippine Sea.

Global Times, a Chinese state-run paper, reported on July 5 that Hainan was allowing individuals to use uninhabited islands in the Paracels for “tourism and construction purposes for up to 50 years.”

The Paracel Islands are a group of islands in the South China Sea claimed by China, which calls them Xisha, Vietnam and Taiwan.

Batongbacal called this development “even more alarming” as it essentially allowed China to use civilians “to do the work of taking

over and occupying new features.

“Obviously, if it’s a civilian activity, then it will be very difficult for government forces to respond, and they will be seen as doing aggression, in which case the Chinese will be provoked into taking more drastic measures against the claimants,” he said.

The Philippines does not claim the Paracel Islands, but the entire archipelago is in the range of the bombers that China landed on the isles. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Luzon...

From A1 habagat or southwest monsoon from dumping rains in Luzon.

At 10 a.m., Gardo was 1,165 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes, packing maximum sustained winds of 200 kilometers per hour and 245 kph gusts, said Pagasa weather division chief Dr. Esperanza Cayanan.

Gardo is supposed to be enhancing the habagat, but an LPA is pulling the southwest monsoon and preventing its rains from reaching the western section of Luzon. The monsoon rains are affecting only Mimaropa and Visayas for now, she told reporters.

The LPA, however, may weaken by Tuesday or Wednesday as Gardo moves north, which will allow the typhoon to enhance the habagat, Cayanan said.

Gardo’s eye was at 1,020 km east northeast of Basco, with maximum sustained winds of 185 kilometers per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 225 km/h.

Gardo was moving west northwest at 30 km/h.

It will continue to enhance the southwest monsoon affecting Luzon and the Visayas.

Metro Manila, Zambales, Bataan and Calabarzon will experience cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms.

Light to moderate winds coming from southwest to south will prevail over these areas and the coastal waters will be moderate to rough.

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TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

US, PH conduct maritime training in San Fernando

TRAGIC ACCIDENT. All Trinidad family members, except mother, Mary Rose (second from left), died in a vehicular crash in Townsend, Delaware on Friday, July 6, 2018.

(Story below the fold)

By Rey Requejo TO FURTHER strengthen security partnership, the United States and the Philippine navies kicked off on Monday their weeklong Maritime Training Activity Sama-Sama at Naval Station Ernesto Ogbinar in San Fernando City.

US Rear Adm. Joey Tynch, Commander of Task Force 73, said that the weeklong engagement focuses on the full spectrum of naval capabilities and is designed to strengthen the close partnership between both navies while cooperatively ensuring maritime security, stability and prosperity.

“The name of this Maritime Training Activity, Sama-Sama,-meaning ‘together, jointly’—perfectly captures the spirit and energy of this tremendous event. The US and Philippine alliance has always been a special relationship based on mutual trust and respect and strengthened by enduring maritime engagements,” Tynch said, in a statement released by the US Embassy in Manila.

“Built on 70 years of strong friendship and deep historical ties, our shared interest in maritime security is what Maritime Training Activity Sama-Sama is all about—our shared belief that regional challenges increasingly require cooperative solutions by capable naval forces,” the US navy official added.

MTA Sama-Sama builds upon other engagements with the Philippines including Pacific Partnership, the largest annual multilateral humanitarian assistance and disaster relief preparedness mission, Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training, which involves more than a dozen partner nations, and Balikatan-34.

These engagements serve to enhance information sharing and coordination and support long-term regional cooperation, the statement explained.

More minors roam streets, violate curfew laws, police say

By Joel E. Zurbano MORE minors still roaming the streets during curfew hours and despite the government´s intensified campaign against night loiterers aimed in ensuring a peaceful community.

In the southern part of Metro Manila, a total of 157 minors were placed under police custody for violating curfew hours in the cities of Makati, Pasay, Las Piñas, Parañaque and Muntinlupa.

Based on the accomplishment report released by the Southern Police District from July 8 - 9, the Pasay City police station got the highest number of apprehension followed by Parañaque City police station.

SPD spokesperson Jenny Tecson said the latest operation also resulted in the arrest of 86 individuals for smoking in public places, transport terminals and conveyances and 40 others for drinking liquors and urinating in public, and caught half naked.

SPD director Tomas Apolinario Jr. said his office is supporting the government’s campaign initiated by President Rodrigo Duterte to go against idlers to get rid of people loitering in the streets, especially at night.

He reminded his men that they should arrest only those who will violate municipal or city ordinances like Urinating and Drinking in Public Places, Half Naked, Making Loud Noise, and Curfew of Minors, among others.

Zubiri upbeat on BBL, says Bicam off to ‘good start’

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

S

ENATOR Migz Zubiri, chairman of the subcomittee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, is upbeat on the bicameral conference committee’s harmonizing conflicting and controversial issues on BBL draft, saying they’re off to a good start.

“We finished three articles of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, although we got bogged down on territorial jurisdiction,” Zubiri told reporters after the BBL deliberation at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas, Pasig City on Monday.

He said they decided to table it and defer action on it at a later time and agreed on all the acceptable provisions.

He said the matter on territorial jurisdiction is for the plebiscite.

“For the plebiscite, we stil have not gotten into that. We’ll be discussing later on so I’d rather not comment at this point in time,” he added.

The Mindanao lawmaker also found it a pleasure to work with Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas because he sees the BBL more objectively unlike them.

“We’re from Mindanao. We may have a more intense passionate view. And so therefore he [Fariñas] was able to filter out the noise and work at least listening to both sides of the fence,” related Zubiri.

In the Senate, Zubiri said they were tend to be loyal to the Senate version and most of the amendments.

“But of course, we all agreed in the caucus earlier that we are going to return the provisions that were removed, that would diminish this law from the ARMM Law. In other words there are certain provisions,” said Zubiri.

For example, Zubiri cited the provision on wealth sharing. He said that under the ARMM law, it’s 70-30. He said it was granted already in Republic Act 9054.

“So in our Senate version, Senator Ralph Recto proposed split sharing and so this is a big issue to them and they would like it to be restored. Personally i agree that it is already part of the ARMM Law and we should not diminish in any effect provisions of the ARMM law,” Zubiri said.

He said another contentious issue involved the territorial waters, the inland bodies of waters. He said these are already clearly indicated in the original ARMM Law and they’re willing to restore in this version.

“We will accept the House version. The House version is 75-25 sharing. The Senate panel will tend to accept the House

version,” assured Zubiri.

He added that the result of the conference “will be the cornerstone towards a just, lasting, and dignified peace in the Bangsamoro.”

“The Bangsamoro Basic Law is an instrument of peace. Let this measure start the advent of peace and development to our beloved Mindanao,” he added.

Zubiri also reiterated the following guidelines on coming up with the best version of the BBL: 1. Constitutionality. Being the supreme law of the land, the Constitution sets both the latitude and the limitations of what can be incorporated in the basic law.

2. Autonomy. Within the limit set by the Constitution and other laws, the committee will give the widest latitudes in reconciling the two versions to achieve self-governance and real autonomy in the Bangsamoro.

3. Acceptability not only to the whole nation but more importantly to the people of the Bangsamoro. This law to become effective must be ratified in the plebiscite of the people of the Bangsamoro.

4. Social Justice. This law must correct the injustices and prejudices against our Muslim brethren. It will respect the opportunity in order to advance in life.

5. Peace and Development. Poverty incidence is high in Muslim Mindanao. The long-term objective of this law is to bring lasting and dignified peace in Muslim Mindanao and the Bangsamoro. Thus it is also an instrument of peace and development in the region.

DFA, PH mourn loss of Fil-Am family in US road mishap THE Department of Foreign Affairs has joined the Filipino community in mourning the deaths of five members of a Filipino-American family in a highway mishap in Delaware on Friday.

“We join our kababayans in the United States in mourning the loss of five members of a Filipino-American family in a highway tragedy near Townsend, Delaware,” DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said in a statement.

The Philippine Consulate General in New York said the accident claimed the lives of Audie Trinidad, 61, and his daughters Kaitlyn, 20; Danna, 17; and

14-year-old twins Melissa and Allison.

His wife, Mary Rose Ballocanag, sustained serious injuries but is expected to survive.

“Our hearts go out to the loved ones in the United States and in the Philippines they left behind,” Cayetano said. “We shall include the Trinidad family in our prayers.”

Consul General Claro Cristobal said the family was returning to their home in Teaneck, New Jersey from Ocean City, Maryland when the accident happened.

Consul General Cristobal said the victims were headed north on Highway Route 1 near Townsend, Delaware, when

a pickup truck traveling the opposite direction crossed the median and collided with their minivan.

The Consulate General earlier extended its sympathies and Deputy Consul General Kerwin Orville Tate went to the hospital, where Mrs. Trinidad is confined, to see what assistance could be extended to the family.

“The Philippine Consulate General in New York wished to express its deepest condolences to the bereaved Trinidad family and joins the Filipino community in mourning the tragic loss of exemplary members of the community,” the Consulate General said in a statement. PNA

PhilHealth awash with cash: P11.6b THE Philippine Health Insurance Corp. posted a net cash flow of P11.6 billion for the first four months of the year, bolstering its healthy financial position. For the January to April 2018 period, the state health insurer recorded a cash inflow of P41.4 billion from which was deducted the agency’s expenditures totaling P29.8 billion, resulting in a net inflow of P11.6 billion as of end-April.

“These figures should make it very clear that PhilHealth is in excellent financial health, contrary to the claims of a few that it is losing,” said Dr. Roy B. Ferrer, PhilHealth’s newly appointed acting president and CEO. In a statement detailing its January to April 2018 financial performance, PhilHealth said the P41.4-billion cash inflow it received during the period came from premium contributions totaling P39.2 billion, up 104 percent from the P19.2-billion collected in the same period in 2017, as well as from an investment income at P2.2 billion, 10 percent higher

than last year’s P2-billion income.

“The improved cash flow was made possible by the aggressive employer accounts monitoring and compliance in both the government and private sectors, the heightened consciousness among members to ensure regular payment of their contributions, and strategic investing,” Ferrer said.

He also attributed the higher cash inflow to the early partial release of P14.9 billion worth of premiums of some 4.7-million senior citizens by the national government pursuant to the General Appropriations Act of 2018.

Meanwhile, the agency’s expenditures for January to April comprised of benefit payouts totaling P28 billion, and administrative expenses of P1.8 billion.

The latter, Ferrer pointed out, was 22 percent lower than last year’s P2.2 billion.

“This is in keeping with our commitment to our members and stakeholders to be prudent in the management of their contributions,” he noted.

BBL PRESSER. Civil Society Organization and Bangsamoro Communities outside the Bangsamoro territory attend a Press-Conference held in Quezon City. They appealed to the BICAM to restore the deleted or amended BTC-BBL-Provisions to support the passage of a Basic Law. Manny Palmero

DPWH flagged for delayed, suspended projects

By Rio N. Araja THE Commission on Audit has flagged the Department of Public Works and Highways for delayed, suspended, terminated and unimplemented infrastructure projects worth P73.351billion under the Duterte administration’s “Build, Build, Build” program.

State auditors called the attention of the DPWH for failure to accomplish its targeted projects that even cost the government millions in bank fees.

In a 2017 audit report, CoA said the delay and non-implementation of projects resulted in a very low utilization of funds for the department that cost P27.647 million in commitment fees to banks.

“This indicates that management was not able to effectively manage the increasing amount of funds entrusted to the agency due to low physical delivery of target project and activities,” the report read.

At least 2,334 projects worth P62.588 billion were not completed within specific contract time, while 135 projects worth P6.073 billion had been suspended.

On the other hand, 15 projects worth P2.104 billion were terminated, and 815 projects worth P2.584 billion were not implemented.

The commission advised the DPWH to review the contracts, charge contractors for the delayed projects, terminate contracts and blacklist erring contractors.

Also, the CoA said the DPWH failed to charge contractors damages in 120 delayed projects amounting to P6.665 billion.

Gov’t told to hurry ‘Yolanda’ aid for DepEd employees

By Maricel V. Cruz REPRESENTATIVES France Castro of ACT Teachers Party-list said almost five years have passed since the Super Typhoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ ravaged the Visayan Islands in 2013 and yet the supposed aid for the victims remains elusive.

“Years of waiting for the second tranche of the aid have already driven them into deep indebtedness,” Castro, member of the Makabayan Bloc, said. “For so long, the Presidential Management Staff [PMS] under the Office of the President had been slowed down by the tedious documentation requirements indicated in the Memorandum of Understanding in the awarding of the fund,” she added.

Castro said the release of the aid is long overdue.

“The disaster-stricken victims needed timely assistance but the previous administration failed to deliver this by after almost two years in mid-2016. State neglect continues under the Duterte administration as his office fails to take decisive actions up to now,” Castro said.

Citing PMS reports, Castro said only 11,881 out of 49,352 beneficiaries have received the full amount while 37,471 victims or 76 percent are still waiting for the second tranche of the financial assistance.

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Opinion

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

The real state of the nation The President should tell us—what is happening with the economy with the inflation rate of 5.2 percent? What will be the effect on the tens of millions of poor Filipinos?

He should also speak from the heart PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will de- about what is happening in the West liver his third State of the Nation Ad- Philippine Sea with China’s incursions. dress later this month, and according to Why is he allowing China to be so aghis minions in Malacañang, it will be gressive in occupying and militarizing the shoals and reefs? President Duterte delivered “straight from the heart.”

This does not mean a thing. We were should answer this question: At what promised many things during the first cost do the loans, investments and aid and second Sona. But think about it— from China come? *** were the promises for change even fulI am sure President Duterte will capifilled?

Take for instance the vow to eradi- talize on these two things: First is his promise to Muslims that cate illegal drugs, criminality and corthey would have an autonomous region ruption.

The more promises there are, the to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with the enactment more things remain the same.

Take the campaign against illegal of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. This is drugs. Has anything changed? Sure, now being threshed out by both chamthousands of illegal drug pushers have bers of Congress so that unconstitubeen killed, but the real culprits—drug tional provisions could be removed.

Another development he would surelords, narco-politicians—are still very ly dwell on is the much around. draft constitution They may kill submitted to him the very last by the consultapusher, but that tive committee will not eradiI wonder what the headed by former cate the menace chief Justice Reybecause the de- President would say nato Puno and mand comes from “from the heart.” former Senate both rich and president Aquipoor. Sadly, Mr. lino Pimentel Jr. Duterte’s war is There are fears, trained on the poor. I think this will haunt him even however, that the new constitution might enable Mr. Duterte to run for after the end of his term.

And then, the war on criminality has president again.

There are many other controversial spawned a culture of impunity. Aside from drug-related killings, we see provisions in the draft constitution.

I am only relying on reports here judges and prosecutors, clergymen and now local government executives being because I have not read the draft. For instance, there is the issue of forming killed.

As for the war on corruption, sure, 18 federated regions. At what cost? The those who have a whiff of corruption government could be spending billions about them have been removed from of pesos we could not afford to part their posts. But somehow they almost with in the first place.

The Con-com proposed federal conend up somewhere else—they are just recycled and appointed to other stitution could create more problems than solutions. agencies.

At least, the President has realized If the President should indeed speak from the heart, he should focus on how that it is futile to talk peace with the he plans to prevent this country from communists. They are not at all sincere in negotiating with the government and being known as The Killing Fields.

I am not saying that Mr. Duterte is they insist on their conditions.

The Duterte administration also apresponsible for this climate of lawlessness, but did he not tell the police that pears to be doing well on the issue of he wanted more of those involved in il- terrorism. I give credit where it is due. legal drugs killed?

Please visit my web site, www.

This is the true state of the nation. Is emiljurado.weebly.com. this what he will say from the heart?

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Bringing honor

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

O

UR heartfelt congratulations go to the Manila Symphony Junior Orchestra for winning first place with outstanding success in the string orchestra category of the 12th Summa Cum Laude International Music Festival held at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.

The 47 young men and women between the ages of 10 and 23 have brought honor and recognition to the Philippines. The international competition saw the best choirs, orchestras and bands in the world vie for the top prizes in their respective categories.

Last year, as the first Filipino orchestral ensemble to set foot in the famous Golden Hall of the Musikverein, the MSJO delighted

the Austrian jury and audiences with their musicianship and won the second prize at the same festival, and went on to perform in famous concert venues in Vienna, Salzburg, Prague and Munich.

More than 30 ensembles from 14 countries participated in the festival. The MSJO shared top honors with Israel’s Jerusalem Conservatory Hassadna String Orchestra and bested the Montreal Suzuki String Orchestra from Canada, the Nanyang Girls’ High School String Orchestra and the UWCSEA String Orchestra, both from Singapore.

This is no mean feat for a group that was formed only in 2014 as the youth orchestra project of the Manila Symphony Orchestra Foundation, Inc. With no official government support or subsidy, the MSJO is under the principal patronage of Standard Insurance Inc. as part of its corporate campaign “in pur-

suit of excellence.” The orchestra is also sustained by contributions from the families, friends and supporters of its members, who come from lower-income or middle-income families with limited financial resources to pay for a European trip.

The group’s success is a direct result of the guidance and tutelage of their founder and conductor, Jeffrey Solares, and the dedication of its individual members. These young people spend hours in painstaking rehearsals, months ahead of the competition, sacrificing play time, social lives and other aspects of being a teenager.

At a time when the country’s reputation has been buffeted by controversy, the MSJO’s accomplishments are an uplifting reminder that there is honor to be had when Filipinos can work diligently together in harmony toward a shared goal.

Text and context in Charter change debate with many of the drafters, including its most senior leaders former chief Justice Reynato Puno, whom I worked with when he was head of the Supreme Court, and former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel and former assemblyman Reuben Canoy, who are THE consultative committee complet- both from my hometown Cagayan de ed last July 3 the draft of the proposed Oro and whom I have known for more federal constitution. The draft was due than 40 years. to be submitted yesterday to the PresiI have also collaborated with Dean dent for his approval. The President Julio Cabral Teehankee and Local will then present it to Congress for Government Development Foundation consideration as the proposed mode to executive director Edmund Soriano amend the constitution is through con- Tayao. Fr. Ranhilio Aquino is my dean stituent assembly, that is, Congress will at San Beda’s Graduate School of Law, convene to amend the Constitution. while I have known former Integrated What the PresiBar of the Philipdent will receive, pines president which I call the Roan Libarios Puno constitutionsince he was editor al draft, is only a of the Philippine The committee working draft and members are good Collegian. Finally, as such Congress, Antonio Arellano, as a constituent people and their work with his deceased assembly, can use deserves respect and companions Larry it merely as a refIlagan and Marcos intelligent scrutiny. erence material. It Risonar, is one of is in no way bound my martial law by the contents heroes. These are of the proposed good people, padraft. However, it triots all, for sure is wise and prudent for Congress to se- most of them long-term advocates of riously take into account the proposals constitutional change, and their work contained there since they were crafted deserves respect and intelligent scruby some of the best minds in the coun- tiny. try. Besides, if the President adopts it With this column then, I begin a seas his own proposal, then it will have ries on the proposed constitution of the a big influence on Congress. As some Federal Republic of the Philippines. In point, the Puno constitutional draft will this series, I will analyze both the text become the Duterte constitutional pro- and the context of the proposed conposal, and if Congress approves it and stitution. While I will be objective, the people ratify it in a plebiscite, it will independent, and non-partisan, I do become known as the Duterte Consti- this analysis as an advocate of federaltution. ism, democratic values, the strongest I know personally and have worked Turn to A5

EVERYMAN

Song and lyrics, in three different clefs?

By Honor Blanco Cabie NOT too long ago, there was this question posed on Facebook, apparently intended to pick one’s brains: Can you adore a song while completely, vehemently disagreeing with its lyrics?

There were knee-jerk, if Pavlovian, reactions—with some even advancing titles to the songs they claimed were idiotic and insignificant, comments that made us, even at that point, shake our musical cerebellum.

Fact is, the question cannot be as simple as one plus one in simple arithmetic of the 1950s or even 1960s—and

we get an indivisible two as answer.

That question must be approached by first defining the terms substantially involved: Song, lyrics, adore, and vehemently disagreeing.

Loosely translated, a song is a short poem or other set of words set to music or meant to be sung. A composition using rhythm and often rhyme to create a lyrical effect, or a rhythmic series of musical tones arranged to give a pleasing effect.

Other experts say a song is a short piece of music, often with words or lyrics, which puts together vocals and melody although there are composers

who have written musical arrangements without words which, in most cases, mimic the quality of a singing voice.

Lyrics, on the other hand, are words that make up a song, which usually consists of verses and choruses. The writer is almost always called a lyricist.

But where the words are in an extended musical composition, like an opera, these are known as “libretti” and their writer is known as a “librettist.”

Language and musical experts say Turn to A5

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Opinion Running or not?

THE other day, De La Salle University professor Julio Teehankee, a member of the President’s consultative committee (Con-Com) on Charter change, told media that the Con-Com draft Charter would allow Duterte to run again in 2022.

Of course, this threw the usual media hyenas into a feeding frenzy, with the usual suspects from the yellow camp crowing that Duterte’s nefarious intentions to hang onto the Presidency had just been exposed.

Luckily, Fr. Rannie Aquino, another Con-Com member, came out and clarified that Duterte, having been elected under the current Constitution, remains bound by that document’s prohibition against seeking reelection. In other words, what Teehankee meant to say was that Duterte could seek ANOTHER office, if he wished, after stepping down.

To his credit, Yellow leader, lawyer Christian Monsod, came out and admitted that the draft actually did prohibit the current president and vice president from seeking extension of their terms.

Hereunder is the relevant language from Section 6 in Article XXI on “Transitory Provisions:” “The term of the president and vice president, which shall end on June 30, 2022, shall not be extended.”

Unfortunately, this still wasn’t enough for Monsod. He asked why there wasn’t a specific ban against Duterte seeking reelection. Beating his breast in sorrow, he cried out to the high heavens, “Is federalism just a Trojan horse to keep Duterte in power?”

Well. It would be fairly simple anyway for that section in the draft charter to add something like the following language: “…nor shall the president and vice president be allowed to seek reelection to their offices immediately thereafter.”

This kind of prohibition has been requested by Duterte himself. In fact, he’s gone even further and asked to be required, or allowed, to step down as soon as the new charter is approved in plebiscite, which could happen as early as next May.

Text...

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guarantees on human rights, and social justice.

I do this also as a constitutional law professor teaching this subject in eight law schools, including in two graduate schools of law. Thus, I have made sure to ground my analysis on historical and comparative literature. Finally, my analysis will not be naïve and look only at text. Strongly influenced by Yale Law School Professor W. Michael Reisman, I have always made the distinction between the black letter law or mythical system and the operational code where power and authority clash and hopefully integrate as legal and policy (contrary to what is taught in law thesis class, they can never be separated) decisions are made.

In subsequent columns, I will pay proper attention to the textual details of the Puno constitutional draft. I will use the official text for that purpose. But in this column, I emphasize two aspects of the context of our ongoing charter change. First, how constitutional change might come about, the process of adoption. Second, the issue of president Duterte being able to run again as president under the new constitution.

On how Charter change will come about, the 1987 Constitution is actually quite straightforward. For Charter change via constituent assembly, it can only be done if both houses of Congress first convene as such assembly.

Song...

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some lyrics are abstract, often unintelligible—in which case their exposition or summary stresses form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of expression.

Some footnote to this is that rappers can also create lyrics—often with a variation of rhyming words—that are meant to be spoken rhythmically rather than sung.

Adore means being wild about or be smitten with the song, the short piece of music being sung, with or without lyrics, while vehemently disagree means violently or fiercely disagree with the words or lyrics of the song.

Here comes the assumption: Assume that you are hearing the song for the

The man has shown absolutely no appetite at all for overstaying his high office. This is why the old bogeyman of term extension, which was raised by the yellows against every past attempt to amend the Constitution, rings hollow in his case.

I guess you can’t blame them, though.

Who would want to face off in an electoral contest against a president whose political honeymoon has lasted so long?

If anyone needs a new constitution to do a “Hail Mary” long pass on the electoral football field, it’s the yellows, not Duterte.

What really worries me is that the new charter’s self-executory anti-dynasty provision may put Davao city mayor Inday Sara out of the presidential running in 2022. That would be a real loss for the Gen-Xers and the millennials of this country. ***

The prohibition has been requested

by President Duterte himself.

were caused by the following reasons: Delayed LGU approvals; right of way issues; difficulties with contractual workforce, materials acquisition, and equipment scheduling; inadequate project planning and supervision; and bad weather.

That’s a pretty long list of how NOT to do projects. Even if we discount the findings by 50 percent for auditors’ nitpickery (which of course they’re being paid to do), it’s not an encouraging picture.

Our impression of Mark Villar is a reserved, American-educated young gentleman who was born with the proverbial silver spoon, or two, in his mouth.

Perhaps the problem is that he’s too much of a gentleman for the wily field engineers, contractors, and local politicians responsible for getting things done out in the field.

What may be needed instead—which we hope he can still become—is a firebreathing, tough-talking, truncheonwielding disciplinarian—someone more like, well, Duterte himself. *** Having said all of the above, though, we ought to add a couple of caveats.

First, according to DPWH insiders, the amounts disbursed in 2017 totalled virtually all of the cash actually allocated to the agency that year. The utilization rate drops drastically if compared to budget amounts that were OBLIGATED, an exercise that typically happens late in the year when there’s no longer much time left to spend it.

More seriously, we have to note the alacrity with which COA has been rushing out its adverse reports against the Office of the President, PTV-4, and now DPWH under Duterte, even though it never raised a peep over the Dengvaxia and barangay health center anomalies in 2015/16, not to mention the earlier DAP anomalies that were flagged by the Supreme Court no less.

Is it just a coincidence that CoA is currently headed by a PNoy appointee, Michael Aguinaldo, who used to be Aquino’s deputy executive secretary for legal affairs? Will CoA go down the same path as the Ombudsman, Comelec, or Commission on Human Rights, whose past or present heads concealed their yellow agenda under the protective mantle of constitutionally guaranteed independence?

The President has lowered the boom on mounting evidence of delays in rolling out the ambitious infrastructure projects under his much-vaunted Build Build Build program.

Speaking in Davao City, Duterte announced that he will hold his Cabinet members personally responsible for delayed or faulty projects, after complaining that he has yet to see a single road in this country finished on time and without graft and corruption.

The Cabinet member unlucky enough to be singled out by name was DPWH Secretary Mark Villar, who’s responsible for at least a dozen major road, highway and bridge projects, including the Luzon Spine Expressway that’s supposed to cut down travel time from La Union to Sorsogon to under 12 hours.

In its 2017 audit report, CoA found that DPWH was able to disburse only 34 percent of its total allocated budget of P663 billion for the year. This was mainly the result of delays in completReaders can write me at gboliing over 2,300 projects, which in turn var1952@yahoo.com.

They can debate together or separately the proposed changes but must vote separately with three-fourths of a vote in each chamber necessary to approve amendments or a new constitution.

Deviating from this procedure will render the exercise illegitimate from the beginning, but the Supreme Court decision on the quo warranto petition against Chief Justice Sereno is a strong indication that an innovative, some day distorted, interpretation of straightforward constitutional text can be found to justify a political outcome.

In other words, I think that constitutional change is possible to happen even if the Senate does not participate. All that the House of Representatives has to do is to submit a draft constitution to the Comelec for approval in a plebiscite.

Once the plebiscite is done, and the people approve the constitution, the political question doctrine can be used by the Supreme Court to legitimize an unconstitutional adoption of a new constitution.

On whether President Duterte can run again, whatever the intentions of the drafters (and most of them are on the record saying that Duterte can no longer run) does not matter. The text controls; if there is no absolute, explicit ban on who can run under the new constitution, anyone can run—all incumbents, all expresidents. Not even a ban on reelection is enough; that could be interpreted as applying only to 1987 Constitution positions as nobody is being reelected under the new constitution in its first elections.

The only language that is clear enough is this: “No person who served as presi-

dent under the 1987 Constitution shall be qualified to run and be elected as president under this constitution. Presidents Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Arroyo Macapagal Arroyo, Benigno Simeon Aquino III, and Rodrigo Duterte are hereby permanently and perpetually disqualified from running and to be elected as President of the Federal Republic of the Philippines.” Even this language could be subverted by a Supreme Court who could use the political question doctrine to allow all these former presidents to run or to legitimize the victory of a former or incumbent president.

These scenarios are my analysis of the context of our constitutional debate.

That is why, no matter how attracted I am to some of the ideas in the text offered in the Puno constitutional draft, I will wait until the scenarios play out in full before I make my decision on supporting or rejecting constitutional change. For sure, I am not afraid of such a change but certainly, for our sake and for the sake of future generations and of our country, we must proceed on this matter cautiously, rationally, with clarity of mind and purpose, always with the national interest and the greater common good in mind.

Changing the constitution is a wholeof-country project, an arduous and challenging task.It is my hope that my Eagle Eyes series on Charter change, on the text and context of the Puno constitutional draft, will assist everyone as we move forward with this debate.

first time and therefore the lyrics for the first time as well, in a language you are not familiar with, how can you vehemently disagree for crying out loud?

A case in point is “La Paloma” as sung by Nana Mouskouri. She begins: Cuando sali de la habana, valgame dios/Nadie me ha visto salir sino fui yo/ Y una linda quachinanga como una flor/ Se vino detras de mi, que si señor...// Some have translated this thusly: When I left Havana, goodness, gracious/ No one saw my departure but me/ But a pretty courageous girl, like a flower/ followed me, that’s right sir...// There is an English translation—although not the correct transcription at all—of this popular Spanish song that has been produced and reinterpreted in different cultures, including the Philip-

pines, with Elvis Presley singing, from his “Blue Hawaii” soundtrack “No more do I see the starlight caress your hair/ No more feel the tender kisses we used to share/ I close my eyes and clearly my heart remembers/ A thousand good-byes could never out out the embers.// Now, would a Filipino, even after 24 units of Spanish in college, be able to vehemently disagree with the Spanish lyrics as sung by Mouskouri,or even the English version as sung by Presley?

Our point is, as in another clef—perhaps the C, the F or the G—we may like the song, that one with a melody and words without really understanding, initially, the lyrics, and then disagree vehemently with its lyrics much, much later.

Note Icona Pop’s “Clap Snap” and

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TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

AFP in 1972-1985, PNP in 2016-2018 (Reserve Officers Training Corps).

Ramos was named PC/INP Chief instead. Marcos’s choice of Gen. Ver, and not Ramos, as the military establishment’s top man was expected by most knowledgeable observers beIF THE Filipino people were asked cause the two men—Ver and Ramos how they regarded the AFP (Armed —could not have been more different Forces of the Philippines) and the from one another.

PC/INP (Police Constabulary/InteVer was not the best-trained miligrated National Police) during and tary officer. His greatest assets were at the end of the martial-law period, his being, like his boss, a native of Iltheir answer would have been that ocos Norte and his absolute loyalty to they detested the AFP and elevated him. Indeed, a story that was widely the PC-INP. Those judgments didn’t told at the time was that if Mr. Marjust happen; they were the result of a cos were to ask Fabian Ver to jump combination of factors, some institu- out of the window, Ver’s reply, after tional, some personal. saluting, would be “Yes, sir. Which The most important of the insti- floor?” tutional factors was the decision of In contrast, Fidel Ramos, a cousin President Ferdinand E. Marcos to let of Mr. Marcos—they both had Valdez the AFP be the implementing mecha- blood running through their veins— nism for the martial law that he im- a well-brought-up and highly principosed on this country on Sept. 21, pled man. He was taught, in child1972. There were three reasons for hood and in the military academics, this choice. The first was that, having to place God and country above all been a soldier, Mr. Marcos was more else. He was a professional in every knowledgeable about and more com- sense of the word. fortable with the soldiery than with Though Gen. Ramos was related the police. The to him by blood, second was that Marcos knew anything of a that Ramos martial nature would never do was properly his bidding if it This PNP will have to the domain of was all illegal or wait a long time before people trained anti-social. He it regains the Filipino for warfare. The knew that Ramthird reason was os did not follow people’s trust and that the 10th orders blindly, respect.

President trusted unlike Gen. Ver. the military less Ramos could than he did the not be counted police, which he upon to impleconsidered a tool ment martial law of the local politicians, who by 1972 the way that Marcos wanted it implewere anxious to see him leave Ma- mented. lacañang.

As its Chief, Fidel V. Ramos ran Mr. Marcos and his trusted ally, the PC/INP in as professional a way Secretary of National Defense Juan and as closely to the PC handbook, as Ponce Enrile, used the AFP to imple- he could. This is not to say that no ment martial law, enforce the mar- violations of the Bill of Rights were tial-law regulations, run the business committed during his watch as head establishments that had been con- of the police establishment; but there fiscated from their private owners, was no ‘tokhang’ and no unbelievably incarcerate Mr. Marcos’s opponents numerous incidence of ‘nanlaban.’ and, at the onset of the Edsa Revolu- PC/INP Chief Ramos was a ‘bato’ of tion, threaten to annihilate. the decent, principled kind.

A second institutional factor unWith Gen. Ramos as its head, Presderlying the popular judgments on ident Marcos could not misuse the the comparative martial-law perform- police establishment Ramos would ances of the military and the police have resigned rather than permit that. was the decision taken by the Marcos Which is why the PC/INP by and regime to rein in the police forces all large retained the trust of the people over the Philippines by integrating right through the martial-law period. them into the INP (Integrated NaBut Mr. Marcos knew that, with tional Police). This prevented the po- his henchman Fabian Ver sitting in lice, elements of which were treated Camp Aguinaldo, he could abuse the as private armies by local politicians, military. And he did. All he had to from becoming disruptive and com- do was bark his orders, and Gen. Ver plicating the implementation of mar- would follow them unquestionably. tial law. Throughout the martial-law Which is why, in contrast, the AFP period the police played a role that was regarded with opprobrium by the was clearly subordinate to the role Filipino people. The use of Philippine played by the military. This, notwith- Marines and tanks to try and crush standing that under the Constitution the Edsa Revolution crowd was the the responsibility for maintaining in- Marcos/Ver AFP’s final affront to the ternal order belongs to the police.

Filipino people—and the final nail in At the non-institutional plane, two the coffin of its reputation. individuals—more specifically, the At the end of the Edsa Revolution, personalities of the two individuals the police establishment’s reputation —accounted for the judgments of the was largely intact, whereas the AFP’s Filipino people on the AFP and the was in tatters. The Filipino people rePC/INP during and after martial law. garded the AFP much like a prostitute Those individuals were the Chief of whom Mr. Marcos had used. It took a Staff of the AFP and the Chief of the decade for the AFP to regain the trust PC/INP (and Deputy AFP Chief of of the Filipino people.

Staff).

To his credit, Secretary of National Lieut. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, a prod- Defense Delfin Lorenzana has shielduct of the Philippine Military Acad- ed the AFP from misuse by the Duterte emy and the US Military Academy, administration. The opposite is true of should have been named Chief of the PNP (Philippine National Police), Staff of the AFP, but President Mar- which has been so grievously misused cos chose to give the top position in by the AFP of Marcos/Ver, the Duterte this country’s military establishment administration’s PNP will have to wait to Lieut. Gen. Fabian Ver, who went a long time before it regains the Filiup through the ranks of the ROTC pino people’s trust and respect.

the lyrics of the song: aha ah/ 3, 6, 9, the goose drank wine/ The monkey chewed tobacco on the streetcar line/ The line broke, the monkey got choked/ And they all went to heaven in a little rowboat.// You listen to the sound, and you might feel persuaded and persuasive pliant bamboos by your side—before you know it, you would be swaying in the winds—not ever having a good dig at what the singer is saying.

In the chorus—a part of the song that recurs at intervals, usually following each verse; refrain—portion of Nelson del Castillo’s song: When you need a friend/ That you can depend (sic)/ You can count on me because/ you’re my best friend/ When you’re feeling down/ And your heart is hurt/ You can call on me and/ i’ll be there for you friend...//

There are of course other songs that have grammatical lapses, at home and abroad. But often such goof-ups or musical miscues are drowned by a melody that is soothing to the listener’s tympanic membrane.

Now, back to the question: Can you adore a song while completely, vehemently disagreeing with its lyrics?

We say, underscoring our thesis, sometimes the melody of syncopated notes overrides the lyrics, written with the best intentions before the bars and scale.

Cabie, leader of the now defunct Tiger Boys Band of Ilocos Norte and former 1st trombonist of The Mendiola Brass, writes songs and does musical arrangements when he is not writing Petrarchans and Shakespearean.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Standard

Republic of the Philippines

By:

TODAY ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

10.

Copies of the foregoing documents and/or information are attached to this Joint Application as annexes hereof:

IN THE MATTER OF THE JOINT APPLICATION FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE POWER SUPPLY AGREEMENT (PSA) BETWEEN NUEVA ECIJA II ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.- AREA 1 (NEECO II – AREA 1) AND AP RENEWABLES, INC. (APRI), WITH PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY AND MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF INFORMATION

A A-1

NUEVA ECIJA II ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. – AREA 1 (NEECO II – AREA 1) AND AP RENEWABLES, INC. (APRI) Applicants. x - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x

JOINT APPLICATION (with Prayer for Provisional Authority) -----------------------------------------------------------------------

Applicants Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Area 1 (“NEECO II – AREA 1”) and AP Renewables Inc. (“APRI”), by and through the undersigned counsels, respectfully state that: Statement of Facts 1.

Applicant NEECO II – Area 1 is a non-stock, non-profit electric cooperative (EC) duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with principal main office at Calipahan, Talavera, Nueva Ecija, where it may be served with summons and other legal processes, represented in this instance by its General Manager, ENGR. NELSON M. DELA CRUZ, of legal age, Filipino, and with office address also at NEECO II – AREA 1 Main Office.

2.

Applicant APRI is a generation corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with principal office address at NAC Tower, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. APRI is the owner and operator of four (4) geothermal plants located in Sto. Tomas, Batangas and Bay-Calauan, Laguna and two (2) geothermal plants located in Tiwi, Albay, (collectively, the “Power Plants”).

3.

Applicants may be served notices, orders and other processes of the Honorable Commission through their respective counsel whose addresses are indicated below.

4.

Applicant NEECO II – AREA 1 is the exclusive franchise holder of a Certificate of Franchise issued by the National Electrification Commission to operate an electric light and power services in following city and municipalities in the Province of Nueva Ecija: Talavera, Lupao, Carranglan, Aliaga, Quezon, Licab, Sto. Domingo, Science City of Munoz, Guimba and Talugtog.

5.

Applicant NEECO II – AREA 1 is in need of a 33 MW baseload and intermediate power supply for the period covering August 26, 2018 to December 25, 2019.

6.

After careful evaluation and review of the terms of the bid offers, NEECO II – AREA 1 deemed the proposal of APRI the most advantageous and beneficial for NEECO II – AREA 1’s end consumers. Therefore, Applicants executed this Power Supply Agreement (PSA) on 8 June 2018.

7.

Thus, NEECO II – AREA 1 and APRI come to this Honorable Commission for the approval of the PSA. SALIENT TERMS OF THE POWER SUPPLY AGREEMENT 8.

Executive Summary. Under the PSA, APRI shall supply power to NEECO II – AREA 1 from Effective Date (subject to Article 4 of the PSA) until 25 December 2019 or until such time that the power supply contract between NEECO II – AREA 1 and its new power supplier commences; provided that such extension shall not exceed one (1) year and shall be subject to ERC Approval

9.2

9.3

9.4

9.5

9.6

9.7

9.8

Term of Agreement. The PSA shall take effect immediately from Effective Date until the end of the Contract Period as specified in the PSA. The PSA also stipulates that the PSA may be renewed or extended in writing by the Parties not later than three (3) months prior to the expiration of the Contract Period.

Supply of Energy. NEECO II – AREA 1’s Maximum Contract Energy per interval is thirty-three thousand kilowatts (33,000 kW) for the duration of the PSA. Adjustment in Contract Capacity. NEECO II – AREA 1 may request an adjustment in Contract Capacity and Contract Energy in respect of a particular Billing Period by delivery of a written request at least three (3) months before the date on which such adjustment is proposed to take effect and setting out the reasons and providing all documents necessary to support the request, without prejudice to the right of APRI to waive the three (3)-month notice period.

Within thirty (30) days from receipt of such notice, APRI shall notify NEECO II – AREA 1 in writing indicating APRI’s acceptance or refusal of NEECO II – AREA 1’s request to adjust the Contract Capacity and Contract Energy. Any such request shall be subject to approval by APRI. Additional Energy. Additional Energy shall in no case exceed twenty percent (20%) of the Maximum Contract Energy per Interval or Maximum Contract Energy per Billing Period.

Payment of Fees. APRI shall deliver to NEECO II – AREA 1 a Billing Statement setting out the Electricity Fees due on account of the Contract Capacity and all Energy delivered during each Billing Period on or before the seventh (7th) day of the Payment Month.

The hourly energy levels that will be used for purposes of the Billing Statement will be based on the amount of Energy nominated by NEECO II – AREA 1 pursuant to Schedule 6.2. of the PSA. Penalties. If NEECO II – AREA 1 fails to pay the Electricity Fee or any other amounts payable by it under the PSA in full, including full payment of VAT due (if any) and all applicable taxes thereon, on the due date, it shall pay a penalty of two percent (2%) per month (a fraction of a month to be considered one month) based on the amount due, from the date when such payment is due until the date such amount is received in full by APRI. Taxes, Fees and Costs. NEECO II – AREA 1 shall be liable for and pay (i) any and all taxes (including value-added tax, if any), fees, charges, levies and imposts imposed or assessed by any Governmental Authority on or in connection with the purchase and sale of electricity and/or payments due to APRI, and (ii) any new taxes, fees, charges, levies and imposts (including any increase in the rate or amount thereof after the date hereof but excluding income taxes imposed on APRI and fines and penalties directly attributed to APRI’s gross negligence) after the date hereof in connection with the performance by APRI of its obligations pursuant to the PSA. Electricity Fees. Electricity Fees refers to the total amount of charges due from NEECO II – AREA 1 in respect of the Contract Capacity and all Energy supplied by APRI during a Billing Period, computed in accordance with Schedule 6.1.2 (Rates Schedule).

NEECO II – AREA 1’s Articles of Incorporation NEECO II – AREA 1’s Amended By-Laws

B

NEECO II – AREA 1’s List of Board Directors

C

APRI’s Amended Articles of Incorporation

C-1

APRI’s Certificate of Registration from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

E

APRI’s General Information Sheet

E-1

APRI’s Ownership Structure Map APRI’s Certificate of Registration No. 2009-084 from BOI

F-2

APRI’s Certificate of Registration No. 2016-152 from BOI APRI’s Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) No. 0109-642-203 from the Department of Energy and Natural Resources (DENR)

G-1

APRI’s ECC No. 0112-871-203 from the DENR

G-2

APRI’s ECC No. 9206-041-203C from the DENR

G-3

APRI’s ECC No. 9112-037-203 from the DENR

G-4

Summary of Capacity based on ECC

H

APRI’s COC No. 15-11-M-286rL from the ERC

H-2

APRI’s COC No. 15-05-M-00007L from the ERC

H-3

APRI’s COC No. 15-05-M-00008L from the ERC

H-4

APRI’s COC No. 15-05-M-00009L from the ERC

H-5

APRI’s COC No. 17-05-M-00105L from the ERC

I

APRI’s Certificate of Endorsement (COE) from the DOE

J

APRI’s Geothermal Renewable Energy Operating Contract (GREOC) No. 2009-10-006 APRI’s Certificate of Registration No. GREOC 2009-10-006 from DOE

K-1

APRI’s Certificate of Registration No. GREOC 2009-10-007 from DOE

L

Load forecast projections in accordance with the latest 2018 Distribution Development Plan (DDP) of NEECO II – AREA 1 with DDP summaries

M

NEECO II – AREA 1’s Invitations to Submit Proposal

M-1

NEECO II – AREA 1’s Terms of Reference

M-2

Proposals from bidders to NEECO II – AREA 1 (Confidential)

M-3

NEECO II – AREA 1’s Bids and Awards Committee Evaluation Report Resolution No. 2018-03-011

M-4

NEECO II – AREA 1’s Board Resolution Confirming the Approval of BAC Evaluation Report Resolution No. 04-13-18

M-5

Notice of Award issued by NEECO II – AREA 1

M-6

Diagram and Matrix on Type of Competitive Selection Process

M-7

NEECO II – AREA 1 Board Resolution No. 10-13-17 on the conduct of CSP

N

Power Supply Agreement dated 8 June 2018

O

APRI’s Transmission Service Agreement (TSA) – Tiwi Geothermal Power Plant

O-1

APRI’s TSA – Makban Geothermal Power Plant

O-2

NEECO II – AREA 1’s TSA

P

P-1-b

APRI’s Bank of the Philippines Island Certification (Confidential) Sample Computation of Power Rates

P-2-b

Rate Impact Simulation Fuel Procurement Process (Confidential)

R

Relevant technical and economic characteristics of generation capacity

S

APRI’s Audited Financial Statements

T

Write-Up on APRI’s Documentary Requirements

U

Transition of Power Supply from NPC Transition Supply Contract to Power Supply Agrrement with APRI

V

Affidavit of Engr. Nelson M. Dela Cruz

VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NON-FORUM SHOPPING I, ENGR. NELSON M. DELA CRUZ, of legal age, Filipino, married and with office address located at Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Area 1 (NEECO II – AREA 1), Calipahan, Talavera, Nueva Ecija, after having been sworn to in accordance with law, hereby depose and states: 1.

I am the authorized representative of AP Renewables, Inc. (“APRI”), Co-Applicant in this case, as per attached Secetary’s Certificate;

2.

That I have caused the preparation and filing of this Joint Application for Approval of the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) Between Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Area 1 (NEECO II – AREA 1 and AP Renewable, Inc. (APRI) with respect only to portion pertaining wholly to NEECO II – AREA 1;

3.

That I have read and know the contents of the aforesaid Joint Application pertaining to NEECO II – AREA 1 as true and correct to the best of my knowledge;

4.

That I hereby certify that I have not theretofore commenced by any other action or proceeding involving the same in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or any other tribunal or agency;

5.

That to the best of my knowledge, no such action or proceeding is pending in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or any other tribunal or agency;

6.

That if there is such action or proceedings which is either pending or may have been terminated, I must state the status thereof, and;

7.

That should thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been filed or pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or any other tribunal or agency, I will undertake to report that fact within five (5) days therefrom to the Court or agency wherein the original pleading has been filed.

ENGR. NELSON M. DELA CRUZ Affiant LTO Driver’s License No. C05-97-105070

MOTION FOR THE ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY 11.

As can be gleaned from the comparative scenarios of the Rate Impact Analysis, the PSA between the Applicants reflects the most beneficial and cheapest generation charges at a reduced rate of Php /kWh. The resultant reduction is Php 0.9384/kWh vis-à-vis the existing Php 4.8443/kWh.

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 6th July 2018 in in Talavera, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, affiant exhibited to me his Driver’s License No. C05-97-105070 issued at Baloe, Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija, on March 13, 2018 and NEECO II - AREA 1 ID No. 070 as competent evidence of his identity.

12.

The implementation of the PSA with APRI will afford the end-users of NEECO II – AREA 1 a stable supply and affordable rates.

13.

The grant of a provisional authority will allow NEECO II - AREA 1 to immediately draw power under the PSA by 26 August 2018. This will l ultimately redound to the benefit of NEECO II - AREA 1’s customers in terms of continuous, reliable, efficient and affordable power supply. Attached as Annex “V” hereof is the Judicial Affidavit of Engr. Nelson M. Dela Cruz in support of the motion for provisional approval.

MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF INFORMATION

Doc. No. 285; Page No. 58; Book No. XX; Series of 2018.

Republic of the Philippines) Taguig City )S.S.

14.

Section 1, Rule 4, of the Honorable Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure provides that a party to any proceeding before the Commission may request that information about the party in the Commission’s possession not be disclosed.

15.

In line with this, NEECO II – AREA 1 and APRI pray for the confidential treatment of the information contained in the following annexes, and not disclose the same except to the officers and staff of the Honorable Commission: Annex

Documents and/ or information

M-2

Proposals from bidders to NEECO II – AREA 1 (Confidential)

P-1

APRI’s Sources of Funds/ Financial Plans (Confidential)

P-1-a

APRI’s Asian Development Bank Certification (Confidential)

P-1-b

APRI’s Bank of the Philippines Island Certification (Confidential)

OM = PhP0.8121/kWh Fuel = PhP1.5000/kWh or , whichever is lower

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) Municipality of Talavera )S.S. Province of Nueva Ecija )

APRI’s Cash Flow (Confidential

Q

Electricity Fees = A + B + C + D + E

CRF = PhP1,397.07/kW-mo

ARNIDO O. INUMERABLE Counsel for NEECO II – AREA 1 405 Elisa Street, U.E. Village, Cainta, Rizal 1900 PTR No. 5846984, 1-30-18, Q.C. IBP No. AR002036, 1-30-18, Q.C. Roll of Attorneys No. 28764 MCLE Compliance No. V-0007400, 4-23-15

APRI’s Generation Rate Derivations (Confidential)

P-2-a

All computations on payments to Supplier shall not be rounded off, except for the final PHP amount, which shall be rounded off to the nearest Philippine centavo.

Where:

By:

APRI’s Sources of Funds/ Financial Plans (Confidential) APRI’s Asian Development Bank Certification (Confidential)

P-3

NUEVA ECIJA II ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. – AREA 1 (NEECO II – AREA 1) Talavera, Nueva Ecija

Executive Summary on PSA

P-1-a P-2

16th Floor, NAC Tower, 32nd St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City Telephone No. 886-2348/Fax No. 886-2405

APRI’s GREOC No. 2009-10-007

K

P-1

CELENI KRISTINE G. GUINTO PTR No. A-3749336 / January 23, 2018 / Taguig City IBP Lifetime Number No. 011964 / Quezon City MCLE Exemption No. V-001508 Roll No. 62390

APRI’s Certificates of Compliance (COC) No. 15-11-M-00028L from the ERC

H-1

J-1

MA. MARGARITA S. LIM PTR No. A-3749337 / January 23, 2018 / Taguig City IBP No. 021984 /January 09, 2018 / PPLM MCLE Compliance No. V-0016454 / March 31, 2016 Roll No. 64612

APRI’s Certificate of Registration No. 2009-083 from the Board of Investment (BOI)

F-1

G

PAUL B. SORIÑO PTR No. A-3695138 / January 5, 2018 / Taguig City IBP No. 021983 / January 9, 2018 / RSM MCLE Compliance No. V-0002586 / June 9, 2014 Roll No. 55895

APRI’s Amended By-Laws

D

F

KATRINA M. PLATON PTR No. A-3783452 / February 27, 2018 / Taguig City IBP Lifetime No. 706864 / Makati City MCLE Compliance No. V-0018713 / April 13, 2016 Roll No. 38338

NATURE OF DOCUMENTS

ANNEX

ERC CASE NO. 2018 -__ RC

9.1

OTHER RELATED DOCUMENTS

P-2

APRI’s Generation Rate Derivations (Confidential)

P-3

APRI’s Cash Flow (Confidential

Q

Fuel Procurement Process (Confidential)

VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NON-FORUM SHOPPING I, ALEXANDER B. COO, Filipino, of legal age, with office address at NAC Tower, 32nd St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City, after being sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and say that— 1. I am the authorized representative of AP Renewables, INC. (“APRI”), Co-Applicant in this case, in this case, as per attached Secretary’s Certificate; 2. I have caused the preparation the foregoing Joint Application and have read the contents thereof, and, based on my own personal knowledge, belief and on authentic records of APRI, all the allegation contained therein are true and correct; 3. APRI has not commenced any other action or proceeding involving the same issue/s in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or any court, tribunal, or quasi-judicial agency and, to the best of my knowledge, no such other action or claim is pending therein; and 4. Should I hereinafter learn that the same or a similar action or claim has been filed or is pending in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or any court, tribunal, or quasi-judicial agency, I shall report said fact within five (5) days from discovery thereof to this Honorable Commission.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereto affixed my signature on 6 July 2018 in Taguig City, Philippines.

16.

Annex “M-2”, the proposals from bidders to NEECO II – AREA 1 contains information on pricing and capacity. Bidders have requested that these information remain confidential as they form part of the bidders’ strategies against competitors.

17.

On the other hand, Annexes “P-1”, “P-1-a”, “P-1-b”, “P-2”, “P-3” and “Q” contain information and data involving APRI’s operation, financial trade secrets, formula and pricing structures used in arriving at APRI’s tariff. These information are not generally available to the public. As such, the information and data contain in these documents are privileged and confidential in nature. In the case of Air Philippines Corporation v. Pennswell,2 the Supreme Court explained that:

A = CRF x CC x Adj B = OM x TED C = Fuel x TED D = any increase in existing taxes and all future taxes, fees and imposts, real property taxes, local business taxes, transmission charges, other charges that may be imposed on the procurement and purchase of steam, and other charges imposed on the Power Plant, including the charges indicated of Schedule 3.1(b) of the Agreement, in Philippine Pesos.

E = the amount due for re-delivery of any undelivered quantity due to a Force Majeure event.

CC = Maximum Contract Energy per Interval in kW as indicated in Schedule 4.1 of the Agreement

ACCij =

n= Int =

CC less affected capacity due to Force Majeure for interval i and day j, the number of days per Billing Period the number of Trading Intervals per day

TED = the total energy delivered in kWh within the CC during the current Billing Period Nm = the Newcastle index (USD/MT) published on the 25th of the calendar month; provided that if such day falls on a non-Business Day, the Newcastle index on the immediately preceding Business Day shall be used JPUm= the JPU reference coal index (USD/MT) published on the 25th of the calendar month; provided that if such day falls on a non-Business Day, the JPU reference coal index on the immediately preceding Business Day shall be used

18.

The foregoing documents constitutes a compilation of information on the operations of the plant that have actual and valuable proprietary interest, which APRI must protect against competitors. This information must be protected since if this matter is known by the public, especially APRI’s competitors, the data can be used by a competitor as an input or variable in the determination of the competitor’s tariff. A competitor knowing this information will gain a competitive leverage against APRI. As explained in this Honorable Commission’s Decision in the ERC Case No. 2015-111 RC: “In the case of PNOC RC, the documents sought to be protected from disclosure contains formula and pricing structures used in arriving at their proposed tariff. The prices cited in the documents were components of the proposed tariff. In fact, all three (3) documents were used by the Commission in evaluating the reasonableness of the proposed rate. In electric power industry where prices is a major consideration in selecting one’s supplier, it is apparent that the assumption used in arriving at one’s proposed tariff is considered a competitive leverage by one player against its competitors.

Thus, the Commission resolved to treat the said documents confidential and may not be publicly disclosed.”4

FXm = the average of the daily PHP/USD exchange rate for the last three calendar months prior to the Billing Period for which the Invoice is being prepared, as published in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas website

19.

In view of the foregoing Applicants respectfully request that the foregoing documents attached as Annexes “M-2”, “P-1”, “P-1-a”, “P-1-b”, “P-2”, “P-3” and “Q” the information contained therein be treated as confidential and privileged, and not be disclosed to persons other than the necessary officers and staff of this Honorable Commission.

Notes: In the event that revisions are made on the above indices, including any shift made in the base year and other adjustments to such index made by the relevant authorized entity, its successor-in-interest, there shall be a corresponding change in the base index such that the use of the revised index will yield the equivalent values as the use of the original base index.

20.

APRI hereby submits one (1) copy each of Annexes M-2”, “P-1”, “P-1-a”, “P-1-b”, “P-2”, “P-3” and “Q” in a sealed envelope with the envelope and each page of the document stamped with the word “Confidential.”

In the event that the index (a) becomes unavailable, (b) is replaced by a new benchmark rate as determined by the relevant authorized entity, its successor in interest, or (c) ceases to exist, or (d) in the reasonable determination of either Party, fails to reflect the real costs and forms an integral part of this price mechanism, the Parties shall agree to adopt a new price index.

9.

“Trade secret is defined as a plan or process, tool, mechanism or compound known only to its owner and those of his employees to whom it is necessary to confide it. The definition also extends to a secret formula or process not patented, but known only to certain individuals using it in compounding some article of trade having a commercial value. A trade secret may consist of any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information that: (1) is used in one’s business; and (2) gives the employer an opportunity to obtain an advantage over competitors who do not possess the information. Generally, a trade secret is a process or device intended for continuous use in the operation of the business, for example, a machine or formula, but can be a price list or catalogue or specialized customer list. It is indubitable that trade secrets constitute proprietary rights. The inventor, discoverer, or possessor of a trade secret or similar innovation has rights therein which may be treated as property, and ordinarily an injunction will be granted to prevent the disclosure of the trade secret by one who obtained the information “in confidence” or through a “confidential relationship.”3

Estimated Rate Impact.

Generation Rate and Supply Mix1

Generation Rate (Php/kWh)

Without APRI

4.8443

With APRI

3.9059 The analysis of the rate impact reveals that the resultant generation charge (GC) is lower and, thus, offers the best competitive and affordable price. Lower GC translates to the same passed-on charges to the benefit and interest of NEECO II – AREA 1’s end consumers. Therefore, the approval for the implementation of the PSA is imperative and essential because of the lower GC that will redound to the cooperative’s stakeholders.

PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, applicants Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Area 1 (NEECO II – AREA 1) and AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI) respectfully pray that the Honorable Commission:

ALEXANDER B. COO Affiant SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 6 July 2018 in Taguig City affiant exhibiting to me his Passport No. EC 3682726 valid until 15 March 2020 issued at DFA NCR East and Community Tax Certificate No. CCI2018 1906411 issued on 5 June 2018 at Manila.

Doc. No. 138; Page No. 29; Book No. I; Series of 2018.

AP RENEWABLES INC. REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) CITY OF CEBU ) S.S. SECRETARY’S CERTIFICATE I, JUSTINE MAE A. CABATINGAN, Filipino, of legal age, with office address at Aboitiz Corporate Center, Gov. M. Cuenco Ave., Kasambagan, Cebu City, Philippines, after having been duly sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that: 1.

I am the Assistant Corporate Secretary of AP RENEWABLES INC. (the “Corporation”), a corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Philippines with principal office address at NAC Tower, 32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City.

2.

At the regular meeting of the Board of Directors held on April 2, 2018, during which meeting a quorum was present and existing throughout, the following resolutions were unanimously passed and approved: “RESOLVED, that the Board of Directors of AP RENEWABLES INC. (the “Corporation”) authorize, as it hereby authorizes, the Corporation to file a Joint Application with Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO II) entitled “In the Matter af the Application for Approval of the Power Supply Agreement between AP Renewables Inc. (APRI) and Nuevo Ecija II Electric CooperatIve, Inc. (NEECO II), with Prayer for Provisional Authority and Motion for Confidential Treatment of Information” (“Application) and to file all relevant motions, pleadings or papers or documents with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in relation the Application; RESOLVED FURTHER, that anyone (1) of Messrs. Alexander B. Coo and/ or Mr. Felino M. Bernardo, be authorized and empowered, as each is hereby authorized and empowered, to cause the preparation, filing and execution of the Corporation’s pleadings, motions, papers, documents, affidavits, certifications and instruments, and to sign the Verification and Certification of Non-Forum Shopping. to be filed with the ERC, and to do and perform all such other acts and things, for and on behalf of the Corporation, as may be deemed necessary or appropriate and convenient to give effect to these resolutions;

a.

ISSUE an Order treating Annexes M-2”, “P-1”, “P-1-a”, “P-1-b”, “P-2”, “P-3” and “Q” and the information contained therein as confidential, directing their non-disclosure to persons other than officers and staff of the Honorable Commission, as necessary, pursuant to Rule 4 of the ERC Rules, and prescribing guidelines for the protections thereof;

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the Board of Directors appoint, as it hereby appoints, anyone (1) of Attys. Katrina M. Platon, Paul B. Sorino, Ma. Margarita S. Lim and/or Celenl Kristine G. Guinto, or any other person appointed by any one of them, to represent and appear for and on behalf of the Corporation in the Application, with authority to:

b.

Pending trial on the merits PROVISIONALLY APPROVE, the PSA, including all the rates, fees and charges set out therein; and

1.

file the Joint Application with Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative, Inc. (NEECO II), and to represent the Corporation and appear for and on its behalf in all proceedings, meetings, discussions before the ERC, including pre-trial conferences, in respect to the Application, to perform any and all acts and deeds and to submit and sign such documents and pleadings necessary to implement this authority;

2.

act as agent of and appear on behalf of the Corporation in the pre-trial and ali proceedings in relation to the Application, with full power to make commitments and take positions, and to consider the Ii] possibility of an amicable settlement or a submission to arbitration, mediation or other modes of alternative dispute resolution; [ii) simplification of the issues; [iii) necessity or desirability of amendments to the pleadings; [iv) possibility of obtaining stipulations or admissions of facts and of documents totally or partially to avoid unnecessary proof; [v) limitation of the number of witnesses or time allocated to particular witnesses and issues; [vi) advisability of a preliminary reference of issues to a commissioner; [vii)

c.

After trial on the merits, APPROVE with FINALITY the PSA, including all the rates, fees and charges set out therein.

Other relief, just and equitable, are likewise prayed for.

Cainta, Rizal and Taguig City for Pasig City, 6 July 2018.

AP RENEWABLES, INC.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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necessity or desirability of having an expository hearing or consumer forum; [viii) procedures at the hearing and hearing schedule; [Ix) submission of written testimony and exhibits to be offered and the marking thereof; [x) agreements regarding service of documents; and [xi) such other matters as may aid in the prompt disposition ofthe proceedings; 3.

negotiate, conclude, enter into and execute a compromise for amicable settlement of the Application, if appropriate, or to submit the Application to alternative modes of dispute resolution, under such terms and conditions as they may deem just and reasonable;

4.

to file any appeal or represent the Corporation in further proceedings; and

5.

to do and perform on behalf of the Corporation any act and deed relating to the Application which the Corporation could legally do and perform;

Manila

Standard TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018

FORUM FOR ELDERS.

Certified rescuers brief Phivolcs Director Dr. Renato Solidum, Unicef Philippines Country Representative Lotta Sylvander, Office of Civil Defense Assistant Secretary Nicanor Faeldon, SM Cares Program Director on Persons with Disabilities Engineer Bien Mateo and former National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council executive director Alexander Pama as regards the use of rescue gadgets and equipment prior to the start of Monday’s ‘Emergency Preparedness Forum for Elders and Children with Disabilities’ at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Ey Acasio

RESOLVED FURTHER, that Mr. Carlo Jose Morales, be authorized to: a)

represent the Corporation as its witness during the ERC in respect of the Application; and

b) appoint a witness/es as may be necessary in the Application; RESOLVED FURTHER, that the foregoing resolutions shall remain valid and subsisting unless otherwise revoked or amended in writing by the Corporation; RESOLVED FINALLY, that the Corporation approve, ratify and confirm, as it hereby approves, ratifies and confirms, any and all acts done by the foregoing authorized representatives in relation to the above resolutions.”

3. These board resolutions have not been revoked, amended or modified and remain valid and binding on the Corporation as ofthe date hereof.

4. The above statements are in accordance with the records of the Corporation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this May 29, 2018 at Cebu WHEREOF, I City, Philippines.

JUSTINE MAE A. CABATINGAN Assistant Corporate SecretaryFCA SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this May 29, 2018 at Cebu City, Philippines.

Affiant, who is personally known to me, presented her Driver’s License No. G06-03079669 issued at Cebu City DLRO Roblnsons Fuente on May 16, 2018 and Community May 16, 2018 and Community Tax Certificate No. 11796053 issued in Cebu City on January 26, 2018.

26, 2018.

Doc. No. 59; Page No.13; Book No. I; Series of 2018.

EXCERPTS FROM THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS HELD AT THE COOP’S HEADQUARTERS, CALIPAHAN, TALAVERA, NUEVA ECIJA ON MAY 23, 2018 PRESENT: 1. REYNALDO V. VILLANUEVA - President 2. EDUARDO V. BALDEDARA - Vice President 3. NORIEL B. JUNIO - Secretary 4. FRANCISCO R. PALOMO JR. - Treasurer 5. ROLLY DV. RAMOS - P.R.O. 6. TEOFILA DR BALANGATAN - Member 7. REALTO U. SABACAN - Member 8. ENGR. NELSON M. DELA CRUZ - Ex-Officio Member ABSENT: NONE x------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------x BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 05 - 19 -18 Series of 2018 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE JOINT FILING OF APPLICATION WITH THE ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION (ERC) FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE POWER SUPPLY AGREEMENT (PSA) ENTERED INTO BY AND BETWEEN NUEVA ECIJA II ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. - AREA 1 (NEECO II - AREA 1) AND ABOITIZ POWER (AP RENEWABLES, INC.) AND APPOINTING THE GENERAL MANAGER, ENGR. NELSON M. DELA CRUZ, TO REPRESENT THE COOPERATIVE IN THE SAID FILING WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of this cooperative. under Board Resolution No. 10 - 13 - 17 Series of 2017, has authorized the Management thru the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) to conduct a Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for the Power Supply Contract/ Agreement of NEECO 11- Area 1; WHEREAS, ON March 08, 2018. the BAC have conducted the public bidding in which the Technical and Financial Bids were submitted by the seven (7) participating Independent Power Producers/Suppliers; WHEREAS, the Board of Directors, after careful study and deliberation on the recommendation of BAC and TWG. has favorably considered the offer of Aboitiz Power (AP Renewables. Inc.) and confirmed and/or approved the award of the NEECO II - Area l’s Power Supply Agreement to Aboitiz Power (AP Renewables. Inc.) through Board Resolution No. 04 - 13 - 18 Series of 2018 dated April 24. 2018; WHEREAS. in compliance with the regulations of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) needs to be filed with the ERC Office for the their approval; NOW THEREFORE, upon motion duly made by Dir. Francisco R. Palomo. Jr. and seconded by Dir. Realto U. Sabacan; be it; RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED to authorize the joint filing of the application with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for the approval of the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) entered into by and between Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative, Inc. Area 1 (NEECO II - Area 1) and Aboitiz Power (AP Renewables. Inc.); RESOLVED FURTHER, to authorize the General Manager. Engr. Nelson M. Dela Cruz to represent the cooperative and to sign all documents on behalf of the cooperative relative to this matter; BE IT RESOLVED FINALLY, that copies of this resolution be furnished to the Management for guidance in the implementation and to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for their information and/or appropriate action; APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. x------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------x I hereby certify to the correctness of the foregoing resolution

NORIEL B. JUNIO Board Secretary ATTESTED BY: ATTESTED BY: REYNALDO V. VILLANUEVA Board President SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 07th day of June 2018 in Talavera, Nueva Ecija and affiant exhibited competent evidence of identity,____________.

Doc. No. 2809; Page No. 42; Book No.XXIX; Series of 2018.

EXCERPTS FROM THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS HELD AT THE COOP’S HEADQUARTERS, CALIPAHAN, TALAVERA, NUEVA ECIJA ON MAY 23, 2018 PRESENT: 1. REYNALDO V. VILLANUEVA - President 2. EDUARDO V. BALDEDARA - Vice President 3. NORIEL B. JUNIO - Secretary 4. FRANCISCO R. PALOMO JR. - Treasurer 5. ROLLY DV. RAMOS - P.R.O. 6. TEOFILA DR BALANGATAN - Member 7. REALTO U. SABACAN - Member 8. ENGR. NELSON M. DELA CRUZ - Ex-Officio Member ABSENT: NONE x------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------x BOARD RESOLUTION NO. 05 - 20 -18 Series of 2018 RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE MANAGEMENT TO ENGAGE THE LEGAL SERVICES OF ATTY. ARNIDO O. INUMERABLE TO HANDLE THE FILING AND PROCESSING OF THE APPLICATION WITH THE ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE POWER SUPPLY AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO BY AND BETWEEN NEECO II - AREA 1 AND ABOITIZ POWER (AP RENEWABLES, INC.) WHEREAS, on March 08,2018, the BAC have conducted the public bidding in which the Technical and Financial Bids were submitted by the seven (7) participating Independent Power Producers/Suppliers; WHEREAS, the Board of Directors, after careful study and deliberation on the recommendation of BAC and TWG, has favorably considered the offer of Aboitiz Power (AP Renewables, Inc.) and confirmed and approved the award of the NEECO II - Area 1 ‘s Power Supply Agreement to Aboitiz Power (AP Renewables, Inc.) through Board Resolution No. 04 - 13 - 18 Series of 2018 dated April 24, 2018; WHEREAS, in compliance with the regulations of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), the Power Supply Agreement (PSA) needs to be filed with the ERC Office for the their approval. and requires the service/s of legal counsels to represent this cooperative; WHEREAS, considering the expertise of Atty. Arnido O. Inumerable in handling cases that need approval of the ERC. the management highly considers and recommends engaging his services to represent the cooperative in the PSA Filing; WHEREAS, after full deliberation, the Board of Directors favorably considered the recommendation of the management; NOW THEREFORE, upon motion duly made by Dir. Realto U. Sabacan and seconded by Dir. Eduardo Baldedara; be it; RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, to authorize the management to engage the legal services of Atty. Arnido O. Inumerable to handle the filing and processing of the application with the Energy Regulatory Commission for the approval of the Power Supply Agreement entered into by and between NEECO II- Area 1 and Aboitiz Power (AP Renewables, inc.); FINALLY, to furnish this resolution the Management for guidance in its implementation and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) for their information and consideration; APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY. x------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------x I hereby certify to the correctness of the foregoing resolution.

NORIEL B. JUNIO Board Secretary

ATTESTED BY: ATTESTED BY: REYNALDO V. VILLANUEVA Board President th

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 07 day of June 2018 in Talavera, Nueva Ecija and affiant exhibited competent evidence of identity,____________.

Doc. No. 2810; Page No. 42; Book No.XXIX; Series of 2018.

1

Please see Annex P-2-b

2

G.R. No. 172835, December 13, 2007.

3

Emphasis supplied.

4

See Decision dated 30 May 2017, In the Matter of the Application for the Approval of the Power Supply Agreement Between Nueva Ecija II Electric Cooperative, Inc. – Area 2 (NEECO II – Area 2) and PNOC Renewables Corporation (PNOC RC) with Prayer for Provisional Authority, ERC Case No. 2015-111 RC, p. 26. Emphasis and underscoring supplied

(MS-JULY 10, 2018)

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TODAY mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Scrap drug tests—Gatchalian

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

S

ENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday called for the scrapping of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency’s plan to conduct mandatory drug testing of students, and put the P2.8-billion budget for the program to better use.

“The P2.8 billion needed to fund PDEA’s proposed mandatory drug testing of Grade 4 to Grade 12 students will be put to better use if allocated to address the shortage of guidance counselors in elementary and high schools,” said Gatchalian, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Arts and Culture.

“What will the children think?

It’s like we’re already treating them as drug suspects, even the ones as young as nine years old in Grade 4,” he said.

The students, Gatchalian said, would be better served by having guidance counselors correct or prevent unhealthy behavior rather than subjecting them to drug testing, which he said was “a potentially traumatic experience.”

He also recommended that the budget for the drug tests be used to hire more guidance counselors for the Department of Education.

“I would rather have more guidance counselors who will steer young students away from drug use by encouraging them to

succeed in academics, sports, the arts, and other wholesome activities,” the senator added.

DepEd previously noted that with at least 14 million Grade 4 to Grade 12 students and the testing fee pegged at P200 per student, PDEA’s planned drug testing will need a budget of P2.8 billion.

An investigative report done

by Vera Files published in January, meanwhile, revealed that public elementary and high schools in the country are severely lacking in registered guidance counselors.

DepEd requires public and private elementary and high schools to hire one guidance counselor for every 500 students.

The Philippines, however, only has 3,220 RGCs as of July 2017 since the first batch of licensure examinees in 2008.

The neophyte senator said he was mulling filing a bill to modify the qualifications for the guidance counselor licensure examination as provided for in Republic Act No. 9258 or the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004.

“At present, before taking the exam to have a license, a master’s degree in guidance and counseling is needed by an applicant. This may be too stringent and may have deterred guidance counselors from applying for a license,” he said.

“Maybe we can allow bachelor’s degree holders to take the licensure exam and waive the licensure exam requirement for those with at least a master’s degree and relevant experience. Kasi hindi ba sa LET (Licensure Examinations for Teachers), bachelor’s degree lang ang requirement,” he added.

Village execs told: Solve drug problems BACOLOD CITY—A ranking official of the Department of the Interior and Local Government has warned barangay officials who will fail to act against illegal drugs in their respective communities of possible sanctions.

Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño issued the warning during Sunday’s Anti-Drug Summit 2018 in Victorias City attended by 6,000 barangay officials and personnel in Negros Occidental.

“We are watching you. The DILG is watching you now,” he said.

Diño said the agency “will see to it” that all villages would have functional Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Councils (BADACs).

“If not, you will face a penalty from the DILG,” he added.

Diño, a former barangay captain himself, said the newly elected barangay officials should fulfill their promise during the election campaign to fight illegal drugs.

“When you were campaigning, you promised ‘heaven and earth’ to your constituents, to protect them from illegal drugs and criminality. Now, fulfill that promise, most especially in the barangays which have many reported drug pushers and drug addicts,” he told the village officials.

Diño said the new set of barangay officials was given two months from the time they assumed office on June 30 to submit a report on the reorganized BADAC. “We filed a case for dereliction of duty before the Office of the Ombudsman against those who previously failed to submit. We will do it again. We might even submit their names to the President to speed up their suspension, if they have failed to submit,” he added. PNA

OUT OF THE WAY. MMDA conducts a clearing operation of illegally parked vehicles along Rizal Avenue and Abad Santos Street in Manila Monday morning. Norman Cruz

GSIS requires minimum credit rating for bidders STATE-RUN Government Service Insurance System is now requiring a minimum credit rating of B+ for interested reinsurers who will join the pension fund’s bidding for reinsurance contracts.

“We needed to have a clearer perspective about credit risk because GSIS cedes part of its general insurance businesses to minimize exposure to risks. Thus, it is vital to set a minimum credit rating as a requirement for potential bidders of reinsurance contracts. In this way, we are confident that our reinsurers can meet their financial obligations when they fall due,” GSIS president and general manager Jesus Clint O. Aranas said.

“Our reinsurance contracts undergo public bidding. This is to ensure that all potential reinsurers, whether local or foreign, have access to a fair and transparent bidding process. The General Insurance Bidding

and Awards Committee ensures that reinsurance accounts for bidding strictly adhere to the requirements for an open and competitive procurement process,“ Aranas added.

To be eligible, potential bidders are now required to submit a certified true copy of proof of latest Credit Rating of at least B+ issued by the A.M. Best.

In addition, the securities or panel of reinsurers, whether foreign or domestic, should be rated at least “A” by the A.M. Best.

The foreign securities or panel of reinsurers must be duly authorized to transact reinsurance business in the Philippines through their appointed resident agent.

Interested bidders may download the complete list of eligibility and technical requirements for bidding of reinsurance from the GSIS website (http://www.gsis.gov.ph/downloads/reinsurance/20180529-GI-Eligibility_ Technical%20Requirements.pdf).

16,541 patients benefit from medical aid PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office, through the Charity Assistance Department, reported on Monday the agency helped 16,541 patients with medical assistance worth P518 million in June, an increase of 18.7 percent compared with the same period last year.

“The agency has already spent P518,626,694 million, an increase of 13 percent compared with the same period last

year,” said PCSO general manager Alexander Balutan.

The top three natures of requests include confinement with 5,120 patients, an increase 18.4 percent compared with the same period last year; request for medicines with 5,088 patients at 19.4 percent; and chemotherapy with 3,582 patients at 13.2 percent.

“As for spending, the agency already spent P194,466,480 million for confinement,

P160,590,803 million for chemotherapy, P84,478,960 million for requests for medicines, P47,684,600 million for implant/prosthesis/medical devices, and P19,502,851 million for laboratory and diagnostic procedures,” Balutan added.

Other requests include radiation treatment, surgery, laser treatment, medical appliances, dialysis (hemodialysis and peritoneal), blood, and others.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M+ 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

Sports

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

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TUESDAY, JULY 10. 2018

England’s defender Harry Maguire celebrates at the end of the Russia 2018 World Cup quarter-final football match between Sweden and England at the Samara Arena in Samara on July 7, 2018. AFP

Filipino jins vying in Korea Open CARRYING the colors of SMART/MVP Sports Foundation, the Philippine taekwondo team for Kyorugi (sparring) and Poomsae (forms) will vie in the prestigious 2018 Korea Open Championships on July 18-24 in Jeju, Korea.

Five officials and 29 athletes—10 male and 9 female in Kyorugi and 10 male and female in Poomsae—make up the PH squad which will see action against bets from 60 countries such as Korea, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Germany, France and Spain, among others.

The PH team members are: Officials—Dindo Simpao, John Paul Lizardo, Rani Ann Ortega, Lee Taesang and Jung Manseo (Korean coach).

Kyorugi: Male—Rommel Pablo (-48kg), Jenar Torillos (-58kg), Francis Aaron Agojo (-63kg), Keno Anthony Mendoza (-63kg), Arven Alcantara (-58kg), Lorenz Chavez (-58kg), Dave Cea (-74kg), Samuel Thomas Harper Morrison (-80kg), Keybert Lumbania (-87) and Kristopher Robert Uy (+87kg); Female-- Abigail Faye Valdez (-46), Veronica Garces (-46kg), Karen Cells (-46kg), Baby Jessica Canabal (-49kg), Rhezie Aragon (-53kg), Rheza Aragon (-53kg), Pauline Louise Lopez (-57kg), Darlene Mae Arpon (-62kg) and Kirstie Elaine Alora (+73kg).

Poomsae: Juvenile Faye Crisostomo, Rinna Babanto, Jocel Lyn Ninobla, Janna Dominique Oliva, Dustin Jacob Mella, Raphael Enrico Mella, Rodolfo Reyes Jr., Jeordan Dominguez, Patrick King Perez and Mark Lorenz Balcita.

The competition serves as a tuneup for the PH athletes’ participation in the forthcoming Asian Games in Indonesia.

The Filipinos have always been considered among the top contenders in tough international events like the Korea Open. The PH team, supported by PLDT, Meralco, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Milo, is well prepared for the tourney.

Harry Maguire: Rise of England’s new hero S

AMARA—Harry Maguire travelled to watch England as a fan at Euro 2016, but two years later he is a pillar of the defence as the country prepares for its first World Cup semi-final in 28 years.

After celebrating Hull’s 2015-16 promotion to the Premier League, Maguire and a group of friends made the trip to France to see England’s 0-0 group-stage draw with Slovakia.

Those same friends are now out in Russia, but this time the 25-year-old Maguire is playing a crucial role in England’s improbable World Cup quest.

It has been an amazing ascent for the Sheffield-born defender, who only made his England debut in a 1-0 qualifying victory over Lithuania in October.

The 2016-17 campaign was Maguire’s first season as an established player at the top level, and although Hull were condemned to relegation from the Premier League, his performances persuaded Leicester to sign him on a five-year deal.

It proved a shrewd move as the powerfully built Maguire, who stands 1.94 metres (six feet four inches) tall, played every single minute of the Premier League during his debut season with the Foxes.

He was rewarded with t w o Leicester player of the year awards—from the players

and the fans—but his rise to unlikely World Cup hero would not have been possible without Gareth Southgate.

The England manager showed a great deal of faith in Maguire as he set about forging a new team identity after taking over from Sam Allardyce in 2016.

“When I was watching him during the season I was so keen that he stayed fit because I thought this was a stage I was certain he could show he could play at,” Southgate said after Maguire scored his first international goal in the 2-0 quarterfinal win over Sweden.

“I’m not sure he’s always believed that.

His first game in (Lithuania) he talked about just being desperate not to make a mistake.”

Southgate’s decision to use a back three, as they did in reaching the semi-finals at Euro 96 and the 1990 World Cup, has played into Maguire’s favour.

As a youngster he spent much of his time patrolling midfield before transitioning to centre-back in his mid-teens, and those past experiences are serving Maguire well. AFP

KAI Sotto drilled in 22 points and hauled 10 rebounds as Batang Gilas crushed New Zealand, 73-51, and registered its best-ever finish in the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, Sunday in Santa Fe, Argentina (Monday in Manila).

Sotto was supported by Terrence Fortea, who had 12 markers, while Gerry Abadiano, RC Calimag and Geoffrey Chiu chipped in eight points each for the Michael Oliver-coached Batang Gilas, which finished in 13th place in the 16team tournament.

Oliver was assistant coach to Jamike Jarin during the previous World Cup, where the team finished 15th.

The 7’1” Sotto joined hands with Lyceum Junior Pirates standout Mclaude Guadana for a big scoring run that allowed Batang Gilas to take charge at halftime, 34-25.

Meanwhile, Team USA ruled the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup for the fifth straight time, crushing France, 95-52, in the gold-medal game.

According to the FIBA website, the United States extended its winning streak to 37 games, dating back to the inaugural event in 2010. Peter Atencio

NCAA cancels today’s games

Arven Alcantara, one of the Korea-bound PH team’s fighters, delivers a turning side kick at his opponent in a recent competition.

Streaking Kim seeks 1st PH Golf Tour Asia crown AFTER scoring a maiden victory in record fashion on the Philippine Golf Tour at Pueblo de Oro, Korean Kim Joo Hyung goes for another first—a PGT Asia diadem in the $100,000 ICTSI Forest Hills Championship beginning tomorrow (Wednesday, July 11) in Antipolo.

While he said he feels good about nailing his first win and becoming the youngest winner on the local circuit, the 16-year-old shotmaker has opted to downplay his chances for another title crack against a tougher field on a tougher Forest Hills Golf and Country Club’s Nicklaus course.

“I feel good and my game is in shape,” said Kim, who bested the cream of the local pro crop plus a slew of foreign aces to win the Pueblo De Oro Championship in Cagayan de Oro over the weekend. “But

Batang Gilas 13th in U-17

for me, right now it’s just a learning process. Even if I won last week, I’m still trying to learn right now.”

He expects to learn more from a soupedup field this week and on a rolling course made tougher by uneven terrain, which requires well-placed shots due to elevation changes and multiple ravines. But as with all mountain courses, the greens are the ultimate challenge, particularly one’s recognition of the general lay of the land and its effect on one’s putt, which is so crucial to a good round.

“The course is a little bit tricky. But if I want to win again, every part of my game needs to be good,” said Kim, bracing for four days of test of shotmaking and will from the best in the fold in the fourth leg of the second season of the region’s newest circuit put up by ICTSI.

Kim Joo Hyung

NCAA Management Committee chair Frank Gusi of host Perpetual Help yesterday announced the postponement of all games of the 94thNCAA basketball tournament at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan City today due to inclement weather.

“Because of the bad weather, we are postponing all NCAA games tomorrow (today),” said Gusi.

Gusi said they will reschedule the postponed games in the latter part of the first round of the double-round elimination.

Beermen crush TNT in Game 1

By Jeric Lopez DIFFERENT script, same story.

Finishing with a vengeance, San Miguel Beer continued its dominance of rival TNT KaTropa after pulling off an astounding come-from-behind 121-110 triumph following a terrible start to carve a 1-0 series lead in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-ofthree quarterfinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Monday night.

Renaldo Balkman was a beast for the Beermen, pouring in monster numbers of 36 points and 16 rebounds, while June Mar Fajardo had the same kind of night, adding 27 points and 13 boards.

Marcio Lassiter was just as big for San Miguel, scoring 26 points, to go with six rebounds and four assists.

San Miguel can finish off TNT KaTropa in Game 2 tomorrow night as it can go for a sweep to advance to the semifinals.

The victor of this series will face the winner of the quarterfinal between No. 2 Alaska and No. 7 Magnolia in a best-of-seven semifinals showdown.

The Beermen, who trailed by 19 points at the end of the first period and 17 midway the third, weathered the early storm before slowly but surely banking on their championship muscles in the second half to turn the tides completely and finish strong.

A decisive 13-0 bomb in the waning minutes of the final frame enabled the defending champions to complete their breakthrough and snatch the win away emphatically, showing its full championship mettle.

The game was tied at 106-all with over five minutes left and it seemed like it was headed to a wild finish, but San Miguel suddenly decided to break it open late.

The Beermen, using their definitive run, suddenly held a 119-106 cushion after two free throws from Balkman with 1:15 remaining.

PH National Sports Coaching Conference set VETERAN swimming coach Wilfred Arzaga from Canada will arrive in August to be the main guest speaker in the Philippine National Sports Coaching Conference to be held under the auspices of Arzaga the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines, the sole governing body recognized by the Federation Internationale du Sport Universitaire, in coordination with Philippine Aquatics Sports Coaches Association Inc. and TYR Philippines.

Arzaga will also conduct a seminar during his stay in the country.

Interested participants to the conference may contact the following persons.

In the Luzon region, the contact person is Coach Emer Matienzo (09054140726) for the seminar to be held at the Bosay Resort Hotel and Conference Center, Antipolo from Aug. 31 to Sept 2.

In the Visayas and Mindanao regions, the contact person is Coach Cris Pesar (09206892132) for the seminar to be held in Bacolod City from Aug. 17 to 19.

Invited to take part in the seminar are the sports coaches, physical education teachers and athletes, including swimmers, from the different regions in the country. Parents who are involved in sports and sports enthusiasts, in general, are also welcomed to attend the event.

Among the topics and issues to be discussed during the seminar are the following: Principles of Sport Coaching; Principles of Sport Management; Principles of Sports Behavior; Principles of Sport Teaching; and Principles of Sports in Physical Training.

PH arnis team assembled soon

By Peter Atencio THE search is on for fighters who can be part of the national team in arnis.

And it won’t be long before they can assemble a national developmental pool and an elite team which will see action in the Southeast Asian Games next year.

Sports officials said this after staging the first Philippine Eskrima and Kali Association of the Philippines National Battle of Champions last weekend at the Le Pavilion in Pasay City.

“What we have here are the best of the best. All the styles of arnis are here. Kailangan nang magkaisa,” said Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, president of the Philippine Eskrima Kali Arnis Federation, Inc. There were around 160 arnis practitioners who saw action, chosen from

the regional championships in Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao and the National Capital Region.

The winners in the two-day event will form the national team that will gear up for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines.

“We took it upon ourselves to unite with this tournament,” said Zubiri.

The Bago City Arnis team ais among the favorites, after having a strong finish with 2 gold medals, 3 silver and 5 bronze medals in the 2018 Philippine National Games held in Cebu.

The Bagonhon team collected a gold medal in the Anyo event, courtesy of Leizl Matulac in the individual unidentical weapon, with Junary Garcia settling for the silver in the individual single weapon category.

IN BRIEF Flat glass makers seek DTI guidance THE flat glass industry sought an audience with the Department of Trade and Industry to help address public safety concerns and determine risk reduction measures pending the acquisition of another local flat glass company.

Flat Glass Alliance of the Philippines Inc. executive vice president Nonie Galpa said the group would pursue a multi-billion peso acquisition of a flat glass manufacturing facility on a pioneer status.

The group is also seeking the adoption of safety measures on glazing practices through specific regulations.

“In the everyday of the twenty eight years that our company operated the lone flat glass manufacturing in the country, we shared our mission of uplifting the general welfare of the consumers in the flat glass industry, as well as, the recommendations for providing better and safer quality glass,” company executive vice president Nonie Galpa said.

“Our industry association, the Flat Glass Alliance of the Philippines Inc., actively participated to your efforts in the area of glass and glazing applications,” Galba added. Othel V. Campos

GSIS requires minimum credit rating for bidders STATE-RUN Government Service Insurance System is requiring a minimum credit rating of B+ for interested reinsurers who will join the pension fund’s bidding for reinsurance contracts.

“We needed to have a clearer perspective about credit risk because GSIS cedes part of its general insurance businesses to minimize exposure to risks. Thus, it is vital to set a minimum credit rating as a requirement for potential bidders of reinsurance contracts. In this way, we are confident that our reinsurers can meet their financial obligations when they fall due,” GSIS president and general manager Jesus Clint Aranas said.

“Our reinsurance contracts undergo public bidding. This is to ensure that that all potential reinsurers, whether local or foreign, have access to a fair and transparent bidding process. The General Insurance Bidding and Awards Committee ensures that reinsurance accounts for bidding strictly adhere to the requirements for an open and competitive procurement process,“ Aranas added.

ERC drafts rules on bill deposits of consumers THE Energy Regulatory Commission has come out with the draft rules that will govern the monitoring and reporting process of bill deposits of consumers of distribution utilities.

The ERC said in a draft resolution the interest on the bill deposits should be credited annually to the bills of the registered customers.

“Thus, six months from the effectivity of these rules, all distribution utilities shall issue a statement of account to their consumers showing the total amount of bill deposit and accrued interest,” the draft paper said.

The ERC said the bill deposit should reflect the corresponding interests as a separate line item on the electricity bill, using the phrase Bill Deposit six months from the effectivity of the rules.

ERC also called for more transparency in the imposition of the bill deposit by requiring the distribution utilities to disclose in their respective websites information on the bill deposit, including the computation. Alena Mae S. Flores

Business Finance and technology industry leaders come together at 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines’ annual general assembly. 1CISP was organized in 1974 to look after the insurance and financial needs of farmers, fisherfolk, labor unions, coop-groups, cooperative organizations and individuals. Shown are (from left) Amor Maclang, marketing and communications innovator of GeiserMaclang Marketing Communications Inc.; Roy Miclat, president of 1CISP; Arvie De Vera, head of fintech business group at UnionBank of the Philippines; Justo Ortiz, chairman of UnionBank; Senen Bacani, director of 1CISP; and Teodoro Evangelista, chairperson of 1CISP.

Manila, Washington eye start of free trade talks T HE United States and the Philippines plan to hold preparatory meetings that will lead to bilateral free trade negotiations, the Finance Department said Monday.

Senior Filipino and US officials recently discussed ways to further deepen bilateral economic cooperation, including the possibility of pursuing a free trade agreement, according to the department.

Discussions led by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III with Jeffrey Gerrish, the US Deputy Trade Representative for Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Industrial Competitiveness, centered on America’s interest in initiating “informal preparatory meetings” with the Philippines on the “scope, timing and process” leading to an FTA between Manila and Washington.

The meeting, which also included Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez and Agriculture

Napocor wants to put up generation plants

By Alena Mae S. Flores STATE-RUN National Power Corp. is offers its expertise to put up generating facilities in case of a power crisis.

Napocor said Section 71 of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 should be amended to grant the Energy secretary the power to determine an imminent power shortage.

Section 71 of the Epira law states that upon determination of the president of an imminent shortage of supply of electricity, Congress may authorize, through a joint resolution, the establishment of additional generating capacity.

Napocor said upon the recommendation of the Energy secretary, the president may authorize the establishment of security capacity “under such terms and conditions as may be recommended by the Secretary of Energy.”

“DoE may tap the capability of NPC

MAZDA-SHELL PARTNERSHIP. Mazda

Philippines and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. sign a partnership agreement to provide Mazda vehicles with the most efficient fuel. Under the agreement, all Mazda car buyers will be given a Shell Welcome Kit which contains Shell Fuel vouchers for an efficient head start when they roll out their cars. At the signing of the agreement at the Mazda Makati Showroom are (from left) Kit Bermudez, marketing and strategy director of Pilipinas Shell; Anthony Yam, general manager for retail of Pilipinas Shell; Steven Tan, president and chief executive of Mazda Philippines; and David Asuncion, sales and marketing director of Mazda Philippines.

in building such security capacity and operating it. Accordingly, the option for the President to exercise section 71 and thereafter for Congress may be dispensed with,” it said.

Napocor said as the operation of such security capacity was expected to be costly, funds necessary to build a plant including its operation and maintenance should be provided by the government and should not be passed on to consumers.

Napocor said the administration of the universal charge for missionary electrification and environmental levy should also be transferred to the company from the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. by 2026.

Napocor is mandated under the Epira law to provide electrification to missionary or far-flung areas. Prior to the passage of the law, Napocor monopolized the country’s power and transmission sectors.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018

B1

BSP seen hiking interest rate for the third time, says ANZ Bank

COOPERATIVE INSURANCE.

By Julito G. Rada

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

Secretary Emmanuel Piñol, was a followup on the earlier dialog between President Rodrigo Duterte and US President Donald Trump in November last year in Manila, where they discussed ways to strengthen bilateral trade ties.

Gerrish said the US also wanted to resolve several concerns involving certain agricultural products such as rice, meat rice and poultry; the Philippines’ customs processes; intellectual property rights; and the need for an open, competitive market for electronic payment (e-payment) services before moving into discussions on the FTA. He said the US was “prepared to move forward” and proceed “to highlevel discussions in the near future” to determine how these concerns should be addressed, possibly through a series of agreements between the two countries.

Dominguez said the Philippine government under the Duterte administration was committed to promoting “open markets and free trade.”

He also expressed the government’s concern over the brewing trade spat between the US and China, which, he said, would benefit the Philippines only in the short term, but would lead to nega-

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monday, July 9, 2018

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

53.4120

Japan

Yen

0.009056

0.4837

UK

Pound

1.332400

71.1661

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127424

6.8060

Switzerland

Franc

1.010407

53.9679

Canada

Dollar

0.764059

40.8099

Singapore

Dollar

0.736974

39.3633

Australia

Dollar

0.743100

39.6905

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652872

141.6952

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266645

14.2420

Brunei

Dollar

0.734268

39.2187

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000070

0.0037

Thailand

Baht

0.030148

1.6103

UAE

Dirham

0.272287

14.5434 62.7271

Euro

Euro

1.174400

Korea

Won

0.000897

0.0479

China

Yuan

0.150401

8.0332

India

Rupee

0.014535

0.7763

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.247647

13.2273

New Zealand

Dollar

0.683400

36.5018

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032864

1.7553

tive repercussions felt by economies across the globe if the feud worsened.

Gerrish said discussions with China on how to resolve this concern “have been continuing.”

Dominguez also invited US companies to get involved in the Philippines’ infrastructure modernization program.

Dominguez said the US participation in the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program would widen the field of “good and strong companies” to choose from to help the government fulfill its infrastructure agenda.

Others who joined the meeting were Finance Undersecretary Antonette Tionko; Karl Ehlers, the acting assistant US trade representative; Michael Klecheski, deputy chief of mission of the US Embassy in Manila; Lynne Gadkowski, deputy economic counselor of the US Embassy; and Brian Breuhaus, economic counselor of the US Embassy.

Bilateral trade between the Philippines and the US reached $16.6 billion in 2017. The US ranked second among the markets for Philippine merchandise exports with a total of $9.2 billion in 2017, which was 4 percent higher than that in 2016.

Grab PH ventures into food delivery, financial services

By Darwin G. Amojelar RIDE-HAILING service provider Grab is expanding its operations in the Philippines to include on-demand food delivery and financial services.

“GrabFood is the next major step in our move to serve the daily needs of consumers. Food delivery is a natural extension of our transport offerings. Each day, millions of people in Southeast Asia rely on ride-hailing services to bring them from place to place, as well as food delivery services to save time from travelling around in congested cities to satisfy their cravings,” Grab Philippines country head Brian Cu said.

“With the expansion of GrabFood across the region, we are working with local merchants and delivery partners to deliver the best of Manila’s kitchens to the doorsteps of our consumers,” he said.

GrabFood was launched in Jakarta in 2016 and subsequently beta-tested in Bangkok last year. User research with merchant partners in these cities revealed that they reaped incremental benefits of going online to reach more customers and enjoyed a significant increase in orders through GrabFood, resulting in higher revenue.

GrabFood also proved to be a real revenue driver for merchants in these cities.

Based on Grab’s user research, majority of Filipinos were excited to try new things, and would choose a food delivery platform that offers the most dependable service, providing the widest range of food offerings with best value-for-money and fastest speed of delivery.

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will likely raise its overnight borrowing rate by another 25 basis points to 3.75 percent before the end of the year to rein in inflation, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said.

ANZ said in a report the strong economic growth had resulted in persistent macro imbalances, including a higher inflation and a wider trade deficit.

“Recent tax reforms have added further to price pressures…We expect the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to hike its policy rate by another 25 bps in November 2018. This follows the 50 bps of tightening hitherto this year,” ANZ said.

ANZ said with growth expected to remain high at 6.8 percent in 2018, macro imbalances would likely intensity in the Philippines. It said the most noteworthy impact of strong growth was observed on the trade deficit which surged 59 percent year-on-year between January and April this year.

“Strong growth momentum, together with other developments, including the lingering impact of tax reforms, elevated global crude oil prices and a weaker peso, have raised price pressures in the system… We expect CPI inflation to average 4.6 percent in 2018, above the upper bound of the official target range of 2 to 4 percent,” it said.

“On monetary policy, we believe that further tightening is still necessary to rein in inflation. Accordingly, we continue to expect the BSP to hike its overnight reverse repurchase rate by 25 bps in November 2018, taking the cumulative hikes to 75 bps this year,” the bank said.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported last week that inflation in June accelerated to a more than five-year high of 5.2 percent from 4.6 percent in May, triggered by faster increases in the prices of some food and beverage products. Julito G. Rada

LBC Express to take over foreign units

By Jenniffer B. Austria LOGISTICS company LBC Express Holdings Inc. plans to acquire two Hong Kong-based affiliates as a part of a strategy to consolidate its international businesses under the company.

LBC chief finance officer Enrique Rey said in an interview following the annual stockholders’ meeting the company planned to acquire the cargo and remittance firms which were the remaining affiliates that it had not yet purchased.

Rey said the acquisitions were expected to be completed in the next couple of years.

“We want them to the healthier before they are consolidated into our business,” Rey said.

Hong Kong and Europe operations contributed less than 10 percent to LBC’s international business.

LBC Express acquired four affiliate cargo and remittance companies operating in California, New Jersey, Saipan and Hawaii for a total of $8.55 million in March.

Rey said with the acquisition, LBC Express would be able to expand the offerings of its overseas businesses.

“That is why is it makes sense to consolidate, because what they do overseas is only a fraction of what LBC does in the Philippines,” he said.

“We have all these logistics segments and features that we can provide our customers like delivery and freight forwarding. We don’t have that overseas. So the opportunities are immense and we are excited about that,” he said.

LBC Express plans to open 80 branches across the country, particularly in major cities, second and third-class municipalities.

The company said it was hoping to finally secure an approval from Securities and Exchange Commission for its planned P1.5-billion share sale.

B2

Business

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market ends flat; Jollibee retreats T HE stock market closed flat Monday in thin trading, unable to join the rally in the region as investors remained cautious of the next move of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell minimally by 0.09 point to 7,186.62 on a value turnover of P3.4 billion. Losers beat gainers, 105 to 81, with 49 issues unchanged.

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-biggest lender in terms of assets, declined 2.7 percent to P67.85, while Jollibee Foods Corp., the largest fastfood chain, lost 2.4 percent to P245.

Now Corp. of the Velarde Group, which is bidding to become the third

major telecommunications company, tumbled 3.9 percent to P9.28, but Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest bank, rose 1.7 percent to P89.

The rest of Asian markets rallied on Monday, extending their gains at the end of last week, following another strong US jobs report that reinforced confidence in the US economy and helped settle trade war nerves.

While Friday’s tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of dollars of goods by the world’s top two economies were seen as damaging, analysts said the the impact would be limited.

Global markets had been tumbling ahead of the imposition of the tariffs but bounced on Friday.

The upbeat sentiment carried over into the new week after data showed the US economy created more than 200,000 jobs in June, beating expectations.

That was compounded by the fact

that average hourly earnings growth remained sluggish, while the unemployment rate edged up, easing pressure on the Federal Reserve to lift interest rates.

The result helped all three main indexes on Wall Street to end on a high.

And in Asia on Monday Tokyo finished 1.2 percent higher, while Shanghai surged 2.5 percent and Hong Kong added 1.7 percent in the afternoon.

Sydney rose 0.2 percent, Singapore climbed 1.3 percent, Seoul added 0.6 percent and Taipei was more than one percent higher.

However, concerns remain that the trade row between China and the US could intensify, with Donald Trump threatening hundreds of billions of dollars more in Chinese goods.

Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA, said that “should the (Trump) administration follow through with the threat of a $200 billion-plus du-

ties on Chinese goods, this would have some negative implication for both the US and global growth prospects.”

Eyes are now on the release of Chinese trade data later this week.

On currency markets the Chinese yuan edged up against the dollar, having tumbled in recent weeks on the trade spat.

While there had been speculation among some observers that Beijing would allow the unit to weaken in order to offset the impact of a trade war, authorities stressed they would not weaponize it.

The pound managed to eke out some gains as Fed rate hike expectations ease and despite Westminster upheaval after Prime Minister Theresa May’s point man on Brexit negotiations resigned over the government’s plan to retain strong economic ties with the EU even after leaving. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW MONDAY, JULY 9, 2018

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 59 9,440 89 962,820 2.76 9,000 129.5 763,170 1.47 6,000 33.25 43,500 16.4 100 14.7 229,300 3.52 22,000 8.62 28,700 0.68 1,000 0.54 148,000 67.85 16,373,830 1.09 700,000 11.9 10,100 19.64 200 46.85 56,800 189 2,800 28.5 20,000 200.8 73,970 1,856 10 85.5 14,350

558,844 84,722,152.50 24,860 98,240,266 8,820 1,447,695 1,640 3,375,000 74,950 247,675 680 77,400 1,122,344,713.50 737,710 120,190 3,928 2,666,180 531,505 570,060 14,855,830 18,560 1,231,980

230,898.50 26,290,924.50 20,538,944 -319,285 766,058 -419,229,219.50 104,000 -1,064,780 -125,270 -10,811,260 -118,025

34.75 15.6 0.58 1.14 0.231 3.06 16 44 21.3 54 63.8 91.95 1.73 7.4 9.83 15.38 10.74 7.21 5.11 14.64 61 22 7.1 14.1 2.44 245 5.06 3.14 12.3 26.45 10.82 19.1 353 6.9 2.25 4 8.69 6.01 1.27 11.8 52.9 5.75 4.65 2.04 3.25 1.89 12.3 5.2 0.126 119.3 2.52 1.29

INDUSTRIAL 34.75 183,300 16 1,017,200 0.6 655,000 1.14 115,000 0.24 2,440,000 3.06 1,323,000 16.38 35,000 44 355,800 21.7 5,400 54 8,730 70 14,060 91.95 80 1.73 305,000 7.68 16,100 9.86 879,600 15.8 341,000 10.74 25,000 7.32 1,546,600 5.14 1,247,700 14.66 215,200 61.35 9,060 22.7 95,800 7.1 14,700 14.28 205,300 2.49 2,457,000 245 736,500 5.1 96,000 3.14 11,000 16 600 27 7,000 10.9 535,800 19.48 1,805,900 354 39,980 6.9 100 2.28 542,000 4.1 172,000 8.79 227,500 6.15 1,026,500 1.28 30,000 12 1,700 53.1 171,350 5.75 41,500 4.65 15,000 2.12 234,000 3.25 11,000 1.89 283,000 12.4 8,700 5.3 40,600 0.126 100,000 120.2 1,159,060 2.55 2,357,000 1.31 14,673,000

6,382,715 16,163,800 382,050 131,220 582,370 4,122,400 560,076 16,247,845 116,620 471,730 985,811 7,356 534,450 123,021 8,714,391 5,367,286 268,526 11,300,480 6,409,942 3,162,140 554,338.50 2,168,545 104,370 2,929,364 6,170,150 182,017,796 487,410 35,090 8,780 188,415 5,850,030 35,175,626 14,163,242 690 1,220,840 690,650 1,991,443 6,352,708 38,330 20,140 9,094,022 238,665 69,750 492,440 35,840 537,800 107,916 212,331 12,600 140,027,509 6,039,090 19,301,200

-5,890,025.00 7,805,074 -116,280.00 7,230 578,380 524,724 -471,730 5,370 -5,454,627 -23,100 -5,967,660 -502,778 -1,562,168 55,420 20,430 456,270 -7,620 -13,103,622 51,450 529,532 18,629,576 2,141,660 -115,810.00 -296,140.00 137,536 -121,200.00 -3,860 -142,914.50 -48,875 2,040 74,400 -4,680 -18,990,479 -118,300

0.235 52.75 11.56 0.95 5.97 27.15 0.69 0.71 896 5.81 10.7 6.83 4.95 0.207 888 5.98 49.5 0.55 3.57 17.5 0.65 4.63 0.038 1.18 2.62 2.7 136 878.5 0.75 1.57 480 257 0.3 0.219

HOLDING FIRMS 0.241 540,000 52.9 476,380 11.64 3,921,300 0.95 80,000 5.97 4,900 30.25 320,200 0.7 7,682,000 0.71 100,000 905.5 128,470 5.86 493,900 10.78 2,076,600 7 100,900 4.95 4,000 0.207 40,000 893 46,390 5.99 231,600 49.5 689,360 0.56 445,000 3.59 37,000 17.6 815,500 0.69 10,297,000 4.64 24,057,000 0.039 5,500,000 1.2 269,000 2.65 156,000 2.7 29,000 138 247,120 890 71,810 0.75 125,000 1.58 80,000 480 70 259.8 1,480 0.32 56,030,000 0.219 60,000

128,680 25,216,789.50 45,668,438 76,020 29,253 9,450,760 5,395,290 71,000 115,756,315 2,893,990 22,403,104 689,237 19,820 8,310 41,407,080 1,386,994 34,262,428.50 249,210 132,610 14,325,936 7,073,670 111,644,470 211,600 321,910 416,440 78,300 33,877,675 63,432,915 93,750 126,320 33,600 381,796 17,611,950 13,150

-18,668,084.50 -20,086,450 29,253 150,000 -44,558,825 165,223 -12,412,582 -698,585 -8,008,263 -50,110 -11,424,386 1,243,200 -82,142,670 -5,340 -18,017,190 -20,311,180 -15,458 -669,500 -

2,789,124 2,401,380 59,394 123,630 220,980 195,548,810 106,890 1,026,760 49,144 582 658,750 97,840 690,180 342,350 361,500 15,743,025 12,003,425 1,220 7,425,340 780,340 20,722,250 46,699,990 21,684,920 1,419,100

6,504 -348,000 -1,420 -31,695,195 -3,150 -2,850 30,450 42,900 -5,547,823 365,440 4,484,980 -571,460 17,022,580 -16,320 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

59.4 87.5 2.77 128.5 1.47 33.4 16.4 14.8 3.4 8.63 0.68 0.52 70 1.04 11.9 19.64 47.4 188 28.6 201 1,856 86

59.4 89 2.77 129.5 1.47 33.4 16.4 14.8 3.52 8.63 0.68 0.54 70.85 1.1 11.9 19.64 47.4 195 28.6 202 1,856 86

59 87 2.76 128 1.47 33.2 16.4 14.6 3.39 8.62 0.68 0.52 66.15 1.04 11.9 19.64 46.85 188 28.4 200.2 1,856 85.5

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS BASIC ENERGY CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 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 MACAY HLDG MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO PANASONIC PEPSI COLA PETROENERGY PETRON PHIL H2O PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL PRYCE CORP RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO ROXAS HLDG SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VULCAN INDL

35.3 15.92 0.6 1.15 0.237 3.09 16 45.1 21.8 54.55 68.15 91.95 1.77 7.5 10 15.38 10.76 7.28 5.11 14.9 61.4 22 7.1 14.1 2.51 251.8 5.1 3.31 12.3 27.45 11.1 19.14 357 6.9 2.28 4.14 8.8 6.1 1.28 12 52.9 5.76 4.65 2.17 3.28 1.9 12.42 5.2 0.126 122 2.59 1.38

35.45 16 0.6 1.15 0.244 3.19 16.38 46.95 21.8 54.55 76 91.95 1.79 7.89 10.08 15.8 10.76 7.34 5.15 14.9 61.4 22.95 7.1 14.48 2.58 253 5.16 3.31 16 27.45 11.1 19.58 357.8 6.9 2.29 4.14 8.81 6.38 1.29 12 53.25 5.76 4.65 2.17 3.28 1.91 12.42 5.3 0.126 123.4 2.59 1.42

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

0.235 53.5 11.7 0.95 5.97 28.35 0.7 0.71 898.5 5.85 11 6.83 4.96 0.208 897 6 50.45 0.57 3.58 17.7 0.66 4.67 0.038 1.19 2.62 2.7 136 879 0.75 1.57 480 258.8 0.315 0.22

0.244 53.5 11.8 0.97 5.97 30.25 0.72 0.71 905.5 5.9 11.02 7 4.96 0.208 900.5 6 50.45 0.57 3.59 17.7 0.71 4.67 0.039 1.22 2.68 2.7 138 890 0.75 1.58 480 259.8 0.33 0.22

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

7.37 0.94 14.34 1.87 0.75 37 3.14 4.54 5.7 5.82 0.43 0.95 0.88 0.218 0.4 9.81 25.5 0.62 1.46 1.23 1.54 4.44 0.6 0.465

7.4 0.97 14.34 1.88 0.75 37.65 3.2 4.54 5.74 5.82 0.44 0.95 0.88 0.22 0.42 9.81 25.95 0.62 1.46 1.23 1.55 4.44 0.61 0.47

7.25 0.94 14.04 1.87 0.74 36.8 3.14 4.46 5.7 5.82 0.43 0.94 0.85 0.216 0.395 9.3 25.25 0.6 1.42 1.18 1.46 4.33 0.58 0.45

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS VISTA LAND

0.49 3.32 19.5 1.99 3.2 36.5 1.05 7.16 6.09

0.49 3.35 19.8 2.02 3.2 36.65 1.05 7.29 6.19

0.475 3.22 19.32 1.99 3.2 36.15 1.03 7.06 6.04

0.485 3.3 19.8 2.01 3.2 36.4 1.05 7.25 6.04

270,000 1,232,000 327,400 152,000 5,000 2,686,000 593,000 756,100 879,600

129,650 4,050,790 6,418,956 306,340 16,000 97,734,180 622,030 5,457,114 5,325,981

9,700 -6,610 2,000,024 18,000 -33,097,180 95,494 -2,458,431

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

15.16 23.3 1.33 0.47 0.044 14.5 9.99 0.052 66.9 7 6.82 2.15 24.15 1,667 5.38 290 3.3 79 7.98 0.132 2.69 4.07 14.9 4.09 1.03 24.15 4.16 5.07 2.6 2.52 2.51 17.1 9.96 11.02 8.1 3.04 123 5.41 1,294 0.84 0.34 46 82.5 8 1.89 1.14 0.46 5 0.79 12

15.16 24 1.33 0.47 0.045 16.98 9.99 0.053 66.9 7.1 7.35 2.15 25.95 1,670 5.41 290 3.3 79.6 7.99 0.136 2.93 4.17 14.9 4.12 1.04 25.65 4.16 5.1 2.62 2.59 2.84 17.1 9.97 11.1 8.5 3.2 123 5.41 1,305 0.87 0.34 46 83.95 8.25 1.9 1.15 0.465 5.09 0.81 12.04

14.7 23.2 1.33 0.46 0.043 14.5 9.81 0.052 66 6.99 6.72 2.15 22.2 1,634 5.37 277 3.18 79 7.98 0.132 2.6 3.9 14.62 4.07 1.02 24.15 4.1 5.02 2.59 2.44 2.51 17 9.27 11 8.1 3.04 122.5 5.26 1,290 0.84 0.34 45.7 79.65 7.8 1.84 1.14 0.445 4.93 0.78 11.9

SERVICES 14.72 23.5 1.33 0.465 0.045 16.94 9.85 0.052 66 6.99 6.74 2.15 22.95 1,634 5.37 285 3.26 79.3 7.98 0.135 2.92 4.07 14.62 4.12 1.02 24.8 4.1 5.1 2.6 2.44 2.79 17 9.28 11 8.49 3.15 122.8 5.29 1,295 0.85 0.34 45.85 82 8.19 1.85 1.14 0.45 4.99 0.78 12

26,700 30,100 8,000 540,000 1,100,000 11,400 2,137,200 2,090,000 72,910 572,300 67,100 8,000 813,400 9,175 79,000 2,330 633,000 585,320 20,000 7,290,000 16,416,000 47,000 300 328,000 586,000 918,700 131,000 172,800 187,000 680,000 17,000 3,400 6,452,400 2,100 5,200 100,000 40 536,100 30,970 1,760,000 20,000 101,200 469,540 69,400 543,000 461,000 26,850,000 1,050,900 2,118,000 257,000

395,018 705,765 10,640 251,100 49,000 177,576 21,061,568 109,390 4,845,432.50 4,009,707 453,285 17,200 19,563,665 15,003,295 425,362 658,564 2,057,090 46,413,817.50 159,650 973,010 46,328,120 190,710 4,414 1,340,740 598,270 23,021,045 543,640 873,177 486,280 1,678,340 47,280 57,830 61,963,222 23,200 42,677 307,450 4,911 2,857,478 40,103,035 1,498,560 6,800 4,635,945 38,536,959 560,933 1,008,130 529,270 12,175,400 5,260,270 1,680,800 3,081,804

14,700 -10,150 -11,143,248 -3,202,125 -1,715,960 73,840 3,604,595 -97,368 320,700 -19,058,030 -280,800 629,650.00 8,331,655 68,805 -13,000 -11,280 199,164 -6,190 -4,296 4,648,995 -573,780 -2,085,050 7,617,089 -135,850 -458,160.00 -206,700 -112,941 -309,270 1,569,596

545,100 394,390 4,000 369,172 7,800 45,950 324,000 39,412 3,336,910 14,880 28,840 1,310 981,000 7,597,050 978,840 100,000 12,656,260 139,200 69,400 1,028,400 3,177,100 9,409,588 7,842,620

-345,910 601,780 -40,740 -1,691,980 110,250 298,815

MS

PROPERTY 7.3 0.97 14.18 1.88 0.74 37 3.15 4.54 5.74 5.82 0.44 0.95 0.86 0.216 0.42 9.4 25.3 0.6 1.43 1.18 1.54 4.4 0.58 0.455

379,600 2,506,000 4,200 66,000 298,000 5,250,500 34,000 227,000 8,600 100 1,510,000 103,000 803,000 1,580,000 900,000 1,663,600 471,800 2,000 5,182,000 653,000 13,663,000 10,646,000 36,390,000 3,090,000

ABRA MINING APEX MINING ATLAS MINING ATOK BENGUET A 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

0.0025 1.44 4 20 1.56 1.71 0.3 7.95 2.2 0.183 0.128 0.131 1.51 4.3 1.35 0.5 1.3 0.012 0.011 2.93 4.41 10.72 30.4

0.0026 1.48 4 20 1.56 1.71 0.3 7.95 2.2 0.187 0.128 0.131 1.51 4.3 1.39 0.5 1.38 0.012 0.012 2.93 4.42 10.72 30.8

0.0025 1.44 4 19 1.56 1.7 0.3 7.4 2.16 0.183 0.125 0.131 1.47 4.16 1.26 0.5 1.25 0.012 0.011 2.72 4.36 10.34 30.3

MINING & OIL 0.0025 218,000,000 1.45 271,000 4 1,000 19.6 18,900 1.56 5,000 1.7 27,000 0.3 1,080,000 7.9 5,100 2.19 1,532,000 0.187 80,000 0.125 230,000 0.131 10,000 1.5 657,000 4.2 1,811,000 1.33 742,000 0.5 200,000 1.38 9,545,000 0.012 11,600,000 0.012 6,200,000 2.77 370,000 4.37 725,000 10.44 897,100 30.7 256,500

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 DD PREF FGEN PREF G GTCAP PREF A HOUSE PREF A MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3B SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

21.7 495 100.7 106.7 997 99.9 104.8 110 76.3 79 75.2 76.1 76.5 77 76.5

21.7 495 101.2 106.8 999 99.9 104.8 110 76.3 79 75.3 77 76.6 77 76.5

21.6 495 100.7 106.7 997 99 104.8 110 76.3 79 75.2 76.1 76.4 77 76.5

PREFERRED 21.6 105,200 495 10 101.2 10,470 106.8 500 999 1,690 99 10,000 104.8 40 110 200 76.3 3,620 79 3,820 75.25 17,900 77 48,200 76.4 13,510 77 13,000 76.5 27,000

2,280,200 4,950 1,058,319 53,387 1,688,030 990,345 4,192 22,000 276,206 301,780 1,347,200 3,687,370 1,032,831 1,001,000 2,065,500

-1,212,390 -

LR WARRANT

2.33

2.46

2.33

WARRANTS 2.43 50,000

118,700

-

1,627,264 14,750 22,136,180

-5,210 -2,545,600

867,665

108,000

2,040

-

ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE XURPAS

5.01 2.95 3.55

5.09 2.95 3.63

5 2.95 3.42

FIRST METRO ETF

108.5

108.5

107.5

USD TECH B2

1.02

1.02

1.02

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

19,475,666

INDUSTRIAL

37,845,148

HOLDING FIRMS

119,230,273

PROPERTY

92,381,899

SERVICES

76,583,014

MINING & OIL

254,467,525

GRAND TOTAL

606,512,134

5.03 2.95 3.59

SME

324,000 5,000 6,188,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 107.5 8,050 1.02

DDS

2,000

VALUE 1,774.01 (up) 2.22 1,331,884,368.10 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,231.05 (down) 101.16 518,604,718.59 HOLDING FIRMS 7,050.86 (up) 29.61 635,181,734.64 PROPERTY 3,553.13 (up) 0.61 1,411.74 (down) 2.42 453,129,032.70 SERVICES MINING & OIL 9,560.27 (down) 37.93 369,222,577.084 PSEI 7,186.62 (down) 0.09 49,103,793.99 All Shares Index 4,385.30 (down) 2.04 3,381,785,010.76 Gainers: 81; Losers: 105 Unchanged: 49; Total: 235

NLEX starts work on toll road link by Q1 of 2019

By Darwin G. Amojelar NLEX Corp. said it expects to start construction of the P23-billion expressway linking North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway by the first quarter of 2019.

“We want to be able to mobilize construction by fourth quarter and full blast by first quarter of next year,” NLEX president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said.

The Department of Public Works and Highways expects to deliver the rightof-way by May next year for the NLExSLEx Connector Road Project.

NLEX secured the notice of award from Public Works on Sept. 19, 2016, but the construction of the NLEx-SLEx Connector Road was affected by the delay in the delivery of right-of-way.

The project is an unsolicited proposal approved by the National Economic and Development Authority under the buildoperate-transfer scheme for the design, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of an 8-kilometer elevated toll expressway over the right-of-way of Philippine National Railways.

The project starts at the junction of NLEx Segment 10 at C-3 Road/5th Ave. in Caloocan City and will connect to South Luzon Expressway though Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 Project in Manila.

Upon completion in 2021, the elevated expressway will provide motorists another alternative to the heavily congested Edsa.

The project is also expected to reduce travel time between NLEx and SLEx from two hours to only 20 minutes.

NLEX budgeted P19 billion this year for the construction of the NLEx-SLEx Project and the Harbor Link Segment 10, including the R10 Section in DagatDagatan, Navotas City.

Expected to be opened this year, Harbor Link Segment 10 is a 5.7-km elevated expressway traversing NLEx from Smart Connect Interchange and cross over Mac Arthur Highway in Valenzuela City with down ramps along C3/5th Ave. Interchange in Caloocan City.

Cebu property firm’s reservation sales up by 61%

By Jenniffer B. Austria PROPERTY developer Cebu Landmasters Inc. said reservation sales in the first half of the year surged 61 percent to P4.6 billion amid the strong demand for projects launched in Visayas and Mindanao.

CLI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the first-half reservation figure was 65 percent of the company’s target of P7 billion for the entire year and exceeded the full-year performance in 2017.

“Our VisMin expansion is on the right track. With our fast turnaround strategy at work across VisMin, we are able to generate more inventory and move very efficiently from acquisition to sales and construction. This has allowed us to grow our reservation sales very strongly,” said CLI chief executive officer Jose Soberano III. CLI said its economic housing brand Casa Mira South in Cebu accounted for 11.2 percent of the total reservation sales.

Soberano said CLI would launch new projects in the coming weeks to support its sales goal given the strong first-half reservation sales. The new projects are in Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Bacolod and Bohol.

The expansion phases of existing projects will also be underway to cater to the growing number of interested buyers.

CLI plans to unveil 20 new projects across the VisMin region this year.

CLI also launched in the second half of 2018 two hotels this year. These are Radisson Red in Astra Centre in Mandaue City and Citadines Bacolod, a serviced residence in partnership with The Ascott Limited that compliments its MesaVirre Garden Residences.

The developer to date has a portfolio of 969 hotel rooms from five projects.

These are the 180-room Citadines Cebu City in Base Line Center for completion this year; the 263-room Citadines Paragon Davao set to open by 2021; lyf Cebu City, a 180-room hotel in Base Line Prestige that will be operational in 2022; Radisson Red in AS Fortuna in Mandaue City, Cebu with 146 rooms; and Citadines Bacolod, which will have 200 rooms.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

World

Manila

Standard

TODAY

B3

NATO leaders fear Trump crisis at a key conference in Brussels

MEETING. This handout picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency on July 8, 2018, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meeting with French Defence Minister Florence Parly in the coastal Red Sea city of Jeddah. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman signed an accord with Parly on July 8 “to protect classified and protected information”, the kingdom’s official press agency reported, without offering further details. AFP

IN BRIEF Mini-sub proposed to save Thai cave boys BANGKOK―American tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has proposed a minisubmarine to save the boys trapped inside a flooded Thai cave, floating the idea on social media while linking it to his space exploration business.

After garnering headlines with initial ideas of installing a giant air tube inside the cave complex and using his firm’s penetrating radar to dig holes to reach the boys, Musk’s latest concept is the pod.

“Primary path is basically a tiny, kidsize submarine using the liquid oxygen transfer tube of Falcon rocket as hull,” Musk said in a tweet to his 22 million followers.

“Light enough to be carried by 2 divers, small enough to get through narrow gaps. Extremely robust.”

An accompanying video of people testing the submarine in a swimming pool in Los Angeles that was posted overnight Sunday attracted more than 3.1 million views in 10 hours.

Many people offered positive comments, with fans hailing Musk and his engineers for their creativity.

Other people, however, questioned whether Musk’s plan was credible.

“Seriously? No kid or adult will want to be in there for any amount of time. Re think this. CAT or open MRI machines create unsurmountable anxiety. Go back to drawing board,” one person wrote to Musk on Twitter.

The mini-submarine is due to arrive in Thailand on Monday, Musk wrote.

Last week Musk said he was sending teams to Thailand from his private space exploration firm, SpaceX, and engineering firm, Boring Co., which is developing tunneling systems for transport projects. AFP

Chili fest gets off to scorching start NINGXIANGPU, China―An annual chili pepper festival kicked off Monday in central China’s spice-loving Hunan province with a chili-eating contest in which the winner set a blistering pace by downing a gut-busting 50 peppers in just over a minute.

Local boy Tang Shuaihui took home a three-gram 24-karat gold coin for winning the competition, which is put on by a local theme park in the county of Ningxiang and now in its second year.

With doctors on hand just in case, 10 contestants each held plates heaped with 50 Tabasco chili peppers, racing to be the first to finish off the red-hot fruits.

Tang cleared his plate in just 68 seconds in a contest held in nearly sweltering weather and as the competitors sat in a shallow pool filled with water and three tons of floating chilis.

“He finished them at an amazing speed, barely after the emcee had finished speaking,” said Sun Minying, an employee at the theme park, called the Tanhe Ancient City.

The Tabasco pepper has a rank of 30,000-50,000 on the Scoville Heat Scale that measures the piquancy of chilis, which puts it somewhere between a jalapeño and a habanero.

The peppers bobbing in the pool, however, were of a far weaker variety, partly to avoid irritating the contestants’ skin. AFP

BRUSSELS―NATO leaders face a major threat to the credibility of their military alliance at their summit this week― not from traditional foe Russia but from the head of their most powerful member, US President Donald Trump.

The gathering at NATO headquarters in Brussels, days before Trump meets his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, is shaping up to be the most difficult in years, analysts and officials told AFP. Allies are braced for a barrage of invective from Trump for not spending enough on defense, and are apprehensive that his often skeptical tone on the alliance that has underpinned European security for 70 years might turn into outright hostility.

The 28 other NATO leaders fear a repeat of what happened at last month’s G7 summit, which ended in disarray when Trump abruptly rejected the closing statement.

“What Trump says will be decisive for the future of the alliance, but we do not know what he will say,” a diplomat from a NATO country said.

“It is a shadow that hangs like the sword of Damocles over the summit.”

Diplomats fear an acrimonious meeting could undermine efforts to show unity in the face of the growing threat on the alliance’s eastern flank—particularly with Trump set to meet Putin in Helsinki a few days later.

German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Friday told Bloomberg TV that the summit must show unity, warning

Police in rush to solve Novichok agent death S ALISBURY―British police rushed to solve a murder mystery on Monday after a woman died following exposure to the nerve agent Novichok, four months after the same toxin was used against a former Russian spy in an attack that Britain blamed on Moscow.

Prime Minister Theresa May said she was “appalled and shocked” by the death of Dawn Sturgess, a 44-year-old mother of three who had been living in a homeless hostel in the city of Salisbury in southwest England.

Sturgess and Charlie Rowley, 45, fell ill last weekend in the town of Amesbury, near Salisbury, the city where former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were attacked with the Novichok nerve agent in March and have since recovered.

Local MP John Glen said the local community was “anxious” after police opened a murder inquiry, although health officials have said the danger to the general public is low.

Glen told BBC radio the two may

have handled a contaminated object because of their “habit of looking into bins” and police were trying to work out “how they came into contact with this nerve agent and when”.

Britain and its allies accused Russia of trying to kill the Skripals, prompting angry denials and sparking an international diplomatic crisis.

Police said they would be led by the evidence but confirmed a link between the Amesbury case and the Salisbury attack was a main line of inquiry.

Interior minister Sajid Javid last week demanded answers from Moscow, saying he would not accept Britain becoming a “dumping ground for poison”.

Russia hit back, denouncing Britain for playing “dirty political games”.

Police said the British couple were believed to have become exposed to Novichok by handling a “contaminated item”, with speculation that it could have been the container used to administer the nerve agent to the Skripals.

However, police and public health officials insist the risk to the wider public remains low.

A police officer was tested for possible exposure to the deadly nerve agent over the weekend but was given the all-clear.

Christine Blanshard, medical director at Salisbury District Hospital, where

Sturgess and Rowley were being treated and where the Skripals were hospitalized, told the Daily Telegraph that staff had “worked tirelessly to save Dawn”.

“Our staff are talented, dedicated and professional and I know today they will be hurting today,” she said.

The prime minister said: “Police and security officials are working urgently to establish the facts of this incident, which is now being investigated as a murder.”

Assistant Commissioner Neil Basu, the head of Britain’s counter-terror police, said Sturgess’s death “has only served to strengthen our resolve to identify and bring to justice the person or persons responsible for what I can only describe as an outrageous, reckless and barbaric act”.

He added that the other victim “remains critically ill in hospital and our thoughts are with him and his family as well”.

Residents of the homeless hostel in Salisbury where Sturgess lived, which was evacuated after the couple fell ill, expressed their devastation at the news of her death.

“It could easily have happened to anyone, to me or my partner,” 27-year-old Ben Jordan told AFP late Sunday. “We are really, really sad. I am praying for Charlie.” AFP

Rescuers in Japan dig through rain devastation KUMANO, Japan―Desperate relatives braced for bad news Monday as rescuers dug through landslides in the wake of the severe floods that have killed 100 people and left swathes of central and western Japan under water.

With the toll mounting, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe canceled a four-country foreign trip, local media said, and he was expected to visit affected areas later this week.

As the floods receded, emergency workers reached previously cut-off places where authorities fear they could find more bodies in the wreckage of homes devastated by rivers of mud and debris.

“I have asked my family to prepare for the worst,” said Kosuke Kiyohara, 38, as he waited for word of his sister and her two young sons.

“I can’t reach her phone,” he told AFP, sitting across from a house that had been ripped apart and tossed on its side by a huge landslide.

Rescue workers said it was still possible that survivors could be found, but acknowledged the odds were getting longer.

“It has been three days... It’s possible that survivors will be found, but as the days pass the likelihood becomes slimmer,” a soldier at the scene told AFP. At the end of last week rivers engorged by more than three feet of rain burst their banks, engulfing entire villages and forcing people to rooftops to await evacuation by helicopter.

Hillsides gave way under the weight of water, with deadly landslides crushing wooden houses and erasing roads.

The government said at least 100 people had been killed, and with many people still missing, the tally was expected to rise further.

Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said 73,000 police, firemen and troops were taking part in the rescue effort, with 700 helicopters deployed to help. AFP

Bonifacio Drive , South Harbor, Port Area, Manila 1018, Philippines, P.O. Box 436, Manila, Philippines Tel. No. (0632) 527-8356, Fax No. (0632) 527-4855, http://www.ppa.com.ph

June 26, 2018 PPA MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 13 -2018 TO

: The Port Manager, PMO Zamboanga Del Norte Prudential Customs Brokerage Services, Inc. Cargo Owners/Brokerage/Shipping Lines Other Port Users Concerned

SUBJECT : Approved Increase on the Present Cargo Handling (CH) Charges at the Port of Dapitan Pursuant to Board Resolution No. 2706, a cargo handling rate increase of 3% on the present CH charges at the Port of Dapitan is hereby approved in addition to the 10% provisional increase granted in 2013.

This increase to be implemented in one (1) tranche shall be effective 30 days after publication of this Circular in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

that “our opponents would be delighted if there is a division in NATO”.

Trump’s own ambassador to NATO Kay Bailey Hutchison made a similar plea for harmony during a call with reporters Thursday.

But the mercurial tycoon set the stage for a fractious meeting by writing to around a dozen NATO allies to berate them for lagging on a 2014 pledge to try to spend two percent of GDP on defense by 2024.

Currently only three European countries hit the two percent target, and while alliance officials are hopeful that four more will join the list by the July 11-12 summit, it is unlikely to satisfy Trump.

He accuses European NATO allies of freeloading, telling a rally this week that they had treated the US like “schmucks”.

Trump has even called into question NATO’s principle of collective defense― under which an attack on one member draws a response from all―for allies he feels are not paying their dues.

NATO officials all the way up to Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg point to increased military investment by the US in Europe since Trump took office as evidence of Washington’s continuing commitment to the alliance.

But comments made by Trump have undercut this, most recently when he told other leaders at the G7 that NATO was “as bad as NAFTA”, the North American trade deal he has threatened to tear up. AFP

PARTIAL PARTITION AND DISTRIBUTION OF ESTATE Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late BENJAMIN TRINIDAD ROMUALDEZ, has been partially partitioned and distributed, particularly a Manila Polo Club Propriety Share with Propriety Membership Certificate No. 2396 (the “MPC Share”), by adjudicating and transferring said MPC Share in favor of FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ, as per Doc. No. 170; Page No. 35; Book No. I, Series of 2017; before Atty. LINA G. FERNANDEZ, Notary Public, Mandaluyong City, Philippines; and as per Doc. No. 14744; Service No. 032-037; Series of 2017; before KERWIN ORVILLE C. TATE, Consul of the Republic of the Philippines, Consular District of New York; and ANDREW CASINO, Notary Public, State of New York, County of Queens, United States of America MS-JUNE 26, JULY 3 & 10, 2018)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION OFFICE OF THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF QUEZON CITY BDO UNIBANK, INC., Mortgagee/s, -versusFRE NO. 12300 SPOUSES ARNOLD B. HERNANDEZ AND MAILI A. HERNANDEZ Mortgagor/s. x------------------------------------------x NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE OF REAL PROPERTY UNDER ACT 3135 (AS AMENDED) Upon extra-judicial petition under ACT 3135, as amended by ACT 4118, and pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Deed of Real Estate Mortgage executed on January 08, 2016 by Spouses ARNOLD B. HERNANDEZ and MAILI A. HERNANDEZ – (1) Lot 5, Block 1 Goldridge Estate, Sta. Cruz, Guiguinto, Bulacan, and (2) Unit No. 2712, 27th Floor, Berkeley Residences, Katipunan Avenue cor. J. Escaler St, Quezon City: Mortgagor/s in favor of BDO UNIBANK, INC., Mortgagee/s to satisfy the mortgage debt in the amount of P1,413,525.04 as of May 21, 2018 inclusive of interest, penalties and other charges, the Ex-Officio Sheriff of the Regional Trial Court of Quezon City and/or his duly authorized Deputy Sheriff, hereby announces that on AUGUST 8, 2018, between the hours of 9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M., at the Office of the Clerk of Court and Ex-Officio Sheriff, Regional Trial Court, Hall of Justice Bldg., Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City, will SELL at public auction to the highest bidder and for cash, in Philippine currency, the following described real property with all the improvements existing thereon to wit: CONDOMINIUM CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. 004-2015008673 Registry of Deeds-Quezon City “27th Floor (Residential Unit), Unit No. 2712, BERKELEY RESIDENCES, consisting of Studio Unit, with a total area of 19.65 SQ.M. MORE OR LESS. In the diagrammatic floor plan appended to the enabling or master deed of condominium project annotated on TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE N-313511; N-313513; N-313323 which embraces and describes the land located at KATIPUNAN AVENUE CORNER ESCALER STREET, LOYOLA HEIGHTS, QUEZON CITY – with an area of THREE THOUSAND ONE HUNDRED FIFTY-TWO and NINETY (3,152.90) Square Meter and is registered in the name of: Sps. Arnold B. Hernandez and Maili A. Hernandez, both of legal age.”

All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned at the aforesaid Office on the above stated time and date.

Interested parties are hereby enjoined to investigate for themselves the title to the said property and the encumbrances thereon if any there be.

In the event that public auction should not take place on said date due to fortuitous event or if the same be declared a non-working holiday, if shall be held on AUGUST 15, 2018, at the same time and place without further notice.

Quezon City, Metro Manila, JULY 5, 2018.

(Sgd.) ARNULFO O. LIM Sheriff IV (Sgd.) GREGORIO C. TALLUD Clerk of Court VII & Ex-Officio Sheriff WARNING: It is absolutely prohibited to remove, deface, or destroy this Notice of ExtraJudicial Sale of Real Property on or before the date of auction sale under penalty of the law.

(SGD.) JAY DANIEL R. SANTIAGO General Manager

Copy Furnished:

(MS-JULY 10, 2018)

ARNOLD B. HERNANDEZ and MAILI A. HERNANDEZ Lot 5, Block 1 Goldridge Estate, Sta. Cruz, Guiguinto Bulacan Unit No. 27212, 27th Floor.

Berkeley Residences, Katipunan Avenue, cor. J. Escaler St., Quezon City

BDO UNIBANK, INC. (formerly BANDO DE ORO UNIBANK, INC.) 11th Floor, South Tower, BDO Corporate Center, 7899 Makati Avenue, Makati City (MStandard-July 10, 17 & 24, 2018)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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

B4

tuesday, july 10, 2018

LGUs LocaL government units

Estrada fetes preschoolers M

ANILA Mayor Joseph Estrada joined personnel of the Manila Social Welfare Department as they distributed school supplies to 1,500 preschoolers over the weekend at the San Andres Sports Complex.

Among the supplies given were school bags, pencils, jogging pants, shoes, and hygiene kits.

The program is under the Early Childhood Care and Development Program of the MSWD to highlight the initiative of the city chief executive’s “Bata at Matanda, Alaga sa Maynila.”

The mayor said about 28,500 preschoolers will benefit from the program.

In the hygiene kit are a toothbrush, toothpaste, towels, and soap to ensure the health and wellness of the students aged three to four years old.

Estrada said he gets inspired by parents who sacrifice to give the best for

their children.

“To you, parents and young children, I draw inspiration from you to serve you faithfully and properly,” said the mayor.

He reiterated that as long as he is mayor, all Manila residents will be assisted well and taken care of.

“Everyone, young and old, will be assisted sufficiently, and even more,” Estrada added.

He said that under the Early Childhood Care and Development Program, all children will be under the care and guidance of the personnel of the City’s Day Care Center.

Parents will have peace of mind while working because their children are well taken care of by the personnel of the

Day Care Center, Estrada said.

“Our goal is that while the kids are in Day Care, they will enjoy and learn and be happy with their fellow children,” the mayor said.

He praised and saluted the parents who sacrificed and worked hard to give their children the best they have.

“The city government’s program will help parents make sacrifices and work hard for their children’s welfare and safety,” Estrada said.

“In Manila, we assure you that all preschoolers will be given genuine care and concern,” he added.

The city government will continue the feeding program for malnourished children to ensure they will grow healthy and happy.

He promised to ensure the progress and development of Manila under his care and watch.

Artists Dante Enage, Philip Salem, Archie Prisno and Clint Gonzales completed the mural at the police headquarters in Palo, Leyte after over a month of work. Photo courtesy of Dante Enage

Mayor Leonardia hands out 68k bags to kids in 46 public schools BACOLOD—The local government of dents the school supplies because we can Bacolod City has distributed a total of really see the improvements in our school 68,000 school bags containing school and we see now where our taxes go.”

Earlier, Mayor Leonardia said Basupplies to Grades 1 to 6 pupils in 46 colod is “the next big thing” after the public elementary schools here.

For the seven public elementary city was awarded as the “Most Busischools in this city, a total of 11,560 pu- ness-Friendly City” during the Search pils from Grades 1 to 6 benefited, the for the Philippine Model Cities and Bacolod City Information Office said. Municipalities 2018.

Leonardia cited the influx of major Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia and other local city officials, including developers that has spurred Bacolod’s the new Sangguniang Kabataan Federa- rapid growth.

“An added incentive and inspiration president Ayesha Joy Villaflor, led tion is that we were given a special the distribution of these bags. title as the ‘Most Recipients to date Business-Friendly include the Jose R. City,’” he said.

Torres Elementary “Now it can be School in Brgy. Singtold that ‘Bacolod is cang-Airport with the next big thing,” 2,719 bags; Rizal Leonardia added.

Elementary School Also, the Bureau (2,231); Education of Fire Protectionand Training Center Bacolod got a brand School (ETCS) 1 new P17.5-million (1,158 bags); ETCS Rosenbauer fire 2 (1,621 bags); ETCS truck from BFP na3 (1,616 bags); C. tional headquarters.

L. Montelibano ElLeonardia’s faciliementary School in tation was vital to the Brgy.

Villamonte request for the new (1,622 bags); and Bacolod Mayor Evelio ‘Bing’ Leonardia Austrian-made ManAlfredo M. Monteli(right) with President Rodrigo Duterte Rosenbauer model fire bano Sr. Elementary in a recent event. truck with a water caSchool (593 bags). pacity of up to 4,000 Leonardia, Bacolod Rep. Greg Gasatay, Councilors liters and the ability to reach up to the sixth Caesar Distrito and Bartolome Orola also floor of a building.

BFP City Fire Marshal Chief Inspecled the distribution of 2,923 school bags to Banago Elementary School 1 and 2 pu- tor Publio Ploteña presented to Leonardia the new fire truck at the Bacolod pils on June 29.

On Monday afternoon, Leonardia and City Government Center grounds Councilors Cindy Rojas, Caesar Distrito, while his personnel demonstrated its Em Ang, and Renecito Novero led the fire-fighting capabilities.

Ploteña thanked BFP chief Director distribution of 3,415 school bags to Bata Leonard Bañago for the project.

Elementary School 1 and 2 pupils.

Leonardia also thanked the BFP na“We are happy to see the enthusiasm of the pupils. I take it to mean that they tional headquarters for the new fire are interested in their school work,” truck, which he said is a substantial help in the fire-fighting capabilities of the city.

Leonardia said.

“This is also a boost to the thrust of Adriana April Asiain, Grade 4 pupil of Education and Training Center School, the city on being business-friendly,” happily expressed her gratitude for the Leonardia said.

Ploteña said the new fire truck is a big people who took notice of their needs.

Normy Canja, principal of Jose R. Tor- help to Bacolod, especially at this time when res Elementary School, said: “I am truly plenty of structures and buildings are being thankful to Mayor Bing for giving our stu- constructed in every corner of the city.

Tacloban artists Lawyer’s crusade: To raise funds for Panay residents with rare disease unveil mural for EV police efforts

By Ronald O. Reyes

(Continued from yesterday)

FOUR well-known artists in Tacloban City have unveiled their latest artwork, depicting how the police are doing their job in Eastern Visayas.

Artists Dante Enage, Philip Salem, Archie Prisno and Clint Gonzales completed the mural at the Philippine National Police headquarters in Palo, Leyte after over a month of work.

The mural inside the camp shows policemen during disaster rescue, gift giving, and medical mission, among other police activities.

It also shows an image of President Rodrigo Duterte and some known tourist spots in the region.

Measuring 20 by 60 feet, the painting was finished on July 4 after the artists started the coloring works on June 1.

Over 20 cans of paint were used to finish the mural, said Enage, the lead artist of the group.

According to Enage, the project is also their way of showing gratitude to the policemen during their relief and rescue operation during Super Typhoon “Yolanda” in 2013, which claimed over 6,000 lives in Tacloban and nearby towns.

While he don’t support the killings of alleged drug suspects, Enage said the police also deserve credits for lessening the drug activities in the region after numerous areas in Eastern Visayas have already been declared “drug-free.”

Enage disclosed that their latest work was commissioned by thenPolice Regional Director Chief Supt.

Gilberto Cruz. Ronald O. Reyes

CARAVAN.

The Partido Federal ng Pilipinas under the group MRRD NECC conducted a simultaneous caravan of its Laguna chapters led by former Laguna governor Jeorge ER Ejercito, the PFP President in Calabarzon (center), with (from left) Eros Henzon San Juan, Pagsanjan Councilor Jet Ejercito, Councilor Januario Garcia, and former Nagcarlan vice mayor Odi Arcasetas on board a float during a motorcade on Saturday.

Roy Tomandao

SIx months after recovering from a rare neurodegenerative disorder that affects muscular movement, lawyer JP Anthony Cuñada resolved to help alleviate or end the misery of fellow dystonia patients, particularly in his home province of Panay.

“Commonly, dystonia’s onset is when a person is at his prime age. That’s how terrible it is. If you’re the breadwinner in the family, you’ll become totally useless,” Cuñada said.

“I am asking money from people for those who are not operated. Very bad, very painful. You wish that you’ll die. You’d want to die, but you won’t,” he said of how persons with dystonia are suffering.

Last January, Cuñada biked from Pasig to Pilar, Capiz to solicit money for botox to be used by dystonia patients to alleviate their pain and suffering for three months.

The cost of botox per shot is P5,500.

Based on the information he received, Cuñada said that of the 800 dystonia

Biking lawyer JP Anthony Cuñada rests at the arc welcoming tourists to Lucban, Quezon.

patients, already 300 have died. Of the 500 still suffering, only 50 of them underwent operations.

In Capiz, where the disease appears to be endemic, eight dystonia cases are discovered every month.

According to the National Center

for Biotechnology Information of the U.S. National Library of Medicine, xlinked recessive dystonia-parkinsonism (xDP)—commonly referred to here as “lubag”—is a rare movement disorder that is highly prevalent in Panay Island.

It is characterized by severe, progressive torsion dystonia, which dominates the first 10 to 15 years of the illness and is associated or replaced by Parkinsonian features in the later years of life.

The report added that 95 percent of the affected individuals are males with 44 as the average age.

“Our scientists have already identified the gene responsible for x-linked dystonia-parkinsonism. After hundreds of years of suffering, xDP patients can look forward to a cure at hand. But our scientists need more data to fast track and to ascertain their findings,” Cuñada said.

“And I am going to help them gather data by encouraging patients and their family members to join our important research initiatives by donating blood and by signing consents for brain donation upon death,” he added.

According to Cuñada, the xDP com-

NV eco park pushes livelihood project

By Ben Moses Ebreo DIADI, Nueva Vizcaya—Organic wastes within the Lower Magat Eco-Tourism Park here are turned into natural fertilizers and sold for additional income.

Nequita Castro, LMETP head, said the new income-generating project has been introduced because of the many natural and organic waste being collected inside the park in barangay San Luis here.

“These are organic food left-overs and bio-degradable materials within the LMETP which can be converted into natural and organic fertilizers for sale,” she said.

Castro said they have partnered with the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office for the establishment of the project.

She said PENRO provided vermi-composting facilities including technology training for the LMETP personnel to fully operationalize the project.

“Some of the produced fertilizers will be used for fruit trees and vegetable plants to increase their yield and to attract more birds which can help in rejuvenating the place,” Castro said.

According to Castro, the vermin-composting production will also be sold outside the park at P200.00 per sack.

munity owes so much to Atty. Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine, who together with her brother Dr. Patrick Acuña founded The Sunshine Care Foundation based in Roxas City.

“This foundation is at the forefront of the initiative to find the cure for the genetic disease that has caused suffering to xDP patients for hundreds of years already,” the lawyer said.

“The Foundation also brings disorder specialists in Capiz to give the xDP patients, who are mostly destitute, the regular medical needs that they so badly need, among others. My brother, AZ, who also suffered from xDP, was one of the beneficiaries of this foundation before his death more than two years ago,” he added on his blog, as he thanked the Foundation for giving dystonia patients dignity, livelihood, and hope.

“Recently, the study initiated by the TSCF discovered the gene responsible for our involuntary movement. So, the cure is at hand. But our scientists need more data to double check their findings and to fasttrack their studies,” Cuñada added.

(To be continued)

DENR Bataan reports ‘State of Environment’

By Butch Gunio BALANGA CITY—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources office in Bataan delivered a “State of Provincial Environment” report during the opening of the two-day Bataan Environment Summit 2018, highlighting the province’s environmental conservation and protection achievements.

Mila Ramirez, DENR Bataan Division chief, represented Provincial Environment Officer Raul Mamac, who was attending an official function in department’s regional office.

She reported on the National Greening Program, Manila Bay Cleanup, mangrove propagation, and coral protection, among others, in front of about 500 senior public high school students and other guests at Bataan People’s Center, capitol compound.

“In Bataan, we have successful National Greening Program,” Ramirez said, using visual aids showing maps and statistics as Gov. Abet Garcia and other participants listened approvingly.

“We are continuously implementing the Manila Bay Rehabilitation Project,” she added, noting they have already conducted many mangrove reforestation projects “and we will do more” while showing the mangrove areas in the map.

“Let us exert more efforts to conserve, protect, and rehabilitate our corals in the province,” she urged the participants, particularly students.

The Provincial Government Environment Natural Resources office headed by engineer Vic Ubaldo spearheaded the environment summit.

“In sync with the thrust of Gov. Abet Garcia, we want all Bataan folks particularly the youths to truly understand and participate conserving and protecting environment,” said PG ENRO Ubaldo.

Life

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

health and environment

@MstandardlIFe tuesday, july 10, 2018

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5 local brands

promoting zero-waste living

By Paola Navarette

I

n REcEnT years, the zero-waste lifestyle has become increasingly popular in the Philippines due to the growing number of businesses that provide Filipinos with resources that help in cutting down, if not eliminating, trash.

The Philippines generates about 35,000 tons of solid waste daily, more than 8,600 tons of which are from Metro Manila alone, according to Aldrin Plaza, urban development officer for the sustainable development and climate change department at the Asian Development Bank.

Eco-friendly alternatives to plastic and other non-biodegradable waste thus become vital players in promoting a waste-less future and sustainable lifestyle. Those interested in joining the movement, here are five of the many emerging local brands offering products that help reduce solid waste:

children need to have a balance of good bacteria in their stomach.

rose gold bar soap and Unicorn Hearts bath bombs

The Soapranos

This brand offers a range of personal care and beauty products made of natural ingredients and infused with essential oils such as rice bran oil and coconut oil. It takes pride in selling their shampoo and lotion bars naked and in using canvas cloths and reusable tin cans as packaging.

At P150 apiece and P500 for a pack of four, their luscious and giant bath bombs are substantially cheaper than other brands. Moreover, they offer 5 percent discount on refills for those customers willing to return their empty tin cans.

Apart from their skin care line, the brand also boasts an extensive lineup of handcrafted makeup products, fragrances, and massage oils.

washable and reusable cloth pantyliners

Ka Nami Pasador

Most women prefer to use disposable sanitary pads because they are convenient, not knowing that some of these non-compostable pads end up in landfills and sewerage systems. They also pose health hazards due to dangerous chemical components from fragrances and plastic.

This online cloth pad shop based in negros Island offers organic menstrual pads that are built with a leak-proof layer and are available in adorable prints. These pads, priced at P120 each, can be reused for up to three to five years depending on the care and use. Among its bestsellers is the bamboo charcoal cloth pad set, which consists of four regular and overnight pads.

bamboo straw and toothbrush

Hamsa Earth-Conscious Collections

This Bacolod-based shop started as an advocate of reducing waste before venturing into an actual business last year, according to its Instagram post.

It offers reusable straws that come in several colors and various materials such as metal, bamboo, and silicone. It is wellknown for its bamboo straws and bamboo toothbrushes that are chemical-free and are made from sustainably grown bamboo.

Hamsa Earth’s products now include reusable cloth wipes and cloth diapers, which are alternatives to tissue paper and disposable diaper.

How to protect the tummies

of fast food-loving kids

MAny children prefer a meal consisting of fried chicken nuggets with a side of fries over a healthy, home-cooked dish. Sadly, our favorite fast food items are loaded with fat and carbohydrates, and have little to no fiber.

Kids, much like adults, need to eat food rich in fiber for good stomach health. Another thing our digestive system needs are good bacteria or probiotics.

Probiotics are live microorgan-isms that help maintain the balance of good and bad bacteria in the di-gestive tract. A human digestive tract has about 100 trillion healthy bacteria. Good stomach bacteria aid in digestion and help the body defend itself against illnesses.

Every person needs a balance of good bacteria in the body. However, this balance is easily upset by a number of factors such as a poor diet, stress, or by taking antibiotics and other medication.

Probiotics are naturally found in yogurt, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, and some fermented products, among many others. Aside from including these food items in a child’s diet, parents can also introduce probiotics through dietary supplements.

Erceflora ProbiBears is a tummy supplement in chewable bear form that boasts the combined 2-in-1 PROBIO-BOOSTER of not just Lactobacillus acidophilus, but also Bifidobacterium lactis—good bacteria that

erceflora probibears has the combined 2-in-1 probio-booster.

help prevent gut problems such as diarrhea, upset stomach, and other digestive illnesses.

Lactobacillus is good bacteria that are present in a lot of food.

A study shows that Lactobacillus is an effective treatment against infant colic and even helps improve immunity. Bifidobacterium, on the other hand, eases digestive issues such as bloating and flatulence.

Erceflora ProbiBears is available at select Mercury Drug and South Star Drug branches for P540 (SRP) per box of 20s.

collapsible travel cups and reusable silicone food bags

The Green Switch

From reusable silicone food bags to spill-proof travel cups, this brand helps reduce our carbon footprint by eliminating the need for plastic bags that can potentially harm the environment.

The multipurpose storage bags it offers are durable and perfect for holding all kinds of food and liquids, whether it’s sandwich or soup. It is also great for traveling since one can enjoy the convenience of on-the-go meals whether at school or at work. Its airtight seal completely secures the bag’s content and ensures the food stays fresh.

menstrual cup

Anytime Menstrual Cups

Another alternative to disposable sanitary pads is menstrual cup, which is now popular in other countries. This local brand makes this innovative product available here in the Philippines.

It offers menstrual cups that fit right to prevent leakage. Each cup is made of medical grade silicone and can collect three times more liquid compared to tampons and sanitary napkins.

pHotos From tHe brands’ FacebooK pages

Happy kids have healthy tummies.

Life

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tuesday, ju juLy 10, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Gadgets for health

Relax while the E-Clear lean Set activates and tightens your muscles.

n

OT only have technology and gadgets helped improve the way we communicate or accomplish tasks, they have also, in recent years, improved our general wellbeing.

Elecom, one of Japan’s leading gadgets and accessories stores, makes health technology available for Filipinos who seek to be more mindful of their health.

Relieves muscle strain

The Elecom E-Clear Refree Set is a portable body massaging device.

This cordless low-frequency electronic pulse massager comes with a flat, lightweight gel pad that you can apply to almost any part of the body that needs therapeutic pressure.

It sends electrical impulses that promote muscle contraction and pump action that improves blood flow. Muscle strain can also be relieved through lowfrequency impulses that stimulate the nerves and block pain signals to reach the brain.

The pads can be applied to the lower and upper arm, shoulder, lower back, calf and sole. It has various massage modes available: Deep Shiatsu, Shiatsu, Knead and Beat. Each treatment runs exactly 15 minutes. It has up to 10 pressure intensity levels available.

In a bid to provide healthcare to the underserved communities of Batad in Iloilo, post-graduate interns of the Department of Health Philippine Centers for Specialized Health Care internship program partnered with Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. to host a twoday medical mission in the municipality.

The project, dubbed “G sa Iloilo: Reach the Unreachable,” was conducted by the 16-member, Team G of the DOH’s special internship program. along with volunteers from the municipal health office and PCPPI employees, they reached hundreds of locals in the small and medically underserved communities of Bulak norte, Binonan, and Cabagohan to provide comprehensive, holistic medical service.

Batad is a far-flung, rural municipality in Iloilo consisting of 24 barangays whose communities thrive off agriculture, fishery, and manual labor. With the average daily income ranging from 200 to 300 pesos a day for a family of four to five members, locals often delay consultations and decide against seeking medical assistance from the far and expensive hospitals in the city.

“Though each barangay has a health center, services are usually for basic medical cases,” said Batad municipal health officer Dr. Maria dela Rosa.

Being the only doctor serving all the barangays in the municipality, Dr. Dela Rosa lamented it can be difficult for the locals to be able to schedule check-ups or get medicine for their ailments and immediate medical needs.

“They are also too scared to visit the doctors in the city because they feel they won’t have enough [money] when the prescriptions for their medicines come,” said Roy alleno, barangay chairman of Bulak norte.

Cabagohan barangay chairman Teodora dela Cruz noted that medical missions are rare in their community. She shared, “This is only the fifth one in the six years I am incumbent. The residents truly appreciate it because they don’t have to travel far nor pay for the medicine and the services they need.”

The medical mission in Batad provided free consultations and medication to locals. They also enjoyed complimentary Pepsi products.

“Medical services are very expensive in these areas. Hospitals and health centers are often too far from these towns that almost fade into obscurity and most times, people suffer alone,” said John Bermudo, PCPPI’s head of human resources for Visayas and Mindanao.

He continued, “This initiative is our way of bridging the gap by bringing the medical services closer to them.”

With the success of the project, Team G expressed their gratitude to their partners in helping them reach out to the community.

“We’re very thankful for the municipal office of Batad as well as for PCPPI and its volunteer employees,” enthused team leader Melissa Caparros. “It was very difficult for us to find big companies who were willing to sponsor this project perhaps because the area is too far. We’re grateful that Pepsi Philippines believed in what we wanted to achieve.”

The Corol Roller effectively targets pain and acupressure points.

Tones physique

Individuals working to get a toned physique but have limited time to exercise can benefit from the E-Clear Lean Set. This device applies medium and low frequency to activate the muscles through pulsation.

With four unique programs built into the main device, the E-Clear Lean Set comes with a gel pad which can be applied to key muscle points that you want to tighten: arms, triceps, obliques, lower belly, quads or buttocks, legs and hamstrings, and lower legs.

Using its deep frequency setting, parts of the body with thicker fat can be stimulated and put to work. Meanwhile, its low frequency allows the body to perform longer exercises without feeling fatigue.

It is recommended to use this device while stretching, to activate tendons and improve flexibility needed while performing exercises.

DOH interns hold medical mission in Iloilo

The E-Clear Refree Set is a portable massaging device.

Alleviates aches and pains

The Elecom Corol Roller is every overworked body’s handy and mobile ally.

Making use of strong vibrations made more impactful by pointed wheels that roll against the skin, the Corol Roller mimics the effects of a Shiatsu massage. Shiatsu is a Japanese finger mas-

iphoto

Leading Filipino pharma firm acquires Novuhair Filipino-owned pharmaceutical company pascual Total Health Group has acquired novuhair, the country’s best-selling premium natural herbal anti-hair loss product, from nutramedica. in photo are pascual Total Health Group chairman and chief executive Martin pascual, ADp pharma president Bob Segovia, novuhair product developer Thomas Adam, and nutramedica chief executive officer Mae Velilla.

sage method that involves applying pressure to several points in the body, releasing tension and relieving the body of muscle aches.

This wireless roller’s ergonomic, handy design allows anyone to expertly target pain and acupressure points in the body, effectively relieving specific aches and pains. It mainly targets lower limbs such as the sole, the dorsal area of the foot, ankles, lower legs, and knees, as well as certain parts of the upper body like the shoulder blade area and arms.

The Corol Roller is waterproof and can be used while taking a hot soak in the tub to help relax muscles. It comes with a main body and a dedicated USB cable for charging.

These health gadgets are available at Elecom stores in SM Marikina, SM North Edsa, SM Southmall, and Ayala Nuvali Solenad, as well as at Urbanize branches in Shangri-La and Uptown Mall BGC.

The pepsi team helps distribute medicine.

DoH’s Team G and pCppi hold a two-day medical mission in Batad.

Filipino doctors perform novel kidney transplant procedure a team of Filipino doctors has successfully performed the first surgical procedure in the Philippines for live kidney donation that is safe, minimally invasive, and relatively pain-free.

The novel surgical procedure is called Retroperitoneoscopic Live Donor nephrectomy (RPLDn) and was performed at the Providence Hospital in Quezon City by Dr. Juvido P. agatep, Jr., proponent of Retroperitoneoscopic Surgery in the Philippines. He was assisted by Drs. Christopher Perez, Jayson Dequina, and Carlo andutan.

The surgical approach to live kidney donation has recently undergone significant changes since the introduction of laparoscopic nephrectomy. Kidney donation is a surgical procedure that is less complicated compared with diseased kidney, yet the surgical challenge is to minimize risks associated with donor morbidity and mortality—the safety of the kidney donor is an absolute priority.

Minimally invasive surgery is a procedure that uses small (less than 1 cm) incisions to retrieve an organ with the aid of a camera and a monitor. Several studies comparing conventional open live donor nephrectomy and minimally invasive donor nephrectomy resulted in

Dr. Juvido Agatep, Jr.

less post-operative pain, a shorter hospital stay, a faster return to work.

However, in most cases of laparoscopic live donor nephrectomy, the transperitoneal approach is a procedure that enters the abdominal cavity and involves the mobilization of the bowels and other intraperitoneal organs. This approach always carries a potential risk of bowel injury and of late onset bowel obstruction due to

adhesion of the intestines, causing a higher risk of vascular injury.

On the other hand, RPLDn is another option of minimally invasive procedure that does not enter the abdominal cavity. Instead it enters the posterior of the patients, “back door style” so to speak, without involvement of the intraperitoneal organs. Therefore, it does not cause any bowel complications such as bowel injury, prolonged paralysis of the intestines or bowel obstruction due to adhesions, or risk of vascular, spleen, and liver injury. This procedure is already being performed in some parts of Europe and asia.

Dr. Juvido agatep, Jr. who led the team of medical specialists who carried out the first Retroperitoneoscopic Surgery in the Philippines, is the head of the urology section of Providence Hospital and of the minimally invasive section of East avenue Medical Center.

He took up Retroperitoneoscopic and Laparoscopic urology and tumor surgery at the University of HeidelbergKlinikum in Heilbronn, Germany, and is presently on a two-month fellowship training in Endourology-Ultrasound Guided PCnL at the Beijing Tsinghua Changgung Hospital in Beijing, China.

Entertainment

Carla dreams to work with Kapamilya stars CARLA Abellana names Piolo Pascual and Bea Alonzo as two stars whom she likes to work with on a silver screen project in the near future.

“I guess, I’ve already worked with almost all Kapuso stars on TV,” she says. “In fact, my manager always asks me whom would I like to star with in a television project but when we speak of GMA, I already collaborated with the station’s biggest talents. So, let’s think of another medium—films! That’s where Piolo and Bea come in.

“I mean, who wouldn’t want to share the screen with them, right? In fact, in one of my meetings with Bea, I joked that I want to be part of any of her future movies even if it’s not a big role. I won’t mind even if it’s just a short appearance.

She just laughed on my comment but for me, it’s just okay. It will be a big honor.

“When it comes to Piolo, well, I think all female stars want to work with him.

Regardless of whom he’s paired with, the public supports his movies. His charm and drawing power is different. It may sound cliché but Piolo is Piolo! I’m hats-off to him!’’

If given the chance, Carla would like to star in a light material opposite Piolo.

Meanwhile, after I Heart Davao, the be dimpled actress will be seen next in a major soap opera whose details she cannot divulge yet.

“We’re going to start taping soon. I’m excited because the plot is something new to me. I have sisters here but we have different mothers. That’s the main conflict. It’s actually a family drama I’m sure TV buffs can easily relate to.”

Will she be paired with boyfriend Tom Rodriguez in her new teleserye?

“That won’t be possible because he’s also busy with his own soap. It will overlap. Besides, the story of my new program is centered on family. It’s not a romantic vehicle, so it’s okay.”

How is this different from all the other soap operas she did in the past?

“Actually, the drama element is always part of my soaps. As what I’ve mentioned earlier, the focus of the story is on the sisters, their conflicts among one another.

That’s something new for me. I’m sure the viewers will like the twists and turns in the plot. I hope that like my previous successful soaps, people would support my new offering as well,” ends Carla. *** According to Mark Bautista, he feels happy that after the release of his book Beyond the Mark in which he admitted his true self, he’s receiving more positive feedback now.

“I don’t get negative reactions anymore unlike the first time that some would send their messages to me asking why I did it. Perhaps, upon reading the entirety of the book, they understood me more. They realized that my intentions were clean in what I’ve stated in the book,” he says.

Mark feels proud that he receives messages from people telling him that they got inspired with the book. He considers it as another milestone in his life.

Now that he has made his life almost an open book, many are curious if he has a new love life after making some interesting admission in the book.

“To be honest, there’s none. My focus is not on that at present. But if that happens, at least, that person knows me already and I’ve nothing to explain anymore,” says Mark addid that he’s not closing his doors if there’s someone who will come.

Kapuso star Carla Abellana says she doesn't mind playing a bit role in a project with Bea Alonzo.

TUESDAY, JULY 10, 2018

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Amanda Stenberg and Harris Dickinson in a scene from the young adult thriller, 'The Darkest Minds."

‘Hunger Games’

child star leads action thriller

‘THE DARKEST MIND’

T

HE latest young adult thrilling road trip movie, The Darkest Minds, trails surviving children who have been locked up in rehabilitation camps and are regarded as enemies of the state.

Starring in this bestselling book adaptation from author Alexandra Bracken are Hollywood’s up and coming exciting young actors—Amandla Stenberg (Hunger Games, Everything, Everything), Harris Dickinson (Beach Rats), Miya Cech (American Horror Story), Skylan Brooks (Southpaw), along with Mandy Moore (This Is Us), Patrick Gibson (The OA), Lidya Jewett (Hidden Figures) and Gwendoline Christie (Game of Thrones).

Set in a dystopian America, Ruby (Stenberg) woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed.

Something alarming enough to make her

parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.”

She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control. When the truth comes out upon turning sixteen, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She soon joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam (Dickinson), their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close.

“This story is about a world that is not very different from ours,” observes Amandla Stenberg, who stars as Ruby Daly. “But some really drastic things have happened. The majority of the population of children has died. And the kids who are left have developed these mental abilities that are inexplicable.”

“Casting Ruby was kind of the makeor-break decision on this film. She’s in almost every frame and I confess, I’ve known Amandla for several years because

she happened to have gone to the same school as my older daughters. She’s not only very commanding on a stage and on a screen, as Rue in Hunger Games, I saw her as a Teen Idol singing ‘Beauty School Dropout’ in Grease and she was awesome as that, too!” says producer Shawn Levy.

“The character of Ruby is pretty tough,” says Stenberg. “And she’s also kind of introverted, the way that she’s written in the book. And so in bringing her to life on the screen, we thought about things that we can do to show all facets of her, because we’re unable to read into her mind like you can when you read the book. I think she is really passionate. She stands her ground. She knows what she wants.”

In discussing what drew her to the project, Stenberg says, “The storyline and the meaning of the storyline was something that immediately excited me about this project. I think there are some parallels between this story and the world we’re living in today.”

From 20th Century Fox, road trip with the squad starts Aug. 1 when The Darkest Mind opens in Philippine cinemas nationwide.

Kapuso stars abroad celebrate Independence month GMA Pinoy TV remained true to its mission of bringing Filipinos abroad closer to home in a series of successful 120th Philippine Independence Day celebrations (PIDC) all over the world in June.

Actress Carla Abellana kicked off her birthday month in the US as she flew to San Diego, California for the “Mabuhay Festival” held at the Kimball Park National City on June 2. Not only was she warmly welcomed during her song numbers, the audience even sang her a Happy Birthday song complete with a cake that was brought on stage.

One of the highlights of the show was when a standee of her boyfriend, Tom Rodriguez, was brought out which prompted screams of kilig from the audience.

During her stay, Carla visited Sweetwater Union High School where she met National City Vice Mayor Albert Mendivil. She also took the opportunity to connect with the community and the youth by giving an inspirational talk about life, success, failures, and love.

Simultaneously on June 2, Kris Bernal and Rocco Nacino provided fun and entertainment at the “Pista sa Nayon: Philippine Independence Day Festival” at the Vallejo Waterfront Park, California.

Rocco began the GMA segment with a couple of song numbers, while Kris went

all-out with her dance performance. After the show, several Kapuso abroad lined up to take photos with both of them during the meet-and-greet portion.

Rocco, who flew to Hawaii for a family vacation after the festivities in Vallejo, also had a radio interview with the Filipino-Hawaiian Radio Station KPHI (96.7 FM/1130 AM) which aired on the Midday Radio Show with Allan Alvarez. Kris, on the other hand, went to Los Angeles to visit her family and paid a courtesy visit to the Philippine Consulate where she met with Deputy Consul General Ambrosio Brian Enciso III. On June 16, All-Star Videoke duo Solenn Heussaff and Betong Sumaya bannered the “Pinoy Fiesta and Tradeshow sa Toronto,” the biggest indoor Filipino fiesta in Ontario organized by the Philippine Canadian Charitable Foundation (PCCF).

The event had a parade, various booths of sponsors, and beauty pageants wherein Solenn and Betong awarded the winners.

Later that night, Betong engaged the audience with comedic acts, while Solenn sizzled in her sexy song numbers. The tandem’s performances wrapped up the fun-filled day of entertainment which left the Kapuso abroad wanting more.

Right after, Solenn and Betong had a

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, July 10, 2018

ACROSS 1 Thick, flat piece 5 Dirty streak 10 Slap on hastily 14 Ride seeker’s cry 15 Truce result 16 Humerus neighbor 17 Luau strings 18 Brainy 19 Wield a hammer 20 Request earnestly 22 Do some freefalling 24 Stingy 26 Haul into court 27 Wagons 30 Give silent assent 32 Summarize 36 Play award 37 Mellowest 39 Slugger’s stat 40 Many holidays, now 42 Eurasian sea 44 Train alternative 45 Objects 47 Sack out 48 Lieu 50 Compass dir.

51 Nurses’ helpers 52 Drop — — line

54 Pledges 56 Accurately 60 Nauseous aboard ship 64 Open-mouthed 65 Leg bone 67 Graven image 68 Epic 69 Raises the lid 70 Otherwise 71 Winged god 72 Marsh grass 73 Solar plexus DOWN 1 Ticket remnant 2 Big pond 3 Downsizes 4 Divided in two 5 Blank 6 Routine procedures 7 — Claire, Wisconsin 8 Doesn’t hesitate 9 Smells awful 10 Paul Hogan role 11 Kyrgyzstan range 12 Where to earn a B.A. 13 Cotton unit 21 Codgers’ queries 23 Mongol tents 25 Explode

27 Travel kit items 28 Give or take 29 Dentist’s order 31 Becoming less numerous 33 Wept 34 Humble 35 Ale servings 37 Reuben bread 38 Airline to Stockholm 41 Said further 43 More prudish 46 GI entertainment gp.

49 Girlfriends in Madrid 51 Detective’s cry 53 Choir members 55 Kid around with 56 Nosegay holder 57 Thickening agent 58 Emblem 59 Cry of surprise 61 Not active 62 Expense 63 “Fish Magic” artist 66 Hotel offering

meet-and-greet with lucky fans and subscribers of two of GMA Pinoy TV’s official carriers in Toronto, Bell and Rogers.

Capping off the eventful series was Dingdong Dantes who headlined the “Pagdiriwang 2018” last June 24 in Singapore. The celebration, which was held at the Kallang Theatre, 1 Stadium Walk, was organized by Filipino volunteers and spearheaded by the Philippine Embassy and SingPhil Events. The jam-packed day of activities embodied the vibrancy of Filipino culture with pageants, cultural dances, booth activities, singing contests, parades, and many more.

Dingdong opened the show with a lively Eraserheads medley and danced with his fellow Pinoys. Some members of Race2Share Singapore joined the Kapuso star on stage as he performed his rendition of Aegis’ iconic song ‘Halik’. The crowd went wild when Dingdong was surprised with a standee of his wife, Marian Rivera-Dantes. After the program, the Kapuso royalty, who is always a crowd favorite, spent time with his kababayans during the meet and greet session.

Earlier in May, GMA kicked off the Independence Day celebrations in the Middle East where Kapuso stars Christian Bautista, Solenn Heussaff, Betong

Dingdong was surprised with a Marian Rivera standee on stage while in Singapore.

Sumaya, Migo Adecer, Divine Tetay, and Dennis Trillo joined back-to-back festivities in Dubai and Jeddah.

The successful string of festivities in North America, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific were made possible through the exclusive media sponsorship of GMA Pinoy TV as it continues to provide world class entertainment for the Kapuso abroad.

Solenn Heussaff and Betong Sumaya in a meet-andgreet with fans after their show in Toronto.

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

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ABS-CBN wins int’l gold Quill Award

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EAR, far, wherever you are, you can get a chance to see Celine Dion perform live as PLDT Home and Smart are marking the countdown to her much anticipated Manila concert happening on July 19 and 20 at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.

Tickets for Celine Dion Live 2018 went on sale to the public early this year and sold out within days. Due to the demand, producers AEG Presents and Ovation Productions and main presenters PLDT Home and Smart have put up a second show to accommodate more people who wanted to see the celebrated diva live.

The Canadian artist counts 5 Grammys, 2 Oscars, and 7 American Music Awards to her name, and was even given the Icon Award at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.

She is the voice behind popular and classic hits like “My Heart Will Go On,” “Because You Loved Me,” and “The Power of Love.” Although the world-renowned singer said that she wanted her shows to be different from each other, fans can still expect these songs to be part of her repertoire.

The two-night Celine Dion Live 2018 follows a string of groundbreaking acts backed by both PLDT Home and Smart in their push to give customers a one-of-akind total music experience through digital content and exclusive perks.

This long list includes the recent Manila concerts of Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, and Niall Horan, as well as last year’s performances of Britney Spears, Fifth Harmony, Shawn Mendes, David Guetta, Liam Gallagher of Oasis, and In the Mix’s 5SoS, Dnce, TwoDoor Cinema Club, Dua Lipa, Daya, and Zara Larsson.

Follow the hashtags #SmartMusicLive, #SmartCelineDion and #PLDTCelineDion on social media for more details of the big ticket giveaway promos.

Countdown to GARY V Countdown to is okay and

Gary V in his first television interview after his successful surgeries.

ABS-CBN head of Integrated Corporate Communications Kane Errol Choa (left) receives ABS-CBN's Gold Quill Award of Excellence from Cindy Schmieg, the chair of the 2018 IABC Awards Committee.

THE country’s leading media and entertainment company won a prestigious Gold Quill award of excellence at the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards in Montreal, Canada for its “Wow at Saya” audience experience program.

“Wow at Saya” was recognized in the Communication Management division under the Customer Relations category as one of the exceptional works in strategic communication worldwide. It is also the only award-winning entry from a Philippine TV network.

“As we are thankful for the award, ABSCBN also considers this recognition as a reminder to constantly enhance the experience of our Kapamilyas that echoes our mission to be in the service of the Filipino,” Kane Errol Choa, head of ABS-CBN Integrated Corporate Communication said.

Launched in 2016, “Wow at Saya” aims to provide TV studio audience members of the network’s live shows like “It’s Showtime” and “ASAP” a cheerful and unforgettable experience throughout the duration of their visit in ABSCBN. With this goal, ABS-CBN formed a team dedicated to ensure quality TV studio audience experience. The network also renovated its audience holding area called the Kapamilya Audience Lounge (KAL) to equip it with amenities like LED TVs, photo walls, food stalls, and more for an entertaining and comfortable stay prior to the show.

Aside from the physical transformation, workshops were conducted for ABS-CBN customer-facing teams such as tour guides and marshals to give guests excellent and genuine service.

Since its inception, the network’s “Wow at Saya” campaign has continuously delivered on its promise, earning consistent positive feedback from ABS-CBN visitors.

In 2017, it also won in the customer relations category at the Philippine Quill Awards, which recognized the best work in business communications nationwide.

The Gold Quill Awards gives global recognition to excellent business communication programs and it is one of the most prestigious awards programs in the industry as entries are assessed against IABC’s standard of excellence.

‘CELINE ‘CELINE DION LIVE’ DION LIVE' Canadian superstar Celine Dion performing in Macau early this month. On July 19 and 20, the celebrated chanteuse takes over Mall of Asia Arena for the Manila leg of her concert tour.

cancer-free

AFTER weeks of silence, Gary Valenciano finally had his first major television interview declaring that after his bypass operation, he underwent another medical challenge.

In an incidental finding, after his first surgery, his cardiologist detected a malignant kidney mass prompting the specialist to endorse him for another surgery. Mr. Pure Energy quietly had a second surgery and is now cancer-free.

As one of the country’s most respected Christian artists, the news on his health tested Gary’s faith as he faced another life-threatening challenge which he overcame with the help of one of the best medical teams in the country and an overpouring of prayers from family, friends, and countless fans from all over the world.

“Do know that I am ok now…and I’m ready to comeback soon. Don’t worry, okay?” Gary posted on official Twitter account for his close to 4 million followers who were worried about news that erroneously stated that he still had cancer.

Gary felt pain in his left abdomen and doctors discovered a 6-centimeter malignant tumor in his kidney. Gary went through another operation and doctors found out that the tumor was localized inside his right kidney.

Today, Gary is on the road to full recovery and doctors even said that his heart is so strong as if he has the heart of a 25-year-old man.

Gary’s entire family, including his mother and sister who recently flew in from the States, is 100 percent behind him in his ongoing journey to full recovery as he gears up with exciting new projects and his grand return to both television and the live concert stage.

“I am miraculously saved. Doctors were baffled I was healing so well after my open heart surgery despite my diabetes,” says Gary. “When the doctors saw the tumor in my kidney and were able to take it all out without a need for chemo therapy or radiation, I can only say that this is the work of the Lord and nothing else. I am blessed.”

Philippine bet at Man of the World 2018

By Eton Concepcion CLINT Karkliñs Peralta, a 26-year-old, 6-foot-1 model from Naga City was one of the 30 official candidates from all over the world introduced to the media last week in an event held at Resorts World Manila.

Born to a Filipino ship captain father and a Polish-Latvian veterinarian mother, Peralta is a former flight attendant, and is presently a practicing nurse in Naga.

In 2014, Peralta competed in Body Shots Philippines Model Search, and was one of the models featured in Cosmo Batch 69 magazine edition and Bench’s “Under the Stars” 30th Anniversary Show.

The dashing heartthrob confessed to have a big crush on fellow Bicolano and reigning Miss Philippines-Universe 2018 Catriona Gray. But he’s quick to admit that his father is his real inspiration and role model.

For the pre-pageant events, Peralta joined the other candidates when they were featured in an all-Filipinocreation fashion show showcasing the designs of Lemuel Rosos and Edgar Jaranilla (swimwear), Mark dela Pena, Jhay Layson, Adam Balasa, DC Castro, Rafael Gonzales,

Jhong Yabo (fashion show designer), Olan Roque, Danna Santiago, Analiza Felix, and Noel Inez (shorts designer).

Voted by the press for Media’s Choice Award were Peru’s Juan Carlos Cabrera Torres (1st place), Nigeria’s Emmanuel Luiz (2nd), the Philippines’ Clint Karkliñs Peralta (3rd), Vietnam’s Cao Xuan Tai (4th) and Myanmar’s Kaung Htet Wai (5th).

“We are very proud of this year’s diverse and highly competitive batch of candidates,” said Aski Pascual, coproject director of Man of the World pageant.

“This year, we want them to experience the best the Philippines has to offer, the smiles, beauty and hospitality of the country,” promised Carlo Morris Galang, president of Prime Event Productions Philippines Foundation, Inc. (PEPPS), founder of Man of the World pageant.

Galang further said that the Manila-based Man of the World pageant promotes the theme “Masculinity with Responsibility.”

The finals night of Man of the World 2018 is on July 14, 7:00 p.m., at the FilOil Flying V Centre, in San Juan City where last year’s winner Mostafa Elizali of Egypt will relinquish his crown.

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The faces of Santa Rosa:

Affirming 14 years of progress needs, medicines, and other needs that help improve their condition.

Senior citizens also receive cash gifts on their birthdays, and free movies in SM Santa Rosa Cinemas.

Crispina Carandang is a 102-yearold senior citizen of Santa Rosa, who has been a recipient of the program.

Born on December 23, 1916, Nanay Pina is surprisingly strong at her age.

Though already blind, she still can hear and converse well.

Nanay Pina is among the nine centenarian of the City. While reaching centenary is very rare, Nanay Pina is the living proof that with a simple lifestyle, one can reach a century, which is more than a lifetime for many.

Anselmo Amarante (third from left), chairman of the City’s Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council (FARMC), is thankful to the City in behalf of the members of FARMC.

‘‘

TRANSITI0N. Emerging.

Thriving.

Roaring.

Persons with Disability The program for Persons with Disability or PWD includes issuance of PWD IDs and Disability Purchase Booklets for medicines and prime commodities. It also includes assistance for physical restoration such as wheel chairs, crutches, walkers, hearing aid, eye glasses, nebulizers, quad canes, and prosthetic legs.

Reginald Tiongco, 53, is among of the success stories of the City.

He was afflicted with polio at five months old, but it did not stop him from living a normal life. He was treated like everyone else by his parents, and that is what made it

Small business ventures The Self-Employment Assistance Program is under the City Social Welfare and Development Office. With this program, qualified Rosenians are provided with financial assistance to start a small business.

Irene Vecino, 44, from Barangay Caingin, has been a beneficiary of the program. Eight years ago, her family was struggling, relying only on her husband’s meager earnings as a driv-

T

HE City of Santa Rosa has always been very unwavering in its aim to be a model in local governance, effectively responding to the welfare of its people.

And through the years, its programs and projects are founded on sentiments of its people and are responsive to their needs.

Aptly called the Four Pillars of Development, this program of governance was initiated in 2007 by then City Mayor now Laguna First District Congresswoman Arlene B. Arcillas and is being continued by Mayor Dan S. Fernandez. With the continuity of governance and programs, the foundations of development are being strengthened, thus ensuring that the advancement and progress of city will be beneficial to the people.

The City of Santa Rosa is truly a city for the people. Serving as testament to this are people and their stories of success.

Quality Education Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Santa Rosa Campus is a state university fully-funded by the City Government of Santa Rosa. It was established in February 2003 through a Memorandum of Agreement between the late Mayor Leon Arcillas and PUP then President Ofe-

lia Carage. During the establishment of the state university, there were just 379 enrollees under the three initial program offerings.

Among the first enrollees was Jesselie Pastolero, then a simple youth who values education and dreamed of becoming successful. Jesselie, 32, took the opportunity to study at PUP, taking up Bachelor’s Degree in Secondary Education Major in English.

In 2007, she was among the first batch of PUP graduates. Today, Jesselie is a College Professor in her alma mater.

To provide quality education for the youth is among the aims of the City Government of Santa Rosa. The City believes that with knowledgeable, skillful, and educated youths, progress will be sustained and success will be attained. To address this goal, the City has implemented the Libreng Paaral sa Pribadong Paaralan Program, which gives full scholarship grants to deserving incoming high school students living in Santa Rosa.

Students under the program have a chance to enroll and study in their chosen private school inside the City.

Valeriana Almonte and her 5-year-old grandchild Miles pose for a photo as one of the SDG-FACES Beneficiary.

Nanay Pina, a 102-year-old centenarian and social pensioner of the City of Santa Rosa.

Nelson Agaw (left), together with his co-workers at Toyota Motor Philippines.

easy for him to accept what he is.

Despite the condition, he persevered and graduated in college with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Electronics and Communications Engineering until he ventured into business. Reginald is happily married to Marites Tiongco, a full-time professor, and is blessed with two children who are now successful in their own fields.

With his success in life and career, Reginald did not forget to help his fellow PWDs. As President of the Association of PWD in Brgy.

Market Area, he shares his blessings among other PWDs through implementation of programs that are supported by the Barangay and the City Government of Santa Rosa.

For Reginald, any condition or disability is never a hindrance to succeed. Instead, it can be a driving force to help and inspire others.

Students can avail of this program as long as they are qualified under the set of conditions and as long as they keep up with the maintaining grade.

Beverly Dadis was one of those who qualified. Coming from a less fortunate family, she was very thankful to be a City scholar as she experienced studying in a private school for free. In college, she went to PUP Santa Rosa, where she fulfilled her dream of becoming a teacher.

Now, Beverly is giving back to the City by working and educating the youth as a Professional Public Teacher at Balibago National High School.

Over the years, the Santa Rosa Manpower Training Center has helped a lot of Rosenians develop their skills, and has produced competitive and ready-for-action graduates with qualifications sought after by the industries both local and international. Many SRMTC graduates are now successful in their chosen careers.

Nelson Agaw, 34, was a high school graduate and found it difficult to find a job. To be competitive in the labor market, he decided to study and train in SRMTC, finishing Automotive Servicing in 2007.

After graduating, he was hired by Toyota Motor Philippines, and has been a regular employee of the automotive manufacturing company for 10 years now.

Jesselie Pastolero, an alumna of PUP Santa Rosa Campus, who graduated to be one of its faculty.

Reginald Tiongco (left) is shown conducting a livelihood training on candle making.

Senior Citizens The City of Santa Rosa values its senior citizens with many programs being implemented through the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs.

Under the social pension program, qualified senior citizens receive P1,500 every quarter to supplement their basic

Melody Hitosis has been an active PhilHealth ng Masa member for three years now.

er, and making ends meet by borrowing money. Through the SEA program, Irene was able to avail of a P3,000 assistance to put up a retail store.

That sari-sari store has now grown with the addition of a rolling store and three videoke machines for rent. And Irene has now been able to avail of P25,000 assistance from City Government due to her ability to repay.

Sustainable Development Goals - Family-based Actions for Children and their Environs in the Slums or SDG-FACES is a national program adopted by the City to address issues such as poverty.

The program provides beneficiaries/mothers the opportunity to take the lead in achieving several goals, combating economic,

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social and environmental challenges within the community. This is through trainings, seminars and livelihood projects that can help improve the quality of their life and secure their children’s future.

Valeriana Almonte, 53, is grateful to be among beneficiaries of the program. Life was a daily struggle for Valeriana and her children and her grandchildren.

But SDG-FACES gave her hope and inspiration. As one of the beneficiaries, Valeriana received a livelihood assistance which she plans to start up a business.

Valeriana is very thankful that she will no longer have to worry in looking for money to support the education of her grandchildren, especially Miles who is just 5 years old. She vowed not to waste the opportunity given her, saying she will do her very best to attain the aims of the program.

A healthy citizenry TB-DOTS gives free and easy access to patients diagnosed with tuberculosis. Unlike before that there is no cure for TB, now the disease can easily be treated through early diagnosis and proper medication.

This has been the case for Edward Joel Vista, 57, a TB-DOTS patient of the City Health Center from Brgy. Sinalhan. In 2017, Edward was diagnosed with tuberculosis, and was advised to have a 6-month treatment. Fortunately, he found the City Government of Santa Rosa program regarding it, and was accommodated and treated for six months in the City Health Center along with free medications.

Edward has now successfully finished his treatment for tuberculosis.

He expressed his admiration to the health workers who have been truly and passionately doing their jobs.

and seminars by the City Cooperative Development Office. Composed of Enchanted Kingdom employees who have been working together for 20 years now, CAST was initially unaware of the city government program for cooperatives, until 2010 when they were invited to an event related to cooperatives. Since then, CAST has been actively participating in CCDO’s programs.

Chairman Ruel Bercasio said that he is very thankful for all the trainings and seminars that they received from the City, as these were really helpful both to the cooperative and their members. He emphasized that through the trainings and seminars, they were able to build networks making it easy for them to do partnerships on business.

To date, CAST Multi-Purpose Cooperative already achieved their vision and mission of becoming the number one cooperative in Santa Rosa as they are the very first Dangal ng Kooperatiba Awardee.

During the term of then City Mayor now Congresswoman Arlene B. Arcillas, she built partnership with Gawad Kalinga and Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation Inc. in establishing a housing program called Toyota-City of Santa Rosa-Gawad Kalinga Village in Barangay Pulong Santa Cruz.

Eric Hernandez is a 49-year old security guard and family man whose family endured living on the roadside before becoming a beneficiary of the Toyota-City of Santa Rosa-Gawad Kalinga Village. Eric and his family were among the 158 beneficiary families in Brgy. Pulong Sta. Cruz.

According to him, when he was told about the relocation, he did not think twice because he knew that it will be for the betterment of his family.

Since relocating in 2013 up until

Former City Scholar Beverly Dadis is now returning the favor to the City as a Professional Public Teacher at Balibago National High School.

FARMC in the whole City of Santa Rosa and he hopes that programs like this of the City Agriculture Office will continue to help a lot more fishermen.

Agricultural gains While the City of Santa Rosa has been known for its industry and commerce, agriculture still plays a vital role in its communities. And the City Government has continued to support local farmers by providing them with machineries, farming equipment, and strengthening their capabilities through livelihood trainings.

Eduardo Umali, 67, is among the

more efficient. From using carabaos to plow, now he uses threshing machines and other machineries. Apart from this, water pumps, grass cutters, seeds, and fertilizers were also given to him. Planting and harvesting has become easier because of those and that’s what he is grateful for.

Rehabilitation Center In response to President Duterte’s campaign against criminality and illegal drugs, the City of Santa Rosa through the leadership of Mayor Dan Fernandez, quickly responded by establishing the Dangal ng Pagbabago Rehabilitation Center – the very first

kind of happiness with friends and with illegal drugs that he no longer knew himself anymore. There were instances that he felt like he wanted to change, but he does not how or when to start until his family decided to send him to Dangal ng Pagbabago Rehabilitation.

In the rehabilitation center, Darwin contemplated and realized a lot of things. He realized that he should not be putting his life to waste because there are many opportunities in store for him. He realized that God is working in his life for a purpose.

Slowly, he redeemed himself.

Now, Darwin is finally out of the center, and he is trying to start anew

with his family supporting him. He was also given an opportunity to be a Toyota Scholar, and he promised to be responsible enough and not to waste this chance given to him.

Those are just some of the people that serve as testimony to what the City of Santa Rosa is really doing for its people. A lot received help, but there are still many more to be helped. This is what the City Government vows to do as the city celebrates its 14th year – progress will be sustained and accomplishments will continue to grow in numbers, through the support and participation of the people and stakeholders.

Chairman Ruel Bercasio (third from left) and members of CAST Multi-Purpose Cooperative, pose for a photo to promote their Frutti Delite business inside Enchanted Kingdom.

Housing Beneficiary Eric Hernandez together with his family at their house inside the Toyota-City of Santa Rosa-Gawad Kalinga Village.

67-year old Eduardo Umali harvests crops in his farm.

According to him, he is blessed to be in this City for not every City has this kind of program for someone like him.

Indigent citizens of the City of Santa Rosa need not to worry about the bills when admitted in public hospitals as long as they are members of PhilHealth ng Masa. Members of this program are given assistance on the hospitalization; and Melody Hitosis has proven this for years.

Melody Hitosis has been a member of PhilHealth since 2015, and from then she has been benefitting from the privileges of being a member such the free check-ups from public and private hospitals. There was this time when her child was admitted at the Philippine Heart Center for a bypass operation. According to her, her bill reached between P500,000 to P700,000. When the PHC found out that she is an indigent member of PhilHealth ng Masa, she did not pay even a single cent and that makes her very thankful.

To her, it is a testament that PhilHealth ng Masa program of the City of Santa Rosa is truly a lot of help to every Rosenians in need.

Multi-Purpose Cooperative CAST Multi-Purpose Cooperative is among the active cooperatives in the City benefitting from trainings

now, Eric no longer worries for his family’s safety. He is living a peaceful life inside their community, where he is an officer of their Village.

Fisher folks The City’s support to the agricultural sector has been appreciated by simple fishermen. Through the City Agricultural Office’s Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Council or FARMC, fishermen of the City are given a chance to attend seminars that can help improve their knowledge regarding fishing. Every now and then, the City also gives assistance in the form of fishing equipment, aside from having a venue to raise their concerns to which the City finds solutions.

Anselmo Amarante, 49, of Barangay Sinalhan has been a fisherman since he was 12 years old. The struggle of having your own fishing net or ‘palakaya’ was truly evident during that time. It was in 2014 when fishermen like him started to receive assistance from the City Government through the City Agricultural Office’s FARMC. Anselmo, on behalf of his group of fishermen, was very grateful for all the help and support of the City since they became a part of the FARMC. Currently, he is the chairman of

After six months of TB treatment under TB-DOTS program, Edward Joel Vista is now cured of the illness. farmers supported by the programs rehabilitation center operated by a loof the City. He has been farming cal government unit. During Oplan for more than 50 years. Looking Tokhang, many drug dependents back, farming for him was difficult willingly surrendered, and each one due the lack of equipment and ma- of them has their own story. chineries.

The journey of Dangal ng PagbaIt is just now that farming has be- bago Completionist Darwin Costales, come somehow easy because of the 22, is among the inspiring and amazassistance that was given to him as ing stories inside the rehabilitation cenbeneficiary of the City Agricultural ter. It was in high school when he got Office. hooked on vices. It slowly became his For six years since he became a life until he can no longer resist it to the beneficiary, Eduardo said the pro- point the he also learned to use illegal gram has made a huge impact on drugs when he was 19 years old. Durhim, making farming easier and ing those times, Darwin found his own

Darwin Costales, a 22-year old Dangal ng Pagbabago Rehabilitation Completionist, who has turned his life around, was granted a full scholar’s grant by Toyota Motor Philippines.

Irene Vecino shows her rolling store, a product of the City’s SelfEmployment Assistance Program.

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Best places to go in Santa Rosa, Laguna

By Patricia Marie Cabela LONG lines, rush hours, and never-ending traffic. These are the reasons why most us would want to find a quick escape from the chaos in the Metro. Luckily, you would not have to go far away because Santa Rosa, Laguna has all you need to make your weekend escapade a memorable one.

If you are looking for extraordinary yet refreshing places to take your family and even barkadas to, we have listed down four best places in Santa Rosa City for you to enjoy.

1. House of Bawai Checking out a new place to eat will definitely be a great experience for you and your family, while in the City of Santa Rosa. The House of Bawai, hidden beneath the vibrant walls of Solenad 3 in Nuvali, offers a new dining experience that merges the flavors of Vietnamese and

Filipino dishes that will surely suit our Filipino taste. It is an elegant restaurant that serves invigorating and flavorful Vietnamese cuisines that can be a healthy alternative for fitness enthusiasts to other restaurants around the area. Refreshing and equally filling,The House of Bawai is operated by the same genius behind Bawai Vietnamese Kitchen in Tagaytay, the Tatlonghari Family, together with Rowena Mendoza and Jo Benasa. The term Bawai, means ‘grandma’ in Vietnamese, which represents the overall vibe of the restaurant —warm and laidback. About 80% of the ingredients used in the restaurant are all imported from Vietnam making its flavors truly Vietnamese. Some of their must-tries are the Pho Bo (Beef Pho), which is a hearty soup mixed with sweet and spicy sauce, as well as the Goi Du Du (fresh papaya salad). You do not have to worry about the price because for just around 400/head, you will surely leave the restaurant with a happy tummy.

2. Seda Hotel Stressed from work and the hustle and bustle of city life? You probably need a staycation, which is another option for you to unwind and relax. Good news is you do not have to go far away to achieve an unforgettable staycation for you and your whole family. Only a 2-hour drive from Manila, Seda Hotel offers a new experience in hospitality. Seda, a Spanish word for silk, symbolizes the hotel’s offering—which is seamless hospitality and service.

Seda affords mesmerizing views of the lake and overlooking structures that blend perfectly with natural landscapes. It offers modern travelers’ essentials such as 150 contemporary style guestrooms, an e-lounge, banquet and meeting venues, a spa, gym, and Seda’s signature restaurant, Misto.

The hotel is also just a few steps away from Solenad’s dining and retail stores and within easy reach from the Republic Wakepark.

3. The Coca-Cola Pavilion A visit to a museum is also an option. The CocaCola Pavilion is an educational place where one can know how the famous soft drinks brand is being made. It features the story of Coca-Cola in the country through fascinating exhibits, an eye-popping collection of memorabilia, thrilling video presentations and even a soda fountain with a jukebox.

The Coca-Cola Pavilion reflects the shared heritage of a country and a company that have been through many years together. This destination is perfect not only for students but to the whole family as it

provides a unique twist to their weekend getaways for free. The museum is located at Coca-Cola Bottlers Philippines, Inc., Sta. Rosa Plant I, Pulong, Sta. Cruz, Sta. Rosa, Laguna and is open from Tuesdays to Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Reservations are required to be made beforehand.

4. Paseo De Santa Rosa Speaking of a fun and fulfilling experience, why not treat yourself and your family to a shopping spree? In Santa Rosa City, you will definitely score great bargains from your favorite brands without having to go broke. Ever since 1990, the Paseo Outlets, which house more than 50 international brands, are the

most sought-after destination in the area. It has earned that rightful title as the country’s largest premier outlet center. Some of the brands that can be found within the 15-hectare shopping district are the Aeropostle Outlet, Nike Factory Store and adidas Outlet Store. Moreover, it also carries specialty stores, electronic stores and grocery outlets perfect to fulfill the needs of your family. To top all of that, Paseo De Santa Rosa often conducts mini concerts and events, especially for kids. Their stores also release reasonable shopping deals ranging from 50%80% discount. With that, Paseo De Santa Rosa serves as the ideal shopping place for families, as well as friends.