Manila Standard - 2018 June 14 - Thursday by Manila Standard

Peso tumbles vs dollar BUSINESS B1

P53.23 : $1 VOL. XXXII • NO. 119 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

‘Arm the barangay chiefs’

Duterte toying with idea amid rash of killings; 3 solons wary By Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said he might arm barangay officials following the spate of killings of community leaders and warned of a “radical change” to ensure law and order in the Philippines, but lawmakers from both sides of the political fence opposed the idea. “I might consider arming you. If I think in my assessment and evaluation, if you are really into it, I will support you. And I may grant you possession and to carry your firearms,” the President said during the oathtaking of newly elected barangay officials in Clark, Pampanga, Tuesday night. He said the rules governing the use of firearms for ordinary civilians will also apply to barangay captains, and this would include having the firearms licensed and securing a permit to carry it outside of their residence. At least 20 barangay captains and kagawads were killed from January to May this year.

THE state-owned People’s Television Network will soon air Chinese TV series, documentaries, cartoons, and movies translated into Filipino, naming the project as “DreamWorks made in China.” Next page

SARA DUTERTE

5 suspects in priest’s murder hunted down By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

Sara Duterte locks horns with senator over 2022 run By Macon Ramos-Araneta IF DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte runs for President in 2022, this would be to keep her father, President Rodrigo Duterte out of jail, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Wednesday. His statement drew an immediate reaction from the mayor, who told Trillanes not to think of her, speak her Next page

SENATOR ANTONIO TRILLIANES

Boracay natives may regain lands By Vito Barcelo THE original inhabitants of Boracay Island may soon get back their lands under the agrarian land reform program and then sell it to businessmen for a proﬁt, President Rodrigo Duterte said late Tuesday. Speaking in Pampanga during the oath-

TO ARM OR NOT TO ARM.

President Rodrigo Duterte floats the idea Tuesday night of arming barangay officials following killings of community leaders—in the same week police are hunting down five suspects in the murder of a Catholic priest in Nueva Ecija, with Duterte denying accusations he is persecuting priests, and Acting Supreme Court Chief Justice Antonio Carpio condemining the killing of a judge in Camarines Sur.

THE majority of Filipino Internet users believe “fake news” or false information on the Internet has become a serious problem, a Social Weather Stations survey revealed Wednesday. Next page

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

The latest killing was on May 14 identiﬁed as Leonilo Arbonido, barangay captain of Julugan VI in Tanza, Cavite, who was shot dead by unidentified armed

Fake news poses problem—SWS

Govt’s PTV to air Chinese TV series

men onboard a motorcyle. The President also assured his full support to barangay ofﬁcials who might face lawsuits while performing their duty, saying he was ready to intervene and support their cause. However, Duterte warned the barangay ofﬁcials that if they cannot govern their

taking of newly elected barangay captains, the President said he would only want Boracay’s beach front to be used for commercial purposes, while the rest of the island would be subject to land reform. The chief executive said the resort island can only take so much because it’s just a small strip of land. Next page

POLICE said Wednesday they are hunting ﬁve suspects in the murder of Fr. Richmond Nilo in Nueva Ecija over the weekend as the Palace condemned the killing of priests. President Rodrigo Duterte, however, denied accusations that he is persecuting priests despite the spate of killings of clergymen. “I read in some media reports that some were asking me to stop persecuting priests. But I did not say anything,” Duterte said. “You know, a priest is no better than me. Some priests even have two wives,” he said.

BLAME THE RAINS.

The heavy dowpour in the aftermath of severe Tropical Storm ‘Domeng,’ which lashed much of northern Philippines, particularly Cagayan Valley, has forced residents of the often flooded Malabon City in Metro Manila, as these ones at the Artex Compound, to take a boat Wednesday for their transport needs. Andrew Rabulan

Chief Supt. Amado Corpus said CCTV footage showed two motorcycle riders on a road near the chapel just before Nilo was gunned down before he was able to say Mass. A third suspect on a motorcycle was seen serving as a lookout, while two others were inside a getaway vehicle, Corpuz said. Nilo was the third Catholic priest shot dead by unknown gunmen in the last six months, sparking impassioned calls for justice from ofﬁcers of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines. Unidentiﬁed gunmen killed Fr. Marcelito Paez, 72, in Nueva Ecija in December 2017, and Fr. Mark Anthony Ventura in Cagayan province in April. Next page

CamSur judge shot dead over land row---PNP ACTING Chief Justice Antonio Carpio condemned the killing of San Jose-Lagonoy Camarines Sur Metropolitan Circuit Trial Court Judge Ricky Begino Tuesday. In a statement Wednesday, Carpio asked the authorities to expedite the investigation and arrest of those responsible for the killing and bring justice to Begino. Authorities have reportedly arrested a suspect in the killing, 72-year-old Wilfredo Armea, of Presentacion town, Camarines Sur. Investigators said a land dispute was the possible motive for the killing. Police said the judge was shot once and was hit in the neck Tuesday afternoon. He was taken to the hospital but died Tuesday evening. Last year, two judges were killed—retired Surigao City regional trial court judge Victor Canoy and Butuan City RTC Judge Godofredo Abul Jr. Ousted chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno also expressed her sadness at the murder of another judge and her friend. Rey E. Requejo

Donald accepts Kim’s bonding trip to N. Korea

SEOUL—Donald Trump accepted an invitation from Kim Jong-un to visit North Korea during their historic summit, Pyongyang state media reported Wednesday, as the US president said the world had jumped back from the brink of “nuclear catastrophe.” Critics have said the unprecedented encounter in Singapore was more style than substance, producing a document that was short on details about the key issue of Pyongyang’s atomic weapons. But in a characteristically bullish tweet, Trump said the ﬁrst-ever meeting between sitting leaders of the two Cold War foes meant “the World has taken a big step back from potential Nuclear catastrophe!” “No more rocket launches, nuclear testing or research! The hostages Next page

News

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Gov’t inaction blamed for fish row with China A FORMER Foreign Affairs assistant secretary and ambassador on Wednesday blamed the government for the reported harassment of Filipino ﬁshermen in Scarborough or Panatag Shoal. Alberto Encomienda, a maritime affairs expert, said the government’s “neglect” in protecting the Philippines’ coastal fisheries, particularly Pangasinan and Zambales, “forces” the country’s fishermen to go to Scarborough Shoal, located 124 nautical miles west of Zambales province. “Why do they have to go and risk life, limb and health 200 nautical miles from their home coastal base in order to fish for their families’ sustenance and a little for their town market? It just doesn’t make sense,” Encomienda told a forum in Manila. He made his statement even as Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon on Wednesday called on Foreign Affairs

Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano to take a tougher stance against China and file a protest following Chinese coastguards’ harassment of Filipino fishermen in Scarborough Shoal last month. Drilon said he believed there was enough evidence to file a protest before the Chinese government. “It was reported in the media. So maybe just a little courage and I ask Secretary Cayetano to file a protest,” Drilon said in a statement. Another opposition senator, Risa Hontiveros of Akbayan, slammed the “insensitive” conduct of Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua during the Independence Day rites at the

Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite. But an administration ally on Wednesday rallied behind the government’s position on the incident in Scarborough Shoal. Parañaque Rep. Gus Tambunging said “the current stand of the Philippine government is not to aggravate the situation in Scarborough shoal.” Tambunting, chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on games and amusement, said the Duterte administration’s diplomatic handling of the issue upheld the rights of the fishermen over the contested waters. “This has clearly helped our fishermen as they can now fish when they previously were not able to,” Tambunting said. Encomienda was responding to the Chinese Coast Guard’s “harassment” of Filipino fishermen by reportedly taking some of their catch in Scarborough Shoal, considered a common fishing ground for the Chinese, Filipino and Vietnamese. Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

Ceasefire deal Group bucks Du30 move on ICC with Reds on hold—Joma By Rey E. Requejo

A STAND-DOWN agreement supposed to be simultaneously announced by the government and the Maoist rebels on Thursday has been delayed for a week to allow the government to ensure the participation of several consultants in the peace talks, Jose Maria Sison said Wednesday. The founder of the Communist Party of the Philippines said most of these consultants of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines were expected to be cleared before Friday to join the talks. “The stand-down will begin on June 21, a full week ahead of the June 28 resumption of formal talks in Oslo,” Sison told ABS-CBN News. He made his statement even as President Rodrigo Duterte again reassured Sison of his safety in the Philippines even if the peace talks failed and that he would escort him to the airport to fly back to the Netherlands alive. Duterte reiterated his invitation to Sison to come to the Philippines to resume the peace talks and said he would shoulder the cost of his plane ticket and hotel accommodation here. “Should the peace talks prevail, then we would be lucky and I would thank God for it. But if not, I tell you that I will escort him to the airport and I will see to it that he will fly out alive,” Duterte said in his speech during the oath-taking of village officials in Pampanga. “I don’t know about Sison, but I’m ready to give him the privilege of coming home. He does not have to worry about his safety,” Duterte said. The government and the rebels were initially set to announce a standdown deal on Thursday, two weeks ahead of the formal negotiations. Vito Barcelo

Fake... From A1

The survey, fielded on March 23 to 27, 2018, showed that 67 percent of the adult Filipino Internet users polled said fake news on the Internet is a serious problem. Around 20 percent were undecided while 13 percent said fake news is not a serious problem, SWS said. Meanwhile, three lawmakers on Wednesday shared their views on the SWS survey on fake news. As far as opposition Representatives Tom Villarin of Akbayan, Carlos Zarate of Bayan Muna and Emmi de Jesus of Gabriela are concerned, it is the government’s sole responsibility to address the problem. “It is a wake-up call to all our institutions involved in forming and disseminating information. Something must be done by way of policy and discourse for the truth,” Villarin said. “The Goebbels mantra of repeating lies often enough so those can be passed on as the truth is still highly relevant and used extensively by government or people with ulterior motives other than the truth. Our people must fight back and reclaim public space for the truth.” A separate survey completed in December 2017, meanwhile, showed 60 percent or six out of 10 of those surveyed believe that fake news in the traditional media is also a serious problem. Maricel V. Cruz

ANOTHER petition has been filed before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of President Rodrigo’s Duterte’s move to withdraw the country from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Duterte announced the withdrawal in March, citing the “baseless, unprecedented and outrageous attacks” against him and his administration over its anti-drug war that is being blamed for thousands of deaths. The Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court urged the high court to declare as void Duterte’s action, including the notice of withdrawal from the Rome Statute that was deposited in the office of the UN Secretary General on March 17.

‘Arm... From A1

respective communities the way they should be run, he would not hesitate to throw them in jail. “Should there will be more cases of rape, killings, illegal drugs, then there must be something seriously wrong... Either you are into it, or you do not do what is expected of you,” he told the newly elected local officials. The President also urged the newly elected officials to work closely with the national government in creating solutions that not only respond to the needs of our citizens, but also restore their faith and confidence in their leaders’ and the institutions’ capacity to serve. “What we do now—what will now do is to help shape our nation’s future. If we are to create progress that is truly substantial and sustainable, we must demonstrate the passion and determination to secure and improve the lives of our people,” he said. “I have the greatest trust in the experience and ability that each one of you possesses. Together, let us use this opportunity to bring valuable and meaningful reforms in our bureaucracy so that we can get rid of society’s ills and usher in real and lasting change for the benefit of the people,” he added. During the oath taking ceremony, President Duterte reiterated that he would have to use emergency powers and make “radical changes” to address the rising crime rates and restore order. Duterte warned both criminals and erring government personnel. The President remarks were triggered by the killing of an assistant prosecutor of the Office of the Ombudsman who was stabbed to death by a jeepney barker, Angelito Avenido, who had a history of drug use, and of robbery and killings connected to his drug use. Assistant Prosecutor Madonna Joy Tanyag was reportedly four months pregnant when she was stabbed to death by the suspect. The President was also alarmed by the killings of three Catholic priests by unidentified suspects. Lawmakers on Wednesday voiced concern over the idea of arming barangay captains, calling it “dangerous” and tan-

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“I’ll give it to the natives so by the time that the big businesses will go in, they already have the titles and may sell them. My consolation is they will have huge money,” the President said. Duterte ordered a total rehabilitation of the popular island teeming with beach resorts for six months and placed the entire Boracay off limits to tourists while it is

The PCICC, a non-governmental organization composed of individuals and groups that campaigned for the country to become a State party to the Statute, said the act of the Duterte administration would sound the death knell for those who want to see justice done for violation of human rights when and where the State is unable or unwilling to prosecute crimes committed against its own citizens. “The President’s unilateral edict withdrawing the membership of the Philippines in the ICC without benefit of parliamentary concurrence or approval as required under the 1987 Charter, denies Filipinos their right to redress in the event of state default from its obligations, in particular as these pertain to the commission of the most heinous international crimes against its own citizens,” the petition says. tamount to creating more private armies. Reps. Edgar Erice of Caloocan City, Tom Villarin of Akbayan Party-list and Teddy Baguilat of Ifugao rejected the President’s proposal. “Arming barangay captains of the 40,000 barangays simply means creating a private army of political kingpins in cities, provinces and municipalitie,” Erice said. “It is a wild, wild west scenario.” Even administration and Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting was wary of the President’s idea to arm barangay officials. He said the carrying of firearms is a police function. “The shooting event several months back involving barangay officials in Mandaluyong which resulted in a “misencounter” and the death of shooting victim who was being rushed to the hospital should give us pause,” Tambunting, chairman of the House committee on games and amusements, said. “The carrying of firearms is a police function. The police should not cede this right and responsibility so easily to barangay officials,” he added. Villarin said the proposal of the President was dangerous. “With loose guns already a big problem, allowing more firearms even if licensed would perpetuate a culture of violence and abuse of power by persons of authority of which punong barangays are considered as such,” said Villarin. “Instead of being peaceful mediators, conciliators or arbitrators, you will turn them into armed enforcers or worst armed goons of politicians,” Villarin added. Baguilat shared a similar view, saying “arming barangay officials will only lead to more abuse and violence.” “They do not have the skill, orientation and education. Their primary task in law enforcement is to act as monitors for the police, help enforce local ordinances and report the more serious crimes to capable law enforcer,” Baguilat said. But Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela backed the President’s proposal so long as the barangay captains will be equipped with proper training. Philippine National Police Chief Oscar Albayalde said he is amenable to Duterte’s proposal to arm barangay captains to make them more effective as peacekeepers in the face of rising criminal activities.

being cleaned up. In his speech, the President reiterated his desire to turn Boracay into a land reform area, as he bewailed big businesses for exploiting the island paradise that led to the degradation of its environment. The President described the island as a “cesspool” after discovering Boracay’s establishments disregarded environmental laws. “That’s yours [the land]. One day, sell it. Maybe your daughter and sons will reap the money,” the President told Boracay’s natives.

RENEWED OFFENSIVE. Government forces step up their offensive against Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters under King Metin of Bungos faction, tallying 23 kill after three days of clashes. The death toll included a soldier and two civilians executed by retreating militants. Mark Navales

5...

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Malacañang on Wednesday vowed to put in jail those responsible for the murders. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said the government and the Philippine National Police have mounted investigations into these crimes and have vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. “The PNP shall also be working closely with the Church, especially the hierarchy and the clergy, on measures to protect our priests,” Roque said in a statement.. The Palace official said the government will give priority to the investigation into the deaths of the priests. “The government is concerned because just like the killing of media [people], once you kill a priest, you violate not only his right to life but also his right to freedom of religion,” he said. He said the President himself has ordered an intensified campaign against criminality. “In this nationwide drive, criminals will seek to block our efforts by sowing division and creating animosity, even exploiting crimes like the killings of priests,” Roque said. “We must stand united against these purveyors of crime and together advance the peace and security of the nation and the Church,” he added. In an interview with the ANC news channel, CBCP executive secretary for public affairs Fr. Jerome Secillano said priests and laymen were puzzled at the President’s constant tirades against the

Catholic Church. “We are trying to comprehend why the President hates the church... Personally, maybe because in the past there were churchmen who criticized him. Perhaps he has not forgotten it yet that’s why he continues to do the attack,” he said. He said the church was always open to a dialogue with the President over any problems he had with the Catholic community. Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday asked if Catholic priests who were critical of the administration were being silenced. “Is there a systematic attempt to kill Catholic priests who are critical of the administration?” she asked, noting that the killings were not isolated incidents as they followed verbal attacks by the President. She said these killings further reinforced the culture of impunity to silence valid Church-led criticisms on state policies, particularly those with respect to human rights and due process. “I fear that the President’s verbal attacks as well as the dismissive attitude towards the killings may inspire more priest-murders and other acts of violence on members of religious communities,” Hontiveros said. The senator has asked the committee on public order, led by Senator Panfilo Lacson, to investigate the killings. “Yes, I will hear it, but it has to wait until after the formal referral of her resolution is made to the public order committee when the third regular session starts on July 23,” Lacson said.

Donald...

Sara...

are back home with their families. Thank you to Chairman Kim, our day together was historic!” In the joint statement following Tuesday’s talks, Kim agreed to the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula”—a stock phrase favoured by Pyongyang that stopped short of longstanding US demands for North Korea to give up its atomic arsenal in a “verifiable” and “irreversible” way. The official KCNA news agency ran a glowing dispatch, describing the summit as an “epoch-making meeting” that would help foster “a radical switchover in the most hostile [North Korea]-US relations.” The report said the two men “gladly accepted” mutual invitations to visit each other’s countries. KCNA also asserted Trump had “expressed his intention” to lift sanctions against the North—something the US president had told a blockbuster press conference would happen “when we are sure that the nukes are no longer a factor.” “The sanctions right now remain,” he added. With the headline: “Meeting of the century opens new history in DPRKUS relations,” the North’s ruling Workers Party official daily Rodong Sinmun splashed no fewer than 33 pictures across four of its usual six pages. AFP

name, or issue “even a whisper of Inday Sara” from his “ugly lips.” In a press briefing, Trillanes dismissed claims by the President’s daughter that he would run for president in 2022. “I will not be a problem because her rivals, in case she decided to run for President, are their allies—the people around them,” Trillanes said. He said the Davao mayor’s possible rivals would include Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, former senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and Senators Manny Pacquiao and Richard Gordon. Trillanes said Duterte could declare martial law or a revolutionary government to protect himself. “He has repeatedly said this even during the campaign and during the last months. That is why, he has been looking for justificarion for a nationwide martial law to control the entire country,” Trillanes said. With the country under martial law, the President can easily get rid of his critics without having to create a script, Trillanes said. He said the President’s second option is Charter change and federalism, “although he has no knowledge about federalism.” His only goal here is to protetr his interest under a transitory government and remain in power, he added.

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Making “the Filipino dream a reality,” Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua said locals can now watch Chinese-made shows to better understand China, its people, their long history, their rich culture, their daily lives, their endeavors, and their dreams. “I would rather name the project that we launch as ‘DreamWorks’ made in China,” Zhao said in his speech during the inauguration of the China TV Theater in Makati City. The launching of China TV Theater, he said, coincides with the recent celebration of the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of China-Philippines

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diplomatic ties. “In more than four decades, our two great countries have witnessed robust friendship and growing partnership,” Zhao said. This development, he said, happened due to President Rodrigo Duterte’s successful state visit to China in October 2016. “Our bilateral relations have entered into a new era. We are now quickly translating our two leaders’ visions and consensus into ever deepening cooperation,” Zhao said. He noted that both countries are pursuing the “Three Pillars” of BeijingManila relations—political and security cooperation, economic and trade cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges.

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THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

P163-m shabu seized in Sta. Ana; two suspects arrested By Jun David NORTHERN Police District operatives seized 24 kilos of suspected methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu during a buy-bust operation at midnight in Sta. Ana, Manila on Wednesday. The NPD police also arrested two suspects, while the illegal drugs were seized inside a luggage during the operation. The police said the shabu were packed in reﬁned tea bags bearing Chinese characters inside a silver luggage in the house of suspects Ian Calabio, 26, jobless, and his mom Ruby Calabio, 61, married, in Barangay 778, Sta. Ana, Manila. The shabu, the police said, has an estimated street value of P163 million in Sta Ana, Manila. According to Northern Police District Director Amando Clifton Empiso, they conducted a separate buy-bust operation in Caloocan on Tuesday afternoon that led to the arrest of suspects who revealed that their sources can be traced in Sta. Ana. Empiso said they then conducted a buy-bust operation with police posing as buyers. The “buyers” were allowed to go inside the house of the suspects in Sta. Ana before they declared the buy-bust operation.

Ex-VP Binay, several others face probe on BSP land sale By Rio N. Araja THE Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday said its field identification office has already completed its probe of the P600-million sale of the property owned by the Boy Scouts of the Philippines on Malugay Street, Makati City. Its investigation team recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges for violation of Section 3(e) and (g) of Republic Act No. 3019 or the AntiGraft and Corrupt Practices Act) against former vice president Jejomar Binay, then BSP president; then senior vice president Wendel Avisado; then executives Del de Guzman, J. Miguel de Jesus, Enrique Lagdameo, Pedro Destura, Dale Corvera, Maximo Edralin Jr., Remedios Petilla, Roberto Pagdanganan, Harmes Sembrano, Mildred Garay, Manuel Jose Dalipe, Leo Lasacar, Danilo Asiaten, Lutgardo Barbo, Jose Mari Pelaez, Ireneo Aquino, Jose Eduardo Delgado, Henry Dy, Jose Ma. Gastardo, Pepito Carpio, Nemesio Miranda Jr., Jaime Semana, Wilfredo Chato, Alan Zulueta, Jorge Banal, Efren Edgard Dieta, Rodolfo Tamani, Von Carlo Yacob, J. Rizal Pangilinan, Salud Bagalso and Amado Espino Jr. Charges for violation of Section 3(e) were also recommended against Alphaland Makati Place Inc. president Mario Oreta; former Bureau of Internal Revenue officers Teodoro Galicia as the authorized revenue official, Mark Anthony Panganiban as revenue officer and Romeo Tomas, as group supervisor.

ERMITA FLOOD. A road work being done by DPWH maintenance workers accidentally hit a Maynilad pipeline, resulting to an ankle-deep flood along San Marcelino Street corner UN Avenue in Ermita, Manila on Wednesday morning. Norman Cruz

Gaming tycoon Okada not yet off the hook—DoJ By Rey E. Requejo

APANESE gaming tycoon Kazuo Okada is not yet off the hook in the $10-m embezzlement cases despite the controversial resolutions by the Ofﬁce of the City Prosecutor of Parañaque dismissing them.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the resolutions by Parañaque City Prosecutor Amerhassan Paudac will still be subject to motions for reconsideration or petitions for review by complainant Tiger Resorts Leisure & Entertainment Inc., owner of Okada Manila hotelresort complex, before the Department of Justice. Guevarra said the resolutions may be reversed if the DoJ finds basis to overturn them. “If upon review the DoJ sees it differently, the resolutions may be set aside, reversed or modified accordingly,” the DoJ chief. The controversy arising from the leakage of the Paudac resolution of May 11 which forced the investigating fiscal to inhibit himself, prompted the DoJ to take over the estafa cases. The leakage is

OKADA

now being looked into by the National Bureau of Investigation. Guevarra said he will designate a new state prosecutor to handle the cases as

soon as he gets the complete records from the Office of the City Prosecutor. Acting Prosecutor General Jorge Catalan Jr. has also recused from the cases following petition from Tiger Resort. In March, Catalan approved a resolution junking the perjury charges filed against Okada and the company’s former president Takahiro Usui. Okada, who is subject of a lookout bulletin order issued by the DoJ, served as chief executive officer of TRLEI, the local subsidiary of Japanese firm Universal Entertainment Corp., was booted out of the company in June last year and subsequently sued for estafa. In one estafa case, TRLEI accused Okada of illegal disbursement of company funds amounting to $3 million, without the approval of the board, supposedly for his consultancy fees and salaries during his one-month tenure as CEO. TRLEI alleged that Okada himselfwithin a span of just one month-caused the disbursement of the corporate funds through his accomplice, Takahiro Usui, who was then TRLEI president and chief operating officer and who was also a respondent in the complaint.

DoH hits goal in collecting 1-m blood units in PH By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Department of Health on Wednesday announced that it has ﬁnally realized its goal of collecting one-million blood units, two decades after the National Blood Services Act of 1994 (Republic Act No. 7719) was signed into law. Health Secretary Francisco T. Duque III said that “The Department of Health continues to promote the regular, yearround blood donation as a means to save lives.” “We are immensely grateful to the blood donors for their voluntary and sincere effort to be of help to those in need. They truly are heroes in the lives of our recipients,” said Duque. “We continue to enjoin all Filipinos to imbibe the spirit of bayanihan and be instrumental in saving more lives by donating blood today,” he added.

The DoH made the announcement in the wake of the global celebration of World Blood Donor Day in partnership with the World Health Organization, Philippine Red Cross, Philippine Blood Coordinating Council, Dugong Pinoy Association Inc., and Blood Galloners Club. The celebration intends to recognize voluntary, unpaid blood donors for their gift of life-saving blood and to intensify awareness on the importance of regular blood donation to ensure the supply of safe blood for patients in need. Last December 2017, the country’s goal to obtain the 1 percent (one-million blood units) blood collection from the total population was achieved and collected 1,120,408 blood units. This represents a signiﬁcant contribution to the global call for a 100-percent voluntary blood donation by the World Health Organization.

Duque said the Philippines joins the rest of the international community in celebrating the World Blood Donor Day with the theme, “Be there for someone else. Give blood. Share life.” The event promotes blood donation as an act of solidarity that highlights the fundamental human values of altruism, respect, empathy, and kindness. The country adopts the local theme, “Dugong Bigay, Dugtong Buhay,” to get the message closer to more Filipinos and encourage the public to continuously donate blood to maintain a safe and adequate supply. He noted that evidence has shown that transfusion of blood and blood products can help patients suffering from lifethreatening conditions, such as anemia, severe liver disease, bleeding disorders, and surgical emergencies to live longer with a higher quality of life.

Angara bill seeks medical scholarship By Macon Ramos-Araneta

HOT TOPIC. Guests during Wednesday’s Kapihan sa Manila Bay discuss the West Philippine Sea issue. The guests include former ambassador Alberto Encomienda (middle), former Transport undersecretary Arthur Valdez (left), and IDSI president George Siy. Lino Santos

CITING data from the Philippine College of Physicians that there are only 23 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000 Filipinos and that three out of ﬁve Filipinos died without seeing a doctor, Senator Sonny Angara wants to create a medical scholarship program to address the shortage of doctors in the country. “The lack and the maldistribution of doctors and healthcare professionals in the country is truly alarming,” said Angara in pushing for the immediate passage of the bill for the said scholarship. He noted that majority of Filipino doctors and medical specialists are concentrated in urban centers and larger municipalities, leaving far-ﬂung communities largely unserved. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 23 doctors, nurses and midwives per 10,000

population in order to deliver essential health services. “This means the country needs 10 times more our current number of health workers to be able to adequately meet the health needs of Filipinos,” he said. Angara said that three out of ﬁve Filipinos die without seeing a doctor, nurse or any other allied health professional. “Hindi na ho biro ang laki ng kakulangan ng doktor sa bansa.” He cited as an example the lack of psychiatrists and therapists in the country. He said the Philippines has only 490 psychiatrists or one psychiatrist per 250,000 Filipinos—a far cry from the standard ratio of one per 50,000 people. “Sometimes, it could take six months before getting a schedule for an appointment for s specialist here in Manila,” said Angara.

Delay cited in case dismissal vs vice mayor “INORDINATE delay” was again invoked by the Sandiganbayan when it dismissed the graft charges filed against an Iloilo vice mayor. The anti-graft court’s First Division, in a resolution dated May 28, granted the appeal of Vice Mayor Rufino Palabrica III of Dingle, Iloilo, to dismiss the four counts of graft charges levelled against him. “Suffice it to state that the instant cases do not involve complicated issues and voluminous documents as would justify the preliminary investigation of nearly nine years,” the anti-graft court’s First Division said in the resolution written by its chairman, Associate Justice Efren dela Cruz. Associate Justices Geraldine Faith Econg and Edgardo Caldona concurred with the ruling. The court likewise ordered the lifting of the hold departure order against Palabrica and the release of his bail bond. Maricel V. Cruz

DoJ move lauded in Dengvaxia case HEALTH Secretary Francisco Duque III on Wednesday branded “a step in the right direction” the move of the Department of Justice to use the Senate Blue Ribbon committee report on the Dengvaxia controversy as evidence in its probe. If it uses it as a basis for whatever complaints that have been filed against previous and present officials, Duque said that Senate report is rich, exhaustive and extensive. The Senate Blue Ribbon committee, chaired by Senator Richard Gordon ruled that former President Noynoy Aquino, former Health secretary Janette Garin and former Budget secretary Florencio Abad are “primary conspirators” and must be held criminally liable for “all the tragedy, damage, and possible deaths” resulting from the Dengvaxia mass vaccination program. Gordon said the three and other government officials should be investigated and prosecuted for graft and violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees. He even described Aquino as insensitive and has no concern for the Filipino children and their parents Macon Ramos-Araneta

PVAO marks 73rd year of Battle of Bessang THE historic Battle of Bessang Pass, the greatest victory scored by Filipino guerrillas against the mighty Japanese Imperial Army in World War II, will be commemorated with elaborate ceremony in Ilocos Sur on Thursday at the site where the battle occurred 73 years ago. President Rodrigo R. Duterte has designated Defense Secretary Lorenzo N. Lorenzana to represent him during the anniversary celebration at Bessang Pass, Ilocos Sur, according to retired Brig. Gen. Resty Aguilar, chief of Veterans and Historical Division of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Ofﬁce, in Camp Aguinaldo. It was in Bessang Pass, the strategic mountain fortress in Ilocos Sur occupied by the Japanese during the Second World War, that Filipino guerrillas mounted a series of attacks that lasted for almost six months from Jan. 1, 1945 until June 14, 1945 when the Japanese forces were crushed.

Opinion

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Battle of Bessang Pass Appeals, who led the assault with some 30 me. Just 17 survived. Two Ilocano newsmen were with him—the late Amante Bigornia and Consorcio Borje. For service beyond the call of duty, Desi was awarded a silver star. Willie TODAY, June 14, marks the 73rd got a purple heart medal for having anniversary of the Battle of Bessang been wounded. Pass, which led to the surrender I wonder whether our nation will of Tomiyuki Yamashita, known as ever truly remember Bessang Pass. the “Tiger of Malaya.” He was the *** commanding general of the Japanese The PNP leadership, headed by imperial forces in the Philippines. Director-General Oscar Albayalde, The battle led to the end of over three deserves commendation for the years of Japanese occupation. swift action on the appeal of retired This was a three-month uphill battle policemen that their pensions be spared between the guerrilla forces under Col. from the automatic pension deduction Russell Volckman in the Cordilleras scheme. They claimed that these on the border of Ifugao and Mountain deductions are being applied illegally Province close to Cervantes town in to their pensions, supposedly to pay Ilocos Sur ensued. for loans they incurred from certain Three months after this event, lending institutions long after they Yamashita was executed in Laguna for have left the service. crimes against humanity. President Duterte instructed his I was 17 years old when my two older special assistant Christopher “Bong” brothers, Desi and Willie, fought in that Go to coordinate with the PNP and the battle. I was living Department of the with my parents in Interior and Local Bangar, La Union. Government in Later on I found finding a solution out that no less than to the problem. Why do we 1,400 Ilocanos and Reports said Igorots died in the remember the faillures that upon the inand not the victories? battle. tervention of PNP This was after authorities, some the Rape of Manila ar rangements was chronicled were made—for in history. In the example, limited annals of the Armed Forces of the the number or remaining installments Philippines, the battle of Bessang Pass to 60 months for salary loans and 72 was poetically described as The Battle months for car loans. Some multiAmong The Clouds. purpose cooperatives were reported to I really don’t know what happened have waived penalties on some of the because years later, when the loans. Americans continued to rule the But, my gulay, it appears that country, this strategic battle has never authorities focused only on the multibeen given commensurate celebration. purpose cooperatives and overlooked The irony of it all is that every year the equally abusive practices of savings on April 9, we celebrate National and loans associations. This raises Heroes Day, erstwhile known in troubling questions on why SLAs were history as the Fall of Bataan and the excluded. Fall of Corregidor. This shows our The President’s directive to the PNP penchant for commemorating the bad was issued on or before May 10, but over the good. I was informed that a formal written There were only two former appeal was conveyed to Albayalde by a presidents who marked the battle of law firm last May 23. Bessang Pass—Presidents Marcos and The appeal was for the PNP to stop Ramos. and eventually abolish the automatic I am passionate about this because of deductions on the pensions of retirees. the participation of my brothers, It was It asked for the revocation of PNP my brother Lt Desiderio Jurado, who Memorandum Circular 2016-038, the later on became a justice of the Court of Turn to A5

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

Art of the deal

HIS week’s meeting between United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore was certainly historic. It was a step in the right direction, even as there were numerous missteps that led to the summit.

Tensions between the two countries—and the rest of the world, really—escalated with the two leaders’ tough talk as recently as several months ago. Kim and Trump traded insults, resorted to calling each other “mentally deranged and rocket man,” and given their hyperbolic personalities, out-menaced each other, at least in words. But on Wednesday the two leaders were all smiles, leading us all to believe that the improbable could be, well probable. The communique said the meeting was comprehensive, in-depth

and a sincere exchange of opinions, and that Trump committed to provide security guarantees to the DPRK. In return, Kim “reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” The two countries also committed to hold follow-on negotiations to implement the outcomes of the summit. Kim and Trump, according to the communique, committed to cooperate for the development of new US-DPRK relations and for the promotion of peace, prosperity, and security of the Korean Peninsula and of the world. These are big words that inspire confidence and hope. Life is already difficult without the threat of war and annihilation looming above people’s heads. Now that the summit has ended, the photos have been circulated and the euphoric feelings have ebbed, the natural question to be asked is, what next? More than ever, honesty and good faith will be key. Embel-

lishments, exaggerations, or any attempts to make the summit appear like a win for a single person is likely to have negative impact. For instance, Trump announced in the press conference after the summit that the US would stop military exercises with Seoul even as this was not mentioned in the document they signed. North Korea has always been adamant about these exercises saying these could be a rehearsal for invasion. Critics also say Kim used the summit to “legitimize” himself in the world stage, by meeting the US leader. “Denuclearization” is a big word but its actual meaning and scope are even more daunting. The next few weeks and months will be tricky, and sensitive. One false move, or one incendiary word, can negate all the gains that have been made. In the end, as in every deal, the details—not the lofty words or the big smiles during press conferences—will spell the difference between success and failure.

Authoritarianism checklist other groups staged a rally at Mendiola to bring awareness to the possibility. For many, this government’s actions are too close to a dictatorship for comfort. How can we tell if we are under auA MASSIVE march took place at the thoritarian rule? An informative short video is going Liwasang Bonifacio area on Tuesday, Araw ng Kalayaan, participated in by around social media. Produced by act. social media women’s movement #Ba- tv, it’s entitled, “How to defeat authoribaeAko and many other human rights, tarianism.” Here are highlights from the video. faith-based, and sectoral groups. “Their ultimate goal is to consolidate Lightning protests were also held at Kawit, Cavite, where protesters heck- power, and they always use the same time-tested techniques. First, they led President Rodrigo Duterte. What were the marchers and protesters start by attacking the free press. This complaining about? Clearly a sizable is just a way to weaken the media’s number of Filipinos are dissatisfied, ability to hold the ruler accountable…” Umm, Rappler, even angry, with Philippine Daily the way this Inquirer, banning a d m i n i s t r a t io n certain reporters is running the How can we tell? from the Palace country. Among and other governthe flashpoint ment events. issues are the “Next, they P r e sid e n t ’s will usually try to manifested misogyny, extrajudicial killings without blame the country’s problems on midue process, the unwarranted closeness norities or use other other vulnerable to the Chinese government despite its populations as scapegoats… in order encroachment into the West Philippine to validate people’s concerns while redirecting their anger towards a speSea, and many others. Yet it seems that for all the rallies and cific group or groups.” Well, there are criticism lobbed against this adminis- the ‘dilawans’ or political opposition tration, there are few changes for the and poor drug users (notice no big-fish better. The MRT is still functioning drug lords have been jailed?). “If people start protesting or revoltbelow par, drugs are still entering the country, and galloping inflation and ing, they will blame the dissent on forthe TRAIN law have further burdened eigners or ‘paid protesters’…” Many wage earners. Is this administration lis- comments on pieces critical to this tening to the people—or only some of government lambast the writer as ‘dilawan’ or ‘bayaran’ (paid). the people, meaning its supporters? “Next, they’ll try to weaken judicial The other night, a chapter of the League of Filipino Students tweeted checks on power…[by] working to rethat martial law or a state of emergency move people from powerful positions might be declared yesterday. They and Turn to A5

ANALYSIS

Nuclear risk-taker Trump gambles all in talks with Kim

By Dave Clark WASHINGTON—If Donald Trump’s high-stakes, long-odds bet on building peace with North Korea pays off, it will be because he confidently dismissed all expert advice, moral qualms and diplomatic norms. Only a president like Trump could celebrate a ruthless autocrat like Kim Jong Un as a man who “loves his country”, but then maybe only a Trump could kickstart such a peace process. Less than a year ago, Kim’s accelerating pursuit of a nuclear-armed longrange missile provoked the US president into a blood-curdling threat to unleash “fire and fury.”

Now, Trump has handed Kim an extraordinary propaganda coup, meeting him on an equal footing and shaking his hand in front of an overlapping array of US and North Korean flags. According to Trump’s own State Department, Kim’s regime holds between 80,000 and 120,000 political prisoners in forced labor camps, facing torture and forced starvation. The autocrat is accused of killing his own brother with a dose of nerve agent in a Malaysian airport, and his regime recently sent a detained US student home in coma from which he never recovered. Pyongyang has signed agreements vowing to halt its nuclear program in the past, only to renege on them and

then race to build a thermonuclear arsenal and a ballistic missile program. So Kim’s own gamble has already paid off. The economic sanctions campaign targeted against him is fraying and his rule has been publicly legitimized by Trump’s warm embrace. But has Trump’s leap in the dark succeeded? Trump says he trusts that Kim’s commitment to “work toward” the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is genuine—with a big caveat. “I may be wrong. I mean I may stand before you in six months and say, ‘Hey I was wrong’,” he said. “I don’t know that I’ll ever admit that, but I’ll find some kind of an excuse.”

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Opinion

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018

Walk your talk OVERSIGHT DANILO SUAREZ CONSISTENCY is one of the most desirable traits, in any person, more so in public officials. We should be confident that our leaders will do what they say they will do, and will remain steadfast in their decisions. Consistency is also the basis of trust. How can we trust a leader who seems to act in a manner inconsistent with his statements? “Trust actions, not words,” as the saying goes. President Duterte has constantly maintained that he has a zero tolerance for corruption. Known to appoint those who have personal relationships with him, as friends or fraternity brothers, the President has made it clear that corruption has no place in his administration. As a result, some officials have been removed or have left office due to allegations of corrupt practices, underperformance, or a failure to fulfill their mandates. It is quite befuddling to us why the President reappoints officials who

no longer hold their positions due to underperformance or alleged involvement in corruption. This practice appears inconsistent with his zero-tolerance stand. The President won on this promise. We are right to expect follow through. Former Secretary of Justice Vitaliano Aguirre II has been recently nominated to the board of the Social Security System. SOJ was forced to

Reappointments send mixed messages. resign in April after the President reportedly was disappointed with the dismissal of the drug case against drug suspects, Kerwin Espinosa, Peter Lim, and 20 others. Prior to this, former SSS board member Jose Gabriel La Viña was appointed as Tourism Undersecretary in April, and was

later moved to the Department of Agriculture as Undersecretary as well. La Viña was fired in February due to abuse of public funds. Former Bureau of Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, who resigned in the midst of the controversial P6.4-billion “shabu” shipment last year was appointed as the Deputy Administrator of the Office of the Civil Defense just a few months after the scandal. I agree that the President does not tolerate the misconduct of his appointees; however, I encourage him to avoid recycling dismissed officials. Furthermore, I hope that the Ombudsman would further investigate the cases of dismissed or resigned officials allegedly due to corruption, and file the necessary criminal charges to those who will be proven to have violated the law. If the President is serious about cleaning up the government, he should rethink his decisions when it comes to his appointments. Reappointments send mixed messages. It may be better to set the highest standards in choosing his appointees from the start to avoid the “rigodon” later on.

Our ranks are thinning DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA WITH the passing of former National Security Adviser Roilo Golez, an important voice has been lost in the never-ending debate on how to respond to what China is doing in the South China Sea. A former naval officer who retired from the military service with the rank of Captain, he was one of those who understood what really was at stake with regard to the ongoing militarization of China of the SCS. With China at our very doorstep, he believed that the country has basically lost the protection of the 600-mile-wide SCS that separates our country from the Asian mainland. Luzon can now be targeted in a matter of minutes. This was what Roy and I talked about the last time I saw him in a coffee shop on my way home from Manila over a year ago. In contrast to Justice Carpio’s concentration on the historical claim of China and the legal implications of the government’s policy stance on the SCS, the issue with Roy was more on the security implications of what the administration is doing and the issue of transparency. Roy was a graduate of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland in 1970. He therefore belonged to the batch of officers commissioned into the regular force of the Armed Forces of the Philippines in 1970 from various sources like the US Service Academies, Philippine Military Academy, Australian Army Officer Candidate School, and people like myself who were directly commissioned into the regular force. I first met Roy when we worked together in the then-Ministry of Transportation and Communications in the early 1980s. He was one of the whiz kids tapped by former President Ferdinand Marcos to run the Postal Service as the Postmaster General. He eventu-

Authoritarianism... From A4

[who] are not loyal to the regime or its ruler…” There’s the ousting of Lourdes Sereno as Supreme Court chief justice and the jailing of Senator Leila de Lima on trumped-up drug charges. “Authoritarians will always reward loyalty over competence, because they fear a system that holds them to same ethical and legal standard as everyone else. This is why you usually start to see very unqualified people running departments that they shouldn’t be running. Under an authoritarian system, their loyalty is more valuable than their knowledge or skill.” This is why we have the indestructible

Nuclear... From A4

There is no shortage of voices in Washington to denounce Trump’s apparently naive effort to nudge Kim onto the path towards disarmament without extracting concrete concessions. The Brookings Institution published reactions from 13 of the most respected US-based experts on the crisis, and all but one was critical of the “underwhelming” outcome of the summit. Even the lone optimist among them, senior fellow Michael O’Hanlon, said the process must now pass from Trump to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to plan the North’s verifiable disarmament in detail.

ally retired from the service and then entered politics as a congressman representing one district of the City of Paranaque for many years but he never forgot his military roots and his passing is much too soon. Two 1970 graduates from US Service Academies have now passed on to the great beyond. The late Major General Andy Floria, the 1970 graduate of West Point and now Roilo Golez. The 1970 ranks are thinning but some of us are still soldiering on. Roy Cimatu is still around as the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources and Rudy Garcia, his Undersecretary. Egay Galvante is running the Land Transportation Office while Nesty Carolina is with the Philippine Veterans Administration.

The rest of us soldier on. *** This SCS debate has been going on for some time. It continues to simmer every time there is an incident like the Chinese coast guard confiscating the catch of some fishermen in an area that is clearly within our 200-mile exclusive economic zone. There are two sides of the story here. The government led by the President believes that it is better to be friendly with China than confrontational. This stems from the belief that there is no way our country can win a war with China and that in the Presidents own words, he refuses to send his soldiers simply to be slaughtered in a very one sided war. Quiet bilateral negotiations is also the better way to do it rather than the multilateral approach favored by the last administration. With regard to exploiting the mineral resources in the area, it is also better to go for joint exploitation even if the mineral resources are in areas that is not contested

territory and clearly belongs to us. The other side of the argument is led by senior justice Antonio Carpio, Golez and others. Their point is that by acquiescing to what China is doing, we might be losing on a technicality in any future legal battle. This side is also trying to point out that by protesting diplomatically to what China is doing, it does not mean that we are going to or want to go to war, a point which President Duterte inexplicably believes to be the case. One belief is that it was the fault of the United States that China has occupied the whole of the SCS by not preventing China. The other is the sincere belief that in a shooting war, the President does not believe that Americans would be willing to go to war and die for Filipinos in spite of the fact that the US is a treaty ally. The result is that China has taken over the US as the most influential country currently represented in the Philippines today. The Chinese Ambassador is now the center of attraction in social events instead of the US Ambassador. China’s naval ships have been calling on our ports and just a few days ago, a military transport plane was suddenly allowed to land and refuel in Davao City of all places. Any significance of this? Senator Panfilo Lacson raised some questions but Secretary Bong Go said that the landing was done with prior coordination. One thing about the Chinese, they are very smart. They know exactly what they want and know how to go about getting it. They have promised billions of dollars in aid and soft loans to finance our on-going government infrastructure programs but we have not seen anything yet and the conditions of these soft loans have not yet been made public for the sake of transparency. Our country’s geographic location is of vital strategic importance to China because we stand in the way to their march to the Pacific Ocean. Let us hope therefore that our country’s leaders realize this and make the right policy decisions. Otherwise, we might be swallowed by China without even realizing it.

Mocha Uson firmly entrenched as a communications official, as well as “recycled” officials and others of the same ilk. The video also tells how authoritarianism can be overcome. “The good news is that humanity has had plenty of practice defeating authoritarian leaders. The one thing that works surprisingly well is nonviolent resistance. In fact, studies between 1900 to 2006 show that nonviolent civil resistance campaigns were twice as successful as violent campaigns in defeating authoritarian leaders around the world.” Futher, “nonviolent resistance movements are especially effective because they make it harder for the regime to justify using violence on its own people.” “The same studies also show that no

government can withstand a challenge of 3.5 percent of its population. “Authoritarians thrive on popular fear and collective resignation. The most powerful thing you can do is simply participate in resistance campaigns that are peaceful and nonviolent… Democracy is more fragile than you think.” If the items on this checklist seem familiar to you, and look like a reflection of what is happening in our society, then you know what to do. Engage in peaceful, civic resistance, and help protect and defend the democracy, independence, and sovereignty that many Filipinos fought and died for.

Talented and tough “Only when we see if North Korea will go along with this kind of plan, and begin its verifiable implementation, will we really know how to evaluate what just happened in Singapore,” he said. Supporters and critics of Trump alike, in fact, noted that now the ice-breaking summit is over it is vital to move quickly to a more traditional negotiation of concrete steps. But, as some of Trump’s fans insist, did it need a buccaneering figure like Trump to cast diplomatic niceties and squeamishness about human rights aside to break the diplomatic logjam? There may be something to that. Perhaps only a figure like Trump could pivot so swiftly from “maximum pressure” and “fire and fury” to praising a

“talented” Kim’s “tough” rule. And maybe Trump could only do so because he had run out of other options after the North had essentially proved the efficacy of its nuclear program. Kim’s regime has tested what informed observers believe was a hydrogen bomb and a multi-stage missile capable of reaching US cities, and his next goal is international recognition. Trump’s administration initially reacted with bluster and threats and then worked through the United Nations and with cautious rival China to impose tough sanctions. US officials remain very proud of the sanctions regime, even if Trump says he doesn’t want to use the term “maximum pressure” any more, but it has shown its limits.

Dr. Ortuoste is a writer and communication consultant. FB and Twitter: @ DrJennyO

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NFA should focus on prices, not consumers The NFA and interests of both groups are essentially antithetical. Yet successive national administrations have allowed the NFA to try and perform that RUDY ROMERO balancing act; the result, as the nation can see, has been a travesty of sound WHAT is the ideal role of a national economic policymaking and good fisauthority for food-related matters, such cal administration. as the National Food Authority? StatThe time has come—actually, it ed differently, what is the role that an came a long time ago—to put an end to NFA-type institution ought to play in what I am compelled to call rice-sector circumstances such as those that pre- madness. The government has to devail in this country? cide what NFA ought to be doing and From all the media stories about the to be not doing. current surge in rice prices following Rice is the most political natural the claimed shortage of “NFA rice” one commodity in this country, and high gets the impression that the NFA is exrice prices at election time have been pected to play a number of roles, all at known to wreak havoc on the victory the same time. For one, the NFA, as the prospects of political parties. But NFA source of “NFA rice,” is expected to be —and the government of which it is a a subsidizer of rice prices. Then, as the part—must stop being obsessed with phrase “NFA warehouses” suggests, it the word “consumers” and learn to be is expected to be a major player—if not obsessed with prices, i.e., maintaining the leading—player in the national rice affordable rice prices for the nation’s trade. Additionally, in pursuance of low-income families. Focusing on the government policy on rice imports the faces of consumers—read, voters— NFA is expected to make recommenda- has caused NFA to make spending and tions to the Cabinet, through the NFA trading decisions that have plunged it Council, relating to the necessity of im- deeper into debt, confused the markets porting rice when the national rice-sup- and allowed the Philippines to maintain ply level is perceived to be precarious. its unwanted status as the world’s No. 1 Finally, it is exrice importer. pected to provide In furtherance assistance to its of its obsession mother institution, with the consumAn economically the Department of ers, the NFA has Agriculture, in the oriented role is the ideal over the decades latter’s rice pro- role for the agency. evolved into this duction enhancecountry’s No. 1 ment program. subsidy provider. Like most instiIt was not the intutions, governtent of the numerment institutions, however well-inten- ous rice industry laws that NFA should tioned and efficient, should not and be a dispenser of subsidies; that intent cannot be all things to all men. The was that NFA should operate in a way Executive Department and the legisla- that would assure Filipinos a supply of ture should identify a specific national affordably priced rice. Surely a case of need—in this case a food need—em- “lost in translation.” power an institution with a mandate NFA should achieve its statutory to fill that need and give it all the tools mandate through trading operations— that it needs to be able to comply with especially buying operations—that its mandate. will enable it to compete with commerThe NFA is no exception to the rule; cial traders for the farmers’ output. The it cannot be all things to all men. It speculative buying, profiteering and cannot, and should not, cater to the market manipulation that commercial needs of every Filipino. Through the traders resort to are bound to be greatdecades, the NFA and its predecessors ly minimized if the NFA managed its since 1946—National Rice and Corn funds so as to be able to compete efAdministration, Rice and and Corn fectively with the commercial traders. Administration and National Grains Apart from its annual GAA allotment, Authority—have tried to be all things NFA has abundant warehousing and to all men, and the result is the inef- other facilities, plus ample personnel, fective, confused and deficit-ridden to achieve such a level of competitive institution that was created to manage activity. the nation’s food situation efficiently. It is not the job, either, of the NFA Payment of the principal of and interest to enhance farmer output. That is the on NFA’s debt has long been one of the mandate of the DA. Needless to say, in biggest drags on the General Appro- this regard NFA should work closely priations Act. with its mother organization. The NFA continues to be in an opSumming up, the NFA should switch erational mess essentially because of a its policy outlook to focus more—nay, flawed perception of its mission. It has be obsessed with—prices and less on long tried to please both the consum- consumers. Prices are economic; coners and the producers. Assuming that sumers are political. it makes sense, that is one of the most An economically oriented role is the difficult balancing acts in the world. ideal role for the NFA.

BUSINESS CLASS

Battle... Uniform Rules on Automatic Salary and Pension Deductions, and the PNO Standard Operating Procedure 2016-02 which serve as basis for the implementation of the APDs. It is asserted that these deductions contravene a 2017 ruling of the Department of Justice which stated that the deductions violated Section 7 of R.A. 8367 of the Revised Non-Stock Savings and Loan Association Act of 1997. This provides that automatic pension deductions should not cover loans incurred after retirement. In any event, government agencies such as the PNP should not act as collecting agents for private entities such as SLAs. This is questionable practice because it involves big

amounts. It also raises questions on legality and propriety. More than that, the lenders are said to be charging excessive interest rates. Some of them increased the monthly amortizations and the number of remaining installments without the knowledge and consent of borrowers. Albayalde should really look into this. *** This incident during President Duterte’s recent South Korea visit was not reported. When President Duterte started distributing copies of the book detailing the sins of the Catholic Church, he called bishops and priests sons of whores. He then told the crowd to not contribute to he Catholic Church. Under Iglesia ni Duterte, however, people will be happy.

Pivot to diplomacy The only option left to Trump was to perform a 180 degree turn and accept an invitation—passed to him via a nervous South Korea—to the one-on-one summit that Kim was seeking. For Stephen Pomper, a former member of former president Barack Obama’s National Security Council now working at the International Crisis Group, Trump was the man for the moment. “It’s a win in a sense because he backed himself out of a corner, a dangerous corner, and put the United States back on the track where now there’s a process, we’re now talking to the North Koreans,” he said. “Nobody inside the United States government wanted to take responsibility for pivoting to diplomacy, because if the di-

plomacy doesn’t work out then that person ends up with egg on their face. “The president absorbed that political risk himself by saying that he was going to commit to this meeting, and that’s really where he deserves credit,” Pomper told A FP. So Trump got America out of the corner he himself had trapped it in without triggering a nuclear war. Now diplomats and technical experts must step in to set up an inspection and verification program. If Kim allows monitors onto his soil, if they confirm that he has frozen his nuclear program, if he declares the full extent of his capabilities, if he agrees that “denuclearization” means disarmament—then maybe the parties can talk about his surrendering the bombs he already has. AFP

From A4

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018 A6 Standard Manila

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MWSS welcomes Senate inquiry

Lawmaker assails recycling

OLLOWING the ﬁling of Senate Resolution 747 by Senator Cynthia Villar to conduct an inquiry on the state of waste water treatment in Metro Manila, Metropolitan Water Works and Sewerage System Administrator Reynaldo Velasco reafﬁrmed the agency’s commitment to carry out its responsibilities as stipulated in Republic Act 9275, also known as the Philippine Clean Water Act.

By Maricel V. Cruz A MILITANT lawmaker on Wednesday assailed the “recycling” of former government officials who resigned owing to accusation of irregularities. Anakpawis Party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao made the statement following the appointmentment of former Justice secretary Vitaliano Aguirre to a board position in the Social Security System. In related developments, police officials involved in the killing of teenager Kian Delos Santos in Caloocan City were also promoted to higher posts. “It is becoming a policy of the Duterte administration to remove officials who were involved in anomalies, so as to contain public outcry and reappoint them to another, when the issue cools off, this is a clear case of cronyism, like these officials are indispensable, though their integrity fails them to be worth in public governance,” Casilao said. Aside from Aguirre, Casilao said other axed government officials recycled by the Duterte administration were: • Jose Gabriel La Viña, Duterte’s social media manager during the presidential campaign, appointed as commissioner of SSS in November 2016, and sacked in June 2017, reappointed as tourism undersecretary on April 24, and after the new Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat demanded the resignation of all department executive officials, he was reappointed as agriculture undersecretary this June 6; • Melissa Avanceña Aradanas, cousin of Duterte’s long-time partner, Honeylet Avanceña, appointed as commissioner of the Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor, dismissed on December 2017 due to excessive travels abroad and being part of the body’s failure to meet as a collegial body, was reappointed as Deputy Secretary General of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council on March 7.

ROADMAP. MWSS Administrator Reynaldo V. Velasco (second from left) stresses a point to water officials of Maynilad and Manila Water regarding the overall wastewater and sewerage system roadmap for Metro Manila and its environs in compliance to the Supreme Court mandamus and Clean Water Act. From left: Manila Water president Ferdinand de la Cruz, Maynilad president Ramoncito Fernandez, Jerry Palma (Maynilad Head, Wastewater Planning and Management Services) and Maynilad AVP for Government Relations Anette H. de Ocampo.

BI intercepts 20 suspected syndicate victims By Vito Barcelo THE Bureau of Immigration intercepted 20 suspected victims of human trafficking syndicate at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for attempting to leave for Africa with spurious travel documents. Immigration Associate Commissioner and Port Operations Division Chief Marc Red Mariñas said the victims who were stopped from leaving via Naia Terminal were about to board an Emirates Airways flight to Dubai. Mariñas said the victims initially claimed to be sent by a Malaysia-based company to Sao Tome and Principe, a

small island nation off the western coast of Central Africa. Immigration officers doubted their purpose of travel when they noticed that the invitation presented was dubious, and the victims could not provide details about their purpose of travel. It was later discovered that they were traveling to Sao Tome to work without proper documentation. “We were asked if we wanted to work at their project in Sao Tome. We agreed because we were offered good pay,” one of the unidentified victims said. The incident prompted Morente to re-

iterate previous warnings to aspiring OFWs against leaving the country without the necessary work permits from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration. “As undocumented workers you risk being exposed to possible abuse and exploitation in foreign lands, access to assistance and protection extended by the government,” BI chief Jaime Morente said. “We will not allow this to happen to our kababayan, as it is the duty of the Bureau as part of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking to protect our OFWs from exploitation,” he added.

5 die in continuing military operation Republic of the Philippines

National Economic and Development Authority REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST (EOI) FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF CONSULTING SERVICES FOR THE CONDUCT OF VALUE ENGINEERING/VALUE ANALYSIS (VE/VA) FOR THE PANAY RIVER BASIN INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT PROJECT 1. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) intends to apply the sum of TWELVE MILLION PESOS (PHP12,000,000.00) inclusive of all applicable government taxes and charges, professional fees, and other incidental and administrative costs, astheApproved Budge_t for the Contract (ABC), to payments under the Contract for the subject consulting services. Proposals received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at the opening of the Financial Proposals. 2. The NEDA now calls for the submission of EOI and eligibility requirements for the Conduct of VE/VA for the Panay River Basin Integrated Development Project. The contract shall be completed within seven (7) months. Eligibility submissions of interested Consultants must be duly received by the NEDA Bids and Awards Committee for Consulting Services (NBAC-CS) on or before 26 June 2018,12:00NN, at the following address: Asst. Secretary Carlos Bernardo O. Abad Santos NBAC-CS Chairperson c/o Procurement Management Division (PMD) 2/FNEDA-sa-Pasig Building, #12 SaintJosemaria Escriva Drive Ortigas Center, Pasig City1605 3. Interested Consultants may obtain further information from NEDA and acquire a complete set of Bidding/Proposal Documents at the address given above from Mondays to Fridays,8:00A.M. to 5:00 P.M., starting 06 June 2018 and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding/ Proposal Documents in the amount of PHP25,000.00.The Bidding/Proposal Documents may also be downloaded free of charge from the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and NEDA websites, provided that Consultants shall pay the applicable fee for the Bidding/Proposal Documents not later than the submission of theirproposals. 4. APre-Proposal/BidConference will be held on13July2018,12:30P.M.at the DIS Conference Room, G/F NEDA-sa-Pasig Building, #12 Saint Josemaria Escriva Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1605, and will be open only to Consultants who have paid the corresponding fee for the Bidding/Proposal Documents. Representative/s should bring a letter addressed to the NBAC-CS Chair certifying that the representative/s has/have authority to speak for and in behalf of the Consultant. 5. Interested Consultants have the option to submit their Legal, Financial and Class”B” Eligibility Documents (1 original copy and 4copies), as applicable, in advance (on or before 15 June 2018, 5:00P.M.) for preliminary evaluation by the NBAC-CS in terms of completeness/ compliance. The NBAC-CS, however, shall only proceed with the preliminary evaluation upon payment of a participation fee of PHP2,000.00. Note that said amount shall cover the attendant administrative cost for the eligibility check and shortlisting process and shall be deducted from the cost of the Bidding/Proposal Documents. The NBAC-CS, after its preliminary evaluation of advance submissions, shall inform the participating Consultants of any deficiency in their respective submissions at least three (3) calendar days prior to the deadline for submission of Eligibility Documents set in this Request forEOI. 6. The NBAC-CS shall draw up the short list of Consultants from those who have submitted EOI, including the Eligibility Documents, and have been determined as eligible in accordance with the relevant provisions of Republic Act (RA) No.9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act (GPRA), and its Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).The shortlist shall consist of three (3) to seven (7) prospective Consultants who will be entitled to submit proposals. The criteria and rating system for shortlisting are asfollows: Criteria/Particulars I. Experience and Capability of theFirm II. Qualification of Personnel Who May Be Assigned to the Study III. Financial/Job Capacity Grand Total

Firm Max 60 points 30 points 10 points 100 points

7. The selection process will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary ”pass/fail” criterion as specified in the IRR of RA9184. This procurement activity is open to all interested Consultants subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in said Revised IRR. 8. Proposals shall be evaluated using the Quality-Cost Based Evaluation/Selection (QCBE/ QCBS) procedure at a weight ratio of 80% for the Technical Proposal and 20% for the Financial Proposal.The criteria and rating system for the evaluation of proposals shall be provided in the Instructions to Proponents/Bidders. 9. NEDA reserves the right to reject any and all proposals, including that of a single eligible proponent, waive any minor deviation in the submitted documents which will not materially affect the substance of the proposal, annul the procurement/bidding process, or not award the contract without thereby incurring any liability to the affected participatingConsultant/s 10. For further information, please contact the NBAC-CSSecretariat: 3/F NEDA-sa-Pasig Building #12 Saint Josemaria Escriva Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City 1605 (02) 631-3724 / (02) 631-0960 to 65 local 314 Fax Nos. (02) 631-2192 Issued on 05 June 2018. (SGD) CARLOS BERNARDO O. ABAD SANTOS Assistant Secretary and Chairperson,NBAC-CS (MS-JUNE 14, 2018)

MAGUINDANAO—At least five bandits from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, a local terror group under King Metin of Bungos faction in Maguindanao, were killed in a continuing military operation this week. They were killed in a 35-minute encounter with the troops of 57th Infantry Battalion at around 8:30 in the evening in Brgy. Meta, Datu Unsay, Maguindanao. A civilian resident relayed an information to the army that the group would launch an attack on the army detachments in retaliation of their setback in the continuing operation in Liguasan marsh. Two bodies, identified as those of Turman Aber and Mansor Mohammad, were recovered during clearing operation while the other bodies identified as those of Yaser Yusop, Mutin Talib and certain alias Mamalu were brought by their

comrades to be buried in So Lab, in Shariff Aguak Maguindanao. Also recovered were M16 rifle, M653 rifle, M203 grenade launcher, magazines and ammunitions. Another encounter transpired in Brgy Limpongo, Datu Hoffer of the same province when other BIFF members attacked the military detachment in Brgy Limpongo at around 9:00p.m on the same day with no casualties on the government side. After the exchange of fire, riding intandem motorcycle men armed with M16 rifle fired deliberately at a civilian community of the same barangay killing Ricky Udas, a resident in the area. The 601st Brigade Commander Brig. Gen. Diosdado Carreon said the terror activities against military, police, and civilians were pre-empted “due to pro-active measures we have been conducting with the help of the communities who deride conflict and violent extremism.” Mark Navales

“We are continuously working with our concessionaires—Manila Water and Maynilad—to find ways to speed up the establishment of additional sewerage treatment plants in Metro Manila,” Velasco said. This was made after a meeting with top water officials led by Manila Water president Ferdinand de la Cruz, Maynilad president Ramoncito Fernandez and MWSSRO chief Patrick Ty. The MWSS chief also welcomed the Senate inquiry to enlighten the public on the “implementation and enforcement of laws with respect to the provision of adequate sanitation, drainage and sewer facilities in Metro Manila.” The MWSS mandate to “assist in the establishment, operation and maintenance of waterworks and sewerage systems within its jurisdiction” is reinforced by the Philippine Clean Water Act that requires MWSS “to connect the existing sewage line found in all subdivisions, condominiums, commercial centers, hotels, sports and recreational facilities, hospitals, market places, public buildings, industrial complex and other similar establishments including households to available sewerage system.” While Metro Manila and nearby provinces covered by concession agreements between MWSS and the two concessionaires, Manila Water and Maynilad, are not yet 100 percent covered by waste water treatment plants, both concessionaires are committed to achieve full coverage within the duration of their respective concession agreements. Per MWSS, the actual coverage at present is pegged at 22 percent. Recently, MWSS unveiled a waste water management facility of Maynilad in Pasay City that will process up to 46.6 million liters of waste water per day. With the new facility, Metro Manila now has 58 waste water treatment facilities. Maynilad, which covers the Metro Manila’s West Zone, maintains and operates 17 sewage treatment plants, two combined Sewage and Septage Treatment Plants and one Septage Treatment Plant that process wastewater and sludge collected from customers. Nineteen of its STPs in Muntinlupa, Caloocan, Manila and Quezon City earned for the company ISO certifications in quality, environment, and safety and health management “Maynilad strives to keep improving processes for enhanced reliability and efficiency of our wastewater services,” said Maynilad President and CEO Fernandez.

Solon wants ‘obsolete’ Aquino EO scrapped A PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Wednesday said the 2012 executive order on the suspension of classes and work in government offices due to typhoons and other calamities was already obsolete and must be replaced. 1-Ang Edukasyon Party-list Rep. Salvador Belaro Jr. said EO 66 s. 2012 signed by President Benigno Aquino III “is limited only to public storm warning signals, which have proven to be inadequate and insufficient indicators for suspension of classes or work.” “EO 66 is in dire need of replacement. It is obsolete and out of touch with the current realities and the emerging future. The effects of storms

are no longer what they used to be. Storms these days are more powerful and destructive,” Belaro said. He recommended that Malacañang use House Bill 6072 as a template for a new, updated, upgraded, and more useful EO on suspension of classes and work. He said his bill factored in not just storms and floods, but also landslides, earthquakes, tsunami, storm surge, toxic chemical spills, fire, active shooter situations, hostage-taking, kidnapping, banditry, terrorism, and state of emergency. The bill also enables Malacañang and other authorities to suspend classes and work at Storm Signal No. 2, instead of

NOTICE EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT BETWEEN HEIRS Notice is hereby given that the estate of the late Moises L. Almanon, Jr., who died intestate on March 1,2018 at the City of Manila, without a Will or Testament, and without any outstanding debts in favor of any person or entity was extra-judicially settled by his wife and sole compulsory heir Christelle Anne M. Almanon. That the said deceased at the time of his death left the following properties: A.

Real Property TCT No. 613682, containing an area of 150 square meters situated in Bo. of Mapandan, Municipality of Taytay, Province of Rizal

B. Personal Properties 1. Unit Investment Trust Fund (UITF) Metrobank Investment Account No. UTI60000059614 2. Investment in Peso MCBL Affluence Income Max Manulife China Bank Life Assurance Corporation Policy No. 8890935370 3. Current Account China Bank Account No. 10560-000053-1 4. Shares of Stocks in Happy Readers Publishing House, Inc. and all of which, are the subjects of an Extrajudicial Settlement Between Heirs executed by the heirs and acknowledged on May 18, 2018 before Atty. Agustin B. Cabredo, Notary Public for and in Manila with Doc. No. 603; Page No. 122; Book No. I; Series of 2018 of his Notarial Register. (MS-MAY 31, JUNE 7 & 14, 2018)

Signal No. 3. It specifies the various indicators, degrees of intensity, and directly observable developments on which authorities can base their decisions to suspend. Under the bill, classes and work may also be suspended or canceled because of widespread loss of electric power distribution, water supply distribution, or non-functioning of sewerage systems, and widespread collapse or offline status of several banking or financial systems that disrupt the normal functioning or cause serious financial incapacity or disruption of households, communities, institutions, and workplaces. PNA

Marquez, CA justices, judge up for SC post COURT Administrator Midas Marquez is up for the position of a Supreme Court justice for the third time, with Court of Appeals justices and a Davao judge also vying for the vacancy that will be created when Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr. retires on Aug. 8. Marquez will no longer undergo a public interview by the Judicial and Bar Council because his last interview is still valid, according to official sources. Marquez was bypassed twice for vacancies which were given to Associate Justices Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo. The JBC will interview on June 14 the following: CA Associate Justice Oscar Badelles CA Associate Justice Ramon Garcia CA Associate Justice Manuel Barrios CA Associate Justice Amy Lazaro Javier Davao Judge Carlos Espero II Former Ateneo Law School dean Cesar Villanueva Espero has also applied for the post of Ombudsman.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports Women in Sports confab on

ILOCOS Norte Governor Imee Marcos leads around 150 local executives and sports leader- participants from all over the country in today’s Women in Sports Congress of the Philippine Sports Commission at the Century Park Hotel. Commissioner in-charge for Women in Sports Celia Kiram explained that this assembly’s aim is to gather local women leaders and executives to acquaint them on issues about women in sports. “We hope that with this, we could help them align their programs with the PSC women in sports agenda,” she said. Governors, mayors, sports executives and leaders are expected to participate in the two-day event which will be conducted by Gabriela Muller-Mendoza, a Mexican communication and female leadership specialist based in Switzerland, who has worked with the International Olympic Committee on several projects as well as with a number of International Sports Federations. Mendoza arrived in the country yesterday and immediately went to work with the PSC working group on the project. She expressed her excitement to meet and work with Filipina leaders. Referring to the scheduled activities, which include several sessions on Leadership Development, Kiram commented: “I hope the seminar brings out the best in our women leaders, so they can continue to inspire those who look to them for guidance and inspiration.” Kiram also intimated that this coming July, another women in sports congress is scheduled to be conducted, this time for our indigenous women leaders. “Our target is to gather 500 women leaders in Bongao, the capital of Tawi Tawi,” said Kiram. The PSC regularly conducts activities on women in sports, as mandated by law through Republic Act 9710, also called the “Magna Carta of Women”. “It is this very law that we hope our women leader-participants will keep in mind when they plan their sports programs,” Kiram said.

3-way fight looms in Xterra Albay AUSSIES Penny Slater and Leela Hancox and Kristy Jennings of New Zealand gear up for another fierce showdown as they slug it out in the centerpiece women’s pro division of the XTERRA Off-Road Triathlon unfolding Sunday in Albay, Legazpi City. The troika saw action in XTERRA Danao ruled by absentee Carina Wasle last April with Slater finishing second and Hancox and Jennings placing fourth and fifth, respectively. But a down-to-thewire battle looms in the upcoming event with a different kind of challenge awaiting the elite field in Albay, particularly in the mountain biking and trail running stages. But Slater remains confident of her chances, particularly in the opening 1.5km swim leg where she even edged Wasle in Danao. But Hancox and Jennings hope to strike in the 28km bike part and the closing 8km run of the event, which marks its return to Albay after a one-year break. Slater switched from hockey to off-road triathlon in 2015 and recovered from a car accident to qualify for the ITU World Cross Triathlon Championships in 2016. She placed third in the Amateur Female ITU Cross Triathlon World Championships and topped the Nationals Champions Elite—ITU Cross Triathlon last year. Hancox, on the other hand, has achieved a world ranking of No. 14 after the ITU World Cross Triathlon Championships. She also placed seventh in Xterra Asia-Pacific Tour last year and is currently ranked second in the sport in Australia. Jennings, meanwhile, came in second in last year’s Penticton ITU Cross Triathlon world tilt with the veteran campaigner also tuning up for next month’s Fyn ITU cross triathlon world tile in Denmark. Meanwhile, Bradley Weiss looms as the triathlete to beat in the men’s side of the event presented by the City of Legaspi and produced by Sunrise Events, Inc. with the South African going for a sweep of this year’s XTERRA series after topping the Danao stop.

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

‘26 World Cup host known today

OSCOW—FIFA members vote Wednesday on whether to award the 2026 World Cup to a slick North American bid or to Morocco, which has African support to bring football’s showpiece event back to the continent. On the eve of the 2018 World Cup, delegates from 207 nations gathered in Moscow are faced with a clear choice. The United States, Mexico and Canada are the frontrunners, boasting modern, established stadiums and well-developed transport links. Morocco’s bid exists largely on paper —many stadiums will need to be built and critics question how it will cope with a tournament that will be expanded to 48 teams in 2026. FIFA inspectors have classified the

north African nation’s stadiums, accommodation and transport as “high risk”, awarding it just 2.7 out of five, with red flags raised over several critical aspects of the bid. A FIFA taskforce warned last month “the amount of new infrastructure required for the Morocco 2026 bid to become reality cannot be overstated”. The report left the US-Canada-Mexico bid as the clear front-runner after giving it a rating of four out of five. But the North American bid fears it

could lose out if the vote essentially becomes a referendum on the popularity of US President Donald Trump. Bid leader Carlos Cordeiro has urged FIFA members to vote on the “merits” of the bid, not Trump’s divisive policies. “We believe strongly that this decision will be made on its merits,” Cordeiro said in a conference call. “This is not geopolitics, we’re talking about football and what is fundamentally, at the end of the day, the best interest of football and our footballing community.” The US lost out to Qatar in 2022 in a vote now tarnished by corruption allegations that spelled the beginning of the end of the once all-powerful FIFA president Sepp Blatter. It prompted a change in the rules. Whereas previously the 24 members of

the FIFA executive committee used to determine World Cup races, the host will now be decided by a vote of individual FIFA member nations. FIFA President Gianni Infantino is believed to strongly support the North American bid because the three countries involved backed him for the presidency in 2016 when he took over after the reign of Blatter. Critics of the Morocco bid also point to the fact that the 2026 World Cup will be the first to be expanded to 48 teams, posing a severe test for the hosts. Bid leader Hicham El Amrani argues its 12 host cities are “very close to each other, with for example Casablanca a maximum 500 kilometres from another venue” compared to the vast distances involved in North America. AFP

Capadocia cements status as no. 1 female netter in PH

FIFA president Gianni Infantino gives a speech during the 68th FIFA Congress at the Expocentre in Moscow. AFP

SKY holds football game night for fans AS SKY brings football fans in the country the biggest sporting event in the world via the Football Season Pass, it’s also giving them an excitement-filled game night and watch party of the kickoff battle between Russia and Saudi Arabia at the Sage Bar, Makati Shangrila on June 14 at 8 p.m. Fans of the “beautiful game” are sure to get their game on with exciting prizes at stake in the football quiz and fussball games lined up to fuel the evening’s adrenaline supply. Meanwhile, those who wish to get im-

mersed in the live coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup at home can watch all the games via the SKY Football Season Pass in high definition, 24/7 and uninterrupted. Available to all SKY cable, One SKY and SKY direct subscribers for only Php 999. To avail, just visit mysky.com.ph/football. From June 14 to July 15, SKY subscribers will witness intense matches from the world’s greatest football players. Following this, SKY brings the game night and watch party to the Cove Night Club, Okada Manila on June 27 at

10 p.m. via the South Korea-Germany match, and in regional areas including the Lanai Bar & Grill in IloIlo on June 23 at 11 p.m. via the Korea vs. Mexico match, The Forum Poolside Bar, Movenpick Hotel, Cebu on June 27 at 10 p.m. via the Korea vs. Germany match, and the F Café & Bar, Cebu on July 15 at 11 p.m., which will show the finals. Admission is free to the game night and watch party events. For updates, follow @abscbnpr on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or visit www.abscbnpr.com.

VETERAN internationalist Marian Capadocia defeated Clarisse Patrimonio, 6-3, 6-3, to capture the women’s singles’ title in the 2018 Makati Open tennis championship on Tuesday at the Makati Sports Club. Capadocia, the country’s No.1 netter in both the Philippine Tennis Association and the Unified Tennis Philippines rankings, sustained her fiery form as she never lost a single match throughout her campaign to book her fourth title in the tournament and sixth so far this year. “Steady lang po ang laro ko. Marami ding errors, pero mabilis naman akong makabawi. Iba rin ‘yung lakas ng mga karibal ko, especially si Clarisse (Patrimonio), pero nakakasabay naman,” said the 23-year-old Arellano University athletics scholar. “Ready na rin po ako, pero hoping pa rin ako na makapag-train pa sa abroad bago ang Asian Games sa August.” The Philippine Sports Commission has already earmarked P30 million for tennis’ Asian Games preparation, but still has no available endorsement for Capadocia’s training abroad since the Philta has failed to submit its budgetary requirement for the athletes’ international training. After claiming her first title (doubles) in the ITF Women’s circuit in Bahrain last March, Capadocia won the Brookside Open last April 17 in Cainta, Rizal, demolished her rivals in the PCA Open last April 20 and reigned supreme in the Pinamalayan Open in Mindoro. Capadocia, ranked No.976 in the Women’s Tennis Association doubles’ ranking, also shone in the PSC-sponsored Philippine National Games in Cebu City recently, winning both the singles and doubles event. “I thank God for the strength and to my family which always stands by my side. Sila ang lakas na nagbibigay sa akin para laging lumaban,” said Capadocia, who made it to the championship round of the tournament for the fourth straight year after beating Shaira Hope Rivera in the semifinals, 6-3-6-1. Patrimonio subdued Aileen Rogan, 6-2, 6-0, in the other semifinal match. In the men’s division, SEA Games veteran Jason Patrombon overcame a shaky start to beat Johnny Arcilla, 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.

OVERALL CHAMPS. The Full force Team DefTac (Defense Tactics), led by former international jiu-jitsu titlists Alvin Aguilar and

Maybeline Masuda, flash the number one sign after winning the overall championship (kids-juniors-juvenile- men and women elite division) in the recent Pan Pacific Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018 at the Mall of Asia after demolishing the best bets of Team JFP of Choy Cojuangco and other foreign participants.

All set for GSM Tapang ng Tatluhan cage finale THIS summer, Ginebra San Miguel, manufacturer of the world’s number one selling gin, embarked in a journey on finding the best and most talented 3x3 basketball team all across the country. From the 16 hotly-contested regional tournaments, only the best of the best survived to represent their respective provinces for the coveted Ginebra San Miguel 3x3 Basketball Champions to be crowned in Metro Manila. The first regional champions came from Taguig when Team Tenorio, represented by Jhon Jurilla, Moses Mercano, Barrio Orodio and Mark Yabes defeated Team Jamito (16 – 12) in the finals last April 14 at the Western Bicutan Tenement Basketball Court in Lower Bicutan. Since then, the action has been nothing less but intense in the succeeding legs nationwide. Team Cebu will be represented by Team Dela Cruz comprised of Jestony Bacla-an, Erbin John Conahap, Fritz

Errylson Dajalos and Jarey Ceniza as they were able to withstand the late rally of Team Thompson with a final score of 20-16 last April 28 at Barangay Mabolo. Tacloban showcased the best of the best of Eastern Visayas when Team Jamito made up of Aldrin Valdemoro, Jeo Cajanop, Rey John Badilla and Edman Claro escaped with a nail-biting 1413 win over Team Dela Cruz last May 5. Ginebra San Miguel 3x3 tournament then headed to Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija wherein the heated matchup between Team Tenorio, represented by Joeb Cabunoc, Nielson Caducio, Alexander Satumba and Rogelio Raqueno and Team Jamito was decided in the last seconds with the former winning 15-14 last May 12. Meanwhile, the Laguna leg showed us that the province never lacked in talent when Team R. Aguilar made up of Archibald Natividad, Leomel Flavier, Andrew Albo and John Lester Maurillo beat Team J. Aguilar in a shootout, 20-18 last May 24.

San Fernando Pampanga and Lucena Quezon capped off the Ginebra San Miguel 3x3 regional tournaments last June 2 with thrilling victories by Team Slaughter and Team Caguioa respectively completing the cast for the national championships. The National Championship Tournament will be held at Robinsons Place Manila this coming June 15. The last two teams standing after the National Championships in Manila will get a once in a lifetime opportunity to showcase their talent in front of a capacity crowd at Araneta Coliseum on June 17 before the highly anticipated Manila Classico match-up between Barangay Ginebra San Miguel versus the Magnolia Hotshots. The 2018 Ginebra San Miguel 3x3 Tapang ng Tatluhan Champion will be taking home P50,000 cash prize with the runner-up receiving a consolation prize of P25,000.

Marian Capadocia

LOTTO RESULTS

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

Sports

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

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018

SBP wants to develop 3x3 caging at grassroots By Peter Atencio

GlobalPort’s Sean Anthony and Bradwyn Guinto make life difficult for SMB’s JuneMar Fajardo in this piece of action during the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena Wednesday night.

Host Russia has a point to prove MOSCOW—Host nation Russia are under enormous pressure to perform as they head into Thursday’s World Cup curtainraiser against Saudi Arabia in a contest between the two lowest-ranked nations in the tournament. Stanislav Cherchesov’s side will walk out onto the pitch at the 80,000-capacity Luzhniki stadium, the historic crucible of Russian sport, ranked a lowly 70th in the world, three spots below Group A rivals Saudi Arabia, and without a victory in eight months. A 1-1 draw in Moscow with Turkey last week made former national team goalkeeper Cherchesov the first Russian or Soviet manager to go winless in seven consecutive games, four of those ending in defeat. Russia has spent more than $13 billion on preparations for the big event, and President Vladimir Putin called on the team to pull themselves together as they look to progress from a section also featuring Uruguay and Egypt. “As far as the team are concerned, I must acknowledge the fact that, unfortunately, our team have not achieved big results in recent times,” Putin said. “But we very much expect—all fans and lovers of football in Russia—expect the team to play with dignity, for them to show modern, interesting football, and to fight until the end.” Igor Akinfeev, Russia’s most recognizable player and first-choice goalkeeper for more than a decade, admits his team-mates must take the game to the opposition. “The team have to come out and play,” Akinfeev said after a 1-0 friendly loss to Austria last month in which Russia managed no shots on target. “If they do not, the score is not going to change.” Akinfeev, the Russian captain, has played more games for club and country than Soviet goalkeeping legends Lev Yashin and Rinat Dasayev. AFP

GlobalPort stuns SMB, snaps 4-game PBA skid

By Jeric Lopez

ICO Elorde’s crucial basket and critical stops in the waning seconds propelled GlobalPort to a much-needed 98-94 upset victory over San Miguel Beer as it snapped its losing skid in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City last night. With a tied game at 92-all in the final minute, Elorde calmly sank the go-ahead triple with 48.1 ticks left to give the Batang Pier a vital 95-92 edge. After Renaldo Balkman hit two free throws on the opposite end, San Miguel inched to within one, 94-95, but after a defensive stop, the Beermen turned the ball over in their next two possessions, allowing GlobalPort to finish them off. Mo Tautuaa’s lay-up off a steal followed by a split from Elorde in the final 20 seconds put GlobalPort to safety and settled the final count. The win was huge for GlobalPort as

Russia’s goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev attends a training session at Moscow’s VEB Arena stadium ahead of the Russia 2018 World Cup. AFP

Muntinlupa cages El Tigre in MPBL INAUGURAL staging runner-up Muntinlupa gave Ray Parks and the rest of Mandaluyong a rude welcome on opening night of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League’s Datu Cup as the Angelis Resort-backed squad caged the El Tigre, 86-74 at the Araneta Coliseum late Tuesday. The two teams, locked in a bitter tugof-war for the services of Parks, went at it for 40 minutes, but in the end, the more cohesive Cagers were able to put one over the El Tigre. PBA journeyman Chito Jaime led the way with 17 points, while Alan Mangahas, also an ex-pro, contributed 16 points, six rebounds and five assists in an allaround game to lead the Cagers. Dave Moralde tallied 12 and Felix Apreku had a double-double performance of 10 points and 16 boards as the balanced Muntinlupa squad was able to outplay its rival. The El Tigre, considered as the strong

it snapped out of its four-game slide to improve to 4-4 and moved to fifth place while breaking San Miguel’s three-game losing streak. The Beermen fell to 3-4 and slipped in the lower echelon with the defeat. “Hindi ko alam paano tatalunin itong San Miguel pero ito, tinalo namin,” said GlobalPort coach Pido Jarencio. “This is a blessing for the team since we needed the win going into the playoffs.” Stanley Pringle came up big, scoring 22 points with eight assists off the bench to help his team, especially in the second half. GlobalPort triumphed in the clutch

minus import Malcolm White, who was ejected with 8:09 left after incurring two technical fouls. Still, White finished with a doubledouble with a team-high 25 points and 10 boards. There was a scary moment for the Beermen as Balkman twisted his left ankle after stepping on the foot of Stanley Pringle following a strong drive with 4:57 remaining in the contest. After shaking it off, Balkman returned with under two minutes remaining to finish the game for San Miguel. At the end of the third, San Miguel, which led throughout the first half, carried a 79-71 advantage as its timely runs kept its cushion, despite GlobalPort staying within striking distance. However, GlobalPort opened the fourth with its own 15-7 surge to equal the game at 86-all after an Elorde floater with 5:14 remaining, putting the game in the balance. Balkman led all scorers with 33 points on top of 13 rebounds and six assists.

favorites in the tournament, got 21 points from Parks, who made bitter comments about officiating and felt that he was being singled out. The controversial son of seven-time PBA Best Import finished with 21 points, but was called for four offensive fouls, which took his rhythm out in the game. “Those were not offensive fouls. I attended the orientation. They don’t want me in this league,” he added. From 10 teams, the MPBL has expanded its league participation to 26, and on Independence Day, the league opened its second season with teams parading with a maximum of five personnel. Among the show stealers from the 26 muses include volleyball player Michelle Gumabao (Makati Skyscrapers), beauty titlists Maxine Medina (Basilan) and Rachel Peters (San Juan) and Eat Bulaga talent Pareng Cenon (Marikina), and movie and television personality Empress Schuck (Zamboanga Valientes).

DEVELOPING the game of 3x3 basketball at the grassroots level is a must for the Philippines. Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas president Al Panlilio said this as the FIBA 3x3 World Cup at the Philippine Arena concluded last Tuesday. Doing so will help the country develop a pool of dedicated players who can truly represent the Philippines in international competitions. “That is something that SBP will think about and that’s how to grow a grassroots program (on 3x3) and have a dedicated team to compete globally,” said Panlilio. Panlilio had talks with FIBA managing director Alex Sanchez on the development of the sport in the country. The Philippines is currently ranked no. 57 in the world and this can improve if players and tournaments on 3x3 will be registered with FIBA. “If you do that, our rankings will go higher. The next thing for us is to create an elite team, 1 or 2 teams,” added Panlilio. As the tournament ended, Serbia successfully defended the men’s title, while Italy claimed the women’s crown For Serbia, it was their third straight world title and fourth overall. Just like last year in Nantes, France, Serbia completed a 7-0 record, with Dusan Bulut tallying 7 points in beating Netherlands, 16-13. Bulut was named MVP of the men’s category. Newcomer Stefan Stojacic provided 4 points for Serbia, while the Dutch were led by Jesper Jobse’s 6 points. In the men’s bronze-medal match, Gasper Ovnik hit a game-winning lay-up as Slovenia won, 21-16, and bagged the bronze medal. In the women’s category, Italy completed a cinderella run and dethroned Russia, 16-12, in the Final. Rae Lin D’Alie, the shortest player of the tournament at 5’4” was named MVP. In the women’s bronze-medal clash, the French defeated China, 21-14, with Marie-Eve Paget winning the game with a 2-pointer for a total of 6 points. Alexandra Theodorean made history by winning her second World Cup Skills Contest. France’s MarieEve Paget got the silver medal, while Kazakhstan’s Zalina Kurazova took home the bronze.

Chiefs, Pirates win in Milcu tilt RENCE Alcoriza unloaded 17 points for the Arellano University Chiefs in their 81-38 smothering of University of Asia and Pacific in the ongoing Milcu-2018 Got Skills-Adidas Summer Showcase Basketball tournament at the Far Eastern University gymnasium in Morayta, Manila. The Chiefs went on to post their fourth straight victory in the 25-under division, putting them ahead of the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons (3-1). Carl Lumbao drilled in 21 points for the Lyceum Pirates, who won over the Letran Knights, 91-87, and this earned the Pirates their fourth win in six outings. National University, led by Michael Malonzo with 14 points, downed Manuel L. Quezon University, 81-39, to improve at 2-2. In the under-19 division, Joel Gonzales made 30 points for New Era University, which edged Trinity University of Asia, 72-63.

Thais take charge in The Women’s Championship

Saraporn Chamchoi

LIPA City—Saraporn Chamchoi came out of a rain-delayed round with four pars to preserve a four-under 68 as she wrested a one-stroke lead over fellow Thais Yupaporn Kawinpakorn and Onkanok Soisuwan and local bet Marvi Monsalve at the start of The Women’s Championship at the Summit Point Golf and Country Club here yesterday. Chamchoi, who used to compete on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour before moving over in the China and Taiwan LPGA tours in pursuit of ranking points, flashed a near-impeccable iron game to produce five birdies, including three from close range, and endured an hour-long wait due to heavy rains to complete a 34-34 card. “It (weather delay) didn’t affect my game since I really hit it well approaching the greens and the putting surface was great, too despite the rain,” said Chamchoi, who placed sixth in her last

tournament at ICTSI Ayala Greenfield won by amateur Yuka Saso last January. Monsalve failed to sustain a careerbest three-birdie start but kept a threeunder 69 for joint second with Kawinpakorn and Soisuwan, who are both seeking a follow-up to their victories in the Beverly Place and Mt. Malarayat legs, respectively, of this year’s LPGT sponsored by ICTSI. “I took off with a lot of fire,” said Monsalve who rolled in putts from 18 feet on the first and from 30 feet out on the next before banging in another birdie from 10 feet on No. 3. “But the two rain delays kind of slowed me down.” Chihiro Ikeda, winner at Eagle Ridge last February, gunned down five birdies against three bogeys to wrest solo fifth while amateur LK Go put herself in early contention wit a 71 built around four birdies against a double-bogey and bogey.

IN BRIEF

Tan’s Tanduay is now world’s top selling rum TANDUAY, a homegrown liquor brand owned by tycoon Lucio Tan, is now the world’s top selling rum, according to Drinks International magazine. “Our distinctly Filipino rum is now the world’s number one... We have a great product to offer the world and the world recognized it,” said Lucio Tan Jr., president and chief executive officer of Tanduay Distillers Inc., in a press briefing held at Century Hotel, Manila. Drinks International’s “definitive ranking of the world’s million-case rum brands” for 2017 cited Tanduay as the new leader with 19.5 million cases sold in 2017. Tanduay has taken over the number one spot from a list of international rum brands that has long been dominated by Bacardi, which is now relegated to second position with 16.8 million cases and McDowell’s No. 1 in the third place with 14.3 million cases sold. Tan attributed Tanduay’s rise to the top to the strong domestic sales and its move to aggressively introduce the brand overseas, especially in the US to build its brand equity and awareness. Jenniffer B. Austria

BIR, BoC told to chase cigarette counterfeiters FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III ordered the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Bureau of Customs to run after cigarette counterfeiters and their possible cohorts in the government who allow the entry of unlicensed cigarette-making machines in the country. Dominguez also ordered Commissioners Isidro Lapeña of the BoC and Caesar Dulay of the BIR to disable the confiscated machines so that they would no longer be usable. Dulay and Lapeña were also told to find out how the machines used to manufacture the fake cigarettes uncovered in recent operations in Luzon and Mindanao were able to enter the country undetected by authorities. “I want to hit them with everything you’ve got, the Customs and the BIR, and get to the bottom of this,” Dominguez told officials of the two bureaus during a recent executive committee meeting of the Department of Finance. Dominguez issued the directive after the BIR reported its strike team had raided several warehouses storing smuggled and counterfeit cigarettes in Malabon and Manila. The raids yielded a total of 531 mastercases of fake and smuggled cigarettes bearing various brands. Julito G. Rada

Business Peso tumbles to 53.23 vs dollar; stocks slump By Julito G. Rada

HE peso and the stock market tumbled Wednesday, with the local currency slumping to its weakest level in nearly 12 years.

The peso breached the 53-per-dollar boundary while stocks plummeted (story on B2), pulled down by external and domestic factors, including the expected another interest rates hike by the US Federal Reserve and the Philippines’ widening trade deﬁcit. The peso lost P0.28 to close at 53.23 per dollar from 52.95 on Tuesday. It was its weakest level since the 53.55 on June 29, 2006. Total volume traded stood at $773 million, up from $653 million previously. The peso opened Wednesday’s trading ﬁve centavos weaker at 53 per dollar and at one point touched 53.26. “External factors include the con-

tinued tightening of US monetary policy with an expected Fed Funds rate hike at today’s meeting, heightened risk of a fourth Fed rate hike this year, gradual reduction of global liquidity as Fed’s balance sheet is reduced,” ING Bank Manila senior economist Joey Cuyegkeng said in a reply to an emailed query. “... The possibility that ECB [European Central Bank] may signal tomorrow the start normalization of monetary policy, higher interest rates and bond yields raise also refinancing and funding costs of EM [emerging markets] sovereign and corporations leading to possible credit quality risks resulting to a more cautious exposure to EMs, continued elevated oil and commodity prices,” he said. He said factors that have been dragging down the local currency in the local front were the wider trade deficits, inadequate remittances from overseas workers and outsourcing net inflows leading to wider current account deficit. Cuyegkeng said enhanced fiscal defi-

cit spending while enhancing growth prospects driven by strong domestic demand also meant higher imports (and wider trade deficits). He said Bangko Sentral’s mixed signals on monetary policy with the market considering a dovish stance after the May 10 policy rate hike, greater tolerance of a weaker peso, and a perceived sustained weakening of the peso also raised the need for import-dependent corporations to continue hedging their foreign exchange requirements. “Net capital inflows or FDIs may not be enough to cover the wider current account deficit despite a still high FX reserve,” Cuyegkeng said. DBS Bank of Singapore in a report Tuesday predicted that the peso might depreciate further to 54 per US dollar by the end of the year due to the ballooning trade deficit. The local currency on Monday closed at 52.95, P0.25 lower than 52.70 at the close last Friday. It was its weakest level in almost 12 years since 52.98 on July 3, 2006.

Consumer group favors coal-fired power plants CONSUMER group Laban Konsyumer Inc. pushed for the continued use of coal for industries to ensure the steady prices of food and basic commodities. “Coal at the moment remains the number one source of electricity in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Coal is also the cheapest energy resource,” Vic Dimagiba, LKI president and former undersecretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, said. Dimagiba said LKI earlier opposed the higher excise tax on coal to mitigate the impact of the Tax Reform Acceleration and Inclusion law to consumers. “We estimate at that if cement companies use 60 percent coal, at this proposed excise taxes, one bag of cement will see an increase of P3, P6, P9 per bag over the next three years,” Dimagiba said in previous interviews. Dimagiba expects the second package of the TRAIN Law to continue providing support to the coal industry. Alena Mae S. Flores

MERALCO JOB. Top executives of Manila Electric Co. (inset) visit and inspect relocation works on the Skyway Stage 3 construction site (main photo) along Gregorio Araneta Avenue corner Quezon Avenue in Quezon City during the late hours of the night. Inset photo (from right) shows Meralco executives Alfredo Panlilio, senior vice president and head of Customer Retail Services and Corporate Communications; Ronnie Aperocho, SVP and head of Networks; and Gavin Barfield, chief technology advisor, monitoring the works.

PLDT sees profit growth in 2018 after decrease in previous years By Darwin G. Amojelar PLDT Inc. said it expects to return to a profit growth this year after several years of continuing disruption form over-the-top players. “We have reversed the negative momentum, and the business has now taken a turn towards growth at 3 percent improvement—a gain of P1.2 billion versus the first quarter of 2017,” Eric Alberto, chief revenue officer of PLDT, said during the annual stockholders’ meeting. “Our performance in the first quarter and the current year-to-date trending give us confidence that our growth is gaining traction, and should be sustainable as the year progresses,” he added. PLDT’s net income in the fist quarter

amounted to P6.9 billion, up 39 percent from P4.9 billion in the same period last year. Consolidated core income reached P6.1 billion in the three-month period, up 14 percent from a year ago. Core income, excluding that of unit Voyager, rose 23 percent year-on-year to P6.7 billion, which if annualized would put the company ahead of its income guidance of P23 billion to 24 billion for 2018. “Looking ahead, we have guided recurring core income this year to be about P24 billion, another year of improvement of around 8 percent,” PLDT chairman and chief executive Manuel Pangilinan,said. PLDT’s consolidated service revenues amounted to P36.7 billion, up 3 percent year-on-year.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018

MB monitoring US Fed, global developments GLOBAL developments will be some of the major focus of the policy-setting Monetary Board of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas when it meets next week, especially the impact to inflation and economic growth, Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said Wednesday. “The Monetary Board will be evaluating a very rich and broad range of information at its policy meeting next week. Recent developments on inflation and economic activity are key inputs but these are certainly not the only consideration,” Espenilla told reporters in a statement. Expected to be discussed during the Monetary Board meeting would be the result of the Federal Reserve meeting scheduled Wednesday, as well as the trade tussle between the United States and China. “We will be examining closely all the potential drivers of future inflation through the various transmission channels as affected by global developments, expectations formation, and uncertainty. It is a fairly complex environment that we need to navigate,” Espenilla said. On May 10, the Monetary Board increased the policy interest rates by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent in a move to arrest any potential second-round effects of rising inflation rate. The interest rates on overnight lending and deposit facilities were also increased accordingly, or to 3.75 percent from 3.5 percent, and 2.75 percent from 2.5 percent, respectively. Espenilla said in deciding to raise the policy interest rate, the board noted the latest forecasts had further shifted higher, an indication that inflation pressures could become more broadbased over the policy horizon. The Monetary Board raised the inflation forecast for 2018 to 4.6 percent from the 3.9-percent estimate made in the March 22 meeting. It also increased the forecast for 2019 to 3.4 percent from 3 percent. DBS Bank of Singapore said in a report this week it was expecting the Monetary Board to increase interest rates one more time later this year, possibly taking into account the accelerating inflation, which hit a new fiveyear high of 4.6 percent in May and averaged 4.1 percent in the first five months, above its official target range of 2 percent to 4 percent. Julito G. Rada

Banks ready to fund infrastructure projects—BDO Capital BANKS are ready to come in and finance the Duterte administration’s ambitious “Build, Build, Build’ infrastructure projects should they encounter any “funding delays,” according to a highranking official of BDO Capital and Investment Corp., the investment banking unit of BDO Unibank Inc., the largest lender in the country. Speaking as one of the private sector panelists in a business forum hosted by CNN Philippines, BDO Capital and Investment Corp. president Eduardo Francisco said domestic banks were very much ready to provide support. “BDO Capital fully supports the government’s infrastructure initiative. As a bridge, [government can] use banks for funding if there are delays, no matter what funding scheme is utilized,” he said. BDO Capital provides diversified services that include trading and un-

derwriting securities, loan syndication, financial advisory services, and project finance services. It holds dialogs with government and potential bidders on how the whole BDO group could help fund projects— from the advisory stage all the way to project financing. Infrastructure is among the top priorities of the Duterte administration with public spending targeted to reach P8 trillion to P9 trillion from 2017 to 2022. Dubbed as the “Build, Build, Build,” the initiative involves 75 flagship projects, which include six airports, nine railways, three bus rapid transits, 32 roads and bridges and four seaports that will help bring down the costs of production, improve rural incomes, encourage countryside investments, make the movement of goods and people more efficient, and create more jobs. Also included in the massive infra

program is the construction of a 25-kilometer subway that will traverse Metro Manila in a bid to decongest the metropolis of heavy traffic that has been causing around P3.5 billion in economic losses daily, according to a study by Japan International Cooperation Agency. The government will rely on official development assistance, especially from Japan and China, as its main sources of infrastructure funding, as well as expected revenues from the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion or TRAIN law, although it remained open to private-public partnerships or PPP funding scheme as well. Aside from banks, the insurance industry has also expressed interest to take part in the infrastructure program of the government. One of them was Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co., the country’s leading life insurance firm. Julito G. Rada

Lopez eyes more reforms to ease doing business in PH By Othel V. Campos TRADE Secretary Ramon Lopez on Wednesday called on government agencies to change their mindset as the Philippines tries to squeeze itself into the top 20 ranking in the Ease of Doing Business measure of the World Bank by 2020. “What we need is drastic change. We have agreed before to reduce the processing time and yet there seems to be more problems arising. Now, we want to do it from zero base,” said Lopez during the EODB Summit held at the Philippine International Convention Center. He said all relevant agencies with access to information should have

one form applicable to as many agencies with similar requirements. “We want to challenge them (government agencies) in a trail blazing improvement, create more reforms against the odds that only a handful had been cited and approved for the Philippines,” he said. The government has accomplished 19 reforms across all 10 indicators measured by the Doing Business Report of the World BankInternational Finance Corp. The reforms resulted in the reduction in either the number of steps, days, cost, payments and documentary requirements. In some cases, the reforms resulted in improving access to information, or promoting transparency and

governance as part of global best practices. “But we have to ensure that these reforms will be accepted by the World Bank Survey team when they evaluate the ranking. Given that the World Bank validates these reforms in partnership with the Philippine private sector, it is important that these reforms are felt by the stakeholders,” Lopez said. He said the EODB Task Force in the last nine months had been pursuing reforms that would lead to raising the country’s ranking in the 2019 DB Report About 51 reforms and activities consisting of procedural or policy changes were recorded by the Trade Department.

AIRBUS TEST FLIGHT. Airbus pilots successfully conduct the first test flight for Philippine Airlines’ first Airbus A350-900, shown here taking off from the Airbus assembly plant at Toulouse Blagnac airport in France on June 7. The ultra-modern aircraft, due for delivery in mid-July, will be deployed on long-haul routes to Europe and the North American east coast.

Business

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market plummets; eyes on US Fed

HE stock market plunged Wednesday after the peso topped the 53:$1 level, raising concerns that the weaker currency will exert further pressures on the inﬂation rate.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slumped 168.32 points, or 2.2 percent, to 7,602.98 on a value turnover of P7.2 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 127 to 66, with 47 issues unchanged. The peso closed at 53.23 against the US dollar, its weakest level in nearly 12 years, weighed down down by external and domestic factors, including the expected another interest rates hike by the US Federal Reserve and the Philippines’ widening trade deﬁcit. The peso lost P0.28 from 52.95 on Tuesday. It was its lowest level since 53.55 on June 29, 2006. A weaker peso

will raise the cost of imports in peso terms and increase the manufacturing cost of companies. Conglomerate Ayala Corp. fell 4.2 percent to P937, while SM Investments Corp. of retail tycoon Henry Sy Sr. dropped 3 percent to P900. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-biggest lender in terms of assets, lost 2.7 percent to P77.05, while GT Capital Holdings Inc. of tycoon George Ty declined 2.6 percent to P1,000. The dollar extended gains against its peers in Asian trade Wednesday as investors await a key Federal Reserve decision later in the day, but most equity markets dipped. On equity markets Tokyo’s Nikkei ended the day with gains of 0.4 percent as exporters were lifted by the weaker yen. But Hong Kong dropped 1.1 percent with Chinese telecoms equipment mak-

er ZTE collapsing almost 40 percent as it resumed trading after agreeing to pay a massive ﬁne over its handling of a US sanctions violation. Singapore was one percent lower. There were also losses in Bangkok, though Wellington and Taipei rose slightly. As the euphoria over the historic summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un recedes, investors are focusing on macroeconomic issues with concerns over global trade causing some discomfort. “With a rate hike widely expected, investors are focused on the Fed’s statement wording, economic projections and press conference for clariﬁcation on the future pace of interest rate hikes,” said Jo Horton, a senior economist at St. George Bank in Sydney. Speculation about further increases was fueled by data Tuesday show-

ing US inflation at a six-year high in May. And Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader said: “With oil up, wage pressures apparently building, and the US economy bouncing back strongly in the second quarter, the (Fed) is likely to be fairly forthright in their ascertainment that rates will need to continue to be increased—however gradually.” The dollar continues to enjoy support against most other currencies ahead of the Fed decision, with the pound hamstrung by British Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit struggles after she made some big compromises to push through key legislation. The euro is also slightly weaker ahead of the European Central Bank’s own policy meeting on Thursday, where it is seen discussing winding in its crisis-era bond-buying stimulus. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 59.25 11,530 98.65 1,129,790 3 3,000 136 2,796,260 1.59 110,000 34.4 37,200 16.56 700 14.78 991,300 3.65 28,000 1.5 5,000 851 570 0.52 178,000 77.05 5,341,830 1.16 1,743,000 11.98 1,700 20.6 500 51 6,900 205.2 1,710 108 370 85.8 10 31.9 340,500 201 664,250 88.95 82,440 1.18 10,000

681,488.50 110,084,700 9,000 375,349,671 172,800 1,281,035 11,628 14,673,150 101,660 7,500 484,750 93,800 415,190,120.50 2,003,010 20,376 10,300 352,332.50 351,092 41,680 858 10,975,970 133,086,828 7,334,004.50 11,900

650,250 -49,167,235 -34,529,077 -120,650 3,312.00 3,017,744 -231,484,053 -49,880 16,862 14,400 700 -2,757,355 23,187,238 -47,143.50 -

37.45 14.06 0.59 1.26 20 0.229 112 3.15 16.06 49.9 23.1 56.6 61.05 80.05 1.92 8.61 10.36 15.9 11.2 7.14 5.25 14.6 61.8 20 8.6 15 2.2 278.8 45 5.02 16.7 27.05 11.84 21.8 333 0.18 6.75 2.26 4.26 8.88 5.91 7.97 1.34 12.46 48.8 6.1 4.6 2.47 3.6 1.9 13.12 65.35 5.07 0.129 0.89 125.5 2.96 1.11

INDUSTRIAL 37.5 1,045,000 14.58 1,174,900 0.6 492,000 1.27 432,000 21.35 25,400 0.233 4,470,000 112 30 3.15 4,716,000 16.48 84,100 49.95 428,270 24 55,400 57 3,650 63 820 80.05 390 1.92 105,000 8.66 6,800 10.8 1,320,200 16.04 691,400 11.4 76,900 7.18 1,006,100 5.25 1,656,700 15.6 253,500 63.5 35,910 21.4 98,100 8.71 32,500 15.1 1,861,400 2.24 602,000 279 1,075,600 45 100 5.1 76,000 16.7 2,000 27.2 1,853,000 11.96 327,400 21.9 2,392,500 334.2 668,200 0.189 750,000 6.75 1,500 2.31 8,096,000 4.4 55,000 9.08 2,143,600 5.96 3,196,900 7.97 1,700 1.36 602,000 12.46 1,300 49.55 422,700 6.1 300 4.6 30,038,000 2.47 340,000 3.6 72,000 1.91 526,000 13.28 402,000 66 166,830 5.14 280,400 0.13 6,660,000 0.91 105,000 127.5 1,068,550 3 10,011,000 1.34 46,435,000

39,291,155 16,914,296 294,890 549,210 534,785 1,032,820 3,360 15,064,630 1,355,742 21,388,186.50 1,301,820 208,265 50,373 31,219.50 202,050 60,146 13,832,432 11,073,628 876,710 7,212,952 8,698,068 3,815,558 2,248,022 2,048,730 280,070 28,142,668 1,333,130 300,581,890 4,500 386,406 33,444 50,316,890 3,921,516 52,809,405 223,249,734 142,830 10,125 18,619,870 239,160 19,157,110 19,481,183 13,549 809,150 16,214 20,897,795 1,830 138,174,800 868,070 259,740 1,013,460 5,324,254 10,967,825 1,428,520 864,100 96,190 135,683,371 30,275,090 58,929,680

-15,919,305 -1,733,442 213,500 3,971,300 -14,062 -18,600 167,525 -5,149,966 2,927,892 -5,263,893 6,514,988 -1,807,700 135,977.50 12,810 2,492,386 -11,300.00 -68,242,056 -786,560 -320,814 -4,223,845 24,835,920 -2,070.00 -2,875,857 -139,379 668,120 0 364,900 9,550 -504,224 -6,090,528.50 -10,190.00 -8,382,711 -734,910 -745,950

0.275 61.15 12.76 0.89 6.1 0.66 0.69 936 6.35 10.62 7.36 0.196 985 6.5 58 5.38 0.56 3.88 19.98 0.57 4.86 0.037 1.27 2.87 137.6 897.5 1.63 567 258 0.22 0.211

HOLDING FIRMS 0.285 15,700,000 61.5 1,176,780 12.84 6,195,900 0.95 15,000 6.1 10,300 0.68 2,391,000 0.7 398,000 937 431,240 6.35 290,300 10.7 11,510,400 7.37 90,800 0.196 270,000 1,000 222,410 6.5 3,800 58.55 1,784,800 5.45 8,700 0.57 153,000 3.9 1,418,000 20.1 3,568,000 0.58 946,000 4.97 24,712,600 0.037 1,300,000 1.28 1,884,000 2.92 5,440,000 140 330,650 900 489,350 1.63 49,000 567 1,620 260 10,750 0.229 1,470,000 0.211 100,000

4,415,650 72,485,306.50 79,529,700 13,900 62,830 1,601,700 274,650 406,266,620 1,851,921 124,601,542 669,251 53,160 224,400,990 24,720 104,378,920.50 47,401 87,330 5,569,130 71,694,890 549,780 122,840,936 48,100 2,451,780 15,621,090 45,946,953 440,553,845 80,550 945,820 2,778,900 324,440 21,100

-106,450 -39,868,366 -23,019,892 268,410 -236,975,345 -823,458 -43,632,270 184,202 -16,001,970 -69,402,645.50 -1,647,500.00 -45,253,400 -52,654,616 50,260 5,800 -28,410,717 -151,310,640 -34,230.00 -51,030 -

23,829,516 2,778,150 547,886 53,040 639,670 401,825,000 3,744,910 2,293,670 1,204 1,800 3,455,850 66,950 247,230 1,407,920 8,450 26,261,745 149,210 20,238,910 1,959,430 2,043,310 8,560 138,682,720

-9,032,871 -92,000 -150,460 -10,470,565 -1,465,470 427,510 73,300 4,120 2,260 -2,524,615 -73,710 -9,144,880 50,280 -72,739,560

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

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

59.35 98.9 3 137.5 1.56 34.55 16.68 14.78 3.62 1.5 851 0.55 79.3 1.12 12.02 20.6 52 206.2 115 85.8 32.9 202 88.95 1.2

59.35 98.9 3 137.5 1.59 34.55 16.68 14.98 3.65 1.5 851.5 0.55 79.7 1.17 12.02 20.6 52 206.2 115 85.8 32.9 202.2 89 1.2

58.5 96.5 3 132 1.56 34.4 16.56 14.76 3.5 1.5 850 0.52 77.05 1.12 11.98 20.6 50.8 205.2 108 85.8 31.8 198.1 88.9 1.18

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS ASIABEST GROUP BASIC ENERGY BOGO MEDELLIN 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 LIBERTY FLOUR LMG CHEMICALS MACAY HLDG MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO MG HLDG PANASONIC PEPSI COLA PETROENERGY PETRON PHIL H2O PHINMA PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL PRYCE CORP RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO ROXAS HLDG SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SMC FOODANDBEV SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VITARICH VULCAN INDL

38.45 14.06 0.61 1.28 20.45 0.231 112 3.32 16.18 50 24.5 56.6 63 80.05 1.96 8.7 10.6 16 11.5 7.18 5.26 15 61.8 20.05 8.68 15.74 2.3 281 45 5.1 16.76 27.2 12.3 22.5 337 0.194 6.75 2.3 4.27 9.01 6.02 7.97 1.35 12.48 48.9 6.1 4.6 2.61 3.63 2 13.38 65.8 5.14 0.132 0.91 130 3.13 1.19

38.65 14.58 0.61 1.3 21.35 0.234 112 3.32 16.5 50 24.5 60 63 80.05 1.96 9.13 10.8 16.12 11.5 7.2 5.29 15.6 63.5 21.4 8.78 15.74 2.3 282.6 45 5.1 16.76 27.35 12.3 23 337 0.194 6.75 2.33 4.4 9.1 6.5 7.97 1.38 12.5 49.6 6.1 4.6 2.61 3.63 2 13.38 66.45 5.14 0.132 0.96 130 3.13 1.35

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

0.285 62.7 12.96 0.95 6.1 0.68 0.69 970 6.4 11.2 7.36 0.197 1,027 6.51 60.05 5.38 0.59 4.02 20.95 0.59 5.05 0.037 1.29 2.92 140 912 1.67 590 264 0.22 0.211

0.29 63.5 12.96 0.95 6.1 0.68 0.7 972 6.4 11.2 7.6 0.197 1,033 6.51 60.1 5.45 0.59 4.05 20.95 0.59 5.05 0.037 1.35 2.95 140 923 1.67 600 264 0.229 0.211

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 DOUBLEDRAGON EMPIRE EAST FILINVEST LAND GLOBAL ESTATE IRC PROP KEPPEL PROP MEGAWORLD

7.16 1.01 15.08 2.04 0.81 40.6 3.34 4.9 6.02 6 0.465 1.03 0.97 0.23 0.425 27.6 0.63 1.62 1.29 1.13 4.28 4.8

7.4 1.02 15.34 2.04 0.81 40.8 3.4 4.9 6.02 6 0.465 1.03 0.97 0.23 0.425 27.8 0.64 1.64 1.29 1.13 4.28 4.83

7.15 1 15.02 2.04 0.79 40.15 3.33 4.8 6.02 6 0.45 1.03 0.95 0.225 0.42 27 0.62 1.59 1.27 1.08 4.28 4.62

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP PTFC REDEV CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS VISTA LAND

0.65 0.455 0.51 2.59 29.05 20.7 2.19 3.27 37 1.11 9.96 6.73

0.66 0.465 0.52 2.6 29.05 20.7 2.2 3.3 37.1 1.11 9.98 6.84

0.62 0.435 0.5 2.55 29.05 19.9 2.03 3.27 35.8 1.09 9.85 6.65

0.63 0.435 0.51 2.58 29.05 19.98 2.07 3.3 36.5 1.1 9.94 6.84

50,503,000 2,050,000 4,663,000 4,086,000 800 1,679,500 2,462,000 107,000 9,520,200 463,000 500,200 3,321,700

31,980,290 932,750 2,378,730 10,464,820 23,240 33,760,407 5,236,340 352,510 346,344,715 507,550 4,950,465 22,357,588

-32,670 -256,000 -1,644,481 -201,300 -230,277,235 231,000 69,558 -15,303,303

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL ASIAN TERMINALS BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CHELSEA DFNN INC DISCOVERY WORLD EASYCALL FAR EASTERN U 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 BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY MELCO RESORTS METRO RETAIL METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B MLA BRDCASTING NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PAXYS PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRANSPACIFIC BR TRAVELLERS WATERFRONT WILCON DEPOT

15.8 26.45 1.33 0.51 0.044 12.8 10.76 0.056 88 8.2 7.4 2.29 18.7 950 1,690 5.65 306.2 3.85 87 8.21 0.114 1.71 4.13 15.38 4.12 1.04 25.5 0.4 4.26 6.04 2.96 3.32 3.66 19 8.9 11.1 9.15 3.1 5.23 1,310 0.97 0.35 48 88.5 9.49 2.1 1.25 0.44 5 0.85 12.2

15.8 26.45 1.33 0.51 0.045 13 11.18 0.056 88 8.56 7.4 2.3 18.88 950 1,690 5.69 312.8 3.85 87.95 8.22 0.115 1.78 4.46 15.38 4.44 1.06 25.5 0.4 4.35 6.32 2.96 4.1 4.07 19.98 10 11.5 9.15 3.1 5.23 1,310 0.98 0.365 49 88.5 9.62 2.14 1.25 0.44 5 0.85 12.3

15.8 25.9 1.33 0.48 0.044 12.8 10.76 0.054 87.5 8.2 7.4 2.27 18.1 950 1,628 5.58 305.8 3.68 85.15 8.2 0.114 1.6 4.13 15.04 4.11 1.03 25.15 0.4 4.21 6.04 2.94 3.2 3.32 18.6 8.65 11.1 9.15 3.1 5.16 1,270 0.96 0.35 47.9 85.6 9.01 2.08 1.23 0.425 4.64 0.83 11.92

SERVICES 15.8 26 1.33 0.495 0.044 13 11.02 0.054 87.5 8.45 7.4 2.3 18.5 950 1,650 5.63 311.6 3.72 86 8.2 0.115 1.77 4.39 15.04 4.35 1.05 25.2 0.4 4.35 6.23 2.95 3.8 3.89 19.94 9.85 11.5 9.15 3.1 5.22 1,299 0.96 0.365 48.35 86.5 9.6 2.09 1.24 0.435 4.9 0.84 12

200 15,100 1,000 8,391,000 3,300,000 91,400 15,946,000 7,710,000 21,400 15,940,600 200 21,000 170,300 300 56,430 122,500 8,560 582,000 2,112,050 12,100 1,110,000 5,560,000 299,000 3,800 2,490,000 627,000 437,100 10,000 63,000 14,124,000 1,219,000 23,976,000 1,001,000 5,600 25,890,200 4,400 12,300 29,000 212,400 72,860 8,779,000 360,000 1,782,600 434,320 3,691,100 1,521,000 484,000 3,790,000 17,346,000 1,190,000 1,328,800

3,160 392,735 1,330 4,130,175 146,400 1,172,300 174,925,464 417,850 1,875,132 133,831,667 1,480 47,960 3,120,812 285,000 92,612,120 688,858 2,643,092 2,185,010 181,617,943.50 99,340 126,820 9,502,420 1,288,750 58,370 10,779,300 651,250 11,020,045 4,000 270,680 87,061,248 3,594,640 89,152,070 3,805,500 107,026 242,668,100 49,160 112,545 89,900 1,103,443 93,437,600 8,465,380 127,750 86,244,690 37,576,073.50 34,769,574 3,179,110 601,210 1,634,500 83,994,270 996,900 15,944,956

-176,500 401,416 11,884,824 -65,947 -5,012,920 -10,884 -13,338,650 3,680 -13,123,823.50 -1,504 -246,620 5,050,150 33,565,033 -23,590 2,194,497.00 -32,940 -54,111,125 -282,890 47,905,970 -18,339,648 20,820,414 -964,620 -24,600 -45,651,500 29,050 6,214,714

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

0.0029 1.58 4.32 27.65 1.69 0.3 2.26 0.199 0.133 0.134 0.0083 1.52 4.95 1.13 0.52 0.92 0.013 0.013 0.011 5.21 12.58 31.05

0.0029 1.59 4.44 31 1.7 0.3 2.3 0.208 0.135 0.134 0.0085 1.54 5 1.13 0.52 0.94 0.013 0.013 0.012 5.25 12.58 31.45

0.0027 1.53 4.28 26.1 1.68 0.3 2.26 0.192 0.132 0.132 0.0083 1.52 4.82 1.11 0.52 0.88 0.012 0.013 0.011 5.2 11.9 30.4

MINING & OIL 0.0028 152,000,000 1.53 5,187,000 4.44 52,000 29.5 340,000 1.7 313,000 0.3 200,000 2.28 1,947,000 0.203 90,000 0.135 1,700,000 0.132 630,000 0.0085 21,000,000 1.54 81,000 4.88 404,000 1.11 9,000 0.52 40,000 0.93 332,000 0.012 18,400,000 0.013 1,700,000 0.012 400,000 5.2 179,900 11.9 3,291,300 30.9 3,174,100

424,000 8,062,470 222,780 9,725,835 530,360 60,000 4,438,970 18,090 225,680 84,000 176,100 123,780 1,974,620 10,070 20,800 297,940 221,300 22,100 4,500 935,763 39,925,560 98,138,600

-4,798,800 -4,280 4,295 -438,480 -110,790 920 -6,500 3,300 5,767 -3,641,746 -27,424,180

ABS HLDG PDR ALCO PREF B DD PREF GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H

25 102 101 515 5.41 980 1.07 103 102.8 76.6 79.9 76 78.5 76.2

25 102 101 515 5.41 980 1.07 103 102.8 78 79.9 76 78.5 76.2

24.8 102 101 515 5.41 961 1.07 103 102.8 76.6 79.9 76 78.5 76.1

PREFERRED 24.8 516,100 102 500 101 40,350 515 10 5.41 157,800 961 700 1.07 25,000 103 4,880 102.8 1,510 77.5 3,950 79.9 20 76 500 78.5 70 76.1 22,120

12,902,080 51,000 4,075,350 5,150 853,698 673,270 26,750 502,640 155,228 306,190 1,598 38,000 5,495 1,684,012

130,320 -850,993 -

LR WARRANT

2.47

2.74

2.45

WARRANTS 2.64 2,042,000

5,340,750

20,320

ITALPINAS XURPAS

5.38 3.31

5.55 3.31

5.21 3.25

5.24 3.26

8,153,751 1,920,860

-80,119 -82,710

FIRST METRO ETF

116

113

15,842,189

79,705

46,147 90,000

NAME

PROPERTY 7.4 1.02 15.04 2.04 0.79 40.15 3.34 4.88 6.02 6 0.45 1.03 0.96 0.229 0.42 27 0.64 1.6 1.27 1.1 4.28 4.7

3,245,200 2,760,000 36,400 26,000 807,000 9,966,100 1,119,000 474,000 200 300 7,600,000 65,000 258,000 6,200,000 20,000 961,000 235,000 12,646,000 1,542,000 1,873,000 2,000 29,412,000

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2

10 10

10.1 10

TRADING SUMMARY

FINANCIAL

13,484,819

INDUSTRIAL

164,611,865

HOLDING FIRMS

89,271,173

PROPERTY

158,677,855

SERVICES

175,124,365

MINING & OIL

211,476,926

GRAND TOTAL

814,886,966

10 10

SME

1,515,100 585,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 113.3 139,460 10.1 10

DDS

4,590 9,000

VALUE 1,903.66 (down) 20.07 1,072,345,902.84 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,755.96 (down) 153.94 1,539,695,873.91 HOLDING FIRMS 7,506.32 (down) 253.91 1,820,147,135.94 PROPERTY 3,711.64 (down) 57.47 1,494.97 (down) 11.81 1,093,746,318.53 SERVICES MINING & OIL 10,150.38 (down) 171.13 1,447,830,549.215 PSEI 7,602.98 (down) 168.32 165,652,521.334 All Shares Index 4,629.35 (down) 75.19 7,165,336,725.07 Gainers: 66; Losers: 127; Unchanged: 47; Total: 240

SEC okays Now’s plan to sell shares worth P1b By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Securities and Exchange Commission approved the P1-billion share sale of Now Corp., a listed company controlled by the Velarde family. Now Corp., according to documents filed with the SEC, will issue 5 million in preferred shares with an over allotment of another 5 million at an offering price of P100 apiece. Unicapital Inc. will serve as the sole underwriter for Now’s preferred shares offering. The company plans to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund the expansion of fiber-in-the-air network this year in preparation for its bid to become the country’s third major player. Now, through unit Now Telecom, is an enfranchised telecommunications company. It is considering the possibility of entering into a partnership with strategic domestic and foreign partners to join the planned bidding for the country’s third telecommunications company. Now said it planned to undergo an equity restructuring by using the additional paid-in capital created by the preferred shares offering, which will wipe out the company’s capital deficit. Once the capital deficit is wiped out, Now said it would be able to declare and pay dividends to stockholders. “Once the company obtains the necessary approvals and implements the equity restructuring plan, the company can resume paying dividends from future cash flows as they no longer have to use the same to eliminate retained earnings debit balances,” Now said. “This will also allow the management flexibility to invest the surplus back to grow the business,” it added. Now’s fiber air service covers internet-dependent industries, such as educational services, healthcare, hotels and restaurant industries and media with clients like The Manila Broadcasting Co., The Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, Marco Polo Ortigas, Manila Medical Center and Capitol Medical Center.

Empire East to deliver 1,900 units this year CONDOMINIUM builder Empire East Land Holding Inc. is set to deliver 1,900 units from its seven residential buildings set for completion this year. Empire East president Anthony Charlemagne Yu said during the annual stockholders’ meeting seven of the 17 residential towers currently under construction would be completed this year, while four new buildings would start construction this year. Yu said demand for the company’s residential projects remained strong given their strategic locations aimed at the middle-income market. The property ﬁrm expects to increase reservation sales this year by doubledigit from P19.4 billion in 2017. The company has also recently expanded its offerings by introducing a high-end brand under Empire East Elite. The move is in response to the growing sophistication of the market and the increasing purchasing power of the middle-income market. “Empire East Elite developments are a showcase of increased mobility, accessibility to conveniences, less dense community, bigger unit layouts and upgraded amenities. These features translate to better experiences, a higher standard of living, and the kind of sustainability that is very important to the modern market today,” Yu said. The Empire East Elite brand includes Paddington Place in Mandaluyong, which offers 2,581 units, with prices ranging from P3 million to P10 billion. Tower 1 of Paddington Place, which has 645 units, is currently 71 percent taken up. At the same time, the group’s sixtower Kasara project in Pasig continues to register strong sales. Empire East plans to launch 1,900 residential units in Paddington Place and Kasara this year. The company is looking for projects in areas outside Metro Manila in a bid to expand its coverage and customer base. Empire East has a land bank worth P2.9 billion and with an aggregate area of 404 hectares. Jenniffer B. Austria

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Standard

World

TODAY

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Argentina faces historic vote on legalizing abortion

DEBATE ON THE FUTURE OF EUROPE. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte delivers a speech during a debate on the future of Europe during a plenary session at the European Parliament on June 13, 2018, in Strasbourg, eastern France. AFP

IN BRIEF Japan: US-S. Korea military drills vital TOKYO—The United States’ military drills with South Korea and Washington’s troop presence there are “vital” for regional security, Japan said Wednesday, raising concerns after US President Donald Trump said the drills would be halted. “The drills and the US military stationed in South Korea play a vital role in East Asia’s security,” Japan’s defense minister Itsunori Onodera said when asked about Trump’s surprise announcement. “I hope to share this recognition between Japan and the US, or among Japan, US and South Korea,” he told reporters. Trump stunned observers Tuesday, after meeting North Korea’s leader, by saying the regular joint USSouth Korea military exercises would be halted as Washington fleshes out a deal with Pyongyang. “We will be stopping the war games, which will save us a tremendous amount of money, unless and until we see the future negotiation is not going along like it should,”Trump said. “Plus, I think it’s very provocative,” he added, saying further that “at some point” he wanted to withdraw US troops from the South, without suggesting a time line. Security experts warn that a reduction in US military presence in East Asia would alter the balance of power in the region as China’s engages in a rapid military build-up. Onodera said Japan’s policy remained unchanged after the TrumpKim summit. AFP

BUENOS AIRES―Lawmakers in Pope Francis’ native Argentina vote Wednesday on legalizing abortion which, if passed, would make it the most populous country in South America to allow women to terminate pregnancies. The debate has divided Argentinian society. Though it has shed some of its traditionalism by pioneering the legalization of gay marriage in Latin America, it remains strongly inﬂuenced by the Catholic Church. The Chamber of Deputies is deeply divided over the issue and after weeks of bitter debate, the result of Wednesday night’s vote is far from certain. Of the Chamber’s 257 deputies, 109 are expected to vote in favor of the bill, 117 against, with the remaining 29 undecided lawmakers casting the decisive votes in the lower house. “Today we see an almost a neck-andneck vote, with a slight advantage for those against the bill,” said Martin Maquieyra of President Mauricio Macri’s ruling Cambiemos party, who will vote against.

Living in shrinking spaces in HK H ONG KONG-As housing prices spiral in Hong Kong, young professionals are living in ever-shrinking spaces, with box-like “nano-ﬂats” and co-shares touted as fashionable solutions.

Blocks of sleek miniature apartments packed with mod cons are springing up around the densely packed city, pitched as an attractive and more affordable lifestyle choice, but still at an eye-watering cost. Finance worker Adrian Law, 25, paid more than HK$6 million ($765,000) two years ago for his tiny studio apartment in a new development in the gentrified Sai Ying Pun neighborhood. The slim glass building squeezes four apartments onto each floor and includes “nano-flats”, a new term for homes of under 215 square feet (20 square meters). Law’s studio is a fraction bigger at 292 square feet, with a price per square foot of nearly HK$20,000. He has adapted to the limited space by buying transformable furniture―his bed folds away against the wall to reveal a desk tucked underneath―and he keeps most of his belongings at his parents’ home. But with a fingerprint-activated door lock, washing machine, TV, fridge and even curtains, Law says the flat came with everything he needed. “Property developers are marketing the concept to buyers that they only need a place to sleep and can do anything else outside,” he told AFP,

admitting he eats mostly take-away food as the kitchen is too small for cooking. Law’s parents helped him put down a 30 percent deposit when he bought the apartment and he sees it as an investment. He pays HK$24,000 per month for the mortgage, around 40 percent of his salary. “One can only get into a winning position by owning a place,” he said. “If you’re renting, you are spending all your money without gaining anything at the end.” Hong Kong’s real estate is the most expensive in the world, with median house prices at 19.4 times median incomes―the worst ratio globally according to the Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey 2018. Property prices have been fueled by an influx of money from wealthy mainland Chinese investors and developers, and the city government stands accused of failing to control the red-hot property market. More than 60 percent of the new flats under 430 square feet are taken up by investment buyers, according to government figures. With the ability to buy a flat increasingly out of reach for the majority of Hong Kong’s 7.4 million residents, developers are creating smaller spaces to reach a wider market. AFP

InvItatIon to BId for the Procurement of annual medIcal examInatIon ServIceS for a PerIod of two (2) YearS under ItB no. PB18-02-026cora-06

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming public bidding for the Procurement of Annual Medical Examination Services for a Period of Two (2) Years under ITB No. PB18-02026CORa-06. Brief Description

Two (2) - Year Service Contract of Annual Medical Examination (AME) for Rank and File personnel assigned at Corporate Offices, Imus Complex, Metro Manila Branches, CF-Tagaytay, CF-Angeles, CFOlongapo and Satellite Operations Groups (1-5) Delivery Schedule The complete schedule of deliveries is provided in Section VI (Schedule of Requirements) of the Bidding Documents, which will commence on the date of receipt of the Notice to Proceed by the winning bidder. Approved Budget for the Seventeen Million Four Hundred Thirty-Nine Contract (ABC): Thousand Six Hundred Seventy Pesos (PhP 17,439,670.00) for one (1) year or Thirty-Four Million Eight Hundred Seventy-Nine Thousand Three Hundred Forty Pesos (PhP 34,879,340.00) for a period of two (2) years, VAT Exclusive, Zero-Rated Transaction. Source of Funds: Corporate Budget for CY2018 Bidders should have completed, within the last five (5) years before the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders. Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183. PAGCOR will hold a Pre-Bid Conference, which shall be open to prospective bidders. All particulars relative to Pre-Bid Conference, Detailed Evaluation of Bids, PostQualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of RA 9184 and its IRR. The schedule of bidding activities is listed, as follows: Activities 1. Issuance of the Bidding Documents 2. Pre-Bid Conference

3. Deadline for the Submission and Receipt of Bids

UN set to vote on condemning Israel UNITED NATIONS—The United Nations General Assembly will vote Wednesday on condemning Israel for the Palestinian deaths in Gaza in a resolution fiercely opposed by the United States, which wants Hamas to face condemnation. US Ambassador Nikki Haley slammed the Arab-backed measure as “fundamentally imbalanced” for its failure to mention Hamas and has proposed an amendment that condemns the Palestinian militant group. “Any resolution focused on the protection of civilians in Gaza must recognize the destabilizing and reckless actions of Hamas, which endanger the lives and livelihoods of innocent civilians,” Haley wrote in a letter sent to fellow ambassadors on the eve of the vote. At least 129 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire during protests near the border with Gaza that began at the end of March. The Arab-drafted text condemns Israel’s use of “excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force” against Palestinian civilians and calls for protection measures for Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. The 193-nation assembly will vote first on the US-drafted amendment condemning Hamas for “inciting violence” along the border with Gaza before the vote on the resolution. Diplomats expect the US amendment to fail and the Arab-backed resolution to be adopted, but it remains unclear how many votes it will garner in the face of strong US opposition. AFP

Pro- and anti-abortion groups have called for demonstrations outside Congress on Wednesday. As in most Latin American countries, abortion is illegal in Argentina, except in cases of rape or when the life or health of the woman is at risk. The new bill would decriminalize abortion during the ﬁrst 14 weeks of pregnancy, and even afterwards in cases where the fetus suffers from conditions not compatible with life outside the womb. If passed, the bill would then go before the Senate, where it faces an uphill battle to become law. Analysts point out that more senators have spoken out against the bill than in its favor. Macri, who has come out strongly against abortion, has asked lawmakers to vote with their conscience, and said he would not veto the bill if passed. “We hope that the respect is maintained, we are all Argentines, we can have very different ideas, but with respect,” said pro-government deputy Daniel Lipovetzky. AFP

4. Opening and Preliminary Examination of Bids

Date, Time and Venue June 14, 2018 (Thursday) to July 10, 2018 (Tuesday) June 26, 2018 (Tuesday), 2:30 p.m. VENUE: MEETING ROOM 1, Fifth (5th) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila July 10, 2018 (Tuesday), 2:30 p.m. VENUE: MEETING ROOM 1, Fifth (5th) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila July 10, 2018 (Tuesday), 2:30 p.m. onwards VENUE: MEETING ROOM 1, Fifth (5th) Floor, PAGCOR House, 1330 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Procurement Department (PD), acting as the BAC Secretariat, of PAGCOR and/or inspect the Bidding Documents at Eighth (8th) Floor, PAGCOR House Annex, 1105 United Nations Avenue cor. Maria Orosa Street, Ermita, Manila, during office hours of PAGCOR from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the total amount of Twenty-Five Thousand Pesos (PhP 25,000.00). Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: www.pagcor.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph and may be allowed to submit bids provided that bidders shall pay the applicable fee of the Bidding Documents not later than the deadline for the submission and receipt of bids.

GENERAL AUDIENCE. Pope Francis waves to the faithful as he arrives for his weekly general audience at Saint Peter’s square on June 13, 2018, in the Vatican. AFP

Divided on Macedonia name change ATHENS―Greeks were divided Wednesday on a proposed compromise deal to end a nearly three-decade name row with Macedonia, with some questioning its beneﬁts and others pointing out that obstacles remain. The leaders of the two countries said Tuesday that they had reached a “historic” solution to resolve the dispute and call the northern nation the Republic of North Macedonia after months of intensive diplomacy. “A mutually beneﬁcial deal creates a safe environment on our northern border. Greece needs this because of tension with Turkey,” said Vassiliki Georgiadou, a political scientist at Athens’ Panteion university, wrote in the Ta Nea newspaper. However, both governments have faced internal criticism over the compromise, with the countries’ main opposition parties saying they will not support it. After the deal was announced, Greek conservative and main opposition leader Kyriakos Mitsotakis called it a “bad agreement”. “The acceptance of the Macedonian language and nationality is an unacceptable national re-

treat,” he said. Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev hailed the deal on Tuesday, saying “we have a historic solution after two and a half decades. Our agreement includes Republic of North Macedonia for overall use”. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras declared it “a great diplomatic victory and a great historic opportunity” for the region to have “friendship, cooperation and co-development”. Greece has long objected to its northern neighbor being called Macedonia because it has its own northern province of the same name. Macedonia hopes that resolving the name dispute will help clear the way for it to join the European Union and NATO. But the deal still needs to be approved by the Macedonian parliament and pass a referendum there, as well as ratiﬁcation in the Greek parliament. “The agreement has three hurdles,” the Greek newspaper Ethnos noted Wednesday. “A deal with gaps and questions,” added the Kathimerini newspaper. AFP

Prospective bidders should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth (6th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del Pilar Street corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila either the Fee Slip which may be secured from PD or a copy of this ITB in effecting payment for the Bidding Documents. Bidders shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of his bid, and PAGCOR will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process. Bidders should note that PAGCOR will accept bids only from those that have paid the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the venue of the bid opening. Late bids shall not be accepted. PAGCOR assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids. In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 062005 - Tie-Breaking Method, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) shall use a nondiscretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two or more bidders have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final bidder having the LCRB, based on the following procedures: a) In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper. b) The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract. PAGCOR reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders. Please address all communications to the BAC thru PD, PAGCOR House Annex, Eighth (8th) Floor, Carmen Building , 1105 United Nations Avenue cor. Maria Orosa Street, Ermita, Manila, Tel No.: (02) 708-0307 or (02) 623-0496. (SGD) ARNOLD FERDINAND C. SALVOSA Chairperson Bids and awards Committee (BaC) 4 (MS-JUNE 14, 2018)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

LGUs

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

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

To fight ‘Train,’ QC dad bats for rice fund raise By Rio N. Araja TO CUSHION the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law’s effects on commodity prices, Quezon City District 1 Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr. has proposed to increase the monthly rice allowance of 8,000 regular employees of the city government and their longevity pay. Ferrer, a certified public accountant, proposed an ordinance to increase the P1,500 per month rice allowance to P2,000, and another measure to increase the longevity pay from P200 for every five years of service to P300 for the same period. “We must always love our employees, consider their plight [amid financial difficulties due to inflation] and look after their welfare,” he said. The additional benefits for the city hall workers would need at least a budget of P25 million to P30 million. The Quezon City government is generating over P19 billion in revenues a year, Ferrer noted. He authored the grant of a P1,000 monthly rice allowance in 2009 and pushed for it to be increased to P1,500 in 2014. In 2003, the councilor introduced the release of a P100 longevity pay for every five years of service to the city government and filed an ordinance to amend it to P200 in 2014. According to Ferrer, the 37-member city council and even Mayor Herbert Bautista approve of the two measures. “I have just talked to the mayor a while ago. He gave the assurance of his full support,” he told the Standard. The city council is expected to pass the two ordinances on second reading by June 18, and on third and final reading by June 25, Ferrer said.

Sr. high school named after Muñoz-Palma THE 37-member Quezon City council has passed Ordinance No. SP-2660 naming a new senior high school after the late Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court and the first woman prosecutor in Quezon City. It approved the recommendation of the local school board to name the institution as Justice Cecilia Muñoz Palma Senior High School. “Justice Palma championed an independent judiciary, free from the clutches of political power so in honor of her legacy, we moved to name an important facility after her,” Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said. She said Muñoz-Palma was a key figure in Quezon City’s history. Before her appointment as the first female SC associate justice in 1973, when she penned several decisions adverse to the late President Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law government, she was the first woman prosecutor of Quezon City from 1947 to 1954. After her retirement from the court, she went on to become an assemblywoman at the Batasang Pambansa, representing Quezon City. She also served as chairwoman of the 1986 Constitutional Commission. The new building, located at Lot 14, Block 4, Gravel Pit Road in Barangay Payatas, is one of the city government’s school infrastructure projects under the K to 12 senior high school program. Rio N. Araja

FOR MARAWI’S KIDS. Elementary students of a public school in Marawi City show off the new school uniforms donated by the city government of Makati through the Department of Education during the opening of classes. Makati Mayor Abby Binay turned over to Education Secretary Leonor Briones school supplies and food packs for students of elementary and secondary schools in Marawi last March 8. The donated items were distributed to the students during ‘Brigada Eskwela’ from April 23 to 28—including 5,000 pairs of school shoes, 10,875 sets of school uniforms, 1,946 jogging pants, and 5,594 T-shirts. Additional items donated by Makati included 1,009 pants and 335 polos for boys, and 50 skirts and 331 blouses for girls. Makati also donated 2,500 food packs for the students of the war-ravaged city.

Binay lauds Makati mega job fair By Joel E. Zurbano

BOUT 137 job seekers were hired on the spot while 339 others were qualiﬁed for further screening by participating ﬁrms during the Mega Job Fair spearheaded by the city government of Makati as part of its 348th year celebration.

According to the city’s Public Employment Service Ofﬁce, a total of 1,041 job applicants joined the event held Thursday at Glorietta 3 Activity Center. Mayor Abigail Binay expressed her gratitude to those who participated in the job fair and praised PESO ofﬁcials and their partner-companies for the success of the event, which was part of the 10-day “Makati Makisalo” festival that marked the city’s foundation day. “I would like to thank our Makatizens and jobseekers from other localities who availed themselves of the opportunity to land a job at our job fair. Your participation has given meaning to our celebration which is centered on the concept of inclu-

sive growth,” Binay said. “The city government and the people of Makati are also grateful to the 50 companies that participated in the event. We look forward to a sustained partnership with you in making gainful employment accessible to all Makati residents as well as nonresidents,” she added. In a report to the Ofﬁce of the Mayor, PESO chief Vissia Marie Aldon said 391 residents, consisting of 278 females and 113 males, registered at the job fair. Some 650 non-residents composed of 393 females and 257 males also joined the activity, she added. The participating ﬁrms that supported the event include Ablebodies Manpower

Services, Absolute Sales Inc., Andok’s Litson, Asiapro Cooperative, Ayala Malls Inc., Bench (Suyen Corp.), Burlington Industries, Citiworks Manpower Resources Corp., Dames International, Eperformax, Fieldmen Janitorial Services Corp., Goldilocks, Hi-Precision Diagnostic Corp., JTC Group Of Companies, Mirof Resources, Inc., North Asia Central Manpower Services Inc., and the Philippine Survey Research Center, among others. Government agencies that were on hand to assist jobseekers included the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, Pag-Ibig Fund, Philippine Health Insurance, and Social Security System. Meanwhile, city residents are also encouraged to join the city government’s in-house job fair regularly conducted every Wednesday at PESO located at the 5th ﬂoor of Makati City Hall Main Building. Last November, the city government also spearheaded a job fair in Barangay Valenzuela with 30 companies participating.

Agriculturists’ gab in Cebu this July THE Philippine Association of Agriculturists Inc., the accredited integrated professional organization for agriculturists by the Philippine Regulatory Commission, announced its 6th National Congress and 2018 Philippine Agriculturists Summit to be held on July 22 to 26 at the Waterfront Hotel, Lahug, Cebu City. PAA is inviting all professional agriculturists and members of the association nationwide to attend. To be hosted by PAA-Central Visayas Chapter, this event offers corresponding continuing professional development points to all licensed agriculturists who will participate. The theme for this year’s Summit: “Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction: Role of Philippine Agriculturists,” will engage experts and authorities on the issue in identifying measures on how to face the threats brought about by the negative impacts of climate change and disasters. It also seeks to deﬁne speciﬁc contributions of agriculture professionals on such adaptation and risk reduction measures.

Tomato tack for Ilocos farmers set By Butch Gunio LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—A program to increase the productivity of tomato farmers in the municipalities of Sinait, Paoay, Batac, and Sarrat in the Ilocos Region has been launched, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic, and Natural Resources Research and Development said. With its three component projects, the program aims for the development of integrated crop management, use of adaptable technologies, and site-specific pest and nutrient management to increase tomato production, the agency said in a media orientation here. Leilani D. Pelegrina, PCAARRD Crops Research Division Vegetables Program manager, led the monitoring and evaluation of sites in Ilocos region with project leaders from the University of the Philippines Los Baños and representatives of Northern Foods Corp. Initial field trials of the three component projects have been set up, Pelegrina said. The first component project on disease management tests the efficacy of the healthy seedling technology for the management of most prevalent diseases in Ilocos region—tomato yellow leaf curl disease, early and late blight, bacterial disease, and Fusarium wilt. Focusing on insect pest management, the second component project will test the efficacy of the modified release strategy of Trichogramma chilonis in combination with nuclear polyhedrosis viruses to control major pests of tomatoes such as tomato armyworm (Helicoverpa armigera) and tomato cutworm (Spodoptera litura).

‘ESKWELA’ ASSISTANCE. Tacloban City Mayor Cristina G. Romualdez (center) distributes a check for part of some P1.3 million worth of financial assistance to 63 schools as part of the Brigada Eskwela assistance of the city government. Each school received P50,000 from the city’s Special Education Fund to help fund maintenance and repairs during the school maintenance week. Present during the turnover were the heads of the local schools and City Schools Division Superintendent Dr. Thelma Quitalig. Robbie Pangilinan

Gen. Trias donates P3m in firearms, gear to local police

GENERAL TRIAS CITY—To support the police’s intensified anti-criminality campaign, the local government of General Trias led by Mayor Antonio “Ony” Ferrer presented firearms, shields, helmets, vests, handheld radios, and batons to the local police. The turnover was timed during the visit of Chief Supt. Edward Carranza, the new Officer-in-Charge of Police Regional Office Calabarzon. The P3-million worth of high powered firearms and police equipment were received by Carranza, together with Senior

Superintendent William Segun, Cavite Provincial Police Director, and Gen. Trias Chief of Police Supt. Paul Bometivo at the General Trias City Hall. It was witnessed by Cavite 6th District Rep. Luis “Jon-Jon” Ferrer IV, Vice Mayor Morit Sison, Board Member Kerby Salazar, city councilors and local police personnel. Mayor Ferrer said the donations “ﬁnd utmost importance in providing and upgrading essential operational equipment and devices for the police force of Gen. Trias to help in the ﬁght against criminal-

ity and uphold the well-being of Gentrisenos.” He signed the deed of donation in favor of the General Trias CCPS represented by Supt. Bometivo and other local police ofﬁcials. Carranza extended his gratitude for the generosity of the city government and mentioned that Gen. Trias is the best model for other LGUs who truly support the police in their ﬁght against criminality. “It will boost the morale and welfare of the police while serving their duties,” he said.

Calabarzon Regional Police Director Chief Supt. Edward E. Carranza is flanked by Cavite Provincial Police head Senior Supt. William M. Segun (right) and General Trias City Mayor Antonio A. Ferrer (left) as he receives the city government’s donation of P3 million worth of firearms, shields, helmets, vests, handheld radios, and batons for the local police. Roy Tomandao

Life

AMes DeAkin is a man who wears many hats. He’s a tv anchor, event host, motoring advocate, blogger, and social media personality. But with his multifaceted persona and the hectic schedule that he keeps, it’s his being family man, a loving husband and father to three kids that he values the most. When asked what’s the biggest challenge of being a father, Deakin said, “time, it’s the most precious commodity.” “the harder you work, the more successful you become, the more time becomes precious. so it gets very hard to find that balance.” His daily schedule can become as erratic as the next, starting as early as 5:00 a.m. As someone who doesn’t keep a regular office job, making time for his family is indeed a challenge, one that he doesn’t back down from. But there are compromises, he admits, especially since he has to work to earn a living for his wife and his growing brood. “it’s very hard to manage the time, which is why i actually have someone else to do that for me,” shared Deakin. “if you get too emotionally invested [in] your schedule, you tend to make the wrong decisions.” thus, this father to two boys and one girl makes sure that his weekends are kept free and devoted solely to family time. He is grateful, too, that his wife shelly is there to pick up the slack, to manage the day-today affairs of the household and take care of his kids while he is abroad. “she’s a wonderful mom and an extremely understanding wife,” enthused Deakin. When it comes to spending quality time with his family, he also makes sure that they take off to the beach during the holiday season up until the new Year. they have done this for the past 18 years, each time a priceless and memorable bonding experience. Another memorable moment was being able to take his family abroad to Australia. “Going overseas with them was really nice,” said Deakin. “that’s the goal: to do family vacations overseas that’s not attached to work, like take five or six days off. i really want to do a cruise.” When asked about his parenting style, Deakin is quick to admit that he’s hardly a strict father. “We give them a lot of leeway,” he said, “We don’t put a lot of pressure on them at all.” He would, therefore, like to be remembered as a flexible, easygoing, and cool dad. Despite the leniency, he finds that being honest with his kids is very important, and he draws the line with alcohol and substance abuse. “We don’t sugarcoat. i want to equip them with the tools to make the proper decisions so they will know the consequences of their actions,” shared the automotive journalist. And as for his advice to other dads, Deakin turns sentimental. “Don’t strive for perfection as we live in an imperfect world. strive instead for honesty and love,” he emphasized. “Be forgiving and teach them about forgiveness. set an example.” technomarine honors James Deakin who proves that for dads, time is truly valuable. And when it comes to building memories with loved ones, there’s simply no time to wait.

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

household

@MstandardLIFe thursday, june 14, 2018

‘‘

Automotive journalist James Deakin shares his parenting style

“Don’t strive for perfection as we live in an imperfect world. Strive instead for honesty and love.” – James Deakin

James Deakin on fatherhood

and having no time to wait Tree-lined pathways, lighted seating areas, and outdoor installations at the Spectrum Linear Park.

Deakin with his wife and three kids

Fun, active lifestyle at the park

Deakin is one of today’s sought-after events hosts

Filinvest City, the premier garden central business district in the Metro south, recently opened two other sections of its spectrum linear Park, a foliage-canopied walkway that spans across the north and south ends of the township, as it further promotes a more fun, active lifestyle. since its opening last year, Filinvest City’s spectrum linear Park has been drawing a steady stream of people who enjoy its close to one-kilometer span. now accessible via vehicles, this span is accentuated by trees, landscaped pathways, lighted seating areas, and stimulating outdoor art installations. to make it more enjoyable for employees, residents, and guests, a free Wi-Fi access powered by smart Communications can now be experienced at the park. People enjoy the lush, open spaces at the park. Whereas one part of the park is more linear and traditional in design— from the business side of the develop- and path pavers—and offers more foliage, trees, and greenery for a truly the area being nearest to the office ment to its softer, garden side. blocks—the new portion is envisioned Another section, meanwhile, presents relaxing environment. this then tranto be more playful, serving as transition fewer “hardscapes”—that is, walkways Turn to C2

Life

thursday, june 14, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

WHERE TO TAKE DAD ON FATHER’S DAY

Entrepreneurial dad Chester Sy with his wife and five kids

Wheels, tech, and grills in BGC

Provider papas

Dads turn to online selling to support family

aDS often carry the weight of providing for their family, that on top of being a reliable fix-it fellow, a jester, a disciplinarian, and a shoulder to cry on. amid increasing living and leisure costs, there is more pressure for fathers to provide a comfortable life for their household. chester Sy, father to five kids, acknowledges this thus he continuously looks for more opportunities for his family. Three years ago, recognizing the opportunity he saw in online shopping, he started his own shoe line, Tanggo, on Lazada Philippines. The entrepreneurial dad juggles managing his online shop with two other ventures, on top of his duties as a husband and a father. “With an online shop on Lazada, you can control your time and spend more of it with your family,” he shares, although he admits that during big sale promotions like online Revolution, he works longer hours since his store receives a lot of orders. “even if i’m busy, i try to find time for them, especially at night. We like to watch netflix.” Like Sy, Jake Manongdo turned to online shopping sites to help him provide for his family.

Jake Manongdo with his wife and daughter

Manongdo built his shop, Shipped from Philippines, on Lazada. “i built a business focused on this platform and that helped my business grow,” shares the pharmacistturned-entrepreneur. He adds, “i’m investing time, money, and effort on Lazada because this business is inheritable by my daughter, Summerlove, in the future. When she

grows up, she can manage it, and it will provide for her, too.” Sy and Manongdo are joining thousands of online sellers in treating fathers like them on their special day. The Lazada father’s Day Sale, ongoing until June 17, offers up to 80 percent off on gift ideas like gadgets, watches and accessories, and sports items. Go to lazada.com to know more.

Part of Bonifacio High Street will transform into a car haven on Father’s Day weekend

Bonifacio Global city treats fathers to things they love this coming weekend, June 16 to 17. Returning to Bonifacio High Street for the third time this year, the “Wheels, Tech, and Grills” will showcase a wide range of automobiles, gadgets, accessories, and more. “BGc teamed up with different groups this year—ranging from auto, tech, retail, and food to bring a bigger and brighter father’s Day celebration,” said Sean Luarca, marketing and community relations manager of BGc. Part of Bonifacio High Street will transform into a car haven of the newest and hottest lineup of automobiles from renowned makers like Bentley, Mercedes Benz, and Harley Davidson, plus rare classics from global car brands. Dads can rub elbows with other car enthusiasts, join a car club, or take part in a die-cast car swap meet led by Diecast PH. Tech-savvy dads will enjoy exploring a wide collection of gadgets—from the latest Pcs and laptops to virtual reality/augmented reality gears and cameras. Dads can try out some of the most popular video games from Sony Play Station and other gaming devices, courtesy of DataBlitz and Summit Media. They can also take part in Bosch’s workshop on using the newest power tools at the DiY corner. Style-conscious dads can score great finds in “Market Meet Up,” a new offering in this year’s event. accessories and other fancy items from Urban Traveler, Gouache Bags, Pacaro Leather, and many more are available. There will also be a lineup of food pop-ups serving yummy grub and cold bottles of beer. it’s also the time for dads to catch up with their squad—play a game of hoops or join the quiz night courtesy of Top Gear Philippines. To complete the fun father’s Day weekend experience, franco and True faith (June 16) as well as Quest, Rouge Band, Johnoy Danao, and Leanne and naara (June 17) will be staging a free live concert from 7:00 p.m. onwards at the Bonifacio High Street amphitheater.

Concerts and cars at Festival Mall

iphoto

Cemex vows support for Cebu development Cemex Philippines president and chief executive Ignacio Mijares (left) has renewed the cement company’s commitment to support the economic growth of Cebu and the country’s infrastructure-building program during his visit and courtesy call to provincial governor Hilario Perez Davide III (right). In their meeting, Mijares discussed with Davide the ongoing plans of Cemex Philippines in Cebu and the country in line with the company’s philosophy of serving as a partner in nation-building. Cemex continues to invest in its cement plants, namely APO Cement in the City of Naga, Cebu and Solid Cement in Antipolo City, Rizal to meet the expected increase in the demand for building materials for the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure projects of the government, which include airports, seaports, railways, roads, and bridges.

Fun... From C1

sitions to the soon-to-be-constructed creekside Park, which boasts a “living creek” on top of a thriving bird habitat. With all these eco-centric innovations, the Spectrum Linear Park will serve as a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of city living—a place where people can come togeth-

er, take a break, enjoy outdoor activities, and have a healthy dose of nature while in the metro. This also proves that a balanced urban masterplan, as espoused by filinvest city where all the components of a thriving township is complimented by open spaces and pedestrian-friendly features like wide sidewalks and bike lanes, is possible. “a key element in our plan is the enhancement of existing open spaces

into functional ones like parks. it is through this that we aim to provide city dwellers a smarter, more sustainable township,” relates filinvest alabang, inc. senior vice president for townships Don S. Ubaldo. He adds, “While we already have all the components of a thriving community, we, in filinvest city, still believe that lush, open spaces are a kind of luxury that will continue to attract locators and investors.”

Enjoy a fun long weekend with dad at Festival Mall

Make the most of the long weekend and spend some quality time with your Driven Dad at The alpha Race with P. Boys cup on June 15-17, to be held on the upper ground floor expansion Hall of festival Mall. Race together with Dad at The alpha Race: a Mini 4W Tournament where participants get a chance to win P25,000 for a minimum registration of P150 per car. Join pops as he strolls down memory lane and relive the ‘90s as Basti artadi of Wolfgang brings some of his most-loved rock hits to festival Mall on June 17, 7:30 p.m. at the Water Garden. To make for an even more memorable father’s Day weekend, dine at the expansion Wing’s newest family restaurants, like Petit Bistro, The Morning after, cuesina Garden Bistro, Blugre coffee, and Hakata ikkousha all on the upper ground floor, or eat at Skewered by Phatchick, Gustav café, and Tenya at the Water Garden and Lower Ground floor. kitchen nine, Market Basket, and asahikawa Ramen Bangaichi | Pho Hoa are also open at the River Park for more food choices. Treat him to a well-deserved shopping spree as there will be mall-wide all-out Shopaholic Sale on June 15-17.

Entertainment

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018

nickie.standard@gmail.com

INTERNATIONAL

Polish folk instrument revival brings

LOST MUSIC TO LIFE Chrysta Jones, vocalist of Worsky

‘80s band WORKSHY to perform in Manila BEST known for the songs “Fascination”, “In This Neighborhood” and “Trouble Mind” as well as covers of Bacharach’s “I Say A Little Prayer”, “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” and Carole King’s “It’s Too Late,” London-based 80s band Workshy is coming to Manila for a one-night-only performance on Aug. 10 at The Theatre at Solaire. Titled as Workshy Line In Manila, the concert marks their ﬁrst visit to Manila presented by PolyEast Records and Solaire Resort and Casino. Workshy is expected to excite their Filipino fans with their back-catalog of the greatest hits from three decades spent in the limelight and cuts from their new album Wayward. Michael McDermott, Chrysta Jones and Kevin Kehoe formed Workshy in London in 1986. Kevin left the group in 1992 and they’ve been a duet ever since. They signed

to UK based Magnet Records which was distributed through WEA, and the debut album The Golden Mile was released in 1989 which raised much fuzz in the UK and became a hit in Japan. The band released a new single for download in 2012, In This Neighborhood (unplugged)-a reworking of one of their earlier classic tracks. Enjoy an unforgettable night reminiscing the ‘80s with Chrysta Marina Jones (vocals) and the rest of the group on Aug. 10 at The Theatre at Solaire. For more information, you may log on to https://www. ticketworld.com.ph or call 891-9999; or call PolyEast Records at 374-8410 to 12. Tickets went on sale on June 8 are priced at P7, 315 for VIP with Meet and Greet, P5,225, P3,135, and P2,090 for Zones A, B, and C, respectively.

Singer ANTHONY CASTELO’s stance on sea dispute SINGER-COMPOSER and Dakilang Lahi Foundation president Anthony Castelo released a statement on the ongoing maritime dispute in West Philippine Sea. “I agree with President Rodrigo Duterte’s stand on the West Philippine sea issue that a joint exploration of resources in the disputed areas would be the best option at this point. The only other option is to go to war against China - which would be tantamount to suicide.” Castelo said. The OPM icon also believes that the president is a brilliant tactician and has great timing. “I think the president is doing a one–stepbackward and two–steps– forward strategy. He’s doing his best to avoid confrontation with China ﬁrst and foremost, for the protection and safety of our people while strengthening our armed forces”, Castelo noted in his statement. “Besides, when

the president came into ofﬁce, the West Philippine Sea situation had already reached gargantuan proportions for him to handle effectively-even with an UNCLOS ruling favoring us”, Castelo emphasized. Castelo said that after the US bases agreement was terminated in the Philippines in 1992, the balance of power in the region gradually tipped in favor of China. Former President Ferdinand Marcos, Castelo said, as a man of history and master in geo-politics, helped maintain that critical balance of power in the region by keeping the US bases in the country-but under Philippine sovereignty, as he powered up our armed forces throughout his term in ofﬁce. “So don’t blame Duterte now, no one did anything since 1992 when China started encroaching on our territories,” Castelo concluded. OPM singer and composer Anthony Castelo

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Thursday, June 14, 2018

ACROSS 1 Tiber city 5 Country bumpkin 10 Egg custard with a caramel topping 14 Zone 15 Ms. Verdugo 16 Theater section 17 Close by 18 Sponsorship 19 Disagreeable task 20 Wobbles 22 Harms 24 Chick’s parent 25 Kind of instinct 26 Hesitated 30 Makes beloved 34 War god 35 Theatrical work 37 Smell 38 Campers, for short 39 Moon or planet 40 “Norma —” 41 In — (as found) 43 — and dined 45 Citrus tree 46 Passed by 48 Most promising 50 Not allow 51 Resinous deposit 52 Loud squawkers 56 Said to be 60 Essay byline

61 Jane or Henry 63 Pupil of Seneca 64 — Spumante 65 Grouchy Muppet 66 Bachelor’s party 67 Turnpike or freeway 68 Motel vacancies 69 Move gingerly DOWN 1 Declaim extravagantly 2 Layered cookie 3 Vegan’s no-no 4 Of baked clay 5 Pined 6 Cheers for matadors 7 Frat-party fixture 8 Phillips University town 9 Pasta dish 10 Lazy swimmer? 11 Hanker for 12 The chills 13 Capone foe 21 Always, to Byron 23 Soggy ground 26 More than bad 27 Excedrin rival 28 Landscape 29 Automaton

30 Hearth residue 31 Hawk’s lair 32 Lots and lots 33 Clay-target sport 36 Son of Prince Valiant 42 Scold 43 Really liked (2 wds.) 44 Wallet stuffers 45 Permit 47 — Paulo 49 Folk-song mule 52 Late summer fruit

53 In addition 54 Hayworth of old movies 55 Mediocre (hyph.) 56 Sandler or Arkin 57 Japanese clog 58 Distinctive periods 59 Ruler of Venice 62 Pvt.’s superior

Musician and instrument-maker Mateusz Raszewski has revived the art of designing, building, stringing and playing the Kalisz bass.

ANCING couples spin, whirl and pirouette on their heels transported by the lively tempo of traditional Polish folk dances brought to life on rustic instruments, some plucked straight out of the Middle Ages.

The spirited rhythms of dances like mazurkas, obereks or owijoks played at a popular annual folk music festival in the Polish capital, Warsaw, emerge from the belly of the Kalisz bass. The distant cousin of Renaissance and Baroque-era bass viols, it was made by peasants living near the eponymous small central town until the early 20th century and then all but forgotten. Musician and instrument-maker Mateusz Raszewski is reviving the art of designing, building, stringing and playing this unique bass, traditionally carved by hand out of a single block of softwood like poplar or willow. Its design was “only officially documented in the 1950s and it exists only in a small region near the river Prosna,” the bearded 38-year-old, dressed in a thick flannel shirt and leather apron, told AFP, in his workshop in the village of Kaminsko, just north of the western Polish city of Poznan. It is reminiscent of a cello, but with a shorter, thick neck and just two, or sometimes three, strings. One foot of its bridge pierces its front panel to act as a sound post sending vibrations to the back panel of the sound box. “This is a very old design that one finds in the Welsh crwth,” Raszewski says, referring to an archaic type of bowed lyre, a string instrument, popular in medieval Europe. “God only knows how these Kalisz peasants managed to find this design,” he added. Like in the forest Each instrument was unique, depending on the technical know-how, materials and tools available to the peasants. “Some used a candle to cast a shadow of a bass on the wall so they could copy its design,” Raszewski told AFP, recounting an old trick of the folk instrument trade. Raszewski uses axes, saws and chisels similar to those that would have been used centuries ago. He also uses metal nails to build the basses, saying that this would be “unthinkable to modern luthiers” who use pegs and glue. “Its sound is raw, hoarse, dull. It provides the bass line and rhythm on which the violinist plays his melody,” says Raszewski, of the Kalisz bass.

“It’s just like in the forest: we hear the hornets’ drone and the song of a blackbird perched high on a tree,” he adds. Raszewski learnt by coincidence a decade ago that his grandfather had been a luthier in Poznan, but the Nazis forced him out of business during World War II after they found out he worked with Jews. The discovery encouraged Raszewski, who already made guitars, typical folk fiddles and various types of folk drums, to add another string to his bow. He decided to develop his skills by researching old folk instruments in museums, archives, attics and by meeting elderly musicians. “I met an old musician playing the Kalisz bass after first finding him on a photo from the 1950s—nobody was interested in what he had been doing for over 50 years,” Raszewski told AFP. Last chance According to Katarzyna Zedel, an expert at the Szydlowiec Museum of Traditional Instruments in central Poland, the Kalisz bass was forgotten when accordions arrived on the scene in the late 19th century. “This old world no longer exists,” she told AFP. War and politics have also taken their toll, destroying cultural artifacts, communities, customs and local know-how. The advent of electricity, the radio, rock and roll also undermined folk culture, while Poland’s Communist party distorted it for propaganda purposes before the regime fell in 1989. “Peasants were dressed up in costumes that they had never worn at home and were told what to sing and how to dance. “Some of the costumes were beautiful but nobody identified with them,” says Piotr Piszczatowski, a musician and leading commentator on Polish popular culture. Authentic folk culture was regarded as “representing a backward society that was no longer wanted: poor, without electricity, without toilets, shameful!” he says. A revival began around 30 years ago when followers of celebrated Polish theatre director Jerzy Grotowski—who developed an eclectic theatrical style that included a wide range of vocal expression including folk songs—discovered elderly musicians near Warsaw who were still playing authentic folk music. According to Piszczatowski, “it was a last chance” to preserve an art form with deep cultural, historic and artistic value. “Some experts believe that mazurkas were dances created by peasant serfs—wild, simple, primitive and energetic tunes,” he told AFP. The revival has gained steam in recent years, with rural folk dance halls springing up and the annual “All Mazurkas of the World” folk music festival in Warsaw drawing ever greater numbers of both young and old.

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

Entertainment

THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 2018

REGINE, CHRISTIAN, JULIE ANNE showcase world-class act in Dubai

Healing power of singing SINGING is therof him and doing apy. everything so that For teenager music would spell LA Santos who wonders for her boy. dealt with ADHD “I get lost when I YUGEL (Attention Deficit sing and I am able LOSORATA Hyperactivity Disto express myself in order), the act is music. I am a living more than a way example of the healof addressing his condition. In fact ing power of music,” LA attested. it enabled him to become a recordTalking to a bunch invited to ing artist himself when he debuted write about him, the boy-nextlast year with a full-length self-titled door talent cheerfully exchanged album manufactured and distributed thoughts where in some instancby Star Music. es he delivered properly placed The album contains nine tracks, punchlines. It looked like he had including the acknowledged hit developed a kind of charm that song “Tinamaan,” penned by tune- should make him interesting besmith Jonathan Manalo. He also yond his skill and story. has cover versions of “When I Was LA spoke, “Sobrang nakaka-proud Your Man” (Bruno Mars), “Hang- na na-achieve ko ang pangarap ko.” He recently did shows with the gang Kailan” (Angeline Quinto), and “Forever’s Not Enough” (Sarah young stars of Artist Asian Agency Geronimo) which he sung with his (collectively labeled SRATS) at The Music Hall in Metrowalk, Ortigas. sister Kanishia. Gig-wise he sold out a solo con- He is now doing SM Supermalls cert at the Music Museum aptly titled shows, with one coming on June 30 #Petmalu. He had likewise shared at SM Sangandaan. For all he has done this early in his stage with the likes of concert king Martin Nievera and concert revela- run, LA clearly dedicates his accomplishment first and foremost to his tion Ian Veneracion. Well, safe to say that this young mom. He outpoured, “Her uncondiguy is a mainstream artist and a tional love inspired me to dream big promising one. That’s no simple feat for myself and to conquer my fears. for someone diagnosed with ADHD Whenever I look my mom is there, at age four. busy taking pictures and videos.” Simply put, Florita is one mother Much is credited to his mom Florita, the first recipient of Make Your who has all the right to be a stage Nanay Proud’s Licerna R. Abunda mom. It is inspiring to see that she is Award, for taking care working on it so well. The other originals in LA’s album are “Miss Terror”, “Mine”, “Ikaw Kasi”, “Bakit Ang Pag-ibig”, and “One Greatest Love.” He said that he will record his own compositions soon. Still in his senior high, LA happily juggles studies and his passion for music. He shared, “I have to balance my priorities and follow a strict schedule if I want to succeed in both my studies and career. Minsan nagkakasabay ang pag-aaral for an exam and rehearsal for shows. I don’t want to sacrifice itong isa over the other.” On that note, no doubt music has empowered this young man to becoming extra special.

Rising singer LA Santos was diagnosed with first stage autism when he was just four years old.

YASSI and BELA’s tropical birthday shindig WHAT do stars birthday celYassi Pressman ebration in and Bela Padilla a tropicalhave in comthemed shinmon? dig that was Apart from filled with being BBFs and summer vibes certified beach and sun-tastic babes who can’t activities. And get enough of the what’s a Hasun, sand, and waiian-themed sea, their birthparty without days also happen a Hawaiianto fall within the favorite? same month— B e a c h w e a rYassi’s on May Yassi Pressman (left) and Bela Padilla during clad guests 11 and Bela’s on their joint birthday celebration organized by enjoyed heaps May 3. of GreenGreenwich. Greenwich— wich Hawaiian a brand the two Overload endorse —decided to throw the perfect pizzas loaded with sweet pineapples, closing-of-summer birthday party theme smothered with premium cheeses, for Yassi and Bela—a Hawaiian luau topped with generous amounts of bacon powered by Greenwich’s Hawaiian and ham to provide that mouthwatering Overload pizza. flavor blend that is best shared with the Yassi and Bela had the perfect joint barkada.

The powerhouse vocal trio of Regine Velasquez, Christian Bautista and Julie Anne San Jose takes over Dubai World Trade Center for a night that highlights Pinoy pride and talent.

By Nickie Wang

HILE you are reading this feature, Regine Velasquez, Christian Bautista, and Julie Anne San Jose are on a plane to United Arab Emirate’s ﬁnancial capital. The three music artists would be on a nine-hour journey. Then, upon landing at one of the world’s best airports, they would be billeted directly to their hotel before they could examine the Dubai World Trade Center for their ﬁnal rehearsal.

On Saturday (June 16), the songbird, the romantic balladeer, and the pop sweetheart will treat Filipinos in Dubai to a world-class musical show that features powerful performances of OPM songs, classic hits, and timeless medleys. Dubbed 3 Stars, 1 Heart, the concert series kicked off in the Queen City of the South then it went to Dagupan for its second leg in time for the annual Bangus Festival. “Dubai is one of foreign territories where Pinoy TV has a strong presence. Doing a concert is always a good way of promoting a station at maraming Kapuso sa Dubai and GMA wants to strengthen Pinoy TV in that area,” Regine told MS Entertainment in an interview a week prior to their departure. The songbird added that although they have already done the show twice and the Dubai concert will be the third leg, people can still expect something different especially on the repertoire. Just like the previous two shows, they tweaked the upcoming concert to complement its audience. “It’s basically the same show but we have tweaked the repertoire a bit. We added more OPM songs for our kababayans who haven’t come home for a long time. When you perform outside the country for the Filipinos, generally, the audiences are warmer. That’s why really do our best to put in more OPM songs because that’s what they want to hear,” Regine added. Apart from the production numbers in the previous legs of 3 Stars, 1 Heart, the Dubai concert incorporated a segment purely dedicated to its audience. Upon the announcement of the show, GMA Pinoy TV encouraged fans to send in their requests on what songs they would like to hear during the concert. Based on the percentage of requests sourced through social media, Christian and Julie Ann will be performing a duet of Ed Sheeran’s “Perfect”, the Do Re Mi (1996) movie theme song “I Can,” which the three of them will sing, and the OPM classic love song, “Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang.” “Every concert we have a collaboration with local artist, but this time they made a request. Instead of a collab performance, we are going to sing songs requested by our fans in Dubai,” Christian explained. Meanwhile, Julie Anne, for her part, is thrilled to ﬁnally kick off the concert abroad sharing the stage again with Regine and Christian, “We’re very happy na na-enjoy ng mga nanood yung shows namin sa Dagupan and Cebu. And ‘yung feedback sa amin, nakakataba po talaga ng puso. We’re very much looking forward na mapanood naman ng ating mga Kapuso abroad yung concert.” Apart from remarkable song numbers and performances, the audience will also witness the reveal of the seven lucky winners of “Regine by Request”, a special segment where the Songbird herself will grant each of the winners’ song requests and serenade them onstage together with Christian and Julie Anne. Adding glitz to the concert are the gowns and suits created by three renowned Filipino designers based in Dubai: Furne One of Amato Couture, Ryan Pacioles of Atelier Zuhra, and Ezra Santos of Ezra Couture. 3 Stars, 1 Heart is produced by GMA Pinoy TV together with partner carrier OSN. Ticket prices are at AED 430 (VIP), AED 350 (Platinum), AED 240 (Gold), and AED 150 (Silver). Gates open at 3:00 p.m.. For ticket inquiries, e-mail hello@virginmegastore.ae or call +971 4435 9434, +971 56 685 9351, or +971 52 993 1164.