Manila Standard - 2018 June 20 - Wednesday

England’s win breaks TV record

FIGHT FOR THE BALL. Brazil’s midfielder

Casemiro (left) fights for the ball against Switzerland’s defender Fabian Schaer during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group E football match between Brazil and Switzerland at the Rostov Arena in Rostov-On-Don on Sunday. AFP

LONDON—England’s last-gasp win against Tunisia at the football World Cup was Britain’s most-watched television program of 2018, attracting a peak audience of 18.3 million, according to the BBC on Tuesday. Next page

Poor millionaires in Venezuela CARACAS—Elizabeth Torres is outraged, but as a Venezuelan she takes the affront in her stride. “We are a country of millionaires,” she says ironically, eyeing a carton of eggs in the market. Price? Three million bolivars.

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Marriage good for the heart PARIS—Even if marriage is sometimes more a bed of nails than roses, living into old age with a partner may help ward off heart disease and stroke, researchers said Tuesday.

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Palace: Loitering ban no preview of martial law

By Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz GOING after loiterers is not a prelude to declaring martial law nationwide, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday.

He told reporters martial law would remain only in Mindanao because of the continuing threat of terrorism and armed conflicts, and that declaring martial law in the entire Philippines would become very complicated.

“The President has absolutely no intention right now unless there would be reasons to do so. There is no reason for him to declare martial law,” Roque said.

In other developments: • Senator Panfilo Lacson said the law on vagrancy was decriminalized in 2012 with the passage of Republic Act 10158.

Unless there were other existing laws that could be used by the authorities to arrest alleged loiterers, the police action against them could be questioned before the Supreme Court, Lacson said.

• Two lawmakers on Tuesday slammed the campaign of the National Police to get rid of loiterers, saying the Next page

VOL. XXXII • NO. 125 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

It’s final: Sereno ouster upheld by SC in 8-6 vote

By Rey E. Requejo, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

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HE Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld with finality its May 11 decision to oust Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno as top magistrate.

Voting 8-6, the SC denied Sereno’s motion for reconsideration seeking her reinstatement for lack of merit.

The Court ruled that the denial of Sereno’s appeal was final and that “no further pleadings shall be entertained” as it ordered entry of judgment in the case.

With the ruling, the 15-member bench ordered the Judicial and Bar Council to now start the search for the next chief justice. Under the Constitution, the President would have to appoint Sereno’s replacement within 90 days from June 19.

The eight magistrates who voted to sustain the May 11 decision were Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo-de Cas- DEFIANT. Ousted Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno gather Tuesday with her supporters at the Solidarity Movement at tro, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City after the Supreme Court denied her motion for reconsideration. Sereno delivered a Francis Jardeleza, Noel Tijam, Samuel speech announcing she will continue fighting against the Duterte administration. Manny Palmero Martires, Andres Reyes Jr. and Alexander Gesmundo.

The majority bloc held that Sereno failed to raise new arguments in her 205page motion filed May 30.

The Court also affirmed its finding dinand Marcos, his wife Imelda and their Marcoses and their cronies for lack of

By Rey E. Requejo that Sereno’s appointment in 2012 was alleged cronies. evidence.

THE Supreme Court has affirmed the deinvalid because she was not qualified for In a decision written by Associate The Court sided with the Sandiganbaycision of the Sandiganbayan to dismiss Justice Noel Tijam, the SC’s First Di- an’s findings that the “weight of evidence lack of proven integrity due to her failthe Philippine Commission on Good vision sustained the judgment handed fails to preponderate” in the PCGG’s faure to file all her Statements of Assets, Government’s bid to sequester in favor by the anti-graft court dismissing the vor when the commission’s evidence is Liabilities and Net Worth when she was of the government P51 billion in alleged PCGG’s complaint for reconveyance checked against that of the Marcoses and still teaching law in the University of the ill-gotten wealth of the late President Fer- of the alleged ill-gotten wealth of the their alleged cronies.

Philippines.

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PCGG can’t touch Marcos wealth, SC rules

Reds using lull to recruit, regroup—AFP COMMUNIST rebels, who believe holding the peace talks in the Philippines, is a “recipe for destruction,” are using the lull in the negotiations to regroup, recruit new members and acquire new weapons for their offensive against the government, the military said.

Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesperson Col. Edgard Arevalo said the information was culled from documents recovered captured during past encounters with the New People’s Army.

“Based on records we seized from the CPP-NPA Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army, these docu-

TRO hampers Duterte move vs ERC execs

By Evalea Casaljay PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte was ready to replace the four suspended commissioners of the Energy Regulatory Commission as early as last year, but his hands were tied by the Court of Appeals’ temporary restraining order, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Tuesday.

He said Duterte had already chosen

the replacements for the four to avoid paralyzing the ERC. Lawmakers on Monday had urged the four commissioners to resign after the Ombudsman ordered them suspended for tolerating the misuse by Manila Electric Co. of the bill deposits of its customers.

“Maybe it is time they resigned,” Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel Next page

ments indicate they are taking advantage of the peace negotiations to recruit new members, to regroup and to refurbish themselves,” he added.

Arevalo stressed these findings only confirmed what the CPP-NPAs’ true motive in demanding for peace negotiations was.

“And I quote, they resort to Next page

HONOR GUARDS.

Philippine Marine Honor Guards salute during the celebration of Dr. Jose Rizal’s 157th birth anniversary at the Luneta, center of the celebrations that included those in Laguna and some parts of Mindanao. Lino Santos

Airstrikes target Maute lair; villagers flee

By Nash B. Maulana MALABANG, Lanao del Sur—Government airstrikes and ground offensives on lairs of extremists have triggered mass evacuations in 25 Lanao del Sur villages.

Exchanges of gunfire continued Tuesday as the military placed three towns under its control to guard against diversionary attacks by the extremists on civilians.

Lanao Sur Gov. Bedjoria Soraya Alonto-Adiong said field reports indicated that 5,450 people from 1,090 families have fled 25 barangays in Tubaran, Binidayan, and Pagayawan.

Alonto-Adiong ordered the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office to provide all necessary humanitarian assistance to those displaced by the fighting. She also directed the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office to prepare relief for distribution to the affected families.

As of Tuesday, the military had cleared only Tubaran and Binidayan for entry by Next page

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SC asked to allow same-sex unions

By Rey E. Requejo

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LAWYER has asked the Supreme Court to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry by declaring as unconstitutional the provisions of the Family Code that disallow samesex marriages.

Jesus Nicardo Falcis III, who filed the petition in 2015 seeking the legalization of same-sex marriages for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgenders, complained to the high court that the Filipino LGBTs were being denied their rights or were being treated as second-class citizens by not

allowing them to marry.

During the oral arguments on his petition, Falcis said lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders were being denied their constitutional right to equal protection of the law.

To correct this injustice, he said, the

Supreme Court should allow gay and lesbian couples to legally marry, which was necessary for them to enjoy the same rights and privileges of straight couples.

He said the high court should strike down the prohibition against same-sex marriages under the Family Code.

Associate Justice Marvic Leonen asked why the petitioners were pushing for samesex marriages when they could enjoy similar relationships as straight couples did.

“Is it possible to love, to promise, to have children, to have intimate relations outside of marriage? Is it possible to have property relations outside of

marriage?” Leonen said.

While Falcis responded in the affirmative, he explained the difference between a partnership recognized by the state and a relationship outside marriage.

He said LGBTs were being denied their “bundle of rights” and had become “second-class citizens with unequal footing” with straight couples because of prohibitions.

He cited the right of straight couples to make medical decisions for their spouses and claim benefits from the Social Security System and Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

Palace:...

Alvarez makes a strong pitch for divorce bill

arrest without warrants of the more than 5,000 people in the last five days in Metro Manila violated their human rights.

Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro made the remarks in reaction to the announcement of the National Capital Region Police Office that it had arrested 5,575 individuals from June 13 to June 18. That was after President Rodrigo Duterte gave a directive in a speech last June 13 against loiterers whom he said were potential criminals.

“This is another show of an iron hand and disdain of the law despite the existence of larger and underlying problems the Duterte administration should face,” Tinio said.

“It should be clear to law enforcers and to President Duterte a person cannot be arrested on the mere suspicion that he or she is up to no good or could be a potential criminal.”

Castro said the illegal arrest of the tambays or loiterers violated their human rights.

On Duterte’s directive to round up street loiterers, Roque said, both the Interior department and the Philippine National Police were already working on the guidelines for the implementation of such directive.

“Let’s wait for the guidelines of the DILG and the PNP,” Roque said.

He said the police were accosting only those violating city or municipal ordinances.

By Maricel V. Cruz

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Poor...

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“You are a millionaire because you have to pay that much, and for that you get 36 eggs, but the minimum salary is 2.6 million! With what you get every month, you can’t buy them,” she says.

It’s the great irony of the country’s cruel decline. Sitting atop the world’s largest reserves of crude, Venezuela—once Latin America’s richest country—is now a state of millionaires, but the millions are in bolivars and practically worthless.

According to the country’s leading universities, 87 percent of the population is now officially poor.

In the market in the eastern Caracas suburb of Chacao, Torres, a 64-yearold retired accountant, isn’t the only one to grumble.

Between stalls of vegetables, meat and imitation leather shoes, people complain loudly about the cost of living.

Torres’ salary is equivalent to 32 dollars at the official exchange rate and barely one much-coveted black market dollar.

Venezuelans have to pay seven-oreight digit sums to buy staples like flour, rice, bread or some other reasonably nutritious and filling carbohydrate.

Carmen Machado, 57, was fired a few days ago from her job at an office cleaning company. They gave her 5.8 million bolivars as severance pay after four years of service, she said. Enough to buy a kilo of meat.

Venezuelans are forced to keep up with crazy prices that rise two or three times a week.

The accumulation is staggering.

The opposition-majority parliament says hyperinflation was nearly 25,000 percent in the last 12 months, meaning the price of an item now costs 250 times’ what it did a year ago.

‘Not living, surviving’

At a pet shop Olga Aviles, 53, is torn between buying a tin of food for her cat and a kilo of meat for the family.

“There always has to be a certain quota of sacrifice. If I spend on one thing, I don’t spend on the other.”

“In Venezuela, we are not living, we are surviving,” she said.

“If you buy fruit, you cannot buy vegetables. If you buy grains, you do not buy cereal.”

Though the government sells some subsidized foods in poorer neighborhoods and electricity, water and gas cost a pittance, many goods and services are priced on the value of a “dolar negro” or black market dollar— worth 30 times the official one. AFP

SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez said Tuesday he remained hopeful that senators would heed the clamor for the passage of the bill on the dissolution of broken marriages.

“I know for a fact that a lot of people are trapped in failed marriages―they have been wallowing in misery for quite some time. The government has to address that,” Alvarez said.

He made his statement after President Rodrigo Duterte defended him from allegations that his filing of the marriage dissolution bill was self-serving, saying as a member of the Manobo tribe Alvarez could legally take as many wives as he could.

Duterte also said Alvarez’s roots and advocacy had made him a target of me-

PCGG...

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“No error could be attributed to the Sandiganbayan when it dismissed the Republic’s complaint for insufficiency of evidence,” the SC ruled.

The Court noted that the PCGG failed to present the original copies of the documentary evidence they showed despite knowing where they were located and did not show proof of “diligent efforts” to produce them.

“In sum, absent preponderant evidence to hold otherwise, the Republic failed to prove that the respondents by

Airstrikes...

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volunteers for distribution of food and relief goods. Pagayawan remained under close military watch for possible diversionary offensives by extremists, field military commanders told locals and village officials.

Salma Jennie Alonto Tamano, provincial information office head, said civilians who had evacuated to town centers were

It’s...

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“In sum, respondent has not presented any convincing ground that would merit a modification or reversal of our May 11, 2018 decision. At the risk of being repetitive, respondent, at the time of her application, lacked proof of integrity on account of her failure to file a substantial number of SALNs and also, her failure to submit the required SALNs to the JBC during her application to the position,” read the 25-page resolution written by Tijam.

The Court disagreed with the argument of the ousted chief justice in her appeal

Marriage...

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A sweeping survey of research conducted over the last two decades covering more than two million people aged 42 to 77 found that being hitched significantly reduced the risk of both maladies, they reported in the medical journal Heart.

The study examined ethnically varied populations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia, adding weight to the results.

Compared to people living in spousal union, the divorced, widowed or never married were 42 percent more likely to develop cardiovascular disease and 16 percent more likely to have coronary

TRO...

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said, referring to Commissioners Gloria Victoria Yap-Taruc, Alfredo Non, Josefina Patricia Magpala-Asirit and Geronimo Sta. Ana. Pimentel, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability, said his commit-

Du30 pledges to go on with ‘firing spree’ PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Tuesday he wanted to give Filipinos a respite from corruption by firing more people.

“There will be more dismissals to come. And I don’t care if… my whole term would be characterized by a firing and dismissal of people from government,” Duterte said in a speech during the 81st anniversary of the Government Service Insurance System in Pasay City.

In recent months, Duterte has sacked several Cabinet members and top government officials over alleged corrupt practices.

These included Ismael Sueno of the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the chairman of the Commission on Higher Education Patricia Licuanan, and the chief of the Maritime Industry Authority Marcial Amaro III. His close allies, Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II and Tourism Secretary Wanda Tulfo-Teo were the latest high-ranking Cabinet officials who resigned due to corruption allegations.

Vito Barcelo

dia attacks.

On March 19, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill 7303 or “An Act Institutionalizing Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage in the Philippines.”

But several senators have vowed not to support the bill’s passage.

Alvarez said there were persistent calls for the enactment of the marriage dissolution law, which would provide a cheaper and faster alternative to annulment that normally takes years and costs P250,000 and up to finalize.

Alvarez says the majority of the messages he receives in his social media account are appeals for the enactment of the annulment bill.

The polling group Social Weather Stations earlier conducted a survey on March

25 to 28, 2017, and Dec. 8 to 16, 2017, and both showed 53 percent of Filipinos were for legalizing divorce in the Philippines.

The results of several consultations the House has conducted abroad on the marriage dissolution bill also reveal that the majority of the Filipino workers abroad support the proposed law.

Alvarez said Senate President Vicente Sotto III, in a meeting in Malacañang on May 28, expressed hope that the Senate could act on the pending bill before the end of the 17th Congress.

But while Alvarez remained optimistic the Senate would tackle a counterpart of his marriage dissolution bill, he stopped short of openly urging them to do so out of respect for a co-equal body.

“Inter-parliamentary courtesy,” Alvarez said.

themselves or in unlawful concert with one another, accumulated or participated in the accumulation of ill-gotten wealth insofar as the specific allegations in the subject complaint are concerned,” the SC ruled.

“Neither were the Presidential issuances nor the witnesses’ testimonies sufficient to prove the allegations in the Republic’s complaint,” tribunal said.

The Court agreed with the Sandiganbayan in excluding a large part of the PCGG’s documentary evidence for being photocopies, making them inadmissible unless shown that the original is unavailable.

On July 24, 1987, the PCGG filed a complaint, accusing the Marcos fam-

ily through former First Lady Imelda Marcos, former construction magnate Rodolfo Cuenca, his son Roberto, former Philippine National Bank president Panfilo Domingo, former trade minister Roberto Ongpin, former Development Bank of the Philippines officer Don Ferry, and 11 others of conspiring to engage in “schemes, devices and stratagems” to acquire ill-gotten wealth.

The PCGG specifically accused Cuenca and the Marcoses of conniving to create the Construction and Development Corporation of the Philippines, the predecessor of the Philippine National Construction Corp., in order to obtain illgotten wealth. With Maricel V. Cruz

mostly housed in school grounds, including Tubaran Elementary School; Tubaran National High School; Tangcal Madrasa and Tangcal Multi-Purpose Hall.

Col. Romeo Brawner, deputy commander of Joint-Task Force Ranao, said remnants of the Maute terrorist group had apparently recruited new followers by using money and social media to get young people to believe they would be trained to become policemen.

He said five more original members

of the ISIS-(Islamic State) inspired Maute group were slain in Sunday’s airstrikes and in follow-up ground forces offensives on Monday.

Brawner said the Maute group had generated plenty of money when they looted Marawi, and from ransom money in Abu Sayyaf kidnapping activities, and from vast financial resources of ISIS. Reports have also indicated that the Daesh, as the ISIS is also called, have oil fields under its control in war-torn Iraq and Syria.

peace negotiations as another form of legal struggle, which is possible to be used to advance their revolutionary mass movement,” he added.

Elsewhere, Rey Casambre, identified as a consultant for the negotiating panel of the rebels, referred to what he called potential harm on fellow consultants and members of the National Democratic Front such as arrests and military surveillance.

He said holding the peace negotiations in the Philippines would be a “recipe for destruction.”

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, meanwhile, said Norway could still have a role in the peace talks, but stressed third parties need not be abroad to facilitate the talks.

Arevalo said, in short, while the rebels were negotiating for peace they were using this as an opportunity to strengthen their combat forces, the AFP spokesperson said.

Arevalo said the strong desire of the CPP-NPA to talk peace could be the offshoot of the mass surrenders of their guerrilla fighters and supporters, along with their weapons and equipment, in the past months.

Meanwhile, the public deserves to know various provisions contained in any peace agreement done with the rebels.

This is the reason why the AFP supports the decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to postpone the resumption of the peace talks with the CPP which was scheduled for June 28. PNA

that failure to file of SALN cannot be considered as gauge of her integrity.

“Respondent’s argument dangerously disregards that the filing of SALN is not only a requirement under the law, but a positive duty required from every public officer or employee, first and foremost by the Constitution. The SALN laws were passed in aid of the enforcement of the constitutional duty to submit a declaration under oath of one’s assets, liabilities and net worth,” the ruling said.

“This positive constitutional duty of filing one’s SALN is so sensitive and important that it even shares the same category as the constitutional duty imposed upon public officers and employees to owe al-

legiance to the State and Constitution. As such, offenses against the SALN laws are not ordinary offenses but violations of a duty which every public officer and employee owes to the State and the Constitution. In other words, violation of SALN laws, by itself, defeats any claim of integrity as it is inherently immoral to violate the will of the legislature and the to violate the Constitution,” the Court said.

The Court also reiterated its ruling that Sereno may be removed through quo warranto proceedings since it is “separate and distinct from impeachment.”

Aside from ordering Sereno to vacate her post, the Court also initiated an administrative case against her for alleged

violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Code of Judicial Conduct “for transgressing the sub judice rule and for casting aspersions and ill motives on the members of the Supreme Court.”

Apparently not satisfied with her answers as to why she attacked the justices in her media and public appearances, the Court initiated the administrative proceedings that could lead to her disbarment.

Acting Chief Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Mariano Del Castillo, Estela Bernabe, Marvic Leonen and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa voted to grant Sereno’s motion for reconsideration. With Vito Barcelo and Rio N. Araja

heart disease, the study found.

The risk of dying was likewise elevated for the non-married, by 42 percent from coronary heart disease and by 55 percent from stroke.

The results were nearly the same for men and women, except for stroke, to which men were more susceptible.

“These findings may suggest that marital status should be considered in the risk assessment for cardiovascular disease,” concluded a team led by Chun Wai Wong, a researcher at Royal Stoke Hospital’s department of cardiology, in Stoke-on-Trent in Britain.

Four-fifths of all cardiovascular disease can be attributed to a proven set of “risk factors”: advanced age, being a man, high-blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking, and diabetes.

Marriage, in other words, could be an important share of the missing 20 percent.

More precisely, living together— with or without a wedding band—is probably the operative factor, if indeed conjugal status has any impact at all.

But most of the 34 studies reviewed

by Wong and colleagues did not identify couples out of wedlock or same-sex unions, so it was not possible to know whether, statistically, such arrangements were the equivalent of being wed.

Because the study was observational rather than based on a controlled experiment—something scientists can do with mice but not humans—no clear conclusions could be drawn as to cause-and-effect.

That leaves open the question of why marriages may be “protective.” AFP

tee had completed its investigation in aid of legislation into the seven alleged “sweetheart” power supply agreements being sought by the Meralco-linked generation companies at the ERC involving the four commissioners.

“We have also completed our committee report and we have recommended [the] further investigation of the ERC commissioners if there is substantial evidence to file the necessary cases,”

Pimentel said.

Roque said the Judiciary was an “independent branch of the government” in explaining why Duterte had refused to meddle in the case.

The Ombudsman issued a new suspension order against the four commissioners that was made public on June 17, and in response to the Court of Appeals’ three-month TRO on the suspension order on Feb. 9 this year.

Reds...

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England’s...

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Monday evening’s game in Volgograd, which was decided by captain Harry Kane’s injury-time header, had a 69.2 percent audience share at its peak, beating last month’s royal wedding.

Around three million requests were also made to stream it online, making it the highest ever live audience for an online BBC broadcast.

England won 2-1 and will next play Panama on Sunday.

Meanwhile, in Vatutinki, Russia, Germany captain Manuel Neuer said Tuesday their two remaining World Cup group games are now effectively “finals” as the holders fight to stay in the tournament.

The world champions are under intense pressure ahead of Saturday’s second Group F game against Sweden in Sochi and the South Korea match next Wednesday in Kazan after suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Mexico on Sunday.

“From now on, we only have finals. The players have to show what they can do but I am convinced that we can do it,” said Neuer at the German team hotel. AFP

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WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Customs seizes P40m worth of illegal goods THE Bureau of Customs seized some P40 million worth of beauty products, skimming devices and collector’s item branded shoes at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport which came from Dubai, China, Taiwan, Hongkong, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said among the confiscated items were 6,500 pieces of beauty products and 182 packages of assorted cosmetics estimated to be worth P8 million at the Paircargo warehouse.

“These non-Food and Administration Agency [FDA] approved beauty products were disguised as balikbayan boxes declared to contain personal effects and household goods, consigned to Associated Freight Consolidators and other multiple consignees,” Lapena said.

The 12 balikbayan boxes which arrived from Abu Dhabi were banned beauty products such as Goree Day and Night Whitening Cream, Goree Beauty Cream, Goree Lotion, soaps, and other makeup kits.

Lapeña reiterated the standing order from the DFA on the importation of beauty products such as perfumes, lipsticks, shampoo, lotions, and bar soaps for personal use. Vito Barcelo

SPD relieves two erring police officials TWO more police officers in southern Metro Manila were ordered relieved, this time for alleged mishandling of persons arrested for violating local ordinances.

Southern Police District director Chief Supt. Tomas Apolinario Jr. identified the relieved officers as Senior Insp. Aaron Elago, commander of Makati City-Police Community Precinct-7, and SPO2 James Teano, desk officer of the same police precinct.

“Elago will be replaced by Chief Insp. Romeo Vasquez,” said Apolinario in a text message.

National Capital Region Police Office chief Guillermo Eleazar tapped Apolinario to conduct an investigation on the case involving the said police station accused of mishandling arrested night idlers (tambay).

The case, according to Apolinario, went viral on social media.

Joel E. Zurbano

Tight watch on ‘balikbayan’ boxes ordered CUSTOMS and airport authorities have tightened their watch on balikbayan boxes arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport as criminal syndicates continue using this shipment as conduits for smuggling.

On Tuesday, Customs officials, led

by Commissioner Isidro Lapeña Jr. presented to members of the media P40 million worth of several balikbayan boxes containing unsafe beauty products, China-made rubber shoes and skimming devices intercepted at the Naia.

Some of the boxes came from Abu Dhabi and seized at the airport’s paircargo warehouse have been found containing 6,500 pieces of cosmetics and skin care products—cream, lotion, soap, and make-up kits, mostly made by a product name Goree, which the authorities described as unsafe and toxic due to high levels of mercury.

“These non-Food and Administration Agency [FDA] approved beauty products were disguised as balikbayan boxes declared to contain personal effects and household goods, consigned to Associated Freight Consolidators and other multiple consignees,” Lapeña said. Joel E. Zurbano

BORACAY REHAB PRESSER. A group of environmentalists called a press conference in UP Diliman in Quezon City to push for a transparent and independent investigation on the rehabilitation of Boracay two months after the island-resort was closed. Manny Palmero

Australian nun Fox not yet off the hook—Roque

By Evalea Casaljay and Vito Barcelo

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RESIDENTIAL Spokesperson Harry Roque clarified on Tuesday that Australian nun Patricia Fox is not yet off the hook with regards to the deportation proceedings filed against her.

In a press briefing, Roque said that the Department of Justice was only able to reverse the decision of the Commission on Immigration and Deportation on the nullification of Fox’s missionary visa, which DOJ ruled as not within the CID functions In a 10-page order granting the Motion for Reconsideration to the Department of Justice filed by Fox’s counsel, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that the April 23 and May 17 order by the BI forfeiting Fox’s visa was declared “null and void for having been issued without legal basis.”

The order stated that visa forfeiture is not in BI’s Omnibus Rules of Procedure 2015, and orders for the proper

disposition of the case.

Roque, however, said that the deportation proceeding against the Australian nun is still ongoing.

Roque said that the decision of Guevarra is “without prejudice” to the decision of the CID. “Let us wait for the decision of the CID on the issue,” Roque said.

He added that the CID is tackling the issue of whether or not Fox is affiliated with any anti-administration rallies.

Roque’s position is shared by the Bureau of Immigration itself, which said that despite the DoJ order, Fox might still be deported as she is facing a separate deportation and visa

cancellation which is still pending before the bureau.

“We received the resolution on Sister Fox’s Motion for Reconsideration, and we submit to the directive from the DoJ on the disposition of her case,” BI spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said in a statement.

She said that the visa forfeiture would have downgraded Sister Fox’s visa from a Missionary Visa to a Temporary Visitor’s Visa, and would require her to leave the country within 30 days.

But the DOJ noted that visa cancellation procedure would have the same effect as was the one contained in the BI’s Omnibus Rules.

“The DoJ saw that the proceedings initiated by the Bureau may fall under visa cancellation, and not visa forfeiture,” Sandoval said.

“Cases of visa cancellation, according to Section 5 of the BI Omnibus Rules, may also be based on allegations of deportable offenses,” Sandoval said, referring to alleged Fox’s involvement in partisan political activities.

Koko scores delay in entry of third telco player

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel on Tuesday warned that delays in the entry of a third telecommunications player in the country can send a terrible signal to consumers and the business sector.

Pimentel, who chairs the Senate Trade, Commerce, and Entrepreneurship committee, described as “extremely disappointing” the failure of the Oversight Committee to finalize the Terms of Reference over two months after it was formed.

“Two months to finalize a TOR is too long. The Oversight Committee should get things moving because the sooner a third telco player comes in, the better it will be for the consumer,” he said.

He said this is due to the pressing need to break the telecommunications duopoly to encourage competition in the industry and improve services for the millions of Filipinos who use

mobile phones.

“Go on social media or talk to the man on the street; the complaints are the same, regardless of the telco provider: weak signal, disappearing loads, and slow data speeds. Consumers are being held captive by the absence of alternatives,” he said.

Aside from negatively affecting consumers, Pimentel said he was also concerned that the business community would be discouraged with the snailpace drafting of the TOR by concerned government agencies.

He scored the delays in government efforts to bring in a third telco in the country.

This is amid the government’s commitment to make it easier for investors to do business in the country as reflected in the passage of RA 11032 or the Ease of Doing Business law.

“What kind of message does it send to the business sector when the government agencies involved in an

urgent initiative such as this cannot get on the same page?” asked Pimentel.

He said that the country is like a restaurant that has a sign that says it is open for business, but the chefs have yet to decide on what to serve.

He also urged the Department of Information and Communications Technology and the member-agencies of the Oversight Committee for the Entry of a new major player in the Public Telecommunications Market to “get their acts together” in the formulation of the TOR for the selection and assignment of radio frequencies for the new telecommunications company.

President Rodrigo Duterte on April 6 signed Administrative Order No. 11 creating an Oversight Committee composed of representatives from the DICT as chairman and Department of Finance as vice chairman, and representatives from the offices of the Executive Secretary and National Security Adviser as members.

Remains of slain OFW arrives home THE remains of Henry John Acorda, the 36-year-old financial analyst in Slovakia who was fatally mauled for defending two Filipinas from harassment, arrived home Tuesday morning.

The Airbus 319 aircraft from the Slovak Government Flying Service took off from Bratislava at noontime on Monday and landed in Manila at about 10:30 am Tuesday.

On board the aircraft were Philippine Ambassador to Austria Ma. Cleofe Natividad and Acorda’s mother and siblings. With them was a representative of the Slovak Ministry of Interior.

Acorda’s casket was met by his family in Manila and officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), including Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano and Undersecretary Sarah Lou Arriola.

Acorda died of injuries after a local man beat him when he tried to protect two Filipinas from harassment. The suspect, now in jail, has been charged with manslaughter.

The OFW’s death has enraged Slovaks with no less than Prime Minister Peter Pelligrini condemning the incident and assuring that justice will be served.

In an interview, Cayetano said assistance from the Philippine government will be extended to Acorda’s family.

“We cannot bring him back (but) the DFA and the OWWA [Overseas Workers Welfare Administration] will provide help,” he said in Filipino.

“How can a young man at the age of 36 would die in an instant and vanish in the world,” Cayetano said. “His heroism makes us proud to be a Filipino because we are willing to stake our lives to protect others even on distant shores.”

Cayetano said if an OFW center in Taguig will rise, he would recommend naming it after the slain Acorda.

“I personally will recommend naming after him the OFW center because he is someone that we should emulate,” he said. PNA

ECIJA PROJECTS. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s partner Cielito ‘Honeylet’

Avanceña and Secretary Bong Go of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President lead the inauguration of various projects in Nueva Ecija on June 18, 2018. Among the projects inaugurated include the P1.5-million improvement of the municipal multipurpose hall, P500,000 Samuel E. Gadia Hall, P4.24-million three-story evacuation center and the two gymnasiums worth P4.5 million each. Joining Avanceña and Go were Nueva Ecija Gov. Czarina Umali, General Mamerto Natividad, Mayor Librado Santos and Quezon Mayor Mariano Cristino Joson.

Sandiganbayan goes digital in resolving cases

By Maricel V. Cruz THE Sandiganbayan hopes to speed up the resolution of cases through the adoption of digital technology.

The anti-graft court launched on Tuesday a modernization and transparency initiative that will leverage computer technology.

Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje Tang said the digitization will help the court resolve cases faster, as it targets a one-year maximum disposition.

Frequent rotation of justices in divisions is done in the Sandiganbayan and as a result, the physical transfer of voluminous records has to be done.

Thus with computerization, there will be easy access and transfer of records.

“We can access our own decisions, resolutions, that way we will be consistent in our rulings,” Tang said.

With the modernization program, the anti-graft court put up in its website a calendar of hearings, and a case status feature which provide links to past decisions, including Supreme Court decisions, that are relevant to the case.

The public will also be able to monitor the developments of the case with the modernization program.

She added the program would also have archives of decisions dating back to 1979.

“I have every faith that the component projects of this initiative, along with the Supreme Court’s revised guidelines for continuous trial of criminal cases, will aid in the expeditious adjudication of cases before the Sandiganbayan,” Tang said.

Performance of 6 officials under review—Puyat

By Rey E. Requejo THE performance and accomplishment of six officials of the Department of Tourism are being reviewed to determine whether they should stay in their current posts or should be reassigned to other positions, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said on Tuesday.

“There were some Usecs and Asecs that I asked to report directly to my office because I want to review their accomplishments and what they can do for the department,” Puyat said at the sidelines of the Makati Business Club Annual Meeting in Makati.

“It’s more of a review. I will review their accomplishments and see where I can put them, and maybe also they won’t be happy na with me,” Puyat added.

The DoT chief, however, declined to identify the DoT officials who will be subject to evaluation.

Puyat admitted that she issued the order a week ago directing the said DoT officials to report to her office.

“I will still be discussing with them what we can make them do. They are reporting to the Office of the Secretary,” she said. “We have to check also because they were not appointed under my watch.

I want to review their performance.”

According to her, she is currently relying on career officials of the DoT.

A4

Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Why corruption can’t be eradicated

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

friends, classmates, fraternity brothers who have a whiff of corruption about them. But then he recycles them. This is why I say that success or failure in the war against corruption is an issue of leadership and credibility.

IN THE wake of President Duterte’s Corruption can never be eradicated. war against corruption, people ask— It can only be minimized. In the Filiwill he succeed? pino psyche, gifts are not necessarily My answer is that he won’t. At best, bribes. The Asian way is to express he can only minimize corruption in gratitude through gifts. government.

Still, this gets out of hand. You have I have been a journalist for almost to grease the palm of congressmen or seven decades now and I can say for senators when you are trying to get a sure that corruption is embedded in franchise or a renewal of it. This is just government. Some even say that this is pro-forma—the usual thing. a way of life. Says a joke about corrup*** tion in Southeast Asia: In Vietnam, it’s The Supreme Court’s final decision over the table. In Indonesia, it’s under ousting Chief Justice Maria Lourdes the table.

Sereno is not unexpected. From the In the Philippines, it’s including the start, it was apparent that the justices table! would not change their minds about the Corruption in the Philippines is quo warranto case. part of doing business. I know for a Actually, there was nothing new in her fact that companies and businesses appeal. She just said that she could only allot so-called be ousted through “facilitation” or impeachment, that “cont i ngency” the Supreme Court fees in their did not consider budget, for the the prescription It can only be specific purpose period, and that of bribing minimized. the decision was government arrived at by jusofficials. tices who had been In a way, it takes prejudiced against two to tango. To a her. business, time is precious. Santa BaMy gulay, that Sereno failed the acid nana, if you don’t grease some palms as test of integrity was clear when she you get permits and licenses, you will failed a number of times to submit her get nowhere.

Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net I know this because my son opened Worth when she was a professor at the a shop across Greenbelt in Makati. He UP College of Law. had to go through the wringer—perShe did not only violate the Constimits from the barangay and the sanita- tution. She betrayed public trust. She tion department, permit to construct a showed that she lacked the necessary mezzanine, an electrical permit, and so rectitude expected from a high public on. It took him three months just to get official. the permits, until he had to hurdle the A good question has been asked: last one, the mayor’s permit. He was What will Sereno do next? I really asked to pay up P50,000 “for the boys.” don’t know because she is also facMy son sought my help, and a busi- ing contempt charges because she nessman friend advised me to go to a discussed her case in public. She also councilor to get the mayor’s permit. My ranted against the justices she thought son eventually got it. should have inhibited themselves from I tell this story to illustrate how diffi- her case. She may even be disbarred! cult it is to open even just a small busiI believe the opposition will try to ness in Makati. I can imagine how dif- make her a rallying point, as some ficult it must be in the provinces. kind of victim of oppression and President Duterte supposedly fires Turn to A5

TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

No winners

T

HERE seem to be no winners in the latest kerfuffle between newly minted Senate President Vicente Sotto III and the online news site Inquirer.net, after the senator asked the latter to take down three articles suggesting he bullied the starlet Pepsi Paloma in 1982 into dropping a rape complaint against his brother and showbiz friends, before she took her own life in 1985.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Sotto claimed victory, saying the Inquirer had agreed to take down the three articles published between 2014 and 2016—even though the online news site said it had not yet decided one way or the other on his request.

“They will [take it down]… because it’s fake news. It’s [the] original fake news,” Mr. Sotto said.

Asked if he would file libel charges if the Inquirer refuses to take the articles down, the senator said: “Just wait for them to issue a statement whether they will take down that fake news or not.”

Mr. Sotto, who portrays himself as an advocate and defender of press freedom, urged journalists not to blow the issue out of proportion.

He also bristled at the sugges-

tion that his request was a violation of press freedom, saying those who were paid to destroy his reputation are not protected by the constitutional guarantee of free speech.

But here’s the rub.

Mr. Sotto, who pushed to include a draconian provision on libel in the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, is no friend of press freedom, and this is not the first time he has asked a news organization to remove content that put him in an unflattering light.

It is puzzling, meanwhile, that the Inquirer, which prides itself on its “fearless views,” has taken more than a day to decide on the Senate president’s request.

After all, what is there left to investigate, if it did its job back in 2014 and 2016 and vetted the three articles in question before they were

published? And if it takes the articles down now, as Sotto says it will, won’t it owe the senator and its readers an apology for publishing what it tacitly acknowledges as “fake” news?

It is ironic that some conspiracy theorists today see a nefarious plot by the opposition Liberal Party and media to demolish the reputation of Mr. Sotto, simply because he is an administration ally. What they fail to see is that, Mr. Sotto, like most politicians, has affiliated himself with various political camps during his long career that began in 1988.

Just before that, he even wrote one of the popular anthems of the 1986 People Power revolt that swept the “yellow forces” rallying behind Cory Aquino to power.

If we are talking about the Pepsi Paloma rape case now, more than three decades later, it isn’t because of some yellow conspiracy. It’s because Mr. Sotto brought it up himself when he decided it was a good idea to ask a news organization to tacitly admit fault and pull stories that, published two to four years ago, were no longer in the public eye.

Final and executory tor Richard Gordon is demanding the government assert its right in the West Philippine Sea. Gordon, a known ally of President Rodrigo Duterte, wants the administration to protect Filipino ALEJANDRO fishermen who are being harassed by DEL ROSARIO Chinese gunboats.

Senator Panfilo Lacson also fumed THE motion for reconsideration of ousted Chief Justice Maria Lourdes over the Chinese statement that FiliSereno was denied with finality by the pinos were allowed to fish in the area Supreme Court on Tuesday. The high out of the “goodwill” of the Chinese court voted to unseat Sereno by 8 to interlopers. The area near Scarbor6 vote via a quo warranto proceeding ough Shoal known locally as Panatag filed by Solicitor General Jose Calida. is within our 200-mile exclusive ecoWith the Supreme Court striking nomic zone.

The latest incident in Bajo Masindown Sereno’s petition for reconsideration, the search starts for her replace- loc off the Zambales coast involved ment. Will President Duterte choose Chinese navy men who boarded the from the current associate justices or Filipinos’ fishing boat and confiscated their catch. A vidwill he pick an eo taken by one outsider?

Sereno is the of the fishermen first woman chief on his cellphone camera recorded a magistrate; she Sereno is definitely Chinese choosing was appointed by the best and bigformer President out as chief justice. gest of the FilipiBenigno Aquino nos catch from a III. Supporters of fish container.

Sereno are urgThe Chinese ing her to seek a senatorial post in embassy in Manila said the incident next year’s midterm elections or in was merely a barter for cigarettes and the 2022 presidential polls. Legal ob- there was no force nor coercion used servers are of the opinion she is not by their navy. The Filipino fishermen, barred from seeking public office in however, claimed there was no barter the future. Since Sereno was removed made and they were intimidated by the via quo warranto and not by impeach- Chinese who were armed when they ment, she is not banned from holding boarded.

While we certainly are not capable public office.

If Sereno wins either as senator or of engaging China in a war, our govas president, it would be a vindication ernment should make noise so the for her. The question is if elected pres- word community can hear our comident, will Sereno go after President plaints of Chinese bullying in the disRodrigo Dutere whom she claims was puted parts of the South China Sea. Gordon pointed out that the behind her ouster?

Next year and 2022 will be interest- Vietnamese are more confrontational against Chinese encroachment in the ing times.

Paracels claimed by Vietnam. In my Asserting our right in WPS While most of his colleagues would case, I keep writing about this Chinese rather keep silent on the issue, SenaTurn to A5

BACK CHANNEL

San Miguel’s massive expansion VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ $29 BILLION. That, in today’s dollars, is the cost of the largest expansion program ever undertaken by San Miguel Corp. in its 128-year history.

It ensures that San Miguel remains the country’s biggest single corporate investor in the coming decade. It will make San Miguel the country’s biggest employer, bar none and the biggest contributor to the economy, up to 14 percent of the national output or GDP.

coming 20 years.

The expansion consists of two parts.

One, 18 new factories, including six breweries, six feed mills, a new hot dog processing plant, and an exportoriented spam factory. The 18 facilities or factories will cost P742 billion or $14 billion. All the factories will be on stream by 2020, according to SMC vice chairman and president Ramon S. Ang. Ang is unfazed.

The three-year (begun in 2017) and organic food, beer and beverage expansion will enhance San Miguel’s dominance as the largest beer and food will probably exceed anything San company in the Philippines and one Miguel itself and any other Philippine of the largest in Asia. Average capital company, for that matter, will do in the Turn to A5 SMC has been the Philippines’ biggest domestic investor in the past 10 years.

The scale and cost of San Miguel’s expansion dwarf anything it has undertaken in the past 20 years and

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

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018

A5

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Slash fishing fleet subsidies

Evil spirits or bad feng shui?

resonates in most countries and among right-thinking people as these marauding fleets are being pinpointed as having done serious damage to the world’s seas.

In fact, if these critics are so minded they can already organize a slash-fishing-fleet-subsidies movement and invite the scientists and researchers who came out with this study to provide the needed gravitas. The study’s findings are such that any right-thinking person will definitely subscribe to the proposed plan to save the oceans and restrain overfishing in whatever form but principally trawling.

Here are some choice excerpts from that SCMP article: “..Researchers from the National Geographic Society in Washington, the

Even the matter of explaining the centerpiece Build, Build, Build program and updating the public about developments is rather wanting.

FVR did very well in projecting LITO his Philippines 2000 vision, and were BANAYO it not for the 1998 Asian recession, THOUGH he did not specify who, people were given a reason to hope, a Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick reason to dream that things would get Pabillo in a recent homily decried better.

Duterte is doing exactly that, giving “evil spirits” lurking in Malacañang.

He and like-minded leaders of the people a reason to hope, but he needs Roman Catholic Church are trying better staff support. Explaining for to blow up the unfortunate recent instance, his vision of connecting Sormurders of priests to some sinister sogon in Luzon to Eastern Visayas by design or at the very least influenced a link bridge, Panay to Guimaras and by the President’s diatribes against thence Negros, Bohol to Cebu, and antiquated Church dogma and the sins Southern Leyte to Surigao in Mindanao, are all doable projects that would of human priests.

Pabillo made the remarks as he cas- lay the foundations for greater ecotigated the killings of priests, the push nomic growth. Here in Taiwan, these to revive the death penalty, even the would be banner news material; in the Marcos burial, the martial law decla- Philippines, it is in the inside pages.

Sayang. ration in Mindanao, Sereno’s ouster *** by her peers, and the drug war deaths Speaking of my good friend Harry under the Duterte administration.

That’s already too political. Roque, with whom I have collaborated on many passionate advocacies Pangingialam na po iyan, Bishop.

Despite my own Catholic upbring- in the past, his very forgiving attitude towards whoever ing, I find the invented “NorwePresident’s acidlaced remarks gia” or could not against members even get the right name of a distinof the clergy, or Maybe the auxiliary guished departed even the institupublic servant tion of Roman bishop of Manila wants right may be unCatholicism it- to become a geomancer characteristically self, as a healthy kind and charitacheck on the his- himself. ble, but shouldn’t tory of Church the Office of the interference on President deserve temporal matters better? which should be Would a legal brief, even an ordileft to the State.

It’s about time clergymen are re- nary demand letter in his previous minded about the strict interpreta- position as a distinguished law practition of the constitutional dogma of tioner passed his or Joel Butuyan’s easeparation between Church and State, gle eyes, if such gaffes were written?

Just ribbing, Harry. and though the President may be criti*** cized for his “foul” language, to label GSIS CEO Clint Aranas is one Malacañang as creeping with “evil government official you cannot fool spirits” is far too much. around with. He wants to eject Gloria *** One reason feng shui experts have Maris, the famed Chinese restaurant, always been advising a transfer of the out of its long-expired lease in that capital from west-facing Manila, or beautiful location by Manila Bay. He at least a transfer of the seat of pow- wants Sofitel to vacate two prime lots er elsewhere than Malacañang is it’s owned by GSIS beside the hotel withsupposedly bad location and bad feng out appropriate permits or leases. He has done an inventory of such propershui.

Located beside a stinking river, in ties owned by the government pension fact, one that divides presidential of- fund which have been illegally occufice and residence, with the main en- pied for ages, and has the political will trance to the office facing the west, to go after persons and corporations and blocked off by of all things, a with a bloated sense of entitlement.

It turns out these are squatters in centuries-old balete tree, geomancers always describe the presidential pal- every sense of the word, using highly-paid lawyers to flaunt the law. It’s ace as “malas.”

Maybe the auxiliary bishop of Ma- bad enough that our cities are teeming nila wants to become a geomancer with illegal settlers who make poverty their excuse for entitlement. It is himself. unforgivable that there are also many *** Watching how the evening news rich squatters.

Well, Clint is no pushover. He knows programs continually harp on rising prices in the marketplace and how his law; he knows how to conduct opconsumers are so bedeviled by it, erations like a business professional along with the “pag-bulusok ng piso” so atypical of Filipino bureaucrats. (“sumadsad na naman”), makes one Would that we have more of his kind wish that the Palace, or our economic in the service of President Duterte.

Which reminds me of a dream promanagers, hire a full-time communications expert to explain the workings ject Aranas once intimated to us—a of the economy in language under- bridge that would span Occidental Cebu to Negros Oriental, connecting standable to the man-on-the-street.

The administration needs a spokes- San Carlos to Toledo or some other man for the economy, as this column nearby town in Cebu. I noticed that has suggested several months ago. An what is programmed to connect Cebu able spokesman with good communi- Island to Negros would be the easier cation skills and a good knowledge of and shorter link between Oslob or economics and business would have Santander and Dumaguete or San been able to explain even during the Jose. Given the geography and ecodeliberations on the TRAIN Law, and nomic importance of both island provespecially thereafter, that it is not and inces, Clint Aranas’ dream of a conwould not be the main culprit for ex- nection between northwestern Cebu and northeastern Negros is economipected inflationary effects.

Harry Roque has been doing an ex- cally viable indeed.

If fulfilled, imagine the economic cellent job defending the President and government as a whole from a slew of benefits of linking industrial Cebu concentrated negativities but percep- with the agricultural powerhouses tions about the economy need to be that are Negros and Panay. Business would flourish all around. addressed and properly explained.

CROSSROADS

JONATHAN A. DE LA CRUZ HERE’S some friendly advice to the anti-Chinese, anti-Duterte critics.

Please visit the South China Morning Post website and read the gist of a global report contained in an article entitled “China urged to cut huge subsidies for unprofitable trawler fleets to curb overfishing and save oceans.”

The report is based on the research made by the National Geographic Society in collaboration with three topnotch universities calling on the world’s top fishing countries led by China to “cut huge subsidies for unprofitable trawler fleets to curb overfishing and save the oceans.”

First published in the journal Science Advances and reported out in the SCMP print edition under the heading “Slash Fishing Fleet Subsidies,” the report can give these critics a kind of science-based platform to somehow give credence to their rabid negative ranting.

Instead of continually haranguing China and President Duterte using the unenforceable award of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague on the status of the ‘islands, islets and/or rocks’ in the disputed Scarborough area in the SCS/WPS, the critics can now use this report to get some traction in this hot button, on and off debate over these formations and whatever resources maybe there.

I have no idea whether the Chinese fishing fleets which are currently lording over the rich Panatag Shoal fishing grounds are part of those being subsidized by the Chinese government like the ones mentioned in the report as prowling the high seas. If they are, and I presume they must be, considering the high profile, aggressive support being provided by the Chinese Coast Guard, then the critics can very well add the results of this research to their arsenal in their continuing assault against the administration’s SCS/ WPS policy. And, if the critics for once play their cards right, they can actually mobilize a good number of Duterte supporters, here and abroad, and even the global anti-trawl fishing network, among others, for their cause.

The call to slash fishing fleet subsidies

San Miguel’s...

From A4

expenditure of San Miguel’s beer and food expansion alone is P248.3 billion per year.

Each new brewery alone will cost $250 million; so six easily will take up $1.5 billion worth of investments. The breweries will be located in La Union and Pangasinan in the north; Santa Rosa, Laguna, near Manila; QuezonBicol area, and in Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga in Mindanao. The idea is to cut logistics or distribution cost (now a third of operating costs) by 30 percent which means beer profitability improves by 10 percent per year.

Each brewery will have a capacity of two million hectoliters and quench the thirst of Filipinos and foreigners for what is considered to be one of the best—and cheapest—beers in the world. “Beer profits will keep on growing at 20 percent every year,” toasts Ang, implying that the business doubles every five years.

Two, a brand-new, built from the ground up, $15-billion international airport in Bulacan province, 27 kilometers north of the present Naia.

The proposed airport on 2,500 hectares of bayside flatlands will include four runways, with space for a fifth and sixth, capacity for 100 million passengers (up to 200 million, if warranted) and gates for up to 200 jet planes at the same time, especially the high-volume, high–load-factor, fuel-efficient, mostly self-flying aircraft of the Airbus 320 and the Boeing 737 variety, the current workhorses of civil aviation.

The airport will affirm San Miguel’s status as the largest infrastructure company in the Philippines, and also one of the biggest in the region.

San Miguel has an awesome

Final...

From A4

aggression because China keeps on pushing its boundaries beyond the limits of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. China and the Philippines are signatories to Unclos.

Beijing, however, is ignoring the UN convention and The Hague arbitration tribunal which ruled that China does not have any right to its sweeping claim to nearly the entire South China Sea. It’s all about the prospective, gas

Recalibrate your weapons and for once start the debates with a bit of science-based good sense.

University of California, the University of British Columbia and the University of Western Australia found that as much as 54 per cent of the high seas fishing industry would be unprofitable at its existing scale without big government subsidies. The research, published on Thursday in the journal Science Advances, found that the global cost of fishing in the high seas ranged between US$6.2 billion and US$8 billion in 2014. Financial results ranged from a loss of US$364 million to profit of US$1.4 billion in that year.

‘I think the top fishing countries, including China, should cut the subsidies to their industrial fleets that support overfishing and destruction of the marine ecosystem, for example by deep bottom trawling,’ said Enric Sala, a National Geographic explorer-in-residence who led a study behind the report.

Japan gave the biggest subsidies to its high sea fleets in 2014, accounting for 20 per cent of global subsidies followed

by Spain on 14 per cent. China ranked third, with subsidies of US$418 million, or 10 per cent, earmarked mainly for

diesel fuel for its “distant water fishing” fleets.

As fisheries off China’s coasts have declined over the years, Chinese fishermen have been encouraged to head out into the high seas or exclusive economic zones, 200 miles off the shores of coastal countries. China had caught a world-leading 1.52 million tonnes of seafood in the high seas, according to the report. China’s most profitable high seas operations were in the Northwest Pacific, the report said. Most of its other fisheries appeared to be loss-makers.

The most unprofitable Chinese fishing activity was bottom trawling in the Southwest Atlantic, which had an average net loss of US$98 million, even after subsidies were taken into account.

Chinese fishermen have been involved in clashes with fleets and coastguards of other countries while operating far afield. In March 2016, Argentina’s coastguard sank a Chinese trawler fishing within its territorial waters.

Beijing has signalled its intention to take steps to protect the environment, targeting at least a 20 per cent drop in ocean catches by 2020 and moving to cap the number of ocean fishing vessels to 3,000 by the same year.

“Whether subsidies enable profitability or not, the magnitude of subsidies, and the fact that many of these subsidies lower the marginal cost of fishing, suggests that high seas fishing activity could be dramatically altered in their absence,” the study concluded.

In December, China, together with eight other countries and the European Union, agreed to hold off fishing in the Arctic high seas for at least 16 years to protect the environment. Sala, the study’s lead author, said the move was a good start but there was still more to be done.

“This is great for the future ocean area that will arise once the summer sea ice is gone because of climate change,” he said. “But it does not solve the current problems of overfishing throughout the ocean. “The high seas offer a unique opportunity for another international cooperation to protect up to twothirds of the ocean, which would help replenish countries’ waters....”

So there. Out with the old and in with the new. Calling all the critics and their networks: Recalibrate your weapons and for once start the debates with a bit of science-based good sense.

portfolio of infrastructure projects and properties.

Ten years ago, SMC began its foray into infrastructure when hardly any other company was looking and when most Philippine companies thought infra was money-losing or not worth their while, buying up or building roads, highways, tollways, skyways, bulk water facilities, harbors, and airports or airport projects. Today, the company easily has 55 percent of the tollways business in the country.

The returns from infra still cannot match the huge margins from beer or petroleum refining and marketing but they range from high single digit to a heartwarming double digits.

More importantly, San Miguel’s aggressive thrust into infra has made it a development-oriented company, one whose projects are sure to propel job creation and progress at a frenzied pace.

This has enabled SMC to conduct business profitably, while achieving three kinds of responsibility—economic responsibility, social responsibility, and environmental responsibility. No other company does better on those three fronts simultaneously.

“Our vision is how to build projects that can create more jobs, and also create more economic growth for our country,” says SMC president Ang with pride.

He hastens to ask rhetorically, “if we can undertake 18 projects at a cost of P742 billion in three years, don’t you think we can easily do an airport project worth just as much or P750 billion in five years?”

RSA—Ang’s initials—first thought of the airport project in late 2013 and presented it to then Aquino government in 2014. Had President Aquino approved it then, the country, the Filipino people, and indeed, the world,

would be using at least two of the four proposed runways, decongested the present NAIA magically, and made the Philippines a major tourism destination in Asia.

Ang reckons the new Bulacan mega airport will bring tourist arrivals to 20 million a year (from a measly 6 million at present), enabling the Philippines to catch up seriously with Thailand (35 million arrivals) and Malaysia (26 million).

In a five-star hotel, each guest needs four people to service him. Ang believes with 20 million arrivals, job creation could easily reach 40 million workers. An airport of the size of San Miguel’s will contribute $30 billion a year to the national economy. Aviation’s share of the GDP is as high as 9 percent.

San Miguel has already obtained at least five regulatory approvals for its airport—two at the Department of Transportation, two at the cabinet level National Economic and Development Authority, and one at the Office of the President.

Still, it is unclear when SMC can proceed because the airport is subject to a Swiss challenge to open the bid to other claimants provided they can match the metrics of the San Miguel airport. After that, San Miguel will face grilling again by the Department of Transportation for terms, conditions, and financing.

Ang feels the airport should have been built yesterday and every day is a lost opportunity (at least P4.4 billion a day to the economy). Think of the 40 million workers that should be servicing 20 million tourists by now.

Ang is unfazed. “President Duterte is a strong leader. He has political will,” he says.

and mineral resources underneath the South China seabed.

Secrets of the altar A priest in Camarines Sur is being eyed by the police as a person of interest in the murder of a woman. This came in the wake of three separate killings of priests which had raised concern that there might be a conspiracy to silence the clergy from criticizing the government’s brutal campaign against drug traffickers and the alleged extrajudicial killings of suspects.

I’m not going to mention the name of the priest nor the victim in the Cama-

rines Sur case. A close friend of the woman confided to the police that the victim revealed that she had an illicit relationship with the priest. She served as a house helper in his house for 10 years.

The person-of-interest priest gave police the alibi he was in another CamSur town where he spent the night.

Police are still checking his alibi. If found to be true and that he does not have anything to do with the woman’s death, then he still must explain to church superiors his alleged violation of priest’s vow of celibacy.

biznewsasia@gmail.com

SO I SEE

Why...

From A4

persecution. There are also reports that the opposition may include her in the Liberal Party Senate ticket.

But how can we vote for somebody proven lacking in integrity? *** The unsolicited proposal of San Miguel Corp. to build a P750-billion aeropolis in Bulacan, which would come at no cost to government, would certainly be a game changer.

The plan is to build the aeropolis on a shoreline property near Malabon and Navotas Aside from this, SMC’s Ramon Ang has also offered to rehabilitate the Ninoy Aquino International Airport for free so the government could run it more efficiently.

Note that a consortium of seven conglomerates has also proposed to rehabilitate Naia. There is also the plan of Henry Sy Sr. to build an international

airport at Sangley Point, together with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

But the proposed airport in Bulacan is really something different. It will have no less than four runways with length of 3.32 kilometers each, and air bridges accommodating 200 planes taking off and landing at the same time.

Compare this to the current capacity of less than 50 at Naia.

Ang has promised the creation of 20 million jobs.

What I find interesting is that this proposed airport will be connected to Metro Manila expressways and rail projects. *** I was taken aback when I heard the President say on TV that there would be no justice for families of slain suspects in the war against illegal drugs. He also said he would not tolerate policemen going to jail for alleged killings.

Santa Banana, hearing this got me thinking. What about those who were killed without cause? Don’t they deserve justice?

TODAY mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Ex-MILF member nabbed in QC drug bust operation A FORMER Moro Islamic Liberation Front member was arrested by operatives from the Quezon City Police District in a buy-bust operation Monday.

In his report to National Capital Region Police Office head Chief Supt. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, QCPD Director Chief Supt. Joselito Esquivel Jr. said suspects Kalse Manap, a.k.a. Castro, 28, and his uncle Ibrahim Usman, a.k.a.

Ebs, 37, were arrested by authorities at 5 pm Monday at the Puregold supermarket along Luzon Avenue in Barangay Old Balara.

Seized from the suspects were approximately 25 grams of shabu worth P125,000, and the P50,000 buy-bust money.

Esquivel said the suspects were

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

News

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018 A6 Standard Manila

newly-identified drug personalities and were responsible for the proliferation of shabu in Barangays Culiat and Old Balara.

Police records showed that Usman eluded arrest by operatives of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Cotabato City police in Barangay Tamontaka 1, Cotabato City last Aug. 2, 2016.

Two of his companions were arrested.

Confiscated during the operation were one canister containing eight sachets of shabu, several drug paraphernalia, one cal. 45 pistol, one cal.

45 magazine assembly, six ammunition for cal. 45, several bank deposit slips and passbooks believed to be used in their illegal drug transactions. PNA

14 hurt in Edsa smashup

By Joel E. Zurbano

A

T LEAST 14 persons were hurt following a collision involving three vehicles along the southbound lane of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in the area of Magallanes in Makati City Tuesday morning.

The incident, at 6:11 am, also caused the slow movement of vehicles going to Pasay City and Alabang in Muntinlupa City from Edsa-GMA Kamuning area for more than two hours, according to the Metro Manila Development Authority.

Those injured—mostly bus passengers— ustained head and body injuries.

Five of them were rushed to the

Pasay General Hospital while four others were brought to the Ospital ng Makati.

“Other passengers sustained only minor injuries,” according to MMDA chief information officer Sharon Gentalian, citing initial reports from the agency’s Metrobase.

The vehicles involved were Alabang-bound Valenzuela Transport Service Coop. passenger bus (with registration number 130110639),

Baclaran-bound Joyselle Express Inc. (TXD 328), also a passenger bus; and a Mitsubishi Mirage private car (ACM 4149).

MMDA Metrobase initial investigation showed that Joyselle Bus, while traveling along the southbound lane of Edsa in Magallanes, lost its brakes, hitting the two other vehicles in front.

It also showed that Joyselle bus “was approaching the loading bay fast, possibly running 50 to 60 kilometers per hour, when it hit both vehicles.

Just recently, the MMDA conducted a forum on road safety to stop the increasing number of road accident in the metropolis.

The agency urged motorists to observe discipline and courtesy while driving to prevent

road accidents.

In April, the MMDA reported that 434 persons were killed while 19,374 others got injured due to road accident in 2017.

Based on the 2017 data collated by the MMDA through its Metro Manila Accident Recording and Analysis System program, reckless motorcycle riding topped the list of causes of deaths and injuries on Metro Manila streets.

It stated that motorcycles had caused 247 deaths, followed by trucks (118) and private cars (97).

The records also said 24,058 motorcycles were involved in the road accidents last year.

MMRAS is a program created by the MMDA aimed at improving road management in the metropolis.

Section I. Invitation for Rebidding Republic of the Philippines Philippine Rural Development Project Invitation for the Rebidding of Construction of Sto. Domingo Warehouse with Multi-Purpose Drying Pavement Subproject ID No. PRDP-IB-R001-ILS-006-SAO-001-2016-R1 Loan No. 8421-PH June 20, 2018 1.

The Government of the Philippines (GoP) has received a Loan from the World Bank towards the cost of Philippine Rural Development Project and it intends to apply part of the proceeds of this Loan to payments under the contract for the Construction of Sto. Domingo Warehouse with Multi-purpose Drying Pavement/PRDP-IB-R001ILS-006-SAO-001-2016-R1.

2.

The Municipal Government of Sto. Domingo, implementing partner of the Department of Agriculture, now invites bids for the above subprojects. Completion of the Works for each lot is required as seen in the above table. Bidders should have completed, within the last five (5) years, a contract similar to the Project. Bidders may opt to submit their bid to any or both lots. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

Package

Description

I

Construction of Sto. Domingo Warehouse

Work Duration 170 calendar days inclusive of 8 unworkable days

II

Construction of Multi-Purpose Drying Pavement

94 calendar days inclusive of 6 unworkable days

3.

Bidding will be conducted in accordance with relevant procedures for open competitive bidding as specified in the IRR of RA 9184 (R.A. 9184), with some amendments, as stated in these bidding documents and is open to all bidders from eligible source countries as defined in the applicable procurement guidelines of the World Bank. The contract shall be awarded to the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bidder (LCRB) who was determined as such during post-qualification. The Estimated Project Cost for this project are Six Million Seven Hundred Twenty-Two Thousand Pesos, PhP6,722,000.00 for Package 1 and Two Million Six Hundred Twenty Thousand Pesos, PhP2,620,000.00 for Package 2.

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Bids and Awards Committee of the Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below and also at the Regional Project Coordination Office at Capitol Compound, Aguila Road, Sevilla, City of San Fernando, La Union from 8:00am to 4:00 pm, Mondays to Fridays.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders starting June 20, 2018 to July 20, 2018 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the bidding documents in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (PhP 5,000.00).

It may also be downloaded free of charge from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the PRDP website (http://www.daprdp. net) provided that bidders shall pay the non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

As part of the transparency measures being instituted by the Department of Agriculture (DA) the bidders can virtually visit the site of the above-described subproject at http:// www.daprdp.net where geotagged base photographs on 50-meter interval and track are viewable. The DA, however, requires that all potential contractors who will be awarded contract under the project shall have undergone geotagging training provided by the PRDP Project Support Office.

6.

The Municipal Government of Sto. Domingo will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on July 6, 2018, 10:00 AM at the BAC Office, Municipal Hall, Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur which shall be open to all interested parties.

7.

Bids must be delivered on or before July 20, 2018, 10:00 AM at the BAC Office, Municipal Hall, Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur. All bids must be accompanied by a Bid Securing Declaration.

SNAKED IN.

Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña and Customs Collector Mimel Talusan inspect the skimming devices, cosmetic products, and high brand shoes intercepted by the Bureau of CustomsNaia on Tuesday.

Authorities say the smuggled items are worth an estimated P40 million.

Norman Cruz

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

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

MS-JUNE 20,27 & JULY 4, 2018)

Republic of the Philippines NATIONAL FOOD AUTHORITY CARAGA Region 2nd floor Rudy Tiu Bldg. VII J.C Aquino Butuan City

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidder’s representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8.

The Municipal Government of Sto. Domingoreserves 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, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

9.

For further information, please refer to:

Project Ref. No. RXV-2018-CAR-F-001 InvItatIon to BId FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF SECURITY SERVICES FOR NFA-CARAGA REGION FOR THE PERIOD COVERING AUGUST 1, 2018 TO DECEMBER 31, 2020

LUIS T. GONZALES Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee Office of the Bids and Awards Committee Municipal Hall Sto. Domingo, Ilocos Sur

1.

(SGD) LUIS T. GONZALES Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee

(MS-JUNE 20, 2018)

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan Municipality of Hermosa Tel.No. (047-633-1531 to 34) Telefax No. (047) 633-1531 to 34 E-mail address:hermosa_bataan@yahoo.com

INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID (IAEB) The MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF HERMOSA, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites contractors to apply for eligibility and, if found eligible, to bid for the following contract: Contract ID Name of Project

: 18CRN013 : Supply of Materials, Labor and Equipment for the Asphalt Overlay at Poblacion Road Location : Hermosa, Bataan Brief Description : Asphalting of Road ABC : P20,000,000.00 Funding Source : GENERAL FUND of 2018 Contract Duration : 30 Calendar Days The BAC will conduct this public bidding in accordance with R.A. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations Part A. To be eligible to bid for this contract, a contractor must meet the following major criteria: (a) prior registration with MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF HERMOSA, (b) Filipino Citizen or 75% Filipino-owned partnership/ corporation with PCAB license applicable to the type and cost of this contract, (c) completion of similar contract costing at least 50% of ABC, and (d) Net Financial Contracting Capacity at least equal to ABC, or credit line commitment/cash deposit certificate for at least 10% of ABC or. The MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF HERMOSAwill use non-discretionary pass/fail criteria in the eligibility check, preliminary examination of bids, post qualification, and award.

1. Issuance of Bid Documents 2. Pre-Bid conference Venue 3. Submission and Receipts of Bids Venue 4. Eligibility Screening/Opening of Bids Venue

Schedule June 20 to July 4, 2018 (Regular Office Hours) June 22, 2018 at 10:00 a.m.

Mayor’s Conference Rm. 2nd floor July 4, 2018 – 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.

Mayor’s Conference Rm. 2nd floor July 4, 2018 @ 10:00 a.m.

Mayor’s Conference Rm. 2nd floor

The BAC will issue copies of Bid documents at the same address to eligible bidders upon payment of a non-refundable fee of Twenty Thousand Pesos (P 20,000.00) to the Municipal Treasurer of Hermosa.

The NATIONAL FOOD AUTHORITY (NFA) CARAGA REGION, through its Corporate Operating Budget for 2018, intends to apply the sum of TWENTY FIVE MILLION EIGHT HUNDRED FIFTY TWO THOUSAND FORTY NINE PESOS AND FORTY TWO CENTAVOS (25,852,049.42) being the yearly Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) for the Procurement of Security Services for NFA Caraga Region for the period August 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020 as follows: DURATION OF CONTRACT

NUMBER OF SECURITY GUARDS TO BE CONTRACTED REGULAR SPECIAL POSTING EVENTS

August 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 (5 months) January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020 TOTAL

APPROVED BUDGET FOR THE CONTRACT (ANNUAL) (Php)

55

3

4,572,599.48

55

3

10,638,663.60

55

3

10,640,786.34 25,852,049.42

Bids received in excess of the aforesaid ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Approved by: NORMITA P. TRIA BAC Chairperson (MS-JUNE 20, 2018)

By Rey E. Requejo THE Court of Appeals has junked the appeal of Sulpicio Lines Inc. to overturn the ruling issued by the Maritime Industry Authority in 2015 prohibiting it from engaging in the transport and carriage of passengers.

In a five-page resolution, the CA’s Eleventh Division through Associate Justice Pablito Perez ruled that SLI, now known as Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp., resorted to the wrong mode of review, thus, warranting the dismissal of petition.

The appellate court stressed that SLI should have filed an appeal first with the Office of the President regarding the decision and resolution of Marina Board in accordance with the doctrine of exhaustion of administrative remedies.

The CA said: “SLI’s failure to appeal to the Office of the President before filing the instant petition before this Court is a premature invocation of the Court’s

The NFA Caraga Regional Office now invites bids for Procurement of Security Services for NFA Caraga Region for the periods August 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020. Performance of services and the supply of goods incidental thereto are necessary for the duration of or as may be otherwise required under the contract.

IN BRIEF

3.

Bidders should have completed, within the immediate last three (3) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the project subject of this bid. The description of an eligible bidder as well as the definition of a ‘similar contract” is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Sections II and III, Instructions to Bidders and Bid Data Sheet, respectively.

Balutan: 37,186 helped by PCSO

4.

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

5.

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.

PHILIPPINE Charity Sweepstakes Office General Manager Alexander Balutan on Tuesday said 37,186 patients were recipients of benefits from the agency’s flagship project called Individual Medical Assistance Program (IMAP).

“This translates to P727.5 million of expenses for the month of May, based on the data provided to me by the Charity Assistance Department,” Balutan said in a statement.

“The P727.5 million is (a) 21.07 percent increase in spending and 26.14 percent increase in the beneficiaries compared with the same period last year,” he added.

According to Dr. Larry Cedro, assistant general manager for Charity Sector, the top three nature of requests included hospital confinement with 13,376 beneficiaries at P290.8 million; medicines with 12,132 beneficiaries at P149.9 million; and chemotherapy with 4,305 beneficiaries at P179.2 million.

“Compared with the same period last year, chemotherapy had the highest increase this month in terms of cases at 24.60 percent and amount spent at 30.35 percent; followed by request for medicines at 14.96 percent in cases and 15.63 percent in amount; and confinement at 15.71

6.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from NFA Caraga Region and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00AM to 5:00 PM, Monday to Friday

7.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders on June 20, 2018 to July 9, 2018 at 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM (working days only) from the address below and upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Twenty Five Thousand Pesos (Php 25,000.00).

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

8.

The NFA will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on June 27, 2018 at 9:00 AM at NFA Caraga Regional Office Conference Room, 2nd Floor, Rudy Tiu VIII Bldg., J C Aquino Avenue, Butuan City, which shall be open to prospective bidders.

9.

Bids must be duly received by the BAC Secretariat at the address below on or before July 10, 2018 at exactly 8:30 AM. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18. Bid opening shall be on July 10, 2018 at exactly 9:00 AM at Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

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

For further information, please refer to:

The MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT OF HERMOSA 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 without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

Sulpicio still banned from transport of passengers

2.

The significant times and deadlines of procurement activities are shown below: Activities

LEGAL NOTICE Notice is hereby given that the Estate of the late NORBERTO C. CASTILLO who died intestate on March 15, 2017, has been settled by his heirs as evidenced by the Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate of Norberto C. Castillo dated September 13, 2017 as per Doc. No. 176; Page No. 37; Book No. 71A; Series of 2017 of Notary Public for Quezon City, Atty.

Benjamin F. Alfonso.

Ms. Hyde Beth M. Pascual Administrative Officer IV RBAC Secretariat Head National Food Authority 2nd Floor Rudy Tiu Bldg. VIII J.C. Aquino Avenue, Butuan City Tel No. (085) 815 3284 (085) 225 6701 Fax No. (085) 342 7898 (sgd) JOSE B. BALANQUIT Provincial Manager, AGN Vice-Chairperson, BAC (MS-JUNE 20, 2018)

intervention, thus denies SLI a cause of action for judicial relief.

“Direct recourse to this Court, when administrative remedies are still available for SLI, is a ground for the dismissal of the petition.”

The controversy arose from the administrative complaint for the cancellation of SLI’s certificate of public conveyance filed by the relatives of the victims of the ill-fated M/V Princess of the Stars, which tipped off near the coast of Sibuyan island in Romblon province in June 2008 during a powerful storm.

The incident claimed more than 200 lives and more than 500 others missing.

Covered by Marina’s decision were Sulpicio’s 11 current ships —MV Sulpicio Express Dos, MV Sulpicio Express Tres, MV Sulpicio Express Siete, MV Sulpicio Container II, MV Sulpicio Container XIV, MV Span Asia 1, MV Span Asia 2, MV Span Asia 3, MV Span Asia 5, MV Span Asia 7 and MV Span Asia 9. percent in cases and 12.24 percent in amount,” Cedro said.

Balutan said close to P4 billion has been spent for the IMAP benefiting 190,000 of mostly poor patients.

Meanwhile, in a Globocan data prepared by the Philippine Cancer Society, there are estimated 11,000 new cancer cases in 2015.

2 PH fishermen rescued by Taiwan TWO Filipino fishermen were drifting at sea for seven days before being rescued by a Taiwanese fishing vessel on June 17 northeast of Batanes.

The crew member of the Taiwanese fishing vessel provided them with food and water, according to a press release by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines.

To help the duo to return to the Philippines, Teco coordinated with the Philippine Coast Guard and the Manila Economic and Cultural Office and agreed to ship them to the Basco Port in Batanes.

Taiwan Coast Guard immediately sent its Cutter to pick up the fishermen and eventually transferred them to the M/B Cape Faro with PCG Station Batanes.

The rescued fishermen were brought to Basco General Hospital for medical check-up.

They were assessed to be in good condition.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

A7

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Historic feat for Car Porn Racing CAR Porn Racing, in collaboration with Parts Pro, bagged historic wins in the recent 2018 Kalayaan Cup held at the Clark International Speedway.

Topping off CPR’s trophy haul was in the FM1 class championship with a 4th generation MX-5 Miata in the country’s first ever 12-hour endurance race.

The famed car shop brought together a dream team of former multi-titled champions known for their fearless driving in the rain.

Topping off the roster of drivers were former Formula 4 champion and Karter of the Year Gabe Tayao, drift champion Kevin Tayao, Vios Cup winner Marc Soong, Fors champion Errol Panganiban, slalom driver Iñigo Anton and the legendary Carlos Anton.

Before this endurance challenge, Gabe also represented Car Porn Racing in collaboration with DMF Drift in the recent King of Nations. Also backed by Seaoil, 18-year-old Gabe landed in top 4 of the amateur class, earning the privilege to move up and compete in the pro class that same weekend.

Proving to be a formidable multidisciplined driver, Gabe placed well for the team in the Kalayaan Cup qualifying time trials a day before the race proper despite the raging monsoon weather.

MPBL heads to Pampanga Games Wednesday (Angeles University Foundation Gym) 7 p.m. •Parañaque vs Valenzuela 9 p.m. • Pampanga vs San Juan

THE Northern Luzon journey of the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League has just started as after the double header in Bulacan, the fastest regional amateur basketball event in the country is moving to Pampanga on Wednesday for yet another twin bill.

Pampanga will play host to San Juan in today’s 9 pm encounter.

The Lanterns, owned by AG and Brenz Gonzales, sons of Rep. Dong Gonzales, will take on a powerhouse Knights’ team headed by notable ex-pros like Mac Cardona and John Wilson and a solid support cast.

The Knights won a championship in the defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association and they’re hoping for a return to glor y in the league put up by Senator Manny Pacquiao with PBA legend Kenneth Duremdes serving as commissioner.

Parañaque and Valenzuela square off in the curtain-raiser at 7 pm.

Knights crush Chiefs, 67-55 ALLEN Mina fired 22 points in leading the Letran Knights to a 6755 demolition of Arellano University Chiefs in the ongoing Milcu-2018 Got Skills-Adidas Summer Showcase Basketball tournament at the Far Eastern University gymnasium in Morayta, Manila.

As the Knights limited the Chiefs to 10 points in the third period, the Knights went on to coast to their fourth triumph in seven games in the 25-under division.

Karl Penano struck with 18 points for the National University Bulldogs in their 71-69 win over the Lyceum Pirates. The Bulldogs improved to 3-2.

Clifford Jopia banged in nine points for the Far Eastern University, which turned back University of the Philippines, 56-53, and hiked their win-loss record to 2-2.

La Salle got 17 points from Mark Dyke and won over University of the East, 52-40. They have a 2-2 card.

Starting off at 6th place in a 23car grid put the team at a significant advantage.

However, Gabe hurdled a bigger challenge on race day. Battling a high fever, he had no choice but to start for the team at the crack of dawn in the pouring rain.

Enduring two hours of continuous driving, Gabe was able to initially bank 45 laps for the team.

Taking over the wheel was 13-yearold Iñigo. The teenager, maintained Gabe’s pace, this time logging 50 laps in over two hours of driving. Gabe’s uncle Kevin, showed that his long hiatus from racing hadn’t diminished his driving prowess. As the rains poured harder, the former drift champion managed to keep the pace with over 40 laps, enduring an excruciating drive for almost three hours.

Panganiban, on the other hand, remained unfazed as the weather conditions worsened.

Initial problems with safety belts emerged when it was Soong’s turn behind the wheel. Despite that, Soong set aside his safety and kept driving to maintain the team’s good standing.

An essential strategy of the team was to finish strong and veteran driver Carlos proved that he was the perfect guy to take on the task. He showed no signs of

Members of the Car Porn Racing Team are shown after their feat in the 2018 Kalayaan Cup at the Clark International Speedway. They are (from left) Vios Cup winner Marc Soong, former Formula 4 champion and Karter of the Year Gabe Tayao, Fors champion Errol Panganiban, drift titlist Kevin Tayao, slalom sensation Iñigo Anton and the legendary Carlos Anton.

slowing down despite the heavy rains Apart from the FM1 Class championship, 4 Hrs. 2nd Overall, RP Class 12-Hr Enand clocked in enough laps to make Car Porn Racing won the FM1 12-Hr En- durance 2nd Runner-Up and 12-Hr sure the team got a podium finish. durance Challenge 1st Runner-Up, Team Endurance Race Overall 2nd Runner Up.

Federer needs win to stay no. 1

H

ALLE WESTFALEN, Germany—Roger Federer on Monday flew to Halle to start his second consecutive week on grass but will have to fight for a second straight German title if he is to enter Wimbledon as top seed.

The weekend winner of the Stuttgart Cup - who owns nine titles in Halle— was welcomed with a cake and ceremony by tournament officials as he prepares to start in the first round against Aljaz Bedene.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion moved back to the top spot through his Stuttgart semi-final place.

But to stay ahead of rival Rafael Nadal

he must now win the Halle trophy according to ATP calculations.

That’s just fine for the Swiss, confident in his game after claiming his 98th career title on Sunday over Milos Raonic.

“I’m always excited for a challenge,” Federer said.

“I’m up for it. I’m the holder here anyway, so my goal has always been to defend the title.

“That might take my mind off of number one a little bit; I have hopes of going a long way this week.

“I want to start out of the blocks quickly. But I also want to enjoy being number one again (sixth time). I don’t know how long I’ll be there.

“A good step would be to defend the trophy and help myself stay on the top ranking. I did a double-take this morning when I looked at the rankings and saw myself at number one.

“It was a cool moment I’d like to stay there.”

Japan’s Kei Nishikori had to fight through a tiebreaker to start his grass season with a win as he beat Matthias Bachinger.

Avena leads sr golf roster ABE Avena shoots for a second seniors crown in three years while Dave Hernandez hopes to achieve what he had failed to do the last time out as they banner the cast in the Philippine Senior and Mid-Amateur Open Championships beginning today (Wednesday, June 20) at the Mt. Malarayat Golf and Country Club in Lipa City, Batangas.

Avena dominated the field in 2016 but struggled to finish fifth in last year’s edition of the annual tournament won by absentee Abe Rosal over Hernandez. Joining the title hunt in the centerpiece event for 55-years-old-and-above players are Gerry Elazeguie, Mari Hechanova, Ernesto Lim, Tomas Manotoc, Raul Montealto, Tony Olives, Renato Unson, Zaldy Villa, Rolly Viray and Damasus Wong.

Action is also expected to be fierce in the other featured categories of the event, the first tournament of the new NGAP board, led by president Martin Lorenzo, including the Mid Am Open with Forest Hill’s Judeson Eustaquio, actor Derek Ramsey, Brixton Ax, Jerome Hernandez, Mike Igarashi, Jeck Mendoza and Gerald Katigbak heading the cast in the premier event for players 25-years-old as of June.

Collegiate awards to fete Pasaol, Pirates

3X3 CAGING IN NCAA. National Collegiate Athletic Association

Management Committee and representative of host University of Perpetual Help System Dalta Frank Gusi said 3x3 basketball could become a regular sport of the league during his guesting at the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum Tuesday at the Tapa King Restaurant in Farmers Plaza in Cubao. The 3x3, which debuted last season, is a special event that isn’t counted in the final standings in the NCAA. The 94th season of the NCAA opens on July 7 at the Mall of Asia Arena. Rochelle Salvador

Perlas Spikers seek semis playoff vs Oragons STREAKING BanKo-Perlas and resurgent Iriga-Navy square off today while Pocari-Air Force and BaliPure try to bounce back from setbacks in a pair of matches that could clear or muddle up the race to the semifinal round of the Premier Volleyball League Season 2 Reinforced Conference at the Filoil Flying V Center in San Juan today (Wednesday).

The Perlas Spikers swept their first two games in the single round quarters among six teams, including a surprise three-set romp over the defending champion Pocari-Air Force Lady Warriors last weekend. They head to their 6 p.m. duel with the Lady Oragons as the heavy favorites with imports Kia Bright and Jutarat Montripila and the

Games today 1 p.m. – Air Force vs IEM (men’s) 4 p.m. – BaliPure vs Pocari-Air Force 6 p.m. – Iriga-Navy vs BanKo-Perlas

rest of the local crew expected to cash in on their advantage in bench depth and experience in an attempt to assure themselves of at least a playoff for one of the last two semifinal berths.

But the Oragons are fresh from their five-set triumph over a luckless Tacloban side, also last Saturday that snapped an eight-game skid dating back to the elims although reinforcements Lauren White and Macy Ubben and the locals will have to double their effort if they are to sur-

prise a fired-up BanKo-Perlas side.

Expect a fiercer, highly charged duel in the 4 p.m. encounter between Pocari and BaliPure, whose respective semis drives got stymied by straight-set setbacks the last time out. While the Lady Warriors dropped to joint second with the PetroGazz Angels at 2-1, the Water Defenders slipped to fourth at 1-1 following a 23-25, 18-25, 14-25 defeat to the Angels.

Meanwhile, Air Force guns for a second straight win and a share of the lead with idle PLDT as it tangles with Instituto Estetico Manila (0-1) at 1 p.m. in the lone match in the men’s side of the league organized by Sports Vision and backed by Mikasa and Asics.

Tenorio-Davao rules GSM 3x3 Tapang ng Tatluhan caging TEAM Tenorio-Davao reigned supreme in the 2018 Ginebra San Miguel 3x3 Tapang ng Tatluhan National Finals on Sunday, clipping Team Jamito-Nueva Ecija, 18-16 in overtime at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Jummel Perdido drilled the gamewinning long bomb as his side claimed the P50,000 cash prize.

Perdido uncorked seven points on his way to being named as the Tournament MVP. His brother Jayven Perdido added five points in the triumph, while Alex-

zan Pamugas also got five. Mark John Luceno scored one in the win.

Team Tenorio-Davao played catchup all game long, staring at a 10-7 deficit at one point as Team Jamito-Nueva Ecija preserved its three-point cushion.

But defense did the trick for the Davaoeños, clamping down on the Novo Ecijanos before Pamugas tied the game at 15 with a booming two-pointer.

Team Jamito-Nueva Ecija had a chance to win the game as Nelson Caduco trooped to the line, but he missed

The seventh seed who has twice played semi-finals at the event, worked for just under 90 minutes to beat his 159th-ranked German opponent 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) and reach the second round.

Yuichi Sugita made it a Japanese double into the second round, beating wild card Maximillian Marterer 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 after two and a quarter hours while holding off a dozen aces from the German.

Nishikori, a former top 10 regular now ranked 27th after wrist injuries last season, was joined as a winner by fourth seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat the second German on the day, putting out Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4, 6-1. AFP

both of his foul shots, giving Team Tenorio-Davao the golden chance, which it did not squander.

Joel Cabunoc carried the runners-up with eight points, while Caduco got six in the losing cause.

Alexander Satunda also had a pair as Rogelio Raqueno went scoreless, but Team Jamito-Nueva Ecija will still take home the P25,000 consolation prize.

Ginebra San Miguel 3x3 Tapang ng Tatluhan offers their most beloved patrons, the consumers, a once in a lifetime

opportunity to experience and celebrate basketball in a professionally regulated tournament. This grassroots program of Ginebra San Miguel was aimed at opening doors for these aspiring athletes to chase their dreams of one day being the next basketball superstar.

This marked the second consecutive year that the partnership between Ginebra San Miguel and the Philippine Basketball Association aided in the development of this new Olympic sport of 3x3 basketball.

HONORING the heroes of the past season, the 2018 Chooks-to-Go Collegiate Basketball Awards is set to distinguish three outstanding performers in college basketball on Thursday at The Bayleaf Intramuros, Manila.

Alvin Pasaol, the Lyceum Pirates, and Afril Bernardino will be the recipients of special awards in ceremony organized by the UAAP-NCAA Press Corps and supported by Chooks-toGo and The Bayleaf Intramuros.

The Breakout Player award will be given to Pasaol for his exceptional rise as one of the most prolific scorers in the collegiate ranks for University of the East, highlighted by his 49-point explosion in a single game.

The Lyceum Pirates, meantime, are set to accept a Special Citation for their record-setting 18-0 run in the NCAA Season 93 eliminations, making the inspiring turnaround from league cellar-dwellers to legitimate title contenders.

The Pirates of head coach Topex Robinson also ruled the Philippine Collegiate Champions League earlier this year for the first time in school history, stamping their mark as one of the top college basketball programs in the country.

Bernardino, a former member of the National University Lady Bulldogs, will receive the Award of Excellence for her contributions to women’s college basketball.

Already a legend as a three-time UAAP MVP, Bernardino also became a pioneer in her sport, winning the inaugural UAAP 3X3 tournament in Season 80.

LOTTO RESULTS

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

Sports

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

A8

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018

Russians, foreigners seek love at World Cup MOSCOW—During an afternoon at a Moscow park, Argentina fan Augustin Otelo is counting not the number of goals his team has scored in the World Cup but the number of phone numbers he has collected from Russian girls.

“Four!” boasts the 26-year-old engineer dressed in his country’s blue and white stripes as he competes with his friends to see who can get the most phone numbers.

Otelo said he hopes his “exotic factor” will help him “find love” in the Russian capital.

“We don’t know what to do between matches, so we thought we could try to get to know the Russian people better,” he said.

The Argentinians are flicking through selfies on their phones of Russian girls posing on the popular dating app Tinder.

“There’s a lot of competition because of the number of men who have come to Russia for the World Cup,” Otelo said.

“And very few girls speak English or Spanish.”

But the language barrier has not stopped Russians and thousands of foreign football fans from mixing on the streets of Moscow, despite conflicting messages to Russia’s female population from politicians.

On the eve of the World Cup, Communist lawmaker Tamara Pletneva warned Russian women that flings with visiting football fans could leave them raising children “of another race” alone.

“We should be giving birth to our own children,” said Pletneva, who leads the lower house of parliament’s family, women and children committee.

Another Russian MP, Mikhail Degtyaryov from the ultra-nationalist LDPR party, took the opposite view.

“The more love stories we have connected to the World Cup... the more children are born, the better,” he said.

The Kremlin said World Cup romances are personal choices.

“Russian women can probably manage their own affairs. They are the best women in the world,” Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

‘Like holiday romances’ One 25-year-old woman, who gave her name as Maria S., said she had been “impatiently” waiting for the World Cup because it “multiplies opportunities to meet with foreigners.”

“That is probably its main advantage,” said the brunette, who took English classes ahead of the games. AFP

Kane header lifts England past Tunisia England’s forward Harry Kane heads the ball during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group G football match between Tunisia and England at the Volgograd Arena in Volgograd. AFP

V

OLGOGRAD, Russia—Harry Kane grabbed a dramatic late winner for England on Monday, powering home a header in injury time of their World Cup opener after Belgium had earlier swept past Panama.

Kane’s second goal of the game secured a 2-1 victory after it looked as if England had squandered their chance to take all three points after being rocked by a Tunisian equaliser which followed a bright start.

Menaced by flying insects under the floodlights in Volgograd, England raced out of the blocks and took an early lead in the Group G match through Kane.

But Gareth Southgate’s young English team squandered multiple chances, with Jesse Lingard particularly wasteful, and Tunisia made them pay when Ferjani Sassi scored from the penalty spot after Kyle Walker was adjudged to have fouled Fakhreddine Ben Youssef.

Despite enjoying the bulk of the possession in the second half, England created few clear-cut chances and looked as though they would be forced to settle for a share of the spoils.

But captain Kane had the last word, heading in a corner at the back post in the 91st minute.

“It’s massive,” said Kane. “I’m so proud of the lads. It’s tough. We played so well, especially in the first half, and we could have scored a few more.

“We kept going. It’s a World Cup, you go to the last second. I’m absolutely buzzing.”

Southgate satisfied Southgate meanwhile praised his side’s ability to dig out a victory at the death which was England’s first win in a World Cup opener since 2006.

“We recovered from a really harsh (penalty) decision and kept our composure, which pleased me,” Southgate told reporters.

“Even though the clock was running down, we stayed patient. Good teams score late goals, because if you dominate the ball like that, the opposition tire.”

Off the field, England fans were outnumbered by Tunisian supporters in Volgograd after fewer than 2,000 tickets for the match were sold in Britain.

The England supporters were given a warm welcome in the city formerly known as Stalingrad and were largely well-behaved although two fans were charged with public drunkenness after being detained on a train.

Lukaku double Earlier, Belgium showed England, their main rivals in Group G, the way with a comfortable 3-0 win against

PH Golf Tour kicks off Vis-Min swing at Apo

No liquidation, no funds for PH Asiad contingent

By Peter Atencio FOR now, the Philippine Sports Commission won’t be releasing funding for the national contingent headed to the Asian Games in Indonesia.

A budget allocation of P72 million is reserved for the Asiad, but an unliquidated P10.3 million funds released for the 2017 Southeast Asian Games needs to be accounted for first.

PSC officials, led by officer in charge Arnold Agustin, explained this following a meeting with Asian Games chef de mission Richard Gomez and his deputy Robert Bachmann following a meeting yesterday.

“The PSC is ready to support with the financial assistance, but that’s pending liquidation,” said Commissioner Ramon Fernandez.

Around 285 athletes are expected to be sent to the Asian Games in Palembang, Indonesia slated from Aug. 18 to Sept.2.

Gomez will discuss their funding woes with Philippine Olympic Committee president Ricky Vargas in their coming meeting.

So far, the Philippine delegation will be composed of athletes in athletics, swimming, men’s basketball, softball, cycling, taekwondo and karatedo.

Efforts to include a women’s volleyball team and a contingent in weightlifting is being pushed.

Panama in Sochi as Dries Mertens scored just after half-time before Lukaku headed in on 69 minutes and pounced again six minutes later.

Belgium showed they might finally be ready to realise the promise of a talented crop of players as they gave Panama a torrid time in the Central American side’s first-ever appearance in a World Cup finals.

Belgium coach Roberto Martinez said he was “delighted” with the performance.

“It was exactly what we expected— there are no easy games at the World Cup. We started very well but then became frustrated as the first half wore on,” he said.

In Monday’s early game, Sweden— now without retired superstar Zlatan Ibrahimovic—beat South Korea 1-0 in Nizhny Novgorod to go joint top of Germany’s group alongside Mexico thanks to a penalty awarded by VAR (Video Assistant Referee.

Veteran Swedish skipper Andreas Granqvist scored the only goal of the game from the spot after Viktor Claesson was upended by South Korean substitute Kim Min-woo midway through the second half.

Despite furious appeals, El Salvadorean referee Joel Aguilar initially waved away Swedish penalty claims but after consulting the video, he pointed to the spot. AFP

Tony Lascuña hopes to recall the form that netted him the PGT crown here in 2015.

DAVAO—The Philippine Golf Tour kicks off its grueling seven-leg, three-month jaunt in Mindanao and Visayas today (Wednesday, June 30) here with the men of the tour wary of the challenge but keen on dishing out their best in pursuit of titles beginning with the rich ICTSI Apo Golf Invitational at the Apo Golf and Country Club.

While the homegrown talents enjoy some kind of an edge on local knowledge of the hazard-laden layout, the rest, including a crack foreign crew, are out to spoil their drive, all ready to slug it out with the best shot-for-shot and putt-for-putt right at the start of the P3 million tournament sponsored by ICTSI. Most, particularly the local aces, are upbeat of their title bids in the 72-hole championship organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. while some have expressed guarded optimism on a tight, long course with unpredictable putting surface.

“I like my chances. I’m in good condition but putting will be the key,” said Tony Lascuña, who won here when the tour made its last stop in 2015.

Fellow Davaoeños Jay Bayron, fresh from his triumph at PGT Asia Manila Southwoods leg last month, and Jhonnel Ababa, who scored back-to-back PGTA victories early this year, also exude confidence but both hinted at mixed approaches on the tricky layout.

“Good chances to win again but the course is tough and I need to be careful, especially off the tee,” said Bayron. “I rather go for a 3-wood just to get on the fairway and be able to set up birdie opportunities.”

“The course is tough with so many hazards,” said Ababa. “But I’d still gamble on my driver to produce a good score.”

Foton parades powerhouse roster in Superliga Games Saturday (Smart Araneta Coliseum) 3 pm – Opening ceremonies 4 pm – Generika-Ayala vs UA-UP 5 pm – Foton vs F2 Logistics

EYES will be on Foton when it parades a powerful roster in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Invitational Conference that unwraps Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

After netting Ateneo de Manila University superstar Bea de Leon, the Tornadoes suddenly emerged as the team to beat in this prestigious women’s club league bankrolled by Isuzu, SOGO Hotel, and UCPB Gen with ESPN5, Hyper HD and Aksyon TV as official broadcast partners.

Foton team owner Rommel Sytin said the presence of the 5’11” De Leon furthered bolstered their frontline that already features 6’5” Jaja Santiago and 6’1” Dindin Manabat, as well as national pool members Maika Ortiz, CJ Rosario and Gen Casugod.

Aside from De Leon, the Tornadoes also netted University of the East star Shaya Adorador to provide support in the scoring department.

Sytin said their main objective is to conquer their first Invitational Conference title after ruling the Grand Prix in 2015 and 2016.

“As the league becomes competitive, we’ll see how our ‘Triple Tower’ of Bea, Dindin and Jaja can blend together to give us our first ever Invitationals championship,” said Sytin, an avid sportsman and president of Foton Motor Philippines, Inc. “They’ve all played together and chemistry will not be a problem.

Although this is their first time to play together after college, their partnership will surely bring a lot of excitement to PSL fans,” he added.

But winning the crown in this tourney that also has Senoh, Asics, Mikasa, Mueller and Grand Sport would not be easy.

Petron will march with an intact roster composed of Mika Reyes, Rhea Dimaculangan, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas and Frances Molina, while F2 Logistics will welcome the return of La Salle stalwarts Kianna Dy, Dawn Macandili and Desiree Cheng to join the solid core of Kim Fajardo, Aby Marano and Majoy Baron.

4 PBA teams fight for playoff berths

By Jeric Lopez TWO pivotal games that are bound to shape the landscape of the quarterfinals take place as four teams fight for berths in the homestretch of the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup elimination round.

GlobalPort (4-4) can close in on a spot in the next round with a win, but desperate Phoenix Pulse (3-6) stands in its way as the two figure in a crucial bout at 4:30 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Equally crucial is the 7 p.m. tussle between Columbian Dyip (4-5) and Barangay Ginebra (3-5) in the main event.

All four teams are facing must-win situations as a win can propel the victors closer to the post-season while the unlucky losers will be sent on the brink

of elimination.

Fresh off an impressive triumph the last time out, the Batang Pier looks to build on their momentum to inch closer to a berth in the quarters, while prolonging Phoenix’s agony.

GlobalPort stunned San Miguel Beer, 98-94, last week to boost its chances.

“We had a good win against San Miguel, it’s crucial since we’re fighting to remain in the top eight. I hope we can get another one against Phoenix. We still need it,” said GlobalPort coach Pido Jarencio.

Currently, the Batang Pier are tied with the Beermen for fifth place, but isn’t out of the woods yet.

On the contrary, the Fuel Masters just can’t seem to get a break, having lost four in a row with the last at the hands

of league-leader Rain or Shine, 108-106.

Also, Phoenix will no longer have gunner Jeff Chan, who was swapped to the Gin Kings just last Monday for a first-round pick in the coming draft.

With Chan now in its tow, Ginebra shoots for a third straight win, but is wary of dangerous Columbian Dyip as both teams are coming off wins.

“We’re a little more comfortable now and Jeff will fill a big role for us,” said Ginebra coach Tim Cone. “We have no margin for error and we know Columbian is capable. We need to win our remaining games.”

The Gin Kings and Dyip are separated by only a half-a-game in the race to the top eight.

Columbian is at No. 8 and Ginebra at No. 9, currently.

Jeff Chan makes his debut for Ginebra today.

IN BRIEF

PH ranks low on digital competitiveness ranking THE Philippines dropped 10 notches to 56th out of 63 countries in the 2018 World Digital Competitiveness Ranking based on a report released by the International Institute for Management Development, with the AIM Rizalino S. Navarro Policy Center for Competitiveness as its Philippine country partner.

The WDC ranking was topped by the United States, followed by Singapore, Sweden, Denmark and Switzerland.

At the bottom of the ranking are Venezuela at 63rd, Indonesia at 62nd, Mongolia at 61st, Peru at 60th and Colombia at 59th.

The WDC on its second year of publication showed that the Philippines was tailing behind 11 economies in the Asia Pacific, or 12th out of the 14 countries.

The countries were evaluated using 50 indicators spread across three factors— knowledge, technology and future readiness.

Knowledge measures the know-how necessary to build and adapt to new technologies while technology is the overall country setting that enables digital technologies to develop. Othel V. Campos

DBS Bank expects BSP to increase rates again DBS Bank of Singapore expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to increase interest rates again this week to calm the domestic financial markets, six weeks after it raised the policy rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 percent.

Duncan Tan (strategist) and Irvin Seah (economist) of DBS Group Research said in a report Tuesday the US rates had pulled back while the US dollar had consolidated somewhat since the Bangko Sentral raised rates at its last meeting on May 10, “Despite this slightly more forgiving global environment, the BSP will probably hike again this Thursday,” they said.

The Monetary Board is set to hold its meeting today instead of Thursday, citing in an earlier statement that the adjustment in schedule was due to “tight schedule of other activities for this round.”

Bangko Sentral Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. is included in the Philippine delegation to Japan this week, along with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III and other economic managers.

Julito G. Rada

Business PH eyeing another $1b worth of Samurai bonds T

By Julito G. Rada

HE government plans to issue about $1 billion worth of “Samurai” bonds this year following the two successful floats of dollarand renminbi-denominated securities in the offshore markets in the first quarter of 2018, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Tuesday.

“This year, we are also planning to issue around US$1 billion worth of ‘Samurai’ bonds,” Dominguez said in his opening remarks at the Philippine Economic Briefing held at the Imperial Hotel in Japan’s capital city.

The finance chief gave no other details of the planned yen-denominated

bond float in his speech before Japanese businessmen at the sidelines of the Philippine delegation’s visit in Tokyo this week. He said earlier the government would proceed with the float by September or October this year.

Buoyed by the tight spreads of the Philippines’ earlier bond issuances this year, Dominguez said such developments “indicate confidence in the fiscal and debt management of the Duterte administration.”

Dominguez, in showcasing the Philippines’ vibrant economic prospects, recalled that when the government issued $2 billion worth of 10-year dollar denominated bonds in January, the spread was 37.8 basis points over the US Treasuries, while its maiden “Panda” bond float of 1.46 billion renminbi in March had an even tighter spread of only 35 bps over the benchmark.

National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon also quoted the same amount of “about $1 billion” in an earlier interview with reporters.

This year’s Philippine economic

briefing, which showcases the country’s economic resilience amid its goal of spurring infrastructure development to achieve inclusive growth, is the second held in this Japanese capital since last year.

Dominguez in his remarks said the bilateral relations between the Philippines and Japan had emerged “closer and stronger” these past few years as the former rose to join the elite group of Asia’s tiger economies, fueled by its long-term goal to achieve zero poverty rates about two decades from now.

Japan, to date, had been the Philippines’ major source of official development assistance and a reliable ally in terms of infrastructure support from the period of reconstruction, one of its top trading partners, and its fourth largest source of foreign tourists, Dominguez said.

He thanked Japan for its support to the Philippines’ economic emergence as well as to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the devastated city of Marawi in Mindanao.

ADB extends E-trike loan to May next year THE Asian Development Bank granted a loan extension to the Department of Energy’s P1.73-billion Market Transformation Through the Introduction of Energy Efficient Vehicles (E-trike) Project until May 2019, a government official said.

“Our deadline was June 30, it was extended until May 2019,” Energy Undersecretary Leonido Pulido III said. “… there is a period when you can draw from the funds of ADB, and that was supposed to be June 30, 2018. If it’s not extended, then we have a problem because we won’t be able to pay the supplier because that’s where the fund comes from, it’s from the loan from ADB,” Pulido said.

He said the department asked for an extension because it needed more time to finish the documentation for the commitments to the local government units.

Pulido said the Finance Department acted on the request of the DoE for the ADB loan extension covering the rollout of 3,000 e-trikes to May 2019.

The e-trike project initially sought to roll out 100,000 units of electric tricycle funded from the ADB loan totaling P21.672 billion. Alena Mae S. Flores

CLARK RESTOS RESTAURANTS. Clark Development Corp. president and chief executive officer Noel Manankil (left) leads the ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of Clark Restos restaurants in Clark. Joining him are (from left) Laus Group of Companies chairman Levy Laus, Metro Central Luzon Food Inc. president Ma. Theresa Laus, Rev. Fr. Sol Gabriel and Bases Conversion and Development Authority president and CEO Vivencio Dizon.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018

B1

DoE woos Japan to join in developing LNG facility

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Department of Energy is wooing Japanese investors to participate in the country’s planned integrated liquefied natural gas facility.

Officials from the Department of Energy led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi are in Tokyo this week as part of the country’s delegation to the fifth regular meeting of the Philippines-Japan High-Level Committee on Infrastructure and Economic Cooperation.

The DoE delegation will reinforce discussions on the Philippine energy industry with potential Japanese investors, while the other leaders of President Duterte’s economic team continue their high-level dialogues with the Japanese Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry on the administration’s flagship infrastructure projects under the Build Build Build program.

Cusi will focus on encouraging natural gas companies in Japan to invest in the Philippines’ liquefied natural gas hub terminal project in anticipation of rgw decline in the Malampaya gas field’s production in northwest Palawan starting 2022.

“The strategic location of the Philippines, as well as the fair and competitive playing field policy for natgas would entice investors to engage in the LNG terminal project,” Cusi said.

Major Japanese gas companies such as Tokyo Gas are among those in serious talks to build the project.

“The construction of strategic natural gas facilities, which includes LNG receiving terminals and distribution pipelines, are necessary to ensure the security and diversity of the energy supply in the Philippines. It also provides the option of expanding the use of natural gas in the Philippines,” Cusi said.

Energy Undersecretary Donato Marcos and two ranking technical staff began an extensive training program on LNG value chains in Japan on Monday. They are expected to complete the course by the end of the month.

“In addition to discussions on LNG investments, our top officials and staff are undergoing extensive training to effectively monitor, regulate and supervise the upcoming Philippine LNG industry,” Cusi said.

BSP ready to curb excessive peso movement Grab earmarks P100m a month BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. assured Tuesday that monetary authorities are ready to prevent the excessive volatility of the peso, which has been hovering beyond the 53-per-dollar level since the middle of the month.

In a presentation on June 19 before Japanese businessmen during the Philippine Economic Briefing held in Tokyo, Espenilla said the movement of the local currency was market-driven and its medium-term stability was well supported by sound macroeconomic fundamentals. “[The] peso exchange rate flexibility promotes self-correcting mechanisms, helps maintain price competitiveness, and prevents the build-up of unsustainable imbalances which in turn should help keep

the balance of payments and the monetary system under control,” he said.

“Nevertheless, the BSP is ready to act to prevent excessive peso volatility and overshooting due to speculative activities,” Espenilla said.

Espenilla is among the Philippine government’s delegation visting Tokyo this week. He will discuss the country’s economic and financial landscape from a central bank perspective during the economic briefing.

The peso on June 13, 2018 breached the 53-per-dollar boundary and closed at 53.23, pulled down by financial markets’ anticipation the US Federal Reserve was likely to raise interest rates two more times this year. The Fed decision boosted the dollar against most currencies, including the peso.

The peso on Tuesday slightly recovered and closed P0.04 stronger at 53.44 from the new 12-year low of 53.48 per dollar on Monday, its weakest level in almost 12 years since the 53.55 on June 29, 2006.

Philip Wee, foreign exchange strategist of DBS Group Research, said in a report that Asian currencies were facing depreciation pressures due to monetary policy divergences that have supported the US dollar globally.

“The Fed has affirmed that it will be moving to deliver a total of four, not three, rate hikes this year. The European Central Bank has confirmed that asset purchases will end in December which forced markets to reverse earlier bets for the central bank to bring forward its rate hike into 2019,” Wee said. Julito G. Rada

to subsidize fares, assist drivers

By Darwin G. Amojelar

GRAB Philippines allotted P100 million a month to subsidize fares to ensure decent earnings for driver partners after the P2 per minute component was suspended.

“Based on our computations, a TNVS driver needs to make at least P330 per hour to be able to properly provide for his family’s needs and to cope with the traffic, high fuel and vehicle maintenance costs,” Brian Cu, Grab Philippines country head, said.

The fare subsidy scheme was implemented Monday.

“Since P2 per minute component was suspended, we received a lot of painful complaints from our partners that their earnings are not sufficient anymore to

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas

DoT’s Puyat unveils tourism program

By Othel V. Campos TOURISM Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat is banking on growth of emerging markets as well as China’s dominance in foreign tourist arrivals to achieve the Philippines’ 2018 target of 7.4 million tourists.

“This is will be driven by more connections, affordable rates and aggressive market activation, as we work double time in diverting focus on other destinations given the temp closure of Boracay,” she said Tuesday at the annual membership meeting of the Makati Business Club.

Government figures showed tourism arrivals grew 11 percent to 6.62 million in 2017.

China, which is the second largest source market for foreign tourists following Korea, accounted for 968,447 tour-

ist arrivals in 2017, up 43 percent from 675,663 in 2016.

The first-ever direct charter flight from Xiamen, a coastal city in Fujian province of China, to Puerto Princesa, Palawan inaugurated in February this year is seen to further boost the market for Chinese tourists.

The new route is expected to offer up to 591 international air seats bound for the Philippines a week, or a total of 30,732 seats per year.

Puyat also noted that total tourism receipts rose 44 percent to P448.6 billion in 2017, up 43.9 percent from P311.7 billion in 2016.

“This was driven by the increase in arrivals, length of stay, daily expenditure, foreign exchange and increase in airline receipts. Average daily expenditure in 2017 was $126 and length of stay was 9.3 days,” she said.

make a decent living. That’s why we decided to step in,” Cu added.

The ideal scenario for TNVS drivers is for them to earn at least P5.50 per minute or P330 per hour.

The subsidy ensures drivers in getting the ideal fare rate as computed by Grab’s system.

“For example, if a ride from Makati to BGC takes an hour because of heavy traffic despite short distance, and fare is computed at P120 only, Grab will return to the driver the P210 difference to make sure he made P330 for that one-hour trip,” Cu said.

Cu added only riding hour with passengers would get subsidy. He also clarified that subsidy was different from incentives.

Tuesday, June 19, 2018

AFREIGHT’S 25TH YEAR. AFreight Cargo, one of the leading balikbayan box

companies in South East Asia, celebrates its 25th anniversary in serving the Filipino and Indonesian communities in Singapore with a thanksgiving show held at the Shine Auditorium on June 10, 2018. The AFreight management team and Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Ambassador Joseph Del Mar Yap treated the over 1,000 Filipino workers who attended the event.

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

53.4580

Japan

Yen

0.009046

0.4836

UK

Pound

1.324600

70.8105

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.127400

6.8105

Switzerland

Franc

1.005025

53.7266

Canada

Dollar

0.757691

40.5046

Singapore

Dollar

0.740192

39.5692

Australia

Dollar

0.742100

39.6712

Bahrain

Dinar

2.648586

141.5881

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

14.2547

Brunei

Dollar

0.737463

39.4233

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000072

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

0.030609

1.6363

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

14.5551

Euro

Euro

1.162400

62.1396

Korea

Won

0.000907

0.0485

China

Yuan

0.155352

8.3048

India

Rupee

0.014699

0.7858

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.250250

13.3779

New Zealand

Dollar

0.033173

1.7734

Taiwan

Dollar

0.033187

1.7693

Source: PDS Bridge

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks tumble, near bear market

T

he stock market extended its slump Tuesday joining a sell-off across Asian and European markets on rising trade war fears, after Donald Trump threatened fresh tariffs on Chinese imports and Beijing warned of countermeasures.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index sank 101.50 points, or 1.4 percent, to a new 15-month low of 7,312.6 on a value turnover of P6.9 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 125 to 70, with 47 issues unchanged.

The index’s close was its lowest since 7,312.61 on March 31, 2017. The PSEi moved closer to the bear market after hitting an intra-day low of 7,253.12. A bear market occurs when the index declines 20 percent from its peak of 9,058.62 on January 29, 2018 to 7,246.90.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which

is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, power generation and hospitals, fell 3.5 percent to P4.65, while PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications company, lost 3.3 percent to P1,210.

LT Group Inc. of tycoon Lucio Tan, slumped 4.4 percent to P19.02, while BDO Unibank Inc., the largest lender in terms of assets, declined 2.6 percent to P130.50.

Hong Kong and Shanghai stocks, meanwhile, led a sell-off across Asian and European markets. Tokyo was 1.8 percent lower while Seoul sank 1.5 percent, Singapore slipped 0.1 percent and Taipei fell 1.7 percent. Bangkok and Wellington were also sharply lower.

Sydney was marginally down.

Trading floors were a sea of red as Hong Kong dived 3.1 percent and Shanghai plunged 3.8 percent―ending around its lowest since mid-2016―as traders on both markets returned from a long weekend.

Trump said he had asked the US Trade Representative to identify $200 billion worth of imports to be targeted, adding he would hit a further $200 billion if Beijing retaliates.

Investors were already on edge after the world’s top two economies on Friday announced tit-for-tat measures on goods valued at about $50 billion as the US president pushes ahead with his protectionist America First agenda.

“The trade relationship between the United States and China must be much more equitable,” he said in explaining his decision.

China slammed the threats as “blackmail” and warned that if the US followed through with the tariffs it would “have no choice but to take comprehensive measures of a corresponding number and quality and take strong, powerful countermeasures.”

The development took some by surprise and stoked fears of a potentially

damaging trade war between the world’s top two economies.

“That was quick and sudden, reminding us just how quickly things can get right out of hand,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA. “Indeed, this is moving beyond ‘titfor-tat’ levels and, predictably, investors are running for cover under the haven umbrellas as global equity indices are crumbling under the weight of an escalating trade war.

“Buckle up as this could get messy.”

Hong Kong-listed shares in Chinese telecoms equipment maker ZTE dived 24 percent after US senators voted to reimpose a seven-year ban on high-tech chip sales to the company.

The move defied the White House’s decision this month to replace the ban with a $1.4-billion fine, providing a lifeline to the firm, which was threatened with collapse as it relies on the crucial US hardware. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2018

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 59 9,630 92.1 1,916,110 2.86 18,000 130.5 5,690,250 1.59 102,000 33.9 108,400 16.62 3,000 14.8 758,400 3.67 107,000 8.68 3,200 0.55 1,548,000 72 6,646,760 1.08 3,624,000 12 26,900 20 2,300 48.8 1,500 199.2 7,050 107.1 40 29.15 312,400 199.1 240,480 1,890 570 88.6 68,630 1.18 23,000

563,020 176,688,916.50 51,820 744,123,608 164,310 3,683,210 49,864 11,254,918 383,660 28,578 825,510 479,636,678(40 4,012,780 322,808 46,000 73,155 1,408,854 4,273 9,063,300 47,816,951 1,091,825 6,073,960.50 27,140

182,540 -59,964,926 33,723,500 -678,050 -3,045,602 ,899,155.0004) 173,220 -20,000 9,760 21,923 -6,731,045 -6,688,368 -2,703,773.50 -

37.05 14.8 0.59 1.22 25 0.236 2.96 16.06 47.65 23.4 56 89.95 1.91 8.2 10.2 15.78 11 7.15 5.17 14.46 61.7 20.75 7.6 14.8 2.26 276 5.03 26.5 11.7 21.35 337 0.188 6.6 2.21 4.1 8.86 6.02 7.51 1.28 11.9 50.6 5.95 4.52 2.36 3.69 1.94 12.6 60.2 5.01 0.124 0.89 115.5 2.62 1.44

INDUSTRIAL 37.85 1,558,500 15.2 1,979,200 0.61 526,000 1.22 306,000 25.95 473,700 0.239 37,980,000 2.99 2,986,000 16.6 14,200 49.95 417,600 23.4 15,200 56 1,000 89.95 1,040 1.94 31,000 8.2 33,500 10.2 863,100 15.8 809,900 11.1 74,500 7.18 1,665,500 5.2 4,583,500 14.6 284,900 61.7 19,010 21.85 6,300 7.6 63,100 15.04 1,117,500 2.32 3,285,000 284 757,250 5.11 50,500 27 243,700 11.72 82,100 22.3 717,800 342 503,450 0.188 20,000 6.85 14,200 2.21 28,000 4.27 70,000 8.92 531,300 6.03 4,203,500 7.51 7,600 1.29 559,000 12 42,100 51.3 931,940 5.95 31,200 4.55 163,000 2.42 424,000 3.7 31,000 2.01 297,000 12.6 590,600 60.8 273,140 5.06 112,700 0.124 4,170,000 0.94 32,000 116 1,740,050 2.65 20,004,000 1.7 54,974,000

58,144,035(18 29,835,258 316,440 373,660 12,124,105 9,413,630 8,919,510 228,564 20,939,660 358,120 56,010 93,548.50 59,560 281,983 8,891,930 12,796,380 821,550 11,957,236 23,834,546 4,161,490 1,173,395.50 133,230 502,936 16,600,292 7,614,590 211,633,460 257,078 6,543,265 961,636 15,771,260 172,118,666 3,780 95,300 61,950 289,530 4,732,527 25,974,701 57,228 719,630 506,140 47,557,094.50 185,640 741,550 1,012,570 114,400 601,680 7,467,114 16,540,465 568,140 524,480 28,680 201,791,392 54,295,730 88,250,290

,654,744.9999) 17,276,172 26,850 144,810 2,981,580 -1,672 4,765 44,800 9,700 -180,213 -689,132 -1,578,918 -22,080.00 -11,669,784 16,763,733 -3,049,810 337,601 4,200 -179,003 -5,893,158 -139,610 39,379,804 -2,656,405 328,184 -376,210 24,934,308 -4,390 982,391 1,337,513 -4,509,462.50 10,710 -186,490 -5,711,002 -3,137,960.50 -27,054 6,410 -2,595,633 2,629,750 -725,880

0.25 62.2 12.58 1 6.12 0.67 0.68 922 1,401 6.4 10.46 7.28 985 6.42 53.5 0.6 3.72 19.88 0.58 4.8 0.037 1.29 2.8 2.96 140 2.55 887 1.65 259 0.228 0.28

0.237 58.05 12.38 0.94 6.02 0.63 0.65 903 1,401 6.3 10.16 7.28 970 6.41 50.75 0.58 3.63 19.02 0.56 4.6 0.036 1.21 2.68 2.89 138.1 2.55 870 1.6 255 0.216 0.24

HOLDING FIRMS 0.24 5,840,000 62.2 2,086,140 12.5 5,324,400 0.98 235,000 6.05 82,300 0.63 15,249,000 0.65 1,685,000 910 384,060 1,401 660 6.38 175,500 10.24 7,600,900 7.28 25,000 981 103,660 6.41 7,000 52 2,493,760 0.58 38,000 3.66 346,000 19.02 7,159,900 0.58 664,000 4.65 25,107,000 0.037 6,200,000 1.27 1,031,000 2.77 912,000 2.96 83,000 139.9 120,300 2.55 80,000 879 997,490 1.6 3,000 259 9,710 0.228 1,510,000 0.25 13,740,000

1,412,290 125,852,916 66,382,130 228,120 497,047 9,841,040 1,120,550 349,849,440 924,660 1,117,260 77,826,770 182,000 101,204,890 44,890 129,053,832.5 ( 22,170 1,271,740 138,392,564 375,190 117,113,180 229,100 1,301,320 2,490,610 243,410 16,781,338 204,000 877,030,145 4,850 2,483,254 332,170 3,502,330

12,100 -9,377,023 -51,910,450 402,000 -115,367,315 730,223 -43,226,132 43,680 -20,624,865 81,532,943.5) -474,030 -11,911,978 84,000 -65,278,260 -5,120 -216,000 -6,608,288 -74,836,265 2,550

7.64 1.01 15.4 2.02 0.81 38.65 3.31 4.7 5.97 0.45 1.09 0.96 0.222 0.42 25.85 0.64 0.115 1.57 1.26 1.14 4.17 4.59 0.63 0.44 0.51 3.23 19.88

7.4 0.99 14.1 2 0.79 38 3.27 4.59 5.6 0.435 1 0.95 0.219 0.42 24.85 0.62 0.115 1.55 1.2 1.07 4.11 4.42 0.59 0.425 0.5 2.86 19.2

7,596,037 2,910,490 11,984 206,070 613,920 420,454,945 1,672,720 2,375,580 16,214 2,441,900 150,360 381,920 723,110 50,400 10,854,000 95,750 69,000 4,994,160 3,739,620 4,343,930 49,690 96,359,150 62,345,590 918,200 1,638,090 61,955,720 58,672,678

-1,852,003 -118,500 -124,051,245 -477,050 626,600 1,180 -1,339,050 26,480 -50,400 -1,430,860 -12,600 394,870 10,900 -52,765,820 2,283,410 996,990 -5,565,990

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

59 92.1 2.9 132 1.65 34.2 16.62 14.8 3.58 9.44 0.54 72.6 1.14 12 20 48.8 203 106 29.7 202.8 1,940 88.5 1.18

59 92.95 2.9 132.1 1.65 34.3 16.64 14.94 3.68 9.45 0.55 72.95 1.14 12.02 20 48.8 203 107.1 29.7 202.8 1,940 88.6 1.18

58 92.1 2.86 130 1.59 33.9 16.62 14.76 3.47 8.68 0.53 71.05 1.08 12 20 48.75 198 106 28.75 197 1,890 88.5 1.18

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS ASIABEST GROUP BASIC ENERGY CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CONCRETE B CROWN ASIA DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP EMPERADOR ENERGY DEVT FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LMG CHEMICALS 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

37.55 15.02 0.6 1.22 27.6 0.245 3.01 16.72 47.65 23.55 56.05 90 1.94 8.5 10.44 15.82 11.1 7.21 5.2 14.7 61.7 20.95 8 14.9 2.42 276.2 5.03 26.7 11.7 21.4 337.2 0.19 6.62 2.22 4.17 9 6.02 7.55 1.3 12 51.1 5.95 4.55 2.38 3.69 2 12.84 62 5.08 0.129 0.89 118 2.89 1.45

38.2 15.2 0.61 1.25 28.35 0.265 3.03 16.72 50.4 23.8 56.05 90 1.94 8.52 10.44 15.86 11.1 7.21 5.27 14.72 62 21.9 8.57 15.1 2.45 284 5.13 27.2 11.76 22.3 344.8 0.19 6.85 2.22 4.27 9 6.47 7.55 1.3 12.34 51.35 5.95 4.55 2.43 3.7 2.05 12.84 62.8 5.1 0.132 0.94 118.3 2.89 1.7

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

0.25 60.15 12.52 1 6.03 0.67 0.67 922 1,401 6.37 10.46 7.28 981 6.42 53.5 0.59 3.65 19.88 0.56 4.75 0.036 1.23 2.76 2.89 140 2.55 878 1.65 255 0.216 0.24

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

7.64 1 14.1 2.02 0.8 38.4 3.31 4.66 5.6 0.44 1.08 0.95 0.222 0.42 25.85 0.63 0.115 1.56 1.26 1.08 4.17 4.58 0.63 0.43 0.5 3.17 19.88

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

2.04 3.28 34.75 1.1 9.2 0.8 6.68

2.05 3.3 34.95 1.1 9.22 0.83 6.8

2.02 3.28 33.9 1.09 8.9 0.78 6.67

2.04 3.3 34.7 1.1 8.9 0.78 6.72

239,000 26,000 11,821,200 179,000 568,000 250,000 2,361,100

485,530 85,330 409,798,775 195,370 5,100,147 200,400 15,847,536

8,160 13,100 -44,793,250 1,090 883,601.00 -748,582

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 GRAND PLAZA HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL INTL CONTAINER IPEOPLE IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY MELCO RESORTS METRO RETAIL METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B MLA BRDCASTING NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PAXYS PHIL SEVEN CORP PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRANSPACIFIC BR TRAVELLERS WATERFRONT WILCON DEPOT

15.1 25.8 1.4 0.46 0.044 13 11.4 0.054 82 7.68 7.5 2.3 18.8 905 1,665 5.62 310 11.32 3.55 2.05 84.5 13.3 8.17 0.113 1.69 4.58 15.02 4.18 1.04 24.85 0.45 4.2 6.05 2.93 3.36 3.2 19 9.52 11.12 9 3.01 117 5.15 1,251 0.9 0.35 47.25 82.85 8.45 2.07 1.18 0.43 4.96 0.81 11.52

15.8 26.2 1.42 0.47 0.045 13.06 11.42 0.055 82 7.93 7.5 2.3 18.9 905 1,669 5.64 310 11.34 3.55 2.05 84.5 13.3 8.17 0.119 1.99 4.9 15.02 4.18 1.06 25.1 0.45 4.27 6.06 2.93 3.46 3.59 19 9.74 11.68 9 3.1 121 5.28 1,254 0.91 0.355 47.9 82.85 8.84 2.15 1.19 0.445 4.97 0.84 11.78

15.1 25.5 1.4 0.45 0.043 13 11.1 0.053 79 7.55 7.38 2.29 18.1 900 1,640 5.5 301 11.3 3.33 2.05 82.2 13 8.17 0.113 1.68 4.58 14.5 4 1.03 24 0.45 4 5.91 2.84 3.14 3.2 19 9.25 11.12 8.5 3 111 5.11 1,210 0.89 0.35 47.2 81.4 8.11 2.01 1.17 0.425 4.86 0.8 11.3

SERVICES 15.6 26.2 1.4 0.465 0.045 13.02 11.26 0.054 79.5 7.59 7.38 2.29 18.26 900 1,661 5.5 308.6 11.34 3.33 2.05 84 13 8.17 0.119 1.98 4.89 14.6 4.03 1.04 25.05 0.45 4.25 5.97 2.84 3.3 3.37 19 9.4 11.68 8.8 3.03 120 5.16 1,210 0.91 0.355 47.7 81.55 8.35 2.09 1.17 0.445 4.93 0.82 11.78

17,500 21,600 76,000 1,730,000 32,600,000 13,400 11,276,300 6,940,000 64,220 2,982,100 5,700 36,000 66,500 40 33,710 297,300 9,120 700 1,081,000 3,000 1,256,220 96,000 18,500 8,030,000 8,202,000 925,000 6,600 722,000 337,000 884,800 20,000 66,000 632,800 963,000 2,872,000 78,000 400 3,780,600 2,300 11,300 88,000 210,610 1,027,100 100,435 1,104,000 70,000 1,873,800 790,130 598,800 1,995,000 671,000 15,010,000 3,571,000 2,064,000 2,994,400

271,630 558,860 106,720 794,000 1,434,400 174,404 126,838,646 369,670 5,119,972.50 23,000,993 42,090 82,710 1,220,502 36,100 55,899,705 1,641,786 2,793,978 7,922 3,675,230 6,150 105,056,018 1,248,300 151,145 937,800 15,707,000 4,412,760 96,688 2,922,710 348,980 21,785,525 9,000 269,950 3,784,205 2,769,850 9,445,910 258,440 7,600 35,892,778 25,996 97,000 267,740 25,269,990 5,290,663 123,460,110 985,440 24,650 89,135,455 64,624,479.50 5,051,269 4,144,440 790,290 6,541,400 17,606,920 1,678,010 34,248,860

-15,400.00 -15,443,526 -3,719,884 399,726 750 2,290 -164,854 22,341,790 300,050 -2,470,905.50 -92,830 -94,350 -17,950 -103,000 -229,735 -198,270 457,531 -126,100 295,698 17,300 16,746,860 -15,294,560 -116,520 -17,195,030 -23,412,769 627,480 -294,840 -220,000 -15,782,820 -6,749,594

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

0.0028 1.54 4.18 24.9 1.65 0.3 7.99 2.33 0.195 0.131 0.132 0.0083 1.55 4.76 1.09 0.51 0.93 0.012 0.011 2 4.81 11.82 29.55

0.0028 1.54 4.18 25.5 1.73 0.3 8.11 2.35 0.2 0.133 0.132 0.0083 1.55 4.76 1.1 0.51 0.93 0.012 0.012 2.01 4.81 12.2 30

0.0027 1.52 4.13 23 1.65 0.3 7.6 2.3 0.18 0.131 0.132 0.0083 1.54 4.6 1.07 0.51 0.89 0.012 0.011 2 4.8 10.98 29.25

MINING & OIL 0.0028 148,000,000 1.53 1,050,000 4.13 89,000 24 46,400 1.72 358,000 0.3 700,000 8 38,900 2.34 670,000 0.198 1,040,000 0.133 840,000 0.132 20,000 0.0083 1,000,000 1.54 18,000 4.7 2,569,000 1.1 68,000 0.51 80,000 0.91 14,000 0.012 51,200,000 0.012 85,500,000 2.01 10,000 4.8 662,000 11 4,139,000 29.25 1,825,500

401,100 1,602,940 370,020 1,132,335 608,830 210,000 308,654 1,561,600 189,140 111,120 2,640 8,300 27,770 12,020,260 72,940 40,800 12,540 614,400 1,017,700 20,080 3,178,860 46,790,970 53,939,670

162,180 -132,600 -3,564,350 -4,810 237,278 -29,611,205

ABS HLDG PDR DD PREF FGEN PREF F GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A LR PREF PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 2B SMC FB PREF 2 SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

25 101 107.5 509 5.39 962 990 99.4 1.02 1,021 1,031 977 75.25 75.3 76 76.2 76

25 101 107.5 509 5.39 999 990 99.5 1.06 1,021 1,031 977 76.4 75.3 76 76.2 76

25 101 100 509 5.13 962 990 99.4 1.02 1,021 1,031 968.5 75.25 75.3 76 75.9 76

PREFERRED 25 167,900 101 3,020 100 20,240 509 300 5.15 686,000 999 410 990 310 99.5 930 1.06 3,000 1,021 50 1,031 50 968.5 1,080 76.4 110 75.3 85,190 76 13,000 75.9 4,780 76 135,000

4,197,500 305,020 2,031,153 152,700 3,621,125 394,790 306,900 92,451 3,140 51,050 51,550 1,046,840 8,347.50 6,414,807 988,000 363,536 10,260,000

-135,000 -1,053,329 79,520 -

LR WARRANT

2.47

2.47

2.43

WARRANTS 2.43 205,000

500,550

-

ITALPINAS XURPAS

5.9 3.21

6.05 3.32

5.38 3.18

5.42 3.3

47,138,570 3,915,300

125,872 -42,870

FIRST METRO ETF

110.9

110.9

109.4

1,538,011

-

49,829

-

MS

PROPERTY 7.62 1 15.34 2 0.8 38.4 3.27 4.67 5.97 0.445 1.09 0.95 0.22 0.42 25.25 0.62 0.115 1.57 1.23 1.13 4.11 4.58 0.6 0.44 0.51 3.05 19.34

1,005,600 2,909,000 800 103,000 776,000 10,940,300 508,000 515,000 2,800 5,520,000 148,000 402,000 3,290,000 120,000 431,500 151,000 600,000 3,189,000 3,050,000 3,919,000 12,000 21,316,000 103,951,000 2,110,000 3,256,000 20,641,000 3,034,500

USD DMPL A1

10.1

TRADING SUMMARY

10.2

SHARES

FINANCIAL

21,219,158

INDUSTRIAL

151,318,382

HOLDING FIRMS

99,722,444

PROPERTY

208,076,632

SERVICES

119,483,058

MINING & OIL

299,953,376

GRAND TOTAL

909,209,769

10.1

SME

8,217,100 1,203,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 110 13,980 10.2

DDS

4,910

VALUE 1,816.03 (DOWN) 25.80 1,487,419,353.83 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,554.03 (DOWN) 6.75 1,164,569,462.45 HOLDING FIRMS 7,251.25 (DOWN) 128.30 2,046,161,400.34 PROPERTY 3,558.24 (DOWN) 29.59 SERVICES 1,444.42 (DOWN) 25.52 1,201,760,776.65 MINING & OIL 9,683.13 (DOWN) 161.06 816,970,859.55 PSEI 7,312.61 (DOWN) 101.50 124,267,050.98 All Shares Index 4,481.71 (DOWN) 49.33 6,893,750,206.97 Gainers: 70; Losers: 125; Unchanged: 47; Total: 242

RCBC, partner Resona tie up with Kobe and Osaka banks

By Julito G. Rada RIZAL Commercial Banking Corp., the tenth-largest lender in terms of assets, and partner Resona Holdings Inc. strengthened their alliance by finalizing a partnership with two banks under the Kansai Mirai Financial Group of Japan.

Resona Holdings is headquartered in the Kiba area of Koto, Tokyo. The main operating entities of the group are Resona Bank, a nationwide corporate and retail bank headquartered in Osaka, and Saitama Resona Bank, a smaller bank based in Saitama City, which primarily serves Saitama Prefecture. Most of these banks’ operations are descended from Daiwa Bank and Asahi Bank, which merged in 2003.

RCBC first senior vice president Yasuhiro Matsumoto said in a statement Tuesday that the bank’s newest venture with the Osaka-based Kansai Urban Banking Corp. and Kobe-based Minato Bank came at the perfect opportunity, allowing for Japanese companies and small medium enterprises to do business in the Philippines.

“These two banks are some of the best in the Osaka, Kansai area.

Through them, we hope to bring more Japanese investors to the Philippines,” Matsumoto said.

“Likewise, RCBC can provide their banking requirements when they come to the Philippines,” he said.

Matsumoto said the partnership went both ways, allowing interested local firms and enterprises the opportunity to do business with Japanese firms.

RCBC’s partnership with Resona Group started in May 2013. Since then, both parties have assisted one another in nurturing Japanese SME clients.

RCBC has had long-standing relations with several Japanese companies dating way back in the 1970s.

In the last few years, other nations, including Japan, have expressed a growing interest in investing in the Philippines taking into consideration the country’s growing economy.

DoubleDragon breaks ground on Iloilo warehouse

By Jenniffer B. Austria DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Corp. broke ground on its planned industrial warehouse facility in Iloilo City.

DoubleDragon said in a disclosure to the stock exchange unit CentralHub Industrial Centers Inc. held the groundbreaking ceremony for the CentralHub-Iloilo on a 3.9-hectare property in Iloilo province along the national highway leading to the Iloilo International Airport from the Iloilo City proper.

“We believe that the industrial leasing segment presents significant growth opportunities for DoubleDragon as the current market supply is very traditional and fragmented and with growth now flowing into second and third-tier cities demand for industrial space has risen considerably,” DoubleDragon chairman Edgar Sia II said.

“Today, there are no large scale nationwide providers of industrial space, similar to our strategy in the expansion of CityMall, we intend to dominate this segment in the nearterm,” he added.

Aside from e-commerce businesses that will soon require facilities such as CentralHub, Sia said affiliates and the tenants of the CityMalls were natural users of the company’s warehouse facilities.

The newly-acquired location in Iloilo is the second CentralHub complex of DoubleDragon following CentralHub-Tarlac, which is currently under construction. The first phase of CentralHub-Tarlac will be completed and ready for turnover to tenants this month.

Each CentralHub site will contain modern standardized multi-use warehouses suited for commissaries, cold storage, light manufacturing and logistics distribution centers.

DoubleDragon has envisioned CentralHub to become the leading provider of industrial warehouses in the Philippines through the development of its first eight CentralHub sites by 2020.

World US, S. Korea confirm drills suspension SEOUL―The US and South Korean militaries confirmed Tuesday they had called off the coming joint exercises, and after President Donald pledged to halt the drills in the wake of his summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un. Seoul, which has tens of thousands of US troops on its soil to help protect it from its hostile northern neighbor, said the suspension would affect the largescale Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercises slated for August.

“South Korea and the US plan to continue discussions for further measures,” the defense ministry said in a statement, adding that “no decisions have been reached for other ensuing drills.”

Some 17,500 US military personnel were due to take part in the Freedom Guardian drills.

“We are still coordinating additional actions. No decisions on subsequent war games have been made,” Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in confirming the suspension.

“There is no impact on Pacific exercises outside of the Korean Peninsula.”

White said US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton would meet later this week at the Pentagon to discuss the issue.

Last week, Trump said the US would halt “war games” with its South Korean security ally -- without making clear when the freeze would begin.

The US leader raised eyebrows by describing the exercises as “provocative” -- a term used by the North.

US and South Korean forces have been training together for years, and routinely rehearse everything from beach landings to an invasion from the North, or even “decapitation” strikes targeting the North Korean regime. AFP

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018

68.5 million displaced worldwide G

ENEVA―A record 68.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to war, violence and persecution, notably in places like Myanmar and Syria, the UN said on Tuesday.

TV AWARDS. Actors Camila Mendes, Madelaine Petsch and Lili Reinhart walk onstage during the 2018 MTV Movie And TV Awards at Barker Hangar on June 16, 2018, in Santa Monica, California. AFP

N. Korea’s Kim Russians, foreigners seek love at the World Cup makes two-day visit to China BEIJING―North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is making a two-day visit to Beijing, Chinese state media reported Tuesday, a week after his unprecedented summit with US President Donald Trump.

The outing comes as China has sought to strengthen its role as a mediator between the US and North Korea, where Beijing claims compelling security and economic interests.

Dozens of security vans, police cars and armored vehicles lined streets around Beijing’s Diaoyutai State Guesthouse on Tuesday afternoon, where Kim had stayed in his previous visit.

The leader, who is believed to have landed in the Chinese capital Tuesday morning, was expected to head to the Great Hall of the People to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the North Korean autocrat would be in Beijing through Wednesday.

The trip is Kim’s third to China since March, when he made his inaugural foreign trip as leader.

In addition to discussing last week’s summit, Kim is expected to ask China to help him in efforts to seek relief from economic sanctions in return for his pledge to denuclearize, Japan’s Nikkei business daily said in a dispatch from Beijing.

Following the historic US-North Korea summit in Singapore a week ago, China suggested the UN Security Council could consider easing the economic punishment of its Cold War-era ally.

China may not have been at the table for the historic summit in Singapore but it retains strong influence behind the scenes.AFP

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Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

MOSCOW―During an afternoon at a Moscow park, Argentina fan Augustin Otelo is counting not the number of goals his team has scored in the World Cup but the number of phone numbers he has collected from Russian girls.

“Four!” boasts the 26-year-old engineer dressed in his country’s blue and white stripes as he competes with his friends to see who can get the most phone numbers.

Otelo said he hopes his “exotic factor” will help him “find love” in the Russian capital.

“We don’t know what to do between matches, so we thought we could try to get to know the Russian people better,” he said.

The Argentinians are flicking through selfies on their phones of Russian girls posing on the popular dating app Tinder.

“There’s a lot of competition because of the number of men who have come to Russia for the World Cup,” Otelo said.

“And very few girls speak English or Spanish.”

But the language barrier has not stopped Russians and thousands of foreign football fans from mixing on the streets of Moscow, despite conflicting messages to Russia’s female population from politicians.

On the eve of the World Cup, Communist lawmaker Tamara Pletneva warned Russian women that flings with visiting

football fans could leave them raising children “of another race” alone.

“We should be giving birth to our own children,” said Pletneva, who leads the lower house of parliament’s family, women and children committee.

Another Russian MP, Mikhail Degtyaryov from the ultra-nationalist LDPR party, took the opposite view.

“The more love stories we have connected to the World Cup... the more children are born, the better,” he said.

The Kremlin said World Cup romances are personal choices.

“Russian women can probably manage their own affairs. They are the best women in the world,” Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. AFP

By the end of 2017, the number was nearly three million higher than the previous year and showed a 50-percent increase from the 42.7 million uprooted from their homes a decade ago, according to a report by the UN refugee agency.

The current figure is equivalent to the entire population of Thailand, and the number of people forcibly displaced equates to one in every 110 people worldwide, it said.

“We are at a watershed, where success in managing forced displacement globally requires a new and far more comprehensive approach so that countries and communities aren’t left dealing with this alone,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

But around 70 percent of that number are people from just 10 countries, he told reporters in Geneva ahead of the report’s launch.

“If there were solutions to conflicts in those 10 countries, or in some of them at least, that huge figure, instead of rising every year, could start going down,” he said, calling for more political will to halt the crises driving so many from their homes.

The report showed that 16.2 million people were freshly displaced last year, and included those forced to flee for the first time as well as those who had been previously displaced.

This equates to some 44,500 people being pushed out of their homes every day―or one person every two seconds, UNHCR said.

Most people flee within their own country, and are defined as internally displaced people, or IDPs. By the end of 2017, there were some 40 million IDPs worldwide, down slightly from previous years, with Colombia, Syria and Democratic Republic of Congo accounting for the greatest numbers.

Another 25.4 million people-more than half of them children-were registered as refugees last year.

That is nearly three million more than in 2016, and “the highest known total to date”, it said.

Syria’s seven-year conflict alone had, by the end of last year, pushed more than 6.3 million people out of the country, accounting for nearly one-third of the global refugee population.

Another 6.2 million Syrians are internally displaced. AFP

Britain marks first anniversary of London mosque terror attack LONDON—Britain will on Tuesday mark the first anniversary of a deadly terror attack against a north London mosque, with Prime Minister Theresa May vowing that “vile extremism” will not divide the nation.

Mourners will hold a minute’s silence at 9.30am (0830GMT) to remember father-of-six Makram Ali, who died when Darren Osborne plowed a hire van onto a crowded pavement close to Finsbury Park mosque, intending to kill as many Muslims as possible.

The attack, on June 19 last year, also left 12 injured.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid and London Mayor Sadiq Khan are expected to attend the event at nearby Islington Town Hall.

Osborne, 48, left a note in the van, in which he said he was seeking revenge for Islamist terror attacks and a child sex scandal, and named mayor Khan as someone that he also wanted to kill.

The mayor described it as an “evil at-

tack designed to divide us”.

“Instead, the response from the local community, and Londoners more widely, was and remains an inspiration to us all,” he added.

Osborne, from the Welsh capital Cardiff, was in February sentenced to life in prison with a minimum 43-year term.

“Last year’s cowardly attack which targeted innocent worshipers leaving Finsbury Park mosque is an attack on all of us,” May said in a statement.

“As with all acts of terrorism the intention was to divide us but we will not let this happen.

“We are a country of many faiths and freedom of worship and respect for those of different faiths is fundamental to this country’s values and these values will never be broken by vile extremism” she added.

When passing sentence at a London court, judge Bobbie Cheema-Grubb said that Osborne had been “rapidly radicalized” and that his “mindset became one of malevolent hatred”. AFP

Crocodiles are welcome in this village in Burkina Faso BAZOULE―Burkina Faso―Crocodiles may be one of the deadliest hunters in the animal kingdom, but in a small village in Burkina Faso it is not unusual to see someone sitting atop one of the fearsome reptiles.

People in Bazoule, around 30 kilometers from the capital Ouagadougou, share their pond with more than 100 of the razor-toothed creatures.

“We got used to the crocodiles when we were young, swimming in the water with them and all that,” said Pierre Kabore, just a few meters away from a crocodile feasting on chicken provided by the village.

“Now we can always approach them and sit on them―and if you have the courage, you can lie on them too. There’s no problem, they are sacred crocodiles.

They don’t do anything to anyone.”

According to local legend, the startling relationship with the predators dates back to at least the 15th century.

The village was in the grip of an agonizing drought until the crocodiles led women to a hidden pond where the population could slake their thirst.

“The villagers organized a party to celebrate and thank the reptiles,” Kabore said.

A celebration known as Koom Lakre is

still held every year during which villagers make sacrifices and ask the animals to grant their wishes of health, prosperity and a good harvest.

Far from being considered a threat, the crocodiles are deemed to have a mystical connection with Bazoule.

“Crocodiles are represented as the soul of our ancestors and if one of them dies, they are buried and even given a funeral as if they were human,” said Kabore.

“When a misfortune is about to happen in the village, they cry out. Elders are charged with interpreting the cries, and then make wishes to ward off bad luck.”

AFP

SCREENING. Model Nathalie Darcas attends the New York screening of “Sicario: Day Of The Soldado” on June 18, 2018, in New York City. AFP

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

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wednesday, june 20, 2018

SM honors scholars with testimonial dinner in June TO HONOr SM Foundation scholargraduates for school year 2017-2018, the Sy family behind the mall giant will tender a testimonial dinner at the SMX on Wednesday, June 27.

The 330 graduates nationwide—149 from the NCr, 115 from Luzon, 12 from Mindanao, and 57 from Visayas —from 105 partner universities and colleges throughout the country, together with their parents or guardians, will gather to meet their benefactors, Henry Sy Sr. and his family.

Earlier in the day, the graduates, many of whom are flown in from the provinces, will be offered jobs in the various SM offices in Manila and the provinces. Job offer desks manned by Human resource executives of these SM offices are laid out at the entrance of the SMX Function room for job interviews and subsequent offers.

In the past, many of these graduates accept these offers, although some opt to join other companies or hold these offers in abeyance until after they have hurdled the professional board examinations for teachers, engineers and accountants.

This year’s batch is led by two summae cum laude graduates: Jedda Pascual, a graduate of the Ateneo de Davao College of Accountancy, and Danielle Francis Olsen, who finished her BS Accountancy from the University of Negros Occidental-recoletos.

Out of the 330 scholars, 87 are graduating with Latin honors.

This year’s batch will also be a memorable event for scholars from Samar, Leyte and other provinces affected by killer Typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan), as many of them are graduating with honors.

The scholars will hear from the guest speaker Loida Ongteco de Vera, a former SM scholar, who will recount her memorable and inspirational journey to becoming the Operations Manager of SM Hypermarket.

Ongteco-de Vera graduated with a degree of Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education from the Philippine Normal University in 2000.

Partner schools of SM Foundation, SM executives, friends and clients of the Sy family and business associates are expected at this traditional dinner held in honor of these graduates. This is the 22nd year of the Presentation of Scholars to their benefactors.

SM Foundation maintains 2,000 college scholars yearly and another 2,000 technical-vocational school scholars. So far, more than 3,000 scholars have graduated under the SM Foundation Education Program.

In BrIef Eye-care proposal for QC poor passed WITH over two million people nationwide suffering from blindness and poor vision, the 37-member Quezon City council has passed an ordinance instituting a comprehensive eye-care program for the city’s residents.

Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said Ordinance No. Sangguniang Panglungsod-2689 gives priority to poor, visually-impaired residents who could not afford the basic eye-care treatment and ophthalmological services that are commonly expensive in private hospitals and eye clinics.

“Blindness or severe visual impairment is usually avoidable thus we should make essential eye care available to all, especially to the less privileged,” she said. Rio N. Araja

NV sets task force vs transport woes BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya– The provincial government has created a task force to address transportation problems among passengers here.

Gov. Carlos Padilla said he will sign an Executive Order creating the task force to study and recommend viable solutions or remedies on the perennial transport problem of bus passengers bound from Nueva Vizcaya to Metro Manila and vice versa.

Ben Moses Ebreo

LGUs LoCaL goVErNmENt uNits

MANILA’S BEAUTIES. Manila Mayor Joseph Ejercito Estrada (center) poses with 32 candidates of the annual Miss Manila pageant during the press presentation at Manila Hotel on Tuesday. Lino Santos

283 Manila workers gain loyalty award from Erap

M

ANILA Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada has conferred loyalty awards to 283 City Hall employees as part of the celebration of the 447th Araw ng Maynila held in City Hall’s Bulwagang Villegas.

Three employees received the Special Mayor’s Award with P10,000 in cash, while 10 employees were named Most Outstanding Employees.

Certificates of loyalty were also given to commend the 270 employees’ effort and dedication to public service, as they have been working in the city government for more than 30 years.

The awarding ceremony was Estrada’s way of showing gratitude and appreciation for their long-serving city government employees.

During the awarding ceremony, the

city chief executive expressed his utmost appreciation to all the awardees for being committed and dedicated in serving the public over the years.

The three employees who were awarded the Special Mayor’s Award with P10,000 in cash are Engr. Lorenzo B. Alconera, OIC of the Department of Engineering and Public Works; Dr. Merle Sacdalan-Faustino, OIC-Hospital Director of Justice Jose Abad Santos General Hospital; and lawyer Fortune O. Mayuga, director of the Bureau of Permits.

“As model employees, you are now in a

position to inspire others. We need people like you to show your co-employees how much can be accomplished with hard work, commitment, integrity, dedication, and the right attitude,” Estrada told the city hall employees.

The former President also urged all employees to remain united, so they can succeed in their goals and help bring a better future to all Manileños.

“You have all been part of Manila’s journey to progress and stability. remember, all your contributions and works are part of your duty to improve Manila,” Estrada said.

In expressing his gratitude to the employees, the mayor imparted his favorite saying: “In everything we say and do, let us ensure that we are delivering the greatest good, for the greatest number.”

‘GREYHOUND’ HUNT. The Bureau Jail Management and Penology, led by Jail Senior Insp. Jay Tee P. Tancangco (left), conducts a surprise inspection inside Sta. Cruz District Jail in Barangay Callios, Sta. Cruz, Laguna under Oplan Greyhound. It is part of the ‘Linis Piitan’ program under the directive of Jail director Deogracias C. Tapayan, and jail guards recovered some pointed and sharp objects that are not allowed inside their jail cells. Roy Tomandao

Search starts for LGUs with best education governance

LOCAL government units with outstanding efforts to deliver basic education to their constituents are invited to send nominations for the Synergeia Foundation’s Seal of Good Education Governance, which opens today.

Cities and municipalities that will receive the seal in September will get incentive packages from both PLDT and Smart Communications.

In determining the Seal recipients, a board of judges will evaluate how nominated LGUs have ensured the active participation of their local school boards and governing councils, and if they have increased the ratio of education spending to total budget.

The locality’s cohort survival rate (the percentage of grade one students who went on to finish sixth grade) must also be higher than the national average or must have increased by two percentage points year-on-year. Another metric to be checked is the reduction in number of non-readers and frustrated readers in the city or municipality.

To know how to submit a nomination before the June 30 deadline, please visit www.synergeia.org.ph.

Established in 2002, Synergeia is a coalition of individuals and organizations working closely with hundreds of LGUs to help improve the delivery of basic education to children.

The foundation launched the Seal of Good Education Governance last year, and awarded the seal to 24 LGUs from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. A previous winner can still get the seal in succeeding years.

As in the inaugural year, PLDT and Smart will provide incentive packages depending on the LGUs’ respective circumstances and needs.

Fil-Korean company keen to invest in Zambales desilting project CLArK, Pampanga—A joint venture between a Filipino investor and a Korean businessman has expressed keen interest in investing in Zambales, particularly in the dredging and desilting projects of its river channels clogged with lahar sand.

AJ Marketing and Consultancy Services, a partnership between Filipino businessman Jonathan Mendoza and Korean

Andrew Lee, signed a Memorandum of Agreement with L. C. Soliman Marketing headed by Lydia Soliman for the joint venture in the dredging and desilting of Sitio Nahuko river in Barangay Santa Fe in San Marcelino, Zambales.

According to Mendoza, the project will enable the river to be cleared of lahar sand and give them a supply of materials in their infrastructure projects in

line with President rodrigo Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” program.

“We are aware that Gov. Deloso wants the rivers in Zambales dredged and desilted so that the residents of the province will not suffer from floods, so we are happy to embark on this project,” Mendoza said.

He added that his partnership with the Korean partner was also a result of Presi-

dent Duterte’s recent visit to South Korea, where he called upon Korean businessmen to come and invest in the Philippines.

“Mr. Lee is one of the 15 Korean investors who answered the call of the President,” Mendoza said.

He said the sand they will remove from Sitio Nahuko river will be taken to Cebu where their firm has a 400-hectare reclamation project.

Free college education touted LEGAZPI CITY—Free college education for Filipino youth in general is now a reality, following the P41-billion Memorandum of Agreement recently signed by state universities and colleges (SUCs) and local universities and colleges (LUCs) with the Commission on Higher Education and the Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education.

Albay 2nd District rep. Joey Sarte Salceda, principal author of republic Act 10931 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act (UAQTEA) of 2018, said free college education is a bold step toward a broader middle class, and constitutes President rodrigo Duterte’s “next wave social revolution in building a more egalitarian society.”

President Duterte, who signed the Act last August, witnessed the ceremonial signing of the MoA last June 13 in Malacañang and praised those who worked hard to make the elusive dream of free tertiary education in the country a reality.

Albay’s 30,000 enrollees this school year are among the program’s beneficiaries. Of the total, about 18,000 will be at state-run Bicol University in this city and its campuses in Tabaco City, Polangui and Guinobatan towns.

Some 12,000 more will be in local community colleges including the Daraga Community College, rapu-rapu Community College and Manito Community College.

FOR DAD. A father and son pose for mom at a fresco put up by SM City Taytay as families across the country celebrated Father’s Day on Sunday. Norman Cruz

Life

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

fashion and beauty

@MStandardLIFE wEdnESday, junE 20, 2018

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Kris Aquino’s ‘addiction’

SELF-CONFESSED MAKEUP ADDICT.

Kris Aquino ‘s love of makeup extends even during emergency situations.

and unusual bedtime routine and Loyal, according to Ever Bilena key accounts manager Denice Sy. Aquino excitedly shared that she was able to vEN actress, Tv host, and, now, social media influencer Kris Aquino, pick the names for the lipstick shades. “May who is blessed with clear skin—thanks to good genes, needs makeup to hugot yung mga names, (the names tug on the look presentable. heartstrings)” she said.

“I wanted a lipstick named Loyal because The Queen of All Media is a self-confessed despite being able to afford all the expensive make- you want the lipstick to stay put. The other makeup addict. In fact, according to her makeup up brands there currently are, Aquino collabo- one is called Laugh because everybody has to to laugh at themselves. The artist RB Chanco, “She has makeup [products] rates with local cosmetics brand Ever be able next that will also come that can last her 10 lifetimes,” enough to fit a Bilena, which is known out is called Lucky be60-square meter condo unit. for its affordable cause sometimes you also But that doesn’t stop Aquino products. need a bit of luck,” she from getting more. on a trip to New shared.

York, she went through each row Kris’ Life Kit Choosing the right at Sephora for four hours. When Aquino has reshades for lipsticks is a she was about to pay, the cashier, cently launched vital matter especially if who was surprised to see her haul, her own makeup line you want to be inclusive. said, “Wow, so much makeup,” to under Ever Bilena, According to Aquino, which she simply responded, “I love dubbed Kris’ Life Kit. during the product demakeup.”

The line consists of lipvelopment, Ever Bilena Aquino reportedly bought about sticks, liquid lippies, eyechief executive Diocel$15,000 worth of makeup on that brow pencils, mascaras, powdo Sy reminded her to shopping trip. ders, and blush-ons. pick shades that would fit “We all have our joys and ang The initial products available everybody. number one ko talaga is shoes, from the line are the Kris Matte “Yung skin type ko is ang number two is makeup,” the Matic Lipstick in Life (pink) and parang five to 10 percent of the 47-year-old mom of two said in deLove (red), and Kris Brow Liner and population lang, so 90 percent fense of her purchase decisions.

Brow Mascara in Happy Taupe and won’t be served daw, but I said, It should be no surprise that a Beyond Brown.

‘No, boss. I’m gonna prove More products are soon to person with her kind of prestige has the means to satisfy all of her Kris Matte Matic Lipstick in be launched, including Kris Kris Matte Liquid Lipsticks to you that yung choices ko in Life and Love can be universal’,” related Matte Liquid Lipsticks in wants regardless of how many zeLove and Life Aquino.

Life, Love, Laugh, Lucky, roes there are on the price tag. But

By Raye Sanchez

E

THUMBS UP Su pe Dad Mug with r Cape

STEVE MADDEN Antique Money Clip

Aquino also shared how she prefers to use her products. “You have to buy both (Matte Lipstick and Liquid Lipstick) because what I do, I mix the Matte Matic Lipstick and Liquid Lipstick and you’re alive for the rest of the day.”

‘Kilay is life’

True to her “kilay is life” mantra, Aquino made sure her Life Kit includes a brow liner with a retractable pencil that helps beginners follow the natural shape of their brows, as well as a matching brow mascara on the other end to keep their drawn on brows in place throughout the day.

“I really felt that for eyebrows to stay in place, kailangan mo ng brow mascara and you don’t want twenty million things,” she opined.

In fact, Aquino divulged that behind those “no makeup” makeup look selfies on Instagram are drawn on eyebrows. “I’ll admit kunwari nagpo-post ako ng patulog look with my kids na no makeup? I always put kilay. I don’t [put] naman a #NoMakeup [hashtag].”

Eyebrows are still important even during emergency situations, thus the additional step to her bedtime routine.

“Before sleeping, after I put on everything, nagki-kilay talaga ako just in case masunugan kami.

Para kung magtataKris Brow Liner and takbo man kami sa laBrow Mascara bas, I have kilay,” she candidly said.

Treats for dads IT DoESN’T matter that Father’s Day has passed, special people in our lives like our dads deserve to be celebrated and treated at any time of the year.

Rustan’s has prepared in-store activities for dads on all remaining weekends of June until July 8.

Free grooming by Philips, shoe shining by Crept Protect, mini golf game by Jack Nicklaus, quick massage, artisan hot and cold drinks at monogram the Coffee and Beer bars, and free monogrampur ming for dress shirts and/or handkerchief purchases await fathers on June 23-24 at Rustan’s Ala Shangri-La, on June 30-July 1 at Rustan’s Alabang, and on July 7-8 at Rustan’s Gateway.

If you prefer to give wrapped presents, the department store has a wide array of choices.

For dads who love a good adventure and weekend family trips, a linen scarf from AD&C 1956, a fedora hat from Dorfman Pacific, and swim shorts from Bluemint would add a punch of fun and pop of color to a functional travel wardrobe. Comfy shoes and cool shades are crucial to enjoy long walks by the sea or around the city, get 10 percent off on select sunglasses from Rayban until June 30, and choose from New Balance or Hacket for the perfect pair of sneakers.

For the utilitarian man with a soft spot for cheesy humor, choose novelty items that are prac-

tical: a Buxton wallet with multiple pockets for cards and whatnots, a Discovery Shop jewelry box for prized possessions, a Steve Madden antique money clip, and a Tateossian dice cufflinks that are surely a conversation starter.

Does the main man in the house love a good drink?

A flask from Espacio Handmade, shot glasses with leather cases from Kikkerland, and the most adorable Super Dad mug (with its own cape) from Thumbs Up will make them smile every time they use it.

For stylish pops, get shirts from Ascot Chang, Pedro del Hiero, or Ricardo Preto. Add an extra something by throwing in a few accessories such as pockets square from Tie Bar a belt from Pedro del Hiero, or even shoes from Allen Edmonds. on the other hand, for the laid back dad who likes to keep things casual at work and at home, gift him with fine shirts from Faconnable, a crossbody bag from Adolfo Dominguez, a distressed leather bracelet from Thompson London, or a supple pair of suede oxfords from Kurt Geiger.

DORFMAN PACIFIC Paper Braid Fedora Hat in brown

FACONNABLE Club Cup Polo Shirt Cotton Jersey in green

ESPACIO HANDMADE Totally Not Booze Flask in brown NEW BALANCE Mens 574 Classic Label in blue

ADOLFO DOMINGUEZ Crossbody Bag in black

PEDRO DEL HIERO PDH Logo Buckle Brown Belt

ADOLFO DOMINGUEZ Unisex Scarf Linen Modal Print in navy white

Life

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wednesday, june 20, 2018 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Dressed to the nineties

T

he colors and silhouettes popular in the ‘90s return in Guess Originals’ spring 2018 capsule collection.

Oversized t-shirt with wide stripes in ‘90s pop colors

The 11-piece, top-only collection made for men and women is composed of ‘90s logo mania t-shirts, old-school baseball jerseys and sweatshirts, and dresses dipped in ‘90s pop colors including bright yellows and aqua blues complemented by muted pink, green, and gray tones. each oversized style in this collection embraces the brand’s roots with its mixture of wide and thin stripes and logo-heavy pieces.

For more information, visit www.

GUESS.com and www.facebook.com/ GUESSPhil.

Cruelty-free beauty BrinGinG out your best face need not involve cruelty to animals. But the sad reality is that animals have been affected by human’s cosmetics use.

They have been used in cosmetics testing for over 50 years, and a large number of countries around the world still have no laws against animal testing in cosmetic products and ingredients.

All-natural products store chain healthy Options is one of the few companies advocating for cruelty-free beauty. it carries a wide array of all-natural, animal-friendly makeup and skin care products. it advocates the protection of millions of animals from unnecessary suffering and death. There are, after all, alternatives to animal testing for product ingredient safety.

Some of the cruelty-free personal care products available at healthy Options are Andalou naturals, Aztec Secret indian healing Clay, Derma-e, Jason, and Alba Botanica, among others. healthy Options also supports sustainable farming and encourages consumers to choose organic and natural.

“For us at healthy Options, organic is, and has always been, more than just the absence of chemical additives, preservatives, pesticides, and other harmful ingredients. it is all about ethical food, or Food With Conscience,” said romy Sia, man-at-the-helm at healthy Options.

Aside from advocating for and offering cruelty-free beauty products,

Cruelty-free products are not tested on animals

the company has also stepped up its “Love Food, hate Waste” initiative, and enjoins everyone to choose to protect the world we live in.

Old-school sweatshirt

Oversized logo mania t-shirt for men

My Diamond offers discounts on its engagement rings and wedding bands.

6 oft-forgotten things

to have a successful wedding

Top in blue with muted pink and green

Aqua blue shirt with thin stripes pattern

Summit highlights latest wedding ideas MOre than 300 wedding suppliers will exhibit latest wedding ideas at the Philippine Wedding Summit 2018 on June 23 to 24 at the SMX Mall of Asia.

Produced and organized by Themes & Motifs, the country’s most prestigious wedding fair organizer, the PWS 2018 will highlight thousands of latest wedding ideas, products, and services in a two-day fiesta of wedding fineries.

Mega hotel and posh wedding banquet venue City of Dreams Manila joins the wedding summit as its major participant, local industry big names such as Goldenhills Jewelry, hizon’s Catering, and Studio 1 Photography, meanwhile, will showcase their latest wedding packages for today’s upwardly mobile and well traveled soon-to-weds.

Top event stylist, antique collector, and most sought-after visual merchandising guru henry Pascual is this year’s official creative director and event stylist.

A special half-A-Million Pesos promo awaits all soon-to-weds who will book their favorite wedding suppliers at PWS 2018. every P1,000 booked at the event will be entitled to a raffle coupon for a chance to win P500,000 in cash.

City of Dreams Manila joins the Philippine Wedding Summit 2018

Other minor prizes will be drawn by the hour in special mini raffle draws. hizon’s Catering will treat soon-toweds to a sumptuous sampling of their tried and tested menu selection as well as new culinary delights from their kitchen in a grand food tasting session right inside the main exhibit hall. in addition, a special seminar series will be conducted for free by henry Pas-

cual who will discuss in separate sessions the latest trends for soon-to-weds and valuable business tips for wedding suppliers.

As the Themes & Motifs rebrands itself as The Wedding inspirations Co. it will launch its feature rich website during the PWS 2018. The website will feature the latest and best wedding ideas, promos and discounts, and access to Inspirations for Weddings eMagazine.

MAny women dream of a perfect wedding, or at least something close to it. But preparing for one can be utterly stressful; there are many items on the checklist which are seemingly impossible to be ticked off.

My Diamond, maker of elegant jewelry for weddings and any occasion, shares six things grooms and brides often forget to do but are actually important in making sure the wedding is not only successful but also a moment to remember.

end up disappointed because of missing photos of loved ones or an overlooked special element in the wedding. Giving the photographer a list of things and people to photograph will help them capture the moments that are important to you.

Jake Olaso wedding films offers 30 percent discount on all packages, while Sunday Morning Studios slashes 20 percent off on its event coverage.

Agree on at least 2-3 priorities to spend on

Many soon-to-wed couples, especially brides, suffer from lack of sleep before the wedding. Get a good night’s sleep, have a soft massage, or listen to soothing music. Turn off your mobile phone so as not to be overwhelmed by notifications or messages.

Make sure you are well rested

Setting your priorities straight early on can help deal with your concerns, especially if you are on a budget. is the quality of food or venue more important to you? Are you more focused on the number of guests or on how elaborate your dress should be? Once you have Eat your priorities and budget set, you can Wedding jitters may make couples start searching for realistic options. skip meals. it is important to eat to have the energy during the big day.

Choose responsive suppliers Drink plenty of water to keep you hyAfter setting your budget and pri- drated and have some snacks, like bisorities, find the right people to help cuits or cookies, to boost your energy you achieve your wedding goals. Ask and get you through the day. around, visit websites, read testimonials, and check their wedding portfolios, it is also very important to choose then draw up a list of those who seem the right wedding ring that will symlike they will be able to provide what you bolize your everlasting love. My Dianeed. Meet with them personally to see mond is offering a 50 percent discount if you share the same vision or style. on engagement rings and wedding To make the wedding preparation eas- bands until June 30. ier for you, My Diamond has handpicked Seal your love with a white gold wedding suppliers that offer special and pair of 14k with 15 pieces of 0.19 exclusive discounts for My Diamond carat diamonds channel-set wedding customers buying either engagement band for the bride and brushed inrings or wedding bands until August. lay 14k white gold wedding band for the groom. you can also tie the knot Don’t sweat the small stuff with a two-toned pair of 14k yellow After giving your suppliers the list of gold and white gold bands with seven things they need to do, let go and trust pieces of 0.12 carat diamond channelthem. Wedding experts are there to set wedding band for the bride and help ease your burden. you only have brushed inlay 14k yellow and white to take care of yourself for the big day. gold wedding band for the groom. read a book, catch up with friends, or bond with your family while enjoying My Diamond concept stores are lothe last moments of being single. cated at Ayala Center Cebu, Festival Supermall, Gateway Mall, Glorietta 4, Provide your photographer Greenbelt 3, Lucky Chinatown Mall, Robinsons Place Manila, SM Lanang a shot list Photographers are expensive due Premier Davao, SM Mall of Asia, SM to high demand. But many couples Megamall, and SM Aura Premier.

Entertainment

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018

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nickie.standard@gmail.com

10 ‘Red Alert’ tips in time SHIELA VALDERRAMA-MARTINEZ FOR CLASSES OPENING in ‘Binondo: A Tsinoy Musical’ AS THE school year commences, safety becomes top priority for kids both inside and outside school grounds. Know what to do in case of harm and danger with practical tips from “Red Alert,” the Best TV Public Service Program in the 2018 KBP Golden Dove Awards.

1. Report incidents to proper authorities. Whether they’re victims or witnesses to bullying, children should know how to report such incidents to their teachers and guidance counselors to avoid further injuries.

2. Good values are learned at home. According to psychologists, discipline starts at home, and it’s important to explain to children that hurting others (both mentally and physically) is wrong.

3.

Don’t talk to strangers. The age-old rule still applies. Remind your children to stay away from people they don’t know to avoid modus operandi of kidnappers and thieves.

4. Pick your kids up from school, arrange carpools, or have them walk with groups on the way home to avoid walking alone and falling easy prey to criminals.

5.

Pass familiar routes and avoid dark alleys to prevent getting lost and

A

getting easily taken advantage of.

6. Bring a pocket flashlight and whistle if you can’t avoid dark alleys.

7. Avoid using a cellphone while walking to avoid pickpockets and thieves.

8. When encountering petty thieves, avoid fighting back especially when alone. Prioritize your physical safety over your belongings.

9. In case you become victim to crime, observe identifying marks on your assailant. Take note of their height, build, unusual features, and mode of transport to help investigation.

10. Report criminal incidents to police and notify your barangay so they can take swift action and investigate the incident.

For more tips to keep the family safe in times of emergency, watch Red Alert with 2018 KBP Golden Dove Awards Best TV Public Affairs Program host Jeff Canoy on Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. on DZMM TeleRadyo and after Bandila on ABSCBN.

FTER doing theater musicals, a year-long teleserye teleserye, performances onstage here and abroad and several concert tours, singer-actress Shiela Valderrama-Martinez remains pre-occupied for the next half of 2018, that busy may even be an understatement for her.

For the year 2017, Shiela headlined the critically acclaimed musical, Maynila Sa Kuko ng Liwanag, where she essayed the iconic role of Ligaya Paraiso. She also proved her versatility when she played Tatiana Racon in Comedy of Tenors for Repertory Philippines.

Shiela joined Morisette in the latter’s concert tours here and abroad. Moreover, Shiela did performances in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore.

On television, Sheila got the chance to be part of the cast of ABS-CBN’s widely followed teleserye, Wildflower, where she was critically acclaimed for playing the feisty Atty. Georgina Fischer, who represents Maja Salvador.

Presently, Shiela is slated to topbill a new stage production, Binondo, A Tsinoy Musical, where she plays the female lead of Lily De la Rosa. Directed by Joel Lamangan and written by Ricky Lee Lee, Binondo, A Tsinoy Musical tells the story of how Lily, a Filipina night club singer in pre-Martial Law Manila, embarks on a journey of great love and heartache.

With music by Von De Guzmán and choreography by Douglas Nierras, Binondo, A Tsinoy Musical spans two decades and two Nierras countries. The production explores how love overcomes even times of racial prejudices and political turmoil, enduring years of waiting and absence, only to grow deeper and change the lives of everyone.

Playing Shiela’s leading men are Arman Ferrer, Floyd Tena, David Ezra and Noel Rayos. Other cast members are Lorenz Martinez, Ima Castro and Tuesday Vargas. Alternating with Martinez Shiela as Lily is Carla Guevara. Binondo, A Tsinoy Musical goes onstage starting June 29 at The Theater at Solaire. It runs until July 8.

Shiela, the newest ambassador of Facial Care Center, will also reprise her role of Kapitana Mary Jane in the sixth season of Rak of Aegis, which runs from today until Sept. 2 at the PETA Theater. On July 14, Shiela will guest in the concert of Morisette at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City. She also joins Morisette’s local concert tour.

Come Sept. 28, Shiela will play the lead in the upcoming musical, Guadalupe, at the Meralco Theater. To be directed by Baby Barredo, written by Joel Trinidad and music by Ejay Yatco, Guadalupe is produced by Julie Borromeo Performing Arts Foundation, Inc.

Broadcast journalist and 'Red Alert' host Jeff Canoy

BIGGEST SUPERMAN FAN gathering in Manila “LOOK, up in the sky, it’s a bird, it’s a plane... It’s Superman!”

SM Cinema, as it connects to its audience through the Reel-to-Real experience, celebrates a major fan gathering event at SM Megamall Mega Fashion Hall for the 80th anniversary of the world’s most iconic superhero, Superman.

Fans from different ages were stunned with the centerpiece statue of Superman, the diorama of Kal-El’s ship, and Kryptonian Prison Rings as they set foot on the hall.

Superman Hall also displayed fun facts to celebrate the superhero’s history and milestone. Apart from the huge logo seal and a compilation of comic covers, spectacular backdrop for fun photo ops were enjoyed by cosplayers, movie geeks, especially comic lovers who posed beside the photo wall of Action Comics.

The celebration of the iconic superhero was made more fun after the passionate fans were able to take home awesome memorabilia like t-shirts, toys, and other merchandise at the venue.

Clark Kent famously known as Superman, a fictional superhero who appeared in DC Comics during 1938 and made a successful franchise in films throughout the years like Man of Steel (2013), Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Justice League (2017, among others.

The Man of Steel hall was available at SM Megamall Mega Fashion Hall from June June 8 to15 and until June 30 at SM City Marikina Activity Center.

Catch your favorite superhero flicks in SM Cinema and book your tickets through the website, www.smcinema.com or download the SM Cinema mobile app.

Superman Cosplayers gather at SM Megamall Mega Fashion Hall for the 80th anniversary of the popular screen superhero.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, June 20, 2018

ACROSS 1 Poet’s black 5 Ellipse 9 Famous 14 Rhett’s hangout 15 Foal’s father 16 Shelf 17 Jai — 18 Quechua speaker 19 Thai or Iraqi 20 Like moonlight 22 Baggage handlers 24 Napoleon’s fate 26 Corporate exec 27 Desert bloomer 30 Roll shape 35 Leering sort 36 Mets’ former ballpark 37 “Fish Magic” artist 38 Kiwi’s extinct kin 39 Laments 42 St. 43 Orchidlike blossom 45 Burglar’s “key” 46 Gobbled up 48 Run for office 50 Footman’s attire 51 Casserole cover 52 Actress — Davis 54 Guaranteed

58 Torpor 62 Island off Naples 63 Outfits 65 Na+ and Cl66 Portrait 67 Muscle complaint 68 Film 69 Keep from acting 70 Wagers 71 Designer — Schiaparelli DOWN 1 LAX guesses 2 Island near Java 3 Grad-school exam 4 Lack of experience 5 Horus’ father 6 Upholstery choice 7 Curved line 8 Frog step 9 Stares angrily 10 Update inventory 11 Actress — Falco 12 Microbiology gel 13 Playing cards 21 Bedroom community 23 Coral reef locale

25 Reverberating 27 Stand-up — 28 Greek market 29 State as fact 31 Pore over a book 32 Make happy 33 Firm refusal 34 Smaller than small 36 Urban haze 40 Leave out 41 Trawler net 44 Spend like crazy 47 Greed

49 More open 50 Optician’s wares 53 Octopus leg count 54 Sour 55 No different 56 Mild quarrel 57 Dull, as a color 59 Elbow grease 60 Bed-and-breakfasts 61 Offshore 64 Finish the cupcakes

‘Binondo: A Tsinoy Musical’ lead actress Shiela Valderrama-Martinez with leading man Arman Ferrer.

‘Remembering Michael Jackson’ on Lifetime THIS month, Lifetime delivers an exciting lineup of shows, from tales of murder and mystery to exciting competitions.

A not-to-miss special is Remembering Michael Jackson, an hour-long biography on the pop star’s story that trains the spotlight on his final days.

The in-depth exclusive, which features interviews with those closest to the late global pop superstar, including his former bodyguards Bill Whitfield and Javon Beard, airs on June 24 at 6:00 p.m..

Also, get ready for the premiere of MasterChef Australia Season 10, where contestants will be tested by the biggest international and local culinary legends and challenged to create the most extraordinary meals ever. Twentyfour home cooks will earn the privilege of donning the coveted MasterChef Australia apron, joining an elite group from nine previous seasons who have gone on to achieve critical acclaim and culinary success.

George Calombaris, Gary Mehigan, and Matt Preston return to fire up the kitchen, along with mentor Shannon Bennett and celebrity guest chefs that include Gordon Ramsay and Nigella Lawson. The show’s biggest season yet opened on June 18. You can also catch up on the Best of Week 1 of

A scene from 'Remembering Michael Jackson' premiering on Lifetime this Sunday.

MasterChef Australia Season 10 on June 22 at 6:55 p.m..

First impressions are not always the most accurate ones: in The Wrong Man, a young woman returns home after the untimely death of her grandmother, only to discover that the friendly, handsome man caring for her grandfather isn’t at all what he seems to be. Catch it on today at 9:05 p.m.. Finally, in The Lost Wife of

Robert Durst on June 27 at 9:05 p.m., young, wide-eyed Kathie (Katharine McPhee) falls in love with charming, quirky real estate scion Robert Durst (Daniel Gillies) only for their marriage to turn stranger and darker as time passes.

Lifetime™ is available on SKYCable Ch 65 and Lifetime™ HD Ch 199; Cable Link Ch. 223; Dream Satellite Ch 28; Destiny Ch 44.

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

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Entertainment

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 2018

HOLLYWOOD

‘Incredibles 2’ makes heroic box office debut INCREDIBLES 2, the long-awaited return of a quirky animated superhero family from Disney-Pixar, reigned supreme at the North American box office, raking in a record $180 million in its debut, industry estimates showed Sunday.

It was the highest ever opening for an animated film in the US and Canada, easily besting the $135 million debut of its DisneyPixar stablemate, Finding Dory (2016).

The film tells the story of the Parr family -- matriarch Helen (Holly Hunter) is called upon to help bring the world’s hiding superheroes back into the open, as husband Bob (Craig T. Nelson) navigates the day-today work of being a homemaker.

Their children Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Huck Milner) are back again, along with baby Jack-Jack, whose devastating super powers are about to be unleashed. AFP

A tete-a-tete with

MR. UNIVERSE

Former Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson with Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach ( center) and MUO President Paula Shugart during a pre-pageant event in Manila in 2017. PNA

By Nickie Wang

T

What we learned from Jay-Z, Beyonce album MUSIC’S most famous couple Beyonce and Jay-Z pulled a surprise by releasing a joint album, a long-rumored collaboration that celebrates their marital passion and black identity.

The pop diva and hip-hop superstar announced the album, Everything is Love, from the stage in London as they wrapped up the British leg that opened a global tour.

The album -- which came two years after Beyonce revealed Jay-Z’s infidelity through lyrics -- again offers plenty of tidbits into the lives of music’s most famous couple.

Here are some highlights: No love child Jay-Z shot down rumors that he has an illegitimate child. Aspiring rapper Rymir Satterthwaite has alleged for years that he is the superstar’s son due to his mother’s purported fling with the then little-known Shawn Carter in 1992.

Recovered from infidelity Everything is Love, as the title implies, speaks much about the strength of their marriage after highly public troubles.

Beyonce on her 2016 album Lemonade revealed infidelity by Jay-Z, who apologized a year later on his own album 4:44.

On the joint album’s boisterous closer “Lovehappy,” the two say that they have patched up.

Angry at legal action Jay-Z vents frustration several times on the album about legal action against him.

Most recently the Securities and Exchange Commission ordered the rapper to testify as part of an investigation into his sale of his Rocawear clothing line.

On “Nice,” Jay-Z denounces the subpoena and suggests he is being targeted because he is a successful African American, wondering why he did not face such scrutiny in his earlier life as a Brooklyn drug dealer.

No to Super Bowl Jay-Z appeared to confirm a report that he turned down an offer from the National Football League to perform at this year’s Super Bowl, the most watched event on US television.

Jay-Z is an outspoken supporter of Colin Kaepernick, the now-unemployed quarterback who stirred a nationwide discussion by kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.

He alludes to the racial imbalance in American football, where team owners are almost entirely white and players mostly African American. AFP

Jay Z and Beyonce with their daughter Blue Ivy

HE annual Miss Universe is definitely not happening in Manila. But what’s definite though is that former Gov. Chavit Singson is still going to be a major partner of the Miss Universe Organization (MUO) in staging the annual beauty tilt. We might even see a candidate from North Korea sashay onto the stage of the world’s biggest pageant if things fall into their proper place.

In a fine afternoon at his residence at Corinthian Gardens last week, Mr. Universe, a moniker given to him when he partnered with MUO in staging the 65th edition of the pageant in Manila, the current Narvacan councilor confirmed that he had visited China, together with MUO President Paula Shugart, in an attempt to find the next venue for Miss Universe happening later this year.

“Apparently, we cannot hold the pageant in mainland China according to their government but they said we can hold it in Macau. We still have two other venues we are looking at – South Korea and Vietnam. It’s actually easier to hold the pageant elsewhere than to have it here in Manila, because it’s easy to get sponsors,” Singson told MS Entertainment.

He is more excited to visit South Korea again and see if the country can be a potential host.

“I have business interest in South Korea. I invested in a government owned electric company called KEPCO. I am part of their expansion plans.

But that’s not the reason why we are excited to hold the pageant in Seoul. If Seoul would host the pageant, North Korea will join,” the former governor assured.

“Kung nagagandahan kayo sa mga taga-South

Singson, who is going to produce this year's Miss Universe, flanked by the candidates of Miss Universe when the Manila hosted the biggest beauty tilt in January 2017.

Korea, di hamak naman na mas magaganda ang mga taga-North Korea,” he added.

During our casual lunch with Singson, we greeted him advance happy birthday since he is turning 76 tomorrow and asked what’s with Miss Universe that makes him so involved that he’s even producing it for the second time.

“I’m doing this for a favor. They want me to produce it. Binibigay nila eh,” he answered.

And since he kept on avoiding questions on politics (but maintained that he’s not aiming for any national post) and preferred questions about his participation in Miss Universe, someone asked if he has ever kissed one of the Miss Universe candidates alluding intentionally to the infamous kiss of the President with an OFW. “You are recording this interview,” he laughed and maintained that he enjoys entertaining Miss Universe candidates as much as he enjoys entertaining participants to the local beauty competition in Ilocos

Sur, the only local pageant he supports.

In earlier reports, it said that staging the Miss Universe pageant will cost a major sponsor $15 million dollars and a non-refundable down payment must be made to initiate the partnership.

Singson said he could get sponsors who are willing to mount the pageant in any of the countries being considered. Additionally, Singson will no longer place any down payment since he already gained the trust of MUO. “They no longer asked for that. They know how we do things when we mount the pageant here.

That’s how they trust me,” he said.

Asked if Catriona Gray, the country’s bet for the Miss Universe crown this year, would have special treatment or an edge in winning the title, Singson said he’s leaving it to the judges. ‘‘I am not allowed to choose the winner. They don't allow someone from the Philippines to be a judge,’’ he ended.

Father’s Day roadshow with IAN VENERACION THE heavy downpour didn’t stop enthusiastic fans from trooping to Eton Centris Walk in Quezon City on June 8. Not when veteran actor and ASCOF brand ambassador Ian Veneracion was slated to perform at an early Father’s Day roadshow mounted ASCOF Lagundi, and Wish 107.5.

While awaiting Veneracion’s guest appearance at 7:00 p.m., members of the audience who showed up at the venue as early as 4:00 p.m. happily participated in assorted games and surprises prepared by ASCOF Forte Menthol Syrup and Wish 107.5. These included Wish’s free videoke caravan where fans took turns doing covers of their favorite songs and ASCOF’s “Who’s Your Cough Character” video booth.

Inspired by a viral digital ad, the video booth had participants gamely acting out the most imaginative portrayal of their “Cough Character”—or how they would cough while roleplaying as “The Maldita,” “Ang Inaapi,” “The Social Media Savvy,” and “The Beauty Queen,” among others. Three lucky participants also got the chance to meet and greet Veneracion right inside the Wish 107.5 Bus. At his guest gig, Veneracion and his 17-year-old daughter Deirdre gave a special performance of the song “When Nights Are Longer.”

When DJs asked the father-

and-daughter tandem how they spend quality time together, Veneracion readily revealed that he and his children usually bond over music or adventure sports like paragliding.

“It is my children who personally validate my view of what success truly is. Seeing them grow and evolve into mature, responsible, and grounded individuals is the best affirmation of all,” the actor said in an interview.

“Among the different ‘roles’ I play, being a father is what I do best. But I can only effectively fulfill that role when I keep myself healthy, especially during the wet season when common afflictions like cough are prevalent.”

Asked about his health and fitness regimen, Ian shared that he maintains a healthy lifestyle b y engaging in physical activities, having a balanced diet, and getting enough rest and sleep.

However, Veneracion avers that at the first sign of a cough, he chooses to use a natural remedy like ASCOF Forte Menthol Syrup because of its “hagodmenthol” soothing effect that helps ease coughing that comes with a sore and itchy throat.

Among those who attended the onground event were members of Ian Veneracion’s fans club—both young and old—who got to hug and take groufies and selfies with their idol when he alighted from the

Wish Bus. “We at ASCOF and PascualLab would like to thank everyone for taking time out from their schedules and dropping

by Centris Walk last Friday to attend our early Father’s Day roadshow with Ian Veneracion. We enjoin you to observe healthful practices this rainy season, such as taking ASCOF Forte Menthol Syrup at the onset of a cough,” said ASCOF brand manager Alan Levi Farinas.

Actor and ASCOF Forte Menthol Syrup brand ambassador Ian Veneracion (rightmost) and his daughter Deirdre (center) join the Wish 107.5 DJs and band in a special guesting.