Manila Standard - 2019 February 4 - Monday

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VOL. XXXII • NO. 354 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

TO THE RESCUE. A government evacuation team at Andrew Airbase attends to wounded soldiers in Zamboanga City after an intense firefight between military forces and the Abu Sayyaf Group that saw five soldiers and three Abu Sayyaf killed in Patikul, Sulu. Mark Navales

Bombs rain on ASG lair; 8 die

State forces swoop down on IS-linked bandit group

Duterte: Rumors about my death exaggerated

By Nat Mariano

By Francisco Tuyay

M

ILITARY forces launched air strikes and artillery fire against a terrorist lair in Maguindanao Saturday, killing eight Islamic State (ISIS)— inspired fighters and destroying bunkers and foxholes.

Maj. Arvin John Encinas, spokesman for he 6th Infantry Division, said the assault was launched at 6 a.m. in Sitio Tatak, Barangay Tugal, Sultan sa Barongis, Maguindanao.

Two Air Force FA50 bombers dropped eight 250-pound bombs on the lair of the ISIS-linked Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

Encinas said surgical air, artillery and ground operations were launched against

the identified and confirmed location of BIFF sub-leader Salahuddin Hasan alias “Orak.”

“He (Hasan) is under the BIFF-Abu Toraife faction, which is believed to be behind the two separate bombings in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat in September last year,” he said.

The air and ground bombardment could be heard by residents in Tulunan Next page

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday made fun of critics for believing rumors that he was dead after being out of the public eye for three days.

In a Facebook video posted by his common-law wife Honeylet Avanceña, Duterte was seen sitting at the table reading newspapers, telling those who believe in the rumors to list down the things that they want to ask God since he “already died.”

“I will ask God first if he’s available for an interview because I will go there.

What’s your message to him? I will relay it to him,” Duterte said.

The President also joked that he will inform God of the drug addicts and even the Catholic bishops and priests’ wishes.

“Priests, bishops, everyone. And the

last wishes of the drug addicts, list it down. I will bring it to Him in Heaven or Hell, but that depends where,” he added.

Speculation about the President’s state of health arose after he skipped an engagement in Palo, Leyte on Friday, with an aide saying he was not feeling well.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo then allayed worries, saying this should not be a cause of concern.

The President then left a message for those who believe in the “fake Next page news.”

Suicide bombers more dangerous, Lacson warns

House upbeat on budget OK; insertions capped

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

By Rio N. Araja THE House of Representatives is optimistic that Congress can ratify the P3.757 trillion national budget for 2019 before it adjourns later this week, as long as lawmakers can itemize some P200 billion in insertions.

“We agreed to ratify the national budget this Wednesday,” Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. said.

He said on Jan. 30, Congress decided to set the cap of lawmakers’ realignments at P200 billion, with an agreement to disclose all their amendments.

Andaya, committee on appropriations chairmanandheadoftheHousecontingent in the bicameral conference committee,

IF it’s true that the bomb attack on a Jolo church was carried out by foreign suicide bombers, the situation has become “more deadly and dangerous,” Senator Panfilo Lacson said Sunday.

Previous bomb attacks have always been planted and remotely detonated, Lacson, a former police chief, said.

Worse, he said, if locals learn to do it, there will be even more suicide bombings, he said.

Lacson said investigators should reconstruct the crime scene to get a better idea of what happened before, during and after the bombing.

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RED LETTER DAY. The busy stretch of Ongpin street at Manila’s Chinatown in Binondo abounds with lucky charms, fruits, rice cakes and images of the earth pig as the Filipino-Chinese community prepares for the upcoming Chinese New Year on February 05,Tuesday. Ey Acasio

Brady, Patriots set date with NFL history TOM BRADY will chase an unprecedented sixth Super Bowl crown here Sunday as the New England Patriots face the Los Angeles Rams in a clash of the generations set to rewrite the Next page NFL record books.

‘Peppa’ back in good graces in year of pig ROASTED as a subversive symbol and chopped from a video streaming website in China, it seemed Peppa Pig, the lovable but imperious British cartoon character, faced a bleak future in the Communist-led country.

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P2-b ‘shabu’ seized in Cavite drug raid

By Rey E. Requejo TWO Chinese men were killed as authorities on Sunday seized dozens of packages containing a substance believed to be shabu in a buy-bust operation in Cavite.

Philippine National Police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency officials said if the substance is shabu, the packages―weighing 274 kilos in total―would be worth P1.9 billion on the street.

The PNP and PDEA operatives conducted the buy-bust operation against Vincent Du Lim and Hong Li Wen, who Next page

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Prospects dim for cigaret tax hike in Senate

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THERE is no chance another increase in the tax on cigarettes will be approved in the Senate when Congress adjourns this week for the midterm elections, Senator Vicente Sotto III said Sunday “No chance next week,” Sotto said as Congress only has two remaining days after Feb 5, which is Chinese New Year, a holiday.

“Best effort when we resume,” Sotto said.

Meanwhile, the opposition to another round of cigarette tax increase continued to mount as tobacco farmers, consumers, officials and business leaders cautioned the Senate on the grave consequences outweighing any gain from the increase.

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines released a statement on Thursday that an estimated P20 billion worth of cigarettes were seized in 2018, and Federation of Philippine Industries Chairman Jesus Arranza said this was exactly proof his group does not support any more tax increases for tobacco.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate ways and means committee, had scheduled for today, Monday, the continuation of the hearing on the proposed increase in cigarette taxes to generate funds for the implementation of the universal health care.

Senator JV Ejercito, chairman of the Senate health committee, had filed a bill for a 90-peso increase per pack of cigarette while Senator Manny Pacquiao vouched for a 60-peso increase, On the other hand, Senator Win Gatchalian is pushing for a 70-peso increase.

Angara said the increase in the tax would be between P37.50 and P90.00.

Health advocates said they will reject “anything” below the 60-peso increase in the sin tax on cigarettes based on Pacquiao’s proposal, citing the Department of Finance’s preliminary model.

That model showed that any rate below P73.30 would not produce a significant impact on the demand for tobacco products.

Suicide...

From A1

He recalled the Rizal Day bombing in 2000, when he was still the Philippine National Police chief, and saw the capabilities of the crime lab, the Army and the forensic teams from the National Bureau of Investigation.

They were able to reconstitute the bomb and determine whose signature it bore.

“So there was a lead. This means the investigation done was methodical and systematic,” he said.

Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, meanwhile, condemned the grenade attack on a mosque in Zamboanga City on Jan. 30, which claimed the lives of two visiting Muslim missionaries.

“Churches, mosques, temples, or other such places dedicated to religious worship must be respected and revered.

They should be a safe sanctuary for the people and not a place of carnage,” Pimentel said.

On Sunday, more than 3,000 people from various religious groups gathered at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City to denounce the two bomb explosions at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Jolo, Sulu.

Muslims and non-Muslims took part in the “Lakad Tungo sa Kapayapaan, Iwaksi ang Karahasan,” greeted one another and prayed for peace in Mindanao.

Aleem Said Ahmad Basher of the Imam Council of the Philippines and Msgr. Albert Songco, vicar general of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, held a symbolic exchange of a Qur’an and a Bible.

The vicar general of the Philippine National Police, Fr. Onie Rosaroso, said there is still hope for peace in Mindanao.

“Together with our Muslim brothers and sisters, we are one to attain peace.

We will be praying hard to violence not to happen again,” he said.

Duterte:...

From A1

“For those who believe in the news that I passed away, then I request you please pray for me. Pray for my eternal repose. Thank you,” Duterte said.

On Thursday, the President privately received Russian Ambassador Igor Kovaev and Israeli Ambassador Rafael Harpaz inside the Palace.

He also attended the premiere night of the biopic of former Philippine National Police chief Ronald Dela Rosa.

In previous briefings, Malacañang has repeatedly shrugged off calls to release a medical bulletin on the President’s health, saying he did not suffer from any serious health condition.

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DFA bucks China maritime hub

T

HE Philippines should protest the construction of a maritime rescue center in the contested South China Sea once it is verified by relevant offices, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Saturday.

He said the Department of Foreign Affairs will await the official assessment of National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon as he declined to acknowledge the report of China’s state news agency Xinhua on the hub’s establishment at the Kagitingan Reef in the Kalayaan Island

Group.

“We will [protest]. I however prefer engaging them openly on the floor of the UN General Assembly,” Locsin said in a tweet on his official account.

He was responding to an earlier statement from Senior Associate Justice An-

tonio Carpio who urged the government to protest China’s newest construction in the Philippine-claimed reef.

“Agree totally. We can thank China after it raises the Philippine flag over there―as a start. Nothing more; no statement; nothing; just raise the flag,” Locsin said.

“Meanwhile, [I] asked Task Force for its real assessment of the situation.”

In a separate comment, Locsin said the administration was obedient in filing a note verbale every time China builds in the disputed areas.

“Senior Associate Justice Carpio, we’re doing that; 18 or 19 so far. No fanfare though; [the] protest is intended for the Chinese not for hysterics in Manila who, sadly, are not foreigners but good God Filipinos so no need to [furnish a copy of] protest to them. It gets in the way of diplomacy,” Locsin said.

Xinhua, citing China’s Ministry of Transport, said Beijing opened on Tuesday a maritime rescue center in Yongshu reef (Kagitingan reef) “to better protect navigation and transport safety in the South China Sea.” PNA

AFP braces for BOL vote part two

DRUG BUST. PDEA operatives kill two suspects during a buy-bust operation along Antero Soriano Hiway in Amaia 1, Tanza, Cavite on Sunday Feb. 3, 2019 . Inset : Operatives inspect the 274 kilos of shabu with an estimate value of P1.9 billion seized during the operation. PNA

Bombs...

From A1

and M’lang in North Cotabato as well as Shariff Aguak in Maguindanao.

Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, Commander of Joint Task Force Central, said Hasan was among those wounded.

He said reports indicated that foreign terrorists in the camp included a Jemaah Islamiya operative Muhammad Ali bin Abd Al-Rahman, alias Mauwiya, two Indonesians, two Arabs, two Malaysians and Abu Toraype, leader of the Daulah Islamiya Toraype Group.

Sobejana said the bombing was so intense that the terrorists scampered out of their camp, where they were surrounded by government troops, who engaged them in a four-hour battle.

“There were about 70 to 100 fighters in a wide area of the encampment when they were hit by air strikes and ground shelling,” Sobejana said.

Before the air and ground strikes, the

P2-b...

From A1

were killed as the suspected drugs were recovered at Brgy. Amaya 1 along Antero Soriano Highway in Tanza, Cavite.

This developed as President Rodrigo Duterte’s anti-drug campaign suffered another setback in the area of prosecution after the Court of Appeals acquitted a drug felon busted in 2017 due to the failure of the arresting police officers to follow strict procedures.

In a decision dated Jan. 30, the Court’s 10th Division reversed a November 2017 judgment of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, Branch 98, that found

House...

From A1

said the ratification of the national budget would ensure enough funds for the conduct of the 2019 midterm polls.

He said the bicameralcommittee is working to identify the P200 billion realignments in the national budget and to specify the beneficiaries of these adjustments.

He earlier said the Senate made insertions of P190 billion against the House’s P51 billion.

On Saturday, House Majority Leader and Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro said Senator Panfilo Lacson who introduced P50 billion in institutional amendments

Brady,...

From A1

Patriots star Brady, 41, will become the oldest quarterback ever to lift the title if he masterminds yet another championship in the latest milestone of a career that has shown no signs of flagging.

A win would see Brady become the only player in history to win six Super Bowls, an achievement which may never

terrorist were planning to launch terror attacks on still undetermined targets, Sobejana said.

The assault was launched after Gani Saligan, brigade commander of the BIFF under the Karialan faction led by Ustadz Karialan, alias Imam Minimbang, surrendered to the military on Friday and disclosed the location of the camp.

Earlier, government troops engaged 100 Abu Sayyaf Group bandits under their sub-leader, Hatib Sawadjaan, in Patikul, Sulu, killing three terrorists, including their sub-leader Idang Susukan.

Five soldiers died while 18 others were wounded in the attack.

The Army said the situation in Mindanao remained volatile, but despite the casualties it incurred, it is determined to continue its effort to crush the terrorists.

“We would like to remind everyone that terrorism is real and remains a clear and present danger. Hence, we urge everybody to help and join in our effort to address this phenomenal threat,” the Army said in a statement.

On Sunday, medals were awarded to members of the Scout Rangers who were wounded in the battle with the Abu Sayyaf.

Lt. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, commander of the Western Mindanao Command, handed out the Wounded Personnel medals.

Col. Gerry Besana, Western Mindanao Command information officer, said troops of the Army’s 5th Scout Ranger Battalion led by Lt. Col. Marlo Jomalesa engaged some 150 Abu Sayyaf bandits under Hatib Hajan Sawadjaan for almost two hours.

He said the troops are tracking down the whereabouts of the remaining Abu Sayyaf bandits.

The President’s order to pulverize the Abu Sayyaf came after the bomb attack on the Our Lady of Mount Carmel cathedral in Barangay Walled City, Jolo, Sulu.

Two successive blasts killed at least 22 people, including five soldiers, a coast guard personnel and left more than 100 people wounded. With PNA

Joselito De Jesus guilty of possessing illegal drugs.

Meanwhile, Philippine National Police Spokesman Bernard Banac said Sunday the drug-related killings were down 70 percent in 2018 compared with the year before, when only 272 drug-related homicides took place against 956 cases in 2017.

The case of De Jesus is among the many cases that resulted from the intensified war on drugs by the Duterte administration.

The lower court convicted De Jesus after finding him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of possessing 0.16 gram of shabu and sentenced him to imprisonment of 12 years to 14 years and a fine of P300,000.

But the appellate court ruled that the

RTC committed an error after it failed to consider the violation committed by police officers during the arrest of the accused in an operation on Aug. 12, 2017.

In particular, the court cited the failure of the police officers to inventory the drugs confiscated during the operation in the presence of a representative from the Department of Justice and the media as required by law.

“In the instant case, the prosecution failed to establish that the arresting officers complied with the mandatory requirement of securing the presence of the required witnesses in the conduct of inventory provided under Section 21 of R.A. No. 9165,” says the decision written

by Associate Justice Ramon Garcia.

into the 2019 budget should itemize the insertions.

Lacson on Sunday thanked the “talking heads” of Speaker Gloria Macaoagal-Arroyo for actually advancing his cause in educating the public about the “evil pork” in the proposed 2019 national budget.

“I earnestly urge them to continue this public discourse. Many thanks to [congressmen] Castro and [Anthony] Bravo,” said Lacson.

“The more they talk, the more they enlighten the public about the evil pork in the national budget, if unwittingly so,” Lacson said.

On Friday, Bravo tried to defend the insertions made by members of the House by ascribing motives to Lacson’s long-

standing advocacy against the pork barrel system.

Lacson noted Bravo even lied in accusing him of having so-called secret amendments, when Lacson already made public his institutional amendments to the budget.

He added Bravo was also lying when he claimed Lacson referred to amendments by the Senate as institutional amendments and those by the House as pork.

“If he intended to be truthful about his statements, he should not have skipped my revelation about the P23 billion insertions made by a number of senators on the Department of Public Works and Highways’ budget alone,” Lacson said.

been beaten in an era of ever shorter NFL careers.

A capacity crowd of 75,324 will pack Atlanta’s futuristic Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the NFL spectacular, the biggest annual event on the US sporting calendar, which kicks off at 6.30pm (2330 GMT).

Grammy Award-winning band Maroon 5 will headline the traditional halftime concert, which comes after several performers reportedly turned down the opportunity to participate in protest at

the NFL’s treatment of activist former San Francisco quarter-back Colin Kaepernick.

Kaepernick has been effectively frozen out of the NFL after his “take a knee” protests which led to a political firestorm in 2017.

Records to tumble On the field, Brady is bidding to lead the Patriots to the Vince Lombardi Trophy fully 17 years after orchestrating the team’s first triumph back in 2002. AFP

THE military in North Cotabato and Lanao Del Sur provinces are ready for any eventuality on Wednesday, February 6, when voters head to their precincts for the plebiscite on the Bangsamoro Organic Law. Major Arvin John Encinas, spokesman of the 6th Infantry Division, told radio dzBB there was no information of any threat on the plebiscite in North Cotabato.

Col. Gerry Besana, the spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command, said troops in Lanao Del Norte have contingencies in place to ensure the orderly conduct of the plebiscite.

They made the remarks a week after two explosions rocked the Catholic cathedral in Jolo days after the ratification of the BOL overwhelmingly won in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and other key areas.

Besana said the Westmincom was monitoring the movement of the remnants of the Maute-ISIS group, which remained a threat to some areas and were being pursued by government forces.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) will make all resources related to the BOL available to public.

PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar made this promise, saying it was former Presidential Assistant on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza who reminded Andanar to ensure that the public, especially Muslim Filipinos, have access to BOL documents.

“Since the BOL was signed by our beloved President Duterte, OPAPP Secretary Jess Dureza and I have talked about disseminating information on the BOL,” Andanar said in an interview over Radyo Pilipinas on Saturday.

“And his request to me was just make all of the government resources available for our Muslim brothers and sisters in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front… because we don’t really want to control or to manage their narrative on the story,” he added. PNA

‘Peppa’...

From A1

But her popularity has risen unabated, and now just months after state media slammed her as an emblem of the counterculture, she is playing a starring role as the country ushers in the Year of the Pig on Tuesday.

A new film titled “Peppa Pig Celebrates Chinese New Year” is being released on the first day of the holiday.

The movie shows Peppa celebrating Lunar New Year with two new friends -- “Jiaozi” (dumpling) and “Tang yuan” (glutinous rice ball) -- named after popular local delicacies.

The animation, which follows the daily adventures of a bright pink piglet, her brother George and her parents, is hugely popular with Chinese children.

Last year, five-year-old twins Mi Ai and Mi Ni made a video asking to meet Queen Elizabeth II after seeing their porcine heroine visit the monarch in an episode.

The clip garnered more than nine million views and made such an impact that the pair were invited for tea by the British ambassador to Beijing and promised a tour of Buckingham Palace.

“It is really fun and the language is easy to understand”, their mother, Bella Zhang, said of the girls’ obsession with the show.

She added that the series was popular with Chinese parents because it teaches “the importance of love and cooperation”.

The cartoon’s focus on family values has resonated with Chinese parents who strictly monitor their children’s TV time, agreed Li Xin as she bought a Peppa toy for her four-year-old at a Beijing store.

Billions of views Peppa Pig first broadcast in China in 2015 but last May some 30,000 clips of the cartoon were removed from a popular video streaming site, following criticism from state media. AFP

News 4 suspects in Beltran slay nabbed

By Rio Araja THE Quezon City Police District has arrested four suspects in the murder of Barangay Bagong Silangan chairperson Crisell “Beng” Beltran and her driver, Melchor Salita last Jan. 30.

As this developed, the Interior and Local Government Underscretary Martin Dino said he would recommend to the Comelec to declare the entire Quezon City as “hotspot’ or prone to election-related violence.

Chief Supt. Joselito Esquivel Jr. and National Capital Region Police Office director Guillermo Eleazar yesterday presented to the media the suspects— Teofilo Formanes, 48, a market inspector at the Commonwealth Market; brothers Ruel Juab, 38, a delivery boy; Orlando Juab, 32, a vendor and Joppy Juab, 28, also a vendor.

Beltran was running for Congress in the 2019 midterm election.

According to Esquivel, Formanes was the first to be arrested in a followup operation on Feb. 1 at the back of Commonwealth Market by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit after an eyewitness positively identified Formanes in a gallery of suspects that closely resembled a facial composite illustration.

Formanes was nabbed when he was about to board his motor bike with a handgun visibly tucked in his waist.

He reportedly “violently” resisted the arrest and tried to pull his firearm but was subsequently subdued.

Esquivel said Formanes yielded a caliber .9MM pistol with serial No. 488990 loaded with nine live ammunition a black Yamaha Mio Sporty motorcycle without plate number, two baseball caps, a mobile phone and three hand-held radios.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019

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‘NDF man killed over fund misuse’ T

By Brenda Jocson

UGUEGARAO City—Randy Felix Malayao III, the slain consultant of the National Democratic Front, was sentenced by the revolutionary justice system or kangaroo court for increasing the sum of revolutionary taxes or permit to campaign and permit to win from political aspirants in Region II, Region I and Cordillera Autonomous Region (CAR), police said.

This development belied the claim of the CPP-NPA leadership who put the blame on President Duterte and the Armed Forces of the Philippines for what they called ‘summary execution’ of leftist symphathizers like Malayao, police said.

Malayao doubled the amount of PTC

and PTW to 100%, defying the Communist Party hierarchy, according to a statement from the PNP Regional Office2. Malayao was accused of pocketing the money for himself and to another ranking member of the CPP-NPA Agnes Mesina, whom Malayao eloped with lin

March 2018, the PNP RO 2 said.

Malayao had collected P1 million from congressional candidates, instead of the P500,000.00 as set by the CPPNPA, police said.

Police said that for provincial candidates instead of collecting P400,000.00, Malayao charged P800,000,00. For vice governor candidates, instead of collecting P80,000.00, Malayao asked for P160,000.00 each. For City Mayor aspirants, Malayao imposed P600,000.00 on each candidate. For vice mayoralty candidates, he charged P400,000.00.

Malayao double the amount fixed by the leadership of the CPP-NPA for his personal gains. Malayao’s PTC-PTW operations were felt by local politicians not only in Cagayan Valley but also in

Region I and Cordilleras, police said.

“The dispute within the CPP/NPA is a serious matter. The violations of “financial opportunism” and “sexual opportunism” are severely dealt with by the revolutionary movement. As serious offenses, these violations could have been penalized by death by the revolutionary justice system,” said PNP PRO2.

Investigation conducted by PNP PRO2 further divulged that Malayao was questioned by his party top brass on how he managed the party funds for the whole Cagayan Valley front especially in the “Lakbayan” activities in 2017. Malayao was said to have released meager amounts and had withheld the bigger sums resulting in the failure of the CPP-NPA to achieve the targeted number of participants.

SOLIDARITY. Christians and Muslims join in the Solidarity Walk ( Lakad Tungo sa KAPAYAPAAN, Iwaksi and KARAHASAN) at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on Sunday following bomb

Gaming bill seen clearing Proposed seal of good local governance okayed House plenary attacks in Mindanao last week. Manny Palmero

By Macon Ramos Araneta

THE House of Representatives was expected to approve on third and final reading a bill seeking to strengthen and expand the authority of the Games and Amusement Board to supervise other forms of international amusement events and online cockfighting betting before its sine adjournment this week.

Last week, the committee on games and amusement approved on second reading House Bill No. 8910, a consolidation of HB No. 4843 filed by the late Ako Bicol representative Rodel Batocabe and Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, and HB No. 6983 filed by Abra Rep. Joseph Sto. Niño Bernos.

The supervision of professional sports and betting on horse-racing is now under the GAB, a government agency under the Office of the President chaired by former Palawan governor and lawmaker Abraham Kahlil Mitra with Commissioners Mario Masanguid and Eduard Trinidad.

Mitra thanked the House of Representatives, saying the original measure also included the supervision to international beauty pageants, concerts and maintenance of theme parks.

The measure, if passed into law, would expand the powers of GAB for the enforcement of laws relevant to professional sports in connection with the developments of new forms of professional sports and modes of betting systems because of the new technology. Rio Araja

THE bicameral conference committee of the Senate and the House of Representatives has approved a bill seeking to institutionalize the Seal of Good Local Governance, an incentive program meant to encourage local government units to reach for high standards of governance.

Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government and sponsor of the bill in the

upper chamber, said the measure sought to promote good public administration among LGUs and improve their delivery of basic services to their constituencies.

Since its inception in 2014, Angara said the SGLG program had pushed many provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays to operate “more efficiently, more effectively, and with more transparency and accountability.”

“This noble program should be immortalized and enshrined as law of the

land because it encourages LGUs to take on greater challenges and perform better in pursuing the general welfare of their constituencies and in enforcing existing laws,” Angara said.

The bill will be sent to the Senate and the House of Representatives for ratification once all the members of the bicameral panel have signed the committee report. Once ratified, the bill will be transmitted to Malacañang for President Durterte’s signature.

SLAY SUSPECTS.

NCRPO chief Guillermo Eleazar (riight) and QCPD Director Joyet Esquivel present to media the alleged gunman Teofilo Formanes 48, and three other suspects in the killing of Brgy Bagong Silangan chairman Crisell Beltran and her driver Melchor Salita during a press conference at Camp Karingal in Quezon City Sunday. The suspects were named as Ruel Juab 32, Orlando Juab and Joppy Juab 28.

Manny Palmero

Manila port overshoots goal by P143m

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Bureau of Customs—Port of Manila exceeded its P7.4 billion revenue target for the month of January by more than P143 million, District Collector Rhea Gregorio said on Sunday.

“The PoM surpassed its January target of P7.44 billion with a total collection of P7.59 billion, a surplus of 1.92 percent or P143 million. This is a great way to start a year,” said Gregorio.

It was also under the time of Collector Gregorio in 2017, that Manila last exceeded its January target.

The total amount of import duties and taxes collected by Port of Manila last month were up by P1.79 billion from P5.8 billion a year ago.

Gregorio said the PoM’s collections in January were at surplus due to “strict implementation and fair application of laws, rules and regulation and identifying overlaps and redundancies that causes red tape and avoidable delays.”

She added last month’s higher collections also came on the back of the support and cooperation of all stakeholders and hardworking PoM personnel.

“All the collecting offices and subports under Port of Manila worked together to achieve our target for January,” Gregorio said.

FVR family biographer, PNP chief feted by Rotary International

THE Rotary Golden Wheel Awards Foundation and the Government of Quezon City honored 12 eminent personalities such as PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde and Kapuso actor Dingdong Dantes along with 13 Rotarians of RI District 3780 with Mario R. Nery Vocational Excellence Awards led by Intellectual Property specialist lawyer Pablo Gancayco and veteran author, publisher and communications specialist Melandrew T. Velasco for his body of works in documenting outstanding Filipino patriots and statesmen.

Velasco has written and published more than 30 books over a span of over 18 years. He is better known in the literary circle as the family biographer of former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos. Since 2000, he has authored and published books on the life stories

of the former president’s family members namely: “An Enduring Legacy: The Life and Times of Ambassador Narciso Ramos;” “In A Class of Her Own: The Biography of Angela Valdez Ramos; “Simply Ming: The Life and Legacy of First Lady Amelita M. Ramos;” “Mommy: The Life Story of Josefa Jara Martinez - Pillar of Social Work; “Uncle Sim: The Legacy of Simeon Marcos Valdez;” and “Colors of Light: The Story, Poems and Paintings of Lucia Mangapit Valdez;” and FVR’s Ramos Peace and Development Foundation, Inc. Velasco has also authored coffee table books on various civic and religious organizations like Rotary International with “Embrace: The Heart of Service;” “The Golden Wheel Book: Inspiring Stories of Rotarians;” and

“Love for Others is What Rotary and The Power of Serving Others with Past RI Director Rafael “Paing” Hechanova;” “Celebrating 100 Years of Kiwanis International and 50 Years of Kiwanis in the Philippines; “Faith, Hope and Love: 30 Years of the Bukas Loob sa Diyos” including select cities in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Among these are “Parañaque: From a Pueblo to a Mega City by the Bay;” Nueva Ecija: A New Era of Peace and Progress” and “Pasay: A Royal Kingdom’s Evolution to Travel City.”

Among his most recent works include: “From Carriedo to Balara: 140 Years of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System;” “Accelerating Change and Transformation: 25 Years of Philippine Public Safety College;” “Kamagong: The Life and Legacy of

Antolin V. Paule with SM;” “FVR XYZ Files: Anecdotes, Issues and Controversies and Trivia of Fidel V. Ramos; “15 Years of RPDEV: A Continuing Voyage for Enduring Peace and Sustainable Development” and “Silver Linings: The Continuing Saga of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution” due for relaunch this February.

Also a Junior Chamber International Senator, Velasco was a recipient of the JCI Senate Philippines Golden Award in 2009 in the field of Literature and Mass Communications. He has served as JCISP Director and National Chairman of the search for The Outstanding Filipino Physicians (TOFP) in 2008 and 2012. He now chairs the 2019 search for The Outstanding Filipino Awards.

A columnist of Philippines USA Today in San Francisco, California, Velas-

VELASCO

co is the President and CEO of Media Touchstone Ventures Inc., a publishing and public relations outfit.

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Opinion

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Socialism sucks!

THE evidence is in; it has been in for a long time and it’s undeniable to any objective person. Socialism is inferior to capitalism.

Socialism is worse for the rich, the poor, and the middle class. Over the long haul, socialism doesn’t produce better outcomes for anyone other than well-connected government officials, bureaucrats, and their cronies who cheat the public via bribes and who get around the rules they put in for anyone else. Since many people don’t believe the incontrovertible evidence, maybe they’ll believe these quotes that help ex-

It is inferior to capitalism – and here’s why.

plain why capitalism is better than socialism.

1. “America’s abundance was created not by public sacrifices to ‘the common good,’ but by the productive genius of free men who pursued their own personal interests and the making of their own private fortunes. They did not starve the people to pay for America’s industrialization. They gave the people better jobs, higher wages and cheaper goods with every new machine they invented, with every scientific discovery or technological advance—and thus the whole country was moving forward and profiting, not suffering, every step of the way.”—Ayn Rand 2. “It is the common error of Socialists to overlook the natural indolence of mankind; their tendency to be passive, to be the slaves of habit, to persist indefinitely in a course once chosen. Let them once attain any state of existence which they consider

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

tolerable, and the danger to be apprehended is that they will thenceforth stagnate; will not exert themselves to improve, and by letting their faculties rust, will lose even the energy required to preserve them from deterioration. Competition may not be the best conceivable stimulus, but it is at present a necessary one, and no one can foresee the time when it will not be indispensable to progress.”—John Stuart Mill 3. “It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.”—Adam Smith 4. “Capitalism is the most cooperative system ever created for the peaceful improvement of peoples’ lives. It has only a single fatal flaw: It doesn’t feel like it.

The market system is so good at getting people—from all over the world—to work together that we barely notice how much we’re cooperating.”—Jonah Goldberg 5. “The growth of world prosperity is mystinot a ‘miracle’ or any of the other mysti counfying terms we customarily apply to coun tries that have succeeded economically and socially. Schools are not built, nor are incomes generated, by sheer luck, like a bolt from the blue. These things happen when people begin to think along new lines and work hard to bring their ideas to fruition.

But people do that everywhere, and there is no reason why certain people in certain places during certain periods in history should be intrinsically smarter or more capable than others. What makes the difference is whether the environment permits and encourages ideas and work, or instead puts obstacles in their way. That depends on whether people are free to explore their way ahead, to own property, to invest for the long term, to conclude private agreements, and to trade with others. In short, it depends on whether or not the countries have capitalism.”—Johan Norberg 6. “This isn’t new. Those who favor socialism always make the moral case for it.

The truth is, maybe they actually believe in it, but in the real world, socialism harms, it weakens the economies of countries that have tried it. It just does. Weaker economies hurt everybody in them. Socialism kills incentive, opportunity, freedom. It is the opposite of what America is all about. Look, socialism always harms the people it claims Turn to A5

I

Fiery Cross purposes

T should be interesting to see how Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. reconciles his view that Manila should protest China's establishment of a maritime rescue center in the Kagitingan or Fiery Cross Reef—if its construction is verified—against the Palace view that we should be “thankful” for the help that such a facility would bring.

Secretary Locsin stands on firm legal ground, of course.

After all, the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) ruled in 2016 that China's claims in the West Philippine Sea are excessive, and that the contested reef is well within the Philippines' exclusive economic zone. This would suggest that any structures the Chinese build on those reefs and any artificial islands it creates would violate our sovereign rights.

But the thinking in the Palace has been focused on appeasement, not confrontation, in the belief that the Philippines can gain more from our powerful northern neighbor if we play nice and keep silent while it does whatever it wants on our territory.

On the day the UN tribunal issued its decision, the Foreign Affairs secretary at the time—

not Locsin—showed little enthusiasm and called for “restraint and sobriety,” for fear that any sign of elation at our hard-earned legal victory would provoke and antagonize Beijing.

In November 2018, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the PCA was “useless” for now because there was no way to enforce the decision.

Then, this month, the same spokesman said the Philippines should be “thankful” for the rescue center that China claims tohave built on Kagitingan Reef.

“Maybe we should be thankful,” the spokesman said, when asked about China's latest action. “Personally, I don’t think establishing a distress center is bad, even in whose territory. It will be helping everybody in distress,” he said.

Taken to task by the opposition for speaking like a puppet

of China, Panelo bristled, saying we should be thankful only if three conditions were met: 1) that China had informed the Philippine government; 2) that China had sought permission from the Philippines; and 3) that the construction of the maritime rescue center was not a ruse.

His explanation gave us pause. Is it possible that China had informed the Philippine government and sought its permission to build the rescue center—unbeknownst to the Palace or the Department of Foreign Affairs? If Beijing had indeed done so, would Panelo—and Secretary Locsin—not have immediately said the center had the Philippine government's blessing?

None of the legalistic splitting of hairs from the Palace can hide the obvious obsequiousness that passes for diplomacy these days. We look forward to a day when the Foreign secretary can truly speak for all Filipinos who believe it is never all right for “friends” to trample on our rights, no matter how “helpful” they may seem.

Yesterday’s Baguio THIS article is inspired by a very recent news item where children from Baguio wrote the Office of the President to “spare the trees” after learning that the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) is considering selling or leasing a one-hectare property it owns to yet another commercial developer. The property is bounded by UP Baguio, the Supreme Court, and other government properties.

I have always loved going up to Baguio.

When I was a primary grade-schooler, my mom and I would often go up to Baguio weekends, passing the old MacArthur Highway before the North Luzon Expressway was built. The family then had a dry goods business headquartered in Juan Luna in Divisoria, with a sewing facory in the boundary of Navotas and Tondo. It was run by a grand-uncle, and my mom would collect periodically from buyers, whether department stores like Tiong San or retailers at the dry goods section of the public market.

We would stay a night or two in a hotel, and I loved the comforters which shielded me from the cold. We didn’t call these blankets comforters then, but the sheer softness and bounce of the white padded cotton is a memory permanently etched in my mind.

Baguio was then basically just Session Road topped by the grand Pines Hotel on Luneta Hill, down to the beautiful (then) Burnham Park, and the market where we would fill our car with strawberries and highland vegetables to bring home as “pasalubong,” especially for my teacher.

Toward Naguilian was the shrine of the Lady of Lourdes with its two hundred or so steps. One of my grand-uncle’s “suki” had a house in the area, on what was then a middle-class subdivision before one scaled the heights of Mirador and Dominican hills.

The lady suki, a Batanguena, would always treat my mom and me to a hearty breakfast of Baguio longanisa and eggs sarciado with Baguio tomatoes, sometimes slightly salted beef tapa, and I guess that is the reason why to this day, garlicky longanisa and tapa are my comfort food.

Sometimes, when there were holidays beyond the two-day weekend, we would have time to visit the then strictly-enclosed Camp John Hay, courtesy of friends who could secure passes to the American enclave, and be treated to juicy hamburgers on soft buns.

But beyond the culinary treats, it was always the scent of Benguet pines and the

highland chill that enthralled Baguio. Going up Kennon, you already get a whiff of the indescribably redolent smell of huge pine trees that jutted out of the landscape, enveloping the mountains and the valleys with a permanent evergreen.

Lovely is an understated description of Baguio’s beauty (then).

Years after, in high school, Baguio was a year-end destination. We had Catholic “leadership-training sessions” from December 26 to 30 at St. Louis University beside the cathedral, and we stayed at what was then the Patria de Baguio, an inn at the corner of Session and Cathedral Road beside the American-styled post office.

A short walk would bring us to the stately Pines Hotel, still surrounded by giant pine trees, before government sold it to SM, which created that monstrosity atop Luneta Hill.

Beyond Pines Hotel to the east was UP Baguio and the Supreme Court cottages, again surrounded by magnificent evergreens.

It became a habit for me to be in Baguio or the Montanosa (Sagada before tourists discovered it) and Mount Data, even Bontoc, long before mountaineering became fashionable) every year-end.

From picture pretty to pretty ugly

I would bring my family there even when my kids were toddlers, often spending New Year’s Eve there to escape the smoke and acrid stench of Manila’s firecracker-crazy culture, amid towering pines and highland chill. But not, never on Holy Week, when Tagaytay is more pleasant than Baguio’s over-crowdedness.

It was such that when I had some savings, I bought a small property in Dominican Hill, thinking of a retirement lodge where on clear days one could get a glimpse of the western sun setting in the horizon off La Union peering from pine needles. Building that dream cottage is no longer a passion.

That’s because I have seen Baguio deteriorate from picture pretty to pretty ugly.

Overpopulation has brought the scourge of traffic and smoke-belching jeepneys, choking almost every thoroughfare. Session Road has lost its lovely pedestrian charm. The once-lovely mountains covered with pine have become a pastiche of houses Turn to A5

Welcoming the Year of the Pig TOMORROW, Tuesday, one-fourth of the world’s 7.7 billion people will celebrate the Spring Festival of 2019, welcoming the Year of the Pig, and that includes us Filipinos even as we are a predominantly Catholic country.

In fact, the government has declared Chinese New Year as an official public holiday. So, as we are deep into this celebration of Chinese New Year, let us discuss how this major event is observed, the myths and the taboos which go with the festivity.

First, Chinese New Year date changes each

Bring out the tikoy and the dumplings.

year. But it always falls between January 21 and February 20, determined by the Chinese lunar calendar. As stated above, Chinese New Year 2019 is on Tuesday February 5.

Every Chinese New Year starts a new animal’s zodiac year.

There are 12 Chinese zodiac animals. In order, the 12 animals are: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig. Your zodiac animal is decided by your birth year. 2019 is a year of the Pig. 2019 is a Year of the Pig according to the Chinese zodiac, and it’s an Earth Pig year. Years of the Pig include 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995, 2007, 2019, and 2031. In Chinese astrology, each year belongs to a Chinese zodiac animal according to the 12-year cycle.

The Pig occupies the twelfth position in the Chinese zodiac after the Dog, and before the Rat. If you were born in a Pig year, you are known as a Pig (or ‘belonging to the Pig’) in China.

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Opinion

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Populist tactics AT around the time of President Rodrigo Duterte’s ascent into office in 2016, the term populism seemed to have simultaneously entered popular lexicon. As the term implies, the idea of “the people” is central to the word’s definition in political science. In Populism: A Very Short Introduction, Cas Mudde and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser argue that populism is broadly the idea that society can be separated into two groups at odds “with one another: ‘the pure people’ and ‘the corrupt elite’”.

By positioning himself squarely as representative of the “unified” people’s will, the populist leader proceeds to vilify and set his sights on a singular enemy, characterized—often simplistically—as the one source of a society’s myriad problems and which must therefore be vanquished by whatever means possible.

The phenomenon represented by Duterte’s rise is, in many ways, a textbook example of such a figure. Despite an endless stream of controversial after controversial statements that target sacred institutions like the Roman Catholic Church and beleaguered sectors like human rights defenders and indigenous peoples, Duterte continues to enjoy what is, for all intents and purposes, a robust popularity.

A Pulse Asia survey conducted in the last quarter of 2018 pegged his satisfaction rating at 74 percent, an impressive mark by any measure but even more impressive coming nearly halfway into his term. Interestingly, his line of thinking has been able to elicit support even from very specific demographics such as overseas Filipino workers and the emerging middle class.

Populism might help explain why.

Duterte’s presidential campaign had characterized him as a firebrand “political outsider” who can empathize with the ordinary Filipino’s sentiment and will thus fight with their interest in mind, often against the long-entrenched political elite.

Even the financing of his campaign, despite being bankrolled by traditional businessmen and tycoons, was made out to be a grassroots effort.

Duterte also tapped into a deep anxiety that Filipinos had about security, peace and order, and crime. Leveraging on the popu-

lar (but doubtful) image of Davao City as safe and efficient, his campaign stressed his “tough stance on crime” vis-a-vis his unorthodox brand of leadership. His overriding campaign slogan— “Change is coming”—is thus anchored on overturning a status quo that many Filipinos had, for so long, felt as exclusive and unequal.

More than two years into office, however, Duterte’s report card is mixed at best, with some promises fulfilled and others broken.

Broken were his vows to eradicate drugs and widespread criminality within three to six months, to end labor contractu-

Has change come, really?

alization, and to distribute coco levy funds within his first hundred days in office. The grand gestures involving jet skis that he had promised to do to assert Philippine sovereignty in the West Philippine Sea had also not materialized.

On the other hand, Duterte stayed true to his promise of increasing the salaries of uniformed personnel and upgrading military logistics equipment. Congress, teeming with his allies, passed pieces of radical-sounding legislation: Free Tertiary Education, Free Irrigation Service, Universal Health Care.

Despite some apprehensions about the sustainability of the measures, especially alongside the already ambitious and costly P8-trillion infrastructure program, these laws indeed bear the hallmark of a populist leadership.

This is the context in which the 2019 midterm election is going to be contested.

The official campaign period is due to begin on February 12, and early surveys reveal that voters are likely to vote for candidates who are either re-electionists, former senators, or those who come from known political clans. Those who are allied with Duterte also seem to enjoy some advantage. This means that we continue

EvEryman to feel the reverberations of the populist wave that propelled a figure like Duterte to Malacañang.

But the chinks in his armor are beginning to show, which those proposing an alternative can take advantage of. Another recent Pulse Asia survey identifies the following as the top national concerns for Filipinos: controlling inflation, increasing wages, reducing poverty, and creating jobs. Their personal concerns meanwhile relate to health, education, victimization of crime, and access to jobs.

This is hardly surprising given how difficult 2018 has been for the Filipino consumer. Despite easing toward the end of the year, inflation hit near-decade highs even as job creation and wages remained stagnant. Measures such as the campaign to end labor contractualization had failed to bring wide-ranging relief.

With Duterte’s victory still fresh in people’s minds, the challenge then for opposition candidates is to present a decisive political agenda that not only exposes the key failures of the incumbent’s approach but also forwards robust alternatives. Senatorial candidates no doubt recognize the pri primacy of “gut issues,” such as food, health, and education, when Filipinos go to the polls. Taking a page from the Duterte playbook, many will focus on populist strategies to get as many votes as possible, from proposing radically transformative policies such as federalism or constitutional change to simplifying otherwise complex problems just to get votes.

Opposition candidates must not fall into the same trap. One approach, for instance, may take off from a leadership that prioritizes human rights, truly effective governance, and respect for international law—chinks in Duterte’s popularity and aspects in which the current government has been criticized. It is key is to expose the truth that behind the Duterte brand of leadership—and all populist leaders all over the world—is actually fictitious, a “spin.”

Those seeking to offer an alternative to Duterte must emphasize that populist tactics are precisely that: tactics. They must then stress that electoral contests are an opportunity to either reproduce or challenge an existing status quo. A good first step is to take off from the overarching promise of the Duterte campaign three years ago— “Change is coming.” Opposition candidates can thus begin by asking: “Has it, really?”

Review: ‘Kasuotan’ raises funds for a school POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE THE Association of Women Legislators Foundation, Inc. of the 17thCongress, with 86 members led by Bulacan 4thdistrict Representative Linabelle Ruth R. Villarica, present ‘Kasuotan: Filipiniana Redefined’ to raise funds for the Paaralan at Palaruan ng Kabataan at the National Center for Mental Health in Mandaluyong City.

The full-color, hard-cover coffee-table book is edited by Mons Romulo, with cover design by Ige Ramos and photography by Stanley Ong. The art and design are gorgeous, with the design of the endpapers and part of the cover taken from textile art by dressmaker Patis Tesoro.

The book’s pages are filled with individual portraits of women solons dressed in various styles of Philippine dress. Many showcased the fabrics and handicrafts of the provinces they represent. Most opted for the ubiquitous Tagalog terno, while some of those from northern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao reached to the cultures in their area for inspiration.

Some outfits were luxurious and custommade, others were simple and off-the-rack; but all highlighted some style of Filipiniana, and everyone looked gorgeous.

The back stories of the outfits are interesting, with some a nod to their “personal advocacies”, as Villarica puts it in the preface.

For instance, Batangas Rep. Vilma San-

tos Recto chose a “champagne piña and silk chiffon terno with embroidery, pearl, and crystal accents” to honor her late friend, designer Danilo Franco.

Villarica stands out in a red, white, and black ensemble, a Jo Rubio “black dyed jusi terno with bustle” covered with “embroidered crimson roses and ivory blossoms, and swirling volutes fully hand-sewn with glass beads by the artisans of Sta. Maria, Bulacan.”

In simple contrast, Gabriela Women’s Party’s Emmi de Jesus glows in a scarletpainted kimono from SM Kultura over a red column skirt using fabric from Isabela; the beaded handbag she carries was crafted by women inmates of the Quezon City Jail.

Kabataan’s Sarah Jane Elago, the youngest solon in the 17thCongress, wears a “pink piña jusi barong dress embroidered with flora and fauna designs”, bought at Kamuning Market, while her nude heels come from the Marikina Shoe Center.

Among those who opted for a southern style were Manila’s Sandy Ocampo, wearing a t’nalak top and skirt, Agri partylist’s Delph Gan Lee in t’nalak above and malong below, and Davao Oriental’s Cora Malanyaon in a heavily embroidered blouse and skirt of the Mandaya tribe.

Tesoro’s foreword, a discourse the significance of Philippine dress, is alone worth the price of the book. In it she says that “Filipiniana is forever, just like diamonds…as they are both precious and timeless.”

She explained how clothing is a marker of identity: “Clothes not only define a person, they define a nation’s identity. If Filipiniana is forever, then we must look back to our colonial past when we fought to wear our own, despite the availability of foreign

Socialism...

Yesterday’s...

to help the most. It handicaps them, leaving them weaker, less self-determined, less free.”—Bobby Jindal 7. “Socialism is when government’s taking care of you, you send all your money to the government, the government decides how to spend it instead of letting the people spend it and make all those decisions.” -- Bob Latta 8. “Socialism values equality more than liberty.”—Dennis Prager 9. “I was guilty of judging capitalism by its operations and socialism by its hopes and aspirations; capitalism by its works and socialism by its literature.”—Sidney Hook 10. “Socialism is for those who think most people are losers. Capitalism is for those who think most people can take care of themselves.”—John Hawkins

and hovels. In an effort to make it look less dreadful, someone thought of the bright idea of painting the houses with bright colours similar to Rio’s favelas, or Buenos Aires’ La Boca.

A congressman built a concrete pine tree to define the lost Baguio where Luneta Hill merges with Session Road. It has become an apt monument to Baguio’s lost glory, a grim reminder of how man despoils Nature.

Where bringing kids to Burnham Park was an annual thrill, now one shuns it and confines oneself to the expensive enclaves of Country Club and John Hay. Is redemption yet possible? Can we yet bring back the old glory? Can urban renewal still be accomplished in Baguio?

Sen. Dick Gordon has authored a bill creating a national authority comprising Baguio and La Trinidad, along with

From A4

eric.jurado@gmail.com

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alternatives.”

Just as style gurus advise that every woman invest in wardrobe basics such as the little black dress and a pair of flattering jeans, Tesoro advocates that “every Filipina should have in her closet any one of the following: a barong, a malong, a tapis, a terno, a baro’t saya, a kimono, or a Maria Clara.”

Such clothes, often handmade, do not come cheap; but as she points out, “The definition of bring Filipino is not only seen in dance, architecture, or literature, it is especially seen in dress, as it is the most practical way of showing one’s identity, which provides a unique place in global society.”

In the book’s introduction, Romulo says Kasuotan “will not only create awareness on the beauty of our Philippine fabrics but will give honor to our local weavers and embroiderers…Hopefully, this book will call even greater attention to support our artisans by patronizing the fabrics our weavers painstakingly create.”

AWLFI’s other fundraising projects include a garage sale at the House of Representatives in November 2017 to assist relatives of soldiers killed in the Marawi conflict, and an art exhibit in February 2018 entitled “Arts for Hearts’ Sake” to benefit the University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts scholarship program.

Whatever your politics may be, do consider getting a copy of the book to support its worthy cause - to upgrade the play facilities of the child patients of the National Center for Mental Health. To order, call Lilo at 931-5001 local 7278 or 0920-9620602.

Rachel Zoe said, “Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak.” FB and Twitter: @DrJennyO

Tuba, Naguilian and some other municipalities of Benguet precisely to oversee a “saner” summer capital and hopefully begin its resurrection from helter-skelter over-use to coordinated re-development. It is called BLISTT, something similar to the Subic Bay Management Authority that he likewise championed and which has spared the forests of that former American naval base and maintained its balanced development despite industrial usage.

We wish the good senator whose pride of place and sense of heritage one finds few parallels among peers, to pursue these efforts to restore our summer capital, and bring it back to the status of a national treasure.

But for now, let’s spare the remaining pine trees of the summer capital.

President Clint (Aranas) and Chairman Rolly (Macasaet) of GSIS—please spare the trees. You have more pricey assets and a steady cash flow to keep your actuarians happy. And I know you guys to have likewise an eye for true beauty and a sense of heritage.

Thankful to China

by Val Abelgas Finally, a different tone is emerging from the Department of Foreign Affairs on China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea. On Saturday, Foreign Secretary Teddy Boy Locsin said the Philippines must protest China’s establishment of a maritime rescue center on the contested Kagitingan Reef in the Spratly Islands. Locsin, just recently the country’s ambassador to the United Nations, said he agreed with the position of Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio that the country must lodge a protest as not doing so could mean consent to China’s recent aggressive action in the disputed waters.

"This means we are recognizing that China has a right to occupy and use Fiery Cross Reef. Occupation and use are acts of sovereignty. This contradicts our claim that we have sovereignty over Fiery Cross Reef," Carpio said.

Locsin, however, was vague about filing a formal protest, which the government should have done immediately upon China’s pronouncement that it has built the structure. In a tweet -- hardly the proper way for the country’s top diplomat to state his objection -- Locsin said he would rather voice his protest on the floor of the United Nations General Assembly.

Still, Locsin’s tweet—statement, if you may‚—was an improvement over his previous position that he was not keen on filing protests against China. "Every time you send a note verbale and no one responds to it, what does that look like? When you keep sending those notes – I know some people say, you just keep on sending them – what I keep calling it is banging your head against the wall," he said then.

Also, his promise to bring the protest to the UN floor was completely different from the official reaction from Malacanang on reports that China has constructed a maritime rescue center in the South China Sea, or what our government wants to call the West Philippine Sea. Instead of protesting, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in his usual light tone that we should even be thankful to China. "Maybe we should be thankful," Panelo said. "That could help seamen in distress, it can help everybody."

Even Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, the man tasked to defend the country’s national security and sovereignty, thinks along the same line as Panelo, saying that the defense department would “do nothing” because “it would help seamen in distress.”

So, will the Philippines file a formal protest or not? From the looks of it and based on the policy of appeasement President Duterte has followed on China, there will be no formal protest. It is even doubtful that beyond his tweets, Locsin would even pursue his promise of protesting China’s actions before the world’s delegates in the world body.

And this non-action is precisely what worries Carpio and other foreign policy experts.

In the usual propaganda line of the Chinese government, China’s Ministry of Transport announced it has opened the new facility on Kagitingan Reef (Fiery Cross Reef). “The center will offer better support

Welcoming...

From A4 Zodiac years are by the Chinese calendar.

Pigs are diligent, compassionate, and generous. They have great concentration: once they set a goal, they will devote all their energy to achieving it. Though Pigs rarely seek help from others, they will not refuse to give others a hand. Pigs never suspect trickery, so they are easily fooled.

General speaking, Pigs are relatively calm when facing trouble. No matter how difficult the problems are Pigs encounter, they can handle things properly and carefully. They have a great sense of responsibility to finish what they are engaged in.

The festival is celebrated for 16 days until the Lantern Festival.

On the evening of 15th day of the first lunar month (February 19, 2019), on the night of the full moon, families gather for dinner and go out and see fireworks and light lanterns.

Lanterns are put up for decoration, let loose to fly, and floated in rivers.

Why the fireworks? Legend has it that in ancient times, there was a monster named Nián. Nian is said to live at the bottom of the sea and comes up once a year to feast on animals and humans. On this day, the villagers would all escape into the mountains.

One year, a beggar came to seek shelter, but everyone was hurrying away. Only an old woman took him in and he promised to chase Nian away. He busied himself with decorating the homes.

At midnight, Nian lumbered in but stopped short when it saw the red paper on the doors.

As it roared in anger, firecrackers suddenly sounded and it trembled in fear. When it saw the beggar, dressed in red, laughing at it, it could only run away.

The villagers came back the next day and were pleasantly surprised that the homes were all still standing. They realized that loud noises and the color red were Nian’s kryptonite.

This is why, on New Year’s Eve, families eat dinner in their homes fortified by red decorations. At midnight, firecrackers are sounded.

In addition, people will wear new and festive red clothing to celebrate.

And on this day, billions of red envelopes will be exchanged.

to maritime rescue operations in the southern part of the South China Sea,” the ministry said.

"We should protest because Fiery Cross Reef is part of the geologic features we claim in the Kalayaan Island Group. If we do not protest, then we impliedly consent to China's act of putting up a maritime rescue center there," Carpio said. "This means we are recognizing that China has a right to occupy and use Fiery Cross Reef. Occupation and use are acts of sovereignty. This contradicts our claim that we have sovereignty over Fiery Cross Reef."

Maritime expert Dr. Jay Batongbacal, who along with Carpio has been warning the Philippines and whoever cares to listen about China’s true intent in the South China Sea, calls the propaganda line China’s gray zone tactics that aim to put a “soft face” to its aggressive behavior in the disputed waters to downplay or maybe even hide their military activities in the area.

The Chinese are making it appear that they are, in fact, helping, and not restricting, maritime navigation in the area by providing assistance to vessels operating in the area. The ministry said that, in fact, two rescue ships that it had sent to Zamora Reef have rescued 16 people and two ships in eight rescue operations.

We all know, of course, that these installations that China has built on reclaimed islands are not for civilian purposes, as China claims, but to project China’s military power over the region. Independent agencies have released photos of missile launchers and radar-jamming equipment in these structures. There is also no doubt that the missile shelters, runways, ports, and aircraft hangars built in recent years are military installations and not for civilian use.

Batongbacal said China will continue to give the islands a “soft face” in “an attempt to look good to create a more benign image in the region especially in light of the ongoing competition with the United States.”

Both Batongbacal and Carpio warned that the building of the supposed maritime rescue center, the weather stations and the implementation of alleged ecological protection programs in the area are all designed to create a sense of civilian administration and control of the contested area, which are essential in establishing sovereignty over the islands.

Either Panelo and Lorenzana have fallen prey to China’s propaganda line or they are part of the whole shebang as part of the Duterte administration’s policy of appeasement with China.

While the Duterte administration continues to profess trust for China, Filipinos have repeatedly shown overwhelming distrust for China in surveys after surveys. But did it ever matter to Duterte and his friends?

In the meantime, China continues to creep into the country’s sovereignty without a nary a word from our government except to thank its benefactor. valabelgas@aol.com Mr. Abelgas is a former managing eitor of Manila Standard. He now lives in the US but remains a key observer of Philippine events.

Chinese people love the color red. Giving red envelopes, called “hong bao,” is a way to send good wishes and luck (as well as money).

New Year’s bonus.

Again, this has its origin. According to legends, there used to be an evil spirit named Sui. It would appear on New Year’s Eve and pat the heads of sleeping children three times. The children would end up with a fever. Even if they recovered from the fever, they’d never be the same again.

One couple entertained their child with some coins at night. When he fell asleep, they placed the coins on red paper and left it by the pillow. When Sui came, the coins flashed and frightened it away. From then on, parents would give children money wrapped in red paper every New Year’s Eve. Read our full article on red pockets to learn more about their origin, history and how much to put in one.

And while Chinese maintains their beliefs on things which would bring luck, they also believe on things which would the opposite.

Washing, sweeping, or taking out the garbage are not allowed.

House-cleaning must be done before Chinese New Year. During the Chinese New Year period, there are many superstitions.

Washing hair or clothes is not allowed on the first day of the lunar year because it is seen as “washing one’s fortune away” at the beginning of the year. Sweeping up and taking out the garbage symbolize removing the good luck from the house, so people don’t do that either.

Being a major event in China, this festival causes the world’s largest annual migration as for Chinese people, the most important part of the Chinese Spring Festival is to enjoy a reunion dinner with their families on New Year’s Eve, even if they have to travel long distances.

And in connection with the this year’s festivities, the Palace Museum in Beijing unveiled a grand exhibition celebrating the Spring Festival starting today up to April 7 this year.

Presenting the audience with the royal traditions of celebrating the Spring Festival during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), a total of 885 cultural relics are used in the exhibition to create lively images of an imperial Spring Festival, the largest number in a single exhibition in the museum’s history.

So, better bring out the tikoy and the dumplings and let’s all welcome the Year of the Pig.

News

A6

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘Piggy banks lined with toxic lead’

By Joel E. Zurbano ENVIRONMENTALIST group Ecowaste Coalition on Sunday urged consumers to be cautious of piggy banks and pig-inspired decorations containing high levels of toxic lead, which is unsafe to the people, especially children.

The group made the warning in time for the celebration of the Chinese New Year beginning Wednesday, Feb. 5.

Ecowaste members found high concentrations of lead in three out of 10 pig-inspired coin containers and related adornments to welcome the year of the earth pig, the 12th of the Chinese zodiac animals.

“Lead-tainted ceramic piggy banks and related decors could end up in the hands of curious children who love to play with colorful and nice-looking figures,” said Ecowaste chemical safety campaigner Thony Dizon.

“Lead exposure may occur if the product is broken or if its surface is chipped or corroded,” he said.

As part of the group’s campaign for a toxics-free Philippines, Ecowaste last week bought 10 pig-inspired items costing P35 to P200 each from retailers in the areas of Makati, Manila and Quezon City.

Based on chemical screening using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, three ceramic samples were found to contain 3,090, 4,929 and 5,042 parts per million (ppm) of lead, respectively.

Lead maybe attributed to the glaze used to give the products glasslike or smooth finish or to the colorful coatings used.

All the sampled products had no labels, and provided no information about their chemical composition.

House to see passage of ROTC bill

By Rio N. Araja

C

ONGRESS under the leadership of House Speaker Gloria Arroyo is set to work on the approval of the proposed law that would revive the mandatory Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) for grades 11 and 12 in public and private schools this week.

Arroyo batted for the passage of House Bill No. 5113, principally filed by Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu, to support President Rodrigo Duterte’s advocacy to protect the sovereignty of the country through the revival of the training course.

Cebu Rep. Ramon Durano VI, committee on basic education and culture chairperson, sponsored the measure last Jan. 30.

Abu said he expects the bill’s approval on third and final reading on Feb. 6.

“We hope to pass the measure this

week before we go on break,” he said.

“The approval of the substitute bill was prioritized by the leadership of former President and Speaker Gloria Arroyo as the mandatory ROTC bill was classified as a priority bill of the President,” he added.

The measure would amend Republic Act No. 7077 or the Citizen Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act. The following students, however will be exempted from the requirement, if the bill becomes law: Those physically or psychologically

unfit as certified by the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) Surgeon General or his authorized medical officer; Those who have undergone or are undergoing similar military training; Those who were chosen by their school to serve as the school’s varsity players in sports competitions; Those exempted from training for valid reasons as approved by the Department of National Defense.

The bill also provides for an advance ROTC program in tertiary institutions which shall be governed by section 40 of Republic Act 4077.

It mandates the secretary of National Defense, in consultation with the Department of Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to prescribe the organization and operational manual of ROTC units in public

and private educational institutions.

At the same time, the bill provides incentives for undergoing the ROTC program.

It mandates graduates of basic ROTC who have completed a four-year baccalaureate degree shall be considered first level Civil Service eligible whereas graduates of advance ROTC who have finished a four-year degree shall be considered a second level civil service eligible in the civil service.

Graduates of Basic ROTC shall be eligible for commissionship or lateral entry and enlistment in the AFP, Philippine National Police, Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

Students undergoing basic and advance ROTC are provided with free hospitalization in any government hospital in case of accident or injury during the training.

PhilHealth sets roads shows to mark 24th year THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation’s celebration of its 24 years in service will highlight simultaneous road shows entitled “PhilHealth Forward” in Pampanga, Laguna, Cebu, and General Santos City on February 14.

The PhilHealth Forward features new services and benefits for its members, recent innovations, best practices of PhilHealth offices, and new tieups with various stakeholders, among others.

“As we move to our 24th year, PhilHealth’s spirit continues to soar high as we prepare ourselves to the coming of the UHC. Our commitment to the health of the Filipino remains strong which is the very essence of our existence,” said PhilHealth Acting President and CEO Dr. Roy B. Ferrer.

He noted that PhilHealth extremely values the contributions of key partners “who have had a significant part on our laudable performance the previous year. It is but proper that we give them tribute for their contributions to the overall success of PhilHealth.”

PhilHealth was created in 1995 with the passage of Republic Act 7875 or the National Health Insurance Act of 1995.

MEDICAL MISSION. More than 800 patients from poor communities of Barangay Batasan Hills Quezon City receive free dental and medical services along with reading glasses, medicines and supplements, and a pail with groceries during the medical mission sponsored by Tingog Party-list first nominee and Leyte 1st District Rep. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez. Volunteer doctors and nurses from Project Outreach Philippines, led by Dr. Ma. Salud Enrissa Talad, alongside physicians from the Department of Health and Veterans Memorial Medical Center, supervised the mission. Ver Noveno

NCRPO: 700k nabbed for various violations OVER 700,000 individuals have been arrested since June last year in Metro Manila for violating various ordinances, according to a National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) report released on Sunday.

Based on records given to the media

by NCRPO chief, Director Guillermo Eleazar, a total of 709,515 violators were nabbed from June 13 last year to February 3 this year with smoking ban offenders topping the list.

Police rounded up a total of 174,440 violators of the smoking ban as of 5 a.m. on Sunday, accounting for 24.59 percent of all the arrests.

Minors violating curfew hours had the next biggest number, although with a much lower figure of 43,391,

or 6.12 percent of all those arrested all over Metro Manila in the period.

The NCRPO has also apprehended 39,556 individuals, or 5.58 percent of the total arrests, for going in public places half-naked.

Those drinking in public places came next, with 33,551 rounded up, accounting for 4.73 percent of the total number of violators across the board.

The rest, 418,577 people, or 58.99 percent of the total arrests were violators of other city and municipal ordinances in the NCR. The Quezon City Police District (QCPD) still had the biggest number of arrests ― 421,179 violators ― 59.36 percent or more than half of all those arrested in Metro Manila.

The Eastern Police District (EPD) placed second with 132,479 persons (18.67 percent) apprehended, followed by Northern Police District (NPD) with 58,350 (8.22 percent), Manila Police District (MPD) with 55,241 (7.79 percent) and Southern Police District (SPD) with 42,266 (5.96 percent).

Eleazar said most of the violators were immediately released after paying a fine or due to humanitarian considerations.

Out of the apprehended individuals, 142,471 violators have been fined while 103,707 have been charged.

The implementation of city and municipal ordinances is part of the NCRPO’s peace and order strategy. PNA

RFID-only plan on 2 Skyway exits up to TRB—SOMCO

'PASINAYA' POSE. Performers from Guiguinto, Bulacan participate Sunday in the 2019 Pasinaya Festival, a 3-day event celebrating Filipino arts and culture, at the CCP Complex in Pasay City. Norman Cruz

THE Skyway Operations and Maintenance Corporation (SOMCO), operator of the Skyway system, has clarified that the plan to designate as “RFIDonly” the Elevated Section of the Skyway ― Dona Soledad and Dr A. Santos Exits ― is still being reviewed and will only be implemented upon approval by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB).

The plan is expected to result in faster and more efficient throughput at elevated toll plazas, which in turn will mean less congestion at on-ramps and roads leading to the elevated Skyway.

SOMCO appealed to the motoring public to embrace change for the better.

“It only takes six seconds for vehicles with RFID to cross the toll barrier, while cash transactions take about 21 seconds.

This means that three vehicles

could pass in the RFID lane before one could finish paying at the cash lane. The objective is to have the Skyway Elevated exclusive to RFID users to provide motorists the convenience they are paying a premium for,” said Manuel M. Bonoan, president of SOMCO. RFID lanes will also be maintained at the at-grade section.

The number of RFID lanes will increase as more motorists switch to the faster and more convenient electronic toll collection system.

“We all lose so much just sitting in traffic: time with our families; opportunities in business and at work. In addition, we also waste fuel and impact the environment negatively. As such, Skyway Management continues to look for ways to help ease traffic congestion and make daily drives faster, safer and convenient for motorists,” Bonoan added. PNA

DMOs to take UHC lead in Calabarzon

By Macon Ramos-Araneta TO strengthen primary care under the context of Universal Health Care (UHC), the Department of Health Calabarzon has concluded its First Conference for Development Management Officers (DMOs), said Regional Director Eduardo Janairo.

DMOs are the key implementers of the foundation of UHC “who provide realization of the achievement of health targets and goals in the community,” Janairo said. “They also ensure the implementation of health care delivery system at the local level.”

Under the UHC, he said DOH Regional Offices will become Centers for Health Development, which will nurture, support and sustain excellence and innovations in public health.

“DMOs will be leading the implementations of new directions in the health care system,” he emphasized.

DMOs act as the DOH’s chief executive at the local level. They provide technical assistance in hospital development, assists in the formation of functional units such as disease and outbreak surveillance, disaster response and regulatory issues.

Janairo added that DMOs also perform tasks such as resource mobilizer, evaluator and interagency and inter-sectoral collaborator.

During the conference, various situations were given to DMOs of the five provinces in the region—Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon—to resolve during emergencies, outbreaks, and disaster response.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Standard

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019

TODAY c.2) Further, the members or participants of the Consortium shall execute a duly notarized undertaking that if awarded the right to be the developer of an LGU/NGA/GOCC proponent after a competitive challenge process, they shall bind themselves to be jointly and severally liable for the obligations of the Developer under the contract with PRA.

GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES for the COMPETITIVE CHALLENGE FOR UNSOLICITED PROPOSALS TO RECLAIM

7.2 Evaluation of the Financial Proposals Comparative proposal/s higher than the NEDA Board-approved financial proposal of the Original Proponent shall undergo the Outbidding Process as defined in Sections 2.10 and 7.3 herein.

7.3 Outbidding Process a) After determination of the highest comparative proposal by the PRBC, it shall recommend to the PRA Board through the PRA General Manager and CEO that the Original Proponent be given the right to outbid the financial proposal of the highest comparative proposal.

c.3) However, if members of the consortium organized themselves as a corporate entity registered under Philippine laws, such corporate entity shall execute an undertaking binding itself to be jointly and severally liable for the obligations of the developer under the contract with PRA.

WHEREAS, Presidential Decree (PD) No. 3-A dated January 11, 1973 provides that the reclamation of areas under water, whether foreshore or inland, shall be limited to the National Government or any person authorized by it under proper contract;

b) Failure of the Original Proponent to outbid the comparative proposal submitted by the Challenger would cause the PRA to award the right to be the developer of an LGU/NGA or GOCC proponent to the Challenger, subject to reimbursement of the costs incurred by the Original Proponent pertaining to all studies and/or documents about the project. Such costs by the Original Proponent shall be as validated by the Reclamation and Regulation Office (RRO) of PRA and approved by the PRA Board of Directors in its acceptance of the project.

3.2 Financial Capability WHEREAS, Presidential Decree (PD) No. 1084 dated February 4, 1977, as amended, created the Public Estates Authority (PEA) presently known as the PHILIPPINE RECLAMATION AUTHORITY (PRA) pursuant to Executive Order No. 380 (2004) and hereinafter referred to as PRA, as the government agency tasked among others, to undertake reclamation of land including foreshore and submerged areas and to acquire, develop and dispose reclaimed lands;

a) Audited financial statements for the past three (3) calendar years immediately preceding the year on which the Competitive Challenge process is to be conducted. If the prospective Challenger/s is Filipino, the audited financial statements to be submitted must be stamped “received” by the SEC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) or its duly accredited and authorized institution.

WHEREAS, under Section 5 (p) of PD 1084, PRA was empowered to promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out its purposes;

WHEREAS, the President of the Philippines on November 13, 2013 has delegated to the NEDA Board the approval of all reclamation projects pursuant to Executive Order No. 146, s. of 2013 (EO 146) and subject to the condition that all reclamation projects shall undergo competitive public bidding consistent with the government’s thrust to promote transparency and Competitiveness; WHEREAS, under Section 2 (b) of EO 525, the PRA was likewise mandated to issue such rules and regulations including the identification of such requirements as may be necessary for the evaluation and sound administration of all reclamation projects; WHEREAS, under NEDA-PRA Joint Order (JO) No. 01-2015 dated January 12, 2015 a Competitive Challenge process shall be undertaken after the approval of the NEDA Board of reclamation projects which originated as unsolicited proposal to PRA, LGUs and National Government Agencies (NGAs) and GOCCs with authority to reclaim in compliance with the Competitive bidding requirement of EO 146;

c)

Proof of funds through bank certification/s showing sufficiency of bank deposit equivalent to the project equity required in the capital structure utilized for the project financing.

In case of Consortium/Consortia, compliance by any of the memberentity/ies of the Applicant Challenger/s of the above financial and technical eligibility requirements shall mean compliance by the Consortium/Consortia, as the case maybe.

3.5

Acceptance of Criteria and Waiver of Rights to Enjoin Competitive Challenge Activity.

In addition to the above, all Applicant Challenger/s shall be required to submit, as part of their qualification documents, a statement stipulating that the Applicant Challenger/s: Has accepted the qualification criteria established by the PRA.

Section 1. Scope and Application

b)

This Guidelines and Procedures shall outline the requirements, mechanics, processes and procedures for the Competitive Challenge of unsolicited proposals to reclaim, pursuant to EO 146 and its IRR under NEDA-PRA JO No. 01-2015, accepted by the PRA Board of Directors and recommended by the PRA to, and approved by the NEDA Board. The results of the Competitive Challenge shall serve as the basis of PRA to award reclamation contracts to the proponent save in cases where said competitive challenge process may have been dispensed with

by PRA pursuant to the said IRR.

Waives any right it may have to seek and obtain a writ of injunction or prohibition or restraining order against the concerned Government Entity to prevent or restrain the qualification proceedings related thereto, the award of the right to be the developer of an LGU/NGA or GOCC proponent, and the carrying out of such awarded right.

c)

Such waiver shall however be without prejudice to the right of a disqualified or losing challenger to question the lawfulness of its disqualification or the rejection of its proposal by appropriate administrative or judicial processes not involving the issuance of a writ of injunction or prohibition or restraining order.

2.2

APPLICANT CHALLENGER/S - refers to interested party/ies who applied for eligibility and submitted eligibility requirements as proof of overall qualification and capability to finance and undertake a particular reclamation project and other related undertakings.

CHALLENGER - refers to Applicant Challenger found eligible whose proposal, after PRA evaluation, is found to be the highest financial offer to the government in comparison with the unsolicited proposal of private sector to either PRA, LGUs, NGAs or GOCCs conferred Original Unsolicited Proponent status in a reclamation project proposal approved by the NEDA Board.

2.3

COMPARATIVE PROPOSAL –refers to the proposal submitted to PRA by a Challenger under the Competitive Challenge process.

2.4

COMPETITIVE CHALLENGE –a selection process wherein the public shall be invited to submit comparative proposals to an unsolicited proposal to reclaim submitted to, accepted and recommended by the PRA Board of Directors to the NEDA Board for approval. Upon approval thereof by the NEDA Board, the Competitive Challenge process shall be conducted by PRA whereby the Original Unsolicited Proponent is accorded the right to outbid the Challenger.

2.5

2.6

DEVELOPER –refers to a qualified Filipino individual or corporate entity operating under Philippine Laws which has satisfied all pre-qualification and eligibility requirements and awarded the right, after a competitive challenge process,to undertake the reclamation project in partnership with either PRA, an LGU, NGA or GOCC with authority to reclaim, as proponent in accordance with these guidelines and procedures.

ESTIMATED TOTAL RECLAMATION COST –refers to all costs pertaining to the reclamation works and all other relevant costs to be incurred to complete the raw land reclamation.

2.7

NOTICE TO PROCEED (NTP) –refers to the order issued by PRA to the Proponent and its partner Developer to commence with the actual reclamation works.

2.8

ORIGINAL PROPONENT–refers to a qualified Filipino individual,partnership, corporation, joint venture (JV) or consortium/ia who submitted an unsolicited proposal either directly to PRA or to an LGU or NGA or GOCC with authority to reclaim to be its partner in a reclamation project proposal.

2.9

ORIGINAL PROPONENT STATUS –refers to the status given to an Original Proponent (individual, partnership, corporation, JV or Consortium) whose unsolicited proposal to PRA or to partner with an LGU, NGA or GOCC with authority to reclaim is accepted by the PRA Board of Directors.

PRA RECLAMATION BIDDING COMMITTEE (PRBC)–a body duly constituted by the PRA Board of Directors and mandated to undertake the competitive challenge process of unsolicited proposals for reclamation projects that have been approved by the NEDA Board.

2.12 PROPOSAL SECURITY –refers to the security callable on demand issued by insurance companies duly accredited by the Insurance Commission and posted in favor of PRA by pre-qualified challenger/s as guarantee that if awarded the right to be the developer of the reclamation project after a competitive challenge process,it shall, within thirty (30) calendar days from receipt of Notice of Award (NOA), enter into a reclamation contract with PRA together with their partner LGU/NGA or GOCC proponent as the case may be.

2.13 RECLAMATION –refers to the deliberate process of converting foreshore, submerged areas or bodies of water into land.

2.14 RECLAMATION AREA – refers to the site to be reclaimed.

2.15 RECLAMATION PROJECT – refers to a project involving the reclamation and land development.

2.16 SHARING SCHEME – refers to the agreed sharing formula which shall in no case be lower than the minimum set forth by PRA for the project.

2.17 UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL –refers to a reclamation project proposal submitted by a private sector entity either directly to PRA or through a joint venture/consortium structure with an LGU, NGA or GOCC with authority to reclaim as proponent and accepted by the PRA Board of Directors.

Section 3. Eligibility Requirements for Applicant Challengers Eligibility of Applicant Challengers is intended to determine their overall qualification and capability to finance and undertake a particular reclamation project and other related undertakings. For this purpose, Applicant Challengers shall be required to submit the following documents: 3.1

Those Applicant Challenger found ineligible may file for a Motion of Reconsideration (MR) with the PRBC within a period of seven (7) calendar days from receipt of the notice of ineligibility. For its part, PRBC shall, within seven (7) working days upon receipt of the MR, resolve the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the ineligible Applicant Challenger. If the motion is denied by the PRBC, the ineligible Applicant Challenger may file an appeal with the PRA within seven (7) working days from date of receipt of the notice from PRBC denying the MR of the ineligible Applicant Challenger.

4.2

4.3

The selection process shall be suspended for a maximum period of thirty (30) calendar days while the appeal is being evaluated.

4.4

The PRA shall act on the appeal within the thirty (30) calendar day period of suspension of the selection process. The decision of the PRA, on the appeal shall be final and immediately executory. If the appeal is not resolved within said period, the appeal is deemed denied, and the selection process will proceed.

4.5

In the case where no one submitted eligibility requirements and/or no one of the Applicant Challenger/s qualify as “eligible”, PRA shall then directly award the reclamation project to the Original Proponent.

Section 5. Issuance of Tender Documents 5.1

The PRA shall make available, on the dates to be specified in its notice to Eligible Challenger/s, all Competitive Challenge documents (tender documents) to Eligible Challenger/s to provide such Eligible Challenger/s ample time to examine the same and to prepare their respective Comparative Proposal prior to the date of its opening. The time period from the last day of issuance of Competitive Challenge documents or tender documents to the date of opening of the competing/challenge proposals shall not exceed sixty calendar days for Reclamation Projects costing more than Php500 Million, thirty (30) calendar days for Reclamation Projects costing less than Php500 Million.

a.2) Certificate of Naturalization; a.3) Any other legally acceptable document to prove Filipino citizenship. b)

c)

Less than Php 5.0 Billion

Php 50,000.00

Php 5.0 Billion to less than Php 10.0 Billion

Php 75,000.00

Php 10.0 Billion and more

Php 100,00.00

Section 6. Submission, Receipt and Disposition of Proposals 6.1 Submission of Comparative Financial Proposals to PRA by Eligible Challengers shall be on the date specified by PRA in its notice to Eligible Challenger/s. Financial Proposals shall be submitted in a sealed envelope containing the financial proposal and the proposal security as defined herein.

The Proposal Security shall be in any of the following forms equivalent to a certain percentage of the Estimated Total Reclamation Cost (ETRC), as follows:

Estimated Total Reclamation Cost (ETRC)

Required Proposal Security

Less than Php 5.0 Billion

2.0% of the ETRC

Php 5.0 Billion to less than Php10.0 Billion

1.5% of the ETRC or Php 100Million, whichever is higher

Php 10.0 Billion and more

1.0% of the cost of the ETRC or Php 150Million, whichever is higher

a)

The Proposal Security shall be valid up to one hundred eighty (180) calendar days following the opening of bid proposals. It shall be renewed as maybe required by PRA until replaced by a Performance Security;

b)

The Proposal Security of the Developer shall be returned only after it has posted the required Performance Security. The Proposal Security of nonwinning Eligible Challenger/s shall be returned upon issuance of Notice of Award (NOA) to the Developer and posting of the Performance Security by the Developer through its partner LGU/NGA or GOCC proponent in favor of PRA;

c)

In case the Developer fails to post the required Performance Security within thirty (30) days from receipt of NOA, the Developer’s proposal security shall be forfeited in favor of PRA and the award of the right to be the developer of the LGU/NGA or GOCC proponent to said Developer shall be deemed cancelled.

6.2 Rejection of Proposal. Non-compliance to the information required on the Proposal Envelope shall be a ground for rejection of proposals.

b.1) Certified True Copy of DTI business registration or SEC registration certificate, whichever may be appropriate under existing Philippine laws, if applicable;

6.3 Submission of late Proposals. Proposals submitted after the deadline for submission shall be considered late, hence, will not be accepted and shall be returned unopened.

b.2) Proof that the corporation is 60% owned by Filipino citizens;

6.4 In the case where there is no financial proposal submitted by eligible challenger/s, the reclamation project shall be awarded to the Original Proponent and the Original Proponent shall be declared as the Developer of the reclamation project.

Consortium / Consortia c.1) In case the Applicant Challenger is a consortium, the members or participants thereof shall be disclosed during the prequalification stage.

8.2 Award of the right to be the Developer of the reclamation project; 8.3 In case the Original Proponent is unable to outbid the comparative proposal of an eligible challenger, the Original Proponent shall be reimbursed of the cost it incurred in the preparation of its unsolicited proposal such as the cost for the preparation of Detailed Feasibility Study, Environmental Impact Study and the Engineering, Geological and Geo-hazard Assessment Report (EGGAR) and the cost of securing the Area Clearance and the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC), among others, which cost shall be validated by the RRO and approved by the PRA Board of Directors during acceptance of the project and prior to submission to the NEDA Board.

Section 9. Award of Right to be the Developer of the Reclamation Project 9.1 The Original Proponent is entitled to the award of the right to be the Developer of the reclamation project in the following cases: a)

No application/s filed for the eligibility check;

b)

No eligible applicant challenger for competitive challenge;

c)

No financial proposal submitted during the submission of proposals;

d)

No financial proposal is found higher than the NEDA Board-approved bidding parameter;

e)

There is highest offer above the NEDA Board-approved financial offer of an Original Proponent by a Challenger but the Original Proponent out bidded the Challenger.

9.2 Recommendation to Award Within seven (7) working days from the date of opening of Financial Proposal, the RRO shall submit its recommendation to the PRA Board to award the right to be a Developer of the reclamation project. The RRO shall include as part of its recommendation, a detailed report on the results of the competitive challenge process.

9.3 Notice of Award (NOA) Not later than seven (7) calendar days from approval by the PRA Board of the recommendation of RRO to award, PRA shall issue the Notice of Award (NOA) containing certain terms and conditions for compliance within a period of time. Thereafter, PRA shall sign an agreement with the winning developer together with the LGU and the winning proponent as the case may be for the implementation of the reclamation project.

PRA shall forfeit the Proposal Security in the event that the Developer and its partner LGU/NGA or GOCC fails to sign the reclamation contract with PRA within the fifteen (15) - calendar day period from date of receipt of NOA. 9.4 Validity of Proposal and Return of Proposal Security The execution of the Agreement (Reclamation Contract) shall be made within the period of the validity of the proposal security. The proposal security shall be valid for a reasonable period, but in no case beyond one hundred eighty calendar days following the opening of the proposal envelope. The proposal securities shall be returned to the unsuccessful challengers upon signing of the Agreement by the Original Proponent or the winning Challenger, as the case may be.

Section 10.

Performance Security

The Developer shall post the required Performance Security on the day of the execution of the contract. The Performance Security shall be denominated in Philippine Pesos and posted in favor PRA in an amount equal to the percentage of the Estimated Total Reclamation Cost (ETRC) in accordance with the following schedule: Form of Performance Security

Section 7. Opening and Evaluation of Proposals 7.1 Opening of the Envelope for the Financial Proposals. Only the Proposal Envelopes of eligible challenger/s who have posted the required Proposal Security under Section 6.1 hereof, shall be opened for further evaluation.

Cash, cashier’s/manager’s check, irrevocable letter of credit, or bank draft issued by a Universal or Commercial Bank.

Bank guarantee by a Universal or Commercial Bank: Provided, however, that it shall be confirmed or authenticated by a Universal or Commercial Bank, if issued by a foreign bank. b) Surety bond callable upon demand issued by a surety or insurance company duly certified by the Insurance Commission as authorized to issue such security.

Amount of Performance Security (Equal to Percentage of Estimated Total Reclamation Cost (ETRC)

a)

Partnership/Corporation/Association

b.3) Certification of Corporate Secretary on the current membership of the Board of Directors and Authority of the person who signed on the proposal document (if Applicant Challenger is a corporation).

8.1 The right to out-bid the Eligible Challenger with the highest financial offer during the opening and evaluation of proposal envelopes under Section 7 hereof;

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (Php)

5.3 The parameters for the Competitive Challenge activity should be transparent and fair. It should not, in any way, be tailor-made to favor or give advantage to a particular private sector participant.

Individual Filipino Citizens - Proof of Philippine citizenship as follows: a.1) Original or duly authenticated copy of Birth certificate issued by the Local Civil Registrar of NSO;

Section 8. Original Proponent’s Rights

5.2 The Competitive Challenge documents or tender documents shall be acquired

by Eligible Challenger/s from the PRA upon payment of non-refundable fee based on the following schedule Estimated Total Reclamation Cost (Php)

Withdrawal of comparative proposal after the opening date shall cause the forfeiture of the eligible challenger’s proposal security.

d) Right to Reject All Proposals. The PRA reserves the right to reject any or all comparative proposals, waive any minor defects therein and accept the offer it deems most advantageous to the government.

The PRA shall within a period of fifteen (15) calendar days after the deadline set for the submission of the eligibility documents, complete the evaluation of the eligibility documents of the Applicant Challenger/s, and determine which among the Applicant Challenger/s are “eligible” and “ineligible”.

Accordingly, the PRA shall duly inform the Applicant Challenger/s within seven (7) calendar days after approval thereof by the PRA. Ineligible Applicant Challenger/s shall be notified of such ineligibility, stating therein the grounds for ineligibility within the same period.

4.1

Legal Documents a)

c)

Section 4. Eligibility Check

2.10 OUTBIDDING PROCESS –refers to the option given to the Original Proponent to top the comparative financial proposal of a Challenger and outbid the latter in terms of land share and/or revenue share, whichever is applicable.

2.11

b) Modifications and/or withdrawals of comparative proposal shall be allowed by PRA no later than three (3) calendar days prior to the date of opening of the envelopes. No comparative proposal shall thereafter be modified or withdrawn. Proposal modifications received after said period shall be considered late and shall consequently be rejected.

The Applicant Challenger/s shall submit a certified statement of all of its ongoing and completed government and private infrastructure projects including contracts awarded but not yet started.

a)

2.1

a) Withdrawal and/or modification of comparative proposal may be allowed upon written notice by the eligible challenger concerned to the PRA prior to the time and date set for the opening of the envelope containing the financial proposal as specified in the “Instruction to Challengers”.

3.3 Technical Requirements

3.4

In case, the Original Proponent is able to outbid the offer of the Challenger (i.e. highest comparative proposal), the Original Proponent shall be awarded the right to be the Developer of the reclamation project.

7.4 Withdrawal and/or modification of comparative proposals

d) Proof of Funds either through a bank guarantee or bank comfort letter issued by a universal bank accredited by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) or financial institutions of good standing as rated by Moody’s, S&P or Fitch, to provide debt financing for the project implementation.

WHEREAS, the PRA, through the Chairman of the Board, sought the opinion of the Department of Justice regarding the legality and propriety of conducting a or another competitive process under EO 146. To date, no opinion or reply has been received by PRA;

Section 2. Definition of Terms

c)

b) Tax Returns for the last three (3) years.

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 525 (EO 525) designated the PEA as the agency primarily responsible for integrating, directing, and coordinating all reclamation projects on behalf of the National Government and that all reclamation projects shall be approved by the President upon recommendation of the PRA;

A7

Two percent (2%)

Five percent (5%)

Ten percent (10%)

Section 11. The signed reclamation contract between PRA, the LGU/NGA or GOCC proponent and the Developer, as reviewed by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) shall be submitted to the PRA Board of Directors upon the recommendation of the RRO, for ratification/approval.

Section 12. Reclamation Permit and Notice To Proceed The PRA shall issue the Reclamation Permit and/or Notice to Proceed (NTP) within seven (7) days from the date of the execution of the contract.

Section 13. The PRA Reclamation Bidding Committee (PRBC) The group duly constituted by the PRA Board to process the Competitive Challenge consisting of five (5) senior PRA Officers (not lower than Assistant General Manager level).

Section 14. Appeals Mechanism Decision of the PRBC with respect to conduct of competitive selection process maybe appealed in writing to the Head of Government Entity concerned: Provided, however, that a prior motion for reconsideration should have been filed by the party concerned, and the same has been resolved by the PRBC. The appeal must be filed within seven (7) calendar days from receipt by the party concerned of the resolution of the PRBC denying its motion for reconsideration.

An appeal may be made by filing a verified position paper with the Head of Government Entity concerned, accompanied by the payment of non-refundable appeal fee. The non-refundable appeal fee shall be in an amount equivalent to no less than one-half (1/2) of one percent (1%) of the project cost.

Section 15. The effectivity of this Guidelines and Procedures shall be without prejudice to the opinion of the Secretary of Justice on the legality and need for the conduct of a Swiss Challenge after NEDA Board approval pursuant to EO 146 and its IRR. Section 16. This Guidelines and Procedures shall take effect immediately upon publication in two(2) newspapers of general circulation and UP Law Center.

Approved on December 11, 2018.

Philippine Reclamation Authority

(ORIGINAL SIGNED ________________________ ALBERTO C. AGRA Chairman

(ORIGINAL SIGNED ________________________ JANILO E. RUBIATO General Manager and CEO

(MS-FEB. ___, 2019)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

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

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MONDDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019

So beats Galvez at POP Up Katipunan

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters star James Yap (center) drives into the paint against four Alaska Aces defenders, from left: Noy Baclao, Ping Exciminiano, Davon Potts and Jake Pascual.

PBA Media

Volunteers seek SEAG assignments

By Peter Atencio VOLUNTEERS are trickling in and are seeking jobs that will help organizers manage and prepare for the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Philippine Olympic Committee president Ricky Vargas said the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee is now getting a lot of applicants from here and abroad.

“There are volunteers already. And I understand that there are volunteers from overseas who have written us,” said Vargas.

Vargas was informed of the interest coming from volunteer groups and individuals who would like and pitch in to help.

Philsoc executive director Ramon Suzara informed Vargas of this following a meeting last week.

Vargas said people involved in organizing and preparing for the 2019 SEA Games need to step it up, now that they only have nine months to go.

President Rodrigo Duterte has already ordered issued Memorandum Circular no.

56, and Vargas feels that this is a welcome development.

The memorandum encourages all government agencies, the Philippine Sports Commission and the POC to extend their support with the Phisgoc in its work to manage and run things.

Vargas visited the facilities of the Pretty Huge Obstacle Course at the SM Aura in Taguig, and said that the place is suitable as training venue for national athletes.

The course that’s located inside a warehouse has already been certified by the POC. Vargas has been meeting with the Phisgoc in Makati to discuss the marketing aspects of the Games, and the role that sponsors will play.

Rain or Shine Elasto Painters rout shorthanded Alaska Aces, 85-72

By Jeric Lopez

R

AIN OR SHINE continued its sizzling start as it gave Alaska a rude welcome, 85-72, with its stellar play in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City yesterday.

Rey Nambatac paced the Elasto Painters with a team-high 12 points while big men Beau Belga and Raymund Almazan added 11 and 10 markers, respectively.

Rain or Shine won its second straight, improving to 4-1 to stay in second place while Alaska opened its campaign with a loss, 0-1.

The in-form Elasto Painters mauled the undermanned Aces right from the get-go.

Turning in a burly opening salvo, Rain or Shine already opened up a double-digit lead, 25-14, at the end of one.

Using its momentum, the Elasto Painters kept on pouncing, stretching their cushion to 21 points, 46-25, with over two minutes before halftime after an 18-3 blast late in the second quarter.

Alaska contributed to Rain or Shine’s strong first half onslaught as well.

The Aces, playing only in their first

game this conference, shot an abysmal 22-percent from the field in the first 24 minutes of play as they showed a lot of rust from inactivity.

While Rain or Shine kept the fire burning, Alaska never found its mark, allowing the Elasto Painters to breeze the rest of the way.

Alaska last played in December where it bowed down to Magnolia in the finals of last season’s Governors’ Cup. The Aces missed the services of key cogs Vic Manuel, Jayvee Casio and Simon Enciso who are still recovering from various injuries.

Jeron Teng had a game-high 15 points for Alaska but didn’t get enough help from his teammates.

JOEVINCENT SO

NU Bullpups grab UAAP top seeding in Final Four

WAIT FOR ME! New Zealand’s Sione Moila (left) pulls the shirt of Fiji’s Sevuloni Mocenacagi in the men’s semifinal cup game at the Rugby Sevens tournament in Sydney on February 3, 2019. AFP

Harden extends scoring streak as Rockets silence Jazz LOS ANGELES, United States—James Harden posted his 26th game with at least 30 points for the third longest streak in NBA history as the Houston Rockets rolled over the Utah Jazz 125-98 on Saturday.

Harden finished with 43 points to extend his streak and break a tie with legendary Wilt Chamberlain. Hall of Famer Chamberlain also had the two longest streaks in history, runs of 65 and 31.

“He has great hands and great anticipation,” said Houston coach Mike D’Antoni.

JOEVINCENT “Good Boy” So edged Franz “Romance” Galvez by posting a split decision win in the three-round headliner of the Cage Gladiators x Hitman MMA’s Fight Night 2 at Pop Up Katipunan last weekend.

“Being the winner of this event is a very huge opportunity for me.

Cage Gladiators and Hitman MMA treat the fighters well. I attempted a submission and did not give him any time to recover. You got to give it to Franz. I wanted to take him via my submission but he is a tougher wrestler. Hopefully, if we have a rematch I wrestle him out,” said So. The card was the second collaboration between Burn Soriano and Laurence Canavan’s Cage Gladiators/Hitman MMA. “Di ko ineexpect na ganoon siya sa una. Grabe yung cardio niya, conditioning niya. Sa Round 3 naubos ako. Siya ang pinakamahirap na nakalaban ko. Sa sarili ko, ako nanalo. Pero respeto sa kalaban ko,” said Galvez.

In the co-main event, Johnny “Young Gun” Merto shocked “Dragon King” Tabaranza in the second round, submitting him with a guillotine choke.

“Gusto ko talagang mapasukan na organization is UFC kasi bibihira lang ang mga Pilipino doon na nakaka-angat. Gusto ko makilala ang Pilipino, and ako, kumbaga gusto ko makilala as (Manny) Pacquiao ng MMA. Kaya nagpapasalamat ako sa Cage Gladiators at Hitman MMA. Napasok ako dito sa MMA at minahal ko siya. Ito ang pinakang focus ko. I am thankful for my mama and my coaches, sila ang humubog sa akin kaya ako nandito,” said Merto.

So’s and Merto’s victories headlined 10 fights which saw impressive young talent showcase their wares as the promotion continued to prove its status as the future of the local MMA scene. The exciting event saw five stoppages and two debutants successfully winning their first MMA fights.

“We ask him to do a lot and he just buckled down and did it tonight.’”

Harden added 12 rebounds, six steals, five assists and four blocks. He was 12 of 22 from the field, making four of 12 three-pointers, and made all 15 of his free throws.

In Oakland, Klay Thompson returned from a one-game absence to score 28 points and Stephen Curry overcame a slow start to lead the Golden State Warriors to a 115-101 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, who were again missing LeBron James.

Curry missed his first eight shots but still finished with 14 points.

James’ rest was for what coach Luke Walton described as “load management.”

Elsewhere, Dallas rookie Luka Doncic matched his season high 35 points to lead the Mavericks to a 111-98 victory over the Cavaliers in Cleveland.

Slovenian sensation Doncic, who won’t turn 20 until February 28, had 28 points by halftime – almost as many as the 30 points scored before the break by all of Cleveland’s starters.

“I just felt great,” said Doncic, who was cheered by a number of Slovenian flagwaving fans in Cleveland.

“It wasn’t my best second half for sure, but we got a win so that’s all that matters for me.”

Doncic had missed Thursday’s game in Detroit with a sore left ankle but showed no sign of injury as he scored 18 points in the first quarter -- when he became the seventh player to score 1,000 points in the NBA before turning 20, following in the footsteps of such stars as LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant. AFP

THE Nazareth School-National University Bullpups wasted no time in taking control of the game.

Gerry Abadiano, Cyril Gonzales and Kevin Quiambao presided over a big run in the first period that paved the way for a 106-55 smashing of the University of the Philippines Integrated School Junior Maroons yesterday at the Arena in San Juan.

This allowed the Bullpups to post their 12th win in 13 games, and bag the top seed in the Final Four semifinals of the 81st University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) junior basketball tournament.

Terrence Fortea, returning from a one-game suspension he got during the Bullpups’ game with the La Salle Zobel Junior Archers, led with 23 points while Abadiano tallied 17 points.

Abadiano, Gonzales and Quiambao stepped up in the last 6:06 of the first period. They scored the points which allowed the Bullpups to move away on a 16-2 run and take a 25-10 lead when the second period started.

Bullpups coach Goldwyn Monteverde said they are now getting ready to do battle in the Final Four now that the cast is complete and they earned a twice-to-beat incentive.

“After dalawang rounds, mas importante pa rin yung latter part of the season,” said Monteverde.

The Adamson Baby Falcons, who drew big games from second stringers Didat Hanapi and Jake Engbino, smothered the University of the East Junior Warriors, 85-64, to hike their record in the fourth at 8-4. Peter Atencio

IN BRIEF

Business groups back rice tariffication move THE business sector has expressed support to the proposal seeking to impose tariffs on rice imports in lieu of quantitative restrictions, the Department of Finance said over the weekend.

DoF Assistant Secretary Antonio Joselito Lambino II said business organizations forwarded a copy of their joint statement expressing their support for the rice tariffication bill to Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III last month.

“Consumers must be freed from food supply apprehension and provided with price stability at an affordable level. This measure will address those concerns through free and open competition,” they said in the joint statement.

The statement was signed by the Management Association of the Philippines, American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines, Bankers Association of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines, Foundation for Economic Freedom, Judicial Reform Initiative, Makati Business Club, Philippine Investment Funds Association and the Semiconductor and Electronic Industries in the Philippines Inc. Julito G. Rada

Peco assures power Iloilo City consumers PANAY Electric Co. assured it will continue serving consumers of Iloilo City and stressed it is not willing to sell its assets to More Electric Power Corp. of businessman Enrique Razon Jr. if the latter’s franchise is approved.

“Peco has made a commitment to the City of Iloilo that it will continue to operate despite not yet securing its franchise renewal,” said Peco corporate affairs manager Mikel Afzelius, said.

“If their [MORE] bill becomes a law, Peco will still continue to operate since MORE doesn’t have any power distribution assets up to now. MORE can put up their own assets and be a power distribution company if they want but they should not expropriate Peco’s assets because that is already unconstitutional to grab someone else’s private property without the two parties agreeing on a valid sale,” he said.

Afzelius said if MORE tried to expropriate its assets, Peco would exert all legal remedies to protect itself.

The official also reiterated the MORE had no experience in the power distribution industry. Alena Mae S. Flores

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019

PLDT discloses program to invest P70b this year P

By Darwin G. Amojelar

LDT Inc. said it is spending at least P70 billion this year to expand its fiber and wireless networks nationwide.

PLDT chairman and president Manuel Pangilinan told reporters Friday the company’s 2019 capital expenditures would fund the rollout of fiber to home for its fixed-line business.

“For wireless, we will complete substantially our 4G and start constructing the 5G network,” he said. Last year, the company programmed P58 billion in capex.

Fitch Ratings said in November the entry of a new player in the telecom sector would temper revenue growth and raise the capex pressure of PLDT and Globe Telecom Inc.

The government earlier named Mislatel Consortium led by Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corp. and China Telecom as the new major telco.

Pangilinan said he remained optimistic about the outlook for PLDT this year.

“Good number for 2018, and I think I’m optimistic about 2019,” he said.

The country’s largest telecom company posted a net income of P16.48 billion in January to September in 2018, down from P21.87 billion in the same period in 2017.

PLDT saw a net profit of P4.5 billion in the third quarter, lower than P5.38 bil-

lion a year ago.

Data showed that excluding foreign exchange gains and other non-recurring income, PLDT, without Voyager, recorded a core profit of P19.07 billion in the first nine months, up by 5 percent from P18.12 billion in 2017.

PLDT’s revenues increased 4 percent in the first nine months of 2018 to P111.88 billion from P113.35 billion in the same period in 2017.

PLDT’s home business revenues grew 12 percent to P27.3 million, while enterprise business expanded 10 percent to P28.4 billion.

Individual wireless services revenues continued to gain momentum – rising 4 percent to P45.5 billion in the first nine months of 2018. This was the fourth consecutive quarter of growth for this business group.

Steel makers support drive vs inferior items THE Philippine Iron and Steel Institute supports the Department of Trade Industry in its recent crackdown against substandard steel to ensure construction materials used in homes and buildings are safe and strong.

In a series of operations, the DTI’s Consumer Protection Group led by DTI Undersecretary Ruth Castelo confiscated steel bars that did not meet quality standards in several hardware stores in Luzon. It also confiscated substandard steel bars by Pampanga-based Wan Chiong Steel, which was supposed to be under suspension due to various violations.

“We inspected their plant, together with the DOLE (Department of Labor and Employment) and the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), because their operations have already been suspended but it seems that they continue to operate,” Castelo said in an interview following the inspection at Wan Chiong Steel’s plant in San Simon town.

PLDT GETS 25 TROPHIES. PLDT Inc. is honored as ‘Company of the Year’ at the 54th Anvil Awards: Gabi Ng Parangal at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Newport City. PLDT, along with wireless services arm Smart Communications, PLDT Global and Voyager Innovations win a total of 25 trophies, including six Gold Awards. Receiving the awards are (from left) Smart community partnerships head Darwin Flores, PLDT-Smart public affairs group head Ramon Isberto, PLDT global chief commercial officer Albert Villa-Real, PLDT chief data privacy officer Leah Camilla Besa-Jimenez, TNT marketing head Allen Dawn Jorda and Smart trade marketing assistant vice president Jacqueline Bocalan.

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BSP weighing reduction of bank reserves

By Julito G. Rada BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said monetary authorities are closely monitoring the situation to see if there is a need to resume the reserve requirement reduction and avoid confusing the market.

Guinigundo said while there was always a room for adjustment of the reserve requirement, important conditions should be observed.

“So we are very careful in looking at various indicators that would tell us that while we have the room for a reduction in the RR, it is still high at 18 percent. But the more important, more basic question is, when do you do that,” Guinigundo said at the sidelines of the oath-taking ceremony for the new set of officers of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines held at China Bank building in Makati City Friday night.

Guinigundo said the forecast for inflation was firmly within the 2 percent to 4 percent target of the BSP. He said any slowdown in inflation would not mean the central bank would immediately cut the reserve requirements of banks.

“The [inflation] forecast for the current year and for the following year should be consistent with the target... I was saying earlier, you really need to have conditions that would warrant a reduction in RR. This means you really have a really tight liquidity condition,” he said.

He said the other factor to watch out for was if interest rates were beginning to go up.

“We don’t want to release signals that could be contradictory to each other and confuse the market in the process. It is always on the table of the monetary board. The technical staff continues to study the indicators and we will report to the monetary board such a space if it exists already at that point in time,” Guinigundo said.

He said the Monetary Board’s decision to keep policy rates steady during the Dec. 13, 2018 meeting after successive rate hikes since last May was providing some space to review what happened.

The board raised by a total of 175 basis points the overnight policy rates last year in a bid to curb the rising inflation rate. Inflation peaked at a nine-year high of 6.7 percent in October before easing to 6 percent in November and 5.1 percent in December.

LandBank’s net income climbed 10% to reach a record high P15.5b in 2018 STATE-RUN Land Bank of the Philippines said net income rose 10 percent in 2018 to reach an all-time high of P15.5 billion.

LandBank, the country’s third largest lender in terms of assets, said it closed the year with a robust performance, based on unaudited figures.

The bank said net income last year increased from P14.1 billion it earned in 2017.

“We achieved exceptional performance in 2018 with our net loan portfolio expanding significantly by 37 percent or more than P220 billion to reach P840 billion,” LandBank president and chief executive Alex Buenaventura said.

“We are pleased to have improved on our net income performance in 2018 as we continued to expand support to our

priority sectors, especially the farmers and fishers, cooperatives, agribusiness, SMEs [small and medium enterprises and LGUs [local government units],” said Buenaventura.

He said the bank’s net income could have been higher on the back of significant growth in loans, if not for higher expenses.

“However, we incurred a significant increase in manpower cost last year because of the implementation of the Salary Standardization Law which affected our income,” Buenaventura said.

LandBank said deposit base grew 17 percent to reach P1.66 trillion from P1.42 trillion in 2017, as the government and private sector deposits increased.

Capital also increased 26 percent to P131.62 billion from P104.6 billion.

SM companies including SM Investments Corp., SM Prime Holdings, SM Retail, SM Foundation, SM Supermalls, SM Cinema, China Banking Corp. and Carmen Copper Corp. win 11 awards during the Public Relations Society of the Philippines’ 54th Anvil Awards Gabi ng Parangal on Jan. 30, 2019. SMIC representatives are shown receiving the Silver Anvil for 2017 SM Annual Reports.

Electric co-ops protest cancellation of franchise

By Alena Mae S. Flores

THE Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc., a group of 121 electric cooperatives, asked Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi to be fair in addressing the plight of members nationwide.

Philreca said in a statement Cusi’s initial endorsement letter to the House of Representatives for the cancellation of the franchise of 17 electric co-ops and its subsequent withdrawal were meant “to manipulate the mindset of the public for them to think that the electric cooperatives are not performing well.”

“And with this comes the justification on the entry of private, for-profit and zero-experience corporations.

While we are fully aware of the secretary’s pre-conceived notion of inefficient management, corruption, unnecessary political interference, as well as institutional conflicts among ECs, based on his earlier pronouncements, we still hope and expect him to be just and fair in assessing our accomplishments and challenges at the same time,” the group said.

“We hope that the DoE would see how the electric cooperatives have been operating in areas no private distribution utility has dared to enter before,” Philreca said.

Cusi endorsed to the House of Representatives

through Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo the revocation of franchise of 17 electric cooperatives, saying these ECs were “underperforming and financially and technically distressed”.

Philreca said this presumption was unjust and biased and was done without prior consultation with the concerned electric cooperatives.

“As it turned out, this endorsement was done in haste and in the absence of due diligence on the part of the Department of Energy, because just recently, the same endorsement was recalled and recalled by Secretary Cusi himself,” Philreca said.

Cusi said there was a need “to conduct further evaluation and assessment on the status and performance of these cooperatives”, but Philreca said he should have done this first.

“While we believe that recalling and revoking the original endorsement is the right thing to do, we cannot help but express our sentiments because his actions have already caused significant damage and irreparable negative impression to the ECs,” the group said.

Philreca said Cusi’s claims of an inclusive review of the ECs “compliance to the service requirements of their respective areas” to determine sustainable solutions “fall short of what the secretary has been doing for the past months.”

Confectioners want to import sugar to cut costs

By Othel V. Campos CANDIES and biscuit makers said they will convey to the Sugar Regulatory Administration their plan to directly import sugar in line with the proposed tariffication of the commodity.

The Philippine Confectionery, Biscuit and Snack Association said each member could save at least P500,000 monthly or P6 million annually if the government would allow small manufacturers to directly import sugar.

PCBSA is composed of 19 local producers of candies, snacks and other confectionery products.

“With this cost, any member can expand by another line or create another category to add up to the continuing diversification of the industry,” said PCBSA president Kissinger Sy. Sy said imported brands were fast eating up the market share of the local candy and biscuits, ending with a 30-percent market share as of 2018, up from just 5 percent in 2010.

He said that despite the diversification and expansion of the local industry, imported candies

and biscuits were growing fast enough to compete with local brands.

Demand by the local sweets industry is about 150,000 50-kilogram bags of sugar a month.

The group said members wanted to import sugar at a tariff level that would allow them a certain level of profitability. The group was looking at a 25-percent tariff.

“We would also like to leverage with the local sweetener. If local sugar is cheaper, we hope the SRA will also allow us to buy,” Kissinger said.

The group earlier expressed full support for the government’s plan to liberalize the importation of sugar.

The group’s daily monitoring showed that price of sugar in the world market is about P1,500 per 50-kilo bag, based on a 5-tariff and the current foreign exchange rate.

The group said domestic sugar costs one-anda-half times the world market price, or about P2,200 per 50-kilo bag.

The proposed tarrification of sugar is seen to help the local confectionery industry to grow 10 to 15 percent annually. The industry is currently worth about P30 billion.

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Business

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market poised to extend rally T

By Jenniffer B. Austria

HE stock market is expected to sustain its rally this week on expectations the government will report a relatively low inflation rate for the month of January.

Arbee Lu, head of online trading on P2P Trade Online, said the market’s strong performance Friday when the benchmark index hit a new year-to-date and intraday high of 8,144, signaled a breakout for the PSEi. “With our resistance at 8,100 broken, the next hurdle is at 8,500 (+4.9 percent away). Perhaps the dovish Fed coupled with optimism of a relatively low inflation figure next week helped drive the market,” Lu said.

The Bangko ng Sentral ng Pilipinas earlier said it expected inflation rate to have settle between 4.3 percent and 5.1

percent in January as consumer prices dropped sharply during the month.

Continued foreign buying was also supporting the market’s upward momentum.

“Foreign funds is the main driver in sustaining the 8,000 (point level), strongly backed by the US Federal Reserve on not rising federal fund rates,” Philstocks Inc. said The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week added 1.1 percent to close at 8,144.16, while the broader All Shares Index climbed 1.2 percent to 4,909.51.

Except for the property index which

declined 0.19 percent, all major counters ended in green led by holding firms (+2/24 percent), financial (+1.62 percent), services (+1.59 percent) mining and oil (+1.1 percent) and industrial (+0.39 percent).

Foreign investors were net buyers for the week by P5.75 billion, while the average daily value traded stood at P9.35 billion from the previous week’s average of P6.8 billion.

Weekly top price gainers were Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc., which advanced 17.2 percent to P2.72, GT Capital Holdings Inc ., which climbed 9.7 percent to P1,119, and Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which rose 6.7 percent to P11.10.

Weekly top price losers were PAL Holdings Inc., which declined 6.7 percent to P13, ABS-CBN Corp., which fell 6.6 percent to P23.30, and Petron Corp., which slipped 3.9 percent to P7.49.

Global stocks, meanwhile, mostly rose Friday following strong US jobs data,

though Wall Street’s rally showed signs of fatigue after the Dow finished its best January in 30 years.

US employers added 304,000 net new positions last month—the highest in nearly a year and almost double what economists had predicted—while growth in worker pay held steady above inflation, according to the government jobs report.

However, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.0 percent, the highest in seven months, as the labor force expanded and as the US government was partially shut for five weeks, most of which fell in January.

James Knightley, chief international economist at Dutch bank ING, said the report “suggests that the US economy hasn’t been adversely impacted by the government shutdown in any meaningful way.”

After a choppy session, the Dow and S&P 500 finished with small gains, while the Nasdaq retreated modestly. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

JANUARY 28-FEBRUARY 1, 2019 Close Volume Value

Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources China Bank COL Financial Eastwest Bank Ferronoux Holding Filipino Fund Inc. First Abacus I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

59.5 140.00 92.00 2.17 1.41 28.3 17.04 12.72 4.78 7.78 0.66 1.42 784.00 0.465 84.15 1.13 14.18 23.00 45.35 59 122 183 26 179.1 1796.00 65.00 1.17

97,230 20,741,790 11,763,190 344,000 1,688,000 1,263,700 973,000 9,449,500 662,000 9,800 67,000 218,000 980 2,390,000 11,125,330 15,698,000 1,577,000 6,000 544,200 48,240 780 2,120 816,500 2,981,490 650 393,490 110,000

FINANCIAL 5,750,647.00 2,858,460,862.00 1,078,065,021.00 743,090.00 2,398,830.00 36,034,870.00 16,290,350.00 118,901,070.00 3,177,480.00 76,250.00 44,000.00 304,430.00 768,710.00 1,092,100.00 930,605,779.00 17,745,270.00 21,530,650.00 127,485.00 24,415,100.00 2,856,488.50 92,380.00 390,776.00 21,407,885.00 534,084,795.00 1,172,865.00 25,395,200.00 125,770.00

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Basic Energy Corp.

Bogo Medelin C. Azuc De Tarlac Cemex Holdings Century Food Chemphil Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Eagle Cement EEI Emperador Euro-Med Lab First Gen Corp.

First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Greenergy Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp.

Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide MG Holdings Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp.

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petroenergy Res. Corp.

Petron Corporation PH Resorts Group Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Pilipinas Shell Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings SFA Semicon Shakeys Pizza SMC Food and Beverage SPC Power Corp.

Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

39.2 16.4 1.04 1.37 0.255 90.8 16.66 2.72 15.8 145 30.7 64.55 40.05 1.78 6.1 6.68 11.700 16.1 8.20 7.60 1.57 20.65 73.8 28.00 2.9600 9.35 13 1.760 320.00 53.80 4.28 3.26 10.50 27.15 12.68 18.26 0.171 370.60 6.25 1.4 3.72 7.49 6.08 8.80 1.36 10.78 48 6 4.81 1.88 2.96 1.39 13 96.5 6.36 0.122 0.94 150 2.7 1.8 16.98 1.47

6,389,800 3,378,600 23,253,000 1,619,000 25,490,000 930 192,800 244,684,000 8,018,500 7,410 353,700 70 892,200 275,000 54,800 85,400 17,058,900 5,617,700 3,542,200 4,194,100 82,000 10,156,500 327,190 1,152,400 365,989,000 36,709,200 4,927,900 4,140,000 4,051,630 2,680 335,000 70,000 11,500 1,452,900 12,421,200 17,211,000 2,110,000 1,582,060 191,000 27,078,000 377,000 16,986,800 5,875,700 16,000 196,509,000 650,500 3,982,000 946,300 5,633,000 2,016,000 73,000 1,005,000 2,505,500 2,228,490 351,300 7,120,000 1,599,000 5,874,000 2,163,000 111,423,000 4,760 32,763,000

INDUSTRIAL 245,633,150.00 54,325,812.00 23,744,930.00 2,173,330.00 6,351,710.00 84,525.00 3,368,638.00 629,649,540.00 125,755,716.00 1,005,859.00 10,770,745.00 4,474.00 36,578,180.00 487,760.00 335,501.00 562,083.00 197,764,768.00 89,613,736.00 28,715,462.00 31,621,466.00 135,190.00 206,360,704.00 24,133,572.50 31,532,735.00 1,091,323,310.00 297,966,309.00 61,159,848.00 6,768,450.00 1,293,107,276.00 144,218.00 1,437,800.00 225,410.00 117,684.00 39,818,370.00 153,083,064.00 315,481,032.00 365,600.00 587,072,450.00 1,146,217.00 36,956,850.00 1,371,420.00 129,716,654.00 37,246,394.00 144,162.00 258,766,850.00 7,122,334.00 190,097,710.00 5,677,600.00 27,046,180.00 3,324,710.00 218,400.00 1,372,380.00 31,474,856.00 211,461,260.50 2,249,812.00 870,050.00 1,487,150.00 867,985,628.00 5,418,220.00 201,447,260.00 85,736.00 47,599,930.00

Abacus Cons. `A’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor `A’ Asiabest Group ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp `A’ BHI Holdings Inc. Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings Filinvest Dev. Corp.

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings `A’ Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

Lopez Holdings Corp.

LT Group Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

MJCI Investments Inc. Pacifica `A’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp `A’ Seafront `A’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Top Frontier Transgrid Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.660 64.00 13.90 0.76 6.53 28.7 1.450 1.480 940 1253.00 7.42 12.76 13.00 0.227 1119 5.91 65.65 5.7 4.82 0.62 5.38 15.48 0.570 4.86 2.81 0.0380 1.150 2.610 2.67 166.50 2.28 1015.00 1.36 0.77 280.000 440.20 0.2550 0.345

HOLDING FIRMS 115,097,410 98,702,600.00 7,255,310 467,386,683.00 41,587,900 577,055,106.00 238,000 183,150.00 144,600 936,225.00 1,492,700 41,941,990.00 38,606,000 55,214,680.00 6,535,000 9,393,650.00 2,544,140 2,349,147,575.00 5 6,265.00 6,274,600 46,533,985.00 20,391,600 254,895,594.00 3,128,500 39,493,268.00 120,000 26,300.00 601,005 634,827,800.00 145,500 903,767.00 8,859,560 575,079,776.50 1,400 7,980.00 3,000 14,460.00 3,132,070 145,929,880.50 28,600,200 149,287,083.00 11,467,400 179,871,448.00 2,481,000 1,434,070.00 125,221,000 616,969,030.00 6,000 16,860.00 96,000,000 3,714,900.00 553,000 638,360.00 2,793,000 7,048,270.00 99,000 254,590.00 2,920,950 482,200,753.00 5,000 11,400.00 1,689,360 1,662,846,590.00 1,135,000 1,526,240.00 484,000 389,100.00 115,840 32,254,222.00 600 267,912.00 18,700,000 4,773,780.00 47,090,000 13,984,400.00

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Anchor Land Holdings Inc. Araneta Prop `A’ Arthaland Corp.

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ CEB Landmasters Cebu Holdings Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

DM Wenceslao Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Filinvest Land,Inc. Global-Estate Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil Infradev Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’

10.000 0.81 11.10 1.730 0.880 44.950 2.52 4.16 6.3 0.495 0.80 0.910 0.255 0.395 9.480 21.5 0.500 0.125 1.55 1.20 5.27 0.445 2.2900 0.4650 0.435

14,751,800 4,600,000 5,100 846,000 18,145,000 101,215,500 5,910,000 1,445,000 139,600 120,890,000 685,000 311,000 58,920,000 2,680,000 11,030,800 6,404,700 1,187,000 620,000 82,356,000 4,173,000 93,409,600 100,250,000 61,983,000 31,240,000 15,950,000

PROPERTY 136,812,524.00 3,739,220.00 54,170.00 1,411,170.00 16,437,740.00 4,467,827,630.00 14,558,450.00 6,082,310.00 872,012.00 58,744,850.00 541,610.00 272,980.00 14,587,890.00 1,034,100.00 99,445,988.00 133,455,835.00 586,975.00 75,950.00 124,223,030.00 4,903,910.00 488,258,831.00 43,682,050.00 144,576,860.00 15,118,000.00 7,064,900.00

Close

JANUARY 21-25, 2019 Volume Value

59.6 136.50 91.15 2.17 1.50 27.8 16.5 12.56 4.86 8.00

24,160 10,997,380 8,844,050 1,116,000 3,405,000 1,281,900 599,600 2,209,700 903,000 11,400

1,421,615.00 1,473,499,458.00 811,695,000.00 2,411,760.00 5,301,910.00 35,885,110.00 9,836,654.00 27,048,630.00 4,248,910.00 99,916.00

1.43 815.00 0.450 83.35 1.07 12.5 21.00 44.50 60.25 120 184.5 26.8 174.2 1800.00 64.50 1.14

56,000 60 1,770,000 10,615,900 9,176,000 95,800 490,900 904,800 73,990 360 17,800 267,900 1,582,050 2,760 84,310 209,000

80,920.00 48,900.00 792,950.00 879,382,205.00 9,322,270.00 1,200,358.00 9,383,760.00 40,661,120.00 4,410,912.00 43,522.00 3,230,169.00 7,213,435.00 278,019,947.00 4,972,860.00 5,439,043.00 242,100.00

38 16.2 1.02 1.4 0.246 90 16.98 2.32 15.9 140 30.9 64.7 41.4 1.79 6.12 6.4 11.680 15.8 8.18 7.43 1.55 20.5 74.45 27.85 2.1800 6.34 11.8 1.740 323.60 53.00 4.3 3.1 10.00 27.1 12.36 18.1 0.180 372.00 6.13 1.4 3.63 7.80 6.80 9.10 1.30 10.70 47.1 5.8 4.76 1.89 2.88 1.47 12.02 94.45 6.4 0.126 0.97 149.3 2.36 2.12

6,297,600 2,530,000 37,473,000 1,721,000 4,250,000 210 20,300 141,134,000 1,320,200 560 483,700 2,890 2,099,400 441,000 312,600 143,200 19,097,700 4,790,000 4,186,500 6,305,300 90,000 10,846,100 926,850 2,276,100 51,811,000 3,846,100 7,756,300 2,603,000 2,077,440 102,700 181,000 90,000 30,500 3,611,800 4,146,700 29,030,100 1,330,000 1,340,240 254,800 40,172,000 488,000 11,183,100 14,303,000 14,400 125,158,000 17,702,200 4,968,300 20,200 196,000 2,588,000 82,000 898,000 4,550,500 3,328,320 877,500 2,170,000 1,367,000 7,507,720 653,000 39,394,000

236,595,380.00 35,166,842.00 39,400,530.00 2,357,320.00 1,026,050.00 18,125.00 335,606.00 343,232,640.00 20,785,892.00 76,468.00 14,934,290.00 186,213.00 86,912,575.00 776,090.00 1,960,498.00 929,111.00 222,512,268.00 75,783,808.00 35,340,679.00 46,823,877.00 139,500.00 219,636,940.00 70,254,394.50 62,574,210.00 113,576,120.00 24,100,613.00 93,012,876.00 4,609,560.00 669,318,184.00 3,981,620.00 778,160.00 283,060.00 308,888.00 98,886,475.00 51,803,482.00 516,297,902.00 236,560.00 498,197,558.00 1,516,233.00 56,427,960.00 1,801,090.00 87,440,757.00 102,983,718.00 131,128.00 159,708,990.00 189,447,298.00 232,830,915.00 117,250.00 926,480.00 4,842,940.00 231,310.00 1,263,620.00 54,283,692.00 308,799,040.50 5,523,123.00 272,320.00 1,283,010.00 1,096,795,871.00 1,542,410.00 81,490,030.00

1.55

19,207,000

30,307,030.00

0.660 62.30 14.38 0.80 6.55 26.45 1.450 1.440 921.5

107,036,000 7,786,570 52,409,200 2,313,000 72,800 393,700 141,080,000 22,168,000 3,098,360

71,962,110.00 510,438,615.50 741,592,748.00 1,759,830.00 473,355.00 10,478,785.00 212,746,880.00 33,332,790.00 2,832,470,650.00

7.46 12.00 12.48 0.227 1020 5.95 64.65 5.8

6,621,200 20,805,000 3,282,900 300,000 302,925 21,300 9,012,110 61,300

48,882,001.00 251,619,796.00 40,936,154.00 66,250.00 313,708,765.00 126,399.00 597,671,109.00 351,210.00

0.63 5.49 15.66 0.590 4.95 2.57 0.0410 1.160 2.430 2.56 168.50 2.28 989.00 1.35 0.82 277.000 465.00 0.2500 0.228

2,045,000 8,626,000 13,049,900 21,469,000 96,037,300 5,000 145,700,000 877,000 2,415,000 17,000 5,876,830 4,000 1,139,830 910,000 961,000 99,990 1,040 13,440,000 130,000

1,229,390.00 48,264,915.00 197,993,696.00 12,887,970.00 476,449,685.00 12,850.00 5,764,400.00 1,064,670.00 6,036,330.00 43,640.00 986,257,382.00 9,120.00 1,117,768,125.00 1,247,170.00 760,470.00 25,460,170.00 487,630.00 3,357,450.00 29,530.00

8.780 0.81 10.62 1.670 0.970 44.600 2.48 4.26 6.3 0.475 0.80 0.890 0.240 0.395 8.670 20.8 0.500 0.118 1.52 1.18 5.26 0.430 2.4400 0.4650 0.425

3,265,500 6,384,000 9,500 306,000 18,759,000 44,527,400 17,615,000 1,394,000 200,100 119,760,000 691,000 517,000 71,000,000 3,710,000 4,585,500 2,411,600 3,727,000 300,000 109,675,000 4,261,000 117,723,500 86,120,000 93,475,000 1,480,000 5,990,000

28,509,399.00 5,253,530.00 101,654.00 514,350.00 17,161,860.00 1,983,603,100.00 44,868,530.00 5,896,000.00 1,267,343.00 55,608,200.00 552,920.00 451,120.00 17,142,940.00 1,389,000.00 40,187,485.00 49,897,830.00 1,866,315.00 35,270.00 172,296,460.00 5,088,930.00 621,224,561.00 36,586,150.00 221,503,810.00 685,650.00 2,453,950.00

STOCKS

JANUARY 28-FEBRUARY 1, 2019 Close Volume Value

Close

Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Polar Property Holdings Primex Corp.

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

46.05 49.95 3.2 22.35 1.96 3.11 39.20 1.42 5.9 0.700 5.960

15,930 100 1,741,000 10,081,700 308,000 260,000 55,904,400 5,736,000 1,485,300 229,000 25,663,800

823,794.50 4,995.00 5,563,280.00 227,321,365.00 608,100.00 806,960.00 2,192,629,130.00 7,844,660.00 8,768,969.00 160,040.00 150,421,291.00

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Apollo Global Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ.

Chelsea DFNN Inc. Discovery World Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp.

Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Metro Retail MetroAlliance A MetroAlliance B NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp.

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Wilcon Depot

13.2 23.3 1.31 0.450 0.041 15 3.12 11.10 0.0620 88.9 7.99 6.57 7.10 2.1 15.10 900 2070 5.79 350.00 10.36 2.87 108.5 2.00 11.92 7.24 0.125 6.4700 3.27 14.22 3.28 0.79 19.90 0.340 4.95 2.56 2.12 2.32 3.350 9.46 13.00 3.55 124.00 3.03 1313.00 1.620 0.970 46.70 89.70 8.30 2.43 0.800 0.45 5.52 0.700 13.800

SERVICES 396,800 5,333,648.00 1,463,600 34,429,355.00 1,596,000 2,099,630.00 14,040,000 6,289,150.00 62,300,000 2,514,400.00 1,382,000 20,734,606.00 14,520,000 42,148,250.00 55,909,900 610,362,312.00 292,180,000 17,492,060.00 1,339,950 118,196,789.00 10,500 83,678.00 14,613,600 95,318,809.00 81,700 577,325.00 8,000 16,740.00 1,379,600 21,107,582.00 910 826,475.00 251,415 524,268,410.00 798,900 4,629,152.00 18,420 6,380,168.00 1,500 15,848.00 10,635,000 30,655,720.00 12,644,820 1,369,418,041.00 102,000 192,010.00 201,900 2,603,268.00 31,100 223,781.00 28,550,000 3,557,260.00 152,796,800 994,901,340.00 183,000 584,000.00 16,300 240,008.00 4,696,000 15,388,540.00 889,000 713,350.00 16,187,100 304,514,292.00 520,000 178,500.00 909,700 4,416,486.00 11,364,000 29,486,120.00 3,497,000 7,343,610.00 75,000 169,500.00 18,819,000 63,640,720.00 256,100 2,392,130.00 13,345,900 188,922,870.00 36,000 128,160.00 21,000 2,566,428.00 6,473,000 19,586,340.00 616,815 605,530,495.00 2,038,281,000 2,970,423,820.00 79,865,000 74,555,260.00 12,050,100 551,651,685.00 4,376,140 385,224,589.00 2,295,400 18,979,582.00 37,912,000 92,942,140.00 180,064,000 147,350,560.00 249,272,320 119,455,700.00 4,584,700 25,201,826.00 7,942,000 5,568,650.00 12,770,400 175,065,740.00

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

United Paragon

0.0021 1.55 2.86 13.78 1.5000 1.2500 2.06 0.290 7.60 1.550 0.218 0.136 0.136 0.007 0.0073 1.08 2.5 1.04 0.6900 0.9800 0.0130 0.0130 4.17 14.60 0.0120 3.9000 23.50 0.0074

MINING & OIL 2,067,000,000 4,326,900.00 11,278,000 17,756,300.00 1,146,000 3,312,060.00 110,300 1,484,052.00 223,000 303,350.00 10,000 12,500.00 3,108,000 6,337,910.00 290,000 84,200.00 22,600 174,254.00 22,881,000 33,957,270.00 1,640,000 355,500.00 72,420,000 9,441,140.00 11,540,000 1,537,300.00 75,000,000 563,100.00 13,000,000 94,900.00 11,115,000 11,636,800.00 8,441,000 20,877,490.00 2,520,000 2,681,200.00 666,000 446,440.00 2,963,000 2,838,580.00 55,900,000 708,500.00 1,148,600,000 14,235,100.00 11,531,000 47,951,130.00 6,637,400 97,090,968.00 512,900,000 6,374,900.00 732,000 2,785,970.00 5,900,100 138,986,950.00 376,000,000 2,922,700.00

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

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

20.85 101.5 472 490 98.5 103.5 5.74 930 900 96 1 101.6 989 1040 100 107 990 75.15 76.4 73.8 73.95 75.05 73 72.6 73.5

1,622,600 9,630 10,010 6,400 35,690 650 676,400 150 12,490 5,080 1,578,000 126,210 40 275 8,200 1,520 14,450 18,910 101,200 522,860 51,380 41,420 38,470 19,740 575,420

LR Warrant

1.990

WARRANTS & BONDS 1,119,000 2,195,940.00

PREFERRED 33,448,246.00 972,745.00 4,740,320.00 3,145,640.00 3,515,172.00 66,525.00 3,801,697.00 139,450.00 11,307,500.00 485,905.50 1,569,530.00 12,822,679.00 38,780.00 286,200.00 820,000.00 158,890.00 14,173,400.00 1,419,437.50 7,623,445.50 37,907,585.00 3,778,541.00 3,098,003.00 2,808,360.00 1,432,145.00 42,104,832.00

SME 16,770,690.00 158,107,690.00

JANUARY 21-25, 2019 Volume Value

50.00

20,800

988,735.00

3.3 23.00 2 3.1 39.90 1.37 5.94 0.730 5.900

4,201,000 7,474,300 1,914,000 1,194,000 48,037,900 5,014,000 3,378,000 4,000 20,520,500

13,911,780.00 171,974,745.00 3,826,150.00 3,714,030.00 1,897,774,390.00 6,811,780.00 20,805,799.00 2,860.00 120,726,380.00

13.9 24.95 1.39 0.455 0.040 15 3.01 10.40 0.0530 85.7 8 6.52 7.39 2.1 16.60 893 2120 5.73 349.00 11.98 3.03 107.5 2.01 10.64 7.23 0.125 5.9800 3.27 14.5 3.26 0.81 18.00 0.350 5.07 2.70 2.19 2.08 3.630 9.5 13.94 3.67 117.00 3.11 1328.00 1.050 0.900 44.90 85.00 8.19 2.43 0.750 0.455 5.81 0.700 13.200

442,200 2,212,200 552,000 22,550,000 73,800,000 2,300 8,592,000 32,191,400 196,750,000 1,797,280 7,700 6,814,000 152,300 77,000 2,007,500 6,680 206,320 1,337,300 30,500 100 7,126,000 5,301,470 24,000 22,700 45,600 40,840,000 56,118,500 74,000 15,400 2,828,000 487,000 2,714,000 660,000 403,400 8,104,000 6,672,000 140,000 14,237,000 94,700 8,640,800 144,000 226,870 6,112,000 600,330 1,551,382,000 47,076,000 13,471,400 2,592,550 8,892,600 37,600,000 14,219,000 120,150,000 4,224,400 22,650,000 8,232,800

6,135,002.00 53,044,165.00 732,800.00 10,143,800.00 2,963,900.00 34,474.00 26,396,310.00 335,514,602.00 10,619,880.00 150,072,690.50 61,551.00 44,962,071.00 1,077,632.00 160,740.00 32,696,488.00 5,965,030.00 434,370,910.00 7,807,693.00 10,382,676.00 1,198.00 21,513,260.00 569,134,877.00 45,300.00 245,226.00 331,328.00 5,132,380.00 334,500,209.00 233,560.00 229,026.00 9,293,940.00 403,810.00 48,316,774.00 236,550.00 1,999,992.00 22,027,460.00 14,862,550.00 307,550.00 52,637,210.00 903,806.00 129,757,864.00 510,150.00 27,435,751.00 19,085,110.00 771,309,745.00 1,435,166,090.00 42,476,340.00 605,959,930.00 219,993,625.00 74,626,517.00 91,354,150.00 10,746,500.00 53,698,450.00 23,355,742.00 16,209,970.00 108,363,312.00

0.0021 1.59 2.85 14.50 1.2900 1.2600 2.03 0.300 7.91 1.490 0.221 0.119 0.129 0.008

1,625,000,000 7,809,000 3,164,000 31,900 133,000 11,000 9,810,000 90,000 24,200 71,629,000 1,020,000 25,910,000 4,580,000 38,000,000

3,417,200.00 12,440,060.00 9,310,720.00 461,694.00 172,660.00 13,860.00 19,342,330.00 26,600.00 189,112.00 108,524,990.00 222,650.00 3,151,260.00 571,620.00 280,800.00

1.19 2.52 1.15 0.6700 0.9800 0.0120 0.0130 3.90 15.06 0.0130 3.7400 23.05 0.0075

2,252,000 18,330,000 32,602,000 2,796,000 3,492,000 126,500,000 628,800,000 14,158,000 4,581,600 272,700,000 99,000 7,644,100 305,000,000

2,611,670.00 45,974,520.00 35,859,970.00 1,957,390.00 3,472,910.00 1,583,600.00 8,174,100.00 58,107,540.00 69,156,050.00 3,386,000.00 359,120.00 181,190,625.00 2,054,200.00

21.1 101 472 498 98.5 102 5.74 919 900 95 1 101.2 999.5 1010 100 105.5 980 75.2 75.5 73.3 72.5 74.8 73 73.75 73.3

2,914,000 54,580 900 28,090 87,790 9,500 1,000,300 410 690 44,480 321,000 6,130 1,500 700 26,990 370 3,240 4,180 87,750 58,200 1,000 21,780 56,220 29,790 36,850

58,905,580.00 5,461,813.00 424,746.00 13,969,978.00 8,597,138.50 969,630.00 5,710,359.00 370,340.00 622,450.00 4,261,852.00 322,530.00 617,282.00 1,495,440.00 702,700.00 2,710,088.00 38,975.00 3,156,990.00 314,562.00 6,662,058.00 4,286,903.00 72,510.00 1,616,812.00 4,115,148.00 2,198,930.00 2,702,470.50

1.960

1,044,000

2,014,310.00

4.82 1.31

3,365,700 80,040,000

16,484,878.00 113,146,140.00

Italpinas Xurpas

4.4 1.66

3,684,000 105,692,000

First Metro ETF

120.9

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 56,450 6,750,437.00

119.5

70,900

8,427,338.00

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

10.1 10 1

DOLLAR DENONIMATED SEC. 17,390 177,147.00 15,970 162,854.00 28,580 28,598.80

10.4 10.2 1.01

21,940 17,580 90,300

224,260.00 179,163.00 91,203.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining PremiereHorizon Oriental Pet. `B’ Philodrill Corp. `A’ United Paragon Greenergy Boulevard Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Cemex Holdings Phinma Energy

VOLUME 2,067,000,000 2,038,281,000 1,148,600,000 512,900,000 376,000,000 365,989,000 292,180,000 249,272,320 244,684,000 196,509,000

STOCKS Ayala Land `B’ PremiereHorizon Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Ayala Corp `A’ SM Prime Holdings SM Investments Inc. I.C.T.S.I. Jollibee Foods Corp.

Greenergy Bank of PI

VALUE 4,467,827,630.00 2,970,423,820.00 2,858,460,862.00 2,349,147,575.00 2,192,629,130.00 1,662,846,590.00 1,369,418,041.00 1,293,107,276.00 1,091,323,310.00 1,078,065,021.00

Chelsea set to sell CP or retail bonds to raise P7b

By Jenniffer B. Austria CHELSEA Logistics Holdings Corp. plans to raise up to P7 billion from the debt market to fund acquisitions and expansions.

CLC vice president for finance Ignacia Braga IV said in an interview over the weekend the company was considering the issuance of retail bonds or commercial paper to raise fresh capital after the company recently cancelled plans to get P5 billion from the issuance of preferred shares.

Braga said the company tapped Ratings agency Credit Rating and Investors Services Philippines Inc. to conduct a rating on the company in preparation for the planned borrowing.

He said the size of the planned fund raising might increase after the company decided to start developing its property in C-5 and transform it into a warehouse complex.

Braga said the company would spend P2.5 billion to develop the property.

CLC is also beefing up its container business after its recently acquired shipping firm Trans-Asia Shipping Lines Inc. and purchased two cargo freighter vessels.

CLC plans to acquire a property for the dry docking facilities that it wants to put up.

“We are now looking at additional capital expenditures related to our dry docking facilities. So we may have to increase the P5 billion should we find a property,” Braga said.

CLC in January obtained the nod of the Philippine Competition Commission over the planned acquisition of TASLI. CLC received the PCC approval after committing to do a price monitoring of passenger and cargo rates, submit semiannual reports on all trips of passenger and cargo services in the critical routes, explain all extraordinary rate increases in the critical routes, and maintain the service quality of passenger and cargo routes based on customer satisfaction index developed by a third party monitor.

The PCC in July voided CLC’s acquisition of TASLI for its failure to notify the antitrust body of the 2016 deal even though the size of the transaction fell under the compulsory notification threshold of P1 billion at that time.

Exchange bares launching of new indices this year THE stock exchange is set to introduce new indices this year, including the PSEi Total Return Index, or PSEi TRI, which meets the index service requirements of a broader investor base.

A TRI gauges the overall return on the index, factoring both capital gains and dividend payments, if the dividends are reinvested back into the index.

“We have always been focused on investment gains from price appreciation. As done in other markets, we want to show the bigger picture on the profitability of stock and index investing,” said PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon said.

To calculate the PSEi TRI, the PSE used 1,000 as base value with December 28, 2007 as base year.

The PSEi TRI closed at 2,771.01 on December 28, 2018, or a a 10-year cumulative gain of 417.6 percent compared with the 298.6-percent rise in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index from 2008 to 2018.

A five-year computation of the PSEi TRI shows a growth of 38.7 percent compared with a 26.8-percent increase in the PSEi. The PSEi TRI will have the same constituents as the 30-company PSEi, and integrates regular and special cash dividends of index components on ex-date.

If there are changes in the composition of the PSEi, the same will be reflected in the PSEi TRI. Aside from the PSEi TRI, the PSE is also reviewing the current sector index classification.

“We want our sectoral indices to be more representative of the industries they belong to. This will be beneficial to fund managers in planning and executing their investment strategies. We hope to announce the new sector classifications by mid-year,” Monzon said.

All PSE indices are available for index licensing. The exchange earlier said it would start charging license fees to collective investment schemes that track PSE indices or use the PSE indices as the underlying index for their fund.

The charge will be fund specific and will depend on the size of the fund’s net asset value. Jenniffer B. Austria

World

B3

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Iran says test of new missile ‘successful’ T

EHRAN―Iran announced the “successful test” of a new cruise missile with a range of over 1,350 kilometers on Saturday, coinciding with celebrations for the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution.

PROTEST. Venezuelans living in Costa Rica demonstrate in support of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido’s call for early elections and against President Nicolas Maduro in San Jose on February 2, 2019. Tens of thousands of protesters were set to pour onto the streets of Caracas to back acting president Guaido’s calls for early elections as international pressure increased on President Nicolas Maduro to step down. Major European countries have set a Sunday deadline for Maduro to call snap presidential elections. AFP

Governor denies appearance in racist photo, refuses to quit WASHINGTON―Ralph Northam, the Democratic governor of the US state of Virginia, changed his story Saturday about appearing in a racist 1984 yearbook photo and insisted he will not resign from office.

Northam held a press conference to say that he in fact was not one of the men in a photo from his university yearbook depicting two people -- one in blackface, the other dressed in a Ku Klux Klan robe and hood.

“In the hours since I made my statement yesterday, I reflected with my family and classmates from the time and affirmed my conclusion that I am not the person in that photo,” he told reporters, a day after saying he had appeared in the picture without specifying which of the individuals he was.

Northam added that while he had not appeared in the photo, “many actions that we rightfully recognize as abhorrent today were commonplace” and he was not surprised such material made its way to the yearbook.

He said he did not know why it appeared on his page, adding: “I had nothing to do with the preparation of the yearbook, nor did I buy one.

“And so this was the first time —yesterday evening was the first time I saw this photo. It was shocking and it was horrific.”

The governor, who began his fouryear term in 2018, did admit however that he had applied shoe polish on his face on at least one occasion -- to imitate Michael Jackson during a dance contest held that same year, which he went on to win. AFP

‘Once-in-a-century’ floods hit northeast Australia

SYDNEY―Once-in-a-century floods have turned streets into rivers and forced thousands to abandon their homes in northeast Australia, with authorities warning of tornadoes and more rain over the next few days.

Australia’s tropical north experiences heavy rain during the monsoon season at this time of the year, but the recent downpour has surged far above normal levels.

Thousands of residents in the city

of Townsville in Queensland were without power and cut off by flooded roads.

More severe weather could whip up tornadoes and destructive winds in the days ahead, Bureau of Meteorology state manager Bruce Gunn told reporters Sunday.

Up to 20,000 homes are also at risk of being inundated if the rains continue.

Military personnel were deliver-

ing tens of thousands of sandbags to affected locals, as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warned residents to be careful.

“It’s basically not just a one in 20-year event, it’s a one in 100-year event,” she told reporters Saturday.

The Bureau of Meteorology said a slow-moving monsoonal trough was sitting above Queensland, with some areas expected to receive more than a year’s worth of rain before conditions ease. AFP

“The test of the Hoveizeh cruise missile was carried out successfully at a range of 1,200 kilometers and accurately hit the set target,” Defence Minister Amir Hatami said, quoted on state television which broadcast footage of its launch.

“It can be ready in the shortest possible time and flies at a very low altitude,” he said.

Hatami described the Hoveizeh as the “long arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran” in defending itself.

It is part of the Soumar group of cruise missiles, first unveiled in 2015 with a range of 700 kilometers, according to the minister.

The Hoveizeh unveiling was part of an arms exhibition dubbed “40 years of defensive achievements” and held in Tehran.

Friday marked the beginning of 10 days of celebrations of the Islamic revolution that ousted the pro-Western shah.

On Thursday, thousands of Iranians had packed the mausoleum of the Islamic republic’s founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Iran has voluntarily limited the range of its missiles to 2,000 kilometers, but this is still sufficient to reach Israel and Western bases in the Middle East.

Washington and its allies have accused Tehran of pursuing enhanced missile capabilities that also threaten Europe.

Iran has “no intention of increasing the range” of its missiles, the country’s Supreme National Security Council secretary, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, said Tuesday.

Iran reined in most of its nuclear program under a landmark 2015 deal with major powers but has kept up development of its ballistic missile technology. AFP

Witness: El Chapo drugged and then raped teenage girls NEW YORK―A witness in the trial of Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman told the US government the Mexican drug kingpin drugged and raped girls as young as 13, according to court documents unsealed Saturday.

Longtime associate Alex Cifuentes told authorities a woman would send Guzman photos of young girls to choose from, with a fee of $5,000 per girl.

Cifuentes used this service himself three or four times, having sex with girls as young as 15-years-old, the government said in the documents, adding he “witnessed the defendant do the same on multiple occasions, with girls as young as 13 years old.”

The former Sinaloa cartel leader, 61, would allegedly sometimes drug the girls with “a powdery substance” with Cifuentes’ help before raping them.

But Cifuentes, who lived with Guzman in 2007 and 2008, did not mention any of this in four days of testimony during the trial, which ended on Thursday after three months of hearings. AFP

GUILD OF AMERICA AWARDS. Ben Stiller attends the 71st Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards at The Ray Dolby Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland Center on February 02, 2019, in Hollywood, California. AFP

All men must die, all men must serve: The call to servant leadership FR. BENJAMIN “DIDOY” MOLINA JR.

GREEN LIGHT

Charles Dickens’ famous quote fittingly describes the situation of the Philippine Catholic Church today, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The Church is under great and constant scrutiny, having to contend with persistent accusations about hypocrisy and mishandling of financial and sexual abuses.

Not a few bishops and priests were severely criticized either for being too outspoken or for being overly silent on the raging social issues such as poverty, corruption and extra-judicial killings. The recent bombing in Jolo Cathedral and the still unresolved murders of priests and civilians, especially the vulnerable children, have made a lot of people very apprehensive and uncertain about the practice of the faith and even about life itself. It is these very situations, however, that the Church, from the hier-

archy to the lay people, is given the chance to not only purify herself but to also lead the way forward. The current troubling circumstances can be graced occasions for the Church’s ongoing self-reflection on the true nature of her mission in the community and society and consequently what kind of leadership she should exercise in order to fulfill her purpose.

Vatican II stressed that the ministry of the hierarchy (bishops, priests and deacons) is the sharing in the threefold mission of Christ— priestly, prophetic and kingly. In 2018, the Philippine Church celebrated the Year of the Clergy and Consecrated Persons with the theme, “renewed servant-leaders for the new evangelization.” The challenge for Church leaders, year in and year out, was not to put one’s self on pedestals and positions of authority but to be role models and authentic witnesses through humble servant leadership.

From personal experiences and observations, I would dare say (and humbly ask for understanding and forgiveness) that there have been a lot of distortions when it comes to the

practice of the kingly ministry. Many lay people may have been scandalized when seeing Church leaders who, instead of fulfilling the kingly mission, which should be have been expressed in service, in the promotion of justice, peace and liberation, have instead chosen to be served, to enrich themselves and to aspire for position and be caught up with worldly ambitions and concerns.

We could pick up a lesson or two on servant leadership from Game of Thrones, one of the groundbreaking TV shows, not about the narcissistic politics and frequent backstabbing, but in the featured High Valyrian saying, valar morghulis, which means “all men must die,” which is usually answered with the phrase valar dohaeris, meaning “all men must serve.”

The saying not only emphasized the reality of death, which all of us must face, but also articulated the invitation to make something of ourselves while we are still alive. To live for others. To serve others.

Our Catholic faith pushes the envelope on servant leadership, where Jesus declared,

“there is no greater love than to lay done one’s life for one’s friends.” We are not only invited to confront the stark reality of death but to even welcome it, embrace it, in the name of service. The call to offer one’s life for the flock should not just be a pious platitude but a concrete call that shepherds must be ready to respond to, for the capacity to give up one’s life for others may very well be the ultimate test and standard of servant leadership. It is what distinguishes the servant leader from the self-serving leader. It is what separates the merciful leader from the mercenary, from the one who is just after the pay, not the well-being of the sheep.

This is indeed trying times for the Church, and the Church should not let this golden opportunity pass by. When a church leader shows that the life of others is more important than one’s own life, then, that person is able to bring the powerful and moving message across the organization that the focus is not about the leader or any material goal but about the concern and development of the members, which

is what servant leadership is all about. This sincere readiness to offer one’s life for others is a trait that the discerning faithful would not just notice and appreciate but would most likely lead to a deeper commitment to God and to the community. When this happens, the servant leader’s death then, becomes filled with meaning, and the servant leader’s dying to one’s self and for others, becomes life-giving.

Fr. Didoy Molina is a Doctor of Business Administration student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. He took up philosophy studies in San Carlos Seminary and finished his theology studies in Loyola School of Theology, Ateneo de Manila and seminary formation in San Jose Seminary. He finished his MBA at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business. He is currently the parish priest of Christ the King Parish in Pamplona Uno, Las Piñas City. He can be reached at benjamin_molinajr@dlsu.edu.ph. The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty and its administrators.

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

B4

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019

San Fernando marks 18th year as city today

By Romeo Dizon SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga--This first-class city is observing its 18th cityhood anniversary celebration with month-long activities, including the recognition of its sons and daughters who are successful in their different fields of endeavor today.

Mayor Edwin D. Santiago said Monday is a working holiday in the city so that public services will not be disrupted.

Santiago will inform the people on his administration’s accomplishments and plans for the future during the ceremony. The mayor is running for his third term in the May 13 elections.

Engr. Ferdinand Z. Caylao, chairman of Kaganapan 2019, said the celebration activities, which started January 28, include a cleanup drive, trade fair, sports competition, farmer’s day, concert, blood letting, and others up to February 28.

Caylao said the main event of the celebration is the the awarding ceremony of the Ten Outstanding Fernandino Awards (TOFA).

Awardees are headed by Philippine National Police Director General Oscar D. Albayalde for law enforcement, Nestor S. Castro, business; Rhodora Angela Fernandez Ferrer, education; Dr. Julieta M, Gabiola, medicine; Benjamin Yap Lingad, traditional crafts; Virgilio L. Malang, science and technology; Rafael D. Maniago, arts and culture; Walter R. Ocampo, community service; Elizabeth Praxedes Vega Pusung, religion; and Dara Mae Hainin Tuazon, youth.

The awarding will be held at the Heroes Hall at about 6 p.m. A Thanksgiving Mass will also held in the morning in the same hall.

Caloocan sets exciting events for 57th year

By Jun David THE City Government of Caloocan has prepared exciting events and activities in line with the city’s month-long celebration of its 57th Founding Anniversary.

A two-day mega job fair organized by the Public Employment Services Office (PESO) will happen at the Caloocan City Sports Complex and City Hall Grounds on February 3 and February 10, respectively.

Residents are also invited to join in the first-ever Kasayahan sa Caloocan, a family day event where free services and exciting booths are waiting for our attendees. It will be held on February 10 at the Caloocan City Sports Complex and February 17 at the Caloocan City Hall Grounds.

“This is one way of thanking the people of Caloocan for their continuous support and cooperation for the progress and development in our city.

They are our inspiration to work harder,” Mayor Oca Malapitan said.

On Valentine’s Day, hundreds of couples will tie the knot in a mass wedding at the Caloocan City Sports Complex.

On the next day, a Thanksgiving Mass will be celebrated at the City Hall Grounds, to be followed by the annual “Oca Night” where outstanding citizens and employees in various fields of endeavors will be awarded.

The new building was inaugurated and turned over to the city government of Urdaneta led by Mayor Amadeo “Bobom” G.E. Perez IV, Vice Mayor Julio F. Parayno III, and City Health Officer Bernardo C. Macaraeg by SM Foundation Executive Director for Health and Wellness Connie Angeles.

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

IN BLOOM. Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte sits beside poinsettias in full bloom during the Hortikultura Filipina 2019 garden show at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on Friday. The show is a food, arts, and plants festival of the Philippine Horticulture Society, which runs from February 01 to 10. Manny Palmero

Parañaque governance hailed

P

ARAÑAQUE City has been recognized by the Department of Interior and Local Government as the most complaint local government in Metro Manila for passing four of seven local governance assessment areas for the year 2018.

The city was also tagged as one of the Most Compliant LGUs in the implementation of the Supreme Court continuing mandamus for the clean-up and preservation of Manila Bay. DILG Assistant Secretary for Local Government Marivel Sacendoncillo said Paranaque, under the leadership of Mayor Edwin Olivarez, excellently passed the Environmental Management, Financial Administration, Business-Friendliness and Competitiveness, and Culture and the Arts assessments.

“Paranaque, a highly urbanized city in the southern part of Metro Manila, exhibited excellence in meeting perfor-

mance benchmarks in four of seven core areas last year, “Sacendoncillo said.

Under the Olivarez administration’s Business One-Stop Shop (BOSS) program, the City’s Business Permit and Licensing Office fast-tracked its government-tobusiness transactions through the adoption of electronic queuing, document tracking, online payment and No Noon Break policy.

With such a system, what used to be a 15-step process in applying for permits and licenses has been reduced to a simple three-step process of application, assessment and payment.

As a result of faster, more efficient business processes, the city topped the Civil

Service Commission’s list of most compliant cities and municipalities in terms of eliminating red tape and corruption.

Based on the commission’s evaluation, Parañaque received an overall score of 92.7 percent, which is equivalent to Excellent, and tops other major Metro Manila cities like Manila, Quezon City, Makati, Pasig and Taguig.

Meanwhile, the city garnered a score of 86 percent based on the Regional Inter-Agency Team Assessment conducted in recent months on the cleanup and preservation of Manila Bay. The team, composed of representatives from national government agencies involved in the Manila Bay Clean up, Rehabilitation and Preservation Program (MBCRPP) visited the 17 LGUs and reviewed their performance in the outcome indicators in the four clusters set under the Supreme Court mandamus.

Leading the initial cleaup of Manila Bay on January 27 are (from left) MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim, Manila Yacht Club Commodore Robert Lim Joseph, Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año.

Seven-year effort to save Manila Bay unwraps JANUARY 27 marked the beginning of a new chapter in the history of Manila Bay. In an historic first, cleaning and dredging operations kicked off a planned 7-year Save Manila Bay program.

Government department heads joined over 5,000 government workers and citizen-volunteers in a grand solidarity march along Roxas Boulevard.

Starting at Quirino Grandstand at about 8 am, the crowd walked together to signify their unity―with members of the various agencies carrying plastic bags, broomsticks, and other cleaning

paraphernalia.

A short program was held at Plaza Rajah Sulayman in the middle of Roxas Boulevard, where the cabinet members including Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, Interior Secretary Eduardo Ańo, Public Works Secretary Mark Villar, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Philippine National Police Chief Director Oscar Albayalde, and Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chair Danilo Lim made an inter-agency pact to stand behind the effort.

A long-time environmental protection advocate, Commodore Robert “Bobby”

Lim Joseph of the Manila Yacht Club, has been campaigning publicly for Save Manila Bay since late 2018.

Through interviews and media platforms, Cimatu was made aware of this and reached out to MYC’s Lim – and in less than a month phase 1 of 3 phases for Save Manila Bay was launched.

Ground zero for Save Manila Bay is located right inside the yacht club.

It is here that a water outflow sees the wastes of a zoo, hospitals, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, malls, and other residential properties in the city pass through it for the past 50 years.

GSIS to help save Baguio’s lone tree park THE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) will preserve the lone tree park in Baguio City, President and General Manager Jesus Clint Aranas said Sunday.

“We will neither sell the land where the park stands nor allow it to be converted into a commercial area by any party,” he said.

Aranas gave the assurance in response to the sentiments of a Grade 6 student at the Baguio Pines Family Learning Center to save the Tree Park near the Baguio Convention Center and University of the Philippines, after rumors came out that a condotel or carpark building will be constructed there.

“We empathize with Alcina Flores and other students concerned. They can heave a sigh of relief because the GSIS property will remain to be the home of these beautiful trees,“ Aranas said.

“We all share the same concern for the environment. If we are responsible stewards of God’s gifts, then we will surely reap the rewards such as having cool, clean, and fresh air,” he added.

“In fact, GSIS employees helped plant trees in the park, too.”

Aranas is optimistic that the negotiations with the City Government of Baguio to purchase the lot on which the park sits will finally come to a fruitful resolution.

Baguio City Mayor Mauricio Domogan earlier offered to buy the lot so it can definitively preserve the park.

“I hope that the good Mayor would understand that the value of a property appreciates over time. In any decision, investment or otherwise, we have to ensure that this will help grow our funds to benefit our members and pensioners” explained the pension fund chief.

Caring for the environment is one of GSIS’s corporate social responsibility programs. Every year, GSIS holds tree-planting activities as part of the National Greening Program.

Urdaneta thanks ‘Tatang’ Sy for center CABULOAN, Urdaneta City - A two-story building now stands on the site a single-floor structure once occupied, which houses the City Health Center II of this city in Pangasinan, one of three health centers in Urdaneta.

Renovated and refurbished by SM Foundation, the new building was inaugurated and turned over to the city government of Urdaneta led by Mayor Amadeo “Bobom” G.E. Perez IV, Vice Mayor Julio F. Parayno III, and City Health Officer Bernardo C. Macaraeg by SM Foundation Executive Director for Health and Wellness Connie Angeles.

The ceremonies came two weeks after the passing on of SM founder Henry “Tatang” Sy Sr. This is the first health center to be turned over by the Foundation for the year.

The health center is the 45th community health

center improved by SM Foundation and is site of the 153rd FTS Wellness Center to date.

Rehabilitation and renovation work commenced last year and with its inauguration, two more health facilities whose refurbishment started in 2018 remain to be turned over this year.

Angeles shared that for 2019 alone, the Foundation targets 10 more health facilities to be rehabilitated and handed over to respective recipients.

Assistant City Health Officer Dr. Rachel Ann Parayno expressed her gratitude to the elder Sy, as she lauded the ideal set up made

by SM Foundation with the breastfeeding area, spacious laboratory, restroom for PWDs and wellness centers for children and the elderly.

Life

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

FOOD

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019

C1

Sealed with a dish T

HE way to a person’s heart, they say, is through their stomach, no wonder Valentine’s Day is one of the busiest nights for restaurants.

Express your love and adoration to your significant other with a romantic date night complete with candles, flowers, and luscious dishes that can only be made with love.

From Paris, with love Can’t go to Paris? Bring the City of Lights to your love with a French fine dining at award-winning restaurant Impressions in Resorts World Manila.

The Impressions Dine in Love prix fixe menu starts off light and frothy with an amuse bouche of Crab Meat Croquet with avocados and cherry syrup. The appetizer of Candied Walnuts with 62-degree Egg is served with crispy lardons, mixed greens, and mustard dressing, followed by a comforting bowl of Potato and Green Tea Soup with steamed tofu and croutons.

For the entrée, couples can savor Impressions’ signature Pan-Seared Chilean Sea Bass and Grilled Scallops served with spinach puree, cauliflower risotto, sea urchin foam, and tomato Tuile.

The light flavors of the entrée are the perfect build-up to the main entrée of Prosciutto-Wrapped Australian Lamb Loin which comes with ravioli of lamb ragout, sautéed asparagus, cherry tomatoes, goat cheese mousse, stuffed zucchini, and honey pear jus.

The mignardises course is a trio of bite sized treats of Red Berries Macaron, Tequila Rose Praline, and Cherry and Vanilla Cream Puff.

The final flourish of this decadent dinner is a

Citrus Panna Cotta with Strawberry Puree that delivers an exhilarating burst of tartness that offsets the silky textures and rich sweetness of the classic dessert.

This special meal is available on the evening of Feb. 14 for P3,500++ per person. Go to www. rwmanila.com or call (02) 908-8833 for inquiries and reservations.

Take your significant other on a gustatory adventure to Paris at Impressions.

Impressions serves a special Valentine’s Day multi-course dinner menu.

Romantic Japanese dinner date

Executive chef Keita Kamimoto whips up a special set menu for lovers on Valentine’s Day.

Lovelorn couples and lovers of Japanese food are set to experience a memorable Valentine season with Kitsho Restaurant’s special set menu.

Executive chef Keita Kamimoto’s Valentine set menu starts with the delectable tuna sweet and spicy salad, to be followed by the savory fish sake soup made of white fish ushio and fish ball kamaboko spinach mitsuba.

The main course will feature the Hamatchi (yellow tail) katsu dish.

The romantic meal is capped off with the perfectly crafted Buttercream cake. In addition, the set meal comes with a complimentary glass of red or white wine or beer for each of the dining couple.

The special Valentine set menu is offered at P1,960 (for two), inclusive of VAT and service charge. Call (02) 994-3623 for inquiries and reservations.

Cafe+Bar presents a smorgasbord of international fare, from ribeye to lamb to an assortment of chocolates.

Feast on international fare Eastwood Richmonde Hotel’s Eastwood Café+Bar celebrates love with “L’amour,” a Valentine’s Day dinner feast filled with delectable dishes on Feb. 14, from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The Valentine’s dinner buffet features a lavish spread of mouthwatering international fare highlighted by favorite carvings—US ribeye, Australian leg of lamb, US turkey, and Chilean salmon, complemented by the Paella Valenciana and Paella Negra, plus various sidings.

The antipasti station is chockfull of cold cuts, cheese, chorizo, olives, grapes, artichoke, and munchies like walnuts, almonds, dried apricots, crack-

ers, and bread sticks. Completing the pre-entrée items are the salad bar and soup station.

Valentine’s Day won’t be Valentine’s Day without chocolates. The feast’s pièce de résistance can be found at the dessert counter where an assortment of chocolate confectioneries is showcased, from candies to cakes and pastries. A pianist provides the diners with live musical entertainment.

The Valentine’s dinner buffet is priced at P1,750 nett per person and comes with bottomless flavored mimosa. Children 10 years old and below get 50 percent discount and a toy. Call (02) 570-7777 for inquiries and reservations.

BITES New decadent treats

Limited edition Toblerone black packs designed by Nico Bolzico and Solenn Heussaff.

Say it with chocolates

Alfred in Makati Diamond Residences is serving a special dinner buffet menu on the evening of Feb. 14.

Fondue fondness

Fine dining restaurant Alfred in Makati Diamond Residences is serving a special dinner buffet menu that includes a fondue and gravlax station on the evening of Valentine’s Day. The buffet spread will feature Roasted Angus Ribeye, Lamb Leg with Rosemary Au Jus, Prawn with Herb de Provence, Pinakbet Rice with Crispy Bagnet Strips, and other appetizers. For dessert, there will be Strawberry Shortcake, Rosewater Macarons, and Earl Grey Raspberry.

The dinner buffet is priced at P2,000 nett per person. Call (02) 317-0999 local 1114 for inquiries and reservations.

Chocolates are great, but chocolates with an original, heartfelt message are far more special.

Toblerone once again lets lovers and friends share what’s on their mind with limited edition Valentine’s Day blank packs.

The chocolate label has teamed up with real-life couple Nico Bolzico and Solenn Heussaff to create two Toblerone Blank Packs.

The first Toblerone Blank Pack is adorned with lush flora and fauna. The second design features cartoon illustrations of the cute celebrity couple together with their beloved fur baby dog, Pochola. It also shares and celebrates the couple’s love story.

“Valentine’s is all about sharing love. We obviously think lovers at first. But it’s about beings we love in general. Whether it is your lover, your parents, your sibling, your friends, and yes, also our fur babies!” shared Heussaff.

Four other designs made by Raxenne Maniquiz, Soleil Ignacio, Louise Dimagmaliw, and Anina Rubio are available exclusively for this occasion.

The limited edition Holiday Black Packs are available in 100g (P106), 200g (P206) and 360g (P400).

Italian artisanal chocolate Villa Del Conte has launched new dark chocolate flavors. Its bestselling pralines are now available in White Cream Cheese Cake fla flavor with Amaretto Grains filling.

There are also two new dragees flavors: Extra Dark Chocolate-covered Pearls Bretzel, which perfectly blends sweet and salty to liven up the senses; and Extra Dark Chocolate-covered Roasted Coffee Bean that is not only aromatically pleasing but also deliciously addictive.

These new chocolate variants are available at Villa Del Conte stores in Greenbelt 5, SM Megamall, and Robinson’s Magnolia.

Villa Del Conte introduces new praline and dragees flavors.

Life

C2

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

RECIPE FILES

Salads to spice up the day WHO says salad has to be dull and sad and unappetizing? Appliance brand Electrolux shares these three yummy salad recipes that are as healthy as they are tasty.

Arla launches its foodservice concept created for professional kitchens via insightful talks and cooking demos. (Inset) Arla Foods’ regional chefs Dan Basilio and Pauline Lagdameo demonstrate to audience how to bake desserts using Arla products.

Arla launches foodservice concept

Vietnamese Pomelo Salad

Vietnamese Pomelo Salad Cooking time: 35 mins. | Serves: 4

Ingredients: 500g 1 pc.

6 pcs.

2 pcs.

2 sprigs 30ml 21g 15ml 15ml 2 pcs.

absorb the excess oil. They will continue to brown a little peeled pomelo more. Set aside to cool. ripe mango 4. Peel and dice the mango into 1 cm cubes. Deseed the small shallots red chili pepper and thinly slice them lengthwise. red chili pepper 5. Wash and pick all the leaves off the fresh Thai basil. fresh Thai basil Place the pomelo, mango, basil, half the fried shallots, and olive oil the raw shallots in a mixing bowl. coconut sugar 6. Try to keep the pomelo pieces about an inch in size, fish sauce not too big and not too small. distilled white vinegar 7. Mix coconut sugar, fish sauce, distilled white vinegar, Lime and juice of lime to make the dressing. Pour over pomelo mixture and gently toss.

Procedure: 8. Slice ¼ inch off each end of the other lime cut it in 1. Peel and thinly slice the shallots and keep about 1/3 half, lengthwise. Set one of the halves cut side-down on aside. the cutting board, slice it at an angle, lengthwise to make 2. Heat up a small pan on medium and add olive oil. Add lime wedges and set aside.

2/3 of the small shallots and stir constantly. Watch them 9. Taste and add more dressing if necessary. Plate with closely, brown but don’t burn them. lime wedges and garnish with remaining fried shallots 3. Remove pan from heat and place on paper towel to and thinly sliced chilies.

Avocado and Salmon Salad

that bested 18 other teams from around the globe, emphasized that the secrets to good bread are good ingredients.

Culinary professionals Chef Him Uy de Baron and Chef Ryan Abuejela, meanwhile, showcased the versatility of mozzarella cheese with a variety of dishes and gave some cooking tips for home chefs.

“Only use wine that you can drink.

Don’t go for cheap wine,” shared Chef Him during his cooking demo of ramen with mozzarella.

The event also marked the partnership between Arla Foods Philippines and Global Pacific Distribution Network, with the latter appointed as the official foodservice distributor of Arla in the Philippines.

Jamba Juice rolls out tea smoothies

lettuce cherry tomatoes salmon sea salt ground black pepper extra virgin olive oil avocado freshly squeezed lemon juice sesame seeds

Procedure: 1. Take the salmon and put it into an airtight container.

Cover it with sea salt evenly. Add some ground black pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Leave it for 6 hours in the refrigerator or overnight.

2. Smash avocados with a fork and season with lemon juice and salt and pepper.

3. Add lettuce and cherry tomatoes on the plate.

4. Cover salad with avocado sauce, and add sliced salmon. Drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle sesame seeds.

Avocado and Salmon Salad

Cooking time: 3 hrs. 30 mins. | Serves: 8 whole wheat bread hummus English cucumber softened butter smoked salmon Romaine lettuce sour cream cream cheese edible flowers sliced radish fresh parsley

Procedure: 1. Remove crusts from whole wheat bread. Slice whole wheat bread into triangles and arrange on the bottom of springform pan. Depending on the size of your bread and pan, the number of slices you use for each layer will vary.

2. Using the back of the spoon, spread hummus over the bread. Peel and thinly slice the English cucumber and arrange over the hummus.

3. Spread butter on the whole wheat bread. Arrange bread, butter side up over the cucumbers then top with smoked salmon.

4. Top smoked salmon with thinly sliced Romaine lettuce.

5. Place another layer of bread over the Romaine. Leave cake to chill in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

TEA lovers and smoothie fans can get the best of both worlds with Jamba Juice’s latest offering, Tea Smoothies.

Freshly blended upon order, the Tea Smoothies come in two exciting varieties, both made of real tea, real whole fruits, and real low fat milk.

The Berry Black Tea is perfect for those looking to have an extra boost of energy without the added sugar. Prepared using all-natural black tea and real whole blueberries, it offers a sip after sip of fruity goodness packed with antioxidants and is an excellent source of calcium.

Jamba Juice launches Berry Black Tea and Matchanana tea smoothies.

Salad Cake

Ingredients: 12 slices 125g 2 pcs.

28g 227g 8 pcs.

287g 230g

Pizza Telefono

SIP

Cooking time: 10 mins. | Serves: 2

Ingredients: 4 handful 8 pcs.

350g 17g 1 pinch 5ml 2 pcs.

30ml 6g

GLOBAL farmer-owned dairy company Arla Foods has recently launched its dairy foodservice concept created for professional kitchens.

Presented recently to an audience composed of industry partners, foodservice executives, and renowned chefs from all over Southeast Asia, Arla Pro is designed to forge meaningful partnerships to create better food and promote better business through its top-class products, personalized service, strong foodservice expertise, innovative support, and market insight resources.

The foodservice concept hopes to come up with innovative products, develop marketing concepts, and create new trends in dairy consumption with its partners.

During the launch, there were talks, cooking and baking demonstrations with top chefs, and food stations from Arla’s partner restaurants Figaro, Amici, Pizza Telefono, Six Doors BBQ Buffet, and Fleur de Lys Patisserie & Café.

Arla Foods’ regional chefs Dan Basilio and Pauline Lagdameo demonstrated how to bake desserts such as chocolate tarts and verrines using Arla products.

The highlight of the event was the baking demo by Taiwanese chef Chen Yao-shun, champion at the 6th biennial The World of Bread (Mondial du Pain) competition held in France in 2017. Chef Chen, who led the team from Taiwan

Salad Cake

6. Remove cake from the fridge and remove springform pan.

7. Combine cream cheese and sour cream. The mixture should be similar in texture to frosting. If your mixture is too runny, you may need to run it through a strainer. Using a spatula, frost the cake with the cream cheese mixture.

8. Use spatula to spread icing on the side of the cake.

9. Once cake is frosted, decorate. Use edible flowers, radish, and fresh parsley.

10. Carefully slice and serve immediately.

The Matchanana, on the other hand, is a delightful twist on the popular matcha tea. Blended together with real banana, this refreshing smoothie is not only belly-filling and loaded with flavor, but is also a good source of vitamin B6, as well as calcium and fiber.

As an added treat, Jamba Juice also introduces three new, all-natural Jamba Gems that go perfectly well with the Berry Black Tea and Matchanana. Choose from Chia Pudding, Coffee Gems, and Coco Gems for only P30.

The Tea Smoothies can be enjoyed in a 16oz. cup for P170, 22oz. for P200, and 30oz. for P250.

Entertainment

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019

C3

nickie.standard@gmail.com

Former Miss U in Manila to give local showbiz a try Of purebloods and half breeds

Venezuelan beauty and former Miss Universe Gabriela Isler

By Eton Concepcion

V

ENEZUELAN women are ‘amazons of love’ and former Miss Universe Gabriela Isler is a living example. Gabriela, now 30, arrived recently in Manila to start a career in television and film.

At the press conference held for the returning queen, Gabriela recalled the memories of her visit in Coron province in March 2014 to contribute to relief efforts after the devastation wrought by typhoon Yolanda. She was able to raise $250,000 through the Miss Universe Relief Foundation she established after she was crowned Miss Universe 2013 in December 2013 in her desire to support rehabilitation projects in the affected communities in partnership with the Miss Universe Foundation and Cordaid.

“My visit in Coron helped me appreciate, transform and realize my role in helping others through charity.

I was touched to see the warmth and smiles in the children and people, to offer me food when they had nothing,” Isler remembered.

“Now, I came back in the island and I’m so happy to see amazing progress and stronger communities. They have gained improvement in their livelihood and management of their natural resources. I see that they are now more ready to confront any disasters that will come. They can be model communities that hopefully can be replicated in other impoverished communities in the Philippines,” the statuesque Venezuelan continued.

Isler has tremendously improved in her communication skills which she needed when meeting different people during her reign living in New York. She has also assumed a new role in April 2018 as one of the national directors of Venezuela, as director for public relations of the Miss Venezuela, formerly under Osmel Sousa,

a job which she described as a “corporate work.”

Isler, who also worked as a television commentator with Venevision (owned by Cisneros Media) where she focused on socially responsible reporting, hoped to begin her career here as a television show host.

“I believe in the power of women, in utilizing their voice to spread powerful messages. I want a show where I can interview people and show their visions and goals to make a difference in society.

To tackle stories that inspire people. I love content and creating impact. If I could combine both, that would be great,” Isler enthused.

“I have grown to love the Philippines.

I knew that Filipinos are the biggest fans in the world biggest, and pageant-wise, they love their queens. Filipinos are also very respectful. I received a lot of love and respect from you during my year, and even now, when I’m back,” Isler sincerely admitted.

Isler has chosen Miss World Philippines national director Arnold Vegafria to manage her showbiz aspirations in the country.

“Gabriela, I am proud to say, has the heart of a Filipina. I am just honored and excited to be chosen to be a part of her entertainment career. I should say it’s pretty encouraging, as initially, I have received three or four endorsements to jumpstart her career,” Vegafria said.

Isler has joined the elite list of former Miss Universe winners and delegates to star in the local television and film industry, most prominent of them is Miss Universe 1993 Dayanara Torres.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Monday, February 4, 2019

ACROSS 1 Political campaign 5 Mend socks 9 Water, in Baja 13 Important decades 14 Type of arch 15 Splashes out 16 Free pass 17 Mongolian desert 18 Honks 19 Changes a bill 21 Had the same opinion (2 wds.)

23 Sidekick 24 Ancient 26 Make tracks 27 Plain as day 29 Planet courses 34 Method 38 Fish dish 39 Owl’s comment 40 Petite 42 Trotsky’s first name 43 Catnaps 45 “Jurassic Park” director 47 Drawing 49 Hangs around 50 Successful atbat 52 Be mistaken 53 Lynx or panther 56 Remote

61 Close at hand 63 Park features 64 Muslim mystic 66 Terror 67 Foretellings 68 Gull’s cousin 69 Lhasa — 70 El —, Texas 71 Dross 72 Tackle-box item DOWN 1 Summary 2 Pleasant odor 3 Desert mount 4 Sports cable channel 5 Mushers’ vehicles 6 Past 7 Melodious — McEntire 8 Horse sound 9 Burn soother 10 Honorable 11 It’s — — you!

12 Part of NBA 15 Ranch animals 20 Went headlong 22 “Road movie” locale 25 Storage containers 27 Sonnet stanza 28 Stratagems 30 Tulips or daffodils

31 Palm reader’s opener (2 wds.)

32 Odin’s son 33 Tell all 34 Advanced degs.

35 Chess piece 36 Exude moisture 37 Ruling class 41 Scholar’s possession 44 Downhiller’s run 46 Orpheus’ harp 48 Put out of sight 51 Pop quizzes

53 Crinkled fabric 54 Humiliate 55 Innsbruck locale 56 Organ valve 57 “Cope Book” aunt 58 Average grades 59 Late-night host 60 Pistol face-off 62 Remote 65 Monastic title

WHEN the Earth Pig finally arrives and roams, bringing cheers, joy and luck, three films will slug it out on the first day of the Chinese New Year, on Feb. 6 for box office supremacy and audiences love.

Heading the trio of films is The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang, with Asian superstar Jackie Chan boosting its stellar power. In a nutshell, the film tells the tale of a legendary demon hunter (Chan), as he tracks down beasts that enter the human dimension, assisted by a lawman protégé and a motley group of friendly monsters.

It will have simultaneous showing all over Asia and of course, Manila is part of it.

Why must people watch this latest Jackie Chan opus? ABSCBN’s Enrico Santos answers, “Manila audiences love Jackie Chan. He has a solid fan base and cult following. What people expect from him, they will all see and so much more. Well-choreographed and realistic martial arts sequences plus fantastical special effects, a love story arc that is comparable to Romeo and Juliet, the battle of good and evil.”

Adds Santos, “You know, it is refreshing to watch a super hero that is not made and developed by Caucasians. What I find interesting in this film is that it is so relatable, a part of it, you might say is like the Magic Temple and Magic Kingdom of directors Peque Gallaga and Lore Reyes. Also there are powerful amulets and that aspect, it made me remember the agimat movies of Ramon Revilla. Kita mo rin that Hackie Chan is paving the way for their emerging and younger superstars. During fight scenes, lahat ng younger set, may moments and then he only comes in the middle of the fight. I think that is so generous of him, it’s like these young men are being knighted by him.”

In the cast, there are two eye candies, Po-Hung Lin and Ethan Juan. And the female lead, Elaine

Zong, is truly beautiful and basing it on the trailer, she is a skilled martial arts ALWIN aficionado.

IGNACIO A duo of Filipino actors with Chinese progeny are also championing their respective films, Xian Lim top bills Hanggang Kailan with Louise delos Reyes and Enchong Dee stars in Eliseopposite Janine Gutierrez.

Hanggang Kailan focuses on the highs and lows of a complicated relationship while Elise tickles its audiences with the possibility of a “what if,” the one you love ever since you were a young boy comes back to your life anew.

Lim says, “I fell in love with the story and the character of Hanggang Kailan. You know, all sorts of relationships are capable of hurting us and this movie shows, how two people who are supposedly so madly in love with each are also capable of hurting one another deeply, mortally.”

He avers, “I want to believe that the movie goers will see a Xian they have never seen before. As an actor, I want my audiences to witness my growth, that I am not bullshitting when I say I really love what I do.”

Meanwhile, Dee, shares in an interview about his favorite scene in Elise, “It was the time when our characters were on bed, we were about to sleep and I said to her, as Bert, ‘Kung ako na lang kasi sana ang minahal mo, ’di ka na iiyak pa.’”

Without any doubt, Enchong and Janine’s “reunited and if feels so good” movie will pull a lot of heartstrings, with matching hankies soaking wet with tears.

As his character Bert, as seen on the movie’s trailer, one can observe how much is his love and devotion for Gutierrez’s Elise.

Of pure blood, The Knight of Shadows: Between Yin and Yang, and half breeds in Hanggang Kailan and Elise, my dear Manila Standard readers, take a pick on what movie is the best popcorn fare to welcome the Year of the Earth Pig.

ARIAS

Simply...

From C4

What are his objectives in founding this basketball league?

“We want to help the basketball communities nationwide, to bring entertainment sa mga sitio. We will go to different barangay courts kaya Punong-puno, ang daming nanonood,” he said.

“So, it may also boost the economy of the community because of the event. It also combats depression, which is also one of our advocacies, by promoting sports, we hope to encourage the youth to stay away from drugs. It’s a highly organized and televised league for amateur basketball players, so bawal dito ang mga exPBA, ex-ABL, pero open for all ages from 18 years old and above. No age limit, as long as they are fit and can play,” he continued.

How’s the feedback from the masses, so far?

“Everybody is excited. Siyempre, itong mga unang nagtiwala sa ating mga basketball teams, founding teams natin ang mga ‘yan. Mga homegrown talaga. We have different legs from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, but right now, we’re just starting in NCR. We hope to give exposure to grassroots players around the country.”

As of now, they have 12 teams in Metro Manila including teams from Nueva Ecija, Malabon, San Mateo, Quezon City, Pasig, Paranaque, Rizal, Rizaba, General Trias, San Juan, Binangonan and hopefully, they look forward for Bulacan or Tanza to join in.

“We created it by legs so that the expenses of the team owners are minimized. Then, the top winners from different areas will move up to the Finals where we will give away P1 million in cash and another million in kind to be donated to a chosen beneficiary barangay, church or public school!” Carlo added.

“The vision of CBA is to create a platform where we can share our talent on and off the court to share blessings to communities and young players. CBA is a small league with a big heart.

To know more about CBA please like and share our FB page CBA Pilipinas or go to www.cbapilipinas.com. *** Visit www.isah.red for more stories.

Follow me on Facebook (@isahvr), Twitter (@isahvred) and Instagram (@ isahvred). ΙR

‘Born Beautiful’ gets rave reviews from film critics, enthusiasts

Martin del Rosario with Kiko Matos and Akihiro Blanco in a scene from the 'Die Beautiful' sequel, 'Born Beautiful.'

LGBT themed Born Beautiful, the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2016 Metro Manila Film Festival’s topgrossing and critically acclaimed movie Die Beautiful, has pretty big shoes to fill, so to speak.

A box office hit, Die Beautiful had

won both local and international awards not just for the movie, but for its director, Jun Robles Lana, and its cast led by Paolo Ballesteros.

Seasoned comedian Ballesteros played transgender beauty queen Trisha, a role for which he garnered several Best

Actor awards.

Directed by Perci Intalan, Born Beautiful did not disappoint, with film critics and enthusiasts giving excellent reviews for the drama-comedy film which puts the spotlight once more on the colorful life of members of the LGBT community.

The sequel revolves around the life of Trisha’s best friend Barbs Cordero, who tries to go on with his life as a mortuary beautician after Trisha’s sudden death at a pageant. Witnessing the death of yet another friend prompts Barbs to start a new life as a straight man. This led to a chain of events that will see Barbs go through many struggles and victories.

Reviews had it that lead star Martin del Rosario, who played Barbs, delivered an impeccable performance as a beautiful transgender woman, and that the movie is one of the bravest and funniest Filipino films ever.

“Born beautiful expertly weaponizes broad humor to address some really tough issues. Great stuff!”—Phil Dy @philbertdy “A winning material to start the year for local moviedom. Brave use of mature languages and scenes. Short yet highly entertaining, it joins the rank of Asian films.”—Rod Magaru @ rodmagaru “Born Beautiful was just as awesome as I anticipated. The material and execution is gold, this is a comedy film, but makes you want to rid yourself of the stresses of life.”—John Bueno @kumagcow Del Rosario’s love interests are played by hunks Kiko Matos and Akihiro Blanco, with whom he shares daring kissing and love scenes. Movie viewers will also see the special participation of Ballesteros in the movie being shown in over 160 cinemas nationwide and counting.

Born Beautiful is produced by Cignal Entertainment, the original content division of Cignal TV, the country’s largest pay-TV platform; Octobertrain Films and The IdeaFirst Company, which produced Die Beautiful, among other acclaimed film and series.

Now showing in local theaters, Born Beautiful will make you laugh, cry, and believe that love is beautiful.

Entertainment

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

C4

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2019

ISAH V. RED

Film producer creates new basketball league WHAT do you do if the indie film market seemed saturated?

For actor-turned-independent filmmaker Carlo Maceda it’s time to diversify, and by it, he means looking for a new form of entertainment content Filipinos, especially for the youth this 2019.

And, what did he do, initially to fulfill this wish? He created his own basketball league.

Carlo, his wife Derlyn Maceda, Charter President of Inner Wheel Club Rosario Diamond, and their friend Jeannette Beltran, a top marketing executive, recently founded Community Basketball Association (CBA), an alternative basketball league to develop grassroots Filipino basketball players from different parts of the Philippines.

It’s a fact that more than a decade ago, Carlo was one of the pioneers in producing independent movies under his OnCam Productions. He made the films Nars (2007) starring Jennylyn Mercado and Coco Martin, and Sisa (2008) with Jodi Sta. Maria.

As director, he helmed Gabriela (2013), a film on the historical revolt led by Gabriela Silang, with Tin Patrimonio, former PBB housemate, and daughter of basketball player Alvin Patrimonio.

“Instead of doing indie movies, I challenged myself to be active in Sports entertainment – thus the formation Community Basketball Association which I founded just a few months ago (June 2018).

“The entertainment that we give this time to the people is basketball, a very popular sport among Filipinos,” says Carlo in a recent pocket interview in Luxent Hotel, sponsored by YHM for Men, Rien’a, and Arceegee Sportswear.

“My filmmaker friends have been asking me what my next film was, but I told them I’m venturing into sports for now since the indie scene is quite crowded. Siyempre, tayo ang isa sa nag-start niyan ng mga educational films, “ Lumipat muna ako taking a break from movies so I did live events, and this time, basketball.

“Basketball is entertainment for the family, it’s the number one sport in the country. So with me is my wife Derlyn (Maceda), we conceptualized this league for six months with Jeannette Beltran,” shares Carlo.

PBA legend Alfredo “Pido” Jarencio serves as the league’s consultant. “We got Pido as our consultant so he could teach and guide us in organizing the league.”

The Community Basketball Association (CBA) kicked off with its first game on Jan. 27 in San Mateo Coliseum telecast live on IBC-13.

“Twelve teams will be introduced this Sunday. We started forming these teams around June last year (2018), six months of conceptualization, marketing, getting company partners for sponsorships.

“I’m so glad that IBC-13 gave us an airtime through Asian Television Content Corporation (headed by Engr. Rey Sanchez),” he shares.

The basketball games will be held every Saturday and Sunday, 6 -9 p.m live over IBC-13 prime time.

“It’s something new for the fans of basketball, it’s an alternative one. As you can see, may kakulangan ng liga.

Kasi, ang daming players ng UAAP, etc, pero after that, saan sila? Kaunti lang ang pumapasok sa PBA,” he said. Continued on C3

News5 launches ‘Tol Wag Troll, Respeto Lang’ campaign IN 2016, NEWS5 broke away from the usual reporting style by launching the highly entertaining “B.A.Y.A.W. for President” election advocacy campaign starring comedian Jun Sabayton.

A series of vignettes in which fictional events were presented to create a parody of sorts highlighting the Philippines’ political landscape at the time, B.A.Y.A.W. or “Bagong Alyansang Ayaw sa Walanghiya” platform was presented with irreverent humor and slapstick comedy designed to mock the traditional Filipino politician or “trapo” as it is referred to in Filipino pop culture.

For 2019, the news organization once again chose an innovative and trailblazing route to come up with its electoral advocacy campaign as part of Bilang Pilipino. This time, the NEWS5 organization turned to the 2016 election for inspiration, seeing how social media amplified the voice of the ordinary or common Filipino and how it played a crucial

'Tol Wag Troll, Respeto Lang' is NEWS5's 2019 electoral advocacy campaign.

role in electing the current President, Rodrigo Duterte. With more than 100 million mobile users, the Philippines ranks as the top country in the world with the longest time spent online, allowing Filipinos unprecedented access and power in terms of likes, comments, and shares.

Unfortunately, along with great online power, came the proliferation

of fake news and online trolling. The relative anonymity of the internet, empowered netizens to express themselves in the most inhuman way possible. Consequently, it is now commonplace to encounter “troll accounts” that spread lies, hurl insults, and even make grave threats all without being held accountable for their actions.

This online trolling behavior is what NEWS5 will tackle in their 2019 advocacy campaign #TolWagTroll, Respeto Lang. The theme serves as a reminder to be mindful of one’s behavior, whether online or offline.

Recently, NEWS5 launched its 2019 campaign with the #TolWagTroll Rap DeBattle. Hosted by “Sumbungan ng Bayan” anchor Raffy Tulfo and renowned rapper Loonie, the TV special featured rappers Flict-G, J-King, Jonas, Lhip Kram, M Zhayt, and Poison 13. Using rhyme and rhythm, they debated relevant hot topics and proved that while each rapper could be on opposite sides of an issue, they can also remain respectful of one another’s views and opinions.

Other materials supporting this message will be airing both on TV and online. For more election-related information, visit news.tv5.com.ph/ bilangpilipino.

A timely dramedy about politics and romance

Ruru Madrid and Kylie Padilla lead the cast of political romcom, 'TODA One I Love,' which premieres tonight on primetime.

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OMANCE and comedy, VERY apart from the deeply WANG affecting heavy dramas, NICKIE are by far the most engaging WANG themes for television. They make complicated situations palatable and easy to digest as they find humor in real-life situations.

Today, a new series, which takes inspiration from the daily situations and happenings in the smallest government administrative unit, the barangay, premieres today on GMA Telebabad.

Fans of onscreen pair Kylie Padilla and Ruru Madrid need not wait any longer as the KyRu love team banners GMA News and Public Affairs’ election offering and latest political romantic comedy series TODA One I Love.

Like the jeepney, the tricycle is a popular means of transportation in the Philippines that reflects the culture and identity of Filipinos. Aside from playing a major part in the daily commute of many Pinoys, the tricycle is also used as a vehicle to promote various products and even political candidates.

TODA One I Love will revolve around the family, dreams, and loves of three lead characters—Gelay, Emong, and Kobe. They will find themselves tangled in the topsy-turvy politics of the Tricycle Operators and Drivers’ Association or TODA, as well as the local mayoral elections.

The series gives viewers a glimpse of Philippine local politics—all presented with a sprinkle of comedy and romance. At the center of this latest Kapuso Telebabad offering is the strong-willed, independent young woman Angela “Gelay” Dimagiba, portrayed by versatile actress Kylie.

An engineering student, Gelay is the daughter of a tricycle driver Mang Tolits and Aling Lea. Family is everything for Gelay; she is willing to sacrifice her own happiness for them. She has a childhood friend Emong, whom she has been crushing on since they were young. But Emong only sees her as a younger sister.

P l a y i n g R a y m o n d “Emong” Magsino is heartthrob Ruru.

He is the son of Aling Jane and

Mang Jessie, the incumbent TODA president. A hard-working lad, Emong is determined to better his life. With his TESDA course under his belt, he goes abroad to work as a mechanic. This temporarily cuts his friendship with Gelay. But when his employer closes shop, Emong has no choice but to go back to the Philippines. Upon his return, Emong discovers that Gelay is still the tough girl he knows—only she has transformed into a beautiful lady.

Emong now finds himself head over heels with his childhood friend.

But Emong faces competition when it comes to winning Gelay’s heart: the handsome and prince charming material Kobe Generoso to be portrayed by Chinito heartthrob David Licauco. Even though Kobe is the son of the incumbent Mayor Migs and ex-mayor Mayora Dyna, he still wants to make a name for himself.

But before Gelay decides between her two admirers, her life makes a 180-turn when the TODA Elections spell trouble for her and her family.

Joining Kylie, David, and Ruru in this political rom-com series are Gladys Reyes, Victor Neri, Jackie Rice, Kim Domingo, Tina Paner, Maureen Larrazabal, and Raymond Bagatsing with the special participation of Allen Dizon.

Viewers should also look forward to the characters of Cai Cortez, Buboy Villar, Archie Alemania, Kimpoy Feliciano, Ayeesha Cervantes, and Bruce Roeland.

“This series has an interesting cast.

Everyone is a character and has a story to tell. It helps a lot in the series because we wanted to showcase what really happens in a TODA, in a small political community as truthful as possible, but of course in a funny way,” Jeffrey Hidalgo, who shares the director’s chair with Nick Olanka, told Manila Standard.

TODA One I Love is written

by Volta delos Santos, Robert Raz, Mario Banzon, Lei Chavez, and Aya Anunciacion.

Kapuso viewers abroad can also catch TODA One I Lovee on GMA Pinoy TV. For the program guide, visitwww.gmapinoytv.com.

Gradys Reyes

Jackie Rice

David Licauco

Kimpoy Feliciano