Manila Standard - 2019 February 25 - Monday

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VOL. XXXIII • NO. 15 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Boot camp turns girls into beauty queen aspirants RODGIL Flores casts a stern taskmaster’s glance as grimacing young women in bikinis stride across one of the mirror-walled studios that is central to making the Philippines a beauty pageant juggernaut.

In seven-inch stiletto heels, the students sway their hips between long slow strides, a brutal drill that Flores requires them to repeat in order to make the act of sashaying second nature come pageant time.

“For crown. For country” is the slogan of the Kagandahang Flores [Flores Beauty] studio he set up in 1996, the first of a handful of Philippine beauty boot camps that have helped transform the nation’s pageant Next page fortunes.

FOR CROWN AND COUNTRY. This photo taken on Feb. 5, shows aspiring beauty queen Monica Joelle Ortiz doing yoga in her house in Manila. (Inset) Two dozen young women in bikinis stride across a mirror-walled studio in a ‘duck walk’, the signature move that turned the Philippines into a beauty pageant juggernaut. AFP

Duterte: Let Chinese nationals work in PH P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday said he would tolerate the influx of Chinese workers amid criticism that they were taking jobs from Filipinos.

Malaysia hits out at Manila envoy over Sabah quip MALAYSIA’S Foreign Ministry on Saturday slammed the statement made by the Philippines’ envoy to Kuala Lumpur who said Manila had not dropped its claim over Sabah, arguing that such an assertion over the resource-rich territory had “no basis.”

Malaysian media reports said that on Feb. 21, at a press conference after paying a courtesy call on Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal Shafie, Ambassador Charles Jose said the Philippines was maintaining its claim over Sabah.

But Jose said the Philippine government would not actively pursue its claim at the moment because its focus was on providing assistance to the thousands of undocumented workers in Sabah, the reports said.

“The Foreign Ministry has continued

In his speech during the PDP-Laban campaign rally in Laguna, the President said he would allow the illegal Chinese workers because there were so many undocumented Filipino workers in China.

“Just allow the Chinese workers to work here. Let them be. Why? We have 300,000 Filipinos in China. That’s why I can’t say, ‘Oh, leave this country. We’ll have you deported’,” Duterte said.

The President then asked, “What if the 300,000 of them were asked to leave?”

According to the Philippine consulate-general in Hong Kong, there are an estimated 200,000 overseas Filipinos who have been working as domestics in China since 2016.

Duterte’s remark came after Malacañang allayed concerns that Chinese workers were taking over the jobs intended for Filipinos.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the influx of Chinese nationals should not be a cause of concern but said the government would be “alarmed” if they arrived here through unlawful means.

Special Envoy to China Ramon Tulfo had previously described the President’s stance on illegal Chinese workers as “tolerant.”

“On the Chinese illegal workers in the country who are employed in the

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Central bank chief dies of cancer, 60

By Julito G. Rada BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. died over the weekend after more than a year of struggling with tongue cancer. He was 60.

The Monetary Board, the policymaking body of Bangko Sentral, issued a statement Sunday morning confirming Espenilla’s death.

“It is with deep sadness that the Monetary Board announced that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor and chairman of the Monetary Board Nestor A. Next page

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SENATE BETS. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte raises the hands of administration senatorialcandidates during a campaign rally at the Alonte Sports Arena in Biñan City, Laguna on Feb. 23. Below, former President Benigno Aquino stands on a stage with opposition senatorial bets ahead of the commemoration of the 33rd anniversary of the ‘People Power’ Revolution in Manila on Feb. 23.

Presidential Photo/AFP

Ex-Interior chief joins Duterte’s 12-man senatorial slate

By Nat Mariano

Nestor Espenilla Jr.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte completed his senatorial lineup for the May elections with the addition Saturday of former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan III. Alunan confirmed his inclusion in the President’s 12-man slate during the campaign rally of the ruling PDP-Laban in Laguna.

“It is a huge honor to be part of the President’s team for May 2019,” Alunan, one of PDP-Laban’s guest candidates, said during the event.

Duterte’s lineup is currently composed of five members of the PDP-Laban and seven guest candidates.

In his speech, the President described Alunan as “a thinking guy,” vouching for the former government official as “the brightest” Cabinet member under the administration of former President Fidel Ramos.

“You can’t see someone brighter during the time of Ramos. He was the brightest Cabinet member,” Duterte said.

“And he knows best what he’s doing because he was once upon a time the DILG secretary. Secretary Alunan,” he added.

Alunan also served as Tourism secretary under then President Corazon Aquino.

This is the second time that Alunan has attempted to run for senator after losing in the 2016 Senate race.

Next page Rafael Alunan III

Pope vows to act on child sex abuse POPE Francis on Sunday vowed to tackle every single case of sexual abuse by priests in the Roman Catholic Church, comparing paedophilia to “human sacrifice.”

But his public address to the Church’s top bishops at the end of a landmark summit in the Vatican on tackling clerical assault of minors threatened to disappoint victims.

“If in the Church there should emerge even a single case of abuse—which already in itself represents an atrocity— that case will be faced with the utmost seriousness,” Francis promised.

“I am reminded of the cruel religious practice, once widespread in certain cultures, of sacrificing human being— Next page

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MILF chief: Struggle far from over MURAD Ebrahim’s life as the Philippines’ top Muslim rebel led him into fierce jungle combat and to meet with Osama bin Laden, but a very different challenge now awaits him: Governing.

Murad has been tapped to lead the majority-Catholic nation’s brand new territory in the restive south, where Muslims have won new powers and an influx of cash in a push for peace.

After decades as a rebel, Murad will need to become a bureaucrat and complete complex projects as chief minister of the body that will steer the new Bangsamoro region until the elections in 2022.

“We also see the difficult challenge we will be facing ahead. To us, the struggle is not yet over,” the 70-year-old Murad told AFP. “This is only another level of the struggle.”

Once a feared commander, Murad is chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which signed a landmark pact with the government in 2014 to end a separatist insurgency that has killed some 150,000 people since the 1970s.

That deal led to the creation of the Bangsamoro, which is based IN Mindanao and was overwhelmingly approved in a January vote.

The MILF is the largest of several rebel groups fighting for independence or autonomy in Mindanao, the ancestral home of the nation’s roughly six million-strong Muslim minority.

The rebels and the government hope the new region, which is getting an influx of cash, will be able to bring sorely needed development to the violenceplagued area.

The son of an Islamic preacher, Murad was orphaned early on as he lost his mother when he was only one and his father at 13.

He studied civil engineering at the Catholic-run Notre Dame University in southern Cotabato city, where he learned fluent English.

But in his senior year, he dropped out to join an underground movement that he said defended Muslims targeted by Christian paramilitary groups and security forces under former President Ferdinand Marcos.

He joined the armed struggle first with the rebel group Moro National Liberation Front, but internal differences led him and Cairo-trained scholar Salamat Hashim to split and form the MILF. In the 1980s Murad said he was in Afghanistan to visit the Filipino rebels who joined the anti-Soviet forces, but he denied fighting alongside them. It was there where he met the future Al Qaida chief Osama bin Laden.

“Osama bin Laden was very soft spoken. I did not think he would eventually be declared a world enemy because he was a very refined person,” Murad told AFP. AFP

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to reiterate Malaysia’s position, namely the claims on Sabah are without basis,” Malaysia said in a statement on Feb. 23.

Sabah, located south of Mindanao, is territorially disputed by the Philippines and Malaysia.

A Philippine claim for sovereignty over Sabah has lain dormant for decades, but Malaysia continues to yearly pay rent to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu, who claim to be the descendants of the original Filipino sultan who had control over the territory for centuries.

Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry maintained that Sabah had been recognized by the United Nations and the international community as part of Malaysia since the formation of the Malaysian Federation on Sept. 16, 1963.

“As such, Malaysia does not recognize and will not entertain any claims by any party on Sabah,” the Foreign Ministry said.

Every year, hundreds of Filipinos enter Malaysian-controlled Sabah through Mindanao in search of a better life.

Most of the undocumented Filipinos in Sabah hail from Basilan, Sulu, TawiTawi and other far-flung provinces in the south that are among the Philippines’ poorest and who are constantly plagued by war.

Pope...

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frequently children—in pagan rites,” he added.

The sexual abuse of minors was “a widespread phenomenon in all cultures and societies,” Francis said, and he slammed those priests who prey on children as “tools of Satan.”

The scandals have hit countries around the world, with lives devastated from Australia to Chile, Germany and the US.

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MRT grenade: Vigilance pays off T HE Transport department said Sunday it will not take lightly the discovery of a hand grenade inside a passenger’s bag at the MRT3’s Cubao Station on

“We will not take this sitting down,” the department said in a statement posted on Facebook.

The live grenade was found in the baggage of passenger Christian Guzman, 29, at the inspection area of the station around 7:10 p.m. It was detected by the

X-ray machine and was found wrapped in packaging tape inside a cellphone box.

Police arrested Guzman and charged him with illegal possession of an explosive. He was to undergo an inquest on Sunday at the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

“The DOTr MRT-3 would like to stress that this matter will be taken seriously,” the department said.

“We ask the patience and cooperation of our passengers as we further tighten the security measures being implemented in our stations. Please understand that these measures are being done to protect the safety and security of our passengers. We also want to encourage our passengers to remain vigilant.”

Metro Manila Police Chief Guillermo

Duterte:...

from these establishments.

The Department of Justice, meanwhile, objected to a proposal in the Senate to remove the authority to issue special work permits to foreigners from the Bureau of Immigration amid a controversy over the influx of Chinese workers in the country.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said there is no need for legislative action to address the problem of foreigners illegally working in the country, as suggested by Senator Joel Villanueva during the hearing of the Senate committee on labor, employment and human resources development last week.

“This issue can be addressed in a faster way without amending the law,” Guevarra said in an interview.

Guevarra made the statement even as he vowed to implement additional measures to curb the entry of illegal Chinese workers.

The DOJ chief admitted that there are loopholes in the implementation of the law covering foreign workers.

But Guevarra believed these loopholes could be plugged through closer coordination between the BI, an attached agency of the Department of Justice, and the Department of Labor and Employment.

“It’s not a question of which agency should be solely responsible for the issuance of SWPs. The issue is how to tighten up the rules on SWPs. The BI and DOLE only need to work together on this,” he said.

He cited for instance the lack of effective mechanism to monitor the status of all foreign workers in the country.

Guevarra admitted that the government

is considering formulating a “negative list of short-period employment from which foreign workers should be barred” as a measure to control or limit the entry of foreign workers.

The Justice secretary said he is set to meet with Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to discuss this matter.

He also defended the BI, saying the agency is doing its mandate to go after illegal foreign workers. He cited the relentless of arrests of illegal and undocumented foreign workers by the bureau.

Earlier, Villanueva proposed the removal from BI the authority to issue SWPs to foreigners due to the bureau’s supposed lenience in issuing the permits.

An SWP allows foreign national to work in the country for three months and could be extended for another three months. For periods longer than six months and for highly technical, specialized, supervisory and managerial jobs that cannot be fulfilled by Filipinos, foreigners are given alien employment permits by the DOLE. The senator blamed the BI for the surge of illegal Chinese workers employed in Philippine offshore gaming operations.

Villanueva said the BI has no expertise in determining whether or not job posts should be given to foreign nationals, a task he said should be left to the DOLE. He suggested that only AEPs from DOLE should be given to foreigners for job requirements that cannot be met by local workers to ensure that the employment opportunities given to foreign workers are not being taken away from Filipinos who can do the jobs equally.

Nat Mariano

During his tenure, the amendments to the BSP charter were finally passed and it was signed into law by President Duterte last week, strengthening the capability of the central bank to deliver its mandate to promote price and financial stability and to foster a safe, efficient and inclusive payment system.

“In a special meeting held on the same day, the Monetary Board designated Deputy Governor Almasara Cyd TuanoAmador as BSP officer-in-charge effective immediately until such time that President Rodrigo Duterte shall have designated an OIC or appointed a successor,” the Monetary Board said.

Before his appointment as governor, Espenilla was deputy governor in charge of the Supervision and Examination Sector, which supervises banks and non-bank financial institutions under BSP jurisdiction.

In that capacity, he focused on banking supervision, capital market development, credit policy, and financial inclusion. He institutionalized risk-based and proportionate regulations, enabling BSP-supervised institutions to innovate business models and adopt digital financial services.

He also championed the issuance of regulations that promote financial inclusion and consumer protection. He used to describe himself as “homegrown”—having joined the central bank in 1981.

Espenilla had a bachelor of science degree in business economics, graduating magna cum laude, an MBA from the University of the Philippines, and a master of science degree in policy science from the Graduate Institute of Policy Science in Tokyo, Japan.

He is survived by his wife Maria Teresita Festin Espenilla, daughter Jacqueline Joyce and son-in-law, Ben Baltazar, sons Nikko Nestor and Leonardo Nestor and grandchild, Zev Eron.

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said it was a “very sad day” to see one of the hardworking co-workers in government go.

“Nesting is one of our illustrious graduates at the UP School of Economics. He joined BSP right after his graduation and rose to governorship of the monetary institution after years of effective and excellent service as a regulator and anchor of monetary policy,” Diokno said in a text message.

From A1

construction and gaming industries, Digong said the government takes a tolerant attitude,” Tulfo said, referring to the President by his nickname.

“The President said there were many Filipino workers who are illegally employed in China, but the Chinese government tolerates their stay as long as they’re not committing any crime,” he added.

Last month, former President Benigno Aquino III claimed that Chinese nationals were taking the jobs meant for Filipinos.

Vice President Leni Robredo also raised concern on the Duterte administration’s special treatment given to Chinese nationals in the country.

In November 2018, Duterte said the government must “exercise caution” if officials would push for the deportation of illegal Chinese workers, noting that Filipinos working in the China might suffer the same fate.

“If you think that you are at a loss, at a disadvantage because there are so many Chinese nationals working here, remember that we have the same equal amount of people Filipinos who are there working in China,” the President said.

Just last week, the Bureau of Internal Revenue took a step in monitoring the number of Chinese nationals working in online gaming business by requiring foreign- and local-based offshore gaming operators to register with the tax agency.

The Palace, then, commended the BIR’s move, highlighting the need to collect the right amount of corporate tax

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Espenilla Jr. peacefully passed away on Feb. 23, 2019 surrounded by members of his family,” the board said.

Espenilla had been undergoing treatment for cancer for more than a year.

He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte on July 3, 2017, succeeding Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. He served as BSP governor for one year, seven months, and 20 days.

He concurrently served as ex-officio chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Philippine International Convention Center, and the Financial Stability Coordination Council.

Under his leadership, the BSP continued to pursue major reforms under the theme “Continuity Plus Plus” covering monetary and financial policies, as well as the BSP organizational structure.

He also spearheaded the digitalization of the country’s retail payment system in the country for a more inclusive and efficient financial system.

Eleazar praised the security system at the MRT Line for detecting the grenade.

“The fact that they detected the grenade means their security system is effective,” Eleazar told reporters on Sunday morning.

He said the explosive was a fragmentation grenade and was owned by the suspect’s brother, a soldier.

He said an investigation was ongoing to determine how the suspect got hold of the grenade, and if his brother could be held accountable.

Honasan: Edsa revolt belongs to the people

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Gringo Honasan said Sunday it was of the utmost importance to tell the true story of the February 1986 Revolution “to our most precious children, the next generation of citizens, why it happened and what it was for and against.”

“We in the breakaway Reformist RAM, accelerators of historical events, the crucial Military component of People Power, already spoke with decisive action 33 years ago,” said Honasan, a former army colonel.

Honasan was among the major players in the bloodless EDSA People Power Revolution that toppled the Marcos from power. “We will not compete for attention with those who continue to distort facts and history, continue to claim credit and propriety ownership over what rightfully belongs to the Filipino People,” Honasan said.

He made his statement even as reelectionist Senator Bam Aquino said “the People Power of today is Vote Power.”

“Alam kong nakakatakot ngayon, pero kailangan nating ipakita ang ating tapang sa pamamagitan ng ating boto,” said Aquino who is running under the Otso Diretso slate.

He called on the Filipinos to air their grievances through the ballot in the May elections.

“I’m hoping that, come May, the strength of the public will be shown again,” he said.

He called on the voters looking for better governance to show their sentiment by selecting the right candidates.

He said he was optimistic the voters would elect the senatorial candidates who had the people’s welfare in mind and who would work to uplift the lives of the Filipino families.

He said the spirit of EDSA 1 should be rekindled amid the corruption issues hounding the government.

He said being part of the opposition was very difficult during these times, but somebody had to put the government in check and make officials accountable for their actions.

“This is a gargantuan task, but still it ought to be done and somebody has got to do it,” Aquino said.

Ex-Interior...

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With the naming of Catriona Gray as Miss Universe 2018, the Philippines took home its fourth title in what is considered the summit of the beauty contest world.

Both Gray and 2015 winner Pia Wurtzbach trained in the Philippines’ beauty studios before securing their wins.

Success in the pageant world can open doors to commercial, film, and modeling work.

“The rise of the camps turned the Philippines into a beauty pageant powerhouse. What they did was to raise the level of pageant training,” Flores said.

“Our evolution [into] a beauty pageant superpower compels every Filipina competing internationally to prolong this streak,” the 50-year-old added.

Manila’s beauty boot camps effectively create a production line of contenders for

the Miss Universe crown. Their students come up from the country’s circuit of local beauty competitions and then hone their skills in a bid to reach the next level.

Miss Philippines 2019 hopeful Melba Ann Macasaet, 25, took an extended leave from her job as a government pharmacist to join Flores’ beauty studio.

It took her two weeks and several miscues to master his signature stride, called the “duck walk.”

“I have been joining pageants since I was 15 years old. I believe that every pageant girl has dreams of being able to try and do this,” she said.

It will be about another month before she knows if she has made the cut for the pageant, which organizers expect to be held in June.

The beauty boot camp runs six days a week and sessions often stretch on until midnight.

Some 200 hopefuls a year take part in the training at Flores’ studio, which in-

clude gym workouts, make-up lessons, and duck walk drills.

There are also formal classes where the students take part in mock pageant situations, learning to deliver concise responses to tricky questions on world peace and equality usually asked of contestants.

Training is free for Filipinas, who camp organizers usually recruit from provincial contests. Beauty industry benefactors pitch in to cover costs and many people donate their time to help shape what they hope are future champions.

“We don’t earn anything, but we do this out of our passion for beauty pageants,” said Arnold Mercado, the manager and personality development coach of Aces & Queens, the other main Philippine pageant camp.

Mercado, 51, quit his job as an engineer for an oil company after 28 years to focus full time on pageant coaching. He counts Wurtzbach and Gray among those he mentored. AFP

Currently, he is running under the Bagumbayan Party of Senator Richard Gordon.

Aside from Alunan, other guest candidates being endorsed by Duterte are folk singer Freddie Aguilar, Taguig Rep. Pia Cayetano, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos and reelectionist senators Juan Edgardo Sonny” Angara, Joseph Victor Ejercito and Cynthia Villar.

Duterte is endorsing five senate bets from PDP-Laban, namely former presidential top aide Christopher Go, former presidential political adviser Francis Tolentino, PDP-Laban president and reelectionist senator Aquilino Pimentel III, Maguindanao Rep. Zajid Mangudadatu, and former Philippine National Police chief Roland dela Rosa.

Earlier, Duterte said he would not be endorsing two former senators who were linked to the multi-billion-peso pork barrel scam, but the Palace said he probably felt they didn’t need his help to win.

The Argentine had opened the four-day meeting by calling for “concrete measures” against child sex abuse and handing 114 senior bishops a roadmap to shape the debate on tackling paedophile priests.

The 82-year-old had warned victims to lower their expectations, saying that much of the work on tackling abuse would be done post-summit.

But survivors watching his speech closely for signs of change within the centuries-old institution slammed his decision to spend a lot of time at the start of his speech pointing out that child sex

abuse was not limited to the Church.

Swiss victim Jean-Marie Furbringer said: “Honestly it’s a pastoral ‘blabla,’ saying it’s the fault of the devil.”

“They are pulling the wool over our eyes, so that they don’t have to directly address the Church’s problems. We are not surprised, but we are disappointed,” he said.

‘Silent cries’ The meeting has been marked by soulseeking and self-recrimination by the Church, and horror stories from abuse victims.

In his lengthy speech, Francis said the Church would draw inspiration from the “best practices” in the Seven Strategies for Ending Violence against Children, measures developed under the guidance of the World Health Organization.

The Church “in developing her legislation” will focus he said on eight aspects: “the protection of children,” “impeccable seriousness,” “genuine purification,” “formation,” “strengthening and reviewing guidelines by Episcopal Conferences” and “accompaniment of those who have

been abused.”

“The echo of the silent cry of the little ones who, instead of finding in them fathers and spiritual guides encountered tormentors, will shake hearts dulled by hypocrisy and by power. It is our duty to pay close heed to this silent, choked cry,” he added.

Those gathered at the Vatican had heard testimonies from victims, one of whom was forced to have three abortions after being abused for years by a priest who beat her, while another said he had been molested more than 100 times. AFP

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Demand for OFWs up by 21%

By Jimbo Gulle BACK in the ’70s, a massive oil boom in the middle east prompted an inf lux of labor from Asian countries. The Philippine gover nment established a migrant employment program, creating the f irst for mal batch of overseas Filipino workers.

Almost five decades later, the middle east remains the top recruiter for Filipino labor. According to data from WorkAbroad.ph— the leading overseas jobs board in the Philippines—gulf countries account for 76.28 percent of all job listings in their database. They’re followed by Asia-Pacific countries (11.9 percent), and the United States (7.59 percent).

“Overseas hirers posted a total of 137,243 job listings from January to October 2018,” says Paola Savillo, Marketing Lead of WorkAbroad.ph.

“This is up 21 percent compared to 2017, which had 113,545.”

Healthcare, Engineering, and General Work (drivers, electricians, cleaners) are the most in-demand specializations in the Middle East, which offers the largest overseas opportunities for nurses. Medical jobs pay the highest, with doctors and dentists starting with P47,000 to P70,000 per month.

For Asia Pacific, the demand is highest for those in Engineering, General Work, and Manufacturing/ Production. The pay is highest for professionals in IT, Education, and Marketing/Business Development, where starting offers are pegged at P50,000-P65,000 monthly.

Meanwhile, the United States has a high demand for sea-based workers and those who specialize in Engineering, General Work, and Food/Beverage/Restaurant Service. Seamen and Ship Engineers have top earning potential, with salaries starting at P68,000 to P81,000 monthly.

According to Savillo, those with necessar y local work experience in their desired overseas roles have an advantage during recr uitment. For skilled workers, having skills-based courses from tech-voc institutions is also highly recommended.

BOOKS GALORE. Piles and piles of books are stacked at the World Trade Center in Pasay City, ranging from children’s books to fiction and graphic novels, all with whopping discounts. The Big Bad Wolf Book Sale had been highly anticipated by Filipino book lovers and it did not disappoint. Norman cruz

El Niño threatens food security, senator warns

By Macon Araneta

E

XPRESSING alarm over the threat of El Niño,” Senator Nancy Binay said government agencies should start informing the public about their plans and programs to mitigate the possible impact of El Niño on crops, poultry and livestock or overall food security.

“Are we prepared for the worse impact of the condition?” the re-electionist senator asked.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Wednesday that the weather condition is now affecting the country. El Niño is characterized by reduced amounts of rainfall and prolonged dry spell, turning farms into arid lands.

The state weather agency added that dry spell and drought had been observed in several provinces in Luzon

and Mindanao from September 2018 to January 2019. These conditions were said to usher in El Niño.

Normally, Binay said the rice farmers have just started planting this February but if there will be no source of water for irrigation, this will cause a big problem to them.

“We know that El Niño will affect not only our farmers, but also those raising food animals such as chicken and pig, thus threatening food security.

The legislator said that some pests

could also happen with the weather condition, aside from occurrence of different diseases.

“There are also several illnesses coming out during hot weather, and the public should know how it can be minimized or countered,” said Binay.

She added that special attention should be also given to the most vulnerable sectors such as the young, the old, and those with chronic conditions such as hypertension.

“They are the most vulnerable so they need most medical assistance from our government,” she said..

“Mahalagang malaman ng taong bayan ang mga posibleng epekto ng El Niño sa kanilang kabuhayan at kalusugan upang makapaghanda at mabilis na makatugon,” Binay said.

(The public should be fully informed of the adverse effects of El Niño so they could prepare and think up of feasible countermeasures.)

34 more cocaine bricks found in Surigao del Sur Retired general recalls SAF heroism in 1986

By Francisco Tuyay

MORE cocaine packages continue to wash ashore in Philippine waters, with the sixth package of 34 bricks recovered in Surigao del Sur early Sunday morning, police said.

This developed after the police offered a sack of rice for each brick of cocaine recovered by residents.

Chief Supt Gilberto Cruz, director of regional police office 13, said the 34 bricks of cocaine were found f loating off the shore of Purok Santan, brgy Bungtod, Tandag City at 6:30 a.m.

Cruz said Surigao del Sur provincial police office head Sr. Supt Francisco Dungo led the recovery of the prohibited substance wrapped in plastic inside a box.

Cruz said fishermen Ronnie Navales and Rayan Apelo were at sea fishing when they spotted the mysterious package and immediately alerted the police.

The latest cocaine package was valued at P200 million bringing the total recovered bricks to over a billion pesos worth in just a week’s time, police said.

The lates 34 bricks of cocaine in Surigao del Sur brought to six incidents involving the discovery of illegal drugs in different parts of Philippine archipelago.

Cruz said the recovery was the result of the information drive initiated by authorities encouraging fisherfolk not to hesitate to report any suspicious bricks seen in waters in exchange for a sack of rice per brick of cocaine.

RETIRED Police Gen. Reynaldo Velasco, the first commander of the famed Special Action Force, made public his memoirs as one of the co-authors of a book that recounts the untold heroism of SAF troopers, who risked their lives during the People Power Revolution in February 1986.

“To tell the story of EDSA and the Armed Forces and Police Special Action Force not from a spectator’s point of view, but from the key players themselves, the unsung heroes, the ones often unheard of,” Velasco said in a speech at the launching of the book “Silver Linings: The Continuing Saga of the 1986 People Power Revolution.” on Friday.

As co-author, Velasco wrote the details of what the 500-man SAF troopers did to protect and defend Camp Crame, the headquarters of the defunct Philippine Constabulary and Integrated National Police, the predecessor of the Philippine National Police, where the key players of the revolution—then Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile, Lt. Gen. Fidel V. Ramos, and then Army Col. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan, established the headquarters of rebel soldiers against forces loyal to then President Ferdinand E. Marcos during the critical four-day peaceful revolution.

The 1986 Edsa revolt mesmerized the world.

The other co-authors of the book are former Local Government Secretary Rafael M. Alunan III and Melandrew T. Velasco, a veteran journalist-publisher.

In his speech at the launching of the book held at Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan City in Metro Manila, Velasco said “standing here before all of you today fills my heart with overwhelming emotion” as he related his story of the revolution that was covered live by the media, both local and foreign, and beamed throughout the world.

Velasco said that Silver Linings “tell the story of EDSA and the Armed Forces and Police Action Force not from a spectator’s point of view, but from the key players themselves, the unsung heroes, the ones often unheard of.”

“I pride myself in being one of those often unseen, unrecognized good guys,” Velasco said.

“Being the first SAF commander was not easy. And with our baptism of fire being the 1986 EDSA evolution and the coup attempts that came after, being in my shoes was something that would really think about for it was Ret. Gen. Reynaldo Velasco, first SAF commander, now heads the MWSS. really a matter of life and death,” Velasco said. PNA

Closed fishing seasons violators detected ILLEGAL fishing activities thrive in the Visayan Sea during the enforcement of the threemonth closed fishing season, lawyer Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of Oceana Philippines said over the weekend.

Oceana, the largest international organization working exclusively to protect and restore the world’s oceans, analyzes data from satellite sensor called Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite to detect by satellites, in a supposedly dark environment such as large bodies of water, artificial light sources like superlights. These are likely used by fishing boats such as purse seiners and ring netters and were found inside the prohibited area and in this case, the Visayan Sea covered by the closed fishing season order.

The closed season was observed from November 15, 2018 to February 15, 2019 in the Visayan Sea. It is enforced every year through the Fisheries Administrative Order 167-3, prohibiting the catching, killing, selling or possessing the sexually mature, young, fry or larvae of herring, mackerel and sardines, the three most common and abundant group of fish caught in the Visayan Sea. According to the VIIRS data during the three-month period prior to the Visayan Sea closed season, on Aug. 16 to Nov. 14, 2018, the monthly average of lights detected in the delineated area were 142. Whereas, during the three month closed season on Nov. 15, 2018 to Feb. 14, the monthly average were 48.

These were detected in the Visayan Sea off Iloilo, in the municipalities of Carles, Concepcion, Barotac Viejo, and Aruy; Cadiz City, Negros Occidental; and in Madridejos and Bantayan in Cebu.

“We found probable illegal fishing activities in the Visayan Sea during the closed season period based on the data gathered from VIIRS. While their presence decreased, we can see that probable intrusion in the prohibited areas continued in the period of November to February,” said Ramos.

Oceana is promoting the use of VIIRS to monitor fishing activities in municipal waters and closed fishing grounds to address illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

“VIIRS data is essential for enforcement of fisheries law and the sustainable management of fisheries. These data can be used, apart from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, by the Department of the Interior and Local Government and local government units to strictly enforce closed season in the fishing grounds in their jurisdiction,” Ramos said.

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Opinion

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019

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An innocent kiss A DRUNK sailor, overjoyed that World War II was over, ran to Times Square in New York City alongside his soon-to-be wife to celebrate the news. Seeing a woman in what he thought was a nurse uniform, he couldn’t contain himself. Right then and there, the thankful young survivor of the USS Bunker Hill attack, which had happened just three months earlier, spun the young woman around, held her in his arms, and planted a kiss on her lips.

It isn’t shocking to see that a kiss, and not war, is what horrifies and offends people more.

The iconic photograph of that brief encounter is now part of history, and a large statue of that kiss stands undisturbed in Sarasota, Florida. Until now.

Just recently, police encountered the statue known as “Unconditional Surrender” defaced with #MeToo spray-painted over the woman’s leg.

At the time of the kiss that “ended” World War II, the sailor, George Medonsa, had been drinking and celebrating with Rita, his soon-to-be-wife, after the couple heard the news the war was over. As he headed to Times Square where many were gathered,

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Greta Zimmer Friedman, the dental assistant mistaken for a nurse, did the same.

Greta had arrived in the US in 1939 from Austria. Her parents sensed danger and insisted she should leave. As she learned the war had ended, the young woman ran to the square, perhaps wondering what had happened to her parents. She later found out they were killed.

Still, in the moment of celebration and ecstasy that enveloped everyone gathered in Times Square, George saw Greta and only one thought crossed his mind: “I ought to thank her for her service.” But Greta had no idea of what was happening.

She was standing there for a few minutes, she told reporters, and “then I was grabbed.”

“That man was very strong. I wasn’t kissing him. He was kissing me.”

As soon as the kiss was over, both of them went their own separate ways, never seeing each other again until much later.

While Greta was clearly caught by surprise and obviously tense due to this incident, the drunken George didn’t mean any harm. And while Greta could have fought him, slapped him, or made a scene, she walked away. Perhaps thankful that that had been it. Now, that scenario is unthinkable. After all, women are taught nowadays that if a man even asks them out, it could be an assault.

Had the war never happened, George would have never witnessed nurses rushing to save hundreds of sailors injured and killed as a result of World War II. He would have never watched in awe as women dressed much like

T

The gifts of EDSA

HIRTY-THREE years ago today, President Marcos fled the country after three tumultuous days that saw two million civilians amass on EDSA to protest his two-decade rule and to support the military men who had withdrawn their support from the regime and had holed up in Camp Crame.

Those of us who lived through those heady days remember the exhausted euphoria that finally washed over us on the 25th of Feburary1986 when—for the moment, at least—the Philippines was the darling of the world and everything seemed possible. In the eyes of the world, we had regained democracy with determination, courage and faith—and relatively little bloodshed.

But memory fades, and even people who were there for the unfolding drama 33 years ago remember things differently today.

Moreover, more than half of the population today were not even born at the time of the EDSA

People Power Revolution. For an increasing percentage of Filipinos, then, the landmark even is not even a memory—and many view today’s holiday as little more than a welcome break from school or their jobs.

Beyond marking it with an official holiday and the yearly commemorative rites, how do we keep the spirit of EDSA alive?

We might begin by recognizing in our day-to-day lives the two true gifts of EDSA—unity and freedom.

The EDSA Revolution is often portrayed as a contest between two political clans, but it was so much more than the per-

sonalities on center stage three decades ago. In all likelihood, the military rebels would have been wiped out by government troops had they not had the protection of millions of Filipinos who, moved by a unity of purpose, taken to the streets to show their support.

We have not seen this sense of unity as a people since—and that, perhaps, is why we have not lived up to the promise of EDSA. All too often, we engage in divisive politics that suggests that if you are not with us, you are against us— only to forget that we are all in one nation, and that we need to come together to achieve common goals.

That goal 33 years ago was to achieve the freedom that was stifled by martial law. The challenge today is to use those hard-won freedoms to carve out a better life for all Filipinos—and to be prepared to defend those rights at all costs.

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Memorare and richer.

TODAY marks the 33rd anniversary of the culmination of the EDSA “People Power” Revolution. It commemorates the day when Cory Aquino and Doy Laurel took their oaths of office as president and vice president respectively at Club Filipino. I was present at that historic occasion.

On the same day, from the balcony of Malacañan Palace, Ferdinand Marcos likewise took his oath as president after the controversial “snap” elections held earlier in February where the Commission on Elections certified to his “victory,” which was thereafter affirmed by the Batasang Pambansa.

But on Feb. 22, sections of the military forces under the leadership of Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and AFP Vice Chief of Staff Fidel Valdez Ramos declared a mutiny against Marcos.

Before dark of that fateful day, Marcos, his family and key allies were taken by a US helicopter to Clark Air Base, there to be ferried by another US plane to Hawaii, where he was to spend his last days.

President Duterte is not going to the EDSA Shrine built to commemorate the historic event. Like many Filipinos, he probably wonders if after 33 years, the mutiny where no blood was shed was worth it in terms of whether we as a nation of 107-million people are better off now than before it.

But if life has not become any better for most Filipinos, blame should not be placed on the EDSA mutiny and the bloodless “revolution” that ushered in democratic space in lieu of authoritarian rule.

It is the fault of leaders we put in power after Marcos, and ours because we chose them. We had a chance in a million to right what was wrong in our society, in our polity. We blew it.

That is a collective fault that our generation will have to apologize to our successors for.

We commemorate the return of democratic freedoms, even if we have made a mockery of true democracy, where equal opportunity hardly exists, where the poor, as the trite observation goes, get poorer while a few get richer

*** February in our history is also a month for sad recollection.

At the Plaza de Santa Isabel in Intramuros, midway from the Manila Cathedral to the centuries-old San Agustin Church, is a Pieta-like monument which commemorates the merciless slaughter of thousands of Filipinos during the liberation of Manila waged by American forces and Filipinos against the Imperial Japanese Army.

Defeated, Japanese troops perpetrated gruesome massacres of civilians in Manila, mostly in the Ermita and Malate areas. This carnage, which happened from Feb. 3 to March 3, 1945, is immortalized for the memory of succeeding generations born after the Second World War through the efforts of Memorare-Manila 1945 Foundation, which built the monument in Intramuros.

It features a hooded woman slumped on the ground cradling a lifeless child in her arms, surrounded by six suffering figures.

We had a chance in a million to right what was wrong in our society, in our polity.

We blew it.

The inscription on the monument’s base was written by Nick Joaquin, the National Artist for Literature who I had the privilege of once being interviewed during the struggle against the dictatorship. For the benefit of our readers and for my grandchildren who should always remember that war makes no victors but only victims, let me quote: “This memorial is dedicated to all those innocent victims of war, many of whom went nameless and unknown to a common grave, or never even knew a grave at all, their bodies having been consumed by fire or crushed to dust beneath the rubble of ruins.

“Let this monument be a gravestone for each and every one of the

Turn to A5

The mid-term elections IT’S that time of the year. Filipinos are in a frenzy again for the mid-term elections on May 13. Up for grabs are 12 seats for the Senate, hundreds of House positions representing congressional districts, party lists representatives of various sectors, gubernatorial and mayoral posts. While Pinoys think and talk politics the whole year round, it gets real heady in the run-up and

There are good and bad candidates on both sides of the political fence. homestretch to the actual day of the polls.

The official campaign period started last week but none of the candidates observed what the election law mandates about this. The incumbents seeking reelection and the newcomers

have been campaigning and jockeying for advantage to win the people’s vote way before the official campaign period spending millions of pesos that could have been better spent for the people’s benefits. The rich officials will no doubt claim: “So what, it’s our money!” Voters though should take a second look and ask how they came into this money.

Reelectionists of course have the upper hand. The senatorial candidates have the advantage of visibility and media coverage of committee hearings of major events involving corruption, Turn to A5

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Opinion

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019

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Listen to Tsai’s warning AS A country that has to engage China’s aggression on multiple fronts, the Philippines should pay attention to the ordeal that Taiwan is currently facing. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen recently called attention to the increasingly assertive economic and military threats from Beijing under Chinese President Xi Jinping. The rest of Asia, she said, should open its eyes and see what was happening.

“I want to remind the Beijing authorities that a superpower must act with the demeanor and take the responsibility of a superpower, and international society is watching China to see if it can make changes and become a trustworthy partner,” Tsai said.

The Taiwanese leader made the remarks in the context of a speech by Xi that proposed a “one country, two systems” scenario for Taiwan, a setup that Tsai said Taiwan will never accept: “The vast majority of Taiwanese also resolutely oppose ‘one country, two systems,’ and this opposition is also a ‘Taiwan consensus.’”

China, which has long pushed for a so-called “One China” policy, for its part has never accepted Taiwan’s sovereignty and considers it a runaway province. But Beijing’s coercive behavior, Tsai said, undermines whatever negotiations are possible, not to mention the country’s “democratic position.”

For her part, Tsai, who came into power on a wave of anti-China sentiment, had also expressed alarm over another Xi speech in which he called Taiwanese independence as a “dead end” and didn’t rule out “the use of force” in asserting reunification.

But instead of kowtowing to Beijing’s whims, the threats would only push the island away from the superpower, she added.

“The development of cross-strait relations … requires that China must face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China [Taiwan,] and not deny

The mid-term...

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sensational scandals linking officials to smuggling of illegal drugs and the insertion of pork barrel in the national budget While deliberations of the budget start in the House, the senatorial candidates get to have their say on it since the national appropriation bill amounting to trillions of pesos will still need the Senate’s stamp of approval at the bicameral level. The feud between Rep. Rolando Andaya and Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno will have to give way to the bigger players in the Senate.

What better way to project one’s self than to strut and show before television cameras that this particular senatorial bet is protecting the people’s money?

Our unsolicited advice to voters: Please do NOT vote according to party lines. Give yourselves a wider choice.

There are good and bad candidates on both sides of the political fence. Disregard what the poll surveys done by Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia say. These surveys commissioned by certain candidates are meant to create a bandwagon effect to swing the tide in their favor. Insiders to these surveys will tell you the area and the number of people surveyed are on such a small scale. The questions asked are usually formulated to favor a certain candidate who paid for the survey, usually in the

the democratic system that the people of Taiwan have established together,” she said, adding that “cross-strait differences” must be handled “on the basis of equality, instead of using suppression and intimidation to get Taiwanese to submit.”

She hinted at the range of tactics that Beijing employs to make Taiwan submit to its demands, from corporate pressure and diplomatic maneuvers to outward military aggression: “Pressuring international corporations to change their designation for Taiwan won’t bring about a spiritual union, nor will buying off Taiwan’s diplomatic allies or circling Taiwan with military aircraft and naval vessels.”

Chinese bombers and reconnaissance aircraft flew around Taiwan in April last year, in what Beijing said were regular military drills but which Taipei argued were attempts to provoke tensions in the region as well as a warning to those pushing for Taiwanese independence.

Short of calling Beijing’s tactic undemocratic and coercive, Tsai finally sought to emphasize the value of “democratic values” and urged China to “bravely move towards democracy.”

This is the only way, she said, that China will understand the Taiwanese people’s aspirations.

In a separate interview, Tsai issued a warning to Asia and said Taiwan’s current predicament should serve as a cautionary tale in relation to Beijing’s audacious stance against any perceived opposition to its regional, perhaps even global, dominance.

“If it’s Taiwan today, people should ask who’s next? Any country in the region—if it no longer wants to submit to the will of China, they would face simi-

lar military threats,” she told CNN. “Our challenge is whether our independent existence, security, prosperity, and democracy can be maintained. This is the biggest issue for Taiwan.”

This aggressive side to China is, of course, something that Manila only knows too well. The Philippines’ 2016 victory in the Arbitral Tribunal in The Hague over some disputed islands in the West Philippine Sea has been summarily ignored by Beijing, which is instead responding with even more aggressive militarization of the already tense region.

Like the Philippines, Taiwan is on paper looking across the Pacific to the United States for a possible counter to Beijing’s political and military might.

Washington has long provided Taiwan with a tacit guarantee of protection from Beijing, something that received a boost under US President Trump.

But, as in Manila, Taipei is also taking matters into its own hands by strengthening its own defense capabilities even as Beijing’s military itself modernizes.

“We have to be prepared at all times,” she said.

More crucially, Tsai’s defiance comes alongside a terse warning for the rest of the democratic world: “If a vibrant de democracy that champions universal values and follows international rules were destroyed by China, it would be a huge setback for global democracy,” she said.

Interestingly, this championing of adherence to international law echoes the perennial line of rebuke against Beijing’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea, especially in the aftermath of the arbitral ruling and Manila’s victory in 2016. Tsai is thus correct in asserting that the Beijing-Taipei tussle is far from an isolated scenario and speaks volumes about China’s overall aspirations.

“I believe this is not just an issue of Taiwan under attack, but a reflection of China’s willingness to use force for its expansionist policy. It’s not just Taiwan’s interest at stake, it’s the whole region’s or even the whole world’s.”

With such close parallels, Manila’s leaders should take lessons from the ongoing row. If Taiwan’s democratic republic falls to Beijing’s attacks, who else could be next?

millions of pesos depending on how bad the candidate wants to win.

A survey is big business. The only winner is the polling firm that conducts the survey. The real poll is on election day when the people cast their vote. We hope voters are not carried away by the bandwagon effect of going with the winners the surveys claim to be in the winning column.

I have my own choices for the Senate but you don’t have to follow them.

This is not an “Ocho Derecho” list but simply picking the bets from both sides of the political divide. Some of my choices include returning senators like former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Pia Cayetano, Mar Roxas and Serge Osmeña. We need them to spice up the debates on the Senate floor with intelligent illumination of the issues which we doubt we can get from some of the others aspiring for the Senate.

Enrile, on the other hand, is your most qualified candidate for the Senate. He was finance secretary and defense secretary under former strongman Ferdinand Marcos’ martial law reign. JPE’s candidacy, it would seem, is like a referendum on the Marcos rule. Getting elected is a vindication of the Enrile and Marcos watch of nearly 20 years over the Philippine political landscape.

To be fair, those in the win column as proclaimed in the surveys include Senators Grace Poe and Cynthia Villar, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos and

Lito Lapid who gained fame in the TV blockbuster “Ang Probinsyano” as the good guy “Pinuno” killed by the bad guys group of John Arcilla and Edu Manzano. These two are terrific actors but are probably the most hated men in the country because of their roles as villains in the series.

Television is a powerful medium.

Needless to say, it creates in our living room heroes and villains in our minds that affect our votes. Filipinos are easily swayed by their passion through television and actual events. Take the case of Noynoy Aquino who was swept to the presidency because of sympathy votes when his mother former President Cory died of cancer months before the presidential election. President Rodrigo Duterte was also elected the country’s president because TV and the public saw him as a different from the rest of the political pack. Digong was the firebrand who talked their language and appeared as one of the masa hoping for change.

Some pundits will probably dismiss it when I say the news of the recent birth of twins (a boy and a girl at that)

by Korina Sanchez who is married to Mar Roxas could give a boost to her husband’s senatorial run. I’m happy for the two of them. I know Mar from way back when he was involved in the sale of the Standard newspaper from the Elizaldes to the Sorianos. He was former Trade and Interior secretary; he topped the senatorial elections twice.

Manila’s leaders should take lessons from the ongoing row between China and Taiwan.

News feature

Hidden facts about EDSA People Power exposed By: Rey E. Requejo IN MOST progressive countries, uprisings, whether peaceful or bloody, are not commemorated for the simple reason that they are polarizing. Old wounds need time to heal. That is not to say that there should be no justice or accountability. But isn't it that whoever wins also gets to define such concepts, including the kind of “narratives” they think the public should know while suppressing the truth or factual events, in a bid to deodorize and legitimize their political victory.

At best, political forces belonging to the winning side would deliberately hide the truths to keep the myths surrounding a successful revolution alive. At worst, these same truths will continue to haunt a country, a divided nation that can never truly march forward to progress.

Today (Monday), 33 years since the February 1986 People Power Revolt, the Philippines marks again the bloodless uprising that marked the end of the Marcos administration, sans genuine transformation and perhaps with even greater disillusionment after two Aquino presidencies.

In his collection of essays entitled “Debunked,” veteran journalist and diplomat Rigoberto Tiglao offers snippets of truths—facts— on the EDSA uprising that have remained in the dark until now.

You can say what you want about Tiglao, but he is, foremost, a journalist, and journalists, regardless of political color or biases, hold facts sacred above all else.

Tiglao presents five “facts” whose absence—intentionally hidden from the public or otherwise— have shaped the way Filipinos have come to perceive or appreciate EDSA 1.

First, that former President Corazon Aquino had little to do with the uprising. It was Marcos' defense minister, Juan Ponce Enrile, who was “mainly responsible” for the uprising, according to Tiglao. Enrile and his loyal military officials, collectively known as the Reform the Armed Forces Movement, were preparing for a coup attempt that involved capturing the late President Ferdinand Marcos and his family.

Citing Enrile's own biography as well as articles written by RAM colonels since 1986, Tiglao traced how the coup plotters learned that their plan has already been uncovered when then Trade Minister Roberto Ongpin complained about the arrest of his military security detail—all RAM members—on Feb. 22.

This prompted Enrile to make a “last stand” at his headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo together with then Philippine Constabulary chief Fidel Ramos, calling on foreign correspondents to cover his bold

An innocent...

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Memorare...

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over 100,000 men, women, children and infants killed in Manila during its battle of liberation.

“We have never forgotten them.

Nor shall we ever forget.”

Memorare. *** Also in that month of February 1945, retreating Japanese forces went to almost every house in San Pablo City, Laguna whose residents were Chinese-Filipinos. The males among them aged 15 to 50 were “conscripted” to “work”; brought to the patio of the Catholic Church in the center of the town.

From there they were marched to a field far from the poblacion where they were made to dig a trench some ten feet deep. Thereafter, they were bayoneted and beheaded to their death, and

mercilessly pushed to the trench they dug which was to be their grave.

Their families searched in vain, thinking they were brought to nearby Quezon, only to realize later that they were massacred to their untimely death.

Inside the Cementerio de Chinos in San Pablo near the highway which leads to Quezon province is a mausoleum erected by the descendants of the 600 men who were massacred that fateful February. Their remains are co-mingled and entombed therein.

My grandfather and my uncle were among the 600. *** I write not to condemn any race for inhuman actions perpetrated during a time of war. Despite the fact that my maternal grandfather and my only uncle were killed by Japanese soldiers at the end of the Second World War, I hold no deep resentment in my heart.

For one, I was born after them, unable

to know them personally.

If there is any evil that we must condemn and never excise from our minds, it is the horrors that war brings, wherever and whenever it happens. *** Last Friday, the President administered the oath of office to members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority which would begin the transition process from civil strife to peaceful autonomous governance, after the ratification of the BOL. Like any other Mindanaoan, Duterte wanted to see an end to the violence where government and rebels were “counting victories not by progress or development but by the dead bodies that were strewn around”.

“The road to peace may be long and rough, but I am glad that we have finally reached its endpoint,” the President said.

We hope. We pray.

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Greta ran to help men, some horribly burned, after two Japanese kamikaze planes smashed into USS Bunker Hill.

By the same token, the world wouldn’t have witnessed the moment the US dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing over 200,000 Japanese people, many of whom were civilians, and hurting countless others over time thanks to the exposure to radiation.

And if it hadn’t been for the war, 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry wouldn’t have been sent to concentration camps on US soil, proving just how pitiful, disgraceful, and immoral government thinking can be. Yet, what triggers today’s “activists” is a kiss coming from a drunken sailor who saw the realities of war unravel right before his eyes.

That, a Facebook user wrote on the police’s official page reporting on the

move and asking the late Cardinal Sin to encourage supporters to form a human shield around Camp Crame.

Tiglao offers a thought-provoking question: was it truly a case of People Power then, or simply People Fodder?

Second, given that only a small faction of the Armed Forces supported the coup, who then should we credit the peaceful revolution?

For Tiglao, it was clear: It was Marcos who gave the categorical order that made it impossible for the military to hurt the protesters in EDSA. “Disperse the crowds, but do not shoot them,” Marcos said.

Third, Marcos asked Washington to bring him and his family to Laoag City—a detail that has, in fact, been turned into a joke (the equivalent of a meme had this happened today, that is): that the late strongman wanted to go to Paoay but was instead shipped out to Hawaii.

Fourth, Tiglao pointed out in his book that under both the 1935 and 1973 Constitution, Aquino was not qualified to run for president in the snap elections. Both previous constitutions specified that a president must be a “resident of the Philippines for at least 10 years immediately preceding the election.”

Aquino, however, left the Philippines in 1980 to live in Boston with her husband, the late Senator Benigno Aquino Jr. Marcos, for all his brilliant mind, did not raise this legal objection to Aquino's presidential bid. Perhaps, Tiglao said, it was because he was confident that Benigno's widow could not possibly win the snap polls. The Commission on Elections called the vote in Marcos' favor with a margin of at least 1.5-million votes. The partial unofficial tally of the National Citizen's Movement for Free Elections or NAMFREL, on the other hand, had Aquino winning by half a millionvotes.

Lastly, Tiglao notes that Aquino's electoral campaign in 1986 was part of a well-funded public relations job handled by the American political strategist firm Sawyer Miller. This, the veteran journalist said, was confirmed by US documents that Sawyer Miller submitted in compliance with the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Citing the 2008 book “Alpha Dogs: The Americans Who Turned Political Spin into a Global Business” of James Harding, Tiglao noted that Sawyer Miller's point person in the Philippines, Malloch Brown, steered the PR campaign of Aquino with the single message—that Marcos is corrupt and a dictator.

Three decades later, the same strategic message still defines the campaign against the Marcos. The same strategic message continues to divide the country.

vandalism incident, is “oppression.”

“Stop glorifying sexual assault,” another commentator suggested.

In today’s time when many nations’ lawmakers get wide support from young voters for promoting pieces of legislation giving governments sweeping powers, and reporters and left-leaners bemoan presidents and prime ministers for wanting to leave war-torn nations, it isn’t shocking to see that a kiss, and not war, is what horrifies and offends people more.

With so many ready to use government force to impose their own cultural paradigms on those who are unwilling to toe the line, it’s clear that giving government more excuses to expand its power is part of the agenda. And in no time, we won’t even be free to make mistakes—even innocent ones, like the one George made in 1945. eric.jurado@gmail.com

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News

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

DOH, Tagaytay officials set up vaccination center

By Macon Ramos-Araneta TO BOOST measles vaccination coverage, the Department of Health-Calabarzon, together with the Tagaytay city government, launched the first vaccination center in Ayala Malls Serin in Cavite.

“This will increase measles vaccination coverage and reduce missed opportunities for vaccination by proving more immunization sites for children,” said Health Regional Director Eduardo Janairo.

He said vaccination posts in malls, schools, fastfood chains, churches and even bus terminals are necessary so that parents living near these areas can bring their child for immunization.

“We need everybody’s cooperation and support to reach more susceptible children and successfully prevent the spread of measles and stop its transmission in the community,” he said.

“Vaccination is a very important part of family and public health. It prevents the spread of contagious, dangerous, and even deadly diseases like measles, polio, mumps and chicken pox,” Janairo added.

For its part, the Anakalusugan partylist urged the Department of Health and local government units to step up its information dissemination and immunization campaign to arrest the spread of the measles outbreak across the country.

Don’t be afraid to hire women—lawmakers T HE SIGNING of a new law granting working mothers 105 days paid maternity leave should not drive corporations to hire more men at the expense of women.

“We do not see the extended maternity benefit discouraging the employment of women.

Men and women will continue to get hired as long as they have the skills, knowledge and personal attributes needed by employers,” Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. said.

“The truth is, we already have several firms affording superior maternity leave benefits to women,” the deputy minority leader added.

The lawmaker cited the case of multinational business pro-

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK 7.3. The “Vehicles” project involves the acquisition of new vehicles, such as bucket trucks, low-bed trailer and prime mover, used for network maintenance and development works. These vehicles are needed for works such as transporting mobile substations, pole erection, installation and line attachments, as well as for transferring and mobilizing power transformer. The project also involves the acquisition of motorbikes for use by field distribution engineers, especially for emergency response activities.

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF CAPITAL EXPENDITURE PROJECTS FOR CALENDAR YEAR 2018, WITH PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

8. The total estimated cost of the proposed CAPEX projects for CY 2018 is PhP 1,126,317,180.00, broken down as follows: NETWORK PROJECTS 92,540,371 Hybrid Underground System Phase 3 92,540,371 OTHER NETWORK PROJECTS 960,302,517 Automated Switches 39,310,473 Communication Equipment 21,719,950 Customer Service - Wires and Metering 127,034,357 Equipment Distribution Transformers 359,140,694 Overhead Conductors 66,476,570 Poles and Fixtures 300,929,866 Station Equipment 40,191,085 Power Factor Improvement Proiect 5,499,522 NON-NETWORK PROJECTS 73,474,292 Computers 1,766,725 Tools and Instruments 33,126,307 Vehicles 38,581,260 TOTAL CAPEX 2018 1,126,317,180

ERC CASE NO. 2018-124 RC VISAYAN ELECTRIC COMPANY, INC. (VECO), Applicant. x-------------------------------------------x NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on 28 December 2018, the Visayan Electric Company, Inc. (VECO) filed an Application dated 22 November 2018 (Application) seeking the Commission’s approval of the Capital Expenditure Projects for Calendar Year 2018, with prayer for provisional authority.

In the said Application, VECO alleged the following, among others: 1. VECO is a private corporation existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with principal business address at J. Panis Street, Banilad, Cebu City. It is a duly authorized distribution utility of electric power in the municipalities of San Fernando, Minglanilla, Consolacion and Lilo-an and the Cities of Naga, Talisay, Cebu and Mandaue, Province of Cebu, pursuant to its franchise under Republic Act No. 9339. VECO may be served with orders and other processes of the Honorable Commission through its undersigned counsel at the address indicated below.

9.

2 . The Electric Power Industry Reform Act (“EPIRA”), under Section 23, obligates VECO, as well as other distribution utilities, to provide distribution services and connections to its customers consistent with the distribution code.1

11. Applicant undertakes to comply with the pre-filing requirements under Section 4( e) of the EPlRA IRR, as amended,

3. Thus, VECO, in accordance with Section 20 (b) of Commonwealth Act No. 146,2 hereby applies for the approval of the Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) Projects for Calendar Year (“CY”) 2018.

12. Public interest and necessity requires the immediate implementation, without delay, of the subject CAPEX projects. The loading and reliability constraints of the current substations are reaching critical levels, necessitating the upgrade and/or construction of the relevant substations. Aside from these, in the event that the CAPEX projects are not immediately implemented, the consumers may suffer from prolonged power interruptions and additional load coming from existing and new customers may likewise not be accommodated.

These negative consequences, which are detrimental not only to the economy of the areas covered by VECO, but also to the livelihood and everyday lives of the consumers may be mitigated by the immediate approval of the VECO 2018 CAPEX projects.

10. The detailed explanation, description, economic analysis, justification, alternatives considered, as applicable, and other information on VECO’s CAPEX projects for CY 2018, are discussed in detail in Annex “A” of this Application.

ALLEGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

4. VECO’s CAPEX projects are grouped into “Network Assets”, “Other Network Assets” and “Non-Network Projects”.

5. The project under the “Network Assets” category is “Hybrid Underground System Phase 3” project.

5.1. The project, which is an underground distribution system that will span along Imus Avenue from Cor. Sikatuna St. to Cor. General Maxilom Ave, will address VECO’s compliance to the statutory requirements of Cebu City Ordinance No. 1894 dated April 25, 2001. Inherently, this underground distribution system would also improve the reliability of the system and the safety of the general public.

Enrile: Trump’s wall push will affect Philippines

By Macon Ramos-Araneta FORMER Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has raised alarm over the impact of US President Donald Trump's push for a border wall.

Enrile warned Washington's adoption of an isolationist position will affect not only the Philippines but the whole world.

“What is Trump doing now? He is adopting an isolationist position.

The trajectory of America [is that] they can no longer afford to be the policeman and economic supporter of the entire globe,” he said.

“They have to retract, recede, and go back to their own isolation.

If that happens, your economic boom that you’re seeing here is going to be terribly affected,” added Enrile, who is vying for a comeback in the Senate in the upcoming midterm elections.

Enrile noted that the wealth of Germany, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and even China now all came from the economy of America.

“America has been propelling the economic progress of the world. Europe was devastated. They did not have anything; they had to rebuild it. That’s why they opened the US market to all the European countries except the Soviet Union and its satellites. That was the base of this progress that we had, and nothing more,” the veteran lawmaker said.

The former Senator also favored stronger relations with China rather than the US in the years to come.

“Between China and American, we have been under America for almost a century from 1898 until today,” said Enrile.

“Military-wise, I can depend on China more than I can depend on America in terms of their capacity and their willingness to assist their friends in case of trouble. If we go to war with China, we cannot depend on America,” he added.

14. The foregoing CAPEX for CY 2018 are indispensable for the systematic and economic expansion and rehabilitation of VECO’s distribution facilities and ensuring compliance with safety, performance and regulatory requirements. The benefit arising from these CAPEX projects will ultimately redound to the endconsumers in terms of continuous, reliable and efficient power supply.

Automated Switches Communication Equipment Customer Service - Wires and Metering Equipment Distribution Transformers Overhead Conductors Poles and Fixtures Station Equipment Power Factor Improvement Project

PRAYER WHEREFORE, it is respectfully prayed that the Honorable Commission:

6.1. The “Automated Switches” project involves acquiring automated switches, which include Load Break Switches and Reclosers, that will be used by VECO for 2018. The project will increase reliability of the power system and reduce the interruption time.

1.

APPROVE the proposed Capital Expenditure Projects for Calendar Year 2018; and

2.

Pending trial on the merits, issue an Order granting Provisional Authority authorizing Visayan Electric Company, Inc. (VECO) to implement its proposed Capital Expenditure Projects for Calendar Year 2018.

Other reliefs just and equitable under the premises are likewise prayed for.

6.2. The “Communication Equipment” project involves the acquisition of communications equipment to be used by VECO for 2018. These equipment will be used for the proper communication between VECO’s automated equipment in the field or substation to and from VECO’s system operation control center.

The Commission has set the Application for determination of compliance with the jurisdictional requirements, expository presentation, pre-trial conference, and presentation of evidence on 14 March 2019 (Thursday) at ten o’clock in the morning (10:00 A.M.), at ERC Visayas Field Office, St. Mary’s Drive, Banilad, Cebu City.

6.3. The “Customer Service - Wires and Metering Equipment” project will serve customer request for electric service connection, and for maintenance and new installation of revenue meters

All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the instant case may become a party by filing with the Commission a verified Petition to Intervene at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements under Rule 9 of the 2006 ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, indicating therein the docket number and title of the case and stating the following:

6.4. The “Distribution Transformers” project involves the acquisition of distribution transformers, according to kVA rating and type, to be used by VECO for 2018. This project will aid VECO in catering to increase in customer demand, refurbishment or replacement of distribution transformers and new customer request applications.

1) The petitioner’s name and address; 2) The nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and

6.5. The “Overhead Conductors” project involves the acquisition of overhead conductors to be used by VECO for 2018. This project will address the yearly requirements of VECO for its supply of overhead conductors needed to serve its consumers.

3) A statement of the relief desired.

All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the case may file their Opposition or Comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before Applicant rests its case, subject to the requirements under Rule 9 of the 2006 ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure. No particular form of Opposition or Comment is required, but the document, letter, or writing should contain the following:

6.6. The “Poles and Fixtures” project involves the acquisition of the needed poles, with compatible accessories/fixtures, to be used

by VECO for the year 2018, needed to improve reliability and availability of the overhead distribution network.

6.7. The “Station Equipment” project involves the acquisition of equipment to be used by VECO in its various substations. With the project in place, VECO will be able to efficiently maintain its substation assets.

1) The name and address of such person; 2) A concise statement of the Opposition or Comment; and

6.8. The “Power Factor Improvement” project involves the 2018 acquisition of capacitor banks to be used by VECO to maintain the proper allowable voltage operating range within the distribution system. This project will also alleviate technical system loss through capacity optimization.

3) The grounds relied upon.

All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from Applicant that they be furnished with the same prior to the date of the initial hearing. Applicant is hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the standard office hours.

7. The projects in the “Non-network Projects” category include the following: o Computers o Tools and Instruments o Vehicles

WITNESS, the Honorable Chairperson and CEO AGNES VST DEVANADERA, and the Honorable Commissioners CATHERINE P. MACEDA, and PAUL CHRISTIAN M. CERVANTES, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 18th day of February 2019 in Pasig City.

7.1. The “Computer” project involves the acquisition of new computer units to replace old computer units. This also includes acquisition and maintenance of computer software for simulation, drawing and testing of the assets in the distribution network.

7.2. The “Tools and Instrument” project involves the acquisition of tools and instruments to be used for monitoring the system power quality and addressing customer issues, maintenance of power metering instruments and substation equipment testing devices and other distribution network tools.

dard at 14 weeks.

Under Republic Act No. 11210 which takes effect on March 7, “workers availing of the maternity leave period and benefits must receive their full pay.”

Employers from the private sector shall be responsible for payment of the salary differential between the actual cash benefits received from the Social Security System by the covered female workers and their average weekly or regular wages, for the entire duration of the maternity leave.

13. Thus, pending final approval, there is an urgent need for a provisional authority for VECO to immediately implement its proposed 2018 CAPEX projects. In support of the prayer for the grant of a provisional authority, attached as Annex “B” is the Judicial Affidavit of Mr. Noel S. Modesto of VECO.

6. The projects under the “Other Network Projects” category are the following: o o o o o o o o

The proposed CAPEX for CY 2018 will not have a direct impact on the current rates of VECO until approved by the Honorable Commission as part of VECO’s Regulatory Asset Base in the next applicable Regulatory Period.

cess outsourcing firm Accenture Inc., one of the country’s largest employers, with some 50,000 Filipinos on its payroll.

“Accenture here provides 120 days paid maternity leave to its female staff,” Campos said. “There is really nothing unusual about the new law as it merely aligns our maternity leave benefit with the global standard that entered into force 16 years ago.”

The International Labor Organization Convention 183 sets the maternity leave benefit stan-

JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT Oversight Commissioner for Legal 1

2

Section 23 of RA 9136, as implemented by Rule 7, Section 4 of tbe EPIRA Implementing Rules and Regulations (“EPIRA IRR”).

Public Service Act (MS-FEB. 25 & MAR. 4, 2019)

‘KNOCKOUT TIGDAS.’ A child gets vaccinated for measles during a mass immunization campaign at the Ayala Mall Serin Activity Center in Tagaytay City on Sunday. PNA

Jeepney drivers urged: Get your fuel vouchers

By Macon Ramos-Araneta REELECTIONIST Senator Sonny Angara has appealed to more than 80,000 legitimate jeepney franchise holders to claim their fuel voucher cards so they could start availing themselves of the government’s subsidy under the Pantawid Pasada Program.

“We are encouraging our legitimate jeepney franchise holder who have not yet claimed their Pantawid Pasada card to go to the nearest LTFRB office to get the fuel subsidy alloted to them by the government,” he said.

Angara made the appeal after the Department of Finance reported a low turnout in the distribution of fuel subsidy cards to qualified franchise holders of public utility jeepneys.

As of Jan. 15 this year, the DOF said that only 74,714 fuel vouchers were distributed out of the 155,337 available cards, or 42.43 percent of the total national target coverage for 176,085 legitimate PUJ units. This means that 80,623 cards remain unclaimed.

Under the PPP, which is one of the government’s flagship social mitigation measures, fuel vouchers in the form of cash cards are given to qualified PUJ franchise holders to ensure that they get timely assistance to mitigate the effects of the volatility of fuel prices in the world market.

The fuel subsidies given to each franchise holder amount to P5,000 in 2018 and P20,514 this year.

Sports Batang Pinoy games begin today in Iloilo ILOILO CITY—The Visayas Leg of the 2019 Philippine National Youth GamesBatang Pinoy unfolds today in various fronts, including medal-rich athletics and swimming at the Iloilo Sports Complex here.

A total of 14 gold medals will be staked in Day One of the track and field competition, which unfurls at 7 a.m., including the girls’ 2000-meter walk where the very first golden winner of this weeklong event for in and out-of-school youth athletes will come from.

Also staking mints early are the boys’ long jump at 8 a.m., girls’ shot put and high jump at 8:15 a.m., girls’ discus throw at 9:30 a.m. while the afternoon events will stake golds in girls’ 3000m and triple jump and boys’ discus throw at 2 p.m., girls’ 100m hurdles at 2:20 p.m., boys’ 110m hurdles at 2:30 p.m., girls’ 100m at 2:40 p.m., boys’ 100m at 2:50, girls’ 400m at 3 p.m. and boys’ 400m at 3:15 p.m.

Over at the pool, 14 golds will also be contested starting with the boys’ and girls’ 200m individual medley for 12 years old and under and 13 to 15 years old.

Other swim events in Day One are 100m freestyle (four), 50m backstroke (four), 1500m freestyle (one) and 800m free (one).

Gold medal winners are also expected to emerge in archery at the West Visayas State University field, arnis at the Iloilo Science and Technology University, karatedo at the SM City Iloilo, pencak silat at the Times Square ICC Gaisano, and taekwondo at the Robinson’s Pavia.

Other events coming off the wraps today are badminton at the Jaro Gym, baseball at the La Paz Football field, basketball and chess at the Iloilo Sports Complex covered gym, boxing at the Dungon Jaro covered court, futsal at the West Visayas State U field, lawn tennis at the La Paz court, sepak takraw, volleyball and softball at the Central Philippines University Gym, and beach volley at the Joe III Garden.

Philippine Sports Commission chairman William “Butch” Ramirez ushered in the event that was also graced by hosts Iloilo City Mayor Joe Espinosa III and Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Sr.

Harden-less Rockets stun Dubs

L

OS ANGELES—Eric Gordon scored a team high 25 points and Chris Paul delivered 23 as the Houston Rockets, playing without leading scorer James Harden, used a balanced attack to beat the Golden State Warriors 118-112 on Saturday.

The Rockets won on the road without the reigning NBA most valuable player Harden, who has been bothered by a sore neck of late and then woke up Saturday morning with flu symptoms, the team said.

“You can come in here and win on a Monday night in February or a Tuesday night in November or December,” Paul said.

“But in the playoffs is when you have to beat a team four out of seven times. It’s great tonight that we won

this but in two days you all will forget this. We all will.”

Harden, who was fined $25,000 earlier Saturday for criticizing the referees after a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, has missed just four games this season.

Saturday’s win showed the team’s depth without Harden, who has scored 30 or more points in 32 straight games for the second longest streak in league history.

The two-time defending NBA champion Warriors beat the Rockets in a sev-

en-game series last May in the Western Conference finals, but this regular season the tables have turned. Houston has now won all three meetings with Golden State this season, including a 107-86 rout in November.

Paul converted two clutch free throws with 68 seconds left in the fourth and Gordon nailed four three pointers for the Rockets, who had to use different means to beat the Warriors.

When the Rockets blew a big lead and lost to the Lakers 111-106 on Thursday night, it left analysts wondering if the team was relying too much on Harden and whether or not his streak was becoming a distraction.

Kenneth Faried started in Harden’s place and delivered 20 points and 10 rebounds as five Rocket players scored in double figures.

P.J. Tucker tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds and Gerald Green scored 10 points as the Rockets ran off to a 20-point lead in the first half. Clint Capela grabbed 15 rebounds.

Paul dished out 11 of his season-high 17 assists in the first half to reach 9,000 for his career as the Rockets avoided a third straight road loss.

Kevin Durant scored 29 points and Curry added 25 with nine rebounds and seven assists for Golden State, who had their five-game home winning streak snapped.

Golden State’s Draymond Green exited the game in the fourth quarter with a sprained left ankle. He is expected to be evaluated by team doctors on Sunday.

“He’ll be back for the playoffs. That’s the only thing we worry about here, right?” Durant said. AFP

Favorites score WVL triumphs

PAL SENIORS INTERCLUB. The 33rd Philippine Airlines Seniors Interclub gets underway in Cebu Feb. 27 with PAL President Jaime J. Bautista (2nd from left) leading the ceremonial tee off at Alta Vista Golf & Country Club. A record 108 teams, local and foreign, are registered to play. With Bautista here are (from left) PAL Area Manager - Mindanao Sales Victor Suarez, Alta Vista General Manager Nimrod Quiñones, and PAL SAVP Metro Manila and Luzon Sales Genaro ‘Bong’ Velasquez.

Johnson leads Rory by 4 at WGC-Mexico MEXICO—Dustin Johnson edged closer to a 20th US PGA Tour title Saturday, firing a five-under par 66 to take a fourshot lead over Rory McIlroy heading into the final round of the WGC-Mexico Championship.

Johnson built a 16-under par total of 197 at Club de Golf Chapultepec, where McIlroy fired a three-under 68 for 201.

It was another three strokes back to their nearest rivals -- Masters champion Patrick Reed, fellow American Patrick Cantlay, Spain’s Sergio Garcia and Australian Cameron Smith -- on day that saw Tiger Woods’s challenge fade with a disastrous double bogey-bogey at the 15th and 16th.

Reed posted the round of the day with a seven-under 64. Cantlay carded a 65, Smith a 68 and Garcia a 69.

Johnson kickstarted his round with an eagle at the par-four second, where he hit his tee shot to four feet.

But his lead, up to as many as five, dwindled to two when he was in the trees on the way to a double-bogey at

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

the 10th.

It was his first miscue of the week, and Johnson responded with four more birdies coming in to maintain a comfortable advantage.

“I was playing good,” the American said. “I played really well the front nine even though I missed quite a few short birdie putts.

“Even on 10, actually I had a decent shot at the flag. I just mis-judged the lie a little bit. It shot straight up in the air and hit the tree in front of me.

“I didn’t let it bother me,” Johnson said, “because i knew there was plenty of holes I could make birdie on coming down the stretch.”

McIlroy had three birdies and three bogeys in his first nine holes -- rolling in a 34-foot putt at the ninth to launch a run of three straight birdies.

After a short par putt lipped out at 14 he birdied 15 and 16 as he tried to keep Johnson in his sights.

“I battled,” McIlroy said. “I probably didn’t hit it as well as the first couple of

days but I hung in there.

“Especially after the eighth hole, playing the last 10 holes in four-under par to keep myself within some sort of touch of DJ is nice.”

McIlroy said the course, which already offers an unusual challenge of altitude situated at 7,800 feet above sea level, was getting more difficult as it firmed up.

“It’s getting really bouncy,” he said.

“The fairways are playing really more narrow. Some reactions on the greens are throwing people a little bit.

“It’s going to be tricky tomorrow.”

Woods, a seven-time winner of the tournament but playing it for the first time since it moved to Mexico, was a case study in how things can go wrong on the Chapultepec greens.

The 14-time major champion made an early run to move into the top five, but a four-putt double-bogey at 15 followed by a three-putt bogey at 16 saw him post a one-under 70 that left him 10 adrift on 207. AFP

US golfer Dustin Johnson plans his shot on the 15th green during the second round of the PGA World Golf Championship, at Chapultepec’s Golf Club in Mexico City. AFP

REIGNING titlists Kings’ Montessori School Team A, Colegio San Agustin Makati and Escuela De Sophia of Caloocan Inc. kept their title-retention bids alive on Sunday by scoring big wins in their respective divisions in the semifinals of the 23rd Women’s Volleyball League at the Xavier School High School Gymnasium in San Juan.

KMS-A downed Escuela de Sophia of Caloocan, Inc. 25-15, 25-20 in the 18-Under Competitive Division to forge a one-game final duel opposite Arellano University Team A, which trounced Chiang Kai Shek College 2515, 25-21 in the other semis match-up of the tournament sponsored by Milo and supported by Rain or Shine and Chris Sports.

CSA Makati smothered Saint Pedro Poveda College 25-14, 25-14 to barge into the championship round of the 18-Under Developmental Division.

Holy Family School beat Colegio de San Lorenzo 25-21, 25-18 to earn a shot at the title against CSA Makati.

The finals matches are set this Sunday at the Colegio San Agustin Gymnasium in Makati.

In the 13-Under Competitive Division, Escuela de Sophia of Caloocan Inc. beat Colegio San Agustin Makati 25-23, 25-16.

Thailand’s 14-year-old prodigy eyes World Cup gold NEW DELHI— me to all events Thailand’s James and she wants me Bond-loving ace to do something sport shooter says more than just he is unfazed by study.” his older opponents Phon is all as the high school praise for Isaranprodigy sets his uudom’s “focus” sights on World at such a young Cup gold in India age as she recalls this week. his early trips Isaranuudom to the Bangkok Phurihiranphat is shooting acadthe youngest comemy from their petitor at the tourhome four hours nament and the away in Nakhon Isaranuudom Phurihiranphat 14-year-old faces Ratchasima city. a strong field in the 25-metre rapid “He is very focused regarding his fire pistol event. shooting career which is rare at such “I know I am the youngest in these a young age. He just loves the sport games. There is tough competition and will achieve great heights,” she but I don’t feel any pressure. I stay told AFP. relaxed and calm when I shoot,” he “It was not easy travelling from told AFP after practice at the New our hometown to the Bangkok Delhi shooting range. shooting range where he trained “Of course I’ll go for gold. I feel I during his holidays. But I am always can do it. My aim is to participate in there with him,” she added. the 2020 Tokyo Olympics,” he added.

Isaranuudom is still searching for his Isaranuudom says his love of Brit- first medal in a senior competition afish spy films motivated him to be- ter representing Thailand at the Asian come a full-time sporting shooter at Games in Indonesia and the World the age of nine.

Championships in South Korea.

“I liked guns since I was a small The Delhi event is the teenager’s boy. I also watched a lot of James fourth World Cup tournament after Bond movies,” he said. competing in junior events and he “My favorite is Johnny English,” has more than 10 medals in internahe added, referring to the slapstick tional competitions.

British spy film franchise.

“I started as a air pistol shooter But his parents have also moti- when I was nine years old. But revated him all of the way, with his alised that I wasn’t too good at it, so mother Phon Phak travelling with switched to 25-meter rapid fire and her only child to the Indian capi- got results in just two years,” he said. tal as one of the Thailand shooting “I like rapid fire because it’s fast, squad’s managers.

I don’t like things slow. I shot in my “My father is a captain of a ship first competition in 2015 in a Thaiand my mother runs a business. land event and got gold.”

They helped me pursue my sport The tournament in Delhi confull-time. My mother travels with cludes on Thursday.

Sports

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

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Solaire PH Open back at The Country Club THE Solaire Philippine Open, the country’s premier golf championship, gears up for another blockbuster staging and thrilling ending at The Country Club when it begins its journey to a new century with a stellar international cast being firmed up.

Filipino ace Miguel Tabuena nipped veteran Prom Meesawat of Thailand in sudden death to highlight the milestone Centennial staging of the event at the TCC last year with the same finish expected when the 101st Open is held April 3-6.

The 2017 Open also went over the distance with Englishman Steve Lewton edging American Johannes Veerman in a playoff, also at the well-kept Tom Weiskoph-designed layout, with the same windup likely to ensue in the upcoming event sponsored by Solaire Resort and Casino.

“More than 50 percent of the field which vied last year will all be coming over again with the 2019 cast to be toughened up by new, crack international players,” said Colo Ventosa, general manager of Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., which co-organizes the event with the National Golf Association of the Philippines.

Solaire Resort and Casino, headed by president/CEO Thomas Arasi, and the NGAP, now led by president Martin Lorenzo, have recently inked a pact to jointly stage the 2019 Open with the former bankrolling $500,000 to put up the four-day championship, which also serves as part of the Philippine Golf Tour Asia.

Lorenzo and NGAP secretarygeneral Bones Floro have reiterated their full support to ensure the smooth and successful staging of the fabled event, which will feature former champions and mainstays of the other regional tours seeking to join the elite circle of winners in Asia’s oldest National Open and at the same time test a challenging course that doesn’t favor any particular style of play.

Former STAR sports ed to be honored THE Philippine Sportswriters Association will honor one of its own during the SMC-PSA Annual Awards Night on Tuesday at the Centennial Hall of the Manila Hotel.

Lito Tacujan, the former Sports Editor and Associate Editor of the Philippine Star, is going to be given a special recognition in sports journalism by the country’s oldest media organization when it fetes the achievers of 2018 in a grand affair presented by MILO, the Philippine Sports Commission, and Cignal TV. Tacujan was a former PSA president, who retired from The STAR last year after serving as its sports editor for the past 32 years.

He is an ardent sportsman who has the passion for both baseball and golf, having spent his childhood years in his native of Canlubang, Laguna.

A graduate of journalism at the University of Santo Tomas, Tacujan began his sportswriting career at the Philippine News Agency, then wrote for The Times Journal, briefly worked at PM and the Manila Times, before becoming the pioneer sports editor of The STAR in 1986.

He will be in the company of 73 other awardees to be recognized during the two-hour special ceremony also backed by the Philippine Basketball Association, Mighty Sports, SM Prime Holdings, Tapa King, Rain or Shine, NorthPort, and Chooks To Go. Leading the 2018 PSA honor roll are co-Athlete of the Year winners Hidilyn Diaz, Margielyn Didal, Yuka Saso, Bianca Pagdanganan, and Lois Kaye Go. Special guest speaker will be Olympian Bea Lucero-Lhuillier, who incidentally, Mr Tacujan had the privilege of covering when she won a bronze medal when taekwondo was played as a demonstration sport during the 1992 Barcelona Games.

Miguel Tabuena eyeing third Open jewel

New judges, referees give PH skateboarding a boost T

By Peter Atencio

HE Philippines is bracing for the inclusion of skateboarding in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by certifying new judges and referees who can officiate in events here and abroad.

Twelve new judges and referees were given certifications during a seminar held by Asian Extreme Sports Association Warren Stuart of Hong Kong.

“We are now certifying judges now that we are looking forward to having skateboarding in the Southeast Asian Games and Olympics,” said Skateboarding and Roller Sports Association of the Philippines President MontyMendigoria.

On Friday, the International Olympic

Committee announced that skateboarding, along with surfing and sport climbing, will make their Olympic debuts at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

“Everything followed following this announcement, we need to have credible judges who have been chosen because of their experience,” added Mendegoria.

The inclusion of the four disciplines is aimed at rejuvenating the Olympics, through its f Olympic Agenda 2020, which is all about striving to make the

Olympic program more gender-balanced, more youth-focused and more urban.

SEA Games gold medallist Margielyn Didal, who will be paired with Christiana Means, an outstanding FilAmerican skateboarder from Charlotte, South Carolina, is still the country’s top bet in the coming bienniel meet.

The judges are expected to officiate in different meets around the country, including the national SEA Games qualifier scheduled from Aug. 24 to 25 in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

And there will also be a search for most promising skaters in the south through the Mindanao leg, on May 25 and 26 in General Santos City. In the SEA Games, there will be 16 gold medals at stake in skateboarding.

PSA affirms Go For Gold’s achievements FILIPINO paddlers from the Philippine Canoe Kayak and Dragonboat Federation cemented their status as world champions through the sports philanthropy of Go For Gold Philippines.

The Philippines brought home five gold medals in the ICF World Dragon Boat Championships last year, a historic feat that will be recognized during the Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night on Tuesday at the Manila Hotel. ``We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to the PSA for the recognition. But our accomplishment won’t be possible without the hard work and dedication of the team and the backing of Go For Gold,’’ said PCKDF president Jonne Go. Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go bankrolled the trip of the national women’s dragonboat team in the worlds held in Gainesville, Georgia, allowing the Pinoy paddlers to dominate the mixed event category of the global championships.

Led by paddlers Hermie Macaranas, Ojay Fuentes, drummer Patricia Bustamante and steersman Maribeth Caranto, the PH paddlers ruled the 10-seater and 20-seater senior mixed 200-meter and 500m races. They capped the unprecedented success with a fifth gold in the 10-seater senior men’s 200m to seal the overall title of the meet held at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park where the best paddlers in the world converged. ``We are very happy to support the team. We are firm believers in equality in sports and we hope that we can encourage more women to join not just dragonboat, but all sports,’’ said Go, who is also supporting five other sports besides dragonboat.

The Philippines emerged triumphant over the national teams of Hungary, France, Germany, Canada, Czech Republic, Armenia, Italy, Russia, Japan, Switzerland, Ukraine and host United States. ``Go For Gold helped us bring the women’s team in the world championships and it was very crucial for us to succeed,’’ said PCKDF headcoach Len Escollante. The PCKDF is a major awardee during the PSA Awards Night.

Other members of the team were Mark Jhon Frias, Oliver Manaig, Reymart Nevado, Daniel Ortega, Raquel Almencion, Rosalyn Esguerra, Glaiza Liwag, Cristine Mae Talledo, Jonathan Ruz, John Paul Selencio, Sharmane Mangilit, Rhea Roa, John Lester Delos Santos, Lee Robin Santos, Jordan De Guia and Roger Masbate.

Go For Gold paddlers are shown here.

Quiamco, Camacho win 7-Eleven run BRYAN Quiamco and Maricar Camacho pulled off victories in contrasting fashions to share top honors in the premier category of the 7-Eleven Run held simultaneously in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao recently.

Quiamco, vying in the Davao leg, clocked 2:39:43 to nip Anthony Nerza, who timed 2:40:16 in Manila stage, and Richeel Languido, turned in a 2:43:08 clocking, for the men’s 42K crown while Camacho dominated the women’s 42K side with a 3:20:05 clocking in the Manila run.

April Rose Diaz of Davao timed 3:31:43 in Davao for second while Cinderella Lorenzo of Manila clocked 3:41:08 for third in the event held at Filinvest City in Alabang, at Cebu Business Park in the Visayas and at SM Davao.

Races in Manila and Cebu featured 10 various categories, including 500m, 3K, 5K, 5K buddy, 10K, 10K buddy, 16K, 21K, 32K and 42K. The Davao races had nine, excluding the 500m event.

The top three Filipino winners in the 42K, 32K and 21K categories also clinched berths in the Phuket International Marathon set June 7-10 in Thailand.

Other category winners were (32K, male) Azlan Pagay from Cebu leg (1:56:53), Rafael Poliquit from Cebu leg, (1:57:56) and Jeorge Andrade from Manila leg (1:59:11); (32K female); Ruffa Sorongon from Cebu (2:22:01), Luisa Raterta from Manila (2:25:31), and Jocelyn Elijeran from Manila (2:32:08); (21K, male) Prince Joey Lee from Cebu (1:12:22), Richard Salano from Manila (1:13:11) and Jerald Zabala from Davao, 3rd (1:14:32); (21K, female) Mary Joy Tabal from Cebu (1:24:39), Christin Hallasgo from Davao (1:27:47) and Christabel Martes from Manila (1:28:48).

“We made it more interesting this year by adding more categories to better fit the demand of every type of enthusiast – from the recreational runners to the pros. We believe that by doing a sporting event like the 7-Eleven Run, we can contribute to the growth and development of Filipino sportsmen who are well on their way to bring pride to our country,” said Jose Paterno, president/CEO of Philippine Seven Corp.

US hoops star out after injury from Nike shoe shredding

In this file photo, Zion Williamson of the Duke Blue Devils grimaces after falling as his shoe breaks during the game against the North Carolina Tar Heels at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. AFP

NEW YORK—Zion Williamson, the expected top pick in June’s NBA Draft, was declared out for Duke University’s game at Syracuse on Saturday, three days after his Nike shoe shredded during a game.

Duke’s athletic department announced on Twitter that the 18-year-old forward would miss the

contest while still recovering from a right knee sprain suffered in the early seconds of a loss Wednesday to rival North Carolina.

Nike was in damage control mode after the highprofile star suffered the injury and left a game whose ticket resale prices rivaled those of Super Bowls and

whose spectators included such celebrities as Barack Obama and Spike Lee. Williamson, who stands 6-foot-7 (2.01m), has averaged 22.4 points a game.

He was dribbling near the free throw line on his team’s first possession when he planted his left foot and his sneaker blew apart. AFP

IN BRIEF SEA Games complex, govt building on target KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—The construction of the sports and non-sports facilities for the much-awaited Southeast Asia Games is now in “full speed” and on track to hit the completion target, an executive of MTD Capital Berhad told reporters here over the weekend.

“We’re right on track to hit the target date of completion of NCC phase 1-A which is the sports and non-sports complex. The structures will be turned over to the Philippine government by October 15,” said Tee Kim Siew MTD Group chief financial officer.

Included in phase 1-A are the 20,000-seater stadium, a first-class track and field training oval, aquatic center and athletes’ village.

The non-sport facilities, Tee said, included the government administration building and housing for state employees.

The National Government Administrative Center being built in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac was designed after the government center in Putrajaya, Malaysia.

“We’re looking to complete the project in 19 months. This is a big challenge for us but we are on track,” Tee added. Jess Malabanan

PH-Japan relations to grow—Dominguez FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III expects the country’s bilateral relations with Japan to “grow more comprehensively” over the years, especially as both countries complement each other and can even become “demographic partners.”

Dominguez told the Japanese business community Japan’s forward-looking enterprises and more experienced and highly skilled labor force with a median age of up to 46 years old and the Philippines’ young, technology savvy workers whose average age is 24 years old complemented each other.

Confirming the potentials of the demographic complementarity, he said, were the 78 Osaka-based companies operating in the Philippines as of 2017. These are run by Japanese expatriates, who employ thousands of talented, English-proficient Filipino employees.

“Over the years, we have enjoyed excellent trade relations and business collaboration with the hardy enterprises of this prefecture.

I am sure that in the coming period, we will discover even more complementarities,” Dominguez said at the Philippine Economic Briefing held at the Imperial Hotel Osaka in Osaka, Japan. Julito G. Rada

Business

Four big firms keen on buying Hanjin PH

By Othel V. Campos

F

OUR companies, including a large North American firm, expressed interest to take over shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries and Construction Philippines Inc., the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority said over the weekend.

SBMA administrator and chairman Wilma Eisma said all four showed great interest in the Zambales-based shipbuilder. She did not identify the four parties but said none of them were Chinese.

“Two [companies] do not want to disclose and represented only by lawyers. The other two are a North American company and a European company.

These are big companies and they are into shipbuilding and other interests outside of shipbuilding,” she said.

Eisma said the four groups were on top of a Chinese company that earlier expressed interest in Hanjin.

Two of the four companies were doing due diligence reports while the other

two recently made known their intentions through letters sent to SBMA, she said.

She said the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court recently appointed Rosario Bernardo as the receiver for Hanjin. Rosario’s responsibilities include supervising negotiations to rescue the Korean shipbuilder.

“This means he [Rosario] has to monitor and take some actions, if necessary, to ensure that negotiations are done properly as well as the payment and the takeover should there be,” Eisma said.

She said the four new companies interested in Hanjin were looking at different schemes such as capital infusion, buyout or operating the facility as a different

business. Hanjin’s property is vast and can accommodate other businesses.

Eisma said her agency would not consider it as a setback if the buyer of Hanjin decided to put up another business, as long as there would be employment generation and the government would derive benefits from the business.

Hanjin is now operating with a skeletal workforce of only 300, a far cry from its 30,000 workers when it was operating at its peak.

The Subic Bay Freeport has about 154,000 people employed by different locators but it suffered a setback when Hanjin laid off 3,000 early this year because of financial constraints.

Hanjin has an outstanding $412-million obligation to five local creditors and about $900 million to supply creditors in South Korea.

Hanjin invested $2.6 billion in Subic Bay Freeport where its shipyard is located. The company has 68 pending contracts that might face cancellation if the planned rehabilitation would not be allowed.

Grab Rewards bares Cove Manila tie-up GRAB Rewards, the loyalty program of Grab, announced a strategic partnership with Cove Manila.

The partnership allows Grab Platinum users to gain access to Cove Manila, Okada Manila’s state-of-the-art party paradise, and enjoy exclusive discounts for only 1 GrabRewards point.

Starting February 21, Grab Platinum members can get an exclusive free access at Cove Manila and enjoy exciting offers such 20 percent discount on table bookings and 10 percent discount on food and beverage. The exclusive offers are available every Thursdays, 10 pm to 1 am, and Sundays, 3:00 pm – 6:00 pm, and can be redeemed for only 1 GrabReward point.

To redeem the offers, Platinum users simply need to check the entertainment category from their GrabRewards catalogue.

“We are excited about this partnership, as this is in line with Okada Manila’s directive of always providing our guests with the best possible experience,” said Cove Manila director Heathcliff Motorga.

UNIOIL-LALAMOVE PARTNERSHIP. Unioil, the leader in innovative petroleum solutions, teams up with Lalamove, the leading on-demand delivery app, to offer exclusive benefits to Lalamove partner drivers through the Lalamove-branded Unioil Loyalty Card.

Signing the agreement are (from left) Unioil loyalty officer Francine Narciso, Unioil vice president for retail Ed Pasion, Lalamove managing director Dannah Majarocon and Lalamove strategic partnerships manager Akiko Sumulong.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019

B1

BSP shutters Laguna-based rural bank with 17 branches

By Julito G. Rada THE Monetary Board, the policymaking body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, shut down a financially-ailing rural bank in Laguna province with 17 branches and offices across Calabarzon.

The board, in a resolution dated Feb. 21, said it decided to prohibit the Rural Bank of Mabitac (Laguna) Inc. from doing business pursuant to Section 30 of the Republic Act 7653 or the New Central Bank Act. As a receiver, the board designated state-run Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. to proceed with the takeover and liquidation of the bank in accordance with Section 12 of Republic Act 3591. PDIC took over the bank on Feb. 22, 2019.

Rural Bank of Mabitac is a 17-unit rural bank whose head office is located at 17 J. Rizal St., Barangay Sinagtala (Pob.), Mabitac, Laguna.

It has two branches in Candelaria and Infanta towns in Quezon province; six extension offices in the towns of Cabuyao, Calamba, Los Baños, Paete, Siniloan and Sta. Maria in Laguna; five micro banking offices in Cabuyao, Los Baños, Paete in Laguna, Tanauan in Batangas province and Tanay in Rizal province.

Rural Bank of Mabitac also has three other banking offices in Nagcarlan, Sta. Cruz and Sta. Rosa, all in Laguna.

Latest available records showed that as of Dec. 31, 2018, Rural Bank of Mabitac had 45,807 deposit accounts with total deposit liabilities of P367.1 million.

Total insured deposits amounted to P288.3 million equivalent to 78.52 percent of total deposits.

The Bangko Sentral earlier ordered the closure of the Bagong Bangko Rural ng Malabang (Lanao del Sur) Inc. Last year, it shut down 12 small banks because of their unsound financial condition. These included San Francisco Del Monte Rural Bank. Inc. in Quezon City, Lanao del Norte-based Rural Bank of Maigo, Pangasinan-based Malasiqui Progressive Savings and Loan Bank Inc., Rural Bank of Luna (Apayao) Inc., Rural Bank of Pagbilao Inc., Rural Bank of Sta. Elena (Camarines Norte) and Batangas-based Tiaong Rural Bank.

Meralco-led consortium set to start Razon’s firm asks ERC for permit to run Iloilo utility power distribution business in Ghana By Alena Mae S. Flores MANILA Electric Co. is set to start its power distribution business in Ghana in West Africa.

The board of the Millennium Development Authority of Ghana said it would hand over the electricity distribution assets and operations of Electricity Company of Ghana Ltd. to Power Distribution Services Ltd., a consortium led by Manila Electric Co. on Wednesday.

“The board of directors and the ECG PSP [private sector participation] stakeholders anticipate a smooth transition, and count on the support and cooperation of all Ghanaians to ensure the success of PDS as the new electricity distribution operator in the Southern Distribution Zone of Ghana,” MiDA said.

MiDA assured the people of Ghana that it would continue to adhere to and uphold high standards of transparency throughout the process.

Aside from Meralco which has a 30-percent interest in PDS, other consortium members are Aenergia SA of Angola with 19 percent, Santa Baron Ventures Ghana with 13 percent, TG Energy Solution Ghana with 18 percent, GTS Engineering Ghana Ltd. with 10 percent and TBK Ghana Ltd with 10 percent.

Meralco officials announced in December that they were hoping to start managing and operating the electricity distribution business of ECG in West Africa by the first quarter.

Meralco president Oscar Reyes said earlier the company was still finalizing the agreements for the deal to take a 30-percent stake in the joint venture consortium that would operate the distribution business of EGC. “We are working with MiDA and Electricity Company of Ghana for proper transfer,” Reyes said. Alena Mae S. Flores

MORE Electric and Power Corp., a company led by businessman Enrique Razon Jr., asked the Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for the operation of the electric distribution system in Iloilo City.

More made the request after President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11212 into law, granting More the franchise to operate the Iloilo distribution system.

“In order to ensure that it has all the legal requirements to operate the distribution facilities in Iloilo City, More respectfully submits that it must have a CPCN from the honorable commission,” More said in its application.

More said a provisional approval should be secured as there might be a difficulty in getting a final decision amid the heavy caseload handled by the ERC. It said the provisional approval or interim relief would enable it to operate the distribution facilities in Iloilo City and

ensure there would be no power interruption in the delivery of electric services to consumers in compliance with the law.

“Otherwise, applicant More will not be able to legally operate the distribution system in Iloilo City, to the detriment of the continued security of the power supply of the consumers therein,” it said.

More said it was granted by Congress the right and power of expropriation or eminent domain to take over the distribution assets of Panay Electric Co., whose franchise expired on Jan. 19, 2019.

“Based on this provision, More shall institute the proper proceedings for the acquisition of the distribution assets in Iloilo City. More will need a CPCN before it can legally operate such assets,” it said.

The Department of Energy and ERC earlier allowed Peco to continue to serve the power distribution requirements of Iloilo City after its franchise expired.

ERC and DOE said Peco’s CPCN would be valid until May 25 which served the legal basis in allowing them to continue to operate.

Peco corporate affairs manager Mikel Afzelius earlier said the company made a commitment to the city of Iloilo that it would continue to operate although it had not yet secured its franchise renewal.

“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,” Afzelius said.

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

“More again can put up its own facilities and run a power distribution business but they cannot and should not expropriate Peco’s assets. The only way they can use Peco’s assets if there is a legal sale between Peco and More which to this date there is no agreement between the two parties,” he said last month.

Agriculture pushes for higher bio-diesel blend THE Agriculture Department will resubmit to the Office of the Executive Secretary on Tuesday its recommendations to address the low prices of copra in the country.

The recommendations include the higher utilization of coconut methyl ester in bio-diesel and the reduced importation of palm olein which is hurting the local coconut industry.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea asked the department to resubmit its previous recommendations following a brief dialog with Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, the principal author and sponsor of the Biofuels Act of 2006 and the Renewable Energy Act of 2008.

Among the recommendations of the department are to increase the utilization of coconut methyl ester in the bio-diesel program from 2 percent to 5 percent which would hike the use of copra to about 200,000 metric tons and to impose a quantitative restriction on the volume of palm olein imported from Malaysia and

Indonesia.

The department said the importation of palm olein surged 900 percent over the last three years.

The transportation and fuel industries, however, shun the increase in biodiesel blend because it would reportedly raise the cost of biodiesel by as much as P0.35 per liter.

“What has not been emphasized, however, is the fact that by using more coconut oil in bio-diesel, the mileage of vehicles increases by about 3 kilometers per liter and improves the air pollution index,” Piñol said.

He also said the imposition of the QR on palm olein would help to cut down imports to protect the local industry.

Piñol said while such a measure was allowed by the World Trade Organization as a trade remedy, it could have a trade backlash with Malaysia and Indonesia.

The department is seeking the insights of the economic managers. Othel V. Campos

SAN BEDA’S BEST. Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea (right) is awarded as one of the Distinguished Bedans for 2019 in ceremonies held during the annual Red & White Ball at the Fiesta Pavilion of the Manila Hotel. Medialdea received the distinction for government service. Also awarded as Distinguished Bedans are former Press Secretary and presidential spokesperson Michael Toledo (center) for media and communication and Atty. Jeremy Parulan for law (private practice).

B2

Business

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

PSEi to trade sideways—analysts S

By Jenniffer B. Austria

HARE prices are expected continue their sideways movement during this shortened trading week as investors await the results of the resumption of talks between the US and China, which could finally put an end to their trade war.

BDO Unibank Inc chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said investors would remain on the sidelines pending more developments in the US-China trade talks and the results of the 2018 corporate earnings.

“The week’s close at 7,962.13 highlights strong support exists at the 7,800/7,850 levels. Look for another attempt to try and stay above the 8,000 levels,” Ravelas said.

Philstocks Financial Inc. said investors would also look for additional cues

on corporate earnings to justify additional investments in the equities market.

Among the companies that are scheduled to release earnings results this week are BDO Unibank Inc., Manila Water Co Inc., Manila Electric Co. and SM Investments Corp.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. last week rose 0.7 percent to close at 7,962.13, while the broader All Shares Index climbed 1.25 percent to 4,883.33.

Except for the financials which declined 1.8 percent, all other major indices ended in the green, led by the industrial index which gained 1.93 percent, holding firms which advanced by 1.5 percent and mining and oil which increased 1.4 percent.

The services and property indices also rose 0.6 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the week by P887.8 million, while the average daily value traded stood at P8.39 billion.

Weekly top price gainers were Ayala Land Inc. unit Prime Orion Philippines Inc. which advanced 14.1 percent to P3, San Miguel Food and Beverage Inc. which climbed 13.1 percent to P104 and JG Summit Holdings Inc., which rose 10.04 percent to P68.50.

Weekly top losers were Concepcion Industrial Corp., which declined 9.3 percent to P39.45, Roxas Holdings Inc. which

dropped 7.9 percent to P2.78 and Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. which fell 6.2 percent to P7.50.

Boosterish claims of progress in USChina trade talks, meanwhile, lifted global stocks on Friday, sending Wall Street to its longest winning streak in more than two decades.

Asian and European markets likewise were mostly higher, amid signals from Chinese and American officials building expectations the two sides will successfully resolve their seven-month trade war, which has knocked equities prices sideways for much of the last year.

In Washington, US President Donald Trump said the latest round of trade talks had been extended by another two days as the two sides raced to strike a bargain ahead of a March 1 deadline to avoid sharp increases in US duties on Chinese goods— and he again said he might be willing to push back the deadline. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

FEBRUARY 18-22, 2019 Close Volume

Value

FEBRUARY 11-15, 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

59.3 129.00 86.05 2.24 1.47 27.45 17.96 12.56 4.5 7.78 0.66 1.49 800.00 0.480 81.4 1.05 13.98 22.20 48.30 59.2 114.6 185.6 26.5 173 1800.00 62.00 1.16

24,580 16,160,190 13,613,780 107,000 317,000 667,100 252,800 2,075,500 591,000 2,100 313,000 149,000 400 660,000 9,628,820 7,892,000 317,300 1,300 1,130,900 23,350 600 2,930 695,900 1,224,760 2,370 30,520 270,000

FINANCIAL 1,448,647.50 2,108,284,644.00 1,205,326,408.50 238,890.00 453,100.00 18,319,000.00 4,466,924.00 26,275,890.00 2,629,130.00 16,293.00 198,260.00 216,110.00 320,400.00 307,950.00 780,611,103.00 8,740,360.00 4,432,950.00 28,120.00 54,454,005.00 1,377,207.00 68,705.00 545,185.00 18,473,160.00 209,792,283.00 4,266,620.00 1,890,068.50 308,290.00

59 133.60 89.20 2.24 1.42 27.95 17.36 13.1 4.6 7.74 0.7 1.48 760.00 0.475 80 1.25 13.8

62,430 19,466,810 16,211,810 856,000 1,039,000 239,300 7,726,300 4,364,600 1,484,000 900 724,000 452,000 210 19,120,000 10,161,920 19,411,000 107,900

3,660,463.50 2,659,104,481.00 1,466,988,325.50 1,942,330.00 1,515,590.00 6,683,745.00 131,539,748.00 57,039,432.00 6,832,710.00 6,945.00 493,510.00 681,830.00 158,750.00 9,973,425.00 831,494,224.00 24,875,550.00 1,516,274.00

48.30 59 114.2 185 26.5 172.2 1780.00 62.00 1.19

1,873,900 17,130 110 4,670 633,100 2,130,640 495 129,040 1,624,000

91,411,245.00 1,010,392.00 13,145.00 866,419.00 16,645,345.00 372,722,267.00 884,450.00 8,111,387.50 1,938,080.00

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’ Conc. Aggr. ‘B’ 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.

36.9 16.7 1.05 1.53 0.247 98.3 16.80 2.39 16.2 120.2 29.9 71 71 39.45 1.94 6.15 6.5 11.500 16.1 8.10 7.68 1.65 20.95 74.6 27.20 3.2600 9.43 12.6 1.770 313.20 55.00 4.4 3.69 12.08 27.3 12.2 18.9 0.204 375.00 6.15 1.43 3.75 6.74 5.17 9.30 1.33 11.70 48 6 4.73 1.9 2.78 1.39 12.48 104 6.4 0.136 1.15 149 2.95 1.72 16.00 1.37

4,630,300 2,707,000 12,512,000 6,683,000 37,230,000 110 122,100 57,676,000 6,279,000 1,090 698,200 2,130 40 356,500 1,807,000 27,500 105,900 8,106,100 11,674,700 3,701,600 3,772,600 31,000 13,233,500 1,866,630 938,100 79,810,000 9,560,100 3,124,700 951,000 3,768,690 11,090 64,000 127,000 520,500 1,533,500 1,811,800 42,820,600 7,371,000 982,610 31,400 27,457,000 729,000 76,027,700 1,859,100 64,700 32,419,000 2,373,000 3,153,000 1,260,400 390,000 1,478,000 182,000 501,000 928,500 7,084,260 285,700 4,270,000 9,762,000 3,359,840 1,842,000 15,164,000 2,100 3,883,000

INDUSTRIAL 166,150,405.00 45,107,000.00 13,084,770.00 10,401,730.00 9,582,630.00 9,998.00 2,150,152.00 131,346,500.00 99,898,208.00 136,883.00 20,431,970.00 144,264.50 2,840.00 14,559,050.00 3,411,240.00 171,654.00 693,048.00 93,345,204.00 187,338,398.00 29,935,345.00 28,971,477.00 51,590.00 273,538,270.00 119,128,986.00 25,428,335.00 261,830,260.00 90,677,601.00 39,123,648.00 1,639,490.00 1,170,983,448.00 619,493.00 279,120.00 451,670.00 6,410,348.00 41,449,735.00 22,848,996.00 801,162,428.00 1,599,540.00 360,942,168.00 185,682.00 38,337,100.00 2,753,230.00 518,392,504.00 9,474,092.00 576,500.00 42,501,950.00 27,896,872.00 150,223,505.00 7,571,175.00 1,834,340.00 2,784,960.00 510,110.00 685,450.00 11,685,748.00 703,433,628.00 1,821,562.00 558,810.00 11,246,430.00 489,906,206.00 5,704,660.00 25,788,070.00 33,612.00 5,351,450.00

34 16.2 1.02 1.56 0.250 98.3 16.52 2.24 15.84 125 29.5 63.95 71 43.5 1.85 6.45 6.7 11.660 15.94 8.28 7.62 1.66 20.6 72.8 27.30 3.1800 9.38 12.5 1.750 316.60 53.00 4.36 3.6 14.00 27.45 13.1 18.1 0.201 355.00 6.00 1.36 3.79 6.60 5.40 8.90 1.31 11.56 46.9 6 4.70 1.9 3.02 1.36 12.54 91.95 6.36 0.139 1.23 146 2.84 1.72 16.98 1.38

5,593,400 3,027,500 43,319,000 35,651,000 17,810,000 2,260 94,500 83,903,000 3,673,000 5,980 738,100 7,150 3,980 242,500 9,747,000 63,600 89,800 7,560,900 1,874,300 4,262,600 7,370,200 132,000 12,704,600 760,380 333,400 64,905,000 7,466,900 4,959,000 4,114,000 3,184,180 4,500 55,000 863,000 3,672,800 3,472,100 8,682,000 15,451,400 75,840,000 1,388,010 26,200 59,229,000 343,000 150,358,200 5,448,200 63,400 60,668,000 1,876,400 2,902,900 479,000 631,000 3,118,000 245,000 1,360,000 1,644,000 1,173,890 235,000 6,390,000 106,022,000 3,839,470 865,000 16,346,000 32,700 11,216,000

203,678,440.00 50,174,432.00 46,619,350.00 54,598,290.00 4,442,540.00 215,809.50 1,644,946.00 202,256,440.00 59,398,244.00 756,018.00 21,986,530.00 474,588.00 292,772.50 10,109,760.00 18,800,300.00 399,297.00 606,045.00 88,345,540.00 29,878,634.00 35,934,273.00 56,124,979.00 233,170.00 266,824,435.00 55,491,869.00 8,954,960.00 205,539,180.00 70,027,595.00 62,940,832.00 7,503,480.00 1,009,886,046.00 225,495.00 238,570.00 3,046,460.00 63,966,402.00 94,508,505.00 111,838,498.00 284,563,722.00 17,729,410.00 501,012,084.00 156,879.00 85,543,300.00 1,274,850.00 1,012,408,386.00 30,067,771.00 580,411.00 79,178,210.00 21,121,490.00 136,034,740.00 2,874,720.00 2,965,800.00 6,519,040.00 740,350.00 1,919,340.00 20,861,114.00 108,225,216.00 1,487,890.00 870,990.00 155,704,580.00 555,447,964.00 2,323,460.00 28,217,210.00 558,686.00 15,667,620.00

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 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

Lopez Holdings Corp.

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

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

0.710 64.50 14.00 0.82 6.58 23.05 1.370 1.390 942 1255.00 7.78 12.28 14.02 0.244 1002 6.10 68.50 5.52 0.61 5.37 15.6 0.570 4.78 0.0420 1.200 3.000 2.83 179.00 2.36 980.00 1.38 0.80 285.000 452.00 0.2500 0.355

143,085,000 5,078,720 34,206,800 3,929,000 58,700 385,500 32,353,000 4,375,000 1,438,950 20 6,670,800 16,659,300 6,596,100 10,710,000 472,080 36,300 18,072,510 15,500 1,730,000 6,741,600 10,850,700 1,293,000 52,532,000 229,600,000 316,000 33,661,000 313,000 6,744,930 49,000 1,082,430 337,000 280,000 37,350 1,250 10,060,000 202,060,000

HOLDING FIRMS 107,862,310.00 321,029,034.00 479,807,078.00 3,256,760.00 383,044.00 8,726,330.00 44,751,450.00 6,165,230.00 1,356,295,070.00 25,100.00 51,296,506.00 208,836,612.00 91,535,284.00 2,779,950.00 475,426,330.00 222,197.00 1,201,552,441.00 88,775.00 1,028,880.00 35,767,236.00 166,581,368.00 731,190.00 250,826,430.00 9,691,500.00 370,150.00 99,229,000.00 903,100.00 1,180,326,490.00 115,710.00 1,051,724,075.00 458,220.00 221,040.00 10,542,212.00 574,970.00 2,555,150.00 67,708,550.00

0.850 66.00 13.86 0.90 6.50 21.5 1.440 1.450 961

253,483,000 5,129,210 36,666,400 23,757,000 47,400 33,953,300 38,990,000 7,505,000 1,695,460

214,302,610.00 326,833,787.50 512,928,926.00 25,400,980.00 307,153.00 847,581,395.00 56,843,670.00 10,905,780.00 1,590,721,220.00

7.34 12.50 14.06 0.235 990 6.15 62.25 5.51 0.63 5.26 15.3 0.570 4.79 0.0420 1.180 2.630 2.58 163.00 2.38 970.00 1.42 0.83 278.400 459.00 0.2250 0.380

2,824,200 18,551,500 10,325,000 6,890,000 668,375 98,900 6,228,130 4,800 4,976,000 3,378,500 10,811,200 1,226,000 84,024,000 3,556,080,000 3,711,000 3,471,000 1,000 1,613,070 28,000 1,202,265 487,000 8,883,000 25,630 540 45,980,000 287,170,000

20,971,611.00 227,992,090.00 141,466,680.00 1,793,440.00 683,942,080.00 605,774.00 398,293,102.00 26,628.00 3,070,930.00 17,805,129.00 165,721,204.00 719,340.00 409,907,050.00 179,283,620.00 4,673,050.00 9,521,870.00 2,580.00 262,401,387.00 70,850.00 1,179,494,562.50 676,750.00 7,850,970.00 7,161,916.00 262,928.00 12,287,850.00 105,707,400.00

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 Keppel Properties Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil Infradev Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’ Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Primex Corp.

12.100 0.81 10.30 1.920 0.900 44.500 2.55 4.23 6.6 0.510 0.91 0.910 0.250 0.425 10.420 22.4 0.530 0.132 1.53 1.27 3.65 5.3 0.430 2.1200 0.4700 0.485 47.85 2.93

41,351,800 2,497,000 21,700 1,314,000 10,288,000 62,786,500 7,293,000 7,874,000 242,700 45,120,000 1,191,000 546,000 31,550,000 3,040,000 6,742,600 4,043,200 6,367,000 5,980,000 29,456,000 18,165,000 3,000 106,253,700 51,860,000 23,881,000 1,540,000 1,710,000 300 2,028,000

PROPERTY 501,303,974.00 1,998,660.00 230,172.00 2,470,230.00 9,203,830.00 2,753,748,030.00 18,502,450.00 33,055,360.00 1,569,635.00 22,560,400.00 1,014,510.00 495,260.00 7,936,950.00 1,289,600.00 70,024,836.00 92,323,490.00 3,421,250.00 804,120.00 44,859,030.00 22,659,880.00 10,950.00 562,715,413.00 22,650,200.00 51,194,360.00 717,600.00 808,950.00 14,355.00 5,789,320.00

11.960 0.80 10.96 1.930 0.900 44.500 2.5 4.02 6.48 0.485 0.85 0.900 0.255 0.415 10.400 22.45 0.570 0.134 1.52 1.25

13,028,100 13,835,000 35,900 8,058,000 25,910,000 38,322,700 4,427,000 6,534,000 137,200 183,539,000 6,490,000 3,860,000 157,780,000 18,160,000 6,019,500 4,151,200 30,917,000 35,210,000 67,812,000 5,483,000

146,963,518.00 11,030,290.00 384,264.00 16,406,820.00 24,703,360.00 1,710,685,020.00 11,147,370.00 26,185,330.00 880,381.00 94,228,150.00 6,229,080.00 3,674,880.00 40,979,250.00 7,798,900.00 61,603,192.00 94,021,480.00 17,233,940.00 5,347,450.00 105,143,980.00 6,928,720.00

5.13 0.440 2.2100 0.4700 0.480 48.45 2.76

56,250,600 102,300,000 24,009,000 46,520,000 17,300,000 400 9,485,000

290,777,490.00 44,142,450.00 53,942,000.00 23,091,050.00 8,464,050.00 19,575.00 27,778,090.00

STOCKS

FEBRUARY 18-22, 2019 Close Volume

FEBRUARY 11-15, 2019 Close Volume Value

Value

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

23.90 2.01 3.1 39.10 1.47 6.65 0.790 7.500

19,593,000 445,000 4,944,000 36,410,300 11,955,000 9,863,200 797,000 498,812,100

457,277,360.00 897,780.00 15,408,250.00 1,401,821,475.00 16,580,560.00 67,875,928.00 623,650.00 3,718,709,122.00

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

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Racing Club 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

12.86 22.85 1.3 0.445 0.050 15.7 2.95 12.18 0.0710 85.75 8.38 6.19 7.35 2.15 14.94 900 1901 5.73 360.00 10.40 2.95 119.4 1.95 11.14 7.14 0.131 5.9200 3.23 15.26 3.30 0.94 19.58 17.40 0.690 5 3.06 2.09 2.00 3.110 9.26 11.48 3.21 7.47 129.20 3.22 1113.00 1.410 0.980 48.70 87.00 8.90 2.26 0.730 0.445 5.63 0.690 14.200

284,600 655,700 458,000 8,300,000 246,300,000 19,400 2,250,000 53,560,400 367,850,000 403,880 700 4,525,500 99,900 13,000 890,100 90 288,040 1,372,200 1,800 19,600 12,277,000 16,063,730 212,000 39,600 12,000 35,530,000 23,038,700 226,000 39,100 1,910,000 830,000 3,435,400 1,600 51,565,000 219,100 12,260,000 940,000 219,000 9,468,000 69,600 641,800 85,000 3,500 127,750 3,851,000 1,079,785 209,740,000 37,110,000 15,461,700 5,290,580 769,000 40,291,000 36,577,000 42,060,000 1,315,500 11,295,000 19,177,500

SERVICES 3,688,780.00 14,809,310.00 595,030.00 3,692,200.00 11,376,900.00 304,496.00 6,671,030.00 676,929,044.00 25,583,590.00 34,071,971.50 5,866.00 27,863,867.00 734,362.00 28,580.00 13,532,356.00 80,410.00 542,797,145.00 7,868,014.00 643,544.00 212,458.00 36,232,440.00 1,912,881,363.00 430,230.00 431,386.00 85,797.00 4,668,490.00 138,374,805.00 711,330.00 605,404.00 6,269,470.00 740,390.00 67,789,084.00 25,770.00 37,541,560.00 1,050,954.00 37,562,640.00 1,927,700.00 444,700.00 28,260,050.00 645,560.00 7,261,446.00 278,260.00 26,145.00 16,972,632.00 11,978,810.00 1,189,789,590.00 254,612,510.00 35,679,640.00 744,435,525.00 461,381,947.00 6,804,578.00 86,650,830.00 26,428,460.00 18,762,950.00 7,336,968.00 7,937,440.00 278,569,466.00

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 1.50 2.95 13.40 1.3000 1.1900 2.19 0.315 8.00 1.500 0.280 0.126 0.133 0.009 0.0093 1.09 2.84 1.09 0.6800 1.0000 0.0130 0.0130 4.22 14.70 0.0120 3.4400 22.75 0.0080

MINING & OIL 2,197,000,000 4,630,700.00 12,716,000 19,612,810.00 646,000 1,916,290.00 15,100 202,026.00 67,000 86,500.00 3,000 3,970.00 2,932,000 6,389,320.00 1,530,000 468,800.00 19,600 158,015.00 39,501,000 63,112,090.00 16,220,000 4,646,800.00 11,340,000 1,462,870.00 2,030,000 265,970.00 124,000,000 1,147,500.00 106,000,000 996,700.00 1,903,000 2,137,610.00 20,963,000 58,227,050.00 400,000 433,990.00 4,264,000 2,928,200.00 1,243,000 1,250,120.00 571,200,000 7,281,800.00 294,700,000 3,681,100.00 8,834,000 37,468,010.00 3,417,500 49,429,386.00 394,300,000 4,904,700.00 109,000 356,590.00 4,977,700 91,601,025.00 162,000,000 367,500.00

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Alco Preferred B Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ DD PREF First Gen G FPH Pref C GLOBE PREF P 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 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 Swift Pref

20.1 100 475 498 97 102 450.2 484 5.82 910 900 90 1 100 985 1000 98.75 980 75.45 76 71.4 73.35 74.5 74 72.25 73 1.75

371,700 20,090 11,170 6,610 41,360 35,600 700 110 136,400 2,180 2,110 21,500 821,000 4,200 80 2,100 2,310 7,500 81,570 315,340 593,580 27,120 163,890 501,950 67,010 665,780 762,000

LR Warrant

1.960

263,000

PREFERRED 7,589,475.00 2,009,180.00 5,220,988.00 3,189,000.00 4,011,770.00 3,679,390.00 315,132.00 54,520.00 789,654.00 1,977,700.00 1,898,970.00 1,948,812.00 815,590.00 420,000.00 79,450.00 2,100,010.00 229,744.50 7,375,210.00 6,122,524.50 24,033,148.00 43,673,447.50 1,981,767.00 12,267,082.00 37,144,300.00 4,951,872.50 48,643,695.00 1,371,320.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 507,770.00 SME 14,650.00 14,276,120.00 317,224,610.00

21.95 2.04 3.13 39.40 1.44 6.1 0.820 8.000

10,817,400 1,961,000 1,324,000 26,130,100 12,989,000 6,479,100 17,130,000 50,005,700

244,368,285.00 4,047,000.00 4,160,630.00 1,017,077,995.00 17,831,830.00 41,389,124.00 14,603,180.00 340,307,614.00

13.7 23 1.32 0.460 0.045 15.76 2.85 13.00 0.0680 86.5 7.76 6.2 7.20 2.3 15.16 920 1890 5.78 360.00 11.06 2.90 115 2.10 11.22 7.20 0.130 6.2000 3.15 15.52 3.31 0.93 19.62 17.88 0.790 4.84 3.00 2.06 2.30 3.070 9.26 12.20 3.41

225,800 889,100 431,000 21,380,000 766,200,000 9,700 6,503,000 208,797,600 354,420,000 450,860 10,700 7,472,100 83,700 171,000 1,361,900 6,450 171,880 481,700 12,360 2,000 8,907,000 18,568,530 540,000 36,900 50,400 218,980,000 35,278,600 317,000 395,200 3,053,000 10,608,000 8,191,500 9,000 398,558,000 5,000 18,739,000 3,350,000 106,000 9,691,000 74,800 1,075,200 165,000

2,986,470.00 20,592,570.00 570,950.00 9,967,050.00 28,174,600.00 148,624.00 19,517,570.00 2,585,812,850.00 23,812,820.00 39,304,751.50 84,243.00 47,846,482.00 630,155.00 380,070.00 20,808,896.00 5,832,110.00 336,581,605.00 2,784,865.00 4,376,878.00 22,846.00 24,971,290.00 2,172,762,971.00 1,091,710.00 409,672.00 360,769.00 31,631,130.00 220,490,854.00 1,045,710.00 6,223,666.00 10,202,790.00 10,040,350.00 157,839,048.00 148,954.00 355,556,010.00 24,120.00 53,901,170.00 7,302,970.00 232,350.00 30,623,510.00 668,586.00 13,606,678.00 560,220.00

133.80 3.18 1112.00 1.330 0.970 47.10 85.00 8.98 2.13 0.740 0.445 5.6 0.720 14.040

542,460 18,885,000 601,615 460,790,000 68,840,000 3,862,800 1,829,990 2,634,800 56,085,000 47,655,000 59,640,000 4,890,800 22,786,000 22,907,800

72,225,856.00 62,723,050.00 705,663,420.00 652,737,150.00 68,059,700.00 182,247,780.00 157,205,090.00 22,818,748.00 129,151,170.00 36,487,470.00 26,737,550.00 27,337,741.00 17,080,870.00 336,390,716.00

0.0022 1.49 3.00 13.90 1.3400 1.2300 2.16 0.305 8.14 1.660 0.305 0.131 0.135 0.009 0.0093 1.13 2.65 1.12 0.7600 1.0000 0.0130 0.0130 4.07 14.16 0.0120 3.5300 23.05 0.0080

4,385,000,000 12,789,000 627,000 45,500 123,000 115,000 5,262,000 37,280,000 161,900 39,145,000 26,290,000 18,250,000 3,490,000 639,600,000 437,900,000 3,430,000 23,676,000 1,495,000 105,667,000 11,922,000 13,500,000 1,158,000,000 20,042,000 4,282,600 70,500,000 554,000 4,165,800 632,000,000

9,659,800.00 19,479,390.00 1,859,890.00 626,560.00 166,980.00 155,680.00 11,399,390.00 12,747,300.00 1,267,529.00 62,719,790.00 8,259,950.00 2,363,820.00 465,300.00 6,634,550.00 4,668,240.00 3,860,130.00 63,614,110.00 1,655,520.00 91,347,460.00 12,642,960.00 169,300.00 14,349,100.00 84,531,340.00 61,440,766.00 863,400.00 1,903,470.00 97,053,530.00 5,790,900.00

20.7 101 461 498.4 98 103 450 496 5.75

415,300 1,500 580 4,310 52,800 2,980 2,120 580 95,000

8,671,680.00 151,500.00 274,794.00 2,079,246.00 5,123,925.00 308,575.00 942,562.00 287,920.00 543,840.00

900 96 1.01 100 971 1040 100 991 75.1 76.5 73.5 73.45 75.3 73.2 74 73.5

8,470 16,290 2,513,000 760 70 170 6,900 26,590 1,790 100,440 7,940 81,230 20,950 350,520 34,570 76,350

3,797,990.00 1,564,305.00 2,491,400.00 75,818.00 67,970.00 176,000.00 702,590.00 26,349,300.00 135,001.50 7,673,542.00 582,453.50 5,936,610.00 1,573,777.00 25,599,410.50 2,524,603.00 5,611,117.00

1.920

616,000

1,194,560.00

4.71 1.6

3,135,000 390,100,000

14,615,830.00 761,284,830.00

Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

2.93 4.88 1.51

5,000 2,955,000 209,663,000

First Metro ETF

118

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 33,400 3,930,685.00

118

51,450

6,129,711.00

10.04 10.2

DOLLAR DENONIMATED SEC. 1,050 10,562.00 26,630 269,426.00

10.1 10.18

12,380 18,500

125,233.00 188,500.00

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining Oriental Pet. `A’ Vista Land & Lifescapes Philodrill Corp. `A’ Boulevard Holdings Oriental Pet. `B’ Apollo Global Pacifica `A’ PremiereHorizon Xurpas

VOLUME 2,197,000,000 571,200,000 498,812,100 394,300,000 367,850,000 294,700,000 246,300,000 229,600,000 209,740,000 209,663,000

STOCKS Vista Land & Lifescapes Ayala Land `B’ Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. I.C.T.S.I. SM Prime Holdings Ayala Corp `A’ Bank of PI JG Summit Holdings PLDT Common San Miguel Corp `A’

VALUE 3,718,709,122.00 2,753,748,030.00 2,108,284,644.00 1,912,881,363.00 1,401,821,475.00 1,356,295,070.00 1,205,326,408.50 1,201,552,441.00 1,189,789,590.00 1,180,326,490.00

SMC reduces water usage, beats ‘20 goal by two years SAN Miguel Corp. said over the weekend it significantly reduced operational water use across its businesses by 23 percent in 2018, beating the conglomerate’s goal to cut consumption by 20 percent in 2020 and despite the ongoing expansion and increase in production volumes.

The initiative, which is part of the conglomerate’s ambitious “Water for All” sustainability project—which will see San Miguel and its businesses cutting utility and domestic use of water by 50 percent by 2025—resulted in some 7.7 billion liters of water saved for the year.

This represents a 23-percent reduction in the company’s total non-product water use.

San Miguel attributed the drop to the effective implementation of programs aimed at increasing the use of alternative, “non-scarce” water, including rainwater, recycled water and seawater.

“This is a significant milestone for us, and we’re highly encouraged by these results,” said San Miguel president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang. “It’s only the second year since we announced this major sustainability goal, and already, the effort and commitment of those in our company tasked with making this goal a reality, have started to pay off,” he said.

The company said while its total water volumes for the year actually increased— due to higher production and the start of operations of new manufacturing plants—it was also able to improve the utilization of non-scarce water sources.

From 4,738,338 cubic meters saved in 2017, representing 15.76 percent of the company’s total non-product water use, San Miguel saved a total of 7,762,061 cubic meters of water in 2018.

“For us, water sustainability goes beyond corporate social responsibility,” Ang said. “Water is an integral part of our operations, and a vital need of our people and communities. While we’ve long worked to conserve and protect water in our areas of operation, this initiative will see us drawing even less water in the future.”

“Knowing that water is a finite resource, we really want to take leadership in addressing this issue because that’s what responsible businesses do. Water has an impact on our business and society and we fully recognize the role we can play in water stewardship,” Ang added.

GMA Network investing P1b for ‘digitization’ GMA Network Inc. said it is investing over P1 billion to complete the second phase of its digitization project.

The broadcasting network said the second phase encompasses the production, post-production, content management and distribution of GMA and GMA News TV’s programs.

It starts with the commissioning of the digital terrestrial transmitters that now provide superior digital TV signal reach, enabling the viewership of the station’s programs through digital-enabled TV sets and set-top boxes in various areas in the country, including Mega Manila, North Central Luzon, Cebu and Davao.

GMA is also scheduled to complete the upgrade of its electronic field production capabilities to further improve its high definition image capture to full 2K/4K HD, elevating GMA Network’s output to true global standards.

“All these state-of-the-art upgrades are part of GMA Network’s ongoing digitization project to bring world class programming to our viewers here and abroad,” said GMA chairman and chief executive Felipe Gozon.

The requisite enhancements to the network’s media asset management and broadcast automation Systems have already been completed.

Post production is likewise implementing full equipment and software upgrades coupled with increased storage and color grading capabilities to optimally process high-end 2K and 4K HD formats.

GMA’s field news gathering capabilities are being similarly upgraded to enable the transmission and delivery of HD-captured remote live events to GMA Network’s technical operations center as they happen.

In parallel with the upgrade to the MAMS is the commissioning of a new news automation system designed to provide the news organization with greater speed and agility in bringing viewers up-to-date news and information through the Nnetwork’s eight news programs. Darwin G. Amojelar

World North Korean leader rides train on way to Vietnam BEIJING―North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s armored train chugged across China on Sunday as he headed to his highly anticipated second summit with US President Donald Trump in Vietnam.

Emulating his late father and grandfather, who took epic train trips when they were leaders, Kim set off on the long journey from Pyongyang on Saturday, with a military honor guard seeing him off in the North Korean capital.

His departure from the Pyongyang railway station was confirmed by North Korea’s official KCNA news agency, with official photos showing him waving from the train for what could be a 60-hour journey to Vietnam.

The train crossed the border city of Dandong later that day, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency and the specialist outlet NK News, but its route remained a tightly-held secret.

The train’s crossing into China follows days of speculation over Kim’s travel plans, as his team gathered in Hanoi ahead of the talks expected next Wednesday and Thursday.

Accompanying the North Korean leader was right-hand man and top general Kim Yong Chol, who met with Trump in the White House last month, along with several other top dignitaries, KCNA said.

Security was tight before the train’s arrival in Dandong, with police cordoning off the border bridge area with tape and metal barriers, and leading an AFP journalist out of the area.

A hotel facing the bridge was closed for impromptu renovations on Saturday.

“The train is long and crossed the bridge slower than the tourist train, but it’s definitely him, there’s a lot of police presence,” an unidentified source told NK News.

Windows on the train were blacked out, the source said, with only headlights turned on as it crossed.

The train usually takes 13 hours to reach Beijing, but there were no signs of heightened security around the railway station, indicating that the train likely bypassed the Chinese capital on the nearly 4,000-kilometer journey to Vietnam. AFP

Okinawans vote on controversial base relocation OKINAWA―The residents of Japan’s Okinawa were casting ballots Sunday in a closely watched referendum on the controversial relocation of a US military base to a remote part of the island.

The vote is seen as highly symbolic but is also non-binding, raising questions about what effect it will have, even if opponents of the move, including Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki, prevail.

The ballot asks residents whether they support a plan to reclaim land at a remote coastal site for the relocation of the Futenma base from its current location in a heavily-populated part of Okinawa.

It was initially planned as a yes-no vote on the move, but a “neither” option was added after several cities with close ties to the central government threatened to boycott the vote.

Polls opened early on Sunday morning, with about 1.15 million Okinawans eligible to vote. The Jiji Press agency reported around 20.5 percent of eligible voters had already cast ballots in early voting by Saturday.

“They are using a lot of tax money and manpower for this referendum, even though the result will not have any legal power. So we thought that we should take this opportunity and think very carefully about this issue,” said Yuki Miyagaki, after casting her ballot at a local school.

“We usually shout no to the new base construction. This is a good opportunity to tell the government directly with concrete numbers: ‘No’. This is an important vote,” 32-year-old Narumi Haine told AFP. Although the referendum is not legally binding, “it is significant that people in Okinawa can express their will through the vote,” said Jun Shimabukuro, a professor at Ryukyu University in Okinawa.

“It can be a test to gauge if democracy is working in Japan,” Shimabukuro told AFP before voting opened.

The relocation of Futenma to Nago, 50 kilometres away, was first agreed in 1996 as the US sought to calm local anger after US servicemen gang raped a local schoolgirl.

But the plan has long been stalled in part over local opposition. AFP

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Withdrawal of US troops feared P

YEONGTAEK, South Korea―Sales at Kim Changbae’s hardware shop in South Korea rise every year thanks to Camp Humphreys, an enormous US military base he is frightened will close in the wake of the summit between Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump.

ANNIVERSARY. Japanese Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko leave the stage after a ceremony to mark the 30th anniversary of the monarch’s coronation to the throne at the National Theater in Tokyo. AFP

Civilian deaths in Afghan war hit record in 2018 KABUL―More civilians were killed in the Afghan war in 2018 than during any other year on record after nearly two decades of fighting, according to a UN report released Sunday.

Civilian deaths jumped by 11 percent from 2017 with 3,804 people killed and another 7,189 wounded, according to the UN figures, as suicide attacks and bombings wreaked havoc across the war-torn country.

The report’s release comes a day before the US and the Taliban hold their next round of talks aimed at ending the conflict, raising tentative hopes for

peace along with fears that an American withdrawal could spark an even bloodier civil war.

The talks in Doha follow years of escalating violence in Afghanistan. According to the UN, at least 32,000 civilians have been killed and another 60,000 wounded in the last decade when the organization began compiling the data.

The uptick in violence in 2018 coincides with a significant increase in the number of deaths caused by the “deliberate targeting of civilians”, according to the report, mostly stemming from suicide at-

tacks by insurgents allied with the Taliban or Islamic State.

“It is time to put an end to this human misery and tragedy,” said Tadamichi Yamamoto, the head of the UN mission in Afghanistan.

“The best way to halt the killings and maiming of civilians is to stop the fighting,” he said.

At least 65 suicide attacks were recorded in 2018—the majority hitting Kabul— with militants responsible for the death of more than 2,200 civilians across the country. AFP

More than 28,000 US troops are stationed in the South to guard against nuclear-armed North Korea, part of a Seoul-Washington security alliance in place since the Korean war ended with an armistice instead of a peace treaty.

But with talks between the North Korean and US leaders in Hanoi just days away, speculation is building that the pair could agree to a treaty in return for denuclearization measures from Pyongyang―and that the withdrawal of US troops might follow.

For South Koreans dependent on US troops to make a living―like Kim Changbae―that is a worrisome prospect.

“Without the presence of US soldiers, many business, including mine, will lose their main source of income,” said Kim, who sells bolts and screwdrivers to Americans stationed at Camp Humphreys, 60 kilometers south of Seoul.

“It’s a nightmare scenario.”

Camp Humphreys, in the city of Pyeongtaek, is the US’ largest overseas military base, stretching across 14.7 square kilometers to accommodate 32,000 people―soldiers and their families.

The camp -- home to almost all of the US troops in South Korea -- boasts a fleet of Blackhawk and Apache helicopters, a bowling alley, an 18-hole golf course, multiple schools, churches and cinemas.

Hundreds of restaurants and shops ranging from nail salons to tattoo parlors have set up around the base, which is in the final stages of an expansion project that will see its capacity rise to 43,000 people by 2022.

“It does worry me that they could leave the country,” said Choi Eun-hee, who has run a Turkish restaurant just a few steps from Camp Humphreys for a decade. “At least 80 percent of our customers are US soldiers”. AFP

Toxic alcohol deaths in India climb to 133 GUWAHATI, India―At least 35 more workers have died in northeastern India after drinking toxic liquor, police said Sunday, taking the death toll from the latest mass alcohol poisoning beyond 130.

The deaths in Assam state came less than two weeks after tainted liquor killed about 100 people in the northern states of Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

In addition to the latest toll, at least 200 more people were still hospitalized across Assam.

“The death toll has reached 133 in Golaghat and Jorhat districts from the hooch tragedy,” Mukesh Agarwala, additional director general of state police, told AFP on Sunday.

“A total of ten people have been arrested. We have sent the samples of the liquor... to a forensic laboratory. The report is awaited,” he added.

Police said people started falling sick after consuming a batch of illegally pro-

duced liquor late Thursday.

The victims, who include many women, worked at local tea estates in the region.

Doctors said those rushed to hospital in a critical condition were suffering from severe vomiting, extreme chest pain and breathlessness.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has ordered an inquiry into the deaths.

Apart from the arrests, two excise department officials were suspended for failing to take adequate precautions over the sale of the alcohol.

Assam health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma vowed those responsible for the tainted booze would be brought to justice.

Cheap, locally made liquor is common in parts of rural India and bootleggers often add methanol—a highly toxic form of alcohol sometimes used as an antifreeze—to their product to increase its strength. AFP

BOND HEARING. Jocelyn Savage (R) and Azriel Clary arrive for a bond hearing for R&B singer R. Kelly at the Leighton Criminal Court Building on February 23, 2019, in Chicago, Illinois. Kelly, who is facing charges on ten counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, is being held on A $1-million bond. AFP

A love affair with coral reefs WILFREDO LICUANAN

GREEN LIGHT I WAS five years old when I got to see my first coral reef back in Bantayan Island off Cebu, where my Yaya Yoly was from. I didn’t know how to swim then, so all I could remember from the experience is the few minutes of terror it took before I was pulled back into the boat. I did not see a reef again until I was a first-year college student. By then, I was much better skilled to savor the beauty and wonders found in the reefs of Puerto Galera.

The same way that one’s first love serves as the standard against which subsequent interests are judged, the first coral reef one sees defines what is good and beautiful about a gem of our coastal waters. And because a reef must be experienced before it can be truly loved and not just appreciated, I have made it a priority to bring as many of my students to a reef, regardless of their age and preferred fields of study. Since many students cannot swim, much less snorkel, we need a large number of guides to accompany a class of students to the reef. The best guides are local fishers–-and the best fishers for this task are aquarium fish catchers, who know the local reefs well, and who know which creatures are interesting to observe and which ones must be avoided.

Some of these catchers have an almost intuitive feel for the health of the reef and sense changes in the reef better than scientists.

In the recently completed Nationwide Assessment of Coral Reef Environments (NACRE) Program of DOST-PCAARRD, of which the DLSU Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research Center (SHORE) was a part, it was revealed that about one-third of the reef-building corals in the Philippines were lost in the last two decades. Among the 206 coral reefs surveyed by the NACRE teams from SHORE between 2014 and 2017, there were no reefs in the excellent category (i.e., those with live coral cover exceeding 75 percent). In contrast, five percent of the reefs surveyed were in the excellent category when the first nationwide assessment was completed 40 years ago. This situation should be a cause for concern given the enormous social, economic, cultural and environmental significance of coral reefs to the Philippines. The economic benefits of the country’s reefs, for example, are estimated at over US$1 billion per year, while the total economic value of Philippine reef swas recently assessed at $4 billion per year.

Many civil-society groups and even businesses are sponsoring coral restoration efforts involving ‘gardening’ of coral fragments. These efforts are ill-advised given that climate change and human impacts continue to challenge the health of almost all Philippine reefs. Efforts and resources are better invested on enhancing the ability of the reef to recover from damage by declaring the most important ones as suitably large, well-managed, and carefully-monitored marine protected areas where fishing, mining, coastal development are restricted or entirely banned.

In DLSU’s SHORE, we undertake “significant

learning activities to enable faculty and students to generate knowledge and technologies that will foster good stewardship of the seas and coastlines.”

We also “lay the groundwork for community development, and social transformation, particularly among the youth and disadvantaged members of the coastal communities.” Recently, we worked with a small group of scientists with the California Academy of Sciences, the Old Dominion University, and the Smithsonian Institution, and developed methods that allow citizen-scientists and members of coastal communities to monitor the biodiversity and health of their reefs.

These methods do not require the use of SCUBA or specialized equipment. Even snorkelers or free-divers can undergo training in only two to three hours to apply these methods, which involve citizen-scientists recognizing and counting indicator species of butterfly fishes and select sea-stars, counting of all feather stars, and the taking of photographs for determining coral cover over the shallow reef slope. They also classify and count garbage in the water and along the beach. Despite the relative simplicity of these methods, the data they generate are useful for informing coastal communities on the state of their reefs. The data (and the process of data collection) also provide the bases for conversations among community members on the possible reasons for the changes in the reef and how the community can respond to these changes.

By developing the capability of citizen-scientists to monitor our reefs, our coastal communities are better empowered to take care of their environment and to ensure food security. This

is because environmental challenges are better resolved by adjustments in interventions such as the establishment of marine protected areas, introduction of artificial habitats (nee artificial reefs), and fishery regulations. These are enhanced by a feedback loop involving monitoring and evaluation. Citizen-science monitoring, in particular, could help local environment and tourism officials determine the carrying capacity of coral reefs visited by tourists. This allows them to ensure the sustainability of tourism operations by spreading the impacts to other reef areas while other reefs are allowed to regenerate themselves. While reef assessments like the NACRE Program reveal to us what we have already lost, reef monitoring allows us to respond to changes as they happen.

My encounter with coral reefs might have started out rough, but it turned out to be a lifelong love affair. I hope that others appreciate their beauty as I do, before it is too late.

Wilfredo Licuanan is a Full Professor at the Biology Department of De La Salle University where he teaches ecology and marine biology.

He is also the founding Director of DLSU’s Br. Alfred Shields FSC Ocean Research Center. The development of citizen science methods described in this article is funded by a grant to the DLSU SHORE Center from the Oscar M. Lopez Center for Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management Foundation Inc. He welcomes comments at wilfredo.licuanan@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.

LGUs

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

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LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Lani tops Taguig House poll

By Joel E. Zurbano

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AGUIG City Mayor Laarni “Lani” Cayetano is the leading candidate in the race to represent the city’s 2nd district in the House of Representatives in the coming midterm elections.

Based on Pulse Asia Research survey conducted from Jan. 20 to 26, 2019, Cayetano got 81-percent voter preference against the 11 percent of her rival, former city councilor Che Che Gonzales.

Respondents of the survey were asked who they would vote for Taguig 2nd District Representative if the elections were held today.

The results dovetail with another survey, conducted by the RP Mission and Development Foundation Inc. from Feb. 1 to 10, that saw most voters in Metro Manila preferring

reelectionists or incumbent local chief executives for the May 13 elections.

The noncommissioned survey, conducted from Feb. 1 to 10 and covering 2,500 respondents in the National Capital Region, saw Mayor Cayetano’s brother-in-law, movie director and former congressman Lino Cayetano, get 75 percent in the survey for mayor against rival Taguig-Pateros Rep. Arnel Cerafica, who got only 17 percent.

Lani Cayetano, who is on her third and final term as mayor of Taguig, filed

her certificate of candidacy for congressman under the banner of Nacionalista Party.

The wife of former senator and Foreign Affairs secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Lani won the mayoralty race in 2010 against Dante Tinga, father of then-incumbent Sigfrido “Freddie” Tinga, who served as Taguig mayor for three terms.

In the next elections in 2013, Lani Cayetano won against Rica Tinga, daughter of Dante Tinga. Three years later, she ran for Taguig mayor unopposed.

Cayetano’s rival this year, Gonzales, lost to the mayor’s sister-in-law, Pia Cayetano, in 2016 for Taguig’s 2nd district seat in the House of Representatives.

A petition was filed to disqualify Pia Cayetano in the 2016 elections for alleged

FWD lights way for Solar Lolas via seminars IN A small tribal community in Bamban, Tarlac, two groups of Aeta women have served as beacons of light. They are known as the “Solar Lolas,” who have trained in Barefoot College, Rajasthan, India, to build solar-powered lamps.

The Solar Lolas were trained to make, install, maintain and repair solar-powered lamps in their villages, literally bringing light and hope to what was previously a dark, impoverished community.

Spearheaded in 2015 by the DiwataWomen in Resource Development, Inc. in partnership with the Land Rover Club of the Philippines, Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association and with the cooperation of the Clark Development Corp. and Bases Conversion and Development Authority, the project, aptly named Tanging Tanglaw, has been embraced by majority of the Aeta women in the community.

The Solar Lolas’ training at the Barefoot College was made possible by the Indian Government through its Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation program.

Tanging Tanglaw Steering Committee Chairman Annie Dee emphasized that the project doesn’t simply involve providing lights to homes, but also giving the Solar Lolas and their communities the means to improve their lives by also teaching them the basics of leading financially sustainable lives.

Solar Lola Rosita, 51, shared that upon their return from their training in India, they were full of hope that the solar lamps would significantly change the lives of their fellow tribesmen. But they were faced with the challenge of spending P200 monthly to cover the cost and labor to maintain the solar lamps.

For the cash-strapped Aetas with no stable source of income, the modest monthly payment is already too steep a price to pay.

“Our Financial Sustainability Program for our IP community in Bamban, Tarlac is aimed at preparing our Aeta brothers and sisters to manage their resources and guiding them through baby steps to achieve this dream,” Dee said.

“By teaching them how to create solar lights, we changed their lives and expectations. We cannot possibly allow them to go back to the dark ages or rely on dole-outs.”

FWD Life Insurance Philippines learned of this challenge and decided to help the Aeta communities by helping them with financial literacy and teaching them financial sustainability. Thus, FWD Life’s training project was born.

lack of residency in the district. A petition to disqualify for lack of residency was also filed against Lino Cayetano in 2013 when he ran for the same position. Both cases were dismissed by Comelec.

A similar disqualification case for the May 2019 elections has been filed against Lani Cayetano. The Commission on Elections has yet to decide on the case.

The results in the RP Mission “Halalan 2019 Survey” showed incumbent mayors Bobby Eusebio of Pasig City (75 percent), Abigail Binay of Makati City (70 percent), Imelda Aguilar (68 percent) of Las Piñas City, Jaime Fresnedi (65 percent) of Muntinlupa City, and Miguel Ponce III (55 percent) of Pateros getting majority preference among the electorate in their cities.

Solar Lolas Agorita Cosme and Rosita Sanchez of Tarlac (seated) chat with FWD volunteers Ces Garcia and Jacky Oiga during the icebreaker activity, then sit with the rest of the volunteers led by Roche Vandenberghe, FWD Life Philippines Head of Marketing and Community Care Country Lead (fifth from left) with Diwata and Bayan Academy members, and chieftains and leaders of Bamban, Tarlac.

One of the country’s fastest-growing insurance companies, FWD Life has been supporting Tanging Tanglaw and the Solar Lolas since 2015.

Launched in collaboration with the Bayan Academy for Social Entrepreneurship and Human Resource Development, the FWD Life training program was crafted to help the Aeta community become integrated with financial systems and realize more economic opportunities.

Through a framework which combines their tribal wisdom with knowledge on the value of financial systems, the modules aim to introduce Aetas to product marketing concepts for their solar-powered lamps.

Bayan Academy Executive Director Philip Felipe said, “This program is very effective in the grassroots, and our goal together with FWD Life and DIWATA is to help marginalized communities by democratizing entrepreneurship.”

Roche Vandenberghe, FWD Life Insurance Philippines Head of Marketing and Community Care Lead, shared: “The journey of the Solar Lolas inspires all of us at FWD Life to continue our mission of empowering people to live fulfilled lives, and we want to help them reach the next level by fostering the mindset for financial sustainability and even entrepreneurship in the Aeta community.”

“We have been championing the Solar Lolas since 2015, and seeing the women proudly leading their communities is truly wonderful,” added Vandenberghe.

The initial session hosted by FWD Life and Bayan Academy last December at the Clark Polytechnic revealed insights into the hopes and dreams of the Solar Lolas for their children, grandchildren, and for their fellow Aetas.

Breaking out into small groups, the women found creative expression in building dioramas of their model communities—with electricity, running water, and roads and infrastructure for access to livelihood and education.

The project will continue with two more activities lined up in the coming months.

Two more financial sustainability workshops will be held in March to add on to what the group has already taught the Solar Lolas, their chieftains, and their community leaders last December.

These workshops will be held in Tarlac, where the Aeta community is located.

“We are happy to be able to help uplift the lives of the Solar Lolas by helping them practically integrate their newfound skills into their community,” Vandenberghe noted. “We hope that with the learning they’ve received in the workshops, the light will shine brighter in their community and in their own lives.”

GSIS: P2.24-b loans set for members in Luzon THE Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) has earmarked P2.24 billion in emergency loan for its 82,056 active members and old-age pensioners who were affected by tropical depressions “Samuel” and “Usman” in 13 Luzon areas.

The loan application deadline for Cuyo, Palawan is Feb. 27. For Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Naga City, and Baco, Naujan, Socorro, Pola, Pinamalayan, Bansud, Bongabong, and Calapan in Oriental Mindoro it’s March 7.

A total of 38,326 active members in the calamity areas who have no existing emergency loan may apply for a P20,000 loan. A total of 30,193 members who have not yet fully paid their emergency loan may apply for an amount of P40,000, from which the outstanding balance will be deducted.

Qualified borrowers are active members who are working or residing in the said areas, are not on leave of absence without pay, have no arrears in paying monthly mandatory life insurance or social insurance premium contributions, and have no unpaid loans for more than six months.

They should also have a minimum net take-home pay of P5,000 after monthly premium contributions and loan amortizations have been deducted.

CHAMBER HONORS. Dr. James G. Dy (left), president of the Philippine Chinese Charitable Association Inc. and

Chairman Emeritus of the Filipino-Chinese General Chamber of Commerce Inc., and his wife Mrs. Julieta Dy hand a plaque to PO1 William Cristobal (center). Metro Manila police chief Guillermo Eleazar and MPD Director Chief Supt.

Vicente Danao look on during the 2019 Manila Police District Annual Recognition Night at the Golden Fortune Seafood restaurant in Manila on Thursday. The Standard ran this photo in our Friday, Feb. 22 issue without properly identifying the Dy couple—we regret the omission. Lino Santos

Legal community backs agribiotech in food, medicine

By Brenda Jocson LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—A study conducted by the University of the Philippines Los Baños-College of Development Communication found that Filipino lawyers favor the application of agri-biotech in food and medicines.

Results of the study “Legal Discourse on Agri-Biotechnology: Implications to Lawyers’ Engagement in Biotechnology in the Philippines” were presented during a recent lecture at the Agriculture and Development Seminar Series of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture.

The study was commissioned by the Searca Biotechnology Information Center.

Dr. Cleofe S. Torres, Professor at the UPLB-CDC Department of Science Communication, and Atty. Damcelle T. Cortes, Assistant Professor at the Institute for Governance and Rural Development of the UPLB College of Public Affairs and Development were the presentors during the seminar.

Scientists and experts attended the seminar as well as representatives from the academe, national and international agencies and institutions, and partners from the biotech community.

Dr. Torres and Atty. Cortes shared some of the research findings in their ADSS lecture on “Engaging Lawyers in Agri-biotechnology: Challenges and Prospects.”

The study focused on analyzing the Philippine lawyers’ understanding and attitude towards agri-biotechnology and how these may serve as basis for defining their engagement in agribiotech development.

“Lawyers still favor the application of agri-biotech in food and medicines provided that proper precautions are taken despite having a low level of familiarity with key terms such as genes, viruses, Golden Rice, GMO contamination; processes; and the existence of agri-biotech regulations in the country,” Dr. Torres said citing the result of the study.

She said precautions include educating the public on its pros and cons, addressing risks of the technology, and having a structured regulatory process.

According to Dr. Torres, the study also revealed that while lawyers perceive agri-biotech as an interesting topic, they do not yet see it as a lucrative area of legal practice.

“Nevertheless, lawyers were found to be open to expanding their knowledge on the subject, collaborating with scientists, and actively participating in regulating agri-biotech products in the country,” Dr. Torres said.

For Atty. Cortes, she said the study also analyzed the content of legal documents related to the Bt eggplant case.

Contest for HS Valenzuelano inventors starts

By Jun David THE City Government of Valenzuela has opened a platform for young Valenzuelano science genius with the launch of the 1st Young Founders Summit Philippines—Valenzuela City: A Science and Technology Fair for Young Scientists and Inventors Held at the Audio-Visual Room of the Legislative Building, the primary goal of YFS @ Philippines— Valenzuela is to promote Science and Technology consciousness and encourage a culture of innovation among the junior and senior high school students from public and private schools in the city.

City Mayor Rex Gatchalian fully supports the projects, saying: “Through this, we hope, not only to nurture young Valenzuelanos’ scientific minds, but also hope to seek solutions to the needs and predicaments Valenzuela City is facing today.”

These issue include disaster management, industrial technology, green technology, technology for special needs (such as the elderly and persons with disability), and ICT-based projects and Android system applications, the mayor added.

The Young Founders Summit Program is a K-12 project-based learning program which hopes to provide a hands-on educational enrichment opportunity to encourage youth innovators.

All 12-to-17 year old junior and senior high students from Valenzuela City are encouraged to join the program through teams composed of two students and one mentor teacher.

Among the series of events and activities lined up are a seminar-workshop and mentoring program for young S&T enthusiasts and an S&T fair exhibiting the innovative inventions and projects of participating students.

Life

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

FOOD

@MStandardLIFE MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019

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Cebu lechon by the bay LECHON CEBU. Rico’s Lechon further expands in Metro Manila with the opening of its fifth branch at SM Mall of Asia Complex.

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HERE’S a new mouthwatering addition to the lineup of food establishments in the bay area along Seaside Avenue.

Cebu’s famous chain Rico’s Lechon is bringing its best lechon to the heart of Manila as it recently opened its fifth store at SM Mall of Asia Complex.

Following the opening of Rico’s Lechon Fort Entertainment Complex at Bonifacio Global City, Top of the Glo at Glorietta, Tiendesitas in Ortigas, and U.P. Town Center in Quezon City, this newest branch takes advantage of its beautiful location by offering an ample 200-seating capacity space with al fresco dining so diners can enjoy their mealtime with a view and cool sea breeze.

Dining indoors is just as pleasant with eye-catching tropical interiors, wooden furnishings, homey touches that boast familial atmosphere and bring to mind the quintessential Pinoy salu-salo where people’s hearts are just as full as their stomachs.

Aside from its popular lechon, the restaurant offers a number of all-new specialty dishes to please every palate, such as the sinigang boneless bangus, sizzling chicken steak, tortang talong with lechon, fried chicken coated with homestyle sauce, and the lechon fingers with sweet and sour sauce. More shake flavors have been added as well, like mocha, cookies and cream, fruity strawberry, bloody watermelon, and sago at gulaman.

For those looking for an afternoon fill, Rico’s Lechon is now offering a merienda selection of senior pit lechon mami, lechon arroz caldo, lechsilog (lechon, sinangag, at itlog), dinuguan at puto, and a set of dinuguan, puto, and plain rice.

The restaurant, operated by Meat Concepts Corporation, is open from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Call (63) 9778092143 or visit www.ricoslechon.com for inquiries and more information.

From left: Cong. Imelda Calixto-Rubiano, Pasay City Mayor Antonino Calixto, Meat Concepts Corporation president George Pua, SM Supermalls chief operating officer Steven Tan, and Rico’s Lechon founder Rico Dionson officially open the restaurant’s newest store located along Seaside Avenue in Pasay.

Rico’s Lechon at SM Mall of Asia serves new specialty dishes including (clockwise) sizzling chicken steak, lechon fingers with sweet and sour sauce, and lechon arroz caldo.

Flavors of China at Corniche DIAMOND Hotel’s buffet restaurant Corniche treats diners to a culinary experience featuring Chinese specialties made by Chinese Sous Chef Yang Yong and his team.

Chinese food lovers may now relish Chinese Lauriat, oriental a la carte choices and dim sum delights.

It’s like having a restaurant within a restaurant. The Chinese dining area is at the preferred portion of Corniche with tables covered in vibrant red cloth that can accommodate from two to 10 guests.

Dishes include five Chinese Lauriat set menus made using only the freshest and finest ingredients. Among the must-try dishes are Triple Cooked Crab Beehon, Wok Fried Kung Pao Prawns with Dried Chili and Cashew Nuts, and Roasted Suckling Pig with Spicy Cucumber. The Chinese Lauriat is ideal for family get-togethers, reunion with friends, and special celebrations.

Signature a la carte Chinese dishes are in the same way as delicious as the choices in the set menus. Dishes of different colors, textures, and aromas from appetizers all the way to desserts are available.

The Chinese Lauriat and a la carte selection are available daily, during lunch and dinner for walk-in guests or for advance reservations.

Triple Cooked Crab with Beehon

Further, Corniche on weekends offer Dim sum Delights. Diners can choose from an extensive selection of dim sum from steamed, to baked and fried.

“Begin with an appetizer or with the soup of the day then prep your palate with flavorful roasted honey barbecue pork and barbecued pork belly. Next, indulge in dim sum goodness to your heart’s content but make sure to leave room for desserts. The fresh mango sago cream and the popular buchi are not to be missed,” Diamond Hotel said in a statement.

All dim sum choices are carefully handmade by Chef Pedrito Cagadas, the hotel’s dim sum chef who currently has 12 years of dim sum-making experience from various Chinese restaurants in Manila.

Moreover, the new themed dinner buffet “Flavors of China” awaits diners every Thursday night at Corniche.

Diamond Hotel Philippines is located at Roxas Boulevard corner Dr. J. Quintos Street, Manila. Call (02) 528-3000 for inquiries.

Dim sum carefully handcrafted by Chef Pedrito Cagadas

Life

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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

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All about chicken

AX’S Group, Inc. surprises chicken lovers with the firstever All About Chicken promotion which treats diners to up to P500 worth of gift certificates.

During the promo period, ongoing until April 15, diners can order their favorite chicken meals worth P199 from any of MGI’s family of restaurants in exchange for stickers for their all About

continue to get from our fans has been truly overwhelming,” said MGI group chief operating officer Ariel P. Fermin.

“And what better way for us to thank and reward their loyalty than to offer Chicken promo card. As few as three this exciting promo headlined by a wide stickers can earn customers P100 back. variety of delicious chicken meals from A maximum of three stickers may be Max’s Group’s well-loved brands?”

Fans of the sarap-to-the-bones Fried given to each customer per visit.

“The support we have received and Chicken can head over to Max’s Res-

taurant for the Basic ¼ Chicken Meal.

Those who like their chicken sizzling hot can try the Chicken Strips with Mushroom Soup and Garlic Potato and Chives at Sizzlin’ Steak. Those who want their crispy, fried chicken flavored only with the classic combination of salt and pepper would enjoy Yellow Cab’s Drum and Thigh Complete Combo with Rice.

The chicken high doesn’t stop there with Pancake House’s bestselling onepiece Classic Pan Chicken with Rice served alongside the Best Taco in Town, as well as Teriyaki Boy’s Chicken Rice Bowl with two pieces of California Roll.

Finally, there’s the local favorite that is the Boneless Chicken Inasal made extra special at Dencio’s.

Max’s Basic 1/4 Chicken Meal

Dencio’s Boneless Chicken Inasal

Pancake House’s Classic Pan Chicken with Best Taco in Town

Teriyaki Boy’s Chicken Rice Bowl

Yellow Cab’s Drum and Thigh with Rice

Sizzlin’ Steak’s Chicken Strips with Mushroom Soup

BITES Ube Dream Cake

The ube cake of your dreams Food establishments at Ayala Malls Solenad in Sta. Rosa, Laguna will be offering buy one, take one treats during the Bon Appetrip 2019 promo.

Solenad’s Bon Appetrip promo launches anew

A FOOD festival is happening at Ayala Malls Solenad as the Sta. Rosa, Lagunabased mall launches its Bon Appetrip promotion for this year.

Solenad’s Bon Appetrip has gotten bigger and better this 2019 with a full year lineup of buy one, take one offers on top of a chance to win a trip to El Nido, Palawan or Sicogon, Iloilo.

It kicked off with Pizza Day on Feb. 8. During which pizza lovers enjoyed two pies for the price of one.

On March 14, Burgoo Restaurant, Mgrill & Bahn Café, Mama Lou’s, and The Farm Organics are joining the Steak Day celebration, offering buy one, take one treats on signature steak selections combined with savory favorites.

April 6 is the day for pasta fans as the Nuvali mall celebrates Pasta Day featuring various pasta dishes. Meanwhile, May 10 is Asian Day highlighting the cuisines and delicacies from different Asian countries.

On June 12, coinciding with the celebration of the Philippine Independence Day, Solenad will feature all-

time favorite Filipino dishes. Then on July 4, Western food will be the star of the month.

Burger lovers can indulge in their favorites during Burger Day on August 27, while chicken fans can enjoy theirs fried, roasted, filleted, or however they like during Chicken Day on Sept. 20.

As the year winds down, the feasting ramps up. On Oct. 21, lovers of crustaceans, seashells, and fish will rejoice as Solenad celebrates Seafood Day. Coffee enthusiasts are also up for a treat on Nov. 15 for Coffee Day, wherein the mall’s establishments serve up their signature coffee blends.

Desserts are the star on Dec. 6, Desserts Day, as select partner restaurants and cafes offer double sweet treats.

The buy one, take one treat allows customers to pair a selected dish with another one that is within the same food category.

Diners using MasterCard can double their chances of winning a trip with their loved ones. During the

event days, they will earn two raffle coupons for every minimum purchase of P1,000; while on regular days within the promo period, they will earn one raffle coupon for the same minimum amount of purchase.

Promo period is ongoing until Dec. 6; raffle draws are scheduled on June 21 and Dec. 13. Eleven lucky winners will be announced on each date.

For the first draw, two winners will take a three-day/two-night stay for two at Lagen Island in El Nido, Palawan, while nine winners will each receive a three-day/two-night deluxe stay for two at Casa Kalaw in El Nido, Palawan.

For the second draw, two winners will each receive a three-day/two-night stay for two at Lagen Island in El Nido, Palawan, while nine will take home a three-day/two-night stay for two at Huni Resort in Sicogon, Iloilo.

All prizes are inclusive of airfare for two via Airswift and airport transfers.

Go to www.ayalamalls.com.ph for more information.

A new, heavenly dessert creation comes out of Andrew Café’s kitchen.

Freshly baked by resident pastry chef Erna Canatoy, the mouthwatering melt-in-your-mouth Ube Dream Cake will send a burst of flavors one layer at a time—from the dense texture of purple yam root base and the rich blend of halaya cream to the comforting ube panna cotta. Bits of macapuno with the delicate spread of cream cheese frosting and ube crumbs are spread on top.

The layers come as a delectable surprise as the cake is packed in a sophisticated tin can.

The café is located at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde Taft Campus, corner of Estrada and Leon Guinto Streets, Malate, Manila. It is open Mondays to Fridays from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Call (02) 230-5100 local 1888 for pre-orders.

Dino in the choco Cadbury Dairy Milk Lickables now comes with new dinosaur collectibles. Inside each of this chocolate treat is a dinosaur toy such as a T-Rex, a Velociraptor, a Stegosaurus, or a Triceratops.

Aside from the free dinosaur collectibles, children (and even adults) will love and enjoy Cadbury Dairy Milk’s rich, smooth, milk chocolate. In a liquid, spoonable format, Cadbury Dairy Milk Lickables’ texture is made even more interesting and delightful by crunchy biscuit bits and wheat crispies.

It’s available in supermarkets and convenience stores nationwide.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Lickables

Entertainment

Pinoy shadow player scores Golden Buzzer in

‘ASIA’S GOT TALENT’ Simply...

From C4

Philippines' Shadow Ace's Golden Buzzer moment; (inset) 'Asia's Got Talent’ hosts Alan Wong and Justin Bratton came out to press the golden buzzer for the Pinoy shadow player.

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HADOW Ace from the Philippines scored the hosts’ Golden Buzzer in last Thursday’s episode of Asia’s Got Talent.

The 20-year-old hand shadow artist, together with his parents, were overwhelmed with joy as the hosts joined them on a stage filled with golden confetti.

Growing up in a neighborhood with constant blackout, Shadow Ace entertained himself with candlelight and it slowly became a passionate hobby that he’s actively pursuing.

“Shadow Ace, it’s a silly little thing I guess, just to say that you play with your hands and make figures like that, but I’ll let you know, I forget they were hands. They were people to

me,”David Foster said.

“I am so glad that you are on this show. I really love that performance,” Anggun added.

“He’s brilliant and amazing!” Alan and Justin said, before running to the judges’ table and pressing the Golden Buzzer.

The Golden Buzzer will send Shadow Ace straight to the Semi-Finals in March where he will have a shot at the $100,000 grand prize and the winning title.

New episode of Asia’s Got Talent airs every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. on AXN. To follow the journey of this season’s acts, check out #AXNAsia and #AsiasGotTalent.

To watch extended highlights of Asia’s Got Talent and exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, fans can subscribe to the official AXN Asia YouTube Channel at www.YouTube.com/ AXNAsia.

Violin vibe

YUGEL LOSORATA MY TWO-YEAR-OLD band The Pub Forties would like to fully embrace the sheer joy of collaboration by welcoming outside musicians to jam, foreigners included.

Thus, it was a blessing we met Swedish national Jeanette Kamphuis who plays the violin and does paintings when she’s not. She had played Violina (how she fondly calls her favorite violin) in two of our soon-to-be-released recordings, titled “Stop The World” and “Nung Tayo Pa.” A classical violinist, Jeanette was a joy to watch recording her delightful contribution for a couple of pop rock Filipino compositions which I wrote.

“My favorite saying is, ‘Where the word ends the music starts,’” said Jeanette after playing in front of students who attended the EU-PH Beat event last Feb. 15 at the University of Santo Tomas, Manila.

The occasion was put up by the centuries-old university and European Union, carrying the theme “Harmonising Notes and Rhythm.” She was involved both as performer and speaker, along with flamenco guitarist Alejandro Alcaraz of Spain and percussionist Jean Paul Zialcita of the Philippines.

Now quite-familiar with her playing, I witnessed Jeanette perform live, calmly letting the musical strains of her instrument speak softly through the air.

It’s hard not to describe it in sincere poetic terms as it is the kind of experience I hear and see when she plays.

She stood alongside her equallytalented brother Stefan Randehed who also plays the violin and who intoned that Albert Einstein used to bring out a violin to “problem-solve.”

“I am a visual artist and that’s how I make my bread and butter on the table,” she reminded everyone, “But sometimes I can stop painting and take out my violin.”

The author with violinist Jeanette Kamphuis

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Monday, February 25, 2019

ACROSS 1 Quote 5 Military rank 10 “I did it!” (hyph.)

14 Actor — Sandler 15 Photo 16 Idle or Clapton 17 After-bath wear 18 Pricey fur 19 Quit talking 20 Noun form 22 Order 24 Ancient harps 26 Criterion 27 Molecular biology topic 29 Absorbs (2 wds.)

31 Ernesto Guevara 34 Scoreboard data 36 Use a spade 37 In twos 39 Pilot 41 Tijuana “Mrs.” 43 Overcharged 44 Moved like lava 46 Ecol. watchdog 48 Writer — Rice 49 Job application info 50 Tidies up 53 Bounder 54 Vein of ore 55 Secret supply

57 Phoned (2 wds.)

61 Romantic activity 64 Kind of molding 65 Make happy 67 Terror 68 Gutter locale 69 — a dull moment 70 Italian wine city 71 Melt, as an icicle 72 Not flat 73 Traffic sign DOWN 1 Goldfish 2 Statue of a god 3 Arranged data 4 Manicurist’s board 5 Play false 6 Org. for doctors 7 Nudges 8 Gawkers 9 Supply new gear 10 Snicker (hyph.)

11 Make — — for it 12 Part of CD 13 Muscle complaint 21 Painter’s work 23 Radius neighbors 25 Goes downhill 27 Tips one’s hat

28 Makes void 30 Long-plumed bird 31 Most brittle 32 Reddish tint 33 Made a border 35 Join by stitches 38 Give — — go 40 Ms. Zellweger 42 Copies 45 Soundproofs 47 Diamond port 51 Magic charm 52 — Tome 54 Get some shuteye

The gracious lady encouraged everyone to just try playing and see how it goes.

She noted, “You may say you are not a composer but you don’t know that until you try. Never ever give up your music.”

That Friday’s gig was a European Union Cultural Symposium captioned Hemispheres, intended to merge east and west thinking and performing through music. Fun was way up in the air when both Alejandro and Jean Paul jammed and asked the audience to bring out their percussion instruments and summoned their dancing shoes.

Eager to join the party, the Swedish beauty herself pulled out her violin and blended in naturally. It was a moment worth-catching for public-sharing, yet being there in person sure gave me more room to feel upbeat and emotional. That I happened to be in the premises of my alma mater (after quite a while) provided extra drama within.

Last Jan. 26, an exhibition of Jeanette’s paintings dubbed “Art In The City” opened at The Office (Cowork+Life) located at The Fort in Bonifacio Global City. Her artworks have been recognized by many collectors and art critics both in Sweden and Philippines where she has been officially residing the past few years.

The music she plays serves as perfect score to her drawn images that well speak thousands of words.

56 Couches 57 Sorority member 58 Culture dish goo 59 Jacob’s son 60 Improve the road 62 Alliance acronym 63 Knife handle 66 Caddie’s offering

DOT on DILG’s of reiteration of the Tourism Act Accreditation The Department of Tourism (DOT) lauds the initiative of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in urging all Local Government Units (LGUs) to ensure the accreditation of primary tourism enterprises (PTEs).

In its Memorandum Circular No. 201917, DILG reiterates the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 9593 or Tourism Act of 2009, indicating that PTEs such as hotels, resorts, inns, and other accommodation establishments are required to secure accreditation from the DOT for issuance of license or permit to operate.

This is a welcome development as it further establishes the relevance of the DOT Accreditation among PTEs which includes travel and tour agencies, tourist transport operators, tourism front liners, and convention and exhibition organizers.

The DOT Accreditation is a certification issued to tourism enterprises after having complied with the minimum standards for the operation of tourism facilities and services.

The DILG memorandum likewise states that “LGUs have to ensure that all PTEs have complied with and have obtained DOT accreditation before operations.”

The DOT through its regional offices is excited to work with all LGUs in ensuring strict compliance by tourism enterprises with the accreditation rules and regulations.

Both parties will also continue working on the following shared responsibilities as mandated by the Tourism Act of 2009 — LGU capacity-building in partnership with the private sector, travel advisories, local tourism promotion, resources inventory, destination development, standard setting, and regulatory enforcement.

As of Dec. 31, 2018, a total of 6,108 primary tourism enterprises and 772 secondary tourism enterprises were accredited nationwide.

Check the complete list of DOT Accredited Tourism Enterprises here: https://goo.gl/T3cN4h.

DOT will conduct the DOT Express Accreditation for Primary Tourism Enterprises in the National Capital Region (NCR), in coordination with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Feb. 26 to 27.

The DOT Express Accreditation will serve as a one-stop shop to be administered by the DOT Office of Tourism Standards and Regulation (OTSR) and DOT-NCR Office at various local government unit sites to facilitate the applications for accreditation of tourism establishments that secured prior environmental compliance clearances and DILG operational permits.

The joint undertaking is part of the ongoing “Save Manila Bay” rehabilitation program with strong participation by the tourism sector.

The next DOT Accreditation Express will be conducted in Regions 3 and 4A, on dates to be announced later.

For inquiries, please contact the DOTNCR Office or the DOT Office of Tourism Standards and Regulation at 459-5200 (to 5230), local 108 and 216. *** Visit www.isah.red for more stories.

Follow me on Facebook (@isahvr), Twitter (@isahvred) and Instagram (@ isahvred). ΙR

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019

C3

nickie.standard@gmail.com

ARIAS ALWIN IGNACIO

Real women have curves PINOTS laugh a lot. We crack brown and green jokes. We laugh at the slightest provocation. We tear up while laughing. Some of us laugh their way to the banks. Others, make laughter their best medicine to combat pressing and stressful situations.

In this day and age of Vice Ganda and his mastery of ridicule sugar coated as humorous and irreverence, and with social media being the platform to express opinions masquerading as bible truth, good manners and right conduct is now an alien concept to many.

Anything and everything, the noisiest and shallow flock in social media has a say. One prime example and easy target group, are individuals who are described as curvy, chubby, men with dad bods and beer bellies, women who are plumpish and voluptuous. My adjectives of choice are still on a positive light. If you get to read what “body shamers” express and write, you would entirely get a different picture.

Body shaming is now a way of life to some people. Most of them are oblivious of the fact that what they consider as jokes, are inflicting deep pain.

In the forthcoming Jerry Lopez Sineneng movie, Familia Blandina— headlined by Karla Estrada, who does not deny her being plus sized— they have a right minded manner in addressing the issue of body shaming.

Director Sineneng expresses, “I am against body shaming. We, the whole cast who are in this movie, we are against any form of shaming. We are very careful not to offend anyone.”

He carries on, “I know that because of some scenes in our movie, you may have the perception na ginawa naming ang mga yun para lang makapang-lait. Integral siya sa narrative, at may dahilan kung bakit minsan ginagamit ang pagiging plus sized ni Karla bilang bahagi of a comical scene. Of course, we sought her permission first bago namin i-shoot ang mga nasabingscenes. The movie is not meant to offend plussized women.”

Estrada opines, “100 percent, I am against body shaming. I can laugh at myself, my being plus sized because I am very comfortable in my own skin and I am a believer that the greatest love of all is really loving yourself.

Even if there are some people na nanalait sa panlabas kong anyo, I make sure, what is inside, the brassiere that I am wearing now, is tighter than tight, I find it difficult to breathe.”

She guffaws and continues, “Joke yun ha. I don’t get affected by people who body shame because my heart is in a good place right now, it is filled with goodness and positivity.

Of course, it took some time to be in this place.I learned most things the hard way. With people who make fun of you in an offensive manner, the best revenge is to live well and kill them with kindness.”

Aside from Estrada, some of Familia Blandina’s special attractions are the two pretty young misses, Kira Balenger and Chantal Videla. Both of them are articulate, classy and their future is indeed bright.

Another dream boat is Marco Gallo who plays as Estrada’s son. You should hear Gallo speak in Italian. He gives more romance and sizzle to the romantic language.

Gallo senza dubbio, sai che Marco diventerà un bel ragazzo (without a doubt, you know Marco will grow up a handsome gentleman).

With these young cast of half breeds, it will be interesting to see how their stories unfold on screen.

Director Sineneng promises that many half-Filipino, half-foreigners will relate to the struggles that the blonde characters experienced in what he describes as, “a family movie with a lot of laughter and love.”

Familia Blandina unspools in cinemas nationwide on Feb. 27.

The cast of 'Familia Blandina' led by Karla Estrada (center)

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

C4

Entertainment

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2019

Yasmien Kurdi showcases drama prowess anew in ‘Hiram na Anak’ THEY say a mother’s love is unconditional. But how can you love a child whom you have treated as your own, after finding out that her true parents ruined your dreams of raising your real daughter?

Beginning today, GMA Network presents another enthralling tale of a mother’s love for a daughter she raised as her own in Hiram Na Anak, topbilled by Yasmien Kurdi and Dion Ignacio, together with Paolo Contis and Lauren Young.

After 10 years, Yasmien and Dion reunite to breathe life into the characters of Miren and Adrian, a happily married couple. Miren is a simple, loving, and kind woman who works as a midwife.

Adrian, on the other hand, is a faithful gentleman and her one great love.

Unfortunately, Miren has difficulties conceiving a child and the couple decides to adopt a child -- a decision that dramatically changes the course of their lives.

Joining them are Paolo Contis as Benjo, a street-smart and arrogant former seafarer; and Lauren Young as Dessa, a strong-willed woman who never got over her anger towards her parents.

Playing a very special role in the series is Empress Schuck as Wena, a doting yet naïve department store saleslady who falls for Benjo.

Adding color to Miren and Adrian’s lives are Rita Avila, Vaness del Moral, Sef Cadayona, Maey Bautista, and Leanne Bautista.

Behind this drama is the creative team composed of creative director Aloy Adlawan, creative consultant Denoy Navarro Punio, headwriter Gina Marissa Tagasa, writers Maria Prescilla Hidalgo and Anna Aleta Nadela, and brainstormers Hilda Marcelino and Roda Sulit Marino.

The series is another original creation of the GMA Drama group

under the supervision of Senior Vice President for Entertainment Group Lilybeth G. Rasonable, Vice President for Drama Redgie AcuñaMagno, Assistant Vice President for Drama Cheryl Ching-Sy, Senior Program Manager Cathy Ochoa Perez, and Executive Producer Omar Sortijas.

Hiram na Anak showcases how a parent’s love remains selfless in the face of adversity, and how far they will always be willing to go for the sake of their child.

Under the helm of esteemed Director Gil Tejada, Jr., don’t miss the intriguing story of Hiram na Anak beginning today on GMA7.

Kapuso viewers from across the globe can also catch their favorite Kapuso shows via GMA’s international channels GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV, and GMA News TV International.

For the program guide, visit www.gmapinoytv.com.

Nadine Lustre

on solo trail in

‘ULAN’ VERY WANG NICKIE WANG

In 'Ulan' Nadine Lustre's character, Maya, grew up holding a pessimist view on rain, which reminds her of failed love and loneliness, among other depressing things.

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IVA artist Nadine Lustre takes on the demanding role of Maya, the young woman alternately fascinated and fearful of rainfall in the latest film offering from Viva Films, Ulan.

Written and directed by Irene Villamor, who earlier achieved critical and commercial success with Sid and Aya: Not A Love Story and Meet Me in St. Galen, Ulan marks Nadine’s first acting venture without her perennial screen partner, James Reid.

In the movie, Maya’s teacher gave her a scientific explanation for the rain. It is water absorbed by the heat of the sun, then turned into clouds, after which it is sent back to earth as precipitation.

But rain is not always just water pouring down in steady drops from the sky like the kind that children like to play in or that lovers find romantic.

It was under such rain that Maya’s grandmother found true love. It was raining when she first kissed the man who became her husband and Maya’s grandfather.

Sometimes rain can come with fearsome thunder and lightning and dangerous winds at sea. That is just like the rain that took the lives of Maya’s parents while on board a ship on their way home.

The rain took her parents away. She never saw them again.

Rain can also do strange things like suddenly invade a sunny day. A battle ensues. The red-hot sun shining with all its might to stop the raging waters coming out of the dark clouds.

Maya’s grandmother told her that that is the rain that signifies heaven’s disapproval. Tikbalangs are getting married and that is why the sun is shining and it is raining at the same time.

A nighttime creature from folklore, the tikbalang is a tall, thin humanoid with the head and long extremities of a horse and the body of a human. It is believed to inhabit the forests and mountains of the Philippines.

Maya grew up alternately excited or fearful of the rain and stalked by storms and tikbalangs. The rain also became the reason for her failures and unhappiness. The kiss she did not get under the rain. The love she lost one rainy day.

Still, she continued to wait.

Hopefully, the rain which has been her

close companion from childhood will bring her one true love.

A Viva Films presentation, Ulan also Carlo Aquino, Marco Gumabao, AJ Muhlach, Joseph Elizalde, Ella Illano, and Perla Bautista. Creative producer is Joyce Bernal. ***

‘Malibu Nights’ in Manila

Paul Klein, Jake Goss, and Les Priest of the American Indiepop band, LANY, have recently announced that their 2019 Malibu Nights Headline World Tour is coming to Manila.

In support of their sophomore album, Malibu Nights, the band’s most-anticipated return to Manila is on July 24 happening at the MOA Arena, Pasay City. The tour includes over 100 dates across North America, Europe, UK, South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

Marking their fourth visit to the country, their Malibu Nights World Tour was described by Rolling Stone as “Enigmatic frontman Paul Jason Klein carried the sea of fans through his passionate delivery of the starry-eyed, gushy pop tracks, losing himself in smooth dance breaks… LANY’s star power was both out-of-thisworld and incredibly effortless.”

Sophomore album Malibu Nights was released in October 2018 via Interscope Records and Angeles Times praised the record “a sleek and tender document of a thoroughly modern band hitting all the right references for 2018.” Malibu Nights is the follow up to the band’s 2017 self-titled debut album, which tied for the highest-charting debut album on the Billboard Top Rock Albums chart in 2017.

Lead single “Thru These Tears,” received massive critical praise, which TIME Magazine named one of the “5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week.”

Tickets for LANY’s Malibu Nights World Tour concert in Manila went on sale to the general public on Feb. 21 at all through SM ticket outlets. Tickets were sold out in two hours.

According to MMI Live, LANY has added another night to its tour on July 25 at Mall of Asia Arena. Tickets went on sale on Feb. 22 via SM Tickets.

For complete concert details and ticket information, please visit www.mmilive. com , www.livenation.asia or follow MMI Live (on Facebook), and @mmilive (on Instagram, and Twitter) for updates.

LA-based indie pop band LANY with members Paul Jason Klein, Charles Leslie "Les" Priest, and Jake Clifford Goss.

Yasmien Kurdi and Dion Ignacio with child actor Leanne Bautista

Special retro dance marathon today CONTINUE to celebrate the Heart’s Month through a retro dance marathon dubbed as “Groove Is In The Heart” by NMG Events Management.

“Groove Is In The Heart” is organized to advance health and wellness of women as well as commitment to social responsibility of supporting less privileged victims of illnesses.

The retro dance marathon will be conducted 5:00 to 9:00 a.m. today at the Liwasang Aurora, Quezon Elliptical Circle in Quezon City.

In partnership with Quezon City Liga ng mga Barangay, the dance marathon also aims to promote camaraderie among retro dance enthusiasts.

At least 10 thousand dancers from different barangays of Quezon City are expected to attend the event. A cash prize of P25,000 will be given to the best performance of a barangay.

“Groove Is In The Heart” coincides with the celebration of the 32nd anniversary of the People Power Revolution and the government’s Heart Care Awareness Month. It will also be part of the preliminary activities for the Women’s Month celebrated in March. *** ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ on HBO Go HBO Asia will be premiering the third season of the Emmy® and Golden Globe Award-winning hit drama series, The Handmaid’s Tale, on June 6 across Asia, exclusively on HBO GO, with three new episodes, and subsequent episodes released every Thursday.

The 13-episode third season of The Handmaid’s Tale is driven by June’s resistance to the dystopian regime of Gilead and her struggle to strike back against overwhelming odds. Startling reunions,

betrayals, and a journey to the terrifying heart of Gilead force all characters to take a stand, guided by one defiant prayer: ISAH V. RED “Blessed be the fight.”

The Handmaid’s Tale comes to Hulu from MGM Television and is created, executive produced and written by Bruce Miller. Executive produced by Warren Littlefield, Elisabeth Moss, Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, Ilene Chaiken, Eric Tuchman, and Mike Barker. MGM serves as the international distributor for the series.

The Handmaid’s Tale stars Elisabeth Moss, Joseph Fiennes, Yvonne Strahovski, Alexis Bledel, Madeline Brewer, Ann Dowd, O-T Fagbenle, Max Minghella, Samira Wiley, andBradley Whitford.

“Groove Is In The Heart” is both a CSR and health and wellness event

SNAPSHOT

PLDT Gabay Guro turns over prize to 2018 grand raffle winner PUBLIC school teacher Ronalyn Quinio drove home last week with a brand new Foton Gratour Van, one of the grand raffle prizes during Gabay Guro’s Grand Gathering. This is done in partnership with premier motor vehicle brand Foton.

Hailing from San Pablo City, Laguna, Quinio has been teaching in Placido Escudero Memorial School for 11 years now. Quinio is among the 20,000 teachers who were present at last year’s Grand Gathering.

Quinio, like many teachers from across the country, remains instrumental in changing the lives of today’s generation.

“Gabay Guro opens opportunities for teachers nationwide to ultimately reach their full potential. Moreover, Gabay Guro, through our Grand Gathering, is a way for us to pay homage to the ones who have selflessly dedicated themselves in shaping the lives of our youth today,” said PLDT SVP and Gabay Guro Chairwoman Chaye Cabal-Revilla.

Seen in photo is PLDT SVP and Gabay Guro Chairwoman Chaye CabalRevilla, second from left, leading the turnover of the Foton Van, to Teacher Ronalyn Quinio, 3rd from left. Also in photo are, from left: Foton AVP for Marketing Noelle Aujero and Quinio’s husband Victor Briñas.