Manila Standard - 2019 March 22 - Friday

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2 FORMER PH OFFICIALS SUE CHINA LEADER BEFORE ICC

By Rey E. Requejo FORMER government officials accused Chinese President Xi Jingping of crimes against humanity for his actions in the South China Sea, bringing their complaint to the International Criminal Court on March 15, just two days before the Philippines withdrew from the body.

In their complaint, former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales accused Xi of crimes not only with Philippine territory, but also in other states by

VOL. XXXIII • NO. 40 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

carring out a “systematic plan to control the South China Sea.” In a communication to ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, Del Rosario and Morales asked that Xi and other Chinese officials be investigated for crimes against humanity.

“The enclosed communication outlines how President Xi Jinping and other officials of China, in implementing China’s systematic plan to control the South China Sea, have committed crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Court Next page

CHINA

LAOS

PHILIPPINES THAILAND

Manila CAMBODIA VIETNAM

FOR FILIPINO FISHERMEN. Taking the cudgels for Filipinos and hundreds of thousands of ‘persecuted and injured’ Filipino fishermen, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario (left) and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales (middle) have sued Chinese President Xi Jingping (right) of crimes against humanity for his actions in the South China Sea (pictured above) before the International Criminal Court on March 15—just two days before the Philippines withdrew from the body.

CPP junks ‘localized talks’

But Palace adviser says Joma irrelevant to peace negotiations

By Joyce Pangco Pañares

T

HE Duterte administration said localized peace talks will render Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Ma. Sison “irrelevant” even as the Utrecht-based rebel leader insisted the CPP will just wait for the next President to resume negotiations.

“The President gave very clear preconditions. The localized peace talks must be held here in the Philippines, and we will involve local commanders of the CPPNew People’s Army,” Presidential Peace adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. said in a phone interview.

SUPERMOON. The big moon is seen in the first class town of Cainta 17 kilometers east of Manila at dusk Thursday. This is a phenomenon whereby the moon appears particularly large in the sky owing to the coincidence of its closest approach to the earth (the perigee) with a full (or new) moon. Not an official astronomical term, it was first coined by an astrologer, Richard Nolle, in 1979 and defined it as ‘a New or a Full Moon that occurs when the Moon is at or near (within 90 percent of) its closest approach to Earth in its orbit’. Sonny Espiritu

Filipinos give US ‘very good’ trust rating—SWS OF FOUR countries tested for public trust, Filipinos had the highest trust rating in the United States at “very good,” according to Social Weather Stations.

SWS’ survey in the fourth quarter of 2018 found a very good +60 net trust rating for the United States, a good net trust rating for Japan

at +34 and Australia at +31, and a neutral -7 net trust rating for China.

Meanwhile, a think tank said despite China’s growing influence over Manila, the long-standing alliance between the United States and the Philippines remained strong, even as defense officials were set to meet for exploratory talks on the US-RP Mutual Defense Treaty, now

PH 69th happiest Palace seeks 2 nation, says UN water agencies

By Vito Barcelo, Maricel V. Cruz, Macon RamosAraneta and Rio N. Araja

THE Philippines is the 69th happiest country in the world, a United Nations report released on Wednesday the International Day of Happiness said.

With an average score of 5.631 in 2019, the Philippines moved up two places from last year, or 71st out of the 156 countries ranked. Next page

THE Duterte administration has proposed the creation of two separate water agencies to solve water crisis in Metro Manila and nearby provinces: one will focus on economic and financial aspects and the other for policy formulation and resource regulation.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said two draft bills had been endorsed for approval and submission to the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), bills that would create two separate bodies involving water.

“One of the proposed agencies that will be formed will act as the apex body for the water resources sector.

This agency will consolidate and reconcile water-related policy, planning, and Next page

the subject of a potential review.

The overview on the US-RP present security partnership was raised by the Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute through its President, Dindo Mahit, in defense of the position of Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin declaring that the vagueness of the MDT was a deterrence against Beijing.

Next page

“If Joma does not want to talk peace, we have no problem with that. In the first place, he is already irrelevant. Joma does not have control over the forces on the ground. From what we have seen in previous rounds of peace talks, we cannot Next page

Narco-list includes judges, fiscals, actors, PDEA claims

By Rio N. Araja THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Thursday said judges, prosecutors, showbiz personalities and even media members were among those included in the narco-list of President Rodrigo Duterte.

In a News to Go television interview, Director General Aaron Aquino said judges and prosecutors had been tagged as drug users or even as protectors, and that some of them would accept extortion

money in exchange for the dismissal of a drug case.

“We have two lists,the President Rodrigo Roa Duterte list and the other the PDEA watchlist,” Aquino said.

“The PRRD list is a validated one.

Some of them are included in our watchlist, too, but we have not yet verified or validated these.”

The Interior department has filed a complaint against 45 mayors before the Next page

House, Senate try again to end budget impasse

By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta

the proposed 2019 national budget, SenaShe said she will be joined by Senators tor Loren Legarda said Thursday.

Panfilo Lacson and Gregorio Honasan II. “We hope to meet on Monday and reThe House of Representatives has NEGOTIATORS from the Senate and the solve the issue once and for all so the coun- “physically retrieved” its version of the House of Representatives are expected to try can move forward,” Legarda, chairman proposed 2019 national budget from the meet Monday to break the deadlock over of the Senate committee on finance, said.

Next page

Teener defies death to make a living

SAVING FOR SCHOOL. In this photo taken on March 10, 2019, 13-yearold fifth grader Reymark Cavesirano paddles his borrowed makeshift craft made from styrofoam to fishing boats anchored at Manila Bay off Navotas City, helps the crew clean their nets, and in exchange collects leftover herring still tangled in the nets. After spending three hours in different boats he heads back to land, divides the catch for his family’s consumption with the rest sold to neighbors, earning P150 which he saves to support his school expenses. AFP

REYMARK Cavesirano, 13, leaves before dawn each weekend day on a perilous trip out into Manila Bay to make enough to feed his family, one of millions of deeply poor Filipinos who face a daily struggle for survival.

Aboard a raft pieced together from discarded wood and sheets of styrofoam, he uses his bare hands as paddles for the hourlong journey to the fishing boats Next page where he works.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NPC mulls over 11-member slate

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

S

ENATE President Vicente Sotto III said Thursday the Nationalist People’s Coalition may endorse only 11 senatorial bets in the midterm elections in May. He said they will announce their senatorial candidates after the party’s meeting, and that those running for the Senate will be invited by the party and will get their support.

At the moment, he said, 11 candidates had been invited to attend the meeting.

Gov’t troops capture Moro rebels' camp

By Francisco Tuyay GOVERNMENT troops overran an encampment of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters on the outskirts of Datu Piang town in Maguindanao Tuesday.

The seizure brought to two terrorist camps captured by the military in two days of operations in Mindanao.

Col. Gerry Besana, spokesman of the Western Mindanao Command, said the BIFF encampment was seized by soldiers of the 57th Infantry Battalion while on a clearing operations in Barangay Magaslong, Datu Piang.

He said the BIFF camp had trenches, foxholes, and sniper bunkers that could accommodate 20 persons.

Besana said troops recovered components of anti-personnel mines, a rifle scope, empty shells, wire and nails, medical supplies and documents.

Maj. Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of Joint Task Force Central, said they were making “significant progress” in the fight against the BIFF. “We do not want to give them the opportunity to gather and to create fear in the community,” Sobejana added.

Lt. Gen. Arnel dela Vega, chief of the Western Mindanao Command, said soldiers had a mandate to protect the people against all forms of threat that hamper economic stability and development in his jurisdiction.

“We will defeat terror groups with our intense offensives and cooperation with our peace partners and the people of Mindanao,” he said.

Also on Tuesday, soldiers from the 18th Infantry Battalion overran an Abu Sayyaf lair, and killed a bandit, identified as Adam Asarakil, alias Abu Malik.

Narco-list...

From A1 Office of the Ombudsman for their alleged failure or refusal to create Anti-Illegal Drugs Abuse Councils in their areas.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said the complaint was filed against the second batch of 25 mayors on Wednesday afternoon. The first batch of complaints against 20 mayors were filed on March 14.

“Despite several directives from the DILG and the Dangerous Drugs Board, the concerned mayors still failed or refused to comply with the said orders and their towns are among those that are without an organized and functional ADAC,” Año said in a statement.

The names of the judges, prosecutors, showbiz personalities and members of the media emanated from the exchange of text messages between the arrested drug suspects and their clients, Aquino said.

“We are continuing to build cases and then file administrative charges. From there, we will ensure a tight case against them with hard and strong evidence to pin down these individuals, and not just for the sake of filing cases.”

The extent of the involvement of the 46 in the drug list of the President ranged from being protectors, financiers and even drug lords, Aquino said.

“The PDEA and other law enforcement agencies are now more focused on the supply reduction through our seaports and airports.

“We have given the duty of going after street pushing and using to the Philippine National Police since policemen are the ones embedded at the barangay level.

However, there are times we have joint operations on high-value targets.”

PH 69th...

From A1 The country ranked higher than Southeast Asian neighbors Malaysia (80th), Indonesia (92nd), Vietnam (94th), Laos (105th), Cambodia (109th) and Myanmar (131st).

It also dovetails with a Social Weather Stations survey released Sunday that said 87 percent of Filipino considered themselves “very or fairly happy.”

The polling firm noted that the ranking is the country’s lowest in four years since recording 85 percent in December 2014.

The SWS survey also found 82 percent “very or fairly satisfied” with the lives they lead.

The World Happiness Report 2019 used

“The party will hold a general meeting before the start of the campaign period for local posts on March 29,” said Sotto, the acting chairman of the NPC. Meanwhile, the Commission on Elections on Thursday defended its move placing the entire Mindanao under its control, saying it wanted to ensure utmost responsiveness to whatever need that might arise during the election period.

Comelec spokesman James Jimenez said placing Mindanao under “hot spot” was the result of a consultation with local Comelec officials as well as the Philippine national Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“While it cannot be gainsaid that

there are areas within Mindanao that are relatively peaceful, the inescapable reality is that election-related violent incidents respect no municipal borders, and that the activities of armed groups and terror organizations are not always clearly demarcated,” Jimenez said.

Sotto declined to name the 11 candidates except for party members Senator JV Ejercito, returning Senator Lito Lapid and Senator Grace Poe, who is an adopted member of the NPC. Aside from Poe and Ejercito, the five other reelectionist senators are Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Cynthia Villar, Koko Pimentel and Bam Aquino.

When asked if all seven reelectionist senators would be invited by the NPC,

Sotto said: “Most probably. I can’t say yes.”

He said the party might not be able to come up with a 12-man slate as the party members could not agree on certain candidates.

He said he would support all reelectionist senators, noting that they were part of the Senate, which is now one of the most trusted agencies of the government.

“I’m definite about my support for the reelectionist senators,” Sotto said.

With the recall of the House of Representatives’ version of the 2019 General Appropriations Bill, the door is now open for a possible “cure” to the impasse. With Vito Barcelo

CPP...

ized or otherwise—with the Duterte administration.

“As far as I can see, there are no more peace negotiations until he is replaced by a president willing to negotiate social, economic and political reforms with the dulyauthorized representatives of the NDF for a just and lasting peace,” Sison told Manila Standard.

“So-called localized peace talks are a charade or a sham, staged and controlled by the military and the military-controlled Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

They are fake peace talks. They are merely intended to stage fake surrenders and fake development projects and to allow military officers to engage in the racket of collecting rewards,” the CPP official added.

Duterte earlier abolished the government’s peace panel to pave the way for localized peace talks, and ordered a review of all past agreements signed by the govern-

ment panel with the NDF. “We will reconstitute the panel with the whole-of-nation approach we are advocating to achieve inclusive and sustainable peace,” Galvez said, adding the new panel will include representatives from different sectoral groups, local government units, and the military.

Meanwhile, an NDF consultant, Renante Gamara, was nabbed in Cavite on Wednesday for standing arrest warrants for kidnapping with murder and frustrated murder.

Gamara was already arrested in 2012, but he was released in 2016 to allow his participation in the peace talks in Oslo.

Since Duterte took office in 2016, there have been four rounds of talks between the two parties.

Formal negotiations, along with the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity Guarantees, were terminated by the President in November 2017.

2Fromformer...

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the Chinese actions justify the ICC’s taking jurisdiction of their complaint, citing one of the tribunal’s principles that “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole must not go unpunished and their effective prosecution must be ensured.’’

“Though widely publicized, these atrocious actions of Chinese officials in the South China Sea and within Philippine territory remain unpunished, and it is only the ICC that can exact accountability on behalf of Filipinos and the international community, respecting the rule of law,’’ the communication said.

“We urge you to initiate a preliminary examination on this matter, if only so the court can apprise itself of Chinese crimes committed not only against the Filipino people but also against people of other nations, which crimes are already known to the international community,’’ Del Rosario and Morales added.

“We understand that the Court retains jurisdiction over crimes committed during the period the Philippines was a state party to the Rome Statute (1 November 2011— 17 March 2019), the court exercise its jurisdiction over these crimes even after the effectivity of the Philippines’ withdrawal,” they said, even as they vowed to supplement their communication with additional evidence against the respondents Chinese officials.

Attached to the communication was a 17page outline of how Xi and other Chinese officials committed crimes against humanity including testimonies of Filipino fishermen deprived of their livelihood.

The complainant argued that the ICC can conduct preliminary examination because much of the evidence they presented were widespread, highly publicized incidents of Chinese incursions and included those that were already judicially vetted when the Philippines won the South China Sea arbitration against China at the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal in 2016.

From A1 just limit discussions with political leaders.

We have to include tactical commanders because there is a disconnect between the two,” he added.

Galvez said the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army as well as the NPA Mindanao command under Jorge “Ka Oris” Madlos have not been communicating with Sison for some time now, while the Tiamzon couple, Benito and Wilma, are also working independently of the Utrecht-based CPP leaders.

“Joma has been out of the country for so long that he is out of touch with the realities on the ground. We have also received reports that the Tiamzons are now the ones calling the shots here,” he said.

Sison, for his part, said the CPP-NPA and National Democratic Front will no longer engage in any form of peace talks—local-

of Justice,” the two former high-ranking Philippine officials said.

Del Rosario and Morales said the “atrocious actions of Chinese officials in the South China Sea and within Philippine territory’’ constitute crimes against humanity that can be prosecuted by the ICC. Del Rosario served as secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2016 when the Philippines filed and won an arbitration case against China. The tribunal affirmed the Philippines’ “exclusive sovereign rights over the West Philippine Sea’’ and invalidated China’s nine-dash line in the disputed South China Sea. Morales was ombudsman from 2011 to 2018, whose office bears the constitutional mandate of prosecuting corrupt officials in Philippine government.

In their complaint, Del Rosario and Carpio said they were filing the case against Xi and other Chinese officials on behalf of Filipinos and the hundreds of thousands of Filipino fishermen “persecuted and injured’’ by “atrocious actions of Chinese officials in the South China Sea and within Philippine territory.”

The former Philippine officials accused the Chinese officials of causing “one of the most massive, near-permanent and devastating destruction of the environment in humanity’s history, which has not only adversely affected and injured myriad groups of vulnerable fishermen, but present and future generations of people across nations.”

“This has seriously undermined the food and energy security of the coastal states in the South China Sea, including the Philippines,” said the communication, which was filed on March 15, two days before the effectivity of the Philippine withdrawal from Rome Statute on March 17.

The complainants told the ICC chief prosecutor that the grave consequences of

From A1 About one in five of the Philippines’ 106-million people live in extreme poverty, getting by on less than $2 per day.

Many, including children, work long hours as street vendors or laborers to make enough to feed themselves.

Cavesirano, along with men at least twice his age, helps fishermen clean their nets by removing fish stuck in the gear.

He keeps the fish as payment, paddles back to land and then sells them to buy food and medicine for his family.

“My back usually aches from paddling but I cannot stop. I have to continue because we need to eat,” Cavesirano told AFP. The boy, who attends elementary school during the week, lives with his grandparents in a shelter pieced together from bamboo and plastic sheeting in a squatter community on the shore of Manila Bay. He is estranged from his mother.

Cavesirano’s grandmother Remedios Santos said she was against her grandson working because of the risks he faces on the water but he was persistent.

“I told him it is dangerous. But he said ‘Mama, other people won’t help us in life.

So I will help you,’” said the 55-year-old Santos, who still works as a scavenger.

On a good day, Cavesirano can bring home a kilo of rice, which is enough to feed his family for the day, and 300 to 400 pesos ($6 to $8).

The money helps pay for his grandfather’s tuberculosis medicine and cover his school allowance for the coming week.

The boy, who started working on the boats at the age of 10 after his brother taught him how to swim, dreams of finishing school and providing a better life for his family.

“I want to reciprocate my grandparents’ kindness. I want them to have a three-story house made from concrete,” Cavesirano said. AFP

survey data asking citizens across the world how happy they perceive themselves to be, as well as measures such as life expectancy, income and social support.

Finland ranked as the world’s happiest country for the second year running, while war-torn South Sudan sank to the least contented in the UN survey.

The Nordic nation of 5.5 million people, known for their love of forests, lakes and saunas, topped the study.

The other Nordic countries, as well as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Canada, New Zealand and Austria, also made the top 10.

As well as performing well on all the indicators, the most content countries all tended to have very stable societies, with

happiness levels changing comparatively little since 2005.

Despite the political turmoil brought by Brexit, Britain rose four places in the rankings to 15th.

The United States, meanwhile, continued its slide of recent years, dropping one spot to 19th place.

“This year’s report provides sobering evidence of how addictions are causing considerable unhappiness and depression in the US,” said professor Jeffrey Sachs, one of the report’s authors.

The unhappiest nation was South Sudan, where the UN recently said 60 percent of people face food insecurity following a bloody civil war which has claimed the lives of an estimated 400,000 people. AFP

Teener...

Filipinos...

From A1 The SWS survey was conducted from Dec. 16 to 19, 2018 using face-to-face interviews of 1,440 adults aged 18 and above nationwide, and with sampling error margins of ±2.6 percent for national percentages and ±5 percent each for Balance Luzon, Metro Manila, the Visayas and Mindanao.

The rating stayed very good for the United States at +60 with 71 percent much trust and 11 percent little trust. The change is minimal compared to the September 2018 survey in which the rating was +59.

The net trust rating rose by one grade from moderate to good for Japan, at +34 with 53 percent much trust, 19 percent little trust in December 2018, up by 6 points from +28 in September 2018.

The good rating for Australia was at +31 with 49 percent much trust and 19 percent little trust in December 2018. The rating was down by 5 points from +36 in June 2018.

SWS noted that the rating is the lowest in over nine years since the moderate +19 in September 2009.

The net trust rose from poor to neutral for China at -7 with 31 percent much trust, 39 percent little trust in December 2018, up by 23 points from -16 in September 2018.

Filipinos’ net trust rating for China has been positive in only 9 out of 48 surveys since SWS first surveyed it in August 1994. The survey reached as high as a moderate +17 in June 2010 and as low as a bad -46 in September 2015.

With Francisco Tuyay

House, Senate...

From A1

Senate, which had objected to changes made after the bicameral conference committee had already approved the budget.

The House, on the other hand, said there was nothing unusual or wrong about itemizing lump sum allocations, saying not to do so would violate the Supreme Court ruling on pork barrel.

House Appropriations Committee chairman Rolando Andaya Jr. said the retrieval of the budget document was in line with Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s instruction to allow a last-ditch effort to break the impasse.

Andaya, however, clarified that the House is not withdrawing its draft or backtracking on its position.

“We maintain that the House did nothing unconstitutional, illegal, or irregular when we approved and ratified the 2019 GAB [general appropriations bill] in plenary session,” Andaya said.

Andaya said the Speaker ordered the formation of a three-man House team that would meet with their Senate counterparts to address the budget issue within five days.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, who has refused to sign the bill sent by the House, said “a door was open” but remained firm that the changes introduced after the bicameral conference committee had ratified the budge were unconstitutional.

He maintained that line items in the budget, described by Lacson as pork barrel, were in violation of the Revised Penal Code, since they were done after the national budget was ratified during a bicameral conference.

If the House would agree to Lacson’s proposal to revert to the budget approved in bicameral conference, Sotto said, a new spending plan would be ready for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature by next week. With Vito Barcelo and PNA

Palace describes Misuari threat of

war as ’blackmail’

By Vito Barcelo THE government will fight back should Moro National Liberation Front leader Nur Misuari make good his threat to go to war over federalism, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said Thursday.

He dismissed Misuari’s threat as a form of “blackmail” against the current administration, saying he was only “expressing his disappointment” because one of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign promises was still not in place.

In other developments: • Opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said he did not believe that Misuari made a threat to go to war if the government failed to pursue federalism.

• Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said if the threat to go to war is true, Misuari had provided the single most important argument against federalism.

• Senator Panfilo Lacson stressed the importance of keeping Misuari close or by the side of the President, “or at least within close monitoring range of the military given the transition period of the BARMM. • Senate President Vicente Sotto said he wondered if there was a law against threatening the government.”

In a press briefing, Panelo said the government will not take Misauri’s threat ”lightly”, adding “ if you force us against the wall, this is what we will do.”

He said Duterte also made a “counterthreat” to Misuari that they would “die together” if the federalism initiative failed. “‘But we will celebrate if we succeed.

And as a response to going to war, then we will die fighting each other,’” Panelo said.

But for now, Panelo said, the two sides “want peace” and would soon start the talks on the federalism initiative.

He said the President had proposed that the two parties create their respective five-member panels to tackle the proposed shift to federalism and reminded Misuari that the final federalism proposal was still up to Congress.

“If he goes to war, then he will be fighting the government. So if he is fighting the government and the head of the government is the President, they would be fighting each other,” Panelo said.

He said Misuari was actually “happy” with the President’s proposal for the federalism talks and expressed hope it could be attained within his term.

“He reminded the President that federalism was one of the promises he made to the electorate. And he is confident that within the three years remaining term of the President, federalism would fit in,” Panelo said.

“Knowing the chairman who has been fighting for a peaceful solution in Mindanao, and knowing the deep relationship between the two leaders, I am confident that there will be an agreement, a modus vivendi between the two sides and we will have peace in Mindanao.”

With Macon Ramos-Araneta

Palace...

From A1

programming mandates of the different agencies involved in water resource management. It will likewise ensure the efficient allocation of water resources across sectors,” Nograles said.

“The second body will be an independent and quasi-judicial body for water supply and sanitation. The office will ensure quality performance of water concessionaires and ensure transparency and predictability in economic regulation of water service providers,” he said.

He said that there are currently 30 or so agencies involved in water resources management but the water problem could not be resolved.

“For example, there are four agencies involved in resource assessment, four involved in policy, seven in water supply, four in sanitation, five in water quality management, and six in watershed management,” the Palace official said.

“And yet. there is no single repository of water data, and no regularly updated water availability data. This is an untenable situation,” he said.

Nograles also cited short-term measures that would be undertaken to address the water supply problems in Metro Manila by the standby deep wells designated for use during natural disasters.

“There are a total of 109 of these wells in NCR, and the National Water Resources Board will work with the MWSS to identify which wells can be tapped, and to ensure that water quality in these wells is evaluated and constantly monitored,” Nograles said.

“There is a need for a government-led policy for the sustainable optimization of water resources. For instance, the water run-off used by hydro power plants to move their turbines,” he said.

“What’s absurd is that the households near and along those rivers, they don’t have water for domestic use. Aside from households, we should find a way to make use of run-off water from hydro power plants to water farms and industries.” he added.

In related developments: * House Minority Bloc Leader and Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez has offered several water sources in his province to help ease the shortage in Metro Manila.

At a congressional hearing, the construction of at least one was reported to have been started but work was suspended due to an accident the resulted in the deah of six workers.

Suarez said the Sumag River Diversion Project shall supplement the water from Umiray River going to the Angat Reservoir, which shall increase the supply to the Maynilad Water Services and the Manila Water Co.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Puerto resident files graft, misconduct raps vs. Bayron

CA clears Junjun Binay in case over building work

By Maricel V. Cruz

By Rey E. Requejo

A COMMISSION on Audit finding of ghost projects, financial irregularities and fund juggling amounting to billions of pesos has prompted a Puerto Princesa resident to file graft and grave misconduct charges against Mayor Lucilo Bayron.

Mansueto Durana Fuertes filed the case against Bayron and other city officials at the Ombudsman on March 12.

In his 38-page complaint, Fuertes said the statement of comparison of budget against actual amount for 2017 was unreliable as it showed an overstated final budget of P116,313,949.51, and an unreconciled total amount of P184,389,841.56.

Fuertes maintained these were ghost savings and used as continuing appropriations for 2018.

He noted the list of projects covered by Supplemental Budget 1 or Ordinance 08-2017 in the amount of P111,148,895.03 could not be provided by the city accountant or budget officer.

“As per the computation of the Audit Team of COA, the Total and Continuing Appropriations was only P3,289,160,601.77 and P91,978,377.02 for the General Fund and the Special Education Fund, respectively. However, the submitted SCBAA showed more than P124,940,561.53 for the GF and less than P8.626,612,03 for the SEF, thus resulting in an overstated final budget of P116,313,949.51,” Fuertes’s complaint added.

He assailed Bayron for proposing 18 infrastructure projects that cost the people of Puerto Princesa P102,581,564.69 but violated the implementing rules of Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Act. Fuertes said the invitation to bid posted in PhilGEPS and published in the newspaper showed that the pre-bid conference would be held on Sept. 4, 2015 and the opening of bids would follow on Sept. 17, 2015.

Instead, the pre-bid conference was moved to Sept. 7 and the opening of bids to Sept. 22 with interested parties not given any notice.

Earlier, COA chastised Bayron for loose fund controls as it slapped him with a total of P497,768,478.10 in disallowances and froze the payment of P11,382,269.19 for the city’s obligations.

THE Court of Appeals has sustained its decision rendered last year exonerating former Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. of administrative liabilities over the alleged fraudulent construction of the P2.28-billion Makati City Hall Parking Building II. In a resolution dated March 18, 2019, the CA’s Former Tenth Division through Associate Justice Edwin Sorongon dismissed the motion for partial reconsideration filed by the Office of the Ombudsman for its failure to raise new arguments that would warrant the reversal of its decision.

The appellate court maintained its ruling the Ombudsman committed error in ordering Binay’s dismissal since the condonation doctrine should have been applied in his case, which states that an erring official is considered to have already been forgiven for acts in his past term once he is reelected.

“While it is true that the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case of CarpioMorales was indeed relative to this Court’s issuance of injunctive reliefs and was not about the OMB’s main findings of administrative guilt against Binay Jr. it cannot be negated that the abandonment of the condonation doctrine—declared prospective in application by no less than the Supreme Court—should not be given any retroactive effect as to the prejudice Binay Jr. for the acts he allegedly committed when said doctrine was still in effect and duly recognized,” the CA ruled.

But the appellate court upheld the dismissal order issued by the Ombudsman on the other respondents namely City Legal Officer Pio Kenneth Dasal, City Budget Officer Lorenza Amores, Civil Engineer of the Central Planning Management Office Arnel Cadangan, CPMO chief Line dela Pena, City Legal Officer Giovanni Condes, TechnicalWorking Group officer Rodel Nayve, General Services Department staff Norma Flores Bids and Awards Committee member Ulysses Orienza, CPMO staff Connie Consulta, BAC secretariat Manolito Uyaco and BAC member Gerardo San Gabriel.

In its decision issued last year, the CA nullified the joint decision issued by the Office of the Ombudsman on Sept. 7, 2015 insofar as Binay and several other officials are concerned.

DRIVE VS. ONLINE GAMBLING. PAGCOR Chairman Andrea Domingo (center) is flanked by (from left) PNP-NCRPO chief Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, Office of the President reperesentative, Melchor Quitain and Justice Department-Anti Cybercrime OIC, Charito Zamora during Thursday’s formal signing of an Inter-Agency Council Mutual Cooperation Agreement for a concerted drive against illegal online gambling at the Rizal Park Hotel. Ey Acasio

Immigration intercepts 3 young OFWs at airport

By Vito Barcelo

T

HREE underage overseas Filipino workers, all women, and believed victims of a human trafficking syndicate, were intercepted by Bureau of Immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

According to BI port operations division chief Grifton Medina, the three OFWs were apprehended at the NAIA terminal 1 as they were about to board a Gulf Air flight to Saudi Arabia.

Medina declined to divulge the names of the passengers due to a prohibition in the anti-trafficking law against publicly disclosing the identities of trafficking victims.

“They all presented passports with false birthdates to make it appear that they meet the age requirement for household

SC upholds drug conviction of 53-year-old Irish national THE Supreme Court has affirmed the conviction of 53-year-old Irish national Eanna O’Cochlain who was caught in possession of two sticks of marijuana weighing less than a gram during a final security checkpoint at the Laoag City International Airport, Ilocos Norte in 2013.

In a 36-page decision penned by Justice Diosdado Peralta, the SC’s Third Division sustained the February 9, 2016 decision and the July 21, 2016 resolution of the Court of Appeals, which in turn upheld the November 22, 2013 decision of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 13, Laoag City, finding accused O’Cochlain guilty of violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

The tribunal ruled that failure to strictly comply with Section 21 (1) of R.A. No. 9165 does not necessarily render an accused person’s arrest illegal or the items seized or confiscated from him inadmissible or render void and invalid such seizure.

The SC said the most important factor was the preservation of the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized item.

In this case, the Court held that there was substantial compliance with the chain of custody rule, noting that the prosecution was able to prove, through documentary and testimonial evidence, that the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized items were properly preserved in every step of the way.

Citing People v. Del Monte, the Court held that “non-compliance with the requirements of the law is not automatically fatal to the prosecution’s case and the accused may still be held guilty of the offense charged.”

The Court also held that the chain of custody rule is a matter of evidence and a rule of procedure, it being ultimately anchored on the weight and admissibility of evidence which the courts have the exclusive prerogative to decide.

Any missing link, gap, doubt, challenge, break, problem, defect or deficiency in the chain of custody goes to the weight of the evidence, not in its admissibility, it said.

To assess an allegedly faulty chain of custody, the court looks for ample corroborative evidence as to the evidence’s acquisition and subsequent custody.

The court need not rule out every possibility that the evidence underwent alteration; it needs only to find that the reasonable probability is that the evidence has not been altered in any material aspect, it said.

The SC pointed out that, in this case, there was not a reasonable airport search but that O’Cochlain had waived his right against unreasonable searches when he gave his consent to the warrantless search. Rey E. Requejo

service workers which is 23 years and above,” according to Commissioner Jaime Morente.

He added the women were turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation.

NAIA 1’s BI Travel Control and Enforcement Unit head supervisor Glenn Ford Comia said that as in the case of the underage OFW who was apprehended last week, those who were intercepted last March 17 also presented valid overseas employment certificates, job contracts

and working visas.

“However, their passports did not contain true and correct information on their dates of birth,” Comia said.

Two of the women claimed they were 24 and 25 years of age, when they were both 22 years old while the other one claimed she was 24 years old but actually only 20.

Last March 13, officers of the bureau at the NAIA 1 intercepted a 21-year-old female OFW disguised as a 25-yearold.

The incident prompted Morente to order a stricter screening of all departing OFWs to make sure they are old and mature enough for overseas job deployment.

“These underage women are prone to abuse and exploitation in foreign lands and are being victimized by syndicates exploiting them,” the BI chief said.

“To those seeking greener pastures abroad, do not fall for this scheme,” he warned.

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Opinion

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Water fallout

WATER officials themselves had a taste of the continuing water crisis. How, you ask? Well, President Rodrigo Duterte took them to task in a 40-minute tirade at Malacañang where he summoned them last Wednesday night. In other words (in Tagalog), “sinabon.” Officials of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad were not given the opportunity to explain their side and how they would address the water shortage problem affecting thousands of households in Metro Manila.

The scolded officials probably wished they could shower after a thorough ‘soaping’ from the President.

After getting a thorough “soaping” by the President who undoubtedly did not mince any words in his trademark tirade, the water officials probably wish they could shower right then and there. They were probably able to do so when they got home as for sure they had water in their houses.

“Shape up or ship out” was the stern message of the President, according to Palace sources who were at the Malacañang meeting. MWSS Administrator Reynaldo Velasco offered to resign as he took the blame seriously. In a House hearing the day before, Buhay Party-List Rep. Lito Atienza fumed and told Velasco “it’s not enough to say sorry, tell us how you intend to solve the problem.”

The problem though has come to a

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

head as President Duterte made known he intends to fire more MWSS officials.

Moreover, the President threatened to withdraw and terminate the contract of concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad. The question being asked is why Maynilad was included in the fallout when there is water in areas being serviced by the Manny Pangilinan company.

Water officials of MWSS and Manila Water claim the water shortage can be traced to the burgeoning population in Metro Manila. This oft-used line of defense in explaining the water shortage is pure hogwash. Everyone knows that Metro Manila’s population is increasing every year because of migration from the rural areas of people looking for jobs in the big city. It seems the water officials do not know the science of actuarial projections used by the insurance companies.

While the President is in a termination mood, venting his ire on errant officials, perhaps he can also make restoring the death penalty a priority bill in Congress. There is a rising public clamor for capital punishment in light of the heinous and grisly murder of a 16-year-old girl in Lapu Lapu, Cebu. The girl who was raped was also mutilated, her face skinned by the crazed assailant. Her vital body organs were also removed, according to autopsy reports.

Another girl, also a minor, was raped by seven men in Tondo this week. This is the kind of dastardly crime that must be meted the full measure of the law.

Only President Duterte can help push the death penalty as he has no regard for the sentiments of the Church. Sad to say, these two barbaric crimes happened during the Month of Women paying tribute to their contribution to society.

Four of the seven suspects have been arrested by the police. In a cellphone recovered from the suspects, the perpetrators were shown laughing while they were taking video of the victim and doing their abominable act. This crime deserves the death penalty like in the elec-

P

Water accountability

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has every reason to get mad at the top officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and the two private concessionaires in Metro Manila. He has threatened to fire regulators for failing to anticipate and do something about the water supply problem in Metro Manila, and terminate the contracts of the two concessionaires in the capital region.

Some 1.2-million house- and Ipo Dam in Norzagaray

holds in the east zone of Metro Manila served by Manila Water Co. Inc. have suffered service interruptions for the last two weeks that the company blamed on low water levels at the La Mesa Dam as a result of the El Niño phenomenon. Customers of Maynilad Water Services Inc. in the west zone, in contrast, experienced no interruptions.

President Duterte, perhaps, should start dismissing the key executives of the MWSS, which has taken the responsibility of providing new water sources to augment the supply from Angat

in Bulacan province. The government agency did nothing to correct the situation. It knew very well that relying on a single water system was risky and bad management.

President Duterte must appoint more competent officials at the MWSS, preferably those with engineering and management backgrounds, to deal with the water deficit woes. MWSS administrator Reynaldo Velasco should be blamed for his inaction and failure to identify a new water source since taking over the chief post of the water agency.

The MWSS chief has also shown his early bias for the China-funded Kaliwa Dam project over the proposal of a Japanese company. He readily declared that Kaliwa Dam would be cheaper than an alternative Japanese proposal, without acknowledging the social costs cited by the indigenous residents of General Nakar and Infanta towns in the province of Quezon.

Local government units, in the meantime, should implement the Rainwater Collector and Springs Development Act of 1989, which requires the construction of rainwater collectors in every barangay to prevent flooding and ensure the supply of clean water during dry seasons. Rainwater harvesting is done successfully in other countries and there is no reason why the Philippines, which is visited by at least 20 typhoons every year, cannot do the same.

Turn to A5

Old foes, millennials stand in way of Thai junta polls win

By Aidan Jones/Thanaporn Promyamyai THAILAND holds its first election in eight years on Sunday under rules concocted by a junta to keep it in power, but with the appeal of both old foes and the new millennial vote posing an unpredictable challenge.

The junta seized power in 2014, vowing to rescue the country from a treadmill of coups, short-lived civilian governments, and protests. But the kingdom goes to the polls on March 24 as divided as ever.

The arch-royalist army has no intention of leaving politics and has scripted a constitution that gifts it a foothold in power for a generation.

Standing in its way are supporters of its nemesis, ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who has dominated Thai politics since his first election win in 2001.

He was toppled by an earlier coup in 2006, but his affiliated Pheu Thai party taps a deep seam of loyalty from the poor but populous rural north and northeast.

Thousands of rice farmers gathered in a school yard earlier this week for a Pheu Thai rally in rural Chaiyaphum, applauding promises of better times ahead under an elected government and whistling disapproval at every mention of the junta.

"We still love Thaksin... we want him to come back," 65-year-old Lamoon Moosorping told AFP. Shinawatra-allied parties hope to win a comfortable majority of the 500 elected seats up for grabs across a country wearied by junta rule.

But Sunday's vote is the first under new rules that mean winning the popular vote does not automatically translate into leading a government, or choosing the next prime minister.

Instead, 250 junta-appointed senators are poised to play a key role in shaping the next administration.

With the senate onside, the junta-linked party needs just 126 elected seats to secure a parliamentary majority—setting up a potential collision over a denied mandate.

"Forming a government and governing will be different," warns Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientists at

Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

"We will probably see some kind of deadlock... that will lead to some kind of constitutional crisis."

Heart over head With days to go, election fever has gripped much of a country starved for nearly five years of political expression.

Advance voting last Sunday saw a near 90 percent turnout, while acerbic commentary, memes and satirical swipes are pinballing across social media.

More than seven million millennials are eligible to vote for the first time, most unencumbered by old political loyalties—injecting uncertainty into the outcome.

Sunday's poll will essentially be a "vote on the military" said Thailand expert and historian Chris Baker.

With much of the country viscerally opposed either to the junta or to Thaksin, the ballot will be "more emotional than rational," he added.

The junta's affiliated party Phalang Pracharart is hoping an unspectacular campaign does not translate into a humiliation at the polls.

Its figurehead, army chief-turned-premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha has undergone a last-ditch Instagram makeover in a bid to strike a softer pose and return as a civilian premier, a cause aided by senators whose jobs will be owed to him.

Rivals old and new There are 68 candidates running for prime minister, a collage of seasoned politicians, newcomers and political chameleons like Anutin Charnvirakul, whose Bumjaithai party is heavily tipped for a major post-election role.

But among Prayut's many rivals, it is 40-year-old billionaire Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit who has tapped into the aspirations of millennials who are tired of the polarisation and inequality under the conservative junta.

Articulate and telegenic, Thanathorn blames the junta for bending the economy to big business, straitjacketing Thai Turn to A5

Two views on ‘debt trap’ and after months of negotiations, the Sri Lankan government handed over to the Chinese in December the port and The Philippine 15,000 acres of land around it for 99 government should really years. The transfer gave China control carefully study its options of territory just a few hundred miles off the shores of a rival, India, and a strateTHE New York Times ran a lengthy when considering loans gic foothold along a critical commercial article in June last year entitled "How from China. and military waterway, according to the China got Sri Lanka to cough up a report. This, it said, "is one of the most port." The port referred to is located in vivid examples of China’s ambitious use Hambantota, a sparsely populated area by the Chinese government’s Exportof loans and aid to gain influence around in Sri Lanka’s southeastern coast that's the world—and of its willingness to play said to be still largely overrun by jungle. Import Bank, or Exim. It opened on hardball to collect."

The Hambantota port was built by China Nov. 18, 2010.

The article reported that Sri Lanka In conclusion, the report said the Harbor Engineering Co. one of Beijing's largest state-owned enterprises, for $361 struggled to make payments on the debt Hambantota case underscores China's million, of which 85 percent was funded it had incurred. Under heavy pressure Turn to A5 Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher

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Opinion

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019

The senatorial race IT LOOKS like the eight-man opposition Otso Diretso senatorial ticket backed by former President Benigno Simeon (BS) Cojuangco Aquino III will be shut out of the May 13, 2019 midterm senatorial elections.

With a little over two months before the elections, only one of the eight is likely to make it into the Magic 12 circle of winners, if you believe the Pulse Asia survey of February 2019 involving 1,800 likely voters. The survey has a + and—2.3 percent error margin which means the poll could be a fairly accurate indicator.

The Otso Diretso senatorial candidates are: Pilo Hilbay, Samira Gutoc, Bam Aquino, Gary Alejano, Erin Tañada, Romy Macalintal, Chel Diokno, and Manuel Araneta “Mar” Roxas, a reluctant member of the team and a Liberal Party stalwart.

BS Aquino has campaigned for Otso Diretso but to some observers, he is a negative influence (a hate figure), rather than an advantage, owing to his lamentable performance as president for six years. He was do-nothing, vindictive, and condoned corrupt deals like massive pork barrel, bribery of senators, NFA’s profiteering, smuggling of all kinds, Dengvaxia, passport printing, and Mamasapano massacre.

Per Pulse Asia’s February 2019 survey, Roxas is ninth, Bam Aquino 15th, Diokno 24th, Macalintal 26th, Tañada 27th, Gutoc 28th, and Hilbay is 42nd.

The only anti-Duterte senatorial aspirant who could make it convincingly is returning former LP Senator Roxas whom the President defeated handily in the May 2016 presidential elections.

Mar is ensconced in ninth place with 39.8 percent (equivalent to about 16 million votes) of those surveyed saying they will vote for him. The heir to the vast Cubao landholdings is sometimes not reckoned as part of the Otso Diretso. Mar campaigns most of the time all by his lonesome self.

The real leader of the Otso Diretso team thus is LP reelectionist Senator Bam Aquino, BS Aquino’s cousin. Bam is 15th.

Before he could land in 12th spot, he has to defeat No. 13th Jinggoy Estrada (PMP), and No. 14th Francis Tolentino, (PDP-Laban), both of the Hugpong coalition.

Assuming 40 million votes for senators, Bam’s 30.4 percent rating translates into just 12.16 million votes, more than two million votes behind No. 12, former Senate President Koko Pimentel (of PDPLaban Hugpong), 35.6 percent or 14.24 million; more than 1.4 million votes behind Jinggoy’s 33.9 percent or 13.56 million, and more than 680,000 votes behind Francis Tolentino’s 32.1 percent or 12.84 million votes.

Aquino is a negative figure for Otso Diretso.

electionist, has the support of 61 percent of registered voters, a solo second place.

Third and fourth are former Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go, PDP-Laban, (53 percent) and Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, LDP, (52.2 percent).

Fifth is former Senator Lito Lapid, NPC, picked by 49 percent of registered voters.

Also making it are: Taguig City Representative Pia Cayetano, NP, (47 percent) sixth; and former Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Chief Ronald dela Rosa, PDPLaban, seventh, (44.6 percent).

Reelectionist Senator Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay, (UNA), is preferred by 40.5 percent, eighth place.

Another ex-lawmaker, former Senator Ramon Revilla, Jr., Lakas, is tenth, with voter preference of 36.8 percent. Eleventh and 12th are Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, NP, (36 percent) and Senator Aquilino Pimentel III, PDP-Laban, (35.6 percent).

Jinggoy Estrada (PMP) could make it handily into the winners’ column if the Sandigan dismisses the plunder charges against him. The anti-graft court has granted his petition to seek dismissal of the case.

Only 37 percent have a complete senatorial slate of 12 senators. This could mean those outside the Top 12 could still make it on May 13.

The Puse Asia survey was conducted Feb. 24-28, 2019 using face-to-face interviews.

By region, error margins at 95 percent confidence level are: +/- 6.8 percent for Metro Manila, +/-3.5 percent for the rest of Luzon, +/-5.1 percent for Visayas and +/-4.8 percent for Mindanao.

The fact that Duterte’s personal candidates—Bong Go (third), Bato dela Rosa (sixth), and Tolentino (14th) could win without cheating is a tribute to President Duterte’s political capital.

He enjoys high double-digit approval and trust ratings despite a record 11-yearhigh inflation rate in 2018 and the worst water crisis to inundate Metro Manila this summer.

The margin of error of 2.3 percent translates into 920,000 votes—plus or minus. So Bam could statistically erase Tolentino’s 680,000-vote margin but not Jinggoy’s 1.4-million-vote advantage. But of course, Bam’s dad, Paul Aquino, is a veteran political campaign strategist. That talent Bam should now make use of.

Reelectionist Senator Grace Poe, independent, sustains her lead in the senatorial race in the Pulse Asia survey of February 2019, Pulse Asia says 14 bets (including Jinggoy and Tolentino) have a statistical chance of making it to the winners’ circle if the elections were conducted at the time of the survey.

All the probable winners (Bong Go and Bato dela Rosa are the exceptions) are either former or current members of Congress.

Grace Poe is solo at the top 67.5 percent of voters wanting to vote for her. That’s about 27 million votes.

Senator Cynthia Villar (NP), also a re- biznewsasia@gmail.com

A tale of two Delhis: Deadly air exposes rich poor divide

By Abhaya Srivastava

WALLS draped in lush vertical gardens and air filtered through purifiers insulate diners at a swanky New Delhi food court from the choking haze outside in one of the most polluted places on earth.

But these eco-eateries, offering cleaner air as well as modern menus to the well heeled are beyond reach for the poor, who have little means of escaping the deadly smog which coats the city for much of the year.

Air pollution kills more than one million Indians every year, according to a study by Lancet Planetary Health, and Delhi is ranked one of the most toxic urban centers to live, regularly exceeding World Health Organization limits.

But for Ramavtar Singh there is no escape: Like many of the city's poorest, he eats, sleeps, and works outside.

"I work for six to eight hours every day and my children eat and sleep outside most times of the year," the father of five tells AFP at a roadside food stall, gulping down a 50-cent dish of rice and lentils.

Singh earns a living by cycling passengers and cargo around Delhi on his rickshaw, a strenuous activity that means he's inhaling dangerous concentrations of tiny pollutants deep into his lungs.

At best, he can wrap a rag over his mouth on smoggy days, a low-cost approach taken by laborers and rickshaw

Water...

From A4

tric chair execution of the four accused convicted in actress Maggie de la Riva’s kidnap-rape many years ago.

I would even go as far as suggesting that the closest relative of the heinous crime victim be the one to push the switch to send the electric charge through the body of the guilty.

Old foes,...

From A4

democracy and plunging the kingdom into an outmoded authoritarianism.

He is unlikely to emerge as premier, but analysts are keenly watching his fortunes for signs of the emergence of a new political force.

"We need change, Thanathorn is a light to take us away from all this darkness," said Panitaluck Manokhan, 30, at recent campaign stop.

But it is a familiar face who looms largest over the election—Thaksin Shi-

drivers that does little to prevent the most dangerous particles entering the bloodstream.

Delhi's smog peaks from October to February, routinely exceeding WHO recommendations for PM2.5—tiny and harmful airborne particles—and some days registers levels more than 20 times safe limits.

Experts warn the long term health consequences of living enveloped in pollution are disastrous, often causing chronic sickness and in some cases early death.

'A quick oxygen shot' Across town, Abhimanyu Mawatwal is settling down for lunch at a food court in Worldmark Aerocity, a grand commercial centre boasting purified air.

A meal here could cost twice Singh's monthly salary, but it is a price Mawatwal is willing to pay because outside the smog is at hazardous levels.

"I love to come here for my meals.

It is like getting a quick oxygen shot," the office worker says, surrounded by creeper vines and a faux stream as he breathed lungfuls of filtered air circulating through expensive filters.

"We need to bring greenery to concrete jungles and create places where everybody can come for a breath of fresh air," insists S. K. Sayal, CEO of Bharti Realty which owns Worldmark Aerocity.

Delhi's affluent, who are often better informed about the dangers of pollution, increasingly expect the same safety measures they have in place at home, to be available when they are out.

High-end eateries, bars and cinemas are tapping into that demand—installing electronic air purifiers and creating dedicated areas of rich vegetation to help filter airborne toxins.

But for Singh, and the one in five Indians living on less than $2 a day, visiting such places is nothing more than a fantasy.

"What will I do if I spend all the money on one meal? How will I feed my family?" said the rickshaw cyclist, who earns about 1,200 rupees ($17) a month.

He cannot dream of buying the foreign-made air purifiers to protect his family at home—machines favored by Delhi's elite, expat communities and office workers—that easily cost Singh's annual wage.

"The rich and the poor have to breathe the same poisonous air. But the poor are more exposed to pollution," explains Sunil Dahiya, a campaigner for Greenpeace India.

He adds: "Most of the time, they don't even know the effects the toxic air is having on their health. Poor communities are definitely at the losing end."

AFP

Too cruel? But is it not more cruel to lose the life of a loved one to mindless men who have no regard for the law?

Anyway, the Bible calls for “an eye for an eye” punishment.

The pro-lifers will probably argue that some innocent accused could be executed. But then there is a protracted trial by the courts which determine the guilt or innocence of the accused. A proper court case filed is certainly better than shooting illegal drug suspects on the spot on

the allegation they shot at arresting police operatives. Illegal drug trafficking is just as heinous a crime because the scourge destroys families and young lives.

The death penalty, if restored, would put the fear of God on those who commit heinous crimes and deter others from following the same offenders.

Do I hear a chorus of amen from people who are getting sick and tired of crimes being committed against them and their loved ones?

nawatra.

The ex-cop turned billionaire telecoms mogul, has been in self-exile since 2008 to avoid a jail term on corruption charges.

He still sits at the heart of Thailand's political breakdown—despised by the army and its Bangkok elite allies but adored by the rural poor for farm subsidies and welfare schemes.

Yet a decade after he left Thailand, fortune is not on his side.

Earlier this month, the dissolution of one of his parties—Thai Raksa Chart— left the Shinawatra faction winded.

The party had proposed Princess Ubolratana as its candidate for premier, but the

Thai monarchy is nominally above the political fray and King Maha Vajiralongkorn struck down the move to draft in his elder sister.

The miscalculation took out a key pillar in the Shinawatra election strategy, leaving it with its other party Pheu Thai running in just 250 of a possible 350 constituencies.

Calling for voters to upset the odds with a "landslide victory", Pheu Thai figurehead Sudarat Keyuraphan has appealed to anti-junta sentiment.

"You have to ask yourselves... can you live like this for another five years?" she asked at a rally this week. AFP

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

The evil ICC THE country’s withdrawal from the UN’s International Criminal Court took effect last Sunday, March 17—a year after the government sent its official notice to the UN. Opposing the ICC was and is the right thing to do.

Why? Flashback to 2003: The international community cried crocodile tears when the US withdrew its support of the ICC. Supporters of the court laughed when the US expressed concern that their soldiers could be prosecuted for war crimes. Great Britain’s Prime Minister, Tony Blair, lobbied President Bush to reconsider US withdrawal.

The US, however, at President Bush’s direction, withdrew from the 1998 Rome Statute that established the Court. The action was necessary because, as one of his last acts of office, former President Clinton had committed the US to the ICC, yet another totally unaccountable UN bureaucracy guaranteed to work against their interests.

The Court came into being on April 11, 2002. When the court began its first session, guess who was the first to come under investigation for possible war crimes charges? Saddam Hussein? Osama Bin Laden? The murderous Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe, who was starving his own people and stealing any land owned by a white farmer?

The answer: Tony Blair! The British Prime Minister found himself among one of the first world leaders to be reviewed by the incoming prosecutor of the ICC for his participation in the Iraq war.

The questions were: Could Blair be convicted? Would he be unable to travel to other countries for fear of being arrested by ICC cops? Would an indictment end his political career? Would a conviction mean the establishment of a new order of power in the world?

We must understand that the UN’s ICC is not a tool to fight terrorists or murderous dictators. Rather, it is a sledgehammer in the hands of the very people the rest of the world thinks are “the bad guys.” This gang of brutes, in the guise of international diplomats, fully intends to use the ICC as an equalizer to bring down the moral, productive nations they jealously covet and despise.

The Rome Statute that created the ICC was implemented to prosecute “gross human rights abuses.” In an odd pairing of mutual interests, the US, China, Iraq, and Israel voted against the Statute. The view of the US was that any such court would supersede its Constitution and directly challenge their nation’s sovereignty. This is the single, most important reason for

Two views...

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opposing the ICC. The next reason is that, like everything else associated with the UN, the Court will prove to be an utterly corrupt instrument of politicized coercion.

To back up its opposition, the US enlisted the cooperation of other nations, securing guarantees from more than 20 that US armed forces personnel would not be subject to ICC prosecution. President Bush revoked military aid to 35 nations that would not guarantee US immunity from the Court.

Opposing the ICC was and is the right thing to do.

At a time when the US is being called upon to expand its peacekeeping activities, the last thing it needs is a UN ICC ready to pounce on any excuse to restrict its operations. The US maintains military personnel in 146 nations around the world and in all the oceans and seas. The ICC opens the door to the worst kind of mischief.

There is, of course, an even greater irony. The US underwrites nearly one quarter of the operational funding of the UN. It has allocated more than $726 million to UN peacekeeping activities and $820 million for general migration and refugee assistance. So, while the US picks up the tab, the UN’s ICC is poised to bite the hand that feeds it.

The powers of the US and the Philippines are based on the consent of the governed. At the UN, “laws” are instituted by unknown, faceless bureaucrats and adopted by the consensus of appointed delegates, only one of whom is accountable to our citizens. Any number of current UN treaties, conventions, and protocols claim to exercise control over us. They are called “international obligations,” but under our respective Constitutions, they are totally invalid unless approved by Congress.

The time has long since passed when we should withdraw our support from the UN, in whole and in part. The UN has proven itself not merely irrelevant, but a growing threat to the international interests of free nations in a world of rogue nation-states and shadowy international movements whose purpose is to destroy our nation.

The existence of the ICC is not some noble effort to bring the real despots and dictators to justice; it is itself an instrument of further injustice as we put our citizen-soldiers in harm’s way to rid the world of its worst, most evil elements. eric.jurado@gmail.com

rea and India have begun transshipping increasing numbers of vehicles through Hambantota, being drawn by its convenient location, deepwater berths and availability of storage space.

In the past, automakers in East Asia and India have had to transfer their cargo ships in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, to unload for other destinations.

However, with space limitations in Colombo, Hambantota wants to offer its facility for auto transshipments.

According to the Hambantota International Port Group, 99 percent of employees are Sri Lankans, and many have been sent to Shenzhen to receive portrelated technical training.

With the cooperation between China and Sri Lanka, the port is now gearing up to become a leading port in the Indian Ocean region.

The news report quoted Ravi Jayawickreme, CEO of the port facility, saying the two sides are making efforts to convert the facility into a multipurpose port that could provide a variety of services.

"This area of Hambantota is one of the poorest per capita in the country. So a port like this on the rise is going to be a big boost for the people to raise their living standards," was quoted as saying.

Hambantota is within 20 kilometers of one of the world's busiest shipping lanes where approximately 200 to 300 vessels daily carry two-thirds of global energy products and half of all containerized cargo. Hence, prospects are bright for the port facility to earn revenues and enable Sri Lanka to benefit from the joint venture with China.

The Hambantota case is increasingly being cited by Western media to warn developing nations, including the Philippines, against contracting loans from China. But the Philippine government should really carefully study its options when considering loans from China, and for that matter, all other countries, and go over the terms and conditions with a fine-tooth comb, to see how these would benefit, first and foremost, the national interest and the Filipino people.

global investment and lending program amounting to "a debt trap for vulnerable countries around the world."

That, however, is just one side of the story.

Obviously in reaction to the NYT report, a spokesman of China's Foreign Ministry, Lu Kang, said later that China and Sri Lanka are committed to pushing forward cooperation on the Hambantota port project and realizing the goal of making Sri Lanka the logistics center of the Indian Ocean.

"This is not only conducive to the economic development of Sri Lanka, but also conducive to regional interconnection and the common prosperity of regional countries," the spokesman said.

"According to the needs of Sri Lanka, Chinese financial institutions have provided support to Sri Lanka in solving the financing gap. Later, the Chinese side made efforts to adjust relevant asset allocation according to the wishes of the Sri Lankan side," said Lu, noting that those arrangements will benefit business cooperation between the two sides.

"If the fabricators of the so-called 'debt trap' can not give the developing countries real help, they can at least take a healthy attitude towards the sincere cooperation between other countries," said Lu. A news report in the China Daily on Aug. 28 last year acknowledged that while "the port has endured a relatively slow pace of growth and development in recent times", the joint venture agreement signed in July 2017 to begin operations at Hambantota port is nevertheless poised to show steady growth, with automobile transshipments constituting a major component of the facility's growing business.

Under the JV agreement, China Merchants Port Holdings and Sri Lanka's Port Authority agreed to jointly operate the port via Hambantota International Port Group and Hambantota International Port Services.

Automakers from Japan, South Ko- ernhil@yahoo.com

News

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019 A6 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Invalidate Meralco’s ‘sweetheart deals’, Bayan Muna urges SC T

By Rey E. Requejo

HE Bayan Muna Party-list has joined calls for the Supreme Court to invalidate several alleged “sweetheart deals” between Manila Electric Company and its affiliated power generating companies in 2016, which could result to high power rates for the next 20 years.

In a 28-page petition-in-intervention, Bayan Muna chairman and opposition senatorial candidate Neri Javier Colmenares and Bayan Muna Party-list Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate asked the SC to immediately issue a temporary restraining order and/or preliminary injunction enjoining the Energy Regulatory Commission from approving the said power supply agreements.

The original petition was filed by Alyansa Para sa Bagong Pilipinas, Inc. in 2017.

Bayan Muna also sought to nullify ERC Resolution No. 1 Series of 2016, which reset the deadline for compliance with the competitive selection process (CSP) from Nov. 6, 2015 to April 30, 2016, thus, exempting the power supply agreements (PSA) from undergoing transparent and

public bidding ordained in the CSP. The CSP rules requires power distributors to get at least two offers for supply of electricity before awarding a power supply agreement, ensuring the least cost for electricity consumers.

“There is no reason for the issuance of ERC Resolution No. 1 Series of 2016 other than to facilitate the approval of the several sweetheart and self-negotiated power supply agreements of Meralco and respondents generation compaies, and to circumvent and defeat the CSP Rules and the energy reform policy of the State,” the petition stated.

The petitioners alleged that the intention for the issuance of the said ERC resolution is to give more time to Meralco and respondent generation companies and other players to enter into self-negotiated

PSAs in violation of the CSP policy of the State.

According to the petitioners, by extending the CSP deadline from November 2015 to April 2016, the ERC allowed Meralco to enter into seven with its affiliated power generating companies, tying up 3,551 megawatts, or 90 percent of its supply, to 20-year contracts that would cost consumers P12.44 billion a year.

They warned that historically, Meralco’s negotiated contracts with its subsidiary companies were overpriced by as much as 20 percent compared to those of non-related generating companies.

“Obviously, the ERC knows the benefits of CSP—ensuring a level playing filed, procuring the best offer, ensuring transparency, provides another layer of screening for better price discovery,” the group said.

“And yet, despite these avowed benefts of CSP, the ERC deferred the CSP implementation to a later date. The result of which allowed the biggest distribution utilities in the Philippines, Meralco, to dispose 90 percent of its energy requirement via self-negotiated contracts with affiliated companies; these contract run for 20 long years,” it added.

Besides, the petitioners said ERC violated the laws and its own rules of pro-

cedure when it allowed the questioned PSAs to be filed beyondthe extended deadline.

“The ERC circumvented the CSP mandate twice over – first in extending its actual implementation via the assailed ERC resolution, and second in accommodating the late filers beyond office hours and beyond April 29,” the petition read.

Thus, the petitioners asked the Court to declare null and void the separate PSAs of Meralco with affiliated generation companies for their failure to comply with the CSP rules.

“We believe that some ERC officials bent backwards several times to accommodate these Meralco power deals. We repeat our vow to oppose these PSAs and hold officials who allow it accountable,” the petitioners said.

Aside from Meralco and the ERC, also named as respondents in the original petition were the Department of Energy, Central Luzon Premiere Power Corporation, St. Raphael Power Generation, Panay Energy Development Corporation, Mariveles Power Generation Corporation, Global Luzon Energy Development Corporation, Atimonan One Energy Inc., Redondo Peninsula Energy Inc., and Philippine Competition Commission.

IN BRIEF PUP’s ‘trailblazing’ co-op course lauded THE country’s largest cooperative on Wednesday lauded the Polytechnic University of the Philippines “for blazing the trail” to offer a four-year Bachelor of Science in Cooperatives, saying “there should be a good human resource practice so that young millennials would be able to appreciate working with them.”

At a forum in Quezon City, Roy Miclat, 1 Cooperative Insurance System of the Philippines Life and General Insurance president, said that”while cooperatives have been over-achieving in terms of operational and financial performances, they are rarely seen as employers of choice, particularly among the younger generation of graduates.”

“They [PUP] gambled,” he said.

He said working in a cooperative could be “competitive in terms of career.”

He said they have launched one of their biggest projects, The Koop Leaders Academy (1Koop), a nationwide training program for young cooperative professionals.

“1Koop Leaders Academy is done in partnership with Asia Select Inc., one of the country’s leading human resource companies, that aims to train young minds and build strong foundations in business, tech up their knowledge and skills, and become effective and principled-centered cooperative leaders,” Miclat said. Rio N. Araja

Solon hails passage of law on occupational therapists AN OPPOSITION lawmaker on Thursday hailed the enactment of Republic Act 11241 or “The Philippine Occupational Therapy Law” which upgrades the regulatory framework of Filipino Occupational Therapists.

“RA 11241 formally recognizes Occupational Therapy as an independent medical profession from Physical Therapy. It likewise attunes the practice of the profession to the local and international standards of practice and to the recent developments in the field of healthcare,” Magdalo Party-list Rep. Gary Alejano said.

Alejano principally authored the bill in the 17th Congress.

RA 11241 amends Republic Act No. 5680, a 49-year-old law which regulates two different allied professions, Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy.

Alejano, an oppositionist, said with the enactment of a new law, the government has effectively upgraded and updated the competence, knowledge, and skills of Filipino Occupational Therapists making them globally competitive. Maricel V. Cruz

Cops nab fellow cop with shabu in Las Piñas checkpoint

By Joel E. Zurbano POLICEMEN arrested a colleague in possession of prohibited substance during a checkpoint operation in Las Piñas City early Thursday morning.

Metro Manila police director Guillermo Eleazar identified the suspect as Police Officer 2 Alejandro Gacayan Hernandez, who went AWOL (absent without an official leave) in 2012.

Eleazar said operatives of the Las Pinas City Police Community Precinct 7 caught the suspect in possession of shabu during checkpoint along Alabang-Zapote Road in Barangay Almanza Uno around 4 a.m.

The suspect was onboard a motorcycle with a companion identified as Binggal Servito when they were flagged down for a routine inspection.

The lawmen found three heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing white crystalline substances suspected to be shabu, a weighing scale, an improvised tooter, and a bladed knife from the suspect’s possession.

Servito was also placed under arrest.

The AWOL cop and his companion will be charged with violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 and Batas Pambansa 6 in relation to violation of the Omnibus Election Code.

Eleazar said with the arrest of PO2 Hernandez, the NCRPO under his leadership “will do everything to cleanse its ranks of scalawags and undesirables in order to realize a trustworthy, credible and reliable police organization.”

MIAA gears up for Holy Week passenger rush DESTRUCTIVE FIRE. This aerial photo was taken after a fire incident which burned down 250 houses and left 750 families homeless in Barangay Damayan Lagi in Quezon City on Thursday. Manny Palmero

DOH-Calabarzon provides equipment in fight vs malaria

By Macon Ramos-Araneta TO FURTHER ensure that the fight against malaria remains on track, the Department of Health-CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) has provided equipment to the five Malaria Elimination Hubs located in the provinces to be used for diagnostic and entomological training, quality assurance, and research and development.

“We will continue to provide all the support needed in the fight against malaria to attain our objective of eliminat-

ing malaria by 2020 or the sooner the better,” said Regional Director Eduardo Janairo during the hand-over ceremony of the equipment at the BSA Towers, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City.

The DOH official said that there are still three provinces in the region which have yet to be declared as malaria-free and added that his office will ensure that “every resident of these affected municipalities will be malaria-free.”

‘We need to have reliable diagnosis, highly effective and appropriate treatment and preventive measures to man-

age and implement malaria interventions,” he added.

He also reminded local health officials to make sure that the donated equipment will also have funds for maintenance and preservation.

“It is important na hindi mapabayaan at bigyan natin ng halaga lahat ng mga kagamitan na ating mga natatanggap dahil ang mga ito ay napakaimportante sa ating trabaho, lalu na at nagagamit natin ito to ensure quality malaria services, timely detection of infection at immediate response.”

WATER SUMMIT.

Photo shows (from left) Elisea Gozon former Deparment of Environment and Natural Resources secretary; Ramon Alikpala Cluster B Expert; Roderick M. Planta, assistant secretary for Infrastructure staff, Dr. Sevillo D. David Jr., executive director of NWRB who attended a press conference for the Natonal Water Summit held at NOVOTEL in Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City.

Manny Palmero

Manicad vows to end hunger as he recalls ‘Yolanda’ crisis

IN A campaign stop at Tacloban, Leyte on Tuesday, broadcast journalist and senatorial candidate Jiggy Manicad vowed to end hunger for Filipinos if elected into the Senate as he recalled the food crisis and looting that happened in the city during his television coverage of the aftermath of Typhoon “Yolanda” in 2013.

“My number one platform is food because I saw what we experienced here, not just in Tacloban, not just in Eastern Visayas [during Yolanda]. We got to a point where we had money in our pock-

ets, but we could not buy any food,” Manicad said in a speech in Filipino.

“There was looting. There were people who got food from the stores and went back to pay after the typhoon, but others were so hungry, they forgot to go back,” he added.

According to the veteran journalist, when areas experience a food crisis, chaos ensues. This has prompted him to tackle food security as one of his primary platforms.

“That is why my priority is to strength-

en our agricultural sector by helping our farmers and giving them subsidies, especially for the diesel and gasoline that they use for their equipment,” Manicad explained.

The candidate also batted for benefits to boost the coconut industry and additional investments on irrigation in places with insufficient irrigation systems.

“The President is right to make irrigation free, but there are still places where there is not enough water, so we should really support this,” Manicad said.

THE Manila International Airport Authority is gearing up to accommodate thousands of air travelers going to and coming from Manila to ensure their safety and convenience in time for the observance of Lent.

MIAA general manager Eddie Monreal advised passengers to leave home early to allot more time for travel to the airport during the peak period at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“We expect a heavy volume of travelers in the coming peak travel period.

As a general rule passengers be at the airport at least three hours before their flights. Be sure that travel documents [passports/visas] and ID cards are in your possession and are easily accessible,” he said.

Monreal also asked air travelers to be mindful of valuables and personal belongings as well as infants and small children, and have name tags and distinguishing marks on pieces of luggage for easy identification and ease in retrieval from airport carousel.

Airport authorities also reminded passengers of the following: (a) Know your FBA—Free Baggage Allowance (written at the back of e-ticket)—and pack accordingly; (b) Liquids 100 ML or less can be stored inside hand-carry, in zip-lock bags; liquid amounts more than 100 ml must be placed in checkin luggage; (c) Check-in early at the airport for an easier pre-departure process, and to avoid long security queues; (d) Be aware that counters close one hour before flight departure (e) Be mindful of flight boarding time to avoid flight delays that may inconvenience other passengers as airport personnel are instructed to off-load baggage of passengers not present at the flight’s boarding gate 20 minutes before departure time and (f) Aircraft doors shall be closed 10 minutes before flight departure.

Monreal said a stricter security measure will also be enforced at the airport and a contingency plan will be made to assist Immigration officers in managing queuing in their area so they can maximize use of their people to process arriving and departing passengers of international flights.

He added the MIAA also coordinated with airline representatives, Bureau of Customs, Police-Aviation Security Group, and private security agencies to ensure all their personnel are present to accommodate and protect the passengers.

Monreal said brand new air-conditioners were also set up at NAIA terminal 3 especially at the domestic side where an increase number of both domestic and international passengers are expected. Joel E. Zurbano

Sports

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FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Guidicelli, Pascual join IRONMAN MATTEO Guidicelli and Piolo Pascual take time out from their hectic schedules to showcase their sporting prowess again as they head a big number of celebrities suiting up for the second Alveo IRONMAN 70.3 Davao presented by Petron on Sunday (March 24) at Azuela Cove.

Guidicelli and Pascual have been competing in the annual event the past few years as part of their healthy lifestyle and their presence has boosted each IRONMAN staging in terms of participation and popularity.

Joining them are Kim Atienza, Dingdong Dantes and Bubbles Paraiso with a lot more vying either in individual or team competition of the grueling 1.9K swim, 90K bike, 21K run event.

Meanwhile, the IronGirl ushers in the Ironman weekend with 1,000 participants taking part in the 5k fun run put up by Herbalife Nutrition for 12-years-old-andabove at 5 p.m. today (Friday, March 22).

Still, focus will be on the centerpiece Elite division with Mexican Mauricio Mendez and Czech Radka Kahlefeldt bracing for a tougher, fiercer challenge from a slew of top-notch rivals out to foil their back-to-back title bids in the event organized and conducted by Sunrise Events, Inc. The crack Aussie side, for one, is going all out to re-stamp its class in the event it used to dominate with former world champion Tim Reed leading the charge along with Sam Betten, Tim Van Berkel, David Mainwaring, Matt Lewis and Fraser Walsh.

Meanwhile, Kahlefeldt gears up for a showdown with regular Phl campaigners Caroline Steffen of Switzerland, Dimity Lee Duke, Kirra Seidel and Lisa Tyack of Australia, and Guam’s Manami Iijima in their side of the duel.

Bets from the United Arab Emirates, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Mexico, Ukraine, India, Malaysia, Qatar, the US, Belgium, Spain, Italy, New Caledonia, Singapore make up the bulk of more than 2,200 triathletes vying in the event.

The other entries are from South Africa, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Great Britain, Korean, Norway, Thailand, Switzerland, Greece, Kuwait, New Zealand, Turkey, China, Guam, Mexico, Panama and Taiwan.

For details, visit the event’s website at www.ironman.com/davao703.

Backers of the event are title sponsor Alveo, an AyalaLand company, presentor Petron, venue hosts Lungsod ng Dabaw, Azuela Cove and the Enderun Tent, bike course partners Davao del Norte, Panabo, Tagum and Carmen, official courier and logistics partner 2Go Express, official swim cap TYR, official energy gel GU, official nutrition Vitargo, official eyewear Rudy Project, and Aboitiz Power, Davao Light, David’s Salon, Davao Metro Shuttle, Prudential Guarantee, and media partners ONE Sports on Cignal, the Philippine Star, Trilife, AsiaTri.com and Finisher Pix.

2 venues to host Best Center clinics TWO venues in Quezon City and one in Manila will host the Best Center’s basketball and volleyball clinics next month.

St. Patrick School in Bahay Toro, Project 8 in QC will be hosting the award-winning group’s basketball and volleyball clinics from April 6 to May 1, according to Nic Jorge, founder of the Basketball Efficiency and Scientific Training Center sponsored

by MILO supported by Rain or Shine, SKLZ and Chris Sports, The Malate Catholic School in Manila will also be a venue for basketball clinics.

The Ateneo college covered courts, meanwhile, will have volleyball clinics from April 10 to May 8.

Early enrollees will be accepted at the Malate Catholic School, Ateneo and at the Starmall Alabang, call 411-6260 372-3065/66 or contact bestcenter.inquiry@gmail.com and Facebook: bestcentersportsinc.

Moreno tops Phoenix 2019 slalom meet

Jevoy Moreno of the JAF Racing Team maneuvers his way around the tricky course en route to the overall and front wheel best time of the day.

Butler, Embiid star as Sixers turn back Celtics

L

OS ANGELES—Jimmy Butler led a fourth quarter comeback as the Philadelphia 76ers overpowered the Boston Celtics 118-115 in a stormy Eastern Conference duel on Wednesday.

Butler scored 15 points in the final period as the Sixers overturned a ninepoint deficit to seal their first win of the season against Boston while extending their winning streak to six games.

Butler, who was slow to settle in Philadelphia following his acrimonious move from the Minnesota Timberwolves in November, finished with 22 points including a decisive jump shot late in the fourth quarter.

Center Joel Embiid also delivered a towering performance for the Sixers, finishing with 37 points, a career-high 22 rebounds and four assists.

Embiid was also at the center of the bruising encounter’s flashpoint in the third quarter which led to Celtics star Marcus Smart being ejected.

Replays appeared to show Embiid obstruct Smart with an elbow, prompting a furious reaction from the Celtics guard.

Smart shoved Embiid forcefully to the floor after their collision, triggering a

melee. Embiid refused to react, and officials wasted no time in tossing Smart from the contest.

Boston meanwhile were left to reflect on a frustrating evening which saw them fail to capitalise on a big early lead of 60-46 in the second quarter.

Kyrie Irving led the scoring with 36 points for the Celtics, who fell to 43-28 with the loss. The 76ers improved to 4625 to keep a firm grip on third place in the Eastern Conference table.

‘Unstoppable’ Embiid

Embiid meanwhile said he had been determined to produce a big performance after being riled by suggestions that the Celtics defense had his measure.

“I’ve been hearing that these guys can guard me better than anyone else, so I just had to come out and show that I’m the most unstoppable player in the league,” the 7ft tall Cameroonian said.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens took a

dim view of Smart’s loss of control that saw him ejected.

“We needed him out there,” Stevens said. “We love all that Marcus is. And part of Marcus is his fire. A time or two a year, it gets the best of him.”

Embiid meanwhile had special praise for Butler’s decisive fourth quarter contribution.

“He’s a closer,” Embiid said. “My job is to get him in the forecourt and let him do his thing. The last few games he’s been fantastic.”

In other games Wednesday, James Harden exploded for 57 points but could not prevent the Houston Rockets stumbling to a shock 125-126 overtime defeat to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Harden’s half-century led the scoring but Memphis grabbed victory courtesy of 35 points from Mike Conley and 33 points from Jonas Valanciunas.

It was a similar story in Oklahoma City, where Russell Westbrook delivered a virtuoso display which ultimately proved to be in vain as the Thunder fell 123-114 in overtime to the Toronto Raptors.

Westbrook finished with 42 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists while Paul George had 19 points. AFP

Blackbeard’s sports cafe opens at Vermosa Hub SANTE Fitness Lab announced recently its partnership with Blackbeard’s Seafood Island, conceptualized to serve athletes and fitness enthusiasts of Vermosa Sports Hub with healthy and delicious food options.

The Vermosa Sports Hub is located in Imus, Cavite.

Founded in 2004, Blackbeard’s Seafood Island is the leading seafood destination of the Philippine islands and currently operates 40 stores nationwide. The company then went on to open an auxiliary store called the “Biker’s Café,” which caters to a community of bikers and fitness enthusiasts.

“We’re happy to partner with Santé Fitness Lab and put up something for the Vermosa community. For us, this is not just about doing business but most importantly, our multisports café is about building goodwill with our customers, especially when it comes to health and wellness,” said Raymund Magdaluyo, president of The Blackbeard’s Seafood Island Group.

Santé’s CEO Joey Marcelo said that he and Magdaluyo belong to the same community. He explained that they first met through triathlon and that they’ve always wanted a foot inside the food business.

“Our niche is health and wellness and, I wanted to focus on that once I venture into the food business. I was adamant about doing it with Raymund since it’s his area of expertise.

Sante and Vermosa Sports Hub seal their pact with a handshake.

So, we’re pleased that we now have the opportunity since Vermosa Sports Hub asked us for a possibility of setting up a restaurant that will not only serve the community in Vermosa but the sports hub, as well,” said Marcelo.

To know more about Santé Fitness Lab and other upcoming events, visit their official Facebook page at https://www. facebook.com/santefitnesslab/.

Bataan, Manila clash in MPBL northern semifinals AFTER months of waiting, powerhouse teams Bataan and Manila set up their Final Four showdown for the semifinal round of the northern division of the MPBL Datu Cup. This happened after the Risers and the Stars closed out their series against their respective quarterfinal rivals late Wednesday night at the San Andres Gym in Manila.

Bataan dumped Caloocan, 83-71, to complete the sweep as Richard Escoto had a solid game for the Zetapro-backed Risers.

The pride of Far Eastern University

finished with 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the Risers charge.

Also making key contributions were Gab Dagangon, who contributed 15 markers, including three triples, while Gary David and Alfred Batino each had 13 markers for the Risers.

Bataan will face Manila, a 92-83 winner over Bulacan, in the other game.

With three players ending up with a double-double performance, the Robust Energy Capsule-backed Stars were able to sweep the Mighty Sports-supported

Kuyas, who bowed out of the quarterfinals for the second straight season.

Aris Dionisio tallied 17 points and 12 rebounds, ex-pro Marvin Hayes had 16 markers on top of 10 boards, while promising frontliner Mark Cruz had 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Stars’ big men outplayed their counterparts.

Manila’s dominant frontline allowed the Stars to win the rebounding department, 53-44. The Stars also got 56 points from inside the shaded lane compared to only 44 for Bulacan.

Smart powers Mobile Legends Pro League Season 3; P5M at stake PLDT wireless subsidiary Smart Communications is backing the upcoming season of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Philippines (MPL-PH), the country’s biggest professional Mobile Legends: Bang Bang tournament.

With a prize pool of USD 100,000 (over P5 million), the MPL-PH Season 3 will pit the best Mobile Legends teams from

all over the country starting March 23 to May 5, 2019.

MPL-PH Season 3 will feature the previous season’s top contenders, including Cignal Ultra, BREN Esports, Sterling Global Dragons (formerly Finesse Solid), Evos.PH Gaming (formerly SXC Imba), Aether Atlas (formerly Aether Main), and Execration.

New teams that have made it through the open and main qualifier stages— Finesse Phoenix, ArkAngel (formerly ArkAngel Wicked Minds), Arkangel Ownage, and No Limit—are also expected to heat up the competition.

The hugely popular multiplayer online battle arena game is the first esports title that will be included in the 2019 South-

east Asian (SEA) Games to be held in the country. This is also the first time that esports will be a medal sport in a regional sporting event accredited by the International Olympic Committee.

As the country’s digital services leaders, PLDT and Smart have been staunch supporters of the Philippines’ rapidly growing and highly competitive esports programs.

JEVOY Moreno of JAF Racing Team made good headstart in the opening leg of the 2019 RACE Motorsports Club Phoenix Pulse Technology National Slalom Series.

Moreno won the overall and Front Wheel best time of the day from his closest rival Milo Rivera of Tough Gear Racing Team.

Moreno clocked 47.80, while Rivera posted 48.12.

Coming in 3rd was Estefano Rivera with a 48.78, while Powee Base of PMMS Rennsport Racing Team placed 4th with 49.66.

Ryan Ablang of Auto Force Racing Team (49.72) and Douglas Maningding of Speedmode Racing Team (49.90) placed 5th and 6th, respectively.

Meanwhile, Milo Rivera captured the rear wheel production best time of 48.12, followed by his brother Estefano (48.78) and Joseph Ortega of Pongga Racing Team.

Rod Chang of JAF Racing Team Bulacan brought home the novice best clocking of 50.78, followed by Dr. JP Polintan (51.18), Amile Barquez of Auto Force Racing Team (51.22) and Karl Sena (51.34).

The 2019 RACE Motorsports Club Phoenix Pulse Technology National Slalom Series with enhanced power and acceleration is also supported by major sponsors Federal Tires and 3K Batteries, Robinsons Novaliches and Robinsons Malls. It is also supported

by Starbright Body Kits, Auto Transporter, media partners Stoplight TV, C! Magazine, Auto Car Magazine Magazine, Power Wheels Magazine, Medical Team Aeromed and Walter Lights and Sounds.

The event was participated in by Tough Gear Racing Team, Speedmode Racing Team, G Spot Racing Team, Auto Force Racing Team, RODLEA Racing Team, Stage 1 Racing Team Nueva Ecija, PMMS Rennsport Racing Team, Pongga Racing Team, Melworks Bulacan and JAF Racing Team.

The 2nd leg will be held on April 13 at the Clark Global City, while the 3rd leg is set on April 28 at the Robinsons Starmills Pampanga.

Winners of 1st leg will get their awards during the 2nd leg on April 13.

The 1st Slalom Invitational will be held on March 24 at Robinsons Place Calasiao Pangasinan.

For details, contact Bing Bang Dulce at 09178119337 or like the event’s Facebook page of racemotorsportsclub.

BVR on Tour: 24 teams competing A CRACK field of 24 teams—12 from the women’s and men’s division—will go all out for glory in the Beach Volleyball Republic On Tour Santa Fe Open slated to open this weekend.

The Beach Placid Resort in the scenic Bantayan Island in Cebu will play host to the country’s best sand court players for the third straight year, as the previous leg’s champions Bea Tan and Dij Rodriguez, representing Negros, and Ranran Abdilla and Jessie Lopez, carrying the banner of Air Force, hope to figure prominently anew for the crown.

Rounding out the competition are teams from PetroGazz, Cebu, Visayas, National University, Cebu, Bacolod, University of San Carlos, Southwestern University and Russia.

Cebu Provincial Sports Commission commissioner Nimrod Quiñones is looking forward for the province’s sucessful hosting of the BVR on Tour Santa Fe Open.

“The CPSC continues to support BVR on Tour because volleyball is one of the most popular sports in Cebu. Beach volleyball is also a major crowd drawer and is in line with our thrust to push sports tourism,” said Quiñones.

“While the CPSC is working hard to develop our grassroots sports, these events featuring the elite athletes are part of the program as it gives our athletes and opportunity to see the best players up close and learn from them,” he added.

Last year, the Visayan-based squads ruled the Santa Fe leg, with UNO-R’s Alexa Polidario and Erjane Magdato topping the women’s side, while Cebu’s Jade Becaldo and Calvin Sarte emerging triumphant in the men’s section.

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor

sports@manilastandard.net

sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

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FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019

Lady Bulldogs reach UAAP softball Final 4

Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh and Aubrey Tom (inset) are shown during their golden performances in the Luzon Leg of the 2019 Philippine National Youth Games-Batang Pinoy.

NATIONAL University bested University of the Philippines, 4-2, to secure the last Final Four slot Thursday in the UAAP Season 81 softball tournament at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Pearly Joy Lorca sent Leila Tarroza in the top sixth to put the Lady Bulldogs ahead at 3-2.

Aside from that go-ahead RBI, Lorca scored a run to give NU the needed separation.

Elsie dela Torre pitched well in the final 3 1/3 innings for the Lady Bulldogs, fanning out two Lady Maroons batters.

NU will face defending eight-time champion Adamson University in the semifinals starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at the same Malate venue.

The other semis pairing pits No. 2 De La Salle and No. 3 University of Santo Tomas at 11 a.m. The Lady Falcons and the Lady Batters earned twice-to-beat bonus in the Final Four after finishing 1-2 in the double-round eliminations.

The deciding Final Four matches, if necessary, will be played on Monday, while best-of-three championship is set on March 29.

Els names his deputies MELBOURNE—International team captain Ernie Els has named South Korea’s KJ Choi, fellow South African Trevor Immelman and Canada’s Mike Weir as his final three assistants for this year’s Presidents Cup in Melbourne.

Els had already picked Australia’s Geoff Ogilvy as one of his four helpers for the tournament against the Tiger Woods-led Americans at the Royal Melbourne Golf Club—Australia’s oldest—from December 12-15.

Choi was an assistant to skipper Nick Price in 2015, as was Weir, while Immelman will be making his debut in the role.

“As the most successful Asian golfer on the PGA Tour, KJ certainly commands a lot of respect amongst our players and I believe he will fire up our guys at Royal Melbourne,” Els said.

“I have known Trevor for a very long time and trust him fully to know that he will be an integral element in our team,” he added.

“I’ve played on the same International team with Mike on four occasions and he’s one of the most passionate guys I know when it comes to the Presidents Cup.” All three bring extensive experience to the matchplay team event.

Weir played five Presidents Cups, Choi three and Immelman two.

They have their work cut out. The US team won the last tournament in Jersey City in 2017 by 19-11, their seventh straight triumph.

The only win by the Internationals in the biennial event’s 25-year history was in Melbourne in 1998, when they were captained by Peter Thomson.

Last month, Woods named the experienced Fred Couples, Steve Stricker and Zach Johnson as three of his assistants. AFP

Mojdeh, Tom win 5 golds each in games

By Peter Atencio

I

LAGAN—Two more youngsters, Micaela Jasmine Mojdeh and Aubrey Tom, finished their campaigns with five gold medals apiece in the swimming meet of the Luzon Leg of the 2019 Philippine National Youth Games-Batang Pinoy qualifying competitions here.

The 12-year-old Mojdeh came off a tiring and hectic schedule with her fifth gold medal--her 37th overall since the start of the year after she topped the 1315 year old, 200-meter girls’ butterfly event at the end of Day 4.

On the other hand, the 12-year-old Tom claimed a fifth gold medal for Cainta, Rizal, snaring the 12-under girls’ 50-meter freestyle action with a personal best of 29.46 seconds.

Both joined the Mark Bryan Dulas as the most bemedalled athletes of the games.

The 12-year-old Dulas took golds for Paranaque in the 50-meter backstroke, the 200-meter and 100-meter backstroke and 100m and 50m butterfly in boys’ 12-under.

Mojdeh’s clocking of 2 minutes and 35.74 seconds kept her within range of her goals, giving Team Paranaque a fourth gold medal at the old Isabela Sports Complex pool.

“Dahil pagod po ako, habol ko lang

iyung time na iyun. Iyung below that time sa Palarong Pambansa ko na lang po gagawin iyun,” said the eighth grader at the Immaculate Heart of Mary College-Paranaque, who is getting ready to meet older rivals in the secondary level.

Mojdeh, who outpaced Mariah Ubaldo of Laguna by some 13 seconds and Maglia Dignadice of Puerto Princesa, came up with a two-gold haul in the 200m and the 400m individual medley in Day 1.

On Day 2, Mojdeh got two more after winning the 100m butterfly in 1:06.30 and 50m fly in 30.44 to increase her total to four.

Since the beginning of the year, Mojdeh has had two age-group campaigns in Japan and China and has joined four local meets as well. She qualified in four individual events in the Palaro as well.

Tom, a Grade 6 student from International Learning Academy, came in by more than two seconds ahead of Laguna’s Quantrella Wangkay of Laguna, exceed-

ing her coach Jaime Villa’s expectations.

“I just improved on my time and enjoyed this race,” said Tom, who slowed down in the last five meters after she nearly lost coordination with her leg movements while trying to increase her pace in the final stretches.

Tom’s other golds were in the 50-meter backstroke, the 200-meter individual medley honors, the 100-m freestyle mint and the 50-meter backstroke gold.

In athletics, Zambales bet Janine Ledina added a second gold to her collection after she ruled the girls’ discus throw. She earlier took the gold in the javelin throw.

Aidan Raguine of Pangasinan City claimed the men’s long jump gold, while Erica Ruto dominated the girls 100-meter run.

Laguna Province scored a double victory in the 2000m steeplechase event as James Bryle Ballester and Magvrylle Chrause Matchino prevailed in the boys’ and girls’ categories, respectively.

In archery, Pangasinan took three golds, with one off Dinna Medina, who topped the 60-meter event of the girls individual cadet. The other two came from Zhyrinne Bastasa (1440 meter qualification round of the girls cadet), and from Jershey Salem(1440 meter qualification round of the boys’ cadet).

Lifesavers eke out marathon 5-set win in Superliga Grand Prix

Kanjana Kuthaisong of Generika scores one against United VC’s Kalei Mau and Arianne Angustia.

GENERIKA-AYALA survived a furious the 33-point performance of Mau, who is performance from Filipino-American star gaining a reputation of being one of the Kalei Mau to score a come-from-behind country’s best attackers.

25-23, 21-25, 19-25, 27-25, 15-12 victory “I asked the team if they have the power over United VC in the Philippine Super- to play in the fifth set. Because if they don’t liga Grand Prix yesterday at the Filoil Fly- have the power, we will definitely lose the ing V Centre. game,” said Generika-Ayala coach SherImport Kanjana Kuthaisong and skipper win Meneses, whose wards improved to Angeli Araneta came 3-7 win-loss card as to the rescue for the this season-opening Lifesavers, who hung conference enters the Games Tomorrow (FilOil Flying V Centre) tough down the stretch crucial stretch of preto eke out the thrillliminaries.

4:00 p.m. — Generika-Ayala vs Sta. Lucia 6:00 p.m. — F2 Logistics vs Petron ing win in this pres“But they showed tigious women’s club that they are in great tourney bankrolled by condition and they Asics, Mueller, Mikasa, Senoh, Team Rebel have what it takes to win in five sets.”

Sports, Bizooku, UCPB Gen, Cocolife, HoSpiker Fiola Ceballos was also instrutel Sogo and Data Project. mental with 16 hits while Mikaela Lopez Kuthaisong finished with 19 points, in- chipped in nine markers for Generikacluding the match-clinching kill, while Ayala, which drew impressive performance Araneta had only eight points but provided from libero Bia General who had 33 digs tons of leadership down the stretch for the and 20 excellent receptions.

Lifesavers, who lost middle blocker Marivic Still, it was Araneta who held the Meneses to injury.

Lifesavers together when the game was More than that, the Lifesavers survived on the line.

Games Today

(Ynares Center, Antipolo) 4:30 p.m. — TNT KaTropa vs Columbian Dyip 7:00 p.m. — Magnolia vs Blackwater

Bong Ravena

TNT KaTropa tries to boost bid for Top 2

By Jeric Lopez RED-HOT TNT KaTropa wants to make a stronger bid for a top two finish when it shoots for a fifth straight win in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. Riding high on its recent success, the Tropang Texters (6-3) aim to close in at second spot when they cross paths with Columbian Dyip (4-6) at 4:30 p.m. today as the scene shifts to Ynares Center in Antipolo City.

In the final offering, Magnolia (4-5) continues its bid for a better placing inside the top eight when it goes up against already ousted cellar-dweller Blackwater (2-8) at 7 p.m.

Currently the league’s hottest team, TNT KaTropa, already assured of a berth in the quarterfinals, looks to stay sizzling to remain in the hunt for the No. 2 seed and the last twice-tobeat incentive in the next round.

Texters’ coach Bong Ravena made that very clear.

“We still have a good chance of climbing to No. 2,” he said. “If we win our remaining games, we’ll have a shot.”

The Texters are running third right now and can still tie Rain or Shine, who finished at 8-3, at No. 2.

For that to happen, they need to take care of business against the Dyip, who are in dire need of a victory to enter the top eight at the moment.

The Hotshots are currently tied with Alaska and NLEX for spots No. 6 to 8.

A victory is essential for them to gain a leverage and move closer to securing a berth in the next phase.

IN BRIEF Globe preparing mobile workforce GLOBE Telecom Inc. asked enterprises to prepare for a mobile workforce to remain competitive.

Peter Maquera, senior vice president for Globe’s enterprise group, said companies should be able to provide an environment that allows employees to collaborate and be productive anywhere in real time.

“Given the present-day realities of business, this kind of flexibility is not just desirable but is essential for the digital workforce to adapt easily to disruptive technology,” Maquera said.

“Taking the digital leap means a more efficient and secure manner of doing tasks while being more cost-efficient and reliable,” he said.

The cloud-based software allows employees to easily work together on a project in real time even if they are in different locations. Members of the workforce can also access, edit and share their files wherever they may be.

Maquera said the initial phase of rolling out new technology and convincing employees to embrace change was always the hardest challenge to hurdle which Globe experienced when it began the out-of-office initiative in 2013. Darwin G. Amojelar

Business

Security Bank holds forum on infra deals SECURITY Bank Corp. held its second economic forum for 2019 at the Edsa Shangri-La Manila in Mandaluyong City, highlighting the ‘Build, Build, Build’ program of the government and its impact on various businesses nationwide.

Security Bank sees ‘Build, Build, Build’ as a boon for the national economy because of the expected improvement in connectivity between key investment hubs across the country.

“We are in the middle of an economic milestone that will benefit the Philippines in the medium and long run.

With 28 big-ticket projects expected to be completed by 2022, truly, the country is at the cusp of the golden age of an infrastructure boom. This economic forum will hopefully help our clients determine how their companies can capitalize on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Security Bank president and chief executive Alfonso Salcedo Jr. Political and economic factors are intertwined prompting an expanded agenda in Security Bank’s Economic Forum.

“We have revised our economic forum to make it more interesting and relevant to its participants. We deem it important to include political developments and risks as necessary in helping the participants in the forum to make informed business decisions,” Salcedo said.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019

B1

By Alena Mae S. Flores

REFORESTATION PROJECT. Global Business Power Corp., through subsidiaries Panay Energy Development Corp. and Panay Power Corp., teams up with the West Visayas State University College of Agriculture and Forestry for the Handumayan Reforestation and Carbon Sink Project within 150 hectares in Lambunao, Iloilo. The seven-year project highlights the shared commitment of GBP and WVSU to help conserve the environment and mitigate the effects of climate change. Signing the agreement are (seated from left) City Environment and Natural Resources officer-in-charge Glenn del Norte, GBP assistant vice president Gemiliano Cruz, GBP corporate environment, safety and health manager Edwin de Jesus and WVSU vice president for administration and finance Dr. Bobby Gerardo.

BSP keeps rates steady under Diokno’s leadership

By Julito G. Rada

T

HE Monetary Board, the policy-making body of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, on Thursday kept the benchmark interest rates steady amid the slowdown in the inflation rate.

Presiding for the first time as its chairman, Bangko Sentral Governor Benjamin Diokno said in a briefing after the meeting that the board maintained the policy rate at 4.75 percent. The interest rates on the overnight lending and deposit facilities were also held steady.

“The board’s decision is based on its assessment that prevailing monetary policy settings remain appropriate,” Diokno said, adding the baseline inflation forecasts showed inflation settling

within the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for 2019 and 2020.

He said inflation pressures eased further since the previous monetary policy meeting, reflecting mainly the decline in food prices amid the improved supply conditions.

The board reduced the inflation target this year to 3 percent from the estimate of 3.1 percent made in the Feb. 7 meeting. The forecast for 2020 was kept at 3 percent.

BSP Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said among the factors considered for the downward revision in inflation forecasts were the latest inflation outturn in February at 3.8 percent―a one-year low―and the expected decline in Dubai crude oil.

“We expect the downward trajectory of inflation to continue in 2019 and 2020 and stabilize around 3 percent,” Guinigundo said.

The expected resumption of the reduction in reserve requirement did not happen Thursday―as what most analysts predicted prior to the meeting―

but Guinigundo said this was discussed during the meeting.

“It remains on the table but the issue in terms of RRR cut is the timing. This was discussed by the board but agreed that we will do it at the right timing,” Guinigundo said.

The reserve requirement or cash reserve ratio is a central bank regulation that sets the minimum amount of reserves that should be held by a commercial bank.

ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Mapa said although the RRR was left out again in Diokno’s statement, “ a reduction in RRR may be cooking.”

Diokno said the board observed that overall prospects for domestic activity continued to be firm, backed by a projected recovery in household spending and the continued implementation of the government’s infrastructure program.

“However, there are risks to economic growth in 2019 if the current budget impasse in Congress is not resolved soon,” Diokno said.

Cathay Land sees P12b in revenues from 4 new towers PROPERTY developer Cathay Land Inc. said it expects to raise P12 billion in revenues from the sale of four towers in Las Piñas City.

Cathay Land’s project Anantara Square is strategically located along Alabang-Zapote Road between SM South Mall and Robinsons Place Las Piñas. The location places future residents within easy reach of Alabang, the central business district in southern part of Metro Manila.

“Given our project’s strategic location in the dynamic south of the metro, our highly attractive launch price and easy payment scheme make Anantara Square an ideal investment,” said Cathay Land president Jeffrey Ng. Ng said it is the right time to launch Anantara Square as property consultancy firm Santos-Knight Frank recently tagged Alabang as the next “hotspot” in the fast-growing Metro Manila property sector.

Santos-Knight Frank said in its 2019 Wealth Report that Alabang was poised to be the next hotspot in Metro Manila, with a series of major infrastructure and development projects set to enhance the area’s accessibility and appeal.

The consultancy firm said Skyway Stage 3 which is due for completion mid next year would boost the appeal of Alabang as a residential and commercial hub. Othel V. Campos

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

PH vulnerable to more fuel price increases

PH-China tie-up to support growth FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said the stronger cooperation between the Philippines and China could help the two countries defy headwinds that threaten to stifle economic growth in the years ahead.

Dominguez said like China, the Philippines was well-positioned to maintain its high growth trajectory “long into the future” such that the government retained as its fighting target a gross domestic product expansion rate of 7 percent for 2019 despite adverse trends in the global economy.

The source of the Philippines’ growth, he said, was its increasing shift from consumption to investments, supported by a growing domestic market as well as more intensive regional integration among Southeast Asian economies.

“The economies of our two countries are leading the region in growth. Both our economies demonstrated resiliency in the face of global challenges. With our increased cooperation, we can better defy the adverse developments at the global level and continue our rapid expansion to benefit our peoples,” Dominguez said in a keynote speech during the Philippine Economic Briefing at the Shangri-La Hotel in Beijing.

Julito G. Rada

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

THE Energy Department on Thursday asked Filipino consumers to brace for continued increases in world oil prices and use energy more efficiently amid the tension in several oil exporting nations.

“The nation, along with the majority of the globe, is facing the realities of socio-political turmoil in oilproducing countries, which, sadly, results in fluctuations of oil prices. I cannot stress enough that, as an oil importing country, our market is susceptible to these effects, and it is up to us as a nation how we handle this challenge,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.

Oil industry sources confirmed a possible increase in oil prices next week because of the movement in the world oil market.

The agency said that recent world events again caused an increase in oil prices in the local market.

It said oil production by members of the Oil Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil producers continued to decline.

Saudi Arabia, which has one of the largest contributions to world oil supply, steadily reduced its crude oil production by 336,000 barrels a day this month, bringing the total OPEC reduction to around 1.6 million barrels a day.

Saudi Arabia is expected to have lower exports of crude oil in April, amounting to a reduction of 635,000 barrels per day.

Actions by the United States, with the imposed sanctions on Venezuela and Iran, also affected world oil prices, including the expiration of the Iran export waiver in April, which would translate into a further reduction of crude oil supply by 1.1 million barrels per day.

The department said this already resulted in recent cuts of US oil reserves, causing the overall increase in crude prices.

It said in the East Asian region, scheduled shutdowns related to the maintenance of oil processing facilities in Japan (JXTG Nippon Oil & Energy) and China (Sinopec) were expected to contribute to the further reduction of oil supply.

URC opens new flour mill in Davao City

By Jenniffer B. Austria

EASTERN’S AWARD. Eastern Communications, one of the country’s leading telecommunications companies, wins a gold Anvil for ‘Our Strong Connection’ campaign at the 54th Anvil Awards Gabi ng Parangal at the Marriott Grand Ballroom in Parañaque City. Receiving the award are Eastern Communications co-coordinator Aileen Regio (fifth from left) and marketing services head Jedrek Estanislao (third from right).

Metro Manila water shortage to affect economic competitiveness

By Othel V. Campos BUSINESSMEN expressed concern over the water shortage in Metro Manila, saying it could affect the country’s economic competitiveness.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the largest umbrella of business organizations in the country, called for urgent short- and long-term solutions to the water shortage.

“The shortage we are experiencing now is obviously a cause for alarm,” PCCI president Alegria Sibal Limjoco said.

She said the situation was not only hurting consumers but could also affect the country’s competitiveness because

water is an important input to the industry.

Limjoco said the country began seeing that the demand for clean water had exceeded the rate of replenishment from existing sources.

“And unless we develop other sources while slowing down our demand for water, we are faced with dire consequences that could have a negative impact on our goals to achieve industrialization and economic transformation,” Limjoco said.

PCCI welcomed the government efforts to mitigate the situation in Metro Manila by increasing the release of water supply from Angat Dam. It likewise acknowledged Manila Water for owning up to its shortcoming and

commended the company’s positive response to the call to immediately make more water available to consumers in its service areas.

“It takes great courage to admit such grave responsibility. The actions of Manila Water simply proved how much they value their stakeholders,” Limjoco said.

The association said these stop-gap initiatives should be complemented by long-term measures to effectively and efficiently manage and utilize the country’s water resources.

It said that if no measures would be taken to address the current supply shortage, the water crisis experienced now could become a normal occurrence in the future.

UNIVERSAL Robina Corp., the food manufacturing arm of the Gokongwei group, inaugurated a new mill in Davao to meet the country’s growing demand for high-grade flour.

URC said in a statement the new plant would increase production in Davao to 900 metric tons (MT) from 300 per day, widening its coverage and support volume growth in the area.

This will also bring URC’s total milling capacity to 2,150 MT, including the output from Manila.

“We are bullish because we are buoyed by the prospects of the continued forecast of growth for wheat demand in the Philippines in the coming years,” said URC flour and pasta division business unit general manager Ellison Lee. The Philippines expects wheat imports to increase to 6.3 million MT this year from 5.98 million MT last year.

“We remain steadfast in our commitment of using only imported highquality wheat to mill in our plants, following stringent standards and control, to ensure the achievement of desired quality and consistency for our customers’ needs,” said Lee. Lee said the expansion was also a part of the company’s ambition to become globally competitive and cater to the needs of a growing sophisticated market.

The expansion will also enable URC to tap into markets abroad.

Designed and supplied by Swiss tech firm Buhler, the new plant is among the most modern to come online.

B2

Business

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks jump on dovish Fed tone T HE stock market surged Thursday after a surprisingly dovish Federal Reserve indicated it would not lift interest rates this year and sounded a note of caution on the US economy.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index surged 96.52 points, or 1.2 percent, to 7,954.72 on a value turnover of P5.6 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 124 to 76, with 43 issues unchanged.

JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei advanced 7.1 percent to P64.90, while property unit Robinsons Land Corp. climbed 4 percent to P24.45.

LT Group Inc. of tobacco and air-

line tycoon Lucio Tan rose 4.7 percent P17.30, while Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. gained 4.1 percent to P58.50.

The dollar, meanwhile, struggled in Asia after the dovish Fed comments.

While the prospect of lower borrowing costs provided support to equity markets, investors were spooked as Donald Trump dented hopes for a quick resolution to the China-US trade talks by warning tariffs would stay in place for some time after any agreement is reached.

After a much-anticipated meeting, the US central bank forecast that it would not raise rates this year―a shift from an earlier projection of two―and cut its annual growth outlook.

“It may be some time before the outlook for jobs and inflation calls clearly for a change in policy,” Fed boss Jerome Powell said after the meeting.

The announcement took markets by

surprise, with most observers expecting it would tee up at least one rate hike this year, and fueled concerns about the state of the economy.

The greenback sank against its major peers, while higher-yielding units were also well up. The South African rand piled on more than two percent, Mexico’s peso jumped more than one percent and the Australian dollar jumped one percent. And the yuan was at its highest level since July.

Most stock markets in Asia rose, with Shanghai 0.4 percent higher, while Singapore added 0.2 percent and Seoul climbed 0.4 percent. Sydney, Taipei, Bangkok and Jakarta also rose though Hong Kong reversed course in the afternoon to close 0.9 percent lower.

However, there is some unease across trading floors after Trump’s remarks.

The president said that if a trade deal is reached between the world’s top two

economies, US tariffs would remain in place “for a substantial period of time.”

“We have to make sure that if we do the deal with China... China lives by the deal,” he added.

The comments dented optimism the two sides would reach an agreement to end a standoff that has scythed global markets last year.

“This could be a major sticking point from the Chinese side,” said National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill. “We can but hope it’s all part of the ‘Art of the Deal,’ but in the meantime (it) means we can’t as yet fully price in a trade deal next month, or later, with supreme confidence.”

Traders are also casting a wary eye on the Brexit saga after Prime Minister Theresa May asked for a three-month extension to the March 29 deadline for leaving the EU as she struggled to prevent an economically painful no-deal divorce. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW THURSDAY, MARCH 21, 2019

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 58.65 11,500 88.1 1,043,450 2.31 32,000 133 2,025,730 1.35 40,000 27.45 140,200 19.1 22,500 12.26 650,600 4.35 11,000 1.43 17,000 0.46 60,000 79.95 2,283,560 0.98 65,000 13.86 20,000 21.5 40,000 59.95 623,980 185.8 1,420 58.4 2,520 26.4 3,173,300 172.9 222,420 1,820 300 60.85 13,450

674,725 92,214,705.50 72,190 268,016,524 53,670 3,857,490 426,740 8,027,416 47,550 24,250 27,600 182,557,293 63,510 277,200 854,420 37,405,240.50 262,724 147,202 83,485,305 38,571,845 546,000 822,754

674,725 -29,393,196.50 36,815,782 563,920 -3,832 -2,258,988 -80,293,916.50 21,560 -8,132,307 240,500 -81,626,910 3,526,226 -739,714

35.15 13.94 1.02 1.4 0.235 2.75 15.52 108 29.2 15.06 43 1.88 5.73 6.2 11.4 15.9 9.09 7.36 21.45 77.3 27.2 2.27 9.65 13.1 1.63 312 51.25 4.05 3.42 10.4 25.2 12.38 20.9 373.4 0.194 5.87 1.38 3.85 6.66 8.81 1.32 12.08 49.6 5.81 4.75 1.8 2.65 1.31 11.9 101.4 6.4 0.128 0.96 145 2.52 1.62 1.27

INDUSTRIAL 35.5 1,510,200 14 177,900 1.04 1,047,000 1.41 126,000 0.235 290,000 2.76 7,867,000 15.98 224,800 108 190 29.8 191,600 15.78 8,400 43 200 1.91 326,000 5.74 9,700 6.26 6,200 11.56 1,380,100 16 1,240,900 9.31 5,811,100 7.38 88,800 21.8 1,033,700 79.2 930,680 27.6 20,700 2.3 9,575,000 9.86 7,918,500 13.7 1,658,900 1.63 112,000 312.4 472,780 53 1,300 4.05 1,000 3.42 12,000 10.4 11,700 25.5 1,947,300 12.84 1,621,900 21.3 2,484,100 379.4 223,010 0.195 400,000 5.99 61,000 1.4 6,578,000 4.15 637,000 6.75 3,003,600 8.89 11,400 1.34 7,491,000 12.3 303,200 49.85 167,300 5.85 30,400 4.8 55,000 1.81 170,000 2.65 13,000 1.35 466,000 12.18 470,800 101.4 879,230 6.47 126,700 0.134 80,000 0.99 220,000 145 956,470 2.52 8,000 1.64 777,000 1.29 1,869,000

53,571,395 2,490,284 1,078,260 176,890 68,620 21,780,270 3,593,246 20,520 5,703,410 129,710 8,600 620,740 55,602 38,768 15,962,634 19,839,844 54,043,392 656,331 22,610,360 73,897,690.50 569,530 22,154,600 77,987,318 22,512,870 184,340 148,047,020 67,813 4,050 41,160 125,242 49,901,760 20,913,120 52,676,525 84,100,346 77,730 363,320 9,191,850 2,564,940 20,218,708 100,928 9,953,420 3,696,194 8,344,190 177,824 263,620 307,250 34,450 629,900 5,736,758 90,128,981 811,722 10,440 212,890 140,290,138 20,160 1,264,830 2,415,310

12,865,100 -96,686 63,370 -60,630 -2,400 -5,059,470 1,575,372 -962,445 -1,807,912 19,223,798 -32,405,566 -425,862 7,449,020 8,672,493.50 98,450 177,870 -40,694,645 -2,453,582 -49,565,836 -37,013,655 -5,142,366 1,824,190 8,286,874 -19,500 2,203,200 28,000 -1,120 -2,358,090 -1,011,045 -175,500 -4,750 -3,228,414 -10,936,916 9,160 -24,286,072 20,160 -283,560 -256,970

0.65 56.55 15.6 0.74 6.5 20.65 1.36 1.39 921.5 7.5 12.12 16.06 4.14 0.23 1,014 6.45 61 0.51 5.32 16.52 0.56 4.85 2.81 0.038 3.1 2.56 174 2.37 949 0.75 1.33 448 274 0.24 0.38

HOLDING FIRMS 0.66 9,469,000 58.5 1,775,580 15.78 7,015,800 0.74 101,000 6.5 11,100 21.3 147,700 1.44 7,206,000 1.45 2,154,000 931.5 324,580 7.65 2,419,400 12.34 3,212,700 16.16 999,200 4.14 1,000 0.242 70,000 1,027 71,695 6.5 87,600 64.9 3,518,290 0.51 649,000 5.4 14,977,500 17.3 8,621,500 0.56 78,000 4.86 20,339,000 2.81 1,000 0.039 6,900,000 3.12 720,000 2.56 4,000 175.2 725,890 2.37 4,000 966 189,320 0.75 30,000 1.34 59,000 448 4,170 280 1,760 0.24 520,000 0.405 76,000,000

6,278,950 104,140,642 110,299,330 74,750 72,150 3,123,945 10,227,380 3,108,710 301,693,780 18,535,273 39,569,588 16,150,556 4,140 16,220 73,620,150 568,198 223,896,956 338,070 81,209,209 148,050,966 44,300 99,326,280 2,810 263,900 2,245,140 10,240 128,027,516 9,480 181,906,145 22,500 79,190 1,868,160 486,564 125,100 30,312,350

87,320 21,251,728 31,212,514 58,500 -42,400 385,720 -81,958,560 394,019 13,684,434.00 2,012,812.00 50,126,065 7,074,508 -7,624,353 17,040,642 -30,219,070 43,520 -21,714,486 64,552,935 10,640 -1,868,160 -370,564 657,600

17,593,688 291,760 10,000 1,067,320 588,139,130 3,059,150 1,247,850 72,524 54,753,050 82,870 140,790 6,453,560 404,000 23,813,884 37,725,615 2,605,245 8,345,060 2,153,370 264,644,313 1,826,550 2,133,890

1,935,458 81,893,050 734,290 -169,440 -59,410 -4,780 -404,000 3,059,152 7,751,935 -2,000,000 1,413,470 -278,750 88,410,045 155,250 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

58.75 88.45 2.25 132.8 1.34 27.4 19.16 12.46 4.25 1.42 0.46 79.55 0.97 13.86 21.55 59.45 185.9 58.5 26.35 172.5 1,820 61.35

58.75 88.7 2.31 133 1.36 27.6 19.18 12.52 4.44 1.43 0.46 80.25 0.98 13.86 22.4 61.1 185.9 58.5 26.7 174.8 1,820 61.35

58.6 87.55 2.23 131.6 1.33 27.4 18.9 12.26 4.25 1.42 0.46 79.55 0.97 13.86 21 59.2 184.5 58.4 26.3 172.1 1,820 60.7

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS BASIC ENERGY CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CHEMPHIL CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CROWN ASIA DAVINCI CAPITAL DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP EMPERADOR FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA GREENERGY HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE LIBERTY FLOUR LMG CHEMICALS MABUHAY VINYL MACAY HLDG MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO MG HLDG PANASONIC PEPSI COLA PETROENERGY PETRON PHINMA PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL PRYCE CORP RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO ROXAS HLDG SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SMC FOODANDBEV SPC POWER SWIFT FOODS TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VICTORIAS VITARICH VULCAN INDL

35.4 14.02 1.04 1.43 0.243 2.79 15.52 108 29.75 15.86 43 1.91 5.73 6.26 11.46 16 9.19 7.45 21.5 77.3 27.2 2.31 9.65 13.1 1.67 313.6 51.25 4.05 3.46 10.72 25.3 12.38 21 377.8 0.194 5.87 1.42 3.87 6.66 8.92 1.33 12.3 49.9 5.81 4.77 1.8 2.65 1.34 11.92 103 6.4 0.128 1 148 2.52 1.63 1.3

35.6 14.24 1.05 1.43 0.243 2.82 16 108 29.8 15.88 43 1.91 5.74 6.26 11.7 16 9.37 7.45 22.1 80.2 27.7 2.36 10.1 13.7 1.67 315 53 4.05 3.46 11 25.9 13.2 21.3 379.8 0.195 6 1.42 4.23 6.77 8.92 1.34 12.3 50 5.85 4.8 1.82 2.65 1.36 12.2 103 6.47 0.135 1 148.4 2.52 1.64 1.31

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

0.67 57.75 15.72 0.74 6.5 20.65 1.38 1.44 927 7.5 12.12 16.12 4.14 0.23 1,014 6.51 61 0.54 5.39 16.52 0.56 4.87 2.81 0.038 3.13 2.56 175.5 2.37 949 0.75 1.33 448 275 0.24 0.38

0.68 59.5 15.78 0.75 6.5 21.6 1.44 1.45 931.5 7.73 12.4 16.2 4.14 0.242 1,029 6.51 64.9 0.55 5.59 17.42 0.57 4.94 2.81 0.039 3.14 2.56 178.5 2.37 966 0.75 1.35 448 280 0.245 0.405

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

12.78 0.78 2 0.84 44 2.39 4.28 6.1 0.52 0.84 0.93 0.24 0.385 11.24 22.35 0.5 1.54 1.24 5.57 0.38 1.9

13 0.79 2 0.86 44.7 2.4 4.29 6.5 0.56 0.84 0.94 0.242 0.385 11.76 23.1 0.51 1.55 1.28 5.76 0.38 1.94

12.72 0.78 2 0.82 43.85 2.39 4.2 6.1 0.52 0.83 0.93 0.239 0.38 11.24 22.35 0.495 1.53 1.22 5.55 0.375 1.9

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

0.45 2.79 47.85 23.5 2.05 3.09 39.4 1.65 6.88 0.79 7.32

0.455 2.79 50 24.45 2.07 3.14 39.4 1.65 6.96 0.79 7.38

0.45 2.74 47.85 23.5 2.05 3.09 39.1 1.6 6.75 0.75 7.31

0.45 2.78 50 24.45 2.05 3.14 39.3 1.65 6.85 0.78 7.35

530,000 137,000 800 4,803,600 131,000 83,000 6,207,300 696,000 185,400 22,000 2,700,100

238,600 379,250 38,875 116,056,795 268,670 259,100 243,842,635 1,121,990 1,266,492 16,760 19,854,850

-4,500 -5,000 25,372,435 110,512,390 -560,330 -464,467

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

12.8 20.4 1.29 0.42 0.043 16.8 2.81 12.1 0.074 81.7 8 5.8 7 12.42 1,936 5.73 378 2.9 120 0.123 5.41 3.08 3.38 0.89 20.5 0.6 4.73 3.23 1.72 16 2.53 10.1 10.3 3.02 4.75 7.61 123 2.67 1,160 0.91 1.16 48 78.9 8.5 2.38 0.69 0.41 5.63 0.66 15.6

12.82 20.9 1.33 0.425 0.044 16.8 2.86 12.28 0.075 83.2 8 5.8 7 12.72 1,980 5.74 382 2.96 122 0.131 5.5 3.08 3.42 0.89 21.15 0.6 4.9 3.29 1.83 16 2.64 10.58 10.68 3.1 4.75 7.61 123 2.68 1,190 0.91 1.2 48.75 81.05 8.8 2.41 0.7 0.425 5.65 0.68 15.88

12.76 20.35 1.29 0.42 0.043 16.8 2.75 12.02 0.072 81.6 8 5.74 7 12.38 1,936 5.7 375 2.89 119 0.123 5.41 3.08 3.35 0.89 20 0.58 4.73 3.13 1.72 16 2.5 10.06 10.24 3.02 4.62 7.6 123 2.53 1,160 0.88 1.15 48 78.9 8.5 2.38 0.69 0.41 5.63 0.65 15.6

SERVICES 12.76 20.9 1.33 0.425 0.043 16.8 2.8 12.14 0.073 83.15 8 5.76 7 12.6 1,972 5.72 381.8 2.91 121.4 0.131 5.45 3.08 3.38 0.89 20.35 0.59 4.9 3.24 1.78 16 2.62 10.3 10.6 3.1 4.63 7.6 123 2.6 1,180 0.89 1.19 48.05 80.6 8.8 2.39 0.7 0.42 5.63 0.68 15.6

23,400 74,600 10,000 110,000 5,500,000 1,300 176,000 5,716,000 90,480,000 77,550 3,100 677,700 22,000 78,100 18,790 450,000 600 927,000 1,271,930 3,880,000 938,800 3,000 372,000 14,000 465,700 831,000 7,000 1,841,000 55,000 200 1,408,000 284,000 41,300 12,000 193,000 2,000 470 957,000 93,395 1,694,000 53,242,000 439,400 831,420 11,400 6,277,000 733,000 4,800,000 1,068,400 609,000 558,600

299,654 1,543,290 13,090 46,700 236,900 21,840 491,040 69,713,884 6,601,210 6,396,860 24,800 3,902,946 154,000 981,250 36,902,965 2,573,658 227,146 2,713,960 154,354,068 506,460 5,109,638 9,240 1,260,020 12,460 9,584,365 489,240 33,280 5,921,880 96,140 3,200 3,632,450 2,940,670 431,582 36,960 905,550 15,211 57,810 2,485,150 110,397,285 1,511,430 62,824,800 21,198,465 66,935,494.50 100,137 15,027,870 511,870 2,004,000 6,015,257 404,750 8,788,362

-2,840 -27,483,720 1,471,995.50 23,000 5,312,535 -37,500 -388,000 57,549,443 -109,000 44,090 699,385 -98,330 9,680 -40,872 4,120 -27,900 48,100 -40,590 -938,760 21,697,805 237,330 -82,250.00 -370,450 -32,231,296.50 -15,840 -1,027,690 80,160.00 -193,200 -5,630,000 -66,000 1,482,314

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

0.0022 1.44 2.98 12.6 1.17 2.42 0.295 7.82 1.51 0.242 0.118 0.125 0.0081 1.09 2.55 1.09 0.58 0.94 0.012 0.012 0.011 3.27 3.77 13.94 23.2 0.0072

0.0022 1.46 2.98 13.16 1.17 2.45 0.3 7.87 1.55 0.255 0.12 0.125 0.0081 1.1 2.65 1.09 0.58 0.94 0.012 0.012 0.012 3.27 3.83 14.12 23.7 0.0072

0.0021 1.44 2.87 12.6 1.15 2.42 0.295 7.8 1.5 0.242 0.118 0.125 0.0081 1.08 2.55 1.02 0.58 0.93 0.012 0.012 0.011 3.27 3.77 13.94 22.9 0.007

MINING & OIL 0.0022 685,000,000 1.45 1,028,000 2.87 2,148,000 13.16 2,600 1.15 200,000 2.44 494,000 0.3 40,000 7.8 400 1.55 4,185,000 0.249 1,160,000 0.12 500,000 0.125 10,000 0.0081 1,000,000 1.1 54,000 2.6 2,140,000 1.07 107,000 0.58 8,000 0.93 94,000 0.012 1,600,000 0.012 500,000 0.012 2,400,000 3.27 1,000 3.82 352,000 14.06 429,500 22.9 3,537,100 0.007 23,000,000

1,469,300 1,486,200 6,166,160 33,796 230,040 1,201,730 11,850 3,130 6,382,610 287,380 59,020 1,250 8,100 59,100 5,579,600 110,790 4,640 88,320 19,200 6,000 26,500 3,270 1,337,380 6,020,230 82,359,375 162,800

4,400 14,400 -6,136,360 -10,416 7,350 -3,000 -343,250 517,270 675,144 31,430,625 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 DD PREF FPH PREF C GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A LR PREF PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 2B PNX PREF 3A SMC FB PREF 2 SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2I

20 474.4 97.15 450.8 5.6 900 96 0.98 998 1,020 100 980 75.5 76 71.75 74.8 71.05

20.1 474.6 98.3 450.8 5.6 919 96 0.98 998 1,020 100.5 980 75.5 76 71.75 74.8 74

20 474.4 97.15 450.8 5.46 900 96 0.97 998 1,020 100 980 75.5 76 71.65 74.7 71.05

PREFERRED 20.1 39,500 474.6 160 98 4,600 450.8 1,000 5.46 2,000 910 38,210 96 1,820 0.97 303,000 998 10 1,020 10 100.5 4,440 980 1,090 75.5 110 76 140 71.75 20,200 74.7 10,170 74 132,720

791,715 75,932 449,774.50 450,800 11,060 34,459,785 174,720 294,340 9,980 10,200 444,220 1,068,200 8,305 10,640 1,447,560 759,799 9,811,025

-240,000 174,700 -

LR WARRANT

1.85

1.85

1.8

WARRANTS 1.81 210,000

383,430

-

2,436,909 5,872,610

52,000 54,000

1,167,170

-27,107

MS

PROPERTY 12.76 0.78 2 0.86 44.7 2.4 4.26 6.32 0.56 0.84 0.93 0.242 0.385 11.7 22.9 0.5 1.55 1.26 5.74 0.375 1.9

1,371,200 374,000 5,000 1,271,000 13,282,700 1,278,000 294,000 11,700 100,298,000 99,000 150,000 26,910,000 1,050,000 2,054,500 1,651,500 5,210,000 5,394,000 1,718,000 46,443,500 4,850,000 1,116,000

ITALPINAS XURPAS

5.1 1.36

5.25 1.39

5.1 1.35

FIRST METRO ETF

117.5

118.4

117.1

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

10,500,207

INDUSTRIAL

74,129,522

HOLDING FIRMS

178,628,335

PROPERTY

230,627,758

SERVICES

187,878,660

MINING & OIL

730,535,055

GRAND TOTAL

1,417,097,926

5.2 1.36

SME

469,400 4,318,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 118.4 9,900

VALUE 1,782.29 (up) 6.99 718,451,491.00 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,655.01 (up) 9.73 1,101,884,581.24 HOLDING FIRMS 7,894.76 (up) 171.14 1,683,682,060.89 PROPERTY 4,087.91 (up) 50.89 SERVICES 1,591.61 (up) 9.97 1,411,889,293.045 MINING & OIL 8,364.20 (up) 40.34 618,005,981.82 PSEI 7,954.72 (up) 96.52 113,142,127.2345 All Shares Index 4,888.79 (up) 41.30 5,656,535,740.03 Gainers: 124; Losers: 76; Unchanged: 43; Total: 243

DMCI sees tough mining year on low nickel stock

By Jenniffer B. Austria DMCI Holdings Inc. of the Consunji Group expects 2019 to be a tough year for the mining business even with the lifting of the suspension of one of its nickel assets, Berong Nickel Corp., in November last year.

“We will be shipping mostly lower grade nickel which fetches a lower price in the market. Our inventory is also nearly depleted,” said DMCI Mining Corp. president Cesar Simbulan Jr. DMCI Mining in 2018 shipped 643,000 wet metric tons of nickel ore, a 22-percent increase from 525,000 WMT in the previous year. The average nickel grade of shipments stood at 1.70 percent, up 13 percent year-on-year from 1.51 percent.

The company this year expects to ship nickel ore with an average grade of 1.57 percent. It will also likely deliver 850,000 WMT of nickel ore from the Berong mine in Palawan province.

DMCI Mining is still working on the reopening of other nickel asset—Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. in Zambales province.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in an order dated November 15, 2018 partially granted ZDMC’s appeal by modifying an earlier closure order to a ruling suspending the operations, production and shipment of the company.

The DENR also said ZDMC may be permitted to operate again once it meets certain conditions, which include continued rehabilitation and reforestation of the mine site as well as management of environmental structures in the area.

ZDMC has since submitted its action plan to address the conditions. The company, however, has yet to receive a positive response from the DENR. On a standalone basis, DMCI Mining recorded a 93-percent surge in net income from P99 million in 2017 to P190 million the following year.

The company attributed the higher profit to a 22-percent rise in nickel shipment volume of higher-grade nickel.

Majority of the shipments made in 2018, or 430,000 WMT, came from the old stockpile of the Berong mine, while the rest were from the inventory of the Zambales mine.

MacroAsia, partner open Subic center

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE joint venture of MacroAsia Corp. and PTC Group has inaugurated an aviation academy at the Subic International Airport in Northern Luzon.

“The First Aviation Academy (FAA) takes pride in being at the forefront of professional development for the airline industry, propelled by a comprehensive curriculum, experienced instructors and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities to produce airline-ready aviation professionals primed for flight operations,” MacroAsia said.

“Two main features that set FAA apart from other aviation schools in the country are its fleet of brand-new TECNAM planes with full glass cockpit electronic instrumentation and the Redbird MCX and TD2 G-1000 simulators,” the company added.

MacroAsia said the training platform will enable students to develop the skill sets necessary to excel in the international aviation space.

Through its intensive 12-month training program, graduates from the academy will have completed a private pilot license, instrument rating, multi-engine rating and a commercial pilot license.

Top graduates will also have a chance to become a flight instructor, providing a unique way to build up their flying hours, while honing their instructor skills.

With the worldwide demand for pilots growing year on year, FAA is cleared for take-off and is set to “fly high to move the world.”

Meanwhile, MacroAsia Catering Services, a joint venture of MacroAsia and SATS of Singapore, is expanding in two locations.

MACS runs a production facility inside the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, supplying meals as the preferred caterer of over 18 foreign carriers and three major foreign airline lounges in all three terminals of NAIA. MACS also provides the food at PAL’s domestic and international Mabuhay Lounge in Terminal 2 at NAIA. The company produces meal quantities ranging from 16,000 to 21,000 meals per day, depending on passenger traffic season.

Manila

Standard

TODAY

World

B3

FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

New Zealand bans assault weapons days after massacre C HRISTCHURCH―New Zealand imposed a ban on assault weapons Thursday, moving swiftly following the Christchurch massacre and triggering renewed calls from leading American politicians for gun controls in the United States.

MEMORIAL. Ian Brackenbury Channell, known as the Wizard of New Zealand, stands before a memorial at the Botanic Gardens in Christchurch on March 21, 2019, six days after the twin mosque shooting massacre that claimed the lives of fifty people. New Zealand is banning the sale of assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons with almost immediate effect, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on March 21, rapidly making good on a pledge to tighten the country’s gun laws. AFP

IN BRIEF Hundreds shown in spycam porn

SEOUL―More than 800 South Korean couples were live-streamed having sex in love motels, Seoul police said Thursday in one of the largest-scale and most intrusive examples yet of the country’s spycam epidemic.

The hyper-wired South has been battling the increasingly widespread proliferation of so-called “molka”, or spycam videos, which largely involve men secretly filming women in schools and toilets, among other places.

The latest case is unusual for involving couples and the live-streaming element.

According to police, four men installed tiny cameras-all of them with a lens just one millimeter wide―in 42 rooms in 30 motels, hidden inside hairdryer holders, wall sockets and digital TV boxes.

They then live-streamed the footage 24 hours a day to a subscription website with some 4,000 members, hosted on a server overseas. Some viewers also paid a 50,000 won ($44) monthly supplement for access to “exclusive” content—edited highlights available on repeat.

More than 800 couples were shown on the site over three months, mostly having sex, police said.

“About 50 percent of the 1,600 victims are male,” an official from the National Police Agency told AFP. The gang earned 7 million won from the scheme, he said, adding that two suspects had been arrested and two more were being investigated.

More than 5,400 were arrested for spycamrelated crimes in South Korea in 2017, but fewer than two percent were jailed.

Last year, Seoul several times witnessed thousands of women protesting against spycam videos as part of the country’s #MeToo movement.

In South Korea, motels are a relatively affordable option for many travellers from home and overseas, and a popular destination for couples seeking privacy away from parents or other family members.

But they have also long been associated with illicit sex business and crime.

In response to the livestreaming case, a woman from Uruguay tweeted: “Now I won’t feel safe, literally anywhere” in South Korea.

AFP

Vietnam police seize 300 kg of meth HANOI―Vietnam police busted a massive meth ring in a Ho Chi Minh City mansion allegedly run by a Chinese national who used a textile company as a cover for the operation, police and state media reported Thursday.

Police on Wednesday stormed the luxury property in Vietnam’s largest city, guarded with private security and outfitted with cameras during an hours-long raid which unearthed sacks of methamphetamine believed to have been smuggled in from Laos.

Around 300 kilos of methamphetamine was seized, and images in the press later displayed dozens of bricks of drugs.

“Eleven people were arrested including eight Chinese and three Vietnamese,” a police official from Binh Tan district where the bust took place told AFP Thursday, requesting anonymity.

The primary suspect was a 56-year-old Chinese national, whose Vietnamese girlfriend was reportedly registered as the owner of a textile export business. The Chinese suspect allegedly ran the drugs operation under the guise of the textile export business.

The confiscated drugs were likely transported from Laos, traveling through Kon Tum province for “consumption in Ho Chi Minh City”, the official Vietnam News Agency reported.

The bust was part of a larger investigation across central Vietnam involving several provinces and further investigations are ongoing.

Synthetic drug use is on the rise in the Southeast Asian country, especially among young people who prefer party drugs to opium and heroin popular among older users.

Several large hauls of synthetics have been seized by police in recent months as officials try to wrestle control over the rising trade.

The narcotics are often smuggled in from the “Golden Triangle”—a lawless border zone that straddles Laos, Myanmar and Thailand—though police have also broken up domestic labs churning out meth and other synthetics.

Last year seven people died at a rave in Hanoi from suspected overdoses in a case that stunned the conservative capital.

Several were seen passed out and convulsing on the ground before being rushed to hospital, and authorities issued a blanket ban on music festivals after the accident, the deadliest drug-related incident in the city’s recent history. AFP

‘Hello, brother’ greeting meets a white supremacist’s hatred CHRISTCHURCH―”Hello, brother.”

The warm-hearted words an elderly Muslim reportedly used to greet a white supremacist gunman have become Christchurch’s answer to his volley of hate.

Mohemmed Daoud Nabi, a 71-yearold from war-torn Afghanistan, was buried on Thursday. But his supposed final words echo across this broken New Zealand city.

The gunman’s footage showed Nabi offering a welcome at the doors of the Al Noor mosque. He was shot and the killer moved inside.

Initial reports indicated Nabi’s remark was “hello brother”, a fraternal greeting that could not contrast more starkly with the bile spewed about “invaders” by alleged gunman Brenton Tarrant.

The words are indistinct but it is a message that has resonated widely, including for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern “His welcome tells us so much―that he was a member of a faith that welcomed all its members, that showed openness, and care,” Ardern said.

The phrase has since appeared across Christchurch and New Zealand―scribbled on police cordons that flutter in the wind, Tweeted from around the world and written on placards held by mourners at his funeral.

Kawthar Abulaban was praying in the women’s section of the Al Noor mosque when the attack began.

The first shots she heard would have been the ones that felled Nabi.

She believes he has left a legacy, a powerful vocal rebuke to hatred and extremist ideologies.

“This message will tell all of the world what the Muslim people are, how we treat other people, how we care about them, how we want to live

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons were now banned with immediate effect, making good on a pledge to the country of the military-style weapons used in last week’s slaughter of 50 people.

The killings at two Christchurch mosques by an Australian white supremacist have caused national soulsearching over New Zealand’s lax gun laws.

But the crackdown promises to have political repercussions beyond the country’s shores, including in the United States where gun control is one of the most divisive national political issues.

“In short, every semi-automatic weapon used in the terrorist attack on Friday will be banned in this country,” Ardern said.

She added that high-capacity magazines and devices similar to bump stocks―which allow users to fire weapons faster―will also be banned.

Proponents of gun control in the United States and around the world praised the move and denounced the powerful US pro-gun lobby on social media, while American gun supporters defended their constitutional right to bear arms.

“This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like,” Democratic US Senator and presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders tweeted.

“We must follow New Zealand’s lead, take on the NRA [National Rifle Association] and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in the United States.”

High-profile Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez contrasted Ardern’s swift action with US failure to enact even modest controls following recurring horrific shootings such as at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012, in which 20 children and six school staff died.

“Sandy Hook happened 6 years ago

and we can’t even get the Senate to hold a vote on universal background checks,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

“Christchurch happened, and within days New Zealand acted to get weapons of war out of the consumer market. This is what leadership looks like.”

US President Donald Trump did not immediately react on his Twitter feed, but NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch responded to Sanders by tweeting that “the US isn’t NZ.” “While they do not have an inalienable right to bear arms and to self defense, we do,” she said.

Accused shooter Brenton Tarrant livestreamed the carnage in real-time, sparking worldwide revulsion and concern over access to guns and the use of social media by extremists.

Tarrant had written that he planned to use firearms for his attacks to encourage US gun control advocates to push for curbs, thus tearing open the bitter political debate.

“This attempted abolishment of rights by the left will result in a dramatic polarization of the people in the United States and eventually a fracturing of the US along cultural and racial lines,” he wrote.

New Zealand’s ban includes interim measures to prevent a run on such guns before legislation is enacted, and outlawing weapons already in private possession.

Guns are to be handed in and destroyed via a buyback NOTICE scheme that will (of Extrajudicial cost between Settlement of Estate ) Nz$100 million Notice is hereby given to and $200 million the public that the estate the lateRaoul P. Viray (between US$69 of has been extrajudicially million and $139 settled among his heirs.That the million), depend- surviving decedent at the time ing on how many of his death left the ff: in Quezon are received and aCityproperty covered by TCT their valuations. No. 004-2013002176; various bank deposits; AFP

in peace together,” the 54-year-old told AFP from the home she shares with her two daughters on the outskirts of Christchurch.

She was not in the least bit surprised the gunman was welcomed on arrival —the Al Noor mosque regularly held open days.

During Christchurch’s deadly earthquakes eight years ago, the mosque opened its doors to survivors and those without shelter.

Sara Mousa, who arrived in New Zealand from Egypt three years ago, was walking in the park opposite Al Nour with her eight-year-old son Malek, who sports a Kiwi accent.

She said everyone in Christchurch’s close Muslim community now knew the phrase “Hello brother”.

“It was so kind of him, he had a lot of mercy and love, no hatred. Even if he is holding a gun towards him and wants to kill him, he is welcoming him,” she said.

The phrase has been repeated thousands of times on social media, appearing in cartoons and on tributes left with the growing walls of flowers in Christchurch.

One note tied to a tree in the city read: “This greeting was made by a pure soul with a peaceful faith as a rifle was pointed at him... Let us remember his love and be like him.”

Faith communities have played a major response in helping Christchurch’s tight-knit Muslim community deal with their trauma.

Churches have offered to open their doors for any Muslims wanting Manila to pray. On Wednesday eve- Standard NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC TODAY ning a biker-pastor organised a show of solidarity with locals standing behind Muslims as Smart will permanently discontinue its Spinnr Music they prayed in the park oppo- Service effective April 1, 2019. The service will no longer be available to all PLDT, Smart, TNT and site Al Noor mosque. AFP

Sun subscribers.

For Customer Care assistance, you can still call the PLDT Customer Care Landline 171, Smart Toll Free Hotline at *888, Sun Toll Free Hotline at 200 via your Smart/Sun Mobile Number

13 funeral lots in Loyola Memorial Park in Paranaque; and membership to different club such as Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club, Inc; Camp John Hay Golf Club, Inc; Club Punta Fuego, Inc. and The ManilaYacht Club as per Deed of Extra Judicial Settlement of Estate as entered in the NotarialBook of Atty.

Benjamin F. Alfonso as Doc. No. 64; Page No. 14; Book No. 48A; Series of 2018.

(MS-MAR. 15,22 & 29, 2019)

NOTICE ( Of Extra Judicial Settlement of Estate ) Notice is hereby given to the public that the intestate estate of the late Jane Garcia-Sandico consisting of various properties located in the province of Pampanga has been extrajudicially settled among her surviving heirs as per the Deed of Extra Judicial Settlement of Estate with Appointment of Administrator and Attorneyin-Fact entered in the Notarial Book of Atty. Alysha Grace M. Zulueta as Doc. No. 252; Page No. 51; Book No. XI; Series of 2018.

(MS-MAR. 15,22 & 29, 2019)

NOTICE ( Of Extra Judicial Settlement of Estate ) Notice is hereby given to the public that the intestate estate of the late Jane Garcia-Sandico consisting of various properties located in the province of Cavite has been extrajudicially settled among her surviving heirs as per the Deed of Extra Judicial Settlement of Estate with Appointment of Administrator and Attorney-in-Fact entered in the Notarial Book of Atty.

Alysha Grace M. Zulueta as Doc. No. 253; Page No. 51; Book No. XI; Series of 2018.

(MS-MAR. 15,22 & 29, 2019)

NOTICE ( Of Affidavit of Self Adjudication )

ADDRESS. German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses delegates

during a session at the Bundestag (lower house of parliament) on March 21, 2019, in Berlin ahead of a EU summit largely devoted to Brexit. AFP

Notice is hereby given to the public that the intestate estate of the late Dante Diokno consisting of various properties located in the province of Pampanga has been extra - judicially settled as per Affidavit of Adjudication as Sole Heir entered in the Notarial Book of Atty.

Alysha Grace M. Zulueta as Doc. No. 254; Page No. 51; Book No. XI; Series of 2018.

(MS-MAR. 15,22 & 29, 2019)

Motoring

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

B4 FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2019

DIVAS OF THE ROAD

Text and photo by Diana B. Noche

T

HERE’S nothing quite like a woman who kicks butt. To say that a woman belongs to the weaker sex is, by now, the sheerest commonplace. What a man can do, a woman does better.

More than three decades ago, the idea of women behind the wheel of a car—and for that matter, trucks, taxis, jeepneys— got a smirk and a raise of the eyebrows from men who would insist that motor vehicles are for men only. That women couldn’t handle that kind of stuff. That driving such a complicated machine is not for the faint of heart.

Hey, wait a minute. Look out for the woman, she who was born with gasoline in her veins. It’s in her DNA—the unaroused misterly chromosome numbers.

She just didn’t find them earlier.

Over the years, women drivers have brought a determinative level of refinement to the industry where male drivers used to dominate. Gender stereotypes have been challenged. The “weaker sex” has proven its seriousness and readiness to take on roles outside its traditional range.

Consequently, she opened up a whole new page in women’s empowerment history, maximizing her potentials as she takes control of the road simultaneously with doing kitchen chores and the laundry, taking the kids to and from school, and picking up some broccolis at the supermarket.

Tough job, but she’s got balls to do all that and more.

Last weekend, a number of empowered women whose common interest in driving had morphed into an advocacy, held “Women! Drive The Future” awareness campaign launched at the Black Bird in Makati City with partners Pilipinas Shell celebrating its 105th year in the Philippines and A-1 Driving School.

They were the typical Gen Xers and Millenials in comfortable clothes, signature jeans, clutching their mobile phones, and enjoying cold citrus drinks. The attendees were top female drivers and innova-

tors for women empowerment: Vanessa Ejercito, Shell FuelSave Brand Manager; Luna Garcia, A-1 Driving School Business Development Head; race car driver Michele Bumgarner, international racing winner at age 15 while in high school; Rowie Abracero, Directress of the Girls Racers Club; Kelly Misa Fernandez; Patty Laurel-Filart; and Bianca Santiago who shared their experiences on the road.

Topics were varied: safety on the road, respect for other drivers, road courtesy, balancing work and life, updates on traffic regulations, and constant awareness to that certain kind of freedom, power, and flexibility away from domestic drudge work given the many possibilities relative to her new found strength An interesting issue was raised during the meeting: are women better at driving than their male counterparts?

In an industry dominated by men, there is a noticeable mark that separates each personality. Men are less cautious than women, driving aggressively at inordinate speeds which invite trouble with the law. Female drivers tend to ride at a pace they are most comfortable with and keep eagle eyes on the mandatory traffic speed limit. In stop-and-go situations, men drive closer and more tightly than a female driver does who calmly and cautiously maintains a safe riding distance to other cars. Male drivers make critical turns and spend less time when parking ---to his credit, accurately and with precision. Alas, parking has always been a bete noire for women drivers whose parallel parking is not their strongest flair.

Male drivers get more tickets for drunken driving; women drivers wisely avoid getting intoxicated when hitting the road.

There are many perils out there, and

Isuzu turns over

20 modern PUVs to Tarlac

• ‘Women! Drive the Future’ campaign launched

Toyota summer blowout

conditions that insist on subverting that fixed image of her being fragile and prone to helplessness, but these have only made the woman driver to become a supremely confident person. When she

gets behind the steering wheel … when the engine starts to roar … when adrenaline takes over … when her gauge for adventure becomes wider … she is the hardest nut to crack. Eat her dust.

WITH the season for exciting road trips and unforgettable vacations fast approaching, Toyota Motor Philippines wants to make it easier for car enthusiasts to have the best summer vacation driving their dream car.

With Toyota’s Big Summer Blowout promo, one can drive home a new Vios, Avanza, Fortuner, Innova, Hiace, Wigo, or Hilux through the easy payment term of your choice.

Toyota’s summer season promo offers three (3) options for you to conveniently choose from. With PAY LOW (All-in Package) you can get a new Toyota with an all-in cash out down payment as low as 15%.

The package comes with FREE 1st year insurance and FREE 3-year LTO registration and FREE chattel mortgage fees through Toyota Financial Services.

Under this term, the 1.3 E MT variant of the all-new Vios for example, can be yours for a down payment of just P82,800.

With PAY LIGHT, you can enjoy low monthly plans at 50% down payment and 60 months to pay. Under this term, you can get an Innova at PhP10,394 a month (2.0 J Gas MT), a Hilux for only PhP12,822 a month (4×2 G Dsl MT) or a Fortuner at PhP16,143 a month (4×2 G Gas AT).

With the SAVINGS option, you can get discounts for outright cash payment. Enjoy On top of these best value packages, Toyota also offers additional perks specifically to customers who will buy the locally-manufactured Vios or the Fortuner.

Fortuner G variant customers are entitled to a FREE Toyota Genuine Digital Video Recorder (Dash Cam) while the new Vios owners get to receive FREE Periodic Maintenance Service after reservation/ purchase of a Vios G or E variant during the promo period.

AS THE PUV modernization is making headway nationwide, the Isuzu modern PUVs can now also be of service in the city of Tarlac.

Isuzu Philippines Corporation turned over 20 units of their PUV units to one of Pasang Masda’s umbrella organization, the Paniqui Gerona Tarlac Trasnport Services Cooperative (PGT Transeco) on March 15, 2019 in Paniqui, Tarlac. This is in cooperation with the Department of Transportation, Land Transportation Office (LTO), and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

Also present during the turn-over were LTRFRB Chairman Martin B. Delgra III, Almazora president Conrad Almazora, INTECO CEO and President Raymond Jarina and IPC Sales Division Head Joseph Bautista.

The purchase partnership between IPC and PGT Transeco was facilitated by the Isuzu Quezon Avenue dealership.

IPC’s modernized PUVs have been assembled using the Isuzu QKR77 platform and the rear body designed and manufactured by Almazora Motors Corp. These are air-conditioned Class 2 vehicles with a side-facing seat configuration. The Isuzu QKR platform is assembled in the Philippines and is equipped with the Euro IV-compliant 4JH1-TC diesel engine that delivers better fuel economy and cleaner emissions than jeepneys.

The new PUV body is compliant with Philippine National Standards, all geared for passengers’ safety and added convenience in fare collection.

The new PUVs warranty coverages for cab and chassis is 3 years or 150,000 km, whichever comes first, and separate warranty for body, aircon and accessories, options not available for old jeepneys.

LTFRB Chairman Martin B Delgra III commended IPC for their continuous

support of the PUV Modernization Program.

“Automakers like Isuzu Philippines Corporation play a key role in the modernization program since they provide the units that we need to make this program move forward,” said Delgra.

“This modernization program actually addresses not simply replacing old units with new ones, but also replacing old practices with new modern systems that will make the transport system more efficient, more affordable and predictable.

This is what the President has been saying ‘Let’s give the Filipino a comfortable life’,” added Delgra.

The March 15 turnover is seen as IPC’s headway into the largely untapped modernized PUV market in the province, and the leading Japanese truck manufacturer’s clear show of support for the government’s ongoing Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.

International race car driver Michele Bumgarner shows how to fix a flat tire. Diana Noche

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Water For All: Leaving no one behind this WWD 2019

By Peter Paul Duran

E

VERY March 22nd, the world focuses its attention on the importance of water.

For this year’s World Water Day celebrations, the theme, much like the ones that have gone before, delves on the important matters such as the pressing issues on water security and availability.

“Leaving no one behind,” says United Nations Water, which coordinates the efforts of UN entities and international organizations working on water and sanitation issues, adapts the central promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that “as sustainable development progresses, everyone must benefit.”

Focusing on Sustainable Development Goal 6 which aims to provide water for all by 2030, WWD 2019 certainly taps its overall goal by leaving no one behind this year and a decade to come leading up to their projected goal.

But today, billions of people are still living without safe water, and according to UN Water, households, schools, workplaces, farms and factories still struggle to survive and thrive.

According to the international organization, marginalized groups – women, children, refugees, indigenous peoples, disabled people and many others – are often overlooked, and sometimes face discrimination, as they try to access and manage the safe water they need.

Other factors, such as environmental degradation, climate change, population growth, conflict, forced displacement and migration flows can also disproportionately affect marginalized groups through impacts on water.

This year’s activities is about tackling the water crisis by addressing the

World Water Day poster worldwaterday.org

reasons why so many people are being left behind and what can be done to reach them.

It is our basic human right to water and entitles everyone, without discrimination. It is also everyone’s right to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use; which includes water for drinking, personal sanitation, washing of clothes, food preparation, and personal and household hygiene, according to the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Whoever and wherever you may be water is our human right, this underpins public health and, therefore, “critical to sustainable development and a stable and prosperous world.”

UN-Water adds that we cannot move forward as a global society while so many people are living without safe water.

So for this year, and the years ahead, let’s band together to bring this valuable resource to all individuals regardless of any condition.

WWD PHILIPPINES 2019 STAKEHOLDERS’ MEETING. LWUA Administrator Jeci

Lapus with proponents from the different public and private entities spearheading the WWD PH 2019 activities during their stakeholder’s meeting at the employee’s lounge of the LWUA compund in Katipunan, Quezon City, February 28, 2019. Peter Paul Duran

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We are sinking Flooding in Bangkok in 2011.

Jeci Lapus with Manila Standard tackling the issue on groundwater. Peter Paul Duran

By Angelica Mirano

U

NDER the skyscrapers of Metro Manila is a ground that is slowly and gradually subsiding through the years, this is because of the uncontrollable climate, but most especially, the man-made repercussions brought by the over pumping of groundwater.

Congratulations!

P

ASIG River Rehabilitation Commission proudly congratulates its Executive Director Jose Antonio “Pepeton” E. Goitia for being hailed as the Water Warrior Awardee for Advocacy Leadership in the World Water Day (WWD) Awards 2019.

In his nomination, Maynilad Advocacy Head Rosmon M. Tuason lauded Exe. Dir. Goitia’s passion for uplifting the lives of the Filipinos through water quality improvement and sustainable rehabilitation of the Pasig River, which was also awarded as the Inaugural Asia Riverprize by the International RiverFoundation under his leadership.

The annual WWD.PH Awards is a platform for honoring champions for water and the environmentindividuals, institutions, and programs that made stories in achieving water and water-environment sustainability in the Philippines.

Photo: COMSEVENTHFLT

This is the phenomenon in which land and clear that we need to find an alternative sinks primarily because water that occupies source to groundwater The former Agriculture secretary and the ground below is extracted by humans, faster than it is replenished by nature. This now president of Inang Lupa Movement, is one of the issues that seeks immediate at- Mr. William Dar, stated that groundwater tention in our country, our land subsidence. availability is now on a low level with seThe ground that we are standing on is now vere drought intensity based on a research on a Water Summit in Nueva Vizcaya. continuously and rapidly sinking.

Meanwhile, Administrator of Local WaPeople might quickly blame global warming and climate change for this. Al- ter Utilities Administration, Jeci Lapus, though true, this is not the only reason to during a talk with Manila Standard reblame. Flooding has many more causes, cently, suggested that an in-depth study including those trash or human waste that should be done for the groundwater to be blocks the floodway, and narrower water- recharged.

This might be done through developing ways and the excessive digging for groundof water impounding stations purposively water.

Professor of Earth and Environment Sci- for the replenishment of aquifers.

Huge investments is needed for optimum ences at the University of Illinois in Chicago, Kevin Rodolfo states that global warm- result and a long-term solution plan is likeing and climate change truly causes the sea wise required regarding the problem.

Preparations for World Water Day 2019, level to rise but only about 3 millimeter per year. But he also states that one of the ma- with the theme “No One Left Behind,” jor causes for the subsidence of land is the gathered more than 30 agencies involving water in a stakeholder’s meeting recently. fact that groundwater is overutilized.

Lapus says they are This has led to subtrying to extend to the sidence since the lack farthest household in of support below every water district, ground were decreasstating that everyone ing due to excessive The ground that we deserves to have acextraction of ground- are standing on is cess to clean water. water, which eventu- now continuously and Through this, the digally results to flooding ging for the groundin most parts of Metro rapidly sinking. water will be reduced Manila. Groundwater once clean water from is used for drinking by the surface will be about 50 percent of the available to all, and people in the country.

He pointed out that the big cause of wors- the as the administrator points out, this can ening flooding is land subsidence due of be done only if there is a single conductor so much withdrawal of groundwater. This of all water agencies- the reason why the causes sinking by as much as six inches ev- former Tarlac representative has pushed for the creation of the Department of Water. ery year.

“It is now up to us to follow suit -- betMetro Manila was devastated almost ten years back by a rainstorm, dropping more ter late than never. That’s why I’m using this than 40 centimeters of rain over a span of 12 opportunity to appeal to everyone to serihours, Tropical Storm “Ondoy” has shown ously consider and take steps toward this dihow our metro city has sunk over the years, rection. Let’s not wait for ground subsidence but nature is not the only baddie in this sad to slowly and steadily creep throughout the story, the rapid and poorly planned urban- country. Let’s innovate and embrace a more sustainable source of water for millions of ization adds up to the problem.

Increasing population in metro cities is Filipinos now and for generations to come,” likewise suspect as humans slowly altered said Jeci Lapus during his speech at the 40th the city’s landscape. Either poor planning PAWD National Convention at the SMX or poor implementation of regulations pro- Convention Center last February 12. moted development in flood plains, with many residences, along with their garbage, obstructing key waterways. Many of our canals are still blocked with trash and the floodways are still constricted by structures.

Data from the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority or NAMRIA Rolando G. Estabillo shows that areas in Metro Manila has sunk Publisher anywhere from 27 inches to 53 inches or almost four and a half feet in the span of Anita F. Grefal 30 years, from 1979 to 2009. And is still OIC-Operations continuously sinking.

Baldwin R. Felipe Signs of lands subsiding are also seen Advertising Solution Head in parts of Bulacan, Pampanga, San Pedro /Project Proponent and Biñan in Laguna, and in Rosario in Cavite. And in Nueva Vizcaya, 15 municiPaula Marie A. Reynoso palities faced severe drought in as short as Supplements Head five years from now because of dwindling Peter Paul Duran groundwater.

Issue Editor In East Asia, the same situation has been observed in Tokyo and Osaka, Shanghai, Angelica Mirano Hanoi, and Bangkok – also due to the exJed Flores cessive extraction of ground water.

Regine Reyes Based on studies, Jakarta is sinking at Veronica Sondon Writers a rate of 10 inches every year – and that about 40 percent of the metropolis now lies Sheila Marie Suarez beneath sea level. scientists estimate that Joan Velasco almost all of North Jakarta will be below Eric Jutic sea level in a few decades.

Edilyn Elamparo Addressing the issue, the National WaAdvertising Support Group ter Resources Board or NWRB strongly Linda Apalisok recommends that we look for alternative Layout Artist sources of water such as those from rivers and lakes. experts have been pointing loud

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Having heart in service key to Pasig rehab

By Alyssa Chrizelle Ng Miclat and Peter Paul Duran

I

N 1999, the Philippine Government, under the administration of President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, created the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission or PRRC Executive Order (EO) No. 54, as amended by EO No. 65.

The PRRC, a convergence of various national agencies, local government units and non-government organizations, aims to rehabilitate the Pasig River into a condition that is able to support and sustain aquatic life and resources as well as conducive for transport, recreation and tourism. Its river rehabilitation and management model includes housing and resettlement, riverbank, transportation and tourism development, flood control, environmental management, and public information and advocacy programs.

From 1999 to 2018, PRRC saved almost 20,000 informal settler families of ISFs (out of the 30,050 target) living along the banks of the river and its tributaries. Many of which were even residing over the estuaries and creeks, and tons of garbage that [had] piled underneath their makeshift houses. Beyond the assistance and new houses, which they can finally own and call home, said families were given new lives consistent with the philosophy of human dignity.

PRRC’s river patrol group heads the recovery of easements, which are transformed into environmental preservation areas (EPAs) in the form of linear parks, greenbelts, and walkways that now serve as alternative access roads and avenues for recreation and ecotourism.

To date, the PRRC has established almost 39,000 linear meters of EPAs along the main Pasig River.

Moreover, through the mandate lodged with MMDA, at least 57 pumping stations are being operated in floodprone areas to minimize solid wastes in waterways, to improve drainage systems, and to improve the discharge of drainage water from tributaries surrounded by

populated areas into the Pasig River.

Other than serving as role models in their communities, PRRC’s river warriors conduct daily cleanups in flood-prone areas not yet reached by pumping stations.

From 2012 to 2018 alone, PRRC diverted more than 27 million kilograms of solid wastes from the Pasig River and its tributaries after a series of cleanup activities and clearing and resettlement operations.

Given its limited budget and legal mandate, PRRC says it has been doing its best to introduce research-based water quality improvement technologies to bring us closer to the water quality much

desired for the river- Class C level.

Together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Laguna Lake Development Authority, the PRRC initiated the Pasig River Unified Monitoring System Project to standardize the water quality monitoring and data in different stations along the Pasig River.

As a continuing advocacy, environmental awareness is imparted to communities through their multimedia information, education, and communication campaigns to encourage the people to be environmentally- responsible and law-abiding citizens.

PRRC spearheaded the Puso Para sa Ilog Pasig (Love for the Pasig River) and Kontra-Esterorismo (a play of word for countering terrorism in the estuaries) campaigns.

Not in Vain The Pasig River and its 47 tributaries is, indeed, a tedious process, if not an “impossible feat.” The recovery, however, of each estuary and creek, coupled with the active participation of the community, will ensure the progressive rehabilitation of the Pasig River system, the agency said, adding that the years of hard work and cooperation among government agencies together with the help from private sectors and households for the past 20 years were not in vain.

In a nutshell, more than a hundred species of fish, birds, trees, and aquatic plants are now seen in the river. People now fish, travel and do exercise along the Pasig River and its tributaries. Last October 16, 2018, the Pasig River, through the leadership of Executive Director Jose Antonio E. Goitia, won the Inaugural Asia River Prize given by the International River Foundation (IRF) followed by China’s Yangtze River as the runner-up.

During the announcement, the IRF said the judges were really impressed with the scale of the problem the Pasig River faced and the scale of the response initiated by the PRRC. Through the 2032 Pasig River Integrated System Master Plan in effect, and with the public’s continued support, Executive Director Goitia is confident that we can sustain and improve our rehabilitation efforts so that the Pasig River can outlive us all for the sake of the next generations to come.

Estero dela Reina, Manila

Building sustainable projects for a better community for 50 years

By Jed Flores, Regine Reyes, and Veronica Sondon

F

OUNDED by Jose Virgilio Angeles in 1965, J.V. Angeles Construction Corporation (JVACC) continuously aims to help in building a better and more habitable environment for the generation and the generations to come. Headed now by the third generation, Kathryn Patricia V. Angeles, the company is celebrating its 50th year in the industry.

JVACC’s Chief for Management Systems Joy Caneba took us back to how the company started.

“It started with a vision to build sustainable projects that improves communities. Water is a basic necessity and JVACC focused on that as its niche and from there, they successfully grew the company. It was crossed between what they’re really good at, which is engineering, and their love for community development,” Caneba said.

Caneba also added that their company is focused on water infrastructure, environment and energy projects. Having an impact to the community is the core value of JVACC and it was validated when they were granted as the Top Performer in the water industry. “ Our projects provide safe drinking water and that’s something that

generations of Filipinos will enjoy and can benefit from. We take pride in this and continuously find ways to provide innovative solutions to improve our water system,” Caneba said.

As part of their 50 years in the industry, JVACC conducts monthly corporate social responsibility to give back to the community. Last month, February, they partnered with Red Cross to give blood donations to the children at the Philippine General Hospital. For this month, they are going to have a coastal clean-up drive at Pasig River.

JVACC’s currently working as the EPC Contractor for the Davao City Bulk Water Project of the Apo Agua Infrastructura, Inc., a joint venture between JVACC and Aboitiz. The Davao City Bulk Water Supply Project is the biggest bulk water

Davao City Bulk Water Project (Davao City)

The DCBWSP is an innovative project conceptualized by JVACC harnessing the strength of the Water-Energy Nexus by utilizing its own renewable energy to power up a water treatment plant to deliver potable water to the Davao City Water District.

supply facility in the country which will supply water to the Davao City Water District (DCWD). The said project aims to provide DCWD on average 300 million liters of potable water per day.

The Davao City Bulk Water Project was conceptualized by JVACC to be an innovative project that harnesses the strength of the Water-Energy Nexus.

Umiray-Angat Transbasin Project (Angat, Bulacan & Umiray, Quezon) One of the most significant achievements of JVACC was the construction of the Umiray-Angat Transbasin Project (UAT-004) for the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System in a joint venture with two Italian companies in 2000. This project supplies about 20% of Metro Manila’s water.

It will use its own renewable energy to power up a water treatment plant to deliver potable water to the DCWD. In line with this year’s World Water Day theme: “Leaving No One Behind,” JVACC takes pride in all the water infrastructure projects it successfully completed throughout the Philippines.

Notably, their Umiray -Angat Project supplying 20% of the capacity used in

Metro Manila.

“Our company has always advocated for improvement in the water system.,” Caneba also said about the water crisis in Metro Manila.

JVACC believes that we should all support any government projects that advocates for the improvement of the water system in the country to address water crisis.

Design and Build 30,000cu.m/day Water Treatment Plant and related Works (Pastrana, Leyte)

Design, construction and commissioning of a 30 MLD Water Treatment Plant and Ancillary Facilities River intake structure and desander

50 X 2025 BY 2025, WE COMMIT TO REDUCE OUR USE OF WATER IN ALL PROCESSES ACROSS THE SAN MIGUEL GROUP BY 50%.

While our water management efficiency level is among the highest in the Philippines, and while water conservation and protection has always been a key component of our operations,

WE’RE CHALLENGING OURSELVES TO DO MORE.

ELIMINATE WASTAGE OF WATER ACROSS OUR OPERATIONS.

We will adopt new and stricter measures to improve the efficiency of our water use, as well as utilize water-saving technologies and implement conservation programs.

REUSE AND RECYCLE MORE WATER.

We will optimize all our wastewater treatment facilities to further lessen our water footprint. We commit to make greater use of treated greywater for non-essential purposes.

REDUCE OUR USE OF GROUND AND SURFACE WATER AND PROTECT VITAL WATER SOURCES. HARVEST RAINWATER.

We will continue to lessen our use of ground and surface water, protect these water sources, and empower our communities to do the same.

We will harvest rainwater and runoff water from creeks and rivers – collecting, filtering, and storing it for irrigation and for various other purposes in our facilities. We hope that others will follow our example.

WE ARE EQUALLY COMMITTED TO PROVIDING WATER-CHALLENGED COMMUNITIES NOT JUST WITH ACCESS TO SAFE, POTABLE WATER, BUT ALSO THE ABILITY TO BE SELF-SUSTAINING WHEN IT COMES TO WATER MANAGEMENT.

WHY DO WE CARE?

Because it’s everyone’s water.

www.sanmiguel.com.ph/ www.facebook.com/smcbetterworld