Manila Standard - 2019 April 23 - Tuesday

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Quake strikes Luzon; 8 die

6.1-tremor sends people fleeing, buildings swaying; 20 in hospital

By Romeo Dizon, Jess Malabanan and Cecil Morella

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VOL. XXXIII • NO. 68 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

IGHT people were killed when at least two buildings collapsed as a 6.1 magnitude earthquake rocked Luzon.

Three bodies have been pulled out of a collapsed building in the town of Porac, while an old woman and her grandchild were crushed to death by another building in the town of Lubao, Pampanga Gov. Lilia Pineda told ABS-CBN television.

“We believe there are still people trapped in the four-story building,” Pineda said, adding that 20 people have so far been rescued and taken to hospital as night fell.

“It’s difficult because there is no power, so we’re still trying to get hold of a generator to be able to rescue the people inside,” she added.

Five people died and at least 40 others were trapped in the Chuzon supermarket,

AREAS AFFECTED Intensity V—San Felipe, Zambales; Malolos and Obando, Bulacan; Quezon City; Lipa, Batangas; City of Manila; Abucay, Bataan; Valenzuela City; Magalang, Pampanga Intensity IV—Pasig City; Makati City; Caloocan City; Meycauayan and San Jose del Monte, Bulacan; Floridablanca, Pampanga; Villasis, Pangasinan; Tagaytay City; Villasis, Pangasinan; Baguio City; Marikina City; Las Piñas City Intensity III—Dasmariñas, Indang, and General Trias, Cavite; Lucban, Quezon; Muntinlupa City; Cabanatuan City, Palayan City, Gapan City, Santo Domingo and Talavera, Nueva Ecija Intensity II—Baler, Aurora

also in Porac, after the building collapsed.

The earthquake, felt at 5:11 p.m., sent thousands of people fleeing high-rises in Metro Manila as high-rise buildings swayed, as they are designed to do during temblor.

The quake caused serious damage to Clark International Airport.

Damage was still being assessed, but residents posted photos on social media showing cracked walls and light fixtures swinging in the moments after the quake.

Clark International Airport Corp. president Jim Melo announced the airport’s closure for 24 hours due to damage in its terminal.

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Aftershocks and damage are expected, but Phivolcs Director Renato Solidum said there is no danger of a tsunami.

QUAKE DAMAGE • Clark International Airport closed for 24 hours due to damage inside terminal • LRT, MRT, PNR operations suspended at 5 p.m., to resume Tuesday morning • Stretches of SCTEX, NLEX show cracks, raised portions • Church, buildings, bridge in Porac, Pampanga suffer damage • Pampanga-Bataan border arch collapses • Province-wide power outages in Pampanga, Pangasinan, La Union, Bataan • Temporary power outages in Quezon, Batangas, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon • At least 12 aftershocks recorded in Zambales, Pampanga, Occidental Mindoro

QUAKE SCENES. The building of the Emilio Aguinaldo College along UN Avenue in Manila leans on an adjacent structure following the Magnitude 6.1 earthquake on Monday afternoon (top photo). Elsewhere, workers stream out of their high-rise offices in Makati City (middle photo), and a building in Porac, Pampanga lies in shambles, crushing the vehicles parked in front of it. Photos by Angel Movido/ABS-CBN News via Twitter, Bobby Cabrera and PNA STRUCTURAL DAMAGE. The boundary arch separating the borders of Pampanga and Bataan collapsed after the Magnitude 6.1 earthquake (top photo), as well as a portion of the tower or dome of the St. Augustine Parish Church in Lubao, Pampanga (above) and the ceiling of the terminal at the Clark International Airport (inset). PNA

WEATHER At 36.6 degrees, Metro bakes

TEMPERATURES in Metro Manila peaked at 36.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the state weather bureau said ―the highest recorded temperature in Metro Manila so far this year.

Weather forecaster Ariel Rojas on Monday said the temperature reading was recorded at 2:56 p.m. at the Science Garden in Quezon City.

The Science Garden is the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Next page

‘Oust plot: If it US won’t challenge came from Rody, China might—Rody it must be true’

Kill-Duterte plot exposed

By Nat Mariano

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte addressed a crowd in Malabon City behind bulletproof glass Tuesday night, saying that the Presidential Security Group insisted on the precaution amid word of an assassination plot against him.

By Nat Mariano

By Nat Mariano

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has said the United States remains scared of repercussions should it challenge China’s military might over the tensions in the West Philippines Sea. In his speech during a campaign sortie of the ruling PDP-Laban party in Agusan del Norte on Sunday, the President recalled how the rift in the West Philippine Sea started, adding Washington mediated between Manila and Beijing by creating a deal asking the two countries to withdraw their respective ships from the resourceNext page filled waters.

THE government on Monday warned the press against plotting to “destroy” President Rodrigo Duterte’s government, as his spokesman confirmed a newspaper report that some journalists and lawyers were plotting to destabilize the administration.

BULLET-PROOF. In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the diagram or “matrix” linking journalists from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, Rappler and Vera Files to an TRUE PLOT. In the Standard’s headline story last April 4, the Presidential SecuDuterte in a hurry: Three years to end drug war, cure PH of ills “oust Duterte” plot published by the Manila rity‘China Grouponly already admitted there was a plot on President Rodrigo Duterte’s life, hence

VOL. XXXIII • NO. 53 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

“You know, this picture frame, I don’t have control over this,” Duterte said, sounding apologetic about the bullet-proof glass in front of his podium during a campaign sortie for the ruling PDP-Laban.

“Even if I get mad... the security setup of the PSG… must be obeyed,” he said.

Despite admitting there were attempts on his life, the President poked fun at the situation.

“I think life is just about luck. If it’s really my time, then I can’t do anything about Next page

President Rodrigo Duterte, who has admitted there have been attempts against his life, speaks during the campaign hustings of the ruling PDP-Laban in Malabon City Tuesday in front of a bullet-proof glass, as locked by the Presidential Guards—with the chief executive quipping ‘life is just about luck.’

Presidential Photo

night said he is in a hurry to correct only about three years left for me to cor- senatorial bets and the slate’s guest can- do not have senators in favor of me, I wantsfortohim todaytheillegalcountry’s speak behindthearectbulletproof glass panel at an eventwillinreallyMalabon City. problems—including the things that I wanted to do,” he didates. have a hard time getting the Next page the need drug menace he vowed to wipe said during a campaign rally of the rul“You know how the game in politics funds,” he said.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tues-

befriend PH’

By Nat Mariano WHILE the military warned of Chinese militia vessels near Pag-asa Island, President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday defended his administration’s ties with China, saying Beijing only wants to be friends with the Philippines.

“I am in a hurry because there [are] reforms, as he endorsed PDP-Laban zation and funding from Congress. If I

out as he became Chief Executive—as ing DP-Laban in Malabon. goes,” he said in Filipino. “If I have a The President credited China for his he has only three years left before his President Duterte said he needs the program, especially those of you with- administration’s “Build, Build, Build” term ends in 2022. help of the legislative branch to pursue out land, I will have to ask the authoriNext page

Metro heats up; El Niño inflicts

THE temperature in Metro Manila could soar to 38 degrees Celsius this month because of El Niño, which has caused P5 billion in agricultural damage, the weather bureau said Wednesday.

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News

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PNP steps up intel gathering after Sri Lanka explosions THE Philippine National Police has intensified its intelligence information gathering following the suicide bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, that killed nearly 300 people believed perpetrated by a local extremist group.

“Definitely, of course number one, we beef up intelligence monitoring during these kinds of incidents. There are possibilities that the terrorists there can move to other places anywhere in the world to seek refuge. We are not [spared from]that. This is what we are looking at. These terrorist might move here,” PNP chief Gen. Oscar Albayalde told reporters during the press briefing after the flag ceremony in Camp Crame on Monday.

Sri Lanka has announced a national state of emergency beginning midnight, with government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne saying investigators were looking at whether the National Thowheeth Jama’ath group had “international support” for the deadly Easter Sunday attacks on churches and luxury hotels.

Wary of stirring ethnic and religious tensions, officials have provided few details about 24 people arrested since the attacks.

Not much is known about the NTJ, but documents seen by AFP show Sri Lanka’s police chief issued a warning on April 11, saying a “foreign intelligence agency” had reported the group was planning attacks on churches and the Indian high commission.

The group has previously been linked to vandalizing Buddhist statues.

The death toll from Sunday’s attacks rose dramatically Monday to 290—including dozens of foreigners—in the country’s worst attacks for over a decade.

In related developments: • Akbayan Senator Risa Hontiveros said there were no words in any language that could express the horror of violence that hit Sri Lanka.

“I stand in solidarity, grief, and shock with the victims, their families, and the nation of Sri Lanka, and I condemn the horrific attacks that claimed more than 200 lives and injured hundreds more this past Easter Sunday,” she said.

Macon Ramos-Araneta, with AFP and PNA

At 36.6...

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Astronomical Services Administration’s representative station in Metro Manila, Rojas explained.

The highest maximum heat index recorded on Sunday was at 49.6 degrees Celsius in Dagupan City, Pangasinan at 2 p.m., Pagasa added.

The heat index at the Science Garden and at the Port Area in Manila were both at 38 degrees Celsius, as Rojas said the dry weather will persist with easterlies continuing to affect the country.

Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms are expected in Bicol region, Visayas and Mindanao, while partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers may persist in Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon.

PNA

US...

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“If you go back in time to when it all began, this started in the Scarborough Islands.

There was a standoff there and I remember that China sent a ship and we sent ours as well,” President Duterte said.

According to the President, former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and former President Benigno Aquino III were “hounding” him about the 2016 arbitral tribunal ruling.

“He [Del Rosario] was the only one who negotiated. But America was scared. They knew that a war about something so small is not worth it,” the President said.

As for the US, Secretary of State Michael Pompeo already gave an assurance to the Philippine government that the federal nation would offer protection in terms of military defense to the country in the event of an armed attack.

Last month, Pompeo stressed that “any armed attack” on the country’s armed forces would prompt Washington to act under the seven-decade-old Mutual Defense Treaty.

“As an island nation, the Philippines depends on free and unobstructed access to the seas. China’s island-building and military acts in the South China Sea threaten your sovereignty, security and therefore economic livelihood, as well as that of the US,” Pompeo said.

“As the South China Sea is part of the Pacific, any armed attack on Philippine forces, aircraft or public vessels in the South China Sea will trigger mutual defense obligations under Article 4 of our Mutual Defense Treaty,” Pompeo emphasized.

House seeks budget ceiling for 2020

By Maricel V. Cruz

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OUSE Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has asked the Budget department to submit to the Oversight Committee the budget ceilings for each government agency in the proposed 2020 budget.

She said this would prevent the controversy over the P75 billion that was programmed in the 2019 budget.

Arroyo led the oversight hearing on the budget ceilings of the departments and agencies for the 2020 budget and the utilization of the 2018 budget.

Assistant Budget Secretary Rolando Toledo said the government was eyeing a P4.1trillion national budget for 2020, which would be 9.1 percent higher than this year’s P3.757-trillion appropriation.

Arroyo said it was important to determine the budget ceilings to prevent the controversy created by the failure of the Budget department to disclose the new budget ceiling of the Department of Public Works and Highways to the House of Representatives during the budget deliberations last year.

“The controversy over the 2019 budget be-

gan with the ceiling issue, and that’s why we need to know the ceiling now,” Arroyo said.

“As we understood as it was presented to us in July 2019, the DPWH had a ceiling of less than P500 million, but when the GAA came, it was almost P600 million. That’s why we want to be clarified now. That’s something we want to avoid in this coming budget.”

Arroyo said when the budget was presented to the House of Representatives last year, the DPWH said it had a budget ceiling of P482 billion.

However, when the National Expenditure Program was printed and given to the House of Representatives, Public Works’ budget ceiling was actually P555 million, or a difference of P75 billion. When Secretary Mark Villar was asked about the higher budget, he told the congressmen that he did not know anything about it.

In accordance with Arroyo’s directive to make the budget more transparent and fair, then House Majority Floor Leader Rolando Andaya moved for the itemization and equalization of the P75 billion to comply with the Constitution and the Supreme Court decision.

However, such move by the House leadership was questioned by the congressmen who were affected by the itemization.

The same items were, however, vetoed

by President Rodrigo Duterte, saying they were not part of the priority projects of his administration.

This developed as Toledo said “[The P4.1-trillion 2020 national budget] includes the estimated P233.3 billion that will be paid under the extended payment period of succeeding year.

“Line agencies will need to contract out and implement items during the fiscal year,” Toledo said.

Of the proposed total national budget for next year, around 44 percent is allocated for projects that include the ongoing programs and activities of the various departments and agencies under the reenacted 2018 budget, or the so-called Tier 1.

“Automatic appropriations―for example the internal revenue allotment, debt-lending

MMDA traffic enforcers get ‘heat stroke break’

By Joel E. Zurbano

pm to 3:30 pm or 3:30 pm to 4 pm.

For street sweepers on duty from 6 am to 2 pm, they will take a break from 11 am to 11:30 am or 11:30 am to 12 noon; for the 7 am to 4 pm shift, they will observe the 12 noon to 1 pm regular break time; while those working from 11 am to 7 pm will observe the 2:30 pm to 3 pm or 3 pm to 3:30 pm break time.

Field personnel on duty are allowed to leave their posts in shifts and take a break to allow their bodies to cool down.

“Heat stroke break will be done alternately by those who are assigned in a particular area to maintain the visibility of traffic enforcers and street sweepers and to ensure that field operations are not hampered, Lim said.

Field personnel may also avail themselves of an additional 15-minute break in case the heat index in Metro Manila reaches

40 degrees Celsius and above.

The policy takes effect until May 31, 2019.

An MMDA traffic enforcer died of heat stroke in 2012.

Experts say the symptoms of heat stroke or thermal distress include dizziness, uncommon thirst, breathing difficulty, headaches, fever and even hypertension.

Aside from the 30-minute breaks, traffic constables were also provided with summer uniforms and their standard head gear.

MMDA officials said in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, the Ministry of Labor is requiring companies to provide midday break from 12:30 pm to 3 pm to the laborers who work in open areas during summer.

In 2013, six South African traffic enforcers died of dehydration and heat stroke.

“Operation is temporarily suspended except for en route flights,” he said Monday night.

Old churches in Porac and Lubao were also damaged.

No casualties were reported in the municipality of Castillejos, Zambales, the epicenter of the earthquake.

In Metro Manila, workers piled out onto the streets as emergency alarms blared.

There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.

Feliza Villanueva, 21, a business process outsourcing employee said she and four colleagues were at work when the quake struck.

“This was the second strongest quake I’ve felt in my entire life,” she said as she joined hundreds of others in the courtyard of an office building, waiting for the all clear.

“We were worried but we did not panic,” she said.

“We planned how to evacuate the building. There were too many people going down the stairs, so we waited for our turn.

People looked in shock, but no one was shouting or anything like that,” she said.

The quake, of tectonic origin, was centered on the town of Castillejos, about 100 kilometers northwest of Manila, geologists said.

Scientists from the US Geological Survey logged its magnitude at 6.3, and said its epicenter was 40 kilometers below the Earth’s surface.

Dani Justo, a martial arts instructor, said she was at her Manila home when the quake struck.

“The clothes hanging on our line were really swaying. My shih tzu [dog] dropped flat on the ground,” she added.

The Philippines is part of the Pacific “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity that stretches from quake-prone Japan through Southeast Asia and across the Pacific basin.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the tremor could have originated from the Manila Trench or a fault line in Zambales.

Phivolcs director Renato Solidum said the public must brace for aftershocks, noting that 17 had been felt as of 5:53 p.m.

The Manila International Airport Authority on Monday said there was no damage to the airport´s runways and taxiways following the earthquake.

Terminal facilities are functioning with

no reports of downtime, said MIAA chief information officer Connie Bungag.

She said inspection of possible effects of the earthquake on airport structures is ongoing.

Cebu Pacific Air announced it would cancel several flights scheduled on Monday evening flying out of Clark, where officials reported damage to the airport.

In Makati, the search and rescue units went around the city to check for possible damage in buildings and other infrastructure.

Rapid Damage Assessment was ongoing in all Makati City Hall buildings, where minor cracks were reported.

The Metro Manila Development Authority, meanwhile, dispatched several buses to offer free rides to commuters affected by the shutdown of the urban train service following the earthquake Monday.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, initially informed the Department of Energy that the earthquake caused a drop in the available capacity of 2009 MW. The NGCP issued a red alert notice at 5:20 p.m., after the GN Power, Anda, Limay, SCPC, and the two units of Kalayaan plants were affected by the earthquake.

With Rio N. Araja, Joel Zurbano, with PNA and AFP

The US top diplomat also maintained that the federal nation’s commitment under the treaty remains “clear and real.”

The said treaty, forged by the Washington and Manila during the Cold War era in 1951, mandates that both countries should defend each other in case of an attack in its territory.

Duterte surmised that once China attacked the Philippines and the US decided to help the country, then the three countries would trigger a world war just for the contested waters.

“America knows it. Everybody does [know]. If those nuclear bombs, atom bombs, and hydrogen bombs will explode, nothing will be left of this world. We would all be destroyed,” he said.

“So, America said, ‘Both of you should retreat.’ Del Rosario ordered our ship to retreat, but China refused to follow. That is why they filed a case,” he added.

While the case in The Hague was being heard, China continued the construction of its facilities in the disputed territories, Duterte continued.

The President even questioned the US for failing to stop the East Asian giant from strengthening its claim in the disputed seas.

“That’s it. We lost it... So, why did they [US] not go there when China situated their ship there?” the President said.

“America did not do anything. Now it’s almost complete. It looks like a real camp.

They have guns. They want me to visit it.

It’s fine, it can be done just to show off. But we would all be destroyed. And my soldiers and my policemen will be massacred. We can’t defeat them,” he continued.

“So, let’s stick to just talking unless you want me to say, ‘Okay fine, I’ll attack Chi-

na. Who’s with me?’ he added.

Conceding that the Philippine government cannot rely on its long-standing ally to defend Manila’s sovereignty in the disputed waterways, the President vowed to “do the most that he can” to address the issue as he even questions himself whether China would remain friendly or not to the country after the Aquino administration “picked a fight with them.”

The tension in the West Philippine Sea has been revived following reports on the presence of hundreds of supposed Chinese militiamen in the country’s territory.

While the Palace maintained that Beijing’s action in the Philippine-claimed territories constituted to violations of the country’s sovereignty, the President stressed that he would rather have a “compromise with Beijing as going against the East Asian giant’s military might could be as good as “committing suicide.”

However, Duterte made it clear that while the Philippines continued to be friends with China, “things would be different” once Beijing touched the Philippine-occupied Pag-Asa Island.

Currently, the Chinese government has yet to respond to any of the salvo of protests filed by the Philippines concerning the issues on the West Philippine Sea. The Palace already said the issues might be discussed “one way or another” during Duterte’s trip to China for the second Belt and Road for International Cooperation forum this week.

The Philippine government, meanwhile, expects five bilateral agreements to be forged with China during Duterte’s attendance at the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, the Department

of Foreign Affairs announced.

In a pre-departure briefing in Malacañang, DFA Assistant Secretary Meynardo Montealegre said the President would attend the three-day forum with 39 other leaders and heads of international organizations.

According to the DFA official, the BRFIC would tackle Beijing’s ambitious effort to enhance regional cooperation and connectivity through the Belt and Road Initiative.

“This initiative envisions global connectivity through infrastructure, facilitation of free trade, financial integration, and people-to-people exchanges,” Montealegre told Palace reporters.

Through the BRI, Montealegre explained China was seeking to better the alignment of government policies concerning economic development and regional cooperation, strengthen coordination of infrastructure plans, encourage soft infrastructures such as trade, investment, and regulatory standards, and bolster people-to-people connections through cultural exchanges and tourism.

In related developments: • The Philippines’ largest warship arrived in China on Monday to attend a naval parade, part of a goodwill visit as China extends the hand of friendship despite regional tensions and suspicions.

Beijing will mark today 70 years since the founding of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, where it will show off new warships including nuclear submarines and destroyers at a major review in the waters off the port city of Qingdao.

China says warships from about a dozen nations are also taking part―one diplomatic source with direct knowledge said it was 13 countries in total.

THE Metro Manila Development Authority said Monday it will impose the daily “heat stroke break” to protect its traffic enforcers and other personnel who are working outdoors this summer.

MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim has signed a memorandum reimplementing the 30-minute break policy to on-duty traffic enforcers and street sweepers to protect them from heat exhaustion, heat strokes and heat cramps due to the summer heat.

For traffic enforcers who work in shift 5 am to 1 pm, the prescribed break time is from 10 am to 10:30 am or 10:30 am to 11 am; for those working from 1 pm to 9 pm shift, the break time will be from 2:30 pm to 3 pm or 3 pm to 3:30 pm; and for the 2 pm to 10 pm shift, the break time will be from 3

Quake...

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and special purpose funds like the local government units’ special shares and contingent fund, among others―will account for another P1.345.7 billion or 32.8 percent of the total budget,” Toledo said.

“That will give us a total of P3.2 trillion of Tier 1.”

On the other hand, a total of P911.6 billion will be allocated for the Tier 2 projects, or the new or expanded programs and activities amounting to 22.2 percent of the total cash-based budget, Toledo said.

He also said among the priority programs of the government under the 2020 national budget were infrastructure development, and for the implementation of new and critical government programs and policies such as the Universal Health Care Act, the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the Rice Tariffication Act, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programs Act, and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act. The other priority programs of the government to be funded under next year’s appropriations are the K-12 program, the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program, the Risk Resiliency Program and the Coastal Resource Management Program.

Holy Week casualties reach 56 FIFTY-SIX people drowned or died from road accidents and violence during the Holy Week break, the Philippine National Police said Monday.

Forty-five of the fatalities drowned, eight died in vehicular accidents, one was stabbed dead, one was shot dead and another was electrocuted, PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde said in a statement.

Another 128 people were injured in 88 separate accidents, he said.

The incidents highlight the need for enhancing road safety awareness, reviewing road engineering features and including swimming skills as part of the physical education curriculum in schools, Albayalde said.

But Albayalde said the Holy Week was “generally peaceful without any significant untoward incident in the magnitude of a national emergency” despite the fatalities.

Some 24,700 police officers were deployed to the main thoroughfares, transport terminals and other strategic locations during Holy Week, Albayalde said.

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Times came from the President himself.

“The source of that is from the Office of the President, from the President himself,” Panelo said.

“I think [it’s reliable] considering he is the President. He has so many sources, so that’s validated,” he continued.

“And since it’s from the President, you should believe it.”

The Palace warning followed recent news reports alleging the Duterte family’s involvement in illegal drugs and raising questions about a large increase in their wealth.

“They are all there doing their thing, trying to destroy this government by spreading false news and planting intrigues against the government,” Panelo said.

He released a graphic which he said showed how a video of a hooded man alleging the Duterte family’s role in the narcotics trade was shared by one journalist to colleagues employed by other news organizations.

The news organizations named have all reported extensively on Duterte’s crackdown against illegal drugs that has left more than 5,000 suspects dead at the hands of the police in what rights groups have said may be a crime against humanity.

Panelo said the ouster allegations were based on information shared by a foreign intelligence agency, which he would not name.

“In other words, what these people are doing is to give succor or assist the enemy, if they are not the enemy themselves,” Panelo said.

Last week, Duterte publicly lashed out at the PCIJ, which published a report about the rise in the President’s net worth.

“In the coming weeks, I will return the favor. So Philippine Investigative, you better stop,” Duterte said.

Panelo said Monday the Duterte government was putting these journalists and news outfits on notice but would not pursue legal action against them “for now.”

“But if the plot thickens and they perform acts which are already violation(s) of the penal laws, that’s a different story,” Panelo added.

The comments came weeks after the government twice briefly detained Maria Ressa, chief executive of the online news site Rappler over tax evasion, securities fraud and other charges. With Macon Ramos-Araneta, Rey E. Requejo, PNA

Manila

Standard

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

TODAY

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Republic of the Philippines

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Quezon City

SALAMAT SA BUDGET, PANGULONG RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE Sa ngalan ng sambayanang Pilipino, nagpapasalamat ang House of Representatives, sa pamumuno ng dating Pangulo at Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, para sa mga proyekto at programa ng Administrasyong Duterte para sa pag-angat ng mamamayan at kaunlaran at reporma sa bansang Pilipino, lalo na para sa:

NCR

Region XIII

Construction of By-Pass and Diversion Roads Construction of Road leading to Trade, Industries or Economic Circumferential Road-6 (C6), Taguig Pateros. P42.5 M Zones Flyovers/Interchanges/Underpasses/Long Span Bridges BGC To NRJ BCIR-Capitol-Bonbon Road in support of Butuan City IT Park Ortigas Center P890M and Public Utility Transport Terminal, Butuan City, Agusan Del Norte P50M

Region 1

Urdaneta By-Pass Road, Pangasinan P201.500 M

Region II

Replacement of Puzzer Bridge along Daang Maharlika (P116M)

Region III

Cordillera Administrative Region

Road Network leading to Trading Centers in Abra, Apayao, Benguet and Kalinga P544M

IMPRASTRAKTURA

• Flood control sa mga pangunahing ilog • Mga bago at pinalaking sistema ng koryente at tubig New Road • Sagana at Sigla Sa Tubig sa Lahat (Salintubig) para sa mga Capas-Botolan Road (Tarlac - Zambales) P750M barangay na walang tubig • Imbakan ng tubig-ulan sa buong bansa Region IVA Construction of Revetment along Imus River (Flood Control Project) • Pinag-ibayong sistema ng sasakyang-ilog sa Pasig River in Brgy. Burol, East side (Phase I, II, III, IV and V), Dasmarinas, Cavite • Suporta sa pagtutulungan ng gobyerno at negosyo sa imprastraktura P250M • Mga estruktura at pasilidad laban sa mga kalamidad • Metro Manila Traffic Development Program for safe and smooth Region IVB traffic flow Construction of New Bridge • Bikeway Development Pagbahan Bridge along Mindoro West Coastal Road (P160M)

Region V

TRABAHO AT KABUHAYAN

Region VIII

PAGLABAN SA KRIMEN AT DROGA

Construction/Improvement/Rehabilitation of Cadacan Flood Control System in Irosin, Sorsogon P120M

• Pinag-ibayong programa sa kaligtasan at kagalingan ng manggagawa • Mga programa para sa mga munting negosyo, gaya ng Negosyo Region VI Centers Construction of Flood Mitigation Structures along Sipalay River, • Pondo para sa sustainable MSMEs • Programa sa pag-akit ng investment at trabaho Sipalay City, Negros Occidental P100M • Programa para sa seguridad ng titulo sa lupa • Modernisasyon ng agrikultura at pangingisda Region VII • Programa para sa sapat at abot-kayang bigas ng NFA Metro Cebu Expressway P300M Construction of Basey Tide Embankment, Basey, Samar P114.8M

• • Region IX • Construction of Road leading to tourist spot : NRJ leading to • Litayon Island, Brgy. Litayon, Alicia, Zamboanga Sibulan P100M

Programa laban sa droga at para sa rehab Programa sa paglaban at pagbawas ng krimen Libreng abogado para sa mahihirap Mas pinaigting na Anti-Money Laundering program

KAUNLARAN NG PAMAYANAN

• Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino para sa milyun-milyong maralita • Tulong sa mga OFW na nagigipit, at mga biktima ng human Construction of Flood Control Structure (with Esplanade) along trafficking Pulangi River, Valencia City, Bukidnon P200M • Pinalawak ng mga serbisyong ospital • Programa para sa mga kabataang nasangkot sa krimen Region XI • Mga programa para sa kaunlarang ng Mindanao Tagum City Flyover along Agusan-Davao Road, Phase 2 Davao del • Local Government Support Fund para sa mga LGUs Norte P500M Alternate Road Construction from Region XI to Region X, Package • Benepisyo sa mga yumaong opisyal ng barangay • Pensiyon sa mga kawal at pulis 2A, 2B, 2C, 2D, 3A and 3B, Davao City (P957M) • Libreng edukasyon mula elementarya hanggang kolehiyo at tech-voc Region XII • Pagtatayo mga mga National Child Development Center General Santos City Underpass P150M

Region X

Muli, isang malalaking pasasalamat Kay Pangulong Duterte sa kanyang patuloy na pagbibigay-halaga sa kagalingan ng Pilipino, kaakibat niya mula noon hanggang ngayon ang House of Representatives.

Tuloy ang Taguyod at Trabaho para sa Sambayanang Pilipino!

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Opinion

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Liberation days THIS is the continuation of my memories of World War II, the Japanese Occupation, the guerilla days in Northern Luzon until liberation when the American forces liberated not only Manila but the whole Philippines after the return of General Douglas McArthur.

After the Battle of Bessang Pass that led to the surrender of General Tomiyuki Yamashita, ending almost four years of Japanese occupation, my two brothers who were both involved with the USAFIP-NL had as their headquarters Camp Spencer in Luna, La Union.

Here’s more of my memories.

This gave me the opportunity to finish my high school in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. I was happy to go to school again, interacting with boys and girls my age.

During weekends, I saw the latest American movies at a place not far from Tagudin.

I graduated high school at the top of my class. I visited my brother Willie, then in charge of the Sudipen Army Motor Pool.

With his help I learned how to ride a jeep.

I recall meeting a certain Ferdinand E. Marcos when I visited the camp. My brothers used to tell me stories about Marcos, who was also in the guerilla movement as a major in the 14th Infantry in Nueva Vizcaya.

Willie used to recount stories about Marcos who was his commander in Bataan before its fall. My brother said that during the surrender in Bataan, Marcos and other soldiers escaped. Willie could not swim so he joined the infamous Death March of both the Filipinos and American soldiers until they reached Capas, Tarlac where they were concentrated. My brother also recounted tales of Marcos earning many medals during the war.

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

In 1946, when we returned to Manila and I stayed with my eldest brother Desi who was then made a professor at the Ateneo de Manila ruins on Padre Faura.

I was granted a scholarship at the Ateneo de Manila where Desi was teaching history and political science. I decided to take up Bachelor of Arts majoring in philosophy and humanities.

Ateneo was devastated by the war, when the Japanese conducted the infamous rape of Manila. There was nothing left standing at Padre Faura campus in Ermita except of a single statue of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus, which interestingly enough represents care, protection, provision and instruction, in Catholic symbolism.

That statue today is in front of the Jesuit residence at Ateneo Loyola Heights campus in Quezon City. The school then, now a university, also managed to salvage other statuary and ironworks from the ruins, including the figure of the Immaculate Conception, now in the university archives, and the Ateneo monograms displayed on the campus gates.

It was in 1946 that Ateneo returned to its original site. Prior to that, classes had graciously been hosted by the Hijas de Jesus (Daughters of Jesus) at their Nazareth school retreat house at Plaza Guipit, Sampaloc. It was called “Guipit,” meaning constricted and more so with two schools sharing the space.

When I started school, we had to endure the heat of the row of quonset huts built by the Americans when they occupied Manila.

To alleviate our suffering, the Jesuits fortunately installed electric fans for every class.

I got myself involved in many school activities like the social order club, and the school organ, The Guidon, where I became associate editor. We were the first graduates at the Ateneo ruins after the war. Having chosen law as my elective, I had a classmate, former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, now running for the Senate at the ripe age of 95. He was then taking his prelaw at Ateneo. *** If pre-election surveys are to be believed, the following, not necessarily in this order, will make it to the Magic 12: Grace Poe, Cynthia Villar, Bong Go, Pia Cayetano, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Bong Revilla, Lito Lapid, Jinggoy Estrada, Bato dela Rosa, Imee Marcos and Francis Tolentino.

I

Servants of the people

N Ukraine, a comedian just got swept into the presidency by a landslide victory over the incumbent.

that are all too pressing in that country: Oligarchy, Ukraine's place in Europe and in the world, language and identity, the role of the media. It mirrors a complex reality, CNN says.

It's a daunting task that the young and inexperienced comedian faces. And now we wonder how much or how little of these tendencies are shared by Filipinos at this crucial juncture, just a few weeks before the midterm elections.

We here would have no firsthand knowledge of why exactly the Ukrainians decided to go, overwhelmingly, in favor of Zelensky. Were they fed up with traditional politics, did they deem it better to try the devil they didn't know than the one they did, did they believe that the political blank slate that the comedian is would be better than the recorded deeds and

Forty-one-year-old Volodymyr Zelensky took 73 percent of the votes against Petro Poroshenko's 24 percent. He told his supporters he would not let them down.

Zelensky became popular for starring in a satirical television series called Servant of the People, available even in other countries through the streaming site Netflix. The show casts Zelensky as a poor schoolteacher who stumbles into the presidency after a profanity-laced anticorruption rant goes viral.

While the show is set in a fictional Ukraine, it tackles themes

misdeeds of their usual leaders?

It appears though, that the opposite is true: Based on the results of poll surveys, Filipinos are much more willing to cast their lot with the familiar names—those already known in politics and even in show business—making the exception for new names only if they are phenomenal or endorsed by the still-popular president.

Then again, the comedy that Zelensky seems to be more sobering than the slapstick type that the usual names are inclined to give us. Unfortunately, what we know so well may be funny and entertaining—but not any good in the long run.

If we continue to be lazy about the choices we make in the next polls, then the “servants of the people” who will be sworn into office will not be public officials but entitled posers.

Turn to A5

The feast of rolling rocks EASTER is the feast of all feasts, the unadulterated joy and happiness for all Christians. On this day, Christ conquered death in glory and took away the sins of the earth. By his death he destroyed death and by his resurrection he restored life.

We whose bodies are sullied with sin are promised immortality by Christ’s shedding of his blood and conquest of death.

We too have been restored by his resurrection. And by this mystery, with such a certitude, we should banish all trace of sadness. With Christ rising from the dead, anything is possible. The mighty could be humbled and the lowly. The core message of Easter is that even in the direst of situations, there is always hope. Now life will triumph over death.

The scripture says that it the very early on the first day of the week and still dark, when Mary of Magdala came to the tomb.

The disciple saw that the stone had been moved away from the tomb and came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved. “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb,” she said, “and we don’t know where they have put him.” Peter immediately set out with the other disciple to go to the tomb. They ran together, but the other disciple came to the tomb first; he bent down and saw the linen cloths lying on the ground, but did not go in. Simon Peter who was following now came up, went right into the tomb, saw the linen cloths on the ground, and also the cloth that had been over his head; this was not with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself.

Jesus confronted death head on, for our sake. By his singular sacrifice and shedding of blood, the venom of the serpent was rendered ineffectual. It was a joyous event knowing that their Master has risen from the dead. Pope Francis said that because of this singular event a Christian must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral! The tone of Easter is joy in the refrain—we are an Easter people, and Alleluia is our song.

We say that physical death is the most terrible thing that can happen to our mortal body. But for the believer, it is not.

What is more gruesome that can cause a believer to shudder in fear is to be separated from God. It is this separation that can condemn us to eternal despair. Many painful things can happen to our physical body which, by our instinct, we loath

and avoid as much as possible. Hunger, persecution, injustice, sadness and other things we despise happen to us every so often. That is why because of our almost irresistible desire to preserve our physical well-being, we often resort to the vilest of sins which inevitably separate us from God. Last Palm Sunday, Pope Francis condemned the opposite of the cross—triumphalism which makes use of shortcuts and false compromises: “It wants to jump onto the carriage of the winner. It lives off gestures and words that are not forged in the crucible of the cross; it grows by looking askance at others and constantly judging them inferior, wanting, failures…”

Easter invites us to let Jesus help us gain courage once again, after we’ve had our trust betrayed.

Pope Francis said that Jesus destroyed triumphalism by his Passion: “He knows that true triumph involves making room for God and that the only way to do that is by stripping oneself, by self-emptying. To remain silent, to pray, to accept humiliation. There is no negotiating with the cross: one either embraces it or rejects it. By his self-abasement, Jesus wanted to open up to us the path of faith and to precede us on that path xxx Festive acclamations and brutal torture; the silence of Jesus throughout his Passion is profoundly impressive. He also overcomes the temptation to answer back, to act like a “superstar”. In moments of darkness and great tribulation, we need to keep silent, to find the courage not to speak, as long as our silence is meek and not full of anger. The meekness of silence will make us appear even weaker, more humble. Then the devil will take courage and come out into the open. We need to resist him in silence, “holding our position”, but with the same attitude as Jesus.

He knows that the battle is between God and the prince of this world and that what is important is not putting our hand to the sword but remaining firm in faith. It is God’s hour. At the hour that God comes forth to fight, we have to let him take over . . . This will help us to live in the sacred tension between the memory of the promises made, the suffering present in the Turn to A5

A step closer to peace in Mindanao WE MAY have gone a step closer to achieving elusive peace in Muslim Mindanao with the latest news report confirming the death of Owaydah Marohombsar, alias Abu Dar, one of the leaders of the Maute group that laid siege on Marawi City in May to October 2017.

Dar was among the four terrorists killed by government troops during an encounter in Tuburan, Lanao del Sur last March 14. Military officials believe Dar was the only terrorist leader who escaped when government forces liberated Marawi City from the Islamic Statelinked Maute group. He was regarded as the successor of Isnilon Hapilon, the emir of IS in Southeast Asia who was also killed in Marawi along with the Maute brothers.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and officials of the Army’s 1st Infantry Division cited the results of the DNA tests

We wish to see the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao already up and running. conducted on Dar’s body by US forensic experts. “It is confirmed. It is Abu Dar’s remains,” Lorenzana said.

Dar had a lengthy criminal record. The military claimed Dar was responsible for bombing the Limketkai commercial area in Cagayan de Oro in 2016 where several doctors were killed. He was also behind the killing of several soldiers, policemen and Christians in Marawi City and the province of Lanao del Sur. With the Maute group’s leader now neutralized, the military is monitoring who will probably replace Dar. “The neutralization of Abu Dar is a significant accomplishment of the gov-

ernment and the people of Lanao del Sur who worked together to rid their province of terrorists. Meanwhile, we will continue our operations so that the sacrifices of our fallen comrades in pursuit of peace will not go to waste,” a top military official in Mindanao was quoted as saying.

But will the death of Abu Dar finally put an end to the Islamic-State-supported terrorist groups, such as the Abu Sayyaf, that still manages to engage the military in skirmishes every now and then?

The answer to that is that we’ll have to wait and see.

Meantime, we wish to see the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao already up and running so that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that has waged a decades-long armed struggle for self-rule can lead the process of establishing genuine autonomy within the framework of the Constitution.

Few overseas Pinoys participating in absentee voting While at this, we’d really like to know why only a third of all overseas Filipinos are interested in absentee voting.

Turn to A5

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Opinion

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

The devil and Benedict TODAY I’ll do something I rarely do: turn over my column to what I think is an essential commentary—in this case, from the influential Fil-Am conservative writer Richard Fernandez. The crisis he talks about predominates in the West, but with globalization and the Internet, it’s already spreading to our part of the world.

Two days after Easter Sunday, it’s good to be reminded of the Apostles’ missionary tasking (the third “glorious mystery” in the Rosary) and the form that that tasking now takes for today’s Christians. *** In an April 2019 letter, Pope Emeritus Benedict wrote an article describing how the Church lost the ability to govern itself and found many of its formation centers turned into hatcheries for sexual abusers.

It was a two-step process. First, the popes lost the culture war within the Church. "In the 20 years from 1960 to 1980, the previously normative standards regarding sexuality collapsed entirely." Efforts to reverse the trend were dismissed as conservative claptrap.

Pope John Paul II, who knew very well the situation of moral theology and followed it closely, commissioned an encyclical that would set these things right again ... Veritatis splendor on August 6, 1993, and it triggered vehement backlashes on the part of moral theologians.

[Benedict]: “I shall never forget how then-leading German moral theologian Franz Böckle ... announced … that if the encyclical should determine that there were actions which were always and under all circumstances to be classified as evil, he would challenge it with all the resources at his disposal ...

“There were … individual bishops who rejected the Catholic tradition as a whole and sought to bring about a kind of new, modern “Catholicity” ... In not a few seminaries, students caught reading my books were considered unsuitable for the priesthood.”

Then the popes found that, having lost the culture wars, the victorious memes started flying their flags from the seminaries. Benedict recalls that "in various seminaries homosexual cliques were established," which brought not just new sexual mores but a deliberate new form

of transgressive behavior. To Benedict, it seemed as if his Church was under deliberate attack: “The devil wants to prove that there are no righteous people; that all righteousness of people is only displayed on the outside. ... Look at what this God has done. Supposedly a good creation, but in reality full of misery and disgust. That disparagement of creation is really a disparagement of God. It wants to prove that God Himself is not good, and thus to turn us away from Him.” Benedict's recollections might be of little interest to non-Catholics did they not so closely mirror the recent experience of the secular West. As the devil was taking over the seminaries, something was also

The crisis is already spreading to our part of the world. seizing the great universities of Europe and America, turning them into bastions of political correctness. Everything that happened inside the Church also happened outside with astounding swiftness.

In less than 20 years, marriage was redefined from its centuries-old meaning as a union between a man and woman to include homosexuals. Abortion became a progressive sacrament. Concepts of gender and race, which some had thought to be immutable, were transformed in a few short years into a veritable smorgasbord of categories. Slate tells us Facebook offers users 56 genders to choose from.

How long before the fate of Benedict's Church is the fate of the West? Almost overnight, concepts like patriotism, family, national borders and even masculinity have become bad words. If the years since 2016 prove anything, it is that the crisis in Western culture is as extensive as that gripping the Catholic Church.

Is there a way out? The Roman empire never solved the problem of how to dominate a malignant meme, but humanity found a way of outlasting it.

"Western Christianity survived by clinging to places like Skellig Michael, a pinnacle of rock [seven] miles from the Irish coast, rising seven hundred feet out of the sea." The mission of the monks was to remember God—to remember the truth— until the mysterious workings of the sys-

tem brought them forth again.

Benedict's strategy is not to rely primarily on political measures but on millions of "Skellig Michaels" scattered through the human landscape. It is from these martyrs (as he calls them) and not primarily the Church hierarchy that hope and innocence will be renewed.

"Today God also has His witnesses (martyrs) in the world. We just have to be vigilant in order to see and hear them. ...

The idea of a better Church, created by ourselves, is in fact a proposal of the devil, with which he wants to lead us away from the living God, through a deceitful logic by which we are too easily duped."

It may be enough to keep playing the game this side of the Last Judgment. Human survival from the beginning depended on the little flame of hope that keeps us living, having children, and showing up for tomorrow. The despair that is currently challenging our civilization knows it is unnecessary to douse the nuclear fires, but only that tiny flame, certain that there will be no Easter if we give up on Good Friday. *** On this Tuesday of the Octave of Easter, the Gospel reading (John 20: 11-18) talks of Mary Magdalene, a prosperous woman from the fishing village of Magdala, who began following Jesus’ ministry around the Sea of Galilee after He cast demons out of her.

At the point of His death, she was among the small group of women who stood at the foot of the Cross. And at the moment of His resurrection three days later, she was the first person to discover the empty tomb, witness and talk to the risen Jesus, and announce the good news to the rest of His followers.

Over the centuries, the Magdalene has been popularly mistaken for Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha of Bethany, as well as a variety of “fallen women”. But in 1969 the Church cleared her name, and in 2016 Pope Francis elevated her memorial date, June 22, to the status of a feast day.

No longer the maligned camp follower, Mary Magdalene is now honored as “the Apostle to the Apostles”, the first witness and proclaimer of His resurrection—this woman “who so loved Christ and was so greatly loved by Him”. Across the centuries, she speaks to us of the dignity of women, the power of women’s witness, as well as the way we should value them as sisters in Christ: with love, with respect, and— from us men—with our fidelity and fealty.

Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@ yahoo.com.

Still the world’s worst airport IT’S a shame that we continue to bear with the failures of the previous administrations, particularly those of Noynoy Aquino whose cronies left the transport sector a total mess.

This was starkly demonstrated during the Holy Week when travelers literally looked like they were performing the traditional “penitencia” at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Pasay City, having to bear with the agony of waiting for delayed flights.

The truth is that the state of calamity at NAIA has persisted long enough, and concerned authorities have only the previous administration to blame.

Just like in the case of the distressed Metro Rail Transit Line 3 along EDSA, all the credit for the mess at NAIA goes to the inept and corruption-ridden Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Thanks to former transport secretaries Mar Roxas and Jun Abaya, our airport blues

The feast...

From A4

cross, and the hope of the resurrection.”

Last Saturday, during the Easter Vigil mass in the Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City, Pope Francis reminded us that we are each called “to rediscover in the Risen Christ the one who rolls back from our heart the heaviest of stones.”

Francis names those stones: “Often what blocks hope is the stone of discouragement. Once we start thinking that everything is going badly and that things can’t get worse, we lose heart and come to believe that death is stronger than life. We become cynical, negative and despondent. Stone upon stone, we build within ourselves a monument to our own dissatisfaction:the sepulcher of hope. Life

A step...

From A4

According to the Commission on Elections (Comelec), they are hoping to have at least a 30-percent turnout in the overseas absentee voting for the midterm polls.

Since the start of overseas voting on April 13, turnout has been low. Despite this, the commission still hopes to breach the 30 percentage mark, as was the turnout

continue and, as Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) chief Ed Monreal was quoted as saying, the ordeal will not be over any time soon.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Art Tugade, along with Monreal, concede that the NAIA air traffic congestion and crowding are the “new normal” state of affairs at the country’s main gateway.

But blaming the failures, blunders and plunderers in the previous administration for our continuing hardship at NAIA is simply unacceptable as an excuse. Government officials get VIP treatment at the airports unlike the general public who looks more like displaced “bakwets” from war, littered at NAIA’s walkways.

For heaven’s sake, midway through the Duterte administration, we are still hoping against hope that these officials show a semblance of decisiveness and a sense of urgency in resolving NAIA’s perennial troubles.

As a chain reaction, travelers experience the same aggravation at the secondary airports outside Metro Manila like Clark, Cebu, Laguindingan, Kalibo, Iloilo and Davao international airports. Let me tell you, it is not at all fun for tourists waiting for flights delayed for two or more hours longer than the actual travel time to and

from Metro Manila.

What solutions has Secretary Tugade’s team actually come up with since the catastrophic ditching of a Xiamen Air plane at NAIA’s one of only two runways last August?

Since then, the gridlock at NAIA has continued day in and day out. Actually, there nothing new since NAIA earned the title "the Worst Airport in the World."

Perhaps, Sec. Tugade’s team could muster a bit of creativity to be able to mitigate the punishing delay and chaos at NAIA and domestic airports affected by the late turnaround flights.

What ever happened to the proposal to develop Sangley Point in Tanza, Cavite into a domestic Airport, which can serve part of over 100 daily domestic flights from NAIA? Sec. Tugade and Co. may be counting on the proposed Bulacan international airport as alternate to NAIA but which might take beyond the Duterte term to complete.

Will NAIA continue to be the “world’s worst airport” until then?

You see, Mar Roxas must be really out of it not to realize “marami siyang hindi nagawa.” I’m sure transport czar Tugade is smart enough to assure us he wouldn’t leave the same legacy of ineptitude as Roxas did.

becomes a succession of complaints and we grow sick in spirit. A kind of tomb psychology takes over: everything ends there, with no hope of emerging alive.

But at that moment, we hear once more the insistent question of Easter:Why do you seek the living among the dead?The Lord is not to be found in resignation. He is risen; he is not there. Don’t seek him where you will never find him: he is not the God of the dead but of the living (cf.

Mk 22:32). Do not bury hope!

There is another stone that often seals the heart shut: the stone of sin. Sin seduces; it promises things easy and quick, prosperity and success, but then leaves behind only solitude and death. Sin is looking for life among the dead, for the meaning of life in things that pass away. Why do you seek the living among the dead?

Why not make up your mind to abandon

that sin which, like a stone before the entrance to your heart, keeps God’s light from entering in? Why not prefer Jesus, the true light (cf. Jn1:9), to the glitter of wealth, career, pride and pleasure? Why not tell the empty things of this world that you no longer live for them, but for the Lord of life?”

Easter tells us that we don’t have to die to share in the glory of his resurrection. It invites us to let Jesus help us gain courage once again, after we’ve had our trust betrayed. We as a people are confronted with a myriad of misfortunes, political, social and economic. Yet the risen Christ has given us hope; hope that in the end we will be liberated from these misfortunes.

Jesus is ready to work miracles for us, if we but let him. All we need is to trust in him and surrender ourselves to his will.

Happy Easter everyone!

in the 2016 presidential polls.

According to Comelec data, voter turnout for the presidential elections in 2016 was at 31 percent.

Elaiza Sabile-David, director in charge for the overseas voting, earlier said turnouts during midterm elections had always been low.

She disclosed that during the 2013 midterm elections, overseas turnout was only at 16 percent. However, the turnout for the presidential elections was 31 percent.

“Voter turnout declines during midterm elections because people are more interested in voting during presidential elections”, she said. “One of the problems is the lack of information for voters. So the way to address the low voter turnout is to provide more information, announcements, and notices to voters. Candidates should also introduce themselves. That would be a big way to encourage people to vote.”

According to David, election officers are also reaching out to the families of

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Beaten 1-7 in 1971 straint, high interest rates, inflation and unemployment provoked bitter political oppositions to, and generated much popular disaffection toward, the Marcos administration.

But the recovery program gradually took hold and by the time the A DEBATE has long raged as to November 1971 polls came around whether pre-election poll surveys the Philippine economy was again in have the effect, intentional or other- good shape. The Marcos administrawise, of conditioning the minds of tion was now riding high, pouring voters as to the winnability or non- hundreds of millions of pesos into its winnability of specific candidates. In no-expense-spared campaign for its the case of the 12 Senate seats that candidates, especially its senatorial are up for grabs, the leading polling candidates. It fully expected to run institutions—SWS (Social Weather over the Liberal Party. The Liberals Stations) and Pulse Asia—draw up held their breath and hoped for the and release a “magic” list containing best. the names of the candidates that their Even with the early election resupposedly representative 1,400- sults, a massive victory for the under1,800 respondents determined to be dog Liberal senatorial candidates was likely victors in the May 13 election. taking shape. Liberal candidates were The two polling institutions have dominating the Magic 8—in those just released their latest Magic 12 days eight senators were elected every lists. Reflecting the character of this two years—places and the Nacionacountry's electorate, the two lists lista candidates hogged the succeedare virtually ing eight spots. identical: the When the final names in the vote was countlists are those ed, the Liberal This was what of re-electionist candidates were and returning happened to the shown to have senators, show administration’s won no less business per- Senate slate nearly five than seven of sonalities and the eight Senate endorsers of the decades ago. seats that were President of the at stake. Only Philippines. To Ernesto Maceda the 2019 Magic survived the 12 lists a fourth category of favored Liberal blitzkrieg. senatorial candidates—individuals Ferdinand Marcos and his partyfacing plunder and/or graft cases be- mates were stunned; they didn't know fore the Sandiganbayan. what had just hit them. All the gold, Excluded from the Magic 12 lists all the glitz—yes, showbiz personaliof SWS and Pulse Asia were all the ties also performed at political rallies Otso Diretso candidates and other five decades ago—and all the guns qualified candidates without records could not stop the electorate from of Senate service or showbiz creden- expressing its disgust and disdain by tials or presidential endorsements. In shunning virtually all of the pro-Marthe two institutions' senatorial sur- cos senatorial candidates. veys, they rank from No. 13 all the Fast-forward to the coming elecway up to No. 30. The candidates tion. Is it “game over” for Otso Diranked No. 13, No. 14 and 15 are said retso and the rest of the Opposition to have a statistical chance of eventu- now that SWS and Pulse Asia have ally ending up among the Magic 12. announced their Magic 12 Senate Is this the end of the 2019 Senate lists? Should the electorate just say election story? Is in a case of “Game “Amen” to the two lists and blindly over?” Are this country's 61 million fill their ballots with the names on registered voters to accept the survey those lists? choices of 1,800 supposed-to-beNot at all. Given the vast superiorrepresentative men and women as the ity of the ruling Nacionalista Party in probable outcome of this year's Sen- the 1971 senatorial election, the pollate election? sters gave the opposition hardly any The answer to these questions is chance of getting even one of it's canNo. As they say in sporting circles, didates into the Magic 8. But things it isn't over till it's over. Proof of this turned out the other way around; only is the senatorial election of 1971, the one administration-backed senatorial last election held before President candidates made it to the Magic 8.

Ferdinand Marcos placed the nation It isn't over till it's over. This year's under martial law and padlocked electorate, fed up with showbiz perCongress. The election was taking sonalities, returning former senators place at a time of political tension and and individuals with judicial probsocial instability. Obsessed with the lems may well decide, like the 1971 desire to be the first re-elected Presi- electorate, to place all eight Otso Dident in the post-World War II era, Mr. retso candidates in the Magic 12 on Marcos waged, in 1969, an electoral May 13. campaign that sent the economy into Such a replication of Philippine a tailspin. The subsequent fiscal re- political history is entirely possible.

Liberation...

From A4

Things can still change as May 13 approaches. My wish list for the Senate contains a slightly different set. They are: Grace Poe, Pia Cayetano, Sonny Angara, Nancy Binay, Imee Marcos, Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla, Bam Aquino, Francis Tolentino, Mar Roxas and Chel Diokno.

I included some oppositionists because I believe that the Senate should be composed of independent-minded individuals.

I did not include Go and Dela Rosa.

We do not need alalays of the President in a body as august as the Senate. Note that when winning senatorial candidates are proclaimed, they take an oath to defend and protect the Constitution, not to defend and protect the President.

Santa Banana, President Duterte has more than enough lapdogs already to protect and defend him given the super majority in the Senate.

But I included Tolentino in my wish list because while he is a candidate of the President, I believe he can have an independent judgment on issues.

I'm always for assent and dissent in any democracy. Unfortunately, the opposition

overseas Filipino workers here in the Philippine to participate in a voter’s education program. That’s because overseas Filipinos often rely on their families in the country for information about candidates running in the elections.

There are 1,822,173 registered voters overseas, mostly from the Middle East and Africa.

If 30 percent of that number will vote in the midterm polls, that would be around 540,000 overseas voters. But if it’s only 16

lacks a leader. *** Local elections in Metro Manila are more predictable. In Makati City, for instance, there is no longer any doubt that Abigail Binay will get elected. Her father, former Vice President Jejomar Binay who is running for Congress, is campaigning for her.

At this point, Junjun Binay should rethink his chances against his sister.

In Quezon City, it's former Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte as a likely winner against former Rep. Vicente Crisologo. In Manila, I believe it will be Joseph Estrada. *** Some barangay captains, especially from depressed areas, have found a new way of making some money. Reports have it that they are offering hakot crowds to some candidates in Manila. The prices supposedly range from P100,000 to half a million for a crowd of at least 100.

The same barangay captains can also guarantee “flying voters” for some candidates. *** There is speculation that the electoral protest of Bongbong Marcos will be finalized before the year is up.

Shall we have a new Veep by yearend?

www.emiljurado.weebly.com

percent, that’s a measly 288,000 Filipinos overseas, out of nearly 2 million, interested—and seriously concerned—about the future of the country and willing to take time off from their work to fill up ballots.

How about the 1.7 million overseas Filipinos? Are they too busy to perform a basic civic duty? Or have they written off the country’s future leaders as utterly hopeless? ernhil@yahoo.com

News

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019 A6 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

CA junks Mendez’ plea on SSS case

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Court of Appeals has affirmed with finality the criminal conviction of celebrity dermatologist Joel Mendez over his failure to remit to the Social Security System more than P1.8 million in monthly contributions of his employees.

In an eight-page resolution dated April 16, 2019, the CA’s Former Special Eighth Division upheld its ruling in August last year that sustained the judgment of Quezon City Regional Trial Court finding Mendez guilty of violating Republic Act No. 8282 or Social Security Act of 1997.

The CA dismissed for lack of merit the motion for reconsideration filed by Mendez for failing to raised new arguments that could warrant the reversal of its decision.

“We find no reason to reconsider our Resolution. The arguments raised by pe-

titioner in his motion had already been passed upon in our Resolution sought to be reconsidered. Nonetheless, to assuage his dissatisfaction, this Court opts, even in the face of redundancy, to reiterate some points,” stated the resolution penned by Associate Justice Edwin Sorongon.

Aside from ruling that the RTC did not commit grave abuse of discretion, the CA also agreed with the prison term imposed on Mendez ranging from a minimum of six years and one day to a maximum of seven years.

The appellate court also affirmed

the trial court’s order that directed Mendez to pay the SSS a total of P1,865,657.50 representing unpaid contributions from October 2011 to January 2013 with an interest of 3 percent per month from July 2015 until fully paid.

Court records showed that Mendez owns a chain of dermatology clinics in the country. His records were examined and audited by the SSC which found discrepancies.

In his CA petition, Mendez said the negligence and incompetence of his former lawyer was tantamount to an extrinsic fraud that would warrant the annulment of the trial court’s decision.

According to him, he was not informed of any trial court hearings and that his presence was required during those proceedings.

The doctor also told the CA that when the trial court declared him to have waived his right to present evidence his lawyer did nothing to protect his right.

However, the appellate court denied this, saying that intrinsic fraud refers to “fraudulent act of the prevailing party in litigation committed outside of the trial of the case, whereby the defeated party is prevented from fully exhibiting his side of the case by fraud or deception practiced on him by his opponent, such as by keeping him away from court; by giving him a false promise of a compromise; or where the defendant never had the knowledge of the suit, being kept in ignorance by the acts of plaintiff; or where an attorney fraudulently or without authority connives at his defeat.”

It held that the lawyer’s negligence in keeping track of the case and his failure to apprise his client of its development do not constitute intrinsic fraud.

The CA also said the negligence of the counsel binds his client, except in cases where the gross negligence of the lawyer deprived his client of due process of law.

IN BRIEF Illegal aliens found working in ‘Bora’ A LABOR group has asked the Department of Labor and Employment to include labor representatives monitoring Chinese establishments in Boracay if these establishments are hiring Filipino workers, amid reports that hundreds of foreigners are now working in Boracay islands.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III admitted that it is difficult to monitor establishments as the agency lacks labor inspectors.

On the other hand, the Partido Manggagawa asked the Labor chief for the inclusion of labor representatives in monitoring establishments in the country’s premier tourist resort destination, saying labor groups have volunteered to check and verify if these establishments are prioritizing foreign workers instead of Filipinos.

He said that some 30,000 workers were displaced by President Rodrigo Duterte’s closure of Boracay last year and most of them have not found employment again in the island.

Vito Barcelo

Bus terminals told to vacate EDSA OPERATORS and owners of bus terminals situated along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue have until next month to close their establishments.

The Metro Manila Development Authority made the announcement Monday as it started the dry run activity for the implementation of a new policy regulating the entry of provincial buses along EDSA. The Metro Manila Council, the MMDA´s governing board and policymaking body, recently approved a resolution to remove all bus terminals along EDSA as part of the government’s long-term solution to the worsening traffic situation in the National Capital Region.

Provincial buses coming from South Luzon Expressway, especially those from Batangas and Laguna, are encouraged to pass through the terminal in Sta. Rosa City in Laguna, while those coming from the North Luzon Expressway are told to use the terminal in Valenzuela City, instead of entering EDSA. Based on the initial plan, Metro Manila-bound passengers can transfer to city operating buses that will take them to their destination in Metro Manila. Joel E. Zurbano

EARTH DAY PROTEST. Militants, together with environmentalists groups, hold a protest rally in front of DENR office in Quezon City to demand for the establishment of Special Protected Areas' across the mountains and seas of the Philippines as the world celebrates Earth Day with the theme Protect our Species. Manny Palmero

CebuPac crew, attendants form labor union

By Vito Barcelo CEBU Pacific airline cabin crew and flight attendants formed a labor union as the bargaining agent for employees of the Cebu Pacific airline, the country’s second largest and fast growing airline in Southeast Asia.

The new labor union, called the Juan Wing Regular Cabin Crews of the Philippines, is now a member of the Associated Labor Unions the country’s biggest labor federation.

“With this certification, the next procedure is for members of the union to discuss among themselves what are the terms agreements of security of tenure, wages and benefits etc. that they intend to offer and negotiate with Cebu Pacific Air Inc. Management,” Raymond Mendoza, President of the country’s biggest workers’ group the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines said.

“The union will negotiate for better wages and benefits, better working conditions, and better terms under the existing

EDSA BUS BAN. The Metro Manila Development Authority personnel conduct a dry run operation as it starts banning all provincial buses on EDSA. Photo shows MMDA workers intently watching provincial buses passing along EDSA in Cubao, Quezon City. Manny Palmero

DPWH set to dredge Manila Bay THE Department of Public Works and Highways will deploy two huge amphibious dredging machines to beef up the cleaning operations of Manila bay which is expected to be completed by July 2019.

Public works undersecretary Emil Sadain said the department will also deploy four amphibious excavators and debris segregators to remove tons of debris, plastics and other solid wastes along the 1.5-kilometer area of Manila Bay. Sadain, who is also head of the department’s Technical Services and Unified Project Management Office Operations, said the two units of Watermaster Classic 5 with cutter suction will fast-track the “Sagip Manila Bay” cleanup works between the area of US Embassy to Manila Yacht Club in preparation for the upcoming rainy season.

“Improvements as a result of DPWH activities can now be seen but we will not relax and instead we beefed up our operation,” he said.

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar recently launched the DPWH desilting operations in Manila Bay by deploying a fleet of equipment composed of amphibious excavators, dumping scows, dump trucks, debris segregator, street sweepers, and vacuum sewer jet cleaners.

Vito Barcelo

labor policies and regulations to improve co-employees synergy and improve working climate that would benefit the interest of both the union members and the management,” Mendoza said.

Aside from this, other possible areas for negotiation between union and management are the responsibilities of the parties, hours of work, leave benefits, health and dental benefits, incentives, and other forms of benefits such professional development benefits, and promotion of industrial harmony.

Napoles won’t enter plea in Malampaya case

By Maricel V. Cruz CONVICTED plunderer Janet Lim Napoles on Monday refused to enter a plea when arraigned on the plunder and other cases in connection with the P900milion Malampaya fund scam against her, prompting the Sandiganbayan to enter not guilty plea for her.

Napoles, who is currently detained at the Correctional Institution for Women, refused to enter any plea during her arraignment Monday for 97 counts each of graft and malversation of public funds.

However, the court deferred the arraignment of Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations, on the same case.

Andaya’s arraignment will instead be held on May 31 at 8:30 a.m.

The court postponed Andaya’s arraigment owing to his appeal on the denial of his motion to dismiss. He argued that the allegations against him are “fatally defective.”

Andaya told the court it was his duty being then the secretary of the Department of Budget and Management to ap-

prove the special allotment and release order and the notices of cash allocation.

The Ombudsman opposed Andaya’s plea for the Sandiganbayan to dismiss the graft and malversation charges filed against him in connection with the alleged P900-million Malampaya fund scam.

In a 15-page opposition filed on April 10, Ombudsman prosecutors said Andaya’s motion for reconsideration should be denied as the plea was filed beyond the five-day period reglementary period stated under the Guidelines for Continuous Trial.

On Earth Day, eco group vows to plant 10-m trees

By Maricel V. Cruz and Rio N. Araja A GROUP of environment advocates on Monday said it will start the planting of 10-million trees in the country’s most denuded areas as its project for this year’s celebration of Earth Day. Luntiang Pilipinas convener Michael Ubac said the project is meant to reaffirm the group’s commitment “to invest in the ecological sustainability of future generations.”

Ubac said that the group organized in 1998 by Senator Loren Legarda recently held two major tree-planting activities, one in Masbate City in the Bicol Region and another in the main campus of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines.

“We planted Narra seedlings in Masbate that would take 100 years to fully mature or keep on growing, outliving most if not all of us,” said Ubac.

“The seedlings symbolize Luntiang Pilipinas’ commitment to pursue legislation that will have a positive impact on the country’s environment and will benefit generations of Filipinos,” he added.

Ubac said that such a program is “doable,” and the group targets to plant and nourish two-million trees in 33 provinces, 28 cities, and 84 towns.

“One of our four pillars that serve as a roadmap for achieving resiliency is a regreening program that involves tree-growing, school-based vegetable gardening/gulayan sa paaralan, and backyard gardening,” said Ubac.

“We should go beyond commemorating Earth Day; caring for the environment is a year-round commitment that requires us to be proactive in our efforts to restore ecological balance in our country—and Luntiang Pilipinas’ program to plant 10-million trees in our country is our contribution to this effort.”

The local celebration of Earth Day 2019 will be held on April 24 and April 28.

Meanwhile, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy Cimatu urged the people to think of ways to save the planet.

As the nation joined the rest of the world in observing Earth Day on Monday, he called on the Filipinos to pause and reflect on the most pressing ecological problems facing the world and think of what they can do to save the planet.

Focus crimes down over Holy Week

FOCUS crimes in Metro Manila decreased by 31.58 percent during this year’s observance of the Holy Week as compared to last year.

Based on figures released by the National Capital Region Police Office, the number of crime incidents this year declined to 182, from 266 between March 26 and April 1, 2018.

Focus crimes include murder, homicide, physical injuries, rape, robbery, theft, motor vehicle and motorcycle theft.

Murder cases decreased by 56.25 percent—from 16 to seven cases; homicide, declined by 44.44 percent—from nine to five; physical injury, increased by 5.17 percent— from 58 to 61; rape decreased by 72 percent—from 25 to seven; robbery decreased by 32.08 percent—from 53 to 36; theft dropped by 33.68 percent—from 95 to 63; carnapping, decreased by 100 percent—from 2 to 0; and stealing of motorcycles, declined by 62.50 percent—from 8 to 3.

NCRPO chief Major Gen. Guillermo Eleazar attributed the decrease of the crimes during the period to the deployment of 11,500 police officers and to public awareness.

“With the anticipation of the event, I ordered the full alert status to increased police visibility and patrol operations; and assistance from force multipliers that resulted in the drop of the crime during the period,” Eleazar said.

The Metro Manila top cop also urged the public to report to the police any untoward incidents. PNA

Sports

A7

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Celtics sweep Pacers; Warriors win

L

OS ANGELES—The Boston Celtics swept their way past Indiana, while the Golden State and Toronto registered road victories over Orlando and the Los Angeles Clippers to take commanding leads in their first round playoff series on Sunday.

Gordon Hayward scored a team-high 20 points as the Celtics defeated Indiana 110106 on Sunday to complete a first-round NBA playoff sweep of the host Pacers.

Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson steered the Warriors to victory over the Clippers 113-105, and Kawhi Leonard put on a show as the Raptors routed Orlando 107-85, putting division winners Golden State and Toronto up 3-1 in their series and on the brink of advancing to the next round.

Here’s the deal for the Magic and the Clippers. There have been 11 teams to

successfully rally from a 3-1 series deficit in a best-of-seven series, and of those, only three pulled it off by winning a game seven on the road which is what they would have to do.

The Celtics captured their first best-ofseven series sweep since 2011 and advanced to a second-round matchup with either the Milwaukee Bucks or Detroit Pistons.

“Any time you 4-0 a team, you feel great,” Hayward said. “We’re going to heal up a little bit and be ready for the next round.”

The Bucks, who had the NBA’s best regular-season record, own a 3-0 series edge on Detroit and can complete a sweep of their own on Monday.

Hayward came off the Boston bench to lead seven double-figure scorers, hitting 7-of-9 shots from the floor and all three of his 3-point attempts.

Marcus Morris, another reserve star, scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Celtics, who won despite poor shooting from top stars and 16 turnovers.

Kyrie Irving went 4-of-13 from the floor, 0-of-4 from 3-point range, and finished with 14 points and seven assists while Al Horford was 4-of-19 from the floor, 1-of-6 on 3-pointers, with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

“It was a scrappy series, defensive

series, physical series,” Hayward said.

“Proud of our team for fighting. We fought through it. It was a great team win.”

The Celtics led 73-72 entering the fourth quarter but the Pacers had taken an 82-80 edge when Boston unleashed a critical 15-3 run to seize command.

Elsewhere, Durant scored 33 points and the Warriors who held on to beat the Clippers.

“We came in with that mindset to put our foot on the throttle and not let go,” Thompson said. “We let go in game two and we won’t do that the rest of the playoffs. I really believe that.”

After winning both games in Los Angeles, the Warriors can wrap things up in game five on Wednesday in Oakland.

AFP

TBAM Easter Open kegfest lures 280 bets THE 30th TBAM Easter Open Bowling Championship 2019, presented by Boysen Paints, attracted 280 participants all over the country at the Superbowl in Cinema Square in Makati City.

Organized by the TBAM board of directors, headed by its President Dante Fuentes and Vice President Alfonso Chua, the annual tournament will have the categories on Mixed Open, Men’s Graded, Men’s Associate, Men’s Seniors, Ladies’ Seniors, Mixed Ladies, Mixed Youth and Mixed 15-and-under.

“Since this is the 30th anniversary of the open, we all gave the incentives to the bowlers. We increased the cash prize in the masters from P60,000 to P70,000,” said Chua, adding that the total cash prizes of the competition is around P600,000.

“We’re expecting more bowlers from different clubs and national team to compete in the tournament,” added Chua.

The annual tournament, which started on Easter Sunday and will be held until April 28, is sponsored by Boysen Paints and Prima Pasta.

The defending champion in the mixed open is Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships gold medalist Merwin Tan.

Listup now open for 14th San Beda Basketball Camp REGISTRATION is now open for the second session of San Beda Basketball Camp, which is now on its 14th season.

Classes will be held from May 6 to 30, at the Mendiola campusevery Mondays and Thursdays.

Over at the Taytay, Rizal campus, sessions will go on from May 7 to 31, every Tuesdays and Fridays.

Interested parties may contact Oliver Quiambao at 735-6011, local 2104, or at mobile no. 0929-1971071, and through camp organizer Edmundo Badolato at mobile no. 0908-8624543.

The camp is handled by coaches from San Beda and is open for boys and girls, from ages 5 years and above. It is sponsored by Molten, Gatorade and Cocolife.

Fees for the sessions of the camp is set at P4,000, while a package deal of P7000 is offered to those who will enroll in both the April and May sessions.

Enrollees will get a San Beda jersey at the start of the camp and a Molten ball at the end of the sessions.

Guiao, Marcial to grace PSA Forum today TEAM Pilipinas coach Yeng Guiao will be the special guest in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum, which resumes Tuesday, April 23 at the Amelie Hotel-Manila.

Guiao is joined by PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial in the session, presented by San Miguel Corp. Tapa King, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

The two gentlemen are expected to talk about the coming training and preparation to be done by the national men’s team for its campaign in the FIBA World Cup in China this August.

Also part of the discussion is the formation of the men’s cage team for the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

PSA members are enjoined to attend the session that starts at 10:30 a.m.

Boston Celtics’ Kyrie Irving is guarded by an Indiana Pacers’ defender in Game 4 of their teams’ NBA playoffs. The Celtics won, 110-106, to sweep the Pacers. AFP

Dakak Beach Resorts launches Golf Club DAKAK Golf Club formally announced the launch of its breathtaking new golf course inside Dakak Resort.

Dakak Golf Chairman Cesar Jalosjos and Dakak Golf President Rick Gibson led officials in the formal launching recently in a media conference at the Manila Hotel.

“We are very pleased with the results of the development,” said Jalosjos, who has been overseeing the project.

“It will be an unforgettable experience to play there.”

Natural wonders dominate the 50-hectare, 6,500-yard par 72 wonder.

“Most of what you will see is unheard-of in golf,” said Gibson, a former Asian Tour champion guiding the finishing touches on the course’s back nine. “To begin with, there is a record 1.9 miles of ocean in play, beating the record 1.6 miles of Pebble Beach.”

The front nine of the Greg Normandesigned course is already open for play, with the grass already being laid down on the back half of the course.

Dakak Golf course will be fully operational by November.

There are three par 3s, three par 4s and three par 5s on each nine, and every hole has its challenges. Seven of the first nine holes face the Sulu Sea, a feature unique to Dakak. Many of the holes require a golfer’s shot to go over water, with one needing a near-perfect

Former PGA Tour campaigner Rick Gibson (second from left) joins fellow officials (from right) Club Manager Mark Gaston, Club president Cesar Jalosjos and Senior Designer John Cope during the formal launching of the newest golfing paradise in the South – the Dakak Gold and Country Club – inside the famous Dakak Beach Resorts in Zamboanga.

tee-off over a waterfall to get onto the Luckily for Dakak, all the needed magreen. The entire property is a seamless terials for completion are right on site, blend of blue and green, with almost no with the grass for the course being speman-made structures in sight. cially grown nearby.

Patrombon foils Arcilla, grabs crown JESON Patrombon got back at fellow national player and doubles partner Johnny Arcilla, hacking out a 6-3, 7-5 decision to claim the men’s singles crown in the PPS-PEPP Gov. Alfonso Umali Cup Tennis Championship at the Bahaghari Tennis Club in Oriental Mindoro last Sunday.

Patrombon, 26, shattered a tight 5-5 count by breaking Arcilla in the 11th game of the second set then overcame a 0-30 deficit in the 12th by taking the next four points to complete the straight-set victory and pocket the top P40,000 purse in the event held in conjunction with the Pinamalayan Festival celebrations.

The top seeded Patrombon and the No. 2 Arcilla lived up to their billing by dominating their rivals from the first round of the 32-player draw with the former romping off with lopsided wins over L.A. Pascua, Marc Suson, Leander Lazaro and Mark Alcoseba and the latter crushing Jonel Paulino, Dawson Ormoc Rodolfo Barquin and sibling Joseph Arcilla.

But Patrombon proved steadier and tougher in the finals, breaking Arcilla in the second game of the opening frame then holding serve the rest of the way before outlasting his fellow Davis Cup veteran, who beat him 6-3, 6-4 here last year, in the second set.

Alcoseba and Noel Damian Jr., however, foiled the fancied Patrombon and Arcilla in the doubles, pulling off a stunning 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 victory to share the spotlight in the week-long event sponsored by Gov. Umali and the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro.

The event also capped a two-week tennis festival that also saw Althea Rose Martirez score a two-title feat in the juniors division and share the MVP honors with Allen Rombawa and Benedict Santiago.

Petron, F2 try to arrange PSL finals’ tiff Games Today

(Filoil Flying V Centre) 4:15 p.m.—F2 Logistics vs PLDT 7:00 p.m.—Petron vs Cignal INTENSITY is tipped to soar as Petron and F2 Logistics aim to book another finals duel when they clash with separate foes in Game 1 of the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix best-of-three semifinal series today at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

The Blaze Spikers march to warpath at 7 p.m. in pursuit of a win that would send them to the brink of another finals appearance in this prestigious women’s club tourney that has ESPN5 and 5Plus as broadcast partners.

Also looking to move closer to the finals of this battle that is also bankrolled

by Asics, Mueller, Mikasa, Senoh, Team Rebel Sports, Bizooku, UCPB Gen, Cocolife, Hotel Sogo and Data Project are the Cargo Movers, who will battle PLDT Home Fibr in the 4:15 appetizer.

All eyes will be on Petron, especially after sweeping the 14-game classification phase and crushing Sta. Lucia with an emphatic straight-set victory in the quarterfinals couple of weeks ago.

Petron coach Shaq Delos Santos said their success should not be credited to their imports in Stephanie Niemer and Katherine Bell alone as their local crew led by Mika Reyes, Aiza Maizo-Pontillas, Frances Molina, Denden Lazaro, Rhea Dimaculangan and Remy Palma had also stepped up in a bid to corner their second straight Grand Prix title.

Future of esports LOCKER ROOM RANDY CALUAG HOW do you take the demon out of online gaming?

Just like billiards in the old days, online gaming has always been frowned upon by parents, blaming their children for skipping school—and meals.

Before it was recognized as a trueblue sport, billiard games were played in smoke-filled and often dimly hit halls.

But in this digital age, the youth have been transformed into digital warriors as they enter a new world of adventure in just one click.

In their world, they are the masters of

their universe and heroes of their stories—for hours. Then, they easily get back to reality, again in just one click.

Welcome to the adventures of online gaming, now known as esports.

Bright future The country’s two telecom giants see a big, bright future for esports.

Esports was played for the first time in the Asian Games in Indonesia last year and will be played for the first time in the Southeast Asian Games, which the Philippines is hosting this year. The sport is also seeking a place in the Olympics.

Globe recently formed an alliance with internet network company, Mineski, to form Team Liyab, which emerged as the first champion of League of Legends and Arena of Valor events in the Philippine Pro Gaming League.

Winning cash prizes is becoming a norm in esports that some of the coun-

try’s players have become millionaires, especially after coming home from an international tournament.

Faces of esports For esports to really reach its full potential and earn a better reputation, just like any other sport, it needs popular faces it can identified with.

Team Liyab’s Cara Cute is one of bright faces in the country’s esports scene, having competed in numerous local and international scene.

Cignal, a sister company of Smart Communications, meanwhile, also put up a team and a Dota 2 competition in another major esports tournament—The Nationals.

The Cignal Ultra Warriors brought home P400,000 for the championship win, with Nando Mendoza emerging as the best player of the finals series.

Up next are Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Tekken 7, two of the country’s

biggest games on mobile and console, hosting two conferences late this year.

Mendoza and Cute, however, need to do more than just win tournaments. They should go out more often and speak about their stories. They need to reach out more to ordinary players. Their faces need to be seen more, whether on TV, newspapers and internet to inspire more.

If this will not be part of the efforts, we might just be seeing a fad of a game—a bubble that would burst anytime.

With corporate tech giants supporting esports, elite players have a bright future to look forward to.

My fear about technology, however, is that it might suddenly change its course anytime.

Tomorrow, online gamers may not be sitting down in front of computer monitor and won’t be directing through their keyboards, anymore. Virtual Reality takes over.

Sports

Riera U. Mallari, Editor; Reuel Vidal, Assistant Editor sports@manilastandard.net sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

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TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

Phoenix, San Miguel resume dog fight

Makati FC wins gold in Singapore

EJ Obiena: It took a lot and felt like hell sometimes.

There have been times that I have lost hope. There are times that I have been frustrated. There have been a lot of heart breaks and pain in this journey. It was a piece of work to say the least.

By Jeric Lopez AMIDST all the physicality, San Miguel Beer and Phoenix Pulse are bound to continue their dogfight as they both seek to gain some needed leverage in the resumption of their intense best-of-seven semifinal showdown in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. The Beermen, still ahead at 2-1, once again seek to move closer to the finals, while the rejuvenated Fuel Masters look for the equalizer in their 7 p.m. Game 4 clash at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City tonight.

Finally getting the breakthrough it needed in Game 3, Phoenix was able to crawl itself back in the series after a pair of heartbreaking losses in the first two games.

Fuel Masters’ coach Louie Alas credits his players for hanging tough despite the early obstacles they faced against the four-time defending champions.

“I have to commend the boys. They fought hard for us to get back in the series,” said Alas, who gave out a tonguelashing to his wards following their Game 2 loss last week. “Magtuluy-tuloy na sana para sa ‘min.”

Still, Alas expects no less as he knows San Miguel will bring the fight in Game 4.

“Alam naman natin how good ‘yung San Miguel. Again, we can’t afford not to play 48 minutes of consistent basketball,” he said.

After a pep talk and a much-needed Holy Week break, Phoenix star Calvin Abueva was revitalized in Game 4, showing the entire repertoire with a complete showing of 18 points, 13 rebounds and five assists to lead the Fuel Masters to a 92-90 squeaker last Sunday night, trimming the Beermen’s series lead to a single game.

Game 3 was highly-physical as Phoenix big man Dave Marcelo was ejected for a flagrant foul 2, while Matthew Wright was given a flagrant foul 1 as well.

Both teams engaged in a heated backand-forth exchange, with the Fuel Masters compiling a total of 41 fouls.

San Miguel sniper Marcio Lassiter missed Game 3 due to some back problems. He is expected to be a game-time decision for Game 4.

Obiena shatters Asian, PH pole vault records

By Peter Atencio

F

ILIPINO pole vault sensation EJ Obiena cleared 5.71 meters to win the gold medal and beat two Chinese foes on Easter Sunday in the 23rd Asian Athletics Championship in Doha, Qatar at the Khalifa stadium.

In doing so, the 23-year-old Obiena set a new course record and a new Philippine mark as well, in getting past the last attempts of Chinese bets Zhang Wei and Huang Bokai.

Zhang and Huang both cleared 5.66 meters, after the Filipino bet had done well at 5.61 meters.

As Zhang missed his three tries at 5.71 meters, and Bokai bungled two tries at that height, Obiena managed to clear it right in his first and only attempt.

The two Chinese vaulters eventually settled for the silver and bronze medals, while Korean Jin Minsub, who cleared 5.61 meters, was fourth.

A new Asian Championship course record was set after Obiena ended a 10year drought in the pole vault as he went a centimeter beyond the 5.7-meter mark set

by Grigory Yegorov of Kazakhstan in the 1993 Asian Championships in Manila.

Obiena also broke the previous national record he held at 5.6 meters, which was set in the Stabhochspring Classic in Leverkeusen, Germany two years ago.

Observers also noted that Obiena’s effort went way beyond the gold medal finish of Thailand’s Porranot Purahong, who set a new Southeast Games record of 5.35 meters back in 2017.

Obiena was sidelined from the 2017

SEA Games due to injury, a day before the games. He was nursed back to good health right before the 2018 Asian Games.

“It took a lot and felt like hell sometimes. There have been times that I have lost hope. There are times that I have been frustrated. There have been a lot of heart breaks and pain in this journey. It was a piece of work to say the least,” said Obiena in a message on Facebook.

Obiena thanked Italian coach Vitaliy Petrov for his help.

He said Petrov “sacrificed a lot for me and pushed me and still pushing me to become better not just in sports but also in life.”

Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association chief Philip Ella Juico said he is elated over Obiena’s feat.

“It was a vindication for Obiena, who was downgraded by the Philippine Sports Commission to a lower allowance category prior to leaving for Doha,” said Juico in another message.

Centennial V wins line honors in 1 HK to Galera race st

NEWLY acquired Standard Insurance Centennial V won the inaugural 650 nautical mile Hong Kong to Puerto Galera, Mindoro Yacht Race, setting the race record at 85 hours, 33 minutes and 56 seconds on Sunday.

The highly advanced racing yacht, a Rachel Pugh 75 redesigned by multiawarded naval architect Kevin Dibley, was skippered by veteran sailor and Standard Insurance Group Chairman Ernesto Echauz, including two female sailors and members of the Philippine Sailing Team.

It was the first time in sailing history that a Philippine yacht won a line honor in ocean racing from Hong Kong to the Philippines, although the Centennial Sailing team has won several overall IRC championships in these races, including the Rolex China Sea Race and the San Fernando Race.

The four-day race started at the Kellett Island Clubhouse, located in Causeway Bay, with the field racing for a distance of 650 nautical miles to Puerto Galera, Oriental Mindoro. This was the second lon-

Standard Insurance Centennial V was the only Philippine yacht that took part in the inaugural race among the other 14 international participants,

gest Category 1 yacht race in Asia, after the Hong Kong to Vietnam Race.

The race is similar, yet with a more southern track, to the Rolex China Sea Race, which traditionally starts in the cooler climate of Hong Kong. After a bumpy first night, competitors are greeted by clear skies and a full moon as they head towards the Philippines.

Standard Insurance Centennial V was the only Philippine yacht that took part in the inaugural race among the other 14 international participants, including Fred Kinmonth’s and Nick Burns’ GTS 43 Mandrake III, winner of the 2018 Rolex China Sea Race.

The all-Filipino team included women laser sailors and FarEast28 team members Alaisa Belmonte and Paula Bombeo. SEA Games’ medalist Louie Perfectua prepared the yacht, together with Standard Insurance’s computer engineer Stephen Tan. Aside from Perfectua, the other helms were former 470 SEA Games silver medalist and gold medalist in match racing

Allan Balladares and current 470 SEA Games medalist Emerson Villena.

According to crew members, Rachel Pugh 75 is remarkable, easier to handle and sail and doesn’t need heavy muscle power because of its advanced technology, compared to Centennial III, a TP52.

“We are very happy about the new boat.

It ran very well and it’s very fast. We had it refitted right before the race. We only had it ready the day before the start,” said Echauz, who added that the Standard Insurance Centennial V not only represents the Philippine national sailing athletes and the Philippine Navy but most of all, the Philippines.

“It gives pride to our Filipino seamen and OFWs that this top Philippine sailing yacht is crewed by an all-Filipino team, which wins in these ocean racing regattas,” he explained.

The next yacht to arrive to Puerto Galera was Geoffrey Hill’s Santa Cruz 72 Antipodes at 11h 46m 27s, almost 11 hours behind Centennial V.

JOAQUIN Collo struck in extra time as Makati Football Club nipped Asia Football School Indonesia, 1-0, to capture the Boys 13’s (2006) Cup gold medal in the JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s Sunday at the The Tampines Hub in Singapore.

MFC made it to Cup after finishing second place in the Group A table with 10 points and won every match in the knockout stages.

Prior to making it to the title match, MFC defeated Indonesian sides SBAI Garuda Jaya (1-0) and ASSBI (1-0) and avenged its group stage loss to JSSL FC-1 of Singapore with a masterful 1-0 win in the semifinals.

MFC also emerged victorious the Boys 10’s (2009) Plate Final against China’s Aksil 1, 1-0, and achieved a silver medal in the Boys 16’s (2003) Cup, where it even played a professional team from Australia, Perth Glory.

“Our boys 16s qualified for the Professional division, which included the likes of Arsenal, Urawa Reds, Valencia, Fulham and Perth Glory,” said SeLu Lozano, chief operating officer of MFC. The JSSL Singapore Professional Academy 7s -- the biggest youth football tournament in Asia -- lured 420 teams from 17 countries this year.

MFC has also fielded in seven other teams in the three-day competition -in the boys 9s, 11s, 12As, 12Bs, 14 sand 15s brackets, as well as in the girls 14s category -- the most brought from an international side. The club, which won the overall championship last year and claimed the “Paul Parker Trophy”, went on to achieve a thirdplace this year.

“Even with the rapid growth of the tournament in terms on number on teams participating and the level of play immensely increasing, MFC was still able to finish third in the overall championship points this year,” said Lozano.

Thai shoots for PH ladies’ golf repeat THAI Saruttaya Ngam-usawan returns to the scene of her first and only victory on the Ladies Philippine Golf Tour, hoping to end a long spell in the ICTSI Royal Northwoods Ladies Classic, which gets going tomorrow (Wednesday, April 24) at the Royal Northwoods Golf Club, Inc. in San Rafael, Bulacan.

Ngam-usawan edged Cyna Rodriguez by two to rule the event in 2016 but failed to score a follow-up since although a slew of Thai players have stepped up and kept their domination of the country’s premier ladies tour, including the last two tournaments won by Thanutra Boonraksasat at Southwoods last month and Arpichaya Yubol at Manila Golf two weeks ago.

Boonraksasat is also in the Royal Northwoods list, ready to go for another victory in the circuit put up by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. along with Jaruporn Na Ayutthaya, Numa Gulyanamitta, Sarinee Thitiratanakorn and Tirapan Yoopan, who is likewise due for a big win.

Supakchaya Pattaranakrueang, who also won at Luisita last year, is also joining the P1.5 million tournament, further boosting the Thais’ bid in the 54-hole championship backed by Custom Clubmakers, Meralco, K&G Golf Apparel, BDO, Sharp, KZG, PLDT, Empire Golf and Sports and M.Y. Shokai Technology, Inc, Focus, however, will be on the 30-year-old Ngam-usawan, who hopes to recall her winning form at the rolling Graham Marsh-designed layout which features deep bunkers and sleek putting surface.

Key matches up as TCC Invitational golf begins PHILIPPINE Open champion Clyde Mondilla gets the rare chance to showcase his wares against idol and fellow Del Monte ace Frankie Miñoza in one of the key matches ushering in the 15th The Country Club Invitational today (Tuesday, April 23) at the dreaded TCC layout in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Defending champion Korean-American Micah Shin slugs it out with local top guns Elmer Salvador and Jhonnel Ababa; reigning Philippine Golf Tour Order of Merit titlist Jobim Carlos takes on multititled and former winner Tony Lascuña and American Lexus Keoninh; and former Asia’s No. 1 Juvic Pagunsan clashes with Dutch Guido Van der Valk and Albin Engino in the other featured face-offs in the first two days of the 72-hole championship kicking off the PGT’s milestone 10th season.

Redemption will be Pagunsan’s battle cry this week after the smooth-swinging shotmaker

missed the cut in the Phl Open following a sevenshot romp at PGT Asia Riviera. He also seeks to bounce back from a joint 22nd place effort with Mondilla at Luisita.

Pagunsan and Angelo Que actually boast of three victories each here and the lure of becoming the first player to win a record fourth crown should also motivate the veteran campaigners in the event organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. Que launches his drive for that historic feat at 8:40 a.m. with young Korean Kim Joo Hyung and Macedonia’s Peter Stojanovski even as Phl Masters champion Jerson Balasabas tangles with Mhark Fernando and American Pete Vilairatana at 7:30 a.m. and veteran Jay Bayron mixes it up with Zanieboy Gialon and Anthony Fernando in the next group.

Only the top 30 players in the 2018 PGT OOM ranking are competing in the P5 million event,

thus making it an elite championship that has long been ranked alongside the Phl Open for its prestige, prize money and stellar cast.

And the well-kept Tom Weiskoph-designed layout provides the fitting venue for these select players given its length, hazards, sleek putting surface and the unpredictable wind that could alter the character of each hole in an instant.

The field is toughened up by the presence of seven foreign aces, including Vilairatana, who took over the spot of Miguel Tabuena, the 2017 winner here but who has been out of tournament play with a back injury.

Mondilla, who reigned at TCC with a two-over total to snare the Solaire Phl Open crown three weeks ago, hopes to recall his fierce form and at the same time learn more from the veteran Miñoza with James Ryan Lam completing the group teeing off at 8 a.m.

Clyde Mondilla braces the 15th TCC Invitational.

IN BRIEF Greenergy posts big net income of P2.8b GREENERGY Holdings Inc., the listed company owned by businessman Antonio Tiu, posted a consolidated net income of P2.8 billion in 2018 from just P21.3 million in 2017, boosted by one-time gains and reclassification of investments.

Greenergy said in a filing with the Philippine Stock Exchange the significant increase in the company’s net income was largely due to “the results of gain on reclassification of investment in associate... amounting to P2.6 billion, gain on deemed disposal of investment in an associate of P186.42 million and gain on sale of investment in associate amounting to P78.97 million.”

Greenergy’s gross income stood at P1 million net of the gains from a loss of P1.49 million in 2017.

The group’s revenue in 2018 amounted to P3.45 million, up from P0.52 million in the previous year. The company attributed the increase to agri-tourism revenue and rental income from its nine-hectare property in Rosario, Batangas. Jenniffer B. Austria

Business

Hyundai’s Q1 vehicle sales increased 12.5% HYUNDAI Asia Resources Inc., the official distributor of Hyundai passenger cars and commercial vehicles in the Philippines, reported on Monday sales of 9,949 units in the first quarter of 2019, up 12.5 percent from 8,847 units year-on-year.

Hyundai sold 3,412 units in March, up 6 percent on year.

“HARI sustained its growth momentum in the first quarter driven by the successful introduction of fresh and innovative models such as the Reina at the start of the year and a more positive buying sentiment from consumers. We are wellpoised to continue this upward trend over the next three quarters as we recently unveiled pioneering vehicles at the Manila International Auto Show,” said Hyundai president and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo.

Hyundai sold 5,404 passenger cars in the first three months, down 12.9 percent from 6,205 units on year. But net of models phased out in 2018, actual sales increased by over 22 percent.

Car sales in March also slowed 13 percent to 1,914 units from 2,203 units on year. Othel V. Campos

BDO STOCKHOLDERS MEETING. BDO Unibank Inc. chairperson Teresita Sy (second from right) leads the bank’s 2019 annual stockholders meeting at Conrad Hotel Manila in Pasay City. With Sy are (from left) vice chairman Jesus Jacinti Jr., president and chief executive Nestor Tan and independent director Gilberto Teodoro. Bobby Cabrera

BDO sees 2019 net income rising 18% to record P38.5b

By Julito G. Rada

B

DO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest lender controlled by the Sy family, is eyeing an 18-percent growth in 2019 net income to a record P38.5 billion from P32.7 billion in 2018 despite the local and external risks that may threaten growth, a top executive said Monday.

BDO president and chief executive Nestor Tan said the outlook for the bank remained bright after the bank posted a 66-percent growth in profit in the first quarter to P9.8 billion from P5.9 billion a year ago.

“BDO set its earnings guidance at P38.5 billion for the full-year 2019 as the bank leverages on its strong business franchise and extensive distribution network while executing its strategy to expand across high-growth areas

and underserved segments,” Tan said in a news briefing at the sidelines of the bank’s annual stockholders’ meeting at Conrad Hotel in Pasay City.

Tan said he was expecting a rebound in consumer demand as inflation rate settled at 3.8 percent in the first quarter within the government’s official target range of 2 percent to 4 percent.

“We also expect the election-related spending will continue to boost consumption,” Tan said.

He said that despite the rosy outlook, some risks could stifle the growth of the banking industry and the economy in general. These are the lingering trade tensions between the US and China and the results of the approaching mid-term elections.

“The trade war will affect us... Also there are some uncertainties on the results of the coming elections,” he said, adding investors would likely wait and see the outcome of the political exercise on May 13. He said the volatile interest rates could be another factor.

Tan said the first-quarter results were driven by the continued expansion of core banking operations, recovery of trading gains to a normal level and

PCC investigates power outages, plant shutdowns

strong results from bank fees and life insurance premiums.

He said net interest income was a major earnings driver, rising to P27.7 billion on the continued growth in customer loans and current account and savings account expansion, resulting in higher net interest margins.

Non-interest income hit P14.9 billion, led by banking fees and insurance premiums. Trading and foreign exchange gains normalized to P2.2 billion from P24 million a year ago, given the adverse market conditions in the first quarter of 2018 when the market declined 7 percent.

Operating expenses rose 22 percent to P28.3 billion. Exclusive of policy reserves and volume-related expenses, operating expenses growth would have been 13 percent on the continuing business and branch expansion and IT upgrades.

Tan said the BDO Group, including subsidiary One Network Bank, was planning to put up around 50 to 70 branches this year, a norm for the bank in the past 10 years.

He said the new branches would be located in strategic places in the country, including the underserved areas.

ONLINE.

Aboitiz Power Corp.’s subsidiary, Therma Visayas Inc., starts delivering energy from the first of two 170-MW baseload units in Toledo City, Cebu. The second 170-MW unit is expected to come online in May this year.

The new plant delivers power to Visayan Electric Co. Inc., electric cooperatives and open access customers in Luzon and the Visayas.

By Othel V. Campos THE Philippine Competition Commission said it will investigate the series of power outages and shutdowns of power plants amid allegations of collusion or abuse of dominance by industry players to increase electricity prices.

The recent spate of scheduled and forced outages in Luzon by different power plants reportedly reduced power reserves, caused calls for red or yellow alerts and induced rotating brownouts, which in turn sparked complaints from the public.

PCC, the anti-trust body, said it would assess whether the recent outage of power plants were manipulated to increase electricity prices or were valid unplanned breakdowns that affected supply.

Under the Philippine Competition Act, the agency is mandated to promote fair market competition, prohibit anti-competitive behavior among businesses across sectors, including the power sector and advance consumer welfare in the process.

It warned power generation companies from engaging in anti-competitive or collusive behavior which is punishable by the competition law with fines of up to P250 million and imprisonment of responsible officers of up to seven years.

The agency’s enforcement unit said it welcomes the call for technical reports or audits by the Energy Department over concerned power plants and their control rooms and any lead or information from the public or experts in the field.

PCC said that while it has primary and original jurisdiction over competition concerns, it also acknowledges the technical expertise and regulatory functions of the Energy Department and the Energy Regulatory Commission in overseeing the power industry.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

B1

Dominguez: PH is Asia’s next economic powerhouse

Meralco seeks nod on two supply deals MANILA Electric Co., the biggest electricity retailer, filed with the Energy Regulatory Commission joint applications seeking approval of the power supply agreements with Millenium Energy Inc. and Aboitiz Power Corp. subsidiary Therma Mobile Inc. Meralco disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange it signed and applied for approval of the agreement with Millennium for the purchase of 70 megawatts of electric power, subject to a net dependable capacity test from April 26 until June 25 from the 100 MW Gas-Turbine Power Plant in Navotas Fishport Complex, Navotas City.

Meralco also agreed to purchase up to 200 MW, subject to restatement based on the results of capacity test, from April 26 to April 25, 2020, from the 242 MW-installed capacity, barge-mounted, bunkerfired diesel power generating and interconnection facilities in Navotas City.

Meralco said it also received exemption from the requirement for competitive selection process from the Department of Energy. Alena Mae S. Flores

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

ICTSI upgrades Mindanao terminal as international hub

By Darwin G. Amojelar MINDANAO Container Terminal, a subsidiary of port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc., said it is upgrading its port terminal as a part of a plan to make it a premier international gateway in Mindanao.

MCT said it was in the process of upgrading its terminal operating system and introduced a more customer-centric approach to provide better services to customers.

“Our ongoing modernization and changes in our current practices will propel us to become the leading port in Mindanao,” MCT said.

“We aim to help spur economic growth in the countryside, especially now that Northern Mindanao, through the Misamis Oriental economic zone,

is poised to become a prime investment hub in the region,” it said.

MCT said the equipment modernization at the port area was underway, as the company installed new reach stackers, terminal tractors and trailers and other cutting-edge equipment that are expected to be completed this year and in the middle of 2020.

“We’ve ordered additional equipment as part of our upgrades early this year as we expect more volume in shipments.

Now that more investments are coming into the Misamis Oriental economic zone, we have to be ready to accommodate the surge in demand,” MCT said.

The Phividec Industrial Authority, the government agency that manages, supervises and administers the Misamis Oriental Economic Zone where MCT is located, said that companies were already putting up

businesses in the area and that new investments were expected to come in. MCT expects to tap this market soon.

MCT accepts both international and domestic shipments offering container handling services, yard management, reefer monitoring services and water bunkering.

The port terminal also plans to be a transshipment hub connecting Northern Mindanao to the Visayas and other parts of the country, ensuring that the business community in Cagayan De Oro has access to the rest of the country through MCT. “We continue to develop new products, distinct offerings and grow our transshipment business to help homegrown businesses in CDO and Mindanao expand their reach. With the ongoing modernization, MCT is set to become the first port of call for international vessels in Mindanao,” MCT said.

FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III told American businessmen that now is the “best time” to invest in the Philippines, which is poised to become Asia’s next economic powerhouse.

Dominguez, speaking before members of the United States Chamber of Commerce in Washington D.C., said US companies could explore opportunities in the energy, infrastructure, information and communications, technology, health, and education sectors to strengthen the bilateral ties between the two countries.

“Our prospects for faster economic growth in the coming years should be an avenue for stronger collaboration with the US, especially with the private sector. We would like to encourage US businesses to be more engaged in the Philippine market not only in the infrastructure program but also in investments that would come as a result of our infrastructure development,” Dominguez said during a roundtable lunch with USSC members.

Among the USSC officials who attended the roundtable lunch were senior vice president for Asia Charles Freeman, executive director for Southeast Asia John Goyer and senior manager for Southeast Asia Javiera Gallardo.

They were joined by top executives from Texas Instruments, Coca Cola, TransUnion, Proctor & Gamble, Dow, Cargill, Fluor, Philip Morris International and IBM. Dominguez said the Philippines was now in a promising position to become “Asia’s next powerhouse” as a result of its rapid economic expansion sustained by tough reforms and record investments in infrastructure and human capital development.

He said to further build investor confidence, the Duterte administration was undertaking efforts to address government inefficiency, the infrastructure gap, official corruption and the high cost of doing business. Julito G. Rada

Aboitiz Power eyes Vietnam wind projects

By Alena Mae S. Flores ABOITIZ Power Corp. is looking at investment opportunities in Vietnam as a part of an international expansion, an executive said Monday.

‘In Vietnam, there are a few deals we are currently evaluating. They are in the RE [renewable energy] space, although we are still evaluating it.

Hopefully, with patience, we’d end up doing something soon,” Aboitiz Power president Erramon Aboitiz said.

Aboitiz said the company was looking at opportunities in solar and wind projects in Vietnam.

“Right now, we’re really focusing on Vietnam. They have their FIT― the feed-in-tariff there. We think that’s an opportunity for us. So a lot of our efforts have shifted and are really focused on Vietnam,” he said.

“For the timeframe, we are looking at several projects in advanced stages, so hopefully we will be able to announce projects soon,” he said.

Aboitiz said the company would likely work with local partners in Vietnam to build renewable projects of up to 100 megawatts.

“Since these are RE projects, anywhere between 50 to 100 MW, those are the sizes,” Aboitiz said.

Aboitiz Power, one of the country’s biggest power firms, said it would invest P51 billion this year, mainly for the construction of GNPower Dinginin power plants in Bataan and for exploratory and operating activities.

“AboitizPower believes that it is wellpositioned to take advantage of opportunities arising from developments in the power industry,” the company said.

Aboitiz Power and Arlington Mariveles Netherlands Holding B.V., an affiliate of AC Energy, signed a share purchase agreement on Sept. 26, 2018 for the acquisition of the Ayala Group’s coal assets valued at $579.2 million (P31.4 billion).

B2

Business

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks end flat; Metrobank slips S TOCKS closed virtually flat Monday in dull trading, with investors opting to stay on the sidelines while waiting for catalysts to lift the market.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index settled at 7,832.43, down 2.72 points or 0.03 percent, on a value turnover of P6.7 billion. Losers beat gainers, 101 to 74, with unchanged.

Megaworld Corp., the biggest lessor of office spaces, dropped 4.4 percent to P5.44, while Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-largest lender in terms of assets, fell 2.6 percent to P76.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. declined 2 percent to P882, but PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, gained 1.3 percent to P1,240.

Chinese stocks, meanwhile, closed lower Monday on speculation authorities would limit monetary policy easing after signs of stabilization in Asia’s top economy but trade was lackluster with many markets closed for Easter.

After initially opening on a positive footing, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed down 1.70 percent, or 55.76 points, to close at 3,215.04.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, which tracks stocks on China’s second exchange, was off 1.51 percent.

The weakness came after the Politburo, China’s top decision-making body, said on Friday the government would continue to implement a proactive fiscal policy and a prudent monetary policy that is neither too tight nor too loose.

Investors had interpreted that as meaning “that the government will suspend the easing of monetary policy,”

said Shen Zhengyang, an analyst at Northeast Securities.

“Large caps like financials and the real estate sectors suffered big losses today accordingly,” he added.

Real estate property firm Vanke dived more than six percent and China Construction Bank was lower by more than three percent.

Markets in Hong Kong and Australia were closed for the Easter break while many European and US markets will also not trade on Monday.

Japanese stocks went the other way― opening lower but closing higher although volumes were thin ahead of an unprecedented 10-day market closure in Japan to celebrate the enthronement of a new emperor on May 1.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 index rose 0.08 percent while the broader Topix index was up 0.10 percent.

Hideyuki Ishiguro, strategist at Daiwa Securities, said there was a lack of

“fresh market-moving events” driving trade early Monday.

And investors are looking “to take profit ahead of 10 days of holidays during which key Chinese and US economic data are due,” Ishiguro said.

Traders may also be holding fire as they await a two-day meeting of the Bank of Japan later in the week. Some companies, including gaming giant Nintendo, are also unveiling their latest results.

Precision motor maker Nidec is reporting on Tuesday and industrial robot maker Fanuc the day after, noted Ishiguro, who added that investors would also be scrutinizing results from US IT giants Amazon and Microsoft later this week.

“Some investors bought back shares in firms expected to announce positive results,” Toshikazu Horiuchi, a broker at IwaiCosmo Securities, told AFP. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW MONDAY, APRIL 22, 2019

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

LOW

CLOSE

361,023 182,870,382 59,880 218,476,580 10,400 4,257,560 243,356 1,261,776 447,180 15,180 137,150 25,022,850 222,742,380 133,220 1,601,432 9,593,354.50 882,528 16,515 198,705.50 290,235 27,648,860 177,091.50 15,820

351,065 -13,709,434 -6,600 -44,850,110 -3,892,215 -326,540 -56,900 136,700 -128,462,732 -29,100 -328,946 -52,610 -16,022,127 -8,585.50 -6,780.00

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

58.6 83 2.2 131.7 1.3 26.5 18.92 11.64 4.6 1.38 820 0.485 77.6 0.97 13.56 51 184 110.1 58.7 26.35 180 61.5 1.13

58.65 83.4 2.22 134 1.3 26.9 18.98 11.64 4.73 1.38 820 0.6 77.65 0.97 13.56 52 184 110.1 58.9 26.35 180 61.5 1.13

58.5 81.95 2.2 131.5 1.3 26.3 18.8 11.56 4.6 1.38 800 0.485 76 0.94 13.5 50.95 183 110.1 58.6 26 177 60.7 1.13

FINANCIALS 58.6 6,160 82.8 2,213,740 2.22 27,000 133 1,638,700 1.3 8,000 26.4 161,200 18.8 12,900 11.56 108,900 4.6 96,000 1.38 11,000 800 170 0.56 44,850,000 76 2,916,420 0.96 140,000 13.5 118,600 50.95 185,950 183.5 4,800 110.1 150 58.9 3,380 26 11,100 178.5 155,040 60.85 2,910 1.13 14,000

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS BASIC ENERGY CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CROWN ASIA DEL MONTE DNL INDUS EAGLE CEMENT EEI CORP EMPERADOR FIRST GEN FIRST PHIL HLDG GINEBRA GREENERGY HOLCIM INTEGRATED MICR IONICS JOLLIBEE 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 HLDG SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SMC FOODANDBEV SPC POWER TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VICTORIAS VITARICH VULCAN INDL

35.95 16.48 0.9 1.43 0.247 1.9 16.02 28.8 16.2 45.05 1.97 5.5 11.5 15.86 9.53 7.37 22.2 80.95 29.85 2.9 11.36 12.68 1.84 304 3.7 10.26 23.95 14.78 21.5 376.2 0.191 6.35 1.25 4.65 6.57 9.32 1.54 12 45.6 5.16 4.78 2.18 1.33 12.94 113.7 6.97 1 153.2 2.5 1.48 1.16

36.15 16.48 0.9 1.43 0.247 1.91 16.02 29 16.2 45.05 1.98 5.52 11.5 15.9 9.6 7.38 22.3 81.25 29.9 2.91 11.4 12.88 1.85 309.8 3.74 10.28 23.95 14.98 21.8 381 0.214 6.5 1.26 4.65 6.57 9.32 1.55 12.18 46.1 5.19 4.79 2.18 1.33 13 113.9 7.15 1.04 153.2 2.5 1.48 1.23

35.8 16.3 0.82 1.43 0.245 1.88 15.82 28.55 16.1 45 1.96 5.5 11.2 15.72 9.43 7.3 22 80.35 29.85 2.85 11.24 12.66 1.83 302.6 3.5 10.26 23.4 14.72 21.45 376.2 0.191 6.08 1.23 4.5 6.47 9.32 1.5 11.7 45.6 5.1 4.78 2.18 1.29 12.62 111.8 6.97 1 150 2.5 1.44 1.16

INDUSTRIAL 36 998,300 16.4 707,700 0.86 28,038,000 1.43 27,000 0.246 590,000 1.89 4,892,000 15.82 8,400 28.9 59,500 16.1 1,100 45 221,300 1.96 52,000 5.52 4,600 11.2 2,184,700 15.8 222,900 9.55 251,500 7.38 6,452,900 22.2 479,800 81.25 41,360 29.9 128,900 2.91 5,573,000 11.3 782,200 12.66 112,800 1.83 485,000 303 1,300,150 3.73 11,000 10.26 9,600 23.65 105,300 14.72 354,200 21.75 2,869,300 380 121,980 0.214 950,000 6.34 67,100 1.24 801,000 4.55 34,000 6.48 555,000 9.32 100 1.52 14,232,000 12.16 2,700 45.8 50,500 5.19 50,400 4.79 2,000 2.18 5,000 1.33 110,000 12.9 95,200 113 65,870 6.98 248,300 1.01 141,000 150.2 402,010 2.5 510,000 1.46 2,149,000 1.18 929,000

35,859,280 11,605,576 24,059,830 38,610 145,460 9,271,970 133,088 1,718,020 17,780 9,958,560 102,250 25,348 24,857,108 3,524,880 2,399,872 47,248,289 10,638,740 3,351,325.50 3,847,745 16,035,320 8,847,718 1,437,038 892,190 395,456,306 39,600 98,532 2,478,300 5,254,356 62,377,740 46,247,528 195,720 410,991 997,500 157,200 3,615,270 932 21,599,220 32,726 2,318,740 259,434 9,570 10,900 144,040 1,232,076 7,418,699 1,738,832 145,690 60,659,156 1,275,000 3,138,570 1,103,900

-4,052,675 1,816,504 184,870 -2,223,930 -123,596 -89,605 -4,050,000 19,800 -5,500 -3,872,134 -451,755 2,629,990 -439,429.50 2,954,470 327,594 -334,880 20,799,126 -287,065 871,036 14,163,330 3,584,722 219,500 -404,870 1,265,990 1,128,975 -226,004 334,868 -2,309,459 -93,666 -18,895,055 1,250,000 -

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 FORUM PACIFIC GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME MEDIA PRIME ORION REPUBLIC GLASS SAN MIGUEL CORP SM INVESTMENTS SOC RESOURCES SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.57 54.85 15.1 0.78 6.5 19.86 1.4 1.4 910 7.6 12 14.9 0.244 862 6.51 61.35 0.52 5.19 15.38 0.58 4.52 0.038 1.11 2.92 2.63 175.9 932 0.98 1.32 445 261.4 0.236 0.33

0.59 55.5 15.16 0.78 6.65 19.86 1.4 1.43 910 7.6 12.16 15 0.244 862.5 6.6 63.4 0.52 5.25 16.2 0.58 4.54 0.04 1.13 2.92 2.63 176.9 940.5 1 1.32 445 269 0.236 0.34

0.56 54.6 14.96 0.77 6.5 18.68 1.39 1.4 880.5 7.5 11.98 14.6 0.234 852.5 6.5 61.35 0.5 5.17 15.38 0.57 4.43 0.038 1.11 2.86 2.63 175.3 932 0.96 1.32 430 261.4 0.236 0.325

HOLDING FIRMS 0.59 20,495,000 55 395,000 15 4,392,200 0.77 198,000 6.65 8,200 19.06 10,700 1.4 854,000 1.43 55,000 882 478,150 7.5 265,100 12.06 4,855,000 14.64 124,100 0.243 1,080,000 856.5 428,940 6.51 37,700 63.4 489,430 0.51 223,000 5.18 70,000 16 1,443,800 0.57 157,000 4.46 15,702,000 0.039 9,300,000 1.13 47,000 2.86 727,000 2.63 2,000 176.9 191,240 940 73,580 1 913,000 1.32 15,000 430 790 269 4,250 0.236 240,000 0.33 7,220,000

11,830,180 21,722,360.50 65,967,906 152,650 53,450 204,482 1,192,960 77,150 425,665,270 2,001,364 58,464,478 1,828,892 256,380 369,333,970 245,452 30,904,143.50 113,350 363,860 22,863,402 90,990 70,232,810 364,500 52,310 2,095,350 5,260 33,631,147 69,095,485 901,330 19,800 340,698 1,136,244 56,640 2,400,250

-69,180.00 -9,777,122 -3,840,106 46,800 -70,000 -199,861,355 -455,304 -33,556,230 -902,534 -35,413,530 1,008,049 -137,933 -8,505,756 -33,772,450 2,007,357 -19,264,500 2,000 4,350 -216,962 -

41,646,814 41,880 284,920 703,882,690 462,660 1,447,080 2,234,425 45,860 200,260 3,850 4,476,506 17,513,485 335,670 48,750 6,808,810 2,160,680 94,067,447 1,754,850 209,465 5,532,680 81,700

344,070 23,716,970 -12,050 -157,370 62,200 -1,233,915 -2,027,450 -266,000 -31,420,605 10,500 -556,060 -

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

13.2 0.78 0.78 46.6 2.49 4.26 0.5 0.92 0.24 0.385 11.1 25 0.51 0.125 1.53 1.35 5.6 0.355 0.5 1.94 0.43

13.88 0.78 0.79 47.1 2.49 4.3 0.51 0.92 0.248 0.385 11.18 25.45 0.51 0.125 1.54 1.36 5.72 0.355 0.5 1.94 0.43

13.18 0.76 0.77 46.6 2.41 4.22 0.495 0.91 0.24 0.385 11.02 24.1 0.495 0.125 1.52 1.33 5.44 0.345 0.495 1.87 0.43

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

2.44 45.3 24 2 3.06 39.9 1.61 7.05 0.78 7.25

2.47 45.3 24 2 3.06 39.95 1.69 7.35 0.78 7.42

2.42 45.3 23.6 1.99 3.06 39.1 1.51 7.05 0.73 7.25

2.44 45.3 23.9 1.99 3.06 39.25 1.68 7.12 0.73 7.3

232,000 400 3,522,100 92,000 12,000 3,434,000 3,801,000 1,411,400 41,000 2,492,500

565,570 18,120 84,133,725 183,930 36,720 135,042,495 5,973,020 10,219,972 30,370 18,267,423

-49,200 56,622,030 -77,990 -45,951,115 35,700 17,020 369,490

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CHELSEA EASYCALL FAR EASTERN U GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN BRIA HARBOR STAR INTL CONTAINER IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN METRO RETAIL METROALLIANCE A NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PAXYS PH RESORTS GRP 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

12.3 19.48 1.29 0.43 16.78 2.45 12.64 0.073 83 5.12 10.2 890 1,865 5.3 400 2.85 130 7.05 0.127 4.95 15.2 3.69 0.85 21.7 0.6 3.41 1.68 2.45 4.38 10.26 3.23 4.4 119.9 2.87 1,220 0.8 1 44.6 78.6 8.68 2.66 0.68 0.38 5.61 0.72 16.14

12.32 19.72 1.29 0.43 16.78 2.45 12.74 0.074 83 5.14 10.54 890 1,890 5.3 400 2.94 130.8 7.05 0.128 5.05 15.2 3.74 0.89 21.9 0.6 3.41 1.77 2.51 4.38 10.26 3.38 4.4 120.2 2.96 1,240 0.82 1.05 46 78.9 9 2.7 0.68 0.385 5.63 0.72 16.34

12.3 19.46 1.25 0.42 16.78 2.31 12.5 0.073 81.5 5.09 10.04 890 1,859 5.23 395 2.83 128.2 7.05 0.124 4.95 15.2 3.69 0.81 21.55 0.58 3.36 1.67 2.35 4.2 10.1 3.19 4.4 119.9 2.87 1,219 0.79 0.96 44.6 78 8.68 2.61 0.67 0.375 5.61 0.7 16.12

SERVICES 12.3 19.48 1.25 0.42 16.78 2.37 12.72 0.073 82.6 5.1 10.08 890 1,878 5.26 400 2.88 129.3 7.05 0.127 5.03 15.2 3.71 0.88 21.65 0.6 3.38 1.77 2.38 4.21 10.1 3.38 4.4 120 2.92 1,240 0.79 1.02 45.5 78.85 8.99 2.64 0.68 0.38 5.63 0.7 16.26

8,000 63,500 48,000 110,000 4,000 297,000 5,466,400 13,960,000 21,970 344,400 45,600 5,130 9,405 203,300 2,810 507,000 1,172,930 13,000 1,440,000 790,000 2,000 520,000 1,041,000 705,400 760,000 1,066,000 11,000 2,136,000 51,000 41,400 7,000 13,000 961,090 5,041,000 189,495 2,199,000 38,821,000 932,900 254,970 130,300 7,187,000 1,437,000 2,550,000 2,509,200 978,000 1,335,200

98,422 1,239,086 60,920 46,300 67,120 701,390 69,307,482 1,020,660 1,799,606.50 1,757,446 464,258 4,565,700 17,562,145 1,072,158 1,123,310 1,469,290 151,765,266 91,650 179,890 3,960,280 30,400 1,929,370 905,730 15,289,445 451,300 3,604,130 18,520 5,187,180 215,470 418,452 23,010 57,200 115,328,894 14,710,920 234,035,135 1,747,590 39,349,720 42,445,130 20,101,047.50 1,147,679 19,024,120 974,310 969,650 14,101,704 693,940 21,699,824

1,232 -336,350 512,470 47,935.50 57,650 -1,842,300 -1,480,285 14,081,485 -1,280 415,730 -24,320 373,810 739,180 266,055 -1,648,710 -148,290.00 25,280 10,060 0 71,750 116,850,265 98,800 -3,320,160 -5,408,090 -6,662,644.50 -401,590 -102,590 -3,800 -13,934,228 19,880 10,861,304

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

0.002 1.29 11.98 2.7 8.11 1.53 0.255 0.115 0.12 0.008 0.008 1.08 2.44 1.04 0.57 0.9 0.012 0.011 3.1 3.14 7 24.35 0.007

0.002 1.33 12.3 2.7 8.2 1.53 0.255 0.116 0.12 0.008 0.008 1.09 2.44 1.04 0.57 0.91 0.012 0.011 3.11 3.14 7.62 24.35 0.007

0.002 1.29 11.2 2.69 8.1 1.5 0.249 0.114 0.11 0.008 0.008 1.08 2.39 1 0.57 0.9 0.012 0.011 3.1 3.11 7 23.5 0.007

MINING AND OIL 0.002 36,000,000 1.33 352,000 11.98 4,800 2.69 233,000 8.1 4,700 1.5 996,000 0.255 610,000 0.115 1,220,000 0.11 320,000 0.008 29,000,000 0.008 4,000,000 1.08 77,000 2.4 1,896,000 1.02 44,000 0.57 329,000 0.9 141,000 0.012 19,400,000 0.011 100,000 3.1 15,000 3.11 93,000 7.62 2,743,800 23.7 1,118,500 0.007 2,000,000

69,100 459,260 55,830 626,830 38,091 1,519,990 152,740 140,310 35,300 237,800 32,800 83,190 4,564,960 44,170 187,530 127,890 232,800 1,100 46,510 289,650 20,357,660 26,685,380 13,800

3,870 61,870 263,160 -1,200 -2,160 -1,260,430 -21,770 1,267,758 10,136,025 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 DD PREF GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A LR PREF PCOR PREF 2A SMC FB PREF 2 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

18.7 467.2 485 98 899.5 950 92.35 1 974 971 76 72.1 74.75 73.6 72 73.45

18.7 467.2 497 98 900 950 95.95 1.01 975 971 76.5 72.55 74.75 73.6 72 73.45

18.4 467 485 98 874 950 92.35 1 971 970.5 76 71.5 73.8 73.6 72 73

PREFERRED 18.42 169,600 467 20 497 20 98 310 874 360 950 370 95.95 8,000 1.01 649,000 971 2,150 971 1,090 76.5 10,130 72.55 65,750 73.8 91,240 73.6 1,500 72 200 73.45 26,910

3,143,334 9,342 9,820 30,380 315,675 351,500 764,164 655,400 2,091,810 1,058,250 769,945 4,722,657.50 6,749,117.50 110,400 14,400 1,975,639.50

-990,154 -4,850 -

LR WARRANT

1.97

1.97

1.87

WARRANTS 1.92 44,000

83,590

-

2,679,890 5,091,700

-252,500 -1,852,310

504,407

56,448

50,400 35,980

50,400 -

NAME

MS

PROPERTY 13.82 0.78 0.77 47 2.45 4.25 0.495 0.92 0.245 0.385 11.16 25 0.5 0.125 1.52 1.33 5.44 0.35 0.495 1.87 0.43

3,094,200 55,000 368,000 14,978,400 189,000 340,000 4,485,000 50,000 830,000 10,000 403,400 701,800 671,000 390,000 4,455,000 1,610,000 17,056,400 5,020,000 421,000 2,927,000 190,000

ITALPINAS XURPAS

5 1.22

5.18 1.25

4.96 1.19

FIRST METRO ETF

117.6

117.7

117.4

USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

10 1

10 1

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL

SHARES

55,127,754

INDUSTRIAL

78,534,183

HOLDING FIRMS

70,701,925

PROPERTY

124,427,160

SERVICES

96,316,253

MINING & OIL

101,665,353

GRAND TOTAL

531,480,918

10 1

5.09 1.22

SME

530,000 4,173,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 117.4 4,290 10 1

DDS

5,040 35,980

VALUE 1,733.66 (down) 0.46 918,566,999.92 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,572.77 (down) 0.34 842,093,050.33 HOLDING FIRMS 7,532.75 (up) 0.5 1.208,812,215.57 PROPERTY 4,155.35 (down) 0.59 1,618.03 (up) 0.64 2,829,149,659.73 SERVICES MINING & OIL 7,665.27 (down) 0.89 816,776,667.236 PSEI 7,832.43 (down) 0.03 56,023,521.941 All Shares Index 4,834.68 (down) 0.04 6,679,703,228.79 Gainers: 74; Losers: 101; Unchanged: 54; Total: 229

Aboitiz unit signs power supply deal with Meralco

By Alena Mae S. Flores THERMA Mobile Inc., a unit of Aboitiz Power Corp., said Monday it signed a power supply agreement with Manila Electric Co. that will boost supply in Luzon in time for the May elections.

“This contract is a timely response of both Aboitiz Power and Meralco to the call of government for stable and reliable power going into the mid-term elections and beyond,” said Aboitiz Power oil business unit president and chief operating officer Celso Caballero III. TMO operates four floating power barges moored in Navotas with a combined capacity of 242 megawatts. TMO will provide Meralco with up to 200 MW of additional power.

The facility went into preservation mode on February 5 and voluntarily disconnected from the grid and de-registered from the energy market.

The barges are expected to be registered again with Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines Inc., operator of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market. Meralco expects to secure supply from the power barges starting on April 26.

The oil-fired barges in Navotas are considered ideal for providing peaking supply and ancillary services with their operational flexibility and the ability to start up quickly to respond to the needs of the grid.

Aboitiz Power unit Therma Visayas Inc. will also deliver the full capacity of 340 MW from its coal-fired power plants in Toledo City, Cebu starting next month that is seen to boost power supply in the Visayas and Luzon.

The first 170-MW unit is already delivering power while the second 170-MW unit is expected to come online by next month. The facility is a joint venture between Aboitiz Power and Vivant Corp.

“We are happy to have brought Therma Visayas online just in time to support the government’s call for more reliable energy supply as we head towards the midterm elections,” said Aboitiz Power’s coal business unit president and chief operating officer Danel Aboitiz.

NLEX spending P1.6b to expand toll road in Subic

By Darwin G. Amojelar NLEX Corp. said it is spending P1.6 billion to expand the capacity of Subic Freeport Expressway, or SFEx, amid growing vehicle traffic.

NLEX vice president for project management Nemesio Castillo said SFEx, or the Tipo section of the Subic-ClarkTarlac Expressway to Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, would be expanded by one lane in each direction.

The project is expected to be completed in 16 months starting this month.

Castillo said a new tunnel and two new bridges—Jadjad Bridge and Argonaut Bridge—would also be constructed while expressway-standard LED lights would be installed to keep the expressway safe for motorists, especially for those driving at night.

SFEx, which was constructed in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Subic in 1996, is now a part of SCTEx. NLEX holds the concession to manage, operate and maintain SCTEx, a 93.77-km four-lane highway, traversing the provinces of Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac.

The management, operation, and maintenance of SCTEX was turned over by BCDA to the NLEX in 2015.

NLEX said last week it allotted P400 million this year to expand the capacity of SCTEX. The company, which operates SCTEX, said more lanes would be built in Clark South A and South B exits; Clark North entry and exit; San Miguel northbound entry and exit; and Tarlac entry and exit.

NLEX said the construction would start on July 1 this year and be completed by November this year .

The construction of the Bamban Interchange, which will link the expressway to New Clark City, is also ongoing in time for country’s hosting of the Southeast Asian Games.

Data show since the SCTEx was opened in 2008, the average daily traffic grew by close to 600 percent from just 9,302 to 62,643 in 2018.

Manila

Standard TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

World

B3

TODAY CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

IN BRIEF Cleared of murdering an Indonesian maid

A MOMENT OF SILENCE. This handout photograph taken and released on April 22, 2019, by the Australian Prime Minister’s Office shows Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison (R) and his wife Jenny (2nd-R) visiting the Sakyamuni Sambuddha Vihara, a Sri Lankan Buddhist Temple, in Melbourne on 22 April 2019. Morrision participated in a moment of silence for the more than 200 victims of the Easter Sunday bomb blasts in Sri Lanka. AFP

Stunned after the deadly blasts C OLOMBO―As Shantha Prasad carried children wounded in Sri Lanka’s deadly attacks into a Colombo hospital, memories of the country’s deadly civil war flooded back.

“I carried about eight wounded children yesterday,” he told AFP on Monday, a day after a string of blasts hit hotels and churches, killing nearly 300 people.

“There were two girls aged six and eight, the same age as my daughters,” said Prasad, who helps carry stretchers into the hospital’s triage area and wards.

“Their clothes were torn and drenched in blood. It is unbearable to see this kind of violence again.”

For many Sri Lankans, Sunday’s at-

tacks against churches and high-end hotels brought back painful memories of a conflict that lasted three decades and killed as many as 100,000 people.

During those years, bomb attacks were a regular occurrence, and left many Sri Lankans on edge in the streets and on public transport.

In the capital, street sweeper Malathi Wickrama said Monday he was now nervous doing his job.

“Now we are afraid to even touch black

plastic bags with garbage,” he said.

“The string of blasts yesterday brings back memories of the time when we were afraid to go in buses or trains because of parcel bombs.”

With the lifting of a nationwide curfew early Monday morning, people began to emerge into Colombo’s streets, where security was heavy.

Schools and the stock exchange are closed, but some shops opened their doors and public transport was functioning.

Imtiaz Ali, a tuk-tuk driver, was looking for customers in the capital, but said his family was in mourning over the death of his nephew in the blast that hit the Cinnamon Grand hotel.

“The boy was just 23. He was a sales-

man at Cinnamon Grand hotel and he was to be married next week,” Ali told AFP. “We had made all the plans to hold the wedding at home, but today it’s a funeral house.”

When Ali stopped at a petrol station to get a back-up container of fuel, the attendant said police had banned the sale of petrol and diesel in cans and bottles for fear they could be used to improvise bombs.

Elsewhere in the city, some residents were making their way into work, determined to maintain a semblance of normality despite the tragedy.

“We are resilient people,” said Nuwan Samarweera, a 50-year-old office worker. AFP

Madagascar forest, lemurs under threat VOHIBOLA, Madagascar―Under a leaden sky, six rangers walk silently in single file through Vohibola, one of the last primary forests in eastern Madagascar.

Alert to the slightest movement and sound, Michael Tovolahy’s patrol is tracking poachers who are inflicting grievous harm to this jewel of biodiversity.

The poachers are targeting lemurs, primates battling the threat of extinction, and are chopping down trees, some of them rare hardwoods, to burn for charcoal.

“In this forest, there are at least 20 indigenous animal species, including six types of lemur, and 150 species of tree,” says Tovolahy, whose nickname is Nabe.

“Because of these logger-poachers, I fear that this forest will one day be no more―it will be just an empty space, where developers will grow walls of concrete.”

A terrible irony is that a 2014 documentary, “Island of Lemurs,” which did so much to draw attention to the cuddly animals’ plight, unwittingly encouraged a market to have them as caged pets.

Some kill the harmless creatures for food, others sell them as pets -- and to get to their prey, they chop down precious tropical trees.

“Nocturnal lemurs are very easy to capture because they sleep in the daytime,” explains Tovolahy.

The poachers cut down the trees surrounding their nest, which provides the lemurs with a means of flight. All they have to do then is to shake the tree until the animal falls out. AFP

$100 million pledged to the Palestinians CAIRO―The Arab League has pledged to pay $100 million a month to the Palestinian Authority to plug the gap left when Israel blocked tax transfers earlier in the year.

“We confirm that Arab countries will support the Palestinian state’s budget... [to] resist the political and financial pressure it faces,” the League said Sunday following a meeting in Cairo.

Israel collects taxes on behalf of the PA, but withheld $138 million in transfers in February over Palestinian payments to political prisoners jailed for attacks against Israelis.

The Arab League’s move comes as the Trump administration prepares to unveil a much-touted “Deal of the Century” for peace between the Palestinians and Israel in the coming months.

The Palestinian leadership, which has boycotted Washington over a series of moves including recognizing the bitterly disputed city of Jerusalem as capital of Israel, says it can no longer trust the United States as a broker.

The Arab League said the deal “will not succeed in achieving long-lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East”.

The peace plan is being developed by Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, whose close ties to right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have heightened Palestinian suspicions.

Israel seized the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. AFP

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 98 – QUEZON CITY

SUPER BLOOM. People visit the poppy fields at the Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve in Lancaster, California, on April 21, 2019 to view the orange Poppies and other wildflowers as a super bloom of wildflowers have exploded across California’s onceparched hills this Spring following a particularly wet winter season. AFP

Kim heads for Russia to revive old friendship PYONGYANG―On the neighboring mound to Mansu hill, where giant statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il look out over North Korea’s capital, stands the Liberation Tower.

The star-topped stone obelisk has a bronze Soviet Union flag at its base and and a panel showing Soviet and Korean troops going into battle together against the Japanese.

The ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, once its most important ally, go back decades. And after years of abeyance, current leader Kim Jong Un―the son and grandson of the chiefs

immortalized on Mansu hill―is looking to revive links with nuclear negotiations with Washington deadlocked and as he seeks a counterbalance to China.

Kim is expected to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Vladivostok this week, reportedly on Wednesday and Thursday.

Few details have been released, but the summit―the first between the two neighbors’ leaders since Kim Jong Il met Dmitry Medvedev eight years ago―comes less than two months after the Hanoi meeting between Kim and US President Donald Trump broke up with-

out reaching agreement on the North’s nuclear arsenal.

Pyongyang last week launched a blistering attack on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, demanding he be removed from the negotiations.

Kim has met Chinese President Xi Jinping four times in the space of a year but is now looking for wider international support in the standoff, say analysts.

Moscow has already called for international sanctions on the North to be eased, while the US has accused it of trying to help Pyongyang evade some of the measures—accusations Russia denies. AFP

Refugees face eviction in Greece as many more wait for homes ATHENS―Abdullah Ahmadi, an Afghan living with his wife and five children in an apartment in the Athens suburbs allocated by the UN refugee agency, is about to lose his home for the past three years.

“In two months I have to leave. I have been looking for work in Greece and have only found random jobs that are not enough to support my family,” says

KUALA LUMPUR―A Malaysian woman has reportedly been cleared of murdering her Indonesian maid, who was allegedly tortured and forced to sleep outside with a dog, with activists Monday criticizing the “shocking” decision.

Adelina Sau died in February last year after being found outside her employer’s home on the northern Malaysian island of Penang, with her head and face swollen and covered in wounds.

Many Indonesian maids work in more affluent Malaysia and tales of abuse are common, but the horrific nature of Sau’s case generated headlines and sparked diplomatic tensions between the neighbors.

Her employer, S. Ambika, was charged with murder―an offense that carries a mandatory death sentence in Malaysia―shortly after the 21-year-old was rescued and died in hospital.

But the High Court in Penang dropped the murder charge against her last week, local media reported, without saying why.

Prominent Malaysian human rights lawyer Eric Paulsen called the decision “shocking and unacceptable”.

“This was one of the most public and harrowing abuse cases ever recorded and yet the attorney-general’s chambers somehow saw fit to drop the charge,” Paulsen, a member of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, told AFP. Steven Sim, an MP from the area where Sau died, said the court decision was “as tragic as the death of Adelina”.

Sim said he had contacted the attorney-general, Tommy Thomas, who had vowed to look into the case.

In Indonesia, Wahyu Susilo, executive director of NGO Migrant Care, condemned the acquittal and described it as “far from justice”.

He said the employer may have been cleared due to a failure to get key witnesses, such as Sau’s parents, to testify at the trial, and called on Jakarta to lodge a protest. AFP

Ahmadi, who spent a year on the island of Lesbos before being able to reach the Greek capital.

“I do not know how I’m going to get along, and I’m scared that I will end up on the street with my family,” he says, distraught.

Thousands of refugees like Ahmadi are facing possible eviction from EUpaid homes in Greece this year as more await to take their place to manage a slow

but steady flow of new arrivals from Turkey, support groups have warned.

Nearly 6,800 people currently hosted in rooms and flats around the country under a program funded by the European Union and run by UNHCR in cooperation with local non-governmental groups could be affected.

Ahmadi took part in a demonstration last week by refugees in central Athens to protest against the evictions, supported by far-

left activists, NGO workers, and students.

Following a controversial EU deal with Turkey in 2016 the flow of migrants and refugees to Greece has slowed to a few dozen daily.

But even these numbers are enough to overwhelm limited facilities on several Aegean islands opposite Turkey, which are already crammed many times over their nominal capacity. AFP

IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR USE OF HIS FATHER SURNAME ALVIN JOHN JAVIER REYES a.k.a.

ALVIN ESQUILLO JAVIER, Petitioner, -versus-

R-QZN-19-01616-SP

THE CITY CIVIL REGISTRAR OF QUEZON CITY, THE NATIONAL STATISTICIAN, AND CIVIL REGISTRAR GENERAL OF THE PHILIPPINES STATISTICS AUTHORITY (PSA), AVELINO C. REYES, JR. AND GWENDELINE EQUILLO JAVIER, Respondents. x----------------------------------------------------x

ORDER Before this Court is a verified petition filed by petitioner Alvin John Javier Reyes a.k.a. Alvin Esquillo Javier through counsel, praying that after notice and hearing judgment be rendered allowing the petitioner to use the surname of his father and directing the Local Civil Registrar of Quezon City and the Civil Registrar General/Chief of the Philippines Statistics Authority to make and effect the correction in the Certificate of Live Birth of the petitioner with Registry No. 1995-4204, Item No. 1-Namefrom Alvin John Esquillo Javier to Alvin John Javier Reyes.

WHEREFORE, notice is hereby given that the above-entitled petition will be heard before this Court located at the 2nd floor, Rooms 2007-208 Hall of Justice Building, Diliman, Quezon City on July 16, 2019 at 8:30 in the morning at which place, date and hour, all interested persons may appear and show cause why the petition should not be granted.

The Branch Clerk of Court is ordered to cause the service of copies of this Order on the Local Civil Registrar of Quezon City, Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City and Office of the Solicitor General, Makati City, as well as the parents Avelino C. Reyes, Jr. and Gwendeline Esquillo Javier, at their last known address, who are directed to appear and show cause why the petition should not be granted.

Futher, the petitioner is directed to coordinate with the sheriff of this court for the service of the copy of the petition with annexes on the government agencies above-mentioned and to have this Order published in a newspaper of general circulation, to be chosen by raffle, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks at least two (2) weeks before the date of the hearing.

In the event that hearing should not take place on the said date due to fortuitous event or if the aforesaid scheduled date is directed a non-working holiday, it shall be held on August 2, 2019 at the same time and place without further notice.

SO ORDERED. Quezon City, Metro Manila, January 29, 2019.

Cc:

(Sgd.) MARILOU D. RUNES-TAMANG, MNSA Presiding Judge

Atty. Ann Loren Pastor-Counsel for the Petitioner – c/o PAO Office DOJ Bldg., QC Alvin John Javier Reyes - #643 Violeta St., Villa Verde Homes, Brgy.

Sta. Monica, Novaliches, QC Avelino C. Reyes, Jr. – 134 Narra St., Proj. 3, Quezon City Gwendeline Esquillo Javier - 6751 Unit 11-A. Tuscany, Ayala Ave., Makati City The Local Civil Registrar, QC The Phil. Statistics Authority, QC Office of the City Prosecutor, QC Office of the Solicitor General, Makati City (MStandard-Apr. 9, 16 & 23, 2019)

LGUs

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

B4

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Losses pile up for Zamboanga sardine canners ZAMBOANGA CITY—The ongoing power supply problem in the country’s sardine capital continues to take its toll on the production of one of the staple food of every ordinary Filipino household.

Unscheduled brownouts running up to three hours each time has cut down production of sardines by as much as 30 percent, according to industry sources.

An owner of one of the biggest canning plants here said their group of companies are also running low on supply of tin cans as a result of the lingering power supply problem.

Electricity in this far end of the Zamboanga Peninsula has been erratic ever since Western Mindanao Power Corp. ceased supplying power to Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative on Feb. 4 after the cooperative failed to pay its bill since October 2018.

According to WMPC, the electric cooperative has refused to pay its bill amounting to P467 million forcing it to shut down operations after Crown Desco took over the management of the cooperative.

While Crown Desco formally took over only in January this year, it has refused to honor overdue accounts of the cooperative despite repeated demands from WMPC. In spite of the efforts exerted by local government officials to resolve the impasse, ZAMCELCO, with Crown Desco at the helm of management, has remained adamant in paying its obligation due to alleged overcharging by the WMPC. Sardine canning plants, including tin can manufacturers and storage plants have been using backup generator sets to continue operating, according to an industry source who requested that his name be withheld. PNA

Soccsksargen told to mimic priority works GENERAL SANTOS CITY—The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 12 or Soccsksargen is pushing for the replication by more local government units and non-government groups of its priority programs for the poor and vulnerable sectors.

Amina Dataya, DSWD-12 social technology unit head, said Monday they are currently assisting LGUs and their partner development agencies in the region in adopting its flagship social technologies or programs and strategies.

She specifically cited initiatives that “address emerging needs and trends affecting poor and vulnerable individuals and families” in the region.

These include its program for people living with the human immunodeficiency virus and acquired immune deficiency syndrome, Family Drug Abuse Prevention Program, processing of drug dependents and surrenderers, home care for the elderly, marriage counseling for Muslim couples and the Reporting System and Prevention Program for Elder Abuse Cases or ReSPPEC. Dataya said their office has been closely working with LGU officials and key policy makers to facilitate the smooth adoption of the systems, approaches as well as concepts of these programs.

“Annually, we target to sell our products [social technologies] to LGUs and partner social welfare and development agencies,” she said in a statement. PNA The Chemrez biodiesel plant in Quezon City, which processes cocomethyl ester or CME.

EASTER ‘BUNNIES.’ A young girl gazes in the distance as she waits her turn along with other children with creative bunny

costumes (inset) at the SM City Masinag in celebration of Easter with the ‘Hatchimals’ craze—one of the newest toy collectibles with ‘magical creatures’ that come inside colorful speckled eggs when they ‘hatch.’ Manny Palmero

Taguig Infant Care baby box project up

By Joel E. Zurbano

T

HE city government of Taguig has launched the Infant Care Project modeled after Finland’s baby box project, which has helped new mothers and babies and lowered infant mortality.

In Finland, the maternity package—a gift from the government—is available to all expectant mothers. It contains bodysuits, a sleeping bag, outdoor gear, bathing products for the baby, as well as nappies, bedding and a small mattress.

With the mattress in the bottom, the box becomes a baby’s first bed. Many children, from all social backgrounds, have their first naps within the safety of the box’s four cardboard walls.

The local version in Taguig is a 3-in-1 foldable baby bag that can transform into a diaper bag, a crib or a changing pad.

Several compartments of the baby bag given away free of charge are filled with soap, alcohol, baby oil, wipes and diapers.

Some 110 mothers had already received the baby bags during the recent Buntis Congress event held at Lakeshore Hall in Barangay Lower Bicutan.

The Buntis Congress is a biannual gathering of soon-to-be mothers and postpartum mommies to give them the proper knowledge on safe motherhood, breastfeeding, immunization and family planning.

On regular days, the item can be

claimed after a baby is delivered in a medical facility and the parents get birth registration. Before the delivery, too, the mother must have undergone some steps.

Below is the list of requirements to avail the baby bag compliments of the city government: • Completing four prenatal checkups: One each during the first and second trimester and two in the last trimester; • Getting the appropriate tetanus vaccine injections; • Delivering the baby in a licensed facility, such as a hospital, certified lying-in center or Super Health Center; • Going through a postnatal checkup; • Having the baby immunized with BCG and Hepatitis B vaccines; and • Getting a birth registration.

Junior Chamber Olongapo holds 58th induction

By Butch Gunio

OLONGAPO CITY―The Junior Chamber International-Olongapo held its 58th induction and turnover ceremonies on Saturday, attended by members and guests.

The 2019 officers are president Jason Gavina, immediate past president Almira Zapanta, executive vice president Steve Paulo Mayo, VP Maycee Munar, VP Oscar Abrajano, Jr., VP Jik Austria, Commissioners Raymond Villanueva, Rannil Carido, Nicole Sol, Neric Bada, Jr., yreasuer Cerize Candy Lee, auditor Erica Chu, secretary Judy Ann Espiritu, and assistant secretary Michael Gatmin.

“JCI is JCI is because we chose to tell ourselves a different story. That the world is not only the one we inherit, but the one we create. We are not just the future hope, but the present solution,” said Gavina in his inaugural speech.

One of the highlights of the event was Newly inducted JCI Olongapo president Jason Gavina (left) and past president Almira the awarding of the inaugural Ulo ng Apo Ramos Zapanta pose for posterity with other officers during JCI Olongapo 58th induction Leadership Excellence Awards to SBMA and turnover ceremonies. Butch Gunio Chairperson and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma and Castillejos Mayor Jose Angelo ary membership to the chapter. gives you the opportunity to be extraorM. Dominguez for their outstanding leadEisma challenged the JCI members to dinary,” she said. ership in public service, and contributions continue their good work in helping the Founded in 1959, JCI Olongapo is a to the community. community and producing new leaders. local affiliate of the global leadership The distinction goes with an honor“Do not be afraid to be ordinary. This movement of young active citizens.

Watch for own safety, Tourism advises tourists TACLOBAN CITY—As the influx of tourists in Eastern Visayas is expected to continue this summer, the Department of Tourism reminded visitors anew to continue observing safety measures.

DOT Eastern Visayas Regional Director Karina Tiopes advised tourists to do research and plan safety measures before visiting the region’s destinations.

“We urge tourists to ensure packing important things like first-aid kits, dry bags, hygiene kits, sunscreen, and flashlights. They should follow the warning signs for safety and constantly drink water or juice to avoid heatstroke,” Tiopes told reporters on Monday.

The tourism official also reminded tourist and visitors to always practice sustainable and responsible tourism by minimizing the use of plastic so as not to contribute to the mounting problem of solid waste disposal.

“Strictly follow the carrying capacity and imposition of do’s and don’ts particularly in tourism sites like protected areas such as small islands,” Tiopes said.

The Tourism department also reminded tourists to wear life jackets when crossing oceans, swim with lifeguards, dispose of trashes properly, and avoid polluting bodies of water.

The DOT activated its Holy Week Visitor Assistance Desk operations at the Tacloban Airport from April 17 to 20 to serve tourists. It estimated that tourists make up at least 80 percent of arriving air passengers in this city this time of the year.

“Having a visitor assistance desk is indeed a big help to travelers.

While some may not ask questions, many refer to maps and brochures,” Tiopes said.

“As tourism front liners, assisting guests also give us a sense of fulfillment. Knowing that the information materials, facilitation and travel tips we gave help make their trips pleasant and convenient is enough to make us smile,” she said.

The DOT official urged local tourism offices to ensure the full preparation of tourist assistant desks to accommodate queries from visitors this summer. PNA

2nd Coco Congress to tackle industry issues THE Philippine coconut industry is getting more aggressive in terms of production and exports, but it seems that its structure is still not right for it to fully maximize gains in revenue, a local industry group said Monday.

“Local demand for coconut oil should be bolstered to help augment revenues lost for farmers due to external market forces,” said Dean Lao Jr., Chairman of the United Coconut Associations of the Philippines.

These and more issues are to be deliberated in the upcoming 2nd World Coconut Congress Conference and Exhibition to be held from Aug. 27 to 29 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.

Based on the latest information released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, the country’s coconut product exports jumped to 43.6 percent in December 2018 compared to the figure in December 2018. However, gross export income dropped 9.9 percent in the same period to $139.9 million (P7.3 billion) from $155.21 million (P8.07 billion).

The culprit to this decline has been affecting the industry for some time―low coconut oil prices in the market. This price fluctuation is influenced by the supply and demand in the global market of other leading vegetable oils (particularly, soybean, palm, corn, and rapeseed).

During the first World Coconut Congress held in Manila in August 2018, the key players in the global coconut industry identified ways to help bolster coconut exports.

One of the identified ways to boost local demand, UCAP said, is to increase the coconut oil component in locally produced biodiesel to 5 percent (B5) from the current 2 percent (B2).

For quite some time now, local industry stakeholders have been pushing for this move―which they claim will not only boost revenue of farmers but will also do well for the environment.

Life

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

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

@MStandardLIFE TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019

C1

EARTH DAY 2019:

Going green with reusable products

NO PLASTIC ALLOWED. In celebration of Earth Day, international brands encourage the public to opt for reusable products to help mitigate plastic waste pollution.

P

LASTIC waste is a growing concern in the Philippines, which is the third biggest contributor of unmanaged plastic in the ocean. The report found that on average, Filipinos release 2.7 million metric tons of plastic waste into the ocean every year, with 560,000 metric tons of plastic waste coming from Metro Manila alone.

Vaya Drynk keeps beverages hot for up to 12 hours and cold for 18 hours

In celebration of Earth Day on April 22, many brands—big or small—continue to assist in the fight against plastic waste.

Meals in stainless steel

Stainless steel bento box brand Vaya offers everyday products that ensure people enjoy fresh meals on the go sans the need for disposable, flimsy, and non-biodegradable containers that can compromise the quality of food.

A lunchbox full of innovation, the Vaya Tyffyn allows users to pack a multi-course meal that stays fresh for up to six hours. Stylish and leak-resistant, it comes in three different sizes: 600ml (two containers), 1,000ml (three containers), and 1,300ml (four containers).

The brand also carries a reusable cup. Vaya Drynk is a sustainable and high-quality bottle that easily fits in a bag.

It claims to be able to keep drinks hot for up to 12 hours, and cold for 18 hours. It is available in two sizes: 350ml and 600ml, and comes with two different lid options to enjoy a wide variety of beverages.

Finally, Vaya Preserve is a sleek vacuum-insulated food storage/carrying container that serves as a handy meal carrier for one-pot meals and can store ingredients to ensure freshness for a long time. It comes in two sizes, 300ml and 500ml.

Coffeehouse chain Starbucks’ customers are offered to skip the straws, and disposable utensils and napkins.

Establishing a healthy bedtime routine helps in achieving a good quality of sleep.

How to sleep better

Drinks in reusable cups

American coffeehouse chain Starbucks also encourages reusability and inspires its customers to make sustainable choices with the launch of reusable hot and cold cups in the Philippines starting April 22.

The reusable cup is nearly identical to Starbucks’ iconic white cup and is made from polypropylene, a plastic which is widely accepted into global recycling infrastructure. The new reusable cups are designed to make the cup sturdier than paper and is a more sustainable approach to single-use packaging.

As Starbucks continues to work toward creating a more sustainable planet, it also empowers others to join the cause and help organizations with the same vision. Today until April 26, customers who bring in their reusable cups, personal tumblers or mugs of at least 16oz. in size or higher will be given the option to donate their P5 cup discount to their choice of environmental organization from the given NGO partners. Those who will donate will receive a complimentary upsize.

Customers may choose between the World Wildlife Fund Philippines or the Haribon Foundation, two organizations dedicated to preserving life and nature. By the end of the promo, Starbucks commits to shoulder the amount needed to match the donations between the two organizations.

Globally, an estimated 600 billion paper and plastic cups are distributed annually. According to the company, Starbucks cups only account for around 1 percent of that total, yet it is committed to bring more sustainable solutions to reduce waste.

Since 2014, Starbucks has offered the reusable cup in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. and so far the company has sold more than 25 million globally.

Last year, Starbucks also announced its goal of removing all plastic straws in its store globally by 2020.

In the Philippines, the coffee brand has also begun taking steps towards this goal with the Skip the Straw initiative. At local stores, customers are offered to skip the straws, disposable utensils and napkins for their orders and are provided more sustainable options including specially designed sipping lids and compostable straws.

Stainless steel Vaya Tyffyn lunchbox keeps meals fresh up to six hours.

Starbucks reusable cold cup with reusable straw

MANY people have lifestyles that influence their sleeping patterns—from employees who work beyond office hours to finish all their deadlines to parents who have to wake up very early and stay up late to tend to their kids.

Aside from that, they also have electronic devices which sometimes serve as distractions that hinder them from getting enough sleep.

To achieve good sleep for a healthy wellbeing, Happy Skin founder Rissa Mananquil-Trillo and sleep specialist Dr. Keith Aguilera shared benefits, tips, and tricks at the recent Uratex Premium celebration of World Sleep Day held at SM Mall of Asia Activity Center:

The truth about sleep

Starbucks reusable cup for hot beverages

“We’ve seen an increase in public awareness and concern for the plastic waste issue in recent years. We’re proud to provide a reusable option in all Starbucks stores in the Philippines without making sacrifices to our customers’ daily coffee needs,” said Keith Cole, head of marketing, category and QA, Starbucks Philippines.

Sleep influences physical and mental health—Dr. Keith explained that sleep will dictate a person’s future physical and mental health: “Among teenagers, if you have good sleep, it decreases your risk of getting obesity. If you sleep less, you will crave for more sweets and salty foods. Studies also show that patients who lack sleep could develop Alzheimer’s disease.” Meanwhile, a good night’s sleep will keep a person alert and energized throughout the day, help boost their immune system, and improve concentration.

Getting enough sleep clears skin -- The concept of beauty sleep is not a myth. Research suggests that getting eight hours of sleep is vital in repairing, regenerating, and restructuring the skin. “A lot of women invest in expensive skin care. What they don’t realize is that your skin care will work best when you get enough sleep,” advised Mananquil-Trillo.

Establishing a healthy bedtime routine

Follow a bedtime schedule—A person’s body craves for consistency.

Thus, maintaining a sleeping schedule is critical to well-being—it helps our body systems prepare for and anticipate our regular daily schedules. Having a schedule alerts the body to our wake up time then relaxes and become sleepy prior to bedtime.

Dr. Keith Aguilera and Rissa Mananquil-Trillo

Avoid alcohol, caffeine, smoking, and spicy and sugary foods before bedtime—Alcohol, smoking, caffeine, salty and sugary foods are stimulants that can disrupt people’s sleeping patterns. Thus, excessive drinking of alcohol, caffeine such as coffee, tea and sodas, and food items that are heavy, salty, or sugary should be avoided at least four to six hours before bedtime.

Exercise regularly—“Exercise regularly but not before bedtime,” stressed Dr. Aguilera. He said working out late can have an adverse effect on one’s health and impact their lifestyle. Decreases in body temperature signals the body to sleep, and exercising only leads the body temperature to rise and will take about six hours to drop. Exercise in the morning or at least three hours before bed time.

Reserve bed for sleep—The bed should not be used as an office, workroom, or recreation room. Eliminate all sources of light which include smartphones and gadgets and lights around the home as they keep a person alert and awake.

Invest in a good mattress—According to Mananquil-Trillo, it’s important to invest in things used often. For her, it’s a mattress from Uratex which has been with her for eight years. She shared, “Investing in things that you use a lot eventually translates to your wellness.

Having a good mattress has given me the comfort and quality sleep that I need to get through my day to day activities.”

Life

C2

TUESDAY, APRIL 23, 2019 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

The Haiku ceiling fan generates cooling effect that is 80 percent more efficient than conventional ceiling fan motors.

The Atmospheric Water Generator creates water out of thin air.

W

The 4 elements of sustainable living

ITH an increasing awareness of climate change and our role as individuals in it, more and more have been looking for ways to embrace a green and sustainable lifestyle. In fact, a Nielsen survey in 2015 revealed the millennial generation, which comprises a huge chunk of the population, is willing to pay extra for sustainable products.

Here in the country, a company caters to the need for sustainable and environmentally responsible building products.

“The green movement is catching on among Filipinos, but their options to live sustainably is rather limited. Many green solutions available in developed nations are not available in the country, so we established Philippine Geogreen to help Filipinos embrace a green lifestyle,” said Liza Morales-Crespo, chief executive officer of Philippine Geogreen.

The company celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Morales-Crespo added, “We are happy that in just 10 years, we have helped thousands of Filipinos bring sustainable solutions to their homes and business, which is a key step in helping save the environment.”

Philippine Geogreen, Inc is the authorized Philippine distributor for some of the best energy saving fixtures in the US, as well as many industrial innovations that promote environmental sustainability.

Its innovative offerings represent four pillars—water, wind, fire, and earth— allowing people to be part of the green movement, while also bringing down

their energy costs and reducing their carbon footprint.

Water

Geogreen’s Atmospheric Water Generator extracts water from humid ambient air, literally allowing to create water out of thin air. Water vapor in the air is condensed by cooling the air below its dew point, extracting water in the process. This device is designed to render the water potable with multiple stages of filtration, making it useful for home, commercial, and industrial use.

Air

Surviving the high humidity and heat levels can be done sustainably with Haiku fans, a product especially designed with energy efficiency and aesthetics in mind. A small ceiling fan made with an award-winning motor and controls that deliver a silent operation, it generates a cooling effect that is 80 percent more efficient than conventional ceiling fan motors. Its airfoils and central motor housing blend together into a single, seamless organic form, beautifully wrapped in a sleek, modern package.

The result is a great cooling effect and huge savings. All Haiku fans exceed ENERGY STAR registered requirements for ceiling fans from 2012-2018, making it the most energy efficient ceiling fan in the country.

The Solatube Daylighting System utilizes natural light by capturing the sun’s rays and bringing them into the house.

Fire

For those who want to properly utilize the natural light in their homes, the Solatube Daylighting System is a brilliant solution. The system is especially engineered to capture the sun’s rays and bring these into one’s home, creating brighter and more expansive rooms.

The Solatube can be installed in as little as two hours and requires no structural changes to the building, making it a quick solution to light up the home or office, while driving down power costs at the same time.

Other breakthrough solutions introduced by the company are LumActiv, a paint coating that has the capacity to clean the air once it gets activated by light—either sunlight or electric light. Its technology also keeps building surfaces break down city smog and it makes the exterior glass cleaner for a long period of time so it reduces the need for repainting and maintenance.

The company is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.

Land

When it comes to land, Geogreen offers their ground-breaking product, Shorelock, a technology that protects and restores coastlines without dredging or purchasing new sand.

Nature’s Plus Keto Living LCHF Shake

Healthy Options offers keto shakes, supplements Philippine Geogreen, Inc. offers sustainable and environmentally responsible building products.

Pushing for a better balance CNN Philippines’ recent women’s summit highlighted women empowerment and raised awareness of gender equality in society.

In her opening remarks, Vice President Leni Robredo said, “The woman of today has never been as empowered, as strong, and as remarkably confident as ever before. And today, we gather as one community to celebrate how far we have gone. Today, we celebrate our women’s resilience, strength, and bravery throughout history. ” The summit, now on its second year, aimed to inspire women to take a stand towards creating a non-gender biased community and celebrate women who have succeeded in different aspects of life.

Keynote speakers for the event included women leaders Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette RomuloPuyat; parenting, relationship, and family life specialist Dr. Michele Alignay, and CNN International senior correspondent Paula Hancocks.

Dr. Alignay took to stage the importance of being a woman in the family and taking care of each member’s wellbeing. She has collaborated with SM Supermalls this summer for the #WeHaveEachOther campaign, a weekly video series from April until May tackling the topic of social play for parents to spend more time with their kids and loved ones.

KETO diet has recently emerged as a cult-favorite eating plan. This very low-carb diet that helps burn fat more effectively can be used to attain weight loss, control blood sugar level, and achieve other health-related goals.

There is a wide variety of nutritious and versatile foods that allow dieters to remain within their daily carb range, yet there are people who find it a challenge to keep their bodies in a healthy, low-carb, ketogenic state.

According to nutrition experts, a keto meal plan should consist of a moderate amount of protein. Consuming too little will not help maintain lean muscle tissue, while getting too much can kick the dieter out of ketosis (a metabolic process that occurs when the body be-

gins to burn fat for energy).

To help followers of keto diet address hunger and reduce craving, leading all-natural products store Healthy Options offers Nature’s Plus Keto Living LCHF Shake. The nutritional shake, which comes in vanilla and chocolate flavors, aids in keeping individuals in ketosis and their blood sugar level under control.

The store also carries Keto Living Daily Multi Capsules and Sugar Control Capsules.

Further, the product line helps ensure a well-balanced nutrition, is glutenfree, and does not contain any genetically modified ingredients.

Go to www.healthyoptions.com.ph for more information.

Nature’s Plus Keto Living Daily Multi Capsules

Nature’s Plus Keto Living Sugar Control Capsules

CNN International senior correspondent Paula Hancocks (left) speaks during the recent CNN Philippines’ recent women’s summit.

The women’s summit also set up a marketplace area that featured women entrepreneurs and their products such as handcrafted goods, locally made designer wares, cosmetics, and healthy snacks. The fair offered health and financial advice to attendees.

A panel discussion was also held, led by The Moment Group restaurateur and co-

founder Abba Nappa; The Center of International Trade Expositions and Missions executive director Pauline Juan; Dentsu Jayme-Syfu “chairmom” and chief creative officer Merlee Jayme; Evident chief executive and founder Cecile DominguezYujuico; Grrrl Gang Manila co-founder Marla Darwin; and AHA Learning Center executive director Jaton Zulueta.

Entertainment

TUESDAY, ARPIL 23, 2019

C3

nickie.standard@gmail.com

Up and down in the air F OX+ continues to bring exciting and inspiring documentaries for viewers to enjoy. Climb with the world’s bravest free-climber, gather clues about aircraft malfunctions, and get involved with the latest relevant events today. All this and more with documentaries on FOX+.

Free Solo Catch the Oscar and BAFTA award-winning documentary Free Solo on FOX+ this month. This inspiring story recounts the beyond-human feat of professional rock climber Alex Honnold as he attempted a climb that has never been done before in history. His challenge? The famed El Capitan’s 900-meter vertical rock face at Yosemite

The charming Mr. Bables

Halik’s other love team Christian Bables (left) and Hero Angeles playing the roles of Barry and Ken.

ASIDE from the burning flame that Jericho Rosales and Yeng Santos share as lovers Lino and Jackie in Halik, slowly stealing the thunder from them is the pairing of Christian Bables and Hero Angeles who give life to the characters of Barry and Ken. Barry is Lino’s best male pal. Ken, meanwhile, is Jackie’s best fairy friend. Halik’s pool of writers deserves all the commendation for pushing the pink story arc between the two.

Last April 16, after the freak gas incident that happened inside the premises of the Monte Corp edifice, Jackie and Ken were both saved. Jackie had her precious moments with Lino.

And yes oh yes, Barry and Ken shared tender times together, too.

As a matter fact, Barry confessed to Ken how strange and beautiful his newly discovered feelings for his dear gay friend. Kilig overload indeed.

Members of the pink community heaped praise and congratulation for Barry and Ken as if they are a real life couple.

Bables and Angeles were able to pull the scene off because they played for truth.

Bables recollects, in this short interview, when he learns he is part of the Halik cast, “When I was offered this

show and they informed me it’s going to be with Jericho, I immediately said yes. Sabi ko nga, kahit tagahugas ng paa ni Jericho Rosales, wala akong pakialam. Kung mayroon pang mas mabigat na word for idol, that’s Jericho for me. He’s an icon for me. I have massive respect for the craft, and then seeing Echo do the craft in him, iba eh. He was like a growing up idol.

And to be able to work with him, isa sa mga bucket list ko ang na-check-an ko kumbaga.”

He continues, “I feel so blessed working with Echo dahil bukod sa nagkaroon ako ng mahusay na katrabaho, nagkaroon ako ng kaibigan.

When there is something about the industry that I do not understand, it is easy to seek an audience with him and inquire. Also, every time na magkaeksena kami, nararamdaman ko yung puso sa puso. Nararamdaman mo yung puso ng isang actor na passionate.

It feels so good that you are doing a scene with an actor who treats you well and gives so much.”

‘X-Men: Dark Phoenix’ final trailer revealed WITH Jean Grey a.k.a. Phoenix (played

by Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner) out of control in the final trailer reveal of X-Men: Dark Phoenix, her fellow mutants unite to save her from wreaking havoc on earth and to the rest of the X-men force.

“X-Men: Dark Phoenix sees the X-men on a rescue mission in space when Jean was struck by a powerful solar flare and returned to earth unknowingly transformed into the most dangerous lethal weapon. Wrestling with this entity inside her, Jean unleashes her powers in ways she can neither comprehend nor contain.

With Jean spiraling out of control, and hurting the ones she loves most, she begins to unravel the very fabric that

holds the X-Men together. Now, with this family falling apart, they must find a way to unite—not only to save Jean’s soul, but to save our very planet from aliens who wish to weaponize this force and rule the galaxy.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix also stars Michael Fassbender as Magneto, James McAvoy as Professor X, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Alexandra Shipp as Storm, Evan Peters as Quicksilver, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, Andrew Stehlin as Red Lotus, Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler, and Kota Eberhardt as Selene with Jessica Chastain in a mysterious role.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix opens in Philippine cinemas on June 5 from 20th Century Fox.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, April 23, 2019

ACROSS 1 Seaside town 5 Take by force 10 Big, thick piece 14 — vera lotion 15 Astronaut’s base 16 Corn bread 17 Novelist — Uris 18 Graffitist’s supply (hyph.)

20 — voce 22 Cribbage counter 23 Sea eagles 24 Sent a wire 26 AMA members 27 Bargain 29 Trouser lengths 33 Gauzy fabrics 34 Asian mountains 35 Pen brand 36 Vogue rival 37 Hogs’ homes 39 Is, in Madrid 40 That, in Spanish 41 Sonnet 42 Rush 44 Bewilder 46 Moderates 47 Box top 48 Contemporary 49 Fuzzy 52 Bit of sunshine 53 Frame 56 Correction

59 Foal’s father 60 Tune 61 Gamma follower 62 Canada Dry product 63 Shoe preserver 64 Literary work 65 Responsibility DOWN 1 Cronies 2 Margarine 3 Storage space of yore (2 wds.)

4 Octopus arm 5 NBA coach — Unseld 6 Descend a cliff 7 Miscalculated 8 Just for guys 9 Quaker word 10 Meager 11 Kind of chop 12 Boleyn or Baxter 13 Poker stakes 19 Cola brand 21 Tony’s cousin 25 Roped 26 Ground, as teeth 27 Precipitous 28 Heartbeat 29 Seine moorage 30 Forbearance from voting 31 Bishop’s hat

32 Reads hurriedly 34 Target 38 Oaters’ — Ritter 39 Gourmet coffee 41 Carried on a trade 43 Town near Des Moines 45 Take a dive 46 Imported auto 48 Drops in the slot 49 Empower 50 Roman love god

51 Hackman or Wilder 52 Road map nos.

54 Language of Pakistan 55 Soup ingredients 57 Orange or stock ending 58 Roll-call response

Sophie Turner as Jean Grey a.k.a. Phoenix

National Park. And he will achieve this task in a free solo climb. Meaning no support, no climbing gear, and no one there to assist him. Don’t blink unless you miss each inch of the long way in up Free Solo.

Air crash investigation Do you know what a black box is? A black box is a recording device installed in each and every aircraft that can recount data and the moments that happened right before a terrible plane crash.

This month, FOX+ brings viewers inside the cases and investigations surrounding some of the worst and deadly aviation accidents in recent history with the help of the black box. Find out what went wrong and how to make things right as you take part in the 18th season of Aircraft Investigation.

More than shows and more than movies, we bring you informative and award-winning documentaries for you to enjoy. Catch them all this April only on FOX+. Download FOX+ from Google Play Store or the App Store. New subscribers get a 30-day free trial. For more information, visit foxplus.com.

“Every time umaarte siya, nakakalimutan ko ang linya ko.

Kasi I ended up watching him,” he guffaws. “I keep on apologizing during the first few days kasi nga., pag ka-eksena ko siya, fan mode ako.

I remember him saying, ‘Di, bro. tao rin naman akong katulad mo. Thank you for appreciating my craft but more than anything, gusto ko maging magkaibigan tayo.”

And because of what Echo said, Christian immediately felt comfortable.

“He was the one who reached out, he’s giving me this chance, this opportunity he made me not only as a co-worker but a friend.”

Christian carries on, “I am thankful most of all to God for this blessing.

It has helped me appreciate my craft because I am surrounded by actors who lead by example. I want to believe that I was able to give life to Barry as an artist.”

His reaction to the many fans who are kilig with the Barry and Ken team up, “I am grateful to all of you who supported Halik and of course, the pairing of Barry and Ken. Hero and I appreciate all your good comments. I hope we’re able to give a smile on your faces.”

Halik is now on its last week in ABSCBN’s primetime television fare.

Make movie night an affair to remember WHEN you’re on the go and working hard, sometimes a quiet night in with your favorite movie or series is just the perfect recharge you need to remind yourself that all that work is so worth it.

If you’re looking to unwind after a long day or make a weekend out of binge-watching, Yellow Cab has the perfect bundle to pair with your favorite movie or TV series. This month, Yellow Cab offers individuals hungry for a day in with their screens its Movie Night promo, headlined by its all-new Four Seasons Bundle and iflix.

Spending your day in with some action, a thriller, a fantasy, or a superhero caper? Get the power you need with the Four Seasons All Meat Bundle, which includes a 14-inch Four Seasons All Meat pizza, a large Chicken Alfredo Pasta, a large Garlic Parmesan Chicken Poppers, and a 1.75L bottle of Mountain Dew. Looking for lighter fare, like a romcom, a sitcom, or a funny K-drama?

Yellow Cab also has a Four Seasons No Meat Bundle, with a 14-inch Four Seasons No Meat pizza, a large Pesto Pasta, a large Shrimp Aglio Olio Pasta, and a 1.75L bottle of Mountain Dew. For only P1,299, you can get some of Yellow Cab’s bestsellers along with a one-month unlimited access to iflixVIP. “At Yellow Cab, we don’t just want to fuel your hunger, we also want to fuel your downtime. We believe that rest and relaxation are just as important to your hustle as seeking out new experiences and chasing your goals,” said Charlene Sapina, Marketing Operations Head of Yellow Cab Pizza Co. Enjoy this delivery exclusive offer with your friends and family until April 30. For more information, check out www.yellowcabpizza.com.

Entertainment

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

C4

TUESDAY, ARPIL 23, 2019

‘Studio 7: Musikalye’receives warm welcome in Dagupan GMA Network’s musical variety show Studio 7 successfully took its live concert “Musikalye” to the City of Dagupan via Kapuso Concerts presents Studio 7: Musikalye in Dagupan as part of the city’s annual Bangus Festival celebration.

Fans flocked to the CSI Dagupan Mall Grounds on April 6, to join the whole Studio 7 squad in the jam-packed Kapuso Concert filled with the program’s unique brand of “kantahan, sayawan, at kasiyahan.”

Rayver Cruz, Gabbi Garcia, Kyline Alcantara, Migo Adecer, Kate Valdez, and Ken Chan kicked off the show with a colorful and energetic dance number together with the Cluster 1 Bangus Festival Dancers.

A grand showdown among Julie Anne San Jose, Aicelle Santos, Golden Canedo, Mirriam Manalo, Christian Bautista, Mark Bautista, Jong Madaliday, and Garrett Bolden mesmerized the crowd when they sang a number of vocally challenging hits.

Afterwards, Rayver, Gabbi, and Sanya Lopez heat up the dance floor with their fiery performance; while Christian, Mark, and Ken, together with the band The Juans, serenaded the audience through their swoon-worthy songs.

One of the highlights of the night was Studio 7’s first-ever Musical Dating Game with the Kapusong Dagupeños, which filled the venue with hearty cheers and laughter.

Christian enjoyed the successful string of shows they had in North Luzon, “The experience brought us artists and staff closer to each other as a team. More importantly, it brought Studio 7 to our lovely Kapusos in the north.”

Meanwhile, Julie Anne expressed her gratitude for the Dagupeños’ immense support, “We are so happy that we’re able to entertain our Kapuso fans in Dagupan. We know na sobrang init that day but they still went out and watched us.”

Mark, in turn, related, “The Kapuso Concert was really special because it was our last stop sa road tour namin sa Luzon at first time din ng buong cast and crew ng Studio 7 na magsama-sama for two days out of town.”

Aicelle feels grateful for the love and energy that the audience gave her during their concert, “Maraming salamat po sa ating mga Kapusong Dagupeño. Kasing init ng tag-init ang pagtanggap nila sa amin. We had fun performing for them.”

Truly, the night turned out to be one of the most unforgettable music “tambayan experience” for the Kapusong Dagupeños.

The Kapuso Concerts is a project of GMA Regional TV, in synergy with GMA Entertainment Group and GMA Pinoy TV. The three-part Kapuso Concerts presents Studio 7: Musikalye in Dagupan aired on April 21, the second and third parts air on April 28 and May 12, 7:30 p.m., on GMA Network.

A fiery performance from Gabbi Garcia, Rayver Cruz and Sanya Lopez

VERY WANG NICKIE WANG

T

HE primetime drama, Halik, is down to its last episodes, which is why viewers can expect more intense confrontations and clapbacks among the main characters Lino (Jericho Rosales), Jade (Yam Concepcion), Jacky (Yen Santos), and Ace (Sam Milby) as they face their toughest battle yet to claim their desired love.

'Halik' lead stars Sam Milby, Yam Concepcion, Yen Santos, and Jericho Rosales pose for the cameras during the series' grand finale press conference.

Is Jericho kissing the small screen

While the top rating TV series is bidding television goodbye, members of the press present at the finale media conference of Halik were startled when Jericho said that he no longer wants to do any TV series anymore.

“I’ve been working for soap operas or TV shows for 23 years now. I don’t want to do soaps anymore, and it is not a problem for me,” the seasoned actor started.

“Do I want to stop TV? No. It’s time for me to challenge myself to create something new for myself. Hopefully, it works. I have to take a break, I have to do movies then come up with another TV show of a different kind.

GOODBYE? Ria Atayde, Christian Bables, Chai Fonacier, Hero Angeles, and Nina Dolino

JC Alcantara, Jane De Leon, and Gab Lagman

Will I say goodbye to the fans? No. Will I say goodbye to the one I love the most, acting? No,” he immediately clarified.

Meanwhile, viewers are in for more infuriating scenes as Jade and Ace put all their schemes to work to escape from the authorities and take baby CJ away from Lino. But, Lino will do everything to reunite with his son and make sure his enemies will rot in jail while having Jacky by his side, who vows to support him until the end.

But just as they thought things could not get any worse, Jade and Jacky’s lives will be put in danger, which will cause a major shift in Lino’s fight for justice.

Despite the possibility of lives being lost with his vicious tactics, Ace will continue with his plans of revenge against Lino whom he thinks made his life miserable.

Popular show Undeniably one of the mosttalked-about series in 2018 and 2019, Halik has built a strong fan base that made it a top-trending topic almost every night. It is also a favorite subject among Facebook pages and memes

with its “nakaka-gigil” scenes that are popular among netizens.

The series also shared valuable lessons to audiences nationwide. Lino impressed viewers with his dedication in doing what is right and just, even if it would mean giving up his own happiness.

Jacky, on the other hand, was noted for her bravery as she proved that women are also capable of defending themselves against powerful men.

Despite her bad reputation, Jade is a doting mother to her child and is willing to sacrifice even her own life just to make sure her baby is safe.

“Actually, ang sarap ng feeling na nagagalit sila sa akin yung viewers. It means I’m effective in doing my job.

But I must admit that at first, nasasaktan ako, kasi tao rin lang naman ako.

But I realized hindi naman sila sa’kin nagagalit kundi kay Jade. I am just playing a character and, sa totoo lang, I like her, kasi she’s just human. I can relate with her insecurities and flaws. In the end, she’s really a fighter and I can accept her victories and defeats,” Yam said of her character, which is one of the

most talked about TV series characters on the internet today.

Just like Yam’s character, the series is also a hit on digital platforms. On iWant for instance, it remained as the most-watched show on the ABS-CBN streaming service last March. It has also conquered the African territory now that it reached Tanzania and has been airing since February. *** ER Ejercito detests fake news Actor and former Laguna governor Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito may still run even after the Sandiganbayan’s Fourth Division convicted him of graft in connection with a supposed insurance deal.

In a recent press conference, Ejercito’s lawyer, Larry Gadon, said that the actorturned-politician can run for governor of Laguna this 2019.

“He is not disqualified to run because the decision of the Sandiganbayan is not final and executory,” Gadon told the press.

Meanwhile, embattled Ejercito described his conviction as “political

Actor-turned-politician ER Ejercito

harassment” and “an old case.”

“My opponents are now using this to create a public impression that I am disqualified, that I am already in jail,” said Ejercito. “It’s fake news.”

Bangtan Boys make another chart history K-POP sensation BTS scored another record on Friday, becoming the first Korean act to top Britain’s album chart.

The floppy-haired seven-piece’s latest album Map of the soul: Persona went straight in at number one, days after their single “Boy With Luv” broke the YouTube record for the most views in 24 hours with 74.6 million hits.

The track is also the band’s first ever British Top 15 single, charting at number 13 on Friday.

The band, known for their

boyish good looks and meticulously choreographed dance moves, will play two sold out nights at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium, on June 1 and 2.

Earlier this year, the septet, whose name is short for Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates as Bulletproof Boy Scouts, became the first K-pop band to top the US album charts.

Some 800,000 tourists were believed to have chosen South Korea as their destination last year because of BTS— more than seven percent of the total visitors to the country. AFP

Korean pop group BTS broke a YouTube record for the most views in 24 hours with 74.6 million hits for its new song, 'Boy with Luv.'