Manila Standard - 2019 June 22 - Saturday

BARRED, DEPORTED

HK denies entry to ex-foreign affairs chief amid issues vs China

By Vito Barcelo, Nat Mariano and Macon Ramos-Araneta

F

ORMER Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, a critic of Beijing’s claims to the disputed South China Sea, was denied entry to Hong Kong on Friday and deported, his lawyer said.

Del Rosario was behind two prominent initiatives against China, including a 2013 case at an international arbitral tribunal which eventually ruled against Beijing’s claim over most of the resource-rich waterway.

His deportation comes as anger is still bubbling in Hong Kong over a proposed bill

that would have allowed extraditions to the mainland, raising fears of people being ensnared in China’s opaque court system.

Del Rosario said he flew to Hong Kong early Friday using a Philippine diplomatic passport but was taken to an immigration holding area on arrival, where he remained for nearly three and a half hours.

‘‘

Mr. Del Rosario may have misused a diplomatic passport in his travel to HK. —Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo Del Rosario’s lawyer Anne Marie Corominas subsequently said: “He’s been excluded and deported.”

She said he was already aboard a plane back to the Philippines and added that authorities had given no reason for denying him entry.

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VOL. XXXIII • NO. 128 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Palace, DFA clash over joint probe of boat ramming

By Rey E. Requejo THE Department of Foreign Affairs and Malacañang on Friday clashed on whether the Philippines should investigate the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat

that was hit by a Chinese vessel near the Recto Bank separately from China.

On his Twitter account, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said: “There will be no joint investigation. China and Philippines will con-

duct their respective investigations.”

“DFA will act on my view and no one else’s. I talked to Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea; Palace supports me,” Locsin said.

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DENIED, DEPORTED. Former Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, using a Philippine diplomatic passport, a critic of China’s claims to the disputed South China Sea and behind two key initiatives against Beijing including a 2013 case before the International Arbitral Tribunal, is deported after being denied entry to Hong Kong Friday.

Explain water cutoff, suppliers told

By Rio N. Araja THE Manila Water Co. Inc. and Maynilad Water Services Inc. have a lot of explaining to do for their unannounced water service interruptions in several parts in the National Capital Region.

In an interview over Dobol B sa News TV, Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System chief regulator Patrick Ty

said MWSS wrote the two water companies asking them to explain why they failed to follow the schedule for water service interruptions.

He said the Regulatory Office is studying if Manila Water and Maynilad could be sanctioned.

“We are studying what to do with Next page

TURNING THE TABLES. Members of the militant Tindig Pilipinas stage Friday a protest rally and burn (inset) a Chinese flag in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs, calling on the Duterte administration to stand up for Filipinos, instead of interpreting the Reed Bank incident against the accounts of the fisherfolk. Lino Santos

Rody to harp on PH as investment haven

Sara wants ML lifted in Davao prior Dec. sked

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to meet with Thai businessmen to present the Philippines as a “good investment destination” during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Bangkok.

This as ASEAN leaders are eager to sign a sweeping China-led trade pact by the end of this year, Thailand’s prime minister said Friday, with further talks expected at a Bangkok summit on the world’s biggest commercial deal that is worth

DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte wants her father, President Rodrigo Duterte, to lift martial law in her city before it is lifted in the whole of Mindanao in December.

She first bared her plan in her speech at the Fifth Davao Investment Conference (Icon) in Davao City on Thursday, saying she made the decision after her discussions with ambassadors and officials of other countries who attended the event.

hundreds of billions of dollars.

According to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Duterte will be talking to members and leaders of the federation of Thai industries, business chambers, as well as private companies who are in banking, food manufacturing, agriculture, agribusiness, and real estate.

“It will be an open discussion that will basically allow the President to present the Philippines Next page

Lacson: More PhilHealth irregularities

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

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GOOD GOING. House Speaker candidate and Leyte 1st District Rep.elect Martin Romualdez congratulates 1st District of Davao City Rep.-elect Paolo Duterte during the inaugural ceremony of the newly elected officials of Davao, led by newly elected Mayor Sara Duterte (inset) at the plenary of the Sangguniang Panglunsod in Davao City. Ver Noveno

SENATOR Panfilo Lacson said Friday more irregularities in the operations of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. would be unearthed in the coming days, as he had received new information on how its funds had been wasted.

Capiz hosts Asia’s biggest church bell AS THEY joined the nationwide earthquake drill on Thursday, residents of Panay town in Capiz were reminded of one very big warning device—the bell at the Sta. Monica Church.

Touted as the biggest church bell in Asia and the third biggest in the world, the Sta. Monica carillon Next page

Rock-eating worm found in Bohol YOU’D think an animal that pulverizes rock must be a hardy creature, but in a twist of evolution only Mother Nature can fashion, it is a soft, plump creature that chows down on rock and poops out the remains as sand, the website IFLScience. com reported.

The shipworm was found in the low banks of the Abatan River, in eastern Bohol. The Next page

“When we hear of things like that, it is revolting for us because PhilHealth’s funds are being drained,” Lacson said.

This developed as Health Secretary Francisco Duque III is facing a plunder Next page

Locals join world skateboard day SKATEBOARDERS gathered in Manila and filled the streets of the big city on Friday as they marked Go Skateboarding Day, celebrated worldwide on June 21.

The event aims to bring environmental awareness and also calls for public skate parks and spaces for skaters to practice and play.

Go Skateboarding Day is an annual Next page

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SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

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Ressa trial for cyber libel to proceed at RTC in July THE trial of Rappler CEO and executive editor Maria Ressa for cyber libel will proceed in July at the Manila Regional Trial Court.

Manila RTC Branch 46 had scheduled the first day of trial proper on July 23, Ressa’s lawyer Ted Te said on Friday after a pre-trial hearing at the court.

Ressa and her co-accused, Rappler’s former researcher-writer Reynaldo Santos Jr., had previously held a mediation meeting with the complainant Wilfredo Keng, but no settlement was reached, Te said.

“The mediation was an attempt to see if there can be a settlement to the possible civil liability,” Te said.

“Because the criminal case cannot be amicably settled, there was no settlement reached, the usual procedure is to defer it back to the trial court.”

The pre-trial on Friday identified the witnesses and marked documents. Keng, who will be one of the prosecution witnesses, has not appeared in a single court hearing since it started.

Te had previously indicated possible plans of taking the case to the Supreme Court.

The legal questions that could be challenged before the high court are the prosecution’s theory of continuing publication and the prescription period for cyber libel.

The Justice department had extended what was only a one-year prescription period for ordinary libel to 12 years for cyber libel.

Capiz...

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hangs from the church’s five-story belfry, and its clarion ring could be heard in towns kilometers away.

A huge antique bell surrounded by eight smaller bells, the big ringer is 7 feet in diameter, is 5 feet tall, and weighs 10.4 tons.

Local lore says it was cast from 76 sacks of coins believed to have been contributed by the citizens of the town in 1878.

The inscription on the bell reads: “I am the voice of God which will echo and praise from the beginning until the end of this town of Pan-ay, so that the faithful of Jesus Christ will come to this house of God.” Panay’s “dakong lingganay”―as locals call it―has emerged in importance anew as the government has staged quarterly disaster drills to prepare locals in the event of the so-called “Big One” earthquake that may strike the country anytime.

Last August, Panay hosted the earthquake drill for Region 6 (Western Visayas), where over 12,000 volunteers participated, according to the Office of Civil Defense in the region.

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holiday created by the International Association of Skateboard Companies to promote skateboarding. It was started in California in 2004 by Don Brown, and anyone who owns a skateboard has to participate.

The IASC sought to make skateboarding more accessible to the world through various events held in major cities around the world.

In 2006, more than 350 events took place in 32 countries around the world, and, the following year, the IASC received Special Congressional Recognition from US Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez for its work in promoting the sport of skateboarding and encouraging young people to get outside and practice the sport.

“On June 21 skateboarders around the globe will celebrate the pure exhilaration, creativity, and spirit of one of the most infuential activities in the world by blowing off all other obligations to go skateboarding,” industry magazine TransWorld Skateboarding said. Jimbo Gulle

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river winds through the towns of Catigbian, Antequera, Balilihan, and Maribojoc to its mouth at Cortes.

Scientists were first tipped off to the species (Lithoredo abatanica) by locals who told tales of a creature called “antingaw” that eats rock and is given to young mothers to induce lactation.

The researchers investigated the scene with a hammer and chisel in hand and “splashed around in the river,” much to the bemusement of the locals, IFLScience reported.

They discovered that these mollusks do indeed munch their way through limestone bedrock, burrowing thick tunnels with their pudgy bodies.

“Cracking open the rock and seeing these plump little worms flop out was really, really cool,” said lead author Reuben Shipway, a postdoctoral researcher at Northeastern University, to IFLScience.

“We knew we had hit shipworm gold.”

House on ‘overdrive’ under Arroyo T

By Maricel V. Cruz

HE House of Representatives went on overdrive during the incumbency of Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

House records indicate that during the 54 session days that Arroyo was the Speaker, the chamber passed a total 2,505 measures or an average of 46 measures per session day.

In her valedictory speech before the House adjourned sine die last June 4, Arroyo said that early on, she set the principal objective of the House to push for the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte, especially the passage of priority bills that were highlighted in his 2018 State of the

Nation Address. She said many other priority bills of the President, including those not in his 2018 SONA, were also passed by the House.

She also lauded the House Members for their tireless work and dedication which resulted in what she called genuine milestones that will benefit Filipinos now and in the future.

Based on the most recent report of the House Committee on Rules, from the open-

Barred...

day, where he was met by Morales.

Aquino’s elected successor President Rodrigo Duterte has since largely set aside the South China Sea ruling to court Chinese trade and investments.

Friday’s incident comes as the Duterte government seeks to calm public outrage over the June 9 sinking of a Filipino fishing boat by a Chinese vessel in an area of the South China Sea claimed by both countries.

Duterte has called the incident “just a collision of boats” and reiterated his country does not want war with China.

Although Hong Kong was returned from British to Chinese rule in 1997, it is still administered separately under an arrangement known as “One country, two systems.”

But activists have been alarmed in recent years by what they feel is a tighter grip by Beijing, though Hong Kong still retains freedoms unseen on the mainland.

The Palace on Friday questioned Del Rosario’s motives for going to Hong Kong.

“Why did he even go there? That’s my question to him. Was this deliberate on his part, so that he would have the same situation where he could use it as a forum for his advocacy?” Panelo told CNN Philippines.

“If I were Del Rosario, I would not have gone to Hong Kong because I’m sure I would be going through the same ordeal the former Ombudsman did,” he added.

Panelo said a diplomatic passport was irrelevant as long as other countries deem its holder to be a risk to their security.

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros deplored Hong Kong’s treatment of Del Rosario, calling it a clear case of harassment and retaliation.

Another minority bloc member, Senator Francis Pangilinan, called on the Department of Foreign Affairs to ensure the safety of Del Rosario while in Hong Kong.

“We need our government acting decisively to protect our citizens rather than kowtow to a foreign power that harasses, intimidates and bullies our very own. We call on our government to protect and defend our citizens and to end its complicity and collaboration with China’s highhandedness,” Pangilinan said.

Senator Richard J. Gordon slammed Hong Kong authorities for acting with disrespect and exhibiting a lack of good judgment.

Senator Panfilo Lacson, on the other hand, said the denial of entry was the right of the host country.

“Having said that, it is the obligation of our embassies or consulates... to extend all kinds of assistance, legal and humanitarian, even medical to any Filipino,” said Lacson.

Akbayan Party-list Rep. Tom Villarin on Friday denounced Hong Kong’s treatment of Del Rosario.

He said the incident “only shows how China continues to bully Filipinos from the small fishermen to our former top diplomat.”

Villarin added: “China is emboldened because the Duterte government’s policy of subservience is tantamount to surrender of our sovereignty. It’s high time Filipinos stand up and demand a stop to this bullying and for government to protect Filipinos.”

“It is an insult and an affront to our dignity as a nation, as a member in good standing of the international community of nations,” he said. With Maricel V. Cruz and AFP

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Hong Kong immigration officials had no immediate statement on the deportation but routinely decline to comment on individual cases.

Del Rosario may have “misused” his diplomatic passport for his Hong Kong trip, Malacañang said Friday.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo raised this possibility since the former top diplomat’s trip was not sanctioned by the Philippine government.

“Mr. Del Rosario may have misused a diplomatic passport in his travel to Hong Kong, a trip which is private in nature and is in no way related to government or foreign service,” Panelo said in a statement.

“As the country’s former Chief Diplomat, Mr. Del Rosario should have known or have been alerted to the proper use of diplomatic passports and other travel documents.”

Antonio Morales, the Philippine Consul General in Hong Kong, told the ANC news channel immigration authorities did not give a clear reason or “elucidation” as to why Del Rosario was denied entry.

The Philippine consulate was just given “immigration regulations” for an explanation, Morales said.

“I asked the immigration authorities there what was the reason for the delay in the processing of the entry, and I was told that it is for some immigration reasons. And so I contacted the head of the immigration department of the airport, and I was told the matter was being processed,” he said.

“Aside from the immigration reason, there was no other reason given,” Morales added.

Former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said Hong Kong’s denial of entry to Del Rosario was a “retaliatory move.”

“It’s probably the same reason as that behind my denial of entry to Hong Kong, which had to do with the filing of communication at the Office of the Prosecutor in the ICC,” she told ABS-CBN News.

Earlier, del Rosario had told ABS-CBN that he was given “no rational explanation” for his detention.

In March, Del Rosario filed a complaint against Chinese leader Xi Jinping at the International Criminal Court, alleging “crimes against humanity” over the supposed environmental fallout of Beijing’s activities in the disputed waters.

Hong Kong immigration authorities briefly held another critic of China, former Supreme Court justice and special antigraft prosecutor Conchita Carpio Morales on May 21 when she made a private visit to the territory with her family.

Morales, who was also a party in the complaint filed by Del Rosario at the ICC, was released hours later, but chose to return to Manila instead.

Del Rosario said he had been in Hong Kong to attend a board and shareholders’ meeting of a private company, and had asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to inform the territory’s authorities about his trip.

The former foreign secretary, who served under President Benigno Aquino, accused airport immigration authorities of acting “in violation of the Vienna Convention” on diplomatic privileges.

He arrived in Manila at about 5 p.m. Fri-

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them. They already knew about their water interruption, but why did they not announce it earlier?” he asked.

Under the present system, the MWSS could impose a fine on a water firm only if the unannounced interruption is persistent for 30 days.

According to Ty, Manila Water and Maynilad blamed the National Water Resources Board for their water service interruptions.

The water companies said they were forced to implement water service interruptions due to the decline in the water elevation of Angat Dam in Bulacan.

Ty, however, said the companies’ defense was “unacceptable.”

“They already knew Angat Dam’s level would go down. They knew there would be a reduction so they should have adopted contingency measures,” he said.

Jeric Sevilla, Manila Water Corporate Communications head and spokesperson, said their rotational service interruptions

were the offshoot of the NWRB reduction from 46 cubic meters per second to 40 cubic meters per second.

“This means longer water interruptions from eight to 12 hours to 12 to 17 hours daily during night time. This is because Angat Dam level continues to go down and could possibly fall below the critical level of 160 meters,” he added.

Jennifer Rufo, Maynilad Corporate Communications head, said the firm would try to provide accurate interruption schedules.

The NWRB expects the water situation at the Angat Dam reservoir to hit the critical level of 160 meters on Saturday, June 22.

The party-list group Bayan Muna on Friday threatened another complaint against Manila Water Co. Inc. and said it would seek more rebates as a result of the continuing service interruptions.

The House of Representatives said it will hold a meeting of the Congressional Oversight Committee to discuss the possible creation of the Department of Water to put an end to the water crisis.

ing of the Third Regular Session on July 23, 2018 until the sine die adjournment last June 4, 2019, of the 2,505 measures processed, the House approved a total of 909 measures, 250 of which became laws, 44 were transmitted to President Duterte for approval, 15 were ratified bicam reports, 33 were passed by the Senate without amendments, 10 were adopted Senate version while 59 were concurred with Senate amendments.

Moreover, the House substituted/consolidated 1,565 measures, had 25 measures in the Calendar of Business, and referred six resolutions on inquiries.

Of the 250 new laws, 82 were national bills, 166 local bills and two Joint Resolutions.

Among the most recently-enacted are: Republic Act 11321 “An Act Institutionalizing the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino

Program (4Ps)”, based on House Bill 7773; RA 11291 “An Act Providing for A Magna Carta of the Poor”, based on HB 5811; RA 11285 “Energy Efficiency and Conservation Act”, based on HB 8629; RA 11279 “An Act Transferring the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) and the National Police Training Institute (NPTI) from the Philippine Public Safety College (PPSC) to the PNP”, based on HB 8628; RA 11262 “Extending The Period For The Grant Of Incentives To Tourism Enterprise Zones And Registered Tourism Enterprises”, based on HB 8861; RA 11261 “First Time Jobseekers Assistance Act”, based on HB 172; RA 11241 “Philippine Occupational Therapy Act”, based on HB 8528; and RA 11235 “Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act”, based on HBN 8419.

Palace: Garcia's death 'heartbreaking'

By Nat Mariano THE death of veteran actor Eddie Garcia is a “heartbreaking loss” to the entertainment industry, as the showbiz legend’s sevendecade acting career has left an “indelible mark” on the Filipinos’ hearts, the Palace said Friday.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Palace’s extends its “deep condolences to the family, friends, colleagues, fans and loved ones of the screen icon.”

He said Garcia, popularly known as “Manoy,” left an indelible mark for his nearly seven years of hard work in the entertainment scene.

He cited Garcia’s “immense and nonpareil contributions” as the only Filipino inducted in three categories in the FAMAS Hall of Fame as Best Actor, Best Support-

ing Actor and Best Director.

“It is a heartbreaking loss for the entertainment industry, which he dearly loved.

Manoy died with his boots on, in a manner of speaking, doing what he loved most: acting,” Panelo said.

“As we pay tribute and give honor to his lifetime work, we pray to the Almighty to grant him eternal repose, and that perpetual light may shine upon him.”

Two weeks ago, Garcia was shooting a GMA Network teleserye, “Rosang Agimat,” when he accidentally injured himself while doing a scene on the set, suffering a neck cervical fracture.

He died on Thursday afternoon after being in a coma for 12 days. He was 90.

Garcia, a multi-awarded actor, film director, and producer, appeared in more than 600 films and television shows within his 70 years of showbiz experience.

Palace...

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However, despite Locsin’s statement, the Palace said President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed a joint investigation with China.

“The President welcomes a joint investigation and an early resolution of the case. We will await a formal communication from the Chinese embassy,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a message to reporters on Thursday night.

On Friday, Duterte said the incident was not an attack on the country’s sovereignty, adding there was no need to raise a “convoluted argument” over the allision.

In a speech during the oath-taking of his youngest son, Davao City Vice Mayor-elect Sebastian Duterte, the Chief Executive said he would discuss “lengthily” with other Southeast Asian leaders China’s maritime claim over the South China Sea during the ASEAN Summit in Thailand.

Even as he stressed that “China is a friend,” Duterte said he would ask other Southeast Asian leaders if it is “correct” for the Asian giant to expansively claim ownership of the resource-filled waterway.

“It is not a matter of 9-dash line. It’s simple. Can you claim an ocean as your own? Tell me now because I will also claim mine,” Duterte said.

“I said, is it correct for China to declare ownership of an ocean? I am the moderator for China and ASEAN, but I’m posing this question. Can you claim ownership of an ocean?” he added.

“China says if it’s their fault, they will pay,” the President added in the same speech, reiterating the Palace’s stance to conduct an investigation and wait for its conclusion.

Locsin’s statement followed a suggestion from Beijing—and some Cabinet members—that both countries investigate the June 9 incident in the West Philippine Sea jointly.

The statement seemed to be a repudiation of Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra’s proposal that both countries investigate the incident jointly.

as a very good investment destination,” he said in a press conference.

Lopez said some of these investment companies are already operating in the Philippines.

“So we are basically asking them to be more active and increase their exposure and their investments,” he said.

Lopez said Duterte will guarantee the protection of Thai investments.

The President is also expected to present credit rating, reforms being undertaken with respect to investments, banks, financial reforms, and liberalization of foreign investment, he said.

Beijing is seeking to shape the rules of free trade across the Asia-Pacific, as America retreats from multilateral deals under US President Donald Trump.

The China-crafted Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership includes all 10 economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who are meeting this weekend in the Thai capital.

But it also sweeps in China’s main regional rival India, as well Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand, covering half the world’s population and around 40 percent of its trade.

Squabbles with India over access to its giant consumer market–as well as Australia and New Zealand over the lack of “high quality” labor and environmental standards--have undercut talks in recent months.

Analysts say these competing priorities mean signing the deal any time soon may be unlikely.

But ASEAN, hosted this year by Thailand, is determined to hustle the pact through as tit-for-tat tariffs between the US and China tariff darken the outlook for global free trade. AFP with PNA

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“Earlier, I had a productive chat with the honorable ambassadors and we discussed the situation of martial law in Mindanao and Davao City,” Sara said.

She said she would make the request formal by asking the Sangguniang Panlungsod to pass a resolution to that effect.

Among those who attended Icon were European Union Ambassador Franz Jessen, Romanian Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Mihai Sion, Swedish Ambassador Harald Fries, Dutch Ambassador Saskia de Lang and Hungarian Ambassador Jozsef Bencz.

Sara was spotted talking with the ambassadors before to her speech.

Sara said martial law should only be imposed in the areas where the peaceand-order situation remained unstable. In the case of Davao City, she said, “We have a relatively stable peace.”

But she said the city’s peace-and-order situation “became more or less stable with the imposition of martial law.”

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Lacson:...

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complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman, after he was accused of owning a company leasing a building in Dagupan City to PhilHealth, of which he is the ex-oficio chairman.

The complainants―Ariel and Ruby Hedia, Darwin and Merlyn Bataan, Sonia Guerra, Liberty Ganzore, Raul and Elloly Galoso, Raymond Ancheta, Ma. Cecilia Torres, Danilo and Sheryl Bautista, and Nelson and Edna Santos― said Duque violated the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Their consolidated complaint said the Health secretary is a stockholder of the Educational and Medical Development Corp., which owns the building in Dagupan that PhilHealth is using as its regional headquarters.

The company has a paid-up capital of P61,535,000 located at Tapuac District, Dagupan City, Pangasinan, and that Duque owns 13,268 shares of stocks in the firm totaling P13,268,000 subscribed capital.

Duque “practically” owns the same number of shares of stocks in EMDC, the complaint read.

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Registration of voters to resume August 1

By Vito Barcelo and Darwin G. Amojelar VOTER registration will resume on Aug. 1, 2019 and will continue until Sept. 30, 2019, the Commission on Elections said on Friday.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said the poll body would resume biometric voters registration nationwide, as the Comelec will accept applications for new registration, transfer/transfer with reactivation, reactivation, change/correction of entry and inclusion/reinstatement of records in the list of voters.

Jimenez said around 2 million new voters were expected to register during this period.

“Sangguniang Kabataan voters need not register anew upon turning 18; their names will automatically be transferred, from the SK List of Voters to the regular List of Voters,” he said.

Comelec registration will be held from Monday to Saturday, including holidays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

He called on would-be registrants to proceed to the Comelec offices immediately as soon as the voters registration opens and not wait for the deadline since it would only be a two -month period.

Would-be registrants should bring a photo copy of student ID, employee ID, Postal ID, senior citizens ID, Driver’s License, BIR ID, NBI Clearance, Passport, SSS/GSIS ID, IBP ID and PRC ID. A birth certificate is needed for change /correction of entries.

Meanwhile, the Department of Information and Communications Technology has presented its proposal for an alternative automated election system for the 2022 presidential election.

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SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

BuCor flagged by COA for medicines overstock

By Rio N. Araja

T

HE Commission on Audit has flagged the Bureau of Correction for overstocking medicines worth P15.5 million and the poor catering services at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City and Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.

In a 2018 audit report, the commission blamed Bucor’s inadequate planning and poor prioritization to the procurement of drugs and medicines beyond the patients’ actual needs.

“Apparently, actual demand of patients were not considered in the procurement of drugs and medicines, resulting in excess procurement in the aggregate amount of P15,501,612.25. This is a manifestation of a clear disregard of the actual needs of patients or purchases of the same even without the need/basis to purchase,” the report read.

The procurement of drugs and medicines were classified as high-priority

items or low-priority items based on BuCor’s current inventory and standard safety levels.

An example of the overstocked supply included 99,300 tablets of medicine Verapamil in 2018.

Only a total of 3,450 tablets were issued to inmate-patients for the entire year.

State auditors said the P55.860million procurement of different drugs and medicines between 2017 and 2018 exceeded the three-month requirement of the NBP for the New Bilibid Prison Hospital and Correctional Institute for Women, and Reception and Diagnostic Center.

The agency called the attention in the delays in the public bidding and the process of awarding the contract to suppliers, asking BuCor to conduct a public bidding within a reasonable time and prevent overstocking to ensure its supply could only last for two months.

“We recommended that management undertake adequate planning and effective prioritization in its procurement and keep track of the movement of drugs and medicines to ensure safety stock levels and avoid excessive purchases,” it said.

Meanwhile, two of the three caterers of the BuCor central office—Aurora F. Sumulong Eatery and V&J Trading—were not able to comply with the requirements in its food subsistence agreement in 2018 for the inmates of both of the jail facilities.

According to COA, the two caterers lacked the food subsistence agreement requirements such as a sanitary permit, the employment of a food compliance officer, health certificate of food handlers and a pest treatment certification.

Some of the recommendations of COA were the evaluation of the performance of the two companies.

POEA says Japan needs 300 nurses, caregivers HUNDREDS of Filipino nurses, caregivers and medical workers can learn Japanese language for free and have the chance to be employed in Japan, according to a Japanese union that employs Filipino workers in Japan.

The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said Japan needed more than 300 Filipino nurses and caregivers with salary ranging from P100,000 to P200,000 a month.

The Cooperative Union Business Supply Aichi, a Japanese union that accepts and employs Filipino workers in Japan, in cooperation with Pro-Tech Skills Development Center Corporation, has announced the conduct of free seminars on Japanese caregiving at Pro-

Tech’s training facilities in Makati City from June 19 to 26.

PTSDCC is one of the country’s training centers accredited by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to train Filipinos for prospective caregiving jobs in Japan.

According to Kawamichi Nobuaki, CUBSA president, the training-seminar was the first of its kind in the Philippines and is aimed to increase the awareness and understanding of Filipino care workers and nurses on the modern practices and standards of Japanese caregiving so that the Filipino may become more equipped and prepared for employment in Japan.

“The free training-seminar will be on a first-come, first-served basis and is open to Filipino nurses and caregivers who would like to work in the Japanese caregiving sector. We will conduct the training-seminar for eight hours every day for seven days,” Kawamichi said.

Jose Lorenzo Escueta Beech, ProTech’s president, said the Japanese partners, specifically, the CUBSA planned to conduct training-seminars around the country in the in cooperation with other high-quality, TESDA accredited Philippine training institutions.

“CUBSA has successfully help employed Filipino careworkers in various nursing homes in Japan,” he said. Vito Barcelo

PH retains highest anti-TIP ranking THE Philippines has retained its Tier 1 ranking in the 2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report of the United States, signaling Washington’s continued recognition of Manila’s anti-TIP efforts for four consecutive years.

“The Government of the Philippines fully meets the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts during the reporting period, therefore the Philippines remained on Tier 1,” the 2019 TIP report said.

Washington attributed Manila’s retained ranking to its “robust efforts” to assist victims overseas and implementation of prosecution procedures that reduce the potential for further harm to child sex trafficking victims.

It recognized the Department of Foreign Affairs and the country’s social welfare and labor attaches for assisting 2,591 potential Filipino trafficking victims in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe, compared to the 1,476 potential victims in the preceding reporting period.

The report also acknowledged the Commission of Filipinos Overseas’ assistance to nine possible victims and response to 3,853 calls for help.

On prevention, it noted the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration’s probe into 278 cases of alleged illegal recruitment and recommendation of 123 cases for filing in the courts.

During the reporting period, Washington cited at least 11 convictions compared with eight convictions in 2017. PNA

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC The general public is warned not to be misled by fraudulent and unauthorized documents which purportedly show that certain individuals have been authorized by HUANG HSIANG DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION (“HHDC”) to sell or mortgage the parcels of land located in the City of Manila covered by Transfer Certificates of Title (“TCT”) Nos. 208479, 208480, 208481 and 208482 registered in HHDC’s name (the “Subject Properties”).

HHDC has discovered a purported Board Resolution, Secretary’s Certificate, and Special Power of Attorney stating that the Subject Properties are allegedly for sale or mortgage and that certain individuals have allegedly been authorized by HHDC to transact for this purpose.

Please be advised that HHDC is not selling or mortgaging the Subject Properties, and no person has been authorized to sell or mortgage the Subject Properties. The above-mentioned documents are all fictitious, unauthorized, void and do not bind HHDC. HHDC has written the Registry of Deeds for the City of Manila to make it clear that HHDC is not selling or mortgaging the Subject Properties, that no person has been authorized to sell or mortgage the same, and to request it to refrain from performing any act pursuant to the fictitious and unauthorized documents.

Despite HHDC’s previous clarifications which have clearly and repeatedly indicated that HHDC is not selling or mortgaging the Subject Properties in the Notice to the Public which were published in Philippine Star and Philippine Daily Inquirer on 3, 10 and 17 March 2019, we regret to learn that a certain client of a local law firm may have been misled to believe that HHDC is selling the Subject Properties, when it is not. We hereby advise the public to be prudent in verifying whether the persons representing themselves to be acting on behalf of HHDC are, in fact, duly authorized

by HHDC. HHDC reserves all its rights and remedies, including the filing of the appropriate criminal and administrative cases under the Revised Penal Code and/or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, against private individuals and public officials who will cause undue injury or prejudice to HHDC by causing or attempting to cause any transfer, mortgage or any other transaction in relation to the Subject Properties on the basis of the fraudulent and unauthorized documents.

For any questions or concerns, please contact Attys. Louie T. Ogsimer, Dino Ricardo T. De Los Angeles and/or Sienna A. Flores of Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles at +632-555-9555.

(MS-JUNE 15 & 22, 2019)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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Opinion

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

The blessing of a hundredfold reward THE love of money (and all material things that go with it) is the root of all evil—so the Scripture warns. Surely, the allure of money, together with pride, flesh and power, are the ancient tools of the devil which prove to be the downfall of many. Christ himself cautioned about its dangers when he said, “No one is able to serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and he will love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and he will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and mammon.”

Even the Quran has provisions on usury, contentment, envy, bribery, extrava-

What does the Bible say about money? gance, earning money; these pertain to money matters as they relate to finan financial and spiritual lives. Likewise, Buddhism and Hinduism warn about how attachment to material things distracts us from true enlightenment.

Yet, human nature as it is, frail and weak, many among us still succumb to this perennial temptation despite injunctions by the Holy Books.

We should not be surprised. While the Bible teaches that we have been made in the image and likeness of God; nevertheless it also teaches that we are fallen, marked by original sin.

The transcendence of money is such that across history of human institutions, politics and religion, scandals and all sorts of iniquities have been committed because of greed and avarice for money. In the 16th century, Martin Lu-

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

ther, the foremost Protestant Reformer, protested against the irregularities associated with the sale of indulgences by the Catholic Church. And so the greatest “heresy” at least from the point of view of the Catholic Church, was born. Many Christian Evangelists preach about holiness only to be caught engaged in unholy things concerning money. This is most prevalent among pastors who embrace the prosperity gospel, which emphasizes financial blessing, and physical well-being and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one’s material wealth. Prosperity theology teaches that physical and spiritual realities are seen as one inseparable reality equated with physical health and economic prosperity. “Give and you will be saved” is the mantra of these preachers.

Often, mainstream Catholic evangelists also follow this pastoral practice so that they too adopt this technique of “salvation through donation,” or more like exex tortion, from their followers.

Most recently, as I wrote in my last column, the KAPA Ministry, purportedly a Christian religious organization with 5 million members, pulled off allegedly the biggest investment scam in Philippine history by promising its members Filipinos to make a one-time donation that will supposedly earn 30% of the amount for life. To be a member of Kapa, investors fill out a small form and donate at least P10,000 up to at most P2 million. But according to the Securities and Exchange Commission, this scheme is unsustainable and mathematically impossible. By SEC’s estimate, Kapa will need P15 billion a month to pay 5 million members, who have contributed at least P10,000 each; which can deplete the pooled funds in only three (3) months.

In the Kapa world, one is asked a donation. In exchange, one receives a blessing. Religion and spirituality becomes a transaction about money.

But what does the Bible say about money?

The Book of Proverbs has several

A really long day

U

PON his arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport at around 7:40 a.m. Friday, former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario was held for questioning. He was kept there for six hours and then denied entry.

Talk about a really long day.

Del Rosario was supposed to attend a business meeting but met, instead, the same fate that befell former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales exactly a month before. In May, Morales flew to Hong Kong to take her grandchildren to Disneyland but was held at the same airport. She was deemed a security threat.

It would not be a stretch to conclude that Del Rosario’s holding had something to do with his position on China in general, and a statement he released earlier that morning in particular. The former secretary criticized the proposed joint PH-China investigation into the sinking of a Filipino fishing boat in the West Philippine Sea. "The plan for a joint probe by the Philippines and China is the worst news yet. It redounds to a potential partnership between one party (Philippines who is out to seek the truth) against another party (China, the bully) who is out to suppress it."

“Can we please not insult the intelligence of our people?" he added.

Public opinion has been greatly divided over the way Philippine officials have handled the June 9 incident in Recto Bank. Twenty-two Filipino fishermen were left by the Chinese at sea after their boat sank; it was Vietnamese fishermen who rescued them. The Chinese denied responsibility for the sinking and came up with an excuse for fleeing.

For his part, President Duterte took an inordinate amount of time before commenting on the sinking, claiming he was waiting for all the facts to come in. When he finally spoke, it was to dismiss what happened as a “little maritime accident.” After meeting with administration officials, the Filipino fishermen changed their story to conform to the official narrative.

But Del Rosario is fair game, of course. Earlier this year, he and Morales filed a complaint before the International Criminal Court accusing Chinese President Xi Jinping of crimes against humanity by committing aggression against Filipino fishermen and destroying marine resources in the West Philippine Sea. Del Rosario, who was traveling on a

diplomatic passport, has yet to issue a statement on his detention as of press time. His lawyer, in a television interview, said it was pure harassment and a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

No matter the reasons given, the Chinese authorities’ action on Del Rosario has driven home a single, unequivocal message: “Nobody messes with us and gets away with it.” It is not likely that Del Rosario would back down, but what transpired on Friday was a great inconvenience that no doubt made his life difficult for a day.

In the following days, we are bound to hear numerous explanations and interpretations of why Del Rosario was held in Hong Kong, a Special Administrative Region of China. Woe to those who would accept them as truth, and continue to believe that China remains a dear friend with our best interests at heart. For one, those who single out people who dare challenge them are not called friends. They are called bullies. Second, all countries only champion their own interests.

So if we don’t stand up for our own, then nobody will.

Del Rosario’s grueling day may have ended, but in terms of defending what is rightfully ours and finding the courage to call out unjust acts, Filipinos—both its governors and the governed—have a long way to go.

Turn to A5

Torn between Romualdez and Velasco?

AS RUMORS swirl that President Rodrigo Duterte might make known his choice for the Speakership by next week, sources have revealed that the President’s choice has narrowed down to two and that he is actually torn between the two lawmakers—Leyte Congressman Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and Marinduque Congressman Lord Allan Velasco.

While the latter has reportedly gained the trust of presidential daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte having actively participated in the campaign sorties of Hugpong ng Pagbabago senatorial candidates, political pundits have noted that more than his credentials in governance and legislation, Romualdez may have one more ace that could propel him to the Speakership post. He is a political operator who has proven himself as a trusted ally who can deliver votes for whoever Duterte wants elected in office.

This is exemplified by the case of Senator-elect Christopher “Bong” Go who, everyone knows, is the President’s number one choice in the 2019 senatorial race. Early in the race, nobody gave Go a Chinaman’s chance to win the senatorial race. But contrary to the opposition’s expectation, Go not only won as senator but landed in the top six of the 12-man pack.

In Romualdez’s bailiwicks, Go won big with the 1st District of Leyte giving him the 4th spot with 104,159 votes.

Bong Go also landed 2nd in Leyte province with 327,294 votes; and 3rd in Region 8 with 850,415 votes.

In Velasco’s home province, Bong Go only landed a poor 10th with 35,710 votes. Rep. Cayetano also paled in comparison to Rep. Romualdez, with Bong Go taking the 6th spot in Pateros with 12,163 votes and 4th spot in Taguig with 161,596 votes.

As president of Lakas-CMD, Romualdez also delivered big wins for Go not only in his home province and Eastern Visayas but in other bailiwicks

of the once-mighty ruling party such as Quezon province.

Duterte has proven himself to be a brilliant chess player and a great tactician in political wars. He may eventually choose a Speakership bet who can deliver votes for whoever his anointed successor is in 2022.

As a sportsman, President Duterte knows the value of a wild card. But what is it in sports?

A wild card is a tournament or playoff berth awarded to an individual or team that fails to qualify in the normal way, for example by having a highranking or winning a qualifying stage.

The President might make his choice known as early as next week.

In some events, wild cards are chosen freely by the organizers.

In politics, this may mean a candidate not from your political party but one who can definitely deliver the votes needed to win elections.

Who knows? Ferdinand Martin Romualdez may yet turn out to be Duterte’s wild card. *** What really happened in Recto Bank?

Sources have bared to this writer that at any moment they will be acquiring revealing photos of the Recto Bank incident which could help determine what really transpired—whether the collision was an accident, or whether it was intentional or even staged.

The Chinese have claimed they were being besieged by at least seven to eight Filipino fishing boats which prevented them from rescuing the crew of the Filipino fishing vessel which they claim to have accidentally rammed.

The Filipinos claim otherwise, saying they were abandoned by the Chinese vessel, stayed afloat on water until a Vietnamese boat had to rescue them.

Turn to A5

Religious row rages in atheist Prague

By Jan Marchal PLANS to reerect a Baroque column with a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary in the center of Prague have triggered a religious controversy in the Czech Republic, one of Europe's most atheist countries.

A group of Catholics and Prague history fans hope to erect a replica of the original column—built in the 1650s but torn down in 1918 as a symbol of the Habsburg empire—at its initial site on the city's central Old Town Square.

"The day the column is reerected, we'll know there has been reconciliation," says sculptor Petr Vana, who carved the replica.

In the past, similar plans were already blocked under both Nazi and Communist rule.

In 1989—shortly after the fall of Communism—local Catholics and history enthusiasts set up the "Association for the Renewal of the Marian Column."

Vana told AFP that he had been asked

to select the technology and draw up a budget.

"It was then that I came to understand the immense spiritual depth of the project. For me, it's no ordinary contract," says Vana, who has spent two decades working on it.

The original 15-meter (49-foot) column, erected in the early 1650s, was topped by a sandstone statue of the Virgin Mary by Baroque sculptor Jan Jiri Bendl.

It commemorated Prague's defenders against the protestant Swedish army at the end of the Thirty Years War of 1618-1648.

Cynical monument But in the eyes of ordinary Czechs, the column came to symbolize the enforced re-Catholization by Austria's Habsburg rulers of a country that venerated the religious reformer Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1415.

On Nov. 3, 1918, just days after

Czechoslovakia gained independence from the disintegrating Austro-Hungarian empire, a crowd led by anarchist Franta Sauer tore down the column, shouting "Far from Vienna, far from Rome!"

Many Czechs turned their backs on the Catholic Church at that time, and many more did so during the Communist regime of 1948-1989, which depicted the Church as the enemy of the people.

Believers are now a minority in the EU member state of 10.6-million people, where 8.6-million people identified as non-believers or refused to fill in the box marked "religion" in a 2011 census.

"The column was a symbol of religious intolerance," said one opponent of the project, Jan Vano, during a recent meeting on the Old Town Square.

Zdenek Zacpal, a translator, described the monument as "cynical" because it was erected not far from the spot where 27 leaders of a protestant Turn to A5

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Opinion Silver lining between ‘false hope’ and hopelessness PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte may have saved millions of poor Filipinos, many of who are fellow Mindanaoans, from heartbreaking trouble in the hands of alleged investment scam groups.

Amid all the hullabaloo over PhilHealth, public uproar ensued across Visayas and Mindanao as National Bureau of Investigation agents on orders of Manong Digong swooped down on several sites of suspected investment modus called “pyramiding.”

But this latest outrage is not directed toward the perpetrators of the alleged scams, instead the countless people affected condemned the raids.

This actually dramatizes the people’s desperation for quick relief or respite from lifelong poverty, particularly across Visayas and Mindanao. They have suffered long enough and falling prey to scams is a symptom of hopelessness.

That is why the people’s reaction did not surprise the NBI agents and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group units. Such investment organizations have a following of up to five

million in the South, mainly Davao provinces who have benefitted from the illegal activities, including a number of cops themselves.

Weeks since their closures, not a single complaint has been filed against Kapa Community Ministry International, headed by a certain Pastor Joel Apolinario based in General Santos City, who allegedly amassed up to P22 billion in donations. Instead, thousands of Kapa members staged a prayer rally in GenSan in time for the President’s visit. They voluntarily have given donations, also called “love offerings,” in various amounts and actually received “blessings” triple the amount they volunteered, for example P5,000 becomes P15,000 and P20,000 becomes P60,000 in a month. Housewives, OFW families, teachers, government employees as well as policemen and soldiers have joined and benefited from the investment scheme.

Though arising from questionable transactions, such cash benefits have helped alleviate financial hardships of rural folk in the provinces, giving them hope of better life by starting out small businesses like piggery, PUV tricycle, seeking employment overseas and covering hospitalization costs.

But Duterte believes the experts that Kapa members and those of other “pyra-

miding fronts” are merely setting themselves up for a big frustration although it appears now that it is the government that dashed their hopes to rise from financial hardship.

Kapa followers now blame controversial Pastor Apollo Quiboloy for prodding Manong Digong to order the police raids on rival Kapa ministry shortly after the elections. Duterte is unfazed, however, as long as he believes he is doing the right thing.

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission, such investment groups are not duly-registered to conduct business and do not pay proper taxes. It is clear that the whole scheme is illegal and has the hallmarks of largescale estafa.

Authorities confiscated undisclosed amount of cash from Kapa’s offices and Apolinario’s home. At least five other investment firms’ operations have been shut down in Gen. Santos City, Rizal, Cagayan Valley, Surigao, and Davao provinces.

The question is: Will the authorities allow or facilitate the refund of the people’s money?

And the bottom line is: Who can blame the poor for taking risk in quick money-making ploys, that is “too good to be true?” They resort to the quick fix.

There lies the silver lining between “false hope” and hopelessness.

Around the world, people likelier to return wallets with more cash

By Ivan Couronne / Issam Ahmed DOES the amount of cash in a lost wallet impact how likely a person is to return it?

Classical economic theories suggest that the greater the temptation, the less likely we are to be honest—but a new study turns the idea on its head, finding that altruism, and a powerful aversion to viewing oneself as a "thief," outweigh the financial incentives.

A team of researchers studied these questions in a huge experiment spanning 355 cities in 40 countries—one of the most rigorous investigations so far into the intersection of economics and psychology.

The results, published Thursday in Science, also reveal extreme differences between countries, with Switzerland and Norway topping the honesty list, and Peru, Morocco and lastly China rounding out the bottom three.

But although rates of civic honesty varied greatly from country to country, one thing remained remarkably constant: wallets with money, as opposed to no money, boosted reporting rates.

The global average for reporting a lost wallet was 40 percent, which grew to 51 percent when it had money.

"The evidence suggests that people tend to care about the welfare of others and they have an aversion to seeing themselves as a thief," co-author Alain Cohn from the University of Michigan said.

Researchers from the University of Zurich and the University of Utah were

Torn...

From A4

But while the Filipinos insist their boat sank, there were reports they reached the port of Mindoro Oriental with their catch intact. Photos even showed a minor damage to their boat.

Another puzzling account is if, as the Chinese claim, there were at least seven to eight Filipino boats in the area, how come they had to wait for a Vietnamese boat to rescue them?

The...

From A4

teachings on this: 23:4-5: Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle;11:28: He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous shall flourish as the green leaf; 11:4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. The list goes on and on.

The gospel is consistent about this as well. Thus in Mark 4:19, the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things are described as coming in and choking the word, making it unfruitful. Luke 8:14 echoes this I The Parable of the Sower: The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do

also part of the work.

The researchers then polled a group of 279 top-performing professional economists to see if they would have accurately predicted the outcome, which only 29 percent did.

"Our results suggest that even experts tend to have cynical intuitions about other people's motivations, often exaggerating the role of financial incentives and underestimating the role of psychological forces," added Cohn.

The experiment, which cost $600,000, is unparalleled in its magnitude. More than 17,000 identical wallets were dropped off at banks, cultural establishments like theaters and museums, post offices, hotels, and police stations or courts of law.

The wallet would be placed on the counter by the research assistant, who would deliver it to an employee telling them they had found it on the street but were in a hurry and had to go.

Each contained a grocery list, a key, and three business cards in the local language using fictitious but commonplace male names and an email address, signaling the owner was a local resident.

Some had no money, while others contained the equivalent of $13.45, adjusted for purchasing power in the target country.

In three countries (the US, UK and Poland), they repeated the experiment with even more money: $94.15, which boosted reporting rates by an average of 11 percentage points compared to the smaller amount.

They also found that having a key boosted reporting rates by 9.2 percent-

age points in the three countries.

Since the key is valuable to the owner but not the finder, this pointed toward an altruism concern in addition to the cost of negatively updating one's self image.

One positive development is that the Chinese have opened up to the idea of a joint investigation on the matter.

In a press briefing Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang made known the Chinese position on the joint investigation, which President Rodrigo Duterte had earlier ruled out saying the Philippine government could not compel China on such course of action.

“I’d like to reiterate that China attaches great importance to friendly rela-

tions with the Philippines and safety of personnel at sea, regardless of nationality. We will continue to investigate the incident thoroughly and communicate with the Philippine side via bilateral channels,” Lu said.

“To find a proper solution, we suggest a joint investigation at an early date so the two sides can exchange respective initial findings and properly handle the matter through friendly consultations based on mutually-recognized investigation results,” he added.

not mature.

But then from both the Old and New Testament, there is the promise of a hundredfold reward if one is faithful: In Genesis 26:12, we see how Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And the LORD blessed him, In Matthew 13:8, also in the Parable of the Sower, Jesus described what happens to the seed planted in good soil: “And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. A similar text is found in Luke 8:8 “Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.”

As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear’, and in Mark 4:20 “And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

From these few verses we can draw some teachings. First, money per se

is not bad; it is the inordinate love for money that leads to evil. Second, money and material wealth, much like most mundane things, are fleeting; hence, do not treat riches as if your life, temporal and eternal, totally depend on it. For what is of the essence is our good relationship with God and neighbors. Finally, wealth must be seen merely as an instrument but not an essential requisite for salvation.

The hundredfold reward could be material but not if it destroys you and your family and distract you from the mission you have been given. Thus Jesus promises in Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.” This is the true meaning of the blessing of a hundredfold reward.

Switzerland tops The proportion of employees who got in touch with the owner surpassed 70 percent in Switzerland and Norway.

At the other end of the table was China, with fewer than 10 percent of employees returning the wallet when it was empty, though the figure more than doubled when it contained yuan.

Countries' relative wealth or poverty was found to be insufficient in explaining the disparities, said Cohn, adding that education and political systems could play a role.

On the whole, countries which are more democratic and where citizens feel they are a part of the decisionmaking process tend to score higher on civic honesty.

Local cultural values that emphasize moral norms extending beyond one's "in-group" also appear to be associated with greater rates of reporting.

That could explain why countries where family ties have traditionally been very strong, such as Italy, have a lower rate of return than more individualist nations in northern Europe, said co-author Christian Zund.

"Three of the authors have Swiss nationalities, so we were—of course, we were happy to see that Switzerland ranked among the top countries," concluded Cohn. AFP

Facebook Page: Professor Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

G-20 Summit and Trump saw the deep crevices caused by the advocacy of Trump that serves to enhance his chances of winning the support of the American electorate.

Attending leaders who adhere to peaceful negotiations still give it the possibility of success. Maybe Trump THE G-20 meeting scheduled near can say his meeting with President Xi is the end of this month is supposed to a reaffirmation to bilateralism far from be a gathering of the richest and most what the traditional and fixed system of economically advanced nations of the multilateralism done through collective world. Though the attending leaders consensus. As one would put it, Trump have their own strategy to advance their would be acting wholly outside the economies, there is degree of common- rules of the G-20. ality in their approach to resolve their Like a brat, Trump is the one who redifferences. fuses to observe proper decorum. Even Unlike the previous summit of the the nagging problem of trade deficit, it G-20, the meeting to be held in Osaka, is most doubtful whether his tactic of Japan will be attended by US President playing hardball in the negotiating table Donald Trump and China’s President Xi would work. Neither can Trump can Jinping. pass on his problem of trade deficit to However, the meeting of the two the G-20. Rather, trade deficit can only economic giants has overshadowed the be resolved through negotiations or purpose of the G-20, which is to se- through war. cure a consensus on Somebody what plan of action should inform should be taken on Trump that trade the basis of multiWhat might happen deficit is not the lateralism. Trump, result of robbery, in the summit? who is supposed to swindling, machistand as the forenations or other most proponent of under forms of undereconomic multilathanded tactic to outwit the other. It is in eralism, has somewhat become odd. He layman’s language the result of buying now carries the flag of unilateralism and more than what one could earn. Speeconomic protectionism which is com- cifically, trade deficit occurs when one pletely diametrical to the doctrine upon country imports more than what it could which the G-20 was founded. sell or export. Let us not talk of other The US media keeps on highlight- factors like comparative advantage, iming that the coming summit will tack- position of tariff barriers and trade sancle the pressing economic uncertainty tion, violation of the principle of “most caused by the US trade war with China. favored nation” clause, currency maTrump particularly focuses on his pos- nipulation, credit and financing, etc. but sible meeting with President Xi. By just stick to the basic fact that trade is that, it implies that the topic has shifted being carried out under an atmosphere away from the agenda of the G-20 but of free and open trade. in patching up the cracks that have afNotably, US trade deficit has been fected the spirit of multilateralism. going on and sadly has been accumulatWhile the political sloganeering of ing through the years. The US used it to “America First” and “America Will be cover up their fast losing productivity.

Great Again” may serve as elixir, (or The withering of many factories and the boost his chances of seeking re-elec- loss of jobs is now being substituted by tion), such patriotic invocation of na- the importation of cheap products maintionalism and chauvinism has no place ly from China; much of its production in the meeting. Political analysts are in has now been diverted to the making a quandary whether to press hard their of armaments. The high value of those agenda of cementing economic cooper- produced in what US President Eisenation in the wake of the Xi-Trump meet- hower called the “military industrial ing which is to take place at the sideline complex” is principally responsible for of the conference. depriving the American workers of their It seems all are reserving their plans productivity. whether the two leaders will be able to What is glaring that the US is the reach an agreement or turn for the worse leading producer of armaments in the to force Trump to unleash more tariffs. world and also the biggest seller. This Yet, even on this most basic logic in has made the US the most powerful naeconomics, Trump failed to discern that tion on earth yet vulnerable to the same tariff is a tax on its own people begin- weapon that could inflict mass destrucning with the importers. Trade deficit tion. It has more standing army than happens because importers feel the ex- of the 29 member countries of NATO. porting country offers them the lowest Yet, power itself has become its own liprice. Maybe China will eventually suf- ability. It widened the area covered by fer from decreased imports. But Trump its self-imposed international order, defailed to realize that the seller always pleted much its resources, withered the had the advantage than the buyer. morale of its soldiers and created more Though somewhat perplexing, all enemies than friends. seem not to openly discuss their plan The US should appreciate the role or even adopt what they have already played by China in filling up the vacuum agreed in their preliminary meetings for left by many of its factories as a result fear it might unravel the truth that Trump in the shift to unproductive endeavours is a spoiled brat to the occasion. Some just to keep itself the most powerful naeven speculate that Trump purposely tion on earth. The profit generated by sought a meeting with Xi to impress the arms industry and the salary earned it upon the world he is not alone in his by those employed is no match to the crusade. Maybe Trump would be able to income of the workers engaged in the impress the attending leaders who know production of food and all of their bathe brass tacks of the economic agenda, sic needs. The problem is that it equally but it is apparent his position is para- skyrocketed the cost of services. doxically at odds with the goal of what Trump should realize that one cannot the summit seeks to achieve, which is to force countries to keep on buying without advance to a higher level the progress it getting something in exchange. Such is and prosperity through cooperation and plain and simple. Neither can the US skip multilateralism. the issue of negotiating with China while Most of the member countries know charging it of piracy or of committing that as the leading capitalist state, free other forms of illegal and immoral trade enterprise cannot work alongside with practices because the two are incompateconomic protectionism and unilateral- ible. The US should either go to court and ism. The summit has become inappro- specifically point out the violation and depriate for it seems Trump has reduced mand damages or negotiate on a fair, just the G-20 summit to technically endors- and realistic terms. ing his outlandish proposals. People who expected much from the meeting rpkapunan@gmail.com

Religious...

From A4

revolt were executed in June 1621.

He brandished a banner that read: "We don't want the column of humiliation."

Bureaucratic trap The association has found itself caught in a bureaucratic trap.

Even though it possesses a building permit—scheduled to expire in July— the municipal authorities argue that the document is merely a general one that does not include permission for construction to begin at a specific site.

And an earlier rejection issued by the previous municipal council in September 2017 was still in force, according to the authority's spokesman, Vit Hofman.

For the current city council, elected in 2018, the decision was "like a ball and chain and it doesn't know which way to turn," said Vana who, along with other association members, takes turns in guarding the site day and night.

In recent days, the association's members have twice started digging up the square's paving stones, but have been prevented from doing so by municipal police whose van is parked at the site around the clock.

"We're only missing a single piece of paper. I hope we get it soon so that work can begin," Vana said.

Prague's archbishop Dominik Duka has spoken in favor of the project, but merely on a personal level, "as a Catholic and a citizen." The archdiocese has taken no official line.

For the time being, until a final decision is taken, Vana's 60-ton sculpture sits aboard a boat moored on the Vltava river in the city center. AFP

A6

News

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

New Clark City’s 200-ha NGAC to host various gov’t agencies

IN BRIEF SC suspends lawyer for two years THE Supreme Court has suspended a lawyer for two years from the practice of law as well as permanently barred her from being commissioned as notary public after finding her guilty of malpractice as a notary public and violating the lawyer’s oath and the rules of the Code of Professional Responsibility.

In an en banc decision, the SC through Associate Justice Diosdado M. Peralta directed that copies of its decision be furnished all the courts of the land through the Office of the Court Administrator, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, and the Office of the Bar Confidant; and recorded in the personal files of Atty. Nelly E. Abao.

The high court found Abao to have notarized in 1995 a deed of absolute sale in Dao, Capiz despite knowing fully well that she was without a valid notarial commission as established by the Certification issued by Atty. Jelou F. Almalbis-Laguna, Clerk of Court VI of Regional Trial Court, 6th Judicial Region, Roxas City, stating that Abao was never commissioned as notary public in the City of Roxas, Capiz for the year 1995 and had no notarial files on record for the same year.

The SC noted that under the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, a person commissioned as a notary public may perform notarial acts in any place within the territorial jurisdiction of the commissioning court for a period of two years commencing the first day of January of the year in which the commissioning is made. Rey E. Requejo

Exec charged with violence against wife A MAKATI court on Friday issued a warrant of arrest against a top executive of TouchPay Co. who was charged with RA 9262 or violence against women and children act.

The court ordered the national Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies for the immediate arrest of Asun Ng a.k.a Angelo Sy Huang in connection with the criminal charge filed by his common-law wife.

The NBI has arrested Ng’s mistress, identified as Sophia Mikaela Fernandez, whom Ng reportedly have an illicit affair. Fernandez is currently detained at the Sta. Rosa NBI who is included in the complaint filed

by Ng’s wife whose name was withheld to protect their children.

Makati Judge Rico Sebastian Liwanag issued the warrant of arrest against Ng and Fernandez based on the criminal charge filed by Ng’s wife, citing that the complainant suffered “mental and emotional anguish.

The court recommended a bail of P72,000 for the temporary liberty of Fernandez. Vito Barcelo

Korean human trafficker nabbed IMMIGRATION authorities arrested a Korean suspected to be a human trafficker that victimized several Filipino women into prostitution in a nightclub which he owned and operated in Mindanao.

The Korean, identified as Suc Joo Chang a.k.a. Seok Choi, was arrested by operatives of the bureau’s Mindanao Intelligence Task Group when joint operatives from BI and police raided his club in General Santos City, South Cotabato.

BI Intelligence chief Fortunato Manahan said Chang was arrested based on a mission order from Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente after learning that the alien was charged with human trafficking.

The raid reportedly rescued 22 women who were employed as bar girls who were allegedly made to dance in the nude and perform lewd acts onstage infront of male customers.

Chang is presently detained at the BI's holding facility in Davao.

Morente ordered the immediate deportation proceedings of Chang for overstaying and for being an undesirable alien.

Chang also failed to extend his stay in the country since his tourist visa expired last Jan. 19. Vito Barcelo

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

AWARDED AT LAST. After 16 years of hard work, beneficiaries of Republic Act No. 9207 or the ‘National Government Center Housing and Land Utilization Act of 2003’ finally received their land titles on Friday. Former president and now Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led the awarding of titles, contracts to sell and notices of lot award to the residents of the NGC. Speaker Arroyo assured the awardees that the House will work on providing a budget for them to acquire the said property. Meanwhile, Rep. Winston Castelo and incoming Rep. Precious Hipolito-Castelo expressed their gratitude to the Speaker who ensured that their constituents in the NGC will eventually have their own titles, from her presidency until her time as Speaker of the Lower Chamber.

Arroyo poses with the beneficiaries during the turnover ceremony. Manny Palmero

PDEA seeks inter-agency body vs. drug smuggling T

HE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is taking proactive measures in preventing the use of private airstrips and ports as entry and exit points of illegal drugs.

According to PDEA Director General Aaron N. Aquino, unmanned runways and private ports have become favorite landing spots for private airplanes, seaplanes and even yachts, loaded with bulk of illegal drugs.

The country has more than 1,200 private ports.

“International drug syndicates are capable of using private aircraft, including helicopters and seaplanes, and boats and yachts as modes of transportation to fly and land drug contraband using these privately-owned facilities,” Aquino said in a statement Friday.

The PDEA chief raised the concern as this was the foremost agenda discussed during the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs Enforcement Cluster Meeting held on June 18 at the PDEA Conference Room, PDEA National Headquarters in Quezon City.

The cluster meeting was attended by 21 member-agencies of the government.

PDEA is pushing for the establishment of an inter-agency drug interdiction task group to synchronize efforts in sealing off possible smuggling points in the country, particularly the privately-run airstrips, heliports, and seaports.

To address the interdiction challenges and strict monitoring and inspection of said facilities, PDEA, together with the Philippine National Police–Maritime Group, PNP Aviation Security Group, Armed Forces of the Philippines, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Immigration, Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, Philippine Ports Authority, Maritime Industry Authority, Office for Transportation Security, and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines,

SAVING CHILDREN.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Dir. Gen Aaron Aquino together with Quezon City Mayor-elect Joy Belmonte, speak with children at the newly opened Project ‘Sagip Batang Solvent’ reformation center in Novaliches, Quezon City. The reformation center is an initiative program of PDEA to keep children off the streets and away from the scourge of illegal drugs. It has bedrooms and mess hall, playground, library, music room, training room, security and staff, making it more conducive for learning.

Manny Palmero

QC courts orders arrest of 9 ad execs TWO Regional Trial Courts in Quezon City have issued warrants of arrest against nine directors of an out-of-home advertising company for qualified theft against another OOH ad firm.

Quezon City RTC Branches 90 and 104 issued the warrants against HDI ADMIX Inc. directors Chia Tzu Chern, Darmo N. Castillo, Raoul L. Buencuchillo, Athena B. Gonzales, Pamela Maureen S. Fernando, Conchita G. Nicolas, Judycel M. Delosreyes, Margie M. Fortin, and Joel B. Mendoza, court records showed.

The complaint in both courts accused the HDI officials of unlawfully taking millions of pesos from Media Puzzle Inc., the exclusive advertising manager for all ad spaces along the Metro Rail Transit 3 system.

HDI Admix is involved in OOH ads on waiting sheds along EDSA, along with billboards, banners, and LED displays along major thoroughfares, its Facebook page said.

No bail was recommended for the accused, whose whereabouts “are not known as of this moment,” court records showed.

“Anyone who may know their location please inform the nearest police agencies so that warrants may be served,” the QC court orders added.

Rio N. Araja

will form the task group.

“Before, drug trafficking organizations [DTOs] are shipping tons of illegal drugs, either finished products or raw materials, through shipside smuggling in the high seas, airports and seaports.

But now, they have included in their itineraries unmanned landing strips and private ports as drug transit routes,” Aquino said.

“Airstrips have no airport facilities that is why proper documentation of the name of the arriving passenger/s, cargo details, among others, remains a problem. There is also a possibility that foreign chemists flew in and out of the country via the backdoor using the runways and open seas,” he added.

The PDEA chief said that illegal drugs can reach the country’s shores through seaplanes and small sea vessels, including boats and yachts.

“DTOs reportedly dumped their contrabands overboard to be retrieved later by their local contacts using nets delivered in nearby coastal areas,” he said. PNA

Solon: No need for new laws to counter financial scams

By Maricel V. Cruz OUTGOING Parañaque City Rep. Gus Tambunting on Friday downplayed suggestions that new laws should be enacted to counter investment scams.

Tambunting said there are enough laws against such business malpractices and it is just a matter of implemementing them.

"I do not think another law must be enacted. Our laws are already sufficient to protect our people against such investment schemes," Tambunting, outgoing chairman of the House Committee on Games and Amusement, said.

Tambunting was referring to the proposal of Rep. Alfredo Garbin of Ako Bicol Party-List's urging President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent House Bill 8791 and Senate Bill 1334 which according to Garbin will "strictly regulate collective investment schemes and punish scammers."

The 17th Congress adjourned sine die last June 7 and all bills and resolutions filed under it that did not prosper have to refiled.

Garbin was reacting to the financial scandal involving the Kapa Ministry organization that allegedlly gave enormous interests on investments that were listed as “religious contributions.”

“If Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and the SEC recommend to President Duterte these two bills for certification as urgent and expediting in the 18th Congress, then that will greatly help. These bills address many of the issues that allowed entities like the Kapa Community Ministry to flourish,” said Garbin one of the principal authors of HB 8791.

The twin measures provide for the comprehensive regulatory and legal framework for collective investment schemes.

But as far as Tambunting is concerned, the Revised Penal Code has enough provions that will address investment scams such as Kapa.

He said that having too many laws without having them implemented or enforced properly or effectively will be useless.

“The Revised Corporation Code contains new provisions which can make the scammers behind the Kappa controversy liable. We just need to enforce it.”

THE 200-hectare National Government Administrative Center in New Clark City, which will host offices of various government agencies to decentralize state offices from the capital, is almost complete.

Bases Conversion and Development Authority president and CEO Vince Dizon said the New Clark City, Phase 1A is already more than 80 percent complete.

Phase 1A of the NGAC development also involves the construction of sports facilities that include the Athletics Stadium, Aquatics Center, and Athlete’s Village.

Dizon said the world-class facilities will be used for the Philippines’ hosting of the South East Asian Games this year.

He said nearly 10,000 athletes from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, TimorLeste, and Vietnam are expected to gather in Clark from Nov. 30 to Dec. 10 for the SEA Games.

During Senators Panfilo Lacson and Gringo Honasan’s visit to the place last Thursday, Dizon showed them the latest developments on the facilities with the sports complex now in near completion.

He toured the two senators to the 20,000-seater Athletics Stadium, the 2,000-seater Aquatics Center and the 1.4-kilometer Riverpark.

Dizon said that full government support is key in any world-class development and “we're fortunate that a respected institution such as the Senate got to see the huge progress we made here in New Clark City.”

“These lawmakers play a big role in inspiring the creation of more ambitious projects that provide comfort and growth to our people,” said Dizon, referring to Lacson and Honasan.

The NGAC, which is part of President Rodrigo Duterte’s plan to decongest Metro Manila, is situated in New Clark City.

New Clark City is the country’s first and only smart and green city to rise within the Clark Special Economic Zone. It is also BCDA’s most ambitious project to date in partnership with infrastructure developer MTD Philippines.

Lacson lauded the progress of New Clark City, recognizing it as an example of hard work.

Sen. Win wants teacher’s salary to be tax-exempt SENATOR Win Gatchalian wants the teachers’ allowances to be exempted from being taxed as the government is finding ways to increase their take home pay.

Gatchalian said one of the bills he wants to file in the 18th Congress provides for the removal of tax deductions from the honoraria that the teachers receive every elections.

The allowances and honoraria of teachers who will serve as members of electoral boards are tax-exempt only if their annual income fall below P250,000, according to the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Under the Election Service Reform Act, EB chairpersons are entitled to a P6,000 honorarium, EB members P5,000, Department of Education supervising office P4,000 and DESO support staff P2,000.

They will also receive an additional P1,000 travel allowance.

“We want to recognize the vital role our teachers play in maintaining the order and integrity of this democratic exercise,” he said.

The President has vowed to increase the salary of public school teachers after working for the salary hike of police and military personnel in 2018.

Under the 4th tranche of the Salary Standardization Law, an entry-level public-school teacher with a salary grade of 11 stands to earn a monthly salary of P20,754.

The government would need some P150 billion to implement the proposed wage hike, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said.

But business groups on Wednesday cautioned the government against giving public school teachers an immediate salary increase, recommending instead that the P10,000-a-month raise demanded by a teachers’ group be phased over a period of time.

In a joint statement, six major business and professional groups appealed to the government to delay the salary relief promised, but repeatedly set aside,

by President Rodrigo Duterte to the teachers. Macon Ramos-Araneta

Manila

Standard

= Recovered/billed fuel and purchased power costs monthly from customers under the ACRM, in PhP

FPPCApeso

Republic of the Philippines

TODAY ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

23.

FPPCAafppc refers to the Actual Allowable Fuel and Purchased Power Costs covering the test period January to December 2018.

24.

There were no Allowable Fuel Costs (AFC) considered in the calculation of FPPCA. In the Luzon Grid, considering that Malaya Thermal Power Plant (MTPP), the only remaining fuel-based plant, was not used to supply the energy requirement of TSC/CSEE customers in view of its designation as Must-Run Unit (MRU) in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) in accordance with the Department of Energy (DOE) Circular No. DC2014-01-003, its fuel costs were not considered in the Luzon Grid’s AFC and the TAFPPC.

ERC CASE NO. 2019POWER SECTOR ASSETS AND LIABILITIES MANAGEMENT CORPORATION (PSALM), Applicant x------------------------------------------------------------x

25. In the Visayas and Mindanao Grids, PSALM has no remaining fuel-fired plants. Thus, AFC for both Grids is likewise zero (0).

26.

Allowable Purchased Power Costs (APPC) of the following IPPs, based on ERC’s approval of the IPP contracts, that supplied energy to TSC/CSEE customers during the test period were considered in the calculation:

APPLICATION

LUZON

VISAYAS

Applicant POWER SECTOR ASSETS AND LIABILITIES MANAGEMENT (PSALM) CORPORATION, through the undersigned counsel and unto this Honorable Commission, most respectfully states that:

AmpohawHedcor

ERB Case No. 93-13

1.

Applicant PSALM is a government-owned and controlled corporation created by virtue of Republic Act No. 9136 or the “Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001” (EPIRA), with principal office address at 24/F Vertis North Corporate Center 1, Astra corner Lux Drives, North Avenue, 1105 Quezon City.

Casecnan

ERC Case No. 2001 -457

CalirayaBotocan -Kalayaan

ERC Case No. 2007159 RC

2.

The instant application is being filed by PSALM pursuant to Section 4(e), Rule 3 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the EPIRA (EPIRA-IRR), Rule 6 of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) Rules of Practice and Procedure, and Article V of ERC Resolution No. 19, Series of 2009 entitled “A Resolution Adopting the Rules for the Automatic Recovery of Monthly Fuel and Purchased Power Costs and Foreign ExchangeRelated Costs by the National Power Corporation (NPC)”, as amended by ERC Resolution No. 25, Series of 2009 (ACRM Rules).

3.

Article V of the ACRM Rules requires the submission of an application for the TAFPPC and TAFxA at least every twelve (12) months in order for the ERC to verify the recovery of fuel and purchased power costs adjustments (FPPCA) and foreign exchangerelated cost adjustment (FxA) by comparing the actual allowable costs incurred for the period with the actual revenues for the same period generated by the fuel and purchased power costs components under the Basic Generation Charge 1(BGC) and the FPPCA and FxA under the monthly ACRM. 4.

The BGC is an ERC-approved generation rate imposed by NPC/PSALM for the sale of electric energy to its customers with Transition Supply Contract (TSC) or Contract for the Supply of Electric Energy (CSEE).

5.

The existing BGC, pegged at CY 2007 test period, was provisionally approved by the ERC pursuant to Orders dated 16 February 2009 and 23 March 2009 under Case No. 2009-004 RC2, broken down as follows:

Luzon

Visayas

Mindanao

In Peso per Kilowatt Hour (PhP/kWh)

Leyte A and B (Unified Leyte Bulk Portion)

TAFxA

1,457,701.69

889,710.68

62,883,210.80

TOTAL

(10,158,291.47)

32,797,394.83

(3,209,039,443.98)

Table 11: Total ACRM True-up Adjustment 46.

Details of the above TAFPPC and TAFxA covering each Eligible and Ineligible Plant and Independent Power Producer are shown in Annex “G” hereof.

V. REFUND/RECOVERY TO PSALM TSC/CSEE CUSTOMERS 47.

Below are the equivalent rates, in PhP/kWh, of the above ACRM True-Up Adjustments covering a one (1) year recovery/(refund) period, which were derived by dividing the ACRM True-up Adjustment amount by the 2018 Regular TSC/CSEE Energy Sales:

LUZON

Mt. Apo I Mt. Apo II

ERC Case No. 2001714

TAFPPC

(1.4850)

0.6849

(0.7089)

TAFxA

0.1864

0.0191

0.0136

Mindanao Coal

ERC Case No. 2001811

TOTAL

(1.2986)

0.7040

(0.6953)

ERB Case No. 98-55

28.

Considering that Leyte A and B (Unified Leyte) are now dedicated to supplying the Visayas Grid energy requirements, APPC of Unified Leyte (UL) was pegged at PhP1.45/kWh base energy rate (BER) plus inflation factor (IF) in line with the ERB Decision dated 27 December 1999 under Case No. 98-55. The APPC of Unified Leyte (UL) is calculated by determining the capacity administered by PSALM during the period over the total contracted capacity of the plant (440 MW) multiplied by the total APPC. PSALM awarded the 200 MW UL capacity to its IPP Administrators (IPPA)/Strips Owners on 26 December 2014. During 2017, PSALM terminated the IPPA Administration Agreement with Good Friends Hydro Resources Corporation, PHINMA Energy Corporation and FDC Utilities, Inc. effective 10 August 2017, 04 September 2017, and 04 September 2017, corresponding to the awarded strips equivalent to 20 MW, 40 MW and 40 MW, respectively, increasing by 100 MW the capacity being administered by PSALM. 29.

Further, out of the Total APPC, only the portion used to supply the Regular TSC/ CSEE customers is considered in the TAFPPC. This is derived by multiplying the Total APPC of the grid by the TSC/CSEE Energy Sales Ratio.

The FPPCAafppc is the sum of AFC and APPC, as summarized below:

30.

0.8961

Purchased Power Costs Base (PPCB)4

2.2791

1.8834

1.0446

Other Components5

0.4046

0.5632

0.8770

AFC

4.3648

3.7255

2.8177

APPC

In Peso per Kilowatt Hour (PhP/kWh)

LUZON

VISAYAS

MINDANAO

PARTICULARS In Peso 0.00

0.00

19,360,639.76

0.00

179,232,551.08

48.

To implement the recovery/(refund) scheme under the ACRM, PSALM proposes that for TSC/CSEE customers of PSALM in 2018 who have transferred thereafter to other power suppliers, it shall directly recover/refund the TAFPPC and TAFxA True-Up Adjustments by issuing the corresponding Debit/Credit Memo, regardless of the expiration. For TSC/ CSEE customers who are still sourcing their power requirements from PSALM at the time of issuance or implementation of ERC Decision/Order on the TAFPPC and TAFxA, the same shall be reflected in their power bill.

49.

Attached hereto as Annex “H” is the Schedule of 9th TAFPPC and TAFxA allocated per PSALM customer covering January – December 2018 based on Annex “H-1”, the Schedule of Energy Sales per Customer.

50.

In compliance with Section 4(e) of Rule 3 of the EPIRA-IRR and ERC Resolution No. 19, Series of 2009 as amended by ERC Resolution No. 25, Series of 2009, a copy of this instant application (including Annexes, other documents and compact discs) was furnished to the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Quezon City. A copy of the Certification of Posting/ Affidavit of Service is hereto attached as Annex “I”. The Petition (excluding Annexes) was also published in a newspaper of general circulation. A copy of the Affidavit of Publication is hereto attached as Annex “J”.

PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is most respectfully prayed to this Honorable Commission that consistent with ERC Resolution No. 19, Series of 2009, as amended, adopting the Rules for the Automatic Recovery of Monthly Fuel and Purchased Power Costs and Foreign Exchange-Related Costs by the National Power Corporation, and Section 4 (e), Rule 3 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, the following Total True-Up Adjustment amounts (TAFPPC + TAFxA) per Grid and corresponding True-up Adjustment rates (PhP/kWh) with one (1) year refund period for the Luzon and Mindanao Grids and one (1) year recovery period for the Visayas Grid, covering the test period January 2018 to December 2018 be APPROVED:

5,684,886,284.08

Table 1: Basic Generation Charge per Component

8.

Similar to the BGC, cost adjustments namely the FPPCA and the FxA are collected from regular TSC/CSEE customers via i) Monthly ACRM and ii) ACRM True-up Adjustments, by virtue of the ACRM Rules.

9.

With the effectivity of the ACRM Rules on 27 February 2010, fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines, PSALM implemented the ACRM Rules starting March 2010 billing period and calculated the monthly FPPCA and FxA, or the Monthly ACRM, using economic indices to reflect the movement in the fuel, purchased power, and foreign exchange-related costs. This Monthly ACRM was however set to zero (0) beginning June 2016 billing period in the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao Grids in accordance with ERC Order dated 28 June 2016.

10.

Article V of the ACRM Rules requires the submission of an application for the TAFPPC and TAFxA (collectively referred as ACRM True-Up Adjustments), at least every twelve (12) months, in order for the ERC to verify the recovery of FPPCA and FxA by comparing the actual allowable costs incurred for the period with the actual revenues for the same period generated by the FCB and PPCB under the BGC and the FPPCA and FxA under the Monthly ACRM. 11.

Since the implementation of the ACRM Rules, PSALM filed before the ERC annual petitions for TAFPPC and TAFxA, details are as follows:

PARTICULARS (Date Filed)

LUZON

VISAYAS

MINDANAO

TEST PERIOD

STATUS/REMARKS In Million Pesos

19,360,639.76

FPPCAafppc

179,232,551.08

Luzon

Particulars

5,684,886,284.08

TAFPPC

31.

The schedule of Allowable Fuel and Purchased Power Costs per Grid - TSC/CSEE Share is hereto attached as Annex “C”.

B. Second component of the TAFPPC: FPPCAbilled 32.

FPPCAbilled is the Fuel and PPC billed to TSC/CSEE customers through the ERCapproved base rate. Fuel cost billed is calculated by multiplying Regular TSC/CSEE Energy Sales (in kWh) with the FCB (in PhP/kWh) of the provisionally approved BGC, while the PPC billed is derived by multiplying Regular TSC/CSEE Energy Sales (in kWh) with the PPCB (in PhP/ kWh) of the provisionally approved BGC.

(11,615,993.15)

In Peso per Kilowatt Hour (PhP/kWh) 2.2791

1.6811

Visayas

1.2789

1.8834

Mindanao

0.8961

1.0446

Mar. 2010 – Feb. 2011

2,814.45

2,203.03

(858.20)

2,199.52

1,649.72

(1,736.51)

Jan. 2012 Dec. 2012

(661.11)

896.35

(1,894.70)

Jan. 2013 Dec. 2013

(634.90)

1,635.46

(2,041.85)

Jan. 2014 Dec. 2014

(126.01)

996.80

(1,395.06)

nd

2 ACRM True-Up Mar 2011 - Dec (30 Apr 2012) 2011

Approved per ERC Decision dated 20 June 2017; Implementation effective Jan 2018 billing period

rd

3 ACRM True-Up (02 May 2013) th

4 ACRM True-Up (30 June 2014) th

5 ACRM True-Up (29 June 2015)

1,457,701.69

889,710.68

62,883,210.80

(10,158,291.47)

32,797,394.83

(3,209,039,443.98)

Luzon Visayas Mindanao In Peso per Kilowatt Hour (PhP/kWh) (1.4850)

0.6849

(0.7089)

TAFxA

0.1864

0.0191

0.0136

TOTAL

(1.2986)

0.7040

(0.6953)

Other reliefs as may be deemed just and equitable under the premises are likewise prayed for.

Quezon City for Pasig City, 14 June 2019.

Table 6: Fuel and PPC Component of the ERC-approved BGC 34.

-Signatories on the following page-

The summary of FPPCAbilled is shown below:

LUZON

PARTICULARS

VISAYAS

MINDANAO

JULIUS M. LOTILLA General Counsel IBP Lifetime No. 010574 (Antique) MCLE Compliance No. VI - 0023624 (04-14-2019) Roll of Attorney No. 47461

In Peso

FCBbilled

13,149,542.35

59,581,245.40

4,135,722,414.65

PPCBbilled

17,827,090.57

87,743,621.54

4,821,086,524.20

FPPCAbilled

30,976,632.92

147,324,866.93

8,956,808,938.85

Jan. 2015 Dec. 2015

(69.47)

161.74

Public Hearing commenced on 13 Jul 2018

(2,108.79)

th

7 ACRM True-Up (29 June 2017) th

8 ACRM True-Up (30 June 2018)

Jan. 2016 Dec. 2016

(4.48)

Jan. 2017 Dec. 2017

(8.62)

22.22

5.5

C. Third component of the TAFPPC: FPPCApeso 35.

FPPCApeso refers to the recovered or billed fuel and PPC adjustment from TSC/CSEE customers through the monthly ACRM. Considering that PSALM has ceased billing the monthly FPPCA and FxA beginning June 2016 billing period in the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao Grids pursuant to the ERC Order dated 28 June 2016, the FPPCApeso is equivalent to zero (0) for all Grids.

Public hearing commenced on 15 August 2018, Public hearing commenced on 05 November 2018, Formal Offer of Evidence filed on 10 December 2018

(3,474.39)

(5,029.83)

12.

PSALM’s applications for its 1st to 5th ACRM True-Up Adjustments were already approved per ERC’s Decision dated 20 June 2017, and implemented effective January 2018 billing period.

13.

On the other hand, the proceedings for PSALM’s applications for its 6th and 7th ACRM True-Up Adjustments are still ongoing, as the Honorable Commission has yet to order PSALM to file its Formal Offer of Evidence.

14.

As for PSALM’s application for its 8th ACRM True-Up Adjustment, PSALM already filed its Formal Offer of Evidence on 10 December 2018.

15.

For the 9th ACRM True-Up Adjustments filing, PSALM filed a Manifestation, dated 10 May 2019, that it is constrained to file said application covering the billing period January – December 2018 on the 28th of June 2019.

16.

Further, PSALM fully complied with the monthly reporting requirements as required under Article V, Section 1 of the ACRM Rules, timely submitting calculations for the monthly recovery/ (refund) of the incremental/downward adjustments in FPPC and FX costs, as well as supporting documents. Attached as Annex “A” and Series are evidence of the receipt of the ERC of PSALM’s monthly compliances. The same monthly reports and their respective voluminous attachments were scanned and saved to a compact disc which is hereto attached as Annex “A – Compact Disc”.

DISCUSSION I. COVERAGE 17.

The TAFPPC and TAFxA, collectively known as ACRM True-Up Adjustments, are applicable only to PSALM’s regular TSC/CSEE customers. Regular TSC/CSEE Energy Sales correspond to NPC/PSALM sales to customers who are billed the approved BGC rate including ERC-approved adjustments. In other words, WESM sales and sales to customers with preferential rates are not covered by the ACRM True-Up Adjustments.

18.

Out of NPC/PSALM’s remaining customers in the Luzon Grid, only CalirayaBotocan-Kalayaan Power Limited’s (CBK-PCL’s) station use is being billed with the BGC and ERC-approved adjustments, in accordance with the provision in the Independent Power Producer’s (IPP’s) Contract. The rest of NPC/PSALM’s customers are under a preferential rates agreement. Further, NPC/PSALM is still supplying the energy requirements of the host communities of Ilocos Sur Electric Cooperative (ISECO) and Benguet Electric Cooperative (BENECO); however, these customers are excluded in the ACRM True-Up Adjustments since their power supply is sourced from the Luzon Hydro (Bakun) that is under an IPP Administrator Administration Agreement (IPPA AA).

19.

In the Visayas Grid, PSALM has five (5) customers that are covered by the ACRM True-Up Adjustments while in the Mindanao Grid, PSALM has fifty-four (54) customers that were considered in the ACRM True-Up Adjustments.

20.

To determine the ACRM True-up Adjustments applicable to TSC/CSEE customers, the annual weighted average percentage of energy sales to said customers based on Total Energy Sales in the Grid (TSC/CSEE Energy Sales Ratio) for January - December 2018 was computed, as follows:

0.4046%

VISAYAS 1.9517%

MINDANAO

PARTICULARS

21.

Attached as Annex “B” is the TSC/CSEE Energy Sales Ratio for JanuaryDecember 2018 based on Annex “B-1”, the Monthly Energy Sales per Plant (TSC/CSEE and WESM).

TAFPPC = FPPCA afppc − FPPCA billed − FPPCA peso where:

FPPCAbilled

= True-up Adjustment of Fuel and Purchased Power Costs, in PhP = Actual allowable fuel and purchased power costs for the test period, in PhP = Fuel and purchased power costs billed through the last ERC-approved base rate for the test period, in PhP

VISAYAS

MINDANAO

179,232,551.08

5,684,886,284.08

Less: FPPCAbilled

30,976,632.92

147,324,866.93

8,956,808,938.85

Less: FPPCApeso TAFPPC

LALAINE MAE C. PARLADE Corporate Attorney IBP Lifetime No. 012817 MCLE Compliance No. V-0020703 (03-25-2019) Roll of Attorney No. 63192

In Peso 19,360,639.76

0.00 (11,615,993.15)

0.00 31,907,684.14

GRACIELA MONA LUMANG-GUTIERREZ Corporate Attorney IBP No. 064495 (01-08-19, Nueva Ecija) MCLE Compliance No. V-0006296 (02-16-2015)* Roll of Attorney No. 42822

0.00 (3,271,922,654.78)

Table 8: True-Up Adjustment of Fuel and Purchased Power Costs 37.

Attached hereto as Annex “D” is the monthly computation of the above TAFPPC. POWER SECTOR ASSETS AND LIABILITIES MANAGEMENT CORPORATION 24th Floor Vertis North Corporate Center 1, Astra corner Lux Drives, North Avenue, 1105 Quezon City Telefax No. (+632) 902-9000 Email address: mardelacruz@psalm.gov.ph

III. TRUE-UP ADJUSTMENT OF FOREIGN EXCHANGE-RELATED COSTS (TAFxA) 38.

In accordance with Article V, Section 5 of the ACRM Rules, PSALM shall calculate the TAFxA based on the following formula: TAFxA = FxAafxc - FxApeso where: TAFxA FxAafxc FxApeso

= True-up Adjustment of Foreign Exchange-Related Costs, in PhP = Actual Foreign Exchange-Related Costs for the test Period, in PhP = Recovered/billed Foreign Exchange-Related Costs from Customers under the monthly ACRM, in PhP

(Republic of the Philippines ) (Quezon City ) S.S. VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION

A. First Component of TAFxA: FxAafxc 39.

FxAafxc is calculated as the difference between: 1) principal debt payments made during the test period converted into Peso using the actual exchange rate at the time of payment and 2) principal payments during the same period converted to Peso using the ERC-approved base foreign exchange rate of PhP44.0494/USD.

I, IRENE JOY BESIDO - GARCIA, of legal age, married, with office address at the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation, 24th Floor Vertis North Corporate Center 1, Astra corner Lux Drives, North Avenue, Quezon City, after having been duly sworn to in accordance with law, do hereby depose and state for myself and for PSALM, that:

40.

The FxAafxc is adjusted to reflect costs incurred only for Regular TSC/CSEE customers. This is derived by multiplying the Total FxAafxc with the TSC/CSEE Energy Sales Ratio. The summary of FxAafxc for regular TSC/CSEE customers is as follows:

LUZON

VISAYAS

(1)

I am the designated President and Chief Executive Officer of the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation with authority to commence, initiate, sign and file the foregoing Application pursuant to PSALM Board Resolution No. 2019-0524-03 dated 24 May 2019 ;

(2)

I have read the Application and the allegations therein are true and correct based on my personal knowledge or the authentic records available to PSALM;

(3)

I or PSALM have not commenced any other action or proceeding involving the same issues in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or any court, tribunal, or quasi-judicial agency and, to the best of my knowledge, no such other action or claim is pending therein; and

(4)

If I or PSALM should hereinafter learn that the same or a similar action or claim has been filed or is pending in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals or any court, tribunal, or quasi-judicial agency, I shall report the said fact within five (5) days from discovery thereof to the Honorable Commission.

MINDANAO

PARTICULARS In Peso 1,457,701.69

FxAafxc

889,710.68

62,883,210.80

Table 9: Actual Foreign Exchange-Related Costs 41.

The schedule of Actual Foreign Exchange-Related Costs – TSC/CSEE Share is hereto attached as Annex “E”.

B. Second Component of TAFxA: FxApeso 42.

FxApeso refers to the recovered/billed foreign exchange-related costs from customers through the monthly ACRM. As stated above, the implementation of monthly ACRM is set to zero starting June 2016, thus, the FxApeso for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao Grids is zero (0).

C. Total TAFxA

21 June 2019, Quezon City.

43.

Following the formula approved by the ERC in Article V of the ACRM Rules, TAFxA for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids covering the test period January to December 2018 is as follows:

PARTICULARS

LUZON

VISAYAS

MINDANAO

In Peso FxAafxc Less: FxApeso TAFxA

II. TRUE-UP ADJUSTMENT OF FUEL AND PURCHASED POWER COSTS (TAFPPC) 22.

Pursuant to Article V, Section 4 of the ACRM Rules, PSALM determined the TAFPPC based on the following formula:

LUZON

FPPCAafppc

100%

Table 3: TSC/CSEE Energy Sales Ratio

TAFPPC FPPCAafppc

MARIA ILYN C. GERONIMO-ALBITO Corporate Legal Counsel IBP No. 064494 (01-08-19, RSM) MCLE Compliance No. VI-0015994 (12-07-2018) Roll of Attorney No. 58287

36.

Following the formula approved by the ERC in Article V of the ACRM Rules, the TAFPPC for Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao grids covering the test period, January to December 2018, are as follows:

Table 2: 1st – 8th ACRM True-Up Adjustments

LUZON

GEOFFRY DL. MASANCAY Corporate Legal Counsel IBP No. 064493 (01-08-19, Quezon City) MCLE Compliance No. VI-0020686 (3-25-2019) Roll of Attorney No. 52696

Table 7: Fuel and Purchased Power Costs Billed under the BGC

D. TOTAL TAFPPC

th

6 ACRM True-Up (30 June 2016)

(3,271,922,654.78)

TOTAL

TAFPPC

Luzon

31,907,684.14

TAFxA

Particulars

Purchased Power Cost Component 7/

Fuel Cost Component 7/

Mindanao

The rates in PhP/kWh corresponding to the above recovery/refund for one (1) year are as follows:

33.

Below are the fuel and purchased power cost components of the provisionallyapproved BGC used in the calculation:

Grid

Visayas In Peso

Table 5: Actual Allowable Fuel and Purchased Power Costs

st

1 ACRM True-Up (18 Aug 2011)

MINDANAO

PARTICULARS

27.

In accordance with the ERC directives, APPC corresponds to whichever is lower between the actual purchased power costs (PPC) paid to the IPPs vis-a-vis calculated PPC based on the ERC approval of the IPP contracts.

1.2789

7.

Further, the ERC set the base foreign exchange rate (FX) covering the principal portion of debt at PhP 44.0494/USD6. Since the FX varies at the time of debt payment, the ERC allowed an adjustment under the ACRM to cover FX fluctuations (FxA).

VISAYAS

ERB Case No. 98-54

Table 12: Total True-up Adjustment, in PhP/kWh

1.6811

6.

Considering that the BGC is pegged at CY 2007 costs, to enable NPC/PSALM to reflect the current year’s actual/allowable fuel and purchased power costs (PPC) in accordance with prevailing market prices and capture the change in generation mix brought about by privatization of PSALM’s generating assets and Independent Power Producer (IPP) contracts, the ERC approved the implementation of the Fuel and Purchased Power Cost Adjustments (FPPCA) under the Automatic Cost Recovery Mechanism (ACRM) Rules.

MINDANAO

In Peso

MINDANAO

Table 4: IPPs supplying TSC/CSEE Customers

Fuel Costs Base (FCB)3

TOTAL

VISAYAS

A. First Component of the TAFPPC: FPPCAafppc

IN THE MATTER OF THE 9th APPLICATION FOR THE TRUE-UP ADJUSTMENTS OF FUEL AND PURCHASED POWER COSTS (TAFPPC), AND FOREIGN EXCHANGERELATED COSTS (TAFxA) UNDER THE RULES FOR THE AUTOMATIC RECOVERY OF MONTHLY FUEL AND PURCHASED POWER COSTS AND FOREIGN EXCHANGERELATED COSTS BY THE NATIONAL POWER CORPORATION, AS AMENDED,

Particulars

LUZON PARTICULARS

1,457,701.69

889,710.68

62,883,210.80

0.00

0.00

0.00

1,457,701.69

889,710.68

62,883,210.80

IRENE JOY BESIDO - GARCIA Affiant SUBSCRIBED and SWORN TO before me this 21st day of June 2019, with affiant IRENE JOY BESIDO - GARCIA presenting to me her Philippine Passport I.D. No. P0087701B, issued at DFA Manila valid until 02 January 2029, known to me and to me known to be the same person who executed the foregoing Verification and Certification Doc. No. ___; Page No.___; Book No. ___; Series of 2019.

NOT NOTARY PUBLIC

Table 10: True-Up Adjustment on Foreign Exchange-Related Costs 44.

Attached hereto as Annex “F” is the monthly computation of the above TAFxA.

IV. TOTAL TRUE-UP ADJUSTMENT

________________

45.

In summary, the TAFPPC and TAFxA for the test period January to December 2018, are as follows:

LUZON PARTICULARS

VISAYAS

MINDANAO

1

2

3 4

In Peso

5 6

TAFPPC

(11,615,993.15)

31,907,684.14

(3,271,922,654.78)

7

Provisional Approval issued by the ERC on 16 February 2009 and 23 March 2009 under ERC Case No. 2009 004 RC In the Matter of the Application for the Proposed New Basic Generation Rates for Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao Grids with Prayer for Provisional Authority Page 8, ERC Order dated 14 December 2009 under ERC Case No. 2008-019 RM in relation to ERC Resolution 19, as amended Page 11, ERC Order dated 14 December 2009 under ERC Case No. 2008-019 RM in relation to ERC Resolution 19, as amended Other components are NPC’s oaM costs, depreciation and return on rate base Page 12, ERC Order dated 14 December 2009 under ERC Case No. 2008-019 RM Based on Provisional Approval of the BGC dated 16 February 2009 and 23 March 2009 under ERC Case No. 2009004 RC and ERC Order dated 14 December 2009 under ERC Case No. 2008-019 RM. (MS-JUNE 22, 2019)

Sports

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

sports@manilastandard.net

sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

A8

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

No surprise: Pelicans draft Zion LOS ANGELES—The New Orleans Pelicans made Duke standout Zion Williamson the number one selection in the National Basketball Association entry draft on Thursday.

The six-foot-seven, 285-pound Williamson wore a white suit and sat with his mother as he heard his name called at New York’s Barclays Center arena.

“I didn’t think I would be in this position,” Williamson said. “I wouldn’t be here without my mom. I just want to thank her. She put her dreams aside for mine.”

Williamson beat out Murray State’s Ja Morant as the top overall pick.

Guard Morant went second to the Memphis Grizzlies.

The New York Knicks made Canadian forward RJ Barrett the third pick in the annual selection of college players that helps NBA teams replenish their talent pools.

The Pelicans were expected to take Williamson first and he now becomes the new face of the organization that traded NBA big man Anthony Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers last weekend.

Williamson, who turns 19 on July 6, played one season at Duke where he averaged 22.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 33 games. He added 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game.

He was the consensus National Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American.

The Pelicans like his humble nature, explosive offense and high basketball IQ which he employs at both ends of the court.

New Orleans went 33-49 last season and recently agreed to a blockbuster deal to send centre Davis to the Los Angeles Lakers for a package of players and draft picks.

The Grizzlies took point guard and playmaker Morant second as they try to build a five man core unit that will get them out of the cellar in the Western Conference.

Morant, a dynamic athlete and a solid three-point shooter, led the his college to the second round of the NCAA playoff tournament, averaging 24.5 points and 10.0 assists per game. AFP

Zion Williamson poses with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted with the first overall pick by the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2019 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. AFP

Streaking TNT notches th 5 straight PBA victory

By Jeric Lopez

S

HOWING why it is the league’s hottest team, TNT KaTropa notched its fifth straight win at the expense of Columbian, 109-102, to regain solo leadership in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City last night.

Terrence Jones provided the goods once again for the Tropang Texters, delivering a game-high of 39 points, 17 rebounds and six assists for another complete performance.

Back after missing the team’s last game due to his wedding, Jayson Castro did not miss a beat, providing plenty of support with 22 points, five rebounds and six dimes off the bench.

TNT KaTropa improved to a league-best 7-1 card, while Columbian, on the other hand, slipped to 11th place with its abysmal 1-5 mark.

A strong start in the fourth did wonders for the Tropang Texters.

They erected a decisive 21-9 surge that gave them complete control and eventually, the victory.

Only ahead by two entering the final 12 minutes, the Texters suddenly opened up a commanding 94-80 advantage after a Castro triple with exactly five minutes remaining.

That was all it took for TNT KaTropa to extend its winning run even with Columbian narrowing the gap in the final score.

Roger Pogoy added 16 points and six rebounds for TNT. It was practically a neck-to-neck battle through the first three quarters with neither team gaining any significant advantage.

TNT carried a slim 73-71 lead heading to the fourth period.

Lester Proper led the Dyip with 37 points and 20 rebounds for a double-double in the losing cause.

The scores: TNT 109—Jones 39, Castro 22, Pogoy 16, Rosario 8, Reyes 8, Trollano 5, Taha 4, T. Semerad 3, D. Semerad 2, Heruela 2, Carey 0.

Columbian 102—Prosper 37, Perez 22, Calvo 15, Corpuz 8, McCarthy 5, Celda 5, Khobuntin 4, Cahilig 4, Agovida 0, Reyes 0, Camson 0.

Quarterscores: 22-27, 51-50, 73-71, 109-102

PH Juniors’ Batch ‘78 leads Go For Gold riders earn best PH team award chessfest cast FOUR members of the memorable Batch ‘78 of the National Juniors Chess Championships held at the Knight of Columbus Bldg. in Intramuros, Manila 41 years ago will see action in the Open Division A in the pivotal 7th leg of the 2019 GM Balinas National Executive Chessfest, organized by the Philippine Executive Chess Association.

The one-day tournament will be held on June 22 at the Alphaland Place in Makati.

The four national former junior standouts are 1st FIDE Master Adrian Pacis (who won the juniors’ title in 1978), International Master Ricardo de Guzman, a former OFW chess coach who has returned to the country from the US, (2nd placer) IM and engineer Petronio Roca and Dr. Jenny Mayor, who is currently president and chief organizer of PECA. Mayor, a dentist, finished 7th out of more than 200 bets in the 1978 national juniors’ tournament.

Other notable entries are IM Angelo Young, also an OFW chess coach from the US, leg winners FM Randy Segarra, US Master and engineer Arjoe Loanzon, FM Nelson Mariano lll & Atty.

Melzar Galicia.

Season 1 Grand Finals champion NM Atty. Bob Jones Liwagon joins the hunt for the title, as well as Reyes brothers Narquingel (Grand Finals first runnerup) and FM Narquinden of PLDT. Other contenders include current Grand Prix leader Dandel Fernandez of Maynilad, OFW NM Engineer Robert Arellano, PECA VP for Mindanao James Infiesto, PECA Treasurer NM Engineer Efren Bagamasbad, NM Nicomedes Alisangco, NM Allan Sasot, NM Atty. retired judge Rosendo Bandal Jr., NM Rudy Ibanez, NM Atty.

Edmundo Legaspi (PECA VP for Luzon), accountant Roberto Grepo, realtor Mark Anthony Yabut, Engineer Ravel Canlas, Dr. Fred Paez (incoming PECA president for 2020), PECA Business Manager Joselito Cada, Engr.

Arjie Bayangat, Allen Gandia, chemist Ritchie Evangelista, Steven James Dacanay, Atty. Jose Aspiras, Atty. Philipp King Cartagena, Guya brothers Ali and Tyrone and PECA first president Prez Atty. Cliburn Anthony Orbe.

BLENDING youth with stamina and tenacity, the Go For Gold Philippines Continental Cycling Team accomplished the goal that other Filipino cycling squads craved for in the recent 10th Le Tour de Filipinas.

Jonel Carcueva and Daniel Ven Carino formed a formidable and cohesive unit with Ismael Grospe and Jericho Lucero to install Go For Gold as the best Filipino team in the five-day UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) 2.2 category race. ``As a young team with young Pinoy riders, I believe this validates the faith we have given our developmental team and shows the enormous improvement they have made against other powerhouse Filipino teams,’’ said Go For Gold godfather Jeremy Go. It was an impressive followup to the performance of the team in two previous races held in the Philippines early this year—the Ronda Pilipinas and PRURide PH—where Grospe and Carino earned the best young rider accolades, respectively. ``Of course, we would have preferred to get a better placing, especially in the best young rider category, which we had successfully won in our two previous UCI races,’’ said Go, who also sits as vice president for marketing of Powerball Marketing & Logistics Corporation.

The best young rider award is reserved for the best-performing cyclist under 23 years old.

The Go For Gold Philippines Continental Cycling Team: Cohesive unit

Go For Gold immediately took control of the race for Filipino riders in Stage 1 in Tagaytay City despite losing team captain Elmer Navarro due to curfew.

The solid teamwork in the succeeding stages worked wonders as the quartet of Lucero, Grospe, Carino and Carcueva followed the strategy laid out by Go For

Gold project director and head coach Ednalyn Hualda to the letter.

They showed the character that Hualda wanted them to display from the second stage onward in Pagbilao, Quezon to Daet, Camarines Norte going to the final three laps in Legazpi City, Albay and Sorsogon.

Pagunsan clings to lead; Salahog rallies BACOLOD—Juvic Pagunsan dispatched James Ryan Lam and Pete Vilairatana of the US despite slowing down in the heat with a 68 after back-toback 66s but found a new challenger in Nilo Salahog in pursuit of a second straight championship in the ICTSI Negros Occidental Classic Salahog here yesterday.

Pagunsan said the rigors of playing two straight weeks in hot conditions while battling some personal woes have started to take their toll but the region’s former No. 1 still put in a decent round of three birdies against a bogey for a 32-36 card to barely hold on to a one-stroke edge at 10-under 200.

“I sort of lost my energy and aggressiveness after seven holes due to hot conditions but I still aimed for at least a two-under card,” said Pagunsan, who birdied the first two holes and No. 9 in exactly the same fashion he anchored his second round charge. Unlike in his Thursday’s 66, however, the defending champion bogeyed No. 12 and settled for a 68 at the par-70 Negros Occidental Golf and Country Club.

“I think I’m tired,” said Pagunsan.

Far from being exhausted in chase of a maiden victory on the Philippine Golf Tour is Salahog, who hit five birdies in the first 13 holes then bucked a bogey on No. 15 due to wrong club selection with a birdie on the next to shoot the day’s best 65 and assume the challenger’s role at 201.

“This is my best game. Played so relaxed and inspired, hit all fairways and all but one green and made quite a number of one-putt feats,” said Salahog, who tied for 27th in Club Filipino de Cebu Invitational and shared 17th place in last week’s Bacolod Golf Classic of the Visayan swing of the circuit put up by ICTSI.

Romasanta sets meeting with Cayetano

By Peter Atencio PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee President Joey Romasanta expects to meet Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee chief Alan Peter Cayetano in the next four days.

Romasanta said this following a visit in Malacanang and talks with Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

The meeting with Cayetano is expected to take place before a scheduled POC General Assembly on June 25.

“This is to convey my respects to him and then to thank him for helping organize the SEA Games, and then clarify roles,” remarked Romasanta.

No schedule has been set yet, since Cayetano is currently in Bangkok.

Philippine Sports Commission Chairman and chef de mission William Ramirez will also be in the meeting to update the body of ongoing preparations for the Games.

So far, Romasanta has clarified that the POC is the franchise-holder of the Games, and this makes the Council as rightful body to organize the prestigious biennial meet set from Nov. 30 to Dec. 15. Romasanta said he is now focused on fast-tracking his knowledge on the preparation of the Games following the sudden resignation of Ricky Vargas as POC president.

Vargas quit after the POC executive board invited him to explain the incorporation and functions of the PHISGOC. Romasanta asserted that all SEA Games-related decisions should emanate from them. That’s because the POC is empowered by the SEA Games Federation Council, the Olympic Council of Asia and the International Olympic Committee to stage major international tournaments in the country.

Real Gold guns for Triple Crown’s 2nd jewel

FOLLOWING a scintillating first-leg victory, Real Gold shoots for the second jewel in the Philippine Racing Commission’s 2019 Triple Crown series at the Saddle and Clubs Leisure Park in Naic, Cavite on Sunday.

Real Gold won the initial battle of the country’s best three-year-olds, obliterating the eight-horse 1st-leg field that included undefeated and overwhelming favorite Obra Maestra at the San Lazaro Leisure Park in Carmona, Cavite last month.

The C&H Enterprise-owned Real Gold wants a fitting follow-up to that masterful win, but six of the country’s top horses stand in its way, namely Best Regards

(jockey CP Henson, owner Peter Aguila), Boss Emong (Dan Camanero, Edward Vincent Diokno), Jayz (JA Guce, SC Stockfarm), Phenomenal (JB Guce, Enrique Javier), Shanghai Noon (OP Cortez, Emmanuel Santos) and Toy For The Big Boy (JB Cordova, Alfredo Santos).

The seven-horse field will also be gunning for the whopping top purse of P1.8 million from the total purse of P3 million put up by the Philracom for the race, to be ran in 1,800 meters.

Second-placer of the race pockets P675,000, with the third and fourth placers getting P375,000 and P150,000, respectively. A P100,000 prize is allotted for the breeder

of winning horse.

“Real Gold set the bar high in the first leg,” said Philracom Chairman Andrew Sanchez. “Its performance will keep the rest on their toes.”

The last horse to win all three legs of the Triple Crown was Sepfourteen of SC Stockfarm in 2017.

Prior to Sepfourteen’s Triple Crown achievement two years ago, the last time one horse won it all in one year was in 2014 when Emmanuel Santos’s colt Kid Molave (Into Mischief x Unsaid) scored the rare 3-peat.

In the accompanying second leg of the 2019 Philracom Hopeful Stakes Race, which will also be ran in 1,800

meters, a 10-horse field, bannered by SC Stockfarm’s coupled entries JLO (jockey JA Guce) and Mood Swing (MM Gonzales), will be eyeing the P600,000 top prize, from the total P1million purse offered.

Joining the Hopeful Stakes fray are Harapin ang Bukas (jockey JB Hernandez, owner Benjamin Abalos Jr.), My Jopay (Pat R Dilema, Moises Villasenor), Serafina (MB Pilapil, Peter Aguila), Skyscraper (RA Base, Leonardo M. Javier Jr.), Suburbia (OP Cortez, Joseph Dyhengco), The Accountant (CP Henson, Luis Aguila), Two Timer (JA Guce, Melaine Habla) and Viscerion (RC Baldonido, James Albert Dichaves).

IN BRIEF Importers refute claim of cement producers THE Philippine Cement Importers Association refuted the claim of local manufacturers that increased imports have caused or threatened serious injury to the domestic market, saying some producers raked in billions of pesos in profit in recent years as reflected in their audited annual financial statements.

“Some members of the cement industry are exhibiting continuing profitability amid increased imports, while some are experiencing less profits. This is, thus, not an industry-wide condition,” the association said in a position paper submitted to the Tariff Commission hearing the imposition of safeguard measures on imported cement.

The group denied claims of local cement manufacturers that imports had displaced 17.2 percent of domestic production, cornered 14.2 percent of total demand and caused “serious injury” to local manufacturers.

It added some cement players are experiencing less profits due to other factors not attributable to the increased imports. Othel V. Campos

Business

Gatchalian eyes ERC cooperation with PCC SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Friday urged the Energy Regulatory Commission to sign a collaboration agreement with the Philippine Competition Commission to ensure consumer protection in the energy sector.

“We hope to see ERC, which has the expertise when it comes to regulation of the electric power industry, execute a similar memorandum of agreement with PCC, which is the expert in competition law, to fortify the consumers’ defense against possible collusions in the power sector,” Gatchalian, chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy, said.

Gatchalian lauded the the collaboration between the Department of Energy and the PCC, signed early this month, as a major step in promoting an environment that is free from anti-competitive and collusive behavior, especially in times of sudden and unexplained power outages when helpless consumers feel that they are always at the mercy of energy players. Alena Mae S. Flores

Labrador Oil starts constructing P1.2-b Pangasinan depot

By Alena Mae S. Flores LABRADOR, Pangasinan—Labrador Oil Terminals Inc. broke ground Thursday on its P1.2-billion, 88 million-liter oil terminal here in Barangay Uyong that will serve the fuel needs of independent oil players in parts of northern Luzon.

“The Labrador Oil Terminal seeks to cater to the needs of the oil industry players in northern Luzon and serve as a viable alternative to Subic and Bataan. Once it operates, the terminal is projected to have a significant impact in the region in terms of making the operations of the independent oil traders and distributors more costefficient, thus making the market more competitive,” LOTI chairman Jack Tan said during the ground-breaking ceremony.

He said the terminal would provide security of supply to neighboring provinces in Regions 1 and 2 and help oil companies lower fuel prices by P0.80 to P1 per liter due to reduced logistics costs.

The first phase of the terminal with a capacity of 28 million liters is expected to be completed by February next year, while the remaining 60-million liter capacity is estimated to be operational in June, depending on land negotiations.

Tan said LOTI was looking at new players like Gulf Oil, Centrum and Regas to store their imported petroleum products at the terminal.

Cities and provinces in northern Luzon have a projected monthly consumption of about 40 million to 50 million liters.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

B1

Moody’s keeps stable outlook on Philippine banking sector

By Julito G. Rada

Taiwanese packaging firm readies expansion TAIPEI, Taiwan—A packaging company here is trying to expand its 20year old business in Manila despite concerns on changing the incentives regime for firms operating inside economic zones.

Taiwanese packaging solutions firm Benison & Co. Ltd. is pushing to create more product lines to serve the growing packaging requirements of Philippine manufacturers.

Benison general manager in Taiwan Benker Liao is optimistic demand for packaging would continue to grow as demand for food and other consumer goods increased over time.

“All products need packaging. I am optimistic that Manila will continue to be a growth area for us notwithstanding the investment climate over there,” he said at the sidelines of the Food Taipei 2019 Expo.

Benison is a manufacturer and exporter of polyolefin shrink film, polyethylene terephthalate, oriented polystyrene, polyactic acid, heat shrink film, labels and auto-packaging machinery.

Othel V. Campos

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

Megaworld Corp., the biggest lessor of office spaces, is spending P300 billion from 2020 to 2024 to fuel the company’s upcoming projects under its residential, office, commercial, and hotel portfolio. Attending the annual stockholders’ meeting of the company at Eastwood City in Quezon City are (from left) Anna Michelle Llovido, corporate secretary; Crescencio Aquino, director; Jesus Varela, director; Kingson Sian, director; Dr. Andrew Tan, chairman and president; Enrique Santos Sy, director; Katherine Tan, director; and Roberto Guevara, director.

Megaworld allots P300b for capital expenditures

By Jenniffer B. Austria

M

EGAWORLD Corp. of tycoon Andrew Tan has earmarked P300 billion in capital expenditures from 2020 to 2024 to significantly increase its residential, office, malls and hotels portfolio through the development of mixed-use township projects across the country.

Megaworld chief strategy officer Kevin Tan said in an interview following the annual stockholders’ meeting the company would allot 65 percent, or P195 billion, for residential developments and investment properties, which mostly account for Megaworld Premier Offices, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls and Megaworld Hotels.

Megaworld is spending the balance or around P105 billion to finance land acquisitions and land banking.

“The new five-year capital spending plan will significantly increase our residential, hotels, office and malls portfolio as we are quite aggressive on our expansion given that we are bullish on the Philippine economy,” Tan said.

Megaworld earlier said it aimed to

build two million square meters of rental space and 5,000 hotel rooms by 2020.

Megaworld allocated P285 billion for its five-year capex program from 2014 to 2019, most of which have been utilized mostly for property and township developments.

“Megaworld has secured significant coverage of raw land in the areas where we want to be in. Our focus now is on developing the land in order to sustain and further propel our strong earnings moving forward,” Tan said.

Megaworld has approximately 4,700 hectares of land bank in the portfolio, which is expected to expand by almost 45 percent with the launch of six more townships and integrated lifestyle communities by next year.

“Our existing land bank would be

sufficient for the next 10 to 15 years of development,” said Tan. About 3,000 hectares of Megaworld’s township development are in Luzon, mostly in the Calabarzon area.

Megaworld also has land holdings of almost 300 hectares in Metro Manila, with significant presence in Makati, Fort Bonifacio, Quezon City, and even in the bustling Manila Bay Area, particularly within the Entertainment City where the company is currently the largest land owner and developer.

Megaworld has 600 hectares of land in Visayas and Mindanao, with key presence in Iloilo, Bacolod, Boracay, Cebu and Davao.

Megaworld has built around 700 residential developments, 1.6-million square meters of leasable spaces under both Megaworld Premier Offices and Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, and over 3,000 room keys across its hospitality developments under Megaworld Hotels in the past 30 years, .

“As we celebrate our 30th year in the industry, we see our company doing more than just a business. We are rooted by our vision to uplift lives of more Filipinos, impact our society, and help shape our country,” Tan said.

PHILEX AWARD.

Philex Mining Corp., one of the oldest and largest copper and gold producers in Southeast Asia, and a leader in right and responsible mining in the country, has been recognized again as a top-performing publicly-listed company under the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard in awarding ceremonies held at the Conrad Manila. Receiving the award from the Institute of Corporate Directors is Philex director Marilyn Victorio-Aquino (center).

With her (from left) are Kristine Navalta, investor relations supervisor; Danny Yu, chief finance officer and senior vice president for finance; Paraluman Navarro, assistant vice president for corporate finance; and Paul Cheah, investor relations mkanager.

500,000 Filipino tourists expected to visit Taiwan in 2019

By Othel V. Campos PHILIPPINE tourism arrivals in Taiwan increased 44 percent in 2018 from a year ago, according to data on the top 10 countries visiting Taiwan released recently by the Taiwan Tourism Bureau.

Taiwan received 13,000 more tourists from the Philippines in the first quarter of 2019 from the same period last year because of the extension of the visa-free entry offered by Taiwan to select countries.

“We’ve found that more and more Filipino friends are visiting Taiwan.

Last year we had 420,000 Filipino tourists come to our country. This year our target is 500,000,” said Taipei Economic & Cultural Office

economic division director Alfred Wang during the Meet Taiwan Networking Event held Friday at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel in Makati City.

Top players from Taiwan’s Meetings, Incentive Travel, Conferences, Exhibitions industry travels, including travel agencies, venues, hotels, city government and public relations agencies introduced the country’s many incentive provisions to local travel groups and businesses.

As a result of the steady growth of Filipino tourists flocking to Taiwan, TECO hopes to continue strengthening relations between the Philippines and Taiwan through a possible extension of the visa-free policy for Filipinos that was first implemented

on a trial basis from November 2017 to July 2018. The policy was extended until July 31, 2019.

Wang said the Taiwanese government’s official announcement on the possible extension of the Philippines’ current visa-free status might be expected by the public in about two weeks, after a process of reevaluation.

Taiwan’s MICE program also received a large boost from the Filipinos’ visa-free privilege.

According to data of the Philippine Statistics Authority, Taiwan was the Philippines’ eighth largest trading partner, 10th largest export market, eighth biggest source of imports in 2017, as well as, the eighth biggest foreign direct investor in 2018.

GLOBAL debt watchdog Moody’s Investors Service maintained a stable outlook for the Philippine banking system in the next 12 to 18 months, saying robust economic growth will support their asset quality at current strong levels.

Moody’s conclusions are contained in its report on Philippine banks released Thursday.

The outlook was based on Moody’s assessment of six drivers, including operating environment (stable), asset risk (stable), capital (stable), funding and liquidity (deteriorating), profitability and efficiency (stable), and government support (stable).

Moody’s has kept a stable outlook on the Philippine banking system since November 2015.

“Philippine banks will continue to benefit from the country’s strong economic growth,” Tengfu Li, a Moody’s analyst, said in the report.

“Over the next 12 to 18 months, their asset quality will stay broadly stable, capitalization will weaken moderately as loan growth picks up, profitability will remain stable, and domestic liquidity will continue to tighten but stay sufficient for the banks to sustain current growth levels,” Li said.

On asset quality, Li said banks would show strong asset quality despite increases in interest rates, because economic conditions were healthy and the financial performance of Philippine corporates remained strong.

As for capitalization, the banks’ capital consumption will continue to outpace their internal capital generation because of rapid credit growth, but shareholder support will prevent their capitalization from deteriorating significantly, Li said.

“Profitability will stay stable, supported by the expansion in net interest margins, and government support will remain strong for large banks,” Li said.

Earlier, industry leaders expressed their continued bullish outlook on the domestic banking system.

$749.8m in hot money exited PH in May, says BSP MORE foreign funds left the domestic financial markets in May as investors reacted negatively to the “renewed trade tensions” between the US and China, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Friday.

Data showed registered foreign portfolio investments or hot money in May posted a net outflow of $749.8 million, bigger than the $206-million net outflow a year ago.

It was also the biggest net outflow since $807 million in September 2016.

This was the third month that net outflow was recorded this year since $739 million in March and $298.8 million in April.

The May figure hot money in the first five months to a net outflow of $685 million, a reversal of the $813.8-million net inflow a year ago.

Gross inflows for the month reached $1.237 billion, while gross outflows were recorded at $1.987 billion.

All investment instruments resulted in net outflows. Listed securities at the Philippines Stock Exchange posted a net outflow of $508 million; peso government securities, $241 million; and other peso debt instruments and other portfolio instruments (each at less than $1 million).

About 81.5 percent of investments registered during the month were in PSE-listed securities (pertaining mainly to holding firms, property companies, banks, food, beverage and tobacco companies, and transportation services firms); while the 18.5-percent balance went to peso government securities.

The United Kingdom, the United States, Malaysia, Singapore and Luxembourg were the top five investor countries for the month, with a combined share of 76.7 percent from the total. Julito G. Rada

B2

Business

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks gain; JG Summit climbs T HE stock market rose for the third straight day Friday, lifted by the decision of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to keep the benchmark policy rates steady at 4.5 percent amid the benign inflation environment.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 33.05 points, or 0.4 percent, to 8,055.47 on a value turnover of P9.4 billion. Gainers beat losers, 109 to 86, with 49 issues unchanged.

Conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei advanced 4.1 percent to P66.60, while Security Bank Corp., the sixth-biggest lender in terms of assets, climbed 3 percent to P170.

Megaworld Corp., the largest lessor of office spaces, rose 2.9 percent to P6.07, while PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, added 2.3 percent to P1,280.

Oil prices, meanwhile, ticked lower Friday following the previous day’s surge fueled by tensions between the United States and Iran, while Asian equities turned negative as investors took their foot off the pedal following a recent rally.

Fears of a conflict in the crude-rich Middle East ratcheted up Thursday when Tehran said it had shot down a US “spy drone” that was violating its airspace, which Washington denied.

US President Donald Trump described the move as a “big mistake,” adding: “This country will not stand for it.”

The news—which comes a week after the US accused Iran of attacking two tankers in the Gulf of Oman—sent oil prices soaring more than six percent Thursday, while talk has increased of a

military stand-off that could deal a massive blow to supplies.

However, after an initial gain the commodity edged down slightly Friday as traders took heart from comments from Trump later, saying he thought it “hard to believe it was intentional,” adding “I think that it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it.”

The president’s mixed message left the world unsure what Washington’s next move would be but observers said the cost of crude could continue to rise.

“If we meld supply risk fear, a powerfully bullish narrative, (the Federal Reserve’s) willingness to execute a pro-cyclical rate cut juicing risk assets and frame it with the potentially gamechanging G20, you have the makings of a solid base for oil to shoot even higher,” said Stephen Innes, managing partner at Vanguard Markets.

Hong Kong dipped 0.3 percent, while

Tokyo ended one percent lower and Sydney shed 0.6 percent. Seoul dropped 0.3 percent while Singapore was off 0.1 percent, with Mumbai and Jakarta also down.

But Shanghai gained 0.5 percent, Taipei added 0.4 percent, and Wellington put on 0.4 percent.

The focus is also on next week’s planned meeting between Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 in Japan next week.

Trump’s tweet about “a very good telephone conversation” between the pair this week fueled a surge across global markets on hopes for a deal to end their countries’ long-running trade war that has impacted the world economy.

However, Asia took a step back Friday, having been given an extra boost by the Fed indicating it will begin to cut interest rates soon, and other central banks erring towards softer monetary policies.

With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW FRIDAY, JUNE 21, 2019

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

58.55 80.5 2.3 140.2 27.35 18.72 11.66 4.9 1.44 785 0.49 75 0.97 13.2 21.15 49.5 184.6 112 57.65 28.6 165.5 60

59 80.85 2.34 141.3 28.7 18.72 11.82 5.09 1.44 785 0.52 75.05 1 13.2 21.15 49.7 188 112 57.65 28.6 170 64.05

58.55 80.15 2.3 139.1 27.2 18.6 11.6 4.8 1.36 785 0.48 73.5 0.96 13.2 21.15 48 184 112 57.65 28.3 165.5 60

59 80.5 2.31 141.3 28.7 18.68 11.66 5.03 1.36 785 0.52 74.6 0.99 13.2 21.15 49 188 112 57.65 28.3 170 64.05

1,500 2,531,800 246,000 3,667,010 516,400 20,700 189,400 722,000 71,000 20 758,000 5,091,210 393,000 29,000 100 413,300 670 10 100 39,100 616,890 26,890

88,275 203,708,033 570,620 516,650,901 14,698,505 386,680 2,221,794 3,599,830 97,040 15,700 374,560 378,728,509 378,910 382,800 2,115 20,192,640 124,088 1,120 5,765 1,107,870 104,158,448 1,685,402

-14,985,982 149,695,508 10,794,845 -515,268 -9,135,026.50 26,700 -775,995 -5,765 -22,580 9,898,493 504,284.50

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

35.6 14.4 0.74 1.38 0.275 96.75 2.84 15.1 22.8 14.98 44.75 70.4 2.06 5.3 5.64 10.4 15.92 10.4 7.6 1.71 25.4 78 54.95 2.48 13.86 10.1 1.68 284.8 4.2 9.24 23.8 14.28 19.76 383.2 0.186 5.95 1.4 4.5 5.95 9.05 2.57 12 38.85 5.1 1.43 1.98 1.18 14.14 104 6.5 0.124 1.26 173.4 2.59 1.27 1.33

35.65 14.42 0.76 1.38 0.285 96.75 2.98 15.5 22.8 14.98 44.75 74.9 2.12 5.3 5.64 10.4 16 10.8 7.6 1.71 25.6 78.6 56.35 2.49 13.86 10.22 1.68 288 4.25 9.24 25 14.44 19.88 383.2 0.186 5.95 1.44 4.57 5.99 9.05 2.61 12.2 39.1 5.1 1.46 1.98 1.19 14.32 113.5 6.58 0.124 1.3 176 2.6 1.28 1.37

35 14.22 0.74 1.38 0.275 96 2.84 15.06 22.25 14.94 41 70.4 2.06 5.25 5.5 10.2 15.92 10.4 7.56 1.71 24.9 78 54.75 2.42 13.7 10.04 1.66 282 4.2 9.2 23.65 14.02 19.52 380 0.186 5.95 1.4 4.46 5.92 9.05 2.51 11.98 37.9 5.1 1.38 1.9 1.18 14.1 103.4 6.47 0.122 1.26 169 2.59 1.25 1.32

35 14.38 0.76 1.38 0.275 96 2.92 15.5 22.3 14.94 41.5 74.9 2.1 5.25 5.64 10.4 16 10.56 7.57 1.71 25 78.6 56 2.42 13.76 10.22 1.67 288 4.25 9.2 25 14.3 19.76 380 0.186 5.95 1.4 4.54 5.92 9.05 2.58 12.2 38 5.1 1.43 1.97 1.19 14.22 113.5 6.5 0.123 1.29 176 2.6 1.26 1.34

2,103,200 405,300 511,000 388,000 600,000 20 33,509,000 395,700 50,300 2,400 8,700 1,320 712,000 27,600 144,600 4,482,500 67,300 778,600 1,627,500 38,000 3,708,800 110,980 382,310 2,511,000 309,500 363,500 203,000 1,273,820 766,000 1,600 1,982,500 585,700 576,700 493,910 40,000 1,500 6,574,000 100,000 830,300 10,000 16,949,000 25,200 960,700 200 1,153,000 27,000 72,000 328,500 433,650 51,800 180,000 409,000 1,590,730 36,000 2,089,000 5,270,000

73,682,940 5,827,878 384,570 535,440 165,900 1,927.50 97,447,840 6,089,882 1,135,570 35,860 371,620 97,330 1,492,760 145,780 811,002 46,568,310 1,074,454 8,265,542 12,342,516 64,980 93,417,410 8,683,033 21,283,060 6,118,800 4,252,844 3,702,392 339,870 364,080,038 3,248,200 14,732 49,395,625 8,359,314 11,403,650 187,813,152 7,440 8,925 9,296,220 450,990 4,942,058 90,500 43,444,830 306,400 36,727,080 1,020 1,639,840 52,390 85,550 4,672,018 47,396,462 336,461 22,040 522,340 277,921,877 93,540 2,635,660 7,080,270

-41,514,005 195,552 35,720 21,385,750 5,546,910 25,050 126,000 123,280 -22,195,756 639,196 1,510,058 -3,677,376 -6,226,345 -2,067,487.50 7,123,223.50 61,250 741,170 -1,615,438.00 -122,724,106 49,275,010 4,203,594 7,196,272 -85,933,888 445,750 58,162 1,641,110.00 -6,490,010 1,020.00 -1,526,090 10,789,487 1,955 1,230 40,725,709 261,590 -277,040

HOLDING FIRMS ABACORE CAPITAL ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANGLO PHIL HLDG ANSCOR ASIABEST GROUP ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B AYALA CORP AYALA LAND LOG 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 REPUBLIC GLASS SAN MIGUEL CORP SM INVESTMENTS SOC RESOURCES SOLID GROUP SYNERGY GRID TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.82 55 15.38 0.74 6.7 12.2 1.36 1.4 896.5 3.63 6.9 10.46 14.04 0.25 950 6.22 64.7 0.485 4.32 15.26 0.65 4.78 0.039 1.29 2.81 176 970 0.87 1.38 428 265 0.235 0.3

0.83 55.05 15.56 0.75 6.78 12.5 1.39 1.4 902.5 3.67 6.9 10.54 14.04 0.25 961 6.22 66.6 0.495 4.39 15.38 0.68 4.87 0.039 1.29 2.81 177 970 0.87 1.39 428 274 0.24 0.31

0.79 53.9 15.12 0.74 6.7 12.18 1.34 1.36 896.5 3.62 6.76 10.36 13.98 0.25 933 6.22 63.8 0.46 4.28 15.12 0.65 4.76 0.038 1.24 2.81 175.2 951 0.85 1.34 427.2 264 0.235 0.3

0.8 54.85 15.12 0.75 6.7 12.38 1.35 1.38 898 3.67 6.77 10.54 14.02 0.25 961 6.22 66.6 0.495 4.31 15.12 0.66 4.77 0.038 1.28 2.81 176 966 0.87 1.39 427.2 274 0.24 0.31

33,826,000 1,863,320 6,582,400 1,058,000 47,900 91,100 7,959,000 164,000 636,750 5,006,000 1,618,900 9,540,600 207,200 50,000 186,860 10,000 2,603,460 620,000 314,000 3,238,500 3,685,000 93,371,000 2,200,000 35,000 26,000 423,630 550,460 190,000 20,000 160 15,340 310,000 9,580,000

27,346,490 101,935,647 100,126,682 793,180 321,002 1,123,854 10,823,200 224,340 572,308,520 18,312,340 11,121,883 100,090,278 2,904,236 12,500 177,450,110 62,200 172,961,587.50 299,550 1,355,900 49,127,070 2,430,240 448,045,280 84,900 43,700 73,060 74,521,257 530,451,170 162,540 27,450 68,432 4,149,952 72,900 2,943,750

724,480 15,278,382 -28,369,552 13,400 -54,385,760 695,960 -131,061 -5,944,922 1,826,798 8,337,715 129,295,366.50 303,590 -20,358,028 -98,360 30,754,270 -8,463,124 -16,244,040 316,490 -1,215,600

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

15.92 0.81 11 2.07 0.89 50.7 2.33 5 6.35 0.6 0.83 0.94 0.23 0.44 9.88 25.5 0.475 1.74 1.34 5.95 0.32 0.465 1.83 0.42 2.11

16.26 0.81 11 2.07 0.89 51.2 2.35 5 6.35 0.6 0.83 0.98 0.24 0.46 9.94 26.45 0.48 1.75 1.34 6.07 0.325 0.465 1.85 0.42 2.16

15.8 0.79 11 2 0.86 50.55 2.32 4.78 6.1 0.58 0.78 0.92 0.23 0.44 9.85 24.9 0.47 1.71 1.33 5.93 0.315 0.465 1.82 0.42 2.1

16.02 0.8 11 2.01 0.88 50.75 2.32 4.85 6.12 0.59 0.82 0.97 0.24 0.445 9.94 26.45 0.475 1.72 1.33 6.07 0.315 0.465 1.85 0.42 2.12

718,400 593,000 100 135,000 1,542,000 15,389,290 521,000 1,297,000 25,200 6,098,000 761,000 380,000 9,290,000 4,810,000 20,800 1,676,900 2,080,000 22,647,000 1,657,000 27,352,800 19,230,000 60,000 3,062,000 320,000 2,062,000

11,428,786 473,670 1,100 275,870 1,357,560 782,230,694.50 1,213,510 6,354,030 154,370 3,588,870 602,220 364,170 2,209,650 2,157,450 206,501 43,155,375 980,050 39,131,580 2,204,380 165,327,652 6,108,100 27,900 5,639,550 134,400 4,403,370

364,072 20,000 71,564,062.50 613,560.00 -73,936 -11,210 7,800 -19,300 -40,950 8,871 17,063,800 -287,750 -22,874,270 -79,800 36,430,030 809,100 1,347,910 111,950

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

26.2 2.15 3 38.4 1.96 6.3 0.74 7.14

26.8 2.17 3 38.8 1.96 6.3 0.74 7.14

26 2.13 2.95 38.3 1.88 6.16 0.73 7.02

26.8 2.16 2.98 38.3 1.88 6.29 0.74 7.02

2,541,800 537,000 68,000 29,575,800 1,257,000 56,700 238,000 10,390,200

67,104,495 1,158,330 203,520 1,135,112,660 2,394,820 351,711 176,100 73,102,513

37,815,950 -107,800 5,960 -225,471,925 190,000 -96,200 -52,139,482

SERVICES 2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CENTRO ESCOLAR CHELSEA DFNN INC EASYCALL GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN BRIA HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL INTL CONTAINER IPEOPLE IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY 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

11 17.5 1.41 0.51 0.043 2.7 11.5 0.057 89.4 7.19 7.97 5.85 10.38 2,228 5.37 401 2.3 1.79 144 10.1 6 0.118 6.86 3 14.02 4.2 0.81 19.26 0.53 3.15 2.49 1.76 2.43 3.07 9.29 3.03 4.87 134 3.62 1,263 0.81 0.84 44.9 76.7 9.65 3.47 0.74 0.395 5.11 0.75 17.02

11.5 17.5 1.43 0.51 0.044 2.77 11.54 0.058 90.2 7.2 8.16 5.85 10.38 2,230 5.4 412.2 2.32 1.79 146.8 10.1 6 0.118 7 3.11 14.02 4.2 0.83 19.5 0.56 3.15 2.58 1.76 2.55 3.08 9.35 3.03 4.87 136.5 3.67 1,280 0.83 0.84 44.9 76.7 9.65 3.58 0.74 0.4 5.2 0.77 17.4

11 17.24 1.41 0.48 0.042 2.65 11.3 0.056 88.8 7.19 7.97 5.8 10.2 2,204 5.35 398 2.27 1.79 143.5 10.1 6 0.116 6.86 2.9 14.02 4.14 0.81 19.26 0.52 3.15 2.49 1.72 2.42 3.06 9.24 2.94 4.87 134 3.45 1,252 0.79 0.81 44.2 75.5 9.3 3.43 0.73 0.385 5.11 0.74 16.98

11.22 17.26 1.41 0.485 0.044 2.76 11.3 0.056 90.2 7.2 8.08 5.8 10.22 2,230 5.39 412.2 2.3 1.79 144.3 10.1 6 0.117 6.99 3.07 14.02 4.18 0.83 19.44 0.53 3.15 2.56 1.72 2.52 3.08 9.35 2.94 4.87 136.5 3.47 1,280 0.8 0.82 44.55 75.8 9.4 3.47 0.74 0.385 5.2 0.76 17.4

15,200 207,000 22,000 2,825,000 15,500,000 1,193,000 3,357,700 10,310,000 94,340 4,300 4,743,300 13,000 13,500 48,175 44,300 1,220 686,000 1,000 4,566,410 1,500 2,100 3,350,000 5,031,300 67,000 500 634,000 262,000 267,100 2,146,000 16,000 5,522,000 10,000 3,371,000 111,000 23,000 6,000 13,000 2,420 5,217,000 293,410 4,554,000 11,258,000 375,100 653,060 67,800 7,878,000 2,161,000 17,290,000 5,808,000 3,398,000 1,519,700

169,694 3,596,934 31,180 1,382,665 672,100 3,209,610 38,295,076 582,410 8,476,493 30,936 38,311,175 75,763 138,304 107,181,870 238,126 501,348 1,568,750 1,790 659,328,759 15,150 12,600 393,220 34,890,443 203,160 7,010 2,645,830 212,260 5,182,380 1,131,490 50,400 14,089,140 17,240 8,395,050 341,480 214,045 17,820 63,310 327,175 18,425,070 373,468,130 3,651,690 9,238,510 16,722,765 49,557,312.50 637,452 27,653,840 1,591,170 6,730,550 29,816,846 2,569,520 26,118,524

48,500 -185,230 -23,349,792 5,124,434 -211,765.00 28,613,580 -62,670.00 -31,915,131 -1,923,949 640,230 -162,000 343,686.00 308,480.00 70,660 -104,620 304,105 1,683,530 51,982,975 149,480 -121,340 -8,867,995 -24,041,919 -5,684,540 394,550 -19,750 -23,667,565 12,242,936

MINING & OIL ABRA MINING APEX MINING ATLAS MINING ATOK BENGUET A 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

0.0018 1.29 2.75 12.38 1.18 2.76 7.57 1.44 0.218 0.114 0.125 0.0075 0.008 1.06 2.18 1 0.55 0.87 0.011 0.011 4.3 3.37 8.3 22.15 0.0068

0.0019 1.33 2.82 12.38 1.18 2.85 7.58 1.49 0.229 0.116 0.125 0.0076 0.008 1.06 2.24 1 0.57 0.87 0.011 0.011 4.3 3.48 8.34 22.15 0.0068

0.0018 1.28 2.65 12.38 1.18 2.7 7.43 1.44 0.218 0.114 0.125 0.0075 0.0075 1.04 2.1 0.97 0.55 0.87 0.011 0.01 4.07 3.37 8.08 21.8 0.0068

0.0018 1.3 2.8 12.38 1.18 2.85 7.5 1.48 0.229 0.115 0.125 0.0076 0.0076 1.04 2.1 1 0.56 0.87 0.011 0.011 4.28 3.43 8.18 21.8 0.0068

80,000,000 9,984,000 554,000 300 6,000 3,196,000 8,400 1,104,000 200,000 4,280,000 10,000 7,000,000 7,000,000 801,000 8,792,000 11,000 220,000 10,000 5,300,000 9,400,000 257,000 3,514,000 1,059,100 1,774,000 2,000,000

144,200 12,977,410 1,480,690 3,714 7,080 8,783,390 63,045 1,620,640 45,110 491,020 1,250 53,100 54,200 842,860 18,827,860 10,920 123,370 8,700 58,300 99,000 1,067,220 12,050,100 8,668,146 38,723,230 13,600

89,100 7,980 -334,100 544,030 -11,799,650 3,480 -138,850 583,025 -22,591,780 -

PREFERRED ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF G FPH PREF C GLO PREF P HOUSE PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A SMC FB PREF 2 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H

17 480 99.5 98.5 109.6 418.6 485.2 95.2 0.99 100.5 99.8 963 75.9 73.5 73.9 73.2 73

17.06 480 99.5 100 109.9 439.6 485.2 96.85 1 100.5 99.8 963 75.9 73.85 74 73.2 73

17 480 99 98.5 109.6 418 478 95.2 0.99 100.5 99.8 963 75.85 73.5 73.9 72.8 73

17 480 99 100 109.9 439.6 478 96.85 1 100.5 99.8 963 75.85 73.85 74 72.8 73

121,200 140 10,000 15,360 9,480 420 20,000 590 254,000 1,230 200 700 5,890 6,580 4,000 50,300 3,500

2,062,272 67,200 991,000 1,529,546 1,039,776 176,024 9,635,210 56,316.50 251,520 123,615 19,960 674,100 446,856.50 485,676.50 295,725 3,669,440 255,500

-2,036,712 9,680 -

WARRANTS LR WARRANT

1.96

1.97

1.95

1.97

288,000

563,000

-

SME ITALPINAS XURPAS

4.86 1.09

5 1.09

4.85 1.07

4.96 1.09

373,000 3,849,000

1,847,690 4,161,960

1,146,860

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS FIRST METRO ETF 120

120.5

119.4

120.5

3,150

378,999

-

DDS USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

10.2 10.2 1

10.2 10.2 1

10.2 10.2 1

2,460 16,810 200

25,092 171,462 200

-

NAME

MS 10.2 10.2 1

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

15,334,625

INDUSTRIAL

96,308,560

HOLDING FIRMS

196,232,520

PROPERTY

167,113,913

SERVICES

126,020,297

MINING & OIL

147,047,198

GRAND TOTAL

752,287,518

VALUE 1,756.86 (UP) 13.62 1,249,211,120.18 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,849.99 (UP) 72.39 1,468,683,015.075 HOLDING FIRMS 7,693.30 (UP) 24.98 2,594,924,400.42 PROPERTY 4,324.56 (UP) 20.01 1,703.95 (UP) 11.55 2,386,934,418.39 SERVICES MINING & OIL 7,304.10 (UP) 12.75 1,551,191,880.66 PSEI 8,055.47 (UP) 33.05 106,247,740.4845 All Shares Index 4,927.81 (UP) 36.43 9,363,602,876.46 Gainers: 109; Losers: 86; Unchanged: 49; Total: 244

Globe bares commercial 5G wireless broadband

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. launched the country’s first commercial fifth-generation (5G) fixed wireless broadband services, beating rival PLDT Inc. and other telecommunication companies in Southeast Asia.

Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said the Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G would enable the company to connect more Filipinos at home given the external challenges of rolling out fiber optic cables in the country.

“The arrival of 5G has caused excitement in the global world of telecommunications. Today, we made a crucial step in fulfilling our goal of connecting more Filipino homes, and our vision of bringing first-world Internet to the Philippines,” Cu added.

The Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G postpaid plans, which offer fiber-like speeds up to 100 Mbps and super-sized data packages of up to 2 terabytes, will be initially available in select areas in Pasig, Cavite and Bulacan.

Cu said the Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G would reinforce the efforts of achieving the company’s goal to connect two million homes by 2020.

“Prior to Air Fiber 5G, we have aggressively utilized fixed wireless solutions to connect more homes and businesses to the internet over airwaves.

This strategy resulted in home broadband subscriber base increasing by 55.1 percent to 1.7 million in the first three months of 2019 from 1.1 million in the same period in 2016,” Cu said.

Globe at Home Air Fiber 5G will be available to eligible customers in July 2019. Plans come at P1,899 per month for up to 20 Mbps, P2,499 for up to 50 Mbps and P2,899 for up to 100 Mbps.

All come with up to 2 TB data capacity.

“Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G makes use of fixed location wireless radios instead of fiber optic cables which enables the company to go over the circuitous approval process of deploying a fiber optic cable—a task which proves to be arduous and involves securing multiple permits from local government units (LGUs),” Cu said.

“The right of process can sometimes take years to obtain, causing drastic delays in fiber optic roll-out completion,” he added.

Meralco asks ERC to set up micro-grid in Mauban, Quezon

By Alena Mae S. Flores MANILA Electric Co., the biggest retailer of electricity, has sought approval of the Energy Regulatory Commission to implement its proposed scaled-up micro-grid in Cagbalete island in Mauban, Quezon costing P219 million.

Meralco decided to implement a pilot project that promotes the use of hybrid micro-grids for the electrification of households located in remote islands and far-flung areas, such as Cagbalete.

Meralco is scaling the project coverage to include residents of the entire island.

“There is an urgent need for a provisional authority to be issued to allow Meralco to immediately start the project, which is estimated to take around eight months,” the company said.

Meralco said the approval was necessary to meet the target project completion set on December and allow the residents of the island to enjoy reliable electricity.

“The necessary activities to implement the project, considering the magnitude, include procurement of materials, detailed engineering design, site development, lot acquisition and civil works, installation, testing and commissioning of diesel generators, battery storages and solar PV, among others things,” it said.

Meralco said it could not start any of the preparatory activities without the approval of the commission.

Meralco will use a hybrid generation system using solar panels, diesel generators, lithium battery storage and intelligent controller systems.

Meralco said it had already completed the generation plant and that the distribution network construction was ongoing.

However, while the power distributor is ready to commercially operate the pilot project, it is still waiting for the release of documentary requirements, such as the renewable energy service contract and certificate of endorsement to be issued by the Department of Energy.

World

B3

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Thousands converge on HK police headquarters

IN BRIEF Airline offers one-dollar flights MEXICO CITY―A Mexican airline is offering one-dollar flights to undocumented migrants wishing to return to Costa Rica, El Salvador and Guatemala as the country struggles to curb arrivals from Central America.

The Reuniting Families program, announced by Volaris on Thursday, aims to “to assist in the repatriation of migrants,” the airline said on its Twitter account.

The offer will run until June 30 and is open to Central Americans in an “irregular migration situation” who wish to depart from airports in Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez―both close to the US border―or Guadalajara and Mexico City.

Passengers must be willing to board “the next available seat” in order to take advantage of the ultra-cheap fare, which does not include taxes.

Mexico City’s airport charges an airport use fee of $45 for international flights.

Adult migrants must identify themselves with their unique identity document and minors must show a passport or birth certificate.

A wave of Central American migrants has arrived in Mexico in recent months after the government of leftist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who took office on December 1, declared that he would have a more flexible immigration policy.

However, the United States has registered record numbers of mostly Central American migrants crossing into the US illegally, which has sent tensions soaring between the two countries.

Following a threat by US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs on Mexican imports, both governments reached an agreement and Mexico has reinforced surveillance along its southern border, as well stepped up the number of arrests and deportations of migrants. AFP

The row rages in atheist Prague PRAGUE―Plans to re-erect a Baroque column with a gilded statue of the Virgin Mary in the centre of Prague have triggered a religious controversy in the Czech Republic, one of Europe’s most atheist countries.

A group of Catholics and Prague history fans hope to erect a replica of the original column―built in the 1650s but torn down in 1918 as a symbol of the Habsburg empire―at its initial site on the city’s central Old Town Square.

“The day the column is re-erected, we’ll know there has been reconciliation,” says sculptor Petr Vana, who carved the replica.

In the past, similar plans were already blocked under both Nazi and Communist rule.

In 1989―shortly after the fall of Communism―local Catholics and history enthusiasts set up the “Association for the Renewal of the Marian Column.”

Vana told AFP that he had been asked to select the technology and draw up a budget.

“It was then that I came to understand the immense spiritual depth of the project.

For me, it’s no ordinary contract,” says Vana, who has spent two decades working on it.

The original 49-foot column, erected in the early 1650s, was topped by a sandstone statue of the Virgin Mary by Baroque sculptor Jan Jiri Bendl.

It commemorated Prague’s defenders against the protestant Swedish army at the end of the Thirty Years War of 1618-1648.

But in the eyes of ordinary Czechs, the column came to symbolise the enforced re-Catholisation by Austria’s Habsburg rulers of a country that venerated the religious reformer Jan Hus, who was burned at the stake as a heretic in 1415.

On November 3, 1918, just days after Czechoslovakia gained independence from the disintegrating Austro-Hungarian empire, a crowd led by anarchist Franta Sauer tore down the column, shouting “Far from Vienna, far from Rome!” AFP

THE PROTEST GOES ON. Protesters set up improvised barricades along a road in Hong Kong on June 21, 2019. Thousands of

protesters converged on Hong Kong's police headquarters on June 21, demanding the resignation of the city's pro-Beijing leader and the release of the demonstrators arrested during the territory's worst political crisis in decades. AFP

Residents emigrate as freedoms decline

T

AIPEI―Hong Kongers are looking for greener pastures overseas as the city’s freedoms and living standards slide, with those emigrating saying the huge political protests rocking the international finance hub are just the latest catalyst.

Edward, a Hong Kong information science student living in Taipei, is nearly at the end of his course but has no plans to return to his city of birth.

The 23-year-old, who asked not to use his family name, said he was thinking about heading to Australia in the next few years.

The huge protests sweeping Hong Kong sparked by a Beijing-backed plan to allow extraditions to the mainland have only reinforced his determination to emigrate―and pushed him to consider settling in Taiwan for good.

“The China extradition law has prompted me to speed up my immigration plans,” he told AFP from his university campus.

Taiwan, a democratic self-ruled island just an hour’s flight from Hong Kong, is an easier place to settle, Edward explained,offering a path to citizenship within about three years for students.

“In my college there are more and more Hong Kong students each year,” he added.

Obtaining precise data on how many Hong Kongers are emigrating is difficult because the government does not

keep those numbers.

And many of the city’s wealthier citizens―including politicians and business leaders―already have dual passports, a legacy of the city’s 1997 handover to China when scores snapped up British, Canadian, American and Australian passports.

But more anecdotal evidence suggests there has been a steady drain of talent away from the city in the last decade―a period that has seen public anger build over rising inequality, eye-watering property prices and fears Beijing is trying to undermine Hong Kong’s unique freedoms and culture.

John Hu, a Hong Kong migration consultant, said there were two distinct recent periods where emigration spiked: the lead up to the handover and after the failure of the 2014 “Umbrella Movement” pro-democracy protests to win any concessions.

The extradition bill has prompted “a third wave”.

“The rate of inquiries rose nearly 50 percent” after the bill was announced in February, Hu told AFP. “When the people went onto the streets to protest,

it rose even more”.

The top destinations, he said, remained the English-speaking nations with large Chinese communities like Australia, Canada, the United States and Britain. But many were increasingly willing to consider other European Union nations.

Most of his clients are middle class or younger people, often concerned about the standard of medical care and high cost of living. “And I think the political environment lately has accelerated the demand for emigration,” he added.

YouTube and Facebook now abound with videos explaining how to emigrate while a poll by a local university last year found a third of respondents―including nearly half of those who are college-educated― said they would emigrate if they got the chance.

Steven Lam, a 37-year-old who works for a logistic company, said he and his wife were already looking considering a move to Australia following the birth of their child to escape Hong Kong’s notoriously high-pressured school system. But the political situation has hardened their resolve.

“China is tightening its grip on Hong Kong,” he told AFP. “I will miss Hong Kong so much,” he said. “But thinking for the next generation, I think it’s worthwhile.”

AFP

UN’s Khashoggi report piles the pressure on Saudi Arabia’s crown prince RIYADH―Saudi Arabia has sought to move on from the scandal triggered by journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder, but a UN expert’s report implicating its crown prince has heaped global pressure back on the kingdom, analysts say.

UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard’s report, released Wednesday, insists there is “credible evidence” to warrant further investigation and financial sanctions against Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over Khashoggi’s murder last October.

The document detailing the dissident’s murder by Saudi agents at the country’s Istanbul consulate has cast a renewed spotlight on the case just as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler appeared to be emerging from the scandal.

The revelations, including audio transcripts showing the Saudi agents involved referring to Khashoggi as a “sacrificial animal”, have piled pressure on Western allies to suspend arms sales to the kingdom.

Riyadh rejects the allegations, which were likely to spur skepticism for Saudi support in the US Congress despite the prince enjoying President Donald Trump’s backing.

“A new crisis cycle is open,” Joseph Bahout, non-resident fellow at Carnegie Endowment, said on Twitter.

“Another round of international em-

barrassment for [Saudi Arabia] is starting now.”

On Thursday, US lawmakers voted to block Trump’s arms sales worth $8.1 billion to Saudi Arabia shortly after Britain temporarily suspended similar sales.

The decisions were not directly linked to the report, but come after virulent criticism in the US and Britain over the kingdom’s four-year bombing campaign in Yemen.

Global revulsion over Khashoggi’s murder had shone a spotlight on the Saudi-led war in Yemen, gripped by what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

The UN expert’s report is unlikely to challenge Prince Mohammed’s position at home, where his grip on power “appears absolute”, said Hussein Ibish, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

“The bigger concern, I have no doubt, is the growing anti-Saudi sentiment in US Congress,” he told AFP. “Riyadh’s relationship with Washington is not optional from a Saudi point of view. It’s essential.”

Last month, Trump bypassed the usual process of seeking a congressional green light for the arms sales, citing risks from Iran—a common foe of Riyadh and Washington. AFP

PREMIERE. Vera Farmiga arrives

at the premiere of Warner Bros.

Pictures and New Line Cinema's ‘Annabelle Comes Home’ at Regency Village Theater on June 20, 2019, in Westwood, California. AFP

HONG KONG―Thousands of protesters converged on Hong Kong’s police headquarters Friday, demanding the resignation of the city’s pro-Beijing leader and the release of demonstrators arrested during the territory’s worst political crisis in decades.

The latest protest comes after the government refused to meet the demands of demonstrators who have marched in their millions to oppose a bill that would allow extraditions to the Chinese mainland.

Opposition groups, after putting on the biggest political rallies in Hong Kong’s history, have called for the complete withdrawal of the extradition legislation and for city leader Carrie Lam to step down.

But the movement has also morphed into a wider expression of public anger at Lam and party leaders in Beijing after years of sliding political freedoms.

Throughout Friday the predominantly young, leaderless protesters used spontaneity and movement to up pressure on authorities, deploying peaceful civil disobedience.

After meeting at Hong Kong’s main government complex before rush hour, hundreds of black-clad protesters― many wearing face masks and shouting anti-government slogans―temporarily blocked a major city artery.

They then marched in the searing heat to the police headquarters, many chanting “release the righteous” and “shame on police thugs”―references to those detained during violence last week between demonstrators and the police.

Opposition groups have demanded an investigation into allegations of police brutality and the release of those detained during the clashes, in addition to Lam’s ouster and a cancellation of the extradition bill.

Some protesters removed metal barricades and re-arranged them in an apparent bid to fortify their positions outside the police headquarters, as officials closed the gate to the facility’s main driveway.

Police held back from any response and a senior officer told reporters a negotiating team would be sent to speak with the demonstrators.

Separately, a smaller group of protesters briefly blocked entrances to the city’s nearby immigration and revenue departments. AFP

Iran remains defiant over downed drone TEHRAN―Iran said Friday it had “indisputable” evidence a US drone it downed had violated its airspace, as reports emerged in the US that President Donald Trump had approved and then scrapped retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets.

The downing of the drone―which Washington insists was above international waters but Iran says was within its airspace―has seen tensions between the two countries spike further after a series of attacks on tankers the US has blamed on Tehran.

Under pressure to respond to the high-stakes incident near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, Trump issued orders for retaliatory strikes on a limited number of Iranian targets, the New York Times reported.

The US was planning to hit “a handful of Iranian targets, like radar and missile batteries” Thursday evening, the newspaper said, citing senior administration officials, but the plan was suddenly aborted in its early stages.

White House and Pentagon officials declined to comment, the Times said, and it was unclear whether Trump had decided to delay the retaliatory strikes or cancel them altogether.

The US president had struck a combative tone in his public comments before rowing back.

“Iran made a very big mistake!” he tweeted in response to news Iran had shot down the Global Hawk surveillance aircraft.

“This country will not stand for it, that I can tell you,” he said later at the White House.

But as the pre-dawn incident whipped up fears of open conflict between the United States and its declared foe Iran―sending crude oil prices soaring―Trump moved swiftly to dial back tensions. AFP

B4

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

Joel D. Lacsamana, Editor jdlacsamana@gmail.com

LGUs, private sector push for disaster resilience Eyes stricter testing of substandard construction, steel materials nationwide

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT, BUT NOT IN BIÑAN. The Sevina Park groundbreaking was attended by (from left) Christopher G. Narciso, executive vice president for business and project development of ArthaLand; Christopher T. Po, director; , Jaime C. González, vice chairman and president / chief executive officer of ArthaLand; Leonardo Arthur T. Po, executive vice president and treasurer; Gabriel I. Paulino, senior vice president for technical services; Sheryll P. Verano, senior vice president for strategic funding and investments; and Ferdinand A. Constantino, chief finance officer.

ArthaLand kicks off KILLING FIELDS. Quenched steel (QT) rebars, that have replaced more expensive but safer micro-alloyed (MA) steel, and construction supplies that are not adequately tested by the government, pose serious danger to lives when the “big one” hits.

MANILA, Philippines — The government and the private sector came together this week to make the country more resilient to calamities.

Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) undersecretary Jonathan E. Malaya today (Inset) kicked off the second quarterly Nationwide Simultaneous Earthquake Drills (NSED) with governors, mayors, and ‘punong barangays’ joining in nationwide. The program seeks to employ a calibrated response to typhoons, earthquakes and other types of disasters.

Partnership with private sector The DILG’s partnership with the private sector dovetails with the latter’s efforts towards disaster resilience in the country. In September last year, the Duterte administration launched the Resilient Cities/Municipalities Leadership Program for local chief executives at Taguig City. It was hailed as the first public- private partnership (PPP) for disaster resilience.

The National Resilience Council (NRC), chaired by Defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana, leads the program.

Poor quality building materials The partnership was tested last April 22 when a 6.1 magnitude earthquake shook Luzon and some parts of the country, and resulted in the collapse of the crowded Chuzon supermarket in Porac, Pampanga.

Local government investigators unveiled security footage taken at the height of the quake, showing supporting beams “exploding” inside the four-story grocery.

The quake caused the building’s steel and concrete foundations to crumble within seven seconds, giving victims inside the supermarket no chance to escape as governed in the Philippines’ building code.

The footage bolstered suspicions that the steel used in the construction of the supermarket were of “poor quality”. Investigators pointed to “quenchtempered” (QT) steel bars found at the Chuzon site that may have caused the beams of the building to give way prematurely even before victims inside had the opportunity to “duck, cover and hold.”

The NRC expressed concern over the incident, noting that the Philippines is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, an area where seismic activity is a given.

Since April, over a dozen significant quakes have been felt in Metro Manila and other provinces, suggesting the possibility of a “big one” soon to follow. Both government and private sector leaders involved in the partnership vowed last week to ensure that the country would be better prepared should this happen.

Passion for disaster risk management Undersecretary Malaya lauded the partnership between various government offices and the private sector. The conduct of simultaneous earthquake drills last week will test the overall efficiency and usefulness of many LGUs in terms of preparedness, response, and recovery plans, he explained.

“Through these scenario-based drills, we will not only test if disaster preparedness plans in many cities and municipalities are working; we will also be able to train our people to cope with hazards and reduce their vulnerability,” he said.

Infra audit Learning from the magnitude 6.1 earthquake last April 22, the DILG is prodding LGUs to do an infrastructure audit within their respective areas to ensure public safety.

Malaya said LGUs will be stricter when appraising the structural integrity of government-owned and private sector buildings, taking into account that all these should be periodically inspected for compliance to the National Building Code of the Philippines and the Fire Code of the Philippines.

This way, the DILG can assess structures, possible hazards and methods of risk prevention and mitigation.

Raising the bar for construction materials, building practices Of particular concern to the DILG are reports that steel rebars used in many construction sites in the country, are of “poor quality”.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is moving to standardize the manufacture and labelling of steel reinforcing bars, particularly for high rise buildings. This includes the embossing on each rebar of the steel grade of a product to properly identify its quality, within the year.

The labelling , or “embossing” of grades which reflect the actual type of steel, complements other reforms being instituted by the DTI. These include crucial “cyclic loading tests” for locally manufactured steel rebars, which calls for these to be subjected to repeated, fluctuating intensity stress tests; and minimal steel grade requirements (grade 60) for rebars to be used in buildings, and other infrastructure.

sustainable

neighborhood in Laguna

B

IÑAN CITY, Laguna — ArthaLand broke ground last week for Sevina Park – one of the first developments in the country to aim for LEED neighborhood development and home certifications.

Located in the city of Biñan, within the emerging metropolitan Laguna growth center, Sevina Park will be an 8.1-hectare mixed-use community masterplanned by Boston-based global design firm — Sasaki Associates, Inc. The development is located a few minutes from the soon to open Laguna Boulevard interchange of the CaviteLaguna Expressway (CALAX). The Laguna section of the CALAX is targeted for completion in the second half of this year.

“And as with all ArthaLand projects,

Sevina Park reinforces our commitment to world-class sustainable development,” said Jaime C. González, vice chairman and president of ArthaLand.

A modern-day community, the commercial portion of Sevina Park will consist of retail and landmark green offices. Its residential portions will consist of a comfortable dormitory that will cater to nearby schools, a set of idyllic low-rise apartments and lofts, and a townhouse villa component with limited edition designer homes by renowned architectural practice – Leandro V. Locsin and partners.

Sevina Park Villas, scheduled to be launched later this month and for turnover in the second quarter of 2021, will be composed of two, three, and fourbedroom villas that will open up to expansive courtyard gardens within each block.

Boutique developer with green sensibilities All the villas will come equipped with an energy efficient building envelope;

efficient lighting, energy and water fixtures; and will be Wi-Fi enabled and home automation ready. But the exclusive 4-bedroom Villa 170 unit type will have additional sustainable features such as a provision for solar power systems, enhanced indoor air quality by mechanical exhaust, and the use of FSC-certified wood, which qualify them to become the first LEED certified home in the country.

“We are a boutique developer not in relation to size, but because of our attention to detail and desire to push the envelope in green development,” explained Leo T. Po, executive vice president and treasurer of ArthaLand. .During the groundbreaking, Arthaland officials also inaugurated a nearby tree nursery and composting facility. A tree-planting activity was conducted in partnership with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to establish the company’s commitment to improving the environment and community around Sevina Park.

THE WORLD OF MITSUKOSHI IN BGC. Isetan Mitsukoshi, a Japan-based department store group, carries a mix of classic favorites as well as products that feature technological advances in holistic care in its two main stores – Isetan Shinjuku and Mitsukoshi Ginza. These two stores are popular with Japanese, as well as visitors from all over the world, in search of premium international and homegrown brands. Isetan Mitsukoshi will bring the same brands to Mitsukoshi mall in Manila. The mall will be a four-storey collection of Japanese and International brands from beauty, to food, to everyday items. The mall, set to open in 2021, will anchor The Seasons Residences, a zen-inspired condominium project by Federal Land, Inc. in partnership with Nomura Real Estate Development Co., Ltd. and Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. The Seasons Residences offers one to three bedroom units with prices starting at P16M. The Mitsukoshi mall in BGC will be the first in the Philippines and the retail brand’s 56th outlet in the world. Isetan Mitsukoshi has stores in Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, China, Italy, and the United States.

SHOP TILL YOU DROP IN CAVITE ACIENDA Designer Outlet (ADO), along Km 48 Aguinaldo Highway, Silang, Cavite, recently added more lifestyle brands in its shopping roster.

Topping the list are sports brands Adidas, Under Armour and Fila which are offering high performing sports gear. Lifestyle brand Vans, on the other hand, is offering exciting choices for those who enjoy the vibrant skateboard and street culture, while Timberland and the Oregon Premium Outlet have hard-to-resist deals on the best outdoor gear, on tap. Macbeth, Via Rodeo, Girbaud, FUBU and Giordano have also opened their branches this quarter.

Crocs is now likewise offering inter-

esting choices when it comes to comfortable footwear.

And for ladies, Just Jewels recently opened its doors for that much-needed bling. “We hope that these new brands will further entice day trippers and tourists bound for Tagaytay City to include discount shopping at Acienda

Designer Outlet as part of their itinerary,” said Cathay Land President Jeffrey Ng. Since opening, ADO, a P2.5 billion shopping hub dedicated to bringing a year-round sale of designer finds in fashion, sports, and home, city folk have been making their way to Silang, Cavite, just to shop.

Life

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

YOUNG LIFE

A

REAL estate mogul, an adventure traveler, a seasoned athlete whose achievements include being the first Filipino to run the North Pole marathon, Victor Consunji Jr., wears many hats, of which the biggest is his hat as a husband to wife Maggie and father to 7-year-old son Connor.

Yet, still, he gets to wear them all; he always finds time for things that are important.

Aside from being a board member of the mega construction company DMCI, Consunji has also set up his own construction and development enterprise, the VConsunji Group. His company’s biggest and most ambitious project so far is the M Residences, whose design was inspired by his travels and experiences as a family man and engineer.

“We provide homes to bridge the gap between work, family, and life in general. Living inside the city is very challenging; you deal with traffic, high cost of living, and the ever progressing march towards miniaturization of living spaces. I provide real homes and the means to acquire them,” says the 40-year-old entrepreneur.

Running one of the biggest development companies in the country is a feat, yet Consunji always manages to find time for his wife and son. Together, he relates, his family shares a passion for sports and explores as many places as they can together.

“Family time is important; little things matter. And I give them (family activities) the same or higher priority, as work meetings. I will not push off family time for other matters,” he shares.

Consunji says, as a family man, he has to strike a balance between family and work, and also find time for himself.

“A balance is needed, or else you risk personal disaster. My personal view is to make sure I give all three parts of my life as much attention as I can. I feel that when you can satisfy all three, you live a life less stressful, more hopeful and, ultimately, happy.”

Above all, for Consunji, being a father is the greatest source of achievement, pride, and inspiration. Fatherhood has further reinforced the importance of time.

For fathers like Consunji who truly value time and want to spend as much of it with family while pursu-

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

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Victor Consunji:

Living the life

of a modern family man MAN OF MANY HATS. Businessman, father, athlete, and adventurer Victor Consunji Jr. finds time to pursue his passions and things that matter most.

(Photos from @victorconsunji/Instagram) ing their career and other passions, a movement—is just the right tool that dependable wristwatch like the new helps him keep track of all that time TechnoMarine Grand Cruise—with in style.

Swiss components and an automatic The watch has a power reserve of

BULLETIN BOARD

4 PH universities in the world’s top 1000, UP climbs 28 places

up to 41 hours and an accuracy rating of -20 seconds to +40 seconds per day under normal conditions. It boasts a versatile design and two distinguish-

able models: with silicone strap and the other with a steel bracelet. This timepiece features water resistance of up to 200 meters.

Who run the world?

Girl entrepreneurs!

YOUNG Filipina entrepreneurs prove that a single innovation can aid a community and its surroundings. Case in point: the innovative solutions presented by all-female groups who won in the Junior Achievement (JA) competitions.

The University of the Philippines placed 356th in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings.

THE latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings placed four of the country’s universities in the top 1000, with the University of the Philippines joining the upper half of the list.

UP placed 356th in the 2020 list, 28 places higher than its ranking in 2019.

“As with previous editions, UP held the top spot in the Philippines, ahead of three other Philippine universities that made the latest rankings. It is the only Philippine university among the 16 Southeast Asian institutions in the

upper half of the list,” the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs said in a statement.

According to UP, it is the university’s fourth climb in the QS world rankings, and its highest since 2014.

Meanwhile, Ateneo de Manila University also climbed to 601-650th spot from 651-700th in 2019. De La Salle University and University of Santo Tomas maintained their 801-1000th spots.

Universities are ranked by QS according to six indicators: academic reputation (40 percent), employer repu-

tation (10 percent), faculty-student ratio (20 percent), citations per faculty (20 percent), international faculty ratio (5 percent), and international student ratio (5 percent).

In the 2020 edition, more than 94,000 responses from academics and around 45,000 responses from employers worldwide were collected and analyzed by QS. The top five spots are filled by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Harvard University, University of Oxford, and California Institute of Technology.

Terra, composed of Grade 12 students from St. Scholastica’s College, promotes local design and sustainability with their Isla handbag.

Bags from coconut husks The mini-company Terra, composed of 12th graders from St. Scholastica’s College, emerged victorious in the 2019 Asia Pacific JA Company of the Year competition, beating other competitors in the region.

Their eco-friendly handbag, dubbed Isla, made from 100 percent recycled and sustainable materials earned them first place and the special citation, the

FedEx Access Award, which recognizes businesses that “best exhibit the principles of global connectivity.”

The all-female team wanted to promote local design and materials by using upcycled coco coir made from discarded coconut husks. All materials are locally sourced from communities in Laguna, Quezon, and Albay.

Turn to C2

Life

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SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Championing sustainability in national Brigada Eskwela PCPPI promotes recycling and upcycling with a greenhouse made of PET bottles turned over to Echague National High School in Cagayan Valley.

I

N LINE with its commitment to sustainability and quality education, Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines Inc. (PCPPI) partnered once again with the Department of Education to support the latter’s annual Brigada Eskwela program through nationwide, week-long activities.

Almost 500 PCPPI volunteers rendered a total of 2,462 hours to local communities.

“Taking care of the communities that support our trade is part of our core commitment to sustainability. Now equipped with our new three-pronged sustainability framework on Water Stewardship, Circular Economy, and Inclusive Business, we expand our efforts in promoting effective resource management and our green advocacy to contribute to the mutual growth of both these communities and all of our operations,” said PCPPI corporate affairs and communications senior manager Monique Castro.

A total of 27 schools from the surrounding communities of PCPPI’s 14 business units nationwide benefited from the company’s community investment worth almost a million pesos.

For its 2019 initiative, PCPPI supplied safe drinking water for students by donating high-grade drinking fountains to five schools surrounding their Modern Trade Operations, Central Luzon, Southern Tagalog Region, Cebu, and Davao offices.

Recipient schools included Muntinlupa Elementary School, San Agustin Integrated Elementary School, and Doña Tiburcia Carpio Malvar Elementary School in Luzon; Cebu’s Tulay National High School; and Talomo Elementary School in Davao.

PCPPI also promoted hygiene and sanitation by conducting proper handwashing demos as well as donating handwashing facilities with hygiene kit sets for 1,280 students. The school beneficiaries were Marcos Elementary School near the company’s North Luzon

Volunteers collect bottles, championing the company’s Circular Economy practices.

facility, Echague National High School in Cagayan Valley, and Tanauan National High School in Leyte.

Committed to its mission of doing sustainable business, PCPPI also championed Circular Economy practices through

solid waste management trainings for parents and students. The trainings were conducted at F. De Mesa Elementary School, Muntinlupa Elementary School, and Diezmo Elementary School.

“This year’s Brigada Eskwela extend-

ed our involvement with the students by reaching out to their parents and teachers. We wanted to impart to them lasting lessons on sustainability that they can continue to put into practice at home or in school,” said Castro.

On top of this, the company promoted recycling and upcycling by turning over a greenhouse made of PET bottles to Echague National High School in Cagayan Valley, 50 modified water sprinklers in Bacolod, and 54 trash bins to the schools covered by its Metro Operations Services, Modern Trade office, Northern Luzon, Central Luzon, and Davao operations.

In support of better education for the local communities, the bottling firm donated a total of 17,200 notebooks and 275 sets of school supplies for students.

“We wanted to get more communities on board with our sustainability efforts to maximize its reach. We are confident that through these, our stakeholders can help us influence and encourage more Filipinos to partner with us so that together we can make a lasting difference,” concluded Castro.

Who...

From C1

Prima Facie took the second spot in the 2018 JA Asia Pacific Company of the Year Competition for their unisex sneakers made from water lily fiber.

Sneakers from water lilies The simple design of Prima Facie’s unisex sneakers belies the extraordinary story behind every pair. Upon closer look, one will discover that the handcrafted shoes are made from water lily fiber.

The footwear solves the problem of clogged waterways that plague impover-

ished communities in the metro. It also provides employment to the communities where the water lilies are sourced.

Prima Facie went on to represent the Philippines in the 2018 JA Asia Pacific Company of the Year Competition and placed second for their innovative idea.

Pawa Niugini’s organic charcoal briquettes last longer than ordinary charcoal.

Charcoal briquettes Pawa Niugini of De La Salle - Lipa bagged first place in the FedEx Junior Achievement International Trade Challenge Local Finals with their proposal of organic charcoal briquettes that burn longer than other types of charcoal, and also acts as a natural mosquito repellent. They represented the Philippines in the Regional Finals in Singapore in 2018, where more than 2,700 students from 10 markets took part.

Made from 100 percent organic materials, these mosquito repellants last

longer than ordinary charcoal. The ashes can then be used as fertilizer.

These young ladies are just some of the countless entrepreneurs who are empowered by the business programs of FedEx and JA. Together with JA, FedEx has trained thousands of young entrepreneurs and business leaders in the Asia Pacific region through the annual FedEx/JA International Trade Challenge and the JA Asia Pacific Company of the Year competitions.

Past Ramon Magsaysay awardees, former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. and PETA president Cecilia Garrucho talk about engaged citizenry in a forum.

Ramon Magsaysay awardees on youth’s role towards engaged citizenry “NO COUNTRY and people can achieve true freedom and independence unless it has and have an engaged citizenry.”

Past Ramon Magsaysay awardee, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Hilario Davide Jr. shared this statement in a recent forum at the Black Box of Benilde’s School of Design and Arts Campus.

Organized by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, with the theme “Towards an Engaged Citizenry: The New Meaning of Freedom and Independence,” Davide together with Philippine Educational Theater Association president Cecilia Bulaong Garrucho, discussed the essence of freedom and independence.

“The new meaning is not actually new. In fact this should be the true and original meaning of freedom and independence,” noted Davide.

Davide explained that an engaged citizenry is a sector of all population composed of citizens who are empowered, informed, principled, responsive,

responsible, committed, dedicated, creative, dynamic, courageous, and with impeccable integrity who place upon themselves the solemn duty of building a better tomorrow.

“This engaged citizenry is the only kind of community that is expected by the sovereign Filipino people to pursue and achieve their noble aspirations, hopes, and longings as signed in the preamble of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philippines,” he stated.

He added, “Our dear Philippines and all of Asia look upon you, youth! As knighted soldiers to transform the Philippines and to transform Asia as a haven of love, truth, justice, peace, equality, prosperity, stability, and where independence and democracy under the rule of law shall reign and where freedom becomes a universal license to do good,” Davide defined.

Garrucho, meanwhile, expounded that art can be tapped as a campaign to save something that is important, cared, loved.

Davide and Garrucho reminded the youth to make their presence known and to campaign worthwhile advocacies.

The former Chief Justice repeatedly urged the young audience to discover their talents and use them. “It requires a lot of patience on your part, but you have to look forward. Go beyond. You have to assert your power,” he said.

“A creative person can never be crashed if you always find ways to solve the problems even if it seems that there are no solutions,” stressed Garrucho.

Participants to the forum included students and youth leaders from Asian Institute of Management, Ateneo de Manila University School of Law, Angels Here Abound Learning Center, ASEAN Youth Engagement Summit, I am Climate Justice, DAKILA Philippine Collective for Modern Heroism, Young Bridging Leaders, and DLSCSB’s School of Diplomacy and Governance and School of Management and Information Technology.

Entertainment

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

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nickie.standard@gmail.com

SGIFF makes waves in Southeast Asia ahead th of its 30 edition

GMA, first Philippine network to premiere in India Meant To Be

My Husband's Lover

The Rich Man's Daughter

L

EADING media network, GMA, marks another first as it sold four of its dramas to India, the second most populous country in the world.

In a deal brokered by GMA Worldwide, Inc. (GWI), GMA’s content distribution subsidiary, two major Overthe-Top (OTT) streaming service providers in India will carry over 300 hours of the Network’s content.

GWI entered into a licensing agreement with MX Player, considered as India’s most premium OTT platform.

MX Player is owned by Times Internet, the digital media division of Times Group, India’s largest media conglomerate. Starting August, GMA-produced content will be available for viewing to MX Player’s impressive 350+ million users in India across different platforms, including Android, iOS, and PC. The titles licensed by GWI to MX Player are hit romance comedies Meant To Be and Juan Happy Love Story.

In another deal, GWI expanded its license agreement with GagaOOLala, Asia’s first and biggest LGBTQfocused streaming platform to make available to India the groundbreaking and critically-acclaimed dramas My Husband’s Lover and The Rich Man’s Daughter beginning June. Owned by Taipei-based distribution company Portico Media, GagaOOLala entered the Indian OTT market after the country decriminalized homosexuality in 2018.

Considered a cult hit in the Philippines, Meant To Be is a romantic comedy about four guys of different racial and cultural backgrounds who fall in love with the same girl.

They try to woo the girl by showing her different languages of love. Fans and viewers of the series root and even got to vote online for the fellow they think deserves to end up with the girl.

A romantic comedy with a hint of sexy, Juan Happy Love Story tells the story of Juan and Happy, a man and a woman who are worlds apart in their views about life and love but find themselves in a whirlwind romance.

They seem to be a perfect match until they find out that

Juan Happy Love Story

they cannot bear a child because they have incompatible biochemistries.

GMA’s groundbreaking drama, My Husband’s Lover tells the story of a woman who belatedly discovers that her husband has been carrying on an affair, but with another man. It is the first ever LGBTQ-themed series on Philippine primetime television.

The powerful drama earned the nod of critics and the LGBTQ community. It earned a nomination in the International Emmy Awards telenovela category.

Tackling a lesbian love story, The Rich Man’s Daughter is another first on Philippine television. It tells the story of an heiress to a rich Chinese family whose life and beliefs change when she falls in love with another woman. It is loosely based on a true story of a rich man who offered a huge “marriage bounty” to any man who could marry his daughter. The drama was also highly-acclaimed for representing and empowering gay women.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Saturday, June 22, 2019

ACROSS 1 Agrees 6 Cut of meat 9 Flowed back 14 Grownup 15 Queen beater 16 Take the dais 17 — Oberon of films 18 Actor — Perlman 19 Paris’s river 20 Pie pro 21 Means justifier 23 Woeful cry 24 Rustic roads 26 Polio vaccine inventor 28 Excuse me!

31 Indy drivers 35 Rose or peony 38 Mental pictures 39 High notes 40 Non-rusting metal 42 Dust particle 43 Go — (succeed) 46 Setback 49 Kind of tire 50 Boat’s bottom 51 Poi party 53 Globe feature 57 Hide 60 Long hike 63 Crane cousin 65 Mineral analysis 67 — you with it?

68 Crumble away 69 Aver 70 Sass 71 Plays charades 72 Fleeced 73 Perm follow-up 74 B-vitamin source DOWN 1 Door post 2 Just perfect 3 Muslim woman’s cover-up 4 Ms. DeGeneres 5 Sound systems 6 Not plentiful 7 Desktop symbol 8 Diver’s malady 9 Sister of Helios 10 Pack up gear and resume a journey (2 wds.)

11 Bucket’s handle 12 Long-active volcano 13 Poor grades 22 Rani’s wear 25 Soap pad brand 27 Hasty escape 29 Poker winning 30 Nasty smile 32 Self-images 33 Solar plexus 34 Compass dir.

35 Lugosi of “Dracula”

36 Go first 37 Swing to and fro 39 EMT technique 41 Society column word 44 Water, to Pierre 45 Venetian-blind unit 47 Name for a lion 48 Medieval “science” 52 Part of Asia’s border 54 Hair-raising 55 Fragrance

56 Leaf junctures 57 Very large 58 This, to Pedro 59 Baroness Karen 61 Great Lake 62 Hoarded 64 Robin’s home 66 Hankering

THE Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) is making waves by bringing noteworthy films with distinct voices closer to audiences in Singapore and Southeast Asia, with the launch of its inaugural edition of Travelling Waves and an all-new format of New Waves.

With these refreshed programs ahead of its 30th edition, the festival continues to grow the level of appreciation among film-lovers, strengthen the independent film ecosystem in the region, while championing its talents and stories.

Travelling Waves is a multi-city program that brings Southeast Asian cinematic voices to independent screening venues around the region. The inaugural edition will see SGIFF present five short films by emerging regional filmmakers in Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur.

The sessions, comprising film screenings followed by discussions with filmmakers, are rare opportunities for the film community to mingle, exchange ideas and perspectives.

Executive Director Yuni Hadi shared, “Even though SGIFF is based in Singapore, we want to better connect with our neighboring film communities through this regional program and the initiatives of the SGIFF Film Academy. Partnering with independent film spaces such as the Bangkok Screening Room, Kinosaurus and TDSC allows us to work closely with film organizations who champion the independent spirit we see in short films.”

“Our upcoming 30th edition provides a timely opportunity for us to shine the spotlight on Southeast Asian filmmakers with these original stories that resonate with us. Through these programs, we see the strength of the region coming together to further develop and nurture the potential of storytelling in Southeast Asia,” Hadi added.

The first session at Bangkok Screening Room on April 20 received a full-house reception. A testament of the curiosity towards SoutheastAsian films, the audience participated actively in the post-screening dialogue with filmmakers Pathompon Mont Tesprateep (Song X), and Danech San (A Million Years).

The session was moderated by esteemed Thai film critic Kong Rithdee, who will also return to SGIFF as Head Mentor of the Youth Jury and Critics Programme this year.

Travelling Waves will be hosted by Kuala Lumpur o July 20 where attendees can also look forward to engaging screenings and

Programme Director, Kuo Ming-Jung

discussions with filmmakers. Interested parties can visit https://sgiff.com/ travelling-waves/ for ticketing details.

Returning for its fourth edition, this year’s New Waves will take place over an intimate weekend on July 12 and 13, comprising screenings and a panel discussion to develop the film audience in Singapore. The all-new format is tailored to gather more filmmakers at the same time to share diverse viewpoints and vibrant discussions with film aficionados and beginners alike.

Part of the SGIFF Film Academy, this year’s New Waves will see retrospectives of short films produced by Akanga Film Asia and led by Fran Borgia, who produced Boo Junfeng’s Apprentice (2016) and Yeo Siew Hua’s A Land Imagined (2018). It will also chart the rise and development of awardwinning filmmaker Anthony Chen, in anticipation of his sophomore effort Wet Season (2019), after the award-winning feature Ilo Ilo (2013).

The 30th SGIFF will run from Nov. 21 to Dec. 1. Its call for entries for Feature and Short Films, Southeast Asian Film Lab, and Youth Jury & Critics Programme is now open and will continue till Aug. 19.

SGIFF is an event of the Singapore Media Festival (SMF), hosted by Infocommunications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA). SGIFF 2019’s Official Sponsors include Official Red Carpet Venue Capitol Theatre and Official Hotel Shangri-La Hotel Singapore.

For more information, please visit www.sgiff.com.

‘Studio 7’ moves to new Saturday timeslot

'Studio 7' cast Julie Anne San Jose, Mark Bautista, Christian Bautista, Jong Madaliday, and Garrett Bolden.

GMA Network’s hit musical-variety show Studio 7 continues to bring world-class entertainment and non-

stop fun and surprises as it moves to its new timeslot.

Apart from the trending musical performances of the network’s brightest stars, the Kapuso viewers’ favorite weekend night music “tambayan” introduces a new segment dubbed “Duet With Me”, a singing competition for aspiring singers who want to showcase their musical prowess on the Studio 7 stage.

This new segment features a Studio 7 mainstay and two contestants who compete in a ”tapatan ng biritan.”

Three digital personalities and the featured artist decide who will be declared as winner after the duet performance.

The winner will be given a fast pass and will automatically be part of the TOP 64 of The Clash Season 2.

Meanwhile, with the time slot, balladeer Christian Bautista, Julie Anne San Jose, Aicelle Santos, and Mark Bautista together with Gabbi Garcia, Rayver Cruz, Kyline Alcantara, Migo Adecer, Mikee Quintos, Mavy and Cassy Legaspi, and The Clash alumni Golden Cañedo, Jong Madaliday, Garrett Bolden, and Mirriam Manalo promise more exciting, show-stopping, and one-of-a-kind performances to their fans.

Studio 7 also welcomes the newest members of its powerhouse cast – the well-loved “BoBrey” from My Special Tatay -- Ken Chan and Rita Daniela.

Catch Studio 7 on its new timeslot every Saturday at 10:00 p.m. after Magpakailanman on GMA-7.

Nickie Wang, Issue Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

C4

Entertainment

SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2019

Ultimate boxing series ‘Kamaong Pinoy’ on ‘5’ Network

COUCH POTATO IVY ROSSINI

25 YEARS AND COUNTING

Cinema One celebrates decades of Filipino Films CINEMA One, one of the first cable channels that feature Filipino films, marks 25 years of championing Philippine cinema.

It also launched its silver anniversary theme song “Laging Kasama” performed by Daniel Padilla.

Daniel recently performed the song in ASAP Natin ‘To. You can also watch the music video on Cinema One’s YouTube channel.

One of the country’s leading cable channels, it has showcased and delivered thousands of Filipino films to television.

On June 30, Cinema One will premiere the highest grossing Filipino film of all time, The Hows Of Us starring the Phenomenal stars of Philippine cinema Daniel and Kathryn Bernardo.

Cinema One began in 1994 as Sky One, later changed its name to Pinoy Blockbuster Channel, and finally got its current name in 2001. It is one of the ABSCBN cable channels under the network’s subsidiary, Creative Programs, Inc..

Channel head Ronald Arguelles shared that Cinema One was born to provide a 24-hour channel showcasing Filipino films.

“Aside from doing our core programming made up of classic and contemporary Pinoy films, we also began producing local magazine shows like Cinemanews, Persona, Cover Story,and Review Night, Ronald shared of the channel’s local production beginnings in 2001,” Arguelles said.

Screenwriter Ricky Lee shared in a recent Inside the Cinema interview that the channel has become a repository of

Daniel Padilla has been tapped by Cinema One to sing its theme song for its 25th anniversary.

Filipino movies since then, “the go-to channel if you want to watch local films.”

Today, the Cinema One brand has evolved from merely airing movies to producing its own films through the annual Cinema One Originals festival.

The fearless film festival has brought international recognition and awardwinning stories, including the box office hit That Thing Called Tadhana.

Bianca Gonzales, host of the channel’s magazine show Cinemanews, hailed Cinema One for opening opportunities for young filmmakers, the future of Philippine cinema. “Here in Cinema One, especially in Cinemanews, independent filmmakers and film personalities are given more airtime to articulate their views and opinions about their projects and discuss varied issues affecting work and their lives.”

The premier cable channel also regularly hosts outdoor screenings via OpenAir Cinema One to bring the movie-going experience face-to-face to viewers, capped with live music and games for the audience’s enjoyment.

The channel has continued to grow for the past two and a half decades, even producing its own series Single/ Single for two successful seasons and concluded it with a movie in 2018.

This year, it went full blast with its own YouTube channel to stream films and program clips online, and in just three months it already gained over 120,000 subscribers.

“We want to do more collaborations with new platforms such as iWant and YouTube. We also hope to continue producing more diverse and exciting films,” Arguelles added.

This month, the channel also features a compelling line-up in the Restored Cinema program section in celebration of 100 Years of Philippine Cinema, with the award-winning war drama Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos airing on Sunday (June 23) and Ibong Adarna, the oldest film in its archive, on June 30.

Chot Reyes and boxing champ Gerry Peñalosa

AFTER championing the local boxing scene with a slew of exciting live events, ESPN5 Boxing steps up further by teaming up with Gerrypens Promotions to deliver a boxing tournament training program called Ultimate Boxing Series: Kamaong Pinoy.

The reality series premieres tomorrow and will be seen every Sunday at 12:00 noon on “5” Network.

Twenty professional boxers from different boxing stables around the Philippines will be given the opportunity to train in one roof and under the watchful eye of Pinoy boxing legend and twotime champ Gerry ‘Fearless’ Peñalosa, for the opportunity to face off against each other in a live and nationally-televised boxing event, courtesy of ESPN5.

This sports reality series will not only feature the fighters’ training and conditioning, but also their motivations—their loved ones, families, and for

the opportunity to further build upon the legacy of Philippine boxing.

Each episode features not only why they fight, but who they are fighting for.

“The Pinoy boxer’s fist is not only for fighting, but also for protecting the ones they love,” Gerry Peñalosa says of the series.

The show also ties in a couple of ESPN5 live boxing events, bringing the culminating events of this reality series to a live audience.

“The Filipino boxing scene has never been this exciting,” Vincent Reyes shares.

“The search for the next dominant Pinoy boxer can come from anywhere and bring something new to the table—a new stable, a new boxing style, a new motivation. We are proud to be a pivotal part of this, and to share Gerry Peñalosa’s vision in his search for the next Fearless Pinoy Fighter,” he ends.

A colorful date with IAN VENERACION W E KNOW him as VERY someone who had WANG made a successful NICKIE transition from a child actor WANG in the ‘80s into an action star in the ‘90s. He then continued his acting career and became known as an award-winning heartthrob.

But Ian Veneracion has this side of him that many people are not aware of.

Apart from being an actor, a sportsperson, and a painter, he’s very much into music and can even be considered a legitimate concert performer. This is the colorful life of Ian that some of us are yet to discover.

“I would take out my guitar every morning and play some music. That’s how my day starts,” he said during a casual meeting with the entertainment press.

Just like his love for the outdoors, Stephen Ian Lopez Veneracion takes pride in constantly seeking new adventure to tackle. Facing a crowd and performing his own brand of music may be one of these new adventures, but unknown to a lot, his passion for music goes way back.

“Playing music has always been a huge part of my private life, but it’s recently that I’ve come to realize the possibility of other people enjoying my taste in music...in the way I approach it.”

And just like the multitude of roles he has portrayed over three decades in the industry, he also manages to invoke this diversity when it comes to songs, as he relates, “ I try to play songs in a different light, influenced by my own musical tastes.”

His musical influences include what he terms as “old school’ – Sting, U2, Eric Clapton, The Eagles, Peter Frampton, and Fra Lippo Lippi, to name a few.

And the influence of these music icons is what you will hear and see in his upcoming concert on July 11 and 12 at the Music Museum entitled, Ian: In Color. The concert is a tell-all journey of his life, his moods and his thoughts through music. It will paint a picture of what Ian is in real life,

baring his dressed down persona.

Unlike his first concert at Resorts World last year, this will have a totally different approach. As he reveals, “Since it will be in Music Museum, it will be more intimate, hence more interactive. Plus, the arrangement of the songs are something I would describe as musically playful.”

A lot of people are not aware that Ian has released his own compositions on Spotify like “We’re All Alone” and ‘I’ll Miss You the Most.” Does this mean that he is taking his music more seriously by embarking on a route towards this art form?

He admits that as long as there are people interested in watching his shows, he is open to it, but explains, “But the main point of this new road is a realization that whether in front of a big crowd, or just jamming

A Park Bo Gum ‘encounter’ in Manila TODAY, Korean superstar Park Bo Gum meets his Filipino fans for the first time at the Park Bo Gum’s 2019 Asia Tour: May Your Every Day Be A Good Day happening at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Love In The Moonlight actor kicked off his tour in Seoul and made stops in Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Taiwan.

The Manila leg, his tour’s final stop, is produced by ABS-CBN Events and Ovation Productions, in partnership with Blossom Entertainment.

Park Bo Gum played the Joseon crown prince in historical drama Love In The Moonlight, which aired on ABS-CBN in 2017 and brought the ‘moonlight syndrome’ and ‘Bo-gum magic’ in the Philippines.

The Korean heartthrob was named Actor of the Year by Gallup Korea in 2016. A year later, he topped Forbes magazine’s Korea Power Celebrity list.

His latest television drama Encounter, which he starred alongside another Korean superstar Song Hye Kyo, will soon air

on ABS-CBN. Don’t miss the highly anticipated encounter with Park Bo Gum at his 2019 Asia Tour: May Your Every Day Be A Good Day live in Manila.

Tickets are priced at P9,050 (patron), P7,980 (lower box A), and P5,860 (lower box B), available on www. smtickets.com and at all SM Tickets outlets.

Park Bo Gum's Good Day Live in Manila is produced by Ovation Productions and ABS CBN events in partnership with Blossom Entertainment brought to you by TNT.

with friends, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I can’t psychologically survive without music. Just like in other forms of art, music is its own reward.

The music bug got me.”

Jamming with Ian in the concert are Ogie Alcasid on July 11 and Regine Velasquez on July 12. Other surprise guests are also expected to come and join the jam.

Ian: In Color is presented

by A-Team and PLDT Home.

Minor sponsors include conzace, HMR, New Order Urban Lounge Bar, Fernando’s Bakery with Baelan Infinity.

Tickets are available at Ticketwork, Music Museum or A-Team at 09062878049.

MULTIHYPHENATE.

Born Stephen Ian Lopez Veneracion, the 44-year-old actor takes pride in constantly seeking new adventure to tackle. He is staging a solo concert at Music Museum on July 8, his second show after his successful debut on the concert stage.