Manila Standard - 2019 August 23 - Friday

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Abide by UNCLOS, avert war—Locsin

By Rey E. Requejo FOREIGN Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Thursday stressed the need for all countries to observe international laws, including their treaty obligations under the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea to avoid conflict that could lead to war.

In his remarks during the opening

of the Seventh Biennial Conference of the Asian Society of International Law, Locsin said despite its near universal acceptance by 168 states parties, “the most imminent and potentially the most disastrous dangers in our world today pertain to marine and maritime affairs―the Persian Gulf and the South China Sea.” The Department of National Defense on Thursday said it will first coordi-

nate with the military on how to carry out President Rodrigo Duterte’s instructions requiring all foreign ships to secure clearance before entering the country’s territorial waters.

“We will have to carefully work this out with the AFP, particularly the commands whose area of operations these fall under. There needs to be SOPs [Standard

‘‘

“If I am not allowed as president of a sovereign nation to talk about what I want, then let’s not talk altogether. Do not control my mouth because it is a gift from God.”

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— President Rodrigo Duterte, speaking at an event in Odiongan, Romblon, elaborates on his decision to bring up Manila’s 2016 arbitral victory over Beijing in his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week.

VOL. XXXIII • NO. 190 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

China spurned over gaming: It’s legal in PH

By MJ Blancaflor and Macon Ramos-Araneta MALACAÑANG on Thursday said online gambling is not illegal in the Philippines, amid calls from the Chinese Foreign Ministry to ban all forms of it.

“We have previously stated our position on that. Under our laws, it’s not illegal,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Geng Shuang urged the government to “go further and ban all online gambling” because their citizens used it in money laundering from China.

Chinese funds are also illegally flown out of China and into the Philippines through cross-border money laundering, he said.

The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. recently stopped accepting applications of Philippine offshore Next page gaming operator licenses.

Dengvaxia license scrapped for good T

HE Department of Health has upheld the permanent revocation by the Food and Drug Administration of the certificates of product registration of the antidengue vaccine Dengvaxia due to the continued failure of its manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur Inc., to submit postapproval requirements.

Financial fallout from ASF feared THE government should open up a new front in the contingency preparations for African swine flu to help the people in the P280-billion-a-year industry if tests prove that the deadly disease is already here, an official said Thursday.

“I think that a study group should be convened to assess the financial fallout in the event of a worst-case scenario,” Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said.

“Next to rice, the hog industry is the biggest in agriculture in terms of value.

It is also the eighth biggest in the world.

While Department of Agriculture and Department of Health protocols to contain the diseases “are in place and Next page

PRISON SHUFFLE. Former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez (2nd from left), convicted for raping and murdering a college student and her boyfriend in the 1990s, walks with an unidentified inmate at the Maximum Security Compound of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City on Thursday. Norman Cruz

Palace bucks public outcry over Sanchez release plan

By MJ Blancaflor, Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Palace on Thursday said it would not oppose the release of convicted rapist and murderer Antonio Sanchez, if he is deemed qualified under the law, despite the public outcry that the former Laguna mayor not be freed because of gravity of his crime.

On Wednesday, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Sanchez, convicted for the 1993 rape and murder of Eileen Sarmenta and the

killing of her friend Allan Gomez, is one of the thousands of prisoners who might walk away from prison because of a law reducing jail time for good behavior.

The announcement triggered outrage from the victims’ families and was widely criticized on social media.

But Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo, who served as Sanchez’s lawyer, said the Palace would not object to his release.

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Facebook news pros to curate stories Ex-DFA chief nabbed in Manila

By Vito Barcelo FORMER Foreign Affairs Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr., was arrested Thursday afternoon after a Manila court issued a warrant for alleged violation of the country’s banking laws.

Yasay, who refused to post bail as of press time, was ordered arrested by Judge Danilo Leyva, presiding judge of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 10 for criminal charges allegedly committed by officials of Banco Filipino from 2003 to 2006.

But Yasay said he joined the bank in 2009.

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NEW YORK—Facebook’s plan to hire professional journalists instead of relying solely on algorithms to deliver news is a positive step but is unlikely to shake up an embattled media industry, analysts say.

The social media giant said Tuesday it would build a small team of journalists to select the top national news of the day “to ensure we’re highlighting the right stories.”

It comes as the US media landscape is plagued by job losses and newspaper closures, with organizations trying to figure out how to record profits in the age of free news.

Stories will appear in a section called the “news tab,” which will be separate from the traditional news feed that displays updates and content from users’ friends and relatives.

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Robot to spend 10 days in outer space MOSCOW—Russia on Thursday launched an unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot that will spend 10 days learning to assist astronauts on the International Space Station.

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While the decision had nothing to do with the vaccine’s efficacy, it reflects Sanofi’s “complete disregard of FDA regulations, which were precisely put in place by law to ensure safety,” Duque said.

As a holder of the certificates of product registration for Dengvaxia and Dengvaxia MD, Sanofi is bound by post-marketing commitments, including the submission of risk management plans, the Health secretary said.

“Given that Dengvaxia is an innovative drug, the importance of complying with these post-marketing commitments is critical to public safety,” he said.

The DOH found that, while Sanofi has submitted the first and second versions of the risk management plan, it has failed to submit the third version, and has belatedly submitted the fourth version, in violation of its post-marketing commitments and pertinent FDA rules and regulations.

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COURTESY VISIT.

House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez (right) welcomes US Ambassador Sung Kim Thursday when the latter arrived at the House of Representatives for a courtesy call on Speaker Alan Cayetano. Ver Noveno

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News

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘Ineng’ whips up storm signal over Batanes TROPICAL storm “Ineng” is forecast to intensify into a severe tropical storm in the next 24 hours, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

The agency raised Signal no. 1 over Batanes, Cagayan, the Babuyan group of islands, Isabela, Apayao, Kalinga, Northern Abra and Ilocos Norte.

“Ineng” maintained its strength while slightly slowing down, and was moving west-northwest at 15 kilometers per hour.

As of 4 p.m., the storm’s center was 725 kilometers east of Casiguran, Aurora, and packing maximum sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour and gustiness of 90 kph. Rio N. Araja

Dengvaxia...

From A1 Duque said Sanofi has been informed that it may reapply for the certificates but must faithfully comply with all relevant laws, rules and regulations.

The Dengue Vaccine National Expert Panel recommends Sanofi’s submission of updated data on pharmacovigilance and post-marketing surveillance.

This should show what the company has done in terms of monitoring and preventing the drug’s adverse effects for the more than 830,000 children that have already been vaccinated.

Public Attorney’s Office chief Persida Acosta welcomed the revocation of Sanofi’s certificates of product registration, saying it was expected, given the controversy surrounding the vaccine.

Acosta’s office has been representing the families of children who died after being given Dengvaxia.

Earlier, a group of physicians rejected the proposal to lift the ban on Dengvaxia, saying the vaccine would not address the ongoing dengue outbreak even as the number of infections continued to rise unabated. Dr. Julie Caguiat, one of five doctors representing various medical groups, slammed drugmaker Sanofi Pasteur for lying to the public when it introduced the anti-dengue vaccine to the Philippines.

Caguiat, secretary of the Community Medicine Practitioners and Advocates Association or Compass, said Sanofi has yet to publish the full result of its phase 3 trial or complete pre-planned subgroup analysis and the complete documents for phase 4.

“They lied to the people before. Why should physicians and the people trust them now?” Caguiat said.

Former Philippine Health Insurance Corp. director Anthony Leachon said eradicating the breeding places of mosquitoes and a massive cleanup of schools, workplaces and communities is more effective than vaccination with a “potentially dangerous vaccine.”

Another health expert, Dr. Antonio Dans, suggested that if the government is considering re-introducing Dengvaxia, it should be done properly this time.

Manila prohibited the import, sale and distribution of the drug after parents blamed it for the deaths of several dozen children who were among more than 700,000 people immunized in a state-run trial program.

After the Dengvaxia scare caused Filipinos to shy away from vaccines, the country was hit with measles and dengue outbreaks that have so far killed nearly a thousand people this year. Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja

Financial...

From A1 have been rehearsed, how to mitigate the financial disaster is, I think, an unexplored area. We must be ahead of the curve.”

Recto said readying an assistance package for the hundreds of thousands of people dependent on the local hog industry “is beyond the mandate” of the Agriculture department.

“Of all the powers of the DA secretary, the power to appropriate or to release allotments is not one of them,” Recto said.

“It is something that is discussed in the highest levels of government, in the Cabinet, in both houses of Congress, more so if it requires a huge amount of money to bridge financing,” Recto said.

He said the hog industry was a pillar of the Philippine economy, with millions earning a living on the swine supply chain.

With annual production nearing 2.3 metric tons, he said, it is the eighth biggest in the world by volume.

Any production disruption would be felt on Filipino dining tables, Recto said.

“Remember, this is the land of lechon, the national fiesta food; adobo, the national comfort food; sisig is one of the pambasang pulutans; and longganisa and tocino are the breakfast of champions.”

Four years ago, Filipino families were already buying P101 billion worth of fresh pork alone.

“Kung decreasing ang fish catch natin, at mahal na rin ang maraming isdang dagat, tapos mawawala pa ang pork―kailangan talaga may turnaround plan na nakahanda para sa industriya, para makabangon kaagad sila,” Recto said.

Kung magiging disaster ito, the hog industry deserves calamity aid, he said.

Peeved by Poe, Duterte decides to ‘let EDSA rot’

man and a gay to try using such kind of gender-less comfort room.

“See what happens?” said the Senate leader as he disclosed that more senators were inclined to support the Antidiscrimination bill which also encompasses the rights of people belonging to the Third Sex. He said the anti-discrimination on persons might pass, but a bill focused on gays, on which the SOGIE is had no chance.

Sotto said the Senate could pass an anti-discrimination bill but not one that was focused only on members of the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and

queer) community.

“But focused on gays, which the SOGIE bill is, and religious and academic freedom impeded plus smuggling of same sex marriage? No chance,” the Senate leader said.

Sotto said he could not fathom the thinking of women who wanted to allow gays in their toilet.

“In all women’s CR, there is always a long line, and they still add the beki,” he added, in reference to the gays.

The SOGIE bill seeks to criminalize discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

Named Fedor, for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research with identification number Skybot F850, the robot is the first ever sent up by Russia.

Fedor blasted off in a Soyuz MS-14 spacecraft at 6:38 a.m. Moscow time (0338 GMT) from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The Soyuz is set to dock with the space station on Saturday and stay till Sept. 7.

Soyuz ships are normally manned on such trips, but on Thursday no humans are traveling in order to test a new emergency rescue system.

Instead of cosmonauts, Fedor was strapped into a specially adapted pilot’s seat, with a small Russian flag in his hand.

“Let’s go. Let’s go,” the robot was heard as ‘saying’ during launch, apparently repeating the famous phrase by first man in space Yury Gagarin.

The silvery anthropomorphic robot stands 1.80 meters (5 foot 11 inches) tall and weighs 160 kilograms (353 pounds).

Fedor has Instagram and Twitter accounts that describe it as learning new skills such as opening a bottle of water. In the station, it will trial those manual skills in very low gravity.

“That’s connecting and disconnecting electric cables, using standard items from a screwdriver and a spanner to a fire extinguisher,” the Russian space agency’s director for prospective programs and science, Alexander Bloshenko, said in televised comments ahead of the launch.

“The first stage of in-f light experiments went according to the f light plan,” the robot’s account tweeted after reaching orbit.

Fedor copies human movements, a key skill that allows it to remotely help astronauts or even people on Earth carry out tasks while they are strapped into an exoskeleton.

Such robots will eventually carry out dangerous operations such as space walks, Bloshenko told RIA Novosti state news agency. AFP

not go against the freedom of navigation.

Locsin said maritime conflict between countries could be resolved peacefully if the “greatest power on earth led by the example of subscribing to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Describing the 1982 UNCLOS as the constitution for the oceans, the country’s top diplomat said: “If only we respected pacta sunt servanda [Latin for “agreements must be kept”] in our obligations under UNCLOS, there could be less animosity with its greater likelihood of conflict.”

Locsin was referring to China, which, although a signatory to UNCLOS, refused to recognize the 2016 Arbitral Award rendered by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in favor of the Philippines invalidating its massive claims over the South China Sea and clarifying the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines, including the West Philippine Sea. Locsin also criticized the United States for its failure to be part of UNCLOS. The US has signed the agreement, but it was not ratified by the US Senate, a treaty-ratifying body.

“If only the greatest power on earth led by example of subscribing to UNCLOS, it would be a safer world. The only cure for the uncertainty that gnaws at our sense of security―and invites us to prepare for war to find its opposite in peace-is the universal acceptance of international law. Not in place of the national self-interest but to serve it better,” he said.

The US and China are at odds over the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, where Beijing has turned several former reefs into artificial islands with military facilities, runways and surface-to- air missiles.

While the US is not a party to the disputes, it has declared that it is in its national interest to ensure freedom of navigation and overflights in the contested waters where the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims, but claimed nearly in its entirety by China, through its nine-dash-line claims.

Recently, the tensions between Philippines and China heightened after Chinese warships made unannounced passage through

the Sibutu Strait in Tawi–Tawi in July and August.

While any foreign vessel may be allowed to cross a coastal state’s territorial under UNCLOS without the need to notify the state if they are conducting innocent passage, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana does not consider such passage of the Chinese as such because it has already happened several times.

Meanwhile, Carpio said that in the exercise by foreign merchant ships and warships of innocent passage through the territorial sea or archipelagic waters, the coastal state cannot require prior permission or prior notification.

Carpio proposed that the Congress immediately pass the Archipelagic Sea Lanes Passage bill in order for the President to designate the sea lanes where foreign merchant ships and warships could pass.

“The law can require foreign ships exercising the right to archipelagic sea lane passage to turn on their Automatic Identification System [AIS] and for submarines to surface and show their flag,” Carpio said. With PNA and MJ Blancaflor

benefit from the law are recidivists, those habitual delinquents, escapees, and persons charged with heinous crimes, meaning [these people] are not eligible for any expanded GCTA. So, even at that stage, there is already a process of elimination,” Guevarra said.

Asked if Sanchez was qualified for GCTA, Guevarra said he would leave it up to BuCor since it is the bureau, based on its guidelines, that would evaluate the GCTA accumulated by the convicts and determine those who are eligible.

While in prison, drug charges were filed against Sanchez for alleged possession of shabu and marijuana leaves in 2006. Four years later, he was reportedly caught with one kilogram of shabu hidden in a Virgin Mary statue; he allegedly sold the P1.5 million worth of illegal drugs to his fellow inmates. In year 2015, an air conditioning unit and flat screen TV were seized from his cell.

Guevarra said these crimes committed while in jail could disqualify an inmate from obtaining a good conduct and time allowance.

“In the case of Sanchez [his GCTA] has not yet been evaluated. Do not get the impression that he has accumulated GCTA. It is still subject to review and reevaluation of the BuCor,” he added.

For convicts serving sentences for serious offenses, the bureau must first determine eligibility, Guevarra said. If the convicts are found eligible, then the bureau must study their cases carefully and make sure the computation of the GCTA is correct, he added.

Around 11,000 convicts are expected to have their prison sentences reduced as a result of the law re-computing their GCTA. Immediately after the Supreme Court came out with its decision on the retroactive application of the RA no. 10592, that amended several provisions in the Revised Penal Code and authorized the credit of preventive imprisonment and revision of good conduct time allowance of persons deprived of liberty, the BuCor immediately processed and released some 200 convicts

as a result of their recomputed GCTA. “We are hurrying up the process,” Guevarra said, adding that the convict who is eligible and earned enough time credits should already be released.

The Justice secretary said he is aware that there are families who are objecting to the release of convicts and understand their sentiments.

“But that is the policy laid by our Congress, by our lawmakers to give a chance, a second chance to those who are in prison, those who were deprived of liberty who have shown that they have reformed themselves during confinement,” Guevarra said.

“This is right because our law is not purely retributive or punitive. It is also rehabilitative so we adhere to the theory the people can reform themselves and they should be given a second chance.”

Guevarra reacted to reports that Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon would conduct an investigation into the possible release of Sanchez, and that he threatened to file a case against the DOJ if it proceeds with his release.

“The DOJ has never insisted on the release of Mayor Sanchez and he doesn’t have to threaten this department. The conduct of a legislative inquiry is most welcome, as the people are reacting to the effects of the law that the Congress itself enacted in 2013. This maybe a good time for Congress to review its own creation,” he said.

Guevarra earlier allayed concerns that Panelo might have a hand in the impending release of Sanchez, saying he had no reason to believe the presidential spokesman had intervened in the case.

BuCor Public Information Office Chief Sonny del Rosario said they have already released 221 prisoners since Aug. 12 under Republic Act 10592 and about 100 more could walk free anytime soon.

Another 100 plus inmates according to Del Rosario have undergone recomputation of their sentence and could walk free anytime soon but Sanchez is not one of them.

With Maricel V. Cruz and PNA

By MJ Blancaflor

P

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has blamed an “insolent lady” for not giving him emergency powers to solve the heavy traffic on EDSA, and then added the major artery should be left “to rot.”

“Here comes a lady, I call her insolent. It’s good to be honest, it’s good to be a crusading public official, no doubt about it, you will be appreciated. But if you go too far and you think all elected public officials are corrupt, never mind,” President Duterte said in his speech Wednesday.

“Let EDSA rot there,” said Duterte, who was in Romblon to lead the inauguration of a solar project in the province.

He did not name the “insolent lady” who supposedly hindered government efforts to get the funding to fix the traffic

problem on EDSA. But Duterte had previously cited Senator Grace Poe, who heads the Senate committee on public services, for her refusal to grant emergency powers to the President. “[Transportation Secretary Arthur] Tugade said: ‘We need to borrow for EDSA because we need money to move just one stall there,’” Duterte said.

“They ask for emergency powers.”

In his first State of the Nation Address, Duterte asked Congress for emergency powers to solve the heavy traffic in the major thoroughfare.

Poe had previously said there had to be a clear list of projects to be implemented and the transparency to carry them out, and the appointment of a “capable” traffic czar to lead the effort.

Three years later, no emergency powers have been granted to solve the traffic problem on EDSA. Government agencies have been previously criticized for implementing a provincial bus ban and a yellow-lane policy that were blamed for the worsening of the traffic problem on EDSA.

Sotto strikes again: Slim chance for SOGIE bill to pass

By Macon Ramos-Araneta IF YOU have a piece of meat sticking out of your front, then you use the men’s toilet, stressed Senate President Vicente Sotto III as he candidly told reporters there was “no chance” the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Equality bill would pass in the Senate.

Sotto described as “silly” using Starbucks as example for an establishment which has a gender-neutral comfort room.

“It’s silly! Why? Because one at a time ang gamit kaya pwedeng gender+less,” he said.

He also posed a challenge to a woman,

Abide...

From A1 Operating Procedures] that clearly define our responses in compliance with Philippine and international laws,” said Undersecretary Cardozo M. Luna, acting Defense spokesman.

President Duterte’s order requiring foreign ships to seek clearance first from the government does not counter against freedom of navigation, Malacañang said Thursday.

This came after Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio said Duterte’s directive was against the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. A country could not require foreign ships to ask permission if they would pass innocently through a territorial sea, Carpio said.

But Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said the government maintains the position of the President, echoing National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon.

Panelo also said the President’s order does

Palace...

From A1

“The Palace cannot oppose the law. The Palace can only implement a law, or the Office of the President. If we have any concern on the wisdom of the law, then it should be addressed to lawmakers,” Panelo told reporters.

Panelo also said Republic Act 10592, which expands the good conduct time allowance of prisoners, was passed during the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III in 2013.

The law provides additional time deducted from an inmate’s prison sentence as a reward for his or her good behavior.

Sanchez was found guilty and sentenced to seven terms of reclusion perpetua in 1995.

“If he qualifies under that law, then we cannot do anything. The best remedy there—you amend the law. Or repeal it, that’s for the lawmakers,” Panelo said.

Panelo, who is also President Rodrigo Duterte’s chief legal counsel, was one of Sanchez’s seven lawyers in the 1993 case. But he insisted that he did not intervene in the impending release of the former mayor.

“I am not emotionally attached to my clients as a matter of principle and practice,” he added.

Guevarra, meanwhile, said Sanchez may not be eligible for a reduction of his prison sentence after all because he was convicted of committing heinous crimes.

Guevarra said that while it would be the Bureau of Corrections that would evaluate the good conduct and time allowances of the convicted criminals at the New Bilibid Prison, Sanchez might not be able to benefit from Republic Act no. 10592.

“Let me take note on the issue of eligibility, under the 2013 law that expanded or increased GCTA. There is a provision there that cites what is not covered by the law. Those who would not

China...

From A1

Shuang expressed hope that the Pagcor’s decision would pave the way for an outright ban, and would strengthen law enforcement cooperation with China, which has outlawed online gambling.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also said the government does not benefit from offshore gaming operations.

Opposition Senator Leila M. de Lima urged the administration to heed the warning by the Department of National Defense about the proximity of POGO hubs to vital

Robot...

From A1

military camps.

“It’s better to err on the side of caution. It’s even beyond caution, a cause for serious concern,” said De Lima.

“We cannot set aside the possibility that these POGO hubs could be used for illegal activities that could compromise the safety and sovereignty of our country,” she added.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana has earlier expressed apprehension about the close location of existing and upcoming POGO establishments to several military camps in Metro Manila and nearby province of Cavite, but President Rodrigo Duterte has dismissed such concerns, saying the Chinese could spy from far away.

Ex-DFA...

From A1 He is accused of violating Republic Acts 8791 and 7653 or the General Banking Law and the New Central Bank Act, for his involvement in an anomalous loan from Banco Filipino Savings and Mortgages Bank.

President Rodrigo Duterte named Yasay as DFA secretary in 2016 but the Commission on Appointments rejected his nomination after he lied about his American citizenship.

In his Facebook account, Yasay said he won’t post bail until he is “brought before the judge” where he will question “this abuse of process and travesty of justice.”

Facebook...

From A1 “In theory I see this as a really positive development. It is something quite promising,” Danna Young, a communications professor at the University of Delaware, told AFP. Facebook’s journalists will be curating stories from news sites and won’t be editing headlines or writing content.

The California-based company has consistently said it does not want to be considered a media organization that makes major editorial decisions, and this announcement does little to change that, experts add.

“It’s not transformative because it’s not going to change necessarily the behavior of individuals who are referencing stories on their feeds,” said Young.

“That’s where the power comes from— individuals you know and trust putting their tacit stamp of approval on stories by sharing them,” she added.

‘Personalized’ The tab will be the site’s first news feature using human moderators since it shut down its ill-fated “trending topics” section last year after a scandal over allegations workers had suppressed stories about conservative issues.

Articles not deemed top news stories will still be collated using algorithms based on the user’s history, such as pages they follow, publications they subscribe to and news they have already interacted with.

“Our goal with the news tab is to provide a personalized, highly relevant experience for people,” Facebook head of news partnerships Campbell Brown told AFP in San Francisco Tuesday.

The news tab feature comes as Facebook embarks on a series of initiatives to boost journalism, with traditional media organizations accusing it of benefitting financially from their hard work.

Internet platforms are dominating the Internet advertising space making it difficult for established news organizations to transition what were very profitable print advertisements online.

Facebook announced in January that it will invest $300 million over three years to support journalism, particularly local news organizations.

It has also funded fact-checking projects around the world, including one in partnership with AFP. Facebook will reportedly pay some publishers to license news content for the tab but Mathew Ingram, who writes about digital media for the Columbia Journalism Review, doesn’t expect that to trickle down to hard-up organizations that need it the most. AFP

News

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

After Medialdea, Tulfo faces more libel raps from BIR chief Dulay

By Rey E. Requejo and Rio N. Araja SPECIAL Envoy for Public Diplomacy to China and newspaper columnist Ramon T. Tulfo was slapped with strings of libel cases for “false, reckless, and defamatory” allegations in his series of columns at The Manila Times that tarnished the reputation of the entire Bureau of Internal Revenue and revenue officials including BIR chief Caesar “Billy” Dulay.

Named co-accused in the complaint for three counts of libel and seven counts of cyber-libel filed at the Quezon City Prosecutors Office are Times president and CEO Dante F.M. Ang second, editors Rene Q. Bas, Blanca C. Mercado, Nerilyn A. Tenorio, Leena C. Chua, Arnold Belleza and Lynette O. Luna. Dulay is seeking P20-million moral damages which will be donated to L’Arche (Ang Arko ng Pilipinas Inc.), a community dedicated to taking care of mentally handicapped children.

Tulfo’s column “My Line of Sight: Conversations between two BIR execs reveals all,” according to complainant BIR head Dulay contains “malicious, sweeping and unfounded accusations to the effect that under my stewardship as BIR Commissioner, there was rampant corruption and I have allegedly ‘skeletons in the closet at the graftridden agency.’”

Aside from being published in print, The Manila Times also published Tulfo’s column in its website and also carried it in their social media accounts, including Facebook.

Saying the publication of the three opinion articles as “undoubtedly false and defamatory” Dulay said that it “not only directly pictured me as a corrupt official, an animal, a thief, minion of Satan, greedy bastard, but it also maliciously portrayed me as a ‘criminal’ to the effect that I made billions of pesos in connection with the transactions of Mighty Cigarettes Corporation and Del Monte Foods Corporation.”

In his second column dated Aug. 8, Tulfo alleged that there was bribery involved in the multibillion peso tax cases with delinquent corporations and had pictured Dulay as an “insatiable greedy extortionist, a cheat and a corrupt official in [president] Digong’s government.”

TRAINING EXERCISE.

Participants of the Annual Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training is seen during an exercise aboard a Philippine Coast Guard vessel in Manila Bay yesterday, Aug. 22.

The United States Coast Guard Enforcement Detachment supervised the training which is aimed at countering security threats in the ASEAN region such as illegal fishing.

Norman Cruz

BARMM to get P63.3-b grant under 2020 budget

By Maricel V. Cruz

T

HE Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will receive P63.3-billion block grant for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao under the P4.1-billion proposed national government budget for 2020.

Based on the Palace’s proposed measure, the amount is part of the P70.6 billion that the government has allocated to ensure a smooth transition from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to the BARMM based on Republic Act 11054 or the Bangsamoro Organic Law. “Indeed, Mindanao is no longer the Land of the Promise. It’s now the Land of Fulfillment! The ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law is a testament to this. The Bangsamoro plebiscite is definitely the voice of

OP’s intel funds will not be lost Small claims cases to corruption, now exempted from fees—SC Palace says

By MJ Blancaflor THE Palace on Thursday allayed fears that the billions-worth of intelligence and surveillance funds in the proposed 2020 national budget under the Office of the President will be lost to corruption.

The confidential and intelligence expenses for the OP is at P2.25 billion each, according to the budget proposal submitted to lawmakers Wednesday.

This is P1 billion higher than the said expenses requested by the administration for the past two consecutive years.

Corruption, said Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo, is impossible for OP because the Chief Executive “doesn’t like” it and is “very strict.”

“The Office of the President has to have resources to determine threats against the state. That’s needed. It’s difficult to secure a country. You need people, you need machines, technology,” Panelo told reporters in a news conference.

“I’ll be using my common sense by saying that you really need money if you want to secure your country. And the Office of the President is one of the better offices that can secure the security of the land,” he added.

In the 2016 proposed budget, former President Benigno Aquino III retained his P500-million intelligence fund and confidential fund during his last term in office.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education has received the highest budget among all executive departments since 2015.

Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia called on the 18th Congress to pass the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget on time so as not to hamper economic growth.

THE Supreme Court has ordered judges of first level courts not to collect the P500 mediation fees anymore in small claims cases.

Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez disclosed that the deletion of the mediation fee was approved last month by the SC en banc following the recommendation made by Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, who is the chairperson of the Special Committee on Small Claims Cases who took the issue with the full court.

“Pursuant to the July 9, 2019 resolution of the Court en banc and upon the recommendation of Associate Justice Diosdado Peralta, payment of mediation fees in small claims cases shall no longer be required effective September 2, 2019,” Marquez said in a circular dated Aug. 20.

“Any prior circular from the Office of the Court Administrator on this matter which is contrary to the foregoing is hereby superseded,” the Court administrator added.

In his recommendation, Peralta said that the removal of the mediation fees will help ease the financial burden for litigants in small claims cases filed before the metropolitan trial courts, metropolitan trial courts in cities and municipal circuit trial courts.

Under the rule, these courts are mandated to resolve small claims cases within a month from the filing of the claim.

Last April, the SC has increased the limit of small claims cases that can be filed before the first level courts from P300, 000 to P400, 000, effective April 1.

The SC said then that “the initiative was to streamline and harmonize the rules of procedure for money claims filed before all first level courts.

“The reform also decreases cost on the part of the claimant by approximately 20 percent, since attorney’s fees are no longer necessary given that lawyers are not allowed to represent a party in small claims cases,” the high court pointed out.

Rey E. Requejo

the people of Mindanao wanting real, genuine change. And we shall not fail them,” President Rodrigo Duterte said in his budget message to Congress.

Of the P70.6-billion budget, P63.6 billion goes to the annual block grant, while P5 billion is for the Special Development Fund.

Also provided within the BARMM budget is the P17.7 billion for the infrastructure development of the region formerly headed by Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman, former ARMM governor.

The BARMM got P30-billion budget allocation under this year’s P3.7 trillion national budget.

The BOL serves as the enabling law for the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed between the Aquino administration and the secessionist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The BOL was overwhelmingly ratified by the Bangsamoro people during a two-part plebiscite early this year.

The BOL, previously known as the Bangsamoro Basic Law, is considered as one of Duterte’s biggest legislative achievements which will give the Moro people basic legal tools to chart their own destiny within the country’s constitutional framework.

The BOL provides revenue sources for the Bangsamoro include taxes, fees, charges and annual block grant, and revenue shares from exploration of natural resources, among others.

JBC reset deadline for nominaton for CJ post THE Judicial and Bar Council has extended the deadline for the filing of application and nomination for the position of Chief Justice until next month.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, an ex-officio member of the sevenmember council, said the new deadline was set on Sept. 2 “to invite more applicants” to the position.

The JBC, a constitutional body tasked to screen and vet nominees and applicants to the judiciary, is concurrently chaired by Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin, who is set to retire on Oct. 18 after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70.

The JBC earlier set the deadline for application to Bersamin’s post last Aug. 20 but there are only four applicants so far—SC Associate Justices Diosdado Peralta, Estela Perlas Bernabe, Andres Reyes Jr. and Jose Reyes Jr. Peralta was appointed to the SC in 2009, Bernabe in 2011 and Reyes in 2017. Peralta and Bernabe will compulsory retire on March 27, 2022 and on May 14, 2022, respectively while Reyes’ compulsory retirement is on May 11, 2020.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio

Carpio and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa and Marvic Leonen has declined the JBC’s automatic nomination for Bersamin’s post.

Carpio is set to retire from the judiciary a week after Bersamin’s compulsory retirement on October 18.

While Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza is the sixth most senior among the incumbent magistrates, he was not included in the automatic nomination because he is compulsory retiring on Sept. 26.

The candidate who will replace Bersamin at the helm of the SC will be President Rodrigo Duterte’s third chief justice appointee, the first being Teresita Leonardo de Castro.

De Castro took the position after Maria Lourdes Sereno was removed through a quo warranto proceedings filed by the Office of the Solicitor General.

Bersamin then took over the post after De Castro retired last year, after serving only for more than two months.

President Duterte has 90 days from Oct. 18 within which to appoint who will take the top judicial post.

Rey E. Requejo

‘Bato’ loses cool in ROTC hearing SENATOR Ronald ‘Bato’ dela Rosa on Thursday lost his temper and claimed that his blood pressure spiked after a student leader taunted the senator over his stance on the case of convicted Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez.

During the hearing of the Senate commitee on basic education on the proposed mandatory ROTC for senior high school, committee chairperson Senator Win Gatchalian asked National Union of Students deputy secretarygeneral Raoul Manuel why he opposed the revival of the ROTC. Manuel, however, took potshots at Dela Rosa for talking about love of country and patriotism in vouching for the passage of the mandatory ROTC. Towards the end of his explanation, Manuel questioned the Senate panel on what they can expect if there’s a senator favoring Sanchez’s release, but has resorted to indiscriminate killings through “Oplan Tokhang.”

Macon Ramos-Araneta

PNoy faces charges on ‘Ampatuan’ THE Sandiganbayan has granted the Ombudsman’s request to withdraw charges filed against former President Benigno Aquino III for graft and usurpation of authority in connection with the bloody Mamasapano operation in 2015.

Thus, a more serious case involving heavier penalties may now be filed against the former President and the other officials involved in the botched operation.

The antigraft court’s Fourth Division, in a resolution released on Thursday, said the charges against Aquino were dropped as the present cases “lack any evidence to push proceedings against him.” Maricel V. Cruz

Rappers into drug dealing alarming—PDEA THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency on Thursday raised alarm over the incidence of rappers involved in illegal drug activities.

Director General Aaron Aquino aired the concern, following the recent arrest of Arlny Dimabuyu, popularly known as “Xander Bay,” a 21-year-old rap artist, blogger and YouTube sensation.

Operatives of PDEA and local police nabbed Dimabuyu in a buy-bust operation in front of a grill bar along Friendship Highway, Barangay Cutcut, Angeles City, Pampanga on Aug. 18.

The suspect yielded five grams of dried marijuana leaves worth P500, and nine pieces of ecstasy tablet worth P15,900. Rio N. Araja

FREAK ACCIDENT. Two ambulance vehicles created an unusual early morning traffic jam along McArthur Highway in Barangay Sumapang Matanda, Malolos City when the van from Barangay Malhacan, Meycauayan City bumped the right rear fender of the transport vehicle of Calumpit District Hospital. Good thing both vehicles were not carrying any patients needing emergency attention. The drivers of the two vans waited for a traffic police officer to document the freak vehicular accident creating a snail’s pace traffic flow toward the Malolos crossing. Orlan Mauricio

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Opinion

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

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The Sanchez pardon THE biggest news story of the week is the possible release of former Calauan, Laguna Mayor Antonio Sanchez along with thousands of other inmates to be pardoned by President Rodrigo Duterte.

Sanchez was convicted of the murder of Alan Gomez and the rape-slay of Eileen Sarmenta in 1993. The decision was penned by then Judge Harriet Demetriou.

Details of the grisly and gruesome crime of the two UP Los Baños students came out during the trial and turned the stomach of the public.

Pardon me?

Foremost of those opposing Sanchez’s release are the parents of Eileen Sarmenta. They claim Sanchez has shown no remorse for his dastardly deed. Eileen, according to court records, was raped by Sanchez who then told his police bodyguards “There, I’m done with her, She’s all yours.” The mayor’s men continued to waylay the helpless victim while the others tortured and killed her boyfriend.

The two victims were snatched at the UP Los Baños ground and brought to the mayor’s safehouse deep in the woods.

The presiding judge in the case, Harriet Demetriou, rose to prominence while Sanchez’s lawyer— Salvador Panelo—went on to become presidential spokesman.

Panelo dismisses any insinuations he has a hand in the inclu-

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

sion of his former client among the 10,000 to be given presidential pardon.

I am not related nor know any of the players in this sensational case. But I am against a presidential pardon for Sanchez as his crime involved the use of superior force, grave abuse of power in snuffing out the lives of two young students who had a bright future ahead of them.

For the record, Sanchez has only served 25 years of his life sentence.

This case has ignited again the call for capital punishment.

The Sarmenta rape-slay also brings to mind the execution by electric chair of the four men found guilty by Judge Lourdes San Diego in the kidnap-rape of actress Maggie dela Riva.

Perhaps it’s really time to bring back the death penalty to put the fear of God on those who might commit heinous crimes especially against women.

“Good behavior.” This is suppossuppos edly the basis for Sanchez’s pendpend ing pardon. This is a man awash in cash from years as Calauan mayor.

It is easy to pay off fellow prisoners, jail guards and wardens to get a certificate of good behavior. The Department of Justice must really review the pardon papers of Sanchez.

Pardon? What about the grief of the victims’ parents who suffered pain and emotional stress from the loss of their loved ones? There are no words to describe what they must have gone through.

Among those demanding a DOJ review of Sanchez’s pardon is Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon. Meanwhile, there is only deafening silence on the part of administration senators.

Panelo came out with a state-

P

POGOs: Boon or bane?

HILIPPINE Offshore Gaming Operators, or POGOs, have mushroomed in key centers the Philippines, sharply driving up real estate prices and luring thousands of Chinese workers here. estate sector.

But all is not well in POGOS. China, on the other side of the West Philippine Sea, has urged the Philippines to ban all online gambling operations in the country that were illegally recruiting Chinese citizens.

While welcoming the decision of Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. to suspend the issuance of new applications for POGOs, Beijing requested Manila to ban all online gambling as it did in the homeland.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila expressed grave concern over a large number of Chinese citizens who had been illegally recruited to work in the Philippine gambling industry, with some lured into working with only tourist visas.

Beijing also noted that a huge

POGOS employees are ubiquitous in major shopping malls, restaurants and drinking bars. One can have the feeling that they are a new wave of tourists or immigrants, who will be a permanent fixture in urban centers and carve their own lifestyle in the Philippines.

Major property companies have taken advantage of the office and residential demands from POGOS and their workers by offering more leasing spaces, while the government took notice of their operations and began collecting income taxes from what seem to be a lucrative operation.

The Philippine economy in general is benefiting from the POGOS—they contribute to consumer spending, boost the coffers of the government in terms of tax collections and create a more vibrant real

amount of Chinese funds were “illegally flown out” of China and into the Philippines through cross-border money laundering.

It says the situation “undermines China’s financial supervision and financial security.”

Senator Joel Villanueva, chairman of the Senate labor committee, meanwhile, urged the Philippine government to address the unintended consequences of the rise of POGOS. He cited an increase in crimes involving foreign nationals, including money laundering, and the heightened threats of espionage that may affect national security. The Philippine National Police has already recorded 53 casino-related kidnappings since 2017 and arrested 120 Chinese nationals.

POGOS are a relatively new industry in the Philippines. Authorities should weigh their benefits to the economy and the potential harm they pose on the local social structure.

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Was there a violation of the Clean Water Act? THE Supreme Court recently ordered the national capital’s two water concessionaires—Maynilad Water Services and Manila Water Co.—to pay P921 million each, or a total of close to P2 billion in penalties for violation of the Clean Water Act. On top of these fines, they were also ordered to pay over P300,000 (adjusted by 10 percent per year) for each day of their supposed failure to connect the sewer lines of homes and commercial establishments to the existing sewage line in the metropolis.

Both concessionaires said they are exploring legal options to appeal the unanimous 12-0 decision of the high court. In their separate petitions for review, they told the Court that the penalties imposed on them for their alleged violation of Republic Act 9275 or the Clean Water Act were arbitrary and excessive, and that they were being singled out even if they had done their part in the cleanup job while other concerned institutions like the Departments of Environment and Natural Resources and of Public Works and Highways had been remiss in their duties under this law.

In the first place, the implementation of RA 9275 or the CWA of 2004 requires a coordinated effort that involves not only Maynilad and MWC, but several government agencies as well along with the concerned local government units. Under this law, the DENR is the primary agency responsible for implementing and enforcing

the CWA. That the implementation of the CWA, especially the cleanup of water bodies, is a joint effort—and not the sole responsibility of Maynilad and MWC—was affirmed by the Supreme Court in the case of MMDA et al. vs. Concerned Residents of Manila Bay, otherwise known as the Manila Bay case.

Under RA 9275 or the CWA, the Department of the Interior and Local Government is mandated to order all mayors of Metro Manila and the governors of affected provinces to inspect and determine if wastewater treatment facilities (e.g., septic tanks) are in place in their respective communities. In case of non-compliance, the concerned

The call of various groups to renationalize water service is reckless and regressive.

LGUs shall take action to ensure compliance, the law likewise states.

The DILG was also required by the SC in its ruling on the 2011 Manila Bay case to submit a fiveyear plan of action that will contain measures intended to ensure compliance of all non-complying factories, commercial establishments and private homes to the CWA. The DILG and LGUs are likewise required to consider providing land for the wastewater treatment facilities of the two concessionaires or their regulator, the MWSS. Meanwhile, the DPWH, in coordination with LGUs, was also tasked under the CWA to prepare

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Study says Amazon, Microsoft, Intel ‘putting world at risk of killer AI’

By Issam Ahmed AMAZON, Microsoft and Intel are among leading tech companies putting the world at risk through killer robot development, according to a report that surveyed major players from the sector about their stance on lethal autonomous weapons.

Dutch NGO Pax ranked 50 companies by three criteria: whether they were developing technology that could be relevant to deadly AI, whether they were working on related military projects, and if they had committed to abstaining from contributing in the future.

"Why are companies like Microsoft and Amazon not denying that they're currently developing these highly controversial weapons, which could decide to kill people without

direct human involvement?" said Frank Slijper, lead author of the report published this week.

The use of AI to allow weapon systems to autonomously select and attack targets has sparked ethical debates in recent years, with critics warning they would jeopardize international security and herald a third revolution in warfare after gunpowder and the atomic bomb.

A panel of government experts debated policy options regarding lethal autonomous weapons at a meeting of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in Geneva on Wednesday.

Google, which last year published guiding principles eschewing AI for use in weapons systems, was among seven companies found to be engaging in "best practice" in the analysis

that spanned 12 countries, as was Japan's Softbank, best known for its humanoid Pepper robot.

Twenty-two companies were of "medium concern," while 21 fell into a "high concern" category, notably Amazon and Microsoft who are both bidding for a $10-billion Pentagon contract to provide the cloud infrastructure for the US military.

Others in the "high concern" group include Palantir, a company with roots in a CIA-backed venture capital organization that was awarded an $800 million contract to develop an AI system "that can help soldiers analyse a combat zone in real time."

"Autonomous weapons will inevitably become scalable weapons of mass destruction, because if the human is not in the loop, then a single Turn to A5

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial) 832-5554, (Advertising) 832-5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. manilastandard.net

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can be accessed at: manilastandard.net

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Opinion Anti-competition, anti-Filipino THE Philippine Competition Commission should look into the policy of Fully Booked to remove, boycott and ban local magazines from its stands in favor of imported magazines and an “expanded” stationery section.

Fully-Booked Operations Manager Elisa D. Lopez-Candoleta (no relation to me) has sent a “To whom it may concern letter” to local magazine publishers saying “the spaces currently being occupied by Local Magazines will be revamped to give way for (sic) this initiative” (“expanding the stationery section of our BGC store”).

Candoleta claims that “also, after evaluation of the Local Magazine sales for the past several months, we regret to inform you that the Management have (sic) decided to discontinue selling Local Magazines starting June 30, 2019. All Local Magazines will be pulled out from our display shelves after June 30 store operations.”

This policy is wrong for three reasons: One, it reeks of colonial mentality; two, it violates the spirit and several provisions of the Constitution, and three, it is anti-competitive and violative of RA 10667 (Philippine Competition Law).

Among the constitutional provisions violated are in Article II, Declaration of Polices: Section 17. The State shall give priority to education, science and technology, arts, culture, and

The...

From A4

ment that any appeal by the Sarmenta family to block the pardon of Sanchez is now too late. The man does not know when there is a time to be silent and let events speak for themselves. Being presidential spokesman does not give him license to talk on anything—

Was...

From A4

a national program on sewage and septage management. The DPWH has not implemented this program.

The DENR, as lead agency responsible for implementing the CWA has not completed drawing up a Water Quality Management Area Action Plan, which includes setting the goals and targets for a sewerage or septage program.

Both Maynilad and MWC claim they have exerted utmost efforts to comply with the provisions of the CWA. As pointed out by MWC, they “have made significant improvements to domestic wastewater management in compliance with their service obligations.”

However, the realities show that while the concessionaires have done so, the other agencies involved didn’t do their respective jobs as set by the CWA. Another thing to consider is that

sports to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development.

Section 19. The State shall develop a self-reliant and independent national economy effectively controlled by Filipinos.

Section 24. The State recognizes the vital role of communication and information in nationbuilding.

The Constitution mandates

Fully Booked BGC is no longer selling local magazines.

National Book Store are dominant in retailing books and magazines, local and foreign. They are a monopoly; they accordingly routinely impose policies sometimes without regard to the welfare of consumers and local magazine publishers.

One of the local magazines affected by the BGC Fully Booked’s ban on local magazines is my BizNewsAsia weekly newsmagazine.

I challenge BGC Fully Booked to show me data on how sales of local magazines are doing com compared with imported magazines.

I do not believe foreign magazines sell better than local magazines, particularly my BizNewsAsia, now on its 18th year of weekly publishing, for three reasons: One, local magazines carry more local content and more relevant materials; two, imported magazines are exceedingly expensive, considering the sparse space devoted to things and issues Philippines; and three, many foreign magazines are condescending towards the Philippines and Filipinos, motivated by bias, unfairness or sheer ignorance.

Finally, even if BGC Fully Booked bans all magazines, local and foreign, that will still be wrong and will violate the 1958 UNICEF convention on exchange of publications, including newspapers and periodicals. Besides, can you imagine a bookstore without magazines?

I trust PCC chairman Arsi Balisacan will look into this complaint.

the State to regulate or prohibit “combinations in restraint of trade or unfair competition.”

According to the Philippine Competition Commission, “enforcement of (RA 10667) will help ensure that markets are open and free, challenging anticompetitive business practices while maintaining an environment where businesses can compete based on the quality of their work. A competitive market means a market with multiple buyers and multiple sellers, driving market prices lower and offering consumers more choices. A truly competitive market encourages efficiency and innovation, and forces businesses to excel.”

The PCC is empowered to penalize all forms of anti-competitive agreements, abuse of dominant position.

Together, Fully Booked and biznewsasia@gmail.com

especially nonsense. *** I would like to devote space to the passing of former Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina Paz Lopez, more famous as Gina Lopez. The maverick environmental warrior took on big mining business in her campaign to save the environment. For her unflinching stand against environment

predators, she failed to gain the approval of the bicameral Commission on Appointments for her confirmation as DENR secretary.

The ABS-CBN family of workers and colleagues paid tribute to Gina’s work, albeit too late in the day when she was up against the CA. As usual, torrents of tribute pour in upon one’s demise and not during one’s lifetime when it could serve better.

the wastewater treatment facilities that the concessionaires have built so far would be rendered ineffective in realizing the goals of the CWA if informal settlers continue to directly dump their wastes into our rivers, lakes and esteros. Again, this is something that should be handled by the LGUs in the concerned communities.

Also, the concessionaires cannot also speed up the construction of STPs because simultaneous construction will cause heavy inconvenience to the public resulting from the ensuing road excavations. Hence, building STPs have to be done in phases to avoid traffic congestion in the affected areas.

As a result of the SC decision imposing fines on Maynilad and MWC, various groups have found a new rallying point against Big Business. They have called on the government to renationalize water service and allow the MWSS take back control of the concessions given to Maynilad and MWC in 1997 at

the height of the water crisis. Before privatization, MWSS was so inept that it only covered 69 percent of the metropolis. Because access to clean water was relatively scarce and so expensive back then, households had to cough up as much as P3,000 to P5,000 monthly for water bought from roving vendors. Nowadays, Maynilad customers pay just about P974 for a normal water consumption level of 30 cu. m. per month.

The call of various groups to renationalize water service is reckless and regressive as it will lead to a return to the pre-1997 era of expensive, if not unsafe, water and erratic deliver of water services. In fact, the takeover by Maynilad and MWC has been cited by the World Bank as a model in privatization, with MWSS Administrator Reynaldo Velasco describing the water privatization as a “successful legal framework” in public-private partnership ventures.

Study...

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person can launch a million weapons or a hundred million weapons," Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley told AFP on Wednesday.

"The fact is that autonomous weapons are going to be developed by corporations, and in terms of a campaign to prevent autonomous weapons from becoming widespread, they can play a very big

ernhil@yahoo.com

role," he added.

The development of AI for military purposes has triggered debates and protest within the industry: last year Google declined to renew a Pentagon contract called Project Maven, which used machine learning to distinguish people and objects in drone videos.

It also dropped out of the running for Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, the cloud contract that Amazon and Microsoft are hoping to bag.

The report noted that Microsoft employees had also voiced their

opposition to a US Army contract for an augmented reality headset, HoloLens, that aims at "increasing lethality" on the battlefield.

What they might look like According to Russell, "anything that's currently a weapon, people are working on autonomous versions, whether it's tanks, fighter aircraft, or submarines."

Israel's Harpy is an autonomous drone that already exists, "loitering" in a target area and selecting sites to hit.

More worrying still are new cat-

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

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Alternate lives: Korean orphans’ quests for answers

By Claire Lee ON A summer's day in 1985 a seven-year-old boy sat alone at a crowded bus station in Seoul, sobbing as he waited desperately for his mother to return.

Jo Youn-hwan was wearing a baseball uniform that his mother had bought him a few days before—the only gift she had ever given him.

She told him to wait for her before leaving him at the terminal.

So he did, increasingly terrified as day turned to dusk.

"I'll be a really good kid if only she chooses to return," he promised himself, over and over again.

"I'll be a really, really good kid."

She never did.

Jo was taken into South Korea's orphanage system, but even though the country was for decades one of the world's biggest exporters of children, he was already too old for most adoptive parents' preferences.

Never chosen by a new family, he spent the rest of his childhood in what he describes as a vicious and rigidly hierarchical institution, before "aging out" at 20.

Children died of curable illnesses and older ones abused younger ones on a daily basis, he said.

"When a new kid arrived and cried because he was scared, the ritual was to cover his body with a blanket and beat him with a bat until he stopped," he told AFP. Rooms and clothes were filthy, the food often rotten and inedible.

For years, he wondered what would have happened if he had been adopted.

"My life wouldn't have been so full of 'han'," he said—a Korean word describing unresolved sadness and resentment.

But many of those who were picked ask themselves similar questions.

Better life?

International adoption from South Korea began after the Korean War as a way to remove mixedrace children, born to local mothers and American GI fathers, from a country that emphasized ethnic homogeneity.

More recently the main driver has been babies born to unmarried women, who still face ostracism in a patriarchal society, and according to historians, are often forced to give up their children.

Most children remain institutionalized until adulthood as many South Koreans are reluctant to adopt. The country has sent some 180,000 children overseas over the years, mostly to the US. "This logic of rescue remained strong in the minds of Americans and Koreans alike: Rich Americans could give a Korean child a better life than they could ever have in Korea with poor parents or a single mother," said Arissa Oh, who researches race, family and migration at Boston College in the US. Among children placed in orphanages, the youngest, "most attractive and healthiest" were selected for overseas adoption, Oh told AFP. The idea of rescue "erased the consumerism" of international adoption, providing justification for taking children from their country of birth, she added.

egories of autonomous weapons that don't yet exist—these could include armed mini-drones like those featured in the 2017 short film "Slaughterbots."

"With that type of weapon, you could send a million of them in a container or cargo aircraft—so they have destructive capacity of a nuclear bomb but leave all the buildings behind," said Russell.

Using facial recognition technology, the drones could "wipe out one ethnic group or one gender, or using social media information you could wipe out all people with a political

For many adoptees, that narrative has often led to a sense of alienation in their new lives.

"My whole life I have been told—by adopters, colleagues and at school—I should be grateful, and had I not been adopted I would've had to live in the streets as a prostitute," Hanna Johansson, a Korean adoptee in Sweden, explained.

That could've been me Born in Seoul in 1960, KoreanAmerican filmmaker Glenn Morey was abandoned as a newborn, and adopted at six months by a white American couple.

Growing up in Denver, Colorado, he was the only non-white student at any of his schools and struggled to fit in.

"Being Asian made me different, and it made me the subject of name-calling, bullying, and social exclusion," he said.

"When you are experiencing difficulties growing up on an everyday basis, ... you begin to wonder what things would've been like in Korea where you would've looked at least like everyone else."

A part of his latest project, Side

by Side, is an attempt to answer that question, interviewing 12 Koreans who "aged out."

Two of them were in the same orphanage where he stayed before being sent to the US. Both disabled, they told him of life on the streets, without a steady job, their next meal always in question and regularly encountering violence.

One told him: "I just want to have a normal life."

"Every time we played it just ripped my heart," said Morey, who hasn't been able to track down his birth parents. "By the same token that could've been me, and those struggles could've been mine."

Why did she lie?

Abandoned children can face lifelong stigma in the South where known family lineage is important.

They face discrimination when applying for jobs and in relationships, Jo said, some keeping their years in orphanages a secret from in-laws, spouses and employers.

Jo's case is, by his own admission, unusual. He did well academically and his orphanage director offered to pay for his university tuition.

He is now a taxi driver, married with children of his own, and has set up the South's first-ever rights group for aged-out Koreans.

A survey found that 93 percent of members were either convicted criminals, had been homeless or worked in illicit industries.

"This is our reality," he said.

Last year he finally found his mother, but it didn't bring him resolution.

He was told that his father was an abusive gambling addict, and his mother sought to escape by marrying another man, deciding that to do so she needed to hide her past.

Jo said: "Why didn't she at least let me live with my father or grandmother? Why did she lie and tell my father I was dead?"

"I'm still struggling to digest this. It's been very, very hard."

AFP

view."

The European Union in April published guidelines for how companies and governments should develop AI, including the need for human oversight, working towards societal and environmental wellbeing in a non-discriminatory way, and respecting privacy.

Russell argued it was essential to take the next step in the form of an international ban on lethal AI, that could be summarized as "machines that can decide to kill humans shall not be developed, deployed, or used." AFP

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News

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

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BoC seizes smuggled rice, fake cigarettes

BAY REHABILITATION. Workers assemble Thursday the new dredging equipment of the Department of Public Works and Highways at the Baseco Compound in Tondo to be used in the rehabilitation of Manila Bay. Norman Cruz

By Vito Barcelo THE Bureau of Customs has intercepted smuggled rice and fake branded cigarettes worth more than P1.2 million in separate operations in Zamboanga City, officials said Thursday.

Port of Zamboanga district collector Segundo Sigmundfreud Barte said the smuggled rice were seized from ML Nhardzrmar-2 docked at Weebin Private Wharf, Baliwasan Seaside, Zamboanga City while the cigarettes were seized from MV Trisha Kirstin-1 of Aleson Shipping Lines.

The Customs also seized 196 sacks of rice from Vietnam, and were transported to Sulu, before distributing them to Zamboanga City.

Barte said the smugglers tried to conceal the shipment by mixing the sacks of rice with copra products.

On the other hand, the cigarette shipment were placed in several big boxes and originated from IndonesiaMalaysia.

No one has showed up to claim the shipments, Barte said.

Barte said the seizure was a joint operation by the BoC-Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, Enforcement and Security Service, Philippine Coast Guard, Task Force Aduana, Joint Task Force Zamboanga and the PPA Port Police.

Rerouting scheme on—MMDA

By Joel E. Zurbano THE Metropolitan Manila Development Authority has announced it will enforce a traffic rerouting scheme in connection with the four-month closure of the westbound lane of Marcos Bridge in Marikina City beginning Monday next week.

MMDA general manager Jose Arturo Garcia Jr. said the westbound portion of the bridge would be closed at noon on Aug. 26 for repair and rehabilitation.

The eastbound part of the bridge which was closed last May is now open to vehicular traffic.

“After less than three months of repair, motorists going to Antipolo can now utilize the eastbound portion of the bridge,” he said.

Garcia also said that zipper lane would be implemented on the eastbound side for those going out of Marikina due to larger volume of vehicles especially during rush hours.

Motorists are advised to take the following alternate routes: Cubao to Antipolo: 1. From Cubao, take Aurora Blvd., then right turn to Katipunan Ave., take Service Road of Libis Underpass, left turn to Boni Serrano and take FVR Road straight to Macapagal Bridge then Marcos Highway to Antipolo; 2.

From Cubao, right turn to 15th Avenue then left turn to Boni Serrano, take FVR Road straight to Macapagal Bridge then Marcos Highway to Antipolo.

Trucks from Cubao are advised to take Aurora Blvd., then right turn to Katipunan Ave., take service road of Libis Underpass, left turn to Boni Serrano, straight to FVR Road, take Macapagal Bridge then Sumulong Highway to Antipolo.

Antipolo to Cubao: 1.

From Antipolo, take Sumulong Highway, then A. Bonifacio Avenue, straight ahead Aurora Blvd., to Cubao; 2.

From Antipolo, take Marcos Highway and right turn to Fernando Avenue, then take A. Bonifacio Ave. straight ahead Aurora Blvd. to Cubao; 3.

From Antipolo, take Marcos Highway, take down ramp to Marcos Bridge Service Rd., then FVR Rd., straight ahead right turn to Katipunan Ave., left turn to Aurora Blvd., straight ahead to Cubao; 4.

From Antipolo, take Marcos Highway then FVR Rd., straight ahead take Boni Serrano Ave., then right turn to 20th Ave., Manila left turn to AuNOTICE Standard TO THE PUBLIC rora Blvd., to TODAY Cubao.

BE IT KNOWN THAT JAN PAOLA Trucks from CONSTRUCTION Antipolo must AND GENERAL MERCHANDISE owned take Marcos by CHRISTINA M. Highway then YUMANG with address at M. Sawit St., Airport Road, FVR Rd. straight San Fermin, Cauayan ahead, right turn City, Isabela has changed its ownership to Katipunan from single proprietorship Ave., left turn to corporation on April 11, 2019 and to Aurora Blvd. is now JAN PAOLA straight ahead to CONSTRUCTION INC. Cubao.

(MS-AUG. 23, 2019)

Gov’t hopeful 4 will be jailed

By MJ Blancaflor

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HE government on Thursday expressed confidence those who killed a radio commentator from Kidapawan City last month, who was critical of the Kapa Community Ministry International Inc., would be jailed.

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar and Undersecretary Joel Egco, chief of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security, told a Malacañang news conference they were convinced justice would be served on the slain commentator Eduardo Dizon, as two witnesses surfaced to aid in the investigation.

In the Malacañang news conference, they identified the suspects—all missing—as Dante Tabosares, alias Bong Encarnacion, Jun Jacolbe, Junel Herosaga, and Helario Lapi, believed by officials

as members of the media and Kapa group, which was recently exposed for their alleged fraudulent scheme.

The commentator was reportedly driving home after his radio program when he was shot dead by gunmen around 10:30 p.m. on July 10. He succumbed from five gunshot wounds.

His wife, Madonna, was convinced the named suspects were the brains behind her husband’s death. She noted that since her husband became critical of Kapa, Dizon received death threats from

the religious group.

“As far as I know, the suspects are doing their counter affidavits.

But with the strength of what we have now, I think they will find it difficult and we have a strong case against them,” Egco told Palace reporters.

“But still I’d like to clarify that, of course, we accord them the right to due process still,” he added.

President Rodrigo Duterte recently ordered Kapa’s investment activities shut down, describing the investment as the biggest scam to hit the country.

Murder charges were filed at the City Prosecutor’s Office of Kidapawan City against the suspects, Egco said, but they remained missing because the courts have yet to issue warrants of arrest.

PLEDGE OF SUPPORT. Over 30 companies are represented in Thursday’s show of pledge in the game changing education with iACADEMY, the leading school in Computing and Design in the Philippines. Present are iACADEMY president Vanessa Tanco and WACOM vice president Asia Pacific Shane Cook, joined by other partners who also signed to show support.

Israel to hire PH workers for hotels AMID reports of pending deportation of hundreds of Filipinos in Israel, along with their children who were born in that country, the Israeli government says it will hire Filipino workers to fill vacancies in hotels and in tourism industry.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia’s health ministry has announced it is in need of more than 1,000 Filipino nurses, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration said Thursday.

POEA Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said that Israel’s hotel and tourism industry would be needing foreign workers, but prefer Filipino workers.

“Aside from Israel, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also in need of Filipino workers,” Olalia said over a radio interview.

He said applicants may apply starting October, adding Israel employers prefer to hire Filipinos instead of other nationalities for being courteous, hospitable, honest and hardworking.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority said Filipinos have a lot of skills and they can surely compete in the labor market.

On the other hand, the KSA’s Ministry of Health needs 1,000 female nurses with a monthly salary of P60,000, excluding a host of benefits, such as free fare and accommodation.

The POEA assured the safety of Filipino workers who would be hired because of the good track record of the KSA’s ministry of health. “The workers will also stay in KSA government facilities and not in private dormitories,” Olalia said.

Olalia reminded prospective applicants to register with POEA website before applying to the head office, and avoid transacting with illegal recruiters. Vito Barcelo

Cement manufacturers group scores traders over safeguard IMPORTERS and traders are said to be flawed in disputing the Tariff Commission’s recommendation to increase the safeguard measure on imported cement, stating that the basis of the computation is wrong, according to the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines.

Last week, the TC recommended a P12 definitive safeguard duty per bag of imported cement from the P8.40 provisional safeguard duty per bag imposed by the Department of Trade and Industry in February to counter the imminent threat of serious injury of such imports to the domestic industry.

The TC based its computation on the difference of the weighted average landed cost of imported cement and the av-

erage domestic ex-plant selling price of local manufacturers.

However, importers contend that the ex-warehouse price of the importers and the ex-plant price of local integrated cement manufacturers should have been the basis of the computation.

“The proper comparison in determining the amount of safeguard duty should be the price between the domestic industries’ ex-warehouse price versus the exporting countries’ manufacturers’ exwarehouse price, not the imports’ landed cost,” the group explained.

“This comparison is an apple to apple comparison. It is at the same level of trade. The ex-warehouse price of the domestic industry and the landed cost of

the imports are not of the same level of Should this be the case, then the recomtrade. The threat to the domestic industry mendation of the industry to push for at are not the importers but the manufactur- least P18 to P20 definitive safeguard duty ers of these imports,” CEMAP said. for imported cement may be more favorCYAN able MAGENTA YELLOW CEMAP also insinuated that someto curb dumping of BLACK the construction thing fishy has been going on with re- commodity from other countries and avert gard to the costs showed by cement trad- the surge in imports that have already been ers to the TC. apparent in the recent months.

“Traders are complaining they have According to CEMAP, the domesother costs but they have not opened tic industry has to be able to adjust to their books to show their true cost to the compete against the exporting countries’ TC. Are they hiding something? Are they manufacturers, not the importers who paying the correct taxes?” CEMAP said. are the exporters’ distributors and cus“[They] have not filed any affidavit tomers. and have just resorted to rhetoric or anThe group also blasted the claim of ecdotes. In fact, TC has asked them to importers and traders that the safeguard file an affidavit but they never did which duty on imported cement will increase is quite odd,” the group added. the cost of housing.

Sports

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Blu Girls seeking Olympic berth

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HE country’s premier national women’s softball team, the PH Blu Girls, are shaping up to clinch a spot in the highlyanticipated 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines president Jean Henri Lhuillier assured that the Blu Girls are working hard towards this goal through rigorous daily practice and coaching sessions.

The long-time softball patron and Cebuana Lhuillier top honcho is confident that the Blu Girls have a huge chance of going to the Olympics based on their impressive runs spanning two years now.

“Our Blu Girls have consistently worked hard and been improving tremendously in the past two years. They’ve also proven that they can go head to head

with some of the world’s powerhouse teams such as when they toppled then world number 3 Canada, as well as Australia which is ranked currently ranked seventh, and world number 6 Chinese Taipei.” said Lhuillier.

The Blu Girls created quite a stir in the World Cup and Canada Cup in 2017, when they beat Canada and Mexico twice and also stunned Australia and Chinese Taipei, all of whom are part of the world’s top six softball teams.

The Blu Girls also just came from a fourth-place finish in the recent 2019

Asia Cup Women’s Softball Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia, earning them a spot in the WBSC Softball Asia/Oceania 2019 Qualifying Event to be held this Sept. 24 to 29 in Shanghai, China.

The Cebuana Lhuillier-backed softbelles flew to the US last July to participate in the USA Softball International Cup, where they competed against powerhouse teams such as world number 2 Japan, No. 4 Puerto Rico, No. 5 Mexico, No.6 Chinese Taipei and No. 20 Peru.

Currently ranked 13 in the world, the Blu Girls are comprised of pure-blooded Filipinas from different provinces in the Philippines, who were discovered through ASAPHIL’s various grassroots programs. A number of Filipino-American players will also join the team to fur-

ther strengthen their overall gameplay.

“The tournaments we participated in this year gave us the exposure we needed to improve our skills and develop strategies to ensure that we will be to play at our full capacity. We’ve assembled a great team and we are all hopeful that we qualify for Tokyo,” said Blu Girls head coach, Randy Dizer.

The Blu Girls are slated to face world no. 8, China; no. 11 New Zealand; no. 23 Korea; no. 6 Chinese Taipei; no.7 Australia; no. 37 Indonesia; and world no. 42 Hong Kong at the Asia/Oceania Qualifying Tournament. The team that will emerge as victor will move on to play at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics alongside world no.2 Japan to represent the Asia/ Oceania region.

eSports hopes to deliver 5 golds for PH in SEA Games ESPORTS may be the newest medal sport in the coming 30th Southeast Asian Games calendar, but it hopes to contribute as many as five gold medals in the biennial event scheduled in Manila on Nov. 30-Dec. 11.

Gerald Sobrepena, Marketing and Player Development Manager of Team Liyab Esports, said the country has a good chance in eSports which debut as regular sports in the biennial meet in November.

“Of the six gold medals at stake in the coming SEA Games, I think we can win five of them. I’m being realistic, kaya natin lima,” said Sobrepena during the 36 h “Usapang Sports” by the Tabloids Organization in Philippine Sports at the National Press Club in Intramuros yesterday.

“Napakalaki talaga ng chances natin na manalo sa eSports dahil magagaling ang mga players natin,” added Sobrepena in the weekly public service program sponsored y th Philippine Sports Commission, National Press Cub, PAGCOR, Community Basketball Association and Guyabano Tea Leaf Drinks.

Four of the country’s top gamers from Team Liyab -- Kevin Kio “Gambit” Dizon, Jeremiah “1717” Camarillo, Jervan Lorenzo “Bents” Delos Santos and Miguel Klarenz “Miggie” Banaag – also expressed confidence about their chances of bringing honor to the country.

All four Team Liyab members were chosen to form part of the national training pool, Sibol, for the coming regional competition where they will compete in the Arena of Valor (AoV) event of the eSports competitions.

Veteran Caviar “Enderr” Acampado was also selected as one of the two possible medal hopefuls in StarCraft ll.

Aside from the six Team Liyab gamers, several other players were also drafted to form the training pool that will compete in th biennial games, which is recognizing eSports games such as Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Tekken 7 and Hearthstone, along with AoV and StarCraft ll, as medal sports for the first time in its history.

At least two players will represent the Philippines in the individual games Tekken 7, Hearthstone and StarCraft ll, while seven players will compose the team for Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Arena of Valor.

ASAPHIL President and Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier give a pep talk to the RP Blu Girls before a game.

RWM’s World Pitmasters Cup offers P40M+ COINCIDING with Resorts World Manila’s 10th anniversary, the 11th edition of the World Pitmasters Cup 9-Stag international Derby kicks off on Sept. 19 at the Newport Performing Arts Theater featuring record-breaking numbers of over 550 entries.

RWM has been home to one of the country’s most prestigious and biggest cockfighting event since its inception in 2017.

The derby marks the first time the WPC will hold five consecutive 2-Stag Elimination Rounds from Sept.19 to 23 for Sets A to E, before a one-day P220,000 pot money 7-Stag Big Event on Sept. 25.

Qualifiers will then face off in the 3-Stag Semi-Final Rounds on September 26 to 30, leading up to the 4-Stag PreFinal Round on October 2. Entries with cumulative score of 3, 3.5, and 4 points qualify for the said round while entries with scores of 4.5 and 5 will come head to head for the Grand Finals on October 4.

The WPC is presented by promoters Charlie “Atong” Ang, Gerry Ramos, Ako Bisaya Party-List Rep. Sonny Lagon, RJ Mea and Agusan del Sur Rep. Eddiebong Plaza, among others.

Pot Money for the September leg of the WPC is pegged at P88,000 while the minimum bet is P55,000. The approximate prize money at stake for the winners of is a whopping P44 Million Pesos.

Cool Smashers nail 4 win th

Games tomorrow

(Saturday) 4 p.m. — Chef’s Classic vs Choco Mucho 6 p.m. — Creamline vs PetroGazz

CREAMLINE dropped a set for the first time in four matches but the Cool Smashers still found a way to emerge on top and extend their unbeaten run, thwarting BanKo-Perlas, 25-10, 25-19, 17-25, 2523, late Wednesday and firming up their hold of the lead in the Premier Volleyball League Season 3 Open Conference at the Filoil Flying V Arena in San Juan.

After clipping the Perlas Spikers in the first two sets with their cohesion and power game, the defending champions appeared headed to keeping their unblemished card but uncharacteristically squandered a huge 11-3 bulge in the third.

Finding their rhythm and pouncing on their rivals’ sudden slump, the Perlas Spikers came through with 10 unanswered points to wrest control then fended off every Creamline charge to deal the Cool Smashers their first set loss of the conference following the latter’s straight-set romps over Air Force, Moto-

lite and Chef’s Classic.

“We have faced BanKo a number of times so practically, we know each other moves, tendencies, capabilities and abilities more than skills,” said Creamline top hitter Alyssa Valdez. “They play with a lot of heart so it’s really tough to beat them.”

But they did, putting Creamline two full games ahead of PacificTown-Army, which swept its first two games in the season-ending conference of the league organized by Sports Vision.

After a 13-point game against the Jet Spikers, a 15-hit output versus Motolite and a 16-marker effort against Chef’s Classic while keeping all the others involved in offense, Valdez unloaded 26 hits against the Perlas Spikers, including six aces and two kill blocks while producing 15 digs in another sterling performance.

The match started two hours late owing to a pair of five-set thrillers that saw the Lady Troopers hacking out a come-from-behind win over the Choco Mucho Flying TItans in record fashion (39-41, 19-25, 25-19, 2520, 15-12) and the BaliPure Water Defenders ending a long scoreless campaign with a 26-24, 16-25, 25-19, 17-25, 17-15 escape over the Air Force Jet Spikers.

Filipino pugs dominate Ormoc card FILIPINO boxing rising star “Prince” Albert Pagara’s recent triumphant return to the squared circle in “Pinoy Pride 46: Banggaan sa Ormoc” was be shown Thursday at 12 noon on ABS-CBN S+A, with a replay on September 1.

Pagara dominated Thai challenger Ratchanon Sawangsoda last Saturday (August 17) at the Ormoc City Superdome in Leyte, where other local pugilists Jeo Santisima, Jonas “Zorro” Sultan, and Melvin “El Gringo” Jerusalem also notched convincing victories over their foreign counterparts.

Pagara went for the kill as soon as the bell rang, dropping the Thai challenger with a two-punch combo punctuated by a thunderous right straight. Trying his best to stand toe to toe with the Filipino golden boy, Sawangsoda was dropped three more times before the referee stepped in to stop the fight at the 2:53 mark of the first round.

In the fight against Sawangsoda, Pagara successfully defended his WBO Inter-Continental super bantamweight belt for the second time after fighting last November 2018 against Ghana’s George Krampah. He won the belt in a match against Krampah’s fellow Ghanian, Laryea Odoi, which also happened in 2018.

Meanwhile, Santisima, who is slowly rising through the ranks of Filipino pugilists, scored another early victory, closing out Indonesia’s Alvius Maufani in the first round as the co-main event of the fightcard. Former world contenders Sultan and Jerusalem also scored knockouts against Salatiel Amit and Reymark Taday, respectively.

For more stories and news on “Pinoy Pride” and ALA Boxing Promotions, follow @ABSCBNSports on Twitter and Facebook or visit sports.abs-cbn. com. For updates, follow @ABSCBNPR on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram or visit www.abscbnpr.com.

Coach Compton, Aces part ways ALEX Compton quit as head coach of the Alaska Aces after being with the team for five years.

Jeffrey Cariaso, his long time deputy, has taken over his position.

“I have made great relationships and have a lot of love for people in the organization. Being a part of the Alaska family has meant a lot to me and my family, and we will always treasure our time with the Aces,” said Compton in a statement after meeting with team owner Fred Uytengsu.

Compton was at the helm of Alaska when it had five championship appearances in 15 conferences.

The last time was when Alaska reached the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals and lost to Magnolia. Peter Atencio

International Derby weight limits are set from 1.7 to 2.2 kg. Only stags banded by local associations affiliated with FIGBA and PFGB-Digmaan shall be accepted. Hennies and Early-Bird (e.g. BNTV,A-CUP, FIGBA EARLY BIRD,etc) banded stags are prohibited.

The prestigious derby is co-presented

by Resorts World Manila in partnership with Thunderbird, THOR MD, Excellence Poultry and Livestock Specialist, VNJ Distributors and Experto Gamefowl Prod-

ucts. This cockfighting event is sanctioned by the Games and Amusements Board.

For further inquiries and cockhouse reservations, interested parties may check out the World Pitmasters Cup Int’l Derby Facebook page or via cellphone number 0927-8419979.

Visit www.rwmanila.com or download the RWM Mobile App for more 10th anniversary events and promos at the country’s premier entertainment and lifestyle destination, Resorts World Manila.

JIU-JITSU CHAMP.

Blackbelter May Masuda (center) of the Philippines reigned supreme in the light flyweight division in the recently concluded 2019 Seattle International Open IBJJF Jiu-jitsu Championship USA. With her are brownbelter Aisa Ratcliffe Brown (gold), purplebelter Siklab awardee/champion Justin Cariola, PH Jiu-jitsu team delegation head Alvin Aguilar and Masuda’s inspiration, Baby Alelie Aguilar.

Schooling...

From A8

Tandingan clocked 58.49 in the preliminaries of the 7th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary Wednesday afternoon. This was an improvement on the 58.90 she submitted in the 43rd Southeast Asian Age Group Swimming Championships in Cambodia last June.

Philippine swimming officials said this could possibly earn her a slot at the women’s 4x100m relay team in time for the biennial meet, since this is seen as the fourth fastest SEA Games’ qualifying time.

The feat put Tandingan up against Xiandi Chua for a slot in the national squad, which will have its final qualifiers in the national open next month.

Chua registered a SEA Games’ qualifying time of 58.4 seconds, clocked at the Philippine Swimming Long Course Grand Prix National Championships last month.

Earlier, promising tanker Jerard Dominic Jacinto, a top bet for the SEA Games, also made an impression in the FINA tournament as the 18-year-old swimmer surpassed Ryan Papa’s 22-year-old Philippine national record of 56.48 (1997 Jakarta SEA Games) in the men’s 100m backstroke event with his 56.27.

Jacinto was 22nd among 87 swimmers in the 100m backstroke event.

National record holders Desirae Mangoang and Jaden Olson are with Jacinto in Budapest.

They are joined by national junior national record holders Jean-Pierre Khouzam, Miguel Barreto, Tandingan and long-distance swimmer Adrian Eichler in their efforts to get ready for the SEA Games.

Sports

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

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

San Beda University’s James Kwekuteye scores against Lyceum of the Philippines’ Jayson David and Mike Nzeusseu in a game won by the Lions, 88-73.

Triathlon good for 4 to 6 golds

By Lito Cinco

T

RIATHLON Association of the Philippines’ President Tom Carrasco has made a bold prediction on how his triathletes will perform in the coming Southeast Asian Games slated later this year in Subic.

“We will win four gold medals, possibly even six or a sweep, if we also win the relay events,” said Carrasco at the Philippine International Convention Center office, where he also holds a key position in the organizing group for the regional games.

And Carrasco has reasons to be optimistic about his triathletes’ performance.

In the past two stagings of the SEAG in 2015 and 2017, the Philippines swept the golds in both the men’s and women’s

individual events. In fact, in 2015, Nikko Huelagas and Claire Adorna’s two gold medals were complemented by a silver of Kim Mangrobang in the women’s side, while two years later, Huelgas repeated, this time with Mangrobang for the gold, while John Chicano and Adorna got the silver medals.

This time, even without defending champion Huelgas, who only finished fifth after the qualifying series for the slots in the men’s team and has been entered in-

stead in the relay team, Carrasco remains confident about the chances of the team, particularly first-timer but best local finisher in this year’s Subic International Triathlon in Kim Remolino, Chicano in the men’s side and Europe-based Mangrobang with Kim Kilgroe in the distaff side.

Next month, the entire team, including the duathlon team that is also expected by Carrasco to deliver the gold, is leaving for Johore, Malaysia for a four-week training camp, under international coach Sergio Santos.

By October, they will be in Subic for a 10-day familiarization with the race course.

“Our biggest advantage, of course, is the fact that we are holding the event here and we can expect local crowd support in Subic, plus our triathletes’ familiarity

with Subic as we do regular training and races there, complemented by our international training for the team. In the case of Mangrobang, she has been training and racing in Europe these past years and the improvement is evident. She even spends her own money and we just reimburse once we get funds from the PSC. Mangrobang dreams of making it in the Olympics and we support her in that dream,” added Carrasco.

For the relay event, Huelgas will be joined by Chicano and Fer Casares, while in the women’s side, Adorna joins Mangrobang and Kilgroe for a power team.

Carrasco also expects his duathletes Doy Comendador and Jarwyn Banatao in the men’s side and Singapore-based Monica Torres and Jelsie Sabado to deliver in their respective events.

Korean Hwang rallies to tie Thai Juntanaket in ICTSI golf LIPA City, Batangas—Korean Hwang Min-Jeong charged back from four shots down with three birdies in the last five holes to card a 69 and catch Thai Nemittra Juntanaket at the helm, setting up a final round shootout for The Women’s Championship at Summit Point crown here.

Hwang bucked windy play and tough pin placements and birdied Nos. 14, 15 and 17 for the second straight day to save a 35-34 while pouncing on Juntanaket’s flubbed par-putt from three feet on No. 15 to force a tie at seven-under 137 after the Thai ace slowed down with a 71 after a fiery opening 66.

Tiranan Yoopan, also from Thailand, shot a 70 and snared a spot in the championship flight with a 139 while Chihiro Ikeda and defending champion Yupapron Kawinpakorn matched 70s again for 140s, just three strokes off the joint leaders heading to what looms to be a duel of power and strategy in the final round of the P750,000 championship put up by ICTSI. Supakchaya Pattanakrueang, who shared the first round lead with Juntanaket, stayed in the hunt with a 35 start but fell with a thud with a bogey on No. 10 and a quadruple bogey on the par-4 11th on a couple of errant shots. The Luisita leg winner

last year ended up with a 76 and dropped to joint sixth at 142 with fellow Thai Ajira Nualraksa, who matched par 72, now five shots behind.

Samantha Dizon, meanwhile, birdied the last hole to salvage a 72 for solo eighth at 146 as she zeroed in on the low amateur honors after erstwhile frontrunner Eagle Ace Superal skied to an 80 for a 152.

After 10 players broke par in the first day, the Robert Trent Jones Jr.-designed layout, which features 18 of the world’s renowned golf holes, yielded just five under-par cards in tough conditions yesterday, including Hwang, whose late charge put the 2018 Philippine Amateur Open champion on track for a second crown after beating Princess Superal at Splendido to mark her pro debut last January.

“My second shots were not so good but had so many birdie opportunities,” said Hwang, who hit 10 fairways and missed four greens while defying her father-caddie Hwang Byung Sug, who had wanted her to attack and go for the pins.

“I got a little confused because my father wanted me to play aggressive but I opted to play it smart,” said Hwang, 17, who had two birdies against the same number of bogeys after 12 holes.

“So he gave me the chance to play my game at the back.”

Ramirez tells NSAs: Make impossible possible in SEAG WITH 100 days to go before the 30th Southeast Asian Games, Chef de Mission and Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William Ramirez proclaimed his support for the different National Sports Associations during the 3rd Consultative Meeting of Team Philippines on Thursday at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City.

“Our objectives are bigger than us, so together we will make whatever seems impossible—possible. It’s by continuous conversation that we find solutions,” said the CDM Ramirez in his opening remarks.

Fifty-three out of 59 NSAs were present during the 3rd Consultative Meeting represented by their Presidents and Secretaries General.

Most of the concerns raised by the NSAs were about the sport equipment to be used by their athletes on training as well as finalizing the actual playing venues for the Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 biennial meet.

Monty Mendigoria, the President of the Skateboarding and Roller Sports Association

of the Philippines is one of the NSA Heads who brought up his concern on the playing venue of the Skateboarding event of the 30th SEAG. “Ang main problem po namin is the specs of the park event. The contractor gave us the design, basically, a drawing but we were asking for a detailed plan for sections and everything so that we know the depth, the height, the area and everything,” said Mendigoria who is talking about the on-going construction of the skate park in Tagaytay City.

Skateboarding is one of the sports that cannot be discounted when it comes to the gold medal chances of the Team Philippine, this after 2018 Asian Games gold medalist Margielyn Didal nailed 5th place in the recent 2019 Street League Skateboarding World Tour in Los Angeles, California. This was so far the highest finish achieved by a Filipino in the prestigious tournament participated in by best skateboard athletes in the world.

“We’re afraid na baka maapektuhan ang kanyang performance atsaka ‘yung sure gold medal niya (Didal),” added Mendigoria.

A late charge puts Hwang Min Jeong in the lead.

Red Lions play Blazers, eye 8th straight win STAYING on the winning track will be the San Beda Red Lions’ goal when they confront the College of St. Benilde Blazers at 12 noon today in the 95th National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament at the FilOil-Flying Sports Center in San Juan.

The Red Lions gained more confidence after they got past the Lyceum of the Philippines University Pirates, 88-73, last Tuesday, for their seventh straight win in as many games in the ongoing tournament.

And coach Boyet Fernandez credits this to the hard work that the Red Lions put in during practice.

“This game is for them, and hopefully, we’ll not stop here. It’s only a game, we have so many games to go,” said Fernandez, as San Beda picked up its 21st straight win.

Against the Pirates, Calvin Oftana had a career-high 20 points on 7-of10 shooting to go with 12 boards.

Donald Tankoua added 19 points and six rebounds and Evan Nelle made 14 points and seven assists.

The Pirates, who fell to 6-2 with their loss to the Red Lions, clash with the Arellano Chiefs at 4 p.m.

The San Sebastian Stags will meet the University of Perpetual Help Altas at 4 p.m., with the Altas welcoming back coach Frankie Lim. The Blazers, whose winning streak came to an end with their 70-74 loss to the Pirates, will try to weather the Red Lions’ rising game.

In junior action, the Red Cubs will seek their eighth win in nine outings when they play the La Salle Greenhills Greenies at 8 a.m.

The Cubs have extended their winning run with a 99-97 beating of the Junior Pirates, and with Justine Sanchez and Rhayyan Amsali leading with 19 and 18 points. Peter Atencio

Benilde, SBU chessers play to 2-2 draw COLLEGE of Saint Benilde battled to a 2-2 standoff with San Beda University Wednesday in the 95th NCAA seniors’ chess tournament Wednesday.

Letran, for its part, remains within striking distance of the defending champion following a 4-0 romp of Jose Rizal University.

Despite the third-round draw, the Blazers still have the hold on the top spot with nine points, half-a-point ahead of the second-running Knights.

In other results at the San Beda campus, Lyceum of the Philippines University nipped Emilio Aguinaldo College, 2.5-1.5, while Arellano University edged Mapua, 2.5-1.5.

The Pirates and the Chiefs are in joint third with 5.5 points.

In juniors’ play, San Beda overwhelmed CSB-LSGH to raise its league-best total to 11.5 points, Arellano routed Mapua, 3.5-.5, while titleholder University of Perpetual Help System Dalta blanked San Sebastian, 4-0.

The Braves are running second with 11 points, just half-a-point behind the Junior Red Woodpushers. The Junior Altas sit in third place with 10.5 points.

LPU scored a 3-1 victory over EAC while Letran nosed out JRU, 2.5-1.5.

Schooling coming to PH for SEA Games

By Peter Atencio

Sukanya Srisurat, who have won weightlifting golds in Rio. Thai lifters Pimsiri Sirikaew and Sinphet Kruaithong, who took a silver and a bronze, respectively, in Rio, are also around with Olympic taekwondo medallist jins Panipak Wongpattanakit and Tawin Hanpra.

In winning a Rio gold, Schooling set a new Olympic record by beating

SINGAPOREAN swimming star Joseph Schooling is coming to the Philippines as one the many celebrity athletes expected to shine in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

The 24-year-old Schooling is coming from a disappointing performance in the 2019 World Championships in Gwangju, Korea, where he missed out on the semifinals of his pet 100m butterfly event.

Schooling won a gold medal in the 100m butterfly in the 2016 Rio Olympics with a time of 50.39 seconds for the first Olympic gold medal won by Singapore and the first for a Southeast Asian country in swimming.

Singapore will be bringing in 585 athletes and participating in 49 sports, according to the Singapore National Olympic Council in a statement.

Rio Olympics’ silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz is expected to share the limelight with Schooling, alongside Thailand’s Sopita Tanasan and Joseph Schooling

Michael Phelps’ mark of 50.58 seconds set at the 2008 Olympiad.

Schooling was the most bemedalled athlete of the 2017 SEA Games where he claimed the golds in the men’s 100m freestyle, 50m butterfly, 100m butterfly and three relays.

Schooling’s playground will be the newly built Aquatic Center inside the New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac.

His presence is expected to be challenged by Fil-American Jarrod Hatch, who recently set a new 100m butterfly national record of 53.91 seconds, resetting his previous mark of 54.36 seconds that was clocked last June at the Santa Clara International meet.

Hatch is currently seeing action in the 7th FINA World Junior Swimming Championships in Budapest, Hungary with other members of the Philippine national team pool.

Meanwhile, 15-year-old Jeremiah Tandingan, broke her own 100m Freestyle 14-15 year old girls’ Philippine junior national record.

Turn to A7

IN BRIEF Coca-Cola Beverages absorbs logistics firm COCA-COLA Beverages Philippines Inc., the local bottling partner of the beverage brand, and The Red Systems Company Inc. said it initiated the process to merge the latter’s operations into CCBPI, subject to the approval of relevant government entities.

TRCI is a logistics company that CCBPI has been engaging to ensure that CocaCola products are delivered to partners and consumers nationwide.

The acquisition will effectively see the regularization of 1,800 TRCI personnel who are already undergoing onboarding into the company.

“CCBPI has always firmly believed that its strength lies in its people—and the merging of TRCI into the fold only underscores this. The company has served the Philippines for more than a hundred years, and it seeks to serve the Filipino people for at least another hundred more,” said Drew Fernandez, CCBPI vice president for people.

“The culmination of this process, through close coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment proves that joint endeavors between the private and public sectors can be mutually beneficial,” said CCBPI president and chief executive Gareth McGeown.

Hot money posted $15-m inflow in July

FOREIGN portfolio investments registered a net inflow of $15 million in July, a reversal of the $35-million net outflow in June, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Thursday.

The BSP said the reasons for the net inflow in July were the easing inflation rate and the stronger peso against the US dollar.

Total inflows in July reached $1.68 billion, up from $959 million a year ago, while gross outflows hit $1.665 billion, higher than $906 million last year.

About 76.5 percent of investments in July were in securities listed in Philippine Stock Exchange pertaining to banks, holding firms, property, retail firms, and food, beverage and tobacco firms.

The balance of 23.5 percent went to investments in peso government securities.

The UK, Hong Kong, the US, Norway and Malaysia were the top five investor countries for the month.

This brought the portfolio investments since the start of the year to a net outflow of $671 million, a reversal of the $459-million net inflow a year ago. Julito G. Rada

Business Filinvest, Singapore firm team up in water venture

By Jenniffer B. Austria

F

ILINVEST Development Corp., the listed holding company of the Gotianun family, is venturing into water distribution.

FDC said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it would form a joint venture with Singapore-based Hitachi AquaTech Engineering Pte. Ltd. to engage in the water utility business.

“Filinvest Development Corp. entered into an agreement with Hitachi AquaTech Engineering Pte. Ltd. for purposes of forming a joint venture corporation to engage in the business of owning, constructing, operating, managing, maintaining, or rehabilitating waterworks, sewerage and sanitation systems and services for the distribution, supply and sale of potable water

to domestic, commercial, and industrial users within the Philippines,” the company said.

No other details were given regarding the joint venture agreement and the specific water projects that it would undertake.

Hitachi Aqua-Tech, established in 1977, has built a strong reputation as a specialist in water solutions provider.

With nearly four decades of experience in water treatment, the company provides a comprehensive solution to solve a broad spectrum of water problems by incorporating the latest technologies and techniques known.

It offers complete EPCM (engineering, procurement, construction and maintenance) services to clients and aims to provide one-stop solutions for resorts, hotels, residential and commercial facilities and municipal developers.

FDC is primarily engaged in property, banking, sugar manufacturing and power generation businesses.

It is currently developing two major

mixed-use projects in Clark, Pampanga including the 201-hectare Filinvest Mimosa Plus Leisure City (the former Clark Mimosa Estate) and the 288-hectare development in New Clark City.

The conglomerate is a lead consortium member of Luzon International Premiere Airport Development Corp. which won a 25-year concession for the operations and maintenance of Clark International Airport.

The consortium is also set to develop the commercial assets, operate and maintain project facilities and fit-out the new terminal.

FDC reported said net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company grew 19 percent in the first half to P6.1 billion from a year ago.

Consolidated net income went up by 16 percent in the six-month period to P8 billion from P6.9 billion in the same period last year on the strong performance of core businesses in property and banking together with power and sugar businesses.

Bank sees economy growing faster in Q3 SECURITY Bank Corp., the sixth-largest lender in terms of assets, expects the Philippine economy to perform better in the second half of the year as the government is bent on accelerating fiscal spending.

SBC president and chief executive Sanjiv Vohra said in a news briefing in Makati City Thursday the gross domestic product growth could hit the low-end of the target range of 6 percent to 7 percent for 2019.

“It also depends on what is happening in the environment. But it is likely to be better... 6 percent overall for 2019,” Vohra said.

Economic growth in the first half averaged 5.6 percent, below the target range because of the delayed approval of the national budget for 2019.

Vohra said inflation might continue to be benign which could augur well for the economy going forward.

Inflation in the first seven months slowed to 3.3 percent from a peak of 6.7 percent in October 2018.

“Capital formation will be strong and there will be a rebound of household spending. We are seeing better spending in the second half—a good sign for the economy,” Vohra said. Julito G. Rada

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT. SM Investments Corp., alongside Philippine firms and international organizations, spurs talks on how to integrate sustainable development goals into corporate reporting in a regional summit at the Conrad Manila, Pasay City. The 2019 regional summit builds on the momentum of the first Sustainability Summit of the Global Reporting Initiative held in October 2018 with SM and the Philippine Business for Environment. Shown is SM president and chief executive Frederic DyBuncio delivering the acceptance speech for SM’s inclusion in UNGC.

Customs exempts Emirates Airlines seeks to increase flights to PH porcelain tiles from provisional safeguard duty

By Darwin G. Amojelar

By Othel V. Campos THE Bureau of Customs exempted imported porcelain tiles from the provisional safeguard measure of P3 per square meter.

The move is in response to the request submitted by tiles importers to the Trade Department to exempt imported porcelain tiles from the safeguard measure as these products are not locally-manufactured.

“We told Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez that there is no local manufacturing of porcelain tiles since these are expensive to produce here. And we are delighted that our request has been heard,” Ceramic Tiles Importers Association chairman Napoleon Co said.

Customs Memorandum Order 42-2019 dated Aug. 8, 2019 effectively excluded imported porcelain tiles or tiles with waterbased absorption of less than 0.5 percent from the list of products subject to the safeguard measure.

Under the order, porcelain tiles and unglazed, porcelain, mosaic and marble tiles originating from developing countries would not be subject to the provisional safeguard measure.

The safeguard measure will not also cover glazed ceramic tiles imported from the EU as they do not compete with locally-manufactured tiles.

Co said the provisional tariff was expected to result in 20-percent to 30-percent increase in the price of ordinary ceramic tiles and 20 percent in the cost of high-end tiles.

Co said most imported tiles were of high-end grade which are the types of property developers.

Imported porcelain tiles cost $5 per square meter, compared to ordinary ceramic tiles which are priced at $2 per sqm.

EMIRATES Airlines is pushing for fresh air talks between the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates to increase its capacity to serve the rising demand from overseas Filipino workers and tourists.

“We have been requesting to resume air services talks between the UAE and the Philippines. We are awaiting confirmation on that and once that happens, then we hope some positive actions will come out of that. We’re hoping that will happen soon,” Emirates country manager Satish Seth told reporters.

“Our immediate request is for more frequencies. Our loads are pretty high.

Our seat factor is running in mid-90s year-round average, which leaves little room for growth and little room for more travelers to choose us,” he said.

Sethi said he was hopeful that the

Philippines and UAE would hold the air talks this year.

“When there are more flights, there is more connectivity, more trade, more cargo, more tourists into the Philippines and give more options to the OFWs living not only in Dubai but also across our network,” he said.

Emirates, which started flying to Manila in 1990, operates 18 flights a week.

“We have initially requested for at least three more flight a week to be added. We would like to move to 21 [flights per week] to start with,” Sethi said.

Emirates carried nine million passengers in the past 20 years and one million passengers in 2018.

Government data showed there were more than 700,000 Filipinos working in the UAE. Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific also fly to Dubai from Manila.

Sethi said that Emirates was in talks

with the Philippine government for its plan to use its Airbus A380 at Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

“At this point, we are in the very early stages of that discussion. We actually proposed that we send our technical team to sit together with the Civil Aviation Authority’s technical team and study this and see what needs to be done,” he said.

“Once that report comes out, then we will be able to know the next steps. We are sincerely hoping that we’ll be having technical discussions between the two technical teams soon. We recently had a meeting with the CAB officials and also Transport Secretary [Arthur] Tugade. They were very kind and understanding of the situation. They all understand how important it will be for NAIA to have an Airbus 380 and they are open to having those two technical teams meet,” Sethi said.

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

B1

Vista Land still bullish despite crackdown on online gaming VISTA Land & Lifescapes Inc., an integrated property company owned by the Villar family, remains bullish on its leasing business despite the crackdown on the Philippine offshore gaming operators.

Vista Land president and chief executive Manuel Paolo Villar said in a statement the group’s leasing portfolio was comprised mainly of retail malls and commercial centers and had very limited exposure to POGOs. “Our leasable spaces are mostly retail malls which limit our POGO exposure and any crackdown to those POGOs will not impact on our overall financial performance,” Villar said.

He said while the group also had several office developments, these projects catered mostly to the business process outsourcing firms.

Vista Land had 1.4 million square meters of leasable space as of end June, of which 1.178 million sqm were retail space and only 226,227 sqm were office space.

State-owned the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. said Monday it would suspend the acceptance of applications for offshore gaming licenses pending a review of the operations of POGOs. PAGCOR made the decision after some sectors expressed concern over the proliferation of POGO operations in the country.

Vista Land registered an 11-percent growth in net income in the first half to P5.8 billion from P5.2 billion in the same period last year.

Consolidated revenues increased by 11 percent to P23.4 billion from P21.1 billion a year ago.

Leasing revenues went up 17 percent to P3.9 billion from P3.3 billion, driven by the increase in our leasable spaces from malls.

Villar said the company was focused on ramping up residential launches as demand remained strong from local and overseas Filipino workers.

Vista Land aimed to launch at least P50 billion worth of residential projects this year.

“We target to launch at least P50-billion projects in terms of project value for 2019, which will still be mostly in the low and affordable segment and outside Metro Manila,” Villar said.

The property firm already launched P16 billion worth of projects as of end-June.

Vista Land intends to focus on the development of integrated urban developments combining lifestyle retail, prime office space, university town, healthcare, themed residential developments and leisure components. Jenniffer B. Austria

Vallacar Transit plans to sue former finance officer for P380-m debt VALLACAR Transit Inc., the largest subsidiary of the Yanson Group of Bus Companies, said Thursday it will file a legal case against a former executive for alleged P380-million outstanding obligation to the company.

Vallacar Transit said in a statement its board of directors passed a resolution on Aug. 19 authorizing the company’s legal team to recommend possible legal actions against Ma. Lourdes Celina Yanson Lopez, a former director and finance officer of the company over her alleged P380-million outstanding obligation.

Lourdes Celina is a daughter of the Yanson matriarch Olivia Yanson, one of the founders of the bus transport company.

“The amount was based on the audit report from SGV and on the results of the cash, property and asset inventory audit including documents at the main office and south terminal in Bacolod City, according to lawyer Jun Maxell Orlina,” the company said.

Representatives of Yanson-Lopez were unavailable for comment as of press time.

Orlina said the stockholders of Vallacar

Transit, the country’s largest bus transport company, on the same day elected a new set of board of directors who subsequently reelected Leo Rey Yanson as the president of the company.

The stockholders including Yanson matriarch Olivia Yanson held a special stockholders meeting at the company’s main office in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod City to elect Leo Rey Yanson, Olivia Yanson, Ginnette Dumancas and Charles Dumancas as members of the board of directors.

Following the election of the new directors, the board held a re-organizational meeting and re-elected Leo Rey Yanson as the president of the company. Also elected were Charles Dumancas as vice president, Ginnette Dumancas as treasurer and Olivia V. Yanson as corporate secretary.

Vallacar Transit is the largest subsidiary of the Yanson Group of Bus Companies and is the company behind Ceres Liner and Sugbo Transit.

The Yanson Group, the parent company, is one of the largest bus conglomerates in

Southeast Asia which operates more than 4,000 buses nationwide.

Established in 1968, the 52-year-old conglomerate founded by the late Ricardo Yanson Sr., the Yanson patriarch and his wife Olivia, now has a total of 18,000 employees

who provide transport services to 700,000 passengers daily.

It has 15 bases of operations in the cities of Bacolod, Iloilo, Dumaguete, Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Butuan, Davao, Pagadian, Dipolog, Bohol and Batangas. Darwin G. Amojelar

Leo Rey Yanson (right) is reelected president of Vallacar Transit Inc., the largest bus transport company in the country. In a special stockholders' meeting held in Bacolod City, the shareholders, including family matriarch Olivia Yanson, elected the new board of directors. With Leo Rey are (from left) Vallacar Transit vice president Charles Dumancas, treasurer Ginnette Dumancas and corporate secretary Olivia Yanson.

B2

Business

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market falls; Megaworld declines T HE stock market declined Friday ahead of the speech of US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on interest rate policy.

The Philippine Stock Exchange fell 38.08 points, or 0.5 percent, to P7,848.83 after bargain hunters capped early losses at the close of trading. Value turnover stood at P9.9 billion as losers overwhelmed gainers, 129 to 75, with 44 issues unchanged.

Megaworld Corp., the biggest lessor of office paces, slumped 8.5 percent to P4.84, while GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty Group dropped 3.6 percent to P856.50.

PLDT Inc., the largest telecommunications firm, however, rose 2.3 per-

cent to P1,130, while Kepwealth Property Phils. Inc. surged 49.2 percent to P18.32.

The rest of Asian markets stuttered Thursday but dealers remain wary following the release of Federal Reserve minutes that provided a mixed bag, with a speech by its chair at the end of the week the key point of focus.

Tokyo ended 0.1 percent higher, Shanghai edged up 0.1 percent and Sydney gained 0.3 percent.

Singapore put on 0.1 percent and Wellington gained 0.2 percent while Taipei was marginally higher.

But Hong Kong was 0.8 percent lower, while Seoul closed down 0.7 percent, Mumbai retreated 0.6 percent and Jakarta lost 0.6 percent.

Donald Trump provided some fresh hope for China-US trade talks by saying a deal will “probably” be made, and Wall Street ended with healthy gains thanks to blockbuster results

from retailers that indicated strong consumer demand.

But investors in Asia were playing it cool ahead of Jerome Powell’s address to the central bankers’ symposium at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday which will be scrutinized for an idea of Fed interest rate policy.

Minutes from the bank’s July meeting—when it cut rates for the first time since the financial crisis—said policymakers were flexible and borrowing costs were not on a “preset course” despite trade uncertainty and weak global growth.

Stephen Innes of Valour Markets said the minutes “painted a convincing enough picture that the Feds will continue to go along with the market’s expectations for more cuts, as they will not want to tighten financial conditions, but at the same time not feel pressured to get ahead of the curve.”

While the global economy stutters

and the China-US trade row rumbles along, equity markets have found some solace in expectations the Fed will continue to lower rates.

But OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley pointed out that the minutes showed two governors wanted a 50 basis-point cut, two did not want a cut at all and the rest settled on 25 basis points, which was eventually chosen.

“It is hard to see Mr Powell announcing or implying an aggressive new easing cycle in isolation when just a month ago, the (policy board) was clearly very split as well,” Halley said.

“The danger is most definitely that Chairman Powell disappoints.”

Crude prices edged up following a recent rally fueled by trade talks optimism and hopes for more rate cuts, though Halley warned they could quickly reverse course. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2019

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 57.05 1,170 88.5 1,834,060 2.06 12,000 147 2,328,690 1.11 100,000 26.2 114,200 18.6 100,700 11.58 1,091,900 4.91 2,998,000 71.65 4,079,580 0.94 1,281,000 13.1 1,800 22.4 2,400 45.1 646,200 187 290 58 16,880 27.9 121,900 189.4 608,800 59.05 89,820

66,741 161,584,565.50 24,740 339,952,313 111,500 3,002,665 1,872,562 12,647,340 15,420,290 289,279,627.50 1,208,410 23,580 53,640 29,193,370 54,648 979,656 3,342,450 114,402,856 5,303,842

-1,141 -67,321,240 93,595,221 -2,460,985 1,859,520.00 2,162,868 188,660 -413,519.50 -673,550 -5,742,100 -26,558 -749,954 138,200 -34,266,919 -4,025,625.50

35 14.36 0.67 0.233 105 2.92 13.98 110 11.4 15.52 35.85 76.35 86.5 2.01 5.3 5.9 8.93 14.92 9.2 7.24 1.74 26.2 83.2 52 1.88 14.5 8 1.49 220.4 4.17 8.5 22.05 13.78 18.3 355 0.185 5.3 1.71 4.4 5.2 9.13 2.85 10.7 35.65 4.97 5.07 1.75 2.03 1.1 12.34 96 7 1.02 165.2 2.45 1.03 16.1 1.13

INDUSTRIAL 36 1,186,500 14.9 1,463,100 0.68 1,336,000 0.242 2,670,000 109 100 2.95 14,622,000 14.2 1,098,400 110 60 11.5 281,700 15.52 200 35.85 600 76.4 9,280 89.5 17,740 2.02 170,000 5.48 17,800 5.95 50,100 9 1,963,200 15.1 160,600 9.5 622,600 7.25 2,598,000 1.74 34,000 26.8 2,000,100 83.2 127,570 52.8 134,110 1.9 12,087,000 14.66 3,983,800 8 167,600 1.5 191,000 225 891,050 4.79 386,000 8.5 1,500 22.05 5,117,400 14 505,100 18.6 1,373,100 365.8 248,000 0.185 200,000 5.3 4,900 1.75 44,083,000 4.4 65,000 5.2 1,148,500 9.14 1,800 2.86 25,536,000 11.24 59,000 35.7 453,600 6.44 4,324,000 5.08 479,700 1.81 5,033,000 2.32 63,000 1.1 385,000 12.4 346,800 97 164,280 7.15 63,800 1.05 159,000 172 1,093,980 2.45 21,000 1.08 13,726,000 16.1 1,200 1.13 4,521,000

42,508,185 21,607,966 899,700 631,670 10,590 43,675,900 15,593,858 6,600 3,245,280 3,162 21,515 712,653.50 1,550,925 343,270 98,560 298,068 17,626,356 2,424,280 5,893,833 18,839,186 59,160 53,359,485 10,647,626.50 7,058,527 23,457,810 58,409,844 1,346,328 285,940 198,776,324 1,791,710 12,750 113,134,995 6,993,104 25,428,578 90,057,956 37,000 25,970 79,210,170 286,710 6,103,492 16,444 74,063,440 652,006 16,396,160 28,263,230 2,443,155(2, 9,107,360 133,210 426,280 4,312,930 15,932,021 453,693 164,640 184,083,931 51,530 14,712,970 19,320 5,379,640

5,099,675 2,575,706 9,488,940 -71,386 134,236.00 414,159 20,200 -85,085 -5,916,053 337,056 668,326 -17,783,022 28,570,520 -169,469 3,372,599 -94,720 -45,410,924 -418,373 -24,632,226 -13,030,005 5,209,686 14,969,522 7,821,286 26,500 -531,882 -1,338,490 -3,024,370 -400,960 348,959.9997) -1,000 -65,908 -9,690,597 -34,362 -27,031,116 31,850 15,750 -386,610

0.85 51.35 13.2 0.7 7 14.96 1.29 1.28 954 3.74 6.8 9.31 13.8 0.233 874.5 6.28 67.5 8.99 0.51 4.65 13.68 0.6 5.24 0.039 1.41 2.87 177.3 1,010 0.79 1.4 255 0.229 0.235

0.8 50 12.64 0.64 7 14.26 1.21 1.24 921.5 3.6 6.61 9.01 13.6 0.224 850 6 65.3 5.79 0.48 4.6 13.4 0.58 4.99 0.038 1.24 2.87 174.4 988 0.76 1.37 245 0.227 0.22

HOLDING FIRMS 0.83 21,383,000 50.5 1,433,640 12.8 19,390,800 0.69 591,000 7 153,000 14.3 53,000 1.28 6,069,000 1.28 740,000 938 539,300 3.66 2,463,000 6.8 2,791,300 9.13 6,983,400 13.6 219,600 0.233 50,000 856.5 274,780 6.28 1,100 67.5 1,488,350 5.8 37,800 0.48 828,000 4.65 433,000 13.54 2,714,300 0.6 1,232,000 5.05 48,730,900 0.039 3,300,000 1.39 721,000 2.87 3,000 175.3 82,800 1,000 543,645 0.79 874,000 1.37 36,000 249.2 380 0.228 500,000 0.22 5,360,000

17,668,200 72,275,466.50 248,566,388 393,870 1,071,000 765,896 7,659,470 935,900 502,513,745 9,019,020 18,767,777 63,541,625 2,987,550 11,290 235,413,280 6,740 99,570,251.50 236,429 397,795 2,007,040 36,719,330 725,690 246,784,794 126,400 957,350 8,610 14,501,446 541,469,012.50 673,890 49,550 95,304 114,090 1,215,710

-48,780 -17,585,703.50 -9,530,234 -1,400 545,400 -52,666,860 -598,070 13,686,080 -10,948,184 -2,860,140 -36,921,295 -3,140 17,807,310.50 -469,660 -12,495,610 67,078,840 15,200 20,250 -6,358,218 -116,330,992.50 -95,304 -

15.52 0.81 10.4 1.97 0.98 49.15 2.2 4.8 6.16 0.58 0.78 0.89 0.236 0.4 9.95 23.6 0.46 1.73 1.3 5.15 0.31 0.45 1.43 0.395 2.03 53.9 24.7 2.4 3.33

15.48 0.79 10.38 1.91 0.9 48.35 2.14 4.7 6.16 0.56 0.74 0.85 0.225 0.39 9.3 23 0.45 1.65 1.27 4.8 0.3 0.435 1.38 0.38 2 45 23.85 2.38 3.25

5,253,538 994,670 16,610 917,030 10,698,530 758,084,245 1,647,060 1,427,380 616 10,422,910 8,250 2,630 331,050 106,000 19,123,268 11,994,485 1,070,650 93,942,620 1,693,790 588,764,180 3,148,350 677,400 2,881,510 339,100 339,550 44,183.50 166,573,730 749,500 1,778,010

595,800 -204,710 81,890 69,718,250 -86,120 9,690 -1,591,000.00 -6,208,907 9,173,880 39,610,260 -211,754,241 -283,550 13,900 -26,578,755 -120,000 1,217,700

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

57.05 88.5 2.06 145 1.12 26.3 18.58 11.76 4.91 71.15 0.97 13.1 22.25 46 189.9 58 27.55 187.2 59.75

57.05 88.5 2.07 147 1.12 26.4 18.68 11.76 5.54 71.65 0.97 13.1 22.4 46.15 189.9 58.05 27.9 190 59.75

57 87.2 2.06 143.3 1.11 26.2 18.58 11.54 4.9 70.4 0.91 13.1 22.25 45 187 58 27.35 186 59

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT BASIC ENERGY BOGO MEDELLIN CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CHEMPHIL CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA CONCEPCION CONCRETE A CONCRETE B 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 RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO ROXAS HLDG SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SMC FOODANDBEV SPC POWER TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VICTORIAS VITARICH VIVANT VULCAN INDL

36 14.36 0.69 0.241 105 3.06 13.98 110 11.9 16.1 35.9 76.65 89 2.02 5.7 5.91 9.07 14.98 9.4 7.32 1.74 26.4 84.5 54.5 1.97 14.5 8.1 1.51 224.4 4.47 8.5 22.15 14.2 18.38 361 0.185 5.3 1.89 4.45 5.4 9.13 2.92 10.7 37 4.99 5.1 1.75 2.22 1.11 12.42 97.25 7.1 1.07 167 2.46 1.14 16.1 1.23

36.1 14.96 0.69 0.242 109 3.09 14.44 110 11.9 16.1 35.9 78.95 90 2.02 5.7 6 9.1 15.14 9.6 7.32 1.74 26.9 84.5 54.5 1.98 14.8 8.11 1.51 225 4.9 8.5 22.5 14.26 18.7 365.8 0.185 5.3 1.95 4.45 5.41 9.14 2.98 11.28 37 7.1 5.1 1.9 2.32 1.13 13 98.85 7.15 1.07 172 2.46 1.14 16.1 1.25

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 KEPPEL HLDG A LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP MABUHAY HLDG METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME MEDIA REPUBLIC GLASS SAN MIGUEL CORP SM INVESTMENTS SOC RESOURCES SOLID GROUP TOP FRONTIER WELLEX INDUS ZEUS HLDG

0.81 50.55 13.2 0.68 7 14.8 1.22 1.24 935 3.74 6.76 9.3 13.7 0.224 874 6 66.8 8.99 0.5 4.62 13.54 0.58 5 0.038 1.34 2.87 177.3 998 0.78 1.4 245 0.229 0.235

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 PTFC REDEV CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP

15.5 0.81 10.38 1.96 0.96 49 2.17 4.77 6.16 0.57 0.74 0.89 0.235 0.4 9.95 23.55 0.455 1.72 1.3 5.15 0.305 0.435 1.43 0.395 2.01 50 24.55 2.4 3.33

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

35.85 2.47 5.72 1.05 7.58

35.85 2.47 5.94 1.05 7.6

34.65 2.35 5.72 0.95 7.42

35 2.45 5.74 0.98 7.47

15,420,500 1,697,000 118,700 7,527,000 7,540,100

538,376,685 4,065,410 688,037 7,484,110 56,328,460

22,615,895 293,300 -27,082,271

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL ASIAN TERMINALS BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CHELSEA DFNN INC DISCOVERY WORLD EASYCALL GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN BRIA HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL INTL CONTAINER IPEOPLE ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY METRO RETAIL METROALLIANCE A MLA BRDCASTING NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG 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

9.8 18.84 1.45 0.5 0.047 18.62 2.29 10.64 0.058 95.65 6.7 5.62 2.03 8.9 1,900 5.39 411.8 1.68 1.86 129 9.23 0.109 5.04 3.07 3.18 0.87 19 0.44 3.17 2.52 1.43 15.16 2.14 2.64 8.07 4.71 136 3.38 1,106 0.7 0.53 45.5 77 9.1 2.78 0.69 0.325 5.46 0.67 16.4

10.88 20.2 1.53 0.55 0.048 18.62 2.42 10.64 0.059 95.9 6.71 6 2.27 9.3 1,939 5.39 464 1.7 1.98 131.4 9.65 0.111 5.05 3.11 3.22 0.88 19 0.47 3.17 2.52 1.43 15.16 2.15 2.68 8.1 4.71 144.5 3.38 1,135 0.7 0.53 45.5 77.5 9.37 2.8 0.69 0.345 5.47 0.68 16.62

9.55 18.84 1.45 0.5 0.046 18.5 2.22 10.44 0.057 95.5 6.43 5.61 2.03 8.7 1,894 5.3 411 1.61 1.86 127 9.23 0.109 4.75 3.07 3.18 0.85 18.92 0.44 2.85 2.45 1.43 15.16 2.1 2.61 8.06 4.69 136 3.03 1,090 0.67 0.5 44 77 9.08 2.66 0.68 0.31 5.45 0.66 16.4

SERVICES 10.06 20.15 1.53 0.54 0.046 18.5 2.32 10.5 0.059 95.9 6.5 6 2.27 8.7 1,900 5.35 426 1.65 1.98 130 9.65 0.109 4.75 3.11 3.21 0.88 18.98 0.47 3 2.45 1.43 15.16 2.12 2.68 8.1 4.69 144.5 3.08 1,130 0.69 0.5 44.3 77.5 9.37 2.68 0.68 0.335 5.46 0.67 16.6

77,000 627,600 27,000 4,840,000 8,600,000 11,700 572,000 6,819,100 14,620,000 142,840 2,316,600 8,300 4,000 44,000 97,455 174,100 30,310 1,060,000 14,000 1,856,430 500 690,000 9,616,400 32,000 146,000 618,000 316,700 80,000 77,000 1,683,000 3,000 100 1,054,000 161,000 20,900 9,000 100 5,570,000 249,975 659,000 17,789,000 1,464,400 1,995,330 28,100 8,448,000 1,697,000 7,560,000 2,569,800 3,028,000 2,260,100

794,584 12,511,549 40,030 2,562,470 399,300 217,114 1,339,970 71,625,296 845,800 13,668,956 15,103,630 48,483 8,360 386,814 185,247,990 924,903 13,145,002 1,750,910 27,050 239,989,791 4,657 75,230 46,611,827 98,880 466,510 532,990 6,012,778 36,800 229,700 4,158,450 4,290 1,516 2,231,300 426,580 169,074 42,300 13,685 17,462,070 278,912,035 450,110 9,100,110 65,225,810 153,869,329 256,219 22,966,790 1,154,470 2,507,150 14,028,871 2,027,140 37,479,214

-21,600 -2,274,088.00 6,277,864.50 765,859 65,400,835 -4,870,930 1,507,616 30 2,890,770 -39,290 -36,340 -650,280 23,811,415 -173,060 -20,068,695 -4,795,095 6,369,800 -30 -57,800 208,073 21,220 17,772,050

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

0.002 1.3 12.34 1.11 2.7 7.82 1.42 0.206 0.114 0.009 0.01 1.05 2.55 0.98 0.85 0.012 0.012 0.011 6.15 3.8 13.12 22.4

0.002 1.32 12.68 1.11 2.72 7.89 1.44 0.207 0.114 0.010 0.011 1.1 2.6 1.05 0.85 0.012 0.012 0.012 9.15 3.9 13.7 23

0.002 1.28 12 1.11 2.7 7.75 1.41 0.2 0.112 0.009 0.01 1.01 2.51 0.98 0.81 0.012 0.012 0.011 5.85 3.78 13.12 22.4

MINING & OIL 0.002 1,222,000,000 1.29 6,605,000 12.34 17,800 1.11 29,000 2.72 60,000 7.85 1,400 1.43 1,557,000 0.206 360,000 0.113 1,780,000 0.010 2,000,000 0.011 9,000,000 1.09 1,162,000 2.6 2,734,000 1.03 51,000 0.83 59,000 0.012 13,600,000 0.012 800,000 0.011 23,900,000 9.15 15,535,100 3.86 1,380,000 13.6 3,495,300 22.8 523,500

2,077,400 8,558,540 216,464 32,190 162,100 10,959 2,208,570 73,910 200,190 18,700 92,200 1,248,480 7,015,600 51,440 48,970 163,200 9,600 264,500 124,415,074 5,331,080 47,234,278 11,895,610

-323,000 -32,190 98,380 4,120 30,240 742,580 -1,212,255 -19,400 784,464 6,636,765

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2 ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A LR PREF PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B SFI PREF SMC FB PREF 2 SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

17.68 495.2 498 101 101.1 105.2 505 970 971 100 0.99 1,000 1,040 1,040 1.4 990 77 78.05 75.6 75.9 77 75.5 75.1 75.7

20 496 500 101 101.1 105.2 505 970 971 100 1 1,000 1,040 1,040 1.4 990 77 78.5 75.6 75.9 77 75.65 76.5 75.7

17.38 495 498 101 101 105.2 505 970 970 100 0.99 997 1,040 1,040 1.4 990 76 78.05 75.55 75.9 75.75 75.5 75 75.7

PREFERRED 17.56 1,279,100 495.2 6,270 500 210 101 500 101 10,300 105.2 5,000 505 3,780 970 4,000 970 4,350 100 3,300 1 78,000 1,000 210 1,040 5,595 1,040 2,580 1.4 5,000 990 3,000 76 5,740 78.5 36,530 75.55 502,200 75.9 2,400 75.75 49,660 75.65 2,300 76.5 9,200 75.7 5,950

23,136,322 3,104,744 104,720 50,500 1,040,600 526,000 1,908,900 3,880,000 4,220,000 330,000 77,240 209,430 5,818,800 2,683,200 7,000 2,970,000 436,859 2,866,673.50 37,966,310 182,160 3,782,195.50 173,845 690,400 450,415

-15,137,558 -2,971,000 -4,220,000 -52,000 -

LR WARRANT

1.53

1.68

1.53

WARRANTS 1.68 49,000

75,660

-

ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH XURPAS

7.39 13 0.98

7.46 18.32 0.98

6.86 13 0.95

SME 7.03 18.32 0.96

16,651,657 559,954,752 2,679,900

480 -755,334 -70,600

FIRST METRO ETF

118.6

118.6

117

1,057,083

373,254

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

10.34 10.2 1.01

10.34 10.2 1.01

10.34 10.2 1.01

5,273.40 7,242 5,050

-

NAME

MS

PROPERTY 15.5 0.79 10.4 1.91 0.92 49.15 2.16 4.75 6.16 0.58 0.77 0.85 0.225 0.39 9.4 23.6 0.46 1.68 1.27 4.84 0.305 0.44 1.39 0.38 2.01 53.9 24.05 2.4 3.29

338,900 1,242,000 1,600 476,000 11,468,000 15,526,900 761,000 301,000 100 18,312,000 11,000 3,000 1,430,000 270,000 1,986,100 509,700 2,350,000 56,088,000 1,321,000 120,639,900 10,410,000 1,540,000 2,065,000 890,000 169,000 880 6,927,900 313,000 539,000

TRADING SUMMARY

SHARES

FINANCIAL

15,435,561

INDUSTRIAL

208,540,437

HOLDING FIRMS

130,875,588

PROPERTY

289,196,917

SERVICES

111,360,818

MINING & OIL

1,307,120,867

GRAND TOTAL

2,101,370,243

2,369,000 33,665,800 2,796,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 117.5 8,980 DDS 10.34 10.2 1.01

510 710 5,000

VALUE 1,813.8 (up) 11.41 978,560,883.45 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 10,974.8 (up) 54.53 2,218,564,973.086 HOLDING FIRMS 7,713.65 (down) -69.28 2,410.205,062.39 PROPERTY 4,034.69 (down) -73.28 SERVICES 1,579.12 (down) -0.51 2,337,942,482.25 MINING & OIL 8,270.93 (up) 75.81 1,272,549,561.64 PSEI 7,848.83 (down) -38.08 211,350,418.805 All Shares Index 4,757.15 (down) -25.93 9,919,519,275.42 Gainers: 75; Losers: 129; Unchanged: 44; Total: 248

Singapore’s Black River acquires 5% stake in ANI

By Jenniffer B. Austria SINGAPORE-BASED Black River, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Black River Capital Partners Fund (Food) LP, acquired a minority a stake in AgriNurture Inc., a listed company owned by businessman Antonio Tiu. ANI said in a statement Vikings Asia Agri Ventures BV, formerly Solveigh Philippines Agri Investments BV, sold 50 million shares in the company to Black River through a block sale.

The 50 million shares, equivalent to roughly five percent of ANI, were sold at P13.642 per share for a total price of P682.1 million.

Tiu welcomed Black River’s investment into the company. “It’s a boost of confidence,” he said.

The US-based asset management company in 2013 held an investment of as much as 30.92 percent in ANI. Blackriver, a food-focused fund, is used to be owned by Cargill, the world’s largest agriculture company.

Black River in 2011 prior to the transaction also bought a 28.11-percent stake in ANI. ANI, an agricultural exporter, continues to boost its business, hitching a ride with the growing economy.

ANI booked a consolidated attributable net income of P32.28 million in the first half of the year, up 255 percent from P9.08 million a year ago.

Consolidated sale of goods and services, meanwhile, amounted to P2.4 billion during the period, almost three times higher than P846.31 million registered in the same period last year.

The group’s Philippine operations contributed 47 percent while sales from foreign operations accounted for 53 percent of consolidated sales.

Local distribution sales posted an increase of 29.45 percent to P62.15 million in the six months ended June 30, 2019 from P48.01 million a year ago, mainly due to improvement in operations.

The group’s export sales reached P1.01 billion, up 1,611 percent on year.

The group is expected to continue increasing its sales volume of banana shipments with increased volume for mango and beverage products.

ANI also expects to raise sales volumes in the last two quarters of 2019 with the approval of the Rice Liberalization Law that allows allow ANI to import rice.

DMCI Power’s six-month income up 10% to P234m

By Alena Mae S. Flores OFF-GRID energy player DMCI Power Corp. on Thursday reported a 10 percent-increase in net income to P234 million in the first six months of 2019 from P234 million year-on-year.

The company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange sales volume rose 19 percent in the first half of the year to 169.50 gigawatthours from 142.91 GWh on year following an upsurge in power demand and improvement of distribution and transmission line systems in key operating areas.

“The significant sales growth in Palawan is attributable to the increase in DPC’s level of dispatch following the expiration of Delta-P’s old power supply contract in April,” said DMCI Power president Nestor Dadivas.

The Palawan segment accounted for 43 percent of the total sales volume, followed by Masbate and Oriental Mindoro at 35 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

“Our Palawan power plants became the second priority in terms of energy dispatch so we were able to maximize our contractual capacity in the area,” he said.

The company said the rehabilitation of the 69kv transmission lines in Oriental Mindoro and on-going improvement of distribution lines in Masbate accounted for the double-digit sales growth in both provinces.

Established in 2006, DMCI Power is one of the biggest off-grid energy companies in terms of total installed capacity in the Philippines. The company serves as the power generation arm of DMCI Holdings Inc. that energizes the small and remote islands in the country.

DMCI Power operates and maintains bunker-fired power plants and diesel generating sets in parts of Masbate, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

World IN BRIEF Texas death row inmate executed WASHINGTON―A Texas man convicted of raping and strangling a 19-year-old college student was executed by lethal injection Wednesday, the fourth in the state so far this year.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice confirmed the death of Larry Swearingen at 6:47 pm local time at the state prison in Huntsville.

According to US media, the 48-year-old maintained his innocence until death, with his lawyers arguing that the DNA under the victim’s fingernails was not their client’s.

The US Supreme Court denied a stay of execution on Wednesday evening.

Swearingen was convicted in 2000 in the death of Melissa Trotter, a college student with whom he had struck up a casual relationship, according to The Houston Chronicle.

The teenager was seen with Swearingen on December 8, 1998, the day she disappeared, and forensic evidence linked her to his car, the paper said.

Trotter’s body was found by hunters in the woods weeks later with part of a pair of pantyhose wrapped around her neck and the other half found in his house, the paper said. AFP

B3

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

American Jews criticize Trump N

EW YORK―US President Donald Trump has been hit by a wave of criticism for accusing Jewish Democratic voters of “disloyalty,” but his comment also highlighted the unease of some in the community with its traditional party of choice.

Trump, who has positioned himself as a staunch ally of Israel, made the remark on Tuesday night while criticizing Democratic politicians who support a boycott of the Jewish state.

“Where has the Democratic party gone?” Trump said, adding: “I think any Jewish people that vote for a Democrat, I think it shows either a total lack of knowledge or great disloyalty.”

Asked about the comments before flying to Kentucky the following day, Trump―in typical fashion―doubled

down: “You vote for a Democrat, you’re being very disloyal to Jewish people and you’re being very disloyal to Israel.”

Members of America’s more than five million-strong Jewish community-80 percent of whom voted Democratic in the 2018 mid-term elections, according to the Pew Research Center―have denounced his notion of loyalty and blamed the president for fueling anti-Semitism.

“It’s a bit unclear what the president was trying to say in terms of who Jews are disloyal to... While he wasn’t exactly clear

about that, I will be exactly clear on what that was: anti-Semitic,” Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said on CNN. The president “has no right to tell Jewish Americans he knows what is best for us or to demand our loyalty,” said Halie Soifer, executive director for the Jewish Democratic Council of America.

Criticism of Trump has multiplied on Twitter under the hashtags #DisloyaltoTrump as well as #KingofIsrael, after the president approvingly tweeted a quote in which he was referred to by that title.

But beyond the latest controversy, some New York Jews say they feel growing unease with certain positions taken by the Democratic Party.

Trump “shouldn’t have said it,” said Ben Mizrachy, a retired 80-year-old. “I don’t like the Jews to be taken into politi-

No Rohingya turn up for repatriation

Scores missing in China mudslides BEIJING―Nine people have died and 35 are still missing after a series of mudslides in an autonomous region of China’s southwestern Sichuan province, local authorities said Thursday.

A 33-year-old firefighter was among those killed by a flash flood that tipped over an emergency response vehicle as they went to help people affected by a mudslide in Wenchuan county, according to local officials.

State news agency Xinhua said another firefighter was receiving emergency treatment, citing Sichuan fire and rescue authorities.

Six more people have been reported injured and more than 100,000 people have been evacuated from Wenchuan in the mountainous Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture.

The mudslides and torrential rainfall cut off water and power supplies to thousands of homes, as well as damaging bridges and blocking roads linking local towns with Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan.

Local authorities said they had also sent 20 buses and two helicopters to evacuate tourists from the popular holiday region.

Xinhua said that one mudslide had damaged a waterworks and flooded the plant connected to a local hydroelectric dam and that search and rescue efforts are still underway. AFP

Fearing unrest, Indonesia shuts Papua internet JAKARTA―Indonesia has blocked internet access in unrest-hit Papua over fears that a stream of offensive and racists posts online will spark more violent protests in the region, the government said Thursday.

Riots and demonstrations brought several Papuan cities to a standstill this week, as buildings were torched and street battles broke out between police and protesters in Indonesia’s easternmost territory.

A rebel insurgency against Jakarta’s rule has simmered for decades in the island region, which shares a border with Papua New Guinea.

But the riots appear to have been triggered by the arrest of dozens of Papuan students―who were also pelted with racist abuse―in Java at the weekend.

Indonesia slowed internet service in recent days to clamp down on hoaxes, provocative comments and racist abuse targeting Papua’s ethnic Melanesian population. But it shut down service completely late Wednesday.

“As of this morning, there is still a full block on internet access,” communications ministry spokesman Ferdinandus Setu told AFP. “The amount of racist and provocative content online was very high... and it went viral.”

The region’s three internet providers cooperated with the shutdown, but many users managed to get around the block, Setu said.

“The restrictions have not been that effective,” he added. “We’re still evaluating the situation... and will probably lift the block by this afternoon if possible.”

Calm appeared to have been mostly restored Thursday after Indonesia sent in 1,200 extra police and military to Papua, with some 45 protesters reportedly arrested.

Indonesia’s chief security minister Wiranto, who goes by one name, flew to the island late Wednesday with the head of the military and Indonesia’s national police chief. AFP

cal party discussions.”

“But the truth of the matter is, that some Jews, even those who have always voted Democrat like myself, are being disappointed with the Democratic party” because its leadership is not reacting enough to what seems like anti-Semitism from some of its members, he said.

The gap between Democrats and Israel “has happened over time but it’s been more dramatic over the past four to eight years,” said Shmuel Asher, 35.

Although registered as a Democrat, Asher, who is responsible for financial aid at Baltimore College, said he is ready to support Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

He put that support down in part to two steps taken by Trump: moving the US embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal, which had been criticized by Israel. AFP

POSE. Caylee Hammack poses for a picture with fans during the 13th Annual ACM Honors at Ryman Auditorium on August 21, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee. AFP

Pakistan faces mounting challenge in Kashmir MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan―Pressure is mounting on Pakistan to contain the militants itching for a fight with archnemesis India amid the growing calls for action in its escalating dispute with New Delhi over Kashmir.

Just last week, hundreds rallied in Pakistani Kashmir, calling for armed retaliation over India’s decision to revoke the special autonomy granted to its portion of the Muslim-majority region.

Delhi’s move earlier this month upended a decades-old paradigm with nuclear-armed rival Pakistan, which also claims the former princely state, and left Islamabad scrambling for international support against the move.

But in the mosques and marketplaces of Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-administered Kashmir, the calls for jihad are gaining momentum―even as analysts warn that any militant violence could backfire on Islamabad.

“If India doesn’t

stop the oppression, then, God willing, it will find us there with guns,” protester Tariq Ismail told AFP at a march organized by the US-designated terrorist group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen.

Residents elsewhere in the city suggested that India’s move is set to radicalize a new generation, years after the insurgency that began in the 1980s in Indian-held Kashmir claimed the first of tens of thousands of lives.

“I have six children. I will send them for jihad... God willing our morale is gaining momentum,” said Muhammad Amjad, a 47-year-old former militant.

Bilouri Begum, 41, lost her husband, cousin and nephew to the earlier fighting.

“I brought up my sons. God willing, I will send them [for jihad] and will also go with them,” she told AFP, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The sentiment is not limited to the fringes.

Pakistan’s most high-profile news anchor, Hamid Mir,

hosted three former Pakistani diplomats on his show on Geo News this week, all of whom supported violent resistance in Indian-held Kashmir.

“Even if people go from Pakistan [to join] a legitimate resistance, that’s legal,” argued former ambassador to the US Ashraf Qazi.

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947. They have fought two full-scale wars and countless skirmishes over it.

Washington and New Delhi have long accused Islamabad of fanning the insurgency in Indian-held Kashmir, and of weaponizing jihadist groups as proxies to attack India.

The deadliest such attack came in Mumbai in 2008, when militants from Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba killed more than 160 people.

Any fresh militant attack at this delicate moment “will have severe implications for Pakistan”, security analyst Amir Rana told AFP. AFP

TEKNAF, Bangladesh―A fresh push to repatriate Rohingya refugees to Myanmar appeared Thursday to fall flat, with no one turning up to hop on five buses and 10 trucks laid on by Bangladesh.

“We have been waiting since 9:00 am (0300 GMT) to take any willing refugees for repatriation,” Khaled Hossain, a Bangladesh official in charge of the Teknaf refugee camp, told AFP after over an hour of waiting.

“Nobody has yet turned up.”

Some 740,000 of the long-oppressed mostly Muslim Rohingya minority fled a military offensive in 2017 in Myanmar’s Rakhine state that the United Nations has likened to ethnic cleansing, joining the 200,000 already in Bangladesh.

Demanding that Buddhist-majority Myanmar guarantee their safety and citizenship, only a handful have returned from the vast camps in southeast Bangladesh where they have now lived for two years.

The latest repatriation attempt―a previous push failed in November― follows a visit last month to the camps by high-ranking officials from Myanmar led by Permanent Foreign Secretary Myint Thu. Bangladesh’s foreign ministry forwarded a list of more than 22,000 refugees to Myanmar for verification and Naypyidaw cleared 3,450 individuals for “return”.

But on Wednesday, several Rohingya refugees whose names were listed told AFP that said they did not want to return unless their safety was ensured and they were granted citizenship.

“It is not safe to return to Myanmar,” one of them, Nur Islam, told AFP. Officials from the UN and Bangladesh’s refugee commission have also been interviewing Rohingya families in the settlements to find out if they wanted to return.

“We have yet to get consent from any refugee family,” a UN official said Wednesday.

Rohingya community leader Jafar Alam told AFP the refugees had been gripped by fear since authorities announced the fresh repatriation process. AFP

Trump slams Danish PM’s ‘nasty’ rejection of Greenland purchase

FASHION WEEK. A model presents a creation by Mells during Kuala Lumpur Fashion Week in Kuala Lumpur on August 22, 2019. AFP

WASHINGTON―Donald Trump snapped back Wednesday at the Danish prime minister’s “nasty” dismissal of his attempts to purchase Greenland, heightening a row which has already prompted the US president to scrap a state visit.

Hours after announcing he would not visit Copenhagen next month as planned, Trump accused Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen of insulting the United States as a whole by rejecting talk of buying Greenland as “absurd.”

With Frederiksen voicing her annoyance at Trump’s cancellation, the war of words marks another spat between the US and one of its traditional allies since Trump came to power two years ago on an avowedly “America First” foreign policy platform.

Trump―who made his name as a New York property mogul―has characterized his idea of buying Greenland as essentially “a large real estate” deal, arguing it is a burden on Denmark as the autonomous territory’s economy depends heavily on subsidies from Copenhagen.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he was not the first US president to have raised the idea of buying the vast

Arctic island which has housed an American air base since even before it became formally a part of Denmark.

“Greenland was just an idea, just a thought.

But I think when they say it was ‘absurd’― and it was said in a very nasty, very sarcastic way―I said, ‘We’ll make it some other time,’” Trump said.

“We’ll go to Denmark. I love Denmark.

I’ve been to Denmark. And, frankly, we’ll do it another time.”

The idea of the US buying Greenland was initially dismissed as a joke by some, but its strategic location has grown at a time when both Russia and China are flexing their muscles.

Greenland was a Danish colony until 1953, when it became part of the Danish Realm, and it gained “autonomous territory” status in 1979.

Its 55,000 inhabitants―of whom 17,000 reside in the capital Nuuk―are more than 90 percent Inuit, an indigenous group from Central Asia.

The government of Greenland has insisted that the island is “not for sale” and Frederiksen told reporters on Wednesday that she fully endorsed that view. AFP

LGUs

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

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FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Pinili lines up pen contests for centennial

PINILI, Ilocos Norte—This garlic-producing third class municipality, which became Ilocos Norte's 17th town on Jan. 1, 1920, has shifted gear in preparation for its centennial next year.

Local Government Unit and Municipal Tourism officials of the town, 453 kms from Manila, have started meeting up with Piniliños residing beyond the town's borders to inform them of the lined-up programs, projects and activities in the runup to the day-long celebration.

Officials led by Vice Mayor Maynard Bumanglag met up first with officers of the Pinili-Metro Manila Residents Association (PMMRA) in the metropolis, to be followed weeks later by similar meetings with Piniliños in Hawaii and California, where there are large concentrations of people from Pinili.

This month, the Centennial Committee, chaired by Tourism officer Meggy Coloma, has scheduled competition for digital logo making and Iloko lyrics of the Centennial Song, which will be sung for the first time on Jan 1, 2020.

These are apart from the English Essay Writing Contest, open to all the top essayists of the three high schools of the town, sponsored by the Prof. Honor Blanco Cabie Awards for Literature, now in its 11th year, in cooperation with the Pinili Local Government Unit.

The centennial is themed “Panangipateg ken Panangitandudo iti naindaklan a Gapuanan, Puersa iti Masakbayan” (Upholding standout past deeds, driving impetus for the future).

Bumanglag, SB Member Amor Bagarino and Tourism officer Meggy Coloma, sought out the PMMRA officers for cooperation, ideas and suggestions to make the centennial a memory.

PMMRA, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1993, is a civic, non-profit, non-government organization which has been conducting annual medical outreach missions in the town's 25 barangays.

In the next few months, the officials said there would be, among others, competitions in music composition, scriptwriting/playwriting, mural painting alongside the launch of the Outstanding Piniliños Award.

CDC hails investment growth in Clark

HARD AT WORK. Rice planting season has begun at Barangay Talogtog, Laoac in Pangasinan. Manny Palmero

P6.8m worth of shabu seized in Pasig buy-bust A

By Joel E. Zurbano

COMPOSITE police team killed two suspected drug traffickers in a shootout and seized P6.8 million worth of shabu following a buy-bust operation in Pasig City early Thursday morning.

Killed were Jalal Salamoden, alias Bon Jovie, a resident of Block 29 Addition Hills, Mandaluyong City; and Sampiano Rason, alias Sonny, of Laurel Street, Gate 1, Lifehome Subdivision, Barangay Rosario, Pasig City.

Metro Manila police director Guilermo Eleazar said Salamoden and Rason worked as members of a criminal syndicate headed by Amin Imam Buratong who was arrested in 2006.

Buratong is now serving jail term at the New Bilibid Prison for running the infamous "Shabu Tiangge" in Mayapa Compound, Barangay Sto.

Tomas, also in Pasig City.

“Despite his imprisonment, he still manage to operate illegal drugs trade through his cousin Acsaimin Buratong alias Mac-Mac and some armed and dangerous followers,” he said.

Eleazar said the suspects were the subject of an illegal drugs operation under Case Operational Plan "Silent Sentinel" which targetted individuals and known personalities distributing prohibited substance within Metro Manila and in neighboring provinces.

“Four members of this gang have been arrested and two members have been neutralized in an armed

encounter,” he said.

Eleazar said his men from the National Capital Region Police Office-Drug Enforcement Unit and operatives from the Pasig City Police Station and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency conducted the latest police operation in front of the Caltex gasoline station at the corner of Felix Avenue and Kabayanihan Street in Barangay Dela Paz around 2 a.m.

An NCRPO policeman acting as a buyer was able to purchase two pieces of plastic bags of shabu (each plastic containing 200 grams) worth P450,000.

One of the suspects, who sensed that the buyer was a policeman, fired at the undercover agent and fled on board a motorcycle with the other suspect. The authorities chased and cornered them along Kabayanihan Street where the shootout happened, killing the suspects in the process.

CLARK FREEPORT—Being the preferred area for business and career growth, the number of investments and workers in this Freeport continue to grow as Clark Development Corp. cited 54 new locators recorded with additional workforce of 5,295 in the first seven months of this year.

During the recent Metro Clark Advisory Council meeting, CDC vice president for Business Enhancement and Business Development Group Evangeline Tejada noted the said increase as Clark now has a total of 1,092 locators, compared with 1,038 companies at the end of 2018.

As the amount of investments here grew, Tejada said more job opportunities were also made available. From 122,973 employees last year, the workers in this Freeport also grew to 128,268 as of the first semester of 2019.

Aside from jobs and investment generation, the MCAC, chaired by CDC president-CEO Noel Manankil and co-chaired by Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo, also tackled various infrastructure and other community projects.

Present during the recent MCAC meeting are Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin, Jr.; Capas, Tarlac Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan; Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Jose Antonio Feliciano and Porac Mayor Jaime Capil.

Meanwhile, the industrial firms here employ the biggest number of workers with 46,809 or 36.49 percent of the total number of workers while the Information Communication Technology industry is second largest with 22,827 employees or 17.80 percent followed by Estate Developers with 21,806, Service industry with 16,317, and Tourism with 10,241 employees.

Other employment contributors here are Commercial, Institutional, Aviation-related, Logistics, Utility and Agro-Industrial industries. A significant increase in employment generation is also expected in the coming years once the New Clark City becomes fully operational.

PROTECTION VS. DENGUE. Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte leads the dengue information drive, distributing mosquito repellant spray and Oliset net at West Fairview Elementary School. Manny Palmero

C. Luzon most wanted apprehended

By Jess Malabanan CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga—Police arrested Tuesday Central Luzon's most wanted person who is facing a string of murder cases in various courts in Nueva Ecija.

Jeremy Itan, 39, a resident of Barangay Ilog in Baliwag and leader of the Itan Criminal Group, was placed under tight watch by different police units for his alleged involvement in gun-for-hire, robbery hold-up and kidnap-for-ransom activities in Nueva Ecia, Tarlac, Bulacan and other areas in Central Luzon.

According to Police Regional Office-3 head Brig. Gen. Joel Napoleon Coronel, Itan was arrested during a raid

at the suspect's safehouse at Barangay San Jacinto in Victoria, Tarlac. Police records showed that the Itan group is responsible for the murder of Licab, Nueva Ecija Vice Mayor Albert Caraang in October 2010.

Police also tagged the group for the murder of Cabiao, Nueva Ecija Association of Barangay Captain head Rogelio Cunanan in October 2010 and municipal accountant Noel Gamboa in December 2014.

A former member of the dreaded Alakdan Group, a criminal gang operating in Central Luzon, Itan organized his own team and served as private security of a former politician in Quezon, Nueva Ecija.

Life

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

YOUNG LIFE

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

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Dodgeball goes digital DODGE IT. ABS-CBN introduces Hado, a brand of Augmented Reality game developed by Japanese company Meleap, which lets players immerse in the game using head-mounted display and arm devices.

By Charles Dantes

A

NEW wave of energy has come to the Philippines with the arrival of a dynamic technosport from Japan.

ABS-CBN recently introduced Hado, a brand of Augmented Reality game developed by Japanese company Meleap Corporation.

Hado, which means “vibration” or “wave motion” in Nihongo, is a team sport that merges the intensity of dodgeball with AR energy spheres and shields.

“This technosport combines physical and digital play in a game that various teams, groups of friends, even families can play and enjoy,” said ABS-CBN Themed Experiences Inc. head Cookie Bartolome.

Unlike the traditional electronic sports or eSports, where players use digital models to represent them in the game, a technosport such as Hado immerses players in the game through advanced technology.

Gameplay requires the use of a lightweight

From left: Migs Gomez, Roxanne Montealegre, Samm Alvero, Aiyana Perlas, Vince Velasco, Denice Dinsay, Arabella del Rosario, Jeremy Glinoga, Jairus Aquino, and Kimson Tan

head-mounted display as the AR interface, and arm-worn devices that enable players to “throw” energy balls and “put up” their shields.

Up to six players can play Hado Player versus Player (Hado PvP) per game, with three players per team. The teams have 80 seconds to slug it out inside the PvP arena, using actual throwing and dodging motions. The winning team will be decided by who knocks-out more opponents by the end of regulation.

Meanwhile, spectators get an exhilarating view of the game via screens which show computer-generated imagery (CGI) of the actionpacked battle.

To promote Hado in the Philippines, ABSCBN Themed Experiences Inc. has partnered with the National Collegiate Athletic Associa-

The Hado Pilipinas team goes around different schools to introduce the technosport.

tion for the ongoing Hado Pilipinas NCAA Collegiate Cup 2019.

The Hado Squad—composed of Jairus Aquino, Jeremy Glinoga, Arabella Del Rosario, Aiyana Perlas, Samm Alvero, and Kimson Tan— joins resident analysts, Roxanne Montealegre, Migs Gomez, and Martin Javier as they go around schools as part of the Hado roadshow.

The winning team will receive an all-expensepaid trip to Tokyo, Japan to represent the country in the Hado World Cup 2019 in December, and have a chance to win ¥2 million.

The Hado Pilipinas, hosted by Vince Velasco and Denice Dinsay, airs on ABS-CBN S+A, S+A HD, LIGA, and LIGA HD every Sunday, 11:30 a.m. and will also be available on-demand on the streaming platform iWant starting August 25.

Capturing an epic day on smartphone ONE of the best things about living in the Philippines is that a quick getaway is always possible. There’s always a beach, mountain, or tourist attraction nearby, and can be accessed by a short drive.

Going on an adventure is now as easy as capturing moments from it. Latest smartphones have enabled virtually everyone to take photos and videos they can post later or share live.

Samsung brought eight of its brand ambassadors to a trip full of unique activities in Batangas for One Epic Day. These adventures were recorded using Galaxy A70 and the newly launched A80, which are built for the Era of Live.

Richard Juan, Tommy Esguerra, Melissa Gohing, Kaila Estrada, Kyle Perry, Erika Kristensen, Macaulay Lofgren, and Jaime Borromeo got to experience the beauty of Batangas with challenges and activities that fans voted for on Samsung’s Instagram stories days prior to their actual trip.

The ambassadors channeled the spirit of Bali at Villa Jovita’s giant swing and nest. As true digital natives, they took photos with the Galaxy A70 and A80’s triple camera, which has the 8MP UltraWide Lens for stunning panoramic shots that take in the resort’s full landscape.

The gang also visited the Cape Santiago Lighthouse, dubbed as one of the oldest functioning lighthouses in the Philippines. The structure was captured beautifully with the smartphones’ 32MP+8MP+3D Depth Rotating Camera. Thanks to their built-in Scene Optimizer feature that automatically recognizes and enhances photos, resulting images were vibrant and bright.

Selfies and groufies became more exciting with the Galaxy A80’s Rotating Camera, an innovative feature that allows users to shoot on both sides.

At Stilts in Calatagan, the ambassadors got to experience a thrilling ATV ride. The Gal-

The group ends the epic day basking in the beautiful sunset by the beach in Batangas.

Like in Bali at Villa Jovita's giant swing.

The ambassadors at the Cape Santiago Lighthouse

axy A80’s Super Steady feature enabled them to record as if they were using a pro-level action camera. Even if the terrain was rough, they captured smooth live videos perfect for social media.

Before their trip ended, the group was able to go live and share their epic trip with their followers while basking in the beautiful sunset by the beach as their smartphones came with an all-day battery—Galaxy A70 has 4,500mAh while Galaxy A80 has 3,700mAh. The group also enjoyed looking back at their adventure through photos and videos, thanks to A70’s HD+ sAMOLED Infinity-U Display, and A80’s Full HD+ Super AMOLED New Infinity Display which showcased every detail of their adventure.

Go to Samsung Philippines on YouTube to watch the epic day.

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Entertainment

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

nickie.standard@gmail.com

Applauses for

ANNE CURTIS

Anne with leading man Marco Gumabao in a pretty intimate scene from Viva Films’ ‘Just A Stranger.’

By Nickie Wang IN THEIR spontaneous expression of approval, members of the crowd cheered and applauded the performance of Anne Curtis in Viva Films’ Just A Stranger, a romantic movie that also stars Marco Gumabao.

That rare occasion happened not just once but twice while the movie was screening at SM Megamall Cinema.

This proves that Anne doesn’t just give a compelling performance but a brilliant portrayal of a character that most women, young and mature, can easily relate to.

In the film, Anne is Mae Pimentel, a trophy wife who is in her mid-30s.

Though stricken with an illness called Fibromyalgia, she is not wanting in material things and can go on a leisure trip anywhere she wants. Her husband

Phil (Edu Manzano), a businessman, doesn’t seem to mind as he has very little time for her. It is while vacationing in the flamboyant city of Lisbon, Portugal that this fashionable lady meets Jericho.

Jericho “Jekjek” Esguerra (Marco) is a 19-year-old son of a Philippine Ambassador. He is oozing with sex appeal and charming personality, but lacking in maturity. To help him have a sense of responsibility, his father tells him to find a job. Jericho is not excited about working, but out of respect to his parents Rufi and Judy (Robert Seña and Isay Alvarez), he obeys their demands. He has a girlfriend named Febbie (Jas Rodriguez), but meeting Mae makes his life more exciting.

The trailer already gives a hint of the numerous steamy scenes between Anne and Marco, but director Laxamana points out that the film was not created to romanticize illicit affair. This drama will

delve deeper into the personal stories of the characters to show their reasons behind their actions. It is interesting to know if, despite their liaison, Mae and Jericho can stick to this principle: “Not your friend.

Not your lover. Just a stranger.”

It is said that the idea of doing a MayDecember affair love story has long been considered by Anne, but it is only now that the right material came along. The awardwinning actress has shown her versatility by doing action (Buy Bust) and mystery thriller (Aurora), but it can’t be disregarded that her career prospered while doing romantic drama movies (Baler, In Your Eyes, No Other Woman, A Secret Affair). After the box office hit Sid & Aya, it’s great that viewers will get to see Anne going back to her roots—the romance-drama genre.

Directed by Jason Paul Laxama, Just a Stranger is now screening in cinemas nationwide.

EXO tonight at the

Mall of Asia Arena Exo is a South Korean– Chinese boy band based in Seoul, with nine members: Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanyeol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun.

G

ET ready to #StanUpTogether, PH EXO-Ls, because the boys are officially back here in Manila. Globe continues to bring the best Korean entertainment to the country as it partners with PULP Live World for EXO’s fourth solo concert, EXO Planet #5—EXplOration, happening tonight at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

Named the “kings of K-Pop,” EXO is a record-breaking nine-member boy group under SM Entertainment. The South Korean-Chinese boy band debuted in 2012 and is composed of members Xiumin, Suho, Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, Chanye-

ol, D.O., Kai, and Sehun.

The band’s first album XOXO, which featured the breakthrough hit “Growl,” sold over a million copies and made EXO the best-selling Korean artist in twelve years. Now years and years into an illustrious career, the group is now quintuple million-selling act, with its most recent album Don’t Mess Up My Tempo, which features its latest music that the members will be performing on this exciting tour.

EXO has prepared yet another spectacular show for its beloved EXO-Ls, and will surely do its best to fill the spaces temporarily left by Xiumin and D.O who have both gone on hiatus due to mandatory military service. This is another KPop show our K-mmunity shouldn’t miss.

Most recently, Globe has brought massive K-Pop acts like TWICE, BLACKPINK, Wanna One, and Super Junior to the country to satiate the K-Pop cravings of Filipino fans. With more exciting artists like EXO lined up, Filipino fans are sure to experience world-class music entertainment— a commitment that Globe will continue to strengthen for years to come.

International launch set for Disney+ streaming service THE Walt Disney Company said on Monday its streaming television service will debut in November in the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

Offering film and TV entertainment including its Star Wars and Marvel franchises as well as its ABC content and an extensive library acquired from 21st Century Fox, Disney+ hopes to be a major challenger to Netflix.

It will launch in Canada, Netherlands, and the US on Nov. 12, and in Australia and New Zealand a week later, the company said, and is expected to expand to most major markets within the following two years.

The entertainment giant also announced deals for Disney+ to be available on Apple, Google, Microsoft, Roku, and Sony internet-linked devices.

Chief executive Bob Iger said during a recent earnings call the company

would take advantage of its control of Hulu to bundle an ad-supported version of the streaming television service with Disney+ and ESPN in the US for a monthly subscription price of $12.99.

Iger said Disney was “focused on leveraging Fox’s vast library of great titles... for example reimagining Home Alone, ‘Night at the Museum, ‘Cheaper by the Dozen, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid for a new generation on Disney+.”

Former Fox superhero movie franchises including X-Men, Fantastic 4 and Deadpool will now come under the Marvel umbrella, Iger said, adding that parent company Disney sees “great long-term value” in the titles.

The increasingly competitive TV streaming marketplace will soon feature HBO Max, Apple and NBCUniversal platforms as well as Netflix and Amazon Prime. AFP

Disney’s streaming service will offer its films and TV shows, along with the library it acquired from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.

FDCP teams up with EON Foundation for Cinespectra film fest

Each finalist received a grant of P70,000 to develop and produce five-minute short films showcased in the festival.

TO SHOWCASE films that aim to break the stigmas on HIV and AIDS in the country and to empower filmmakers to turn stories into films with powerful advocacies, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP), together with EON Foundation and LoveYourself Inc., is hosting the CineSpectra 2019 Short Film Festival.

The Festival will take place from Aug. 26 to 27 at TriNoma Mall in Quezon City, and from Aug. 28 to 30 at the Cinematheque venues in Manila, Iloilo, and Davao.

Themed “Your Judgment, Their Life,” this year’s CineSpectra will premiere 10 Filipino short films that challenge perceptions and enlighten

Filipinos about HIV and AIDS and their impact on society and the country today.

During the CineSpectra press conference last Aug. 15 FDCP Chairperson and CEO Mary Liza Diño stated that this film festival is unlike any other because it shows how films are used as “a medium to send the message of awareness on HIV and to take out the stigma of people living with it.”

She added, “The advocacy of Film Development Council of the Philippines right now—which is very much aligned with EON Foundation’s goal—is to make sure that the messages and the films that are coming out from CineSpectra is not just to finish

the film. There was a film lab and film education component.”

Among the 97 entry submissions, 10 film projects from across the Philippines were selected to fully develop their ideas. The finalists underwent film labs for the development and production of their films, including a pitching workshop, a story development lab, and an editing lab. They also attended sessions which broadened their understanding of HIV, AIDS, and sexual health.

The opening film for the festival is the critically-acclaimed French film BPM (Beats per Minute) by Robin Campillo, which premiered in the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and won the Grand Prix Prize. CineSpectra will

also feature a panel discussion on the film’s role in HIV and AIDS awareness with key organizations and important individuals, and will highlight the screening of competing short films. The evening will be capped off with an Awards Night.

On CineSpectra’s second day, the public is welcome to enjoy free screenings of CineSpectra short films, Beats Per Minute, and the iWant advocacy film Mga Batang Poz by Chris Martinez.

One CineSpectra winner will be part of this year’s Sine Kabataan 3 and will be screened in all cinemas nationwide in September. This will be paired with a Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino (PPP) 2019 full-length counterpart.

Motoring

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HINO TRUCK GETS AN UPGRADE

INO Motors Philippines, exclusive distributor of Hino trucks and buses, has launched the upgraded FC9JL7A medium-duty truck model under the Hino 500 truck series at the Transport and Logistics Expo, which ran from August 15 to 17 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

HMP also showcased its Hino Class 2 PUV with Centro Cab-less body during the three-day expo. This Class 2 PUV reflects Hino’s commitment to improve the local transportation system through the PUVM program.

Hino said its vision of a more connected community includes a modernized system of transportation comprising vehicles that are environmentally safe, durable and comfortable for the Filipino commuters. More Hino trucks, including the Cerito, Class 2 and Class 3 Hino PUV, are displayed at the Truck Lot located at the parking area across the World Trade Could Center.

“We have seen great developments in several sectors in the Philippines, including industries from transport and logistics. With the rising demand for efficiency and reliability that come alongside these improvements, we are confident that HMP’s products and commitment to Total Support will enable many businesses to not only meet their customers’ demands but to maintain a high level of satisfaction as well,” HMP President Mitsuharu Tabata said.

As the leading exhibition for delivery vehicles, trucks, transport system, materials handling logistics including supply chain equipment, the Transport and Logistics Expo showcases the latest in

FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

The FC9JL7A, a medium-duty truck model under the Hino 500 truck series, takes center stage at the Transport and Logistics Expo held at the World Trade Center from Aug. 15-17, 2019.

transport and logistics solutions to connect manufacturers as well as suppliers with more Filipinos.

Delivering Total Support with improved medium-duty truck HMP is maximizing the capacity of its products to meet the needs of drivers and customers and keep up with the growing demands of the transport and

logistics industries. The re-engineered Hino FC9JL7A medium-duty truck is designed to deliver powerful driving performance, high durability, ergonomic comfort, good transport quality and flexible body-building capability.

The all-new Hino FC9JL7A mediumduty truck has a higher gradeability of 45.2 percent. It boasts increased resume-

accelerate (R/A) gear ratio of 4.88 from 4.33, increased wheelbase of 4,990mm from 4,350mm and increased alternator limit of 90A from 60A. The fuel capacity has doubled from 100 liters to 200 liters for maximum capacity and the air over hydraulic brakes enhanced with anti-lock braking system (ABS) for a safer driving experience. The air-conditioning

Lalamove promotes road safety MONSOON rain and floods are heavily affecting the road users of Metro Manila. We aren’t just talking about motor vehicles. Pedestrians, commuters, and PWDs also bear the brunt of snarled traffic. Everyone, from students to senior citizens, has to deal with bad weather that creates heavy traffic and increases the rate of accidents.

With the rising dependency on on-demand delivery services, business owners and frequent users rely on these delivery apps even more heavily this rainy season. Lalamove, being the leading ondemand delivery app in the metro, sees this growing demand as an opportunity to also remind their partner drivers to prioritize their safety on the road.

In partnership with Honda Safety Driving Center and road safety advocate James Deakin, Lalamove launches the Angat ang Maingat campaign to ensure safety for their growing partner driver community. They previously held safety seminars, but it only reaches a handful of people compared to their sizable 35,000 base.

“Our goal is to prevent any road accident for all Lalamove partner drivers. We started by conducting safety seminars and realised that safety promotion is a continuous effort that goes beyond training. We needed to promote this through constantly communicating its importance and how everyone contributes to road safety. Through this, we developed a program with Honda Safety Driving Center and James Deakin to send a mes-

Lalamove drivers are required to undergo safety seminars.

sage that safety is the key to success for our partner drivers: “Angat ang maingat, partner”.

• Dannah Majarocon, Managing Director of Lalamove Philippines According to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, there were 101,428 road crashes in the National Capital Region last year,

of which 336 lives were lost. Even though Lalamove provides personal accident insurance for all drivers, Majarocon says that it’s best if there will never be a use for it. Lalamove is optimistic that their safety campaign will reach and re-educate all their partner drivers them to be cautious and to uphold quality services at all times.

Volkswagen PH opens 8th dealership EUROPEAN car enthusiasts in the Santa Rosa, Laguna area need not travel far to acquire their vehicles of choice or have these maintained, serviced or repaired. Volkswagen Philippines, in partnership with the Lica Auto Group, inaugurated on August 16, 2019 the Volkswagen Santa Rosa dealership along the busy automotive row of the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road.

The dealership, which is Volkswagen Philippines’ 8th since it first officially started operations in 2013, is the first Volkswagen dealership established in southern Luzon, and targets mainly the upwardly mobile markets of the Calabarzon Area (Region 4A) that encompasses the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, and Quezon – a booming economic growth corridor populated by

Lica Auto Group (LAG) President Felix Limcaoco III (3rd from right) presents a symbolic token of partnership Volkswagen PH President Felipe Estrella (2nd from left) with Volkswagen PH Chief Operating Adviser Klaus Schadewald, LAG Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer Tey Sornet and Volkswagen Santa Rosa General Manager Jon Gutierrez.

the nearly 8 million that fall within the vehiclebuying age demographic of 20 years old and above.

During the inauguration, Volkswagen Philippines’ President Felipe Estrella stated, “Establishing our 8th Volkswagen dealership in the country, at the economic epicenter of a developing phenomenon that is the Calabarzon area, was a very easy decision to make. And in collaboration with the Lica Auto Group, we are able to establish our presence in a very exciting market. Now, the region’s residents and enterprises will have more access to the German engineering, build quality, and driving experience of Volkswagen automobiles and the accompanying Volkswagen aftersales services and support.” Lica Auto Group Managing Director Rene Limcaoco expressed in his special message, “Our first Volkswagen dealer takes the Lica Auto Group to a position of dominance in the auto industry in the southern Luzon area. At the same time, Volkswagen Santa Rosa will be more accessible to buyers and owners in the region.”

The Lica Auto Group is a key enterprise of the Manila-based Lica Group that traces its roots in Calabarzon-based real estate, sugar plantations and banking. With over 50 years of operations, it is one of the leading diversified business groups in the Philippines. The Lica Auto Group holding company is among the largest automotive sales and businesses in the country with 46 full dealerships and 19 satellite showrooms, and with new and used-car dealerships, rent-a-car, leasing, parts and equipment distribution and service centers.

Lester Dizon

unit and power windows have likewise been improved for added comfort.

As the only one-stop shop for trucks and buses in the Philippines, HMP continues to deliver top-of-the-line, customizable commercial vehicles that enable its partners to fulfill logistics and transport demands from across different sectors.

New category in Henry Ford awards FORD Philippines is now accepting entries to the 19th Henry Ford Awards, the country’s lone and longest-running awards program recognizing excellence in automotive journalism.

Now on its 19th year, HFA celebrates the contributions of automotive journalists in shaping the Philippine automotive industry, honoring in-depth reportage of automotive news and trends and related topics on various media platforms.

This year, the HFA is introducing the new Best Online Automotive Publication category, which aims to recognize the power of digital platforms in informing, educating, and influencing the Filipino commuting public. All automotive websites and blogs that feature industry news and vehicle reviews (article or video), at the minimum, are automatically qualified to vie for the award.

HFA is also launching this year an all-digital submission for all entries, harnessing the speed and precision in using a fully-digital platform to submit and accommodate entries without the need for paper submissions.

“For the past nineteen years, the Henry Ford Awards has served as a platform in recognizing the role of journalists in taking the country’s automotive industry forward. The HFA has become an institution in the industry with its continuing efforts to help uplift the state of motoring journalism in the country and give outstanding media practitioners the recognition they deserve,” said EJ Francisco, AVP, Communications, Ford Philippines.

“This year, we will also share the limelight with automotive journalists and publications which are maximizing the reach of the online medium with their news content—may it be in the form of articles, photos, videos or social media posts,” adds Francisco.

Journalists can submit their work under 16 categories. There are 11 regular categories: Automotive Print Feature, Automotive Online Feature, Automotive Video Feature, Automotive Column, Published Photograph, Green Feature, Smart Technology Feature, Automotive Road Safety Feature, Automotive Industry Feature (Business), Automotive Online Lifestyle Feature, and Automotive Print Lifestyle Feature.

Special categories, primarily focused on Fordspecific content, include Ford Automotive Feature, Ford Automotive Video Feature, and Ford Published Photograph. The Best Broadsheet Motoring Section, including the new Best Online Automotive Publication, will remain the highlight of the awards.

This year’s entries will undergo a two-phase judging process, with each phase having its own set of judges composed of respected professionals from the academe and automotive-related industries, as well as practitioners in creatives, design, and digital publishing.

Winners will be announced and recognized during the awards night in January 2020.

Nominations for entries may be done by editors, publishers, TV producers, and fellow or participating journalists. Participants need to submit entries online using this link: https://ford.to/31RLyOZ. All entries must be published/posted/aired from October 1, 2018 to October 11, 2019.

Deadline for submission of entries is on October 11, 2019 by 5:00PM.

Motoring

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

C4 FRIDAY, AUGUST 23, 2019

ULTRA LUXURY TRAVEL

• Hiace Super Grandia launched

A series of developments on the design, performance, and safety features resulted in a strong and refined exterior yet an inviting and comfortable interior which embodies grand luxury and omotenashi (hospitality).The all-new Hiace Super Grandia, which is available in three new variants—Elite, Leather, and Fabric, promises a stress-free drive both for the driver and passenger and provides a ride experience and atmosphere that resembles first-class airline travel.

Precise chrome accents add elegance to the large front grille which merges with the defined bi-beam LED head lamps. The rear chrome garnish mirrors the front design and is also complemented by the distinctive shape of the LED rear combination lamps. The low center of gravity and wide stance is accentuated by the chrome lining that runs along the side to the bottom of the rear bumper.

Text and photos by Lester Dizon

T

OYOTA Motor Philippines completed their Hiace lineup on August 19, 2019 with the launch of the all-new Toyota Hiace Super Grandia. “The Hiace Super Grandia is a preferred van of companies in various industries and is quite popular as a family vehicle. It has indeed become a symbol of comfort, convenience, and durability,” TMP President Satoru Suzuki said during the launching event.

“We are excited to bring a higher level of luxury and a delightful ride experience that Filipinos truly deserve with the new Hiace Super Grandia. We expect this

By Lester Dizon ON AUGUST 7, 2019, the Auto Nation Group premiered the new MercedesBenz GLE 300d 4MATIC to their media guests and some eager customers at their Mercedes-Benz showroom along EDSA in Greenhills, San Juan.

ANG Assistant Vice President for PR Communications, Joseph Anthony Ayllon, opened the event with the proud and successful history of Mercedes-Benz sport utility vehicles (SUVs). “After more than two decades since founding the premium SUV segment and selling more than 5 million SUVs globally, Mercedes-Benz has made a strong mark in the SUV community”, said Ayllon.

“Mercedes-Benz SUVs serve a purpose that is beyond utilitarian. They were designed and built to reflect strength and confidence – the same attributes of people who have gone through triumph and defeat, whose character has been fortified by life’s experiences.”

“From the time we introduced the GLE in 2005, it has been regarded as an icon of confidence among our discerning customers, who want a premium SUV that offers no compromise”, said ANG Chief Operating Officer (COO) Francis Jonathan Ang. “It has drawn both aspiration and inspiration from people who are the CEOs of their lives, and those who live for life’s adventures. The new GLE is the result of generations of design and engineering, a powerful promise of trust and

model to further elevate the Hiace passenger van which currently holds a 54.6% share in its segment year-to-date as of July.”

The Super Grandia Elite is equipped with Toyota ‘s advanced safety features.

The power sliding doors (available for the Elite variant) emanates an inviting entrance to the luxurious cabin. Upon entry, the interior illumination sets a relaxing mood which can be adjusted to the passenger’s preference. Illumination can be set to blue, amber, or white for the Elite variant. Passengers enjoy luxurious personal space with the captain seats that occupy the first and second row.

Quilted leather 4-way Power Adjust

TMP executives led by Satoru Suzuki, company president, take the wraps off the Hiace Super Grandia.

Captain Seats with Ottoman replace the first rear row for the Super Grandia Elite.

For all variants of the Super Grandia, bench type space up seats at the farthest row can accommodate up to 4 more passengers. Rear personal reading lamps provide each passenger a greater sense of personal control and convenience, giving them the option of better visibility in their personal space. Automatic climate control ensures passenger comfort all throughout the drive, with Nano-E™ air purifying technology for the Elite variant.

The fuel-efficient 1GD-FTV 2.8 Diesel A/T engine powers the All New Super Grandia, with 2,755 cc displacement, 174 horsepower, intercooler system, and EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation). The McPherson Strut suspension provides excellent handling and stability and a 4-Link Coil Spring rear suspension reduces cabin noise, vibration, and harshness, ensuring a smooth and comfortable ride even on long drives.

In the lap of luxury: 2019 Mercedes-Benz GLE capability, with a strength of character that can only come from Mercedes-Benz and this holds true for our entire SUV line-up. Our SUVs are a major structural pillar in the Mercedes-Benz product portfolio, and greatly contribute to the growth of Mercedes-Benz globally.”

And the promise of adventure is what the new GLE is all about with its wealth of innovations. The active suspension system E-Active Body Control is a world first while the driving assistance systems take another step forward with Active Stop-and-Go Assist. The exterior design of the new GLE not only exudes presence and power, but also sets a new standard for aerodynamics in the SUV segment.

The new 4MATIC engine ensures great agility on the road and superior performance off the beaten track.

Inside, both driver and passengers will find the new GLE even more spacious and comfortable, while the cockpit features a wide digital screen enhanced with a fullcolor head-up display for a more convenient experience with the MBUX infotainment system. “The GLE exhibits iconic Mercedes-Benz design while remaining true to its character as an off-road SUV”, said Gorden Wagener, Chief Design Officer at Daimler AG. “With its design idiom, it perfectly embodies our design philosophy of sensual purity, thus representing

Mercedes-Benz GLE: Premium SUV

modern luxury. The interior derives its fascination from the contrast between the luxurious and elegant design and the digital high-tech of our MBUX system.”

The new GLE is powered by an inline 4-cylinder Turbo Diesel engine that produces 245 horsepower and 500 Newtonmeters of torque. Equipped with the 9G TRONIC 9-speed automatic transmission and 4MATIC All-Wheel Drive system, the GLE makes driving to the most difficult terrain a breeze. A first in MercedesBenz in the Philippines, the new GLE is equipped with EQ Boost, a mild hybrid

feature wherein energy recovered from braking and systematic engine shut offs delivers a boost of energy when needed or when eliminating turbo lag.

This new premium SUV continues the luxurious, elegant ambiance of a Mercedes-Benz luxury saloon and the robust, progressive features of an SUV. Its redesigned cockpit is highlighted by its sporty, stylish cockpit embedded in a striking dashboard design capped by 64-colored premium ambient lighting to set the driving and riding mood. It sports a longer wheelbase than its predecessor,

The Hiace Super Grandia is equipped with advanced safety features, giving peace of mind and confidence for both the driver and passenger. All Super Grandia variants have Anti-Lock Brake System (ABS), Vehicle Stability Control with Brake Assist, Hill Start Assist, Clearance and Back Sonars, Back Monitor, 9 SRS airbags (driver, front passenger, driver knee, front side, and curtain shield), and Emergency Locking Retractor (ELR) 3-point seatbelts for the driver and all passengers.

The Super GrandiaElite is the first variant in Toyota Motor Philippines’ official vehicle lineup which features Toyota Safety Sense. TSS incorporates active safety features which identify factors that may cause accidents and aid the driver in eliminating these factors. Features for this variant include the Pre-Collision System (PCS), Lane Departure Alert (LDA), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), and Automatic High Beam (AHB). creating significantly more space, especially for passengers in the rear, where it offers more legroom and headroom.

It also comes with third-row seats—a first in the Mercedes-Benz SUV line-up.

Rear seats can be electronically adjusted and folded to accommodate longer items and luggage. As an added convenience feature, the GLE’s power lift gate can be opened with a kicking motion underneath the bumper beneath the lift gate.

The new GLE sports the latest generation of the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) with two 12.3-inch touchscreens arranged side-by-side for an impressive wide-screen look – a highlight of the comprehensive touch control concept that combines the functionalities of the touchscreen, a central console touchpad, and touch-control buttons on the steering wheel for less driver distraction and stress. A highly intelligent virtual assistant is activated by pressing a button in the steering wheel or by simply saying, “Hey Mercedes” from anywhere in the cabin. It caters to voice commands to attend to infotainment functions such as destination input, phone call, music selection, climate control, and ambient lighting. MBUX comes with a natural speech recognition program that helps it to recognize and understand nearly all sentences from the fields of multimedia and vehicle operation. The infotainment system also offers seamless Apple Carplay smartphone integration for a more hands-free driving experience.