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Asean-SoKor summit: Reg’l security up By MJ Blancaﬂor PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte departed for South Korea Sunday night to attend the 2019 ASEANRepublic of Korea Commemorative Summit, where he is scheduled to hold talks with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in. From Davao City, the President headed to Busan, South Korea to participate in the commemorative summit from Nov. 25 to 27 that will be attended by other Southeast Asian leaders to discuss partnership and cooperation in areas of mutual concern. Duterte will hold talks with Moon in the afternoon on the sidelines of the summit to discuss education, trade and fisheries cooperation, Next page

WARM WELCOME.

Bar exam takers rejoice with their families and fraternity brothers as they leave UST campus in España Manila after a grueling four Sundays of examinations. The oldest among the examinees, 89 years old Mariano Ibarra (left), receives a bouquet of flowers and a warm welcome from his relatives. Norman Cruz VOL. XXXIII • NO. 284 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Rody fires Leni from ICAD ‘In response to LP chief’s suggestion’

Cabinet to tackle 4-day workweek PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said he will discuss with Cabinet officials the proposal to implement a four-day workweek to mitigate traffic jams in Metro Manila. In an interview with reporters Saturday, the President said he has yet to decide whether he will support the proposal of House Minority Leader Benny Abante Jr. who urged private firms to implement the shortened workweek this December as heavy traffic is expected to worsen during the holiday season. “I have to discuss it with the Cabinet. I have to dis cuss it with [Labor

By MJ Blancaﬂor

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has fired Vice President Leni Robredo as co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs, 18 days since she assumed the post.

NCR cops target vaping in public THE enforcement of the ban on vaping is now among the top priorities of the National Capital Region Police Office, its acting chief said on Sunday. Following President Rodrigo Duterte’s ban on vaping, Metro Manila Police Chief Debold Sinas said the police would now enforce the ban. “As per the pronouncement of our Honorable President and per directive Next page

Logistical snafu greets athletes By Peter Atencio, MJ Blancaﬂor and Romeo Dizon TRANSPORTATION snafus, bad traffic and poor coordination greeted delegations from Cambodia, Myanmar, Timor-Leste and Thailand that arrived for the start of the 30th Southeast Asian Games men’s football competitions. “We had to wait maybe like eight, nine hours to get our hotel,” Coach Felix Dalmas of Cambodia told a press conference Sunday, adding that they had also waited

STRANDED. Myanmar’s football team coach Velizar Popov (L) speaks as other team coaches listen during a press conference in Manila on November 24, 2019, ahead of the 2019 SEA Games (Southeast Asian Games). Southeast Asian Games host the Philippines apologised on November 24 after some arriving athletes were left stranded for hours at the airport or were driven to the wrong hotel, a logistical snafu that drew criticism just days before the competition starts. AFP

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed the firing of Robredo in a text message to Palace reporters, after which presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo also issued a statement on the “termination of services” of the Vice President. “This is in response to the suggestion of Liberal Party president, Senator Francis Pangilinan, to just fire the vice president from her post. This is also in response to the taunt and dare of VP Robredo for the President to just tell her that he wants her out,” Panelo said. Panelo said the President’s decision to appoint Robredo to ICAD was “a Next page

hours for the shuttle service. Their ordeal continued at their hotel, where they slept on the floor of a conference room because they were not allowed to check in before 2 p.m. Images of several Cambodian footballers resting on the floor of a function room as they wait for their hotel accommodations also caused uproar from Filipinos and neighboring ASEAN countries. Members of Myanmar’s football team were also made to wait “a very long time” at the airport and complained that the Next page

PGMC leads mining safety awardees MISS BIKINI PH 2019 SUPPORTER ENTERTAINMENT C4

PLATINUM Group Metals Corporation, the Surigao del Norte-based operating arm of listed Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., was recognized by the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association for its responsible mining practices during the Awards Night of the 66th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference in Baguio City. PGMC was the recipient of the 2019 Presidential Mineral Industry Environ-

mental Award Selection Committee Platinum Achievement Award, Surface Mining Operation Category. The award is bestowed to deserving companies for their outstanding levels of dedication, initiatives and innovations in the pursuit of excellence in environmental protection, safety and health management and social & community development. Meanwhile, six mining companies received this year’s coveted Presidential Next page

Platinum Group Metals Corporation, the Surigao del Norte-based operating arm of listed Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc., was recognized by the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association for its responsible mining practices during the Awards Night of the 66th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference held in Baguio City. PGMC was the recipient of the 2019 Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award Selection Committee Platinum Achievement Award, Surface Mining Operation Category. The award is bestowed on deserving companies for their outstanding levels of dedication, initiatives and innovations in the pursuit of excellence in environmental protection, safety and health management and social & community development. At the awarding ceremonies are (from left) MGB Director Wilfredo G. Moncano, PMEA President Joey Ayson, PGMC Mine Operations Manager Richard C. Gimenez and PGMC President Dante R. Bravo.

News

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Imee assures farmers P6.9b in extra funds coming soon By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Imee Marcos has assured rice farmers that, by December, they will receive the P6.9 billion in additional help from the government in the form of rice purchases or cash. Senator Cynthia Villar, head of the agriculture and Food Committee, said the problems hounding the farmers, particularly the drop in the prices of unmilled rice with the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law, was part of the “birth pains” of a new law. “There are birth pains in system changes,” Villar said in an interview over dwIZ. Meanwhile, Senator Francis Pangilinan said Sunday the dip in rice prices does not match the drop in palay prices. He asked the Philippine Competition Commission to investigate and correct this anomaly. “This means that the Rice Tariffication Law does not fulfill its promise to lower rice prices for consumers. the law only causes our rice farmers hardships because of low palay prices, Pangilinan said. Villar said the Philippines had no choice since “we have a commitment that we should liberalize [rice importation] after 22 years.” In fact, she said, this had even been extended to two years by the World Trade Organization.

Cabinet... From A1

Secretary Silvestre] Bello and the rest,” President Duterte said in the interview. “I have not yet decided really. I just want to hear [their thoughts],” he added. Abante cited multinational tech giant Microsoft as an example of private firms that implemented the four-day work week pointing out that it led to a 40-percent boost in productivity. He also called on Malacañang to study the implementation of the scheme for non-frontline offices of national government agencies. House Bills 1670 and 1904 propose an optional scheme to shorten work days as long as employees meet the prescribed hours within the week. Filed by Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte and Baguio City Rep. Mark Go, the proposed measures are pending at the labor and employment committee. Labor groups have expressed concern over the proposal, saying workers will work overtime within four days that might affect their health and salary. The House committee has formed a technical working group to study the bills and come up with a proposal acceptable to both employer and labor groups. Last year, Duterte signed the Telecommuting Act, which allows employees in the private sector to work from home. The law does not require employers to establish telecommuting arrangements that would be offered to employees on a voluntary basis. MJ Blancaflor

Cayetano, Velasco told: Abide by deal By MJ Blancaflor

“That was a solemn agreement among the three of us. If you want to use the vernacular, usapang lalaki ‘yon [it’s a deal between gentlemen],” Duterte told reporters Saturday. “If anyone of them will not honor it, be it Lord Velasco or Peter Cayetano, that would be his decision.”

President Duterte declined to reply when asked what he would do if Cayetano did not step down in October 2020 to give way to Velasco. “We should answer that question when we cross the bridge, he said after the baptism of his great grandson and namesake, Rodrigo "Rigo" Duterte III.

Under the term-sharing agreement that Duterte had brokered, Cayetano is supposed to step down 15 months after assuming his post and to turn over the House leadership to Velasco. Meanwhile, he said he was satisfied with the work of Congress under Cayetano’s leadership. In a speech Thursday, Duterte called himself, Cayetano, and Senator Christopher Go the “brightest stars” at the moment in the country’s political scene. “Like me...Senator Bong, Speaker [Cayetano], we are the brightest stars today. Look at the political sky and you will see us shining, Duterte said. Cayetano was Duterte’s losing vicepresidential partner in 2016.

Rody...

as to the extent of her mandate Tuesday last week but has yet to receive a reply. “Many were saying I am exceeding my mandate. I do not wish to be accused of encroaching on something that is not my assignment. So I wrote the President, and I have yet to receive a reply. I am just waiting for his reply,” Robredo said. She said this was the reason why when she met with Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director-General Aaron Aquino on Wednesday, she declined his offer to go through the list of high-value targets in the government’s campaign against illegal drugs. Panelo said Robredo’s decision to talk with representatives from the United Nations and the United States did not sit well with the President. “If VP Robredo is really serious in addressing the cause of the drug problem, she should have gone down to the grassroots—talking to the victims, to their families, and to the communities. Instead, she opted to have audience with the United Nations and the United States Embassy officials who remain out-of-touch from the realities of the local drug problem on the ground,” he said. “The vice president resorted to unduly baiting international attention on the matter, particularly from persons or entities

that know little or none at all about our situation, other than their own bias or unsubstantiated prejudgment,” Panelo added. Panelo accused Robredo of politicizing the drug war and “detrimentally undermining” government efforts to end the illegal narcotics trade. “The intention of the vice president to seek access to confidential law enforcement information can not be given the benefit of the doubt as being free from malice or manipulation,” he said. “The President has been more than patient enough, giving the vice president adequate opportunity to discuss possible courses of action with him. More than two weeks have passed since the vice president accepted her designation as ICADchairperson but she has not presented any new program that she envisioned to implement. In a campaign where people’s lives are at risk, a day is an eternity. The government can not twiddle its thumb and sit idly hoping for a flash of brilliance from the vice president,” Panelo added. The decision to fire Robredo came a day after Duterte apologized to her for believing in “fake news” that she invited UN probers to look into his drug war even as he insisted there can be no trust between them since they belong to opposing political parties.

“I am sorry because I said you only realize that it is false news when the news comes out. And you hear it and you talk about it, you react to it, that is the problem,” Duterte said in a Saturday interview in Davao City. The President previously said he would no longer appoint Robredo as a Cabinet member for committing “missteps” including reaching out to foreign entities critical of his drug war, calling her a “scatterbrain” with “knee-jerk” impulses. Duterte even threatened to slap foreign human rights advocate Phelim Kine, whom he thought was a UN official, in front of Robredo. The President, however, maintained that he cannot trust Robredo since she belongs to the opposition. “There can never be a trust that can be nurtured between the two of us for the simple reason that Leni Robredo is with the opposition, and I belong to the other side,” he said. “There might be things that we might discuss in the Cabinet that is only good for the people of the same persuasion,” he added. Duterte appointed Robredo as ICAD cochair on Oct. 31, apparently irked by her remarks that the drug war should be reexamined. Robredo accepted the post on Nov. 6.

Sokvisal said they accepted the organizers’ apology. “I understand what happened to my team. I thank the organizers. The problem has been solved. We hope to be able to work for the Games’ success,” Sokvisal said. The Philippine Football Federation said it would get directly involved to address the needs of the many delegations that are already in Manila for matches beginning Monday. Two matches have been scheduled at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium and at the Binan Field in Laguna. PFF president Mariano Araneta asked the SEA Games organizing committee to provide dedicated buses. “There are no dedicated buses for this,” Araneta said. “We have obligations as host of the Games. And FIFA [the International Football Federation] is concerned.” The PHISGOC reported that there were 34 international arrivals on Friday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport terminals, including seven sports team delegations, technical officials and representatives of the respective National Olympic Committees. On Saturday, there were 38 arrivals in the NAIA terminals and five arrivals at the Clark International Airport. The games, the first hosted by the Philippines since 2005, are expected to draw thousands of athletes, journalists and dig-

nitaries over their nearly two-week run. Smooth functioning logistics will be key to the success of the 56 sports spread across dozens of venues in and around Manila. The hotel and pick up problems came as organizers were already under fire over a nearly $1 million cauldron that will hold the games’ flame. Critics said the money it cost to build the 50-meter cauldron at the main stadium in Clark, north of Manila, would have been better spent building more classrooms. The Palace also apologized for the inconvenience suffered by athletes arriving for the SEA Games. “The Office of the President will not offer any excuses. As host country, we apologize for the unintentional inconvenience suffered by our athlete-guests,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. “We are not promising that the Games will run without a hitch, given the countless athletes who will participate and represent their respective countries, but we will exercise due diligence in making sure everyone will have a pleasant, productive and memorable stay in the Philippines.” Some SEA Games volunteers, meanwhile, took to social media to complain that they will not be compensated for their three-week work in the regional games.

Early this week, the P50-million stadium cauldron constructed for the SEA Games also drew flak for its cost. Malacañang previously appealed to the public not to “prejudge” House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, head of the organizing committee, for what was dubbed an “Imeldific” stadium cauldron, a reference to Imelda Marcos, the former first lady known for her extravagance. In Clark, Pampanga, about 200 private metered taxis were fielded to boost the transportation requirements of the coming 30th Southeast Games that will start on Nov. 30 up to Dec. 11 2019 here. Called Blue Taxis, these will service thousands of visitors both local and foreign volunteers and others who will flock to Clark to see the 2020 games. The opening ceremony will be at Philippines Arena in Bocaue in Bulacan while the closing ceremony will be held in New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac on Dec. 11. Eleven nations are participating in the games with about 9,840 athletes in 539 events and 56 sports. President Rodrigo Duterte on Saturday offered his best wishes to Filipino athletes who will compete in the SEA Games. “We wish all the participating athletes good luck and look forward to their excellent and hopefully world-record breaking performances,” Panelo said. With AFP and PNA

and Seoul to work on the speedy end of the high import tariffs imposed on Philippine bananas. Negotiations have been stuck as Korea insists on greater market access for its automotive exports to the Philippines in exchange for a lower if not zero tariffs for Philippine bananas. “The negotiations have only started in the second quarter while the tariff rates for our competitors have been getting more and more favorable to our disadvantage,” Stephen Antig, executive director of PBGEA, in a statement on Sunday. South Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Han Dong-man earlier said at least four cooperation agreements in the fields of social security, education, fisheries, and tourism will be signed after the two leader’s bilateral meeting. Department of Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary for Asean Office Affairs Junever Mahilum-West, however, said the signing of agreements between Manila and Seoul is still under negotiation. PBGEA said they hope Duterte will raise the issue on banana import tariffs with Moon during their talks, along with other concerns in the proposed free trade agreement between the two countries. Duterte first brought up the banana imports issue during his first state visit to Seoul in June 2018. The initial round of talks on the bilateral FTA was held in June this year with the aim of improving trade and investment activities between the two economies. The Department of Trade and Industry tabled its demand to lower tariffs on ag-

riculture exports. DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez said South Korean trade officials were amenable to tariffs cut as long as the Philippines lowers import duties on industrial products, especially automotive parts. The Philippines hopes the FTA will translate to improved market access for its agricultural products such as banana, pineapple, okra, avocado, poultry products, and mango -- in exchange for Korea’s industrial goods. Negotiators are looking at different tariff rate proposals aimed at erasing or at least narrowing the trade deficit between the Philippines and South Korea. They initially looked at a possible conclusion of the talks this month. This may not proceed as planned because of socalled “gaps” in the mutual concessions between the parties. Banana shipments to South Korean markets are taxed 30 percent. The country’s negotiators want this reduced to at least 5 percent, if not zero. South Korea is the country’s third most important banana market, next to China and Japan. Despite the high import tariff, banana shipments to South Korea reached 420,344 metric tons (MT) valued at $203.69 million last year, from 379,144 MT ($176.55 million) in 2017. However, banana growers are worried that their share in the South Korean market may be reduced as Central American economies secured trade deals with Seoul that reduced, if not eliminated, tariff on their bananas. With PNA

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte says it is up to House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco to honor their term-sharing deal, which he calls a “solemn agreement.”

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chance where both this administration and the political opposition could have unified in fighting the social ill that has destroyed the lives of many and imperiled thousands others.” “Unfortunately, she wasted such opportunity and used the same as a platform to attack the methods undertaken by this administration. Such tack was even motivated by hubris to prove their past arguments against the anti-illegal drug operations were correct. It at once crumbled as her request for police data validated the falsity of their arguments that the extrajudicial killings are state-sponsored,” the Palace official said. Panelo said the functions of ICAD are spelled out in Executive Order No. 15, and Robredo only had to seek an audience with the President if she wanted a clarification on the scope and limits of her task. “As always, she talked—not with her appointing authority—but right in front of the cameras asking the President on her supposed mandate,” he said. In a radio program Sunday morning, however, Robredo said she sent a letter to President Duterte seeking a clarification

Logistical... From A1

mini bus that picked them up were cramped. The East Timor team waited three hours at the airport, before they were driven to the wrong hotel, complicating their arrival and training schedules. “All nations deserve respect and what happened yesterday was not so beautiful,” East Timor’s coach Fabiano Flora told reporters. Thailand’s team, the defending champion, complained on Instagram about the lack of rooms at the Sheraton Hotel with three people occupying a room. Bad traffic had also forced them to cancel practice at the Biñan Football Stadium in Laguna, about 38 kilometers away, because it would take more than two hours to get there. Coach Akira Nishino said they opted to work out in the streets near the hotel instead of spending hours traveling. Philippine officials apologized for the inconvenience. “We sincerely apologize to our athlete guests from Timor-Leste, Myanmar and Cambodia for the inconvenience caused to them by the confusion regarding their transportation and hotel arrangements,” said officials of the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee. Cambodian chef de mission Nhan

NCR...

Asean-Sokor...

from the National headquarters, we have placed the ban on the importation and use of [vaping devices] among our top priorities,” Sinas said in statement. “In the enforcement thereof, we are bound to ensure that all violators will be arrested and properly recorded in the blotter book.” Sinas made his statement even as Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said Sunday President Duterte could not just order the arrest of those using vape in public places without an enabling law. He said there must be a law that would ban vape or e-cigarette smoking. He invoked the criminal law principle of nullum crimen sine lege, meaning a person could only be arrested to face prosecution for an act that had been criminalized by law before he or she had committed it. “Let Congress pass a law on vaping first,” Rodriguez said. Police in Metro Manila have arrested 10 vapers in Santa Cruz and Malate in Manila and in Makati City. Aside from local government units, Sinas said, NCRPO would also coordinate with mall and vape store owners to ensure the ban was implemented. Duterte earlier ordered the police to arrest vape smokers in public places as he announced a ban on its use and importation. Rio N. Araja

said Ambassador Noe Wong, the country’s envoy to South Korea. President Duterte said early this week that he and Moon would discuss security issues concerning the regional bloc and South Korea. “It’s really security. And it’s obvious. It is now the equilibrium of geopolitics. You know, North Korea then the Spratly Islands. The South Koreans are also against the occupation of the South China Sea and the claim of China,” Duterte told Palace reporters Tuesday. The members of the Philippine delegation are Cabinet Secretaries Teodoro Locsin Jr. (Foreign Affairs), Carlos Dominguez III (Finance), William Dar (Agriculture), Leonor Briones (Education), Delfin Lorenzana (Defense), Ramon Lopez (Trade), Bernadette Romulo-Puyat (Tourism), and Ernesto Pernia (Socio-economic planning). The summit coincides with the 30th anniversary of the establishment of ties between ASEAN countries and Korea, and the 70th year of the Philippines and Korean bilateral relations. Meanwhile, the country’s top banana growers and exporters are calling on both the South Korean and Philippine governments to immediately resolve a stalemate on the proposed reduction of tariff rates on banana shipments. The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association Inc. urged Manila

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He won in the May elections as TaguigPateros representative and was elected House Speaker last July. Cayetano and Velasco were the top contenders for the speakership of the 18th Congress, and they have sought the President’s blessing to put an end to the brawl that bugged the House for months. Cayetano earlier said “nothing has changed” in the agreement, but he admitted he would like to retain his post until 2022, and that he would consult Duterte on whether or not to relinquish the post to Velasco. Some lawmakers say the high trust and approval ratings of Cayetano may prompt House members to support his stay as Speaker.

PGMC... From A1

Mineral Industry Environmental Award. Environment undersecretary for Climate Change and Mining Concerns Analiza the, who represented Secretary Roy A. Cimatu together with Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association President Walter Brown, led the awarding during the Awards Night and Testimonial Dinner at the CAMP John Hay Trade and Cultural Center in Baguio City Friday night, which capped the 66th Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Conference. The four-day event is organized by the PMSEA in partnership with Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Narural Resources. Mt. Labo Exploration and Development Corporation won in the Mineral Exploration category while the Mindanao Mineral Processing and Refining Corporation bagged the award for the Mineral Processing category. For the Quarry Operation Category, Republic Cement and Building Materials, Inc.-Bulacan and Holcim Mining and Development Corporation― Davao bagged the Quarry Operation category. For the Surface Mining category, Agata Mining Ventures Inc. and Cagdianao Mining Corporation bagged the coveted award.

News ‘PH seamen cash transfer to pass $6b this year’ THE cash sent home by Filipino sailors via bank channels alone is projected to surpass the $6-billion mark this year, the ACTS-OFW Coalition of Organizations said on Sunday. “We expect the annual cash transfers from Filipino officers and ratings on international ocean-going vessels to continue to increase by mid to high single-digit rate,” said ACTS-OFW chairman Aniceto Bertiz III. “The growth is being driven by sustained enlistment, amid the tight global supply of ship officers in particular,” Bertiz, a former member of Congress, said. Filipino sailors remitted via bank wire a total of $4.87 billion in cash from January to September this year, up eight percent versus $4.51 billion in the same nine-month period in 2018, Bertiz said. Bertiz said the bulk of the cash from Filipino sailors in the first three quarters came from: the United States ($1.8 billion); · Singapore ($512.5 million); Germany ($423.8 million); Japan ($388.1 million); United Kingdom ($242.5 million); Netherlands ($216.9 million); Hong Kong ($154.6 million); Panama ($126.9 million); Cyprus ($124.4 million); and Greece ($103.2 million). Meanwhile, Bertiz welcomed a Department of Labor and Employment report indicating that 11 Filipino sailors kidnapped in two separate piracy attacks in West Africa earlier this month would likely be freed before Christmas. “Piracy attacks, which have doubled this year, are a severe occupational hazard for our sailors, along with shipping accidents,” Bertiz said. The Philippines is the world’s second-largest supplier of licensed ship officers next to China, and the biggest provider of unlicensed ship ratings or non-officer crew ahead of China, according to the London-based International Chamber of Shipping. The other top suppliers of ship officers and ratings are India, Indonesia, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

Duterte awards five wounded Army soldiers PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday conferred the Kampilan medal on five Army soldiers who were wounded in military operations carried out against Islamic insurgents in war-torn Mindanao. President Duterte paid a visit on the wounded soldiers at the Metro Davao Medical Research Center on early Sunday morning to check their condition after the bloody encounter with the rebels. “He [Duterte] then conferred the Order of Lapu-Lapu, Rank of Kampilan on the injured members of the security forces,” Malacañang said in a press statement. Among the recipients of the Kampilan medal are Cpl. Alexander Flauta and Privates First Class Ruel Sumilhig, Allan James Cabildo, and Sonny Buladaco. The Order of Lapu-Lapu is awarded to a government worker or a private individual who has rendered extraordinary service or made exceptional contributions to the success of the President’s campaign or advocacy. The Kampilan Medal in the Order of Lapu-Lapu is granted to a person who was seriously wounded or suffered great loss of property as a direct result of his participation in such action. The soldiers sustained injuries in separate clashes against the members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Dawlah Islamiyah Turaife Group in rural parts of Mindanao. PNA

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

Grab should pay P15-b fine—solon P By Rio N. Araja

BA party-list Rep. Jericho Nograles wants the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to sanction Grab Philippines with a P15-billion fine for overcharging its three-million riders.

In a statement, Nograles said that”Grab made a direct admission of three million offenses and under the Joint Administrative Order 2014-01, each offense merits a fine of P5,000.

Therefore, Grab should be liable for P15 billion worth of fines.” “If Grab will not be charged as such, then it can be argued that Grab is being favored, tantamount

to Graft. The jeepney driver, tricycle, taxi they pay the P5,000 fine but Grab won’t?” he asked. He reacted to the Philippine Competition Commission ordering Grab to pay a P23.45-million fine for excessive charges from February to May. Should the government collect P15 billion from Grab, the money could be used to cover expenses for the 30th Southeast Asian Games. “The fines and penalties meted to Grab is due to their unilateral imposition of unauthorized fares on the rider.

RUSH JOB. Workers rush to reburbish the facade of the Rizal Memorial Stadium along Adriatico Street in Manila a week before the staging of the 30th South East Asian Games on Nov. 30 to Dec. 11. Ey Acasio

‘Bill on cheap electricity to lift consumers’ burden’ Maintain clean,

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

THE Murang Kuryente Act will soon lift the burden of every household of having to pay additional costs in electricity bill, said Senator Sherwin Gatchalian He said the Department of Energy has just released the draft Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the Murang Kuryente Act. The law states that a portion of the national government’s share of the proceeds from the Malampaya Natural Gas Project will be used to pay for two items—Universal Charge for Stranded

Debts and Universal Charge for Stranded Contract Costs—included in electricity rates paid by consumers. Gatchalian, chair of the Senate Energy Committee and co-author of the law, stressed that each Filipino household is currently paying ₱0.09 per kilowatt hour for UCSD and UCSCC in the electricity bill. On top of this, consumers are expected to pay additional Php 0.86 per kilowatt hour for UCSCC and UCSD. But with the enactment of the Murang Kuryente Act, he said consumers will no longer pay the additional cost. Those con-

suming 200 kwh per month can save P 172 per month or P2,064 per year. “These savings can be added to buy additional three or four kilos of rice each month or a sack of rice each year,” said Gatchalian. . “Makakaasa ang ating mga kababayan na simula Disyembre ay hindi na tataas ang UCSD at SCC na nakapaloob sa bill ng kuryente nila”, he added. Stranded contract costs are excess of the contracted cost of electricity under independent power producer contracts over the actual selling price of the contracted energy output.

POLIO VACCINATION. Children five years old and below were given a free polio vaccine in front of Quiapo church in the activity organized by the Manila City Health Department on Sunday in an effort to totally eradicate polio in the country. Norman Cruz

DOLE now more accessible for local workers, OFWs via mobile app KEEPING tab with the Department of Labor and Employment is now within one’s fingertips as it rolls out a mobile application that offers various services and features for Filipino workers worldwide. Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said the DOLE mobile application will serve as a tool for workers, particularly for the overseas Filipino workers, for easy access to latest news and regulations at work, and immediate contact to the department and to the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices in their respective countries.

There should also be regulation on Grab’s capability of unilaterally dismissing, controlling, and collecting charges from drivers,” Nograles said. “This has been the second time that PCC has fined Grab for overcharging. On the other hand, the last time that the LTFRB imposed fines on Grab was last year and we have yet to hear anything if the TNVS company has actually paid a single centavo. Does this mean PCC is more efficient in exercising its mandate than the LTFRB?”

“This application is intended to provide a major channel for our workers and OFWs to get in touch with DOLE and the POLO. Through the use of modern technology, they can relay their labor related concerns and complaints,” Bello said. The application can be downloaded free-of-charge from the Google Play Store for Android devices and the App Store for Apple devices. One of the major features of the application is the ‘Wage Calculator’ which will enable the users to compute their wages with their overtime, holiday pays,

and the corresponding deductions. Workers and OFWs will also be able to have immediate access to the labor departments’ hotline numbers, and contact details of labor offices abroad in times of emergency and immediate response. Aside from this, the application can also assist workers to locate the nearest DOLE (branch or POLO) office based on their Global Positioning System location. A ‘submit an inquiry’ form is available which allows users to send an inquiry, a report, or complaints/violations

of their employers to the department for appropriate action. With the use of their mobile devices, workers will now be informed of their rights and benefits at work by checking into the ‘Handbook for Workers’ Statutory Monetary Benefits - 2019 Edition.’ Latest news and announcements posted from the DOLE’s website, bureaus and attached agencies, and a ‘hot jobs’ button which has a link to PhilJobNet’s website for a more convenient job vacancy viewing and application of candidates, can also be accessed in the application.

hygienic living, Villar urges public

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SAYING that the reemergence of polio was due to poor sanitation, Senator Cynthia Villar said there is now an urgency to maintain a clean and healthy environment at all times. She specifically refereed to the statement made by health officials led by Sec. Francisco Duque III that polio is one of the disease that emerged when there’s open defecation. Duque said only 11 percent of the country’s barangays or only 4,625 out of a total 42,045 are certified Zero open defecation, where people have abandoned the practice of open defecation, according to Duque. The 2017 Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey also showed that 4.5 percent of Filipinos do not yet have toilets and tend to practice open defecation, while another 24 percent use unimproved sanitation facilities. Duque said this amounts to an estimated 28-million Filipinos whose poor sanitation practices pose a serious threats to the population in terms of health, nutrition, protection, education, environment, and productivity. Because of this, Duque reminded the public to practice good hygiene and urged the Local Government Units through the aid of DOH Centers for Health Development to intensify their Zero Open Defecation Program. “So if we want to prevent diseases, we must observe hygiene,” she said. But the senator said there should be more funding to stop this practice thot oftentimes caused diseases like polio and also pollute our bodies of water. She said the government should spend more for prevention rather than cure. UNICEF data shows that an average Filipino spends about P1,000 for treating illnesses caused by lack of toilet facilities. Open defection results to people being at risk of contracting diarrhea, cholera and other waterborne diseases; intestinal worm infections and malnutrition no stunting of children. Villar also emphasized the negative effects of lack of toilet facilities or lack of proper hygiene and sanitation The senator said that of the seven million Filipinos who have no toilet facilities, 3.5 million are in Metro Manila. With an average of five members per family in the National Capital Region, she said about 700,000 toilets are needed.

Opinion

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

EDITORIAL

From top cop to eagle eye THE evolution—metamorphosis, if you like—of Ping Lacson through the years is quite remarkable. I may sound biased because for some years during the administration of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, I was a consultant to the senator first elected in May 2001. In 2004, when he was running for president, I was his spokesman.

Lacson’s stint as chief of the PNP was hailed by one and all. But readers would surely have observed that Senator Panfilo M. Lacson has not become a one-issue legislator like some of his colleagues in that chamber. Expected to focus on peace and order issues, he has become quite adept at most every other national concern, but particularly impressive when it comes to dissecting the ways and means by which public monies are expended. Few I suppose know that the curriculum at the Philippine Military Academy is strong on mathematics, and it would be safe to presume that the young Lacson learned his number-crunching well at the academy. But it is not usual for policemen, or even the chief of the Philippine National Police, to be adept at the budget even of the PNP—except those who

were assigned to comptrollership positions. In fact, some have gained notoriety as comptrollers in the military or the police organization because of the manner they mishandled public monies, as in the conversion of operational funds to fatten his pocket and that of his superiors, those whose shoulders are emblazoned with metal stars. But Lacson’s career in the Philippine Constabulary, then part of the armed forces, and thereafter with the Philippine National Police, a civilianized institution, has not been about crunching numbers or managing their budgets. He was in intelligence and in operations, not financial administration. His stint as chief of the PNP was hailed by one and all, resulting in the police organization’s getting an alltime high trust rating. He stopped the everyday “kotong” which preyed on most everybody, from jeepney drivers to taxi drivers, to “viajeros” of food produce. A single bullet that killed a kotongero cop caught in the act by his operatives days after he became PNP chief gave a chilling message to the rest of the corrupt cops. Cars confiscated from criminal elements that were kept as some kind of war booty by policemen were returned to the Camp Crame grounds, before their “Chief PNP” got to them. And instead of centralizing the PNP budget under his centralized control, he downloaded funds direct to police stations, the first time a director-general did. And he earned the ire of some media persons when he cut off their monthly “stipends.” When still a young officer in the PC corps, Lacson rescued kidnap victims, scions of the wealthy, and refused gifts of appreciation after the fact.

Adelle Chua, Editor

Sports stories

HE Southeast Asian Games will open formally on Saturday, as the Philippines plays host to its neighbors in the region. This early, the sporting event promises to be a constant source of stories. Last week, media attention zeroed in on the cauldron that is supposed to keep the Games’ torch burning. Over the weekend, the Philippine Southeast Asian Organizing Committee apologized to Timor-Leste, Myanmar and Cambodia for the “inconvenience caused to them by the confusion regarding their transportation and hotel arrangement.”

Certainly the organizers need to do a better job. It’s a good thing they have between now and Dec.11 to show that in the Philippines, logistical blunders are the exception, not the rule. Then again, the SEA Games is ideally not about the host nation or any sporting team from any participating country. Sports is ultimately a collective undertaking, and the SEA Games promises to transcend competition. The Games, instead, stand for cooperation and goodwill among countries in Southeast Asia. Sure, each nation and race pursues its own destiny. Part of that destiny, however, is being among neighbors, co-existing peacefully and using various means to communicate and relate to one another for mutual benefit. The Games also celebrate the indomitable spirit of athletes. Each participant to the Games invested years in condi-

tioning themselves to do well in their sport, with or without the support they need so badly. They endure long hours of training, rise after each failure to try again, and push their limit all the time. It’s willpower and fortitude in unadulterated form. The Philippines is fortunate to have so many of these gems here all at the same time. We often complain that there is a dearth of good news in the society where we live. Perhaps this is true – if we make a habit of going straight to the front pages of newspapers. The sports pages, however, run the same theme all the time: Athletes doing their best, defying the odds, aiming for excellence, and using sports to reach out to others like them even if they don’t speak the same language. That in itself is good news always worth reading about.

Turn to A5

Reforming the Senate THE FIFTH GOSPEL JUDE ACIDRE CONSTITUTIONAL reform was a buzzword in the early years of the Duterte administration. With two years more to go, it is unlikely that such a move to change the country’s fundamental law will come to fruition. My only regret is that this was a huge missed opportunity for our nation. With a strong president who, midway into his six year term, still enjoys an overwhelming support from the people, this would have been the perfect timing to review, and amend the Constitution. Not only so as to cure whatever defects that there may be in the 1987 Constitution, but in order for us to adapt more responsively with the shifting political and social demands. After all, tempora mutantur, nos et mutamur in illis. Times change—we, too, change with them. Federalism was central to the Duterte platform. Indeed, who best to champion the cause than a president elected from the geographic fringes of the Philippines. He had a proof of concept—the once-bucolic-but-now-bustling city of Davao, which he ran as mayor for several terms. The ideal was to do away with the centralization with which imperial Manila gripped the country’s growth, leaving much to be desired in the economic progress in the rest of the regions. But despite a perceived consensus at the onset, a workable timeline to introduce constitutional reforms remained wanting. But as it is, it seems that federalism has become a lost cause. Majority of the proponents of constitutional reform prefer a shift to a federal, parliamentary and unicameral form of government. By federal, it means having two centers of power, or in technical parlance, sovereignties—the central or federal government, and the sub-federal government. Through a parliamentary system, the proponents wanted to replace the American-style presidential republican system with that of either a Westminster parliamentary form or a hybrid French semi-parliamentary system. That means fusing the executive and legislative powers of government in the majority party or coalition. Lastly, a unicameral legislature, which is not actually new to the country’s political system. In fact, we had a unicameral legislature for at least four times in our history—the Malolos Congress, the National Assembly following 1935 Constitution,

during the Second Republic established during the Japanese occupation and the Batasan Pambansa created by the 1973 Constitution. Becoming unicameral means only one thing—abolishing the Senate. Many would be quick to agree, why not? Having two co-equal legislative chambers seems a redundancy since it lengthens an otherwise already extended legislative process. Likewise, many times in the past, differences not only in political composition but even in opinion and perspective have resulted in a deadlock between the two houses. Finally, considering how much money is spent on 24 senators, it can indeed sound logical that revenues can be saved by having only one chamber. The money could be better spent on needed social services.

We need to elect the right people to office— that would be the more challenging task. When it was first introduced into the Philippine political system, with the passage of the Jones Act in 1916, the Senate then was far different than its present version. Senators were originally elected on the basis of senatorial districts, basically patterned after the administrative regions that we currently have. That explains why Leyte and Samar had senators prior to the Commonwealth era, but have largely been unrepresented by a homegrown native for several decades already. Reforms to the Senate were introduced with the first amendments to the 1935 Constitution that restored the bicameral Congress. But these reforms abolished the senatorial districts and senators began to be elected at large, nationally. It said these reforms were initiated with the intention of making the upper house a seedbed—so to speak—for political leaders of national prominence who could be potential candidates for the presidency. This begs the question, should we then abolish the Senate? In my opinion, that would be a mistake. Still, the Senate badly needs radical reform in composition and function. When the Senate was first created, the intent was for it to be a house of territorial representation, as opposed to the House of Representatives which was designed to be a chamber of proTurn to A5

For cancer patients, Nobel research is far more than prize-worthy By Issam Ahmed WHEN Shaun Tierney was diagnosed with an aggressive form of kidney cancer in 2007, the prognosis was grim. Twelve years on, the 64-year-old is still living an active life, and even participating in marathon walks for cancer research—an outcome made possible by work that was awarded this year's Nobel prize in medicine. Tierney's case is a telling illustration of how seemingly esoteric scientific research makes its way from the lab to the real world —a journey that can save lives. "It's an exciting time," said Tierney's doctor, oncologist Toni Choueiri, who works at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston and is a professor at Harvard Medical School. "We're not curing everyone. Definitely not. But this is crazy—this is a disease that went from a death sentence, 'Go do your work, start having your will ready etc,' to people living years." Americans William Kaelin and Gregg Semenza, and Britain's Peter Ratcliffe, were awarded the Nobel last month for their work on how human cells sense and adapt to oxygen. They began their research in the early 1990s, and the first therapeutic applications appeared in the mid-2000s.

Tierney, a former design engineer, was embarking on a new chapter with his wife as an empty nester when he was diagnosed with stage four renal cell carcinoma. His hopes of surviving five years at the time? Just 3 to 5 percent. "Our legs were cut out from beneath us," Tierney told AFP. But that changed when he received Sutent, one of a then-new class of drugs called angiogenesis inhibitors that stop the growth of new blood vessels that feed cancer cells. The development of the treatment that has prolonged Tierney's life was a direct result of the trio's Nobel-winning research.

In the lab

Kaelin, who runs a laboratory at Dana-Farber and also teaches at Harvard, first started studying oxygen sensing because he was investigating a rare, inherited condition called Von Hippel-Lindau's disease. The illness causes its carriers to develop tumors, such as kidney cancers, that overproduce distress signals associated with having a lack of oxygen. One of these signals is a protein called vascular endothelial growth factor. It stimulates the growth of new blood vessels, thus spreading the cancer.

Kaelin uncovered the process by which the gene responsible for VHL disease regulated VEGF and made sure it was not overproduced. This gene is responsible for some types of kidney cancer that occur even in people not born with VHL disease, because it can sometimes mutate over time in the kidney. Sutent is now one of several approved VEGF inhibitors designed to treat these cancers.

Very rough

It's not been an easy ride for Tierney: The drug has toxicities and his treatment is "very rough," in his words. After first blasting the site with radiation for several weeks, he began taking Sutent orally, initially on a standard course of 28 days treatment and 14 days recovery. At first the side effects, including severe diarrhea and weight loss, proved too debilitating, leading Choueiri to experiment with different dosing schedules, settling for the past four years on five days treatment, followed by nine days rest and recovery. Tierney is something of an outlier in that he has been exceptionally receptive to the drug, but many are not so lucky, says Choueiri. Turn to A5

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Herons in our garden

By Maria Rosa A. Cabie THE early morning weekend sun has just filtered through the enormously green mahogany crowns across the 1632 garden east of the capital. The garden is dotted by fortune plants, a robust growth at one corner of birds of paradise, Chinese bamboos, different species of ferns, five fingers, palm trees, some orchids, baston ni San Jose, santan, several pots of la suerte, a climbing deep green cluster of sampaguita vines near the grotto, begonia, bougainvilla shrubs, replicas of two big herons on both ends of the garden to—I told myself when I bought these along nearby Ortigas Avenue extension—remind my husband of his youth in Pinili. I noticed radiance in his eyes the first time he talked of south-bound white herons during the monsoon when he was still in the grades. That radiance returned when he saw the couple in the garden. They were standing separately proudly on both sides of the spacious blue grass-carpeted garden. White butterflies and a couple of familiar dark feathers—billit balay and al-allawigan—are having some frolic among the leaves and petals of the plants that have become invitingly robustly green. I bought some of the plants during quick visits to Tagaytay City and Los Baños. Dayaw and the family driver would wait for me at some nearby restaurant across the asphalted main highway while I go through rows of potted plants. Or those hanging overhead. I get overwhelmed by the easy possibility I would have the plants added to the other stems at our Brookside garden. Today, as the sun slowly gets its shafts on the pebbled garage walk, I look at Dayaw from across the table, a few coupon bond sheets in front of him. I know he is just about ready again to unleash his thoughts on paper, after 24 minutes brisk walking on the path. For a no nonsense practitioner in what he calls the thankless world of journalism, who started inhaling the printer’s ink in college, I sometimes find it rather unusual that he does not read newspapers on his days off. Neither does he listen to newscasts. We have made it a ritual to do the brisk walking morning exercises before I raise my cup of dalandan-tanglad-ginger tea and he his cup of tea, sometimes coffee despite, or perhaps because of, Mian’s admonition. About three meters away from our table is the CD player that boomed out, during the past 24 minutes, John Sousa’s Stars and Stripes, Under the Double Eagle, National Emblem, The Thunderer, Tommy Dorsey’s Song of India, Glenn Miller’s In the Mood, and Harry James’ Ciribiribin. I am used to seeing him caress his ball pen anytime and any place. Sometimes I feel a bit jealous. During our initial years as a couple, I knew he was off to his fertile valleys of quatrains, couplets, octaves and sestets when his fingers took turns at moving, tapping and the like, his ball pen between his right thumb and right index. But when they did that in our later

For cancer... From A4

As Kaelin explains, "Most but not all patients benefit. Even in the group that benefits, many of them will benefit for months or a few years and then the cancer will eventually progress." The reasons aren't fully clear but are probably linked to a tumor's genetic makeup—one reason why Tierney has volunteered for studies to try to solve the question. Choueiri says he often has to prescribe patients a combination of VEGF inhibitors as well as immunotherapy drugs—an even newer class of treatment that turn the body's own natural

Reforming... From A4

portional representation. That is why senatorial districts were created—so that regardless of population, there was equal representation among the different groups of provinces in the upper house. As a result, every province that composed the senatorial district had a voice in the crafting of national laws, and appropriating the national budget, a representation that is now denied to regions and provinces that have been for so long unrepresented in the Senate. Region-based representation in the Senate will ensure that all regions will now be equally be represented and that the interests of regions with larger populations do not dominate the attention of the government. In the current system, senators are likely to draw more

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

A smarter approach According to a 2018 report of the American Chemistry Council and accounting form Trucost, the shift to alternative packaging will increase environmental costs five times higher than plastic packaging. Production costs will A GLOBAL campaign to save the likewise go up as whole manufacturing planet from what some experts call an and distribution operations will need a existential threat to humanity is in full invest heavily in new production proswing. There is not a day when I don’t cesses. As a consumer, more practical quesencounter at least one article, advertorial or high-profile campaign in TV, tions come to mind. When we totalcable, or social media raising the alarm ly ditch plastics, how will the grocery on climate change and plastic packag- stores wrap the fresh meats, vegetables ing. The need to be sustainable or to go and fish? Without all the shrink wrap “green” is now a reality that is influenc- packaging of food items, how will the ing legislators and regulators of govern- shelf life and sanitary issues be adments and pressuring enterprises, big dressed. Does this mean I will need a and small, to lessen their impact on the bigger refrigerator space? How will all these non-plastic alternatives affect my environment. Reacting to reports that rank the Phil- family’s monthly budget? Instead of banning plastics, some exippine as a top ocean polluter, several lawmakers are proposing a gamut of perts support a smarter approach that legislation that mostly seeks the out- focuses on more innovation of plastic right banning of single-use plastic or packaging. Governments should supnon-biodegradable packaging. As these port the development of new technolonew policies are being debated, the gies that use plants to create biodegradmost targeted brands by environmental able plastics that disintegrate and break groups like Coca-Cola and Unilever are down and may even be used as compost already heavily investing in sustain- material. Notable is Coca-Cola’s openability programs that combine shifting ing to the public of its PlantBottle techto recyclable packaging and advocacy nology patent so other manufacturing campaigns to modify the throw away developers can use it. The technology produces 100-percent recyclable packbehavior of consumers. The message we often hear on plas- aging and has helped reduce the company’s emissions. tic packaging to Others suggest simply “use somemaking plastic thing else” is not as packaging more dusimple as it sounds. We need to design rable to make them All the anti-plastic campaigns have and implement smarter reusable, therefore buried the original policies and solutions to creating value for a cash deposit then motivation to shift our garbage woes. reuse or recycle from the pre-plassystem like glass tic world of glass, bottled drinks. tin can, and paBut all these ideas do not really solve per-based packaging which was ironically about the environment, economics the real problem which is the need to and consumer safety. I am old enough, dispose of our garbage responsibly. It’s (over 50 years old) to remember that easy to blame the big manufacturers and plastics were the solution to saving shout demands to stop using plastics but the fast denudation of the world’s for- this is a deceptively oversimplified and ests because of the demand for paper misdirected attack to a complex systemproducts used daily as paper bags and ic and behavioral problem that involves boxes and since the personal comput- every human being on the planet. Foers and the Internet was decades away, cusing on plugging the leaks in the cirpaper was the main medium for com- cular ecosystem of all solid waste and a munication and data storage. Plastics holistic attitude that welcomes practical packaging was a revolution and soon and viable solutions with the least burbecame dominant because it drastically den to consumers is the best way to go. These environmental complexities reduced costs, used less material, was lightweight, increased shelf life of food will be tackled in the upcoming Piliproducts and was more adaptable to var- pinas Conference hosted by Stratbase ious applications compared to glass or in partnership with the Department of metal which increases distribution costs Environment and Natural Resources because of its heavier weight and bulk. and the Philippine Business for EnviFurther innovations in sachet packaging ronmental Stewardship. DENR Secmade consumer products more accessi- retary Roy Cimatu will deliver the ble to the poor masses who could not af- keynote address to the multi-sectoral ford the larger packaging of first-world participants represented by leaders from government, the legislature, prescountries. So now that the trend to shifting to idents and CEOs of private industries, alternative packaging materials seems environmental groups and the academe. to be unstoppable, there should be an The speakers and panel discussions will equally serious discussion on how exchange insights and best practices shifting back to paper, glass, tin and relevant to managing the solid waste aluminum will impact all consumers. and plastic packaging problem in the As the great majority of Filipino con- context of the DENR’s ongoing Manila sumers are in the D and E side of the Bay clean-up project. Hopefully these economic spectrum, our policy leaders discussions will provide the right diand economic managers must study the rection in designing and implementing real cost impact on our already heavily smarter policies and solutions to our garbage woes. burdened people.

years when he was asleep, I thought he was in some steep cliff of panic. I had the stalking thought he was counting some other rhythmic cycles. Wanting to save him from some unnecessary nightmare, I would wake him up. Often inside a north-bound passenger bus, while the vehicle runs at 110 plus kilometers along the MacArthur Highway, while I feel his skin pressed against my side, his fingers keep tapping whatever piece of paper in his hand. And I would understand. His mind flies like some healthy northern oriole looking for a perch in the hills of Sang-at, his childhood playground he has repeatedly brought me to whenever we are on vacation up north. Of course, every now and then, he would ask me if I remember the landscape which we had passed by in an earlier trip. We have seen the landscape repeatedly. But somehow there is always a new footnote every time he asks me if I remember the view. Going north, the right side gratifies our appetite for verdant crowns, with the breeze that has just caressed part of the Ilocos mountain range whipping our eyebrows. To the left, starting from Santo Tomas in La Union to Cabugao in Ilocos Sur we can have a glimpse of Luzon Bay. I remember, during one of our trips home to the north, when we were rolling deeper into the Ilocos region from the narrow strip of La Union, the pre-teener Andy Lord, who had by then taken alone by his lonesome nearly a dozen summer trips north, flexed his muscles and inhaled deeply, as though savoring the Ilocos breeze as we crossed the bridge connecting Pangasinan and La Union, “parang naamoy ko na ang Pinili.” That distance to his father’s birthland, nearly 200 kilometers away, gave him the feeling—and I understood him well—that he was home. He could well have been tanned by the Ilocos sun, in much the same way his father was years after the bloody second world war. And he is as proud of the culture of the Ilocanos as his father has been and is. We all are. It was there too, in Pinili, where Andy Lord went through the summer passage to manhood, during a trip I was with him. In the challenged but visibly brave steps of his father in an earlier time. And Andy Lord wants his sons to go through the same ritual in Pinili in their time. And his paternal cousin Narding was very attentive and caring while Andy Lord was trying to bounce back from his by then better forgotten fright. Now, as Dayaw begins to scribble what might well be his first quatrain of a Shakespearean, or perhaps the octave of his Petrarchan, I take a sip of my green tea, enjoy the morning breeze that floats throughout the sprawling gated subdivision, and relish the memory of my shibashi waves while he punctuated his brisk walking with his shadow boxing. The dogs—Barclay, Chase, Puti and Choco—who themselves had their walk-the-path behind their masters, are now resting, every now and then wagging, near the deep blue Corolla in front of Andy Lord’s gym equipment not far

from the white Serena mini van. My son often is a perfect picture sight under the steel bars, only meters away from the visitors’ comfort room by the alley to the dirty kitchen, raising his bulging muscles like men his age in some pay-per-hour gym in the capital. Dayaw has changed the Perez Prado CD and replaced it with Ray Conniff’s Christmas carols. It is only September. But the Christmas songs have a way of transporting him, this early, back to the times he was a fair-haired boy in Pinili, where his mother cooked for Honor’s old man and his brothers sinuman, a sugar cane juice-sweetened rice cake he says to this date made their weeks a memory. The radiance in his eyes while remembering the sinuman of old beats the radiance when he remembers the immaculate herons above the sturdy stands in Sang-at. The CD is now playing the country song “We Believe In Happy Endings” by Earl Thomas Conley and Emmylou Harris. There is a subliminal message in the song. Apart from the many Dayaw and I share—jokes, laughter, instrumental beats, love for family – we also share some enormous passion for country music. I catch the first few lines of the song “Who can tell just how it starts/ Angry words and broken hearts/ ‘Til silently we sit apart/ You and I// But in a while the anger’s gone/ And we forget who’s right or wrong/ Then one of us will end it all/ With just a smile.// I catch Dayaw bending where he has written a few lines. Then Simon and Garfunkel join the scale with their “Sound of Silence.” The CD was airshipped by Mian in March 2009, a month before my children and I gifted Honor with the awarding of the Cabie PINILI we launched months earlier. This is a literary contest we named after my husband for literature written in Iluko. PINILI, the acronym for Premio Iti Naisurat Iti Literatura Ilokana, means Prize for Literature Written In Iluko. The maiden year was open to all Ilocano writers in a contest for Iluko fiction. And the acronym just fits into the name of his hometown. Also my hometown now. As well the hometown of our children. And grandchildren. I catch Dayaw stop scribbling after hearing the first few bars of “Sound of Silence” caress the leaves and petals across the garden, now kissed by the morning sunshine. His eye level this time is higher than the grotto, its back against Burbank. Like his memory is right smack into the mahogany green crowns that partly shade Burbank fronting 1632. I look at Dayaw. He looks like he is only 22. I feel I am still 18. I am once more a college junior.

defenses against the cancer. According to Kaelin, researchers can go farther down the pathway of oxygen-regulating drugs. He is working with a company called Peleton on a new treatment that acts on an earlier link in the chain of this pathway and inhibits not just VEGF but other cancer-causing substances. Early trials are promising, but the work continues. For Kaelin, a physician-scientist who works both in the lab and with patients, that work is particularly rewarding. "To now think that I along with many, many, many others who worked in the field, I have been able to move

the ball forward and get a better therapy for these patients is just amazing," he said. Tierney counts himself lucky to have benefitted from various innovations, and is determined to make the most of his time—regularly taking part for example in kidney cancer research fundraising efforts like charity walks. "My prolonged survival allowed me to see all of our three children marry, start families, buy houses, and become real decent, great adults," he said. He was also able to meet his six grandchildren. "My kind of number one goal right now, the longer I survive, is to just imprint as many memories as I can on these children," Tierney says. AFP

And he went after the notorious Kuratong Baleleng gang which preyed on banks, killing tellers and bystanders along the way during FVR’s presidency as COO of then-Vice President Erap’s assigned presidential anti-crime commission. In one of those encounters, a major crisis happened to his career, along with other officers of the national police. They were accosted before the Senate and ultimately before the courts for the extermination with prejudice

of Baleleng criminals whose “human” rights they were accused of trampling upon. And then his patron, President Erap who appointed him Chief PNP above officers more senior, put him in the “doghouse” because he dared to defy orders to go slow on jueteng, ostensibly because the illegal numbers game generated livelihood for thousands of small folk, the “masa” who idolized the president. But Ping Lacson maintained that “what is right must be kept right; what is wrong must be set right.” And jueteng was “not right.” It was illegal.

support from vote-rich metropolitan areas or provinces, thus, much of the work they do are directed to these same areas. However, with region-wide constituencies, the Senate would now more closely integrate the domestic priorities of each region, thus allowing the legislative process to be more responsive to local needs. This is particularly important in a federal system, where the House of Representatives has a membership that is proportional to the population of each constituent region, and on the other hand, the Senate is intended to represent the regions thus protecting their exclusive jurisdiction. This way, having a Senate elected on a regional basis would be the best institutional fit to support the political devolution instituted by the 1987 Constitution, and when the right time comes, for a federal system of government.

Not only a change of composition is needed. It is likewise necessary to radically alter the function of the Senate. It is often mistaken that is always necessary to have a co-equal bicameral system. In several republics around the world, however, upper and lower houses of a bicameral legislature can have an asymmetric relationship, usually with the lower house becoming the more dominant chamber, and having more powers than the upper house. In an asymmetric bicameral system, the Senate serves as the chamber of legislative review. The House of Representatives will now have the exclusive right to introduce legislation. On the other hand, the Senate can deliberate further on and propose amendments to bills passed by the lower house. While it cannot reject these bills, it effectively delay its adoption and passage until a compromise is achieved within a

reasonable period of time, effectively shorten the legislative process. By freeing up its participation in the lawmaking process, the Senate can assign more time reviewing the actions of the government, conducting inquiries into important national issues and concerns as well as ratifying international treaties and agreements. With these reforms to the Senate in place, it would be appropriate to abolish the Commission on Appointments and transfer to the Senate the full right to confirm appointments made by the President. How would this new Senate look like? Definitely, it would be larger than the 24-senator system that we presently have. There could be at least three senators per region, and with 16 administrative and one autonomous region and another two senators elected to represent overseas Filipinos, this reformed Senate would be composed of at least

50 senators. Why not abolish the Senate? First because admittedly, persevering the bicameral system will avoid the concentration of legislative power and prevent the possibility of its abuse—a trusted check-and-balance mechanism against a possible tyranny of numbers in the lower house. Second, because a region-based Senate could be the best platform for regionally-driven but nationally-focused economic integration and political cohesion, allowing the once unheard regions to have a louder voice in crafting national policies. A change in the system can only solve half the problem. It can only do as much. More importantly, we need to elect the right people to office. Perhaps that would be an even more challenging task. “Many things have to change course, but it is we human beings above all who need to change.”—Pope Francis

Move the ball forward

Maria Rosa A. Cabie, Ulirang Ina Awardee in 2003, is the incumbent vice president of the Ilocano Writers in Metro Manila. Herons in the Garden is an excerpt from her book “My Own Write, Rightfully” (Armiandy Publishers, 2010).

From... From A4

News

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

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Appeals will no longer stop BI deportations people detained at the facility when it was intended to accommodate only 140 people. The DOJ official pointed out there have been reports that some of the detainees at the BI Warden Facility do not want to return to their native countries and opted to file appeals at the DOJ to delay their deportation. The new regulation provides that the filing of an appeal does not stay or suspend the implementation or execution of the decision, resolution or order being appealed.

By Rey E. Requejo

HE Department of Justice said the implementation of the new regulations aimed at simplifying the filing of appeals on Bureau of Immigration resolutions and decisions would help decongest the BI Detention Facility of overstaying unwanted aliens. Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete said under Department Circular No. 23, foreigners awaiting their deportation could no longer use the filing of an appeal before the DOJ as an excuse to prolong their stay in the country.

Perete said decongesting the occupants at the BI Detention Facility in Taguig City was “one of our major considerations” when they were crafting the circular that took effect Nov. 21. BI earlier said there were 235

Manila

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TODAY

reminds the public to be on the alert for dangerous toys that may pose chemical, choking and other hazards to children who are most vulnerable to the health-damaging effects of unsafe and toxic toys. Manny Palmero

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Payment of RPS = kVARh Payment + IERPS kVARh Payment = Compensable : kVARh x P4.00/kVARh Compensable kVARh = Actual kVARh - Base kVARh

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

Where: Actual kVAR = actual reactive power provided within each interval Base kVARh = corresponding kVARh at 0.85 power factor lagging or 0.9 power factor leading, for the unit’s MW loading. For clarity, the MW loading is the unit’s Pmin, or RTD schedule, whichever is greater. IERPS = Payment on Energy and Variables = G*(VOM + Actual Fuel Cost) - REVWESM

IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE ANCILLARY SERVICES PROCUREMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES AND KING ENERGY GENERATION, INC. (MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL POWER PLANT 2 - PANAON), WITH PRAYER FOR THE ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES (NGCP) AND KING ENERGY GENERATION, INC. (KEGI), Applicants. x--------------------------------------------------------x

SAFETY ALERT. Amid the Christmas shopping craze, non-governmental group EcoWaste Coalition

Where: G = summation of energy dispatched to produce the scheduled kVar less the energy for the BCQ VOM = PhP 0.5kWh Actual Fuel Cost = rate of fuel in PhP/kWh

ERC CASE NO. 2019-077 RC

13. Applicants submit that the rates represent a reasonable recovery of its opportunity cost in making available generation capacity to provide the procured AS.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:

14. The rates under ASPA was subjected to a simulation by NGCP, the results of which are as follows:

Notice is hereby given that on 15 October 2019, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and King Energy Generation, Inc. (KEGI) filed an Application dated 23 September 2019, seeking for the approval of their Ancillary Services Procurement Agreement (ASPA) between NGCP and KEGI for the Misamis Occidental Power Plant 2 - Panaon, with Prayer for the Issuance of Provisional Authority.

Ancillary Service

Indicative Rate Impact PhP/kWPhP/kWmonth equivalent 7.3488 0.0164 8.9998 0.0201 3.7491 0.00793 3.7261 0.0078

DR w/ WESM DR w/o WESM RPS w/ IE* w/o WESM RPS w/o IE* w/o WESM

The pertinent provisions of the Application are hereunder quoted as follows: 1. This Application is for the approval of the Ancillary Services Procurement Agreement (“ASPA”) between the NGCP and KEGI dated 11 September 2019, and pursuant to the Decision dated 3 October 2007 in ERC Case No. 2006-049RC entitled: “In the Matter of the Application for the Approval of Ancillary Services - Cost Recovery Mechanism (AS-CRM) of the Ancillary Services Procurement Plan, with Prayer for Provisional Authority.”

A copy of the Rate Impact Simulation for King Energy Genaration, Inc. Misamis Occidental Power Plant 2 (.KEGI MOPP 2) is attached as Annex “C”. 15. Consistent with the AS-CRM, all the related and incidental expenses which NGCP will incur as a result of the procurement and operation of the ancillary services shall be recovered from all the load customers in the Visayas.

THE PARTIES

16. The ASPA shall be effective for a period of five (5) years, to commence immediately upon the effectivity of the provisional approval, or in the absence thereof, the final approval of the instant Application. In the event that the provisional or final approval, as the case may be, does not state a particular date of effectivity, the Agreement shall be effective on the date agreed upon by the Parties.

2. Applicant NGCP is a corporation created and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with office address at NGCP Building, Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Diliman, Quezon City. It holds a franchise under Republic Act No. 95111 to engage in the business of conveying or transmitting electricity through highvoltage back-bone systems of interconnected transmission lines, substations and related facilities, and for other purposes. The franchise also includes the conduct of activities necessary to support the safe and reliable operation of the transmission system.

17. KEGI, as a generation company, falls within the ambit of Sections 6 of the EPlRA. Attached are copies of relevant documents proving KEGI’s due registration as a generation company, relevant permits to operate the Generation Facility and audited financial statements, as follows:

3. Applicant KEGI is a corporation duly organized’ and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines with principal place of business Barangay San Luis, Gingoog, Misamis Oriental. It may be served with orders, notices, and other legal processes through its undersigned counsel. It is the owner and operator of the Misamis Occidental Power Plant 2 (“Generation Facility”) located at Barangay Map-an, Panaon, Misamis Occidental which has been certified and accredited by NGCP to be capable of providing Ancillary Services (“AS”) in the forms of Dispatchable Reserve (“DR”) and Reactive Power Support (“RPS”).

Document Certificate of Compliance Summary of Existing Power Supply Agreement5 Certificate of Incorporation (SEC Reg. No. 201019693) 2019 General Information Sheet Audited Financial Statement (for the year ended 31 December 2018) Certification issued by Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, Inc., dated 13 August 2019

ANTECEDENT FACTS 4. Republic Act No. 9136 (“EPlRA”) provides that it is the responsibility of NGCP to ensure and maintain the reliability, adequacy, security, stability and integrity of the nationwide electrical grid in accordance with the performance standards for its operations and maintenance, as set forth in the Philippine Grid Code (“PGC”)2, adopted and promulgated by the Honorable Commission, and to adequately serve generation companies, distribution utilities and suppliers requiring transmission service and/or ancillary services through the transmission system3.

Annex “D” “E” “F” “G” “H” “I”

18. While KEGI is a co-applicant, it manifests that the instant Application shall neither modify, diminish or constitute a waiver of KEGI’s rights nor expand its obligations and responsibilities as a generation company under EPIRA. ALLEGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORTIY 19. It is a declared policy of the State to ensure the quality, reliability, security and affordability of the supply of electric power (Section 2(b), EPIRA} To this end, there is a need to comply with the system requirements for AS to ensure grid system security and reliability. As mentioned above, NGCP has the mandate to procure the required AS.

5. Similarly, the PGC provides that NGCP is responsible for determining, acquiring, and dispatching the capacity needed to supply the required Grid AS and for developing and proposing Wheeling Charges and AS tariffs to the ERC.4 6. AS as defined in Section 4(b) of the EPIRA refer to those services that are necessary to support the transmission of capacity and energy from resources to loads while maintaining reliable operation of the transmission system in accordance with good utility practice and the Grid Code to be adopted in accordance with this Act.” These services are essential in ensuring reliability in the operation of the transmission system and consequently, in the reliability of the electricity supply in the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids.

20.The current levels of available contracted AS in the Mindanao Grid have not yet reached the desired levels necessary for the system security and reliability. Thus, Applicants executed the ASPA. A copy of the relevant actual data showing the required and available levels of AS in the Mindanao Grid, entiled as: “Mindanao Dispatch Reserve Availability” is attached as Annex” J”. 21. As the demand for power in the Mindanao increases, the requirements of the system to ensure stability, reliability, and security likewise increases. Ensuring the integrity of the system is essential to protect the interests of the public. The absence of system reliability and stability will certainly discourage investments and growth. The importance of AS, from KEGI to ensure and maintain the reliability, adequacy, security, stability and integrity of the Mindanao Grid cannot be overemphasized.

7. In order to implement and regulate the procurement of AS, the Honorable Commission approved the Ancillary Services Procurement Plan (“ASPP”) through its Order dated 9 March 2006 in ERC Case No. 2002-253 and the Ancillary Services-Cost Recovery Mechanism (“AS-CRM”) through its Decision dated 3 October 2007 in ERC Case No. 2006-049RC. 8. Pursuant to its mandate, NGCP on different dates published in newspapers of general circulation a Notice of Invitation for Prospective Ancillary Services· Providers, inviting all grid-connected merchant plants and independent power producers to participate in the provision of ancillary services.

22. Applicants respectfully submit that the immediate approval of the ASPA by this Honorable Commission is a necessity to maintain the reliability, adequacy, security, stability and integrity of the Mindanao Grid. In’support of these allegations, NGCP submits a copy of the Judicial Affidavit of Engr. Riza C. Ereno of the Revenue and Regulatory Affairs Department of NGCP, which is’attached as Annex “K”.

9. NGCP agreed to procure and KEGI agreed to supply AS, under a nonfirm contracted capacities, in the forms of: (a) DR; and (b) RPS. The copy of the Ancillary Services Procurement Agreement between NGCP and KEGI dated 11 September 2019 is attached as Annex “A”.

PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, Applicants respectfully pray that the Honorable Commission:

10. During the period of negotiation, NGCP conducted several tests on the Generation Facility, and certified that the generating units have met and complied with the Standard Ancillary Services Technical Requirements of the ASPP as capable of providing:

Immediately ISSUE a provisional authority to implement the ASPA between NGCP and KEGI dated 11 September 2019; and

Misamis Occidental Power Plant 2: Under Accreditation No. 2018-M013

APPROVE, after notice and hearing, the subject ASPA.

Dispatchable Reserve Service Unit 1 - 7.5MW Unit 2 - 7.5MW

Applicants pray for other just and equitable relief.

Reactive Power Support Lagging Only The copy of NGCP Accreditation Certificate No. 2018-M013 dated 14 November 2018 is attached as Annex “B”. FIRM AND NON-FIRM CONTRACTED CAPACITY RATE AND IMPACT SIMULATION 11. Under Clause 3 of the ASPA, KEGI shall provide NGCP with the following AS as specified in Schedule 1 of the ASPA, follows:

The Commission has set the Application for determination of compliance with the jurisdictional requirements, expository presentation, Pre-trial Conference, and presentation of evidence on 09 January 2020 (Thursday) at two’o clock in the afternoon (02:00 P.M.), at La Elena Pension House, National Highway, Brgy. Butuay, Poblacion Jimenez, Misamis Occidental. All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the instant case may become a party by filing with the Commission a verified Petition to Intervene at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements under Rule 9 of the 2006 ERC Rules of Practice and Procedure, indicating therein the docket number and title of the case and stating the following:

Types of Ancillary Services (AS) that can be nominated:

The petitioner’s name and address;

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

A statement of the relief desired .

Non-Firm Contracted Capacity: 1. Reactive Power Support (RPS) Available Capacity of Reactive Power outside the range of 85% lagging and 90% leading power factor. 2. Dispatchable Reserve (DR) Available Capacity, up to 15.6MW (Int. 1-9 and 18-24) with Bilateral Contracts from Int. 10-17

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

Once the Bilateral contracts expire by Year 2024, the available units may also be offered for DR.

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

Note that the capacities listed above are the maximum ancillary services capacity that can be provided for each unit. However, nomination and schedule shall be based on the latest AS Accreditation Certificate. 12. The Applicable Rates for the capacities covered by the ASPAs as provided in both Schedule 3, are as follows: A. Non-Firm Contracted Capacity Applicable Rates: 1. Dispatchable Reserve: . maximum of PhP 1.25/kW/hr 2. Reactive Power Support: PhP 4.00/kVARh B. Incidental Energy Cost The Cost of Incidental Energy (“IEmin”) is the payment of minimum cost of actual energy generated for the Firm and Non-Firm Contracted Capacity which shall be paid and computed using the formula below: Incidental Energy Cost IEDR= G x (AR + VOM + Actual Fuel Cost) - REVWESM Where: G = Summation of energy generated or Dispatched due to Non-Firm Scheduled Capacity, in kWh AR = Applicable Rate per AS type VOM = PhP 0.5/kWh Actual Fuel Cost = rate of fuel in Php/kWh REVWESM = Summation of WESM revenue based on Final Ex-post market clearing price of the AS Provider’s trading Node arising from G above, once WESM is implemented. This will be set to ZERO while WESM is not yet in place in the Mindanao Grid.

3) The grounds relied upon. All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from Applicants that they be furnished with the same, prior to the date of the initial hearing. The applicants are hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the standard office hours. WITNESS, the Honorable Chairperson and CEO AGNES VST DEVANADERA and the Honorable Commissioners CATHERINE P. MACEDA, PAUL CHRISTIAN M. CERVANTES, and ALEXIS M. LUMBATAN, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 21 October 2019 in Pasig City.

JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT Oversight Commissioner for Legal

2 3 4

Reactive Power Support:

An Act Granting the National Grid Corporation of the Phllippines a Franchise to Engage in the Business of Conveying or Transmitting Electricity Through High Voltage Back-Bone System of Interconnected Transmission Lines, Substations and Related Facilities, andfor other Purposes; Section 9 (c); Section 9 (d); Section 6.3.1.2; The capacity of the Generation Facility is available to provide ancillary services from intervals 1-9 and 18-24, sans intervals 10-17 reserved for its bilateral contracts.

One dead, 3 wounded in blast ONE person died while three others were hurt after a grenade planted under the motorcycle of a policeman fell off and exploded in Mandaluyong City, the National Capital Region Police Office on Sunday said. The fatality was identified as Roger Barcelo, 37, of Barangay Barangka Drive, Mandaluyong City while Rogelio Tolentino, 32; Merlina Bag-o, 52; and Edwin Rodas, 34, were rushed to Mandaluyong City Medical Center after sustaining shrapnel wounds caused by the explosion. NCRPO chief Brig. Gen. Debold Sinas said the incident took place on the south bound lane of Martinez Street in front of Botanical Garden, Mandaluyong City around 6:30 a.m. on Sunday. S/Sgt. Aldin Saligo was on his way to the Operations Office of Mandaluyong City Police Station when he heard something fall off from his motorcycle. Saligo stopped his vehicle about 10 meters from where the grenade fell and exploded. Prior to the incident, Saligo and other operatives of the drug enforcement unit of the Mandaluyong City Police have received death threats, according to the investigators. "The investigation is still ongoing and the elements of Mandaluyong City Police Station are scrutinizing all information to ascertain the probe on this case," Sinas said. Col. Remigio Sedanto, Mandaluyong police chief, said the attempt on Saligo’s life may have been due to his work as antiillegal drug operative. Sedanto said assistance will be extended to the victims and their families. PNA

FVR seeks closer PH-Taiwan relations FORMER President Fidel Ramos has urged former Taiwan President Ma Yung-Jeou to help foster stronger relations between the two countries following the latter’s visit at the Ramos Peace and Development office in Makati. “Taiwanese and Filipinos have been the best of friends,” said Ramos, whose father Narciso served as Philippine ambassador to Taiwan before the adoption of a “One China Policy” by the Philippines in 1974. After that, the older Ramos became the first chairman of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office, the de facto embassy in Taipei. Ramos told Ma that in 1946, as many as 30,000 Chinese who fled mainland China sought shelter in the Philippines as the communists steadily gained ground.

“By the early 1960s, many rich Filipino-Chinese set down roots in Taiwan, to which the Kuomintang forces had fled,” said Ramos, adding that “the Philippines has maintained mainly friendly and strong ties with Taiwan, even as the island plays host to thousands of Filipino workers who are valued for their skills and specialized knowledge, especially in the field of electronics and digital devices.” Ma served as Taiwanese President from 2008 to 2016. His term saw a significant economic improvement in Taiwan and a warm relationship with mainland China. He became the first Taiwanese head of state to meet with a Communist Party General Secretary when he met Xi Jinping in Singapore in November 2015.

Political officers league formed METRO Manila Development Authority chairman Danny Lim has spearheaded the inauguration of officers and members of the Political Officers League of the Philippines in their first national assembly recently held at the Quezon City Hall. Lim, POLPhil chairman emeritus, was joined by Tuburan City, Cebu Vice Mayor Democrito Diamante, Vice Mayors League of the Philippines executive vice president; and Davao City Councilor Danilo Dayanhirang, Philippine Councilors League national chairman, among others. "POLPhil is composed of members representing all sectors of society, such as those who are active in public service and private individuals who believe that they can help POLPhil and the people as well," Lim said in his inspirational message. "We will push for reforms no matter who the President is. This is not about politics," he added. Senator Francis Tolentino welcomed the group's initiative. According to POLPhil, its aim is to educate, inspire and mobilize the next generation of leaders to rise up and create opportunities toward the development of the nation's human capital, indigenous and cultural wealth, natural resources, and creative and intellectual assets. "POLPhil aspires to gather the greatest number of Filipinos coming from different sectors, beliefs and ethnicity, who are desiring affirmative change to move the country to achieve First World Nation Status within the next 20 years," the group said. Peace-building is one area being learned by POLPhil officers and members committed to support the government's efforts into transforming violent conflict into a peaceful zone and building an atmosphere of peace through the delivery of livelihood and income opportunities at the grassroots level, Diamante said. POLPhil will try to help resolve insurgency, poverty and even social injustice, Lim said. “All of these is for our country.”

Sports Mapua captures Asian University cage crown MAPUA University added yet another jewel to its title collection after clinching the championship in the 11th Asian University Basketball Championship on Friday at the Lyceum of the Philippines University Gym in Intramuros, Manila. The Cardinals outlasted the LPU Pirates, 98-92, to complete a sweep of the six-team annual tournament organized by the Asian University Basketball Federation in cooperation with the Federation of School Sports Association of the Philippines and the Basketball Association of the Philippines. The Pirates ﬁnished in a triple tie with Kendai University and Nippon Sports Science University (NSSU), both of Japan, on similar 3-2 cards. The Pirates, who bowed to Kendai University on Thursday, 75-78, took second place due to a

higher quotient, followed by Kendai University at third and NSSU at fourth. Kuala Lumpur Basketball Association of Malaysia, led by Filipino coach Nomar Isla, was ﬁfth with a 1-4 record, while Ho Chi Minh City, coached by another Filipino coach in Jojo Castillo, ﬁnished dead-last with a 0-5 mark. Mapua combo guard Noah Lugo was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Lugo had 13 points for Mapua. Buth Gamboa led all Cardinals with 25 points, while Cyrene Gonzales and Laurence Victoria added 15 and 13, respectively. Yancy Remulla led LPU with 21 points. AUBC Organizing Committee Chairman Dr. Robert Milton Calo and Commissioners Leonardo ‘Ding’ Andres and Bai Cristobal led the awarding of trophies to the winners.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Wilder KOs Ortiz , keeps title L

AS VEGAS—Deontay Wilder ﬂoored Cuba’s Luis Ortiz in the seventh round to retain his World Boxing Council world title and preserve his unbeaten record in boxing’s resurgent heavyweight division.

The 34-year-old Wilder landed a devastating right hand to end the fight and move one step closer to his goal of unifying all four heavyweight belts with an explosive finish at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. Unbeaten in 43 fights and widely regarded as the most destructive puncher in the heavyweight division, the ‘Bronze Bomber’ recorded his 10th straight title defence, joining Muhammad Ali who did it between 1974 and Manila

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TODAY

1978. Wilder waited patiently for his big moment and when it came late in the seventh it was stunning. He followed a jab with a crushing straight right that sent Ortiz crashing to the canvas. Ortiz tried to get up and eventually did but he clearly could not continue. The fight was officially stopped at 2:51 of the seventh. This was a rematch of their 2018 fight where Wilder battled WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder knocks out Luis Ortiz in the through adversity to deliver a seventh round of their title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, 10th-round stoppage. AFP Nevada. AFP

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City

Payment of RPS = kVARh Payment + IERPS kVARh Payment = Compensable : kVARh x P4.00/kVARh Compensable kVARh = Actual kVARh - Base kVARh Where: Actual kVAR = actual reactive power provided within each interval Base kVARh = corresponding kVARh at 0.85 power factor lagging or 0.9 power factor leading, for the unit’s MW loading. For clarity, the MW loading is the unit’s Pmin, or RTD schedule, whichever is greater. IERPS = Payment on Energy and Variables = G*(VOM + Actual Fuel Cost) - REVWESM

Where: G = summation of energy dispatched to produce the scheduled kVar less the energy for the BCQ VOM = PhP 0.5kWh Actual Fuel Cost = rate of fuel in PhP/kWh

ERC CASE NO. 2019-077 RC

13. Applicants submit that the rates represent a reasonable recovery of its opportunity cost in making available generation capacity to provide the procured AS.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES:

14. The rates under ASPA was subjected to a simulation by NGCP, the results of which are as follows:

Ancillary Service DR w/ WESM DR w/o WESM RPS w/ IE* w/o WESM RPS w/o IE* w/o WESM

THE PARTIES

PVF Secretary General Gerard Cantada (center) and Managing Director Dr. Otie Camangian join officials and representatives of the competing teams during the opening of the PVF-Tanduay Athletics U-18 Girls’ Volleyball ‘Series in Ur Cities’ Basilan leg in Isabela City, Basilan.

Begang crowned PVF champ BEGANG National High School edged Tipo Tipo National High School in a closely contested finals that went the three-set distance in the Isabela de Basilan Leg of the PVF-Tanduay Athletics Girls U18 “Series in Ur Cities” Volleyball Tournament held at the Isabela City Gymnasium recently. Begang National High School earned the right to play in the Mindanao Qualifier to vie for one of two slots allotted to Mindanao to qualify in the National Finals in Manila. The national champion will play in Singapore in a tournament and/or play with Singaporean High School teams. A boodle fight was held for lunch, courtesy of the City Mayor, Madame Sitti Djalia Turabin Hataman. A courtesy call was also made

by PVF Secretary General Gerard Cantada, Managing Director Dr. Otie Camangian, and PVF Director for Basilan Dr. Arnel Hajan to Governor Jim Hataman Salliman. “The PVF would like to thank the ofﬁcials of the province of Basilan and the city of Isabela for their generosity and thoughtfulness. Our expectations were more than met -- that Basilan is a safe haven with numerous pristine beaches, beautiful landmarks, friendly and lovely people,” said PVF president Edgardo ‘Tito Boy’ Cantada. “The participants have left for home nurturing an experience they would not easily forget. The majority of the teams, if not all, came from public schools. There are no entry fees providing equal opportunities,” he added.

PH chess team hopeful of winning in SEA Games THE climb is steep, but the Philippines hopes to win some of the medals at stake when chess returns to the coming 30th Southeast Asian Games after being absent in two editions of the biennial meet. Well-prepared teams in the rapid and blitz competitions are expected to boost the host country’s efforts to come up with a podium ﬁnish. “So far so good. We’re doing well in our mental and physical preparations,” said Women’s International Master Catherine Secopito, the skipper of the women’s squad. The 34-year-old Secopito is playing with Shania Mendoza in the rapid events. She is a remnant of past national teams which have been ﬁelded back in the 2005, 2011 and 2013, the last time chess was played in the biennial meet in Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, where they bagged two silver and two bronze medals. Secopito, who has an ELO rating of 2127, had a bronze medal in 2005. Their coaches Jayson Gonzales and Grandmaster Eugene Torre have been prepping them up with blitz players Janelle Frayna and Cherry Ann Mejia. International Master Daniel Quizon will be also part of a younger generation of players in

the national team, together with IM David Elorta. They are lined up in the blitz event. IM Paulo Bersamina and FIDE Master Jan Emmanuel Garcia, on the other hand, will compete in the rapid event. Grandmasters Joey Antonio and Darwin Laylo, meanwhile, compete in the ASEAN chess event. Antonio, Jr., for one, is keeping himself sharp competing in the 2019 World Senior Chess Championship in Bucharest. The last time the Philippines hosted the SEA Games, Vietnam swept all of the six gold medals up for grabs. And the Vietnamese are again going ﬂat out in the coming chess competitions slated from Dec. 1 to 8 at the Subic Convention Center, where they will be ﬁelding Quang Liem Le and Ngoc Truong Son Nguyen. Le is currently the no. 1-ranked player in Vietnam and no. 21 in the world. He is the 2013 World Blitz Chess champion. “It will be tough, but we’ll make the best effort out there, na maganda ang preparation at psychologically prepared,” Torre said. GM Wesley So, who now represents the United States, was the last Filipino to win a SEA Games gold during the 2011 Indonesia SEA Games.

Indicative Rate Impact PhP/kWPhP/kWmonth equivalent 7.3488 0.0164 8.9998 0.0201 3.7491 0.00793 3.7261 0.0078

Annex “D” “E” “F” “G” “H” “I”

PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, Applicants respectfully pray that the Honorable Commission:

Immediately ISSUE a provisional authority to implement the ASPA between NGCP and KEGI dated 11 September 2019; and

Misamis Occidental Power Plant 2: Under Accreditation No. 2018-M013

APPROVE, after notice and hearing, the subject ASPA.

Dispatchable Reserve Service Unit 1 - 7.5MW Unit 2 - 7.5MW

Applicants pray for other just and equitable relief.

Types of Ancillary Services (AS) that can be nominated:

The petitioner’s name and address;

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

A statement of the relief desired .

Once the Bilateral contracts expire by Year 2024, the available units may also be offered for DR.

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

JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT Oversight Commissioner for Legal

1 2 3 4 5

Sports

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

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Meralco reaches semifinals By Jeric Lopez

Members of the Philippine national football team, also known as the Azkals, are shown on the eve of their SEA Games’ campaign.

Araneta confident in Azkals, Malditas PHILIPPINE Football Federation president Nonong Araneta is confident that the national football teams will deliver the goods in the 30th Southeast Asian Games kicking off on Monday at Rizal Memorial Stadium. Araneta, who saw action in the three SEA Games tournaments from 1977 to 1983, believes the Young Azkals and the Malditas are armed with enough preparation to deliver a strong showing at home. The first and only medal so far in the sport came 34 years ago in Thailand when the women’s team nailed a bronze as the field only had three teams. The prospects are bright for the teams this year with Araneta expecting breakout performances from several homegrown standouts. “We expect some hidden gems to be unveiled,” said Araneta. “I am confident that our players will be able to seize their chance and show that there is continuous improvement in Philippine football.” Reinforced by Azkals captain Stephan Schrock and experienced defender Amani Aguinaldo, the Young Azkals are the first to plunge into action on Monday against Cambodia in Group A. The Malditas, who trained in Japan for a couple of weeks last month, open their campaign against Myanmar at Binan Football Stadium. Six players in the 20-man roster of the Young Azkals are part of the senior team, which Araneta said augurs well for the team’s campaign. Ateneo star Jarvey Gayoso is also part of the squad together with San Beda standouts Mar Diano, Michael Asong and Jerome Marzan. Marco Casambre, Pocholo Bugas, Troy Limbo, Mariano Suba are among the homegrown stars of the team. “We have young players who are products of the grassroots programs of their respective provinces as well as foreign-based players with experience so there is a good balance to our team,” said Araneta. “The SEA Games is really a good opportunity for us to showcase our young talents.”

Filipino booters begin SEA Games’ campaign T

HE Philippine National Under-22 and national women’s squads, hoping to get an advantage from the hometown crowd, begin their campaign Monday at the start of 30th Southeast Asian Games football championships at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium in Manila and Binan Stadium in Laguna, respectively.

Led by Azkals skipper Stephan Schrock, one of two senior players allowed on the PH Under-22 squad, the Pinoy booters open their Group A campaign against Cambodia at 8 p.m. following the match between between Malaysia and Myanmar at 4 p.m. in the same group. The Malditas, as the women’s squad is known, face a tough challenge in powerhouse Myanmar in the 8 p.m. nightcap in Group A after the Group B match featuring Vietnam and defending champion Thailand at 4 o’clock. “We will take it one match at a time,” said Serbian coach Goran Milosevic, who took over the reins of the National Under-22 squad last August composed of a blend of Fil-foreigners and homegrown talents, of his approach to the competition. “The ﬁrst game is always very important and if they follow our instructions

GAMES TODAY (Rizal Memorial Football Stadium) 4 p.m.—Malaysia vs. Myanmar (Men’s Group A) 8 p.m.—Philippines vs. Cambodia (Men’s Group A) (Binan Stadium, Laguna) 4 p.m.—Vietnam vs. Thailand (Women’s Group B) 8 p.m.—Philippines vs. Myanmar (Women’s Group A)

and give their best, our boys can win,” added the ex-national team player under the former country of Yugoslavia, speaking through his compatriot and assistant coach Ramadani Rezidrdan-Kiza. “The quality that these coaches bring (to the team) is making a huge difference. Their dedication has been excellent and has impacted our players,” praised Stallion FC coach Ernie Nierras, who is also a

member of the coaching staff. “They based their selection on talent, skill and merit.” Kiza, who was also Milosevic’s teammate top clubs such as Red Star and Partizan Belgrade, said that they also stressed the proper attitude as a key criteria in selecting the players “because we cannot afford ones with big heads.” Milosevic said he was grateful that midﬁeld maestro Schrock had volunteered to beef up the Under-22 side. “He (Schrock) commands a lot of respect among our players so we are grateful he was willing to joins us as far back as three months ago,” he bared. “He is a like a coach on the pitch and can execute our ideas; he is one of the best players in Asia.” Both Serbian mentors also cited veteran defender Amani Aguinaldo, the team’s other senior reinforcement, who is expected to add spine to the back row. “Aguinaldo is a veteran and very professional player. He will strengthen our back row,” Kiza pointed out. “He is able to do the little things and was outstanding in the scoreless draw against China.” When asked how improved his charges were since he handled them more than two months ago, Milosevic replied: “We will see just how much when we play Cambodia on Monday.”

LET THE POLO GAMES BEGIN. House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (center) throws the ball to formally open the polo games between the Philippines and Brunei Darussalam during the 30th South East Asian Games at the Inigo Zobel Field in Calatagan, Batangas, with him are Isabela Rep. Tony Pet Albano, Mercedez and Biangca Zobel (not in photo). Brunei won. Ver Noveno

MERALCO is not fooling around. The No.2-ranked Bolts unleashed all the power they have to eliminate Alaska, 94-84, and advance to the seminals of the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday night. Allen Durham was once again a constant for Meralco, nearly having a triple-double with a game-high 28 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists but Allein Maliksi was likewise a difference maker. Maliksi scattered 23 points, with four triples, nailing some crucial baskets down the stretch to help Meralco avoid danger in the closing minutes. The Bolts, armed with a twice-tobeat incentive, moved forward to the best-of-five semifinals where they will face the victor between No. 3 TNT and No. 6 Magnolia, with the formner holding a twice-to-beat advantage. Not wasting any time, Meralco flexed its muscles hard and showed why it is the No. 2 seed and considered a legit contender. Right off the bat, the Bolts showed superiority as they swiftly took control by opening up a gigantic 17-point lead, 29-12, after a dominant opening quarter showing. The Bolts’ largest lead of the first half stood at 22 points, 49-27, after a Durham lay-up with less than three minutes left in the second. Alaska then showed some signs of life with a solid third quarter showing. The Aces were able to trim their deficit to only 10 points, 63-73, heading to the fourth period, getting themselves in the game. Alaska was actually within seven, 81-88, with under two minutes remaining but Maliksi closed the door. Maliksi’s back-to-back baskets gave Meralco a more comfortable 9281 lead with exactly a minute to go and basically iced the win. Chris Newsome added 17 points and five boards for Meralco.

Biennial meet an emotional one for Romero CALATAGAN, Batangas—The coming 30th SEA Games is going to be an emotional one for father-athlete Mike Romero. Though he’s not the biggest star in Philippine polo team, the party-list congressman is dedicating his performance in the biennial meet to his late son— Miguel. “I’ll dedicate all our games to Miguel, he should have been playing here,” said Romero during the inauguration of the Bamboo Pavilion inside the vast Miguel Romero Polo Field. Romero and son Miguel were very close that the family decided to name the playing field in his honor. Miguel passed away on Dec. 14, 2017 at the young age of 22. Romero was in fact too grateful to the stakeholders—the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee and the Philippine Sports Commission—for the realization of the family’s dream. “Just like me, Miguel was athletic and he wanted to represent the country, that’s why I’m thankful sa kanilang tatlo for Miguel finally realized his wish,” said Romero. “Ngayon, he’s still part of the SEA Games because the whole field is named [after] sa kanya—in his memory,” Romero said. Romero is one of the founding members of the Philippine National Federation of Polo Players and part of the PH team that will wage war in the 0-2 goals event starting Dec. 3.

Davao whips Manila; Batangas edges Mindoro Netball, floorball take centerstage in games DAVAO CITY—Billy Robles started the show while Bonbon Custodio completed it as the Davao Occidental Tigers thwarted the Manila Stars, 79-76, on Saturday in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League Lakan Season at RMC Petro Gazz Arena here. The 6-foot Robles, dubbed the Ilonggo Superman, clustered ﬁve points, capped by the dagger three with 16 seconds left to power the Tigers to an 18-3 record, the best in the South division, and earn best player honors. Prior to Robles’ outburst, Custodio poured all of his 10 points as the Tigers sprang back to life after reeling from a 13-point opening salvo, nine coming from Chris Bitoon, that pushed the Stars ahead at 68-62. Robles wound up with 15 points, complementing the 16-point output of Emman Calo in the ﬁrst half which the Tigers controlled, 40-31. Yvan Ludovice added 10 points as they compensated for Mark Yee’s failure to came up with his usual double-double, settling for 9 points and 9 rebounds

against the Stars, who slid to 17-4 in the North division. Veteran Jerwin Gaco saw action for the Cocolifebacked Tigers and chipped in 4 points and 6 rebounds. The Stars hurt their chances with the ejection of assistant coach Ariel Vanguardia and players Gabby Espinas and Mark Tallo for unsportsmanlike behavior. The Batangas City Athletics, with Jhaymo Eguilos posting 25 points and 13 rebounds and Jason Melano tallying 26 points plus eight rebounds, hurdled the Mindoro Tamaraws, 106-99, in the opener. Prized recruit Rey Suerte, former University of Visayas stalwart and MVP of the Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. before spending one season with University of the East, contributed 15 points in the Tanduay-supported Athletics’ 13th win in 20 starts. The Tamaraws got 18 points from Mac Baracael, 17 from Sandy Cenal and 15 each from Nicol Bolos and Mark Anthony Doligon, but still fell to 8-16.

TEAM Philippines will begin its medal campaign in the netball and floorball competitions of the 30th Southeast Asian Games at separate venues on Monday. Playing at home, the Philippines faces Indonesia in the men’s and women’s floorball at the UP College of Human Kinetics in Quezon City at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. respectively while the Filipinos take on the Singaporeans in netball at 3 p.m. set at the Sta. Rosa MultiSports Complex in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. Malaysia and Thailand will tangle in the other pair of floorball matches, an indoor team sport featured as a demo event in the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar and made its debut as an official sport two years later in Singapore. Floorball is a type of floor hockey with five players and a goalkeeper in each team. To win the game, the team must score more goals than the opposing squad within the limits of the rules. Completing the five-country cast in floorball is

Singapore, the reigning champion in the men’s and women’s division. Led by headcoach Noel Johansson, Team PH is expected to come up with a strong performance with forwards Sarah Samonte and Candy Noreen Pellejera helping the women’s team while the men’s side will have Jan Vitaliano, Aristeo Perol II and defender Christopher Holland. In netball, the Philippines will be represented by its women’s team composed of Kristine Abriam, Ana Thea Cenarosa, Katrina Rose Domino, Diana Doqueza, Loraine Angela Lim, Karen Lomogda, Janelle Mendoza, Cathlyn Jane Seno, Zharmaine Velez, Eliezza Dianne Ventura, Alexadrea Gastador and Jhianne Layug, and head coach Angelina Fedillaga. Almost similar to basketball, each team is allowed seven players on the ﬂoor and must score more goals than the opposing team within the four 15-minute quarters.

IN BRIEF SSS collects P30.5m from erring employers STATE-RUN pension fund Social Security System has collected over P30.5 million in contribution delinquencies from 71 employers who were served with assessment notices by its branches. SSS president and chief executive Aurora Ignacio said over the weekend the employers settled their delinquencies after being served with Preliminary Assessment Notices and Final Assessment Notices Before Seizure under the process of serving Warrants of Distraint, Levy, and Garnishment. “This is only an initial collection as we have identified 93 other employers with combined contribution delinquencies amounting to nearly P200 million,” Ignacio said. Julito G. Rada

LandBank bares credit plan to modernize agri LAND Bank of the Philippines, the fourth-largest lender in terms of assets, recently launched a new credit program to promote modern and sustainable farming in the country. Bank president and chief executive Cecilia Borromeo said the program—called “Financing Program for Greenhouse Farming System”— seeks to support the financial needs of farmers, cooperatives and agri-entrepreneurs planning to shift to modern farming by adopting greenhouse farming technology. Greenhouse technology allows farmers to grow off-season crops all year round in a climate-controlled environment. The technology also helps protect crops from extreme weather conditions, such as floods, droughts, super typhoons and rising temperatures brought about by global warming and climate change. “We hope to enhance the viability, sustainability and competitiveness of high value crop production of our farmers by adopting greenhouse farming technology,” Borromeo said in a statement over the weekend. Julito G. Rada

Business First Gen allots $300m for LNG storage vessel F

cost-competitive gas from the market,” Puno said. “If we can bring in gas lower than IRST Gen Corp. is initially spending $300 million for Malampaya, it is really good for consumers. That’s what we are investigating today, if a floating, storage and regasification unit in Batangas that is something that we can do for the province that will pave the way for the importation of consumers. Bring in LNG earlier and show to the market that gas is really competitive liquefied natural gas before 2024. to other fuels including coal,” he said. Puno said talks were ongoing with FSRU First Gen president Francis Giles Puno with JGC Corp. of Japan on the said of the $1.3-billion budget for the engineering, procurement and construction providers to bring LNG earlier than 2024. “The objective really is to bring in LNG whole LNG project, roughly $300 million of the LNG terminal project in Batangas. would be spent on FSRU―a vessel “We are working with JGC in earlier than 2024. Malampaya also goes to designed for transiting and transferring completing the requirement of potentially some outages. Sometimes the gas that they LNG across the sea. shifting to FSRU in the interim. Main bring in is already not sufficient for our “But it doesn’t include lease payment reason for that is to enable us to deliver requirements to support all our natgas plants for floating regas terminal. We should be gas earlier. That is advantageous to us on a 24-by-7 basis,” he said. Puno said the company would modify clear to our stakeholders what the plan is because the price of LNG today are is by first quarter next year,” Puno said quite attractive and even cheaper than its jetty port in Batangas for the entry of the FSRU. “The moment we shift to at the sidelines of the Arangkada Forum Malampaya,” Puno said. recently. First Gen currently utilizes natural gas onshore terminal, that jetty will still be First Gen aims to bring LNG to the from the Malampaya gas project to power utilized,” he said. First Gen executive vice president country before 2024 when the Malampaya its 420-megawatt San Gabriel, 97-MW gas field in northwest Palawan will Avion, 1,000-MW Santa Rita and 500- and chief commercial officer Jonathan start to be depleted and the Malampaya MW San Lorenzo gas-fired power plants. Russell earlier said the Malampaya gas consortium contract ends. “We should take advantage of the field in northwest Palawan was running at Puno said the company was working market opportunity to deliver very maximum capacity.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

Group urges farmers to seek rice safeguard THE Federation of Philippine Industries urged farmers to file a petition to the national government to subject rice imports to safeguard measures as a check and balance mechanism to avert another surge in rice imports. FPI chairman Jesus Arranza said the application of safeguard mechanism seemed to be the fastest way to address the import surge of rice. “It is not hard to prove that there is an import since it is a reality known to government’s top hierarchy. Even the President and top Agriculture officials know of the import surge, prompting the President to momentarily suspend rice importations,” Arranza said. He said other consumer goods imports like ceramic tiles, flat glass, steel and cement had been subjected to safeguard tariffs. The imposition of safeguard measures on these products helped the affected sectors address their concerns.

Othel V. Campos

200,000 vapers appeal to Duterte to regulate, not ban e-cigarettes

GROUPS representing over 200,000 vapers in the Philippines asked President Rodrigo Duterte to regulate, and not ban the use of electronic cigarettes which they said were scientifically found to be 95-percent less harmful than combustible cigarettes. The Philippine E-cigarette Industry Association, the Coalition of Asia Pacific Tobacco Harm Reduction Advocates, The Vapers Alliance and the Nicotine Consumers Union of the Philippines said the president was ill-advised when he announced a ban on the use and importation of vapes (e-cigarettes). “A ban on vaping will only worsen the smoking situation in the Philippines,” CAPHRA said in a statement. “As an anti-smoker, it is as if the President is encouraging vapers to go back to smoking which is ironic. The scientific evidence that e-cigarettes are 95-percent less harmful was ignored/ disregarded,” Clarisse Virgino, a CAPHRA Philippine representative, said. “The use of e-cigarettes has been helping millions of smokers quit all over the world, and imposing a ban would only worsen the smoking problem. Health authorities should not make hasty decisions amid the US outbreak of lung illnesses. Let’s wait for the final results of the investigation,” it said. PECIA said regulation is the best way to address concerns on e-cigarettes: “Although not riskfree, e-cigarettes are still much better alternatives to cigarettes.The planned executive order of the President should regulate the manufacture, sale and use of e-cigarettes.”

AEV’S 25TH YEAR. Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. celebrates its 25th year on the Philippine Stock Exchange, marking 25 years of

advancing business and communities through its various business units. Leading the bell-ringing ceremony on Nov. 22 are (from left) AEV chief operating officer Sabin Aboitiz, senior vice president Luis Miguel Aboitiz and president and chief executive Erramon Aboitiz, PSE chairman Jose Pardo, president and chief executive Ramon Monzon and director Roberto Cecilio Lim.

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

DITO signs deals with two telecom tower builders By Darwin G. Amojelar DITO Telecommunity Corp., a joint venture of businessman Dennis Uy and China Telecoms, signed separate agreements with two telecom tower companies to accelerate the rollout of its services nationwide. Leo Technologies Infrastructure Corp. and Alt-Global-Solutions Inc. signed separate memoranda of agreement with DITO Telecommunity on the provision of common towers, in-building solutions and rooftop tower construction services. “For the past few months, we have been pushing hard to have on board likeminded partners who are as committed as we are in making sure that we provide world-class telecommunications services to the Filipino; and would like to assure our countrymen that yes, DITO is very well on its way to provide faster, more affordable, and secure telecom services.,” said DITO chief administrative officer Adel Tamano. DITO earlier tapped SkyCable Inc., Chavit Singson’s LCS Holdings, China Energy Equipment Co. Ltd. and ZEAL Power Construction and Development Corp. to build more cell sites in the country. The company signed memorandum of agreement with the Armed Forces of the Philippines that its devices, equipment and structures would not be used to obtain classified information from the AFP. “DITO is a Filipino company and will forever look after the interests of the Filipino. We value transparency and integrity in our business. This is the reason why we had a public memorandum of agreement signing with the Armed Forces of the Philippines, with members of the media present a few months ago,” said DITO chief technology officer Rodolfo Santiago. Santiago said the MOA signed with the AFP contained the same provisions signed by the other two telcos, but the former provider additional provisions pertaining to commitments of DITO to national security. DITO was selected as the third new major player in the country after PLDT and Globe Telecom. “A critical part of the new major player selection process was the submission of our cybersecurity plan to prove that our networks and facilities will not compromise national security and shall abide with the National Cybersecurity Plan. This plan has been accepted by the Department of Information and Communication Technology and the National Security Advisor,” Santiago said.

PSALM plans to reduce bid price of 650-MW Malaya power plant By Alena Mae S. Flores POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. plans to reduce the bid price of the 650-megawatt Malaya power plant and its underlying property in Pililla, Rizal after the second round of auction failed. “Our next urgent step is to go back to the PSALM board to ask for the lowering of the minimum bid price and for authority to immediately commence the next round of bidding,” PSALM president Irene Garcia said. PSALM declared a failure for the second round of bidding on Friday after

three of the four interested bidders said they could not meet the minimum bid price of P4,481,796,017. The negotiated bidding with the remaining bidder also failed. Four pre-qualified bidders passed the initial stage of the auction, including Panasia Energy Inc., AC Energy Philippines Inc., Fort Pilar Enegy Inc. and D.M. Wenceslao and Associates Inc. Before the deadline for the submission of the financial bids at 12 noon Friday, Fort Pilar Energy, Panasia and AC Energy sent letters to PSALM stating they could not meet

the minimum bid price. The other bidder, D.M. Wenceslao, submitted a sealed bid but PSALM declared the process a failure because there was only one bid. Pursuant to the bidding rules, PSALM then proceeded to go through the process of negotiated sale with D.M. Wenceslao. When the lone bid was opened, it still below the MBP. PSALM said it was constrained to declare a failure of the negotiated sale process. PSALM said it would report to its board of directors the outcome of the bidding so that it could take the necessary steps to lower the MBP. The

next round of bidding for the Malaya plant will commence soon, it said. “We need to keep trying to bid out until we reach the minimum bid price that the market will find reasonable and attractive,” Garcia said. The Malaya plant is currently operational and is being dispatched as a must-run unit. Based the Department of Energy’s direction, Malaya would no longer be required to run as an MRU once it was privatized. PSALM manages the assets and liabilities of National Power Corp. as mandated under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.

BOI eyes more liberalized vehicle assembly By Othel V. Campos THE Board of Investments plans to require new applicants to the Motor Vehicle Development Program to put up investments that will support a more liberalized approach to vehicle assembly. BOI said the Industry Development Group was coming up with a second draft of MVDP in an effort to reach out to assemblers and parts manufacturers to sustain vehicle production in the Philippines. It said while the group was not seeking additional financial requirements other than $10 million for passenger car assembly and $8 million for commercial vehicles, it would still review the amount needed to operate “by-stages completely-knocked down” assembly of vehicles. “We’re trying to enhance the program, so we can attract more models for assembly here. If you look at the models being done in the Philippines, they’re not increasing,” said BOI Industry

Development Group head Corazon Dichosa. The group is currently gathering comments from the automotive and motor vehicle players for the second draft. The agency said that for existing MVDP members, it would not subject these companies to register again. Instead, they will be asked to submit a letter of intent to maintain their accreditation. New applicants and existing members will be required to put up CKD operations by stages without any fiscal support from the government. The only assistance the government can give the players is the existing tariff support, subjecting all imported parts and components to a tariff reduction of 1 percent. Figures gathered by the BOI showed there were five passenger cars assemblers, 22 commercial vehicle assemblers and 24 motorcycle assemblers in the country as of May 2017.

RECYCLED PLASTICS ROAD. San Miguel Corp. starts testing asphalt produced with recycled plastic waste and bitumen as additives on a 1,500-square meter pilot site at its new logistics center in General Trias, Cavite. Some 900 kilograms of plastic waste, equivalent to 180,000 sachets and plastic bags, were used for the test site. SMC president Ramon Ang says the initiative is to address the plastic waste issue by creating a sustainable use for waste plastics that would usually end up in landfills, rivers and oceans. The company also earlier announced the shift to biodegradable plastic packaging for food and non-food products through the technology developed by Philippine Bioresins Corp.

Business

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market likely to trade downward S By Jenniffer B. Austria

HARE prices are again expected to trade sideways this week with a downward momentum, after the benchmark index failed to stay above the 8,000-point level in the previous week. With no upcoming positive leads, analysts expect the index to track lower and test the 7,700 level. “The week’s close at 7,824.59 highlights downward momentum is accelerating. Look for a test towards 7,700 should a break of 7,800 levels occur in the nearterm,” BDO Unibank chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said. Ravelas said foreign investors have also been cashing in on gains from the previous rally after the market failed to stay above 8,000 points.

Philstocks Financial Inc. said fears of a delay in the US-China trade deal was pushing regional markets deeper into the negative territory. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week decreased 1.4 percent to close at 7,824.59 on heavy foreign selling. The broader All Shares Index dropped 1.5 percent to 4,679.04. Except for the services index, which inched up 0.1 percent, all other sub-indices ended on the negative territory, led by mining (-6.48 percent), ﬁnancials (-2.43

percent), property (-2.10 percent), industrial (-1.69 percent) and holding firms (-0.68 percent). Foreign investors were net sellers by P3.22 billion while the average daily value traded was flat at P5.1 billion. Weekly top price gainers were LT Group Inc., which rose 5.2 percent to P12.60; Universal Robina Corp., which climbed 1.9 percent to P154; and Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which advanced 1.6 percent to P11.46. Weekly top price losers were Consunji-led stocks DMCI Holdings Inc. and Semirara Mining and Power Corp., which declined 13.7 percent and 13.2 percent, respectively. The Department of Energy last week slapped a one-month selective coal trading suspension and fines against Semirara Mining for allegedly violating coal trading rules.

Share price of Petron Corp. dropped 7.7 percent to P4.53. Meanwhile, Wall Street stocks on Friday cut their losses for the week following solid consumer data that lifted indices after three down sessions. But Tesla shares plunged following a bumpy launch of an electric pickup truck. Investors welcomed a University of Michigan report which showed higher consumer conﬁdence in November, while shares of Nordstrom and Gap after earnings reports. “The market is focused on the health of the consumer going into the holiday shopping season,” said Adam Sarhan of 50 Park Investments. “US consumers make up two thirds of the economy so the fact that the consumer spending is so strong, both on Main Street and Wall Street, especially as we head into the holiday season, is signiﬁcant.” With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

NOVEMBER 18-22, 2019 Close Volume Value

Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources China Bank COL Financial Eastwest Bank Ferronoux Holding Filipino Fund Inc. I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp. PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

53.7 152.00 90.40 1.90 1.11 25.05 18 12.9 4.34 7.70 1.21 814.50 0.390 68.4 0.85 12.7 20.90 40.60 58.95 110.4 173.8 24.9 201 1894.00 60.00 1.07

24,630 6,002,460 11,784,060 36,000 794,000 435,700 16,300 2,546,300 298,000 60,800 5,000 1,700 1,130,000 10,770,360 106,000 166,300 600 1,873,200 7,020 180 1,760 286,400 1,897,200 345 24,300 2,942,000

FINANCIAL 1,328,354.00 925,014,987.00 1,080,663,049.00 68,540.00 826,360.00 10,974,120.00 295,704.00 32,913,672.00 1,282,740.00 468,389.00 6,160.00 1,367,425.00 444,100.00 726,846,524.00 91,260.00 2,122,632.00 12,415.00 78,467,020.00 421,239.00 19,928.00 306,301.00 7,265,740.00 380,874,707.00 626,035.00 1,439,353.00 3,181,730.00

Aboitiz Power Corp. AC Energy Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons. Axelum Basic Energy Corp. Bogo Medelin C. Azuc De Tarlac Cemex Holdings Century Food Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Conc. Aggr. ‘B’ Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Eagle Cement EEI Emperador First Gen Corp. First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Greenergy Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp. Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide MG Holdings Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. Petroenergy Res. Corp. Petron Corporation Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils. Pilipinas Shell Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings SFA Semicon Shakeys Pizza SMC Food and Beverage SPC Power Corp. Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp. Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp. Vivant Corp. Vulcan Ind’l.

34.75 2.47 14.18 0.59 1.24 3.62 0.243 101.8 18.86 2.38 14.94 5.8 65.05 68.05 29.75 2.06 5.34 5.2 8.740 15 10.32 7.22 23.8 77 41.50 2.0300 14.00 8.13 1.410 195.00 47.55 5.2 3.63 8.80 18.48 12.2 17.1 0.182 330.00 5.20 1.41 4.25 4.53 9.41 9.40 11.00 32.05 4.94 5.46 2 1.98 1.03 11.5 90 8.14 0.123 1.05 154 2.43 1.16 15.32 0.99

8,212,200 20,066,000 2,124,800 2,316,000 308,000 21,669,000 2,120,000 90 46,400 14,110,000 6,624,200 6,030,800 9,770 2,740 146,700 251,000 47,000 12,500 4,623,000 138,700 549,300 13,033,400 12,071,300 346,250 176,500 43,739,000 1,007,500 621,100 658,000 3,321,720 2,800 130,900 8,000 139,300 4,161,600 548,600 3,622,300 1,020,000 769,260 500 17,543,000 33,000 6,555,000 208,600 35,400 83,100 2,305,900 1,620,300 285,200 8,756,000 45,000 752,000 695,000 853,170 604,200 24,890,000 3,772,000 3,163,790 170,000 39,983,000 600 14,400,000

INDUSTRIAL 293,028,935.00 51,098,080.00 30,461,478.00 1,358,580.00 376,690.00 80,349,650.00 502,400.00 8,372.00 870,412.00 34,328,270.00 100,207,042.00 38,276,612.00 635,877.00 187,660.00 4,319,365.00 523,700.00 251,080.00 65,528.00 40,753,995.00 2,091,596.00 5,664,176.00 94,209,354.00 280,200,170.00 26,760,503.00 7,328,140.00 89,287,630.00 14,116,548.00 4,944,486.00 917,580.00 667,285,374.00 140,920.00 665,972.00 28,740.00 1,167,098.00 78,420,696.00 6,793,278.00 61,675,958.00 185,640.00 251,027,698.00 2,700.00 25,221,890.00 136,780.00 30,803,520.00 1,972,982.00 333,847.00 914,458.00 73,919,145.00 8,092,857.00 1,544,239.00 17,433,850.00 88,640.00 775,550.00 8,049,144.00 76,904,480.50 4,808,483.00 3,075,150.00 4,038,840.00 481,212,575.00 421,970.00 46,860,950.00 9,192.00 14,419,320.00

51,596,000 4,042,430 252,866,500 673,000 122,200 29,300 22,026,000 12,377,000 1,331,590 8,844,000 12,358,600 156,645,500 73,600 1,410,000 305,370 200 3,932,130 1,200 5,400 483,000 19,731,000 17,495,900 1,101,000 59,745,000 8,300,000 673,000 222,000 502,560 1,697,335 629,000 1,024,000 7,860 610,000 2,580,000

HOLDING FIRMS 41,014,920.00 207,237,317.00 2,881,744,240.00 479,000.00 800,032.00 363,464.00 20,238,190.00 2,835,460.00 1,085,329,195.00 30,567,260.00 86,602,838.00 1,096,466,455.00 982,742.00 296,680.00 271,635,910.00 1,112.00 305,882,439.50 6,310.00 30,512.00 237,005.00 79,528,850.00 215,908,456.00 609,620.00 271,104,190.00 299,300.00 863,170.00 644,800.00 79,734,137.00 1,810,399,365.00 775,740.00 842,020.00 1,679,568.00 129,450.00 577,950.00

8,258,600 4,549,000 10,700 243,000 22,837,000 57,682,300 10,057,000 670,000 113,500 47,359,000 50,000 151,000 630,000 4,030,000 2,519,400 823,700 3,290,000 570,000 28,353,000 1,545,000 58,740,000 123,010,000 13,325,000 580,000 1,670,000 100 1,183,000

PROPERTY 122,542,022.00 3,458,010.00 94,945.00 396,760.00 20,364,800.00 2,589,236,585.00 20,219,700.00 3,188,150.00 740,517.00 27,727,150.00 37,300.00 127,880.00 123,780.00 1,741,050.00 25,830,858.00 15,976,952.00 1,485,150.00 68,920.00 44,049,220.00 1,924,810.00 273,939,310.00 29,077,640.00 17,735,520.00 229,100.00 607,450.00 5,295.00 2,386,030.00

Abacus Cons. À’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor À’ Asiabest Group ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp À’ Ayala Land Log Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings Filinvest Dev. Corp. Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings À’ Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. Lopez Holdings Corp. LT Group Mabuhay Holdings À’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. Pacifica À’ Prime Media Hldg Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp À’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Top Frontier Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings 8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Anchor Land Holdings Inc. Araneta Prop À’ Arthaland Corp. Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. À’ CEB Landmasters Cebu Holdings Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. À’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp. DM Wenceslao Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Filinvest Land,Inc. Global-Estate Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil Infradev Phil. Estates Corp. Phil. Realty À’ Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry Primex Corp.

0.800 50.75 11.18 0.72 6.85 12.5 0.950 0.970 825 3.410 7 6.55 13.38 0.206 894 5.55 78.95 5.72 5.2 0.5 4 12.6 0.580 4.39 0.0370 1.400 3.03 156.90 1066.00 1.25 0.81 220.000 0.2110 0.218 14.820 0.72 8.84 1.680 0.850 44.500 2.01 4.7 6.7 0.600 0.75 0.860 0.200 0.425 10.280 18.8 0.450 0.121 1.54 1.23 4.55 0.231 1.2800 0.3950 0.350 52.95 2.01

NOVEMBER 11-15, 2019 Close Volume Value 54.5 156.00 96.00 2.00 1.20 25.35 18.6 13.4 4.45 7.73 1.32 849.00 0.390 67.9 0.85 13.18

37,520 7,343,160 7,208,980 9,018,000 134,000 215,500 26,100 8,109,300 602,000 600 99,000 1,750 560,000 9,293,120 540,000 13,600

2,042,888.50 1,139,107,737.00 689,086,416.00 18,040,570.00 153,530.00 5,419,340.00 479,000.00 108,404,254.00 2,659,840.00 4,638.00 130,920.00 1,425,195.00 221,050.00 632,101,839.00 466,510.00 178,946.00

43.25 63.5 116.3 173.1 25.7 200 1825.00 60.00 1.09

301,800 9,680 810 3,320 448,600 2,954,770 910 25,260 250,000

13,240,670.00 574,097.50 94,585.00 579,143.00 11,533,455.00 580,253,079.00 1,694,225.00 1,517,933.50 274,500.00

36.95 2.59 15 0.61 1.25 3.68 0.243 103 18.60 2.55 15.12 7.28 67.85 69 31 2.09 5.36 5.35 8.800 15.04 10.30 7.24 24.1 78.35 44.00 2.1800 14.40 8.03 1.460 202.00 45.40 5.1 3.57 9.13 19.26 12.68 17 0.190 338.00 5.30 1.45 4.20 4.91 9.60

7,445,300 53,869,000 1,219,300 4,916,000 1,386,000 12,620,000 1,010,000 200 29,600 10,376,000 12,650,000 3,448,300 2,050 1,430 35,300 518,000 174,100 261,400 5,013,700 818,700 2,866,900 38,859,600 5,536,500 951,450 423,210 38,534,000 302,000 556,900 360,000 5,476,890 6,100 55,100 6,000 58,300 5,202,300 3,211,300 7,043,200 220,000 681,800 17,100 52,858,000 36,000 5,708,000 181,300

278,485,140.00 143,680,560.00 17,116,914.00 3,080,080.00 1,728,960.00 49,351,450.00 242,190.00 18,506.50 541,766.00 26,626,170.00 191,483,946.00 26,961,613.00 133,690.00 100,168.00 1,093,795.00 1,090,900.00 973,848.00 1,336,891.00 44,100,641.00 12,381,358.00 29,952,468.00 274,580,941.00 134,487,900.00 74,598,918.00 19,622,793.50 83,771,520.00 4,339,058.00 4,499,863.00 518,280.00 1,168,860,522.00 276,395.00 281,427.00 20,960.00 525,955.00 98,867,724.00 41,999,072.00 119,425,760.00 41,800.00 232,752,860.00 88,539.00 85,215,730.00 148,730.00 28,395,723.00 1,729,332.00

11.08 32.4 5.25 5.47 1.92 2.01 1.06 11.52 91 7.89 0.127 1.17 151.1 2.46 1.2

343,600 1,638,500 358,800 354,800 4,825,000 73,000 2,107,000 2,045,700 860,700 254,900 183,040,000 6,367,000 2,884,290 21,000 36,857,000

3,801,014.00 53,904,155.00 1,870,591.00 1,925,380.00 9,109,410.00 140,260.00 2,164,970.00 24,188,708.00 78,265,624.50 1,986,938.00 26,564,560.00 7,360,090.00 441,488,832.00 50,760.00 47,439,110.00

1.04

5,008,000

5,325,420.00

0.830 53.00 11.54 0.74 6.80 12.46 1.040 1.100 830 3.620 6.95 7.59 13.40 0.211 900 5.57 77.80 5.75 5.7 0.51 4.15 11.98 0.570 4.65 0.0360 1.300 2.90 162.50 1060.00 1.23 0.85 225.000 0.2250 0.230

62,253,000 5,297,250 97,924,000 934,000 38,900 379,000 18,058,000 1,109,000 2,490,880 9,613,000 17,218,000 96,981,100 196,300 1,640,000 329,770 27,200 9,781,950 4,300 39,100 114,000 2,912,000 27,016,500 574,000 62,772,000 86,130,000 1,999,000 58,000 378,040 926,640 407,000 301,000 4,870 890,000 40,030,000

52,706,020.00 283,955,617.50 1,116,720,518.00 681,350.00 261,617.00 4,680,026.00 19,364,610.00 1,238,490.00 2,075,079,885.00 34,584,150.00 118,230,871.00 755,562,437.00 2,611,052.00 332,090.00 294,504,720.00 151,706.00 760,025,965.50 22,101.00 222,158.00 56,990.00 12,152,380.00 336,339,162.00 317,430.00 293,215,370.00 3,161,000.00 2,679,210.00 151,400.00 61,942,821.00 982,964,860.00 512,600.00 254,790.00 1,078,544.00 193,250.00 9,871,950.00

14.840 0.80 8.87 1.640 0.900 45.950 2.02 4.83 6.47 0.590 0.76 0.870 0.197 0.440 10.220 19.82 0.460 0.121 1.56 1.26 4.78 0.270 1.4100 0.4150 0.370 50.00 2.03

400,000 2,536,000 11,500 657,000 15,617,000 30,270,600 2,418,000 2,728,000 165,700 181,634,000 460,000 730,000 14,430,000 7,550,000 565,000 1,810,100 4,170,000 170,000 69,951,000 2,342,000 62,769,000 44,490,000 9,912,000 40,000 800,000 1,920 1,780,000

5,949,924.00 2,021,660.00 107,013.00 1,091,590.00 14,327,560.00 1,406,095,645.00 4,888,530.00 13,169,870.00 1,051,927.00 109,309,440.00 334,820.00 614,910.00 2,888,360.00 3,380,100.00 5,825,526.00 36,128,714.00 1,946,700.00 20,570.00 112,079,890.00 3,075,590.00 303,785,590.00 12,429,000.00 14,277,840.00 16,200.00 297,200.00 94,839.00 3,611,040.00

STOCKS

NOVEMBER 18-22, 2019 Close Volume Value

NOVEMBER 11-15, 2019 Close Volume Value

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

26.50 2.16 3.15 39.45 2.48 1.540 7.610 5.230

8,928,400 238,000 352,000 32,661,300 977,000 23,021,000 12,966,800 199,300

232,080,000.00 524,060.00 1,101,020.00 1,284,873,915.00 2,414,420.00 34,980,870.00 99,045,229.00 1,016,657.00

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel AllHome APC Group, Inc. Apollo Global Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ. Chelsea DFNN Inc. Discovery World Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. IPeople Inc. `A’ IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp. Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Metro Retail MetroAlliance A NOW Corp. Pacific Online Sys. Corp. PAL Holdings Inc. PH Resorts Group Phil. Seven Corp. Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp. SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Waterfront Phils. Wilcon Depot

10.08 17.9 1.62 11.56 0.465 0.039 18 2.72 11.46 92 6.9 5.96 5.73 2.04 9.00 910 1942 5.27 425.00 10.94 1.31 121.8 7.9 2.40 0.109 4.1900 2.18 14 2.81 0.90 18.28 11.70 0.445 3.4 2.30 1.05 2.950 2.6 7.94 4.62 150.00 2.70 1116.00 0.420 0.630 39.95 75.70 9.13 2.67 0.680 0.305 0.630 17.980

35,200 696,900 303,000 46,865,300 14,353,000 14,400,000 513,200 2,685,000 8,477,200 284,350 8,900 3,893,900 731,100 9,000 148,600 1,240 248,200 395,300 1,830 1,700 3,870,000 7,457,440 15,900 96,000 1,940,000 10,102,000 305,000 1,000 2,691,000 510,000 1,191,700 1,400 59,678,000 223,000 2,809,000 158,000 12,111,000 189,000 22,000 25,000 1,038,200 2,668,000 409,145 45,470,000 12,279,000 5,886,500 1,165,720 1,238,700 8,559,000 4,216,000 32,260,000 5,897,000 4,677,200

Abra Mining Apex À’ Atlas Cons. À’ Atok-Big Wedge À’ Benguet Corp À’ Benguet Corp `B’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto À’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining À’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. À’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Philex À’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. À’ Phinma Petro Semirara Corp. United Paragon

0.0016 1.08 2.54 11.16 1.1600 1.0300 2.52 0.275 7.60 1.820 0.209 0.105 0.107 0.0086 1.04 3.3 1.06 0.5800 0.8100 0.0120 0.0120 3.28 11.54 0.0110 10.6000 20.75 0.0058

MINING & OIL 1,746,000,000 2,799,900.00 3,425,000 3,761,730.00 812,000 2,072,350.00 46,100 517,466.00 129,000 132,870.00 97,000 100,610.00 2,799,000 7,069,600.00 900,000 248,550.00 4,600 33,951.00 38,248,000 70,937,150.00 4,620,000 950,180.00 6,950,000 718,460.00 4,110,000 431,550.00 31,000,000 269,000.00 1,796,000 1,830,180.00 27,150,000 89,089,630.00 149,000 154,530.00 4,359,000 2,592,740.00 679,000 546,340.00 45,000,000 531,000.00 737,100,000 8,162,000.00 845,000 2,796,570.00 1,977,800 23,544,398.00 48,900,000 535,000.00 15,556,900 180,126,755.00 16,361,300 348,556,079.00 33,000,000 197,000.00

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. Alco Preferred B Alco Preferred C Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ DD PREF First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B House Preferred Leisure and Resort PCOR-Preferred 2B PCOR-Preferred 3A PCOR-Preferred 3B PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred 1 SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred G SMC Preferred H SMPFC Preferred

16.92 100 103 502.5 100.9 109.7 506 5.08 975 994 99.7 1.04 1035 1050 1065 100.5 110 1026 998 78.35 75.15 75 76.55 75.1 75.2 75.2 1.72

189,200 34,550 9,130 6,180 519,320 37,030 1,870 116,000 7,390 50 15,500 225,000 790 1,305 1,110 11,320 190 7,430 70 70,580 10,000 218,450 62,510 222,770 106,080 155,530 2,000

LR Warrant

1.400

282,000

SERVICES 353,704.00 12,185,668.00 475,170.00 542,376,454.00 6,779,950.00 564,600.00 9,236,234.00 7,075,840.00 198,307,120.00 25,983,497.50 61,614.00 23,934,046.00 3,836,073.00 18,010.00 1,313,397.00 1,127,265.00 478,738,665.00 2,089,939.00 774,796.00 17,734.00 5,242,000.00 908,958,976.00 127,260.00 265,430.00 205,940.00 44,550,810.00 653,900.00 13,678.00 7,900,670.00 463,220.00 21,921,736.00 17,328.00 29,192,400.00 757,390.00 6,484,040.00 158,400.00 35,877,470.00 495,570.00 174,351.00 117,970.00 155,729,900.00 7,367,770.00 451,144,975.00 19,292,050.00 7,849,730.00 234,873,290.00 88,417,417.00 11,065,198.00 23,256,900.00 2,839,800.00 9,996,500.00 3,679,700.00 84,669,760.00

PREFERRED 3,216,244.00 3,455,293.00 940,390.00 3,111,275.00 52,419,778.00 4,062,611.00 946,220.00 596,809.00 7,205,250.00 49,700.00 1,543,150.50 228,670.00 828,775.00 1,348,040.00 1,172,100.00 1,153,590.00 20,890.00 7,623,150.00 69,410.00 5,508,764.50 751,500.00 16,385,192.00 4,794,512.50 16,741,720.50 7,972,548.00 11,687,043.00 3,120.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 406,730.00

26.55 2.2 3.28 39.90 2.49 1.500 7.690 5.490

20,387,000 866,000 72,000 28,541,300 4,646,000 81,818,000 10,446,500 133,100

534,525,450.00 1,919,860.00 229,740.00 1,125,307,165.00 11,451,120.00 126,587,000.00 80,298,276.00 722,313.00

10.4 17.62 1.68 11.48 0.500 0.040

90,600 385,800 197,000 59,125,000 18,669,000 39,600,000

939,918.00 6,894,752.00 302,470.00 672,936,414.00 9,290,835.00 1,593,900.00

2.59 11.28 91.95 7.18 6.5 5.90 2.04 8.95 890.5 1917 5.25 419.20 11.08 1.47 122.2 8 3.11 0.106 4.6700 2.42 13.98 3.02 0.91 18.60

1,158,000 15,366,600 333,650 1,500 2,203,700 20,300 4,000 178,000 10,200 165,195 508,200 2,200 600 5,719,000 5,207,660 37,200 52,000 483,590,000 5,860,000 9,000 900 1,329,000 627,000 2,235,300

2,993,960.00 171,658,502.00 31,242,553.00 10,771.00 14,358,792.00 119,770.00 7,890.00 1,599,459.00 9,083,230.00 313,856,875.00 2,677,748.00 933,454.00 6,328.00 8,731,670.00 639,798,861.00 305,375.00 175,160.00 381,800.00 27,605,320.00 20,880.00 12,538.00 4,098,050.00 570,570.00 42,791,174.00

0.415 3.44 2.35 1.05 3.100 2.69 8.19 4.73 150.00 2.91 1104.00 0.450 0.650 40.00 75.45 8.97 2.80 0.670 0.325 0.640 18.300

220,000 115,000 5,421,000 227,000 30,243,000 181,000 208,100 27,000 2,530 2,136,000 303,790 34,540,000 7,921,000 3,346,500 2,251,460 62,800 20,564,000 3,413,000 33,820,000 4,910,000 61,944,800

91,200.00 391,040.00 12,960,200.00 253,810.00 98,694,240.00 16,509,060.00 1,683,098.00 127,760.00 393,860.00 6,249,150.00 334,912,875.00 16,081,900.00 5,258,380.00 131,321,225.00 170,904,361.00 567,131.00 57,673,290.00 2,308,660.00 11,252,150.00 3,200,860.00 337,368,470.00

0.0017 1.10 2.55 11.96 1.0900

250,000,000 3,673,000 29,000 35,200 26,000

424,500.00 4,095,920.00 73,950.00 424,854.00 28,340.00

2.55 0.290 7.74 1.820 0.211 0.104 0.108 0.0090 1.05 3.32 1.06 0.5300 0.8300 0.0120 0.0120 3.37 12.20 0.0110 12.5000 23.90 0.0058

2,114,000 770,000 2,400 37,978,000 2,120,000 5,040,000 20,000 38,000,000 1,926,000 57,495,000 123,000 7,268,000 1,224,000 367,000,000 744,700,000 2,745,000 4,633,600 42,100,000 8,217,500 3,304,900 14,000,000

5,357,820.00 219,450.00 17,657.00 69,779,380.00 440,220.00 524,510.00 2,160.00 339,100.00 2,038,550.00 203,395,890.00 127,340.00 3,631,120.00 995,470.00 4,368,500.00 9,618,600.00 9,642,360.00 56,465,964.00 467,900.00 98,250,802.00 78,218,325.00 84,500.00

17.02 101.3 101.1 503 101 109 506 5.09 975.5 994 98 1.02 1034 1050 1060 101.9 109.5 1024 1000 78 75.05 77 76.5 75.25 75.05 75.05

439,800 2,560 6,000 7,180 218,650 38,820 2,830 369,500 5,640 12,130 3,880 388,000 525 5,445 14,230 26,210 5,820 17,300 3,420 79,620 141,500 13,380 67,590 30,410 231,100 670,260

7,618,006.00 259,092.00 606,600.00 3,633,620.00 22,077,550.00 4,255,690.00 1,431,980.00 1,175,680.00 5,529,525.00 12,059,810.00 387,042.00 392,040.00 543,020.00 5,717,250.00 15,273,755.00 2,670,902.00 634,115.00 17,798,565.00 3,418,990.00 6,217,178.50 10,623,965.00 1,027,390.00 5,144,936.00 2,288,590.00 17,356,450.00 50,686,734.00

1.520

253,000

389,120.00

SME 141,930.00 16,580,312.00 81,237,996.00 30,849,840.00

2.57 5.59 13.26 0.98

18,000 10,346,600 20,013,500 47,024,000

46,260.00 66,826,383.00 282,156,634.00 48,968,760.00

Makati Fin. Corp. Italpinas Kepwealth Xurpas

2.5 4.76 12.18 0.91

56,000 3,296,000 6,608,900 33,764,000

First Metro ETF

117.2

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 34,300 4,020,312.00

118.7

572,700

6,324,883.00

10.28 10 0.94

DOLLAR DENONIMATED SEC. 68,320 693,767.60 5,000 50,000.00 126,400 119,534.00

10.06 10 0.96

15,630 4,000 122,000

157,651.00 40,000.00 117,120.00

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining Oriental Pet. `B’ Alliance Global Inc. DMCI Holdings MRC Allied Ind. Metro Paciﬁc Inv. Corp. Manila Bulletin Megaworld Ayala Land `B’ Abacus Cons. `A’

VOLUME 1,746,000,000 737,100,000 252,866,500 156,645,500 123,010,000 59,745,000 59,678,000 58,740,000 57,682,300 51,596,000

STOCKS Alliance Global Inc. Ayala Land `B’ SM Investments Inc. SM Prime Holdings DMCI Holdings Ayala Corp `A’ Bank of PI Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. I.C.T.S.I. Metrobank

VALUE 2,881,744,240.00 2,589,236,585.00 1,810,399,365.00 1,284,873,915.00 1,096,466,455.00 1,085,329,195.00 1,080,663,049.00 925,014,987.00 908,958,976.00 726,846,524.00

Fruitas initial public offering oversubscribed —underwriter By Jenniffer B. Austria THE upcoming initial public offering of Fruitas Holdings Inc. has received strong interest from local investors, with the IPO nearly three times oversubscribed, one of the underwriters handling the deal said over the weekend. BDO Capital and Investments Corp. president Eduardo Francisco said in a text message the take up of the Fruitas IPO had been strong during the offering period, with demand exceeding the offer of P1 billion worth of shares despite current market conditions. Fruitas, a leading food and beverage kiosk operator, offered 533.66 million in primary shares with an over-allotment option of up to 68.34 million in secondary shares at a price of P1.68 apiece. The shares accounted for 28.2 percent of the company’s total issued stocks. The company is scheduled to list the shares under the main board of the Philippine Stock Exchange on November 29 under the ticker symbol “FRUIT.” The company plans to use the proceeds from the IPO to fund store network expansion and improvement, acquisitions, new concept introductions and debt repayment. The company opened its ﬁrst “Fruitas” Fresh From Babot’s Farm product in SM Manila in 2020. It owns over 900 proﬁtable stores across the Philippines and in prime commercial establishments and institutions. Since its establishment, the company has expanded its brand portfolio to include Buko Loco, De Original Jamaican Pattie Shop and Juice Bar, Juice Avenue, Johnn Lemon, Black Pearl, Buko Ni Fruitas, and Fruitas Ice Candy. The company continues to make a name in the industry with its growing number of outlets, expansions through acquisitions, and development of new business concepts and formats such as food parks and wine cellars. From 2020 to 2022, it plans to add between 550 and 650 company-owned stores. It plans to improve current stores and purchase delivery vehicles. Fruitas plans to acquire other foodservice businesses or introduce new concepts in the Philippines to accelerate store expansion.

More subscribers shift to LTE amid Smart expansion By Darwin G. Amojelar SMART Communications said more subscribers are now on LTE amid sustained network improvement efforts and ramped-up migration campaigns. Smart’s improved LTE network, along with redoubled efforts to encourage subscribers to move up to LTE, resulted in an 82-percent increase in the number of LTE data users compared a year ago. Smart increased the number of its 4G/ LTE base stations by about 5,500 in the first nine months of 2019, pushing the number of total LTE base stations across Smart’s network to about 21,700. “By encouraging our customers to shift to LTE, we can achieve our goal of providing them the best customer experience,” said Smart president and chief executive Alfredo Panlilio. Mobile service revenues in the first nine months of the year rose 20 percent year-on-year to P52.6 billion, with mobile internet revenues growing 47 percent to P34.5 billion. This is on the back of the surge in mobile internet traffic of Smart, TNT and Sun mobile brands, which reached 1.1 exabytes (1106 PB), twice as large as the volume recorded in the same period last year. Internet traffic in the third quarter increased 20 percent from the previous quarter. Driving the dramatic increase in data traffic are the use of video and e-games that both require the support of a good mobile network. The share of data and broadband to PLDT’s total service revenues continued to increase. It is now at 66 percent, up from 60 percent in the same period last year. The sustained improvement of the PLDT-Smart network has been supported by a stepped-up capital expenditures program estimated at P78.4 billion in 2019, with P53.4 billion already spent at the end of September.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Business/World

Standard

TODAY

Protesters flock to polls seeking to send message

IN BRIEF US Navy defies Trump over a member WASHINGTON―The US Navy will proceed in its effort to oust a member of its elite SEAL commando unit, an official said Saturday, defying the wishes of President Donald Trump. Edward Gallagher had been accused of war crimes in a high-profile case but was found guilty only of a lesser offense. On November 15, Trump reversed the demotion handed down to the 40-year-old under his conviction. The Navy this week launched a procedure under which a peer review board could strip him and three other members of his unit of their Trident pins―effectively booting them from the SEALs.

A rankled Trump declared on Twitter on Thursday that “The Navy will NOT be taking away Warfighter and Navy Seal Eddie Gallagher’s Trident Pin.” On Saturday, however, a senior Pentagon official who requested anonymity in order to speak freely said the “peer review board is proceeding.” Whether Gallagher can remain in the unit or not will be determined by a panel of Navy SEAL officers that is set to convene in December. The move came as multiple US news outlets reported that Navy Secretary Richard Spencer had threatened to resign over the affair, a claim he sharply denied. AFP

ONG KONG― Hong Kong’s people turned out in force on Sunday to cast ballots in local council elections that the city’s pro-democracy movement hopes will add pressure on the Beijingbacked government to heed their demands.

Two Iraqi protesters shot dead, 47 wounded NASIRIYAH, Iraq―Two Iraqi protesters were shot dead overnight in the southern city of Nasiriyah, where anti-government demonstrators shut down schools and blockaded bridges, a medical source told AFP Sunday. At least 47 other people were wounded in clashes with security forces as protesters burned car tires on roads and outside many public offices in the city, some 300 kilometers south of the capital Baghdad. An estimated 350 people have been killed and thousands wounded in the protest movement that erupted on October 1 calling for a total overhaul of a government widely seen as corrupt and inefficient. In Iraq’s mostly rural south, schools and public offices have been severely affected with many students and teachers leading rallies and sit-ins outside public offices. The education ministry has issued a directive that classes resume Sunday, the first day of the school and work week in Iraq. But protesters in Nasiriyah defied the ministry and shut down schools anyway, AFP’s correspondent said. AFP

Queues several hundred meters long snaked out of polling stations in the

early hours of a vote for 18 district councils, in which high turnout is expected to benefit democratic forces. The government said nearly a third of the record 4.13 million citizens registered to vote had cast their ballots within five hours of the polls opening, more than double the rate seen over the same time frame during the last election in 2015. The selection of 452 councilors handling community-level concerns like bus routes and garbage collection traditionally generates little excitement, but has taken on new significance following months of political unrest. Hong Kong has been buffeted by mass rallies and violent clashes pitting police against protesters who are agitating for direct popular elections of the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s government, as well as a probe

Pope Francis slams nuclear deterrent NAGASAKI―Pope Francis Sunday railed against atomic weapons, the nuclear deterrent and the growing arms trade, as he paid tribute to the victims of the “unspeakable horror” of the Nagasaki bomb. In a highly symbolic visit to the Japanese city devastated by the nuclear attack in August 1945, Francis said nuclear weapons were “not the answer” to a desire for security, peace and stability. “Indeed, they seem always to thwart it,” he said. At least 74,000 people died from the atomic bomb unleashed on the city in western Japan―just three days after the world’s

first nuclear attack hit Hiroshima and killed at least 140,000. “This place makes us deeply aware of the pain and horror that we human beings are capable of inflicting upon one another,” said the sombre pontiff on the first full day of his Japan trip. Hundreds of people in white waterproofs sat in torrential rain to hear the pope’s speech, next to the emblematic photo of a young boy carrying his dead baby brother on his back in the aftermath of the attack. He laid a wreath of white flowers and prayed silently, unprotected from the lashing downpour. AFP

Playing Dumb think too much. More often than not, procedures and templates are introduced but actual change is optional. Key word: Comply. Three, it is induced by imitation. Management, like anything else, is subject to fashion. An industry leader will adopt a policy or practice. And the rest of the industry will follow, regardless whether they understand it or even agree with its purpose. Key word: Best practice. Four, it is induced by branding. Branding is a way to induce people to make decisions based on image and reputation rather than reality. This means hiring a reputable firm to conduct training, being accredited by regulating agency, paying to a member of an industry network. And these should be displayed publicly. Being associated with a top brand is a way to play it safe. One quipped, “Nobody was criticized for hiring McKinsey as consultants.” Key words: A member of…, accredited by… And five, it is induced by corporate culture. All organizations and groups have unspoken rules. These can be found in everyday expressions that are adopted by the organization on how things work and are done. Examples are “think positively, don’t resist change, don’t point out problems, offer solutions.” Key words: vision, mission. Surprising though, smart people in the organization would go along with the collective stupidity. Yet not very surprising, for playing stupid is often well rewarded. Following rules and regulations mindlessly, workers can focus on getting things done. By using leadership buzzwords, even if they are entirely empty and full of bullsh*t, workers would be seen as having potential and would be promoted. Adopting best practices makes the organization appear legit and competent. Branding is easier because it focuses on altering perceptions, rather than addressing the “messier realities” of the organization. Following corporate culture meant employees can be seen as committed members of the organization. No organization would admit that it is stupid. Yet, it has to be, to a certain degree, stupid. In practice, “no organization could function efficiently if everybody in it thought critically and independently about everything they did.” It pays to play dumb.

REAL CARPIO SO

Green LiGht I WAS not being naïve. Five years ago, in the article “Stupidity: A Choice,” I wrote that “The lack of reflexivity, justification, and substantive reasoning in varying degrees are indicators that an organization is on the road to stupidity.” The indicators are “one, members of the organization are not encouraged to question the contradictions between organization’s practices and developments in the market. The capacities to use reason for scrutiny and critique are repressed. Overtime, members exhibit an inability or unwillingness to question these practices.” “Two, members do not see the need for justifications for their assigned tasks. They are disinclined to engage in dialogue or ask for rationales. Not requiring justification allows practices to be accepted simply because “that’s how things are done here.” And “three, failure to understand the rationale behind assigned tasks prevents members to make meaningful contribution to the organization. Without realization of its significance, a task is completed merely because it is an assignment.” Today, this is still true in a lot of organizations. In The Stupidity Paradox: the Power and Pitfalls of Functional Stupidity at Work, Professor Andre Spicer and co-author Mats Alvesson defined functional stupidity as “an incapacity and/or disinclination on the part of organizational members to exercise critical reflection about what they are doing, why they are doing it, and what the consequences of their activities are beyond the immediate task at hand.” The authors identified five areas on how stupidity in organizations is induced. One, it is induced by a deep faith in leadership. Almost everyone are not content to just being workers or managers. The hype of being a leader feels good. Instead of focusing on getting jobs done, they pour their energies into transforming their followers. However, almost all of them spend days “sitting in meetings, filling inn forms and communicating information.” Truth is, most of their followers (read: subordinates) are not too keen on following. Workers are mostly self-motivated and often knew their jobs better than the leaders (read: boss). Key word: Inspire. Two, it is induced by the structures in the organization. Meetings in an organizations often results in new policies. This is often intended to protect the interests of an organization. By encouraging members to follow these policies, this sends the signal that one does not have to

Real Carpio So lectures at the Ramon del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. He is an entrepreneur and a management consultant. Comments are welcomed at realwalksonwater@gmail. com. Archives can be accessed at realwalksonwater.wordpress.com. The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

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

into alleged police brutality. District councils have long been dominated by the pro-Beijing establishment, and voters seeking change hope that weakening that grip will give their movement fresh momentum. “I hope this ballot can increase our voice in the council,” 19-year-old student Michael Ng, voting for the first time in his life, told AFP. “Even though one ballot can only help a little, I still hope it can bring change to society and support street protests in some way.” The vote is the closest that Hong Kongers get to direct representation. By contrast, the legislature is elected by a mix of popular vote and industry groups stacked with China loyalists, which ensures Beijing’s control of the city of around 7.3 million. The pro-democracy camp is calling Sunday’s vote a referendum on Chief Executive Carrie Lam and the pro-Beijing government, which have resisted the movement’s demands. But the polls are not entirely symbolic: some candidates for next year’s legislative elections will be drawn from district councilors, and the councils also will contribute 117 members to the 1,200-strong Beijing-controlled electoral college that chooses the chief executive. Protests have been muted in recent days after pro-democracy figures urged citizens to cease disruptions to

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES Regional Trial Court NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION BRANCH 107, QUEZON CITY RUEL DOBLON MOLDERA, -versus-

Petitioner,

Civil Case No. R-QZN-18-13107-CV

ROSA VILMA M. ELORDE-MOLDERA, Respondent x-------------------------------------------------x

SUMMONS BY PUBLICATION TO : ROSA VILMA M. ELORDE-MOLDERA - with last known address at Lot 1, Block 5 Maple Street comer Oakwood St., Brentwood Parkhomes, Brgy. Mambugan, Antlpolo City

avoid giving the government an excuse to delay or suspend the polls. Police were deployed at some polling stations and on city streets, but the presence was not particularly heavy. No violence or other disturbances were reported in the early hours. “I’m pleased to say that ... we should have a relatively peaceful and calm environment to conduct these elections successfully,” Lam said after voting in her constituency on Hong Kong island. The political unrest kicked into high gear with giant rallies in June against a bill backed by Lam that would allow extraditions to China’s opaque justice system. The bill was eventually withdrawn amid public pressure, but the anger that it unleashed sparked the wider calls for democracy. Analysts expect pro-democracy candidates to see gains in the district councils but still fall short of a majority of slots. Campaigning has been marred by acrimony, with one pro-democracy candidate having his ear bitten off in an attack, while 17 other candidates of all stripes-some seeking re-election― have been arrested over protest-related activities. Election authorities also banned leading democracy activist Joshua Wong from running in the district poll for backing Hong Kong “selfdetermination.”AFP

Other pieces of information that can be ascertained from said Certificate of Live Birth of the Respondent are the following: i.

That she was born to parents Cesar Gallardo Elorde and Amonita Cordero Martinez;

ii.

That the Certificate of Live Birth was signed by the attendant at birth on “112-79.”

Thus, when Respondent married Petitioner on 14 September 1996, Respondent was only seventeen (17) years old.

10. In the Certificate of Marriage (herein Annex “B”), however, Respondent was stated to have been born on 12 January 1978, thus making her age at the time of marriage, eighteen (18), when in fact, Respondent was only seventeen (17) then. 11. Such being the case, the parties’ marriage is clearly void under Article 35 of the Family Code:

Greetings:

“Art. 35. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:

The petitioner prays that after due hearing, judgment be rendered declaring the marriage between the petitioner and the respondent null and void for lack of one of the formal requisites of a valid marriage, which is a parental consent under Article 45 of the Family Code of the Philippines. Pursuant to the Order dated October 9, 2019 service of Summons by Publication is issued considering that the returns of summons to the respondent was unserved, this Summons by Publication was issued in consonance with Section 14, Rule 14 of the Rules of Court. NOW, THEREFORE, respondent. ROSA VILMA M. ELORDE-MOLDERA - with last known address at Lot 1, Block 5 Maple Street corner Oakwood St., Brentwood Parkhomes, Brgy. Mambugan, Antlpolo City, is hereby summoned and required to file with the Regional Trial Court Branch 107, National Capital Judicial Region, Hall of Justice Bldg., Quezon City, his answer to the instant petition within thirty (30) days from last date of publication of this summons. Failure of the respondent to file his answer within the reglementary period, this Court will direct the Public Prosecutor to investigate whether collusion exists between the parties. If the court is convinced that there is no collusion, the petitioner shall be allowed to present her evidence in support of the petition. WHEREFORE, let this summons, together with a copy of the Petition, be published once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation, to be selected by raffle pursuant to P.D 1079, at the expense of the petitioner. Likewise, let a copies of the summons and the Petition be sent by registered mall addressed to the respondent at his last known address, also at the expense of the petitioner and to submit to this court proof of compliance therewith. WITNESS THE HONORABLE JOSE L. BAUTISTA, JR., Presiding Judge of this Court, this 14th day of October 2019, in Quezon City, Philippines.

1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of parents or guardians; xxx xxx xxx [Emphasis and underscoring supplied.] 12. The law declares that an individual below eighteen years of age is as not possessing the legal capacity to contract marriage. Whether or not the consent of the parents was secured at the time of marriage is irrelevant in the sense that, even if present, it will not serve to make the marriage valid. The legal capacity to marry is strictly eighteen (18) years of age. And as had been demonstrated above, Respondent was only seventeen (17) as per her Certificate of Live Birth. PRAYER WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed of this Honorable Court: 1.

That after due hearing, a decree be issued by this Honorable Court, declaring the marriage between the Petitioner RUEL DOBLON MOLDERA and Respondent ROSA VILMA MARTINEZ ELORDE-MOLDERA as void ab initio in accordance with Article 35 of the Family Code of the Philippines; and

To order the Local Civil Registrar of Antipolo, Rizal, as well as the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to make the proper entries in the registry in its custody to indicate therein the Declaration of Nullity of Petitioner’s Marriage with Respondent.

for.

Other forms of relief just and equitable under the circumstances are likewise prayed Quezon City, 08 October 2018.

ATTY. ANIHAIRAH B. MADJI OMAR Branch Clerk of Court REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION REGIONAL TRIAL COURT QUEZON CITY BRANCH____

RUEL DOBLON MOLDERA,

Petitioner,

-versusROSA VILMA M. ELORDE-MOLDERA, Respondent. x---------------------------------------------------x

TONGOL JOVEN & ASSOCIATES LAW & COMMUNICATIONS Counsel for the Petitioner Units 1208 & 1210, 12th Floor, Corporate 145 Building, 145 Mother Ignacia Avenue, South Triangle, Quezon City 1103 Telephone No. (02) 374.1355 Email Address:info@tovenlaw.com By:

EMIL KARLO LL. JOVEN Roll of Attorney No. 55780 IBP No. 1031644/ January 3,2018/ Quezon Chapter PTR No. 1524025/ January 04, 2018/ Maupan, Quezon MCLE Compliance No. V-0010355 / 16 September 2015

Civil Case No. ____________ For: Declaration of Nullity of Marriage under Article 35 of the Family Code

PETITION Petitioner, by counsel, unto this Honorable Court, most respectfully states:

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES } QUEZON CITY )S.S. VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION AGAINST FORUM SHOPPING

THE PARTIES 1.

Petitioner RUEL DOBLON MOLDERA (hereinafter Petitioner), is of legal age, a Filipino citizen, and a resident of No. 78-F Molave Street, Brgy. Duyan-Duyan, Project 3, Quezon City. A copy of the Certification from the Barangay to the effect that Petitioner is a resident of Brgy. Duyan-Duyan, Quezon City, is hereto attached and marked as ANNEX “A” and made an integral part hereof.

Respondent ROSA VILMA M. ELORDE-MOLDERA (hereinafter Respondent), is likewise of legal age, a Filipino Citizen, and a resident of Oakdrive Street, Brentwood Subdivision, Masinag, Antipolo City, where she may be served with summons and other court processes emanating from the Honorable Court.

The parties were married on 14 September 1996 at the Iglesia ni Cristo Chapel, Padilla, Antipolo, Rizal, which marriage ceremony was solemnized by Minister of the Gospel Sande C. Francisco. Hereto attached as ANNEX “B” and made an integral part of this Petition is a copy of the parties Certificate of Marriage.

The parties had two (2) children together, namely: a.

KRIZZHIA NICOLE ELORDE MOLDERA (now 21 years old), born on 04 January 1997. A copy of her Certificate of Live Birth is hereto attached and marked as ANNEX “C” and made an integral part hereof; and

KENT NICOLAS ELORDE MOLDERA (now 19 years old), born on 12 September 1999. A copy of his Certificate of Live Birth is hereto attached and marked as ANNEX “D” and made an integral part hereof.

The parties did not acquire any properties, real or personal, during the subsistence of their marriage.

Article 35 of the Family Code declares a marriage contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of parents or guardians as void from the beginning.

As will be demonstrated hereunder, Respondent was below eighteen years old at the time she married Petitioner. As declared under Article 35, said marriage is void from the beginning; hence this Petition.

As appearing from the records of the Philippine Statistics Authority, Respondent, whose full name is ROSA VILMA MARTINEZ ELORDE, was born on January 12, 1979 in Valenzuela, Metro Manila. This is evident from Respondent’s Certificate of Live Birth, a copy of which is hereto attached and marked as ANNEX “E” and made an integral part hereof.

ALLEGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PETITION

I. RUEL DOBLON MOLDERA, of legal age, Filipino, and a resident of No. 78-F Molave Street, Brgy. Duyan-Duyan, Project 3, Quezon City, after having been sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and state that: 1.

I am the Petitioner in the above-entitled Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage.

I have caused the preparation and filing of the foregoing “Petition” with the Honorable Court.

I have read the said “Petition” and hereby certify that all the allegations stated therein are true and correct and are of my own personal knowledge and based on authentic records.

I have not commenced any other action or proceeding involving the same issues in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or agency; to the best of my knowledge and belief, no such action or proceeding is pending in the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or agency;

If I should thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding has been filed or is pending before the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or agency, I undertake to report that fact within five (5) days therefrom to the Honorable Court.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this _______ in Quezon City.

RUEL DOBLON MOLDERA Affiant SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me in Quezon City on 0CT 08 2018 with affiant exhibiting to me his government-issued Driver’s License ID No. N02-09-010548 which is valid until 2023/02/09 in accordance with Rule II Section 12 and Rule IV Section 2(b) of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice.

(MS-NOV. 18 & 25, 2019)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

LGUs

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

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Awards panel recognizes Navotas, too By Jun David

FOR advocating children’s rights and welfare, the City Government of Navotas bagged the 2018 Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance conferred by the Council for the Welfare of Children. Mayor Toby Tiangco, together with members of the Navotas City Council for the Protection of Children, received the SCFLG during the awarding ceremony at Sofitel Hotel in Pasay. “The future of Navotas lies in the hands of our children. To have a bright tomorrow, we must ensure that our young ones enjoy good health, learn the right values, gain quality learning, and are protected from any harm,” Tiangco said. The conferment of the Seal was based on the results of the ChildFriendly Local Governance Audit conducted annually in all local government units nationwide. The audit consisted of 12 indicators to measure an LGUs performance in the delivery of services that uplift the welfare status of children. Indicators included reduction in deaths among children under five years old, reduction in children under six years old with below normal weights; rise in 3-4-year old children attending day care; and completion rate for elementary schooling Also included is the absence or reduction of child labor cases; percentage reduction in the number of children victims of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation; and safety measures for children in the community and schools, among others.

Las Piñas traffic enforcers take retraining course ALL traffic enforcers in Las Piñas City have completed a two-day retraining seminar on discipline and proper conduct and behavior in the performance of their duties to help them effectively perform the strict implementation of traffic rules and regulations. The retraining sessions conducted focused on lectures and workshop aimed at enhancing competence and professionalism among the city traffic enforcers, particularly on decorum in the apprehension, issuance of citation tickets, and proper hand signal in manning the road. The refresher course for 180 traffic enforcers was ordered by Mayor Imelda T. Aguilar to City Traffic Management Office in coordination with the Metro Manila Development Authority. The mayor expressed hope the retraining would enlighten the city traffic enforcers of their duties and responsibilities in properly dealing with motorists and the commuters but warned that they would face the full force of the law if they fail to perform their responsibilities. “Traffic enforcer officials must abide with the traffic laws as mandated and conduct proper behavior in dealing with the motorists to ensure the safety of commuters, car owners and the riding public,” Aguilar said. The mayor added law enforcement agencies believe that traffic enforcement, in addition to reducing fatalities associated with automobile collisions, might also reduce the incidence of public order crimes.

CARAVAN FOR PEACE. Urban poor groups from the cities of Makati, Taguig, Pasay, Muntinlupa, Las Piñas and Pateros, the lone municipality in Metro Manila, gathered in an event

hosted by the city government of Parañaque to address social issues in the metropolis. The ‘Serbisyo Caravan for Peace and Development in Urban Poor Communities’ brought together various government agencies to bring their respective services closer to the people. Parañaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez, also the current chairman of the Regional Peace and Order Council, briefed the participants that End Local Communist Armed Conflict started when President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 70, which institutionalizes the whole-of-nation approach in attaining inclusive and sustainable peace.

Makati City tagged as most child-friendly

HE Makati City Government has earned the Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance for 2018 after getting a score of 95 percent in the evaluation done by the awards body consisting of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Council for the Welfare of the Children, and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. The city was one of the awardees from the National Capital Region recognized on Nov. 21 at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City. The selection of awardees was based on the following criteria: Children’s Survival, Development, Protection, Participation, and Governance in the city. Mayor Abby Binay thanked the agencies for recognizing the city’s efforts to protect and uplift the welfare of children in Makati.

“It is with great pride and honor that we receive this award for the City of Makati. We are grateful to the DSWD, CWC and DILG for recognizing our hard work to make sure that every child in Makati is able to exercise his rights and has equal access to the privileges and benefits provided by the city,” the mayor said. “I would also like to congratulate the Makati City Council for the Protection of Children. By continuing to efficient-

ly carry out your mandate to promote the welfare of the children in our city, you have helped make Makati a childfriendly city,” she added. The Seal of Child-Friendly Local Governance is conferred on cities and municipalities that have passed the stringent assessment and evaluation process. This audit gauges the city’s level of performance in the implementation of childfriendly programs and projects. In line with the celebration of the National Children’s Month, the city recently held a children’s assembly for young Makatizens where they were able to express their concerns to the mayor. Mayor Abby also reported on the city’s accomplishments for the children’s sector in her State of the Children Address.

Santa Rosa City Mayor Arlene Arcillas (second from right) sits with (from left) Santa Rosa City Chief Of police PLt. Col. Eugene J. Orate, Laguna Provincial Director PCol. Eleazar P. Matta, and lawyer Daniel Daganzo, NBI Laguna Agent in Charge as they present Ricardo Sta. Ana (inset), the city’s most wanted man. Roy Tomandao

Santa Rosa’s No. 1 wanted man nabbed By Roy Tomandao SANTA ROSA, Laguna—Authorities have presented the No. 1 most wanted man in the city, Ricardo Sta. Ana, who was arrested by police last Friday for the murders of his wife and one-yearold son in 2016. Sta. Ana was facing two counts of parricide and was arrested on the strength of a warrant issued by Judge Gil Jude F. Sta. Maria Jr., Presiding Judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 102 in Sta. Rosa City. He was apprehended through “Oplan Manhunt Charlie,” a joint operation of the Santa Rosa Police and the National Bureau of Investigation Laguna District Office at a call center office in Bo Bonifacio Global City in Taguig City. In a report to Laguna Provincial Director PCol. Eleazar Matta, Santa Rosa City Police Chief PLt. Col. Eugine Orate said Sta. Ana was arrested after the arrest of two more suspects, Ramoncito B. Galo (on March 16, 2016), and Bryan I. Avistado (on March 20, 2018), who were also held responsible for the brutal killings of Pearl Helene Bon Sta. Ana and her son, Denzel Bon Sta. Ana. Galo and Avistado pointed to Ricardo Sta. Ana as the person who hired them to do the job, paying them P60,000. The two suspects, posing as telco repairmen, entered the mother and child’s residence at Brgy. Labas, Santa Rosa on March 2, 2016. During the press briefing, Santa Rosa City Mayor Arlene Arcillas said: “We did not stop solving this case, and after a long time it has been resolved with the assistance of the PNP. NBI and concerned civilians. I congratulate the PNP and the other units in arresting the suspects, as we also want justice for the family.”

Joy opens QC Business Processing and Licensing office on Saturdays QUEZON City Mayor Joy Belmonte has announced the operation of the Business Processing and Licensing Division office to accommodate applications for occupational permits even on Saturdays. “This way, local residents won’t have to file a leave just to obtain their occupational permits during weekdays,” Belmonte said.

She vowed to “make life easier for local residents in the processing of permits and other important documents.” “It will now be very convenient for the applicant to secure the permits,” the mayor said. Margarita Santos, BPLD chief, said the service is available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Saturday. “To avail of the service, residents

need to bring the complete requirements including their laboratory results from accredited testing centers for issuance of health permit/card plus their latest NBI or police clearance,” she said. Santos advised city residents to bring complete requirements so they could be entertained during the special Saturday schedule.

She said human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) awareness seminars will also be conducted onsite. Applicants must bring with them a residence certificate, a yellow card for entertainers/therapists, a waiver for Professional Regulations Commission holders, a parent’s consent for minors, and alien employment permit for foreigners, Santos said. Rio N. Araja

Tech training aids Bohol agri-resto business FROM the farm to the table: food couldn’t get fresher than this. That’s what Egay’s Farm Restaurant of Bohol is proud of. Owners Egay Escalona and wife Malou have been Malou tending a farm since 2006 and opened the restaurant Escalona, eight years later. They serve dishes cooked with ingreco-owner dients sourced from their farm in Dauis, Panglao. of Egay’s “We want to give our customers healthier alternaFarm Restaurant tives to the usual fast food chain offerings,” Escalona in Panglao, says, echoing the farm-to-table concept, which promotes local food using fresh, locally sourced ingrediBohol. ents. The concept also helps spur the local economy. A boost to their business is knowledge of the latest technology. Malou banks on social media to spread the word about their restaurant and the benefits of organic food. She posts pictures of the restaurant’s dishes on their official Facebook page; she also gets orders online.

Malou recently shared their experiences with participants of a training of the Digital Farmers Program (DFP) of Smart Communications, the Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Training Institute and Probe Media Foundation. Through DFP, youth volunteers are engaged in a three-course sequence focusing on acquainting, capacitating, and empowering small-holder farmers with basic digital tools and technologies, particularly social media, climate and weather monitoring applications, and e-Farming, among others. Moreover, the program intends to harness the high technology-adaptability skills of the youth in actively on-boarding farmers into the digital space, and consequently, establishing a solid channel of idea-exchange from using modern agricultural technologies to discovering old-age farming traditions passed down through generations.

Life

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

FOOD

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Extended flight

Lung Hin’s golden goose promotion will run until February 3, 2020, well after next year’s Chinese New Year.

for Lung Hin’s

golden goose O

UR Lifestyle team recently had lunch at Lung Hin, the award-winning Cantonese restaurant of Marco Polo Ortigas. Steamed seafood dumplings with caviar

And like most journalists who still have to return to barracks to put the newspaper to bed, it was not uncommon that our initial thought was that this ought to be a quick lunch. There are deadlines, after all, and deadlines are nothing but sacred. But on level 44 of the hotel, with the Ortigas skyline as backdrop, we were greeted by a formidable menu headlined by the famous Hong Kong golden goose. For starters, we were served steamed seafood dumplings with caviar and deep fried shrimp dumplings with mayonnaise on the side. A half serving of the roasted goose followed— the skin crisp and the flesh tender, with all the exquisite fat and juices demanding time and atten- Steamed whole Japanese fresh scallops with minced tion—deadline be damned because the goose was garlic in XO sauce not prepped and air-dried for almost an entire day tween 3.5 to 3.9 kilos. Any lighter and the proporjust to be eaten hurriedly. According to Ken Leung, the hotel’s Chinese tion of meat and fat will not do; any heavier and executive chef, the goose—imported all the way the flesh would no longer be as tender. The Hong Kong classic, coming from the refrom Hong Kong—must weigh somewhere be-

nowned and century-old recipe of guest chef Billy Cheong, used to be served for only a month annually at Lung Hin. But because of the overwhelming demand, the offering that began on Nov. 1 will be extended until Feb. 3, 2020, well past the Chinese New Year. The dishes that followed each held its own—

braised fish lips and dried scallops soup, poached garoupa with wild mushroom in fish stock, sautéed whole Japanese scallops, steamed stuffed vegetarian treasure in inari bag, and of course, the signature fried rice with seafood. Chilled mango sago with coconut milk capped the almost three-hour lunch. Turn to C2

5 unusual fast food item combinations

AT FAST food joints, most, if everyone, always give in and American fast food chain Popeyes helps diners beat the order their usual food combo. There’s no harm in getting food rut with the following combinations—featuring its what’s tried and tested, right? menu items—which may appear unusual but actually work. Popeyes Chicken drizzled with honey

Fish Burger

GrabFood treats patrons to special deals during the ‘One Big Handaan’ campaign.

GrabFood turns 1 in PH, treats users to 1-peso delivery Popeyes Chicken + honey

Tired of the usual chicken + gravy combo? Popeyes Chicken with a dash of honey offers that new kind of flavor. The sweetness of honey balances the distinct Cajun flavors of Popeyes Chicken. Diners don’t have to order biscuits to get honey as the fast food chain now have ala carte honey packets in the menu.

Fish Burger + Shrimp Burger

For those who can’t get enough of seafood, the fish burger plus shrimp burger will surely satisfy that craving. Just order one of each burger and stack the patties, effectively making one beast of a burger. Dip the excess buns into Popeyes’ creamy crab soup, the perfect side to this seafood-centric entrée.

Cajun Fries

Cajun Rice

Classic Honey Biscuits

Cajun Rice + Creamy Crab Soup

Imagine this: a bowl of flavorful and slightly spicy rice mixed into a thick and savory crab soup. All of those ingredients, spices, and aroma come together to give a delicious mashup with distinctive Cajun flavors. Rice lovers out there will surely go bonkers for this one.

Classic Honey Biscuit + ice cream

A twist on the ice cream sandwich, this one features the distinct salty, sweet, and buttery taste of the Classic Honey Biscuit. Just cut up the biscuit right down the middle and slather on chocolate, caramel, or strawberry sundae for an explosion of flavors.

Cajun Fries + Popeyes Spaghetti Sauce

Fries go with almost anything— catsup, gravy, ice cream, and leftover spaghetti sauce from Popeyes’ sweet, savory, and cheesy Spaghetti.

LEADING food delivery platform GrabFood marks its first anniversary in the Philippines with a one big feast and 1-peso delivery treat. As part of its “One Big Handaan” celebration, customers who will order a minimum of P400 from participating merchants can enjoy a P1 delivery fee by using the promo code P1HANDAAN. The promo is ongoing today until Nov. 28. Over a hundred merchants are participating in the Piso Delivery Sale, including Recovery Food, Cha Tuk Chak, Wing Zone, Soy Yummy, La Carnita Modern Mexican Cantina, Hearty Bread, Clash of Burgers, and Che Pizzaiolo, among others. On certain days during the anniversary celebration, which started on Nov. 15 and will run until Dec. 6, GrabFood will be offering Happy Hour flash deals for several merchant-partners from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Patrons have a chance to enjoy buy-one-get-one deals at Frankie’s, Chao Da, or Big Guys. Customers may also enjoy up to 40 percent discount on their food orders during the GrabFood Happy Hour when they order their meals from McDonald’s, Bad Bird, Bulalo World, Wing Me, and Wonder Wingz. Lastly, GrabFood users will be rewarded with P111 vouchers when they have food delivered from almost 50 restaurant partners, which include Via Mare, Bannaple, Papa John’s Pizza, Yao’s Kitchen, and Chef Baby’s Ice Cream, among many others. During the GrabFood “One Big Handaan” campaign period, each Grab-

Get buy-one, get-one deals from participating merchants such as Tokyo Tokyo.

Food transaction with a minimum order of P300 from participating restaurants earns users one raffle entry for a chance to win a year’s supply of GrabFood meals. The “GrabFood for a Year” prize is equivalent to 15 voucher codes worth P350 each per month. Consolation prizes include promo codes that consumers can enjoy at a later stage. “It has been an incredible first year for GrabFood in the Philippines. For 2020 and beyond, we take on the challenge of revolutionizing the food delivery industry in the country by bringing more growth opportunities and introducing new services and food concepts for Filipinos,” said GrabFood head EJ dela Vega.

Life

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

Savor authentic Chinese cuisine like a royalty

NEW restaurant that aims to preserve the affluent and colorful Chinese tradition has opened at the heart of Bonifacio Global City,

With its commitment to serve real Palace has tapped Master Chef Lam Chinese food, The Empress Dining Pui Hung, who hails from Hong Kong,

Baked Bolo BBQ Pork Bun

The Empress’ VIP Room can accommodate up to 48 guests.

Multi Flavored Xiao Long Bao

Peking Duck

to ensure that any dish coming out of the kitchen carries the taste, aroma and elegance of a true Chinese cuisine. The Empress serves an extensive menu of classic Cantonese cuisine and selected dishes from the Northern region, from mouth-watering appetizers and savory, tender meats, down to its highly prized seafood roster and delectable dim sum choices. It also offers an impressive range of refreshments and desserts. The new authentic Chinese restaurant also offers a special menu called Celebrations Menu, an eight-course

WHETHER the family prefers to dine out or eat at home, the spirit of Christmas and the joy of being together can be had anywhere.

Filipino favorites with a twist ner Bakery’s unique take on the classic Filipino Christmas staple. For only P249, this extraordinary kakanin and cheesecake concoction is a marriage of soft, fluffy vanilla chiffon and smooth and silky cheesecake, generously topped with salted egg slices. This delightful treat is wrapped in banana leaves. Max’s Corner Bakery also offers Caramel Fudge Cake, which is an incredibly moist and fudgy chocolate cake elevated with luxurious caramel icing and piped chocolate fudge, priced at P687. The new Nilagang Pasko and Holiday Classics Supreme Bundle is available at all Max’s Restaurant branches nationwide, and Bibingka Cheesecake and Caramel Fudge Cake in all Luzon stores only. The limited edition offering is available until Jan. 3, 2020.

Bibingka Cheesecake

Nilagang Pasko

Trays of treats Parties and get-togethers can be quite stressful, so many things to plan, consider, accomplish. This is where party trays come in handy. Pancake House eases many hosts’ worries with its To-Go Trays, each is good for up to 15 persons. The To-Go Trays include orders of Pancake House’s famous Classic Pan

Chicken, special Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Garlic Bread, crisp Fish Rolls, meaty Pork Vienna, flavorful Roast Beef with Mashed Potato, and Plain or Garlic Rice. These hearty trays are available for take-out, delivery, and curbside pick-up until Dec. 31 at all Pancake House stores nationwide except Camaya Coast, NAIA Terminal 3,

and Clark. Pancake House’s To-Go Trays are available at these prices: Classic Pan Chicken at P1,209; Roast Beef at P2,499; Fish Rolls at P999; Pork Vienna at P999; Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Garlic Bread for P999, Plain Rice for P359, and Garlic Rice for P399.

From C1

Praise the Jasmine tea for helping us crawl our way back to office without feeling too bloated. * * * And with Christmas and New Year just around the corner, Marco Polo

Ortigas is rolling out its Sparkling Holidays package. A grand feast awaits at Cucina with time-treasured culinary delights from different parts of the world forming part of the spread. Christmas Eve dinner is priced at P3,850. Cucina offers Christmas classics on Christmas Day at P2,988 per guest (lunch or dinner) while New Year’s Day, lunch or dinner, is priced at P2,988 per person.

The Empress Dining Palace is located at 7th Avenue, Bonifacio High Street, BGC, Taguig City. It is open for lunch from 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and dinner from 5:30 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. on weekdays. On Saturdays and Sundays, it serves all day from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Cooking tips from the Adobo Queen CELEBRITY chef Nancy Reyes Lu- ness to the meat. men is not called the “Adobo Queen When cooking adobo or any of the Philippines” for nothing. other dish at home, Lumen says Whether it’s chicken or pork, Lu- everything has to be washed and men says the best tasting adobo must cleaned beforehand. Use fresh inbe cooked in low fire. The celebrity gredients as much as possible, she chef says cooking in low heat will strongly recommends. allow the salty and Moreover, as she sour flavors to seep says it is a lot betinto the meat and ter to cook with tenderize it slowly. flame, she highly Lumen, who was recommends cookcompetitions direcing with a trusted tor of the recent liquefied petroleum Solane Kitchen gas brand for inHero Chefs’ Edicreased safety and tion, the first-ever to ensure protection cooking competiin the kitchen. tion of the LPG “Flame adds a brand, knows that lot of smoky flaa mouthwatervor to the food. ing bowl of adobo You cannot achieve served with warm this with an inducrice is certain to tion cooker. And bring comfort and when cooking with Adobo Queen Chef satisfaction to most flame, you can use Nancy Reyes-Lumen Filipinos. palayok by putting a Apart from cookgrill on top of your ing adobo in low heat to enhance the stove. What’s nice with Solane is that flavors, Lumen also recommends they are trying to preserve traditional cooking it the traditional way—using cooking methods,” she says. a palayok. “Just put banana leaves Lumen asserts the secrets and techinside the palayok to create a smoky niques to cooking traditional Filipino flavor that will change the dynamics dishes must be preserved to ensure of your adobo,” she suggests. that family recipes are passed on to She also reveals that the secret to the next generation, one of the obthe perfect adobo is to use a lot of fat, jectives of the Solane Kitchen Hero which adds a lot of flavor and tender- competition.

Restaurant Verbena welcomes new executive chef

Classic Pan Chicken, Roast Beef with Mashed Potatoes, and Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Garlic Bread in To-go Trays.

Extended...

Every corner of the Empress exudes elegance what with its various refined artwork adorning the walls, the stately hand-painted beam at the center, and refined tableware handpicked from China.

CHEF’S CORNER

Holiday feast to-go Max’s Restaurant offers two new dishes that put a little spin to well-loved classics. To make the festivities twice as merry, vibrant, and colorful, there’s the new Nilagang Pasko, Max’s own take on the well-loved pochero dish. It features a tender trio of beef bulalo, cured meat, and chicken submerged in a rich annatto oil-infused broth with potatoes, pechay, squash, sweet potatoes, green beans, and saba banana. Nilagang Pasko is also available for sharing with the Holiday Classics Supreme Bundle—a spread consisting of one hearty bowl of Nilagang Pasko, one regular whole Sarap-To-The Bones Fried Chicken, a choice of one Pancit, Chopsuey, or Lumpiang Shanghai, one Large Plain Rice, five glasses of iced tea, soft drinks, or sago’t gulaman, and five regular Buko Pandan. This feast for five is priced at P1,799. Cap off every get-together with Bibingka Cheesecake, Max’s Cor-

meal uniquely curated by Chef Lam for each milestone such as birthdays, reunions, and more. Aside from scrumptious food, the establishment offers a good quality of service and sophisticated ambiance. A step inside the newly opened restaurant makes guests instantly feel regal—with guaranteed attentive service from its professional staff. The main dining hall can accommodate 108 guests, while its VIP rooms can hold up to 48 guests and the conference rooms up to 18, both providing privacy and a dedicated service host.

For Lung Hin, Chef Leung prepared curated set menus for Christmas and New Year for tables of 10 guests. Vu’s Sky Bar and Lounge invites night owls and revelers from all over the metro to take part in the “20|20: The New Year’s Eve Countdown Party.” Doors open at 8:00 p.m., with tickets available at P1,850 per guest, inclusive of one Bottega Gold Prosecco (200 ml) as a welcome drink. I’m at joyce.panares@gmail.com.

AFTER five years of lending his tal- ber 30, brings together the best of ent to the award-winning 22 Prime both flagship establishments with unlimited USDA Steakhouse, ExPrime Rib, a live ecutive Chef Geregg station, and win Bailon heads an array of sides to Tagaytay to lead such as Mushroom Discovery Country Pilaf Rice, Truffle Suites’ Restaurant Potato Gratin, TaVerbena. gaytay Vegetables, Chef Gerwin has and Farfale Pasta since been hard with Sundried Toat work bringing mato Sauce. his expertise to the steak-hungry Restaurant VerTagaytay market. bena is at DisRestaurant Verbena covery Country recently introduced Suites along 300 22 Prime items Calamba Road, such as USDA San Jose, TagayPrime Rib Eye, Restaurant Verbena executive tay City. Call (02) Surf and Turf, and chef Gerwin Bailon 8529-8172 or email New York Striploin. reservations@dcs. Chef Gerwin’s latest brainchild, Unli Steak & discovery.com.ph for inquiries and Eggs, a lunch event on Novem- reservations.

Entertainment

mondAY, november 25, 2019

nickie.standard@gmail.com

Thai models top Global Asian Model World search

Chris Martin said they had chosen Jordan because it was "in the middle of the world"

Coldplay axes tour plans over pollution fears

oldplay frontman Chris Martin said on Thursday the band had shelved plans to go on tour to promote their latest album over concerns about the environmental impact of concerts. The band’s new album, Everyday Life, was released on Friday but its members have decided to play only two gigs, both in the Jordanian capital Amman, which was broadcast free on YouTube. They played at sunrise and sunset to mirror the two sides of the new album, according to the BBC. Martin told the broadcaster they had chosen the Middle Eastern country because it was “in the middle of the world” and

in a region they “normally don’t get to play.” “We’re taking time over the next year or two, to work out how our tour can not only be sustainable (but) how can it be actively beneficial,” Martin said in an interview. Coldplay played 122 shows around the world across eight legs as part of the tour for their last album, A Head Full of Dreams. Martin said if the band do eventually hit the road for the new release, they hope the tour could be entirely carbon neutral. “The hardest thing is the flying side of things. But, for example, our dream is to have a show with no single-use plastic, to have it largely solar-powered,” he added. Everyday Life is Coldplay’s eighth studio album. The band drew attention last month to its launch by revealing the tracks in the classified adverts section of a local newspaper in Wales. Meanwhile, it is set to perform another one-off concert next Monday at London’s Natural History Museum, with the proceeds donated to an environmental charity. AFP

Better, brighter Noel Bazaar

Noel Bazaar ambassadors (from left) Benjamin Alves, Camille Pratts, Heart Evangelista, Sanya Lopez, Althea Ablan, and Sofia Pablo.

Noel Bazaar, the metro’s longest-running Christmas shopping extravaganza, is all geared up for a better and brighter holiday series with over 500 merchants on board to delight shoppers. Marking its 19th year, the iconic bazaar series is continuously committed to being a one-stop holiday shopping destination where shoppers can discover affordable gift options, sample delicious treats, and enjoy cashless shopping during the most wonderful time of the year. It is also co-located with the International Food Feast Bazaar, showcasing mouth-watering holiday eats such as baked ham, desserts, and a curated selection of signature food finds. In partnership with GMA Network, Noel Bazaar features an exciting line-up of special events which features Kapuso stars as this year’s ambassadors – Heart evangelista, Benjamin alves, Camille pratts, Sanya lopez, althea ablan, and Sofia Pablo. Visitors will enjoy the heart-warming sound of Christmas music and see live performances while strolling the shopping village. They also get a chance to bring home pre-loved clothing, luxury bags, shoes, and accessories of their favorite Kapuso

Very Wang... From C4

During her sendoff press conference held last Nov. 13 at Nanka Japanese Steakhouse in Quezon City, organized by Miss World Philippines in collaboration with GMA Network, Michelle disclosed her rigorous training schedule she’s currently been undergoing as part of her preparations for the 69th edition of the Miss World pageant scheduled on Dec.14 at the ExCel Arena in London, U.K. For some diehard pageant fans, Michelle seems to have been destined for queendom. How does she feel about the overwhelmingly positive forecasts? She admits, “I’ve always believed that if something is meant for you, it will be given to you in God’s perfect time. I’m very pleased that since winning the MWP coronation, international polls have been ranking me within the top 10, so that’s definitely an added confidence booster. I trust my team and I believe we have a very good chance this year.”

personalities via the Celebrity Ukay-Ukay. Celebrity Auction and variety shows are also held every weekend at the Bazaar’s World Trade Center and SMX Convention Center runs. Proceeds from the Celebrity Ukay-Ukay will support GMA Kapuso Foundation’s educational projects such as Unang Hakbang sa Kinabukasan and the Kapuso School Development Program. To kick the season of giving into high gear, the team behind Noel Bazaar has prepared online contests and raffle prizes which include limited edition Noel Bazaar merchandise and other special items to be given away during the event. Catch Noel Bazaar on the following dates: Nov. 27 to Dec. 1 at the Filinvest Tent Alabang; and Dec.19 to 22 at the SMX Convention Center. For inquiries and more details, contact event organizer Cut Unlimited, Inc. at info@eventsbycut.com or at 8372-7023-25 / 8372-8134. For more updates, like and follow Noel Bazaar on Facebook (www.facebook.com/noel.bazaar) and Instagram (@ noelbazaar).

As part of her Miss World journey, Michelle plans to make giant steps in advancing her autism advocacy. She discloses, “Currently, my focus is on autism awareness and the work I’ve been doing with Autism Society Philippines. We’ve been working together closely in making the Philippines an ‘autism-OK’ nation through various activities that highlight inclusivity, activities that give individuals on the spectrum a sense of purpose, and are also in communication with major brands and establishments that we will be working together with for a very special campaign.” Ensuring Michelle’s winning looks are some of the country’s top stylemeisters. Michelle says, “Francis Libiran is making my final gown and national costume. I’m also grateful because countless designers have also contributed to my wardrobe for the pre-pageant activities, like Renee Salud, Nono palmos, Chris Nick, Jojo Bragais, and many more. It’s humbling how an entire country comes together with a unified goal to support one girl as part of its quest for national pride.”

Despite being touted as one of the early favorites, Michelle still needs to step up her social media performance. “We have the Multimedia Fast Track Challenge where online voting comes in. There’s a large gap between me and some other countries, so the Philippines really needs to step up in terms of voting through MobStar, which is the official app of Miss World,” she reveals. Miss World Philippines National Director arnold Vegafria is confident that Michelle will be a clear standout among this year’s contenders. He says, “Her Filipina looks, plus her experience as an actress and model are definitely a big plus, and I think her heart is in the right place when it comes to her personal advocacy. Of course, there’s a lot of pressure living up to her family’s legacy, but let’s just hope she does her best.” She left for London on Nov. 19 and was accompanied by her family, handlers from MWP and GMA-7, some friends and her training team. The Miss World 2019 pageant will be telecast live via satellite via GMA-7 on

Thai models Artittaya Promchart and Falco Sornnarin

A PAIR of Thai models were named grand winners at the inaugural Global Asian Model World with finals held at the Cove Nightclub, Okada Manila, Pasay City on Thursday night. artittaya promchart and Falco Sornnarin won Female Global Asian Model 2019 and Male Global Asian Model 2019, respectively, besting thirty-six other candidates from twenty countries around the world. Philippine representatives ella eiveren lubag and Vince lennard Marcelo finished as 1st runner-up and 3rd runner-up, respectively. Runa Matsui of Japan, anyssa Mendez of the USA and My duyen of Vietnam were named 2nd, 3rd and 4th runners-up, respectively. alexander Tomohiro of Japan and luke pereira of Singapore finished as 1st and 2nd runners-up, respectively, while Tran Quang of Vietnam was named 4th runner-up. Promchart and Sornnarin won $10,000 worth of modeling contract each. They will be working around Asia, and will be based in Manila. They will aslo have the chance to become world renowned personalities in the prestigious modeling capitals in the world like Paris, London, Milan, New York and L.A. Others who made the Top 10 finalist were, for the male, New South Wales, USA, Mongolia, Germany and South Korea, while for the female were Nepal, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Vietnam and Thailand. The board of judges included Kevin Ipalari, diego Harmuch, Rey Ilagan, Francis arden enriquez and RS Francisco. Miss Universe Singapore Mohana prabha and Miss Universe Singapore 2011 Valerie lim were special guests. *** Student crowned first Munting Mutya ng pilipinas 2019

and Multipurpose Theater in Quezon City. The 11-year-old, bedimpled, six grader of Padre Zamora Elementary School in Pasay City shone among the little contending girls, ages from 5 to 12, and won the right to represent the Philippines at Best Kid Model Universe 2020 to be held in Milan, Italy. Samantha Niebres of Olongapo City was named first runner up while Cassey Thomas of Cabuyao City, Laguna and Rhoelle Mamorno of Batangas Province finished as 3rd and 4th, respectively. ashanti Madrazo of Montalban Rizal was named 4th runner up. Niebres will compete at the Junior Model International 2020 set in Dubai. onin Mas and former Mrs. Tourism International 2017 Risa Caldoza hosted the inaugural kids’ pageant, which aims to empower the young generation to value education, fight against bullying and discrimination. Proceeds from the coronation will go to the “Isang Lapis at Papel, Isang Pangarap” Project Foundation which helps less fortunate kids towards building their dreams to reality and c r e a t e common goals to the y o u n g generation.

Ayumi Yzzabel Chavez wins the inaugural Munting Mutya ng Pilipinas

SIx-gRadeR ayumi yzzabel Chavez bested 47 other young contenders from around the country and was crowned Munting Mutya ng Pilipinas 2019 at the conclusion of the three-hour, exciting coronation finals held Sunday night at the AFP Museum

Dimples... From C4

Ghie and Jerry believe that achieving a smooth and glowing skin need not be complicated or expensive. The goals of Skin Magical has always been the same from its inception -- to provide the best products to their customers, to share their knowledge to their partners, distributors and resellers, and to inspire them to succeed as well. At present, Skin Magical has 80 franchisees and 150 distributors with an average delivery of 100,000 to 150,000 of Rejuvenating Sets every month. Aside from the Rejuvenating Sets containing

soap, toner and creams, Skin Magical also has the Orange Cucumber Set, Tomato Lemon with Apple Cider Set, Apple Cider One Day Recovery Serum, Clear Moisturizing Soap, Flawless Soap with Gold Dust, Black Magical Soap, Carrot and Oatmeal Soap, Feminine Soap, Maintenance Soap, GlutaMango Peel Soap, Orange Peel Soap, Marbleized Pink and Blue Miracle Soap, Premium Glutathione Soap, Purest Tawas, Extra Strength Rejuvenating Soap, Whipp Luxury Soap, Purifying and Acne Clearing Foaming Wash, Whitening Black Soap, Whitening Lotion and Sunscreen, and Apple Cider Daily Foaming Wash. For more information visit Skin Magical official Facebook page.

Entertainment

Nickie Wang, Issue Editor nickie.standard@gmail.com

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2019

Dimples Romana on top of her game IN A media launch, where Dimples Romana was introduced as the celebrity ambassador of leading skincare brand Skin Magical, the Kadenang Ginto star was asked: Everything you touch turns into gold. What’s your secret? “I’ve been working hard, and everything I have right now is a product of focus and dedication,” she retorted. And that’s the main reason why Skin Magical chief operating ofﬁcer Ghie Pangilinan and husband Jerry, chose Dimples to be their company’s main endorser. According to the couple, Dimples shares the same characteristics as that of the brand’s campaign, “Gandang Palaban,” with the objective of making everyone conﬁdently beautiful and

happily achieve a successful life. Dimples continues to display her passion for her craft given her stature in showbiz. Apart from acting, the actress takes on a real-life role as a responsible, loving mom toCallie and Alonzo and dutiful wife to Boyet Ahmee. Meanwhile, Dimples expressed delight for being chosen as the face of a skincare brand that offers products that are affordable, effective and safe for all types of skin. Dimples, for her part, said, “I’ve always admired the mission and vision of Skin Magical as a company. I saw how Miss Ghie, together with her amazing team, would truly care for our skincare routine, how she would constantly empower those who are new in the business and those who look up to her for

inspiration and guidance.” It is no secret that Ghie and Jerry worked hard prior to being successful in their business. Jerry was a former seaman while Ghie was an online seller who used to sell all kinds of goods, including beauty products. A friend of hers broached the idea of creating her own brand with rejuvenating papaya soap, lotion, and toner as introductory products. Ghie started to sell what she called as Skin Magical Beauty Products. With only an initial capital of P7,000 and a beauty soap with only one distributor, she has painstakingly and skillfully managed to grow their business into what is now considered as one of the best and most successful skincare brands in the Philippines.Continued on C3

A reality movie dedicated to all struggling artists

Ariel Villasanta, half of the comedic duo Ariel and Maverick, shows the poster of his latest project dubbed as the first reality movie titled 'Kings of reality Shows.' Photo from Push Alert's Instagram

ORE than ten years ago, Ariel Villasanta and Maverick Relova had the taste of the limelight. And they were known as the comedic duo behind the wacky show, The Misadventures Of Maverick And Ariel.

Simply known as Ariel and Maverick on the small screen, they were dressed in lavish ’70s outﬁts with oversized blings to complete their getup. They were in, and people were talking about them. They had a cult following. Now, Ariel Villasanta is back. Sans Maverick, he recently promoted the ﬁlm Kings of Reality Shows, which he said dedicated to

Michelle Dee is vying for the Miss World 2019 crown in London.

all struggling artists around the world. Initially titled First Ever Ever Movie Hollywood or Else (Ang Pinakamahabang Title ng Movie sa Balat ng Lupa), it got shelved while it was in its final stretch of filming. Ariel said he had no clue why the movie was not getting the green light to be screened commercially. Ariel wanted the film to be released as he was hounded by his own regret and career frustrations. This sets him off on an impossible journey of producing a nearly forgotten and unreleased movie he and his partner Maverick shot in the US 10 years ago. Armed only with his “charm and undeniable guts,” he seeks help from everyone and anyone he knows that made it big in their industries, but even that is not enough so Ariel takes a leap of faith and sacrifices more than just his smooth-talking to finally get the movie out. Kings of Reality Shows takes us back to 2008 when at the height of their careers, Ariel and Maverick feeling stifled by the local showbiz industry; they seek greener pasture in Hollywood USA where they get a shot at the big leagues. Both then and now, blurring the line that separates ambition and disillusion, they have gone through misadventures just for that shot at fame. Produced, written and directed by Ariel himself, distributed by Solar Films, Kings of Reality Shows unspools on Wednesday, Nov. 27.

*** Destined for Queendom While most winning pageant titlists spend most of their reigns living the high life in picture-perfect glitz and glam, Miss World Philippines 2019 Michelle Dee aims to take the higher road defined by positivity and purposeful action. The model/actress asserts, “I believe that pageantry—especially Miss World—has really changed through time. Beauty With A Purpose is their motto, hence it’s not just about finding the prettiest among the group, but finding a girl that has the most to offer not only for her country but to the whole world as well. To gain that kind of platform means gaining a voice that’s heard and listened to.” “I’ve always wanted to be someone who can lend a hand to those who need it and someone you can rely on. Something I aspire to become is a pillar of positive influence as well. We have a long way to go in our quest for a perfect world, but it is through example that we can make large waves together. If given the chance to wear the crown, I want to be a queen that doesn’t just have the title, but someone who can actually make a change and won’t settle for less.” Continued on C3

Actress and ‘Kadenang Ginto’ star Dimples Romana. (Inset) Members of the press take photos and videos of the TV actress during her launch as an ambassador of Skin Magical.

Search is on for Miss Bikini Philippines 2019 AS THE excitement rises, reigning Miss Earth 2018 Nguyen Phuong Khanh herself has arrived from Vietnam to support and promote Miss Bikini Philippines 2019. She is also set to be one of the judges during the pageant’s Coronation Night on Nov. 28 at the AFP Theater. The Miss Bikini Philippines 2019 winner will receive P300,000 cash plus other prizes. Meanwhile, the first runner-up and second runner-up will get P200,000 cash/prizes and P100,000 cash/prizes, respectively. “I’m very happy to be chosen as one of the judges because health and fitness are intrinsic to my personal advocacies. I want to inspire other girls to follow my journey— from being the fat girl that I was, to who I am now,” said the 24-yearold beauty queen who is the first Vietnamese to be crowned as Miss Earth. What excites her— aside from talking about t ecosystem and the Philippines’ “turon”—is sharing anecdotes about keeping fit. “I used to be chubby and had an eating disorder. Looking back, I got the raw deal because I

treated myself badly. If I continued with my misguided eating habits and did not start exercising, I would have ruined my life,” she said. Khanh started gym work and made healthy food choices. Until now, she works out six times weekly, does twohour cardio and weightlifting exercises and does yoga to de-stress. She also tries to get at least 8 hours of sleep a day and maintains prudent food choices. It’s an advantage that she cooks and prepares her own meals with breakfast usually consisting of two boiled eggs and black coffee, while a typical lunch would be steamed chicken breast, and salad. She loves to snack on nuts, and at dinner, a light salad would be prepared. When not modeling and doing TV guestings, Khanh (who has a degree in Marketing from the Curtin University in Singapore) is busy prepping for her fashion line that she will launch soon to increase sustainable opportunities for local suppliers in Vietnam. It is Khanh’s third time to visit the country and considers the Philippines as her second home because of the deep warmth and kindness shown to her each time. Now, she hopes to reawaken conﬁdence in Filipinas who have shared the same pain of being bodyshamed. To the future Miss Bikini Philippines 2019 aspirants, Khanh has this to say: “Mabuhay! I invite you girls to audition for Miss Bikini Philippines so that you understand the unique purpose and value of this pageant. It is not only about your beauty and your intelligence as well as health and ﬁtness, it is about believing in yourself and treating yourself right.” Miss Earth 2018 Nguyen Phuong Khanh is excited to be one of the judges in the finals of the Miss Bikini Philippines 2019 contest on Nov. 28.

Iñigo launches new music video in the US ACTOR and singer Iñigo Pascual proves from Manila all the way to California also accumulated almost to be unstoppable in his career as he just and has 1.5 million streams on launched the music video for his hit single Spotify. Meanwhile, “Catching Feelings” in the United States, the “Catching where he performed during the Los Angeles Feelings” dance Clippers’ Filipino Heritage Night. challenge, which The pop star premiered the Inigo himself started, music video at the LA Clippers has now amassed vs. Oklahoma City Thunders a total combined game held at the legendary entries of 35,000 on Staples Center in Los Angeles, video-sharing app California, where he sang the Tiktok and other summery island pop track that social networking has become of his fastest sites. rising songs to date. The hit single is The new “Catching produced under Tarsier Feelings” music video Records, an underground was entirely shot in music label which has been the Philippines and driving for the breakthrough of highlights the 21-yearold singer-songwriter’s Filipino talents like Inigo to the interpretation of the international music stage, in line uncertain journey of going with ABS-CBN’s commitment to and fro between the to introduce the exceptional frustrations of falling in artistry of Filipinos to global love, before ﬁnally giving in audiences. to the feeling. Watch out for the Jabbawockeez member “Catching Feelings” music and Bruno Mars’ video premiere in the choreographer and dancer Phil country this Wednesday Tayag arranged and (Nov. 20), 8:00 pm on MYX completed the dance routine Philippines and 9:00 pm on for the song, complementing Tarsier Records’ YouTube the already-established moves channel. of Inigo that can be seen on the “Catching Feelings” dance challenge. Iñigo Pascual performing The track, which features during the Los Angeles Clippers’ Filipino Heritage music producer Moophs, has Night. been heard in radio stations