Manila Standard - 2019 December 6 - Friday

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ANOTHER GOLD HARVEST: FIRST EVER FOR FENCING

By Peter Atencio

Mark Striegl

VOL. XXXIII • NO. 295 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

A 27-YEAR-OLD fencer, Jylyn Nicanor, gave the Philippines its first gold for fencing at the 30th Southeast Asian Games, after topping the women’s individual sabre at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

Nicanor claimed crucial hits in the second round to outclass Indonesian foe Diah Permatasari, 15-14.

Nicanor earlier got past her Thai opponent and 2017 bronze medalist Tonpan Next page

Daniel Ledermann

SEA GAMES MEDAL TALLY (As of December 5/ 8:00 P. M.)

GOLD SILVER BRONZE TOTAL PHILIPPINES VIETNAM INDONESIA SINGAPORE MALAYSIA THAILAND MYANMAR CAMBODIA BRUNEI LAOS TIMOR

63 31 27 26 23 16 2 2 1 0 0

45 35 36 19 16 22 8 3 5 2 0

34 41 39 29 24 30 23 17 5 10 0

142 107 102 74 63 68 33 22 11 12 0

GOLD HARVEST. Jermyn Prado (left) gives the Philippines its third gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games 30th edition in cycling after claiming the women’s individual time trial title, while the modern pentathlon duo of Samuel German and Princess Arbilon (top left) score a come-from-behind win for yet another gold in beach-laser-run mixed relay in Subic Boardwalk. Jylyn Nicanor (at left, above middle) of the Philippines thrusts her sword against her Indonesian opponent Permatasari Diah en route to copping gold in the saber event in women’s fencing at the World Trade Center while Margielyn Didal and Christiana Means (top above) complete a dominant run for the Philippines in skateboard women’s elite. Lino Santos

PH won’t pay, will sue—Rody Water firms told deals ‘onerous’

P1.9b in crops lost to ‘Tisoy’; Bicol reeling

By MJ Blancaflor, Rey E. Requejo, Rio N. Araja and Maricel V. Cruz

By Othel V. Campos TYPHOON “Tisoy” did P1.93 billion in damage to agriculture, officials said Thursday, more than doubling their initial estimates.

The Department of Agriculture said the powerful typhoon damaged 47.639 hectares of farm land in Calabarzon, the Bicol region, Central Luzon, Mimaropa and Western Visayas, resulting in production losses of 106,525 metric tons of rice, corn and high-value crops, affecting 20,830 farmers.

Livestock and agri-facilities were also affected.

The Agriculture department has readied intervention kits for distribution to INUNDATED RICE FIELDS. A house stands as survivor beside submerged tracts of rice land in Ilagan, Isabela after affected farmers and fishermen in the Typhoon ‘Tisoy’ exhaled its fury in Cagayan Valley on Thursday, with authorities confirming at least 13 deaths while residents (inset) Next page

collect driftwood on a flooded rice field, also in Ilagan. AFP

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HE government said Thursday it would not pay P10.8 billion to private water concessionaires as ordered by a Singaporebased arbitration court, arguing that the concession agreements with the two companies were unfavorable to the country.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo also said President Rodrigo Duterte has the constitutional power to revoke the “onerous” deals signed with Maynilad and Manila Water in 1997.

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Vaping linked to rare lung disease; Garbage crisis hits, cleanup no use, Cimatu says doctors say patient uses e-cigarets By Rio N. Araja INFLATION RATE PICKING UP BUSINESS B1

JOBLESS RATE AT 10-YEAR LOW BUSINESS B1

DOCTORS treating a patient with a rare lung disease usually caused by exposure to industrial metals say it may instead be the first case linked to vaping.

Electronic cigarettes are sold as safer alternatives to traditional tobacco products and as aids to stop smoking.

But they have been implicated in a growing number of recent deaths and health alerts, especially in the United States.

Researchers at the University of California San Francisco said the patient had hard-metal pneumoconiosis, typically found in people exposed to metals such as cobalt or tungsten used in tool sharpening or diamond polishing. Next page

THE country, particularly Metro Manila, is facing a “garbage crisis,” according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Secretary Roy Cimatu said clean-up operations were not enough to fix the gar-

in Taguig City.

“If we continue to act only for our independent interests, continue to spoil our water bodies and fail to responsibly manage our wastes, we will not be able to sustain our efforts on this campaign,” he said, referring to the rehabilitation of Next page Manila Bay.

Duterte: Reopen talks with Reds

By MJ Blancaflor and Francisco Tuyay

CLASSIC Blue, a shade reminiscent of the sky at dusk, has been announced by the Carlstadt, New Jersey, USA-based Pantone Color Institute its 2020 Color of the Year.

“It’s a color that anticipates what’s going to happen next,” said Laurie Pressman,

BARELY three months after ordering an all-out-war against communist rebels, President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III to resume negotiations with the Communist Party of the PhilippinesNational Democratic Front.

Duterte made the announcement on the same day that Maj. Gen. Antonio Parlade Jr. disclosed that the CPP urban hit squad–known as the Special Partisan Unit (SPARU/Sparrow), are planning to liquidate top security officials under its so-called Oplan Hades to avenge its setbacks following the continuing

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Next page

Color of year 2020 reassures—experts

bage woes in the National Capital Region, where nearly 13-million people live.

To help reduce the huge volume of trash, agency officials backed President Rodrigo Duterte’s position to ban singleuse plastics, he said.

“We are now in the middle of a garbage crisis,” he told the Stratbase Group forum

COLORFUL COSTUMES. Performers clad in bright-colored attire dance along with cartoon mascots during Christmas parade at SM City in Marilao, Bulacan as part of its Yuletide celebration. Norman Cruz

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News

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Senator scores poor quality of education FILIPINO students ranked last among 79 countries in a global survey of reading comprehension because they are more used to narrative instead of informative text materials, a group said Thursday.

Frederick Sotto Perez, president of the Reading Association of the Philippines, said this was the first time that the Philippines joined the Program for International Student Assessment of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

PISA said Filipino students were the weakest of 79 countries in understanding what they were reading.

Senator Cynthia Villar said the Education department had the biggest budget of all government agencies but it had been producing “poor quality” students in reading, math and science.

Villar issued the statement in the wake of the global survey results showing the Philippines ranked lowest in Reading Comprehension and ranked second to the lowest in both Math and Science.

“We have many students, but the quality of our students is not good, Villar said in an ambush interview at the sidelines of the STRATBASE Pilipinas Conference at the Manila House Private Club in Taguig City on Thursday.

In a statement, the Education department said it was seeking to improve the quality of basic education in the country after the Philippines got a poor ranking in PISA 2018.

Garbage...

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The metro has a population of 12.8-million people and has exceeded its target of 58,112 cubic meters for the entire 2019.

It has generated over 66,000 cubic meters by the second quarter only of 2019.

For the first three months of 2019, the metro produced 34,574.77 cubic meters, while for the second quarter, there were 32,221.17 cubic meters.

“We and the following generations will all suffer the consequences if we do not change the way we behave as an organization and as individuals,” Cimatu told the forum.

He said there must be a change of attitude to be able to reduce the volume of trash.

Despite repeated warnings, the people would still continue to throw and dump garbage elsewhere, he said.

The DENR chief maintained that cleanup could no longer solve the problem of garbage, saying there must be cooperation from the people.

“Political will enable us to mobilize supporters, volunteers and ordinary Filipino citizens to rally to our cause,” he said.

In an ambush interview, Cimatu said his experience heading clean-ups in Manila Bay and other bodies of water connected to it suggested “a culture and behavior problem because despite our warning to them not to throw anything, garbage is there again.”

Cimatu said they have to put up concrete fences to prevent people from dumping their waste in the rivers.

He added the DENR also planned to construct a common septic tank for informal settlers while they are arranging for their relocation.

The environment department has also started sending out people to deal with areas that garbage trucks are not able to service.

In his speech, Cimatu announced that as of Nov. 21 this year, 13,212 establishments around the Manila Bay have been inspected.

Of these, he said, 2,684 establishments have been issued with notices of violation of environment regulations, while 1,910 more will be issued.

“Some 107 establishments have been issued with cease-and-desist orders,” he said.

There were also cases filed at the pollution adjudication board against two establishments, who will have to pay penalties if they are found guilty.

Asked if he would recommend to President Rodrigo Duterte the banning of single-use plastic, which makes up a large part of the country’s waste stream, Cimatu said they are in the process of finalizing a department order.

“Within the next two weeks [we will finalize] a department order prescribing the use of plastic,” he said, adding it would be better if people could really avoid singleuse plastics.

Color...

From A1

the vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, which selects the Color of the Year.

“What’s the future going to bring as we move into the evening hours?”

Since 2000, the Pantone Color Institute has declared a particular color “Color of the Year.”

The results of the meeting are published in Pantone View, which fashion designers, florists, and many other consumer-oriented

SSS pensioners get 13 month pay T th

HE state-run Social Security System said Wednesday more than 2.83-million pensioners will receive their 13th-month pension starting today, Friday.

SSS president and chief executive Aurora C. Ignacio said the pension fund had released more than P12.71 billion for the 13th-month pension, and both through banks and checks.

“We have already requested our part-

ner banks to credit the 13th-month pension to the respective savings accounts of our pensioners on or before Dec. 6 so that they could enjoy the money in time for the holiday season,” Ignacio said.

The 13th-month pension released

PH...

said in a text message.

Manila Water earlier said it was discussing with the Department of Finance the possibility of coming up with a compromise agreement regarding the P7.3-billion refund ordered by the Singaporean arbitral tribunal.

Guevarra said the Department of Justice found the extension of the contracts to 2037 irregular, considering that the extension was granted 12-13 years before the original expiration of the 25-year concession agreements in 2022.

The DOJ conducted the review upon directive of President Duterte during the water crisis last summer and before the ruling of the arbitral court was released.

Guevarra said the DOJ is currently looking into all legal options against Manila Water and Maynilad and at the same time it would start drafting a new version of the concession agreement without the provisions that are contrary to law and public policy and prejudicial to the interest of the consuming public.

The DOJ secretary pointed out that the government is not barred from questioning the concession agreements although these have been in force for 22 years ago.

“The State is not estopped by the mistakes of its agents, especially if the acts committed are constitutionally or legally infirm, and the statute of limitations does not apply if the act sought to be set aside is void for being contrary to law or public policy,” Guevarra said.

Ramoncito Fernandez, Maynilad president and chief executive officer, said he already knew of what the Duterte administration would want to look into the provisions of their agreement with the MWSS. “We have an idea of what the government wants reviewed. We are just waiting for the formal communication to be sent to us,” he said. “We are willing to sit down and discuss with the government.”

Also on Thursday, Dasmariñas City Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. called for a congressional investigation into the private water concessionaires, saying they failed to deliver efficient water services. Despite Manila Water’s dismal performance in its Manila concession, it has won 11 new projects in 2018 through its Manila Water Philippine Ventures, he said.

On the other hand, Barzaga said, despite its claim of losses, Maynilad reported a net income of P7.3 billion in 2018, up from P6.8 billion in 2017. According to its 2018 Annual Report, its core income increased by 5 percent due to the combined effect of a 3 percent growth in billed volume and several rounds of tariff increases.

From A1

Asked if the government would pay the court-mandated fines, Panelo said: “No, because the deal is onerous. It’s really disadvantageous for the government.”

President Duterte on Tuesday expressed outrage over the order of the Permanent Court of Arbitration to pay the Ayalaowned Manila Water P7.4 billion and Pangilinan-led Maynilad P3.4 billion for their respective losses since the state did not allow the companies to increase prices years ago.

The two utility companies distribute water in Metro Manila and its nearby provinces under agreements signed with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System during the Ramos administration, which carried a provision that pushes the government to “indemnify” the company against any loss that could result from the regulator’s actions.

As regulator, the MWSS approves or rejects petitions for water rate adjustments.

Duterte directed the Department of Justice to file charges against all those involved in the contracts with the utility firms, including their owners, legal counsels, and government lawyers for “economic sabotage.”

“Let us stop this business of milking the people,” Duterte said Tuesday.

He also asked the DOJ, along with the Office of the Solicitor General, to draft and prepare new “covenants that are favorable to the state and the Filipino people.”

Panelo, who is also Duterte’s chief legal counsel, said the President can rescind the contracts with Maynilad and Manila Water if they are against the interest of the people.

The DOJ reviewed the contracts upon Duterte’s order amid the water crisis earlier this year.

Meanwhile, a law professor said that Maynilad and Manila Water could reinforce the ruling of the Singapore-based PCA if they file a case in a local court.

“The winning party should file in a Regional Trial Court in the country so the arbitral ruling could be recognized, so it can be enforced in the Philippines,” lawyer and UP professor Rowena Daroy-Morales told GMA News in an interview.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the government is unlikely to enter into a compromise agreement with the two concessionaires.

“The government is more interested in getting a new deal than in compromising the arbitral award,” Guevarra

P1.9-b...

Bicol region, setting aside P181 million for relief, credit and seedlings.

Regional field offices still have reserves of 76,060 bags of rice seeds, 14,672 bags of corn seeds and 322 bags of high value crops seeds for distribution to affected farmers.

The number of people killed by Typhoon Tisoy pounding hit 13, officials said Thursday, as authorities confirmed reports of storm-related deaths.

Tisoy’s fierce winds toppled trees and flattened flimsy homes across a swathe of the nation’s north on Tuesday, and forced a rare 12-hour shutdown of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Authorities said on Wednesday one person had drowned while three died after being hit by trees and flying objects.

Disaster officials did not offer details on how the other victims died, but local police reports indicated some may have drowned or been crushed by trees.

Mark Timbal, spokesman for the national disaster agency, said no new bodies have been found but the death toll could rise as reports on the ground are verified.

“There is the possibility of an increase in the number, but we are hoping against it,” Timbal said.

Hundreds of thousands of people living in exposed or low-lying areas were evacuated from their homes before Tisoy made landfall late Monday, which authorities said had saved lives.

Still the storm damaged 135 schools and destroyed nearly 1,200 homes, with crop damage in the hardest hit areas estimated to reach nearly $16 million.

President Rodrigo Duterte was scheduled to visit on Thursday the Bicol region, a peninsula south of Manila that was hit hard by the typhoon.

NAIA was closed half of Tuesday as a precaution, affecting over 500 flights, while roughly half the day’s program at the Southeast Asian Games, hosted by Manila and nearby cities, had to be postponed.

Oriental Mindoro declared a state of calamity in the province.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines began restoration work on 19 towers and 281 transmission structures damaged by typhoon Tisoy.

NGCP has so far fully restored transmission services to the provinces of Batangas, Laguna, Camarines Norte, and Eastern Samar. Transmission services to Quezon Electric Cooperative 2, serving portions of Quezon Province, were also completely restored.

Other areas are expected to be restored from Dec. 8 to 15.

Meanwhile, authorities cautioned the public against a syndicate soliciting financial help for the victims of Typhoon Tisoy. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines discovered that unscrupulous individuals are using the name of CAAP director general Capt. Jim Sydiongco to to solicit donations supposedly for the affected families. With Alena Mae S. Flores, Joel E. Zurbano and AFP

companies purchase to help guide their designs and planning for future products.

The Pantone Color Institute helps companies make informed decisions about color for their brands or products.

Whether it is color trend forecasting, brand color development, custom color solutions, or product palette selection, the Pantone Color Institute can guide people through the development of a color strategy that fits their company’s unique needs.

The Pantone Color Institute said it recognized similar feelings of instability gripping

the world today, from the United States to the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Syria and across the globe.

It settled on a shade that offers the reassurance, confidence and connection that people may be searching for in an uncertain global milieu.

Pantone has named a color of the year for more than two decades.

In 1963, the company created the Pantone Matching System, a proprietary system used in a variety of industries such as printing, graphic design and fashion design to manage colors.

From A1

this year was 7.6 percent higher than the P11.81 billion released for 2018 following the increase in the number of pensioners from 2.66 million during the period.

Of the total number of pensioners who will receive their 13th-month pension, the majority or about 2.82 million will receive it through their assigned bank accounts while the remaining 14,000 will still receive it through check payments.

“The checks were released and mailed

Another...

From A1

Pokeaw, 15-9 in the semis and had to claw her way back from a 5-8 deficit in the final against Permatasari.

She joined Fil-Japanese bets Kiyomi Watanabe, Shugen Nakano, skateboarders Margielyn Didal and Daniel Ledermann in snaring gold medals on Day 5 of the biennial meet.

Watanabe gave the Philippines its second gold medal in judo after ousting Myanmar’s Chu Myat Noe Wai with an ippon in the -63kg category in the judo competition at the Laus Group Event Center in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Nakano turned the tables around on Indonesia’s Budi Prasetiyo to rule the -66kg category.

The 22-year-old took down Prasetiyo with just 17 seconds to claim the gold, and improve on his bronze medal finish two years ago.

Didal and Ledermann unravelled difficult tricks to secure the first two gold medals in skateboarding’s debut in Tagaytay City.

The 20-year-old Didal, who is the reigning Asian Games champion in the street event, outpointed compatriot Christiana Means.

On the other hand, Ledermann leaned on experience to prevail over 12-year-old Indonesian Basral Hutomo, allowing the Philippines to complete a two-gold sweep.

Jermyn Prado gave the Philippines its third gold medal in cycling after she claimed the women’s individual time trial title.

The 26-year-old Prado, registered a time of 44 minutes, 44.742 seconds in the 23.1-kilometer event from Nasugbu, Batangas to the Praying Monument in Tagaytay City.

Luo Yiwei of Singapore settled for silver after reaching the finish line some four seconds behind, in 44:48.518.

Somrat Phetdarin of Thailand took the bronze in 44:58.152.

“I gave my all. It was too hard, but our sacrifices paid off. I’m happy,” said Prado, a native of Pagbilao, Quezon.

Golds in modern pentathlon came from Ormoc City standouts Princess Arbilon and

as early as Nov. 26, so that our pensioners will receive it on time for the Christmas season,” Ignacio said.

“We are hoping that we will eventually shift 100 percent of our pensioners to through-the-bank system for faster, convenient and more secure way of receiving their benefits from the SSS.” The SSS also reminded the pensioners that the basis of the 13th-month pension is the basic monthly pension of a pensioner excluding the dependent’s pension, if any.

Samuel German in the mixed relay beach laser-run portion at the Subic Bay Boardwalk.

Arbilon, who finished fourth in the women’s individual event earlier in the day, and Samuel, won silver for his division, clocked in at 13 minutes and 59.54 seconds to outclass the field of five.

In judo, Shugen’s twin brother Keisei clinched bronze in the men’s -73 kgs after slipping an ippon over Myanmar’s Koq Ram Sai Aung with just 1:28 minutes.

Gilbert Ramirez turned back Laos’ Chitskon Xayasan to clinch silver in the -81kg category.

In the women’s -52kg, Khrizzie Pabulayan ousted Vietnam with an ippon to settle for bronze.

In swimming, Singapore took three of four gold medals at stake on the second day of the event at the New Clark City aquatic center in Capas, Tarlac.

Filipina bet Jasmine Alkhaldi clocked 29.79 seconds, to finish behind women’s 50-meter backstroke winner Elena Pedersen of Singapore, who took the gold in 29.4 seconds.

As the Games entered their fifth day, lawmakers said they would raise at least P10 million from their salaries as additional perks for Filipino gold medalists in the ongoing 30th SEA Games.

“As a concrete manifestation of the commonality of the goal to bring honor and pride to the country, the leaders and members of the House of Representatives deem it proper to deduct individual pledges from their salaries for January 2020 as additional incentives to Filipino gold medal winners in the 30th SEA Games,” House Resolution 568 authored by Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and several House leaders including Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez said.

The House leaders said that by winning gold medals in their respective sports in the 30th SEA Games and for bringing great honor and pride to the Filipino people, it is fitting to grant these athletes the additional incentives from the POC and the House of Representatives.

The Philippine Olympic Committee will also give additional incentives to Filipino gold medal winners. With Maricel V. Cruz

Vaping...

Duterte:...

It causes a persistent cough and breathing difficulties, and leaves tell-tale scarring on lung tissue.

Kirk Jones, Clinical Professor of Pathology at UCSF, said “this patient did not have any known exposure to hard metal, so we identified the use of an e-cigarette as a possible cause.”

The case study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, said that when researchers tested the patient’s e-cigarette, which was used with cannabis, they found cobalt in the vapour it released, as well as other toxic metals—nickel, aluminium, manganese, lead and chromium.

This was similar to other studies, suggesting that the metals were coming from the heating coils found in vaping devices, rather than from any particular type of refill--as has been previously thought.

“Exposure to cobalt dust is extremely rare outside of a few specific industries,” Rupal Shah, assistant professor of medicine at UCSF, was quoted as saying.

“This is the first known case of a metalinduced toxicity in the lung that has followed from vaping and it has resulted in long-term, probably permanent, scarring of the patient’s lungs,” he said.

E-cigarettes ‘harmful’ An accompanying European Respiratory Society editorial on stopping smoking rejected the use of e-cigarettes as an aid, saying it was “based on well-meaning but incorrect or undocumented claims or assumptions.”

Editorial co-author Jorgen Vestbo, Professor of Respiratory Medicine at the University of Manchester, said “E-cigarettes are harmful, they cause nicotine addiction and can never substitute for evidencebased smoking cessation tools.”

Commentators on the findings voiced reservations about making the link based on just one case.

Professor John Britton, head of the UK Centre for Tobacco & Alcohol Studies and a consultant in respiratory medicine at the University of Nottingham, said that while cobalt could cause the disease “it is hard to see how they reached this conclusion given that no cobalt particles were detected in the lung samples from the patient.”

“This case is thus yet another example of serious lung disease in someone using an electronic cigarette to vape cannabis,” he said, adding that the risk in cases of people vaping nicotine “as an alternative to smoking tobacco is very low.” AFP

government operations against the New People’s Army.

“I’m sending Sec. Bello to talk to them,” Duterte said Thursday during a briefing on the effects of Typhoon “Tisoy” in Legazpi City, Albay.

“I’m sending him back to [Joma] Sison and talk to him,” he added.

Early this year, the President shut down possible resumption of peace talks through Proclamation No. 360 and told communist groups to just “talk to the next President.”

In April, the President also directed the military and police to “learn the art of assassination” and create units similar to the communist rebel’s SPARU. “If the NPA has sparrow, why do I not have sparrow? I told them, form a unit that will sparrow the NPA. I am addressing myself to the police and the military: learn the art of assassination,” he said.

Parlade, deputy chief of staff for civil military operations of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said the NPA strike teams will target Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., among others.

“The decision was made last night during a meeting by the CPP Central Committee,” said Parlade without revealing where the CPP held its assembly.

Reacting to the assassination plot, Philippine National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac described it as an act of desperation and an old trick, especially as the founding anniversary of the communist approaches.

“Well, hindi naman bago ang mga ganitong banta sa seguridad ng ating mga matataas na pinuno lalo na at parating na naman ang founding anniversary ng CPP,” Banac said, adding the security sector was always on the alert against any potential attacks by criminal elements.

The supposed CPP plot was hatched after one ranking NPA leader and two of his comrades were killed by security forces in a shootout in Antipolo City.

Capt. Jayrald Ternio, Public Affairs Office chief of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division based in Tanay, Rizal, identified the slain NPA officer as Armando Lazarte alias Pat Romano, the secretary of the Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee’s Sub-Regional Military Area 4A.

From A1

From A1

News CTA junks Procter & Gamble tax claim THE Court of Tax Appeals has turned down a P42.09-million refund claim filed by Procter & Gamble Asia Pte. Ltd., the Singapore-based company which has its regional operating headquarters in the Philippines.

In a 23-page decision dated Nov. 29, the tax court’s Special Second Division Associate Justice Erlinda P. Uy said it has turned down the refund claim for alleged excess and unutilized input value-added tax for failure of petitioner to show that its sales of services for the periods covering January 2005 to March 2005 and April 2005 to June 2005, qualify for VAT zero-rating.

Associate Justice Juanito Castaneda Jr. concurred with the decision.

The court said that in the absence of proof of inward remittance and proof that the same was paid for in acceptable foreign currency duly accounted for under the rules and regulations of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, it cannot consider for tax credits the transactions to the company’s clients, Procter & Gamble’s subsidiaries and affiliates in other countries.

The said transactions amounting to P421.853 million cannot be considered as zerorated sales, the tax court said.

PNA

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

OCA reminds judges RTC can’t restrain Ombudsman

By Rey E. Requejo

HE Office of the Court Administrator has enjoined judges of regional trial courts that they have no authority to stop the implementation of decisions of the Office of the Ombudsman on disciplinary cases.

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“All judges are hereby reminded and advised that pursuant to the doctrine of judicial stability or non-interference, the RTC has no jurisdiction to interfere with or restrain the execution of decisions of the Ombudsman in disciplinary cases,” Court Administrator Jose Midas

Marquez said in a circular.

Marquez issued the circular following “persistent reports” that various RTCs have issued temporary restraining orders and writs of preliminary injunctions against the implementation of the Ombudsman decisions on disciplinary cases.

Interior Secretary Eduardo Año also raised the matter in a letter to the Office of the Court Administrator on November 21, according to the issuance.

Citing Supreme Court rulings in 2015 and 2017, Marquez stressed that Ombudsman decisions on disciplinary cases are appealable to the Court of Appeals via a petition for review.

“Where the decisions of certain administrative bodies are appealable to the Court of Appeals, these adjudicative bodies are co-equal with the Regional Trial Courts in terms of rank and stature; their actions are logically beyond the control of the RTC, a co-equal body,” the OCA circular said, quoting pertinent ruling of the high court.

SC paves way for graft trial of Lapid

THE Supreme Court has paved the way for the Sandiganbayan to proceed with the trial of the graft charges filed against Senator Manuel “Lito” Lapid and three officers of a trading firm, in connection with his alleged involvement in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.

In a 13-page decision penned by Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr., the SC’s Second Division overturned and set aside the resolution issued by the anti-graft court on Sept. 30, 2016 and Dec. 13, 2016 dismissing the graft cases against Lapid, Malayan Pacific Trading Corp. officials Ma. Victoria Aquino-Abubakar, Leolita Aquino and Macro-Micro Fertilizer Resources proprietor Alexander S.D. Vasquez.

The Sandiganbayan dismissed the case against Lapid due to violation of the respondents right to a speedy the trial of the case were to continue disposition of their cases. in the Legazpi City RTC, and this may However, the high court ruled that eventually result in a miscarriage of the Sandiganbayan gravely abused justice, and considering further that its discretion in dismissing the graft the parties involved are influential complaint against Lapid and his copoliticians in the Bicol Region, and accused on ground of inordinate that to prevent any pressure, influence delay on the part of the Office of the and appearance of partiality, the Court Ombudsman in conducting its factresolves to grant the petition,” the SC finding investigation on the case. added.

The SC noted that the case against Batocabe and his security escort, the respondents started on May 2, PO2 Rolando Diaz were killed after a 2011 upon the filing by the Field gift-giving in a hinterland barangay in Investigation Office- Task Force Daraga, Albay last Dec. 22, 2018.

Abono of the Ombudsman and that Baldo was indicted for two counts the Sandiganbayan even observed of murder and six counts of attempted that there was no evidence to show murders before the Legazpi City RTC that the Ombudsman commenced and connection with the killing of Batocabe conducted a fact-finding investigation and Diaz and the wounding of several as earlier as 2006. bystanders.

It added that the panel found Also indicted for the same offenses probable cause to indict Lapid and his are Christopher Naval, Emmanuel co-accused for graft on Sept. 18, 2013 Roselle Andes, Jaywin Babor, Henry or two years and four months from the Tyson and Rolando Arimado. filing of the complaint.

Rey E. Requejo Rey E. Requejo CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

SC orders transfer of Batocabe murder trial THE Supreme Court has granted the appeal of the family of slain Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe that the murder case against former Daraga, Albay town Mayor Carlwyn Baldo be transferred from Legazpi City to Manila.

In a two-page resolution dated Nov. 27 but only released Thursday, the SC’s 2nd Division ordered the Clerk of Court of Branch 10 of the Legazpi City Regional Trial Court “to forward the entire record of the case” to the Office of the Executive Judge of the Manila City RTC within three days from notice.

The high court also directed the Executive Judge of the Manila RTC after receipt of the records of the case ‘”to raffle the case among the judges in the station and the judge to whom the case are assigned or raffled, to hear and decide the case with utmost dispatch.”

Earlier, Batocabe’s widow, Gertrudes and Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr. asked the SC for a transfer of

the case, citing the alleged partiality and bias of Branch 10 Judge Maria Theresa San Juan-Loquillano to the accused.

“The petitioner’s request for a transfer of venue is anchored on the alleged bias and partiality of Judge San Juan Loquillano towards accused Baldo, claiming that they cannot have a fair trial before the sala of Judge San Juan-Loquillano, and that they fear for the safety of their family and witnesses especially because accused Baldo is already out on bail,” the SC said, citing the reasons conveyed by Batocabe’s widow and Garbin.

While there was no evidence that Baldo would threaten or have threatened them, and that the prosecution was also able to freely present its witnesses to the court, the fact remains that there is now apprehension or fear on their part regarding the proceeding in the case, the tribunal said.

“Such fear could easily prevent them and their witnesses to freely testify if

Manila

Standard

TODAY to MAXBANK’s Personnel, Clients, Open-Letter Business Partners and President Duterte

It has been almost a month since MAXBANK was shut down by the Monetary Board (MB) last 8 Nov 2019 and yet there is no news or statement coming from the Bank. Allegedly, MAXBANK is insolvent and has irreversible losses when Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) conducted its regular examination as of 31 Dec 2018 (started on 20 Feb 2019 and ended in 16 Apr 2019).

This open-letter will try to address this issue.

For the Bank Personnel My sincere apologies for not issuing this open-letter sooner. Just like every MAXBANKER’s, I am not a businessman and I merely rely on my salary from the Bank. When the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) took over on the 8th of Nov, it took them a while to pay our salaries as of 7th of Nov. From then on, I am running on fumes, and paying for a broadsheet advertisement is not cheap. I have begged our stockholders and their representative to at least publish our latest BSP-validated Balance Sheet and Income Statement so that our clients and business partners will know the truth. Unfortunately, it appears that our shareholders are so afraid of the alleged misrepresentation they purportedly committed in 2017 against BSP that they prefer for MAXBANK and its personnel to just roll down and die quietly. As approved

by BSP in 2017, MAXBANK stockholders of record are three (3) shell companies and two (2) of these shell companies (totalling 60% ownership) were incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, a known tax haven.

This paid advertisement is funded solely from my salary and whatever savings I got. No thanks to our stockholders or their representative.

The latest Balance Sheet duly validated by the BSP on 25 Oct 2019 shows the following: Assets a. Cash On Hand b. Checks and Other Cash Items c. Due From BSP d. Due From Other Banks e. Held-to-Maturity Financial Assets f. Loans – Net

Amount P6,217,683.12 162,708.81 160,628,237.36 1,184,982,574.06

g. Accrued Int Income from Financial Assets i. ROPA - Net

1,481,257.00 46,399,369.44 2,508,327.49

j. Other Intangible –Net k. Deferred Tax Asset

4,065,996.69 28,633,581.65 1,565,811,711.49

Liabilities Deposit Liabilities Accrued Int Expense on Financial Liabilities Accrued Expenses Deferred Tax Provisions Other Liabilities Total Liabilities

P91,621,639.15

Total Expense

88,331,136.78

Net Income

P3,290,502.37

This shows that for the 9-month period, the total revenue generated by the Bank exceeded the expenditures incurred. This was the first time in MAXBANK’s 13-year history that it recorded a net income on a year to date basis. Finally, the Bank has posted an “Undivided Profits” account. It has always been accumulated losses. Regrettably, only seven (7) banking days after they have validated the Balance Sheet and Income Statement, BSP closed down MAXBANK and used the 31 Dec 2018 figures.

For the Bank’s Client and Business Partners I was appointed as President/CEO of the Bank around April 2019.

Needless to say, I was not involved in the Bank operation when BSP audited the MAXBANK as of 31 December 2018. I took the helm in the second quarter of 2019 and was able to turn around the business by the end of the third quarter. My management team was scheduled to have a strategic planning on the 8th of Nov when BSP shut us down. One can just imagine if we were able to plan the 2020 CY. Noteworthy, there was no strategic planning conducted by the old management for 2019 CY. MAXBANK’s fee-based products are starting to produce revenue for us and the banking community is beginning to take notice. A unibank bank and a couple of thrift banks are partnering with us for our fee-based products. I can proudly claim that MAXBANK is one of the only three (3) banks in the Philippines which have this particular fee-based licence.

On the Philippine economy, our fee-based products generate US Dollar inflow to our country. For the 3rd quarter of 2019, approximately US$22 to 25Miilion was paid to us by our licensor from overseas and inwardly remitted to us through an American bank duly licenced by the BSP to offer banking services in the Philippines. All the while, we thought that MAXBANK is contributing its share to the famous program of the present government: the Build, Build, Build. Regrettably, MAXBANK fell to the other infamous program.

For our merchants, please do not vent your ire to our sales, marketing and frontline personnel. No one expected that BSP will use an 11-month old figure to decide the faith of a bank that has reformed and transformed.

Be that as it may, I was informed by the PDIC that barely a week after MAXBANK’s closure, they were able to account between P1.2 to P1.4Billion of the bank’s cash assets. It is my fervent wish that PDIC could settle our merchants as soon as possible. One of the reasons why the Bank has a successful fee-based product is our guaranty that we settle our merchants T + 1 day.

18,021,151.98

l. Other Assets – Net Total Assets

Amount

7,429,977.31 105,280,846.58

h. Bank Premise –Net

Jan to Sept 2019 (validated by BSP on 25 Oct 2019) Total Income

Amount P1,264,301,040.90 -163,517.94 8,141,872.69 22,961.04 1,530,973.17 64,040,925.55 1,337,874,255.41

The above shows that MAXBANK’s financial assets (a. to e.) of P1,359,421,180.66 is more than enough to cover its Total Liabilities of P1,337,874,255.41.

The latest BSP-validated Income Statement of the Bank on the other hand reflects the following:

For President Duterte Mr. President, my President, one of the reasons why I came back from Sydney, Australia and work here in the Philippines as an Overseas Australian Worker (just kidding… I am also a full-blooded Filipino) is my firm belief in your leadership. You are genuine, honest, and painfully frank.

No one can accuse me of being a half-Filipino. After I took my oath as an Australian Citizen in the evening of 4 July 2017, I immediately went to Philippine Consular Office at Sydney in the morning of 5 July 2017 to retain my Filipino Citizenship. Undeniably, I never lost my Filipino Citizenship. I never had the intention of renouncing my Filipino ancestry.

Indisputable facts of MAXBANK closure: 1. MAXBANK has always been incurring losses. It never experienced a net income up to the time it was audited by BSP as of 31 Dec 2018; 2. The Bank was “invited” by the BSP for a chat on 16 April 2019 and thereafter was encouraged to “rehabilitate”; 3. MAXBANK, through its new management team, has genuinely

tried to turn over a new leaf or “magbagong buhay” and was able to do so. The latest Balance Sheet and Income Statement show that MAXBANK is no longer a loser. The Bank is finally a winner!

4. After validating the latest Balance Sheet and Income Statement on 25 October 2019, BSP unceremoniously killed MAXBANK on 8 November 2019 for its notoriety of past performance. BSP completely disregarded the current achievements much less the enormous potentials of the Bank; and 5. I ardently hope that there is no “hidden agenda” besides the corpse of MAXBANK. As to the procedural due process, these are the facts: 1. Seven (7) months after concluding the regular examination of the Bank as of 31 Dec 2018, the Report of Examination (ROE) has not been finalised and yet the findings therein are being used against MAXBANK; 2. The Bank’s new management was not given the supporting documents to the findings noted in the 2-month BSP audit; 3. The new management was not given any audience with the BSP to discuss the findings noted. BSP heartlessly insisted that a couple of hours of chat given to the old management and myself is enough due process for MAXBANK; 4. Confidential information were used against MAXBANK, and thus the new management was not given an opportunity to comment on this information; and 5. I have been requesting BSP to conduct a special examination or assign a resident examiner at MAXBANK to help/guide us in our operation. Unfortunately, my requests were never acknowledged.

I have no problem if BSP and PDIC would investigate us for moneylaundering but the investigation should have been done when the bank was operating. It should have been investigated first, then close later and not “Kill Now, Investigate Later.” I am 100% confident that there is no money-laundering activity during my short stint as President/CEO. Granting in arguendo that money-laundering was committed in MAXBANK before or during my stint, BSP has no authority to massacre the entire MAXBANK’s work force - especially during Christmastime. BSP should penalize the erring individuals and not “terminate” everyone.

Section 30 of RA 7653, as amended, limits the person who can file petition for certiorari for placing a bank under receivership or liquidation. Under the law, it is only the majority of the stockholders of record who can file the same leaving the hapless bank management, who were never a party to the alleged irregularity committed by the stockholders, no other recourse. BSP alleged that our shareholders purportedly misrepresented to the government when they infused capital to the Bank in 2017.

The bank management should also be given the right to challenge the action of the MB in bank closure because it is the bank officers and employees who are the most affected in bank closures. All of them are barred from being employed in any institutions under the supervision and regulation of the BSP. I sincerely hope, Mr. President, that you afford me due process to explain the findings noted in the yet to be approved ROE of MAXBANK. The closure is an onerous and unfair action by the MB on the part of the Bank and its new management team. The new management team has exerted exemplary efforts by rehabilitating MAXBANK and turning it from a perennial loser into a positive winner. The Bank at the time of closure has potentials of becoming a productive member of the banking community, and thus contributes to the growing economy of the country. Yet we ironically suffered the ignominy of closure.

Very truly yours, (signed) Atty. Dax Aguilar, CPA, CES Eligible Director & President/CEO of MAXBANK at the time of closure 4 Dec 2019 (MS-DEC. 6, 2019)

PAID ADVERTISEMENT

A4

Opinion

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Water: Too big a problem

EDITORIAL

in his indomitable firebrand language warned the Ayalas that if they don’t shape up, he would cancel their contract, with government taking over water distribution. This must have shook up the company boardroom as the firm immediately offered what it claimed as an “acceptable solution for all.” But Atienza doubts the Ayalas can offer an acceptable solution.

“It will just be an attempt to to hold off losing its contract,” said Atienza who added that the concessionaires even want consumers to absorb alleged losses and slide in its profitability.

“How can the water concessionaires claim losses when they declare dividends annually to stockholders?” he asks.

This, aside from the fact the water concessionaires borrow millions of dollars in loans from the World Bank under sovereign guaranty, meaning if they default on payment it is the government that pays for the loan or the people as taxpayers.

“I salute the President with both my hands for recognizing my advocacy of this serious matter in the House of Representatives where I have been a lone voice against the water concessionaires’ poor distribution service and lack of waste water manage facility,” Atienza said. This, he said, results in water pollution and, consequently, water-borne diseases.

Atienza is pushing his resources advocacy to include putting a cap on electricity prices. This is not going to endear him to the water and electricity companies. Atienza said he does not care if the profit-oriented companies hate him as long as he fulfills his

“WATER, water everywhere but not a drop to drink.” So goes the old saying. Considering that the Philippines is an archipelagic country, that seems hard to believe. But that is the harsh reality of our water situation.

In Metro Manila, it is a familiar sight where residents line up with buckets and pails for water to use at home.

However, this is not drinking water but to use for flushing down toilets and watering plants.

This negligence might soon be in for a sea change.

Why not a drop to drink? Because water pipes in the city are either old, rusty and have holes that contaminate the precious liquid.

Keeping drinking water safe and pure is part of the condition in the contract signed by the water concessionaires with the government.

This negligence might soon be in for a sea change.

Buhay Party-List Rep. Lito Atienza has found a strong ally in President Rodrigo Duterte against concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad.

Atienza’s consistent and no letup criticism of the two companies has reached Malacañang and President Rodrigo Duterte.

Mincing no words, the President

Adelle Chua, Editor

Preserving Puerto Galera

T

HE government has shifted its focus on the clean-up of Puerto Galera, using the rehabilitation of Boracay Island and Manila Bay as template.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other government agencies by this time should have a clear idea on what to do with Puerto Galera, a favorite destination among local and foreign tourists for its beaches, scuba diving and entertainment activities.

Puerto Galera's relative proximity to the main island of Luzon and Manila, for that matter, makes it an ideal tourism draw. But like Boracay Island, Puerto Galera has overdeveloped to accommodate the rising number of tourists. It is, thus, not surprising if some of Puerto Galera's hotel and restaurant estab-

lishments are found to be contributing to the degradation of the area's fragile ecosystem.

Puerto Galera's Sabang Beach and White Beach also have an active nightlife, thanks to their numerous bars and restaurants. They are famous for their "go-go bars" and have turned out to be one of the many sites of the country's sex tourism industry.

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu's intervention in Puerto Galera is timely before the famous tourism site suffers permanent damage. The Paris-based United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, designated Puerto Galera in 1973 a Man and Biosphere Reserve, having some of the most diverse coral reef resources in Asia.

Cimatu wants a direct hand in the preservation of Puerto Galera.

He will likely require all tourist establishments in the area to put up

their own sewage treatment plants to clean up the coastal town. For starters, he must ensure the strict implementation of environmental laws, including Republic Act No. 9275 or the Clean Water Act of 2004, and Presidential Decree No. 705, or the Revised Forestry Code of the Philippines.

The Boracay rehabilitation model must be replicated in Puerto Galera.

Many of Boracay's bars, restaurants and hotels were demolished to restore a 30-meter stretch of sand between the water and tourist areas. A shoreline easement zone in Boracay was declared off-limits to drinking, smoking, weddings, vendors and massage providers—activities that can be done inside hotels and restaurants.

Cleaning up Puerto Galera will not be an easy task. But it must be done to make the tourism haven environmentally sustainable for the next generation to enjoy.

Turn to A5

Reel hero promised real change AS WE indicated in a previous column, on Dec. 14, the family, friends and supporters of the late Fernando Poe, Jr, or FPJ, will troop to his grave at the Manila North Cemetery to commemorate his 15th death anniversary. Among those who will certainly be there are FPJ's wife Susan Roces and their daughter, Senator Grace Poe. They and many others will go to his gravesite to recall not only his onscreen exploits and off-screen kindness and generosity, but also his decision to enter politics by running for president in 2004.

Months before the 2004 presidential elections, the political opposition had seen it fit to prod FPJ, a close friend of former President Joseph "Erap" Estrada, to run for the highest elective post. Poe was deemed very popular with the masses and the opposition believed that he would be a sure winner if he decided to run against the incumbent, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo On Dec. 30, 2002, Arroyo declared that she would not run for president in 2004. But on Oct. 4, 2003, she made a 180-degree turn and announced her intention to run for president.

On Nov. 26, 2003, FPJ acceded to the popular clamor for him to run for president. But no sooner had the ink dried on FPJ's certificate of candidacy when a lawyer filed a petition seeking his disqualification on the ground that he was not a natural-born citizen. The Comelec junked the petition, but the petitioner went up to the Supreme Court.

On March 3, 2004, the Supreme Court upheld the Comelec decision removed any legal obstacles to FPJ's candidacy.

In the May 10, 2004 presidential contest between Arroyo and Poe, the final tally of the Comelec showed

that Arroyo obtained 12,905,808 votes or 39.9 percent of the total, while Poe got 11,782,232 or 36.51 percent. That's a difference of only 1,123,576 votes. The 3.48 percent margin of victory is said to be the closest margin in the history of Philippine presidential elections.

Interestingly, the partial and unofficial Namfrel Quick Count showed Poe obtained 11,272,388 votes or 39.4 percent of the total, while GMA got 10,456, 243 votes or 36.6 percent.

They will go to his gravesite to recall not only his onscreen exploits and off-screen kindness but also his decision to enter politics.

The close fight between Arroyo and FPJ opposition standard bearer led to allegations by the camp of the opposition standard bearer that he had been cheated of a well-deserved victory.

The uproar over the alleged rigging of the 2004 elections reached a crescendo when a year after the 2004 elections, an audio tape surfaced where Arroyo was heard asking a COMELEC commissioner during the counting if she would still lead the count by more than one million.

That eventually was the margin that she enjoyed over her opponent.

After much denial, Malacañang arranged a televised speech by Arroyo where she said “I am sorry” for her "lapse in judgment" but not admitting to election fraud.

But what did FPJ offer the electorate as his campaign platform?

We can have a glimpse of what he wanted to do once elected from the acceptance speech prepared by his campaign team in late 2003.

Here, FPJ laid down his vision for Turn to A5

Water politics ON MONDAY night, Dec. 2, President Rodrigo Duterte lighted up the Palace Christmas Tree. “I hope you will sincerely feel the warmth, abundance and happiness that this blessed season brings,” he told the Malacañang people gathered around him.

The Christmas tree is probably the tallest and brightest ever erected on the palace’s historic grounds. It surely makes Malacañang the shining beacon of hope and happiness to us all in this merriest of seasons.

Tuesday evening, however, at Rizal Hall, in the presence of his Cabinet, Senate President Tito Sotto, and a handful of senators and congressmen, President Duterte was no longer in a Christmas mood.

Sleepless and sullen, he lashed out at three of the country’s most venerable oligarchs—the Ayala family headed by Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Manuel V. Pangilinan of the PLDT and Salim group of Indonesia, and the Lopez family of ABS-CBN. “I am sad at the recent turn of events,” Duterte confided. On Friday

Nov. 29, listed Manila Water told the stock exchange it had won a Singapore arbitral award. It is to be paid by the Philippine government P7.39 billion for losses incurred from June 1, 2015

Of course, they made money. That is what business is all about. to Nov. 22, 2019 and for refund of other claimed costs. In 2015, Manila Water sued the national government for refund for the alleged losses. The case did not originate under Duterte.

Under a deal offered by the then President Fidel V. Ramos in 1997, Manila Water (of Ayala), won the

franchise to distribute water to the East Zone of the state-owned MWSS’s water distribution territory, and Maynilad Water (of Pangilinan), for the West Zone. East Zone are homes and businesses along EDSA, from Quezon City to Alabang; West Zone are homes and businesses along Manila Bay, from Valenzuela to Las Piñas and Muntinlupa.

The deal was great: Any losses incurred by the concessionaires, the government would refund, provided the two companies meet certain water supply guarantees, plus sewerage service. Manila and Maynila provided the water but failed to provide the sewerage service but charged for it just the same. As it happened, Manila and Maynila collected more money than their owners invested in the water distribution business.

Of course, they made money. That is what business is all about.

Comes now Duterte warning, “not so fast, gentlemen.” “We are being milked by the billions…I’m Turn to A5

Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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

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Opinion The values we live by

By Ramon S. Ang (Speech delivered by his son Jomar Ang for and in behalf of the awardee at the TOFIL Awards on Dec. 2, 2019) TO MY fellow awardees, Congratulations! Anyone can be outstanding.

Kahit po sa pang araw-araw na buhay.

For me, it’s very simple. We just have to love our country. Magmalasakit po tayo sa bayan, paunlarin ang bansa, at pabutihin ang pamumuhay ng mga Pilipino.

Today, I am reminded of how San Miguel Corp. expanded from a beer, food, and packaging company, to a conglomerate that leads in power generation, oil and petrochemicals, infrastructure—including expressways, mass rail, ports, and airports—cement manufacturing and banking.

We transformed and diversified to keep up with the changing times. I am proud to say that 10 years later, our businesses are much stronger and today SMC contributes to more than 5 percent of our country’s GDP, equivalent to over a trillion pesos in sales revenue.

But we don’t just make profits for our shareholders. We build the foundations of our country’s growth and make the world better for our kababayans.

Let me share with you some of the things we are now doing in San Miguel: 1. We are building the Manila International Airport, with a capacity to accommodate at least 100-million passengers per year. This will create about 30-million jobs and will decongest Metro Manila traffic and develop the Central Luzon provinces of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Bataan, Pampanga, Tarlac, and Zambales.

2. We are connecting the north and south through our Skyway Stage 3 project. This will reduce Edsa traffic by at least 50 percent and cut travel time from Balintawak to Magallanes from 1.5 hours to only 20 minutes!

3. We are extending the Skyway all the way to Susana Heights—6 kilometers northbound, and 6 kilometers southbound. This will decongest the perennial problem areas of Muntinlupa, Sucat, and Bicutan.

4. Our MRT 7 will link many cities, running from EDSA Trinoma to Quezon Memorial Circle, Commonwealth, Fairview all the way to San Jose Del Monte Bulacan. Later on, it will extend to our airport project in Bulacan via Bocaue, Navotas, and Manila, where we will build a Loop with an Airport Express to connect all

these cities to our aerotropolis. This will be a major relief for Metro Manila and more than two-million passengers, who can now live in Bulacan but work in Manila without the problems of traffic, flooding, or transportation strikes.

5. We are spending $3 billion on our food and beverage businesses to expand our grain terminals, sea port, feed mills, poultry, piggeries, meat processing plant, and ready-to-eat food facility which will products such as Pata Tim and Crispy Pata. We will be producing high quality but affordable food for every Filipino.

6. Lastly, sustainability has long been embedded in our operations.

Apart from a major water sustainability initiative, we have also taken a bigger and more active role in helping address the country’s plastic wastes problem. Among our initiatives: We convert waste plastics and rubber tires as fuel substitutes for our cement plants. We’re building 15 new facilities nationwide using cement made with waste plastics as fuel. Recently, we also adopted the use of the country’s first fully certified biodegradable plastics for most of our packaging requirements. Also recently, we completed the country’s first recycled plastics road, using asphalt made with waste plastics. We have built the pilot site for this project in our logistics facility in Cavite, used by 18-wheeler trucks and heavy equipment. This is so we can fully test out this new kind of sustainable construction material.

San Miguel’s vision has always been to deliver on our nation’s goals, to set the pace for progress, and make the lives of every Filipino better. We are in a better position to get big projects done because of our scale, leadership, expertise, technology, and resources.

But as citizens, each of us can contribute greatly to the vision of a better Philippines.

It can be as simple as following traffic rules or keeping our neighborhoods clean. It is also about practicing the good values we were taught as children, and passing them on to the next generation.

Do what is right. Give your best.

Be accountable. Be a good neighbor.

Serve a greater purpose. Be kind and humble. These are the same values we live by in San Miguel.

But what drives everything is our greater purpose: And our collective greater purpose is to help make the Philippines better, because this is our country and our home.

To be truly outstanding Filipinos, we need to lead in taking on this challenge, every single day.

Water: Too big...

From A4

service to the people. Atienza’s mission was accorded recognition by Philippines Graphics by featuring him in its cover story.

The former secretary of Environment and Natural Resources under then-President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has been espousing his clean and plenty of water advocacy all the way up to the Supreme Court when, under his leadership, rejected the water concessionaires’ case to pass on to consumers its claim of losses.

The water concessionaires are big businessmen and therefore know the actuarial reality of risks that come with doing business, said Atienza, who has been speaking up on the water problem in the last three Congresses.

He also asked House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano whether he’s a leader or a dealer for big business. Cayetano, if the word among House members is to be believed, might not be able to hold on to the Speakership because of his lapses in the preparations for the on-going 30th Southeast Asian Games. Among these lapses are shoddy transportation arrangements for foreign athletic delegations arriving at the Manila International Airport, screwed up hotel accommodations and bad food that did not consider halal diet for Muslim athletes.

Reel hero...

From A4

the country. Some excerpts: "I accept the nomination to run as the presidential candidate of the United Opposition in the May 2004 elections. In all humility, I seek the mandate of all Filipinos who truly care for the future of this nation. Together, let us put the country back on the road to peace and progress.

"Ours is a nation in crisis. Poverty is a fact of life for one-third of all Filipinos. The economy is in tatters, with few new investments coming in. Factories are shutting down be-

cause of the economic slump, forcing many of our people to go jobless and unable to support their families.

"As the economy takes a nosedive, crime runs rampant everywhere. Corruption in government continues unabated, with about a fourth of the annual national budget ending up in private pockets instead of going to vital social services and infrastructure.

"Amid all this, there is a palpable sense of despair and hopelessness among many Filipinos from all walks of life. From Luzon to Mindanao, the cry of our people is deliverance from consistent economic decline and unceasing po-

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EvEryman

Junk proposed mandatory ROTC WE, THE Alyansang Makabayang Humanista, are voicing our concern regarding House Bill No. 2447 or the proposed Senior High School Reserve Officers Training Corps Act. We suggest that the ROTC shall not be mandatory for students, especially on the Senior High School Level.

The ROTC was first introduced in the Commonwealth Era under President Manuel L. Quezon. It was a twoyear program which aims to prepare the citizens for warfare through a series of trainings such as first-aid, map reading and light weapon handling.

It was hampered during the Second World War but was reinstated by President Ferdinand Marcos through Presidential Decree No. 1706 of 1980.

It was then used as basis for the enactment of Republic Act No. 7077 or the Armed Forces of the Philippines Reservist Act of 1991 which requires all freshman college students to take ROTC for a year.

In 2002, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed RA No. 9163 or the National Service Training Program Act. It serves as an amendment to RA No. 7077, allowing students to choose among ROTC, Literacy Training Service or the Civic Welfare Training Service program.

It can be remembered that even President Rodrigo Duterte himself supposedly tried to hurdle the compulsory program during his college days, when he imbued a tuberculosis patient to sell him his X-ray results to pass these off as his own so that he be excluded from the program for medical reasons. With this, it just shows that he himself lacks a moral high ground to demand absolute participation in the ROTC program.

In 2018, an article affirmed the instances of students who could easily

Water politics From A4

really adamant about the Filipino being screwed. Kawawa tao,” he exclaimed.

It seems the P7.39-billion arbitral bill came at the wrong time. “I want to revive Masagana 99 [Marcos’s successful rice surplus program], [but] I have no money. People have nothing to eat. Now comes this [bill],” he related in Filipino.

What to do then? Well, Duterte asked his justice secretary, Menardo Guevarra, No. 2 in the 1985 bar and an economist, and his solicitor general, Jose Calida (he scored 100 in Criminal Law in the bar). Both are veteran government officials. With such legal advisers with gravitas and ordered by a fuming boss, of course, they found loopholes in the concession agreements of Manila and Maynilad Water.

So now, Duterte wants to prosecute the owners of Manila and Maynilad Water for economic sabotage. The President vowed to padlock them in jail, with Presidential Legal Counsel Sal Panelo adding, “with free board and lodging.” Not only that, Duterte also vowed that if he sees Ayala [he did not specify who] at the lobby of Makati Shangri-La, he will slap him, “no matter how many bodyguards he has.”

“Patikim ko sa inyo. Pakita ko sa Pilipino paano mag-sampal ng mga

litical strife.

"We need a change in leadership.

I believe this nation needs a leader who can unify all our people. If we want to achieve peace and prosperity, then we must unite as a people.

"We need food, peace and justice.

And we need freedom, prosperity and jobs. We must stimulate economic growth, create new jobs for the jobless. We must heal our fractured society, put an end to destructive political bickering and widespread corruption.

"I intend to pursue this political campaign with the highest standards of decorum and ethical behavior. We cannot have mud-

pass the course by simply paying their commandants. Corruption was not only the issue when the news broke out that an officer of the program was brutally killed after testifying about the illicit and dishonest practices of his colleagues. The program also encouraged fraternities, who typically subject their apprentices in uncontrolled hazing.

Besides the anomalous foundation of the proposed revival of ROTC, problems concerning "logistical" challenges in the current K-12 system seem to be a problem in maintaining the stability of the system, as stated by Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto. With this, the revival of ROTC in the SHS level is deemed to be more problematic in conjunction with the raw and flawed system of the K-12 program.

The government has consistently called for the reestablishment of ROTC. President Duterte once said in a speech that ROTC instills patriotism, the love of country among our youth. The commander of the AFP Reserve Command, Brig. Gen. Rolando Rodil, assumed the position of the President as he argued that the other two components of the NSTP (CWTS and LTS) failed to ingrain patriotism, nationalism and character-building. We hope that the love for our country is not defined nor limited to demonstration of jingoism as it is being implied by the mandatory ROTC. In 2015, among the three NSTP options, ROTC attracted only 14 percent of the NSTP enrollees, with the majority preferring for CWTS. If what General Rodil contends is true, why do more college students opt not to take ROTC? While ROTC may impart surviv-

milyonaryo, bilyonaryo,” he said.

Explained Duterte in Pilipino: “At saka ‘yung ating tubig—ating tubig, nilalagay nila not as a natural resource but a commodity. Papaano ‘yan? Tubig, kailangan ng tao. It’s a—lahat ng... ‘Yun ang tinitira nila.

Electric, tapos itong tubig. It’s in the hands of the oligarch who are a [unclear] of the son of a b****.”

At this point, he remembers the Lopezes. “Ang ABS-CBN, ‘yung bunganga ng inyong interest. They protect you. ABS-CBN has been a protector of your vested interest na kayo ngayon mag-renew kayo ng contract.” He vowed to stop ABSCBN from renewing its franchise which ends on March 30, 2020.

The President remembers, happily, Manny Villar. “Villar started his housing at the sweat of his brow. Tumanda si Villar diyan sa trabaho na ‘yan, including Mrs. Villar the senator. Hirap ‘yang kanila.”

Interestingly, Manny Villar lately has gone into the water business. Will he get the Manila and Maynilad water concessions if things deteriorate?

Manila Water is owned 51 percent

by Ayala; 16 percent by the public, including its employees. Maynilad, taken over by Manny Pangilinan from the Lopez family in 2007, is 64-percent-owned Metro Pacific Group-DMCI, and 20 percent by Marubeni.

At this point, Manila and Maynilad Water have four options: One, return the water concessions;

slinging and black propaganda.

Nor should we resort to cheap song-and-dance routines to attract crowds. Instead, let us discuss the issues in a sober and rational manner. We seek to enlighten our people so they can make an informed choice come election day.

"It is true that I have had no experience in public office. This is an asset, not a liability. I have no experience in corruption, no experience in wheeling and dealing, and no experience in horse-trading for the sake of political expediency.

"It is true that throughout my adult life, I have devoted myself to making movies. This is an asset, not

al skills beneficial for students, we must not forget the horrors that this program has brought to past generations. History has shown us that the mandatory ROTC's goal to instill nationalist objectives to the minds of our youth had been inconsistent.

Moreover, it became a means of promoting coercion and not discipline.

In line with this, our organization proposes the following recommendations: (1) ROTC should not be made compulsory so that students will have a choice on whether or not to pursue this program; (2) the government should either invest in cultural courses and educational programs that promote our heritage to foster nationalism among students; and lastly, (3) the existing ROTC program should be updated and made more practical.

Implementing mandatory ROTC would require P38 billion in funding as disclosed by Senator Gatchalian in a Senate hearing. This large sum could be used to finance improvements for the Senior High School program, which to this day still has issues that warrant attention. We pose that in achieving the goal to instill patriotism in the Filipino youth, we must first strengthen our efforts in bettering the education system particularly under the K-12 curriculum before rushing in reviving and enforcing a single military training course. The aforementioned suggestions would be favorable to the general public as well for additional costs in children’s education would be avoided.

Antonio Miguel Romero is the president of the Alyansa ng Makabayang Humanista of the University of Sta. Tomas.

it’s too much hassle, for often, very little money.

Two, go to court, file an injunction against the government (one caveat: The justices and judges are scared of Duterte and so it will probably cost a hefty sum to convince them to look the other way).

Three, enter into a compromise, meet the government halfway. The brothers Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and Fernando met with Finance Secretary Sonny Dominguez Wednesday, Dec. 4, “to find a mutually acceptable way to handle the arbitral decision.”

Four, fight it out, wait out Duterte’s three remaining years. In the meantime, water service in East and West of Metro Manila deteriorates because of the uncertainty.

Meanwhile, at 186, Ayala is the country’s oldest commercial house.

They are the original foreign and local investors. Ayala has been in worse times, having endured two revolutions (1896 and 1986), two World Wars, eleven coup attempts, and 17 Philippine presidents so far. It helped financed the two revolutions while playing both sides.

Though they look Caucasians, the Ayala-Zobels are genuine Filipinos at heart. They love the country. One has to truly love the Philippines to endure so much adversity—and triumphs, of course—in 186 years, more than six generations. biznewsasia@gmail.com

a liability. While I come from the world of make-believe, I know what our people feel. And I do know that that our people are asking for is real change, and they cannot wait.

"I believe we must unite our people behind a doable program for peace and progress. Life in this country must go forward, not backward. This nation must heal itself. And I intend to make it whole again.

"But I also ask our citizens to serve their country. We must spark a rebirth of responsible citizenship and selfless service to others."

Email: ernhil@yahoo.com

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Keep kids safe this holiday, DOH tells parents

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

T

HE Department of Health on Thursday strongly advised parents and caregivers to keep a watchful eye on children this holiday season.

Health Secretary Francisco Duque said children aged 5-9 were among the most vulnerable during last year’s holiday celebration, and suffered the most number of injuries.

“We are continuously communicat-

ing to the public the dangers of fireworks use,” said Duque.

He said the DOH is advocating alternative and equally enjoyable ways of celebrating the holidays and welcoming the New Year without the risk

of physical harm.

“I enjoin everyone to participate in the Iwas Paputok,” said Duque.

He maintained that all firecrackers are dangerous so there is a need to avoid using them.

He said community fireworks displays, street parties, musical concerts, horns, among others, are safer and more festive alternatives to lighting up firecrackers.

Records from the Department of Health showed that a total 340 cases

recorded from Dec. 21, 2018 to Jan. 5 this year, 338 were fireworks-related injuries, while two were cases of fireworks ingestion.

Of the 338 injuries due to fireworks, 275 (81 percent) were males, and 80 (24 percent) belonged to the 5-9 years age group. Age range of cases were from two to 76 years old.

Most cases came from the National Capital Region (123 cases or 36 percent), Ilocos Region (52 cases or 15 percent), and Western Visayas (51 cases

or 15 percent).

About 78 percent of cases sustained blast or burn injuries that did not require amputation. The top five body parts injured were the hand (45 percent), eye (25 percent), head and legs (10 percent), and forearm/arm (9 percent).

Injuries were caused by both legal and prohibited fireworks. Accounting for most of the recorded injuries were kwitis (22 percent), luces (12 percent), piccolo and boga (6 percent each), and triangle (5 percent).

DIPLOMATIC CALL. President Rodrigo Duterte welcomed China’s new ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, who vowed to strengthen ties between the two countries. Duterte has sought to establish a warmer relationship with Beijing since he assumed office in 2016, but Beijing's aggressiveness in the South China Sea sparked anti-China sentiments among Filipinos. The President also welcomed other envoys from Sri Lanka (Shobini Gunasekera), Denmark (Grete Sillasen), Myanmar (U Lwin Oo), Greece (Antonis Alexandridis), and South Africa (Bartinah Ntombizodwa Radebe-Netshitenzhe). Presidential Photo

DILG backs DND’s position BI agents rescue 34 illegally-recruited women not to extend ML in Mindanao

By Vito Barcelo

NO TO martial law extension in Mindanao.

This was the stand taken by the Department of the Interior and Local Government as it supported the recommendation of the Department of National Defense not to extend martial law in Mindanao.

"We concur with the DND that the purpose of martial law has been attained based on the assessment of military and police forces as normalcy has returned to the entire region and the peace and order situation in the area has remarkably improved since the Marawi Siege of 2017," DILG Secretary Eduardo Año said in a statement.

The DILG chief said, there is no need to extend martial law since after it was implemented in the region, security officials have said that they have ‘significantly degraded" the forces of local terrorists in the area.

"Our local government units, through their respective local peace and order councils from the regional down to the barangay level, are also now more engaged and are actively working with their counterparts in the security sector to carry out peace and security measures in Mindanao," Año said.

Año, a former military chief of staff,

added that the non-extension of martial law in Mindanao would help boost the economy as it will bring more local and foreign investments as well as increase tourist arrivals in the region.

Año, however, assured the public that even withot martial law in Mindanao, security forces will continue to maintain its strong presence in the region through sustained security operations, offensives and checkpoints.

Last Wednesday, Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said he already sent a recommendation to the Office of the President, saying that there was no need to extend martial law in Mindanao based on the assessment of the military and police.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte would consider the recommendation of the people on the ground.

The government has placed the entire Mindanao under martial law in May 2017, the entire Mindanao following the attack of the ISIS-inspired Maute on Marawi City.

The ML then was supposed to last for only 60 days, but President Duterte requested Congress to extend it thrice. It is slated to end on Dec. 31, 2019.

Angara wants to honor hero cop

By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATOR Sonny Angara wants to honor the hero cop who gave his life to save several school children from an armed assailant.

In filing the resolution, Angara said Police Master Sergeant Jason Magno made the ultimate sacrifice when he used his body to cover a grenade thrown by a man who ran amok inside the Initao College campus in Misamis Oriental.

He said that Magno responded to the call of duty to protect the lives of civilians.

“Without thinking of his own safety, he used his body to cover the grenade, saving more lives but tragically losing his own in the process,” Angara said.

“It is only proper that the Senate recognizes Magno for his heroism. It is men like him who represent the best of the PNP and Filipinos as a whole,” Angara added.

Just before noon of Nov. 28, a man wielding a bladed weapon and grenade entered the Initao College campus in Barangay Jampason, Misamis Oriental.

Magno and fellow Master Sergeant Alice Balido responded to the incident and faced the assailant who was threatening the students and faculty of the school.

It was reported that the assailant hurled the grenade, prompting Magno to use his body to cover the explosive in order to shield the civilians in the vicinity.

A total of 10 students and Balido were injured in the incident.

“Master Sergeant Magno’s heroic death should serve as a reminder of the service provided by our brave men and women in the PNP. Every day they risk their lives to keep us safe from criminal elements,” Angara said.

“The Senate expresses its condolences to the family he left behind. We need more heroes like Master Sergeant Magno,” Angara added.

IMMIGRATION authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport rescued 34 women who were stopped from leaving the country for Saudi Arabia where they were illegally recruited to work as household service workers.

Bureau of Immigration port operations chief Grifton Medina said the victims were intercepted at the NAIA Terminal 1 as they were about to board a Saudi Airways flight to Riyadh.

Medina said the victims, mostly in their 20s and 30s, were not allowed to depart after Immigration officers noticed glaring discrepancies and irregularities in the travel documents they presented.

“Our primary inspectors initially encountered two of their companions who happen to have been previously barred from leaving on suspicion of being trafficking victims,” Medina said.

“It was while they were undergoing secondary inspection that our men uncovered that they were traveling as a

group with 32 other victims,” he added.

Ma. Timotea Barizo, BI’s travel control and enforcement unit chief, said the incident saw one of the biggest interceptions of suspected trafficking victims by BI-NAIA personnel in recent years.

Barizo said that the 34 presented documents as overseas Filipino workers, but upon verification, numerous inconsistencies were discovered.

“The job descriptions on the visas of the victims indicated that they were hired as household service workers but their overseas employment certificates and job contracts state that they were recruited as cleaners in companies.

Discrepancies like this are not allowed, especially when the actual work is in households rather than in companies, which puts our workers in greater risk,” said Barizo.

Barizo added that they were able to establish that their OECs were spurious as confirmed by Philippine Overseas Employment Administration representatives at the airport.

The women, whose names were not

BOC installs two new X-ray machines at MICP THE Bureau of Customs on Thursday installed two portal-type X-ray machines at the Manila International Container Port.

Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero led the opening of the newlyinstalled machines that will increase the port's maximum inspection capacity with an additional 7,680 containers per day more than its previous capacity.

He said one X-ray machine has the capacity to scan 160 containers per hour.

Previously, the MICP was only equipped with seven mobile-type Xrays, used on rotation, which can scan only 25 containers per hour, or 600 containers per day, and one pallet and cargo X-ray used for scanning boxes and crates.

MICP district collector Guillermo Pedro Francia IV said with this enhanced inspection capacity, the MICP is ever more ready to protect

the Philippine borders from illicit trade, illegal drugs, and contraband.

With about 3,000 shipments passing through the MICP every day, he said the new X-ray machine will ensure a balance between trade facilitation and stringent border protection.

The BOC said the portal design allows container trucks to move through the X-ray machine as opposed to the mobile X-ray design where the machine has to move along the length of a container.

It will result in faster and more efficient scanning time and a higher number of containers scanned per hour.

At the same time, the X-ray Inspection Project and MICP will be setting up training for the X-ray operators to take full advantage of the new equipment.

The BOC is enhancing its cargo examination and anti-smuggling efforts as part of Guerrero’s 10-point priority program. PNA

SC set to hold 16th Special Shari’a Bar exams on Jan. 19 and 26

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court has set the holding of the 16th Special Shari’a Bar examinations on Jan. 19 and 26, 2020.

In an en banc resolution, the SC also designated Court of Appeals Associate Justice Japar Dimaampao as chairman of the Board of Examiners for the conduct of the said examinations.

In the same resolution, the SC also

set the deadline for applications to take the examinations on Dec. 16.

The resolution was issued based on the request of National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Secretary Saidamen Pagarungan who asked the Court to set the date for the holding of the Shari’a Bar exams.

The Shari’a Bar examinations covered four subjects namely Persons, Family Relations and Property; Jurisprudence (FIQH) and Customary Laws

Procedure (ADATS) in Shari’a Courts; and Succession, Wills/Adjudication and Settlement of Estate.

Held every two years, the Shari’a Bar Examinations were first held in 1983. Shariá law practitioners, also called Shari’a counselors, litigate cases in the Shari’a district and circuit courts, most of which are located in Mindanao.

Although they are recognized as special members of the Philippine

Bar, Shari’a law lawyers are not allowed to practice law in regular courts and may not use the title “attorney.”

The SC said the Shari’a courts which were established in 1977 was meant to help address certain cases (personal status, marriage, matrimonial and family relations, succession and inheritance and property relations between couples) involving Muslims who are covered by Islamic law.

divulged due to a prohibition in the antitrafficking law, were later turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance and further investigation.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, meanwhile, lauded the BI personnel responsible for rescuing the victims, as he observed that the trafficking attempt was made during the peak season and the opening of Southeast Asian Games).

“Our officers are working day and night to ensure that our kababayan will not be victimized by these human traffickers and illegal recruiters,” said Morente. “I wish to remind aspiring OFWs not to fall prey to these unscrupulous individuals,” he added.

Morente earlier placed on heightened alert the BI’s personnel at NAIA and other major ports to thwart any attempts by syndicates to facilitate the illegal entry and departure of foreign and local travelers to and from the country during the holiday season and the conduct of the SEAG.

Compressed workweek voluntary—DOLE THE Department of Labor and Employment reminded private employers and workers that the compressed workweek is voluntary and should not force workers to follow the work scheme and should not also result in diminution of the existing benefits of the employees.

Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said there is an existing DOLE advisory which recognizes the agreement between employer and the employees to implement the compressed workweek.

“The compressed workweek is not mandated, but we have existing guidelines on this. Its effectivity and implementation should be voluntary. We do not force them to implement the work scheme, because this is part of management prerogative. Both parties have the autonomy to reach an agreement as long as it does not violate our labor laws,” Bello said.

Also, the benefits of the employees should not be reduced due to the implementation of such work arrangement, he added.

Department Advisory No. 4 Series of 2010 defines the compressed workweek as a flexible work arrangement where the normal workweek is reduced to less than six days, but the total number of work hours per week shall remain.

The normal workday is increased to more than eight hours, but not to exceed 12 hours, without corresponding overtime premium.

The concept can be adjusted accordingly depending on the normal workweek of the company, the advisory further states.

There are a lot of considerations in adopting flexible work arrangements, but Bello said the scheme aims to improve business competitiveness and productivity. Vito Barcelo

Sports

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Celtics too hot for Miami Heat L

OS ANGELES, United States—The Boston Celtics defeated the Miami Heat 112-93, on Wednesday (Thursday Philippine time) at TD Garden in Boston, handing the Heat their first defeat of a three-game road trip that had included wins over the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors.

Miami were without coach Erik Spoelstra, who returned to Florida on for the birth of his second son.

The Heat led by as many as 11 points early in the second quarter, but Boston closed the half on a 28-9 scoring run to take a 52-44 lead at halftime and never trailed in the second half.

Jaylen Brown scored 31 points and Kemba Walker added 28 for the Celtics, who withstood a 37-point performance by Miami’s Jimmy Butler.

Meanwhile, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 35 points propelled the Milwaukee Bucks to a 13th straight NBA victory, a hard-fought 127-103 win over the Pistons in Detroit.

Antetokounmpo, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, powered through a contentious encounter, pulling down six rebounds and handing out nine assists as the Bucks continued their domination of the Pistons.

Elsewhere, the Los Angeles Lakers outclassed the Utah Jazz 121-96. The Lakers put on a defensive clinic in Utah, coming up

with 13 steals and blocking 12 shots as they held the Jazz to 41 percent shooting.

Anthony Davis, battling illness that saw him receive intravenous fluids at halftime of the Lakers’ win at Denver on Tuesday, scored 26 points.

Davis added five rebounds, six assists and three blocked shots.

LeBron James added 20 points and handed out 12 assists for the Lakers, who didn’t trail at all after the first quarter and led by as many as 25 in the second half.

“Thirty-two fastbreak points on the second night of a back-to-back, that’s just great effort by our team,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said after his team’s 10th straight road win.

“We just want to continue to battle on the defensive end,” Davis said.

“We played with great pace to-

night and were able to get points in transition. We just played together.”

The Jazz lost for the fifth time in sixth games—but suffered just their second home defeat of the season.

The Bucks improved to 19-3—tied for best record in the league with the Western Conference-leading Los Angeles Lakers, who beat the Utah Jazz 121-96 in Salt Lake City.

Milwaukee, whose eight wins over Detroit last season included a first-round playoff sweep, have now notched two wins this season over the Pistons.

The Bucks led by 11 at halftime, and by 20 after three quarters as the Pistons proved unable to mount a challenge.

Khris Middleton added 17 points for Milwaukee and Eric Bledsoe chipped in 15. AFP Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives past Bam Adebayo (13) of the Miami Heat during the second half of the game between the Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The Celtics beat the Heat 112-93. AFP

PH rowing teams aim to make big splash SUBIC, Zambales—With ‘Tisoy’’ no longer in the horizon, the Philippine rowing and canoe-kayak teams expect to add to the country’s gold haul in the 30th Southeast Asian Games here.

The Canoe-Kayak competitions will start today at the Malawaan Park, while the rowing events will be held at the Triboa Bay. Philippine Canoe Kayak head coach Len Escollante is confident in acquiring golds in the events like 1,000-meter and 200-meter mixed standard boat as well as the 500-meter men’s.

“We are eyeing to win at least three of the six gold medals at stake,” said Escollante, who noted that the good weather and familiarity of the course will help the entire team.

“We have an advantage over the climate, the wind condition and the boats. We want to come up with a good finish and make the country proud,” said Escollante.

Today’s events are 1000m singles men’s elimination at 8:45 in the morning followed by 1000m doubles men’s eliminations at 9:45 and 500m Singles women elimination scheduled at 10:45 am.

After the elimination round, all the events will continue for the semifinal round then proceed to the finals that will start at 2 in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Philippine rowing team expressed its readiness to capture at least 3 to 4 gold medals.

The competitions will be from December 6 to 8. National team head coach and Olympian Edgardo Maerina said the team is determined to win overall honors.

The Philippines will be led by multi-SEAG gold winner Nestor Cordova, the promising Cris Nievarez and top lady rower Melcah Jen Caballero, who made quite a splash when she won a gold in a prestigious event in Hong Kong last November.

Maneja, Jarata score ‘twin kill’ at PPS Philam JUSTINE Maneja and Andrei Jarata dished out fierce form and came away with a pair of emphatic victories in their respective sides in the PPS-PEPP Philam national age group 2019 at the Philam Tennis Club in QC recently.

The top-seeded Maneja overwhelmed three rivals via straight-set romps to cruise to the finals then took the girls’ 16-and-under crown with a 1-0(ret.) scoreline over No. 2 Mica Emana. The rising star from Sta. Mesa proved tougher in the premier 18-U play, dropping just one game in three matches before dispatching Kaye Ann Emana, 6-4, 6-1.

The seventh-ranked Jarata matched that romp with a 6-4, 6-4 decision over Aix Gonzaga in boys’ 16-U finals then the Agoo, La Union find repeated over Gonzaga with 6-1, 6-3 triumph to clinch the 18-U plum and share the MVP honors with Maneja in the five-day tournament presented

by Dunlop and held under the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala nationwide circuit put up by president/CEO Bobby Castro.

Sharing center stage were Samuel Davila from Cainta, Rizal (10-unisex), Prince Lim from Urdaneta, Pangasinan (boys’ 12-U), La Salle-Greenhills’ Mateo Rivas (boys’ 14-U), Reece Ballado from Munoz, Nueva Ecija (girls’ 12-U), Makeilah Nepomuceno from Mandaluyong (girls’ 14-U).

The second seeded Davila ripped No. 3 Novak Brazal, 4-2, 4-0; Lim repulsed Frank Dilao, 6-4, 3-6, 10-3; the unranked Rivas upended No. 6 Darwin Cosca, 6-4, 6-2; Ballado upset top seed Abejail Ansay, 6-2, 6-2; and Nepomuceno, another unseeded bet who shocked top seed Marielle Jarata, 6-2, 6-1, in the semis, subdued Mica Emana, 6-2, 6-2.

Jarata actually completed a three-title feat as he later teamed up with Charles Torres to beat Emmanuel Davila and Pablo Gonzaga, 8-3, for the 18-U doubles crown with the Emana sisters foiling Joshea Malazarte and Paula Uy, 8-7(5), for the girls’ title. Other doubles winners were siblings Prince and Roque Lim, and Jayden Ballado and Kaye Mustaza (14-U), and Brazal and Samuel Davila (10-unisex).

Muros says Clark suitable venue for SEA Games

Renowned Filipino athlete Elma Muros stands beside CDC–Communications Manager Noel Tulabut and Archery Venue Manager Myriam Punsalan during her visit to the Clark Parade Grounds which is the official venue of Archery and Rugby 7s for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games 2019. CDC-CD

Myanmar battles Indonesia for Sepak Takraw crown POWERHOUSE Myanmar and Indonesia arranged an explosive gold medal match while the Philippines settled for a bronze in the sepak takraw men’s team doubles event of the 30th SEA Games here at the Subic Gymnasium.

With reigning champion Thailand not fielding a squad in the event this year, Myanmar and Indonesia did not waste their chances as they dispatched their semi-finals foes to set up a finals date for the men’s team doubles’ title.

They will lock horn in the gold medal tussle set at 3:30 pm today Myanmar advanced after frustrating the Philippines in front of its home crowd, 2-1, while Indonesia took a convincing win over Vietnam, 2-0.

Bothered by a roaring Filipino home fans, Myanmar actually started on a wrong foot as it suffered a stunning 15-21, 17-21 defeat in the first regu.

But the Burmese regained ground in the succeeding frames, getting the better of the Filipinos with huge 21-16, 21-13 win in the second and an even emphatic 21-13, 21-12 triumph in the last regu.

After copping a twin kill in the men’s and women’s hoop event back in the opener, the Philippines bled for the bronze mint this time together with Vietnam.

The hosts will try to bounce back in the next men’s team regu event against Malaysia while Myanmar and Indonesia tussle it out against each other in the start of the team regu events starting today.

CLARK FREEPORT—Renowned Filipino athlete Elma Muros today praised this Freeport, citing it to be a suitable venue for the various competitions in the on-going 30th edition of the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games.

Lending support to Filipino athletes competing here, Muros who is known as “The Long Jump Queen” expressed elation about the facilities and atmosphere in this Freeport. She also cited the preparation made here to ensure the readiness of every location in hosting the games.

She marked her first visit today in Clark cheering for Filipino athletes competing in archery and rugby 7s which are taking place at the Parade Grounds here.

“Unang-una ang ganda ng facilities, tahimik, organized. Perfect ito para sa akin at mga atleta ang galing,” Muros added as she describes her experience in the Freeport.

Clark is the official venue for the various competitions during the SEA games. These include Rugby 7s and Archery at the Parade Grounds, Softball and Baseball at The Villages—Sports Complex, Dancesport at Royce Hotel, Petanque along M.A. Roxas Higway in Clark, Lawn Bowl at Friendship Gate area, Athletics and Aquatics at the New Clark City (NCC).

Recalling her own experience during her SEA Games stints, she said that athletes today are blessed by having all the facilities for their training and competition proper.

Muros also conveyed her appreciation for the unity shown by the Filipinos that guaranteed the successful hosting of the country for the biennial games.

“Masaya na ako at nagtulong tulong ang sambayanang Pilipino kaya nairaos ito. From our President hanggang sa mga atleta at sambayanang Pilipino nagsamasama tayong lahat kaya nagyari ito.

Pasalamatan natin lahat at sa Panginoong Diyos na nakaraos agad tayo,” she said.

Muros, who is one of the most decorated athletes in the sport of Track and Field likewise encouraged the competing athletes to give their best for the country.

“Gawin lang nila kung ano yung inensayo nila ng 1 year, 2 years o ilang years at ito nayon. This is it. Gawin nyo ng 100 percent para sa bayan at kung ano man yung nakuha nyo pasalamatan nyo atleast ginawa nyo ang 100 percent para sa ating bayang Pilipinas. Goodluck to everybody,” Muros said.

Relatedly, Karla Cabrera, one of the officials of the World Archery Philippines also cited the Parade Grounds for being a very ideal location for the sport.

DENR faces PITC in UNTV Cup action NEWCOMER DeJudiciary’s win Games Sunday partment of Enshould boost its con(San Juan City gym) vironment and fidence in time for 2 p.m. – PhilHealth vs Judiciary Natural Resources its 2 p.m. showdown 3:30 p.m. – DENR vs PITC 5 p.m. –AFP vs Malacañang-PSC (DENR) tries to with the PhilHealth inch closer to earnPlus in the event ofing an outright fering P4 million to semis berth when it battles Philippine the chosen charity of the champion team.

International Training Corporation on Backstopped by former PBA players Sunday in the 8th UNTV Cup at the San Chester Tolomia and Warren Ybanez, Juan City gym. and Jearomel Serrano, the Magis are out The DENR Warriors and the Global to improve their 3-3 card.

Traders clash at 3:30 p.m. with the forThe AFP Cavaliers, meantime, try mer going for their seventh straight win to get back on the winning track when dating back the first round eliminations they collide with the Malacañang-Philthat will give them at least a playoff for ippine Sports Commission at 5 p.m. in the second outright semis berth. the event organized by UNTV PresiDENR is the only undefeated team in dent and CEO Dr. Daniel Razon for the 8-team second round eliminations public servants. after Judiciary stunned defending chamLike the Cavaliers, the Kamao are pion Armed Forces of the Philippines, smarting from 78-68 loss to the Global 78-72, last Sunday.

Traders who are sporting a 4-2 record.

Marvin Mercado (22) attempts to score against Malacañang in this file photo.

Sports

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

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FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

PBA, SBP agree to hold special draft THE PBA Board of Governors in a meeting last Monday unanimously agreed to hold a special draft involving five PBA aspirants targeted for inclusion in the Gilas Pilipinas training pool.

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas identified the five as Allyn Bulanadi, Isaac Go, twins Matt and Mike Nieto and Rey Suerte. These players will join the pool of players preparing for the 2023 FIBA World Cup. According to PBA Commissioner Willie Marcial the PBA Board of Governors and the SBP have agreed that the special draft will follow the regular drafting order which is Columbian, Blackwater, NLEX, Alaska and Rain or Shine.

The teams retain the right over the five selected players until they are released by the SBP. The league chieftain said the Special Draft will precede the 2019 PBA Rookie Draft set on Sunday, December 8 at the Robinson’s Place in Ermita.

The drafting order for the first round of annual PBA Rookie Draft are as follows: Columbian, Blackwater, NLEX, Alaska and Rain or Shine. The sixth and seventh pick also belongs to ROS followed by NorthPort, Magnolia, Ginebra, TNT and Columbian.

Meanwhile, Maurice Shaw, a former member of the Harlem Globetrotters, was measured as the tallest player among the 71 PBA aspirants who showed up on Thursday for Day One of the Gatorade Draft Combine at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong.

The 34-year old, who went undrafted in the 2004 NBA Draft and, later on played in Europe and Puerto Rico, was measured at 6-foot-8 ½.

While all eyes are trained on top pick prospect Isaac Go of Ateneo, Shaw has likewise attracted coaches and team representatives with his built, size and strength.

Shaw, who also tried American football before coming to Manila, did 27 reps of bench and shared the honors in that department with another littleknown named Prince Rivero.

Orcollo advances to top 8 in 10-ball DENNIS Orcollo of the Philippines sustained his fine form on Thursday, scoring a 9-4 win over Brunei’s Muhammad Azim Abu Bakar to advance to the men’s 10-ball singles quarterfinals of the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the Manila Hotel Tent.

Orcollo, who won a gold in the 2013 Myanmar Games, cruised to a 4-0 start and controlled the game throughout.

Still to finish was Luis Saberdo’s battle against Vietnam’s Pham Hoai Nam and Benjamin Gueverra Jr.’s mach against Tran Le Anh Tuan of Vietnam in the Round of 16 of the English Billiards men’s singles.

Ten-ball is a modern pool game that is very similar to nine-ball. But instead of nine it uses 10 balls with the 10 ball instead of the nine as the “money ball”.

Ten-ball is considered by most as a more challenging discipline than nineball. It is harder to pocket balls from the break shot with the more crowded rack.

Additionally, the initial shooter cannot win the game by pocketing the 10 on the break. Also, all shots must be called.

Therefore, performing a string of breakand-runs on successive racks is more difficult.

Popularity of the game has risen in recent years as a result of concerns that nine-ball has suffered as a result of flaws in its fundamental structure. For example the ease with which players can often make balls from the break.

VICTORY RIDE. Jylyn Nicanor gets a victory ride from her teammates after winning the Philippines’ first gold in fencing this 2019 Southeast Asian Games. Nicanor beat Indonesia’s Diah Permatasari, 15-14, at the World Trade Center, Pasay City on Thursday. Lino Santos

Prado leads PH cyclists to SEAG golden finish J

ERMYN Prado delivered the Philippines’ third gold medal in cycling by ruling the women’s individual time trial on Thursday in the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Prado, 26, clocked 44 minutes, 44.742 seconds in the 23.1-kilometer event from Nasugbu, Batangas to the Praying Monument in Tagaytay City to win the gold by four seconds.

Luo Yiwei of Singapore settled for silver in 44:48.518 while Somrat Phetdarin of Thailand grabbed the bronze in 44:58.152.

Lea Denise Belgira and John Derick Farr had earlier given the Philippines the mountain bike downhill titles.

“I gave my all. It was too hard, but our sacrifices paid off. I’m happy,” said Prado, a native of Pagbilao, Quezon native and a member of the Philippine Navy-Standard Insurance cycling team.

Prado and teammate Marella Salamat nearly failed to start the race, according to competition manager Lorenzo Lomibao, after technical officials said their triathlon bikes didn’t meet the standards. But the competition’s

Gilas Pilipinas seeks solo leadership TWO days after trouncing Singapore, Gilas Pilipinas battles Vietnam today Friday, seeking the lead in Group A of the men’s basketball action in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The match is set at 8:15 p.m., with the Filipinos favored to win although coach Tim Cone expects the Vietnamese to give them fits.

The Filipinos manhandled the Singa-

poreans on Wednesday, scoring a runaway 110-58 triumph, while the Vietnamese waylaid Myanmar 131-52.

“We’re a little bit herky-jerky. We weren’t smooth offensively. We had to make an adjustment at halftime,” Cone said of their battle against the Singaporeans, adding they can’t afford to do the same against Vietnam.

Cone is in his second tour of duty as coach of the national team, having

Gilas Pilipinas big man Vic Manuel (4) scores against his Singaporean counterpart during the two teams’ game won by Gilas, 110-58.

Local bets Didal, Ledermann rule skateboarding action MARGIELYN Didal and Daniel Ledermann swept the gold medals in their respective categories in the game of SKATE in skateboarding on Thursday in the 30th Southeast Asian Games at the Sigtuna Hall, Tagaytay City.

Didal and Ledermann mesmerized the appreciative home fans with their swashbuckling tricks to secure the first two gold medals in skateboarding’s debut in the biennial regional sports competition.

The 20-year old Didal, who is the reigning Asian Games cham-

panel of commissaires later allowed the two to race provided two contraptions located below the handle bars and under the frame were fixed.

Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) president and Philcycling chief Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino and cycling patron Ernesto “Judes” Echauz also interceded on behalf of the two riders.

“We nearly didn’t get to start the race. They said we should use road bikes. Our bikes were for triathlon but we managed to find a way to race,” said Prado.

Prado will again compete anew in the women’s massed start on Friday.

pion in the street event, outpointed fellow Filipina Christiana Means.

Ledermann, on the other hand, leaned on his vast experience to prevail over Indonesian youngster Basral Hutomo, 12, allowing the Philippines to complete a two-gold sweep.

The game is similar to the basketball game of HORSE where each contestant performs one trick after another until they complete the word SKATE. Skateboarding involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard. It is considered as

sport as well as a recreational activity. For many it is an art form, an entertainment industry job, and a method of transportation.

Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2009 report found that the skateboarding market is worth an estimated $4.8 billion in annual revenue with 11.08 million active skateboarders in the world.

Skateboarding will be represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

called the shots for the Philippines in the 1998 Asian Games. He said he was a little bit anxious early against Singapore “getting the feel of calling the shots again for the national team. I was still young then, but now I think I have gone wiser, and mature enough now for the games.”

Myanmar and Singapore clash in the opening game of a four-game bill at 12 noon while Malaysia and Cambodia battle at 2:15.

The lone women’s match at 6 p.m. pits Thailand against Indonesia, with the Thais out to score a big follow-up to their shock 70-47 win over defending champion Malaysia on Wednesday.

“I don’t think we’ve played our best basketball (against Singapore),” Cone said.

“I feel like our guys came out and took a serious approach. I think they’re trying to show the country that they’re gonna take a serious approach and respect the game.

When you respect the game, you respect your opponent.”

Cone said he is wary of Thailand, which opened its campaign by beating Indonesia, 98-76, and Malaysia.

“At this point, you can’t say anything on each team now, just like Thailand beating title contender Indonesia.

You can’t count out Malaysia which is constantly improving. We just play it by ear and have my other coaches do the scouting,” said Cone.

eSports games get underway

By Tim Obligacion SAN JUAN CITY—The Filoil Flying Arena in San Juan City played host to a historic event, as the first eSports competitions of the 30th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) got underway on Thursday, with the hosts off to a slow start after getting mixed results in their first three matches.

After an exciting opening ceremony that had Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee executive director Ramon Suzara and Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino leading officials in declaring the competitions officially open, the Filipino eSports athletes got a victory, a draw and a loss at the start of preliminaries.

The Pinoy athletes beat Malaysia, 2-0, in s Starcraft II Group B match before their counterparts in Group A absorbed a 1-2 loss to Indonesia. In the Mobile Legends: Bang (MLBB) Group B match, the hosts managed a 1-1 draw against Indonesia.

The early results did not dampen the energy of the big crowd, who came early to watch the opening ceremony in an event that marked eSports as a medal sport in the biennial meet for the first time.

Kenneth Fok, president of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF), is excited this early of eSports in the country and in the region after seeing a warm reception from the youthful crowd, as he paid tribute to those who support their competitions even when eSports was being pushed to be included among the 56 sports in this year’s SEA Games.

“I would like to thank and show appreciation for the Philippines’ government and our friends at the organizing committee for making this dream come true. With the historical 56 sports, organizing these games is no easy thing. I’m proud to say as a technical delegate, AESF is now part of the family,” Fok said.

“So the fans really are the center of this movement and besides delivering quality events, us at AESF, we are building up sustainability of eSports moving forward, promoting the positive image of eSports, engaging in gaps between different stakeholders and of course at the center of this is reaching new fans,” he added.

WINNING FORM. Ruben

Gonzales (left) prepares to make a forehand return against his opponent even as teammate Treat Huey looks on. The Philippines beat the tandem of Ag Shamirul Sharil Mohd Adas Das and Syed Mohamad Agil Syed Naguib of Malaysia during quarterfinal action in men’s tennis doubles at the Rizal Memoria Tennis Court in Manila.

Lino Santos

IN BRIEF

SMC board clears $3-b note issuance

DIVERSIFIED conglomerate San Miguel Corp. established a $3-billion term note program and a P60-billion shelf registration of commercial papers to fund big-ticket infrastructure projects and refinance maturing debts.

San Miguel said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board of directors approved the establishment of a medium term note program amounting to $3 billion and the issuance of $500-million in perpetual securities out of the program.

The program and the initial issuance of the perpetual securities will be registered with the Singapore Stock Exchange.

“The program will be available for a medium term and will allow the company to tap the financial market for funding through issuance of securities, including but not limited to corporate notes, bonds and perpetual securities and other similar instruments at different currencies whether considered debt or equity or for accounting purpose,” San Miguel said.

“The establishment of the program will give the company ready access to funding and will give the company the flexibility to fund its contemplated investments and projects such as MRT7 construction, the Bulacan airport as well as the refinancing of existing obligations and for other general corporate purposes,” it said.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Business ROBINSONS BANK’S AWARD. Robinsons Bank

Simple Savings emerges as the Best Financial Inclusion Program in the 3rd Biennial Bank Marketing Awards on Nov. 26 during the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Financial Education Stakeholders Expo 2019 at SMX Convention Center. The award recognizes banks that provide turn key products and services to make banking easily accessible and affordable to the unbanked segment.

Attending the awarding ceremony are (from left) Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines president Mike Villa-Real, Robinsons Bank assistant vice president and products and marketing services division head Steve Crisologo, Robinsons Bank vice president and marketing group head Janette Abad Santos, Robinsons Bank senior assistant manager of products department Allen Esmiro and BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier.

Factory production down 3.7% in October

FACTORY production dropped 3.7 percent in October from a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority.

This was the 10th consecutive month that the volume production was in the negative territory.

“Despite manufacturing’s performance, business and consumer outlook remains positive with the anticipation of higher consumer spending during the holiday season, a much favorable macroeconomic condition, and a likely recovery in government spending on infrastructure,” National Economic and Development Authority Undersecretary Adoracion Navarro said in a statement.

Navarro said the extension in the validity of the 2019 national budget and the timely passage of the 2020 General Appropriations Act were needed to sustain the implementation of construction-related activities and help drive the growth in the manufacturing sector.

“The extension in the validity of the 2019 budget is important not just for the construction of infrastructure projects but also for critical pre-feasibility, feasibility, and other project development studies,” she said.

Julito G. Rada

ING offers rebates on bank transfers

ING which launched the first all-digital bank in the Philippines in November 2018 seeks to redefine banking and savings in the Philippines.

It said with a fully digital account opening process, high interest rate offer with no minimum amount and no lock-in period, it is promoting a healthy savings mindset and higher adoption of cashless transactions in the Philippines.

ING said it is giving its customers another reason to save more at the peak of the holiday season. It said that from now until Jan. 31, 2020, the bank would take care of other bank’s transfer fees when customers transferred to ING Savings Account.

Customers will receive a fixed rebate of P100 for every successful electronic bank transfer, for up to two transactions per month.

“We believe in giving our customers control of their money and freedom to move their funds as they need and wish, especially when most people have money in different bank accounts. While ING does not charge any transfer fees, other banks charge fees as high as P100 for interbank fund transfers,” said Mohamed Keraine, head of retail at ING Philippines.

SC rules in favor of MORE as new Iloilo distributor

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Supreme Court overruled a lower court that earlier declared the franchise of MORE Electric and Power Corp. of businessman Enrique Razon as unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court en banc issued a temporary restraining order on Dec. 3 against Mandaluyong City Regional Trial Court Branch 209 and current distributor Panay Electric Co. from enforcing the ruling of the lower court declaring unconstitutional the franchise of MORE as the new power distributor in Iloilo City.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11212 in February granting MORE the franchise to operate the distribution system of Iloilo City after PECO’s franchise expired in January.

The Mandaluyong Court on July 1, 2019 declared as unconstitutional Sections 10 and 17 of RA 11212 and issued a TRO on March 14, 2019.

MORE president Roel Castro welcomed the SC’s issuance of the TRO against the Mandaluyong RTC, which PECO had used to stop the new Iloilo City distribution utility from acquiring its distribution assets.

Castro said the SC’s unanimous decision to restrain the Mandaluyong RTC showed that the high court found that “MORE Power has a clear and unmistakable right to be protected, there is material and substantial invasion of such right, there is an urgent need for the writ to prevent irreparable injury to MORE Power, and no other ordinary, speedy and adequate remedy exists to prevent the infliction of irreparable injury other than the issuance of said temporary restraining order.”

RA 11212 gave MORE the congressional franchise to operate as electricity distribution utility for the next 25 years, the authority to exercise the power of eminent domain “and acquire such private property as is actually necessary for the realization of the purpose for which the franchise is granted [Section 10]”. With Rey E. Requejo

Unemployment rate falls to a ten-year low of 4.5%

By Julito G. Rada

U

NEMPLOYMENT rate, or the percentage of adult Filipinos without jobs, fell to a 10-year low of 4.5 percent in October from 5.1 percent a year ago as the labor force added 1.8 million jobs over the past 12 months, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Thursday.

“Notably, the unemployment rate dropped further to 4.5 percent or 153,000 less unemployed persons, from last year’s 5.1 percent. This is the lowest overall unemployment rate for all October survey rounds in the last ten years,” the National Economic and Development Authority said in a statement.

NEDA said all major sectors―agriculture, industry and services―posted employment gains with a net employment generation of 1.8 million.

Underemployment rate―the proportion of those already employed but still wanting more work—also went down to 13 percent from 13.3 percent in October 2018.

Labor force participation rate improved to 61.5 percent, which was mainly accounted for by the increase in participation rate among women, after four years of decline.

“The results of the October 2019 round of the LFS reflected a vibrant labor market. But the government must still continue to fast-track the implementation of programs and policies that help create quality employment and improve productivity,” NEDA Undersecretary for regional development and officer-i- charge Adoracion Navarro said.

She said the full implementation of recently enacted reforms such as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act and the Revised Corporation Code would be essential in boosting employment creation by fostering the growth of micro, small and medium enterprises in the country.

Navarro said with 3.4 million young Filipinos who are underutilized as they are neither in employment nor in education, the government’s youth flagship

programs should be enhanced. These programs include the government internship program, JobStart Philippines and apprenticeship, learnership and dual training programs.

She said these would develop competencies and capabilities, including life skills and work ethics, to prepare the youth to join the workforce and thrive in a competitive world of work.

“It is also important to improve both the quantity and quality of work in line with the country’s commitment to Sustainable Development Goal 8―decent work and economic growth―to achieve the country’s employment generation and underemployment targets,” Navarro said.

She said the government was on track with respect to four of seven employment-related targets in the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022. It was also on track in terms of reducing the unemployment rate to 5.1 percent in FY 2019 which is within the PDP target range of 4.7 to 5.3 percent.

She said employment generation averaged around 1.3 million in 2019, far exceeding the government’s annual target of creating 900,000 to 1.1 million employment.

Bulacan LGUs express dismay over delayed airport work LOCAL government units in Bulacan province expressed dismay over the delayed groundbreaking of the $15-billion New Manila International Airport in Bulakan town which was originally scheduled this month because of the new issues raised by the Department of Finance.

The Bulacan mayors, in a statement, expressed hope that the DOF would not hinder the construction of the new airport which was seen to boost the tourism industry in the province and provide jobs and livelihood to its residents.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said the concession agreement was pending with the Department of Justice as the DOF wanted to clear some issues, particularly the “wording and in-

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

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Inflation picked up to 1.3% in November INFLATION rate in November 2019 picked up to 1.3 percent from 0.8 percent in October, on moderate price increase of electricity, fuel and selected food items following the outbreak of the African Swine Fever in several provinces, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show.

The PSA, however, said the November print was still slower compared to the 6-percent inflation registered in November 2018. Inflation averaged 2.5 percent in the first 11 months, within the government’s 2019 target range of 2 percent to 4 percent.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said the November inflation was also within its forecast range of 0.9 percent to 1.7 percent for the month.

“These were tempered by the continued decline in rice prices along with the appreciation of the peso.

The latest inflation outturn is consistent with the BSP’s prevailing assessment that inflation has bottomed out in October and is expected to gradually approach the midpoint of the target range in 2020 and 2021,” the BSP said in a statement.

“The risks to the inflation outlook are on the upside for 2020, but are tilted to the downside in 2021. The volatility in global oil prices and the potential impact of the African Swine Fever outbreak are the main upside risks to inflation,” the BSP said.

The BSP said the impact of global trade and policy uncertainty aand geopolitical tensions continued to be the main downside risks to inflation.

“The BSP will consider all the latest economic developments here and abroad in the Monetary Board’s policy meeting on Dec. 12, 2019 to ensure that the monetary policy stance remains consistent with the BSP’s price stability objective while being supportive of economic growth,” it said. Julito G. Rada

Investment pledges surged 139% to top P1t in 1st 10 months

By Othel V. Campos

PAYMENT FORUM. Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief innovation and inclusion officer Lito Villanueva speaks during the Asian Payment Network Annual Forum at Makati ShangriLa Hotel hosted by Bancnet.

Villanueva said the Philippine banking industry has been exhausting all possible ways to accelerate financial inclusion at the grassroots level. One notable initiative is RCBC’s Remote Banking Access Points which enables convenient conditional cash transfer payouts in several provinces. This will be further amplified by Diskartech, RCBC’s financial inclusion accelerator app which aims to provide digital financial services to the unbanked and underserved Filipinos.

By Darwin G. Amojelar

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

terpretation” of the project’s terms. This came after proponent San Miguel Corp. received a notice to proceed with the project on Sept. 18.

Tugade said he was still hopeful that the groundbreaking ceremony would push through to help decongest the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and to resolve the worsening air traffic.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd expressed his ‘reservation’ to the project last year and pointed out that the New Clark City is 55 kilometers away from the proposed airport project.

The DOF wanted to clarify the interpretation on the “material adverse government action” and the boundaries of government liability on the project. MAGA covers compensation for the concessionaire if ever the government action has a

negative effect on the project.

SMC president and COO Ramon Ang earlier confirmed that the groundbreaking ceremony was delayed and that the construction of the Bulacan airport project was now behind schedule.

The DOTR closed the Swiss Challenge for the project when no company offered to bid for the construction of the P735-billion new airport except. SMC was then awarded the “notice of award” allowing it to invest, design, construct and operate NMIA. Based on the design of the NMIA which has earlier been released to the media, the modern airport has a capacity thrice that of NAIA. It will have four runways which will enable four airplanes to take off and land at the same time.

INVESTMENT pledges approved by the Board of Investments surged 139.6 percent in the first 10 months to P1.040 trillion from P434 billion a year ago.

“For the third successive year, the BOI has surpassed expectations in setting a new benchmark for investments. Setting records is getting to be the norm. This validates the country’s position as among the top investment destinations globally,” said Trade Secretary and BOI chairman Ramon Lopez.

Lopez said the country’s investment trajectory improved further with the recent 2020 World Bank Report in the Ease of Doing Business as the country improved its score from 57.7 to 62.8, representing a leap of 29 places from 124th to 95th position among 190 economies.

Local investments hit P709.1 billion, up by 78.2 percent, while foreign investments accounted for P330.9 billion, up by 818.2 percent from P36 billion in 2018.

Singapore was the biggest foreign investor with P170 billion in capital infusion. China was second with P84.9 billion, followed by South Korea with P39.1 billion.

The Netherlands brought in P9.1 billion; Thailand, P8.8 billion; Japan, P6.2 billion; and the United States, P2.5 billion.

Data showed that investment commitments in October reached P275.2 billion, up by 351 percent from a year ago.

“This historic-setting figure of P1 trillion is all the more remarkable considering we still have two more months left in the year. And yes, there are still pending projects to be thoroughly reviewed before we give the approval,” said Lopez.

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Business

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks drop; URC, PLDT decline S TOCKS slipped Thursday as some investors continued to cash in on recent gains while waiting for a new catalyst to push the market higher.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index dropped 25.02 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,790.91 on a value turnover of P6.5 billion. Losers beat gainers, 117 to 68, with 54 issues unchanged.

International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator, fell 3.5 percent to P119, while Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, hospitals and infrastructure, declined 3.1 percent to P3.80.

Universal Robina Corp. of the Gokongwei Group, the largest snack food maker, slumped 3.3 percent to P140.20,

while PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, fell 2.8 percent to P1,042.

The rest of Asian markets, however, rose Thursday on renewed hopes for the China-US trade talks after a report said a deal could be finalized by the end of next week.

The story came a day after Donald Trump had poured freezing water on the prospects for an agreement by suggesting he would be happy waiting until after the 2020 presidential election before signing off on one.

It also provided a much-needed boost to investors following disappointing US data on jobs and the key services sector.

Hong Kong added 0.5 percent in the afternoon while Shanghai and Tokyo each closed 0.7 percent higher. Sydney put on more than one percent and Singapore gained 0.4 percent.

Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Jakarta also posted gains, though Seoul retreated.

Bloomberg News reported that US negotiators expected a deal to be completed before a new round of US tariffs on China is due to hit on December 15.

It quoted unnamed sources as saying Trump’s comments that he had no deadline and “in some ways, I like the idea of waiting until after the election” should not have been taken as a sign the talks had stalled.

Markets globally turned south following the remarks, with observers suggesting US bills supporting Hong Kong protesters and minority Uighurs in China had also dented the chances of a pact being signed.

AxiTrader’s Stephen Innes said weak US data played an important role in Trump’s thinking regarding the trade

talks.

“These are critical chunks of the economy the president must defend, but the more vulnerable data also provides inferior optics for his election 2020 campaign,” he wrote in a note.

“If these gloomy forward economic gauges start to leak into the consumption and/or employment sectors, one would have to assume that President Trump, from a purely economic perspective, would be as motivated as (Xi Jinping) to table a trade deal sooner than later”, he said.

However, he added that “it really feels like we’re always walking up a down (escalator) when it comes to navigating these never-ending US-China hostilities.”

On the outlook for markets, National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill said it was significant the US side was now talking about removing tariffs. With AFP

Manila Standard BuSineSS daily StockS review thurSday, deceMBer 5, 2019

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

53.75 89 1.85 159 0.96 25.2 18.38 13.16 0.59 1.19 0.38 67.2 0.8 12.7 20.5 37 175 57.95 24.6 199 1,760 58.15

53.75 89.95 1.91 159 0.96 25.2 18.38 13.2 0.59 1.19 0.38 68.2 0.8 12.96 20.5 37.1 175 58.1 24.6 199.6 1,875 58.4

53.1 88.95 1.85 157 0.95 24.95 18.38 12.9 0.59 1.19 0.38 67.2 0.8 12.7 20.5 36.8 175 57.95 24.4 197.5 1,760 58.1

FINANCIALS 53.25 6,180 89.95 2,918,240 1.91 35,000 158 2,096,500 0.95 45,000 25 212,100 18.38 3,500 12.9 442,300 0.59 3,000 1.19 1,000 0.38 210,000 68 1,629,000 0.8 649,000 12.96 88,700 20.5 500 36.8 471,900 175 2,000 58.05 1,200 24.4 72,600 197.9 1,427,610 1,875 10 58.2 9,870

331,000 261,953,570.50 64,870 331,584,595 42,920 5,296,600 64,330 5,768,420 1,770 1,190 79,800 110,755,923 519,200 1,126,750 10,250 17406035 350,000 69,644 1,780,630 282,599,561 18,175 574,304.50

-16,004 30,474,151 -31,054,709 -3,344,020 643,096 34,200 45,853,475 -4,000 -7022280.0004 -1,150,210 -105,126,223 -421,990

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

34.5 2.49 13.5 0.57 1.25 3.11 0.237 2.2 15.4 163.1 5.12 18.52 67.95 2.02 5.35 5.2 8.79 14.68 10.48 7.2 24.7 74 1.5 41 2.05 13.56 7.8 1.4 198 7.81 17.7 12.36 16.8 322 0.18 5.24 1.29 3.91 4.42 9.7 10.82 33.55 4.98 5.45 1.99 1.95 0.98 10.48 88.15 7.8 1.07 144 2.59 1.08 0.93

34.65 2.49 13.74 0.58 1.25 3.2 0.237 2.22 15.46 171.5 5.2 18.58 68.95 2.06 5.35 5.28 8.79 15 10.48 7.2 24.75 74 1.54 41 2.09 13.88 7.8 1.4 205 8 17.78 12.36 16.9 322 0.18 5.6 1.36 4.09 4.42 9.7 11 33.85 5 5.45 2.07 1.95 0.98 10.5 89.3 8 1.07 146.9 2.59 1.12 0.94

34.15 2.42 13.26 0.56 1.25 3 0.237 2.14 15.34 163 4.65 17.22 64.75 2.02 5.19 5.2 8.37 14.6 10.1 7.17 23.6 73.5 1.4 40 2.05 13.56 7.67 1.4 198 7.81 16.66 12.02 16.64 320 0.179 5.2 1.29 3.91 4.23 9.5 10.7 33.3 4.98 5.35 1.99 1.95 0.96 10.24 87.8 7.71 1 138.1 2.5 1.08 0.92

INDUSTRIAL 34.5 754,700 2.44 1,461,000 13.74 310,500 0.57 201,000 1.25 1,000 3.03 3,159,000 0.237 10,000 2.14 3,291,000 15.34 126,000 171.5 910 4.83 1,110,100 18.56 21,400 68.95 800 2.06 23,000 5.19 273,600 5.28 51,100 8.56 3,643,000 14.62 1,692,400 10.3 518,600 7.19 177,900 23.8 1,144,600 73.55 111,110 1.42 41,524,000 40.9 6,700 2.08 4,690,000 13.88 56,100 7.75 125,600 1.4 26,000 205 533,030 8 6,300 16.9 3,299,100 12.06 40,100 16.88 1,114,900 320 97,200 0.179 50,000 5.6 13,300 1.35 3,820,000 4.09 10,552,000 4.26 1,413,000 9.6 207,500 11 55,200 33.5 518,300 5 4,500 5.44 92,800 2.07 620,000 1.95 18,000 0.98 9,000 10.4 55,000 89 81,560 8 458,400 1.05 46,000 140.2 1,293,180 2.5 3,000 1.1 4,181,000 0.94 951,000

26,026,035 3,553,910 4,257,212 115,370 1,250 9,611,820 2,370 7,125,280 1,935,178 152,875 5,366,246 378,318 54,022 47,260 1,425,554 268,492 30970082 25,369,870 5,338,702 1,276,250 27,351,315 8,170,732 60,285,230 268,515 9,729,090 776,936 969,392 36,400 108,452,301 50,210 55783504 485,358 18,698,464 31,180,140 8,960 69,445 5,129,770 41,260,290 6,060,700 1,988,765 599,962 17401435 22,420 500,401 1,267,890 35,100 8,760 572,868 7,206,054.50 3,611,288 47,270 181,998,289 7,680 4,591,680 876,440

-12,702,375 12,150 4,165,710 -1,250 1,014,710 -376,990 658,838 11,665 -106,032 -26,000 -9033508.9999 -122,844 -2,230,476 -1,217,409 -9,646,790 -5,611,022.50 410,730 -76,020 56,160 -38,020 -639,434 38,804,820 -12547316.0004 -84,796.00 -9,511,280 -1,604,342 1,195,320 -3,057,030 13367344.9999 -162,530 -40,000 -411,424 -3,347,239.50 837,370 -95,072,820 -45,600 -268,280

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

0.76 50.05 11.04 0.72 6.79 12.32 0.91 0.94 820 3.42 6.86 6.25 13 0.228 893.5 5.4 79 0.5 3.91 11.46 0.55 3.92 6.51 1.36 162 2.2 1,063 0.77 1.23 216 0.224 0.205

0.77 52.35 11.12 0.72 6.8 12.32 0.91 0.95 830 3.42 7.05 6.3 13.28 0.228 900 5.4 79 0.5 3.91 11.48 0.57 4 6.76 1.41 162 2.2 1,080 0.77 1.24 216 0.225 0.205

0.73 49.65 11.04 0.7 6.7 12.14 0.9 0.93 811 3.37 6.81 6.12 13 0.226 891 5.4 76.7 0.49 3.87 11.22 0.55 3.8 6.2 1.34 158.5 2.2 1,063 0.77 1.23 207.2 0.214 0.202

HOLDING FIRMS 0.75 5,918,000 52.35 2,386,590 11.06 16,632,100 0.7 126,000 6.8 24,200 12.26 8,100 0.91 1,350,000 0.93 665,000 830 616,370 3.39 364,000 6.92 2,053,100 6.13 20,816,100 13 179,300 0.226 420,000 895 45,140 5.4 300 77.6 818,170 0.5 7,000 3.88 377,000 11.4 5,892,800 0.57 53,000 3.8 56,389,000 6.75 68,200 1.36 998,000 160 165,040 2.2 1,000 1,070 797,495 0.77 22,000 1.23 62,000 212 2,380 0.22 910,000 0.202 2,860,000

4,423,800 121,693,337 184,055,046 88,900 162,557 98,556 1,228,100 623,450 506,258,005 1,231,690 14,227,761 128,349,751 2,333,900 94,960 40,389,345 1,620 63,511,175 3,450 1,465,910 67,141,330 29,170 216,714,150 447,165 1,389,650 26,218,578 2,200 857,044,815 16,940 76,280 502,146 200,800 584,380

278,060 -1,572,121.50 13,409,978 -32,842 441,800 36,713,970 -284,100 -6,754,491 -45,516,639 -1,632,840 -8,110,150 1,421,654.50 -1,454,270 -164,986 -73,178,150 130,000 -586,370 -3,865,031 596,012,970 -218,040 205,000

14.82 0.72 1.48 0.8 45.45 1.97 4.71 6.4 0.54 0.7 0.84 0.4 10.2 18.96 0.435 0.121 1.46 1.18 4.2 0.202 0.405 1.29 2.01

PROPERTY 14.82 265,400 0.75 458,000 1.48 237,000 0.83 3,307,000 45.5 19,353,700 1.97 546,000 4.71 51,000 6.4 36,400 0.55 6,006,000 0.75 3,000 0.86 9,000 0.4 120,000 10.34 58,500 19.1 96,700 0.44 190,000 0.121 200,000 1.5 26,601,000 1.18 1,287,000 4.3 19,280,000 0.203 8,870,000 0.415 290,000 1.32 601,000 2.01 89,000

3,938,510 341,680 352,540 2,692,200 880,921,955 1,083,780 243,290 233,605 3,322,970 2,150 7,600 48,100 600,236 1,868,044 82,700 24,200 39,910,370 1,526,250 82,858,420 1,811,290 118,350 785,200 178,930

-1,662,056 -7,400 3,260 -86,216,510 -759,990 216,229 91,800 -80,108 484,900 -43,500 6,858,220 20,608,370 -51,000 -65,500 -80,400.00

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

14.84 0.72 1.5 0.81 45.45 1.99 4.8 6.4 0.55 0.7 0.84 0.405 10.2 19.36 0.435 0.121 1.46 1.2 4.2 0.209 0.405 1.3 2.02

14.86 0.76 1.51 0.83 45.75 1.99 4.8 6.47 0.56 0.75 0.86 0.405 10.38 19.46 0.44 0.121 1.52 1.2 4.35 0.209 0.415 1.33 2.02

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

NAME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

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

46 25.3 2.13 3.2 39.75 2.52 1.31 7.5 5.26

46 25.8 2.15 3.23 40.2 2.52 1.33 7.58 5.5

46 25.3 2.13 3.18 39.75 2.49 1.17 7.43 5.25

46 25.7 2.15 3.23 40 2.51 1.21 7.52 5.5

4,000 1,130,000 7,000 10,842,000 7,935,600 209,000 8,824,000 10,596,700 11,900

184,000 29,009,615 14,950 34,477,910 317,647,710 525,220 10,743,000 79,522,767 63,188

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL ALLHOME APC GROUP ASIAN TERMINALS BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY CEBU AIR CHELSEA EASYCALL FAR EASTERN U GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN BRIA HARBOR STAR INTL CONTAINER IPEOPLE IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN METRO RETAIL METROALLIANCE A METROALLIANCE B NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PH RESORTS GRP PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRANSPACIFIC BR WATERFRONT WILCON DEPOT

9.7 16.62 1.42 11.46 0.47 18.26 3.58 10.88 93 5.59 8.7 893 1,935 5.2 419.2 1.17 123.2 7.6 4.7 0.101 3.9 13.52 2.74 0.89 17.68 0.405 2.1 1 1.03 2.79 2.5 7.78 4.45 2.73 1,071 0.6 0.465 39.8 75.4 8.98 2.34 0.65 0.28 0.6 19

10.1 16.9 1.5 11.52 0.475 18.26 3.85 11.08 93.35 5.79 8.7 893 1,970 5.28 425 1.29 123.3 7.6 4.7 0.101 4.13 14 2.74 0.9 17.68 0.415 2.15 1 1.03 2.79 2.58 7.78 4.84 2.73 1,088 0.61 0.47 40.15 75.4 9.14 2.44 0.67 0.285 0.61 19

9.7 16.5 1.42 11.46 0.46 18.26 3.11 10.3 91.3 5.52 8.7 890.5 1,935 5.18 419.2 1.17 118.5 7.6 4.7 0.1 3.9 13.52 2.71 0.89 17.3 0.4 2.1 1 1.03 2.73 2.5 7.5 4.44 2.68 1,040 0.59 0.445 38.8 74.05 8.98 2.34 0.65 0.28 0.6 18.82

SERVICES 9.95 16.78 1.48 11.52 0.47 18.26 3.58 10.34 91.7 5.55 8.7 890.5 1,935 5.2 425 1.28 119 7.6 4.7 0.1 4.05 13.98 2.71 0.9 17.3 0.405 2.13 1 1.03 2.78 2.5 7.74 4.84 2.71 1,042 0.6 0.455 39.1 74.95 9.14 2.43 0.67 0.285 0.6 18.98

4,800 107,700 43,000 4,354,700 250,000 600 10,760,000 3,014,400 46,600 398,600 400 200 23,210 128,700 30 3,098,000 1,934,710 4,700 1,000 2,010,000 3,559,000 6,200 99,000 36,000 962,700 200,000 1,373,000 22,000 4,000 739,000 52,000 9,900 24,000 101,000 116,825 2,919,000 7,680,000 350,600 422,420 1,500 1,759,000 1,533,000 1,900,000 170,000 1,781,400

47,355 1,796,398 63,920 50,091,692 117,200 10,956 37,749,060 31,595,046 4,287,540.50 2,239,961 3,480 178,255 44,947,195 670,193 12,634 3,845,370 231,182,986 35,720 4,700 201,210 14,372,940 86,340 269,180 32,120 16,756,968 81,050 2,903,330 22,000 4,120 2,048,150 130,080 75,988 109,200 271,930 122,962,960 1,753,890 3,491,800 13715980 31,529,198.50 13,550 4247410 1,002,750 532,300 102,600 33,772,422

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

0.0015 8.2 1.05 2.38 10.96 0.98 2.58 7.39 1.45 0.21 0.096 0.1 0.0082 0.94 2.9 1.05 0.47 0.77 0.011 0.011 3.28 9.98 21.35 0.0055

0.0016 8.49 1.06 2.38 10.96 0.98 2.58 7.55 1.5 0.211 0.096 0.105 0.0082 0.95 3 1.05 0.47 0.81 0.012 0.011 3.3 9.98 21.35 0.0055

0.0015 7.68 1.04 2.38 10.96 0.98 2.58 7.39 1.44 0.202 0.096 0.098 0.0082 0.9 2.87 1 0.47 0.75 0.011 0.01 3.14 9.02 20.65 0.0054

MINING & OIL 0.0016 28,000,000 7.81 724,900 1.04 734,000 2.38 6,000 10.96 100 0.98 5,000 2.58 267,000 7.55 600 1.49 2,103,000 0.21 190,000 0.096 270,000 0.105 100,000 0.0082 6,000,000 0.93 955,000 2.92 3,296,000 1.05 8,000 0.47 30,000 0.81 17,000 0.012 12,100,000 0.011 37,400,000 3.15 225,000 9.04 1,502,600 20.8 1,430,800 0.0054 4,000,000

42,900 5,751,827 769,460 14,280 1,096 4,900 688,860 4,450 3,106,290 38,900 25,920 10,010 49,200 869,450 9,663,020 8,150 14,100 13,100 143,100 409,400 710,780 14,273,919 29,798,505 21,700

-81,152 -481,760 614,620 -14,140 85,500 -86,930 -110,490 -141,272 -1,860,735 -5,400

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 AC PREF B2R ALCO PREF B DD PREF FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2B PCOR PREF 3A PNX PREF 4 SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

15.9 502 500 101.3 100.3 112.9 500 5.04 1,000 995 97.65 1.03 101 1,026 1,016 1,026 78.15 75.25 75.95 77 75.3 75.45 75.5

15.9 502 501 101.3 100.3 112.9 500 5.18 1,000 995 97.65 1.03 101 1,026 1,017 1,028 78.15 75.25 75.95 77 75.3 75.5 75.95

15.8 502 500 101.3 100.3 112.9 500 5.04 1,000 995 97.65 1 101 1,026 1,015 1,026 78 75.25 75.95 77 75.3 75.45 75.5

PREFERRED 15.9 60,400 502 10,000 501 200 101.3 84,000 100.3 15,000 112.9 190 500 4,000 5.04 239,400 1,000 2,845 995 2,180 97.65 20,000 1.01 55,000 101 7,500 1,026 3,510 1,017 4,650 1,027 825 78 183,070 75.25 1,100 75.95 13,700 77 110 75.3 10,400 75.5 650 75.95 6,630

959,796 5,020,000 100,100 8,509,200 1,504,500 21,451 2,000,000 1,207,927 2,845,000 2,169,100 1,953,000 55,530 757,500 3,601,260 4,728,150 846,880 14,282,244.50 82,775 1,040,515 8,470 783,120 49,065 501,560

-11,130 -1,044,069 -

ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH XURPAS

4 11.5 0.86

4 11.74 0.88

3.95 11 0.86

3.95 11 0.86

FIRST METRO ETF

116.8

117.2

116.6

USD DMPL A1 USD DMPL A2

10.3 10.1

10.3 10.2

10.3 10.1

MS Trading Summary

SHARES

FINANCIAL

10,956,975

INDUSTRIAL

96,756,661

HOLDING FIRMS

121,795,823

PROPERTY

129,191,181

SERVICES

54,116,911

MINING & OIL

100,563,931

GRAND TOTAL

514,811,762

SME

214,000 482,800 726,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 116.7 6,230 10.3 10.2

DDS

630 1,410

850,580 5,437,340 627,390

994,935 4,300 9,089,425 -43,536,210 -36,951 9,609,816 -23,500 388,760 -18,263,294 -429,221.50 -52,323 62,335 8,534,260 -61,300 -114,779,180 62,970 -57,410 0 -12,326,688 -112,030 -66,250 -2,500 1,554 -40,300 -36,905,835 -1,352,850 -200,050 1437440.0003 -685,969.50 2138429.9997 505,050 -70,000 6,448,430

-3,970 -26,270 -172,000

728,243

1,169

6,489 14,262

-

VALUE 1,889.48 (down) 1.38 1,076,436,923.32 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 9,629.35 (down) 87.19 764,871,343.45 HOLDING FIRMS 7,715.23 (up) 19.07 2,332,472.580.90 PROPERTY 4,067.93 (down) 17.07 1,503.00 (down) 30.72 1,568,294,171.145 SERVICES MINING & OIL 7,582.57 (down) 55.71 695,041,650.027 PSEI 7,790.91 (down) 25.02 66,443,938.3434 All Shares Index 4,640.63 (down) 17.18 6,511,209,150.20 Gainers: 68; Losers: 117; Unchanged: 54; Total: 239

ICTSI allots $100m for upgrade of Congo port

By Darwin G. Amojelar INTERNATIONAL Container Terminal Services Inc. plans to invest $100 million on the second phase of Congo’s container terminal expansion project.

The port terminal said work on Matadi’s Gateway Terminal’s second phase expansion was expected to begin in 2020.

“The expansion of MGT is aligned with actual and projected container growth rates for the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo], and corresponds with cargo owner and shipping line requirements for the medium term,” said Hans Ole Madsen, ICTSI senior vice president and regional head of Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“The market is seeing positive growth albeit off a relatively low base in terms of total demand. Studies suggest that DRC will achieve emerging market country status within the next 10 years and as such, we are very confident that this nearly $100-million expansion plan anticipates the market’s requirements over this period and will deliver unrivaled efficiencies,” he added.

Among the upgrades are the expansion of the quay from 375 meters to over 500 meters, and the doubling of the terminal’s yard area to 10.5 hectares.

When completed, MGT will be capable of simultaneously servicing two WAFMAX class vessels.

The expansion gives the terminal substantial flexibility to optimize container capacity, stacking, and clearance/dropoff arrangements.

On the equipment side, a third Kone mobile harbor crane–now on order–will soon be installed to provide the ability to turn a 2,500-TEU capacity vessel in under 12 hours.

In the pipeline are Congo’s first pair of ship-to-shore (STS) gantry cranes, which are expected to optimize vessel turnaround times; new landside yard handling equipment; and the latest IT systems for optimized terminal operations.

Located 92 miles upstream of the Congo River, Matadi has the natural advantage of being the closest port to the capital Kinshasa, offering the lowest inland transport cost that greatly benefit cargo owners.

ICTSI is working with relevant authorities to enhance the rail service between Matadi and Kinshasa, the only direct rail link in the country between a seaport gateway and the capital city.

Roxas swung to net loss of P1.9b in 2019

By Jenniffer B. Austria INTEGRATED sugar and ethanol producer Roxas Holdings Inc. posted a net loss of P1.9 billion in fiscal year ending September 30, 2019, a sharp reversal a profit of P55 million in the previous year on write-downs and lower sugar production.

RHI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the group recognized non-recurring losses of P1.1 billion during the last quarter of the fiscal year due mainly to the de-recognition of certain deferred tax assets.

RHI executive vice president and chief finance officer Celso Dimarucut said the der-ecognition of certain deferred tax assets was required by accounting standards and would not have any impact on the cash flow of the group.

The company also faced a very tough market during the past year.

Philippine sugar output for crop year 2018-2019 was down 17.1 percent yearon–year to 2.072 million metric tons due to unfavorable weather conditions.

“Talks on the liberalization of the sugar industry were also rampant during the period, causing a softening of sugar prices, while feedstock costs continue to increase. Our results reflect the impact of these challenges,” said RHI chairman Pedro Roxas.

Consolidated revenues ending September increased to P13.3 billion, including sales from discontinued operations amounting to P6.3 billion.

The higher sales volume and price of alcohol, as well as milling revenues amounting to P1.5 billion boosted total revenues.

Consolidated net loss before nonrecurring losses amounted to P769 million from a net income of P55 million in the previous year as a result of higher feedstock costs, lower sugar production volume and increases in interest costs.

World

B3

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Trump can be impeached—scholars W ASHINGTON― Three constitutional scholars on Wednesday bolstered the Democrats’ case for impeaching Donald Trump by saying the president’s actions seeking foreign interference in US elections were clear grounds for removal, as the inquiry kicked into high gear in Congress.

But reflecting the Washington political divide, a fourth expert strongly dissented, saying there was “woefully inadequate” evidence that Trump com-

mitted high crimes and misdemeanors necessary for removal.

Democrats have made a forceful case that Trump should be impeached for trying to leverage a White House meeting and military aid to pressure Ukraine for dirt on an election rival.

In a sometimes theatrical hearing of the House Judiciary Committee―now tasked with weighing impeachment charges against the president―lawmakers listened to damning testimony from constitutional law professors.

“On the basis of the testimony and evidence before the House, President Trump has committed impeachable high crimes and misdemeanors by corruptly abusing the office of the presidency,” Harvard Law School professor Noah Feldman told the hearing.

“We three are unanimous” in that view, jurisprudence professor Michael

Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina said, referring to himself and fellow witnesses Feldman and Stanford Law School professor Pamela Karlan.

The trio was invited by Democrats to testify.

Americans tuning in to the eight-hour live broadcast witnessed clashes between Democrats and Republican Trump loyalists on the panel, who repeatedly forced procedural votes to stall the process.

The new phase of impeachment began a day after a congressional report on the high-stakes inquiry detailed “overwhelming” evidence of abuse of power and obstruction by the president.

The report mapped out a monthslong scheme by Trump, his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, senior diplomats and White House staffers to pressure Ukraine’s president into investigating Joe Biden, the current favorite to win

the Democratic nomination for the 2020 election.

Trump “was willing to compromise our security and his office for personal, political gain,” said Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler.

Trump’s alleged political crimes, including bribery and obstruction of justice and Congress, “are worse than the misconduct of any prior president,” Gerhardt said.

“If what we’re talking about is not impeachable, then nothing is impeachable.”

Feldman added that if Trump is not held to account for his offenses “we live under a dictatorship.”

White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham hit back in a statement, saying that “the only thing the three liberal professors established at chairman Nadler’s hearing was their political bias against the president.” AFP

IN BRIEF Japan unveils stimulus package

TOKYO―Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled $120 billion in stimulus measures on Thursday, to help the world’s third largest economy overcome the aftermath of the nation’s recent natural disasters.

The package is also aimed at helping the nation alleviate the impact of last month’s tax hike and survive a potential economic slowdown after an Olympic boom.

“We will introduce a daring fiscal policy worth 13 trillion yen ($120 billion),” Abe told ministers and party leaders at the prime minister’s office.

“We have crafted a powerful policy package,” Abe added.

The package, expected to be endorsed at a cabinet meeting later in the day, totals some 26 trillion yen if spending by the private sector is counted, according to public broadcaster NHK and other local media.

Under the plan, the government will spend some six trillion yen on public investment after a series of natural disasters―including killer Typhoon Hagibiscaused huge damage to the country’s infrastructure, local media said.

Japan’s economy has so far expanded this year, partially because of strong demand related to preparations for the Olympics, which will start in July next year.

Some analysts warned the country may suffer a post-Olympic slump.

The package is also aimed at easing the impact of the consumption tax increase to 10 percent from eight percent on October 1 and helping Japanese firms prepare for a global economic slowdown due to the USChina trade dispute. AFP

Aussie smoke crisis ‘longest on record’

SYDNEY―Australian bush fires have caused unprecedented pollution in Sydney and along the country’s east coast, officials said Thursday, with smoke and dust burning residents’ eyes and prompting a spike in respiratory complaints.

Hundreds of bush fires have burned out of control since September up and down the eastern seaboard, blanketing cities from Sydney to Brisbane in smoke for weeks on end.

The extent of the crisis was made clear Thursday, with the New South Wales department of environment declaring bush fires and dust had caused “some of the highest air pollution ever seen” in Australia.

The region “has experienced other periods of poor air quality that lasted several weeks, including the 1994 Sydney bush fires and the Black Christmas bush fires of Dec 2001-Jan 2002,” a spokeswoman told AFP. “This event, however, is the longest and the most widespread in our records.”

New South Wales Rural Fire Service said more than a dozen fires were burning near Sydney on Thursday, including three that carried an emergency warning.

For three weeks the city has seen almost daily air quality warnings.

Bush fires are common in Australia, but scientists say this year’s season has come earlier and with more intensity due to a prolonged drought fueled by climate change.

New South Wales health officials said more people with asthma were turning up at hospitals, and ambulance call-outs for breathing problems were up 24 percent in the week to December 1.

Meanwhile, tourists and residents took measures to combat the smoke, buying face masks and staying indoors as much as possible. AFP

FOGGY IN SRINAGAR. Boatmen wait for passengers on Dal Lake in Srinagar on December 5, 2019. AFP

OPEC considers deeper production cut VIENNA―Faced with slowing global economic growth and abundant reserves putting pressure on oil prices, the OPEC group and its partners could seek to deepen output cuts when they meet in Vienna on Thursday and Friday.

The cuts of 1.2 million barrels per day from October 2018 levels were originally fixed in December last year and were already extended at OPEC’s last meeting in July.

Some observers expected the cuts to remain in place possibly until the end of 2020.

But Iraqi oil minister Thamer Ghadban on his arrival Tuesday in Vienna suggested some members would push for output to be slashed by an additional 400,000 barrels per day.

However, he added that any cut was “very much subject to the member countries”. In comments reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday, Ghadban was in favor of extending the current deal to the end of next year.

Meanwhile, Ghadban’s Saudi counterpart, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman―half-brother of the kingdom’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman―remained tight-lipped on his arrival in Vienna on Wednesday.

He told reporters simply that the market conditions were as “sunny” as the crisp winter weather in the Austrian capital.

Some observers say fresh production cuts and a boost to prices would suit Saudi Arabia as it

tries to support the IPO of its national oil company Aramco.

The organization’s members may well be tempted to follow a cautious course by a forbidding global economic context.

The trade war with the US is acting as a drag on growth in China, normally an avid consumer of oil, while the European economy is also currently stagnating.

Moreover, the output of oil producers outside OPEC is breaking records: the US has been the world’s biggest producer since 2018, Brazil and Canada have also increased output and others such as Norway are planning to do so.

According to latest US estimates, the country’s total domestic stocks now stand at an enormous 452 million barrels.

Analysts say that, taken together, these factors will leave OPEC little room for maneuver if it wants to fulfill its stated aim of securing “fair and stable prices for petroleum producers”.

Prices have held relatively steady since the last OPEC meeting, with a barrel of Brent crude hovering around the $60 mark, apart from a spike in September sparked by attacks on Saudi oil installations.

While this is a comfortable price for the likes of Russia, whose 2019 budget is predicated on a price of around $42 a barrel, it is too low for countries such as Saudi Arabia. AFP

TODAY

WELLINGTON―Samoa entered a two-day lockdown Thursday to carry out an unprecedented mass vaccination drive aimed at containing a devastating measles epidemic that has killed dozens of children in the Pacific island nation.

As the death toll climbed to 62, officials ordered all businesses and nonessential government services to close, shut down inter-island ferries and told people to keep their cars off the roads.

Residents were advised to obey a dawn-to-dusk curfew, staying in their homes and displaying a red flag if any occupants were not yet immunized.

Hundreds of vaccination teams, including public servants drafted in for the operation, fanned out across the nation of 200,000 in the early hours of the morning.

They plan to go door-to-door in villages and towns to administer mandatory vaccinations in red-flagged houses.

The markets on Apia’s waterfront, usually packed with tourists buying handicrafts, were silent as stalls stood empty, while there was hardly any traffic in the city center.

“It’s very, very quiet out here. I can just hear a few barking dogs. The streets are empty. There are no cars,” UNICEF’s Pacific islands chief Sheldon Yett told AFP. “People are staying at home waiting for the vaccination campaign. The teams are getting their supplies together and getting ready to go out.”

The operation, carried out under emergency powers invoked as the epidemic took hold last month, is a desperate bid to halt measles infection rates that have been inexorably rising since mid-October, with most of the victims young children.

“I’ve seen mass mobilisation campaigns before, but not over an entire country like this,” Yett said.

“That’s what we’re doing right now.

This entire country is being vaccinated.”

The immunization rates in Samoa dropped steeply to just 30 percent before the outbreak, the World Health Organization said, blaming an anti-vaccine messaging campaign. AFP

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT Second Judicial Region Branch 33 Ballesteros, Cagayan

RONALYN A. ARELLANO, Petitioner, -versus -

CIVIL CASE NO. 33-634-2019

FOR: “DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF BIGAMOUS MARRIAGE”

SEMIE Q. AGUILO Respondent, x-------------------------------------------x

ORDER Before this Court is a Motion for Leave to Serve Summons by Publication filed by the petitioner, through counsel, to the effect that as per Officer`s Return dated October 2, 2019, the Process server tried to personally serve Summons upon the person of the respondent at his given address, however, it was discovered that the respondent is not known and cannot be located therein, hence, the petitioner respectfully prayed that the summons be served by publication.

Finding the Motion to be impressed with merit, the motion is hereby GRANTED. Let, therefore, Summons be issued to be served together with this Order Upon the respondent through publication once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.

SO ORDERED. Ballesteros, Cagayan, November 14, 2019.

FRANCISCO S. DONATO Executive Judge

Republic of the Philippines REGIONAL TRIAL COURT Second Judicial Region Branch 33 Ballesteros, Cagayan

Agents charged over drug bust

SYDNEY―Two customs agents have been charged in connection with Australia’s largest ever onshore seizure of the drug “ice”, a bust worth a record US$840 million, police said Thursday.

Australian Border Force agents in April found 1.6 tons of methylamphetamine and 37 kilograms of heroin in vacuum-sealed packages hidden inside stereo speakers shipped from Thailand to Melbourne.

Police arrested two men and a woman in their late thirties on Wednesday following raids in suburban Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city.

“Two of the three were customs agents.

They are trusted insiders within the industry,” Australian Federal Police deputy commissioner Neil Gaughan said.

He added they were not government employees but private contractors.

“They used their position of trust to circumvent the border controls that exist within Australia,” he was quoted as saying by national broadcaster ABC. Police said they were cooperating with authorities in Thailand where an investigation was ongoing. AFP

Manila

Standard

Samoa shuts in fight against measles crisis

RONALYN A. ARELLANO, Petitioner, -versus -

CIVIL CASE NO. 33-634-2019

FOR: “DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF BIGAMOUS MARRIAGE”

SEMIE Q. AGUILO Respondent, x-------------------------------------------x SUMMONS A VERIFIED “Petition for “Declaration of Nullity of Bigamous Marriage” having been filed by the petitioner, RONALYN A. ARELLANO, on the ground of Bigamous Marriage pursuant to Article 35, par. 4 of the Family Code, as amended, praying that your marriage to her celebrated on February 26, 2002, be declared NULL and VOID ab initio, (copy of the Petition may be obtained from this Court) YOU, SEMIE Q. AGUILO, is hereby directed to file your Answer and/or responsive, pleading within a period of THIRTY (30) days from the last date of publication hereof, otherwise, the petitioner will take judgment against you and may be granted by this Court the reliefs prayed for in her petition.

WITNESS THE HON. FRANCISCO S. DONATO, Executive judge of this Court this 14th day of November, 2019 in Ballesteros, Cagayan.

ROYALS. Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia speak with two female priests as they arrive

to attend attend a Ganga Arti Puja, a prayer service, on the banks of the Ganga river in Rishikesh on December 5, 2019. AFP

ATTY. LEMWELL L. ALAPIT Clerk of Court VI (MS-DEC. 6 & 13, 2019)

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

B4

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

Top NPA leader Lazarte killed in Antipolo raid

By Roy Tomandao CAMP CAPINPIN, Tanay, Rizal— The secretary of the communist Southern Tagalog Regional Party Committee’s Sub-Regional Military Area 4A was killed after a firefight with combined military and police forces early Thursday morning.

The authorities were attempting to serve warrants of arrest for murder and frustrated murder to Armando Lazarte alias Pat Romano, in Antipolo City at around 2 a.m.

Lazarte, an Executive Committee member of STRPC, was with two other terrorists inside a safehouse in Barangay Cupang’s Sierra Vista Subdivision when the combined Armed Forces and Philippine National Police teams arrived.

Lazarte was the second high-ranking leader from the New People’s Army’s Southern Tagalog branch to be neutralized in nine days following the arrest of Jaime Padilla, a central committee member, at Cardinal Santos Hospital in San Juan last Nov 26.

Lt. Col. Christopher Diaz, Commander of the 80th Infantry Battalion which operates in Rizal Province, said the terrorists opened fire at the arresting officers and triggered the shootout.

“Alias Pat Romano is a notorious NPA Commander who has led the burning of equipment at the Kaliwa Dam project in Infanta, Quezon early this year and the series of ambush utilizing land mines against the PNP in Baras and Antipolo City last 2018,” Diaz said.

Col. Alex Rillera, Commander of the 202nd Brigade which has operational jurisdiction over the area, said that after the initial exchange of fire, security forces applied first aid to the wounded terrorists, who were then brought to Amang Rodriguez Hospital, where they were declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.

Government troops recovered one M16 rifle, one 9mm pistol, one cal .45 pistol, two hand grenades, laptops, cellphones and enemy documents, which are now being processed by Rizal Provincial Police Office’s Scene of the Crime Operatives.

According to Maj. Gen. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos Jr, commander of the Philippine Army’s 2nd Infantry (Jungle Fighter) Division, “The series of neutralization of hard core cadres in Southern Tagalog is a manifestation of the lingering demoralization among the enemy’s ranks as well as the reality that the NPAs no longer enjoy support from what used to be a solid mass base in the region.”

He said the security forces were notified by informants from within the terrorist group regarding the whereabouts of alias Pat Romano, an information that was confirmed by some of the locals in the area.

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

JAPAN AID. Deputy Chief of Mission Yasushi Yamamoto of the Embassy of Japan (third from right) witnesses the turnover ceremony of the Malatgao River Irrigation System under

the National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project in Narra, Palawan. With him are Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles (fourth from right), National Irrigation Administration’s Deputy Administrator Maj. Gen. Romeo G. Gan (third from left), Aborlan Mayor Celsa B. Adier, and Jin Hirosawa, Japan International Cooperation Agency Philippines Senior Representative.

Makati offers discounts to real property owners

By Joel E. Zurbano

M

AYOR Abigail Binay on Thursday urged real property owners in Makati to pay taxes and avail of the discounts offered by the city government until Jan. 20 next year.

The city government will grant a 10-percent discount on payments made before the deadline for real property taxes paid on an annual basis.

“I encourage real property owners in Makati to beat the deadline and get 10 percent off their tax dues. Our Realty Tax Division is open to accept payments even on Saturdays to accommodate ‘early birds’ who wish to avoid the rush and take advantage of the discount as well,” said Binay.

The mayor said aside from its regular operations from 8am to 5pm from Mondays to Fridays, the Realty Tax Division, with offices at the 2nd floor of Makati City Hall Building I, will also

be open from 8am to 3pm on Saturdays starting Nov. 30 until Dec. 14. Succeeding weekend schedules for January will be announced later.

For business owners, Binay said the Business Permit and Licensing Office (BPLO) has also started accepting applications for renewal, advance assessment and payments for business taxes, and will be issuing the Mayor’s permit upon completion of all requirements.

Businesses that may apply for renewal in advance include dental and medical clinics, representative offices, non-stock/ non-profit organization, regional headquarters and regional operating head-

quarters, sari-sari stores/carinderias/ metro stores, real estate lessors, law offices and other professional practices, cooperatives, and common carriers.

RPT collection usually starts on the first working day of January until January 20. The succeeding quarterly payments shall be made until April 20 (second quarter), July 20 (third quarter), and Oct. 20 (fourth quarter). The city offers a five-percent discount for quarterly payments made before the deadline for each quarter.

Annual realty tax payments made after March will be charged an eight percent penalty, while late quarterly payments will incur a penalty of two percent per month.

Meanwhile, penalties on late payments of business taxes include a 25-percent surcharge and a two percent penalty per month of delay until the amount due is fully settled.

Uniforms of the New People’s Army, long firearms, ammunition, and subversive documents are laid out after authorities recovered those from an encounter with NPA commander Armando Lazarte and two others in Antipolo City. Roy Tomandao

PCAARD funds online citrus database system developed by NVSU

By Butch Gunio LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development \has funded a project that developed an online database system for descriptive information on all citrus collections of the Nueva Viz-

caya State University.

Developed by the Philippine Citrus Resources Development Center of NVSU, the system is called “Citrus Genetic Resources Information System” or CitRIS, NVSU citrus expert Ma. Cecilia Salas said in a press conference here.

“CitRIS is an online database system with a window-based platform

where data entry on descriptions of citrus species and varieties is done,” Salas said. “CitRIS currently holds data for PCRDC’s 76 accessions of 16 citrus species from seven provinces of the Philippines.”

“The information system has been developed as part of the PCRDC project on citrus genetic resources conserva-

tion,” added Vilchor G. Perdido, another NVSU citrus expert.

“PCRDC now keeps a collection of over 1,300 mother trees in its screenhouse. The project will continue to establish a core collection from all regions where citrus germplasm can be located,” he added.

The web-based platform can be ac-

Candon leads vaccination for elderly

A commitment exercise with representatives from the City of Candon as a pledge to fortify the community’s shield from vaccine-preventable diseases is led by (from left) Hazel Fabon, RN, DMO of Ilocos CHD; Candon Mayor Dr. Ericson Singson; Dr. Marianne Haber Gabuat, medical speaker from Southern Ilocos Sur Medical Society; and Miguel Marcelino Carino, OSCA president for the City of Candon.

CANDON, Ilocos Sur—Christmas came early for senior citizens of this city as they recently received the gift of protection against pneumonia in the annual vaccination campaign initiated by its local government.

This event, launched in November, was held in the same month as the global observance of World Pneumonia Day every Nov. 12.

To strengthen its efforts to build a healthy citizenry, the City of Candon partnered with MSD in the Philippines, a global health care company, to conduct free immunization against pneumonia among senior citizens through the “Bakunado si Lolo at Lola, Iwas Pulmonya” program.

During the program, pneumonia vaccine was administered for free to

almost 500 senior citizens present during the event, to encourage others to go to their health centers and consult with their doctors on how to get and schedule their pneumonia vaccination.

Under the program, elderly who are at least 65 years old will receive one dose of pneumonia vaccine, while those who are 60 years old must receive a second dose after five years following the first dose. Pneumonia vaccine is also administered for free across all health centers in the city.

Candon has gained rightful prominence as a model health care community, largely credited to its systematic local health care governance spearheaded by its mayor, Dr. Ericson Singson.

Joy reactivates price coordinating council for QC

By Rio N. Araja QUEZON City Mayor Joy Belmonte has reactivated the price coordinating council that shall protect residents from undue price increases and ensure adequate supply of goods and communities.

She issued Executive Order No. 11 mandating the revival of the Quezon City Price Coordinating Council in a bid to protect consumers from price manipulators, following the implementation of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Law. The mayor, in her order, justified the council’s revival, saying it complied with Republic Act No. 7581 or the Price Act of 1991 mandating the creation of such body.

“There is a need to mobilize an organization/body that will monitor pricing, prescribe measures and necessary mechanism for stabilizing prices and assure adequate supply, distribution and marketing of goods/ commodities for the welfare and protection of consumers,” the order read.

Belmonte shall be the council’s chairperson with city administrator Michael Alimurung and the Department of Trade and Industry regional director as co-vice chairpersons.

The council is mandated to coordinate and rationalize the functions of the member agencies to stabilize prices and supply of basic goods and prime commodities.

25 Asians take agri-bio course at SEARCA

By Brenda Jocson

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—Some 25 nationals from eight Asian counties, both from public and private sectors, have converged at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture to participate in this year’s Asian Short Course on Agribiotechnology.

According to SEARCA, the program aims to enable the participants from China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam to have a better understanding of the entire value chain of living modified organisms (LMOs) as well as national and international legal instruments regarding LMOs. SEARCA has partnered in organizing the Asian Short Course on Agribiotechnology, Biotechnology Regulation, and Communication with the International Service for the Acquisition of Agribiotech Applications, Malaysian Biotechnology Information Center, and Monash University, also in Malaysia.

In organizing the program, Searca said it recognizes the importance of integrating research, effective communication, and science-based regulatory frameworks in harnessing the full potential of agribiotechnology to fuel sustainable agricultural development.

Now on its second year, SEARCA said the program also aims to discuss effective communication of agribiotechnology and biosafety regulation.

Life YOUNG LIFE

HIP LIFE. A newly

opened trendy mall in NoMa (North of Makati) offers young professionals leading an urban lifestyle a new community to thrive, mingle, and have fun.

Bernadette Lunas, Issue Editor manilastandardlife@gmail.com @manilastandardlife @MStandardLIFE FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

C1

New hip destination rises in NoMa

By Steph Llarena

I

F MANHATTAN has SoHo (South of Houston) known for its art galleries and trendy upscale boutiques, Makati has NoMa (North of Makati), a burgeoning art, music, design, and culinary district.

Located north of Ayala Avenue, NoMa houses a unique mix of galleries, delicatessens, indie music venues, and trendy retail outlets, one of which is the recently opened Assembly Grounds at The Rise.

The two-story boutique mall that’s integrated into The Rise combines world-class architecture and interior design with Shang Properties’ thumbprint on residential and commercial development.

Zubuchon, as well Fiery Style Southwestern Flaming Grill for fajitas and mojitos, Buffalo’s Wings N’ Things for chicken and beer, and 7-Eleven and BreadTalk for quick bites.

More dining establishments are currently on soft opening or are opening soon, according to Assembly Grounds. There will be Chatto Bites offering Americanized Japanese and Asian fast food, Ramen Daisho for ramen, Mey Lin Express serving handpulled noodles and dumplings, Vinatrang Cuisine for healthy Vietnamese food, and Kuya’s local comfort food. Also catering to mall-goers are Premier Pep the Samgyupsal, Pepper Lunch, Salad Bowl, Casa Mia, and Raging Bull + Burgers.

Errands are a breeze with the opening of BPI, True Value, and Daiso.

And like a true one-stop community hub, residents Dining in the area can also enjoy options range from quick service fast food chains to casual dining restaurants. a much-needed me-time at Nisce Skin Medispa, BOHO

by Nail Tropics, Pink ParNoMa’s newest stomping lour, and /nook/ Salon. ground along Malugay Street Assembly Grounds is beefing has a good mix of restaurants, up its offering of services with cafés, services, and essential Lomi Imua Relaxation Hawaistores—all carefully curated ian Spa, Sanbry Men’s Groomfor young professionals leading ing House, Acero Dental Clinic, an urban lifestyle.

Besa’s Footwear and Bag RestoSome of the stores and out- ration, and Security Bank. lets in the “community” include It is also welcoming Tapout coffee shop Starbucks Reserve, Fitness with its unique martial Asian restaurants Yuki Café and arts-infused fitness program, Tong Yang Shabu-Shabu Ex- and multi-brand lifestyle conpress, Filipino restos Recipes and cept store, CURATE.

December Avenue is the most streamed artist in 2019 on Spotify Philippines.

December Avenue ends the year at the top MOVE over Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran, because the five-piece indie rock/pop rock band December Avenue tops the list of the most streamed artists in the Philippines in 2019.

This is the first time an artist from the Philippines has taken the top spot on Spotify’s annual Wrapped Most Streamed Artist list. In second spot is Taylor Swift, followed by Ed Sheeran, Ben&Ben, and Ariana Grande.

Rounding out a huge year for

December Avenue, the band recently appeared on the first Asiamade Spotify Holiday Single, “A Perfect Christmas” alongside Jose Mari Chan and other OPM stars.

December Avenue also tops the most streamed local artists and most streamed groups lists. Its hit song “Kung Di Rin Lang Ikaw” with Moira dela Torre is also the most streamed track this year.

Check out Spotify’s For The Record blog post for a complete Wrapped infographic.

The two-story Assembly Grounds is integrated into The Rise.

The mall houses a curated lineup of salon and spa.

Entertainment

C2 FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019 nickie.standard@gmail.com

SNAPSHOT AWARD-WINNING German artist Hans Bacher, the production designer behind Mulan, among many other Disney movies, has shared his personal collection of toys from the all-timefavorite animated films from Disney Pictures and its subsidiary Pixar Animation Studios in a special exhibition.

Bacher’s assemblage of toys is comprised of much-coveted official stuffed plushies and figures from Lilo & Stitch, Winnie the Pooh, and Dumbo, to name some.

Spearheaded by the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB)’s Center for Campus Art (CCA) and the Animation Program, The Toy Collection of Hans Bacher exhibition is open to the public until Feb. 22 (the campus will be closed from Dec. 18 to Jan. 2).

The showcase is at the Animation Hallway, 11th Floor, School of Design and Arts (SDA) Campus, De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), Pablo Ocampo (Vito Cruz) Street, Malate, Manila.

By Nickie Wang

M

OVIE and television comedian and theater actor Jerald Napoles is open to the possibility of working both in ABS-CBN and GMA. The 36-year-old former Triple A talent said he doesn’t have any TV contract, thus making him more flexible in terms of accepting small screen projects.

Disney animator’s toy collection on display The late Filipino actor, Kristoffer King (right) was awarded the Best Performance for his role as Dante in the feature film ’Verdict,’ by Raymund Ribay Gutierrez, which was in competition under the Asian Feature Film segment at the 30th SGIFF.

30th SGIFF attracts 110,000 attendees from around the region

Comedian JERALD NAPOLES joins Viva family

“Since I don’t have any network contract, whichever station offers me work, dun ako,” the comedian told reporters when he signed a five-year talent management contract with Viva Entertainment.

“Even before I got to work in ABS, I’m already friends with Coco Martin.

He even called me personally to tell me that he had a project for me and Pepe Herrera. And then Probinsyano came about but during that time there’s Sunday Pinasaya,” he added and confirmed that his contract with GMA Network had already ended two years ago.

Part of his new partnership is a 10-movie project, which enticed him to transfer, saying he doesn’t want to miss this opportunity to finally be an actor.

“I’m doing 10 movies with Viva.

Sayang naman ‘yung talent ko sa pag-sayaw, pagkanta, everything, maximize na natin. Kaya nga ako nagtayo ng YouTube channel. Kung napansin niyo my YouTube channel has all the things that I can do. I dance there, I sing, I busk, I do everything, it’s my playground,” he told Manila Standard.

of Singapore on Dec. 1 alongside the winners of the Best Asian Feature Film, Scales (Sayidat Al Bahr) by Saudi Arabian filmmaker Shahad Ameen, and Best Southeast Asian Short Film I’m Not Your F***ing Stereotype by Thai filmmaker Hesome Chemamah at the Silver Screen Awards.

To commemorate the SGIFF’s landmark edition, the festival also closed with a 30th Anniversary Special Presentation screening of The Truth by Palme d’Or Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda on Dec. 1 at Golden Village Grand.

This latest feature by Kore-eda is his first out of Japan, and presents a unique taste of France as it tells the story of prima donna actress Fabienne (played

by Catherine Deneuve) whose newly published memoirs are challenged by her daughter, Lumir (played by Juliette Binoche).

The 11-day SGIFF saw an outstanding lineup of stars and industry heavyweights gracing the festival as they interacted with the audience during the red-carpet galas at Capitol Theatre, masterclasses and dialogue sessions held around the island.

This included Golden Globe winning actress, Joanne Froggatt; Hollywood’s leading makeup effects artist, Barney Burman; acclaimed Indian actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui; actor and guitarist of iconic Taiwanese rock band, Stone; distinguished Chinese actress,Yao Chen; and Taiwanese personalities, Wu Kexi and Hsia Yu-chiao. Esteemed filmmakers, Takisha Miike, Midi Z, Pang Ho Cheung, and Anurag Kashyap, also graced the festival.

Rapper Drake named this decade's most-streamed artist

Comedian Jerald Napoles will do 10 movies as part of his contract with Viva. (Inset) Jerald with Viva Entertainment bigwigs.

Asked if his girlfriend of five years, Viva talent Kim Molina, influenced his decision to sign with Viva, Jerald clarified that although he’s glad that they are now under the same management, he and Kim make their own decisions when it comes to their respective careers.

“If Kim wasn’t with Viva and I received the same offer, I’d still accept it. Kim has her own success already, parang I don’t want to live in the shadow of that success . Medyo nauna naman po ako kay Kim sa industriya so meron na rin po akong pinapangalagaang brand,”Jerald concluded

GMA Drama Writing Workshop: See who made the first cut AFTER a scrupulous review of over two thousand applications, GMA Network has shortlisted aspiring participants of its free Basic TV Drama Scriptwriting Workshop.

Spearheaded by the GMA Network Entertainment Group, the said workshop will focus on soap-opera writing, particularly Filipino teleseryes and the dynamics behind it.

Two hundred seventy eight (278) aspiring participants have been selected for the next phase of the application process.

These lucky hopefuls have shown great potential in screenwriting and impressed the review panel with their colorful scripts, characters, and stories.

They will now undergo a round of writing diagnostics and interviews today, from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm (for Manila applicants) and tomorrow (Dec. 7), from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm (for Regional applicants) at the GMA Network Annex Building.

THE 30th Singapore International Film Festival (SGIFF) culminated on Sunday (Dec. 1) after two weeks of film screenings and off-screen programs that celebrated and showcased the best of independent cinema.

The festival brought together a record attendance of more than 110,000 festival-goers to engage with filmmakers from Singapore and the region in film screenings, panels, talks, exhibitions and masterclasses.

This year, the SGIFF presented a dynamic line-up of over 90 films by auteurs from 40 countries that took the pulse of Asian and international cinema, of which includes 35 sold-out screenings, surpassing its past record in 2017. There was also strong support for works by homegrown filmmakers, with the festival’s opening film, Wet Season by Anthony Chen, being the first film sold out in the lineup, and all titles under the Singapore Panorama snatched up by the audience.

Meanwhile, the much-anticipated Audience Choice Award was awarded to Unteachable by Singaporean filmmaker, Yong Shuling, marking the first time a local film has received this Award.

The debut feature documentary by Yong follows the story of Damian, a struggling teenager at the bottom rung of Singapore’s academic ladder, and a young teacher Meixi, who is on a mission to transform the way learning is conducted in classes like his.

Both screenings of Unteachable during the Festival were sold out, and had its third run as part of the Audience Choice Award at the National Museum

The final chosen participants will be contacted by a GMA representative through their declared contact/mobile number and email address. Participants who will pass the workshop will be given the privilege of being part of GMA’s Entertainment Group.

Any personal information provided to GMA Network will be stored in a database for future use but will not be released, sold, rented to any entities or individuals outside of the company.

The company also reserves the right to publish, print, distribute, telecast, and otherwise utilize anything that will be developed and created by the participant during the workshop.

For the full list of the aspiring participants and for more details on the scriptwriting workshop, please visit www.gmanetwork. com/DramaWriting or email dramawritingworkshop@gmanetwork.com.

AS THE 2010s winds to a close, streaming titan Spotify announced Tuesday that poppy rap sensation Drake is the most globally streamed artist of the decade with more than 28 billion streams.

British crooner Ed Sheeran, hip hop warbler Post Malone, pop royalty Ariana Grande, and rap iconoclast Eminemrounded out the top five most-streamed artists between 2010 and 2019, Spotify said.

Global hit machine Sheeran’s “Shape of You” won the top spot for most streamed track of the decade with more than 2.3 billion streams, according to the data on more than 248 million worldwide users’ listening habits.

Post Malone was 2019’s most-streamed artist with more than 6.5 billion, followed

by Billie Eilish, whose haunting pop sound saw her win more than 6 billion streams.

Grande, Sheeran, and Latin trap innovator Bad Bunny formed the rest of the most-streamed class of artists of 2019.

“Senorita,” the sultry pop duet from reallife couple Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes, was 2019’s most streamed song, with more than one billion streams, closely trailed by Eilish’s smash “bad guy” that got more than 990 million streams.

Created in 2006, Spotify by 2010 was

Canadian rapper and music producer Aubrey Drake Graham popularly known as simply Drake.

but a young start-up with less than a million paying subscribers—contrary to today’s 113 million.

The company’s rise to power— today counting 248 million monthly users, including paying and non-paying members—largely came on streaming’s growing dominance in the industry.

Fellow streaming giant YouTube has not published its top streamed videos of the decade—its top-viewed video remains the lilting Latin juggernaut “Despacito”

by Luis Fonsi featuring Daddy Yankee, with over 6.5 billion. AFP

Ian Veneracion conquers the Solaire stage with Regine Velasquez ACTOR and musician Ian Veneracion continues to pursue another aspect to his artistic persona as he returns to the stage withThe MusicIAN on Stage at The Theater at Solaire on Dec.14.

The actor said he likes the instant feedback he gets from the audience in concerts.

“Unlike when you’re in front of the camera, it’s just a machine. Walang interaction unlike kapag live audience at a certain level kahit hindi direct may bonding na nangyayari na doon ko lang na-experience. Very fascinating,” he told Manila Standard during the press conference for the upcoming concert.

The show follows his recent concerts outside of the country and the one in Baguio, which nabbed

an Aliw Award nomination for Best Major Concert.

Presented by Topher Entertainment Production and ABSCBN Events, The MusicIAN on Stage features his renditions of blues and jazz.

He will also sing his new single “Pasko na Naman,” which will be out on the same day.

Sharing the stage with him this time is Asia’s Songbird Regine Velasquez and acclaimed actorsinger JM de Guzman.

The said concert is also part of ABSCBN’s continuing efforts to bring immersive Kapamilya experiences in awe-inspiring live shows, fan meets, theater productions, and concerts here and abroad. For tickets of the “MusicIAN on Stage,” call 8891.9999 or visit ticketworld.com.ph

The “MusIAN’ is Ian Veneracion’s third major concert this year.

Motoring

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

C3

Five Continents Drive arrives in Asia

I

• Toyota’s goal focuses on making ‘ever-better cars’

N LINE with Toyota’s commitment to making “ever-better cars,” Asia’s biggest carmake brings to the Philippines the 5 Continents Drive team which aims to drive various Toyota vehicles in local communities, diverse terrains, and challenging environments which customers experience on the road on a daily basis.

Their motto: “Roads build people, and people build cars.” Globally, the 5 Continents Drive started in 2014 in Australia, and has since travelled across North and Latin America, Europe, and Africa. The team started their Asia Drive this February 2019 in the Middle East and is slated to end in Japan in time for the milestone Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

TMC, through its local affiliate Toyota Motor Philippines together with the global affiliates concluded the Philippine leg of the global project 5 Continents Drive at the Philippine Goal Event at Toyota Manila Bay Corporation (TMBC). Officially launched in a send-off ceremony at TMP’s Santa Rosa, Laguna plant last November 19, the project brought 27 Toyota engineers and technical experts from TMC, TMP, Toyota Daihatsu Engineering and Manufacturing (TDEM), and Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP) to the roads of Metro Manila, Bulacan, Tarlac, La Union, Baguio, Pangasinan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Zambales and back to Manila for a goal event at TMP’s dealership along Manila Bay. The 5 Continents 9-vehicle convoy for the Philippine drive is composed of the locally-assembled Vios and Innova, together with the Hilux, Corolla Altis Hybrid, Rush, Fortuner, and the RAV4.

“Toyota Motor Philippines is honored to be a part of the historic 5 Continents Drive, with our very own Team Mem-

bers guiding the group as local experts.

They will help the 5 Continents Drive team understand not only the local road conditions, but also the country’s transportation situation, and culture,” says TMP President Satoru Suzuki during the send-off ceremony.

“This immersion project serves as an opportunity for the world to witness the Filipinos’ unique way of life and how cars are helping them go through their daily lives,” he added.

As part of the preparations for the driving experience activity, the participants from Toyota’s Japan, Thailand and Singapore offices were taught local road rules and regulations, and briefed on local road traffic situation and safety reminders.

They were also exposed to the unique ways Filipinos are customizing transport solutions like the use of Toyota’s Hiace models as public utility vehicles locally known as UV Express.

A visit at Toyota’s Angeles dealership also helped the team gather more insights on the Philippine market in terms of transportation situation, culture, and relevance of vehicles to every Filipinos’ daily routine.

The 5 Continents Drive or 5C Drive is a Genchi Genbutsu project (literally translated to “go and see for yourself”, this Toyota Way philosophy encourages employees to go directly to the source to get the facts) under TOYOTA GAZOO Racing.

The all-new Transit is powered by Ford’s proven 2.2L Duratorq diesel engine with a 6-speed manual transmission, rear-wheel drive delivering 135PS of power and 385Nm of torque.

Ford Transit reloaded: Vanderful FORD Philippines has launched its utilitarian vehicle, the all-new Transit which boasts generous space and is designed to help businesses thrive especially those involved in moving people as part of their daily operations.

Since its launch in 1965, the Ford Transit introduced first in Europe, has made way across other continents and countries over the past few years, even garnering several awards for its fuel-efficiency, design, and value.

So far, Ford has produced over seven (7) million Transit vehicles across the world and has launched six (6) generations of the vehicle, constantly evolving to keep up with the demands of enterprise customers.

“Given its global success in boosting productivity for businesses, we at Ford are excited to bring the all-new Transit with the continued growth of the light commercial bus and van segment (LCBV) in the Philippines. The all-new Transit offers unique appeal to businesses and relevant sectors and is poised to help drive productivity and business growth,” says PK Umashankar, managing director, Ford Philippines.

The all-new Ford Transit is engineered to compliment and support industries such as education, hotels and resorts, travel and tourism, medical, business process outsourcing, corporate, and even retail. Enterprises in these sectors are looking for optimized load space, dynamic exterior design, and enhanced comfort in their commercial vehicles to provide their customers and people re-

sources with mobility support.

Performance Capabilities The all-new Transit offers work-ready performance capability to bring maximum productivity for any business’ transportation and mobility needs.

Spacious Interior The all-new Transit offers space efficiency and increased productivity made possible by its generous size which measures 5,981mm long, 2,474mm wide, and 2,517mm tall. It incorporates a spacious interior that features a 15-seating capacity, 21 stowage bins, 12 cup holders and multiple power sockets. These characteristics allow the all-new Transit to be easily maneuvered in or outside the city, while also having a high carrying capacity for passengers or cargo load.

Safe and Convenient Features The all-new Transit is also equipped with a selection of safe and convenient features made to enhance the ride experience for drivers and passengers alike.

For maximum convenience, comfort, and driver stress prevention, these features include a rearview camera, extra wide doors, rear cargo doors with 180-degree opening capacity, easy clean non-slip rubber flooring, power side step, power folding side mirrors, hill launch assist, and load stabilization.

For safety, on the other hand, the allnew Transit comes with the Electronic Stability Program (ESP), 15 three-point seatbelts with head rests, as well as an escape hatch for emergency situations.

Purpose-built Design Bold and utilitarian are distinctive

traits of the all-new Transit’s exterior design, allowing it to suit daily business operations while conveying a strong and commanding road presence.

It is fitted with a three-bar grille, halogen reflector headlamps with daytime running lights, fog lamps, steel wheels with hub caps, black bumpers and side moldings, and rear bumper with integrated step.

Cost Efficiency The all-new Transit offers outstanding after-sales value by optimizing cost efficiency for businesses. It has been engineered for minimum maintenance and repair labor times, only requiring a once a year scheduled service interval, allowing for better and more competitive owner experience.

On top of this, Ford will provide all customers purchasing the all-new Transit this year with a free 5-year scheduled service maintenance plan to further boost growth and productivity of business customers.

Colors, Pricing, and Availability The all-new Transit comes in three colors including Frozen White, Moondust Silver, and Magnetic Metallic.

The all-new Transit retails at Php2,300,000 and is available in Ford dealerships nationwide beginning today.

“Offering work-ready capability and space capacity to meet the shifting demands of businesses, the all-new Ford Transit is set to become a benchmark for the LCBV segment in the country,” adds Ryan Lorenzo, marketing director, Ford Philippines.

FASTLANE

“The Wonderboy” wraps up Asia road racing championship

Caltex opens 11 more stations QUALITY Caltex fuels are made available to more motorists in the country as Caltex opens more stations across the country. In the last six months, 11 Caltex stations have already opened in various provinces making a total of 20 new Caltex sites up to November this year.

The opening of new Caltex stations assures the public that quality fuel is made available in more locations throughout the country. With more fueling options, motorists can choose to load up on fuels that assure them of quality and performance like Caltex with Techron fuels.

Caltex fuels are also the first fuel brand to comply with the government’s fuel marking, assuring the consumers that their fuels do not come from unscrupulous and even criminal enterprises.

“We want to help private motorists, transport groups, and fleet operators gain access to clean, safe, and record-setting fuel that is Caltex. We want to give them the freedom of choice instead of settling for the nearest untested fuel station. They can

experience for themselves the big difference that Caltex with Techron can have on their motoring experience or transport business,” said Louie Zhang, Country Chairman of Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI), marketer of the Caltex brand of fuels and lubricants.

Zhang added, “We invest a lot in R&D for Caltex and we also put in a lot of expertise and technology into our facilities. These ensure that our fuel and service stations offer the best product and experience to our customers no matter where they are.”

Aside from retail site openings, Caltex has programs that give loyal customers more bang for the buck. Earlier this year, Caltex partnered with MVP Rewards and Loyalty Solutions, Inc. which gives MVP Rewards card holders Php1 cash back for every 5 liters of Caltex with Techron purchase. With MVP Rewards and two other rewards cards which are Happyplus and Robinsons Rewards Card, Caltex is the only fuel brand with loyalty programs covering utilities, food, and shopping.

THE fight in keeping the title and bringing home the championship ended with heroic finish of the UMA Racing Yamaha Philippines Team, Mckinley Kyle “The Wonderboy” Paz and Masato “The Chairman” Fernando.

Unifying the journey from the beginning of the season and everyone’s collaborative effort exerted to reach the Final Race, the duo achieved the championship they’ve ever dreamed of. Starting off from the 6th position on the grid, Kyle made his rank higher one lap at a time. Even an unfortunate crash happened during the competition, Kyle managed to go back in the exhilarating race and finish off unrivaled. As the ARRC Leader, the Wonderboy heroically defended his title making him the first-ever Filipino racer who won under the ARRC UB150 Category.

Hard work indeed paid off for Masato as he kept his as-

tounding speed throughout the battle. Placed at the 21st position, The Chairman fought his way back to the top, sweeping off other competitors and leaving them behind the rank. Giving his best up until the last lap, Masato send statement that he’s still the Chairman – a years of racing made him the inimitable rider he could become.

All throughout the competition, Masato and Kyle had their momentous winnings and remarkable standing. Ever since the first round, the duo made the spectators astonished by conquering the podium and continue to play the battle smoothly and unmatched. Up until this round – the last race of the season, they didn’t fail to give our country an honor to be proud of. The Chairman fought until the last second of the game and The Wonderboy brings home the Championship title we deserve.

Sand cars are head-turners in Miami Beach art festival ON MIAMI Beach, more than 60 cars sculpted out of sand are drawing attention at this year’s Art Basel international festival, but the aim of their creator is as much about raising awareness of climate change as tickling art lovers’ palates.

The sand cars, which form what looks like a traffic jam sinking into the world-famous beach, have proven a favorite with visitors who snap selfies in front of the installation, entitled “Order of Importance” and created by 46-year-old Argentine sculptor Leandro Erlich.

Erlich told reporters Monday the work is a reflection on the crisis the world is facing due to climate change and “our responsibility, our implication in the events that are starting to happen to the planet.”

The title “has to do with understanding what our priorities are right now and thinking about our future,” he said.

The artist was walking among the sand cars with Mi-

ami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber, who congratulated Erlich on capturing the contradictory nature of Miami Beach, which is built on a fragile barrier island and facing numerous challenges from climate change, yet also reliant on tourism.

“For someone to be able to create a confluence of these things, the environment, the urbanization, the ecology, so that a person walking by can see it and experience it and think about it in his own way is something spectacular,” said Gelber.

Erlich is best known for his work Dalston House, an optical illusion in which he placed a huge mirror at an angle in front of the life-sized replica of a house’s facade, giving visitors the sense they were hanging off the building’s wall.

Another work featured an illusory swimming pool that allowed people to look like they were walking, fully clothed, under water. AFP

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Editor

C4

FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2019

Motoring

ISUZU PUVs ON A ROLL

T

HE country’s leading manufacturer and distributor of brand-new trucks, continues its effort to support the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program to bring safer, more efficient, more convenient, and more environmentally sustainable transport system to Filipinos.

A fleet of MetroExpress Connect PUVs equipped with Isuzu’s Euro-!V compliant 4JH1-TC diesel engine.

IPC president Hajime Koso (left) hands over the symbolic key of a modernized PUV to MetroExpress Connect officers.

Isuzu Philippines Corp. turned over the third batch of brand-new Isuzu PUVs to MetroExpress Connect Inc. , which consists of 25 units that will ply the routes of Las Piñas to Daang Hari, Kawit, Cavite to PITX, Tanza, Cavite to PITX, and General Trias to Daang Hari.

MCI started as shuttle services group, with a fleet of no more than 20 shuttles servicing private subdivisions, providing quality transportation to communities, connecting them to commercial developments and city centers.

As the years progress, MCI have soon

acquired bigger and bolder projects, widening their operation, and choosing Isuzu PUVs as their transportation hub, MCI will be able to guarantee its commuters to have a safe, seamless, and reliable transportation.

IPC’s modernized PUVs assembled using the Isuzu QKR77 platform and the PUV body designed and manufactured

by Almazora Motors Corp, is equipped with the Euro IV-compliant 4JH1-TC diesel engine that delivers better fuel economy and cleaner emissions than jeepneys; thus guarantees its clients like MetroExpress Connect Inc. to provide

Nissan GT-R Nismo comes to life in bricks YOKOHAMA—Since the introduction of the LEGO wheel in 1962, cars have played a central role in thousands of LEGO sets and in the hearts, minds and play of millions of children across the world. Today, the LEGO Group and Nissan have revealed a model that pays tribute to one of the most iconic Japanese supercars, the Nissan GT-R NISMO. This is the first-ever partnership between LEGO and a Japanese automaker.

The LEGO model was revealed by LEGO Group CEO Niels B. Christiansen and Asako Hoshino, executive vice president at Nissan, at the automaker’s global headquarters in Yokohama today.

Niels B. Christiansen said: “In addition to offering a wonderful and fun building and play experience, we hope the model will also inspire children to learn more about engineering and how to create things in real life. Just as engineers across decades have improved

the design and performance of this car, children build, unbuild and rebuild during play – stimulating and developing crucial skills, such as creativity, resilience, problem-solving and critical thinking. Inspiring them to become the builders of tomorrow is our mission.”

Asako Hoshino said: “The Nissan GT-R and the LEGO brand are both renowned and loved by fans of all ages throughout the world, and we are honored to be the first-ever Japanese car manufacturer to partner with the LEGO Group. Many of our Nissan customers can trace their automotive passion back to when they built LEGO cars as children. With this partnership, everyone can be a `takumi’ – the specialized craftsmen that build the GT-R. And, it’s the GT-R’s 50th anniversary this year, so what better way to celebrate than to share the GT-R with Nissan and LEGO fans around the world!”

Iconic taillights recreated in bricks

Just like the engine of the life-size Nissan GT-R NISMO is hand-assembled by master craftsmen called `takumi,’ the LEGO® version must also be hand assembled—by expert brick-builders: children.

The LEGO Speed Champions Nissan GT-R NISMO will be available globally in January 2020. It’s one of the first in the 2020 Speed Champions themed sets, which will be 25% bigger than in previous years. The GT-R NISMO model, made from 298 LEGO elements, captures the authentic and intricate details of the life-size race car in a relatively small LEGO model. This posed an interesting challenge for LEGO design lead Chris Stamp.

“In LEGO Speed Champions, we al-

ways aim to include new types of racing vehicles. And when we focused on drifting and racing, the record-breaking Nissan GT-R, and especially the new GT-R NISMO, was at the top of our wish list. Authenticity is always our main concern, and we spent a lot of time exploring different building techniques to correctly recreate the taillights, as they are one of the most recognizable details on the car. I am really happy with the end result!”

Hiroshi Tamura, Nissan’s chief prod-

quality and reliable transportation, connecting passengers and communities to their destinations the easy way.

IPC President Hajime Koso encouraged other transport companies across the country to already make that switch to safer, cleaner, more convenient, and more reliable modernized PUVs. “I have always believed that the Isuzu PUVs are truly a vehicle made by the Filipinos for the Filipinos and we are confident that these units will be able to provide a more durable, comfortable, and safe transport solution for the riding public.”

uct specialist for the GT-R—known informally as “Mr. GT-R”—gave the scaled-down LEGO version his stamp of approval: “The GT-R has been part of my life since I was 10 years old.

Working with the LEGO Group was like awakening my inner 10-yearold self to rediscover what makes the GT-R so special to me. It’s amazing how much the LEGO Group’s attention to detail reminds me of our own craftsmen.”

Appearing alongside the LEGO Speed Champions Nissan GT-R NISMO at today’s event was the 2020 GT-R NISMO. Available now, the most extreme, most capable GT-R in history features carbon-fiber front and rear bumpers, roof, trunk and rear spoiler; carbon-fiber front fenders with special scalloped vents; new lightweight wheels and new tires; tuned suspension and transmission; Brembo carbon brakes; and new turbochargers.

Note to editors: The LEGO Speed Champions Nissan GT-R NISMO will be available globally in January 2020 as a part of the LEGO Speed Champions product lineup. New for 2020, LEGO Speed Champions replicas will be 25% bigger and more realistic than ever, allowing car fans to build mini versions of the world’s most famous cars and put themselves in the driver’s seat.