Manila Standard - 2019 September 4 - Wednesday

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FAELDON MADE A MESS OF ‘GOOD CONDUCT’ LAW—GORDON

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

VOL. XXXIII • NO. 202 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

SENATE Blue Ribbon committee chairman Senator Richard Gordon on Tuesday said he believed Bureau of Corrections chief Nicanor Faeldon was lying to Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo, and created the mess involving the early release of prisoners convicted of heinous crimes.

After two hearings, Gordon said Faeldon was not credible because his testimony was full of inconsistencies, and offered “weak” excuses in a bid to save himself.

Gordon said “it’s possible” that money was offered for the early release of Sanchez, which was scuttled by public outrage.

It was likely that Faeldon had intended to release Sanchez but backtracked after news of it broke and sparked a public outcry.

He said he believed that Faeldon could be charged with malfeasance for neglect of duty.

At the same time, Gordon said the GCTA Law should be amended because

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‘Palace man referred Sanchez’s bid to BPP’ Panelo sent Feb. 26 letter to Board exec

By MJ Blancaflor, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

C

HIEF Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo admitted Tuesday that he referred an application for executive clemency on behalf of his former client, convicted rapist and murderer Antonio Sanchez, to the Board of Pardons and Parole, but denied he endorsed or recommended his release.

3 senators move to repeal GCTA amid uproar SENATE President Vicente Sotto III, and Senators Panfilo Lacson and Richard Gordon have filed a bill seeking to repeal Republic Act 10592 or the Good Conduct Time Allowance Law. The senators filed Senate Bill 993 on Monday proposing to scrap the law that shaves off jail time of prisoners due to good behavior amid the public outcry over the possible release of convicted rapist and murderer Antonio Sanchez due to the law’s implementation.

A copy of the bill was made available Tuesday.

Sanchez has been sentenced to suffer the maximum penalty of seven 40-year imprisonment terms or seven counts of reclusion perpetua for one of the most sensational crimes in the 1990s, the rape and murder of Eileen Sarmenta and the murder of her friend Allan Gomez—both students of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

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SC throws out same-sex union

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court on Tuesday junked the petition seeking to allow same, sex marriage in the Philippines, saying it is a matter that should be addressed to Congress.

SC’s Public Information Chief Brian Keith Hosaka said the petition filed by Atty. Jesus Nicardo Falcis III seeking to declare certain provisions of the Family Code as unconstitutional to allow samesex marriage violated the principle of hierarchy of courts, failure to raise an actual justiciable controversy and the petitioner himself has no legal standing.

Falcis’ petition, which was filed in 2015, sought nullification of Articles 1 Next page

Public outrage erupted last month when the Justice department said Sanchez, convicted and sentenced to seven life terms for the rape and murder ‘Conflict of UP Los of interest Baños stuin Panelo case’ dent Eileen Story on A2 Sarmenta and the torture and killing of her boyfriend, Allan Gomez, in 1993, could be released early for good behavior.

At a Senate hearing on the controversy over the early release of inmates convicted of heinous crimes, BPP executive director Reynaldo Bayang confirmed that Panelo had sent him a letter dated Feb. 26, referring Next page

REMARKABLE THROWBACK. “Standard operating procedure to refer all applications for executive clemency to

appropriate department or agency...” Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo (top left, in coat and tie) has said, more than a score after representing as defense lawyer convicted rapist and murderer Antonio Sanchez (top right) in this file photo. Now Bureau of Corrections director general Nicanor Faeldon (right) tells a Senate hearing Tuesday that Sanchez’s violations while in prison were not properly documented. At the hearing on the Good Conduct Time Allowance law, three members of Sanchez’s family (from left) Allan Antonio II, Ave Marie Tonee, and Elvira take their oath at the continuation of the hearing by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chaired by Senator Richard Gordon. File Photo, Ey Acasio

Lawyers’ group, fishermen lose petition for SC writ

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the petition for a writ of kalikasan filed by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and fishermen from Palawan and Zambales seeking to compel the government to secure and protect the environment in the West Philippine Sea, particu-

larly over the Ayungin Shoal, Panganiban Reef and Panatag Shoal.

The high court’s dismissal of the petition was the legal consequence of the request made earlier by the fishermenpetitioners to withdraw their signatures from the petition and the subsequent motions filed by the respondents.

“The Supreme Court did not touch on

the substantive issue of the case, high court spokesman Brian Hosaka told reporters.

However, the high court reminded the parties of the procedural and substantive requirements in the petitions for a writ of kalikasan and writ of continuing mandamus that must be complied with upon their filing.

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No cause to indict Aquino over SAF 44, high court says

By Rey E. Requejo THE Supreme Court on Tuesday sustained the decision of the Office of the Ombudsman finding no probable cause to indict former President Benigno Aquino III, former PNP chief Alan Purisima, and former PNP-SAF head Getu-

PAL ultimate seat sale extended DUE to insistent public demand, Philippine Airlines (PAL) is extending its PAL Ultimate Seat Sale 2019 up to Sept. 15.

The seat sale, which started last Aug. 28, was initially slated to wind down Turn to A6 yesterday, Sept. 3.

lio Napeñas with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide in connection with the 2015 Mamasapano encounter.

Voting 15-0, the high court dismissed the petition filed by the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption for lack of merit.

“The Court held that the Ombudsman

did not commit grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction in dismissing the complaints for 44 counts of reckless imprudence resulting in multiple homicide filed against private respondents, the high court ruled.

“Wherefore, the petition is dismissed.

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Rowdy ducks in the dock LESS than two months after the owner of a French rooster was hauled before a court over his rowdy crowing, the owner of a gaggle of geese and ducks is in the dock over their boisterous quacking.

Turn to A6

Supplemental budget eyed

By Maricel V. Cruz THE House of Representatives will have to pass a supplemental budget to accommodate the requests of some congressmen whose budget allocations for their respective districts were slashed in this year’s national government budget, a House official said Tuesday.

Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, chairman of the House committee on appropriations, said passing a supplemental budget was among the options his panel would consider to address the lawmakers’ increased budgetary allocations for 2020.

“This is just one of the possible options, Ungab said. ‘‘We will study how we’ll be able to resolve the conNext page cerns.

WEATHER Liwayway gains more strength

By Rio N. Araja TROPICAL storm “Liwayway” had intensified into a severe tropical storm while moving northward over the Philippine Sea east of Batanes on Tuesday, weathermen said. Turn to A6

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Road clearing: More needs to be done

By Vito Barcelo LESS than a month before the deadline for all local government units to clear roads, a total of 139,959 meters of roads and 52,831 meters of sidewalks were cleared of obstructions in Metro Manila, Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said Tuesday.

The Metro Manila Development Authority also demolished two village halls near the Caloocan City Hall as part of the government’s program to clear streets and sidewalks of obstruction.

The demolition was led by Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan, MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim and MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia.

But Año, who was satisfied with the performance of Metro Manila mayors in complying with the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte to clear roads of illegal structures, said “more needs to be done.”

“We are pleased with the support, cooperation and compliance of Metro mayors to the presidential directive, but we need to do more and we expect them to sustain their efforts in order to help clear the streets of Metro Manila of traffic, Año said.

“As of today, a total of 139,959 meters of roads and 52,831 meters of sidewalk in Metro Manila have been reportedly cleared of obstructions and illegal structures. Our operations further resulted in clearing 1,444 illegal vendors, 49 terminals, 1,292 illegally parked vehicles and 813 obstructions from our roads.”

Retired general takes over OTS; new BuCor deputy named

By MJ Blancaflor PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed another former military man in his government.

Retired Lt. Gen. Raul del Rosario was named on Tuesday as the administrator of the Office for Transportation Security, an agency under the Department of Transportation, replacing Undersecretary Arturo Evangelista.

As head of the agency, Del Rosario is responsible for the country’s national transportation security in all transportation terminals nationwide.

Rosario served as commander of the Western and Central Commands of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and held various positions in the Philippine Air Force during his 37 years of military experience.

Duterte signed his appointment papers Aug. 28.

Earlier, Duterte has appointed retired Lt. Gen. Milfredo Melegrito as deputy director of the Bureau of Corrections.

Melegrito’s appointment comes amid controversy hounding the BuCor on the release of ex-convicts under the Good Conduct Time Allowance Law or Republic Act 10592.

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Ungab said it would be difficult to restore the budget cuts under the proposed P4.1trillion General Appropriations Bill for 2020.

“I appealed to them, I talked to those who came to me and raised their concerns to please not to include [their budget hike requests] in the 2020 budget bill,” Ungab said.

He confirmed the claim of deputy speaker for finance and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte that some 68 congressmen were “unhappy” with their congressional allocations, so they would want amendments to the General Appropriations Bill.

Ungab earlier accused Villafuerte of trying to tamper with the proposed 2020 national government budget for 2020 to introduce ‘‘insertions.’’

Ungab said any changes being done to the GAB that was basically a copy of the National Expenditure Program submitted

by Malacañng was an ‘‘insertion.’’

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said the House leadership was able to sort out the procedural issues that caused the friction between Ungab and Villafuerte in a meeting that he presided on Tuesday afternoon.

Cayetano said he requested all departments and agencies to submit the written presentations of their respective budget proposals before 5 p.m. on Monday.

Cayetano said the House leadership was still committed to approve the 2020 budget before Congress goes on recess on the first week of October.

News

Conflict of interest eyed in Panelo case

P

RESIDENTIAL Spokesman Salvador Panelo should have steered clear of the clemency application of his former client, convicted rapistkiller Antonio Sanchez.

release.

“He is not entitled to credits for good behavior. There can be abuse in the process.

There are certain facts that must be ascertained,” Drilon.

Faeldon told the Senate committees chaired by Senator Richard Gordon that he only knew of Sanchez’s violations through media reports. He said those are the reasons why he stopped Sanchez’s release.

“I asked the staff of the BuCor and they cannot produce those records,” Faeldon said, referring to documentation on Sanchez’s drug violations while in prison.

He also said he was told that an inmate would lose GCTA credits only for the month of his violation. After that, he resumes accumulating GCTA points again.

Meanwhile, upon egging from Drilon, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said he would pursue legal remedies to exact payment from Sanchez of the P12.6 million in damages for the relatives of his victims.

He said, however, that there was a 10year prescriptive period for the execution of judgments, and that “many secretaries of the Department of Justice… should have taken this step long ago.”

But maintaining the innocence of her husband, Elvira Sanchez told Drilon they will not pay damages.

“We have repeatedly said why will we pay when my husband is innocent?

We really have no intention of paying,”

“[Panelo’s letter] says a lot... You can say it is a conflict of interest,” said Senator Panfilo Lacson on the Palace official’s letter to the Bureau of Pardons and Parole referring Sanchez’s application.

“We deserve an explanation from him.

From the context of being the former defense counsel of Antonio Sanchez, his letter says a lot. If I were in his shoes, I would have begged off [from making the referral].

You cannot disassociate his personal relationship with the Sanchezes and his being chief presidential legal counsel,” Lacson added.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the contents of Panelo’s letter appeared to be standard, but the use of the official letterhead added weight to the referral.

He also said Panelo could be accused of a conflict of interest, even though he was no longer Sanchez’s lawyer.

Senator Richard Gordon, who led the hearings, said he saw no conflict of interest because Panelo is no longer Sanchez’s lawyer.

Also at the Senate, Bureau of Corrections Director General Nicanor Faeldon

said Sanchez’s record remained “clean” despite his being caught with P1.5 million worth of shabu hidden inside a Virgin Mary statue in 2010.

In Tuesday’s resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee and justice committee hearings on the Good Conduct Time Allowance Law, Faeldon said the violations Sanchez committed while behind bars, including living in a “kubol” with a flatscreen TV, were not properly documented.

“I cannot find any records of those violations. They were not properly recorded,” Faeldon told Drilon.

Confronted by Drilon if Sanchez could be considered a good prisoner based on his prison record, Faeldon replied, “If you only look at the records, that appears to be, but there are other references.”

“Either there was corruption or there was negligence because it is obvious that there was a lot of violation,” said Drilon, who asked if shabu smuggling constitutes good behavior.

Drilon said he was “shocked and saddened” by news of Sanchez’s possible

‘Palace man...

“recommended” and “endorsed” Sanchez’s request for clemency.

“Those articles are reeking not only with irresponsibility but with malice and it is libelous in nature because it imputes an act to discredit me in public and to tarnish my honor,” Panelo said.

“In view of this, I am filing a libel case against Net Inquirer (sic) and Rappler for publishing these malicious articles,” he added.

The complaints are already being drafted by his office, he said.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Rappler said the libel case against them is a “pure diversionary tactic” on the part of Panelo.

“Instead of shooting the messenger, Panelo should instead answer his questions about his possible conflicts of interest,” Rappler said.

Inquirer.net said it respects Panelo’s “right to sue for libel if he feels aggrieved by the report.”

At the Press briefing Tuesday, Panelo said responding to letters—including the one from Sanchez’s family—was standard operating procedure for the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel.

He also said the President was aware of his meeting with the Sanchez family.

“He [Duterte] was listening. I told him ‘They came to me,’” Panelo said, recalling his conversation with the President.

Panelo said he did not give any assurances to Sanchez’s family.

“There is nothing personal in communicating with them. It’s all official. It’s all recorded,” Panelo added.

But for two weeks after the scandal broke, Panelo was silent on his meetings with the Sanchez family, and did not speak up about his referral until a copy of his letter surfaced during Senate hearings on the early release program for inmates.

In his testimony before the Senate, Bayang said Panelo merely referred to the BPP the letter written by Sanchez’s daughter seeking executive clemency for her father.

“We request that your good office update us for record purposes and for whatever action this office may want to undertake consistent with law and the policy of the President for good government,” Panelo said in his letter.

Bayang said several politicians also wrote the BPP to vouch for Sanchez’s good behavior, including former first lady Imelda Marcos, former Laguna governor ER Ejercito and former Supreme Court associate justice Arturo Brion, who comes from the same province as Sanchez.

On Dec. 10, 2018, the BPP rejected Sanchez’s petiton due to the gravity of his crime. It also sustained the dismissal of Sanchez’s appeal in a decision dated Feb. 27, 2019.

Republic Act No. 10592, also known as the GCTA Law, was enacted during the Aquino administration, but has come under scrutiny following reports that Sanchez might gain early release, thanks to its provisions.

The law, based on the interpretation of the Bureau of Corrections, allowed Sanchez to avail of GCTA and be released ahead of the end of his prison term.

question of the propriety of its applicability on them,” they said.

“The law is always changing. It is usually reactive to what the society dictates and it constantly reflects changes that occur in our society because the law is simply never perfect,” they added.

During a Senate hearing on the law, Senator Christopher Go said he has filed a bill to clearly state the intent and policy of the law not to extend the benefits of GCTA to prisoners who are convicted of heinous crimes.

To eliminate corruption, he also included a provision stating that any release of prisoners on the basis of time allowances would be subject to review.

Meanwhile, Drilon urged the executive department to rearrest the three men convicted in the rape and murder of Marijoy and Jacqueline Chiong in 1997, which could trigger a test case before the Supreme Court.

In related developments: • Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday said the government will take prompt action on the case of prisoners convicted of heinous crimes who were “prematurely released” despite lacking entitle-

ments for GCTA under the law.

• Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said the more than 1,900 convicts released early should return to jail due to allegations of corruption and so that their cases can be reviewed.

• Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez called for major amendments in the GCTA Law to remove ambiguities that unscrupulous prison officials and wealthy convicts can exploit.

• Senator Leila M. de Lima defended the GCTA Law, saying its intent was to encourage active or pro-active good conduct exemplified by active involvement in rehabilitation programs and authorized activities.

• Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte should not be blamed for the GCTA Law that shortens prison terms for good behavior. “We stress that the granting of GCTA is not a form of executive clemency, the awarding of which belongs to the Office of the President. The buck in this case stops with the Bureau of Corrections,” Panelo said. Rey E. Requejo, Maricel V. Cruz with PNA

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Sanchez’s application for clemency.

“We are referring this matter to your good office for your evaluation and whatever appropriate action you may want to undertake under the premises,” Panelo’s letter said. Panelo, who served as Sanchez’d defense lawyer in his rape and murder trial, also asked Bayang to update his office on its action on the case.

On March 19, Bayang sent a letter to Panelo informing him of BPP’s rejection of Sanchez’s plea.

Panelo said his referral was sent in response to a letter from Sanchez’s daughter, Marie Antonelvie.

Panelo, who had previously denied having any personal communication with Sanchez’s family, confirmed Tuesday that he had in fact met them in Malacañang in February.

“I told them that I would refer their letter and they would just have to wait for the answer. That’s all,” Panelo said Tuesday at a Palace briefing.

The presidential spokesman tried to play down the referral as being a part of his official function.

“I was just referring the matter to the appropriate authority,” he said, adding that it was Palace practice to respond to all letters.

Panelo said later Tuesday that he would file a libel suit against online news sites Rappler.com and Inquirer.net for saying he

3 senators...

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“This has created public outrage and prompted this august body to look into the propriety of its application to the aforesaid prisoner, as well as the implementation of RA 10592 in general,” the senators said in their explanatory note.

The senators noted the absurd interpretation of the law and unharmonized provisions that have been subject to abuse by the persons allowed by law to grant time allowances.

They argued that there is “logical reason” to abandon the grant of GCTA if the magnitudes of its aftermath are prejudicial for many of the victims and their relatives who are seeking justice.

“The provision on GCTA has been in effect since the 1930s and it has not raised this kind of concern from the people and the government. Thus, it is an opportune time to go back to the old law where no question of proper implementation has been put forth to the government and prisoners are enjoying its benefits without a

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and 2 of the Family Code as well as Articles 46 (4) and 55 (6) of the same law.

Articles 1 and 2 limited marriages between a man and a woman, while Articles 46(4) and 55 (6) cites lesbianism or homosexuality as grounds for annulment and legal separation.

The petitioner said the Family Code in limiting marriage between man and woman is unconstitutional because it deprives his right to liberty without substantive due process of law, the equal protection of the laws and also violated Section 3(1) Article 15 of the 1987 Constitution.

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the SC said that it "recognized protracted history of discrimination and marginalization faced by the lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender, queer, intersex and other gender and sexual minorities (LGBTQI+) community, along with their still ongoing struggle for equality."

However, the high court said LGBTQI+ fight for their right against discrimination

for their choice of relationships and “official recognition of their partnerships may, for now, be a matter that should be addressed to Congress."

Leonen also emphasized that “legislation ideally allows public democratic deliberation on the various ways to assure these fundamental rights.”

“The process of legislation exposes the experiences of those who have been oppressed, ensuring that this be understood by those who stand with the majority. Often public reason needs to be first shaped through the crucible of campaigns and advocacies within our political forums before it sharpened for judicial fiat," he said.

The tribunal also held that Falcis and his fellow lawyers, Darwin Angeles, Keisha Trina Guangko, and Christopher Ryan Maranan, are liable for indirect contempt for violation of court rules and procedures.

“To forget the rudiment of court procedure and decorum or worse, to purport to know them, but really, only to exploit them by way of propaganda—and then, to jump headlong into the taxing endeavor of constitutional litigation is a contemptuous betrayal of the high standards of the legal profession,” the SC said.

Sanchez’s wife said.

She insisted that her husband was with them on the day the students were murdered.

Mrs. Sanchez also confirmed during the hearing that she met Faeldon on Aug. 21, but denied that any deal was made for the early release of her husband.

She only met Faeldon after receiving a text message from an anonymous person saying her husband would soon be released from prison due to good conduct.

She also said she later destroyed her cellphone because of the death threats she received after Monday’s hearing.

“If you are lying, we will eventually catch you, so tell the truth,” Drilon said.

Faeldon, on the other hand, admitted meeting with Sanchez family but denied giving them any assurances about the release of the former mayor.

Sanchez’s wife, however, said during the meeting, Faeldon estimated that her husband might be released in two months, if he is qualified for the GCTA. “It was Aug. 21 when we went to his office to clarify the things we heard, that my husband was about to be released,” said Mrs. Sanchez.

She said this was the only time she met the BuCor chief.

But interviewed after the hearing, Gordon said he does not believe that Faeldon met Sanchez’s family only once.

Faeldon...

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it vests too much power in the hands of prison officials. He also pointed to the absence of checks and balances.

Meanwhile, lawmakers said they would consider filing criminal and administrative charges against Faeldon, after learning that he instructed officials at the Davao Penal Farm not to submit GCTA records of convicts applying for early release to the Justice department.

The House of Representatives’ committee on justice, chaired by Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso, conducted an inquiry in aid of legislation into the controversy hounding the BuCor. Supt. Melencio Faustino, head of the Davao Penal Farm, admitted he did not submit the records to the Justice department even though he was required to do so.

When asked why he did not, he said Faeldon had told him not to do so.

Veloso, a retired associate justice of the Court of Appeals, said his committee may recommend the filing of graft charges against Faeldon.

Veloso said the GCTA Law in light of the Sanchez’s controversy requires amendments to plug loopholes that have resulted in the early release from prison of convicts facing stiff prison terms for heinous crimes.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte would decide on Faeldon’s fate after the congressional hearings are done.

“The President will maintain the status quo until the congressional hearings are concluded,” Panelo said in a statement.

“He will be monitoring the conduct of the legislative investigation and give appropriate consideration to the findings of Congress,” he added.

On Monday, the Senate held its first hearing on the GCTA Law. Faeldon admitted that he set in motion the process of releasing the convicted rapist-murderer, former Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez , but insisted that he did not sign the release order.

The process was stopped by the public outcry over Sanchez’s possible release.

Faeldon said he personally did not want Sanchez to be released but was only following the GCTA guidelines.

With PNA

No cause...

Lawyers’ group,...

The Ombudsman’s consolidated resolution dated June 13, 2017 and consolidated order dated September 5, 2017 are affirmed insofar as they found no probable cause to charge private respondents Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, Alan Purisima and Getulio Napeñas with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide.”

The controversy arose from the botched Jan. 25, 2015 operation in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, by the elite PNP-SAF commandos to get wanted Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan.

Marwan was killed in the operation, but the SAF commandos were attacked by the combined forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and private armed groups, triggering a day-long firefight.

Only PO2 Christopher Lalan survived the firefight.

“The counsels were cautioned that they should be ready with the necessary evidence before they seek the issuance of extraordinary writs, Hosaka said, citing the high court decision.

The high court, through Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, said the counsels should establish and maintain a form of communication with their clients at all times. It said mere difficulty in contacting clients should not be used by the counsels as an excuse to renege on their duties and to disengage from their commitments.

“Counsel for petitioners were sternly warned that the commission of the same or similar infractions in the future would be dealt with more severely, the high court said.

The Court was referring to the withdrawal of the signatures of more than two dozen of the petitioners who said they did not know they were filing a case against the government.

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CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

Standard

TODAY

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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Opinion

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Duterte’s credibility at stake SANTA Banana, in my almost seven decades as a journalist, I have known the greats and near-greats in business and politics. I have also had the honor of knowing unforgettable personalities—legends in their own right.

Among them was Nereo Jurado Paculdo, who used to own Nepa-Q Mart along EDSA in Quezon City.

What is the President waiting for?

He was actually the son of a niece of a first cousin of my father, and the grandson of another Jurado from Malaga, Spain who came to the Philippines to be with his brother who was a guardia civil at the port of Magsingal, Ilocos Sur. Nering, as we called him, had two other brothers and a sister. Would you believe he was a busboy, a rank lower than a waiter, at the South Dorm of the University of the Philippines? He was studying law at the same time.

I used to see him when I was courting a pharmacy student who lived in the dorm. That student eventually became my wife.

Paculdo topped the Bar and became some kind of political figure in Quezon City during the incumbency of Rodriquez and Amoranto.

Paculdo was some kind of kingmaker, so he had many politicians for friends.

I was told by former classmates that he was the lawyer of three women who used to own Nepa-Q Mart.

Soon, he convinced them to sell the market to him.

He was an entrepreneur and a visionary. He even went into mining in Zambales. He even had former class-

mates spend weekends there, all expenses paid for.

I did not become close to him until my brother Desi and I became senior partners in the law office of Dizon Paculdo Jurado Jurado (that’s me!) and Vitug, Arsenio Dizon was a retired Supreme Court justice. My brother was appointed justice at the Court of Appeals. Vitug also became a Supreme Court justice.

I say Nering was a visionary because he wanted to build a high-rise in that one-hectare lot at the corner of EDSA and Quezon Boulevard Extension in Cubao which he called C-Square. Unfortunately, his venture failed to materialize. That property became the subject of litigation due to many conflicting claims. It is still an empty lot today.

Paculdo’s vision included acquiring premium lands on Ayala Avenue in Makati so much so that he hired the real estate broker Larry Marquez to buy some lots for him.

Paculdo was confident that he could fulfill his dreams because of his respectable income from Nepa-Q Mart. He collected cash from people renting stalls—and daily, at that.

He liked to dance. He had a group that held dances at the Manila Polo Club every weekend.

Somehow, something bad happened to the business. He started losing money to the point that his income could not meet his debts. The tragic part was when he got sick. He became blind and both his legs had to be amputated. He died a broken man. *** The case of Nicanor Faeldon, chief of the Bureau of Corrections, is becoming a big challenge for President Rodrigo Duterte. Will he fire Faeldon for the “massive jailbreak” of convicts under the Good Conduct Time Allowance Law? Remember that Faeldon was at the helm of the Bureau of Customs when P6.8 billion worth of shabu was smuggled under his nose. Yet, the President said Faeldon still enjoyed

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Good job?

B

UREAU of Corrections chief Nicanor Faeldon believes he is doing a good job and says he will not resign, even though he came a hair’s breath of freeing on good behavior a convicted rapist and murderer, whose crime in 1993 shocked an entire nation.

That inmate was Antonio Sanchez, former mayor of Calauan, Laguna, and his crime was the rape and murder of UP Los Baños student Eileen Sarmenta and her boyfriend, Allan Gomez.

On the evening of June 28, 1993, Sarmenta and Gomez were abducted

by Sanchez’s henchmen at gunpoint, and taken to a rest house owned by the mayor. The men told the mayor Sarmenta was a gift.

While the mayor raped the bound and gagged Sarmenta, his men beat up Gomez. At about 1 a.m., when the mayor was done, he left Sarmienta to be gang-raped by his men, who then killed her and Gomez.

After a 16-month trial, Sanchez and his henchmen were convicted, and the mayor was sentenced to seven life sentences—or the equivalent of 40 years for each life term.

In 2010, while serving time, Sanchez was caught smuggling shabu in a statue of the Virgin Mary.

This is the man Faeldon was close to releasing—and only public outrage at the news, not any revelation of conscience, caused him to halt the process that by his own admission he started.

Faeldon is splitting hairs when he says he never signed a release order for Sanchez, but merely issued a memo recommending his early release.

Testifying before the Senate, Faeldon said he was only doing his job in carrying out Republic Act No. 10592 or the GCTA (Good Conduct Time Allowance) Law, which cuts prison sentences for good behavior.

When asked how an inmate who had been caught smuggling shabu could be considered well behaved, Faeldon explained that under the rules covering the GCTA law, a convict is deprived of GCTA points only for the month the violation was committed.

Moreover, he told the Senate hear-

ing, there is no explicit provision in the GGCTA Law that excludes inmates convicted of heinous crimes.

These last two points suggest there is much work that Congress needs to do to correct the gaping loopholes of a law passed during the previous Aquino administration.

But it is not sufficient that Faeldon pin the blame on somebody else. Ultimately, he is responsible for whatever happens at BuCor and the New Bilibid Prison. It is also not enough for Faeldon to claim he could find no record of Sanchez’s previous violations while in prison because they were not properly documented.

The BuCor chief’s refrain that he ultimately stopped Sanchez’s release rings hollow, as it is clear that if there were no public outrcy, another notorious murderer and rapist would quietly walk free. After all, if Faeldon had his reservations from the start, why did he issue a memo to begin the release process?

A poorly drafted law doesn’t excuse Faeldon’s incompetence or his ignorance of the circumstances of the convicts he proposes to release. Certainly, it gives him no right to claim that he’s been doing a good job.

Turn to A5

Our sorry state OUR sorry state of culture and sports can be traced back to 1986 when the Department of Education struck these two vital activities off the curriculum.

The agency that used to be the Department of Education Culture and Sports is now simply Department of Education.

But Buhay Party-List Rep. Lito Atienza has filed a bill in the House restoring these two subjects in the curriculum.

“These are the very reasons why the Philippines has fared poorly not only in the Olympics but also in the Asian and Southeast Asian Games which we used to dominate,” said Atienza pointing out the country is now only above newcomer Myanmar which is at the bottom of the team standings.

“It’s sad to see that the only exercise the young people of today do is with their thumbs twiddling the keyboards of their cellphones and Ipads,” noted Atienza. He also bewailed that students have lost the art of the dance and music. This is a subject close to Atienza’s heart having been a dancer in the world-renowned Bayanihan when he was a young man and before he entered politics.

Culture and sports form part of our family values and serve as a foundation of our future lives. Without these, young people are more prone to illegal drugs and consequently a life of crime, said Atienza. As a crusader for culture and sports, his House bill to restore these subjects in the curriculum will be followed up when he leads a dance rally in front of the DepEd in Pasig tomorrow to “wake up officials sleeping on the job.”

Retired National Treasurer Leonor Briones is the Secretary of Educa-

tion. With all due respect, I think that in her 80s, Briones might be too old for the job. This is work that requires traveling the length and breadth of the country to have a hands-on grasp of the school system. The Department of Education has the biggest chunk of the national budget, followed by the Department of Defense.

But it’s not all about money. Running a well-rounded educational system and knowing what keeps young people interested to curb the dropout rate are tasks that take some creativity.

If we don’t do anything now, the country will continue to suffer from a vicious cycle of irregular policies and questionable official actions.

Another issue Atienza is fighting for is the return of the Reserve Officers Training Corps. He points out that in these times of external threat to the country, the ROTC prepares our young men for its defense. Atienza has funded scholarships for poor children making them gainfully employed upon graduation. *** Another topic of national concern is the Good Conduct and Time Allowance Law that allows even the most hardened criminals to be released from jail.

This came out in Monday’s Senate inquiry. Senator Panfilo Lacson revealed during the hearing that at least eight Chinese drug lords were included in the list of the 10,000 convicts to be pardoned and released.

The drug lords, according to Senator Lacson, were already turned over to Turn to A5

China’s social credit system sows confusion

By Poornima Weerasekara FROM penalizing irresponsible dog owners to blacklisting dissenters, critics warn China's social credit system enables authorities to define "desirable and undesirable behavior" and could allow unprecedented control of citizen's lives.

The fledgling initiative has sparked fears the authoritarian state is tightening its grip on an already heavily monitored public, ensuring that only those strictly adhering to Communist Party values can prosper.

The scheme, which China's State Council wants to roll out nationwide by 2020, aims to assess individual actions across society effectively standardizing conduct through rewards and deterrents.

"It's a new type of totalitarian society control that allows officials unparalleled scrutiny over every minute of everyone's life," warned dissident

writer Ye Du. But so far, experts say there is no unified system in place and cities and villages have different criteria for measuring good or bad behavior or "trustworthiness" as well as varying incentives and punishments.

Those with "good credit" have better chances of securing a government job or a prized seat at a public kindergarten for their toddler in Beijing. But in the small city of Qinhuangdao, the reward for good behavior is a "model citizen's certificate" and a free annual medical checkup.

"One big myth is that there will be a single score for all citizens," said Jeremy Daum, a Chinese law expert at Yale.

"Social credit isn't really about a credit score at all, in fact it's...a vague idea that covers a wide variety of regulations—the unifying feature in them all, to the extent that there is one, is that keeping records will help make people more honest and reduce

misconduct," he wrote on his blog China Law Translate, that collates all government documents relating to the system.

Blacklists and bans Shazeda Ahmed, a PhD student at Berkeley who is studying China's social credit system, agreed explaining that currently there is only a "hodgepodge of local pilot projects without any clear definitions of what a nationwide system would look like."

"The government is itself unsure and is still in the process of figuring out what such a system can accomplish and what its limits are," Ahmed added.

In 2018, authorities banned millions with bad social credit from taking flights or trains, according to the National Public Credit Information Center.

Chinese actress Michelle Ye Xuan was among those affected.

Turn to A5

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Opinion

HIS dream is to connect and unify the Philippines’ major islands and cities.

Dennis Uy wants to do this wirelessly, by putting up the archipelago’s third telco, a P279-billion venture with the Chinese. And physically, through a network of air roads, expressways, railways, airports, intermodal terminals, and tourism destinations linked by a modern shipping line, cargo, warehousing, software services, and logistics network.

It is an ambitious dream. Dennis has always been a dreamer.

Dennis is chairman of four major companies—Udenna Corp., his holding company, Dito Telecommunity Corp., his telco; Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings, his shipping, logistics and infrastructure company; and Phoenix Petroleum Philippines Inc., his oil retailing company.

Five qualities have made Dennis singularly successful as an entrepreneur—hard work, passion, guts, luck. Since 2016, there has been a sixth factor—being a supporter and friend of fellow Davaweño President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. He is sometimes perceived as a crony of the President, although Dennis can certainly stand on his own merit and track record built by entrepreneurship of more than 20 years.

Udenna Corp. is the fastest-growing company in the country today.

In less than 15 years, the group has become a sprawling conglomerate engaged in six major industries— oil, gas and retail; shipping and logistics; education and food; gaming and tourism; infrastructure; and property development and management. There is a seventh business, Mislatel, the third telco, which has been renamed Dito, a joint venture with ChinaTel. It will launch only 4G services and will no longer offer legacy 2G and 3G systems.

Udenna is a play on Dennis’ name—U for Uy, Denn for Dennis, and A for Ang. Phoenix Petroleum is now the third largest local oil company with 630 retail stations and assets of P64 billion.

Shipping and logistics is under

China’s...

From A4

Ye was stopped from boarding a flight in March for failing to follow a court order after being found guilty of defaming a former lover of her then-boyfriend. Her Beijing-based publicist said the ban was lifted after the court told her to apologize.

There are no clear rules around what the punishments are for those who fall foul of the social credit systems, and there is no easy way to check an individual rating.

"A major issue with China's current social credit experiments is that most people aren't notified before being blacklisted," said Zhu Lijia, professor of public management at the Chinese Academy of Governance.

"There is also a lot of confusion about what can get you on a blacklist."

In one case, a man in Beijing was ordered to plant 65 trees for chopping down 13 poplar trees without local government permission.

Our...

From A4

the Bureau of Immigration for deportation. The question is whether these illegal drug convicts are going to be executed in China where drug trafficking is punishable by death.

In all probability, no one will hear about them once they are back on their native soil.

But the worst case of these anomalous releases was the one who almost got away. Calauan, Laguna Mayor

This man has always been a dreamer.

Ne It has the shipping company Nenaco and the logistics company 2GO said to be “the largest supply chain enterprise and end-to-end solution in the Philippines.” In the first half of 2019 alone, Chelsea posted revenues of P3.5 billion, up 28 percent.

Education has Enderun Colleges in Taguig and a maritime training school in Batangas. Enderun, says its president Ed Rodriguez, “has become an intellectual hub in the areas of hotel administration, culinary arts, entrepreneurship, and management. We have expanded to technology with information systems, a degree focusing on technology management.”

Food is Conti’s 20-outlet coffee shop and bakeshop. “The Philippines food service industry amounts to roughly $7.2 billion and over the past decades has had annual growth of 15 percent to 20 percent,” says Dennis of his Conti purchase.

Gaming and resorts is under PH Resorts Group Holdings, a P6.82 billion (in assets) company owned entirely by Dennis and his wife, Cherylyn.

PH Resorts is completing the five-star Emerald Bay and Casino on Mactan island, Cebu.

In Panglao, Bohol, it has the Donatela Hotel which will have 75 villas on a 7.5-ha. The property is just 12 minutes from the airport.

In Clark, it will build a premiere adventure-themed integrated re-

Several villages in east China's Shandong province had "trustworthiness rankings" displayed at the entrance to each house last year before a community backlash halted the scheme.

In Suzhou—an industrial hub near Shanghai—a pilot project now offers a mobile phone app for citizens to check their social credit status.

A5

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘Juicio’

Dennis Uy Chelsea Logistics and Infrastructure Holdings Corp., the largest and fastest-growing shipping and logistics company locally.

According to the company, Chelsea has 3,300 delivery points, 39,281 tons of shipping tonnage, 65.7 million liters tanker capacity, 7,000 containers of cargo capacity.

Chelsea has assets of P33.5 billion. It has 92 vessels and wants to bank on its first mover advantage by servicing booming areas of the country “which show superior growth.” It currently services the Roxas-Caticlan, Batangas-Caticlan and Cebu-Tagbilaran-Cagayan de Oro routes.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

sort” on a 4.4-ha. property.

Property is under Udenna Land, formerly UDEVCO, founded in 2007. It, has grown substantially in just a dozen years. It has 249 hectares in the high growth areas of Pampanga, Mega Manila, Batangas, Cebu, and Davao. Its developments include Clark Global City, a 177-hectare property in the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga; Calaca Industrial Seaport, a 108-hectare industrial park with its own seaport facility hosting a dynamic community of forward-looking locators; and The UDENNA Tower Corp., a prime commercial location in Bonifacio Global City, where the company’s headquarters is located.

Udenna, through Global Gateway lo Corp., will build a resort, casino, logistics hub, and a central business district in Clark. for Dito Telecommunity Corp., forcertifi merly Mislatel, received its certifine cate of public convenience and necessity in July 2019.

Dennis is third generation of a family of entrepreneurs based in Davao.

His grandparents were into the selling of bread and fishing equipment.

His parents initially traded in copra and then expanded into a number of other businesses, including mining. liter It is in mining where the family literally struck gold.

The future taipan went to Manila’s De La Salle University for his business management degree which he obtained in 1993.

Dennis wanted to be Mindanao’s oil kingpin. He leaped into it, starting with only eight people and small terminal with capacity of six million barrels. He thought of branding his oil. “Gas Boy”? “Gasco”?

Baduy, sneered an ad man. So Dennis offered an ad executive P30,000 to think of a name and a logo. That is now Phoenix Petroleum. It has a catchy slogan: “Phoenix Fuels Life.”

On July 11, 2007, PNX listed in the stock market. The stock price easily doubled, reaching a high of P13.36 per share by the third and fourth quarter. In 2019, Phoenix’s valuation rose to P17.3 billion before settling at P15.7 billion on Aug. 20 at P12.32 per share.

Phoenix has now more than 630 retail stations nationwide, plus 10 under construction, becoming third largest among the local oil companies. biznewsasia@gmail.com

Exacerbate inequalities Officials have been at pains to explain the social credit system will not violate citizens' legal rights or limit access to public services, such as schools or hospitals.

"The system will not be used to punish individuals," Lian Weiliang, vice chairman of the National Reform and Development Commissions, China's top economic planner, said in June.

But rights activists warn that when combined with China's mass-surveillance apparatus, the social credit system could become a lethal weapon to silence dissent.

"This system will only exacerbate inequalities and deter critical voices,"

said Patrick Poon, a researcher at Amnesty International.

It also raises privacy concerns, since it's not always clear what data is being collected about individuals and companies or for how long it's stored.

China had about 176-million video surveillance cameras monitoring its streets, buildings and public spaces in 2016—compared to 50 million in the United States, according to data provider IHS Markit.

By 2022, that number is expected to reach 2.76 billion, a huge figure even in a country of 1.4-billion people.

While the current systems lack cohesion, critics fear there is huge scope for a unified system which controls everyday life.

The state is also working on plans to roll out a new nationwide social credit system for businesses this year, which—among other requirements—could make both foreign and domestic companies install surveillance cameras in their premises and share the data with the government. AFP

Antonio Sanchez, convicted in the murder of Allan Gomez and rape slay of Eileen Sarmenta, was included among those to be pardoned.

Senators Richard Gordon and Lacson raised the probability that money might have exchanged hands since a convict like Sanchez is not qualified for GCTA. Suspicion was further stoked when records showed that current Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo was Sanchez’s former lawyer during his trial. Panelo has denied any hand in the inclusion of Sanchez in the list of those to be re-

leased.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra conceded that the GCTA law has to be reviewed and that there would be no double jeopardy in the event Sanchez is released and then rearrested. *** Our justice system and educational foundation are flawed. It’s time our legislature corrected these loopholes of their own making. Otherwise, the country will suffer from a vicious cycle of irregular policies and questionable official actions.

back part of legs.

Brought to the Miaoli district hospital, she had to be transferred to Taipei because the district hospital was not equipped nor manned for such needed medical intervention. She died upon arrival due to heart failure occasioned by the corrosive effects of the highly MY LONG-DEPARTED grandmother toxic acid used in the cleaning of circuit always chided us when we made mis- boards.

The accident and subsequent death takes. Lack of “huwisyo,” she said. Kuhas triggered an investigation into safelang sa huwisyo, or walang huwisyo.

It was only when I went to school, ty measures, which authorities are now where Spanish was yet a mandatory tightening, in Taiwan’s factories.

This is another sad story on the trasubject, that I got to know that my lola’s “kulang sa huwisyo” meant a lack vails of our overseas workers who toil of judgment. Expanded, it even could in foreign lands for the benefit of their families back home. mean a lack of sensibility, or wisdom.

We extol them as our bagong bayani Spaniards call the wisdom tooth “muela de juicio,”literally wisdom mo- but for the grief-stricken loved ones, that is little consolation. lar or wisdom tooth. *** “Walang huwisyo” came to mind as I Just as the ghost month was still listened to the pathetic reasons of the Bureau of Corrections officials, led by lingering, an OFW drowned in Tainan’s sunset bay in Nicanor Faeldon, during the first southern Taiwan. hearing of the Together with six FiliBlue Ribbon comother fellow Fili The utter lack of good pinos, they were mittee. These ofrescued at 5:30 ficials tried to ex- judgment is evident in in the afternoon plain the hows and the Good Conduct Time whys of the release last Sunday, Sept.

1 by the Tainan of several heinous Allowance controversy.

City Fire Bureau crime convicts by which dispatched virtue of the Good eight vehicles, life Conduct Time Allowance Law (RA 10592). rafts and eighteen rescue workers to the Officials appointed to implement the scene.

While six survived, one 30-year-old law did not exercise sound judgment, or for that matter, any sense of judg- Filipino lost cardiopulmonary functions at the scene and doctors at the ment whatsoever.

Surely, the matrix (that word again) Kuo General hospital were unable to which would have accompanied the resuscitate him. *** recommendation for the GCTA-based But September also brought some release of Antonio Sanchez, the rapist-murderers of the Chiong sisters, good news, though final confirmation the Chinese drug lords among others must yet come from Taiwan’s Ministry would have cited what crimes they of Foreign Affairs and their immigrawere convicted for. Surely that should tion officials.

Instead of annual renewals of the have triggered among people of sound judgment alarms about who they were visa-waiver policy, the government is thinking of extending the no-visa polabout to release.

In the case of BuCor director Ni- icy for temporary visits of 14 days for canor Faeldon, sound judgment— visitors from the Philippines, Thailand, juicio juicio—would have dictated that he Russia and Brunei once every three exercise caution, and perhaps seek the years.

Filipino tourists coming to Taiwan opinion of higher officials (in this case the Secretary of Justice, his immediate under the visa-waiver program for the last two years have had few, if any resuperior) before acting.

I would not at this point speculate on cord of overstaying their allowed stay, the probability of monetary considera- unlike some other ASEAN countries tions for actions taken in the absence of given the same privilege.

Salamat sa disiplinang Pinoy. proof. But in the same way that allow*** ing the release of suspected methamIt looks like the preparations for the phetamine shipments from the Bureau of Customs in a former job, and now forthcoming Southeast Asian Games allowing the release of high-profile this December are on high gear, and heinous crime convicts at the Bureau PSC Chairman Butch Ramirez has reaof Corrections point to a lack of sound son to sound quite optimistic, despite judgment. Menos de juicio. Or walang the intramurals that our sports officials engaged in earlier this year. huwisyo.

I was privileged to visit the track and *** The ghost month departed, sadly field oval and the aquatic center being for Filipinos in Taiwan, with the de- built at the New Clark City last June, mise of an OFW, Desiree Tagubasi, along with Senators Ping Lacson and who suffered from the highly corro- Gringo Honasan, now DICT Secretary. sive and toxic effects of hydrofluoric Indeed the facilities are world-class.

BCDA president Vince Dizon has acid accidentally splashing onto the back portion of her legs while at work done a splendid job, despite the time in an electronics factory in Miaoli in constraints. And the new Clark Intercentral Taiwan last Aug. 28. Protec- national Airport terminal construction tive clothing covered only the front is likewise proceeding on schedule.

Congratulations, Vince! portion of workers’ body, but not the

Duterte’s...

From A4

cations Operations Office under Secretary Martin Andanar. Obviously, the PCOO has not been transparent enough.

Newspaper reports claim that Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said Clavite had manifested his intention to submit his irrevocable resignation as early as July 17.

The reason given by Clavite was that he had been working for three years and it was time for him to go back to his family. Medialdea said the President had accepted Clavite’s resignation.

But Clavite, who is being investigated for alleged corruption, now says the PCOO was interfering with his daily operation as PIA chief.

He was asked to quit last July 15 on the basis of a Commission on Audit disallowance, but he asked for time to clear his name. He said he was the target of a demolition job by disgruntled personnel.

Although his resignation was not yet final, Andanar, in a department order, already named Abner Caga as officer-in-charge of the PIA. This is confusing. Is Clavite out or not? *** The owners of that Chinese fishing boat that rammed into a Filipino boat and almost let the crew drown have apologized for the incident. That gives the owner of the Filipino boat an opportunity to seek compensation.

But will the Chinese listen and pay?

his trust and confidence, and so he just transferred him to the BuCor. The release of 914 convicts who had committed heinous crimes— rape, homicide, kidnapping, and drug trafficking sparked so much outrage.

And yet Faeldonis not stepping down because he thinks he is doing a good job.

Senator Bong Go said President Duterte was “ready to fire Faeldon.”

Really? Or does he still have Mr. Duterte’s trust and confidence? This is now a stinking mess!

Faeldon has become a big embarrassment to this administration.

There is now a debate on the need for proper interpretation of the GCTA Law. I think it’s an exercise in futility.

The law is clear. Whoever allowed the release of those convicts should be held accountable.

I wonder what President Duterte is waiting for. *** Another case of more than a whiff of corruption is the case of the Palace information officer allegedly involved in corruption.

This is the case of Harold Clavite, chief of the Philippine Information Agency. He has been asked to resign by no less than the President.

What was this anomaly? The public has no inkling of what has been happening at the Presidential Communi- www.emiljurado.weebly.com

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

News

Plunder trial awaits Napoles A

By Maricel V. Cruz

FORMER party-list congressman and convicted pork-barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles will have to undergo a full trial for plunder after the Sandiganbayan denied their plea that the case be dismissed outright because of the “weak evidence” against them.

The anti-graft court’s ‘s Fifth Division junked the separate motions for leave of court to file demurrer to evidence of APEC Party-list Rep. Edgar Valdez and Napoles.

In an order dated Aug. 28 but made available only on Tuesday, the court said the motions were denied after the prosecution had established the validity of the

plunder charges with the amount involved allegedly reached over P50 million.

Republic Act 7080 or the Plunder Law provides that plunder is committed when a public officer amasses ill-gotten wealth of at least P50 million by an act or series of overt criminal acts that may constitute different offenses.

Valdez was charged with plunder, a no-bail offense, before the anti-graft court for allegedly receiving P57.78 million in kickbacks from his pork barrel fund siphoned to the Napoles-linked foundations in 2004 until 2010.

“Valdez and Napoles hypothesize in their respective motions that the jurisdictional amount of P50,000,000 for the crime of plunder to prosper was not established by the prosecution,” the resolution written by Associate Justice Maria Theresa Mendoza-Arcega said.

“The arguments [of Valdez and Napoles] are unpersuasive,” the court added.

Napoles earlier said the prosecution had no proof the crime of plunder even existed.

She has said “the lack of a main plunderer deprived her the chance to properly defend herself.”

Lakas-CMD Party president and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez (left), assisted by Lakas-VP for Luzon and Deputy Majority Leader Rep. Mikey Arroyo (right), administers the oath taking of new Laka-CMD Party members Rep. Wilter Palma (2nd right), 1st District Zamboanga Sibugay and Lone District of Catanduanes Rep. Hector Sanchez (2nd left). Ver Noveno

Implementation of Universal Health Care on sked—Duque

By Macon Ramos-Araneta NO DELAY in the implementation of Universal Health Care as it is on schedule, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has said.

At the budget presentation of the Department of Health at the House of Representatives last week, lawmakers expressed concerns about the inclusion of only 33 provinces and cities under the department’s UHC Integration Sites Program for the development of local health service provider networks.

However, Duque explained the development of these provider networks was only one of many prescribed reforms under the government’s signature UHC Program.

“The UIS Program is not the beall and end-all of the UHC Program,” said Duque.

Although it is a critical step to address fragmentation in the health system, he said the UIS Program was only one of the many reforms.

“Let us not confuse or equate UIS with UHC. Non-selection of an area in the UIS for 2020 does not mean that UHC will not be implemented at all in a certain area next year,” Duque said.

One key reform under the UHC Program which Duque expects to be completed by next year is the mandatory enrollment of all Filipinos in the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

“Right now, we are at 98 percent enrollment. We expect to achieve 100 percent enrollment by the end of the first year of UHC implementation,” Duque said.

Once 100 percent enrollment is achieved, the individual-based medical services which PhilHealth reimburses or pays for will become available to all Filipinos at all PhilHealth-accredited facilities nationwide.

“When we are all members of PhilHeatlh under the UHC, lahat we will all benefit from this,” Duque said.

Palma, Sanchez take oath as new Lakas-CMD party members TUCP: Review

TWO lawmakers took their oath Monday night as new members of the LakasChristian Muslim Democrats and five party-list lawmakers signed an agreement as allies of the dominant party, House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez announced Tuesday.

Deputy Majority Leader and Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Wilter Wee Palma II and Catanduanes Rep. Hector Sanchez were the latest members to embrace the Lakas-CMD ideology and were sworn in by Romualdez, the party president.

“Lakas-CMD is open for new members and we will continue to strengthen

our political influence nationwide,” said Romualdez, chairman of the House committee on rules as he acknowledged it was normal for any political party to solidify and work on building its dominance.

Lakas-CMD officials and members led by Deputy Majority Leader and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, the party Vice President for Luzon, witnessed the event at former President and Speaker Gloria MacapagalArroyo’s residence at La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City.

“I feel at home here, especially with the competent leadership of House

2 back out of estafa raps vs. Kapa

Rowdy...

From A1

By Rey E. Requejo

THE syndicated estafa complaint filed against Kapa Community Ministry International Inc. may end up being dismissed after private complainants have asked the Department of Justice to withdraw their criminal charges against the founders and officials of the beleaguered religious group for alleged involvement in investment scam.

This came after two of the three private complainants, who claimed to have invested in Kapa, filed separate affidavits of desistance on Tuesday.

A third complainant, who is a senior citizen who was not present due to a medical condition, also signified her intention to withdraw the case, but must comply with the requirement for the DOJ prosecutors to accept her affidavit of desistance.

Private complainants Judith Lechido of Quezon City and Kim Ampo of Pateros stressed that they were no longer interested in pursuing the case, saying they voluntarily donated the money to Kapa and were not promised an interest yield or income in return, contrary to their original allegation that they were made to believe they would earn a monthly lifetime interest of 30 percent of the principal.

The third complainant, Virginia Ampo, 65 years old, was not present in Tuesday’s hearing due to sickness, but her son Kim tried to submit her affidavit of desistance in her behalf.

Majority Leader Romualdez,” said Palma, who bolted from the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino–Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban). He cited LakasCMD’s reform, concrete achievements and proven capacity to lead the political arena as reasons for his decision to join the party.

For his part, Sanchez, an independent ex-governor who was a former member of then Lakas National Union of Christian Democrats (Lakas-NUCD) more than two decades ago, cited LakasCMD’s “coherent and workable” leadership of Romualdez for its members in

returning to his previous political party.

Also on Monday night, Tingog partylist Rep. Yedda Marie Kittilstvedt Romualdez, Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor, Ako Bisaya party-list Rep. Sonny Lagon, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin, and Alona partylist Rep. Ana Marie Villaraza-Suarez were declared “Lakas-CMD allies” after signing the “Declaration of Alliance for Unity and Progress” with the party to further solidify their support to the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte and Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano. Maricel V. Cruz

rice, whose early-morning crowing so annoyed his neighbours on the island of Oleron that they took his owner to court.

The latest case to ruffle feathers in the A court in the western town of RocheFrench countryside pits a woman rear- fort is set to issue a ruling in that case ing around 50 ducks and geese in her on Thursday. back garden in the southwestern Landes region—a duck-breeding bastion— ‘Losing our soul’ against her newcomer neighbors.

On Tuesday, a court in the southwestDominique Douthe, 67, lives outside ern town of Dax was to hear the comthe town of Soustons, about 60 kilome- plaint against Douthe’s cacophonous ters (40 miles) north of the Atlantic re- ducks and geese. sort of Biarritz.

The wife of the plaintiff couple, who She told AFP the row began a little did not wish to be named, told AFP that over a year ago when the new neighbors when they bought the house next to moved into a house across the road.

Douthe’s, “there were fewer geese and With the previous owners, she ducks, making it less noisy.” claimed, “I never had any problem.”

Since then her husband had ap“And then he [the husband of the plain- proached Douthe three or four times to tiff couple] arrived and my poultry both- try find a solution, she said. ers him,” she said, with an exasperated air.

He also hired an acoustics expert, The case is one of several that have who recommended that Douthe move been cast as an attack on the rights of her poultry pen further away from the church bells to ring, cows to moo, neighbours’ property and build a wall and donkeys to bray throughout rural to muffle the sound—recommendations France. they say went unheeded.

The mascot of this battle between urban In a region famous for its foie gras—a and rural France is a rooster named Mau- delicacy made from the livers of ducks

and geese—the case has got some locals’ backs up.

“Numerous homes here have a spot for raising poultry,” one woman told AFP indignantly: “We are in the Landes after all!”

A petition in support of “the Hardy ducks,” as they have been dubbed after a the name of a nearby lake, has garnered nearly 5,000 signatures.

Soustons’ Mayor Frederique Charpenel warned in a Facebook post on Friday against vilifying newcomers to the countryside as “being unable to integrate and making us lose our soul.”

At the same time, she said, it is “absolutely necessary... to preserve the characteristics of the countryside.”

A retired farmer who serves as mayor of the village of Gajac in southwest France has proposed a solution to the chorus of complaints against croaking frogs, cooing pigeons and other creature noises.

Mayor Bruno Dionis du Sejour has asked the government to inscribe them on France’s heritage list, making them eligible for state protection. AFP

PAL...

From A1 PAL’s lowest roundtrip economy base fare for the year for an international flight is only USD69, while PAL’s lowest one-way economy base fare domestic flight is only P69.

PAL’s Business Class roundtrip base fare on international flights is available for as low as USD299 while PAL’s one-way business class base fare on domestic flights is as low as P4,059 One can also elevate their travel

experience aboard PAL’s Premium Economy for as low as USD289 roundtrip base fare on international flights, and as low as P1,559 oneway base fare on domestic flights.

Bargain hunters who wish to experience the best deals may log on to www.philippineairlines.com to book their flights or call up PAL Reservations at (+63 2) 855-8888.

They may also visit any PAL ticketing office all over the country or any partner travel-agent for their flights.

Travel period is from Sept. 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.

Liwayway...

From A1 As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, the center of “Liwayway” was estimated at 225 kilometers east of Basco, Batanes.

Packing maximum sustained winds of 110 kms per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 135 kph, it was moving north at 15 kph, weathermen said.

Wind signal no. 1 remained in effect over Batanes.

“Liwayway” which is not expected to make a landfall is forecast to leave the Philippine Area of Responsibility by late Wednesday or Thursday.

Datem Inc. accreditation

By Vito Barcelo THE workers group Trade Union Congress of the Philippines on Tuesday urged the Department of Labor and Employment and the Philippine Contractor Accreditation Board to review the license and accreditation issued to Datem Inc. due to alleged deaths of construction workers while working at high-rise projects in Metro Manila.

TUCP president and TUCP partylist Rep. Raymond Mendoza called on the PCAB and the DOLE to step in and review the license and permit they issued to the firm.

“They must look into the very serious reports of construction workers falling to their deaths not reported to the police and labor officials. They must look at various serious violations of general labor standards and construction occupational safety and health protocols and act accordingly,” said Mendoza.

Mendoza said he filed a resolution at the House of Representatives to conduct a legislative inquiry into the workplace deaths incidents with the aim of reviewing the policies on enforcement and monitoring of labor and occupational safety and health laws, and the accreditation of licenses issued to contractors and construction firms.

According to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the severe tropical storm will bring light to moderate with intermittent heavy rains over Batanes and Babuyan Islands.

On the other hand, the southwest monsoon will also trigger scattered light to moderate rains with at times heavy rainshowers during thunderstorms in Metro Manila, Ilocos, Central Luzon, CALABARZON area, northern portions of Palawan, including Calamian Islands, Mindoro and the rest of the Cordillera Administrative Region.

News

A7

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

NCRPO all set to secure 30th SEAG; deploys 14,800 cops THE National Capital Region Police Office on Tuesday said it is all set to secure events of the 30th Southeast Asian Games which will be held in Metro Manila.

Maj. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, NCRPO chief said they are banking on the success of various international events that were held in the Philippines.

“Assumed with experience of NCRPO handling several international events before, we are confident that we can provide security and we can make adjustments because of new protocols.

In the past, we secured heads of state.

This time, we will secure athletes and another set of protocols is required during the actual activity,” Eleazar said at the sidelines of his meeting with police commanders.

Eleazar said that they remain in constant coordination with officials in charge of the biennial sports meet’s events in Metro Manila.

“We have talked with those who belong to the Metro Manila cluster of the SEA games. We have set up our deployment plan and we still have a series of meetings that will be conducted as the date of the games approach. All police commanders will also attend brainstorming sessions for the events,” the Metro Manila top cop said.

Eleazar said they are set to deploy 14,800 cops after learning from the Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee that 12 sports venues in Metro Manila will host 22 out of the SEA Games’ 56 sports disciplines.

Aside from Metro Manila, the SEA Games venues are Laguna, Bulacan, Tagaytay, Subic, and New Clark City sports complex in Capas, Tarlac.

According to Phisgoc, over 10,000 athletes from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Timor Leste, Singapore and Vietnam will participate in 543 sports events.

The Philippines will host for the fourth time the SEA Games from Nov. 30 to Dec. 11 this year.

The country won its first-ever SEA Games overall championship in 2005, the last time it hosted the biennial meet. The Philippines also hosted the 1981 and 1991 editions of the SEA Games. PNA

DENR offers free legal services to ‘estero’cleaners

By Rio N. Araja LAWYERS belonging to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources are offering free legal counseling to volunteers who have helped in a clean-up activity along esteros in Barangay Sipac Almacen, Navotas City.

To encourage more people to join the cleanup, the agency’s Legal Affairs Service, headed by director Norlito Eneran, said they have established a legal clinic wherein participating residents could avail of free legal service.

The activity has a theme of “Payo pang-legal ang alay ko, ‘pag basura mo linisin mo.”

“Participants were given a coupon for every sack of garbage collected, which entitled them to free legal counseling,” Eneran said.

He said the legal team is composed of lawyers from the DENR Lawyers Guild Inc., Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ Malabon-Navotas chapter and the Public Attorney’s Office in Quezon City.

The agency’s Legal Affairs Service led the cleanup drive as part of the overall effort to clean up the Manila Bay. Barangay Sipac Almacen is known as the seat of power of Navotas, and is bounded in the west by Manila Bay and in the east by the “highly polluted” Malabon-Navotas River.

“Our agency will take the lead role in the Battle for Manila Bay which, Secretary Roy Cimatu assessed, has to being with the battle for the rivers and esteros that drain into Manila Bay,” said Undersecretary Ernesto Adobo for Administration, Finance, Human ”I commend director Eneran for initiating this [legal] activity. I had availed the services of lawyers for legal problems but I never imagined engaging lawyers to clean the garbage of Manila Bay,” Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and Local Government Units Concerns Benny Antiporda, said.

WORLD PEACE BELL. Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexie B. Nograles (second from right) and Presidential Adviser on Peace Reconciliation and Unity Carlito G. Galvez Jr. (third from right) lead the ringing of the world peace bell to kick-off the 2019 National Peace Consciousness Month during a ceremony held at the Quezon City Memorial Circle on Monday (Sept. 2). During the event, both Nograles and Galvez highlighted the Duterte administration’s peace achievements, including the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. PNA Photo

Kiko seeks 50% increase for LGUS from nat’l taxes

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

L

OCAL government units are the frontline providers of public service, and Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan wants them to get an increase from 40 percent to 50 percent of the national taxes, not national internal revenue taxes.

In Senate Bill 426, Pangilinan seeks to amend the Local Government Code of 1991 and specify that LGUs get “national taxes” instead of the existing “national internal revenue taxes,” thereby expanding the source of funds for LGUs. “In times of trouble our citizens run to the LGUs first. LGUs should have enough revenues to respond to the needs of our constituents,” Pangilinan said.

He cited the example of Nueva Ecija Governor Ojie Umali, who has put up P200 million to buy wet palay from local farmers at P15 per kilo.

“The bill will harmonize the Constitution [which provides that LGUs have a just share in ‘national taxes’] and

the LGC [which provides that LGUs get a share of the limiting ‘national internal revenue taxes’]. It will also increase the LGUs’ internal revenue allotment [IRA] from the national government,” Pangilinan said.

National internal revenue taxes include income tax, estate and donor’s taxes, value-added tax, other percentage taxes, excise taxes, and documentary stamp taxes that the Bureau of Internal Revenue may have imposed and collected.

National taxes include not only all national internal revenue taxes but also all taxes collected by the national government including customs duties and other taxes collected by the Bureau

of Customs and all other government agencies.

The bill is also in accordance with the Supreme Court decision last April which recognized that the IRA allotment for LGUs must include tax collections of other agencies apart from the BIR. The bill mandates that each local government unit appropriates in its annual budget no less than 20 percent of its shares from the national taxes for development projects. LGUs will also be required to furnish copies of their development plan to the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The Secretary of Finance, in consultation with the Secretary of Budget and Management, will also be required to come up with the needed rules and regulations for a simplified disbursement to allow for prompt and effective distribution of the funds to the LGUs. “We want to bring government closer to its people. This will happen when LGUs have more funds. These are the kinds of reforms that bring together the leaders and the led who both only want progress for our nation,” he added.

BI agents nab 3 aliens with fake travel documents

By Vito Barcelo THE Bureau of Immigration arrested three foreigners who tried to leave the Ninoy Aquino International Airport with spurious travel papers.

Arrested were two Chinese and an Indian national who were caught in possession of fake travel documents.

One of the Chinese nationals was identified as Huang Chenghua, who was intercepted before he could board a flight to Toronto.

The passenger reportedly used a Mexican passport with a Canadian visa

that was found to be counterfeit. He also presented a fake Mexican voter’s ID. The other Chinese was apprehended at NAIA 3 for using a stolen passport and was identified as Wang Wenjiang.

He assumed the identity of a certain Xu Shao Hong, whose passport was reported stolen and lost last Oct. 24.

The passenger was about to board a flight to Jakarta when the Immigration officer who processed him saw that his passport registered a positive hit in the Interpol database.

BI Travel Control Enforcement Unit Over-all Head Ma. Timotea C. Barizo

said BI officers at NAIA 1 intercepted a certain Mahipal, an Indian national who likewise attempted to leave with fake Canadian visa on his passport.

The Indian national was about to board a flight to Toronto when he was stopped by members of the TCEU. BI Port Operations Division Chief Grifton Medina said the aliens are now detained at the BI detention facility in Bicutan, (Taguig).

They will undergo deportation proceedings and will be blacklisted and banned from reentering the Philippines, Medina added.

CALAX OPENING. Eyeing to open the first 10-km segment of the Cavite-Laguna Expressway this October, Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar with the DPWH Technical Team, along with Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. subsidiary MP CALA Holdings Inc. executives inspect the construction development of the alignment starting from the Mamplasan Toll Barrier unto Silang East, Cavite interchange on Tuesday, Sept. 3. Norman Cruz

Caltex ordered to pay P6m to owners of seized land THE Supreme Court has ordered petroleum firm Caltex Phils. Inc. to pay P6 million in damages to the children of a woman whose property was seized in 1984 after she failed to settle the payment of unpaid deliveries of petroleum products when she was a dealer of the petroleum firm.

In a 33-page resolution dated July 30, the high court’s first division Clerk of Court Librada C. Buena ordered the petroleum firm to pay P6 million to the Medina family in moral and exemplary damages.

“Caltex is ordered to pay moral damages in the amount of P1 million and exemplary damages in the amount of P1 million each to Jose Antonio Medina, Maria Luisa Medina and Milagros Medina.”

The controversy arose over the 228.9 hectare land in Alibagu, Isabela consisting of 14 parcels originally in the name of Antonio Medina.

When the latter died, the properties were passed on to his widow and the three Medina children. The widow, a dealer of Caltex was later sued by Caltex before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 21 for unpaid product deliveries.

On June 9, 1989, the court ruling on the case ordered the sale of the properties to Caltex who subsequently sold the same to the Department of Agrarian Reform.

In June 1995, Caltex executed a “deed of assignment” in favor of a certain lawyer Tarciso Calilung.

When Calilung attempted to register the deed in his name, the Register of Deeds of Isabela refused on the ground that Caltex already sold the properties to the government.

The children then sued Caltex claiming that the firm misappropriated their shares in the property since the widow Antonia, their mother, was entitled only to a quarter of the property they inherited upon their father’s death.

“Caltex knew that it cannot acquire the entire subject properties. Thus, knowing that the sale of the entire subject properties to it.

Caltex should have notified the sheriff of the error and sought for a correction of the certificate of final sale,” the SC said.

Aside from damages, the SC in its ruling remanded the case to the Special Agrarian Court for the purpose of determining the just compensation the Medinas are entitled to receive for their property. PNA

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

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

Sports

Team Liyab Haliya League of Legends player Jeshua “Fofi” Ferrer experiences firsthand low-latency gaming powered by Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G at the Globe Lifespeed Home booth.

Globe presents 1st all-female team ‘Haliya’ AS IT continues to lead the PH esports race, Globe in partnership with Mineski, introduced their slew of new members - an all-female force dubbed “Haliya”.

Named after the masked moon goddess who battles monsters such as Bakunawa in the Bicolano folklore, Liyab Haliya is a mixture of veterans and upcoming esports athletes. The team will initially compete in League of Legends (LoL) and Arena of Valor (AoV) in upcoming local and foreign tournaments.

Bannering the Liyab Haliya League of Legends (LoL) squad is team captain Denese “Den” Santos with Jonerry “Jonze” Macapagal, Aiko “Aiko” Onitsuka, Giana “ Serment” Llanes, Jeshua “Fofi” Ferrer and veteran Roxanne “Rox” Ty. Mirachel “Nukella” Yuki will be the team manager. Liyab Haliya Arena of Valor (AoV), on the other hand, is led by team captain Em “Kaisaya” Dangla with Christine “Yunique” Pagador, Jhoana “Miyeira” Osuyos, Nicole “Kitty” Munsayac and Marge “Marge” Norbe.

Liyab Haliya will make their debut at the Female Esports League (FSL) Elite League of Legends Tournament on September 5-8, 2019 at Suntec Convention Center in Singapore. In preparation for this, the team dropped by the Globe Lifespeed Home booth at Bonifacio High Street to experience low-latency gaming powered by Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G. Globe At Home Air Fiber 5G is the first commercially available 5G technology for home Internet in Southeast Asia that promises fiber-fast speeds and super data-packed plans perfect for low-lag gaming and making your home digitally connected with intelligent tools and devices. Plans being offered are at P1,899 per month for up to 20Mbps, P2,499 for up to 50Mbps, and P2,899 for up to 100Mbps, all with data allocation of 2-terabytes (TB).

SBU swimmers seek 8th straight golden double SAN Beda University shoots for an eighth consecutive golden double as the 95th NCAA swimming championships reel off today at the City of Sta. Rosa Multi Purpose Complex Swimming Pool in Sta. Rosa City, Laguna.

The SBU Sea Lions eye to extend their stranglehold on the men’s division for the 18th consecutive season, while the Lady Sea Lions shoot for their own eight-peat in the women’s side.

The trials will start at 8:30 a.m. and the opening ceremonies will take place at 11 a.m. Frank Gusi, the NCAA swimming tournament chief and University of Perpetual Help System DALTA sports consultant said the Finals will be played in the afternoon.

Cementing their status as the most successful program in the tournament, the Sea Lions were simply dominating last year as they captured their 21st title overall with plenty to spare.

San Beda had 1,261.5 points to beat perennial runner up College of St. Benilde, which had 587 points in far second.

The Lady Sea Lions, on the other hand, were equally superior with 1,264 points to prevail over the Lady Blazers, who placed second with 554.25 points.

John Henry Gurango of San Beda University took the men’s season MVP award, while Manuel Victor Perez of Jose Rizal University claimed the Record Breaker honors.

Serbia’s Miroslav Raduljica (C) fights for the ball with Andray Blatche (L) of the Philippines during the Basketball World Cup Group D game between Serbia and Philippines in Foshan on September 2, 2019. AFP

Gilas faces Angola, eyes 1st win

By Peter Atencio

G

ILAS Pilipinas will try to keep it close when it wraps up its group stage schedule against fellow winless team Angola at 3:30 p.m. today (Wednesday) at the end of their Group D encounters in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 at the Foshan International Sports and Cultural Center.

Team Philippines now seeks its only win in three games and doing so will allow them to have a good headstart in the classification phase.

Trying to keep a close game with Serbia on Monday was something that did not happen when Gilas took a 126-67 setback.

“So we just played out there and tried to keep the game as close as we can for as long as we can. Apparently, we couldn’t keep it too close that long,” said Gilas coach Yeng Guiao.

Last Monday, Italy moved a step closer to the the second round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 with a 92-61 win over Angola.

Marco Belinelli led all scorers with 17 points, while Awdu Abassi, Daniel Hackett and Jeff Brooks contributed 11 points apiece as the Italians secured their second straight Group D victory.

Carlos Morais, Yanick Moreira and Leonel Paulo combined for 37 points for Angola.

During their game with the Philippines, Serbia had a slow start as the Philippines tried to move ahead.

With the scored tied at 7-all with six minutes left in the opening quarter, coach Sacha Djordjevic brought in Nikola Jokic off the bench.

The Serbian offense started with a 7-0

run to close the first 10 minutes with a 25-13 lead and it never slowed down afterwards.

With the win, Serbia joined Italy as Group D top teams, ensured them places in the Second Round of the tournament.

Meanwhile, Serbia and its NBA AllStar Nikola Jokic turned on the style to reach the second round of the Basketball World Cup following their demolition of the Philippines.

The Serbs have a team packed with NBA talent and are the prime threat to reigning two-time champions the United States, who are without their biggest names in China.

Serbia began their title tilt with a 10559 thrashing of Angola on Saturday and were similarly ruthless in dismissing the Philippines in Foshan.

Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic questioned the World Cup format after successive routs.

“What does it serve to the Philippine team to lose by this difference?” he asked, while also hitting out at some rough treatment dealt out by the losing side.

Osaka falls to Bencic; Vekic, Mertens win NEW YORK—Top-ranked defending champion Naomi Osaka was ousted from the US Open on Monday by Belinda Bencic while Croatian Donna Vekic erased a match point to join the Swiss 13th seed in a quarter-final matchup.

Bencic’s 7-5, 6-4 triumph, her WTAbest sixth over a top-five foe this year, ensured 21-year-old Japanese star Osaka will fall from atop the rankings next week and won’t become the first repeat US Open winner since Serena Williams in 2014.

“The challenge cannot be bigger against Naomi,” Bencic said. “I had to be at the top of my game and I’m really pleased how well I handled my nerves at the end.”

Bencic, 22, matched her deepest career Grand Slam run from the 2014 US Open with her third victory of the year over Osaka, having also won at Indian Wells and Madrid.

“She played pretty clean. She had a specific plan she wanted to execute,” Osaka said. “I guess just being aggressive.”

Australia’s Ashleigh Barty, the reigning French Open champion, will move atop the rankings next Monday after the loss

by Osaka, who defends her Australian Open title in January.

“I can look at this and be very disap-

Naomi Osaka

pointed and mad, but I’m not mad about it,” Osaka said. “I’d like to reach higher rounds. That’s definitely what I’ll aim for in Australia.”

Osaka’s exit means there will be four different women’s Grand Slam winners in a season for the third consecutive year, a first in the Open era.

Vekic, the 23rd seed, saved a match point in the second set and made her first Slam quarter-final by rallying past German 26th seed Julia Goerges 6-7 (5/7), 7-5, 6-3.

“I don’t even know how I won this

match,” Vekic said. “She was serving for the match. She had match point. I just kept fighting and believing I could win. It feels pretty amazing.”

Bencic owns a 2-1 career edge over Vekic from two 2014 wins but Vekic won the most recent meeting with her friend and frequent practice partner in this year’s French Open third round.

Mertens on a roll Belgian 25th seed Elise Mertens cruised past 141st-ranked US wildcard Kristie Ahn 6-1, 6-1 in 67 minutes to book a quarter-final berth against 19-year-old Canadian 15th seed Bianca Andreescu.

“I just tried to play my best game,” said Mertens, who has dropped only 16 games in four matches.

“I try to improve every time. I try to invest in my game. It’s coming out this week and hopefully I can go much further than this.”

The only deeper Slam run for Mertens was into last year’s Australian Open semi-finals while Andreescu, whom the Belgian has never faced, extended her career-best Slam performance by defeating 116th-ranked US qualifier Taylor Townsend 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. AFP

Salva, Taduran dispute IBF crown FILIPINO fighters Samuel Salva and Pedro Taduran figure in a historic fight this Saturday when they slug it out for the vacant International Boxing Federation minimumweight crown at the Jurado Hall inside the Philippine Marine Corps headquarters at Fort Bonifacio, Taguig.

International matchmaker Sean Gibbons, also the president of Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, told the Philippine Sportswriters Ass o c ia t io n Forum on Tuesday at the Amelie Hotel that the SalvaTa d u r a n duel will mark the Sean Gibbons first time in almost a century that two Filipinos are facing off in a world title fight on Philippine soil.

“The last time was when Pancho Villa defended the world flyweight title against Clever Sencio in 1925,” said Gibbons in the session presented by San Miguel, Braska Restaurant, Amelie Hotel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

The fight will be free to the public as an offering of Sen. Pacquiao, whose advocacy is to look after the welfare of Filipino sportsmen, according to Gibbons.

“This is an exciting time for Filipino boxers,” added Gibbons, who staged last Aug. 24 the dramatic interim World Boxing Organization bantamweight title clash starring John Riel Casimero at the San Andres Sports Complex in Malate.

Salva boasts of a 17-0 record with 10 KOs, while Taduran, nicknamed Rattlesnake and a one-time world title challenger, sports a 13-2 ledger with ten KOs.

Bayron aims for record feat in Aboitiz golf JAY Bayron bristles with confidence in chase of a record Aboitiz Championship crown but the rest of the 108-player international cast similarly do, guaranteeing a feisty start to the $100,000 event at Wack Wack Golf and Country Club in Mandaluyong City today (Wednesday).

But the flat but demanding East layout could spoil whatever blistering launch the elite pros could be aiming at given its toughness that it has maintained since it underwent upgrading works some years back, including its 7,222-yardage, its thick roughs and undulating putting surface.

But Bayron and the rest, including a strong 14-player Thai contingent and a crack roster of

players from 17 other nations, remain upbeat of a strong start, armed with games toughened by stints in various tournaments here and abroad.

“I believe I could win again at Wack Wack.

My ball striking is quite good and I feel good of my chances,” said Bayron, who beat Malaysian Gavin Green by two when the event, organized by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc., was first held at Wack Wack in 2016.

So confident is the Davaoeño shotmaker who believes he could better his winning score of six-under 282 this week in pursuit of a record third championship following his romp in the inaugural staging of the event in its home base in Cebu in 2011.

“I know I can score 8-under or better this

week,” said Bayron.

So do the rest of the cast, including Aussie Damien Jordan, who overpowered the field at Orchard last year, and Thais Namchok Tantipokhakul and Wisut Artjanawat, who took two of the first three legs of the third season of the Philippine Golf Tour Asia organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. There are also the likes of Ratchapol Jantavara and Tawan Phongphun, also from Thailand, who finished 1-2 in this year’s PGTA Qualifying Tournament at Luisita, Tarik Can, Sam Gillis, Lexus Keoninh, Charles Lee, Matt Lutz, Brett Munson, Joshua Salah and Sean Talmadge of the US and Aussies Tim Stewart and David Gleeson.

Jay Bayron

IN BRIEF Shell urges extension of Malampaya contract SHELL Philippines Exploration B.V. wants the Department of Energy to act on its longpending request to extend the Malampaya service contract once it expires in 2024.

Spex, operator and member of the SC 38 consortium, submitted a letter request for extension to the department late last year.

“The request for extension was submitted and its something for the goveenment to decide. It’s a matter ultimately for the Department of Energy to discuss and inform the Malampaya consortium on what it intends to do on the extension,” said Kiril Caral, Spex laywer, during a two-day conference.

Other members of the consortium are Chevron Malampaya LLC and PNOC Exploration Corp.

“So we continue to be very interested in investing in upstream in the Philippines... , said Caral, adding the contract provided for a 15-year extension. Alena Mae S. Flores

Business

‘Catch-up’ program to boost GDP growth FINANCE Undersecretary Gil Beltran said the government’s implementation of a “catch-up program” following a sluggish 5.6-percent gross domestic product expansion in the first half will boost economic growth for the rest of the year.

In an economic bulletin on Tuesday, Beltran, who is also the DoF’s chief economist, said the delay in the passage by Congress of the 2019 budget weakened expenditures and the domestic economy.

“National government underspending was estimated at around P178 billion. This is about 2 percent of first semester nominal GDP,” Beltran said.

“A catch-up program has been adopted by the implementing agencies. This will boost growth performance for the second semester,” Beltran said. Julito G. Rada

SM Group wins two in 17th Quill Awards SM BAGGED two Awards of Excellence for SM Cinema’s Reel to Real Campaign: Where Movies Come Alive and Move You, under the ‘Communication Management-Customer Relations’ and ‘Communication Skills-Special and Experiential Events’ categories at the prestigious 17th Philippine Quill Awards night held at Marriot Hotel Manila.

SM won a Quill award for SM Markets’ AutiSM at Work, a workplace inclusion program for persons with autism–under the ‘Communication Management-Corporate Social Responsibility’ category.

SM continues to champion other programs for Persons with Disabilities through SM Cares, the CSR arm of SM Prime Holdings Inc.–including the Angels Walk for Autism, Happy Walk for Downe Syndrome and Movies for the Deaf and Blind, among others.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

B1

Laguna section of CALAX set to open in October

Romero eyes complete broadband legislation 1PACMAN party-list Rep. Mikee Romero filed a measure creating a comprehensive National Broadband Development Act to provide a more efficient ICT and broadband services, especially on the unserved and underserved areas, House Bill No. 185 seeks to create and establish a comprehensive broadband control and management framework to enable all concerned and affected personnel and organizations to carry out their unique role in helping achieve the government’s economic plans and projects.

“The state recognizes that it is imperative to prioritize and provide the suitable tools and means to make way for the needed infrastructure to interconnect government agencies and consolidate numerous agency data centers that can provide services such as cloud computing web hosting and server colocation,” said Romero.

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

By Darwin G. Amojelar

Public Works Secretary Mark Villar (second from right) inspects the CALAX Mamplasan Interchange of the new Cavite Laguna Expressway. With him are (from left) MPT South Corp. president and general manager Roberto Vontia, Public Works undersecretary Cathalina Cabral and engineer Arturo Monge. Roy Tomandao

DTI slaps 3-year safeguard tariff on imported cement T

By Othel V. Campos

HE Trade Department said Tuesday it imposed a three-year safeguard duty on imported cement to protect the local industry.

It said it slapped a definitive safeguard duty of P250 per metric ton, or P10 per 40-kilogram bag, on imported cement in the first year of implementation, which would be gradually reduced in the second and third years.

The definitive general safeguard tariff will be reduced to P9 per bag in the second year and P8 per in the third year.

The agency said it was in the public interest to impose the definitive safeguard measure. The Trade Department is mandated by Republic Act No. 8800, or the Safeguard Measures Act, to protect the domestic industry from a serious injury caused by a surge in imports.

It said it considered the public interest

in the decision whether to impose safeguard measures and took into account other factors to help the local industry and benefit the consumers and end-users.

“But basically, the rationale for the safeguard level is to balance national interest, minimizing the impact to prices for buyers and users while addressing the industry injury issue, and yet still encouraging local manufacturers to continuously pursue efficiencies to be more globally competitive,” said Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

The department said that while it was mandated to protect consumers, there was a need to balance local supply and imports taking into account other sectors such as investors and industry which provide employment to Filipinos.

“If local manufacturers can adequately supply domestic requirements, they need to be provided a level playing field to enable them to compete with imports. This will allow expansion of the country’s manufacturing base and generate more jobs for Filipinos. Further, users of cement retain

their option to choose between the local and imported cement since imports will still be allowed,” Lopez said.

The imposition of a safeguard measure is not expected to cause a shortage of cement in the domestic market considering that the cement manufacturers have sufficient capacity to meet domestic demand, the agency said.

The Trade Department said it reviewed the Tariff Commission’s findings and recommendations before arriving at its own decision.

The Tariff Commission earlier recommended the application of a definitive general safeguard measure of P297 per MT or P12 per 40-kg bag on imported cement to prevent the occurrence of the threat of serious injury.

TC also recommended that the definitive safeguard measure be applied for a period of three years.

“We are deciding on the imposition of definitive safeguard duty of P250 per MT or P10 per 40kg bag for the first year of the implementation to encourage and challenge the local cement industries to be globally competitive,” Lopez said.

THE Public Works Department and MPCALA Holdings Inc. expect to open next month the Laguna segment of the P35.4billion Cavite Laguna Expressway.

“Opening this first segment will be beneficial to the growing industrial, commercial and real estate centers of this part of the Southern Tagalog Region,” Public Works Secretary Mark Villar said.

“About 10,000 cars are forecasted to be served, eventually decongesting Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway and Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Road. We are nearing the opening this October,” Villar said.

“Despite some challenges in the ROW [right-of-way] acquisition which kept us from delivering earlier as we hoped, we are addressing these challenges in order to keep to the timeline and deliver the full 45 kilometers by early 2022,” he said.

Upon completion, CALAX is expected to cut travel time from 2.5 hours to less than 45 minutes and help decongest about 50,000 cars.

The first segment starts at the Mamplasan Barrier and passes through Laguna Technopark Interchange, Laguna Boulevard Interchange all the way to Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Interchange.

“We look forward to deliver the full 45 km by the second quarter of 2022,” MPT South Corp. president Roberto Bontia said.

The construction of the Cavite side is expected to be completed by 2022.

MPCALA tapped Leighton Holdings of Australia to build the Cavite side and local contractor DMCI Consunji Inc. to construct the Laguna segment.

The Cavite segment comprises 27 kilometers of the 45-kilometer CaviteLaguna Expressway.

The Cavite segment starts from Kawit, Cavite and traverses the Imus Open Canal, Governor’s Drive, Dasmariñas, Aguinaldo Highway and Silang which will connect to the Laguna segment from Sta. Rosa exiting to Mamplasan towards South Luzon Expressway.

CALAX will feature an automatic license plate recognition system enabling barrier-less entry. IP-based speed detection cameras will be strategically installed together with HD CCTV coverage for the entire stretch of the expressway to ensure the safety of the motorists.

Bus company prepares estafa case vs CFO over P380-m missing funds VALLACAR Transit Inc., the country’s largest bus transport company that operates Ceres Liner and Sugbo Transit, said Tuesday it is preparing an estafa case against its former chief finance officer over the alleged P380-million missing funds.

The legal team of Vallacar Transit said in a statement it was preparing the required documents to file a criminal case of “qualified theft/estafa” per Revised Penal Code against Celina Yanson-Lopez, one of the four Yanson siblings who attempted to take over VTI in July this year.

“Celina Yanson will have a day in court,” the legal team said.

The legal team said that as the CFO, Yanson-Lopez was responsible for any missing funds in the company under her watch as she had full control of the processes, recordings and approvals of all disbursements.

Sought for comment, Sheila Sison, legal counsel of Celina Yanson-Lopez, denied the allegations.

Sison said auditing firm Sycip, Gorres and Velayo did not identify her client as the one responsible for the alleged missing funds.

“The alleged accountability of YansonLopez is a blatant lie, if not a pure fabrication,” she said.

Sison said it was Celina Yanson-Lopez who raised the issue before the VTI board and pushed for an investigation.

“The alleged SGV report as claimed by the other camp, that CYL has at least P380million unaccounted advances/liabilities to the company is a total lie, if not libelous.

Nothing in the SGV audit report mentions or identifies CYL as the person responsible for the alleged unaccounted disbursements,” Sison said. Darwin G. Amojelar

MERALCO’S AWARDS. Manila Electric Co., the Philippines’ largest electricity distribution utility and the only four-time Quill Company of the Year recipient, is again among the most decorated companies in the recent Philippine Quill Awards. The company wins two top awards during the formal ceremony at Marriott Grand Ballroom and second runner-up in the Company of the Year race. Meralco head of public information office Joe Zaldarriaga (center) hoists Meralco’s award. With him are Meralco contingent led by One Meralco Foundation president Jeffrey Tarayao and Meralco marketing head Edeliza Lim.

PACC probes corruption between customs, steelmakers Seoul Declaration requests PH govt to fairly regulate nicotine products

THE Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission is investigating allegations of corruption between several big steel manufacturers and officials of the Bureau of Customs who may have deprived the government of billions of pesos in tax revenues, including penalties for improper import declarations.

PACC chairman Dante Jimenez said in an interview with a morning radio program Tuesday his office had already brought to the attention of Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez reports that largescale “technical smuggling” had been happening over the past 10 years due to alleged collusion between BOC officials and large steelmakers.

“We have brought it up to Secretary Lopez of the DTI, as they are the agency that facilitates the trading of steel,” Jimenez said.

“Aside from the smuggling allega-

tions, there are also questions regarding the quality of steel, how this affects safety and the lives of people… these are all the subjects of an ongoing investigation by the PACC,” he said.

Jimenez acknowledged that the case, which involves steelmakers clearing their products at the customs point of entry despite discrepancies in the documents submitted for these items, “maybe bigger than the cigarettes smuggling and tax evasion issue two years ago.”

Senator Panfilo Lacson earlier raised the alarm on the billions of pesos the Philippines could be losing annually to tax leakages from imports. Steel contributes a significant portion of Philippine industrial imports.

Citing World Bank data, Lacson said the Philippines may have lost P32.18 billion worth of value-added taxes in 2017 alone due to “under-declaration”.

Lacson, speaking at a Senate hearing on the proposed P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020, vowed to seek an explanation from the country’s economic managers on where the missing amount could have gone.

Industry sources recently revealed that the PACC obtained documents detailing how one steelmaker alone imported two million tons of steel billets last year and could be responsible for over half a trillion pesos worth of lost revenues for the government due to systematic misdeclaration of its importation figures.

Importers are required to submit a customs declaration form or duty entry once their imported products pass through BOC for clearance.

Customs brokers routinely declare the content of the imported goods to determine how much tax is accrued to the government.

PUBLIC health experts and consumer groups from Asia-Pacific called on the Philippine government to impose riskproportionate regulation on safer nicotine products such as electronic cigarettes, heat-not-burn tobacco and Swedish snus to encourage Filipinos to switch from smoking cigarettes.

“We call on the government of the Philippines to allow its citizens to have access to safer alternatives to cigarettes through riskproportionate regulation of safer nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, heat-notburn tobacco and snus,” the Seoul Declaration which was signed by experts and consumer groups on August 29, 2019 stated.

Hundreds of experts and consumers from 18 countries gathered at GLAD Hotel Yeouido in Seoul, South Korea to attend the 3rd Asia Harm Reduction Forum which

was jointly organized by the Korea Harm Reduction Association and Yayasan Pemerhati Kesehatan Publik Indonesia.

Nancy Sutthoff, the executive coordinator of the Coalition of Asia Pacific Harm Reduction Advocates, said the Seoul Declaration is a consumer declaration calling on the governments of Thailand, India and the Philippines to address their planned ban or restrictive policies on tobacco harm reduction products such as e-cigarettes, HNB devices and snus.

“We decided to do a Seoul Declaration to address these issues and get as many signatures as we can from consumers and experts in the region so that these declarations can be hand-delivered to those respective governments,” Sutthoff who is also the managing director of Paraclete Associates Ltd. said.

B2

Business

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Stocks slump; Alliance Global falls

T

HE stock market fell sharply Tuesday ahead of the release of the inflation report on Thursday and hobbled by worries over USChina trade talks.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slumped 113.82 points, or 1.4 percent, to 7,804.71 on a value turnover of P6.8 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 125 to 67, with 56 issues unchanged.

Alliance Global Group Inc. of tycoon Andrew Tan dropped 3.7 percent to P12.44, while SM Prime Holdings Inc. of the Sy Group, declined 2.6 percent to P34.10.

Nickel Asia Corp., the biggest nickel miner, however, extended a rally, advancing 9.5 percent to P4.50, while Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. climbed 13.1 percent to P1.90 on

rising nickel prices.

The pound, meanwhile, hit a twoand-half-year low Tuesday after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson threatened to call a snap election to push through Brexit, while most Asian markets were mixed, with investors given no direction

by Wall Street, which was closed for Labor Day. Tokyo ended flat and Shanghai closed 0.2 percent higher with Singapore and Wellington up.

But Hong Kong slipped 0.3 percent in the afternoon, Sydney shed 0.1 percent and Seoul dropped 0.2 percent. Taipei, Mumbai and Jakarta were also in the red.

Johnson’s warning that he will call a poll for October 14 if rebel MPs in his Conservative party vote to force another delay to Brexit raised the possibility of an extended period of uncertainty in Britain, where the economy is already struggling.

“We are leaving on October 31, no ifs or buts,” he said in a statement outside 10 Downing Street.

Sterling sank around one percent against the greenback Monday, with weak factory figures adding to the sell-off, and on Tuesday dropped below $1.20 for the first time since January 2017.

The euro was also sitting around levels not since since the second half of the same year as investors prepare for a huge day in Westminster with antiBrexiteers planning to hold their vote on their return from the summer break.

“The continued political uncertainty will do nothing to lift sterling from its torpor,” said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.

“There is more downside risk and very little to give bulls encouragement... we are very much in uncharted waters here.

We could feasibly see $1.15 or even $1.10 in the coming weeks if traders

decide to move against the pound.”

The China-US trade impasse was playing on equity investors.

While Donald Trump has said toplevel negotiations between the world’s top two economies would take place soon, a report said they were having trouble agreeing a schedule for any meeting.

The Bloomberg News story said they had been unable to agree on a US call for parameters for the talks, while Washington turned down Beijing’s appeal for a delay to the latest tariffs that kicked in at the weekend.

With the two still at loggerheads, Chinese media blamed the White House.

“It is time the US administration reconsidered its poorly thought-out China-bashing moves,” the China Daily said in an editorial. “Working to secure a trade deal would be a more fruitful approach.” With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2019

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING),

FINANCIAL 56.95 280 87 1,438,980 142 1,463,960 1.15 126,000 25.9 609,300 18.2 20,100 12.1 212,900 4.81 214,000 1.23 81,000 70.5 2,049,550 0.93 438,000 22.45 200 46.25 108,200 187 880 58.2 3,040 28 10,400 205 680,470 1,790 685 59.15 28,150 1.11 44,000

15,946 125,215,322 210,691,580 146,210 15,798,730 373,800 2,577,884 1,024,090 99,410 145,044,129 417,110 4,490 5,007,335 163,270 174,415 284,405 137,332,567 1,179,230 1,666,000.50 48,840

10,894,854.5) -8,011,080 -6,193,660 696,662 41,271,650.5) -2,042,415 -35,490 45,508,480 8,950 -1,040,006.50 -

37.2 15.1 0.68 1.3 0.24 2.92 13.5 110 10.04 30.5 73 77 2.04 6.01 5.5 8.9 15.06 9.85 7.24 26.5 82.15 49 2.13 14.5 8.05 1.55 231 4.95 8.36 21.85 13.4 18.74 362.2 0.185 5.3 1.86 4.39 5.02 9 2.7 10.82 31.7 5.01 5.1 1.55 2.1 1.06 12.3 89.55 7.14 0.128 1.04 167.5 2.43 1.15 1.19

INDUSTRIAL 37.45 806,400 15.4 365,200 0.69 762,000 1.34 2,018,000 0.247 1,650,000 3 16,158,000 13.5 2,363,300 110 10 10.38 242,200 30.5 254,200 74 2,590 78 1,080 2.04 126,000 6.12 4,400 5.7 113,100 8.92 616,400 15.1 13,100 9.95 113,000 7.25 2,313,100 26.5 5,269,000 82.25 52,720 50 100,290 2.2 10,487,000 14.9 1,096,000 8.06 195,300 1.6 75,000 231 553,680 5 29,500 8.36 3,500 21.9 769,300 13.42 151,000 18.94 3,029,400 363 134,310 0.199 220,000 5.3 700 1.92 11,308,000 4.39 2,000 5.06 505,900 9 1,300 2.75 11,606,000 11 63,600 32 1,979,900 5.08 174,200 5.1 1,600 1.55 305,000 2.1 38,000 1.12 240,000 12.3 107,700 90 155,390 7.2 54,500 0.128 30,000 1.06 560,000 167.5 850,000 2.43 73,000 1.16 3,088,000 1.24 6,199,000

30,201,620 5,604,398 522,160 2,624,100 405,540 48,339,870 31,983,654 1,100 2,507,228 7,767,265 189,629 83,952.50 257,290 26,805 640,628 5,524,407 197,678 1,123,627 16,898,454 142,657,315 4,356,026 5,012,081 22,881,860 16,177,500 1,586,168 117,450 128,567,490 147,015 29,314 16,917,660 2,052,346 57,766,134 48,758,892 41,960 3,710 21,565,800 8,790 2,552,823 11,700 32,138,430 696,138 63,402,570 879,039 8,191 473,650 79,840 259,610 1,331,942 13,983,907 392,435 3,840 596,680 143,657,904 177,610 3,591,200 7,518,480

-18,291,100 956,038 6,079,990 -8,838,430 36,166 -1,590,555 -475,180 -2,092,388 27,156 78,054 -5,566,663 6,066,360 -608,327.50 3,568,476.50 -238,760 5,898,014 638,486.0001) 7,750 -8,808,800 -11,391,360 -11,752 330,948 35,307,562 1,295,010 494,119.9997) -52,450 -33,717,225 42,298.00 15,600 -1,222,158 -5,472,966 -106,420,001 150,660 49,350 104,270

0.8 52.85 12.44 0.74 6.9 14.6 1.23 1.26 900 3.44 6.64 8.8 13.6 0.236 897 5.95 70 5.21 6.09 0.49 4.52 14.58 0.63 4.87 0.038 1.31 2.87 176 2.41 994 0.84 1.29 0.229 0.247

HOLDING FIRMS 0.84 27,562,000 53.1 1,064,860 12.44 7,399,300 0.78 6,107,000 6.9 381,400 15.1 40,800 1.25 2,003,000 1.28 371,000 900 391,690 3.48 1,873,000 6.7 737,000 8.8 9,383,500 13.7 152,000 0.246 340,000 912 41,820 5.95 37,900 70 1,153,860 5.97 143,300 6.09 90,000 0.5 4,000 4.58 692,000 14.62 387,700 0.66 836,000 4.9 6,113,000 0.038 5,600,000 1.34 763,000 2.9 71,000 177.9 17,910 2.41 4,000 994 196,520 0.86 399,000 1.31 39,000 0.229 640,000 0.247 2,990,000

22,567,320 56,519,067 93,037,206 4,673,810 2,667,568 611,952 2,488,550 470,700 354,716,760 6,513,730 4,941,478 83,541,319 2,081,978 80,340 38,106,380 226,603 81,134,016 877,777 619,320 1,980 3,175,080 5,679,920 541,690 29,982,420 214,000 1,017,140 205,150 3,176,773 9,640 198,306,870 339,810 50,600 147,210 744,700

625,540 -40,464,815 -47,977,398 15,300 -402,860 -255,746,065 -1,603,760 1,634,126 -38,933,357 -1,631,668 8,982,440 -218,868 -14,925,732 -2,827,130 -35,052 -5,052,550 11,400 297,239 1,903,625 -

15.3 0.79 9.71 1.85 0.88 47.1 2.17 4.64 0.55 0.72 0.85 0.226 0.41 9.2 20.9 0.455 1.63 1.26 5.04 0.32 0.46 1.36 0.4 2.05 24.3 2.31 3.22 34.1 2.44

PROPERTY 15.34 588,200 0.81 1,661,000 9.8 6,600 1.88 245,000 0.9 2,334,000 47.3 10,370,000 2.19 70,000 4.65 128,000 0.57 7,158,000 0.74 55,000 0.88 13,000 0.233 1,570,000 0.43 2,980,000 9.2 308,200 20.9 977,200 0.465 30,000 1.64 18,387,000 1.26 794,000 5.1 31,125,000 0.325 5,670,000 0.46 100,000 1.39 2,301,000 0.4 10,000 2.31 13,008,000 24.3 1,282,400 2.36 190,000 3.29 79,000 34.1 18,809,000 2.44 635,000

9,032,420 1,352,490 65,235 458,000 2,085,280 491,416,085 152,770 595,690 4,003,520 40,150 11,380 358,450 1,312,950 2,838,101 20,600,020 13,800 30,125,100 1,005,540 158,808,528 1,827,200 46,100 3,178,870 4,000 30,116,430 32,055,805 448,920 258,160 651,832,745 1,557,200

-4,002,664 -121,560 -73,443,140 -2,120 37,200 -3,420.00 720 40,700 14,674 3,783,595 1,697,170 8,792,864 13,900.00 774,170 4,975,400 ,319,289.9999 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

56.95 87 146 1.17 26.2 18.4 12.08 4.81 1.24 70.5 0.94 22.45 46.9 185 57.9 27.5 198.2 1,721 60 1.11

56.95 87.5 146.9 1.17 26.2 18.6 12.2 4.81 1.24 71.1 0.99 22.45 46.9 187 58.2 28 205 1,790 60 1.11

56.95 86.8 142 1.15 25.85 18.2 12.04 4.76 1.22 70.5 0.93 22.45 45.8 184 56.05 27.3 195 1,721 59.05 1.11

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

37.25 15.3 0.7 1.3 0.249 3.12 13.56 110 10.2 32 73.7 80 2.05 6.02 5.62 9 15.16 10.18 7.25 26.65 82.6 49.8 2.17 14.9 8.2 1.59 235 5.1 8.4 22.45 14 18.96 362.2 0.185 5.3 1.92 4.4 5.02 9 2.81 10.86 32 5.06 5.15 1.6 2.11 1.07 12.46 90 7.22 0.128 1.06 170.3 2.45 1.19 1.26

37.7 15.46 0.7 1.34 0.249 3.12 13.7 110 10.68 32 74 80 2.05 6.12 5.7 9.1 15.18 10.18 7.35 27.55 83.35 50.85 2.2 14.9 8.2 1.6 235.4 5.1 8.4 22.45 14 19.08 364.4 0.199 5.3 1.94 4.4 5.09 9 2.82 11 32.35 5.1 5.15 1.6 2.11 1.12 12.6 90 7.24 0.128 1.09 170.3 2.45 1.19 1.26

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

0.84 53.1 12.9 0.8 7 15.5 1.24 1.28 923 3.52 6.73 9.1 13.74 0.236 912 5.98 71.55 5.84 7.11 0.5 4.62 14.7 0.66 4.98 0.039 1.34 2.87 178 2.41 1,013 0.85 1.29 0.231 0.25

0.86 53.5 12.9 0.8 7 15.58 1.26 1.28 929 3.54 6.76 9.24 13.74 0.246 917.5 5.98 71.75 6.7 7.13 0.5 4.62 14.78 0.66 4.99 0.039 1.39 2.9 178 2.41 1,035 0.88 1.31 0.231 0.255

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

15.38 0.79 9.99 1.85 0.89 47.5 2.2 4.64 0.56 0.73 0.85 0.226 0.42 9.48 21.25 0.46 1.64 1.28 5.1 0.32 0.465 1.4 0.4 2.1 25.4 2.31 3.3 35 2.44

15.42 0.83 9.99 1.88 0.92 47.8 2.2 4.69 0.57 0.74 0.88 0.235 0.455 9.48 21.3 0.465 1.65 1.28 5.2 0.325 0.465 1.42 0.4 2.59 25.75 2.38 3.31 35 2.48

VOLUME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING),

STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

5.7 0.88 7.71

5.8 0.93 7.71

5.64 0.88 7.6

5.64 0.93 7.62

84,500 506,000 3,490,500

479,659 456,160 26,603,460

-16,017,612

2GO GROUP ABS CBN ACESITE HOTEL APC GROUP APOLLO GLOBAL ASIAN TERMINALS BERJAYA BLOOMBERRY BOULEVARD HLDG CEBU AIR CENTRO ESCOLAR CHELSEA DFNN INC EASYCALL GLOBE TELECOM GMA NETWORK GOLDEN BRIA HARBOR STAR IMPERIAL INTL CONTAINER IPEOPLE ISLAND INFO ISM COMM JACKSTONES LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN MANILA JOCKEY METRO RETAIL METROALLIANCE A NOW CORP PACIFIC ONLINE PAL HLDG PAXYS PH RESORTS GRP PHIL SEVEN CORP PHILWEB PLDT PREMIUM LEISURE PRMIERE HORIZON PUREGOLD ROBINSONS RTL SBS PHIL CORP SSI GROUP STI HLDG TRANSPACIFIC BR TRAVELLERS WATERFRONT WILCON DEPOT

10.7 20.7 1.59 0.6 0.047 19 2.37 10.42 0.058 96.25 6.62 7.34 5.8 9.9 2,008 5.32 449.6 1.86 1.84 134 9.23 0.112 5.24 2.91 14 3.12 0.94 19.1 0.44 3.1 2.51 1.16 3.18 2.74 8.47 2.8 4.6 136 3.15 1,164 0.69 0.6 43.75 77.05 9.3 2.78 0.7 0.37 5.45 0.7 16.8

10.7 22 1.6 0.66 0.048 19.8 2.42 10.44 0.058 96.3 6.62 7.34 5.8 10 2,008 5.4 449.6 1.86 2.05 134 9.63 0.112 5.24 2.91 14 3.12 1.06 19.1 0.45 3.11 2.51 1.16 3.39 2.74 8.47 2.8 5 143.5 3.15 1,184 0.71 0.64 44.15 78.5 9.3 2.82 0.7 0.375 5.46 0.7 16.88

10.24 20 1.55 0.6 0.047 19 2.36 10.22 0.057 94 6.6 7.13 5.8 9.76 1,972 5.29 435 1.77 1.84 129.4 9.22 0.109 5.05 2.91 14 3.04 0.88 18.9 0.44 3.1 2.4 1.13 3.11 2.69 8 2.8 4.6 136 3 1,148 0.69 0.57 43.75 75 9.3 2.71 0.69 0.36 5.45 0.68 16.5

SERVICES 10.24 21 1.6 0.64 0.048 19 2.4 10.3 0.057 96 6.6 7.22 5.8 9.9 1,988 5.4 435 1.78 2.05 130.2 9.63 0.109 5.12 2.91 14 3.05 0.92 18.9 0.45 3.11 2.4 1.14 3.31 2.7 8 2.8 5 143.5 3.13 1,148 0.69 0.59 43.8 75 9.3 2.8 0.69 0.365 5.46 0.69 16.76

16,400 641,600 66,000 69,979,000 6,000,000 3,400 188,000 1,806,700 9,450,000 140,520 3,000 1,049,000 5,000 126,100 13,660 678,600 330 2,471,000 6,000 728,810 21,500 7,300,000 1,805,400 13,000 100 932,000 15,541,000 20,600 150,000 9,000 2,529,000 32,000 6,765,000 197,000 6,500 15,000 2,400 260 980,000 76,175 239,000 48,153,000 1,340,800 168,050 2,000 2,364,000 340,000 4,820,000 1,366,300 1,708,000 455,800

170,782 13,536,510 105,190 44,386,420 287,200 64,680 449,830 18,612,330 541,210 13,334,105.50 19,839 7,566,509 29,000 1,236,548 27,162,775 3,640,521 146,696 4,431,400 12,090 94,970,374 198,280 800,110 9,269,286 37,830 1,400 2,877,000 15,246,440 391,092 66,450 27,930 6,122,650 36,570 21,763,270 532,490 54,098 42,000 11,384 35,495 3,021,620 88,316,315 166,830 29,014,760 58,835,860 12,623,182.50 18,600 6,591,800 236,020 1,765,000 7,446,835 1,172,980 7,631,922

10,500 -1,179,100 -15,356,596 -2,125,430 215,334 5,792,680 4,450 -16,969,390 38,400 112,428 -1,234,750 149,030 -30,328 -30,290 429,910 -2,740 1,435 -219,820 -46,868,280 -6,910 -567,260 -873,425 2,455,544 1,388,460 -127,750 -225,630 5,925,198

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

0.002 1.25 2.57 12 1.18 1.29 2.68 0.285 7.88 1.7 0.223 0.11 0.115 0.01 0.01 1.33 4.3 1.18 0.91 0.012 0.012 0.011 8.36 4.06 11.5 23 0.007

0.002 1.26 2.68 12 1.35 1.3 2.74 0.285 7.88 1.98 0.225 0.114 0.119 0.01 0.012 1.42 5.1 1.24 0.96 0.012 0.012 0.011 9.12 4.2 11.52 23.1 0.007

0.002 1.23 2.56 12 1.18 1.29 2.68 0.285 7.81 1.69 0.219 0.11 0.115 0.010 0.01 1.17 4.22 1.08 0.91 0.011 0.012 0.011 7.71 3.89 10.28 22.9 0.007

MINING & OIL 0.002 32,000,000 1.24 1,887,000 2.56 387,000 12 1,200 1.2 301,000 1.3 60,000 2.74 747,000 0.285 440,000 7.81 800 1.9 228,850,000 0.221 3,130,000 0.114 1,660,000 0.119 50,000 0.01 7,000,000 0.012 5,500,000 1.18 16,618,000 4.5 329,120,000 1.14 2,020,000 0.93 10,350,000 0.012 17,600,000 0.012 3,200,000 0.011 2,500,000 9.11 5,221,000 3.96 7,150,000 10.32 6,166,800 23 433,600 0.007 12,000,000

54,500 2,341,980 994,110 14,400 374,960 77,860 2,026,000 125,400 6,273 417,280,160 694,150 185,600 5,790 69,930 61,400 21,620,350 1,534,089,060 2,379,910 9,634,900 207,900 38,400 27,500 45,183,715 29,093,290 65,727,916 9,971,720 82,600

-850,600 169,123,930 22,380 122,100 246,793,340 37,600 121,455 412,410.0003) -3,093,142 -8,101,100 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B2 DD PREF FGEN PREF G GLO PREF P GMA HLDG PDR HOUSE PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PCOR PREF 2A PCOR PREF 3A PCOR PREF 3B PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC FB PREF 2 SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G SMC PREF 2H

19.26 504 100.7 105.6 500 5.13 97.7 1 101.3 996 1,030 1,032 100.2 108 990 76.55 79 75.5 76.2 77.5 76.5 75.55

19.8 504 100.7 105.6 500 5.13 97.7 1 101.3 996 1,035 1,040 100.2 108 990 76.55 79 75.7 76.2 77.5 76.5 75.8

18.5 504 100.7 105.6 500 5.13 97.3 1 101.3 996 1,030 1,032 100.2 108 990 75.6 78.95 75.5 76.2 75.75 76.5 75.5

PREFERRED 18.5 596,700 504 10 100.7 1,000 105.6 1,500 500 20 5.13 300 97.4 32,390 1 60,000 101.3 30 996 200 1,030 30 1,040 720 100.2 1,000 108 90 990 1,110 75.6 110 78.95 5,780 75.7 18,000 76.2 48,900 75.75 49,400 76.5 4,230 75.5 11,000

11,295,706 5,040 100,700 158,400 10,000 1,539 3,154,026 60,000 3,039 199,200 30,975 748,720 100,200 9,720 1,098,900 8,344.50 456,334.50 1,360,000 3,726,180 3,790,518.50 323,595 831,353.50

-8,886,028 -738,400 -

LR WARRANT

1.57

1.6

1.57

WARRANTS 1.6 10,000

15,880

-

17,964,683 10,062,720 1,840,370

-156,063 498,432 -290,000

551,420

11,830

56,528.20

-

NAME

MS ITALPINAS KEPWEALTH XURPAS

6.23 11.7 0.95

6.58 11.8 0.96

6.08 10.9 0.92

FIRST METRO ETF

118.4

118.9

117.2

USD DMPL A1

10.3

TRADING SUMMARY

10.32

SHARES

FINANCIAL

7,780,861

INDUSTRIAL

87,811,385

HOLDING FIRMS

78,169,618

PROPERTY

125,021,073

SERVICES

191,439,140

MINING & OIL

694,511,943

GRAND TOTAL

1,190,448,953

10.3

SME

6.31 11.22 0.96

2,862,300 888,900 1,959,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 117.2 4,680 DDS 10.32

5,480

VALUE 1,794.98 (down) -8.64 669,067,384.35 FINANCIAL 10,915.64 (down) -116.74 INDUSTRIAL 983,039,436.375 7,734.42 (down) -146.74 HOLDING FIRMS 1,010,080,648.9 PROPERTY 3,940.63 (down) -50.65 1,587.91 (down) -25.91 1,476,444,783.64 SERVICES 9,429.4 (up) 228.93 MINING & OIL 516,495,096.125 7,804.71 (down) -113.82 PSEI 2,142,805,698.981 All Shares Index 4,740.61 (down) -56.98 6,828,352,575.27 Gainers: 67; Losers: 125; Unchanged: 56; Total: 248

Cal-Comp revives IPO, eyes P10.67b in proceeds

By Jenniffer B. Austria CONSUMER electronics producer CalComp Technology (Philippines) Inc., a unit of Taiwan-based New Kinpo Group (NKG), revived its planned initial public offering to raise as much as P10.67 billion in proceeds.

Cal-Comp said in a new registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission would sell up to 371,423 million in primary common shares with an over-allotment of up to 55,713 million common shares at a price of up to P25 apiece.

The shares represent approximately 25.1 percent of the issued and outstanding capital stock of the company after the IPO. The company plans to use net proceeds from the maiden share offering to finance expansion, capital expenditure, debt repayment, research and development and working capital.

The company’s expansion program entailed the construction and development of phase 3 of its Lima manufacturing complex in Lipa, Batangas. The expansion will add 25,000 square meters of manufacturing space.

The company is also looking to lease an additional 300,000 sq. m. of land within the First Philippine Industrial Park to expand the manufacturing capacity.

Cal-Comp said it would need an additional capital to purchase new equipment and machineries and upgrade existing facility to raise production.

Cal-Comp said it planned to repay P1.32 billion worth of debt of unit Kimpo Electronics (Philippines) Inc. to Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Cathay United Bank Co Ltd. Cal-Comp tentatively set the offering period on Nov. 4 to 11, and the listing date on Nov. 18.

The company hired BDO Capital and Investments Corp. and Maybank Kim Eng Securities Pte. ltd as the joint global underwriters and book runner of the offering.

Cal-Comp in June 2018 initially filed an IPO request with the SEC. The company at that time had planned to raise as much as P6.77 billion in proceeds.

It deferred the IPO plan in September last year, citing “poor market conditions.”

COL Financial’s net income rises 17% to P134m COL Financial Group Inc., one of the leading online stockbrokers in the country, posted a net income of P134 million in the second quarter of 2019, up 17 percent year-on-year.

COL said in a disclosure to the stock exchange consolidated revenues during the period reached P275.8 million, up 10.5 percent on year, largely driven by higher interest income and trailer fees.

“This year, we focused on providing our clients with more guidance so we can help them become better investors, especially amid the tough market conditions recently,” said COL president and chief executive officer Dino Bate.

“We also expanded our ways of reaching out to our customers online, making our guidance more targeted and relevant to clients’ different investing objectives,” he added.

Interest income jumped 54 percent to P147.9 million due to higher rates and proactive cash management. COL also benefited from the increased utilization of its margin lending facility.

Meanwhile, fees from the mutual fund distribution business increased 23 percent to P4.4 million on year as the value of COL’s assets under administration rose 25 percent to P3.1 billion as of end June 2019.

Commission revenues, however, fell 14.6 percent to P123 million as COL’s share of the value of transactions in the Philippine Stock Exchange returned to 5.1 percent, after briefly climbing to as high as 9.2 percent early last year due to heightened speculation on possible third telco plays.

The drop in market share was also influenced by market dynamics after foreign flows dominated activity, specifically among big-cap issues.

COL ended the first half of the year as the fifth largest stockbroker in the PSE with a client base of 313,000 and client equity of P78.7 billion.

COL reported that the number of clients who bought mutual funds through COL Fund Source grew 22 percent on on year basis to 39,880. Jenniffer B. Austria

B3

World/Business

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Hong Kong leader insists she will not step down HONG KONG—Hong Kong’s embattled leader insisted Tuesday she had no intention of stepping down after an audio recording emerged of her saying she wanted to quit over three months of unrest in the southern Chinese city.

Hong Kong has endured dozens of sometimes violent pro-democracy protests triggered by opposition to Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s bid to push through a law allowing extraditions to mainland China.

The protests have evolved into a wider democracy campaign involving clashes between protesters and police, in the biggest challenge to China’s rule of Hong Kong since its 1997 handover from the British.

“I told myself repeatedly in the last three months that I and my team should stay on to help Hong Kong,” Lam told a press conference on Tuesday morning.

Lam said she had “not even contemplated” discussing her resignation with the Chinese government, which gives Hong Kong a restricted form of autonomy.

“The conflict that I myself want to quit but cannot quit does not exist,” she said.

Lam was speaking after Reuters news agency released an audio recording of her telling business leaders last week that she wanted to step down and take responsibility for the unrest.

“For a chief executive to have caused this huge havoc to Hong Kong is unforgivable,” an emotional Lam said in the audio recording.

“If I have a choice,” she said, speaking in English, “the first thing is to quit, having made a deep apology.” AFP

Desperate calls for help from flooded Bahamas isles PORT SAINT LUCIE―The message was desperate, despondent and urgent.

“Anybody who can help me, this is Kendra Williams. I live in Heritage. We are under water; we are up in the ceiling.

“Can someone please assist us or send some help. Please.”

“Me and my six grandchildren and my son, we are in the ceiling.”

The text message was forwarded to AFP

by Yasmin Rigby, a resident of Freeport. Authorities in the hurricane-hammered Bahamas said they were getting many such diresounding pleas for help.

“We’re getting a lot of frantic people calling in,” Don Cornish, the Grand Bahama disaster manager, told NPR. “They’re very concerned because of the storm surge... We have had persons who are trying to get out in these conditions because they’re desperate because of the level the water has come in their homes.”

Dorian, which arrived as a mammoth Category 5 hurricane and settled in over the islands before being downgraded Monday to a still-dangerous Category 4, brought with it devastating winds and torrential downpours.

Potentially most destructive for some of the low-lying islands have been storm surges of 10 to 20 feet (three to six meters)—or more. As of Monday, they had left wide areas under water.

Rigby said Freeport’s airport and hospital were both under water. Both power and water had gone out.

“Some other family members evacuated from a once-safe house to us,” she told AFP. “I’m praying the water does not come this way.” AFP

IN BRIEF Hezbollah vows to strike inside Israel

SHOPPING FESTIVAL. People shop for ornaments at a pavilion during the Mosul International Shopping Festival in Iraq’s northern city on September 2, 2019. AFP

China supports Kim amid deadlocked nuclear talks S EOUL―China reasserted its backing for North Korea on Tuesday as its foreign minister visited Pyongyang, vowing to maintain “close communication” with its longstanding ally in the face of deadlocked nuclear talks with Washington.

Beijing has long been North Korea’s key diplomatic backer and main provider of trade and aid, and while ties deteriorated over Pyongyang’s nuclear provocations and China’s subsequent backing of UN sanctions, the two have since worked to repair their relationship.

Since March 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have met five times, with Xi seeking to weigh in on Pyongyang’s diplomacy with Washington.

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi arrived in Pyongyang on a three-day trip on Monday, just two months after Xi became the first Chinese leader to visit the North in 14 years.

Wang told his North Korean counterpart Ri Yong Ho that Beijing was ready “to promote... close communication and cooperation on the international stage”, China’s foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Reflecting on their 70 years of alliance, Wang noted that Beijing and Pyongyang have “always been in the same boat and moving forward side by side”, it said in a statement.

Ri said that North Korea is willing to work with China to “promote greater development” of their relations in the “new era”, according to the document.

Pyongyang and Washington are engaged in a long-running diplomatic process over the North’s nuclear programs

although little progress has been made.

Those talks have been deadlocked after a second summit between Kim and US President Donald Trump collapsed in Hanoi in February with the two unable to reach a deal on sanctions relief and what the North might give up in return.

They agree to restart talks at an impromptu meeting in the Demilitarized Zone in June, but that working-level dialogue has yet to begin.

China always prefers stability in its neighborhood and officially supports talks between the North and the US. But Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said Wang’s visit “will raise concerns about their coordinating economic cooperation despite UN sanctions”.

“Beijing and Pyongyang may also strategize how to exploit widening divisions between Seoul and Tokyo and how to play the US election cycle,” he added, but stressed that North Korea wanted to avoid over-reliance on China. AFP

TIME TO PLAY. A

young male panther from Persia named Dastan plays with its mother inside their enclosure at The Beauval Zoo in SaintAignan-surCher, central France, on September 2, 2019. AFP

Beyond Borders 101.3

IN PREVIOUS global strategy discussions, we tackled the questions of why and where. This week, we tackle the questions of how and when.

When When answering the question of when, there are two potential dangers—too early or too late.

For companies internationalizing for the purpose of improving supply chain, the typical goals are chasing availability of inputs of the appropriate quality, or for managing costs.

When a company chooses potential locations for supply chain reasons, they must choose between long-term commitments such as building a factory offshore or flexible solutions such as a global, multi-vendor buying strategy. For long-term commitments, the question of when is critical. It is important to avoid being too early. Consider deciding to locate a factory in a transition economy where many local institutions are not yet mature. The company may not be able to successfully contract for a steady supply of raw material or be able to successfully recruit appropriate labor.

Companies can utilize the CAGE distance framework and careful analysis of resource and institutional differences for this assessment. On the other hand, as these economies

mature and more companies expand production to that country, resources such as labor become scarcer and consequently, more expensive. The substantial capital expense involved in building manufacturing facilities typically requires significant time to recoup. It is imperative for companies to be able to operate their new facilities while cost advantages still exist. The ability to analyze trends and forecast critical factors of production become important for this assessment.

If the reason for internationalizing is for capturing fresh markets, and especially for developing countries, too early can mean many things. It could be so early that demand for the company’s product is not yet large enough either because buying power is still low or local tastes and preferences have not yet evolved. For example, in Asia, there has been an explosion of successful highend coffee and French pastry shops, which would not have been possible a few decades ago. The economic and cultural elements of the CAGE distance framework can help with this. Much like expansion for supply chain purposes, questions concerning local capacity and institutions must also be asked when determining whether it is too early to enter a company for market purposes.

The advantage of entering a new market early, of course, is to capture market share before competition becomes entrenched. And this is precisely the danger of entering a market too late. Entering a

mature market means dealing with sophisticated consumers and entrenched competitors.

How As to the how of internationalizing, there is both a macro component and a micro component.

First, let us deal with the macro component.

Ghemawat proposes what he calls the triple-A approach to managing differences: adaptation, aggregation and arbitrage. Ghemawat explains that adaptation involves increasing a company’s ability to gain revenue and market share through increasing local relevance. He explains that this is often a company’s first approach to expansion beyond its local markets. At this point, it is important to understand that managing the international supply chain also requires some level of adaptation. The reason for this is we need to adapt to the local situation for such things as legal compliance and even employee motivation. Aggregation, by contrast, is aimed at achieving economies of scale by creating regional or global operations. Aggregation is often used when managing a supply chain, concentrating production or shared services in a few locations. Even marketing campaigns can be aggregated for certain products that have universal appeal or for which the core value proposition is essentially global. Arbitrage is about the exploitation of differences between markets by locating different parts of the supply chain in different places—for example, production in low-cost countries such as

China and retail shops in affluent countries in Europe. With arbitration, it is important to remember that companies can utilize both static (long-term) such as for factories as well as dynamic (flexible) arbitrage such as for buying.

On a micro-level, companies need to make specific decisions concerning entry method either on a country by country basis or, more infrequently, when entering a new region.

The first important question is this: Why not just transact? When does it make sense to have physical operations in a country as opposed to simply transacting via import or export? One reason for going beyond simply transacting is market failure, e.g. there are no reliable organizations to transact with or the market is too undeveloped to be able to set prices or otherwise contract reliably. The other reason is to maintain control, either over quality of the product or process. Another reason is to protect trade secrets. Another reason is simply economic, perhaps the company has determined that it is able to capture more value if it invests directly.

Once a company has decided to invest directly as opposed to just transacting, it must answer two key questions: (a) starting from scratch or purchasing, and (b) ownership and partnering. The general rule for choosing an entry method has to do with whether companies are better off both short-term and long-term using one approach over the alternatives. For example, a company

BEIRUT―Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah threatened Monday to hit “deep inside” Israel, a day after an exchange of fire on the Lebanese-Israeli border sparked fears of a wider conflict between the arch-foes.

Sunday’s escalation was brief and followed a week of rising tensions, including what the Iranian-backed Lebanese Shiite movement described as an Israeli drone strike on its Beirut stronghold.

Israel has not acknowledged that attack, but accused Hezbollah and Tehran of colluding to produce precision-guided missiles on Lebanese soil.

Nasrallah on Monday said there were “no more red lines” in Hezbollah’s confrontation with Israel.

He said Hezbollah would respond to further Israeli attacks with strikes “deep inside Israel” and not just along the border.

“If you attack us, your borders, soldiers and settlements―including those on the border and those deep inside [Israel]―will be threatened and targeted,” he said.

“If there is any aggression against Lebanon, there will be no such thing as international borders.”

He spoke after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country was “prepared for any scenario”.

“We shall continue to do everything necessary to preserve Israel’s security, at sea, on land and in the air, and we will continue to act against the threat of precision missiles,” Netanyahu said on Monday. AFP

Eight schoolchildren killed in China BEIJING―Eight schoolchildren have died and two others were injured in a “school-related criminal case” in central China, with a 40-year-old suspect arrested, local authorities said Tuesday, the latest attack targeting an educational institution in the country.

The man was detained by police on the spot following Monday’s incident in Chaoyangpo Village in Hubei province, according to a statement on the website of the government of Enshi city.

The local government is making “every effort” to organize the rehabilitation and treatment for the wounded, including psychological counseling, the statement said.

Officials did not say how the students were killed, but schools have been hit by a number of knife attacks in China in recent years, forcing authorities to step up security.

A knife-wielding man killed two people and injured two others at a primary school in central Hunan province in April.

The wounded were students but the age of the dead was not disclosed at the time.

In October last year, a woman attacked and injured 14 children with a knife at a kindergarten in China’s southwestern Sichuan province. AFP

Iran rules out talks with US TEHRAN―Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday ruled out holding any bilateral talks with the United States, saying the Islamic republic is opposed to such negotiations in principle.

In an address to parliament, Rouhani also said Iran was ready to further reduce its commitments to a landmark 2015 nuclear deal “in the coming days” if current negotiations yield no results by Thursday.

Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads since May last year when US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear accord and began reimposing crippling sanctions.

The arch-foes were on the cusp of confrontation in June when Iran downed a US drone and Trump ordered retaliatory strikes before canceling them at the last minute.

France has been leading efforts to calm the situation, with President Emmanuel Macron expressing hope during G7 talks in late August of organizing a meeting between Rouhani and Trump.

“Maybe there has been a misunderstanding.

We’ve said it several times and we repeat it—there has been no decision to hold bilateral talks with the US,” said Rouhani.

“In principle, we don’t want bilateral talks with the United States,” he was quoted as saying on the official government website. AFP

might decide to purchase in order to gain access to an existing base of customers, network of retail spaces or arrangements with distributors.

If these resources are tough to build and can be gained at a reasonable price through purchase, then purchase is a viable option. Purchasing can jumpstart market entry. Companies partner for two general reasons: to address a constraint or to capture more value. In some countries, it is impossible to enter certain industries without a local partner. In still other countries, especially when there are high concentrations of power or control over resources, partnering helps companies gain access either to scarce resources, important relationships, or important assets.

In the partnering question, it is helpful to remember that companies entering new markets deal with both newness and foreignness. Newness means a company does not understand local ways of doing things and have not had sufficient opportunity to build access to resources.

Foreignness means that the company itself is seen as new by local entities and therefore might not be welcomed as a business partner, supplier, or buyer. In certain cases, both newness and foreignness might create barriers in terms of dealing with local regulation and regulators.

So there we have it, the last in our global strategy discussion. The important thing to remember is that what works in our home countries won’t necessarily work on a global level and the best way to manage differences is to begin with seeing them.

LGUs

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

B4

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Malapitan leads dismantling of Caloocan barangay halls

Caloocan Mayor Oscar Malapitan leads the demolition of halls in barangays 103 and 104 on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Metro Manila Council members headed Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez (inset, center) are confident they can finish clearing public roads of obstructions before the 60-day deadline impose by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Olivarez assured MMDA chairman Danilo Lim (inset, right) they cleared 70 to 80 percent major and inner roads of obstructions. Also in photo is Las Piñas City Vice Mayor April Aguilar (left). Jun David

By Jun David THE Caloocan City government has continued its clearing operations to ensure that all streets of the city are cleaned and no obstructions have been left, in accordance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s order to all the local government units in the metropolis.

Mayor Oscar Malapitan, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Danilo Lim and MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia led the clean-up drive in Barangay 103 and 104, where two barangay halls were dismantled.

“We don’t stop with this clearing operations along with the MMDA officials to see to it that there will be no obstruction left along the street,” the mayor said.

Malapitan said they will ensure that all obstructions, including barangay halls, will be dismantled before the 60-day deadline set by the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

In a statement by the Office of the Mayor, 100 percent of the city’s main thoroughfares have been cleared under the Task Force “Alis Sagabal.”

Cagayan River delta work halted

By Brenda Jocson

A

PARRI, Cagayan—The Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Environmental Management Bureau in Region 2 has ordered a company to stop dredging the Cagayan River delta.

EMB said Pacific Offshore Exploration, Inc. has no Environmental Compliance Certificate, which is a violation, thus it should stop dredging.

In a Notice of Violation, Engineer Diosdado Doctor, EMB Region 2 officer in charge-director, said the POEI, based on an investigation conducted by EMB technical staff and documents provided by the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office of Cagayan Province, has violated

environmental laws, having no ECC to conduct the dredging among them.

“You are directed immediately to refrain from conducting dredging operation until such time that an ECC shall be issued for your project,” Doctor said in the notice.

In a related memorandum, Ismael Manaligod of PENRO Cagayan has also instructed the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in

this town to coordinate with the Philippine Coast Guard, the local government unit, and the Bureau of Customs to conduct an inspection to determine POEI’s compliance with the notice.

The CENRO was also instructed to request from the BOC whether the POEI had already stopped transporting dredged materials outside the Philippines.

Earlier, the Cagayan provincial board authorized Governor Manuel Mamba to enter into a memorandum of agreement for the dredging of the Cagayan River delta, which led to a deal with the provincial government and the POEI. Mamba said the dredging was for the reopening of the Port of Aparri, which would improve economic and trade relations between Cagayan province and

PLDT, Smart support Ormoc earthquake drill PLDT and wireless unit Smart Communications continue to support the national simultaneous earthquake drill, with the third run conducted recently in Ormoc City, Leyte.

Aside from disseminating emergency alerts and warnings via the Emergency Cell Broadcast System (ECBS), PLDT and Smart provided Wi-Fi at the City Hall and for livestream coverage, and further enhanced connectivity by deploying the Multi-Equipment on Wheels.

In addition, emergency responders were given access to satellite phones, and Libreng Tawag (free call stations) were set up at the Ormoc Central School, City Hall, and SM Ormoc.

PLDT-Smart also turned over

China and other neighboring countries in Asia.

It was in 2018 when Mamba, chairman of the Regional Development Council’s Infrastructure Development Committee, approved a resolution on the reopening of the Port of Aparri.

The resolution said the port was recognized as a catalyst in unlocking the potential of the Cagayan Valley region as a major transshipment facility.

It also recognized the region’s development potential as an agro-industrial and tourism hub.

Mamba said the port would take in agricultural products and other goods to complement other Northern Luzon ports in the town of Claveria in Cagayan and the town of Currimao in Ilocos Norte.

PLDT Visayas field force services team head Isabelo Rosales, Smart corporate communications head Sally Aldaba, Mayor Richard Gomez, and Office of Civil Defense Assistant Secretary Kristoffer Purisima (from left) lead the earthquake drill in Ormoc City.

copies of the “Maging Laging Han- risk reduction and management of- Smart primarily to help the youth betda” instructional video to represent- fice, and barangays. ter understand the importance of disatives of the Ormoc City disaster The material was produced by aster preparedness.

Citicore arm’s medical mission treats over 200 Lapu-Lapu families CITICORE Candlewick Foundation Inc, the social responsibility arm of renewable energy and water company Citicore, has treated more than 200 families in a medical mission in Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu.

In partnership with the local government unit of Lapu-Lapu, Citicore organized the medical mission focusing on

remote communities having limited access to basic healthcare. The second run of the mission is scheduled third week of September.

Jose Antonio Soler, President of Citicore Summawater, said as a good neighbor, Citicore is committed in uplifting and saving the lives of their communities where they operate.

This is “on top of our mission in helping the country solve power and water crisis by supplying sustainable and clean renewable energy,” he said.

Citicore Summa Water Corp. is involved in bulk water supply and concessionaire agreements. It is a joint venture company formed by the partnership between renewable energy

firm Citicore and water technical and operations company Summa Water Resources, Inc. Soler said CSWC will be helping Lapu-Lapu City’s water situation by supplying desalinated bulk water in the city. Lapu-Lapu aims to have uninterrupted and sufficient water supply by 2020. Brenda Jocson

Dela Peña leads Reg. 2 Science Week festivities

By Jessica M. Bacud TUGUEGARAO CITY—Developments in science and technology are essentially changing the way people live, connect, communicate, and conduct business toward economic development, Science Secretary Fortunato Dela Peña said.

Dela Peña made these remarks at the Regional Science Technology Week here at the Cagayan State University’s Andrews Campus from August 27 to 30.

The secretary graced the ribboncutting ceremony with Department of Science and Technology Regional Director Sancho Mabborangon, CSU president Dr. Urdujah Tejada, and engineer Pearlita Mabazza, representing Governor Manuel N. Mamba.

With the theme, “Science for the People: Enabling Technologies for Sustainable Development,” the annual festivity highlighted the innovations in science, technology and research that play a major portion in achieving national development.

It also focuses on services that can help achieve the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals as it attempts to address the societal challenge.

Dela Peña said: “DOST addresses on the pressing problems such as transportation and mobility among other concerns that alter the lives of the populace.”

“Science and technology are key to development since it underpins economic advances, improvements in health systems, education, and infrastructure,” he stressed.

Regional director Mabborang emphasized that every day is a productive one with Dela Peña in charge, and lauded the secretary for his passion for work.

Tejada later emphasized on science, technologies, and their application.

“With something new to explore, new innovative and technologies it is perceived as a way to increase productivity towards advancement,” she said.

Urduja cited the region’s different ventures with DOST, like its Food Innovation Center, Rehabilitation in Multi-Species Hatchery, and environmental projects in agriculture and fisheries in CSU’s campuses.

140k AFP workers in finlit program AN ESTIMATED 140,000 soldiers and civilian personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines will receive financial literacy training under a partnership forged

by BDO Foundation, the AFP and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

As part of a shared vision to promote financial inclusion and concerted efforts to help the men and women of the military achieve financial independence, the three parties inked an agreement for the development of a financial education program for the armed forces.

The memorandum of agreement was signed by BDO Foundation’s president Mario Deriquito, trustee and treasurer Senior officers of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas led by Governor Benjamin Diokno (third from left), BDO Foundation, and the Armed Forces of Lucy Co Dy, and trustee and corporate the Philippines witness the MOA signing and launch of the financial education program held in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City. secretary Lazaro Jerome Guevarra;

AFP Inspector General Lt. Gen. Antonio Ramon Lim, representing AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Benjamin Madrigal Jr., AFP deputy chief of staff for personnel BGen. Adriano Perez Jr., BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, and BSP Deputy Governor Chuchi Fonacier.

In attendance at the MOA signing held in Camp Aguinaldo were BDO Foundation’s trustee Ma. Corazon Mallillin, independent trustee Felina Arellano, and trustee and BDO Unibank president and CEO Nestor Tan, one of the guest speakers at the event.

The corporate citizenship initiative is in line with BDO Foundation’s financial inclusion advocacy and BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion.

Life

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

FASION AND BEAUTY

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

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Hana Tajima goes ‘Underground’

U

K-BORN fashion designer Hana Tajima shows how young women can dress stylishly while being culturally sensitive. And for her latest collection for Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo, she presents an elegantly simplistic yet well-thought-out pieces.

Following the theme “Underground” for her 2019 fall/winter collection, Tajima focuses on the strength and beauty of women while incorporating masculine design elements. Comprising the collection are comfortable and versatile pieces for women of all backgrounds.

“There is beauty in change, and women especially are so adept at finding fluidity in adapting. Every time you step outside of what you know, you are uncovering a new

part of yourself, and each new part will show you who you are,” said the designer.

She added, “I always keep in mind how a piece of clothing will move with the body. That is the interesting thing about designing clothes. They are not static pieces of art; they are made to be worn, to be creased, and to adapt.”

The key colors are sandy beige/brown earth tones reminiscent of subterranean layers, together with gem-like blues

and greens. Inspired by minerals, the color palette expresses both masculine strength and feminine elegance.

New this season is the silk-blend series, available in dresses, blouses wearable as coordinates, and pants. The rich and refined luster of the material, and back shirring designs, create a comfortable and graceful style.

Outerwear items under the line range from P1,990 to P2,490 while pants and skirts are available from P1,490 to P2,990. The Hana Tajima for Uniqlo 2019 fall/winter collection features dresses from P1,490 to P3,990, as well as tops and tunics from P790 to P2,490.

Stoles are also available in variety of colors and patterns from P790 to P990.

STRONG AND ELEGANT.

Hana Tajima’s latest collection for Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo features pieces that highlight the strength and beauty of women while incorporating masculine design elements.

The color palette of Hana Tajima for Uniqlo fall/winter 2019 collection is inspired by earth tones reminiscent of subterranean layers.

Betsy Westendorp

Get to know Tingting’s Elegant Filipinas STYLE icon and philanthropist Tingting Cojuangco will present her fifth set of 10 “Elegant Filipinas” on Sept. 10 at Diamond Hotel.

Through the years, Cojuangco, For-

Amina Aranaz

One of the country’s most recognized accessory designers, she was educated at Istituto Marangoni Milano. She is a co-founder of SoFa Design Institute, School of Fashion and Arts, and founder of Aranaz, known for its intricate fashion accessories.

Catherine Arambulo

A woman who wears many hats—a lifestyle blogger, interior designer, stylist, entrepreneur, and mother of two— she hopes to impart positivity to people through her projects.

tune Ledesma, Zelda Kienle, Tina Ocampo, and Vanessa Suatengco have been instrumental in organizing the event to showcase the distinct elegance each of the recognized woman pos-

Ayen Munji-Laurel

She is an award-winning actress, singer, and producer whose career has spanned more than 30 years in the industry. She founded ALM Foundation that supports the rehabilitation of orphanages, the education of orphans, and their housing needs.

Iza Calzado

She uses her influence as an actress and producer to promote body positivity—something close to her as she revealed she had a “destructive love-hate relationship” with her body growing up.

The painter, known for her breathtaking landscape paintings and renditions of the sky, is the night’s guest of honor.

sesses and to provide aid for the group’s charitable endeavors.

This year will be mounted for the benefit of the World Wide Fund for Nature Philippines.

Mercedes Lopez Vargas

As the president and executive director of Lopez Group Foundation, she encourages public service in programs that include education, environment, livelihood, health and wellness, and arts and culture.

Ria Prieto

She is a multi-talented stylist whose range extends from fashion to décor projects. She is currently a contributing editor of a lifestyle website of one of the country’s biggest broadsheets.

Chaye Cabal-Revilla

One of the youngest and successful finance leaders in the Philippines who is responsible for healthy margins and consistent operating results of PLDT, she uses her role to advocate education by spearheading the Gabay Guro program.

Jo Ann Bitagcol

This model and photographer has been making Manila’s fashion and art scene interesting for two decades.

But she never rests on her laurels; she keeps evolving and creating something new—this time, it’s printing her photographs on scarves.

Happy Ongpauco-Tiu

The chef and restaurateur is behind a successful chain of restaurants all over the country. Through her advocacy, Pangkabuhayan project, she helps two employees a month by giving them livelihood and teaching them how to operate their business of choice.

Aleta Suarez

A representative of Quezon City 3rd District, she has been fighting for the growth and development of local palm oil (copra) industry by urging the Department of Trade and Industry and other concerned agencies to stop the importation of palm oil.

Life

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WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

White is right

W

OMEN are always told to always have a little black dress (LBD) in the closet—it’s versatile, it’s chic, and it can be easily put on for a number of special occasions. But while black is chic and understated, white dress and blouse have a relaxed and cool appeal.

White denim cami dress

American retail brand Forever 21 showcases all things white and wonderful, in dresses, bottoms, and tops in relaxed silhouettes and dainty details.

There are white dresses and maxis, crop tops and mini skirts ideal asstylish base for pairing and layering.

Lace and crochet trims make for a sweet daytime ensemble while the ittybitty white dress gives the ubiquitous LBD some well-deserved rest. Instantly look party-ready in form-hugging minis

with stylish button closures and cheeky cut-outs.

Forever 21 stores are at SM Megamall, SM Makati, The Block at SM City North Edsa, the SM Mall of Asia, SM Aura Premier, SM City Fairview, and Robinson’s Magnolia in the Metro area; and at SM City Clark, SM Southmall, SM Seaside City Cebu, the North Wing of SM City Cebu, SM Lanang Premier, SM City Iloilo, SM City Bacolod, and SM CDO Downtown Premier in the provincial areas.

Sweater-knit crop top

Floral embroidered crop top

White crochet-trim lace-up cami dress

Ribbed top and mini skirt

Trade fair to showcase modern take on timeless classics MANILA FAME, through its product development initiative, will once again showcase new and innovative products from a collaboration between Filipino manufacturers and renowned Filipino designers.

The Design Commune, the trade show’s central special setting, will highlight more than a hundred new design-forward pieces from the furniture, fashion, home décor, and lifestyle sectors.

With several new trends looking towards the future of design and fashion, the Design Commune’s current theme looks back at the time-honored traditions of Philippine design and material culture while creating new products suitable to the modern lifestyle.

“Heritage Reimagined” looks back at the archives of the exhibitors, a goldmine of talents and ideas under the tutelage of Manila FAME, to incorporate timeless trends into modern interpretations for the next generation.

Under the creative direction of Vince Uy, a team of designers from the home, lighting, furniture, and fashion sectors will tackle the challenge head on to develop a bevy of designs and product concepts that take heavy influence from the treasure trove of cultural iconography and product designs that the design and lifestyle trade show and its exhibitors have amassed and have been immersed in throughout the decades.

The pieces will be showcased on October 17-19 at the World Trade Training Center Metro Manila.

Halsey’s punk sense of beauty and casual outspokenness has established her as a fearless voice of her generation.

Formerly used for costumes and traditional clothing, these iconic Filipino textiles are now given new life in ready-to-wear designer clothes by Wear Your Culture.

The weaving pattern used in the vintage wooden chairs popularized in the 1980s was given a new fashion twist in this Solihiya bag by Island Girl PH.

The traditional banig is imagined to be more than just a sleeping mat—these colorful wedges by LARA are bound to become a sleeper hit in the fashion scene.

DKNY turns 30, channels the creative spirit of NYC FALL 2019 marks the 30th birthday of DKNY and its innovative, genredefining approach to style. Yet rather than look to the past, the brand’s seasonal campaign is rooted in the here and now, featuring powerful, graphic portraits of native New Yorkers Halsey and The Martinez Brothers, photographed by Amy Troost and styled by Carlos Nazario.

Self-made and self-assured, Halsey and The Martinez Brothers radiate their cool confidence, irreverent style, and pure talent in each image captured.

Together, they embody the creativity that drives young people to the city.

In the campaign, Halsey and The Martinez Brothers sport the most directional pieces from the DKNY fall 2019 collection: checked suiting, raw denim, and leopard-print athleisure for her; fresh tailoring, classic outerwear, and easy essentials for him.

With a stark black-and-white aesthetic accented by a bold red logo, the imagery references DKNY’s innovative heritage campaigns of the 1990s.

“DKNY is the spirit of New York. It’s

diversity and drive. It’s hard work and a pinch of destiny. They say if a bee strays too far from its hive, it will die. DKNY keeps my home in my heart, and the magic in my mind. It’s an honor to be a part of their 30th birthday,” said Halsey.

The Martinez Brothers shared, “We were born and raised in the Bronx. We are blessed to have found our passion through music. It’s taken us to the far corners of the world, and along the way we have met so many people and have had the craziest adventures. At the end of it all though, New York is our home. It made us who we are and is with us always, wherever we may be.

You can hear it in the music we play and how we talk, and see it in the way we dress. That’s why this partnership with DKNY is so natural and makes perfect sense for us. Excited to be a part of their family and continue to tell this New York story.”

During New York Fashion Week this September, DKNY will host a blockbuster 30th birthday party with a DJ set

by The Martinez Brothers and a performance by Halsey.

The Martinez Brothers have converted their high-fashion credibility into global DJ superstardom.

Entertainment

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

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nickie.standard@gmail.com

Gloc-9, Chito Miranda, Shanti Dope drop surprise track ‘Pati Pato’ ABS-CBN...

From C4

A

Gloc-9, Chito Miranda, and Shanti Dope have collaborated on a new song that personifies their struggles as music artists.

LL the stars have aligned with the surprise drop of “Pati Pato,” the muchawaited collaboration of OPM’s stellar artists Shanti Dope, Gloc-9, and Chito Miranda (of Parokya ni Edgar).

This all-star collab shows off the insane amount of talent that Pinoys have come to love through an upbeat banger that manages to contain both the grit of the daily grind, and the uplifting message of pursuing your passions and unleashing your ambitions no matter what.

All three artists personify their struggles in life and career in each of their verses, and are also joined by Gloc and Shanti’s producer DJ Klumcee in the chorus.

Gloc, Chito and Shanti first came together in

February when they performed the classic rap track “Bagsakan” (a song originated by Gloc and Chito, together with rap legend Francis Magalona) during an event in UP. With its undeniable power, fans of OPM are bound to enjoy “Pati Pato,” which is already on its way to becoming the next classic.

The track is now available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, and Amazon Music under Universal Records.

World Vision launches ’1,000 Girls’ campaign WORLD Vision in the Philippines, together with World Vision Ambassador for Education Bianca Umali, launches “1000 Girls,” a campaign that aims to give girls a better future and help them to reach their potentials and achieve their dreams.

Globally, millions of girls do not have the chance to go to school because they are forced into child labor, child marriage or child pregnancy. According to a survey released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, 63.3 percent of the Filipino out-of-school youth are girls. It was also revealed that the main reason for the high percentage is marriage and family matters.

In response to this alarming problem, World Vision is introducing the “1000 Girls” campaign, a global movement that intends to help 1000 Filipino girls through the organization’s Child Sponsorship program. The project will pave the way for the celebration of International Day of the Girl on Oct. 11.

“Each girl deserves to be in school, overcome poverty, reach her full potential, and eventually, be a valuable member of the community. I encourage everyone to help us reach our goal and help these girls fulfill their dreams,” shared World Vision Ambassador for Education Bianca Umali, a staunch advocate of women empowerment.

“We decided to adapt the ‘1000 Girls’ campaign in the Philippines because Filipino girls share similar struggles with girls who live in poverty in other

countries. There are so many challenges in fulfilling their dreams. If no one will help them and stand for them, how can they attain their goals?” said World Vision Executive Director Rommel V. Fuerte.

“We implore everyone to join our cause in helping Filipino girls who are suffering from circumstances brought by lack of access to their most basic needs. With everybody’s help, we can reach more children.”

Running to empower girls’ dreams In support of the campaign, business mogul Victor Consunji and his race partner Enrico Menichetti pledged to join and finish the 2019 Fire + Ice Ultra Marathon, which took place from Aug. 26 to 31 in Iceland. The duo has set up a fundraising page where people can pledge their support not only to cheer Victor and Enrico on but also to empower the dreams of girls still living in poverty.

“When we join a marathon, we have a specific goal in mind and that is to reach the finish line. We overcome obstacles and push ourselves to the limit to reach this goal. The same can be said for the thousands of Filipino girls who also have their own goals, dreams, and aspirations.

Sadly, not everyone has the means to do so because of poverty,” Victor explained.

“We believe child sponsorship can help change this.”

“Enrico and I are dedicating this race to these girls because we want them to know that reaching their dream is possible. We want to empower them through this fundraising run. I hope that

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Wednesday, September 4, 2019

ACROSS 1 Outdoor game 5 Angelina — of films 10 Curb 14 Errant GI 15 Complete reversal (hyph.)

16 Hunter’s wear 17 “One for My Baby” singer 18 A crowd?

19 Like the Gobi 20 Fan 22 Have rapport 24 In charge of 25 More than willing 26 Caustic 28 Not finely 32 Stared at 33 Talent 34 — Paulo, Brazil 35 Like good cheddar 36 Correspond 37 Blend 38 Aunt, in Madrid 39 Cello kin 40 Then and — 41 Sardine fish 43 Fibbers 44 Chapeaus 45 Quit, in poker 46 Obedient 49 Taking a break 52 Poet’s black 53 Defeats

55 Lawman Wyatt — 57 String tie 58 Kermit’s colleague 59 Disagreement 60 Bodies of water 61 Heroic exploits 62 Mock fanfare (hyph.)

pound 30 Wildlife refuges 31 Olden times 32 Promise 33 Swamp chorus 36 Spent the cold season (in) 37 Least reputable 39 Perfume bottle 40 Knights’ competition DOWN 42 Horned herbi1 Guy’s date vores 2 Was in debt 43 Defeats 3 Like one Ranger 45 Malodorous 4 Added spices 46 Society new5 Stuck out 6 Additional 7 Bait 8 Wrathful feeling 9 Deprive of strength 10 Parboils 11 O’Hara plantation 12 Shed, as light 13 Pie a la — 21 Livy contemporary 23 Colleen’s home 25 Main artery 26 Prize marble 27 Easily understood 28 Rope formations 29 Chemical com-

bies 47 Wind instrument 48 Fizzy drink 49 Viking letter 50 Auto-parts store 51 June celebrant 54 Mine yield 56 School org.

you can support Enrico and I as we run another race for children,” Victor added.

This is not the first time Victor and Enrico are running for the benefit of World Vision children. In 2018, the race partners successfully finished the Marathon Des Sables, also known as ‘the toughest foot race on earth.’ The funds raised from Consunji and Menichetti’s run were used to support World Vision’s nutrition project in Batangas, provide school supplies for children in Malabon, give water facilities

in West Misamis, and build a new water system in Bohol.

World Vision’s “1000 Girls” campaign is also supported by its major partners Shopee Philippines, UL Skin Sciences, Tupperware Brands Philippines, and Elev8 Media.

To know more about “1000 Girls,” visit www.worldvision.org.ph. You may also follow /worldvisionph on Facebook and @worldvisionphl on Instagram for updates.

As of Aug. 30, the channel already has 21.2 million subscribers.

ABS-CBN also proves to be the go-to source for information and entertainment as 43 of its YouTube channels also raked in more Gold and Silver YouTube Creator Awards, which are given to channels that have gained one million subscribers and 100,000 subscribers, respectively.

Aside from ABS-CBN Entertainment, ABS-CBN also manages the country’s fifth most subscribed channel, ABSCBN News, which has 6.9 million subscribers and recently passed four billion views. ABS-CBN’s top channels also include Star Music (3.6 million subscribers), Pinoy Big Brother (3.2 million), Star Cinema (2 million), Pilipinas Got Talent (1.7 million), The Voice Kids Philippines (1.7 million), recently concluded Idol Philippines (1.4 million) and The Gold Squad (1 million)—which have earned the Gold YouTube Creator Award.

Kapamilya talent-reality, game, and variety shows have also collected Silver YouTube Creator Awards for having exceeded 100,000 subscribers, including The Voice of the Philippines,Little Big Shots, Your Face Sounds Familiar, The Voice Teens, I Can See Your Voice, World of Dance Philippines, Minute to Win It and It’s Showtime.

ABS-CBN channels that offer news, music, movies and shows, as well as updates on Kapamilya personalities such as ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC Alerts), ABSCBN Sports, Cinema One, Jeepney TV, Metro.Style, MOR 101.9 For Life!, MYX Philippines, The Filipino Channel, One Music PH, TNT Versions, Star Magic, Adober Studios, and iWant are also in the Silver rank.

Channels such as Alex Gonzaga (Music), Daniel Padilla (Music), Karla Estrada, Morisette, and Vice Ganda, which are all managed by ABS-CBN, have earned the Silver YouTube Creator Awards as well.

ABS-CBN’s leadership on YouTube boosts ABS-CBN’s transition into being an agile digital company with the biggest online presence among all media companies, and a growing list of digital properties that appeal to a wide array of audiences.

Stand for Truth...

From C4

From left: World Vision Donor Acquisition Manager Cherry Valencia, World Vision Philippines Resource Development Director Jun Godornes, World Vision Ambassador for Education Bianca Umali, World Vision Philippines Advocate Victor Consunji, and Elev8 Media Marketing Manager Annielle Madrid

Held from Aug. 17 to 25, the EBS International Documentary Festival featured world-class documentary films from around the globe. Brazil’s win is the second EIDF award for the Philippines, making it the only ASEAN country to have won two awards in the history of the festival. Documentary director Ditsi Carolino first bagged an award for her film Bunso in 2005.

As executive producer, Brazil is one of the people behind the weeknight online newscast which has been transforming local broadcast media through mobile journalism. Produced and reported by the young, for the young, Stand for Truth is headlined

by Atom Araullo with Richard Heydarian and Joyce Pring together with a pool of millennial reporters who went through rigorous training before they were deployed on the field. Using their mobile phones, the anchors and young reporters gather video and news data, produce it into short news segments, and deliver it to Kapuso viewers.

The 15-minute news program is livestreamed from Monday to Friday, 8:30 p.m. via GMA News Facebook page and GMA Public Affairs YouTube channel with delayed telecast airing on leading local news channel GMA News TV at 10:15 p.m..

Launched in 2004, the EBS International Documentary Festival is the only documentary festival in the world with TV broadcasting and cinema screening. With the theme “Documentary, Lighting the World!”, this year’s EBS International Documentary Festival reflects upon the importance of documentaries that “deliver a light to illuminate the dark corners of society, thereby further communicating with viewers and audiences.”

Entertainment

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

C4

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2019

‘Angel Has Fallen’ leads the tills on 2nd weekend

WINNER'S CIRCLE. The decorated talents and film creatives in this year's Get Reel Mobile Shorts Film Festival.

Getting ‘REEL’ with relevant shorts

Get Reel Festival Director Chris Cahilig (left) with Starhunt talent RJ Perkins

S

NICKIE WANG

Most neophytes would agree that creating short films is as tedious as doing a long feature. The challenge is, you have to craft a cinematic material and tell a story as fast as possible with breakneck pacing, sharp editing, defined characters, and logical story.

Now here comes Get Reel Mobile Shorts Film Festival 2019. Presented

by McJim Classic Leather, the film fest aims to be a venue for budding filmmakers to showcase their work.

With phones becoming smarter, with HD recording capabilities, the film fest tapped a few filmmakers who wanted to tell interesting stories while being exceptionally resourceful and creative.

On Aug. 30, in a ceremony at the Fisher Mall, Get Reel Mobile Shorts Film Festival 2019 unveiled the winners from among seven incredibly inspiring, heart-rending, and relatable mobile shorts entries shot solely with smartphones. The use of a device that almost all Filipinos have access to leveled the playing field for aspiring

Gerard Butler in a scene from Lionsgate's 'Angel Has Fallen.'

comedy Good Boys, which took in $9.2 million for three days ($11.6 million for four).

In third, up one spot from last weekend, was Disney’s updated version of The Lion King, which pulled in $6.7 million ($9.2 million) in its seventh week out.

Universal’s action film Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw also rose a spot from last weekend, taking fourth place at $6.3 million ($8.1 million).

And slipping from third to fifth, at $5.7 million ($7.9 million), was Sony’s Overcomer, a Christian-themed movie about a former basketball coach who agrees to train an asthmatic orphan girl for a huge cross-country meet. AFP

ABS-CBN hits 20 million subscribers on YouTube COMING from its record-breaking milestone last year of being the first YouTube channel in the Philippines to surpass ten million subscribers, ABSCBN has hit a new high by doubling it to 10 million subs in just a year and continues to rack up views and subscribers on its different channels on the video-sharing website.

The ABS-CBN Entertainment YouTube channel, which received the Diamond Creator Award from YouTube for reaching ten million subscribers in 2018, is now the second most subscribed channel in Southeast Asia after Thai TV network Workpoint.

Apart from being the most subscribed YouTube channel locally, it also now ranks in the Top 50 Most Viewed

YouTube Channels worldwide in terms of watch hours.

“Twenty million subscribers, to us, means that we have become a part of the everyday lives of our Kapamilyas, whether they watch our content on TV or online. We want to thank our Kapamilyas for their love and support for all our programs, stars, and various multimedia offerings, as we continue to produce content that resonates with them, wherever they come from or whatever their interests and needs are.

We hope to reach more milestones together so that we can better fulfill our mission of always being in the service of the Filipino,” said Elaine Uy-Casipit, head of ABS-CBN digital media division. Continued on C3

Actress Ruby Ruiz (center) with Starstruck finalist Crystal Paras and Kim Ordonio and Bryan del Rosario of JBK

VERY WANG HORT films are as important as independent fulllength features. They don’t supplant the latter, rather most budding filmmakers use them as their stepping stone to bigger things including their material being picked up and expanded by big studios, having local and even international exposure, and creating an impressive portfolio.

LIONSGATE’S political thriller Angel Has Fallen didn’t quite soar but managed to stay atop the North American box office on this US holiday weekend, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported Sunday.

The action-packed film took in an estimated $11.6 million for the first three days of Labor Day weekend and $14.5 million for the four-day period.

That came at the end of a summer that saw movie revenue dip by 2 percent from last year, the Comscore website said.

Angel, the third film in the franchise, stars Gerard Butler as a Secret Service agent wrongly accused of trying to kill the US president (Morgan Freeman).

A relatively sedate movie weekend saw little change in the top five films. In second for a second straight week was Universal’s raunchy tween

Director Dylan Ray Talon of ‘Walang Hanggang Ligaya Sa Una Mong Ngiti’ delivers his acceptance speech for being awarded The McJim Prize for Best Mobile Short Film.

filmmakers who were asked to share their stories depicting the modern Filipino gentleman and the values he holds dear.

Get Reel is understandably proud to have provided an avenue for such filmmakers who rose to the challenge and turned out truly remarkable and impressive works.

Among scores of creative entries, seven films were chosen as finalists with Dylan Ray Talon’s Walang Hanggang Ligaya Sa Una Mong Ngiti and James Edward Golla’s May Love Life Na Si Pepito Jr. bagging most of the coveted awards.

Talon’s Walang Hanggang Ligaya Sa Una Mong Ngiti won the grand prize for the festival, the McJim Prize for Best Mobile Short Film, winning P50,000.

The film also bagged Best Director for Dylan Ray Talon, worth P25,000, and Best in Cinematography, worth P10,000.

Meanwhile, May Love Life Na Si Pepito Jr. by Golla won Best Screenplay and Best Comedy, with prizes worth P20,000 and P25,00 respectively.

Mark Jason Sucgang’s Pitaka won P25,000 for the Get Reel Viral Shorts Award; John Carlo Balasbas Tarobal’s Champion won P10,000 for Best Inspirational Story; and Roy Robert Rusiana’s Kabilin bagged P25,000 for Best Drama.

The judges also gave acting citations to actors and actresses in the film for their noteworthy performances.

Citations were awarded to Russel Ian Paguia for May Lovelife Na Si Pepito Jr.; Jorrybell Agoto for Walang Hanggang Ligaya Sa Una Mong Ngiti; Jonathan Oraño for Pitaka; Marialyn Tamarra for Cotard Syndrome; Philip Carlo Ty and King Richard Visto for Kabilin; and James Lohoman, Shawn Villete, and Carlo Tarobal for Champion.

McJim Classic Leather presented this cutting-edge event to give aspiring filmmakers a chance to share their content with a massive audience in the digital age where short films have become a way to spread meaningful and timely messages, and mobile devices have become a tool for creating relevant content.

The brand has garnered recognition in international film festivals for viral and unforgettable short films like Bag, Sinturon and Pitaka, which were created and produced in collaboration with award-winning filmmaker Chris Cahilig, Get Reel Mobile Shorts Film festival’s director.

With intent to affirm the uniqueness of Filipino artistry and excellence before a global audience, McJim continues to innovate through efforts such as the Get Reel Mobile Shorts Festival, which showcases the very same values that the brand pursues when creating McJim products.

Closer to home, however, the brand believes that it can prove to Filipinos that local products are of world-class quality and that Filipino values are truly worth emulating.

All film genres were allowed in the mobile shorts film festival, as long as McJim leather products like bags, belts, and wallets were used as organic parts of the narratives.

Winning entries will be uploaded in the official McJim Classic Leather Facebook page.

The Gold Squad's YouTube channel has more than 1 million subs, making it one of the fastest channels in the country to be a Gold Creator Awardee.

‘Stand for Truth’ executive producer brings honor to the Philippines BRYAN Brazil, executive producer of GMA News and Public Affairs’ groundbreaking digital newscast Stand for Truth, recently brought honor to the Philippines by receiving the World Vision Award at the prestigious EBS International Documentary Festival (EIDF) held in South Korea.

Brazil won the World Vision citation for My Little Dancing Shoes, his directorial film about the underprivileged Cebuano kids who chase their dreams of becoming dance sports world champions, learning about survival, defeat, and victory in the process.

The Stand for Truth executive producer admitted that he actually did not expect to win. “I was shocked when they called my name. I felt like I was

floating on air. All of the films in the competition are well crafted and the directors are from Europe, Asia, and America and they are already known in the industry. It’s been more than a decade since the country won in this prestigious festival for documentary and that makes me prouder as a Filipino,” Brazil said.

While Brazil already has two short documentary films under his belt, My Little Dancing Shoes is his first featurelength film. “In 2016, my producer and I talked about producing a documentary that will not center only on poverty but rather showcasing the unique abilities of the Filipino kids and how they follow their dreams,” Brazil said. “In 2017, we flew to Tokyo to get support from an international documentary forum – which we received.” Continued on C3

GMA News and Public Affairs’ Bryan Brazil (left), recently brought honor to the Philippines by receiving the World Vision Award for his film “My Little Dancing Shoes” at the prestigious EBS International Documentary Festival (EIDF) held in South Korea.