Manila Standard - 2019 March 26 - Tuesday

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ICC case: Political motive hit

By Nat Mariano

VOL. XXXIII • NO. 44 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

TWO former government officials who filed a complaint against Chinese President Xi Jinping before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity over Chinese actions in the West Philippine Sea may have been politically motivated, a Palace official said Monday.

“They may know that China is not a... state-party, [and] the Philippines is also not a state-party, so how [can] the ICC assumes jurisdiction?” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.

Panelo said some observers have said the move might even harden China’s stand Next page

SEPULCHRAL SCENE. Sun-burnt patch of land in Cebu, which has been placed by authorities under a state of calamity Monday due to the effect of the weather phenomenon El Niño on all crops, with provincial officials approving a resolution declaring a state of calamity and immediately earmarking P59 million for the relief and assistance of affected farmers and fishermen. Damage to crops and marine resources is being assessed.

El Niño: Too big a problem

State of calamity in Cebu; Angat water running low

Palace sees PH-China loan deal standard, rules out debt default MALACAÑANG on Monday said it sees nothing wrong with using the country’s natural resources as collateral for loans from China, saying that such terms are “standard” between lenders and borrowers.

Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo issued this statement after Supreme Court Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio warned that China could seize natural gas deposits in Reed Bank (Recto Bank) if the Philippines fails to pay the $62-million Chinese loan for the Chico River irrigation proj-

ect.

“This is... standard in [a] contract whenever our country gets loans from other countries,” he said, adding that “you cannot also blame the lender” if he imposes “certain terms that are favorable towards them.”

Panelo added that the country has always repaid its loans, so that the provision on a possible default is “useless.”

He said there is no possibility that China will seize the Reed Bank as Carpio suggested.

Next page

By Rio N. Araja

C

EBU province was placed under a state of calamity Monday due to the damage done to crops by the dry spell brought about by the El Niño phenomenon.

The declaration, approved by the Cebu Provincial Board, will allow the use of emergency funds to help farmers affected by the dry spell.

A statement issued by the provincial information office said Argao and Dalaguete towns were priority areas for assistance.

The provincial government has allotted about P60 million as Quick Respond Fund this year to address the effects of the El Niño.

Earlier, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office recommended a declaration of a state of calamity, based on its province-wide assessment, which showed that 27 local government units reporting damage to crops and fishing.

Next page

AFP belies Joma: Talks progressing ‘Desert Rose’ museum opens DOHA—Almost a decade in the making, three years late and at an estimated cost of $434 million, Qatar’s vast national museum, built in the shape of a desert rose, opens this week.

Next page

DESPITE the rants of Communist Party of the Philippines founding chairman Jose Maria Sison, localized peace talks seem to be working well as the number of New People’s Army fighters and supporters who have surrendered continues to rise, military officials said Monday.

“It’s funny, annoying and pitiful to hear Sison because he always says that local peace talks are just a waste of time and people’s money because they won’t succeed,” said Armed Forces of the Philippines spokesman Brig. Gen. Edgard Arevalo, speaking in Filipino over radio dwIZ. “The mere fact that he continues to speak ill of this kind of peace negotiation just shows that this is Next page bearing fruit.”

Friday deadline slated on budget

By Maricel V. Cruz

Death to drug ‘Pigcasso’ hogs traffickers—PDEA the limelight

By Rio N. Araja

BEAT this, a pig on a mission has foreshadowed better times for the genus Sus, within the even-toed unNext page gulate family Suidae.

PHILIPPINE Drug Enforcement Agency Chief Aaron Aquino on Monday batted for the return of the death penalty against drug traffickers.

“When we Filipinos commit drug violations in other countries, the law is much harsher. Filipinos are killed there,” Aquino told dzMM radio.

“Here [in our country], we only have life imprisonment [against foreign drug traffickers].”

Aquino made his statement even as a House leader expressed concern over Next page

STRIKINGLY DIFFERENT. A mother and her child (above) enjoy swimming in the murky waters at Baseco Beach to beat the summer heat—32 degrees Celsius on Monday with humidity at 64 percent—against the warning of the Department of Environment to avoid getting sick while residents of Barangay Addition Hills in Mandaluyong City (below) queue up behind a water ration tank for water. Norman Cruz and Ey Acasio

THE chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations said Monday he was hopeful that senators and congressmen would agree on the final version of the P3.757-trillion national budget for 2019 by Friday.

At the same time, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., the panel chairman, said both chambers of Congress were expected to transmit the money measure to Malacañang by March 29.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said Monday the meeting between the representatives from both chambers of Congress yielded “some progress” in a bid to break the impasse on the proposed 2019 national budget.

Lacson said both the House and Senate contingents will meet again on Tuesday to discuss and finalize an agreement in their budget talks.

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News

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

MM cops under fire, 40 kicked out He also reminded his men to always ensure that their personnel were performing their duties and responsibilities. He said the “performance of their personnel will reflect on their leadership and so proper guidance is a must.

“The internal cleansing program of the PNP is being carried out on a nationwide scale and the PNP leadership is determined to implement this until all the laggards and the undesirables are weed out and made to face sanctions,” Eleazar said.

The case against Ocampo stemmed from the complaint of Olive Valeriano, mother of the minor who sought police assistance from the National Capital Region Police Office-Regional Special Operation Unit (NCRPO-RSOU) and narrated what happened to her daughter.

The RSOU team conducted a surveillance operation and coordinated with the local government and police authorities in General Tinio to locate Ocampo.

The authorities then asked the court to issue an arrest order.

Police records showed that Ocampo

raped his stepdaughter who was only 14 years old during that time.

Investigation also revealed that Ocampo went AWOL in 2006 when he was reassigned to Regional Intelligence Division in the Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) region.

Ocampo is now detained at the RSOU detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, in Taguig City.

The suspect was the second AWOL cop arrested by the NCRPO this month for a criminal offense.

Last week, Police Officer 2 Alejandro Gacayan Hernandez was driving a motorcycle with a companion when he was caught in possession of a prohibited substance during a checkpoint operation in Las Piñas City. The suspect went AWOL in 2012.

Operatives of the Las Piñas City Police Police-Community Precinct 7 placed Hernandez under arrest for possession of shabu during a police checkpoint along the Alabang-Zapote Road in Barangay Almanza Uno around 4 a.m.

years,” she added.

“In 1982, 1983, 1987 and 1998, there were strong El Niño episodes,” Solis said. Other strong episodes occurred in 2010, 2015 and 2016, “or every five to 10 years.”

The more extreme weather conditions would become the “new normal,” she said.

Meanwhile, the weather bureau’s hydrologist, Sheila Schneider, said Bulacan’s Angat Dam, which supplies 97 percent of Metro Manila’s safe and potable water, is “getting lower and lower everyday.”

“Last Sunday, water level dipped by .37 meters,” she told the Manila

Standard.

Business groups on Monday signified support to government efforts to solve water disruption in the east zone of Metro Manila within 150 days.

The groups led by the Management Association of the Philippines said they were confident that the interim measures will resolve the shortage to bring immediate relief to consumers.

“We are heartened by the fact that measures have been developed in consultation with and cooperation of all stakeholders, including government water agencies, regulators and the two private concessionaires,” the groups said. With PNA

of structures on some parts of the South China Sea which have been ruled to be rightfully belonging to us. To their minds, the establishment of those structures endanger the environment as well as our fishermen,” Panelo said.

“Whether or not the case will prosper is another matter. It could be dismissed because China is not a member of the ICC, [nor] is the Philippines,” he added.

In the same briefing, Panelo also blamed Del Rosario, who was the country’s top diplomat at the time, for not doing anything when China was just starting erecting activities in the contested territories.

He did not offer specifics, however, and did not name the source of his information.

Solicitor General Jose Calida on Monday said the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC will have no negative effect on the country’s justice system.

Calida said the country’s institutions are strong, able to function, investigate and prosecute drug-related cases, with without ICC membership.

The Solicitor General cited data showing that 49, 034 drug-related cases have been filed in various courts as of 2018, while 75, 327 are pending before the public prosecutor’s office.

“The Philippine justice system functions independently with or without membership in the ICC. Hence, the withdrawal of the Philippines from the Rome Statute has no effect in our justice system,” Calida said in a statement.

“All these facts show that the government is not unwilling or unable to prosecute these crimes, despite what

administration critics say,” he added.

Calida said the decision to withdraw from the ICC was a prerogative of the government.

ments]. It has never happened to us. We are known for paying our obligations,” he said.

From A1 The loan agreement, signed on April 10, 2018, states that “in case of default by “To me, it’s not a possibility because we the Philippines in repayment of the loan, will never really renege [on the loan pay- China can seize, to satisfy any arbitral

award in favor of China, “patrimonial assets and assets dedicated to commercial use of the Philippine government.”

Panelo said he was confident that the country could repay the loan. It can only rescind it if there is fraud. Nat Mariano

By Joel E. Zurbano

M

ETRO Manila Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar on Monday expressed disappointment over the controversies involving his men and said he we will not tolerate abuse by any police officer.

This developed as another AWOL (absent without an official leave) police officer was arrested, this time for sexually molesting his 14-year-old stepdaughter.

Police Officer 1 Johnny Ocampo, 41, was arrested late Saturday night along PMP Manmade Paradise Resort in Barangay Nazareth, General Tinio, Nueva Ecija.

Meanwhile, 180 police officers in Metro Manila were promoted to their next higher rank in an oath-taking at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Monday.

Eleazar led the oath-taking for the first batch of newly promoted officers that included 19 Superintendents, 19 Chief Inspectors, one Senior Inspector, 27 Inspectors, 16 Senior Police Offic-

ers IV, 33 Senior Police Officers III, 32 Senior Police Officers II, and 33 Senior Police Officers I. Caloocan Regional Trial Court Branch 124 Judge Victoria Isabel Paredes issued a warrant for Ocampo’s arrest for rape and acts of lasciviousness.

Paredes recommended no bail for Ocampo’s temporary liberty, Eleazar said.

Eleazar recently relieved more than 40 policemen, including two commanders, for their alleged involvement in robbery-extortion activities.

He ordered all district directors and police station commanders in Metro Manila to discipline and relieve subordinates if found to be corrupt, abusive and remiss in their work.

AFP...

El Niño:...

“The numbers do not lie. As we have said, over 11,000 of their comrades have surrendered since January of 2018,” he added.

Arevalo said that for the first three months of 2019, about 600 NPA fighters and supporters have surrendered to government troops.

“They have realized that they have been deceived and have descended from their mountain hideouts to rejoin their families, avail of government benefits, and live normal lives,” he said.

Government efforts to aid rebels and supporters who surrender are contained in the government’s Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP).

The E-CLIP, which was institutionalized by President Rodrigo Duterte on April 3, 2018, provides a complete package of assistance and interventions to former communist rebels and their immediate families to prepare them for integration to mainstream society.

These include skills development training from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, PhilHealth enrollment, housing, livelihood and legal assistance.

The Palace, meanwhile, dismissed Sison’s threats to deliver “more lethal blows against the Duterte administration.”

“Other than saying that his rants are psychologically challenged, they are undeserving of a response,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a text message.

In a statement on Saturday evening, Sison said that the “best way” to frustrate the administration is for the NPA to deliver more lethal blows on weak points of the enemy forces in the countryside.

The top communist official also promised “head blows” to the regime’s “most brutal, corrupt and drug-trading officials” in the cities.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana also made light of Sison’s threat.

“Hahaha, lethal blows? With what and how? His men who are tired of his lies are coming down in droves to avail of the benefits being offered by the government,” Lorenzana told the Manila Standard.

“Sison’s threats are plain and simple bluster and braggadocio,” he added.

Lorenzana said Sison has become irrelevant but was “trying hard to appear relevant.”

“The NPA holdouts who are reduced to being terrorist extortionists devoid with any ideology will continue to extort, burn equipment and ambush soldiers and policemen,” he said. “That is the only thing they could do now.”

Earlier this year, Sison said overthrowing the government remains their top priority, vowing to strengthen the CPP’s armed wing.

“The National Democratic Front of the Philippines is authorized to be open to peace negotiations with the current and prospective regime of the reactionary government, but its principal work now is to work for the ouster of the Duterte regime,” Sison said in January.

Troops in the countryside are more than ready to face any attacks by remnants of the NPA, who are now desperate due to the government’s decision to permanently terminate the peace talks with their political leaders, the head of the AFP public affairs office, Col. Noel Detoyato, said.

“Our troops are already given instructions and we are actually in the offensive in running after their armed group and their fronts organizations,” Detoyato said Monday. Francisco Tuyay, PNA

The weather bureau on Monday said “dry will become drier and wet will become wetter” as a result of global warming.

In an interview, Analiza Solis, chief of the weather bureau’s Climate Information Monitoring and Prediction, said this would mean more powerful, though fewer typhoons.

Before year 2000, an El Niño phenomenon happened every 10 to 15 years, she said.

“Now, it has shortened to five to 10

From A1

From A1

ICC case:...

From A1

on the South China Sea while others point out the ICC doesn’t really have jurisdiction over the case.

Two days before the Philippines’ withdrawal from the ICC became official, former Foreign Affairs chief Albert Del Rosario and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales accused Xi of crimes against humanity for the top Chinese leader’s actions to gain control of the South China Sea. In a communication to ICC Chief Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda, Del Rosario and Morales asked that Xi and other Chinese officials be investigated for crimes against humanity.

“The enclosed communication outlines how President Xi Jinping and other officials of China, in implementing China’s systematic plan to control the South China Sea, have committed crimes within the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice,” the two said in a joint statement.

Both Del Rosario and Morales said the “atrocious actions of Chinese officials in the South China Sea and within Philippine territory” constitute crimes against humanity that can be prosecuted by the ICC. While the Palace said the two former officials have a right to file a case, it said this would be a futile exercise since the ICC has no jurisdiction over China or the Philippines.

“They could be motivated with righteous indignation over the establishment

Palace...

‘Desert Rose’...

From A1

A glittering ceremony, expected to include Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah and French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, takes place on Wednesday, with the doors opening to the public the next day.

“Architecture to give a voice to heritage whilst celebrating [the] future,” tweeted the museum’s renowned French architect Jean Nouvel, also responsible for the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

The pale, futuristic 52,000-square meter structure located on Doha’s waterfront corniche will be the first

‘Pigcasso’...

From A1

One such pig has made sweeping waves in the art world with a mission—the pig who loves to paint, also known as Pigcasso, is starting to literally hog the limelight in the fashion world, too.

The name is apparently after Pablo Ruiz Picasso, a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright who spent most of

“As a sovereign state, it is our prerogative to be a party to the Rome Statute or not,” the chief state lawyer said.

Calida said there are laws to protect the Filipinos’ fundamental rights and that Manila remains a party to other human rights treaties.

At the same time, he said the move will not affect foreign aid to the country.

Panelo, meanwhile, said the government will file a diplomatic protest if it is shown that Chinese coast guard have been keeping Filipino fishermen away from Scarborough or Panatag shoals in the West Philippine Sea. He was reacting to a short documentary released by senatorial candidate Neri Colmenares, showing local fishermen explain how their catch had dropped from 20 tons to only two tons because Chineseships were driving them away.

“As far as I know, [Chinese] Ambassador Zhao Jianhua told me that the fishermen there are not being harassed.

Now if there is a violation, then we will have to go back to them and say, ‘Hey, they say there’s a violation, you better stop it’,” Panelo said.

“The policy is always, ‘You cannot be harassing our fishermen’,” he added.

Beijing and Manila have previously agreed to let fishermen freely navigate the disputed waters except for marine protected areas.

notable building visitors to Qatar see as they make their way from the airport to the city center.

Even in a country which is being built, rebuilt and utterly transformed for the 2022 football World Cup, the national museum could be the single most eyecatching design of all Qatar’s new buildings.

The entrance includes 114 fountain sculptures in a 900-metre long lagoon and the museum’s multi-curved roof, which resembles a giant jigsaw puzzle, is made up of 76,000 panels in 3,600 different shapes and sizes.

Inside, there is more than 1,500 meters (yards) of gallery space.

Among the exhibits is a 19th century carpet embroidered with 1.5-million Gulf pearls and the oldest Koran yet discovered in Qatar, also dating back to the 1800s. AFP his adult life in France.

Having had the pig’s artistic talents nourished by South Africa’s Farm Sanctuary where she was rescued as a piglet, Swatch Watches commissioned a design by Pigcasso and it’s become their best seller.

The limited edition “Flying Pig by Ms. Pigcasso” features green, blue and pink brush strokes and sells for $120.

Brandishing a paintbrush in her snout, Pigcasso enthusiastically tosses her head to create bright, bold strokes across a canvas propped up in her sty.

Oil prices still going up: Gas, diesel surge

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE oil companies again raised pump prices by P0.65 per liter of gasoline and P0.10 per liter of kerosene and diesel, respectively, effective 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, triggering the seventh round of weekly oil price increases.

“Effective 12:01AM Mar 26, 2019, Chevron Philippines Inc. (Caltex) will increase wholesale posted price of Platinum and Silver by P0.65 per liter, diesel by P0.10 per liter and Kerosene

by P0.10 per liter (all VAT-inclusive),” Chevron said in its advisory.

Chevron aside, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Unioil Philippines, Eastern Petroleum, PTT Philippines and Seaoil Philippines also announced increases while the other oil companies were expected to follow.

Unioil forecast over the weekend that gasoline would go up by P0.65 to P0.75 per liter while diesel would go up by P0.05 to P0.10 per liter.

The latest increase will bring the price adjustments since the start of the year to a net increase of P6.75 per liter of gasoline, P4.75 per liter of diesel and P3.55 per liter of kerosene.

Oil prices went up last week after US government data revealed a nearly 10-million-barrel weekly drop in domestic crude inventories, along with hefty declines in both gasoline and distillate stockpiles, the Department of Energy said in a statement.

Supply cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-affiliated allies such as Russia and US sanctions against Iran and Venezuela also pulled up oil prices.

OPEC announced this week that it would cancel its planned meeting in April, delaying the decision to June on whether to stick to its plan to curb production by 1.2 million barrels a day.

The DOE said, however, that price gains had been checked by concerns that a slowing global economy and a protracted trade dispute between the US and China would impede fuel consumption.

Friday...

From A1

“Some progress. We’re still working on it. [We] will meet again tomorrow [Tuesday]. Hopefully, we can follow through and finalize tomorrow,” Lacson said after the meeting concluded at the Senate.

Andaya made his statement as Senators Loren Legarda, Lacson and Gringo Honasan met with their House counterparts led by Andaya in the Senate Monday. Andaya was joined

by Rep. Ronaldo Zamora of San Juan and Edcel Lagman of Albay in attempt to break the budget impasse.

“We will come up with an understanding that we will really have a new budget.

We want to hurry it up and hopefully before the 29th [of March] a new budget would have been signed, Andaya said.

Lagman echoed Andaya.

“The dialogue is in progress and we are going to meet again tomorrow [Tuesday] night at 7 p.m. The senate panel will have to talk with the SP [Senate President Vicente Sotto III], so hopefully by tomorrow night we could resolve the impasse. As long as we are talking, then there’s light at the end of the tunnel, Lagman said.

Andaya said the House leadership did not change anything and only itemized the lump-sum fund that was agreed upon during the bicameral conference committee. With PNA

Death...

From A1

the handling and storage of the billions of pesos worth of illegal drugs confiscated in the past several days, saying the illicit substances must not find their way back into the market.

Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco said the seizure of the illegal drugs, mostly methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu, was an affirmation of President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs.

“While I view with deep concern the recent entry of billions of pesos worth of illegal drugs into the country through our controlled borders, I am more concerned with what will happen to the pieces of evidence confiscated during drug busts,Velasco, chairman of the House committee on energy, said.

Aquino said he backed the proposals of prodeath penalty Senators Manny Pacquiao and Panfilo Lacson.

“Drug traffickers sent to the [New] Bilibid [Prison] would just continue their business inside. They get more connections, and the more their business flourishes,” he said.

“They just continue enjoying business [while in prison].” With Maricel V. Cruz

News

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TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

File complaint in courts, groups against new ‘moto’ plates told

By Nat Mariano AS THOUSANDS of motorcycle riders held a motorcade to oppose the newlysigned law mandating the use of bigger and double license plates, Malacañang on Monday urged the protesters to address their grievances in the courts.

“If they feel it’s unconstitutional, then they can always raise that before the courts,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a Palace press briefing.

According to the Palace official, President Rodrigo Duterte, a known motorcycle enthusiast, stands by the legislation.

“Well, he has signed it... Everyone should comply. No exception,” Panelo added.

On Sunday, some 120,000 motorcycle riders nationwide gathered to show their opposition against the recentlysigned double-plate law, claiming that its implementation would become dangerous, discriminating, and anti-poor.

Motorcycle rider groups slammed the passage of Republic Act 11235, or the Motorcycle Crime Prevention Act of 2017. The measure, authored by Senator Richard Gordon and Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, was signed into law by Duterte last week.

Under the new legislation, the Land Transportation Office shall issue bigger, readable, and color-coded license plates to every motorcycle in the country.

“The LTO shall determine the font style and size of the number plates provided that the contents of the number plates shall be readable from the front, the back, and the side of the motorcycle from a distance of t least 15 meters from the motorcycle,” the RA read.

“The LTO shall also devise a color scheme of the readable number plates for every region in the Philippines where a motorcycle is registered for quick and easy identification,” it added.

These readable number plates must then be displayed in both the front and back sides of the motorcycle and should be made of suitable and durable material as determined by the LTO. “The utilization of voluntary and paid labor from prisoners shall be among the requirements to bid for the procurement of the number plates under this Act,” the law stated.

‘Don’t vote pro-TRAIN law Senate bets’ A PARTY-LIST congressman on Monday called for a boycott of legislators who supported the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law and other similar legislation during the May elections.

Senators and congressmen who voted for that “anti-people law” have no place in the legislature and should not be voted, Anakpawis Rep. Ariel Casilao said.

Casilao, a member of the Makabayan Bloc, said that aside from the Train Law or Republic Act 10963, the RA 11203 Rice Liberalization Law, RA 8041 Water Crisis Act or privatization of Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, the RA 8479 Oil Deregulation Law and other laws and policies are detrimental to the welfare and interests of poor sectors.

“Let us choose opposition bets to show that we are protesting against its measures, and that we demand real change, not ‘trapo’ promises,” Casilao said.

“Let us fight for an independent Senate,” he added.

Casilao added that a Senate that pays homage or “sunud-sunuran” to the executive branch is a breach of separation of powers and sabotages democratic governance.

“The candidates we are endorsing are those who committed to repeal the TRAIN Law, so that price hikes of basic goods and services could be arrested, for the benefit of poor sectors,” he said.

Instead, Casilao said the public should vote for candidates who push for wage hike of workers, champion Philippine interests over the West Philippine Sea, oppose charter change, protect due process or rule of law, women's rights, and human rights, and push for peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front. Maricel V. Cruz

DONATION. Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines His Excellency Koji Haneda (left) inspect the 14 ambulance units, six fire trucks and two rescue trucks donated by the Japanese government during the handover ceremony held at the Bureau of Fire Protection-National Capital Region Office in Agham Road in Quezon City. Manny Palmero

Ombudsman files graft raps vs Alcala, 23 others

By Maricel V. Cruz

T

HE Ombudsman has filed graft charges against former Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and 23 others for graft at the Sandiganbayan in connection with the alleged manipulation of the garlic supply from 2010 to 2014.

Ombudsman investigator and prosecution officer Bonifacio Mandrilla included on the charge sheet filed at the Sandiganbayan former Plant Industry Director Clarito Barron, former National Plant Quarantine Services Division chief Luben Marasigan, and current NPQSD head Merle Palacpac.

Mandrilla also included on the charge sheet Lilia Matabang Cruz,

Edmond Caguinguin, Rolan Galvez, Rochelle Diaz, Ma. Jackilou Ilagan, Jon Dino de Vera, Napoleon Baldueza, Jose Ollegue, Laila Matabang, Angelita Flores, Gaudioso Diato, Denia Matabang, Jose Angelo Jr., Raffy Torres, Mary Grace Sebastian, Renato Francisco Jr., Rolando Manangan, Orestes Salon, Prudencio Ruedas, and Shiela Marie de la Cruz, who are all from the private sector.

The prosecution alleged that the accused allegedly manipulated the supply that led to a surge in prices of garlic by controlling the importation permit.

It said that 5,022 of the 8,810 import permits issued from 2010 to 2014 went to VIEVA l and approved by Alcala, Barron, Palacpac, and Marasigan despite the existing suspension in the garlic importation.

At the same time, from P165 to P170 per kilo, the price of imported garlic reached P260 to P400 per kilo from January to July 2014.

The prosecution also said that prices of local garlic rose to P250 to P450 per kilo from April to June 2014.

BATANGAS VISIT. Senator Nancy Binay visits the Batangas Provincial Capitol on March 25. Binay thanked the people of Batangas for supporting her candidacy since 2013. Contributed Photo

SSS to increase ‘contributions’ to 1% starting April STARTING next month, the Social Security System will implement a new policy that will have its members and employers paying higher contributions.

In an announcement on Tuesday, the pension fund said the contributions will increase from 11 percent to 12 percent— a 1 percent increase—starting on April 1.

This means that for an employee earning ₱10,000, ₱400 will be slashed from his or her pay check—an increase of ₱36.70 from the current ₱363.30.

The employer, on the other hand, will nore remit ₱800 instead of ₱736.70, an increase of ₱63.30 for its share.

SSS Office-In-Charge Aurora Ignacio defended the increase, saying that

the 1 percentage point hike is just “reasonable,” since this would help members to save more for retirement.

“We all want a comfortable retirement and to do that, those who are in their productive years must work hard to save more,” Ignacio said in a statement.

She added that the minimum and maximum monthly salary credits will also be adjusted to ₱2,000 and ₱20,000 respectively.

"The good news is that those who will save more with SSS under the new maximum Monthly Salary Credit of ₱20,000 will have higher amount of benefits and loan privileges as the Monthly Salary Credit is one of the

main factors used in the computation of benefits and loan privileges," Ignacio said.

She added that under the new scheme, employees earning ₱20,000 monthly can enjoy a ₱600 sickness benefit per day, or up from the current ₱480. The employee's monthly basic pension will also increase to ₱8,000 from ₱6,400.

President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Social Security Act of 2018 last February, which allowed the SSS to increase the monthly contribution of its members. It will further increase by 1 percent every other year until it reaches 15 percent in 2025.

Close to P1m carted away in Bulacan robbery spree

By Orlan Mauricio MALOLOS CITY—Close to half a million pesos in cash were carted away by a group of burglars who robbed three adjoining establishments along McArthur Highway at the Calumpit-Malolos boundary over the weekend.

It was a virtual “take-all-you-can” spree for the robbers as they emptied the cash vault of the SamgyupSalamat Korean BBQ “eat-all-you-can” restaurant which opened only last Feb. 1 this year.

The robbers entered through the store’s backdoor by climbing up a roofladder used for maintenance purposes of the commercial building that houses five adjoining establishments.

Footages of the break-in from a CCTV camera of one of the restaurants showed the three robbers wearing face masks and hoods. The robbers casually left after emptying the office of all its valuables.

They also destroyed and took the harddisc drive of the CCTV recorder.

Footages from the CCTV camera of Shakey’s Calumpit also showed the three burglars passing through the ceiling of the pizza store towards the kitchen. However, the robbers were not able to access its office and vault because of the presence of a security guard at the store’s main door.

The suspects also climbed up the ceiling to access the office of AXA-Bulacan which they also vandalized. Avigail Fernando, branch manager of the insurance firm, said only P10,000 cash were taken from their office vault.

The robbers, however, destroyed the CCTV recorder and took its memory disc and UPS battery. The robbers even ate pizza while taking away several valuables.

They left behind a Canon projector which had already been detached from its conference hall as they left hurriedly.

Eric Illescas, franchise owner of Shakey’s Calumpit, said incidents of robberies and burglaries should be looked into and followed up by police operatives so that businessmen would not be discouraged.

Janine Reyes, branch cashier of AXA, said their computer network was cut off at around 11:40 p.m. Friday night.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS

ANNOUNCEMENT President Rodrigo Roa Duterte has submitted to the Commission on Appointments (C.A.) for confirmation the ad interim appointments of the following officers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines: Gerald S. Daanton and Robert C. Dauz Major General The public may submit any information, written report, or sworn/notarized complaints or oppositions in thirty - two (32) copies on the above appointments to the CA Secretariat, 6th Floor, PNB Financial Center, D. Macapagal Blvd., Pasay City, Metro Manila.

For the schedule of the public hearings, the CA Secretariat can be reached through telephone numbers 834-2713, 831-1824, 831-0527, 832-9830, 834-2706 and 551-1989.

25 March 2019.

(MS-MAR. 26, 2019)

HECTOR A. VILLACORTA Secretary

A4

Opinion

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

The night I was kidnapped I HAVE been a journalist for almost 70 years. I have covered presidents from the time of Elpidio Quirino. I have walked the corridors of power. There have been memorable moments in my career in the pursuit of press freedom. Sometimes, these even endangered my life.

The most unforgettable was the time I was covering the Central Bank of the Philippines as business editor of the Philippines Herald.

During my daily rounds of the old Ayuntamiento Building where the CB was located, a CB official—I cannot remember who—told me I should look into the illegal activities of some members of the Monetary Board.

I realized being a journalist in this country was indeed dangerous.

Of course I started to investigate the backgrounds and activities of the Monetary Board members. I wondered why my fellow journalists covering the CB were not doing the same. I soon learned that some of them were getting monthly payoffs from the office of a ranking CB official.

I learned that the three members of the seven-member MB were importing dollar allocations at that time for their own businesses. This was clearly a conflict of interest. They were also with the Manila Stock Exchange—clearly a no-no for MB members.

I wrote that exposé and it became the banner headline of the Herald. I even named the three MB members.

My story set off an inquiry by the Senate. Since my exposé was detailed, the three MB members were called to testify.

I was also invited to testify but I refused, saying my story was enough.

This happened during the second year of the Magsaysay administration. President Ramon Magsaysay told the three individuals to show cause why they should not be fired for committing illegal acts.

I recall I was leaving for home one evening. I was going down the stairs, past the security guard. Suddenly, there were two men to my side and they shoved their guns to both sides of my body. They told me to get in their car, which had appeared in front of me, gangster-style, just like in the movies.

I found out that the only thing I could say was “What is this?”

They told me in the vernacular: “You will soon find out.”

They made me alight in front of the Hotel Filipinas along Padre Faura. We took the elevator—I forgot to which floor—and entered a room. It must have been a minor suite. There was a burly man puffing a cigar. He told me: “You are a brave young man. I would hate to see something bad happening to you.”

I asked him: “Sir, what have I done?”

Was this the Cavite mobster who killed somebody at the Semanillo Building on Dasmarinas Street? I recognized him because his photo was in the papers.

After gathering my wits I asked: “Sir, what do you want?” he said one of those I had exposed was his friend. I asked him what he wanted me to do. He said he would like to present the side of his friend. I said “Sure.”

The man told me to relax and wait for somebody to bring his friend's statement. I would be given dinner.

He left but a guard was left with me. I knew the guard had a gun.

I looked at my watch and saw it was 10 in the evening. I knew my wife was getting worried because I was usually home by eight.

There was a bed in the room, but who could rest in such a situation? It was six in the morning when I heard a knock on the door. I was given a big envelope and told: “This is it.”

I read the statement and it was the burly man’s friend explaining his side. I was told to print it, verbatim, the following day. And then I was told I could go home.

From Hotel Filipinas I took a cab and returned to the office parking area where my car was. My wife was agitated so she

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

A

To shame and blame

16-YEAR-OLD girl was raped in Tondo. It was reported that the girl had been drinking with her attackers before she passed out. The suspects took videos of the rape and of the victim’s private parts. In a leaked chat group conversation, the four men were even happy and proud about what they did, police revealed.

One of the suspects was apparently the girl’s friend and was the one who invited her for a drink. When she fell unconscious, she was taken to a room where she was raped by the gang who called themselves the “Tondo F***boys.”

The incident should have elicited universal condemnation of the suspects. Unfortunately, some quarters are laying blame on the girl for even agreeing to drink with the men in the first place. One social media user said the girl was stupid to not expect harm to come her way. If it were a prayer meeting she had gone to, he said, the rape might have

been unexpected. But a drinking session with men should have told her what could happen.

This is not the first time a victim was shamed and blamed for what befell her.

The Philippines is supposed to be at the forefront of gender equality, but many people still believe that if a woman is dressed provocatively, or if she is out by herself late at night, or if she hangs out with men, she is asking for it.

This is utter nonsense. Rape exists because some men believe they are entitled to violate a woman.

How can such views be tol-

erated in an ostensibly religious society? How much of this is fuelled by an administration that appears to take women’s issues lightly?

Basic humanity dictates that no one should take advantage of another’s apparent vulnerability or weakness. But alas, millions of men still believe "No" to mean something else, and see the act of "conquering" a woman a reason for pride.

What can we do? Women must assert, unceasingly, that it is reprehensible to blame and shame rape victims. Decent men should never applaud, or cheer, or laugh when one of them makes light of the power struggle between the sexes.

Indeed we have a long way to go. The best we can hope for is to move forward, albeit slowly, rather than regress into prehistoric, chauvinistic, misogynist thinking.

Turn to A5

Our Gani of all seasons WHEN I think of Isagani R. Serrano, I recall one of the most beautiful lines from the Bible, from the Book of Ecclesiastes: “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of peace.”

Gani lived in all these times—with a mind as brilliant and rigorous as anyone in the world, with a will that was as strong, resolute, and determined as the best of our leaders facing our country’s social and political challenges from Marcos to Duterte, and yes with a heart that was consistently kind, compassionate, generous, and gentle even in situations of extreme adversity.

This last quality is not easily found as a good and compassionate heart is usually seen as a hindrance to being a tough and effective leader. But Gani proved with his life that you could be a visionary and leader who cared for people.

For sure the mind was incisive, critical, and visionary. Personally, Gani’s writings on civil society in the 1990s shaped my thinking on many issues. Having co-founded with Marvic Leonen, Gus Gatmaytan, and Nonette Royo the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center in 1987, a human rights organization that put itself at the service of indigenous peoples and rural communties with law as the tool and service we could provide, we struggled to frame properly our role in the evolving socio-political landscape at that time. Gani’s thinking was the clearest even then, grounded on both theory and practice.

Gani was a leading thinker on the role of civil society not only in the Philippines but globally. His 1995 address during First World Assembly of CIVICUS in 1995 in Mexico City has become a classic. Entitled Humanity in Trouble but Hopeful, Gani invoked the song Imagine of John Lennon and challenged all of us to work for a better world. He described

the euphoria then among civil society organizations: “The emergence of civil society as a worldwide force, embodying the voices from below, is now duly recognized by states and the corporate community. Many of the heresies of yesteryears attributed to them have landed in the official rhetoric and policy. Global civil society has arrived, and at a time when its voice was most needed.”

I was also greatly influenced by Gani’s writings on sustainable development. I saw his thinking evolve from the original conception of sustainable development as one where the needs of the present generation are met without sacrificing the interests of the future generations to an emphasis on environmental and climate justice.

And so in 2005, in a speech to the United

Gani was a leading thinker on the role of civil society not only in the Philippines but globally.

Nations entitled “It's About Fairness In Our Troubled World,” Gani did not mince words; he condemned poverty as a moral aberration, an assault on our common humanity. “And that it can be ended soonest.

There's more than enough to feed, house, educate, save and lengthen lives, permit wider freedom of movement and leisure for every woman, man and child now living, even those yet to be born. We only need a fundamental change of mindset and firm resolve to make a more just and fair world happen.”

Gani did not stop at making commentaries about our troubled world. He acted on this knowledge and became a leader of many organizations and movements that challenged the status quo, that have worked hard and continued to work hard so another world would be possible. He co-founded, led, and/or convened many of our best efforts to imagine a better world: The Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement, Earth Day Network Philippines, Social Watch Philippines, CREST (Center for Renewable Electricity Strategies), Sustainable Development Solutions Network-Philippines (SDSN-PH), Go Organic! Philippines, La Liga Policy Institute; Global Call to Action Against Poverty-Philippines; Earth Day Network Philippines, Philippine Network on Climate Change, Aksyon Klima, Philippine Turn to A5

Dead as a doornail IF THERE are still doubts that the political negotiations between the national government and the communist-led National Democratic Front have reached an inevitable, irrevocable dead-end, the recent decision of President Rodrigo Duterte to dissolve the government negotiating panel should put them to rest.

Duterte’s pronouncement that the NDF and its two allied organizations, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and

The peace talks with the Reds is definitely over. its armed wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) will have to wait for the next presi president if they expect any possibility of a resumption of any negotiations spells the doom of what had promised to be fruitful talks at the start of his term in mid-2016.

With three years to go before the

Duterte administration walks off into the sunset, we can therefore expect a searchand-destroy and take-no-prisoners policy by the military designed to bring the 50-year-old insurgency to its knees.

The recent arrest of what the NDF claims as a “peace consultant” and his companion, a retired priest, and the fil filing of charges of illegal possession of firearms and explosives against them— a standard operating procedure now, it suswould seem, against arrested rebel sus pects so they would stay behind bars for a long, long time, indicates a stepped-up drive against the communist insurgency by the military. Several other prominent Turn to A5

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can be accessed at: manilastandard.net

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Opinion Up-in-the-air Upper House RIGHT up front, I’m asking my readers to pray for the recovery of broadcast journalist Twink Macaraig, who’s battling Stage 4 cancer.

A news anchor and program manager on TV-5, Twink is also my sorority sister from Sigma Alpha Nu. An essay of hers in the Philippine Star last Sunday showed that she’s lost none of her feistiness, not just about her own health issues, but also including the political causes she cares deeply about.

“I’m still a fighter!” she declared. God bless and reward you for that, sis. *** A different kind of fighter is how one might describe Nur Misuari, the MNLF and ARMM leader, who’s now threatening to wage war again if the country doesn’t adopt federalism. As a federalism advocate myself, I have to say that with friends like him, who needs enemies?

Most accounts of the long battle to pass the new Bangsamoro Organic Law say that Nur never cooperated with his rivals in the much bigger MILF and kept trying to block its passage. Now that the BOL is part of the law of the land, Nur is evidently ready to break the law just to keep his own ageing personal ambitions alive, after the well-documented failures of the ARMM experiment that he led.

For his part, MILF chair Al-Hajj Murad is counselling peace and vowing that he will abide by the Constitution. Would he be just as peaceful if the BOL battle had not gone his way? It’s an interesting question, but by now purely academic, since Murad is now responsible for building a new sub-nation, not trying to destroy the larger nation. Plus, a federalist constitution will also give him more room to expand his autonomy and authority on the ground. *** “Up in the air” is how one might describe the honorable members of the Upper House—the Senate—who repeatedly remind us of the increasing distance between their own little world and the larger world of us poor mortals on the ground.

Since Duterte took office, the senators— many of them professedly aligned with the

administration—have repeatedly stalled or blocked key items of his agenda that were sent up from the Lower House, e.g. the “Trabaho Bill”, the second part of comprehensive tax reform; the charter change initiative; and now, even the proposed budget this year.

Among the essential items being sidelined by the senators’ intransigence is the budget for acquiring right of way (ROW) for infrastructure projects. To give you an idea of the importance of ROW: In Central Visayas alone, only 12 infra projects have been implemented out of a total 95 projects due to ROW problems. Fifty-seven projects worth P2 billion have been suspended, while the balance of 26 projects worth P4.5 billion were outright terminated.

When it comes to making themselves more comfortable, the sky’s the limit.

It’s probably easy to dismiss these triv trivial concerns from the lofty aerie inhabited by the senators, who after all have no specific constituency to answer to. But when it comes to making themselves more comfortable, the sky’s the limit.

Ground has already broken for building the senators a new home in the Fort, to the tune of a staggering P8 billion. That’s an average P333 million to make each senator feel better about the kind of office he has to work in.

Senator Ping Lacson reminds us that the Senate will be saving P171 million in annual rentals to GSIS. At that rate, it will take 46.7 years for the new building to pay for itself.

And of course, GSIS will be losing rental income that would otherwise have strengthened the pension fund of government employees.

Lacson says the project will encourage future senators to “behave and act with the dignity of an edifice” like the one now being built for them. Evidently it is already too late to similarly reform the current crop of lawmakers. But if a new building will prompt future senators to behave better than their predecessors—hey, it might just be worth it after all. ***

Another font of entertaining wisdom is senatorial aspirant Neri Colmenares, who wants government to drop the Kaliwa dam project because it would displace thousands of families among the indigenous peoples who inhabit the Sierra Madre range. Instead, he wants government to “look at” alternatives like “rehabilitation of the Wawa dam and [construction of] the Kaliwa weir.”

It’s characteristic of Colmenares and his comrades in the Makabayan bloc of legislators to shoot down infrastructure and other projects with their ideological jargon, while dumping on government the responsibility of coming up with alternatives. Won’t people also need to be relocated away from Wawa? How much water can a 7-foot runof-river weir provide year-round by comparison with a 70-meter-high reservoir dam?

Compensating and relocating affected local communities is part of virtually every large infrastructure project, especially dams.

But it requires asking tough questions and working hard on the answers, not taking cheap shots at the expense of the welfare of the larger majority. *** Thoughts on today’s Gospel (Matthew 18: 21-35): In the parable of the unforgiving servant, Jesus answers a question from Peter by saysay ing that we should be ready to forgive our enemy, not just seven times, but seventyseven times. That may seem unreasonable to some. Why should we be so forgiving to people who don’t deserve it? More important: even if we wanted to, how can we bring ourselves to such excessive magnanimity?

As to the first question, the parable presents us with the servant who, despite being forgiven his debts by his master, threw into prison another fellow servant who owed him a much smaller amount. We have no right to be so hard-hearted with our neighbor when we ourselves, as congenital and original sinners, are continually and repeatedly being forgiven for much worse offenses by our Creator.

As to the second question, the first servant might not have behaved so badly had he paid closer heed to the example being set for him by his master. There is only one source of the limitless grace that not only allows for the forgiveness of our own sins, but also teaches us, by example, how to forgive others as well—up to seventy-seven times, and more.

Readers can write me at gbolivar1952@ yahoo.com.

Teenage criminals must thank Pangilinan HOW many more heinous crimes—like the one committed by a 17-year-old to Christine Silawan of Cebu City—must be committed before the so-called righteous women's groups realize that RA 9344, or the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act, is a sham?

There is public outrage, as well as apprehension, that the principal suspect arrested

by National Bureau of Investigation Region 7 (NBI-7) agents might not land in jail because he is a minor.

And last Saturday, as Christine is being laid to rest, the Cebu court ordered the NBI to immediately release from its custody the teenage suspect because he was arrested without any warrant. He will still be tried for murder once the hearing starts, according to the court.

So for now, the teenage suspect has been released and probably billeted in a safe house under the auspices of Senator Francis Pangilinan. Who knows?

The "Pangilinan law" exempts minors or anyone under 18 years old from criminal re-

The night...

From A4

phoned my brother Willie who said he would pick us up so we could see the President in Malacañang.

The President asked me point blank: “Since I am firing those men, could you recommend a replacement? I thought for a

Our Gani...

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Movement for Climate Justice, Philippine Greens, Freedom from Debt Coalition, NGO Forum on the ADB, Conference Against Poverty, Green Forum Philippines, Congress for a People’s Agrarian Reform, National Coordinating Council on the Local Government Code, Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, among others.

For the three decades I watched Gani exert his own particular brand of servant leadership. He was a tough leader. He called things as he saw them. He dealt with crises many times, stayed above the fray when the quarrels were petty and personal, or when our fights were about tactics rather than strategies, but he engaged fully when what was at stake was more fundamental such as principles and values or where the consequences to people and the poor were serious.

I worked with Gani the most on climate change, a very challenging space both here in the Philippines and abroad. Many times, we were tempted to give up this fight. But Gani always reminded me that was not an option.

As strong-willed and opinionated a

sponsibility.

Legal experts say the young suspect could walk away free if a government psychiatrist would certify in court that he was not in his right state of mind, because of his age, while committing that horrible crime.

Just what is the difference between his state of mind when he committed that heinous crime over a week ago and when he turns 18 in a few days? Can someone tell me the logic? Perhaps Senator Francis Pangilinan can.

It was Pangilinan who authored RA 9344 (signed by then President Gloria Arroyo) in 2006. That boy should invite the senator when he celebrates his 18th birthday! He is off-the-hook, at least for now.

This demonic killer-rapist was so "innocent" he waylaid, raped, and then slaughtered 16-year-old Christine Silawan who had served as church collector at a chapel in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu. Her half-naked and mutilated body was found on a vacant lot the next day.

And for those who oppose lowering the minimum age of criminal liability, particularly those who oppose the restoration of the death penalty, how many more dead teenagers do you need to reconsider your so called "anti-death penalty" stand?

A few days after the rape and murder of Christine in Cebu, another teenage girl was gang-raped in Tondo, Manila where at least two of the perpetrators are minors.

The mother of the victim has called on President Duterte for help to attain justice, as the two minors may be absolved of criminal liability. Thanks again Senator Kiko!

When arrested by the police, the suspects admitted committing the crime after authorities seized their cellphones containing video recordings of the said rape.

Police said the modus of the group, who call themselves as the "FU*@#K Boys", consists of befriending girls on-line, inviting them to partying and drugging their drinks, and then raping the helpless victims while video-recording the act. Worse, they even post it online!

Self-respecting parents who have helped their children develop a sense of responsibility beginning at the age of four or five will say that kids will be capable of discernment once they reach teen age.

So, I would like to thank Senator Pangilinan, the 13th Congress, who passed this stupid law, and Gloria Arroyo for signing it into law in 2006...on behalf of the increasing number of minors who commit these heinous crimes.

while and said there were only three honest men I could recommend: Jaime Velasquez, Amando Dalisay and Gumerindo Garcia.

The President said: “Done.”

My wife and I were relieved. Soon enough, members of the Armed Forces came to my home to provide my family security. One for me, one for my wife, and two for each of my children who were then

enrolled at the Ateneo Grade School.

The problem soon dawned on me and my wife: We would have to pay for the meals of our security detail. The security followed us everywhere. This lasted six or seven months.

This incident taught me that being a journalist in the Philippines could really mean life or death.

leader Gani Serrano was, there was a softness in the man that came out regardless of the situations he was into. In the decades I have known him, I have never heard Gani raise his voice. He condemned injustice for sure but it was always in a way that made dialogue still possible.

This is why when Gani passed to a new life, people from all walks of life and different persuasions gathered together in his home in Bataan and the PRRM headquarters in Quezon City to honor his memory. Jose Maria Sison sent his tribute honoring Gani’s role in the revolutionary movement. John Cavanagh and Robin Broad—our common friends from Washington DC—wrote about being pulled in, hypnotized by Gani’s gentle wisdom. Ed de la Torre in the Bataan wake and then in the final day of the week of remembering Gani in PRRM led the singing of Imagine, with the original lyrics of Lennon and the translation by Pete Lacaba.

Gani, being a man of all seasons, will surely outlive his death. Lisa Dacanay, his life partner and my close friend and collaborator, is inviting everyone to join her, Gani’s children, and the Serrano family in transforming collective grief into a productive initiative of setting up an NGO

cum social enterprise in his honor—Remembering Isagani Serrano (RISe) Inc— that would be based in their farm in Bataan and pursue his many imaginings of a sustainable future alongside the many organizations he founded and led in his lifetime. According to Lisa: “RISe shall mobilize family, relatives and friends from all over the world and work with PRRM, Social Watch, Earth Day Network and other groups he led and founded in his lifetime to transform our farm and our feeling@ home inn and café into: a learning center for farmers and advocates of sustainable agriculture and social enterprise in agricultural value chains espousing sustainable consumption and production; an agriecotourism destination linked to a national and global network of learning centers and destinations; and, a vibrant hub for imagining glocal initiatives (local initiatives with a global perspective, a termed coined

by Gani) for a sustainable future.”

RISe will be launched on Gani’s 40th day on April 2, 2019, at 4PM (with a mass at 3PM). I cannot find a better way of honoring our Gani of all seasons.

Facebook Page: Professor Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

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mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Brexit: A miscalculation triggered disarray and humiliation Cameron apparently proposed the referendum out of a firm belief that his normally sensible countrymen would disregard the hysterical Euroskeptic oratory and opt for Britain’s remaining with the EU. Cameron was very THE United Kingdom’s current trou- wrong: his countrymen voted to terbles over Brexit (British exit) is un- minate Britain’s ties with the EU. The questionably the worst thing that has vote has proven to be one of the greater happened to that proud nation since the political miscalculations in the UK’s Battle of Britain of 1942, when Adolf history. The Leavers have emerged triHitler’s powerful air force (Luftwaffe) umphant.

But the Leavers’ majority was by no tried to pound the now-beleaguered UK into submission. No matter how means overwhelming: only 52 percent hard the Fuehrer tried—bombs rained of British voters voted in favor of leavon Britain’s main population centers ing the EU. Stated differently, almost on a daily basis—Britain stood united, half of all Britishers voted to remain within the EU. Scotland, the second strong and defiant.

Today not one of those adjectives largest component of the UK, has since indicated unamdescribes the biguously that it land of William wants to remain the Conqueror, part of the EU. the Duke of WelIn recent months Given the lington—Naponarrowness leon Bonaparte’s the world has been of the Leavvanquisher—and watching the spectacle ers’ victory and WinstonChurchill. the humiliating The UK is nei- of Britain’s being treatment that ther united nor the object of virtual the UK has been politically strong humiliation at the receiving during nor defiant. Its the course of the political system hands of the EU. Brexit negotiais undergoing tions, it is hardly unprecedented a cause for wonstress, it is beder that there ing treated in humiliating fashion by the group from currently is mounting pressure for the which it wants to exit—the European holding of a second referendum on the Union—and the once-famous stiff up- leave-or-remain issue.

Until it began to look that the EU per lip is currently not quite so stiff.

And all because of a colossal mis- would adopt a tough stance, things calculation in 2016 by the Conserva- had been looking very good for the tive government under Prime Minister UK, which has the world’s fifth largDavid Cameron. That miscalculation est economy. The British economy was has turned the British people’s world posting the highest economic growth rate in Western Europe, the pound stervirtually upside-down.

Not every Britisher—Englishman, ling was strong, the City of London Welshman, Scot or Northern Irish- was doing enormous business and, man—was pleased when the UK de- most important the UK was a highly cided to join the EU in 1971. Acutely regarded leader of the First World. And conscious of Britain’s role as Western all because of a miscalculation, a misEurope’s leader in post-Napoleonic era judgment, made in 2016 by a Prime and fiercely proud of their country’s Minister brimming with political and unique traditions and—especially the personal arrogance.

In recent months the world has been City of London, which the UK considers the world’s premier financial cen- watching the spectacle of Britain’s beter—those unhappy Britishers, who ing the object of virtual humiliation at came to be called Euroskeptics, criti- the hands of the EU, the latest chapter cized and opposed every British gov- in the story being told to accept a May ernment move to integrate the UK into 22—one day before the EU parliamenthe EU. They fought for, and rejoiced tary election—deadline. That’s too over, the UK’s refusal to become part sad. Britain does not deserve to be so of the EU monetary union, the only treated.

At last count four million signatures major member to do so.

Continuously pressured by the Eu- have been placed on a petition seeking roskeptics to terminate the UK’s Euro- a second Brexit referendum. Those are pean entanglement, David Cameron in signatures of British citizens who think a fit of chutzpah mixed with Conserva- that, in the light of the experience foltive arrogance, came to a momentous lowing the 2016 vote, a second look decision: the government would leave at the entire Brexit idea is needed. If it to the British people to decide in a a second referendum, is held, the Rereferendum whether the UK should mainers could very well prevail.

That would put an end to a very sad leave the UK or remain within it. The Leavers and the Remainers were now train of events triggered by a collosal political miscalculation. to decide the issue once and for all.

Dead...

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mall in Tagum City, Davao del Norte.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines has condemned the killing, of Lopoz as the most recent “in a quick succession of violent attacks” against members of the Bar. “We are almost losing count, but there have been 38 such reported killings since Atty. Rogelio Bato Jr. was killed by unidentified gunmen in Tacloban, Leyte on August 23, 2016,” the IBP said.

The 40,000-strong lawyers’ group urged the police to solve the cases, including the murder of former Cebu City Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro in January 2019 and the abduction of lawyer Alwyn Mendoza in Nueva Ecija in February.

“The series of unsolved crimes against lawyers has germinated a dark halo of fear that has paralyzed the most important pillars of the justice system,” the IBP said.

“Murder and other forms of mindless violence have no place in civilized society.

Lawyers are professionals who must not be associated with the perceived crimes of their clients,” they added.

We agree completely.

The IBP is correct in urging the Supreme Court to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation of the series of killings of lawyers.

The High Tribunal should initiate a dialogue among the SC, IBP, the military and the police, as well as NGOs to ensure the safety of lawyers nationwide.

Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin said last year that he would ask his colleagues to conduct an independent probe into the rash of killings of lawyers.

Whatever happened to his pledge? Is he waiting for more murders to occur until he becomes all by his lonesome the last lawyer standing in this country?

“peace consultants” earlier released from prison to take part in negotiation in Europe have since been rearrested as well.

The government now wants local peace talks as an alternative to the scuttled national-level negotiations that had been held off and on since the post-EDSA era.

The idea of local peace talks sounds good in theory: talk to the local NPA leaders, convince them that armed struggle is futile because the government is addressing their grievances, such as agrarian reform, and even offer them cash for arms, housing, and livelihood assistance.

But will the rebels bite this tactic, and stream to military camps to surrender?

That’s highly unlikely. The military may be able to convince some of the rebels to go down from the hills and return to a normal life in the social mainstream, but probably not in sufficient numbers to dismantle the rebel apparatus in the countryside. We’re talking here of armed struggle that’s been going on for half-a century, or spanning two generations, and the aging communist leaders and their second liners steeped in Marxism-Leninism-Maoism aren’t likely to give up so easily.

Let’s kill all the lawyers?

The famous quote was uttered by the character ‘Dick the Butcher’ in William Shakespeare’s Henry VI, but it looks like someone—or perhaps a group of people, we really don’t know at this point—may have taken to heart the Shakespearian line quite literally, with devastating results.

A total of 38 lawyers have been killed during the Duterte administration. The latest fatality, lawyer Rex Jasper Lopoz, was gunned down by unidentified men on March 13 evening in front of a shopping ernhil@yahoo.com

News

A6

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Call to stop war on children raised SAVE the Children Philippines has expressed concern over what it called the displacement of 76,383 children in Mindanao who suffer hunger, trauma and missing out on school Save the Children Philippines is seeking protection and access to humanitarian support for displaced children in five provinces in Mindanao, reaching 76,383 due to heightened hostilities in the last two months.

The call is in line with its global campaign on “Stop the War on Children” that highlights the alarming situation of some 420-million children, nearly one fifth of children worldwide-living in conflict zone, up by 30-million children from 2016.

One in five children around the world live in conflict affected areas and suffer from a huge scale of direct and indirect impact of armed conflict, said the report “Stop the War on Children, launched by Save the Children globally in February.

Lawyer Albert Muyot, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children Philippines said children’s experience of conflict ranged from killing and maiming, to witnessing the destruction of their homes, schools, communities and the death of their loved ones.

“The harm done to children by the conflict is devastating,” said Muyot.

The number of displaced people from five conflict affected Mindanao provinces has reached 127,306 with 76,383 of them are children, according to reports received by Save the Children Philippines between February to March.

In Lanao Del Sur, the number of displaced people reached 8,911; Maguindanao with 35,235; and Sulu with 5,160.

Two years after the siege, there are still 66,000 people living in tents in Marawi, while there are 12,000 displaced Lumads or IndigManila

SCN FORM NO. 1 Standard (R.A. NO. 9139)

00149

traditions and ideals of the Filipino people. I have all the qualifications and none of the disqualifications under Republic Act No. 9139.

TODAY

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON NATURALIZATION IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF GLENN G. SO to be naturalized as Filipino citizen pursuant to Republic Act No. 9139.

PETITION Pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No. 9139, petitioner hereby submits a petition for naturalization to become a citizen of the Republic of the Philippines and respectfully declares: 1. My full name is Glenn Go So, but I have also been known since childhood as Glenn, or I have been judicially authorized n/a . to use the alias name(s) 2. My present place of residence is 31-8 Doña Maria St., Diamond Subdivision, Balibago City/Municipality of Angeles Province of Pampanga, and all my former places of residence are (please indicate periods of residence): 8 Narra Road, Angeles City 992-L San Andres, Malate, Manila 3. I was born on 12 October 1973, in City of Manila Philippines. I have been a resident of the Philippines since birth. At present, I am a citizen or subject of Taiwan.

4. My father's name is William Young So and he was born on 15 September 1955, in Manila. He is a citizen or subject of Philippines. My mother's name is ROSY CO GO and she was born on 05 September 1955 in Tarlac City.

She is a citizen or subject of United States of America and a former Filipino Citizen.

5. My trade, business, profession or lawful occupation is Director & Operations Manager of Soses Marketing Enterprises, Inc. and from which I derive an average annual income of P 600,000,000 , inclusive of bonuses, commissions and allowances. My wife's/husband's trade, business, profession or lawful occupation is Homemaker and from which she derives an average annual income of n/a .

(Where the above does not apply): I am exempt from the requirement of lucrative trade or occupation and from submitting income tax returns for the past three (3) years because I am a college degree holder [please state (1) degree obtained:__n/a__ , (2) name of school: _______n/a_________ and (3) years graduated: N/A who cannot practice my profession (the practice of which requires a government licensure examination) by reason of my citizenship.

6. My civil status is Married, I was married on 02-17-2007 in City of San Fernando. My wife's/husband's name is Catherine Magtoto and she/he was born on 02-27-78 in Manila. She/he is a citizen or subject of PHILIPPINES and presently resides 31-8 Doña Maria St.Diamond Subdivision, Balibago, Angeles City.

7. I am legally separated from my spouse; my marriage was annulled, per decree of legal separation/annulment dated N/A granted by N/A. (please indicate the particular court which granted the same). I am a widower/widow and my spouse died on N/A in N/A. 8. I have two (2) child/children, whose names, dates and places of birth and residences are as follows: Date of Birth

I am not opposed to organized government or affiliated with any association or group of persons who uphold and teach doctrines opposing all organized governments. I am not defending or teaching the necessity or propriety of violence, personal assault or assassination for the success and predominance of one's ideas. I am not a polygamist nor a believer in the practice of polygamy. I have not been convicted of any crime involving moral turpitude. I am not suffering from mental alienation or from any incurable contagious disease. The country of which I am a citizen or subject is not at war with the Philippines and grants to Filipinos the right to be naturalized citizens or subjects thereof.

13. It is my true and honest intention to become a citizen of the Philippines and to renounce absolutely and forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, and, particularly, to REPUBLIC OF CHINA petition up to the time of my admission to Philippine citizenship.

SCN CASE NO. x------------------ x

Name

enous People (7,200 of them are children) in Surigao del Sur due to heavy fighting for over a year now.

He called on parties to adhere to international humanitarian laws that protect children in times of war and armed conflict and guarantee access to food, health services and learning facilities.

Muyot raised concern on the report of the Department of Education in Maguindanao where some 4,960 learners cannot resume classes.

“Schools and health centers should be declared as Zones of Peace to allow children to continue their studies and get access to health care and nutrition,” said Muyot.

Reggie Aquino, humanitarian manager of Save the Children Philippines said the lives and safety of thousands of children in Mindanao are under constant threat due to recurring and protracted armed conflicts.

She also called on parties to stop recruiting boys and girls to become child soldiers.

“We call on parties to allow children and their families to have access to humanitarian support and protection such as food, shelter and learning facilities,” said Aquino.

She said hundreds of children are experiencing hunger and suffering from diseases due to the inaccessibility of healthcare, water and sanitation.

Save the Children Philippines continues to provide psychosocial support, learning materials and facilities to displaced children in affected provinces of Marawi, Surigao del Sur, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur. These include establishing Child Friendly Spaces, a safe space where children can play and learn and Temporary Learning Spaces where learners and teachers can resume classes.

Place of Birth

William Niccolo M. So

10-03-2012

Angeles City

Alexander Nicholas M. So

12-26-2016

Angeles City

Residence 31-8 Doña Maria St. Diamond Subd.

Balibago, Angeles City, 2024 31-8 Doña Maria St.,Diamond Subd.

Balibago, Angeles City, 2024

14. My character witnesses are Arnel Calaguas and Randy Santos, both Filipino citizens, of legal age, and residing at 643 M.L. Quezon St, Lourdes Sur, East, Angeles City and Vian St., Balibago, Angeles City respectively, who have executed sworn statements attached hereto in support of my instant petition, together with: (a) brief biographical data about themselves; (b) detailed statements on the dates they first came to know me, the circumstances of our initial acquaintance and the reasons and extent of our continuing familiarity; and (c) the number of times they have acted as character witnesses in other petitions for naturalization.

Holy Family Academy Grace Christian College De La Salle Univ.

De La Salle Univ.

College of St. Benilde

Dates of Place of Highest Grade Study School Completed Angeles City 1980-81/1984-85 Grade 5 QC Manila Manila

1985-86/1989-90 4th Year HS 1990-1992 1992-93/1994-95 Bachelor of Arts Major in Human Resources

10. I am able to read, write and speak Filipino and/or any of the following dialects of the Philippines: Pampanga.

11. I have enrolled my minor children of school age in the following public schools or private educational institutions duly recognized by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), where Philipine History, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality:

Name of Child

Name and Place of School

Date of Enrollment

N/A

N/A

N/A

[ / ] a. Petitioner's birth certificate [ / ] b. Petitioner's alien certificate of registration (ACR) [ ] c. Petitioner's native-born certificate of residence (NBCR) [ / ] d. Petitioner's marriage certificate, if married [ ] e. Death certificate of his/her spouse, if widowed [ ] f. Court decree annulling his/her marriage or granting legal separation, if such was the fact [ / ] g. Birth certificates of petitioner's minor children [ ] h. ACRs of petitioner's minor children [ ] i. NBCRs of petitioner's minor children [ / ] j. Affidavits of financial capacity by the petitioner, duly supported by bank certifications, passbooks, stock certificates, or proof of ownership of other properties [ / ] k. Affidavits of at least two (2) credible witnesses who must be Filipino citizens of good reputation in petitioner's place of residence [ / ] l. Medical certificate from a government hospital stating that petitioner is not suffering from mental alienation or a user of prohibited drugs or otherwise a drug dependent and that he/she is not afflicted with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), or any incurable contagious disease. [ / ] m. School diploma and transcript of records of the petitioner from the school/s he or she attended in the Philippines [ ] n. Certifications stating that petitioner's minor children are enrolled in public schools or private educational institutions duly recognized by the DECS, where Philippine history, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality [ / ] o. Petitioner's income tax returns for the past three years [ / ] p. Petitioner's receipts of payment of income tax for the past three years 16. Other documents submitted by the petitioner in support of his/her petition: Certification from Office of City Prosecutor from Angeles City, Certificate of Finality, NBI Clearance, Barangay Clearance, Police Clearance, MTC Clearance, RTC Clearance,Sealed Mental Evaluation Report, Affidavit of Amendment of Nationality.

PRAYER WHEREFORE, it is respectfully prayed that petitioner be conferred Philippine citizenship pursuant to the provisions of Republic Act No, 9139.

Dated at Makati City, Metro Manila, this 19th day of February, 2019.

Glenn G. So Name and Signature of Petitioner Address: 31-8 Doña Maria St., Diamond Subdivision,Angeles City Telephone Number: +63917-8392832 Office Number : (045) 6260570 Right Thumbmark of Petitioner

Petitioner's signature and right thumbmark REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) CITY/MUNICIPALITY OF ANGELES CITY) S.S. I, Glenn Go So of legal age and a resident of 31-8 Doña Maria St.,Diamond Subdivision, Balibago, Angeles City after being duly sworn, depose and say that I am the petitioner herein, that I have read the foregoing petition and know the foregoing petition and known the contents thereof, and that the same is true of my own knowledge.

Glenn Go So Name and Signature of Petitioner SUBCRIBED AND SWORN to before me at Angeles City this _18___ day of February 2019.

12. I shall never be a public charge. I am of good moral character. I believe in the principles underlying the Philippine Constitution. I have conducted myself in a proper and irreproachable manner during the entire period of my residence in the Philippines in my relations with the constituted government as well as with the community in which I am living. I mingled socially with Filipinos and have evinced a sincere desire to learn and embrace the customs,

By Maricel V. Cruz

A

FTER visiting her Roll-on-Roll-off ports and urban poor housing projects, Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo continued with her “sentimental journey” by going to the first Business Process Outsourcing office in the Visayas region.

A day before hosting the Hugpong ng Pagbabago senatorial candidates in Negros Occidental on Monday, Arroyo went to the Teleperformance office in Bacolod City, the first BPO company that established office in the Visayas which she inaugurated when she was President in 2006.

“Like what we did the last time, I want to go to my favorite projects. Of course developing the BPO industry was one of my proudest accomplishments and I remember this was a first in the Visayas when we opened it here. That’s why we visited again in 2010 when I was reviewing my projects,” she said.

Arroyo has been credited for the rise of the BPO industry in the Philippines.

Her pioneering initiatives and her administration’s support to the industry led to its phenomenal growth in the country.

These included the creation of the ITBPAP, creation of the Commission on Information and Communication Technology, providing investor support through the accreditation of buildings used by the industry, completion of infrastructure projects like airports, and training vouchers from the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority worth over P800 million from 2007-09.

During her presidency, BPO industry grew on an average of 65 percent per annum over a decade and had nearly half a million workers by the end of 2009 which was then President

Arroyo’s last full year in office, growing from only $1.3 billion in 2003 to $8.9 billion in 2010.

By the end of her term in 2010, the Philippines has assumed the No. 1 position as top BPO destination. Today there are about 1.3-million Filipinos working in the BPO industry.

It is expected to grow to 1.7-million in the coming years accounting to 10 to 15-percent share of the global market share.

Arroyo was delighted to see the growth of Teleperformance in Bacolod City and the entire country.

“I’m so happy how it has grown and I’m so happy that those who were working here before are still here now in higher positions. That’s really something to be said about the company’s ability to retain its talents. That’s really a ground for congratulations and of course they’ve grown,” she said.

Arroyo has been going on a “sentimental journey” to her favorite projects during her presidency as she prepares to step down from public service on June 30.

BI worried by reports on syndicates

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

By Vito Barcelo IMMIGRATION Commissioner Jaime Morente expressed his concern over reports of the resurgence of a modus operandi recruiting minors to work as household service workers (HSW) abroad.

The BI chief expressed his dismay following reports that syndicates were actively recruiting young women and providing them with fake documents to work abroad.

Morente issued the statement after a distressed worker identified only as “Marie” was able to secure a passport and other documents indicating that she was 23 years old, despite being only 17. Marie was repatriated after working in Saudi Arabia for two years.

“This is a cause for concern for the Bureau. Intercepting them is quite a challenge, as these victims are given original passports and work clearances to make them older than they really are,” he said.

Morente cited an incident in 2018 where the BI intercepted a total of 181 minors and underage OFWs. “Many of them were recruited from Mindanao to work in Middle Eastern countries,” he said.

Morente said last week Immigration Officers from Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 intercepted a Filipina bound for Saudi Arabia holding a valid passport, overseas employment certificate, and a valid working visa.

The victim claimed she was 23 years old, as indicated in her passport and other documents. However, the officer doubted her statement and referred her for secondary inspection.

“Upon secondary inspection, she admitted that she is not yet 23 years old,” BI Port Operations chief Grifton Medina said.

The victim was immediately turned over to the InterAgency Council Against Trafficking for further investigation and assistance.

15. Attached hereto as annexes and made part of this petition are the duplicate originals or certified photocopies of the following documents (please check the appropriate box):

9. I received my primary and secondary education from the following public schools or private educational institutions duly recognized by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS), where Philippine history, government and civics are taught and prescribed as part of the school curriculum and where enrollment is not limited to any race or nationality:

Name of School

GMA takes ‘sentimental journey’ to BPO company

Doc No.46 Page No.103 Book No.XXX Series of 2019 (MS-MAR. 26, APR.2 & 9, 2019)

TEMPORARY SHELTER. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the local government of Quezon City sign a Memorandum of Understanding to provide temporary shelter for rescued streetchildren hooked on solvent sniffing. In photo (from left) are Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte, PDEA Director General Aaron Aquino and Roman Catholic Bishop of Novaliches Rev. Antonio Tobias during MOU signing ceremony in Novaliches, Quezon City. Manny Palmero

Mangudadatu eyes Dept. of Fishing, Aquaculture

By Macon Ramos-Araneta MAGUINDANAO’S second district congressman, now senatorial aspirant Zajid Mangudadatu is eyeing a separate department that will focus on the development of the fishing and aquaculture industry to address the plight of the fisherfolk.

Mangudadatu said he wanted to pursue his long-time proposal to make the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources not just a bureau but a department separate from the Department of Agriculture so that the problems would be addressed faster and allow the industry to grow.

Noting that 30 to 40 percent of the country’s population rely on fishing as a livelihood, Mangudadatu said it was important that a separate department must focus on the plight of the people engaged in fishing.

Mangudadatu said the Philippines was a top fishing country in the AsiaPacific region and had the highest marine diversity, adding it depended on its rich coastal and marine resources.

The lawmaker from Mindanao takes pride in his familiarity with the fisheries and aquaculture industry.

Mangudadatu grew up in a community of fisherfolk and has developed a sense to explore and to de-

velop organic fish farming business.

His initiative later expanded into 300 hectares of fish farms that served as a major supplier of fish products in Mindanao provinces.

As a congressman, Mangudadatu was the senior vice chairperson of the Committee on Aquaculture and Fisheries Resources.

Mangudadatu believes the living conditions of the people in the fishing industry, especially the small fisherfolk, would improve, their production will increase if the sector is given the needed attention.

The improvement in the fishing and aquaculture industry is only one of the legislative of Mangudadatu.

Lawyers group asks Du30 to reconsider veto A GROUP of state lawyers is asking President Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider his veto of the bill that would have corrected a discrepancy in their years of creditable service.

“We, therefore, humbly request you, Mr. President, to grant us equal retirement benefits in parity with our government lawyer counterparts.

Likewise, we seek your help to resolve our prevailing predicament on the incurred gap in our creditable years of service through the payment of the unremitted government share of retirement premiums of the state solicitors to GSIS [Government Service Insurance System] without the added burden of interest,” the Office of the Solicitor General Lawyers Employees Association said in a statement.

The group is asking Malacañang to reconsider the plight of the state solicitors, in view of the veto of the OSG Bill (SB 1823/HB 7376).

On March 30, 2007, Republic Act No. 9417 took effect granting the state solicitors of the OSG, with the rank, prerogative, salaries and privileges of the judges of the lower courts.

Pursuant to Section 3 of the law, the Government Service Insurance System tagged the state solicitors as special members, such that beginning October 2008, the OSG remitted to the GSIS only the life insurance contribution of its state solicitors, which is 3 percent of their monthly compensation as personal share, and a corresponding 3 percent of employer share, for their life insurance coverage. PNA

Sports

A7

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Foton spikers try to end skid Games on Tuesday

(Filoil Flying V Centre) 2:00 p.m. -- Generika-Ayala vs Petron 4:15 p.m. -- Cignal vs PLDT 7:00 p.m. -- Foton vs United VC

FOTON tries to get out of a slump when it battles dangerous United VC in the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix today at the Filoil Flying V Centre in San Juan.

Action starts at 7 p.m. with th Tornadoes hunting for a crucial win that will revive their campaign in this prestigious women’s club league bankrolled by Asics, Mueller, Mikasa, Senoh, Team Rebel Sports, Bizooku, UCPB Gen, Cocolife, Hotel Sogo and Data Project.

Prior to that, Petron seeks its 12th consecutive win when it tangles with resurgent Generika-Ayala at 2 p.m. while Cignal and PLDT Home Fibr jockey for position in the 4:15 encounter of this battle that also has ESPN5 and 5Plus as broadcast partners.

Petron and F2 Logistics, two of the best clubs in the country today, already bagged the twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals, leaving the race for the last two incentives wide open for PLDT (7-5), Cignal (6-6) and United VC (5-5) to vie.

Two-time champion Foton, meanwhile, is struggling.

After winning its opening-day match over United VC, the Tornadoes suffered a string of misfortune, prompting them to replace Selime Ilyasoglu of Turkey with Milagros Collar of Spain while bringing back Dindin Manabat, who campaigned in the prestigious V.Premier League in Japan.

Still, it wasn’t effective as the Tornadoes’ slide had extended to nine games, sending them all the way to the bottom of the team standings with a 1-9 win-loss card.

“We hope to finally end our losing streak. Our lone win this conference is also against them (United VC) so we hope we can do it again on Tuesday,” said Foton coach Aaron Velez, who will bank on Collar, Courtney Felinski, Elaine Kasilag, Maika Ortiz, Shaya Adorador and Manabat for firepower.

Amelie Hotel is PSA Forum’s newest home THE Philippine Sportswriters Association resumes its regular weekly Sports Forum today (March 26) at its new home—the Amelie Hotel Manila along J. Bocobo St in Malate.

Serving as main guests are the participants in the PRUride PH 2019, the country’s largest cycling festival, along with the Philippine Rugby Football Union.

Appearing as part of PRUride PH are celebrity hosts Gretchen Ho and Kim Atienza, Go For Gold’s Edz Hualda, Ismael Gorospe, and Ronnel Hualda, and Ric Rodriguez and champion rider Marcelo Felipe representing 711.

Meanwhile, Jake Letts, general manager of the Philippine Volcanoes, will discuss the Philippine Rugby youth program in the session presented by San Miguel Beer, Tapa King, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation.

Also during the forum, winners in the recent Philippine Open photo contest held in Ilagan, Isabela will be announced in a short awarding ceremony to be graced by Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association President Philip Ella Juico.

The Forum starts at 10 a.m. PSA President Dodo Catacutan of SPIN.ph enjoins members to attend the session.

Braves...

From A8

Rivera finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds, Melencio added 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Laureno had 15 points and seven rebounds for the Braves.

Manila dropped to 3-1.

Earlier, the Binangonan Slashers bested Rizal Leadlink, 87-83, for their third win in five matches.

Ivan Cuyong came off the bench to lead the Slashers with 25 points and seven rebounds.

Ernest Oduca added 16 points and Miguel Agulto contributed a double double with 15 points and 14 rebounds.

Edzel Mag-isa paced Leadlink with 20 points and 19 rebounds, followed by Larry Rivera with 16.

PTT LUBRICANTS SHOWCASED AT ANNUAL BIKEFEST. PTT Lubricants, Thailand’s No. 1 Brand in engine oil, showcased its wide range of high-quality products for automotive and motorcycles during the 13th Annual Bike Festival and Trade Show held over the weekend at the World Trade Center Metro Manila in Pasay City. Hundreds of bike enthusiasts (right photo) visited the PTT Lubricants booth to avail of promo and other freebies during the three-day event. PTT Philippines top executives (left photo) led by its President and Chief Executive Officer Sukanya Seriyothin, Marketing Director Thitiroj Rergsumran, Director for Fuel and Lubricants Vittaya Viboonterawud and PTT Thailand’s International Commercial Department Area Manager Nopphapadol Prajamthaen also paid a visit to join the festivities.

Warriors reach 50 wins; Rockets nail playoff spot

L

OS ANGELES—James Harden delivered 28 points as the Houston Rockets punched their ticket to the NBA postseason with a 113-90 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, even as the Golden State Warriors breached the 50-win mark.

Harden, who scored a combined 118 points in his previous two games, didn’t need to maintain his torrid pace against the Pelicans.

The Rockets led by 19 at the half and Harden’s supporting cast did their job by shutting down the Pelicans in the second and not allowing them to get back into the contest.

“We were professional tonight from the beginning of the game,” Harden said. “We’ve had previous games where teams weren’t as good, or whatever you want to call it, and we kind of let up and we let one slip. So that was a good job from top to bottom.”

NBA scoring leader Harden exploded for a career-high-tying 61 points in a win over San Antonio on Friday after netting 57 points in a loss to Memphis on Wednesday.

Harden, who is averaging 36.4 points per game, hit 10 of 19 shots from the floor and made six threes for the Rock-

ets, who remained in third place in the Western Conference.

Rockets guards Eric Gordon scored 18 points and Chris Paul had 10 points and 13 assists against their former Pelican team.

Elsewhere, Giannis Antetokounmpo tallied 26 points and 10 rebounds as the NBA-leading Milwaukee Bucks avenged a loss to Cleveland earlier in the week by beating the Cavaliers 127-105.

Antetokounmpo missed two of the three previous games with an ankle injury and did not play four days ago when the Cavaliers beat the Bucks 107-102.

He had a big impact on Sunday, adding seven assists, blocking four shots and shooting 11-of-16 from the field in 32 minutes of playing time.

Milwaukee improved to a leagueleading 55-19 record, ahead of the Toronto Raptors, who are 51-23.

George Hill, who was traded to the Bucks by the Cavaliers in December, and

Khris Middleton scored 17 points each, and Brook Lopez scored all 14 of his points in the first half for Milwaukee.

Kevin Love finished with 20 points, 19 rebounds and four three pointers in the loss.

In Oakland, Stephen Curry returned from a rest game to score 26 points, Klay Thompson finished with 24 and the Golden State Warriors rebounded from an embarrassing blowout loss with a 121-114 win over the Detroit Pistons.

The Warriors decided to rest Curry on Saturday and it cost them as they were clobbered 126-91 by the Dallas Mavericks.

He came back strong against the Pistons as Kevin Durant also finished with 14 points and 11 assists.

The Warriors improved to 50-23 on the season and moved back into the first seed in the Western Conference by a half-game over Denver. This is the sixth consecutive season Golden State has reached 50 wins.

“It’s kind of surreal, to be honest,” Warriors guard Curry said after the game.

“You talk about the history of the organization, how hard it is to win NBA games, win championships and string together (wins) year after year after year.” AFP

Organizers welcome new SEAG sponsor THE Philippine South East Asian Games Organizing Committee has partnered with rehydration specialist Pocari Sweat to be the exclusive rehydration isotonic drink of the 30th South East Asian games.

PHISGOC Chairperson Alan Peter Cayetano welcomed Pocari Sweat to its roster of growing private partners which have signified their support to ensure the Philippine’s successful hosting of the games.

Yoshihiro Bando, President, PT. Amerta Indah Otsuka, signed the MOA on behalf of the gold sponsor.

Launched in the eighties, POCARI SWEAT has established its brand across Asia.

Although it has been regular partner of the Asian Games, this is the first time Pocari Sweat will hitch its name to the Southeast Asian Games.

PHISGOC assured their international private partners that they will be given the best value for their sponsorship noting that the Philippines have raised the standards of hosting such an international tournament.

Earlier this year, PHISGOC welcomed the entry of Ajinomoto, Asics, Atos, GL Events, Grand Sport, Marathon, Mikasa, Molten and Philippine Airlines to its growing list of sponsors ensuring that the games are successful with the participation of both government and international giant sponsors combined.

The 30th SEA Games will be broadcast in partnership with Media Pro Asia.

Bataan, Manila start semis tiff

IRONMAN WINNERS. Alveo IRONMAN Davao 70.3 presented by Petron pro winners Czech Radka Kahlefeldt and Markus Rolli of Germany (second and third from left, respectively) pose with Davao Mayor Sara Duterte (fourth from left) during awards rites at Azuela Cove Sunday. With them are (from left) organizing Sunrise Events, Inc. general manager Princess Galura, Alveo Land president Robert Lao and Alveo Land COO Rufino Gutierrez.

LOCKER ROOM RANDY CALUAG THE Go Pilipinas Go movement takes off today, with a mission not only to help drumbeat the country’s hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian games, but more importantly, magnify unity among sports officials.

No less than Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Butch Ramirez, Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee (Phisgoc) chief All Peter Cayetano, Team Philippines chef de mission Monsour Del Rosario, Para Games chief Mike Barredo and Philippine Olympic Committee Chairman Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino are expected to attend the festive event.

Tolentino will represent POC president Ricky Vargas, who will not be able to attend due to an official trip abroad.

BATAAN waited nearly a year for a return bout with Manila, the first team which dealt the Risers their first loss in the MPBL Datu Cup. On Tuesday, the two powerhouse squads meet again at the start of the northern division best-of-three semifinals series at the People’s Center in Balanga, Bataan.

With the stakes getting higher and games getting tougher, expect the Zetapro-backed Risers and the Robust Energy-sponsored Stars to bring out their A-game in their 9 p.m. encounter today right after the start of the San JuanQuezon City series opener at 7 p.m.

“The real playoffs begins for us this time,” said Bataan head coach Jojo Lastimosa, who still recalls his team’s firstever loss in the tournament at the hands of the Stars. “There were a lot of changes happened. This is a different Bataan team

Games Tuesday

(Bataan People’s Center)

7 p.m. – San Juan vs Quezon City 9 p.m. – Bataan vs Manila

and they’re also a different Manila team.

Both teams have become better as the tournament progresses. This will be our biggest test in the tournament.”

The series between San Juan and Quezon City is equally as exciting.

For the Big J Sports-backed Knights, it’s a chance to restore the old winning tradition.

Nearly two decades ago, San Juan won a championship in the Metropolitan Basketball Association, the precursor of the MPBL. The man who steered the Knights to the championship was Philip Cezar, who is now handling Manila.

For Quezon City, it’s an opportunity to redeem its lost pride.

Sports officials unite for SEA Games This event aims to jumpstart the Philippine’s enormous task of hosting the regional multi-sport event set Nov. 30–Dec. 11.

In attendance are the national athletes, who will be given tributes and joy through musical performances by well-known bands, and inspirational messages by alltime sports heroes like bowing legend Bong Coo, Olympic boxing silver medalist Onyok Velasco and Olympic weightlifting silver medalist Hidilyn Diaz.

The top sports officials are perceived to have lack the chemistry and harmony in getting their act together to ensure the successful hosting, and of course, give Team Pilipinas, a lofty finish in the biennial meet.

This is the best time now for top sports honchos to show to athletes, and the general public, that they can unite for country’s sake, and leave their personal interests behind. They will be given a white dove each and will be asked

to release them in the air, all at once.

It would be the most significant image in the most opportune time—with them all smiles, sincerely agreeing to get their roles done.

After all, the POC, PSC and Phisgoc have all erased doubts about the country pushing through with the hosting of the Games.

“Unang-una, matutuloy ang SEA Games. Nakakahiya naman tayo kung di natin gagawin ito (SEA Games),” said Vargas during a recent POC General Assembly meeting.

Calling an end to disharmony, Vargas said: “Let’s all work together and move forward.”

Ramirez earlier said that “there’s no way we’re turning back.”

“We have to work together. The only solution is to proceed and dispel all doubts. Matutuloy ito (SEA Games),” assured Ramirez, who has given his all-out support to the Go Pilipinas Go movement.

Cayetano also came out with a state-

ment saying that “all preparations for the 30th South East Asian games are in full swing.”

“Despite the budget cuts and various challenges confronting the Philippine hosting of the 30th SEA games, we are unfazed and determined to make this successful. We are determined to pursue our task and responsibility which was given to us by President Rodrigo Duterte last year,” he said.

There seems to an air of animosity prevailing among sports leaders and they have to prove otherwise. Maybe, they just need to talk and discuss among themselves—something which they have not done yet.

This would be the first time that these sports officials are doing this act of peace and unity together. We just hope this would spur better things to come for Philippine sports.

Parang-awa niyo na. Para sa bayan.

Sports

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

A8

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

Go Pilipinas Go stages pep rally for SEAG hosting MEMBERS of the national team will join several sporting legends as well as coaches and sports officials on Tuesday when the GoPilipinasGo movement stages pep rally and concert for Team Philippines in the coming Southeast Asian Games.

The program, which starts at 5 p.m., will also serve as grand launch of the GoPilipinasGo movement which was created to help drumbeat the SEA Games as well as the Philippines’ drive for overall championship.

The SEA Games will stage the SEA Games on Nov. 30-Dec. 11, for the fourth time ever.

The GoPilipinasGo Athletes Rallly will be held aptly at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Field which has a rich history being the site of many victories by the national baseball and softball teams through the years.

A stage is set at the left field of the stadium which bore witness to the historic home runs of several baseball greats like Babe Ruth, Charlie Gehringer and Lou Gehrig who once played there.

Among the legends invited to the affair are Lydia de Vega, Elma MurosPosadas, Bong Coo, Paeng Nepomuceno, Eric Buhain, Onyok Velasco, Roel Velasco, Akiko Thomson-Guevara, Renato Unso, Stephen Fernandez and Bea Lucero.

The SEA Games was held in the country in 1981, 1991 and 2005. And some of the standouts of those editions are also expected to grace the rally.

Entrance is free to the public who will not only see their favourite athletes but also top bands like Johnny Cross, Silver Box and This Band.

Some 500 events from 56 sports will be played in the SEA Games slated in several spots in Luzon including New Clark City in Tarlac which will stage the swimming and track and field competitions.

The Philippines won the overall title only once, in 2005 when the Games was staged in the country for the third time.

Also expected to attend are top officials of the Philippine Olympic Committee, Philippine Southeast Asian Games Organizing Committee and Philippine Sports Commission as well as several other government agencies involved.

Ateneo hands NU 1st setback in lawn tennis ATENEO handed National University its first loss in the men’s division with a 4-1 victory Sunday in the UAAP Season 81 lawn tennis tournament at the Colegio de San Agustin courts in City of San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.

The Bulldogs though remained at the top of the standings with a 9-1 record, while the Blue Eagles, who have won six consecutive ties, rose to 8-2.

Not far behind is University of Santo Tomas, which scored a 4-1 win over Adamson University to keep its twice-to-beat bonus bid alive with a 7-3 card.

University of the Philippines fashioned out a 3-2 victory over De La Salle to tie defending champion University of the East at 5-5.

The Lady Archers, meanwhile, formalized their entry into the women’s Finals after a five-year absence following a 4-1 conquest of the Tigresses.

De La Salle raised its league’s best record to 6-1.

The Lady Eagles moved into a tie with the Lady Bulldogs in second at 4-3 via a 3-2 decision over the Lady Maroons.

With its fifth loss in seven ties, UST saw it reign end, while UP finished the season with a 2-6 card.

Meanwhile, University of Santo Tomas completed a reversal of twice-tobeat De La Salle, 9-2, to arrange a fourth straight championship duel with Adamson University in the UAAP Season 81 softball tournament Monday at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.

Behind Celyn Ojare, the Tigresses overcame a 0-2 start to advance in the best-of-three championship.

For the fourth year in a row, UST will try to end one of the league’s enduring dynasty.

PLAYERS’ CUP 2019 CHAMPION. Marty Romualdez (right) of the White Team tries to control the ball against the tight defense of Team Blue’s Bruce Colley (center) during the High Goal Players’ Cup of the Argentine Republic at the Enrique Zobel Field, Manila Polo Club, Makati City. At left is Jay De Jesus. Romualdez scored a backhand goal in the last minute of the 4th chukker to secure the victory for the White Team, 5-3. Marty is the youngest son of Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Atty. Martin Romualdez. The tournament is backed by the Manila Standard. Ver Noveno

7-foot standout Kai leaves Ateneo to chase NBA dream

By Peter Atencio

T

HERE is no stopping high school standout Kai Sotto from leaving the Ateneo Blue Eaglets.

Once the 7’2” Sotto finishes 11th grade, he is free to leave the country and pursue his dreams of playing in the National Basketball Association someday.

Epok Quimpo, manager of the Ateneo Basketball Program, said this after the 16-year-old Sotto announced his decision to leave the school in an Instagram message to his followers late Monday evening.

“Pinag-isipan ko po ito ng mabuti.

I will train very hard and sacrifice and focus in the next few years so that one day soon, you will be very proud of me.

Gagawin ko po ang lahat ng makakaya

ko, with the guidance of my dad and mom, to be the very best that I can be,” said Sotto on his message.

Sotto plans of making it to the NBA by 2021 or 2022. If he makes it, he will be the first pure-blooded Filipino in the league.

“Ateneo has been consistent in terms of support for Kai, whether he stays with the school, or he goes,” said Quimpo, who had talks with Sotto’s father Ervin, a former professional basketball player.

Quimpo said the school will let Sotto finish his academic obligations first.

Sotto, who played for three years with the Blue Eaglets, averaged 25.1 points, 13.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.6 blocks in 29.7 minutes on his final season.

The Blue Eaglets went on to settle for runner-up honors in the last season of the UAAP junior

basketball tournament after losing to the Nazareth School-National National University Bullpups.

Despite the loss, Sotto still claimed the season Most Valuable Player award.

Several European teams are interested in Sotto, but his father Ervin and his guardian, Arben Santos, have not discussed this in public.

Clubs like the EuroLeague’s Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and Baskonia, Bundesliga’s Alda Berlin and Liga ACB’s Movistar Estudiantes are among those interested.

“After a lot of effort by me and my dad to assess all the opportunities presented to me, I strongly feel, with his advice and the advice of other experienced mentors, that leaving immediately to start training and getting the right exposure will go a long way to help me realize my dream,” wrote Sotto.

2 SEAG sports in danger of being delisted TWO events calendared in the 30th Southeast Asian Games are in danger of getting delisted.

Women’s baseball and obstacle course racing are not getting enough participants, according to Tom Carrasco, senior deputy director general of the Philippine SEA Games Organizing Committee.

“Kulang ng entries ang mga sports na ito. We will know this week,” said Carrasco, as organizers received communication last week from member nations on their entries by number.

Carrasco said this after emerging from a meeting with PHISGOC officials at the SM Aura in Taguig.

There are only two participants from women’s baseball that have confirmed from host Philippines and Thailand.

As for obstacle course racing, Thailand and Myanmar have

confirmed entries, along with host Philippines.

Organizers learned about the number of participants per sports following submissions made by several countries.

So far, Indonesia is listed to have the biggest delegation with 1,900 entries.

Carrasco talked about the state of preparations for the Games after the PHISGOC welcomed rehydration specialist Pocari Sweat as their 12th sponsor.

PHISGOC Chairman Alan Peter Cayetano made this possible following a memorandum of agreement which he signed with Otsuka Solar Philippines Inc., President Kohei Oyamad during a sponsorship signing ceremony yesterday morning at SM Aura in Taguig.

Cayetano said they have 13 more sponsors that are coming in to support the Games. Peter Atencio

Kai Sotto Photo by Arvin Lim

Braves outlast Kings in Founders Cup tilt GENERAL Trias outlasted Manila, 106-100, in overtime in a battle between unbeaten teams in the 2019 Community Basketball Association-Pilipinas Founders Cup at the San Andres Sports Complex in Malate.

The Braves scored three straight triples courtesy of Jeff Tajonera, Justice Laureno and Jonathan Rivera for a crippling 9-1 run at the start of the extra period to frustrate the Sausage Kings and clinch their fourth straight win in the South division.

The nine-point explosion in a two-minute span put the Braves ahead for good, 97-89, thereby silencing the pro-Sausage Kings crowd.

Manila threatened for the last time at 96-101 on a driving layup by Wowie Rescosio with still two minutes left, but Chester Ian Melencio of General Trias responded with four straights points to make it 105-95.

Turn to A7

Foreign aces boost PH Golf Tour Riviera cast

Former Singapore amateur titlist Choo Tze Huang eyes a strong finish at PGT Asia Riviera.

SINGAPORE’S Choo Tze Huang, Gregory Foo and Marc Ong along with Canadian Lindsey Renolds and Thais Poom Saksansin and Tawan Phongpun hope to make the most of their stint in the ICTSI Riviera Golf Challenge, all aiming for a top finish when the Philippine Golf Tour Asia event is fired off tomorrow (Wednesday, March 27) in Silang, Cavite.

The six are among the 16 invitees to the $100,000 championship serving as the penultimate leg of the second PGT Asia through 2018-19 put up by ICTSI with Huang and former fellow national team mainstays Foo and Ong marking their return to local turf where they fought many a battle with the local aces during their amateur days.

The event also serves as prelude to the 101st Solaire Philippine Open

on April 3-6 at The Country Club in Laguna, making this week’s 72-hole championship at the tight, hazardladen Langer layout crucial for majority of the 120-player field heading to Asia’s oldest National Open at one of the country’s toughest courses.

Spain’s Marcos Pastor, who topped the recent PGT Q-School at the windraked Splendido, is also in the fold along with American Ben Weir, Taiwanese Wang Tsung Chieh, Yang Fei Hao and Lee Chao Ha and Teegan Moore and Dean Fourie of South Africa and Thai Kammalas Namuangruk.

Former Asia’s No. 1 and Japan PGA Tour campaigner Juvic Pagunsan has also signed up for both events organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., joining reigning PGT Order of Merit winner and defending champion Jobim Carlos as spearheads

of the local challenge in the event that also features fellow top guns Jhonnel Ababa, Tony Lascuña, Clyde Mondilla and Jay Bayron.

Angelo Que, who tied for 25th in last Sunday’s Maybank Championship, is also in both the Riviera and Phl Open rosters, further toughening up the Filipinos’ bid in the twin events marking a busy schedule for the locals and foreign bidders alike.

But the Filipino aces brace for a tough encounter with the talentladen foreign delegation boosted by PGTA leg winners David Gleeson and Damien Jordan of Australia, PGT titlist Nicolas Paez of the US, Thai stalwarts Pasavee Lertvilai, Wisut Artjanawat and Nirun Sae-ueng, PGT winner Guido Van der Valk of the Netherlands, and Americans Brett Munson and Joshua Salah.

IN BRIEF ING sees inflation dropping in March

THE inflation rate is expected to decelerate further in March from a oneyear low of 3.8 percent in February, enough to hit a three-month average that is within the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent, ING Bank Manila said Monday.

ING Bank senior economist Nicholas Mapa said the bank’s preliminary estimate showed that inflation would be lower in March. “... For sure (inflation) will be lower than 3.8 percent. Even BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipina)’s forecasts point to 3.0 percent average for 2019 and 2020 and Deputy Governor Guinigundo indicates that inflation will continue to decelerate all the way until the fourth quarter given base effects and normalizing supply chains,” Mapa replied in a text message.

The government is scheduled to release the March inflation data next week.

Inflation in February further eased to a one-year low of 3.8 percent from 4.4 percent a month ago, pulled down mainly by slower increases in the prices of key commodities, especially food and beverages, the Philippine Statistics Authority said. Julito G. Rada

Business

Parañaque, CAB sign licensing process deal

THE Civil Aeronautics Board and the city government of Parañaque signed a milestone memorandum of understanding during the formal launching of the city’s Project Express Lane Operation, or Project ELO, to simplify and integrate the licensing process.

The agreement was signed by Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez and CAB Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla in the presence of acting Director General Ernesto Perez of the Anti-Red Tape Authority and Melanie Malaya, head of the city’s Business Permits and Licensing Office during a simple ceremony at the city hall.

The city government launched Project ELO to simplify and integrate business permit renewal system in a bid to enhance investor confidence and improve service delivery to local and foreign investors.

CAB and the the Parañaque government will implement a system viewing and access through Project ELO for verification of business permits issued to CAB stakeholders and applicants to reduce the required documentary submissions for applications.

Megawide tapped to build Maynilad’s new treatment plant

By Jenniffer B. Austria MEGAWIDE Construction Corp. and the MUL Consortium said Monday they started the construction of Maynilad Water Services Inc.’s water reclamation facility in Las Piñas City.

Megawide said in a statement the water reclamation facility was the company’s first water project. It is also Maynilad’s largest wastewater treatment plant with a capacity of 88 million liters per day.

“This is our first engineering project in wastewater treatment and we’re proud to be the partner to Maynilad in this undertaking. Together with MUL, we are looking forward to delivering a first-world facility that meets the standards of Maynilad and benefits the greater community,” said Megawide deputy head for construction Eric Tan. Under the plan, Megawide and MUL will deliver the design and build the component of the Las Piñas water reclamation facility.

MUL is comprised of Toshiba Water Solutions, an international environmental services company that specializes in wastewater collection, treatment and disposal; and Filipino company LinkEnergie, one of the leading electromechanical contractors in the Philippines.

LinkEnergie chief executive Francisco Matias said the new WRF would support the Supreme Court-mandated cleanup efforts for Manila Bay. “Once the Las Piñas water reclamation facility is operational, it will process raw sewage to conform to DENR standards of cleanliness. It will discharge only clean water into the river system that drains directly to Manila Bay,” Matias said.

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

B1

Govt eyeing to collect P22b from offshore gaming firms

By Julito G. Rada

NGCP energizes line in Pampanga

NATIONAL Grid Corp. of the Philippines recently energized the new P316-million Hermosa-Floridablanca 69-kiloVolt (kV) transmission line, bringing more reliable transmission services to customers in the Pampanga area.

“Due to the load growth in the area, the 53-year old existing line cannot accommodate the heavy loading conditions and would have caused problems in the long run. A new line was required to ensure the reliability of power transmission services,” NGCP said in a press statement.

The project was included in the list of the projects declared as energy project of national significance in January.

The line, approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission, will prevent the overloading of the aging HermosaGuagua 69kV line.

The project also complies with the N-1 component set by the Philippine Grid Code, which refers the ability of the grid to withstand a major system disturbance with minimal disruption to the system.

Alena Mae S. Flores

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

FIRST METRO’S AWARDS. For eight years in a row, First Metro Investment Corp., the investment banking arm of the Metrobank Group, wins the Top Corporate Securities Market Maker at the 2019 PDS Annual Awards. It also ranks fifth in two categories: Top 5 Fixed Income Dealing Participants and Top 5 Corporate Issue Managers/Arrangers (Investment House). Whollyowned subsidiary First Metro Securities Brokerage Corp. ranks fourth in the Top 5 Depository Brokering Participants category.

Attending the awarding ceremony are (from left) Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp. president and chief operating officer Antonino Nakpil, Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner Vicente Felizmenio, First Metro vice president Melissa Dimayuga, First Metro first vice president Arsenio Kenneth Ona and PDS officer-in-charge Ma. Teresa Ravalo.

SMC to break ground on Quezon expressway

By Darwin G. Amojelar

S

AN Miguel Corp.’s subsidiary South Luzon Tollway Corp. will break ground today for the extension of South Luzon Expressway from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Lucena City, Quezon.

San Miguel said the 66.74-kilometer South Luzon Expressway Toll Road 4 would significantly reduce travel time between the provinces south of Metro Manila.

“Once we finish this tollway, the peace and order situation in Quezon and Bicol will improve. Local tourism will improve. New businesses will emerge.

Progress will be brought to the level of the small towns and barangays,” SMC president and chief operating officer Ramon Ang said.

The toll road will shorten the travel time from Sto. Tomas, Batangas to Barangay Mayao in Lucena City from the usual three hours to just 45 minutes.

This is expected to boost economic activity through the faster transport and delivery of goods and services and cut vehicle volume along the busy Maharlika Highway which is one of the main roads leading to the provinces of Laguna, Batangas, Quezon and the Bicol region.

“We believe that TR4 will further unlock the economic potential and promote tourism in Laguna, Batangas, Quezon and Bicol provinces,” Ang said.

Ang said the project was expected to be completed in three years or by 2021.

“With the growing population of Metro Manila, more and more people and businesses will move to

these provinces due to these areas’ proximity. We will continue to invest in modern toll roads and expressways that are at par with our neighbors in Asia. Under the leadership of President [Rodrigo] Duterte and Secretary Mark Villar, the TR4 project finally gets underway, and I look forward to inaugurating this project in 36 months,” he said.

The toll road will be divided into six sections, namely: Sto Tomas, Batangas to Makban in Laguna (11.32 km); Makban to San Pablo City (12.75 km); San Pablo to Tiaong in Quezon (7.5 km); Tiaong to Candelaria (15 km); Candelaria to Tayabas (10.21 km); and Tayabas to Lucena (9.96 km).

TR4 is a part of SLTC’s 30-year concession which will last until 2036.

Apart from SLEx, San Miguel’s Star Tollway Corp. also operates Star Tollway, Skyway and the Naia Expressway in the south and TarlacPangasinan-La Union Expressway in the northern part of Luzon.

CHERISHING WATER. Children enjoy

the water supply in Purok 5, Barangay Depore, Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur. Ninety families in a farming community in Zamboanga del Sur now enjoy a steady supply of safe, potable water in their village, ending 24 years of having no direct access to basic drinking water. The project is funded by TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc., a mining company operating the Agata Nickel Project in Agusan del Norte province and the ongoing final mine rehabilitation of its gold and copper project in Zamboanga del Norte province.

ERC approves feed-in tariff of P0.22/kWh

By Alena Mae S. Flores

P2.4-b hydroelectric power plant opens in Oriental Mindoro CALAPAN CITY―Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi led the inauguration of the P2.4-billion hydroelectric power plant considered as the first successful renewable energy project in Mindoro Island.

The completion of the 10-megawatt Inabasan Hydro-Electric Power Plant is in response to the government’s call to “develop the country’s hydro-power resources essential to meeting energy demand over the next 10 years,” according to project developer Ormin Power Inc. The IHPP is owned and operated by OPI, an independent power provider and the power-generation subsidiary of Jolliville Holdings Corp. chaired by businessman Jolly Ting.

“The completion of the Inabasan hydroelectric power plant is a realization of the vision of harnessing renewable energy to provide clean, sustainable and affordable energy to Oriental Mindoro

THE government said Monday it will soon complete the list of foreign nationals working in Philippine offshore gaming operations with the goal of collecting over P22 billion in annual income taxes from them.

Members of an interagency task force presided by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III discussed several measures to complete the foreign workers’ list after they discovered gaps or inconsistencies in the respective figures they initially submitted.

The task force agreed to meet again with the Finance chief on March 29 to come up with the complete list.

“There are still gaps in the numbers and we need to close those gaps.

In our computations, there is at least P22 billion a year not being collected in the income taxes from these Pogo workers who could possibly exceed 100,000 in number,” Dominguez said during the meeting held at the Department of Finance central office in Manila.

He said the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Department of Labor and Employment, the Securities and Exchange Commission, Bureau of Immigration and various special economic zones needed to come up with a comprehensive list of foreign workers in Pogos.

“We have to get a clear picture here. If we do not have that, how can the BIR [Bureau of Internal Revenue] do its job which is to collect taxes from everybody so that we are being fair to all Filipinos who are paying their taxes?” Dominguez said.

BIR deputy commissioner Arnel Guballa said an initial 64 out of 205 service providers of Pogos showed that they employed a total of 33,000 foreign workers or an average of 515 per service provider.

He said with 515 foreign workers employed in about 200 service providers, the government should be collecting income taxes from about 103,000 foreigners working here.

to support the growth and development of the province,” Ting said.

Supposed to be completed in 2016 two years after it started in 2014, the power project suffered a three-year delay because of four big typhoons― Nona, Nina, Urduja and Usman―that battered the island in those years.

The project undertook rehabilitation and major repair works because of the damage wrought by the typhoons. From an initial P1.6 billion, the project cost climbed to P2 billion.

Cusi congratulated Ting as chairman of Ormin Power.

Other officials who witnessed the inauguration are San Teodoro mayor Salvador Py, the host municipality, Calapan City mayor Arnan Panaligan, former governor and congressman Rodolfo Valencia and First and Second District Representatives Salvador Leachon and

Reynaldo Umali.

OPI, as a dynamic emerging powergeneration company on Mindoro Island established in 2019, completed its first power-generation project―a 9.6-megawatt modular Diesel Power Plant in Barangay Sta. Isabel, Calapan in 2011.

OPI executive vice president Jose Ilagan said the Inabasan mini-hydro power plant was “considered as the first renewable energy project undertaken and completed by an independent power provider, the Ormin Power Inc.” on Mindoro Island.

The completion of the Inabasan hydro-power represents the first phase of the 30-megawatt hydro-power project that is being done in three stages.

“The second phase, involving another 10-MW hydro plant, is now in the pipeline and up for implementation,” said Ting.

THE Energy Regulatory Commission said Monday it approved a new feedin tariff allowance of P0.2226 per kilowatt-hour, representing a reduction of P0.0337 per kWh from the current rate of P0.2563 per kWh. The agency granted National Transmission Corp. a FIT-All rate of P0.2226 per kWh, which was also P0.0706 lower than the latter’s proposed rate of P0.2932 per kWh. “This reduction in the FIT-All will mitigate the impact of the impending increase in rates due to the expected increase in electric power demand and dwindling power supply in the coming summer months,” ERC chairperson Agnes Devanadera said.

FIT-All is a uniform charge in peso per kWh collected from all electricity users. It is calculated and set annually.

The latest rate was based on the 2018 power generation.

Distribution utilities, National Grid Corp. of the Philippines and retail electricity suppliers serve as collecting agents and the proceeds go to the FITAll Fund which is being administered

by TransCo. The FIT-All mechanism was established pursuant to the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 which aims to spur the development of renewable power sources such as wind, solar, run-ofriver, hydro and biomass facilities.

It is an incentive scheme that gives priority to renewable energy producers.

“The new FIT-All rate shall be charged to all on-grid consumers supplied with electricity through the distribution or transmission network starting the immediately succeeding billing period following TransCo’s receipt of the ERC decision,” Devanadera said.

B2

Business

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 extrastory2000@gmail.com

PH, Asian stock markets plunge P HILIPPINE stocks tumbled Monday on profit-taking while the rest of Asian markets plunged Monday after a sharp sell-off on Wall Street, fueled by concerns about the global economy and a possible recession in the United States.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index plummeted 150.40 points, or 1.9 percent, to 7,863.02 on a value turnover of P5.4 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 142 to 47, with 41 issues unchanged.

JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei Jr. dropped 4.3 percent to P61.65, while SM Investment Corp. of the Sy Group declined 3.8 percent to P934.

Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender in terms of assets, fell 3.3 percent to P85.10, while PLDT Inc., the largest telecommunications firm, lost 3 percent to P1,149.

Elsewhere, there appeared to be very little reaction to news that an investigation found no evidence of collusion between Donald Trump’s election campaign and Russia, which observers said removed some uncertainty from markets.

After a broad-based rally since the start of the year built on hopes for China-US trade talks and a more dovish Federal Reserve, dealers have been spooked by signs of a worldwide slowdown.

“It’s pretty clear we’ve seen a shift in momentum,” said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets Asia Pacific. “What changed Friday was that there was a strong response to the weakness in growth.”

All three main indexes on Wall Street

ended sharply down, while London and Frankfurt were both two percent off.

The losses filtered through to Asia, where Tokyo was hammered 3.2 percent by the break owing to a surge in the yen, which is considered a safe haven in times of turmoil.

Hong Kong dropped more than two percent in the afternoon and Shanghai closed two percent off, while Sydney shed 1.1 percent, Singapore dropped 1.4 percent and Seoul sank 1.9 percent.

There was also heavy selling in Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta.

US and European equities went into reverse Friday as the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds fell below those for three-month notes—the first time this had happened since before the global financial crisis in 2007.

This so-called inverted yield curve shows investors are more willing to buy long-term debt—usually considered higher risk—as they consider the short-

term outlook more risky.

The yield curve is closely watched since it has inverted prior to recessions in recent decades.

The rush to the 10-year US bond market followed weak manufacturing data out of the US, eurozone giant Germany and France.

That came days after the Fed’s announcement that it was unlikely to lift interest rates this year owing to unease about the US and global economy.

“Realistically, the European data has generally been poor for most of the year anyway, so this in itself isn’t news,” said OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley.

“The US data has been middling, but both confirm what everyone already knew, the global economy is slowing down after a 10-year quantitativeeasing-induced bull run,” he added, referring to the massive program of post-crisis stimulus. With AFP

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW MONDAY, MARCH 25, 2019

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 58.5 1,200 85.1 1,586,130 2.24 33,000 132.4 1,544,320 1.42 1,000 27.3 50,900 19.02 3,300 12.3 326,100 4.16 22,000 7.86 300 0.58 16,000 825 10 0.465 10,000 79.45 1,125,570 1 578,000 13.86 70,600 21.2 1,500 60 429,490 190 2,490 113.1 20 58.05 480 26.6 36,100 167.7 399,040 1,850 5 60.85 29,060

70,200 135,704,115 73,570 203,178,797 1,420 1,386,960 62,972 4,025,484 92,120 2,358 9,280 8,250 4,650 89,210,887.50 576,390 962,784 31,515 25,747,213.50 471,460 2,262 27,931.50 959,440 67,180,265 9,250 1,768,166.50

70,200 -36,181,950.50 37,606,598 -57,310 -386,436 11,112,440.50 -60,000 -3,482,988.50 -678,120 23,744,904 -1,313,144

34.5 14.3 1.01 1.49 0.231 2.71 15.5 112 29.4 14.7 89.95 1.85 5.5 6.19 11.2 15.9 9.25 7.24 20.9 78.5 27.55 2.24 10.24 12.7 308 10.5 24.4 12.5 20.6 377 0.193 5.9 1.36 3.96 6.53 1.37 12.08 49.15 5.85 4.8 1.78 2.63 1.34 12 101.3 6.62 0.96 142.6 2.52 1.68 1.25

INDUSTRIAL 35.4 717,800 14.34 719,700 1.01 2,161,000 1.51 1,334,000 0.24 440,000 2.75 8,972,000 15.7 465,900 112 140 29.75 71,700 15.6 7,400 89.95 100 1.86 354,000 5.5 10,200 6.26 5,300 11.26 2,622,400 16 3,766,900 9.3 748,500 7.32 880,700 20.9 1,716,500 78.7 243,190 27.8 120,100 2.28 6,856,000 10.38 7,961,400 12.8 1,138,500 316 2,737,700 10.5 11,600 24.6 693,400 12.5 515,700 20.7 1,521,900 378 194,390 0.193 230,000 6.15 130,000 1.39 5,909,000 3.97 37,000 6.55 3,993,600 1.43 45,613,000 12.26 68,000 49.8 940,480 5.85 15,900 4.8 115,000 1.78 235,000 2.65 72,000 1.34 29,000 12.18 979,700 103 100,090 6.73 468,200 0.96 142,000 148 651,990 2.52 1,000 1.68 2,396,000 1.25 1,609,000

25,162,380 10,366,262 2,187,010 2,010,410 103,260 24,638,000 7,291,432 15,730 2,131,180 109,428 8,999.50 664,410 56,220 32,821 29,480,032 60,270,384 6,973,079 6,395,321 35,996,365 19,319,303 3,322,580 15,603,840 83,218,290 14,630,714 850,683,636 121,914 17,059,310 6,496,282 31,572,130 74,085,960 44,390 788,290 8,146,870 146,700 26,266,405 64,309,930 830,534 47,030,633 93,135 552,020 422,030 190,970 38,860 11,851,704 10,244,362 3,129,179 136,880 94,566,512 2,520 4,059,650 2,020,530

8,487,750.00 -1,230,832 -4,516,930.00 500,842 -414,885 -31,400 -11,971,724 17,011,200 1,684,619 -5,700,919 -25,042,240 503,540.50 1,979,610 389,340 -13,778,696 3,981,156 117,121,530 -2,996,350.00 -200,940 -7,193,040 9,520,954 -3,247,400 -1,300,043 -5,142,440 7,790,158.50 -87,774 -28,800 -11,311,210 826,258 -14,480,110 159,890 -332,500

0.64 59.55 16.3 0.75 6.5 21.05 1.44 1.44 932 7.69 12.5 15.98 0.237 1,035 6.65 64.2 5.5 0.55 5.48 17.28 0.57 4.91 2.81 0.039 1.14 3.17 173.9 968 1.12 1.37 279.8 0.244 0.41

0.6 57 15.8 0.73 6.49 20.1 1.39 1.42 917 7.5 12.2 15.52 0.223 994 6.5 61 5.5 0.52 5.22 16.44 0.57 4.73 2.8 0.037 1.14 3.09 169.5 931 0.76 1.34 270 0.238 0.395

HOLDING FIRMS 0.62 18,264,000 59.15 816,700 15.94 4,578,900 0.74 67,000 6.5 19,400 20.5 36,900 1.4 1,781,000 1.42 1,055,000 922.5 190,160 7.61 594,500 12.5 3,387,700 15.9 496,600 0.237 160,000 1,010 128,965 6.53 145,000 61.65 1,729,360 5.5 100 0.55 971,000 5.39 729,400 16.5 2,977,600 0.57 46,000 4.85 21,668,000 2.8 16,000 0.038 79,100,000 1.14 5,000 3.11 566,000 170 271,180 934 268,470 1.12 19,064,000 1.37 8,000 279.8 155,610 0.238 620,000 0.405 66,320,000

11,228,040 47,581,204.50 73,066,724 49,320 126,042 750,640 2,507,230 1,505,080 175,333,680 4,527,642 42,010,946 7,835,896 36,100 130,648,837.50 947,512 106,560,416 550 513,490 3,894,332 49,739,546 26,220 104,178,430 44,870 3,003,900 5,700 1,761,040 46,290,656 251,017,260 19,254,780 10,810 42,205,280 149,300 26,865,700

-277,720 13,801,959 526,328 86,450 1,028,560 45,962,055 -740,853 5,827,084 185,462 -17,072,955 5,424,314.50 149,350 -21,898,580 -172,540 280,000 -6,843,980 -47,286,340 -3,410 -1,950,802 33,320 544,450

13.18 0.77 0.84 44.85 2.4 4.2 6.49 0.55 0.92 0.94 0.245 0.385 11.68 22.65 0.5 1.56 1.28 5.85 0.395 0.445

12.8 0.76 0.82 43.6 2.37 4.12 6.49 0.52 0.8 0.91 0.239 0.385 11.12 22 0.495 1.5 1.25 5.6 0.38 0.445

28,649,230 407,480 636,100 266,656,075 1,420,870 2,824,120 649 17,349,650 613,110 77,190 1,005,660 154,000 9,404,712 10,148,715 819,390 11,599,560 502,410 100,170,697 2,292,550 22,250

-213,762 5,976,830 -23,760 872,600 506,510 73,660 18,400 199,844 2,184,115 -155,000 -2,555,740 47,880 4,514,823 58,600 -

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

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

58.5 88 2.24 133.8 1.42 27.45 19 12.6 4.32 7.86 0.58 825 0.465 80.9 0.98 13.66 20.75 60.2 187 113.1 58.5 26.5 173.8 1,850 61

58.5 88 2.27 133.8 1.42 27.45 19.1 12.6 4.32 7.86 0.58 825 0.465 80.9 1 13.86 21.2 60.3 200 113.1 58.5 26.6 173.8 1,850 61

58.5 85.1 2.22 129.5 1.42 27.15 19 12.28 4.16 7.86 0.58 825 0.465 78.9 0.98 13.5 20.75 59.65 187 113.1 58.05 26.5 166.8 1,850 60.8

ABOITIZ POWER AGRINURTURE ALLIANCE SELECT ALSONS CONS BASIC ENERGY CEMEX HLDG CENTURY FOOD CHEMPHIL CIRTEK HLDG CNTRL AZUCARERA 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 JOLLIBEE MACAY HLDG MANILA WATER MAXS GROUP MEGAWIDE MERALCO MG HLDG PANASONIC PEPSI COLA PETROENERGY PETRON PHINMA ENERGY PHX PETROLEUM PILIPINAS SHELL PRYCE CORP RFM CORP ROXAS AND CO ROXAS HLDG SFA SEMICON SHAKEYS PIZZA SMC FOODANDBEV SPC POWER TKC METALS UNIV ROBINA VICTORIAS VITARICH VULCAN INDL

35.55 14.3 1.02 1.49 0.231 2.79 15.96 112.5 29.75 15.7 90 1.9 5.53 6.19 11.6 16.06 9.51 7.32 21.6 80 27.85 2.32 10.6 13.16 313 10.6 24.7 12.78 21.35 389.4 0.193 6.16 1.4 3.96 6.69 1.39 12.28 50 6.09 4.8 1.81 2.7 1.34 12 102.9 6.64 0.98 150 2.52 1.7 1.27

35.55 14.64 1.03 1.52 0.24 2.79 15.96 112.5 29.75 15.7 90 1.91 5.53 6.26 11.6 16.06 9.6 7.32 21.6 80.2 27.85 2.32 10.8 13.16 316 10.88 24.95 12.8 21.35 389.4 0.193 6.16 1.4 3.97 6.69 1.43 12.28 50.25 6.09 4.81 1.81 2.7 1.34 12.2 103 6.73 0.98 150 2.52 1.72 1.29

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

0.63 59.55 16.3 0.73 6.5 20.85 1.44 1.44 931.5 7.69 12.2 15.88 0.223 1,035 6.5 64.2 5.5 0.54 5.44 17.28 0.57 4.91 2.81 0.039 1.14 3.12 173.9 968 0.76 1.37 275 0.244 0.4

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

13.1 0.76 0.83 44.85 2.4 4.2 6.49 0.54 0.83 0.94 0.243 0.385 11.68 22.5 0.5 1.56 1.26 5.85 0.395 0.445

VOLUME

NAME

OPEN

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

PHIL INFRADEV PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP PTFC REDEV CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

1.91 0.43 2.73 43.05 24.65 2.05 3.1 39 1.6 6.86 0.75 7.32

1.91 0.44 2.73 43.05 24.65 2.06 3.13 39.45 1.62 6.86 0.76 7.32

1.85 0.43 2.66 43.05 23.8 2 3.1 38.9 1.51 6.65 0.75 7.04

1.87 0.43 2.68 43.05 24.6 2 3.13 39.45 1.6 6.73 0.75 7.15

1,727,000 160,000 325,000 1,300 3,708,400 396,000 93,000 8,022,400 2,801,000 377,600 40,000 10,958,100

3,227,640 69,100 873,480 55,965 90,781,310 806,000 289,300 314,227,260 4,288,980 2,525,915 30,200 78,020,474

-21,500 -122,670 49,255,190 103,000 213,951,325 154,000 -17,401,855

2GO GROUP ABS CBN 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 INTL CONTAINER IPM HLDG ISLAND INFO ISM COMM LBC EXPRESS LEISURE AND RES LORENZO SHIPPNG MACROASIA MANILA BULLETIN 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

12.54 21.45 0.42 0.044 15.8 2.76 12.2 0.074 84.15 7.68 5.85 6.89 13.98 1,990 5.73 380 3.02 124.2 7.1 0.133 5.53 15.36 3.53 0.89 20.4 0.57 3.25 1.86 2.72 10.32 10.56 3.19 4.85 122.5 2.62 1,180 0.89 1.15 48.3 82 8.79 2.36 0.7 0.42 5.6 0.7 15.62

12.56 21.45 0.425 0.044 16.3 2.78 12.2 0.075 84.25 7.69 5.98 6.89 14.86 1,999 5.74 380 3.02 124.3 7.1 0.133 5.62 15.36 3.94 0.89 21 0.57 3.25 1.86 2.72 10.42 10.56 3.19 4.85 124 2.63 1,182 0.9 1.15 48.5 82 8.8 2.36 0.71 0.42 5.64 0.7 15.8

12.1 20.8 0.405 0.042 15.76 2.7 11.72 0.072 80.75 7.68 5.81 6.88 13.24 1,930 5.72 374 2.93 120.1 7.1 0.127 5.39 15.36 3.45 0.89 20.3 0.54 3.16 1.81 2.6 10.2 10.3 3.18 4.7 122.5 2.54 1,142 0.87 1.07 47.6 80.9 8.5 2.33 0.69 0.415 5.6 0.68 15.4

SERVICES 12.22 21.2 0.425 0.044 15.78 2.73 12.16 0.073 81.15 7.69 5.91 6.88 13.4 1,999 5.73 380 2.95 124 7.1 0.127 5.4 15.36 3.75 0.89 20.4 0.55 3.2 1.81 2.62 10.32 10.5 3.18 4.7 124 2.54 1,149 0.88 1.08 47.85 81.95 8.5 2.34 0.71 0.415 5.62 0.68 15.7

45,600 90,700 550,000 17,800,000 2,600 347,000 3,092,100 57,410,000 54,100 600 783,300 42,600 708,400 22,300 122,500 850 1,222,000 1,574,850 6,000 860,000 1,740,800 13,600 5,779,000 36,000 339,300 1,343,000 3,301,000 15,000 894,000 262,600 17,700 3,000 17,000 4,430 737,000 92,070 2,722,000 34,441,000 364,400 496,460 7,300 2,285,000 1,622,000 2,400,000 645,100 1,509,000 2,733,000

564,398 1,917,225 228,100 749,800 41,074 945,600 37,192,582 4,206,900 4,423,388 4,609 4,627,392 293,174 10,156,618 43,980,135 701,894 322,348 3,606,330 193,580,975 42,600 110,530 9,494,700 208,896 21,530,770 32,040 6,968,680 738,300 10,514,420 27,600 2,356,030 2,701,720 183,514 9,560 81,290 544,685 1,898,990 106,132,955 2,392,760 37,979,400 17,437,695 40,435,436.50 62,909 5,343,530 1,132,300 1,005,050 3,628,565 1,028,890 42,913,242

-20,744 -4 -46,350 9,713,850 -14,800 -1,018,663 -44,600 139,344 8,682,265 23,600 76,702,724 217,562 341,560 -596,215.00 152,820 -158,690 7,176 544,685 -655,310 -2,789,555 -84,180 923,490.00 6,507,805 -8,772,940.50 -15,840 733,020 61,010 -2,927,000 21,015,410

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

0.0021 1.46 2.88 2.45 1.56 0.25 0.118 0.0082 0.0081 1.08 2.55 1.08 0.93 0.012 0.013 0.011 3.11 3.77 13.9 23.1 0.007

0.0021 1.47 2.88 2.48 1.56 0.255 0.118 0.0082 0.0086 1.08 2.55 1.09 0.93 0.013 0.013 0.012 3.11 3.85 13.98 23.2 0.007

0.0021 1.43 2.85 2.45 1.52 0.246 0.118 0.0081 0.0081 1.07 2.45 1.02 0.92 0.012 0.013 0.011 3.04 3.7 13.48 22.55 0.007

MINING & OIL 0.0021 15,000,000 1.43 3,866,000 2.85 221,000 2.48 580,000 1.53 2,427,000 0.25 550,000 0.118 160,000 0.0081 5,000,000 0.0086 15,000,000 1.07 13,000 2.46 3,674,000 1.06 207,000 0.92 157,000 0.013 8,400,000 0.013 1,100,000 0.012 3,200,000 3.05 63,000 3.7 526,000 13.5 2,824,200 22.55 2,001,800 0.007 19,000,000

31,500 5,572,670 632,100 1,433,500 3,723,620 136,020 18,880 40,600 125,500 13,980 9,082,100 213,700 144,960 101,100 14,300 35,400 193,350 1,986,230 38,714,664 45,714,610 133,000

-3,628,240 -291,720 -6,200 61,500 -1,261,310 -14,300 -49,310 -636,948 18,042,040 -

ABS HLDG PDR AC PREF B1 DD PREF FPH PREF C GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF B HOUSE PREF A LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A SMC FB PREF 2 SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2G

21 474.6 98.2 450.6 5.55 900 95 0.96 100 99.5 980 75 75.1 74 73.95

21 474.6 99 450.6 5.56 919 95 0.97 101.9 99.5 980 75.4 75.4 74 74.5

20.8 465 98.2 450.6 5.55 900 94.55 0.96 100 99.5 980 75 75.1 73.1 73.95

PREFERRED 20.85 56,900 465 5,990 99 8,680 450.6 500 5.55 71,000 919 3,100 94.55 2,100 0.97 297,000 101.9 160 99.5 14,310 980 410 75 1,260 75.4 4,020 74 39,060 74.5 31,990

1,191,835 2,815,334 858,593 225,300 394,065 2,791,900 199,455 287,460 16,019 1,423,845 401,800 94,680 302,703 2,890,368 2,376,700

-8,340 5,892 34,560 -

LR WARRANT

1.95

2.1

1.92

WARRANTS 2.07 1,575,000

3,219,670

-

4,551,827 16,815,160

-824,670

1,776,735

122,719

50,042.20 100

-

MS

PROPERTY 13.16 0.77 0.83 43.85 2.38 4.2 6.49 0.52 0.91 0.92 0.239 0.385 11.34 22.4 0.5 1.51 1.26 5.65 0.385 0.445

2,194,700 535,000 773,000 6,083,600 597,000 678,000 100 32,961,000 721,000 84,000 4,180,000 400,000 832,500 456,500 1,652,000 7,588,000 398,000 17,611,100 5,950,000 50,000

ITALPINAS XURPAS

5.04 1.38

5.09 1.38

4.85 1.31

FIRST METRO ETF

119.3

119.3

116.2

USD DMPL A2 USD TECH B2

10.18 1

TRADING SUMMARY FINANCIAL

10.2 1

SHARES 6,272,767

INDUSTRIAL

110,746,867

HOLDING FIRMS

226,467,312

PROPERTY

116,638,682

SERVICES

150,803,792

MINING & OIL

84,276,679

GRAND TOTAL

708,795,794

10.02 1

4.85 1.31

SME

930,500 12,644,000

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 117.2 15,160 DDS 10.02 1

4,910 100

VALUE 1,756.89 (down) 32.58 531,582,755.53 FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL 11,640.62 (down) 96.76 1,609,594,653.344 HOLDING FIRMS 7,726.72 (down) 217.33 1,302,675,830.29 PROPERTY 4,056.60 (down) 54.90 SERVICES 1,596.46 (down) 12.25 1,142,119,642.90 MINING & OIL 8,141.23 (down) 198.38 676,867,088.51 PSEI 7,863.02 (down) 150.40 108,080,502.88 All Shares Index 4,842.87 (down) 70.44 5,394,064,363.45 Gainers: 47; Losers: 142; Unchanged: 41; Total: 230

NLEX to tap debt market in 2nd quarter to fund road

By Darwin G. Amojelar NLEX Corp. plans to tap the debt market next quarter to finance the construction of the North Luzon Expressway Connector Road Project.

Christopher Daniel Lizo, chief financial officer of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., said NLEX plans to use the unused portions of the company’s P25billion bond shelf registration program for the NLEX Connector Road.

NLEX in July last year issued P6 billion worth of fixed rate bonds under a P25-billion bond shelf registration program.

The P23 billion NLEx Connector is an eight-kilometer elevated toll expressway over the right-of-way of the Philippine National Railways.

The project starts at the junction of NLEx Segment 10 at C-3 Road/5th Ave. in Caloocan City and will connect to South Luzon Expressway through Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 Project in Manila. Upon completion, the toll road expects to benefit around 35,000 vehicles a day.

The company last month inaugurated the NLEx Harbor Link Segment 10, which is expected to improve the accessibility and connectivity between key areas of Metro Manila and the northern provinces of Luzon through North Luzon Expressway.

Traversing the cities of Valenzuela, Malabon and Caloocan, the 5.65-km, six-lane NLEx Harbor Link Segment 10 is seen to divert 30,000 vehicles daily away from the busy streets of Metro Manila. With the road, travel time between C3 and NLEx will only take five minutes.

It will also facilitate the efficient delivery of goods as cargo trucks will have alternative access from the Port Area in Manila to the provinces in Central and Northern Luzon.

The elevated expressway will enable travelers from Manila to Central and North Luzon to have a shorter travel time as they can head straight to NLEx, bypassing Edsa and the Balintawak Toll Plaza.

The next phase of the project is the 2.6-km section from C3 Road, Caloocan City to R10, Navotas City.

NLEX Corp. operates the NLEX and the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

DoubleDragon building airport hotel in Cebu DOUBLEDRAGON Properties Corp. is building a 514-room hotel in Mactan, Cebu.

DoubleDragon said in a disclosure to the stock exchange hotel subsidiary Hotel of Asia Inc. signed a joint venture agreement with Federated Realty Corp. of the U-Bix Group to develop Hotel101-Cebu along the Cebu Mactan International Airport Road near the Mactan Marina Mall.

Rising on a 5,493 square meter prime commercial lot, Hotel101-Cebu will be the biggest airport hotel in Visayas. It will also have a convention center and a commercial strip.

Similar the other Hotel101 projects, rooms in Hotel101-Cebu will be presold to investors to generate as much as P2.3 billion in proceeds.

HOA is pre-selling units in five hotel projects in the Fort, Davao, Boracay, Bohol, and Palawan. Including Hotel101-Cebu’s P2.33-billion in unit inventory, DoubleDragon now has P14.53 billion in Hotel101 unit inventory, which it expects to fully sell out within the next two years.

DoubleDragon said Hotel101 was positioned in the country’s top three tourist destinations, with prime beachfront locations in Boracay, Bohol and Palawan, as well as the top three major urban areas—Hotel101-Manila and Hotel101-Fort in Metro Manila, and Cebu and Davao.

“DoubleDragon strongly believes in the tourism positive prospects of our country, we are confident that Philippines will surpass 10 million annual tourist arrivals very soon,” said DoubleDragon chairman Edgar Sia II. DoubleDragon chief investment officer Hannah Yulo said as hotel room rates and occupancy increased over time, both Hotel101 and unit owners were positioned to gain financial benefit from their real estate investment.

DoubleDragon’s hotel operating and pipeline portfolio now stands at 5,082 rooms from Hotel101s, Jinjiang Inns, Skysuites and Ascott-DD Meridian Park. Jenniffer B. Austria

B3

World

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 CESAR BARRIOQUINTO, Editor mst.daydesk@gmail.com

New Zealand orders top-level inquiry into mosque killings

NATO MEETING. In this handout picture taken on March 25, 2019, and provided by Georgia’s Presidential press service, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili meets with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Tbilisi. AFP

Children seek work at the cemetery after school SANAA―Barefoot in a blue striped shirt, Ahmed al-Hamadi walks from school to a cemetery in the Yemeni capital where he works to help his family survive.

The 13-year-old makes his way through the cemetery, where graves are cramped together and overgrown with weeds.

Hauling gallons of water on his tiny shoulders, he waters plants and sprinkles tombstones to rid them of the Sanaa dust for a modest payment from the families of the deceased.

“We usually wait for funeral processions to work,” Ahmed told AFP. “If no one has died, we just hang around the graves and play around here.”

Ahmed is among millions of children struggling to stay in school in Yemen, where war, poverty and disease have brought the Arab world’s poorest country to its knees.

The Yemen conflict, which pits the government against northern rebels linked to Iran, took a turn for the worse when Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened on behalf of embattled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi.

March 26 marks four years since the Saudi-led coalition launched the military campaign to oust the Huthi rebels who occupied most of Yemen several months earlier -- triggering what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

Yemen has the highest level of child labour in the Arab world, both as a percentage and in sheer numbers, according to the International Labour Organization.

And in the chaos of war children are the most at risk, with girls facing forced marriage and boys recruited as fighters.

UNICEF, the UN children’s fund, called Yemen a “living hell for children” in 2018, with a whopping 80 percent of minors in need of aid.

The agency estimates that two million Yemeni children, out of an eligible seven million, are out of school as the war grinds into its fifth year.

Alongside the violence, Yemen’s already-fragile economy has contracted by over 50 percent since the escalation of conflict in 2015, according to the World Bank. AFP

Mueller’s report lifts dark cloud over Trump W ASHINGTON―US President Donald Trump declared Sunday that he had been completely exonerated after his campaign was cleared of colluding with Russia in the 2016 election, in a major boost for his reelection hopes.

The long-awaited final report of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Moscow’s election meddling concluded that no member or associate of the campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia in its plot to boost Trump in the vote more than two years ago.

While the Mueller report did not exonerate the president of obstruction of justice, Attorney General Bill Barr’s letter to Congress summarizing the still-secret document cleared a dark cloud that had hung over the Trump’s legitimacy since he took office in January 2017.

“There was no collusion with Russia. There was no obstruction. It was a complete and total exoneration,” Trump said of Mueller’s conclusions.

“It’s a shame that the country had to go through this,” he added. “This was an illegal take-down that failed.”

Deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said Trump was “in a really good mood” and “very happy with how it all turned out.”

Gidley said the president watched television, talked to staff and made calls during his flight home from Florida.

Summarizing Mueller’s findings, Barr said no Trump campaign official was involved in Russian conspiracies in 2016 to hack Democratic computers and flood social media with disinformation to harm Trump’s Democratic election rival Hillary Clinton.

He also said there were no new surprises coming from the Mueller team, which is disbanding -- no further indictments being referred, and no sealed indictments outstanding.

On the other hand, according to Barr’s letter, Mueller clearly had some evidence to support an obstruction case, but was uncertain whether it was enough to support criminal charges.

“While this report does not conclude that the president committed a crime, it also does not exonerate him,” Barr cited Mueller as saying.

Democrats in Congress are now certain to demand Mueller’s underlying evidence and push to investigate further.

“It is unacceptable that, after Special Counsel Mueller spent 22 months meticulously uncovering this evidence, Attorney General Barr made a decision not to charge the President in under 48 hours,” the Democratic chairs of the House Judiciary, Intelligence and Oversight committees said in a joint statement.

“His unsolicited, open memorandum to the Department of Justice, suggesting that the obstruction investigation was ‘fatally misconceived,’ calls into question his objectivity on this point in particular.”

A major barrier for Trump’s re-election in 2020 lifted just as a strong field of potential Democratic candidates was forming to select who would take him on. AFP

WAITING FOR THE POPE.

Worshipers wait on a balcony for the Pope’s arrival for a visit to the Marian Shrine of Loreto, near Ancona in the Marche region, on March 25, 2019.

The Pope intends to offer at the shrine of the Virgin Mary the Post-Synodal Exhortation of last October’s Synod of Bishops, which theme was ‘Young people, faith and vocational discernment’. AFP

Serbia marks 20 years since the NATO bombing campaign in 1999 BELGRADE―Serbia on Sunday marked 20 years since the NATO air strikes that forced Belgrade to withdraw its troops from Kosovo, ending a conflict that claimed more than 13,000 lives.

After the operation to get president Slobodan Milosevic to stop his deadly crackdown on Kosovo separatists, the former Serbian province, mainly ethnic Albanian, was put under UN administration.

Kosovo unilaterally declared independence in 2008―which Serbia refuses to recognize.

Commemorations were held across the country to recall the start of “NATO aggression”, with a main ceremony in

the southern town of Nis, which Serbian president Aleksandar Vucic said drew 20,000 people.

The sound of an air raid siren kicked off the ceremony at 7:45 pm, the minute when the strikes began on March 24, 1999, and the airing of scenes of the bombings on a big screen.

“These are the most tragic days of our history,” Orthodox Serbian Patriarch Irinej told the crowd, many holding candles.

“What is even more tragic is that it involved our former allies, our former friends.”

Milosevic ordered his troops out of Kosovo on June 10, 1999.

NATO forces struck dozens of mili-

tary targets, as well as infrastructure such as bridges, railways and the electrical grid. The number of civilian victims has not been officially established, and ranges from 500 according to Human Rights Watch to 2,500, according to Serbian officials.

“We were alone in the face of the biggest military power in the world,” said Vucic, a former ultra-nationalist who became a centrist and wants his country to join the European Union.

“Their goal was clear: to beat us and humiliate us, and then give part of our territory to someone else,” he said.

Citing 2,500 civilians dead including 79 children and a “devastated country”, he said the bombing campaign would

“always be a crime”.

Earlier on Sunday, the ambassadors of eight Western countries -- Canadian, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Norwegian, British and American -- paid their respects to civilian victims at a monument in Belgrade.

“We remember March 24 as the day diplomacy failed, and we express our sincere regret for the loss of civilian lives during the events of 1999,” they said in a joint statement. “We are saddened for all of those who lost their loved ones during the wars of the 1990s. We are here to honour their memory and are determined to work even harder to contribute to lasting peace and stability to the region.” AFP

WELLINGTON―New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday ordered an independent judicial inquiry into whether police and intelligence services could have prevented the Christchurch mosque attacks on March 15.

Ardern said a royal commission-the most powerful judicial probe available under New Zealand law―was needed to find out how a single gunman was able to kill 50 people in an attack that shocked the world.

“It is important that no stone is left unturned to get to how this act of terrorism occurred and how we could have stopped it,” she told reporters.

New Zealand’s spy agencies have faced criticism in the wake of the attack for concentrating on the threat from Islamic extremism.

Instead, the victims were all Muslims and the massacre was allegedly carried out by a white supremacist fixated on the belief that there was an Islamist plot to “invade” Western countries.

“One question we need to answer is whether or not we could or should have known more,” Ardern said.

“New Zealand is not a surveillance state ... but questions need to be answered.”

Ardern ruled out New Zealand re-introducing the death penalty for accused gunman Brenton Tarrant, 28, who was arrested minutes after the attack on the mosques and has been charged with murder.

She said details of the royal commission were being finalised, but it would be comprehensive and would report in a timely manner.

It will cover the activities of intelligence services, police, customs, immigration and any other relevant government agencies in the lead-up to the attack. AFP

IN BRIEF Thai junta holds on to lead BANGKOK―The results of Thailand’s first election since the 2014 coup were expected to trickle out Monday, with the junta primed to retain its grip on power after a vote that saw its main rival diminished, but vaulted a new prodemocracy force into the kingdom’s politics.

The Election Commission delayed without explanation a full announcement of preliminary results on Sunday night as a blizzard of complaints mounted over apparent mistakes in the count and possible irregularities at the polls.

Nearly 1.9 million votes had been invalidated with 93 percent of votes tallied, the EC said late Sunday. Earlier counts showed that in a handful of provinces more than half the ballots cast were invalidated.

Sunday’s election―seen as a referendum on the military―was held under new rules written by the junta to ease its transformation into a civilian government.

Despite that head-start, analysts had not expected the army-linked Phalang Pracharat party to win the popular vote, given anger at junta rule and the enduring popularity of Pheu Thai -- the party of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

But as initial figures dribbled out, Phalang Pracharat -- with 2014 coup leader Prayut Chan-O-Cha as its candidate for prime minister -- edged into a clear lead, racking up more than 7.6 million votes with more than 90 percent of ballots tallied.

“This will give them... popular legitimacy and more credibility,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, told AFP. AFP

North Korea returns to liaison office

SEOUL―North Korea has returned its staff to an inter-Korean liaison office, Seoul said Monday, just days after unilaterally withdrawing from the joint facility.

The office in the Northern city of Kaesong was opened in September as the two Koreas knitted closer ties, but the North pulled its staff out last week amid a deadlock in talks between Washington and Pyongyang.

The unification ministry said some of the North Korean staff were back at work on Monday saying they had come to cover their “shift as usual”.

“Thus, the South and the North held consultations at the liaison office this morning and will continue to operate the office as usual,” the ministry said in a statement.

It said the North did not offer details on why they had returned or pulled out in the first place.

Experts had suggested that the withdrawal was Pyongyang’s attempt of pressuring Seoul to exert more influence on the US in the current diplomacy.

Their return follows US President Donald Trump’s abrupt tweet at the weekend saying he had “ordered” the withdrawal of additional sanctions -- without identifying the measures -- against Pyongyang by the US Treasury.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was instrumental in brokering the talks process between the nuclear-armed, sanctions-hit North and the US, Seoul’s key security ally.

Moon has long backed engagement with the North to bring it to the negotiating table, and has been dangling the carrot of inter-Korean development projects, among them an industrial zone also in Kaesong and cross-border tourism for Southerners. AFP

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

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TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

LGUs LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

Gaddang in NV discuss projects within IP domain

By Ben Moses Ebreo BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—Elders of the Gaddang tribe here have been involved in recent talks with government and private agencies over proposed projects affecting their domain.

Jimmy Calata, one of the council of elders of the Nueva Vizcaya Gaddang Indigenous People’s Organization, said their organization held meetings early this year regarding the proposed P44 million Small Irrigation Project in this town by the National Irrigation Administration.

The project, now 50 percent completed, is expected to irrigate 236 hectares of rice land for 238 farmers.

The consultations were also facilitated by the officials of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

“The meeting focused on the Free Prior and Informed Consent provisions of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act since the project traverses three barangays within the tribe’s ancestral domain,” added Jimmy Calata of the Gaddang.

NVGIPO were also engaged with the drafting of the terms and conditions of a proposed Memorandum of Agreement with Macroasia Properties Development Corporation.

The MOA is required and needed for the proposed Magat River-based Waterworks System Project within the Gaddang ancestral domain in Solano town.

Calata said the following concerns were recognized such as the payment of royalty fees based on the tribe’s Community Royalty Development Plan, Corporate Social Responsibility projects for the environment, calamities and disasters, health and education, governance and culture and livelihood, among others.

More efficient PH hybrid rice farming pushed ASINGAN, Pangasinan—To achieve the goal of finally making the Philippines a rice sufficient country, the Department of Agriculture has intensified its campaign for the adoption of hybrid rice technology among local farmers.

This was the thrust of the 8th National Rice Technology Forum held here from March 19 to 21.

The campaign aims to convince farmers to plant hybrid rice by showcasing the best farming technologies and practices through the collective effort by the national government (including the Rice Board), local government units, farmers, and the private sector.

The 8th NRTF is set to be the biggest and most comprehensive—this time including collaborative and technological initiatives that were not highlighted in the previous forums.

Underscoring the Ilocano adage “Diak kita, diak pati” (to see is to believe), the 8th NRTF showcased the best farming practices that Filipino farmers can feasibly adopt to increase their efficiency and productivity.

The forum’s techno demo, which served as the focus of the program, demonstrated the effect of various planting approaches—mechanical, manual, and direct seeding—to the yield using top hybrid rice varieties provided by participating agricultural firms.

Philippine Red Cross is one of organizations in the frontline which led the delivery of water to affected hospitals within Manila Water’s service area.

GLITTERATI. Calligrapher Anina Rubio and muralist Paola Esteron join five Guhit Pinas Women Artists from Rizal to showcase ‘wearable art’ using casual outfits from fashion brands as their canvas at SM City Taytay in Rizal for Women’s Month. Meanwhile, at SM City San Mateo, 20 girls and women, including children on the autism spectrum and their mothers, walked the ramp at the Glitter City fashion show to celebrate the same occasion. Norman Cruz and Manny Palmero

DOH fights dengue in Calabarzon areas

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

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HE Department of Health in Calabarzon has intensified its anti-dengue campaign to bring down the cases of the disease in Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, and Quezon.

DOH Calabarzon regional director Eduardo Janairo said local government units are monitoring the increase in dengue cases, adding that all logistics are in place should there be an outbreak.

“We have deployed regional vector control spray men to barangays with high incidence of dengue cases and also trained sanitary inspectors and spray men of Laguna and the top 10 municipalities or cities with dengue cases on the preparation and application of insecticides for dengue control, such as misting or fogging and resid-

ual spraying, for outbreak response,” Janairo said.

According to the Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit, 5,616 cases of dengue fever with 18 deaths were recorded in the region from January 1 to March 16, 2019.

Cavite has the highest number of dengue cases with 1,788 followed by Batangas with 1,248; Laguna with 1,135; Quezon with 823; and Rizal with 622 cases, RESU added.

The ages of the cases ranged from 1 month to 100 years old, while majority of them were males at 2,990 which trans-

lates to 53 percent of the total cases.

The top 10 cities and municipalities with most number of dengue cases in Calabarzon include Dasmariñas with 339; Lipa City with 276; Bacoor with 261; Batangas City with 255; Calamba City with 239; Imus with 218; Lopez with 217; San Pablo City with 203; Tanauan City with 176; and General Trias with 171.

“We are already making rounds in the provinces to ensure that Dengue Fast Lanes are established and functional in all hospitals, and also to ensure that Dengue NS1-RDT are available to all health centers and public hospitals to be used for the early detection of dengue disease,” Janairo said.

The Dengue NS1-RDT is one of the tests used to classify dengue according to the severity of its signs and symptoms. With PNA

Officials of SM Foundation led by SAVP Connie Angeles (fourth from left) join their counterparts in the Philippine Air Force, led by Air Mobility Command deputy commander Brig. Gen. Marcelino Randy Tibayan, and staff of the BGen Benito N. Ebuen Air Base Hospital in cutting the ribbon to mark the formal turnover of the renovated facility.

SM Foundation turns over Ebuen Hospital to PAF LAPU-LAPU CITY—SM Foundation Inc. has turned over the newly renovated and refurbished BGen Benito N. Ebuen Air Base Hospital to the officers and staff of the 560th Airlift Wing.

This is the 32nd improved military health facility and the 154th Felicidad T. Sy Wellness Center donated and upgraded by the foundation to communities where the SM Group’s businesses operate, and as the conglomerate’s contribution in healing of the wounded and sick men in uniform.

The nearest malls to the Ebuen Hospital are SM City Consolacion and SM Hypermarket of Lapu Lapu City.

The deed of donation for the improved facility was signed by Brig.

Gen. Marcelino Randy Tibayan, deputy commander of the Air Mobility Command, on behalf of AMC commander Maj. Gen. Alejandro Baclayon; Connie Angeles, SAVP and Executive Director of SMFI Health & Medical Programs; and Maj. Mares Cecile Lapada, OIC of the facility.

The one-story hospital used to operate only as an infirmary, sitting on a 925.7 square meter prime property.

It currently services 5,706 uniformed personnel and their dependents under the AMC, the 560th Air Base Group, the 205th Tactical Helicopter Wing, and the Tactical Operations Wing Central.

With the foundation’s upgrade, the facility can now apply for accreditation as Level 1 hospital.

The Ebuen Hospital first opened its doors on Feb. 14, 1964 as the Mactan Air Base Medical Dispensary. It was a support unit tasked to provide medical care to military personnel, direct dependents and civilian employees of the AFP, particularly from the Philippine Air Force assigned in the area.

Navotas closes part of R10 on Sundays to turn it into a Family Zone

By Jun David

TO PROVIDE an open space for Navoteño families to bond and pursue a healthy lifestyle, the Navotas City Government has closed part of the Radial Road 10 (R10) and declared it as a Family Zone.

Through City Ordinance No. 2018-23, the city will close the stretch from the

Navotas bus terminal to the Old Fishport Road every Sunday, from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m.

In his speech during Sunday’s launching of the Navotas Family Zone, Mayor John Rey Tiangco stressed the importance of having open spaces in the city.

“Having open spaces is vital to the wellbeing of each Navoteño. By declaring this stretch as Family Zone, we provide not

only a place for Navoteño families to bond but also for everyone to jog, bike and do other physical activities,” he said.

Tiangco said he hopes the Family Zone will help bring parents and children closer to each other and strengthen the relationship among Navoteño families.

The launching featured a zumba marathon participated in by family-

beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, members of the C4 Aero-Taebo Civic Organization, and the Navotas Funbikers Association.

After the program, Tiangco, together with Vice Mayor Clint Geronimo and other city officials, proceeded to the Navotas Centennial Park and played patintero and a 3-on-3 basketball shootout.

PRC trucks aid Manila Water areas THE Philippine Red Cross remains committed to help critical locations under Manila Water’s concession area that are hardest hit by the water supply shortage.

Since March 13, PRC has dispatched eight of its 20 water tankers capable of filling up a high-pressure water system to different hospitals to ensure there will be no interruption in delivering healthcare services, minimize the risk of infection, and maintain good hygiene in all affected public health sectors.

“We are ready to address the needs of the hospitals because we have water tankers that are capable of filling up a highpressure water system,” said PRC chairman and Senator Richard Gordon.

PRC reported that as of March 19, they were able to deliver and distribute more than one million liters of water to Rizal Medical Center, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, East Avenue Medical Center, Mandaluyong City Medical Center, and National Center for Mental Health.

PRC was also able to deploy water tankers to the Philippine Health Office, supplying 12,000 liters of water. The organization has also stretched its help to affected residents in barangay Old Balara and Culiat in Quezon City, barangay Highway Hills in Mandaluyong, and barangays Tumana and Nangka in Marikina.

Life

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

HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

@MStandardLIFE TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

Football

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for health (and more) N

FOR THE LOVE OF FOOTBALL. Nico Bolzico, who grew up playing football, associates fond memories with the sport as well as considers it one of the things that motivates him to stay fit.

ICO Bolzico’s earliest memory of playing football was when he was two or three years old. “I remember kicking the ball with my Dad every afternoon after he’d come back from the farm,” he recalls.

The Argentinian and Solenn Heusaff’s better half is an avid fan and frequently plays with his friends every chance he gets. He shares, “Football was the first sport I enjoyed because I grew up playing it every day in Argentina.”

Football is an intense sport which requires a person to stay focused and alert at all times.

“You need to be fit in order to play. It’s not about running 20 or 30 kilometers—it’s about doing your first three steps very fast because that’s when you take advantage of having the ball,” says Bolzico.

Aside from having strong legs, he says one needs brain power too. “You need to understand positioning. The challenge is how to react based on your skills.”

In order to stay fit for the game, the quirky founder of the “#BulliedHusbandsClub” works out five to six times a week. He also runs, sprints, does pushups, joins races like Spartan, and tries to eat healthy.

“Football motivates me to be fit. Health should always be a priority. If I want to perform well on the field, I have to be active and not lazy.”

He admits he may not be the most skilled player on the field, but whatever he lacks in skill, he makes up with his naturally competitive nature, boundless energy, and keen understanding of the game to push his team to win.

Bolzico asserts the most important part of playing football is loving the game.

“You really bond with your friends, you learn to support each other, which eventually applies even off the field,” he says. “You give it all for your team, you try to defeat your opponent, but after the game, you

Former Azkals and Philippine national football team member Anton del Rosario founded 7’s Football League to develop the country’s passion for the sport.

Bolzico plays for the Philam Life 7’s Football League.

shake their hand and hug them. There’s a lot of honor and respect in the sport, a very good way to learn life’s lessons.”

Along with other football enthusiasts Chris Greatwich, Jason Dejong, Roxy Dorla, and Mike Reyes, Bolzico is part of the Philam Life 7’s Football League, a tournament started last year by former Azkals and Philippine national football team member Anton Del Rosario, who has dedicated most of his life to developing the country’s passion for football whether on or off the field.

Compared to the usual football game, 7’s is played at less than half the pitch using smaller goals, with seven players each instead of the full 11 per team in a regular football match, making it a faster-paced and more exciting game.

This year, the league is partnering with Philam Life, which shares Del Rosario’s advocacy of encouraging Filipinos to strive to live a more active lifestyle.

“I have always believed in partnerships, especially when it comes to building programs for the youth.

The fact that we have Philam Life and AIA on board,

a company with international influence when it comes to football, shows we are going in the right direction. They are not only supporting the dreams of the youth, but also fulfilling dreams of players who never got the opportunity to play at the highest level.

I hope this is the beginning of something that will last a long time,” enthuses Del Rosario.

According to Philam Life’s head of branding and communications Bernadette Chincuanco, “Philam Life has been looking for a way to get into football, as AIA, our Hong Kong-based parent company, has been the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club’s Global Principal Partner since 2017.”

Chincuanco adds, “We’re happy to partner with the 7’s, and support such an exciting football league that allows us to encourage Filipinos to live healthier, longer and better lives.”

Catch Del Rosario and Bolzico go head to head at the Philam Life 7’s Football League with games held at McKinley Hill Stadium, Taguig. Admission is free.

Gates are open from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

The plastics in our ocean ON MARCH 15, a dead whale washed ashore on the beaches of Compostela Valley. An examination on the carcass revealed the cause of death were “starvation and dehydration” after it was found that it ingested 40 kilograms of plastic.

It was tagged as one of the worst cases of poisoning ever seen.

Earlier this month, Greenpeace Philippines released underwater photos taken from the Verde Island Passage in Batangas during an underwater exploration the organization conducted onboard the Rainbow Warrior on March 7 and 8.

Numerous single-use plastic sachets have been found between, beneath, and on the corals and seabed of Verde Island Passage, the epicenter of marine biodiversity in the world.

Photos by Noel Guevara and Boogs Rosales / Greenpeace

A discarded sauce packaging was found in between corals.

A crab was trapped inside a plastic cup.

An old sachet was found lying on the corals.

A spaghetti sauce packaging was floating in Verde Island Passage.

A small wrasse swims by a sachet of toothpaste.

A discarded shampoo sachet was seen lying around the corals.

Life

C2

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019 manilastandardlife@gmail.com

G

LOBE Prepaid, Postpaid, and TM customers have a chance to do something rewarding using their Rewards Points: help restore the country’s primary rainforest cover.

The telco encourages its customers to donate their Rewards points to Hineleban Foundation by March 31.

Hineleban Foundation is a non-stock, non-profit organization based in Bukidnon, Mindanao. Its vision is to ensure the nation’s water, food, and human security by reforesting the mountain ranges of Mindanao, home to the country’s last watersheds. These ranges are inhabited

by Indigenous People and Bangsamoro communities.

“We continue our commitment to environmental sustainability and want to make it easier for our customers and stakeholders to integrate it into their lives. We encourage everyone to spread the word to their families and friends so that more aid could be provided to our country’s primary rainforests,” said Yoly Crisanto, Globe chief sustainability officer and senior vice president for corporate communications.

She continued, “We believe that through small, simple ways, anyone can contribute in preserving and protecting the environment including our rainforests.”

Every 100 Rewards points donation is equivalent to one tree. To donate, just download the Globe Rewards app on your mobile device and click the “DONATE” banner. Tap “HELP100” and press “REDEEM”.

Upon receiving the confirmation message, tap on the Hineleban site to name your tree. Enter your name, email, mobile number, and tree name, then wait for a confirmation prompt that you have successfully named your tree.

Globe and Hineleban Foundation’s partnership began in December 2016.

Their combined efforts are currently reforesting 300 hectares of denuded primary rainforests, a fraction of the 44,000 hectares surveyed and targeted

by Hineleban Foundation in Bukidnon and Lanao del Sur. The program born from the GlobeHineleban partnership is structured into five phases over a five-year period, lasting until December 2021.

The reforestation process begins with the planting of calliandra to quell acidic

What to do with your expiring Globe Rewards points

cogonal grass. This is followed by the planting of tree species that are ideal for agroforestry, including Brazilian fire trees and Caribbean pine trees.

Intercropping then becomes the objective, with 600 indigenous tree species per hectare planted to secure the area as a permanent watershed. Some of the species grown are almon, bagtikan, mayapis, apitong, red lauan, palosapis, white lauan, olayan, katii, and nato.

Hineleban Foundation’s reforestation methodology is internationally recognized, having received the Grand Prize Award for best project in the forestry sector from the Agricultural Research Centre for International Development and the French Development Agency in 2015.

Globe customers can help in preserving and protecting the environment by donating their Rewards points to Hineleban Foundation.

(Photo from Hineleban Foundation)

A Brother to every cancer patient

Crizal Transitions lenses continuously adapt to changing light conditions.

Choosing the right Transition lens ADAPTIVE lenses address the need of individuals for glasses that help them see clearly and protect their eyes outdoors.

One of the most popular brands of adaptive lenses is Transitions, made

by Essilor. Using Chromea7 technology, Crizal Transitions lenses continuously adapt to changing light conditions, reduce glare, minimize eye fatigue, and block 100 percent of harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Transitions offers four unique color to match various lifestyles.

Amber - The tint reduces glare, blocks harmful blue light and enhances depth perception. It provides better vision on cloudy days. Ambercolored lenses are best for those who like sports that involve judging distances such as fishing, baseball, golfing, hunting, and cycling.

Amethyst - Trendy and fashionable, this color can also help in navigation during difficult weather conditions like when there is mist or fog as it blocks the glare from excessive white light. It is best for hiking, hunting, or playing tennis.

Sapphire - Like amethyst, sapphire is aesthetically pleasing—perfect for fashionistas. The tint brings out the contrast between green and orange, and improves color and contour perception. It is best suited for people who like target shooting and hunting.

Emerald - Lenses with an emerald tint transmit all colors evenly and dim any glare while brightening shadowy areas. They maintain color distribution rain or shine and are good for all outdoor activities.

Transitions lenses are available at Sarabia Optical.

Brother International Philippines Corporation, together with sister company Brother Industries (Philippines), Inc., once again joined Philippine Cancer Society’s cancer awareness and fund-raising event dubbed “Relay for Life” held recently Themed “Heart Beats Cancer,” the 24-hour cancer awareness vigil held at the Quezon City Memorial Circle was for the benefit of cancer patients and their families.

On its eight consecutive year of participating in the event, BICP president Glenn P. Hocson led the contingent of volunteers from Brother Phils. and Brother Industries, consisting of their employees and

business associates. They took turn in going around the oval track and joined the vigil alongside cancer patients, survivors, and support groups.

“We at Brother and our partners look forward to this event, which allows us to contribute funds, as well as give moral support to cancer patients and their families, cheer on cancer survivors who already won the fight, and remember those who died of cancer,” said Hocson.

He continued, “We wish to echo that, although cancer never sleeps, we, alongside their families and support groups, don’t, too. We want to make them feel that they are not alone in their fight against cancer.”

Brother Group supports cancer awareness initiatives, particularly the Relay for Life, as part of the Group’s Golden Ring Project, where different offices of Brother worldwide participate in the event and other cancer awareness programs in their respective countries.

Hocson said it is also the company’s way of providing its employees and partners opportunities to give back to those in need of compassion and support, while making them aware of the health risks that may lead to cancer.

“This is where our employees learn the importance of cancer prevention, so that they will always choose to adopt a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

Brother employees with Brother International Philippines Corporation president Glenn Hocson and product management manager Shinichi Tanaka.

iPhoto PAFP pushes for 1 physician for every household

Sarabia Optical carries Transitions lenses by Essilor.

The Philippine Academy of Family Physicians encourages every Filipino family to have one physician.

At its recently held annual convention, with the theme “Family Physicians Advancing the Lives of Filipinos through Universal Health Care,” PAFP gathered primary care doctors, physicians, and medical practitioners to collaborate on improving the country’s healthcare system by encouraging research and providing training to primary care providers.

In the photo are: New Marketlink Pharmaceutical Corporation brand manager for Primary Healthcare Segment Quennie Hernandez, PAFP secretary Dr. Anna Guia O. Limpoco, Dr. Carlo Zapatos, UroHealth associate brand manager Miguel Claro Escalona, and NMPC medical director Dr. Noel Espallardo.

Entertainment

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ALLET Manila recently closed its 23rd performance season with double header Deux—a fun mix of modern classical ballet set to the tunes of The Beatles and Chopin, held at the Aliw Theater, CCP Complex.

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

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nickie.standard@gmail.com

A FUN MISHMASH

of modern and classical ballet

The first chapter of the show opened with classical vignettes featuring Les Sylphides also known as Chopiniana in Russia, a romantic white ballet that depicts a lone danseur (The Poet) surrounded by his muses—white-clad sylphs or air spirits dancing in the moonlight.

While there is no plot, its lingering music by Frederic Chopin and lyrical choreography by Michael Fokine evoke the illusion of ethereal weightlessness which characterized the romantic era of ballet where technique is the focal point, especially the intricate pointe work of ballerinas. Other classical vignettes included Pas De Action and Diane et Acteon.

From this trance-like ambience, the second chapter of the show highlights the thrilling contemporary number of “The Winding Road” set to the tune of The Beatles. Choreographed byMartin Lawrance, both young and old surely enjoyed The Beatles

Dubbed as a "mockumentary," the film will start streaming on YouTube on March 28.

‘Confessional’ streams on YouTube

The first chapter of the show opened with classical vignettes featuring “Les Sylphides”, a romantic white ballet with the lingering music by Frederic Chopin and lyrical choreography

by Michael Fokine which evoke the illusion of ethereal weightlessness which characterized the romantic era of ballet where technique is the focal point, especially the intricate pointe work of ballerinas

hits such as as “I Saw Her Standing There,” “Here, There and Everywhere,” “Something,” “The Long and Winding Road,” and “She Loves You,” to name a few.

“Our 23rd performance season has been a series of highs, kicking off with Tour de Force and ending with our newest double header Deux,” said Ballet Manila CEO and artistic directorLisa Macuja-Elizalde. “We are very thankful for everyone’s continuous support for Ballet Manila and we are very thrilled to see everyone again on our 24th performance season.”

Ballet Manila is The Philippines’ Premiere Classical Dance Company.

Under the leadership of Lisa MacujaElizalde, Ballet Manila has brought the magic of classical ballet to the farthestflung regions of the country, as well as the important ballet capitals of the world.

AWARD-WINNING Cinema One Originals film Confessional, directed by Jerrold Tarog and Ruel Antipuesto, will be streaming on Cinema One’s YouTube channel starting Thursday, March 28.

The “mockumentary” features fictional character and filmmaker Ryan Pastor who meets former mayor Lito Caliso while on his way to Cebu to document the Sinulog Festival.

Lito then confesses—in front of Ryan’s camera—all the crimes he committed while in office.

This story, written, edited, and starred by Jerrold himself, won Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay, among other recognition in the 2007 Cinema One Originals.

Confessional also bagged the Best Film nod in the First Features Section of the 10th Osian’s Cinefan Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema in New Delhi, India, as well as the Best Southeast Asian Film in the 10th Cinemanila International Film Festival.

Discover what made Confessional a great cinematic revelation as the film streams for free on Cinema One’s YouTube channel starting March 28.

A supportive boyfriend like Gerald Anderson KAPAMILYA star Bea Alonzo has recently posted a series of pictures of her wearing swimsuit.

The posts generated numerous feedback, most of them were positive ones coming from netizens.

And like any proud boyfriend, Gerald Anderson is supportive of his girlfriend’s social media posts, which he considers something that promotes “body positivity.”

“Her message is very empowering—that we should not listen to what others say or dictate on how we should look.

Sometimes, people say that this is how thin or sexy we must look.

It’s not right,” Gerald says.

“Bea’s message is be comfortable about who you are. More than your looks, you should be concerned with your health primarily. It’s like when

you engage in sports. There are good and bad plays. So, you have to set a performance-based goal in which you will be able to make up for your poor showing previously,” he adds.

Many think that he influenced Bea with her being physically fit build at present.

“It’s her decision. She’s very determined and self-motivated. I didn’t need to push or convince her,” he reveals.

When it comes to the present state of their relationship, the actor says it’s running smoothly despite the fact that they’re both busy because of their hectic schedule -- Bea has a new horror movie to be shown while Gerald juggles his time among acting, basketball and running his own gym.

“What matters is that our mutual support is there,” he

chimes.

Gerald points out that taking a vacation together is one reason why he and Bea’s relationship continues to go strong. It helps them as a couple to know each other better. Traveling together makes them discover new things about each other.

“Like last December, we flew to Japan. We’re very happy to explore the Land of the Rising Sun with friends. The experience was refreshing. It truly recharged us!”

Considering the depth of their relationship, many of their fans ask if they already have some wedding plans.

“I can’t say anything concrete as of now. But I know that I’m already 30 and time is running fast. It’s just that personally, I’m not in a hurry. Everything comes in God’s perfect time. I still have

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Tuesday, March 26, 2019

ACROSS 1 Groom a poodle 5 Secure 9 Henri’s aits 13 Coarse person 14 Homer epic 16 Ibsen woman 17 Pet lovers’ gp.

18 Planes and drones (2 wds.)

20 Monks 22 Makes a speech 23 Leaves out 25 Cut of meat 26 General drifts 27 Half pint 28 Diving position 32 “Minimum” amount 33 Atlanta campus 35 Full extent 36 Ames inst.

37 Letterhead abbr.

38 Box-office sign 39 Verne’s captain 41 Down mood 43 Landscape 44 Blissful spot 45 Fled 46 Gridiron deals 48 Valhalla host 50 Thinner 51 “My — Amour” 54 Sealed a package 55 Speaks at great

length (2 wds.)

57 Olden times 61 Altar area 62 Stir-fry 63 Green Hornet’s valet 64 Not far away 65 Watched 66 Barely manages DOWN 1 “60 Minutes” network 2 Hack off 3 Winter Games grp.

4 Pecan confection 5 Popular cat 6 Rap sheet info 7 Flat-needled trees 8 Gobble down 9 Pablum eaters 10 Garret 11 Cleveland’s waters 12 Kangaroo pouches 15 Wilting 19 Meyers of “Kate & Allie” 21 Say further 23 Rubbed out 24 Bean or pea 25 Pitch suddenly 26 Strong cord

27 Red Sonja ally 29 Positive aspect 30 Profession 31 Feels certain 34 La Scala site 40 Expected in soon (2 wds.)

41 Gives a quick rundown 42 King or Sondheim 43 Stylish beard 47 — Dawn Chong 49 Negative prefix 50 Espresso with

milk 51 Jackie — of martial arts 52 Think positive 53 Famous lioness 54 Undeniable 56 1948 treaty gp.

58 Symbol of might 59 Hwy. 60 Aurora, to Plato

lots of dreams to fulfill. Anyway, when that moment comes, I should be ready. What’s good with Bea is that we share the same set of goals. She also has her own goals to achieve. She also supports me all the way.”

Speaking of new endeavors, the actor is proud of his gym called The Th3rd Floor.

“The gym is part of my lifestyle and I want to share it with people. I want to help and inspire them. It helped me reach my present stature despite the odds I faced. When I’m in the gym, that’s where I obtain clarity in my plans and next steps to take. That’s what I want to share,” ends Gerald. *** Kathryn Bernardo puts an end to recent speculations and declared that everything is okay between her and

boyfriend Daniel Padilla.

“I’m aware that there are rumors circulating that we have called it quits. I don’t know where it came from but sorry to disappoint them, DJ and I are still very much okay. For the record, our relationship is solid. No break-up happened!”

The popular young actress decided to break her silence on the issue after receiving a lot of tweets regarding the issue.

“As I’ve said earlier, I wonder where the speculations emanated. Daniel and I are very happy at this point. Not because we’re not posting photos in our social media accounts in which we’re together, it means we’ve broken up. Perhaps, it’s already our privacy and choice what to post, right? So, fans need not worry because we’re very much together!”

Even Gerald Anderson was surprised when his girlfriend Bea Alonzo posted a bikini photo for the first time

According to Kathryn, she just wants to achieve personal growth outside the KathNiel umbrella at this point.

“That’s really my plan for this year. For me, 2019 is the most challenging. I want DJ and me to grow individually in our respective career. For the longest time, we’re together in projects. Of course, I’m grateful for that because they turned out to be a success but it can’t be like that forever. 2019 is very challenging to the two of us because we’ll be doing separate vehicles. That will be good for us so that when a reunion project happens, we are more mature and whole as individuals.”

She has an upcoming film opposite Alden Richards of rival network GMA-7.

“And I think it’s a great start. It’s one important decision that I made in my career. I thought about it for so many times. I asked for signs, asked friends for their opinion and mustered all the courage that I have before arriving to such decision.”

She assures that she’ll give the project her one hundred percent.

“I accepted this movie with Alden with open arms. It’s far from my comfort zone and I’m challenged to the hilt. I’m proud of myself because I decided to do this which is for my growth as an artist,” states Kathryn.

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

C4

Entertainment

TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 2019

Aiko Melendez sets priority; apologizes to ABS-CBN AT THE thanksgiving party for her double victory as Best Supporting Actress for Rainbow’s Sunset at the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival and Gawad Pasado Awards 2019, actress Aiko Melendez announced that she’s taking a short break from showbiz.

Talking to some select members of the entertainment press in BGC on Sunday, the multi-awarded actress said that she is going to help her partner Subic Mayor Jay Khonghun, who is eyeing the vice gubernatorial position in the province of Zambales.

She also took the opportunity to apologize to ABS-CBN because she had to decline a role in the upcoming series Sandugo.

“I was supposed to do a teleserye with them. I think you’ve already seen

the publicity shoot. I was there, but unfortunately, I’m not going to be part of that series anymore. I had to decline. Pasensya na po. And babawi po ako sa inyo. Mas kailangan lang kasi talaga ako ngayon ni Jay,” Aiko appealed.

The role she’s supposed to play was given to Vina Morales, to which the 43-year-old actress was happy about.

“I told her to accept the project when she informed me that the role was being offered to her. She’s my friend and I’m happy na napunta sa kanya yung role,” she said.

She also opened up about her fears that something bad might happen to her and her politician boyfriend after the latter was included in the president’s “narco list”—an accusation both of them have denied.

“We are glad that instead of losing

support, more people are showing their love for Jay, more people are expressing their support in his bid for a higher position. It’s just sad na ma-accuseyung taong mahal mo ng isang bagay na alam mong hindi totoo. Masama man pakinggan pero for him to be tagged as one of the narco politicians na drug lord, that’s something so unfair,” was her brave statement.

“Kasi, if there’s one person who knows Jay very well, that should be me.

And I’ve seen how he works. I didn’t see anything illegal. I didn’t see or hear him doing anything suspicious. Even his drivers, his staff, who have been working for him for 15 to 20 years can attest to that. And sila mismo ang nagbavouch sa credibility ni Jay,” she continued.

Meanwhile, Aiko also clarified that the

Aiko Melendez was joined by her partner Mayor Jay Khonghun and children Andre Yllana and Marthena Jickain during a thanksgiving party held Sunday evening at Chateau 1771 in BGC.

photos she posted on social media were not from a prenup shoot. She said that the photos were meant for a calendar that they plan to give out in Zambales.

“I’m not engaged yet. I don’t have a ring.

I don’t have a proposal yet or something, not na nagpaparinig ako,” Aiko beamed.

JASON ABALOS

gets his biggest break as Kapuso

F

ORMER Kapamilya star Jason Abalos is part of the upcoming afternoon action drama Bihag, a series which replaces the top-rating My Special Tatay.

In the series, he plays the role of a doctor named Brylle. He’s co-starring with Max Collins, who plays his wife named Jessie.

Bihag also serves a reunion project of the two after they first starred in the romantic drama series, The One That Got Away.

“I’m glad to work with Max. When we started taping there wasn’t any awkwardness, we had

Jason with co-star Max Collins and GMA senior program manager Redgynn Alba

NICKIE WANG an instant connection. In our previous project together we barely had any scenes together, so I’m happy I’m getting to really work with her this time around,” Jason told Manila Standard in an interview.

“It’s was a light project because it was romcom. This time it’s heavy drama with a bit of an action. This is my third television project with GMA since I became part of their pool of talents.

But I consider this as my biggest role,” he added.

After cutting ties with his former mother studio and transferred to GMA Network to become an exclusive talent under GMA Artists Center, Jason has appeared in numerous shows and on television series including The One That Got Away and Asawa Ko, Karibal Ko. “They were minor roles that’s why I’m very thankful to GMA for entrusting me this project,” he said. *** Lucio Tan receives ALAB Award from Anvil Business Club Anvil Business Club recently held its induction of new officers on March 15 with its special adviser, business leader and philanthropist Dr. Lucio C. Tan as inducting officer and guest of honor at a festive dinner reception attended by top government and business leaders and celebrities at Century Seafood Restaurant in Manila.

In the same occasion, Anvil led by chairman Wilson Lee Flores and president Patrick Cua conferred on Dr. Lucio C. Tan its inaugural “Anvil Leadership Award for Business Excellence” (ALAB Award) in recognition of his “inspiring business success, outstanding community leadership and magnanimous philanthropy.”

One of Asia’s wealthiest billionaires according to Bloomberg News and Forbes magazine, the self-made entrepreneur is chairman of LT Group, Inc., Philippine Airlines (PAL), Philippine National Bank (PNB), Asia Brewery, Tanduay Distillers and many others. Tan is also chairman emeritus of the Federation of

The Subic mayor, who was seated beside Aiko butted in alluding to any plans to marry the actress, “Let me answer that. Aiko is a good person. Any man would be so lucky to find someone like her. Walang kagatul-gatol kong sasagutin na oo naman.” Nickie Wang

Filipino Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII).

Witnesses at the ALAB Award conferment ceremony for Dr. Lucio Tan were Trade & Industry Ramon Lopez, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Employers Confederation of the Phil. (ECOP) chairman Sergio OrtizLuis, Jr., Federation of Filipino Chinese Chambers of & Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) president Domingo Yap, Philippine Chamber of Commerce & Industry (PCCI) chairman George Barcelon, Federation of Philippine Industries (FPI) chairman Jesus L. Carranza, and China Embassy Commercial Counsellor Jin Yuan.

Among the celebrities who also graced Anvil’s 28th anniversary event were Senator Grace Poe and her son Brian Poe Llamanzares, former Special Assistant to the President Bong Go, Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, former Senator Bong Revilla and wife Bacoor Mayor Lani Mercado Revilla, former PNP chief Gen. Ronald Dela Rosa, Malabon Vice-MayorJeannie Sandoval among many others.

Leading the 2019 Anvil Business Club board of directors are chairman Wilson Lee Flores, president Patrick Cua, Hubert Chua, Jayson Sze, Christopher Yae, William Lim, Jr., Lexter Ang, Eusebio Lu, Jr., Christopher Go, Joeben Tai, Vicente Sy, Richmond Co, William Villanueva, Kenneth Dee, Aldrin Chua, Wilynda Chua, Claudine Sy, Sheryll Yu, Katherine Yap, Ian Cheng, Cherie Haw, and Lorina Tan. Among past leaders still active with Anvil include chairman emeritus George Siy, honorary chairmen Michael Tan, Jeffrey Ng, Bernard Go, Peter Mangasing, Reynold Siy, Marcelo Co, Wilfred Co, Eduardo Cobankiat, Roy Chua, Michael Chenglay and others.

Among the diverse civic, cultural, economic and other undertakings of the organization includes promoting international investors to come to the Philippines; promoting business activities in provincial areas outside Metro Manila; socio-civic and cultural projects like 2009 donation of the larger-than-life Confucius Monument for Rizal Park’s Chinese Garden to honor all teachers of the world and holding an annual Teacher’s Day tribute to educators every birthday of Confucius on September 28; different forums and workshops with renowned business leaders; giving scholarship grants and also donating relief supplies during natural calamities. Anvil Business Club recently gave away 10,000 tikoy to urban poor families of Camarin and Barracks communities in North Caloocan City.

Dr. Lucio Tan receives ALAB Award from Anvil Business Club in star-studded reception on March 15.

HOUSE OF KHAN

Pakistani finds fame as ‘Game of Thrones’ doppelganger PAKISTANI waiter Rozi Khan had never heard of the Game of Thrones—or its hugely popular character Tyrion Lannister— until his striking resemblance to the dwarf anti-hero got heads turning at home.

The 25-year-old so resembles actor Peter Dinklage—who has played the witty and wily nobleman since the hit series’ first season in 2010—that he gets regularly stopped by strangers desperate for a picture. ‘‘I don’t mind. A lot of my pictures have been taken, that’s why I have become very famous everywhere,” he said.

Not only are Khan and Dinklage’s faces strikingly similar,

they are also the same height at around 135 cms (4 ft 5in).

Photographs of the pair have unsurprisingly made their way onto social media showing the doppelgangers side-by-side.

“Wherever I go, someone says to me: ‘Sir, who is this man with you on Facebook’, I say that he is my friend. ‘He looks like you’.

I tell them he is my brother. It’s not a bad thing,” said Khan.

The television series has won 47 Emmys—more than any other fictional show in history—along with a Golden Globe for Dinklage, 49, for best supporting actor in 2012.

A much anticipated final series is set to premiere on April 17. AFP

Side-by-side photographs of Pakistani waiter Rozi Khan and US actor Peter Dinklage have unsurprisingly made their way onto social media