Manila Standard - 2017 November 03 - Friday

SET SAIL. Carina Dayondon (inset) is ready to sail to China in what the sailing mission describes as a symbol to inspire Filipinos on board a wooden replica of an ancient boat (below) in the hope of boosting national pride in a forgotten maritime prowess. The 38-year-old Bukidnon-born and raised Dayondon is planning to sail from Manila to southern China by early 2018, recreating trade and migration voyages made before Spaniards colonized the Philippines in 1521. (Story below) AFP

Trump sets Asian tour amid record low ratings WASHINGTON, USA— Weakened on the domestic front, President Donald Trump embarks this week on a long and challenging Asian tour set to be dominated by the North Korean nuclear threat after months of verbal escalation between Washington and Pyongyang.

Taking him from Japan to South Korea, China, Vietnam and the Philippines, the bumper Nov. 3-14 trip is the US leader’s first to the region since his election exactly a year ago.

On his agenda are several key regional summits but also closely-watched face-to-face meetings, be it with his powerful Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, or the controversial Philippines strongman, Rodrigo Duterte.

With his approval ratings languishing at record lows, Next page

VOL. XXXI • NO. 262 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

Troops kill Hapilon’s aide Along with another Maute straggler

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OVERNMENT soldiers killed the right-hand man of slain Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon and another Maute group straggler Wednesday night as clearing operations continued in Marawi City.

Col. Romeo Brawner Jr., deputy commander of Joint Task Force Ranao, said the two stragglers were killed, while two soldiers were

wounded in the firefight in the main battle area.

Brawner identified one of the casualties as Abu Talja, Hapilon’s lieutenant.

Duterte taps housing czar in rebuilding Marawi City

Brawner also said rehabilitation efforts continued in the war-torn city amid isolated firefights in the main battle area as clearing operations continued.

In Sarangani province, two brothers said to be “key players” of the terrorist Group Ansar Al-Khilafa Philippines, which has pledged allegiance to ISIS, were arrested late WednesNext page day evening.

By John Paolo Bencito

‘Drug war’s collateral damage inevitable’

By John Paolo Bencito ALMOST half of Filipinos believe it is inevitable that innocent individuals will get killed in the government’s anti-drug war, the latest Social Weather Stations survey revealed Thursday.

In a survey that questioned 1,500 respondents from Sept.

23 to 27, some 46 percent of adult Filipinos agreed that innocent deaths are unavoidable if the drug problem is to be eradicated, broken down into 21 percent who strongly agreed and 24 percent who somewhat agreed.

Some 35 percent of respondents disagreed while 19 percent were undecided.

This gives a net agreement

score of “moderately strong” +10, according to SWS. Malacañang, reacting to the latest poll, agreed that some innocent deaths cannot be avoided.

“Well, in any war, unfortunately, there will be collateral damage. The goal of the government is to minimize the collateral damage.

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MEETING MEDIA. Party-list Rep. Harry Roque, who will officially assume his post as President Rodrigo Duterte’s spokesman on Nov. 6, replacing Ernesto Abella, meets the Malacañang Press Corps Thursday. Duterte said Roque, a lawyer and human rights advocate, will have the rank of a Cabinet secretary. Malacañang Photo

Roque’s deputy: ‘Millennial, better looking’

By John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta ACTING Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque on Thursday said he was eyeing a “better looking” millennial spokesperson to help him speak on behalf of President Rodrigo Duterte.

“I want a millennial.

Number two, I want someone better-looking... than me so that the women will fall in love with him. And I want someone who speaks better

PERSISTENTLY PERTINACIOUS. Lawyers and law students launch Thursday ‘Manlaban sa

EJK’ at the Kamuning Bakery, where they raised a call for a stop to extrajudicial killings under the Duterte administration. Lino Santos

Legal alliance formed to fight rights abuses EXPERTS on the Constitution, human rights lawyers, and several associations of law students on Thursday launched the legal alliance “Manlaban” to coordinate the different legal challenges to extrajudicial killings and other human rights violations under President Ro-

drigo Duterte.

In a strongly worded statement, the Mga Manananggol Laban sa Extrajudicial Killings described the conduct of President Rodrigo Duterte’s drug war as “a blatant disregard of the right to life.”

“Thousands of victims who are poor and power-

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less have been targeted and brutally, nay mercilessly, executed by the state, its agents and proxies with blatant contempt and disregard for due process,” the group said.

The convenors included Senator Rene Saguisag, constitutionalist Dean Pacifico Next page

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than me. I promise the women, you will like the person I have in mind,” Roque told reporters in a Palace news briefing.

“There’s always someone who should be able to give the Palace position on different issues, and I think I’m choosing this person because I want a link between a 72-year-old President and the millennials of today.

You will not be disappointed with my choice.”

Roque said he had picked for the job his former stu-

dent, currently preparing for the bar examinations.

Roque said he needed a deputy since he wanted to do some of his work in wartorn Marawi City, where government was setting a rehabilitation program after its liberation from Islamic State-inspired terrorists.

“It’s an innovation that I thought of because the rebuilding is soon to begin and I think the people should know exactly what’s happening on the ground,” he Next page said.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed housing czar Eduardo del Rosario as head of Task Force Bangon Marawi, the body mandated to oversee the rebuilding of the war-torn city.

In an administrative order signed Oct. 27, the President said it was necessary to proceed with the full-blown reconstruction of Marawi City following its liberation from IslamicState inspired terrorists.

“The chairman of the HUDCC as head of the Task Force Bangon Marawi shall have operational control and supervision of the said task force and the overall responsibility to ensure that the objectives of this order are accomplished,” the administrative order said.

The sub-committee on housing, formerly under the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, has been placed under the Housing and Urban Next page

PH ranks fifth in global impunity index for journo killings

By John Paolo Bencito

the Duterte administration for letting media killings go unpunished.

THE National Union of The NUJP statement Journalists of the Philip- came as the 2017 report of pines on Thursday scored the Committee to Protect

Journalists ranked the Philippines fifth in the world in terms of impunity when it comes to killing journalists.

“The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines

commemorates International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists today, Nov. 2, with sadness but with an undimmed sense Next page

Journey to the past on ancient tribal boat ‘balangay’ AFTER conquering Mount Everest, Philippine adventurer Carina Dayondon is set to sail to China aboard a wooden replica of an ancient boat in the hope of boosting national pride in a forgotten maritime prowess.

manilastandard.net

Dayondon is planning to sail from Manila to southern China early next year, recreating trade and migration voyages made before Spaniards colonized the Philippines in 1521.

“People tell me I am crazy. They

ask: ‘Wow, why climb Mount Everest? Why go to China on this tiny thing,’” Dayondon told AFP in Manila Bay aboard one of the two boats that will make the expected six-day sailing Next page journey.

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'Improve PH competitiveness ranking'

By John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte would like to see an improvement in the country’s competitiveness ranking in 2018, incoming Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Thursday.

He made the statement after the Philippines ranked 56th out of 137 economies worldwide in the latest World Economic Forum Global Competi-

tiveness Report, basically holding steady compared with its No. 57 ranking last year.

“We will take this report very seriously and I think

Go on vacation outside Manila during Asean INTERIOR department officer-in-charge Catalino Cuy on Thursday urged the public to use the three-day special non-working days this November to go on vacation outside Metro Manila as the capital hosts the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Meetings. “[Cuy] advises the public to go on vacation outside Metro Manila and spend time with their loved ones during the declared Asean holidays,” the Interior department said in a statement.

Metro Manila is expected to be directly affected by the activities related to the summit.

Some 21 heads of state, including US President Donald Trump, Chinese Premier Li Kequiang, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, and UN SecretaryGeneral António Guterres are expected to join the celebrations of Asean’s 50th anniversary this year.

Malacañang earlier declared Nov. 13 to 15 as special non-working days in Metro Manila, Pampanga and Bulacan.

Before that, the Metro Manila Council said classes in all levels would be suspended in Metro Manila on Nov. 16 to 17.

Motorists and commuters are urged to refrain from passing in some areas in Metro Manila, which will be locked down from

the public starting Nov. 8.

The lockdowns are as follows: Nov. 8 (12:01 a.m. onwards)-Partial lockdown of the CCP Complex, Pasay City Nov. 11 (10 p.m. onwards)- Complete lockdown of SMX-MAAX Block, Pasay City Nov. 12 (12:01 a.m. onwards) - Complete lockdown of CCP Complex, Pasay City Nov. 13 (12:01 a.m. onwards) - Total lockdown of Roxas Boulevard starting from Padre Burgos Ave. to Buendia Ave., Manila Nov. 13 (12:01 a.m. onwards) - Partial lifting of lockdown at SMX-MAAX Block, Pasay City Nov. 13 (12 NN onwards)- Lifting of lockdown for Roxas Blvd. (Padre Burgos Ave. to Buendia Ave., Manila) Nov. 14 - Continuous lockdown of CCP Complex, Pasay City Nov. 15 (12 NN onwards)- Partial lifting of lockdown for CCP Complex, Pasay City During the partial lockdown, pedestrians and vehicles without Asean IDs and decals are allowed to enter the above-mentioned routes provided they pass through the vehicle and pedestrian security areas.

On days with full lockdown, only pedestrians and vehicles with Asean IDs and decals will be allowed to pass while the general public will be denied access to these routes.

John Paolo Bencito

Roque's...

legal counsel and the executive secretary, should be 100 percent left to the discretion of the President.

“The presidential spokesman, in my opinion, need not be confirmed anymore by the CA. The presidential spokesman does not run a department like the other secretaries,” also said Pimentel.

Department officials go through the powerful commission composed of members from the lower and upper chambers before they can officially hold the government post.

Informed of this, Roque told reporters after his first briefing in Malacañang: “Very good then.”

Earlier in a television interview, Roque said he had yet to resign from the House of Representatives. Roque represents the Kabayan Party-list in Congress.

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“That’s why it’s going to be very difficult for me to be flying to Marawi every Tuesday evening. It’s a very long drive from Cagayan de Oro. It’s very complicated for security reasons and logistic reasons but I want to do that because I want to bring Malacañang to areas where, you know, attention should be devoted,” he added.

In the Senate, Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the incoming presidential spokesperson would no longer need to be subject to confirmation hearing by the powerful bicameral Commission on Appointments.

Pimentel, also chairman of the congressional body, said the presidential spokesman, like the presidential

Legal...

From A1

Agabin, Edre Olalia and Neri Colmenares of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, Dean Jose Manuel Diokno of De La Salle University and chairman of the Free Legal Assistance Group; former Ateneo School of Government Dean Antonio La Viña, Dean Ernesto Maceda Jr. of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, June Ambrosio, a well-known champion of women’s and children’s rights and head of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ National Center for Legal Aid, former congressman and human rights lawyer Erin Tañada, Roberto Cadiz of the Commission on Human Rights, professors Victoria Avena and Roel Pulido, Rachel Pastores of the Public Interest Law Center, Evalyn Ursua and Cleto Villacorta III.

the President has shown a political will to get things done, and I’m sure this report will be a reason for us to further innovate and make sure that doing business in the Philippines will become easier,” Roque said.

While the administration didn’t have any targets, the President “would want to see an improvement in the rankings,” Roque said.

“I am sure the President, in November of next year, would want to see a substan-

Troops...

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Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency regional director Gil Castro said the suspects—Faroon Lumatao and his brother Alhotaibby Lumatao—were protecting the El Patron Drug Group that operates in South Central Mindanao.

Police on Thursday filed rebellion and other criminal charges against an Indonesian suspected to be a member of the Maute terrorist group before the Quezon City Prosecutor’s Office.

Muhammad Ilham Syahputra, 23, was arrested in Marawi City last Wednes-

PH...

From A1

of determination to help end media killings in our country and the whole world and bring perpetrators to justice,” the NUJP said in a statement.

“Impunity exists to this day under the Rodrigo Duterte government, which is not doing any better than his predecessors. In fact, he himself justified the killings of journalists that contribute to the fact journalists are still being attacked and killed,” the group added.

The “Getting Away with Murder: 2017 Global Impunity Index” also noted that no convictions have been achieved despite the formation of a task force on media killings.

Journey...

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“I’m excited because our team will be more inspired realizing how good our forefathers were. We have to let people know we should be proud of being Filipino,” the 39-year-old added.

Dayondon, a petite but muscular coast guard officer, created history in 2007 when she and two other countrywomen became the first Filipinas to scale the world’s highest mountain.

Arturo Valdez, who led their Everest support team, is also heading the sailing mission and similarly sees the journey to China as a chance to inspire Filipinos.

“Like Mount Everest, I want this to be symbolic of what our people can accomplish, of what can be possible out of the so-called impossible,” the 69-year-old said.

The vessels are a copy of a “balangay,” which date back as far as 320 AD. “Early trade with China and Southeast Asia was made possible by watercraft,” Ligaya Lacsina, researcher at the National Museum’s mari-

Aside from their individual and organizational legal service programs, the group is pushing the advocacy for human rights by holding forums nationwide and helping in the training of paralegal volunteers.

“We have never had a greater need for paralegal aid,” La Viña said.

The group’s advocacy goes beyond the alleged 12,000 killings since the start of President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on drug users and sellers to include all other extrajudicial killings, the threats to freedom of expression and the attacks against human rights defenders.

The Duterte administration has repeatedly said the 12,000 figure is wrong and exaggerated. It has insisted that the “real” figure is 3,967 “drug personalities” killed from July 1, 2016 to Oct. 25, 2017 in presumed-legitimate anti-drug operations, where the suspects violently

tial improvement regardless of whatever reasons the [Trade] Department may have to justify the standing of the Philippines.”

Roque made his statement even as Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the priority tax reform bill will be delayed after he decided to no longer push through with the Senate’s legislative sessions from Nov. 13 to 15.

“No more sessions from November 13 to 15, 2017.

Security measures will be

too tight, hence better that the entire Senate cooperates with our security authorities,” Pimentel said in a text message to reporters.

Earlier, the Senate leadership planned to hold sessions from Nov. 13 to 17 to approve the priority measures such as the tax reform bill and the 2018 national budget.

Pimentel said he was working with Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III on a new schedule.

In a separate text message,

Sotto said the approval of the tax reform bill will face a “three-day delay...that’s all.”

He said the sessions planned for Nov. 16 to 17 for the approval of the 2018 national budget will go ahead.

“Yes, it will push through,” he said.

The tax reform bill is pending on second-reading approval, while the plenary deliberations on the 2018 budget were suspended when the Senate went on a break on Oct. 13.

day, and brought to the Prosecutor’s Office for inquest proceedings.

The police charged Syahputra with rebellion under Republic Act 134, illegal possession of firearms and explosives under Republic Act 10591 and Republic Act 9516, and crimes against humanity under Republic Act 9581.

Deputy City Prosecutor Alfredo Agcaoili and Assistant State Prosecutor Rodan Parrocha immediately submitted the complaint against Indonesian for resolution.

In its complaint, the Philippine National Police alleged that Syahputra was part of the Maute-ISIS

group that attacked Marawi in May and battled government troops for five months.

“Based on accounts of rescued hostages, the ISISinspired Maute local terrorist group was reinforced by foreign nationals such as Indonesians, Malaysian and some were even Arabs,” the complaint said.

The police said Syahputra was arrested by civilians and militia under Marawi’s Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team after he was spotted swimming on Lanao Lake near the battle zone.

Seized from him were a .45 cal. pistol and bullets, fragmentation grenade and

various foreign currencies worth about P17,000, an Indonesian passport and several fake IDs bearing the name Khoirul Hidayan.

Syahputra who spoke Tagalog fluently said he was an Islamic State member who came to the Philippines two years ago. He said there were at least 39 more Maute group stragglers in the main battle area in Marawi City, but Brawner could not confirm the number.

He said they were making sure that no stragglers or unexploded ordance remained and were clearing the area of cadavers, too.

With Rey E. Requejo and Rio N. Araja

Just last week, broadcaster Christopher Lozada was gunned down near his house in Bislig City, Surigao del Sur, the group said.

While Duterte has formed a Presidential Task Force on Media Security under Administrative Order No. 1, which now tries to investigate media killings and harassment—“the fact remains however that media killings and crimes against journalists are still happening, as evidenced by five media workers killed under the current government on top of murder attempts and harassment against media workers.”

The group also underscored the lack of convictions following the bloody Maguindanao massacre, after Andal Ampatuan Sr. es-

caped court judgment by dying before defense witnesses could even be presented.

“The fact that no one has yet been convicted nearly eight years after the massacre underscores the fact impunity reigns in this country,” the NUJP added, noting the murder of 32 journalists [along with 26 other civilians] on Nov. 23, 2009 in Ampatuan, Maguindanao Province, was the single deadliest event for journalists in the world.

The patriarch’s son, Sajid Islam Ampatuan, who was Maguindanao governor at the time of the massacre, was granted bail by the Court of Appeals in January 2016, just in time for the election campaign where the younger Ampatuan ran for mayor of Shariff Aguak.

“We still demand that President Duterte order a stop to media killings and impunity in this country. He can start by not encouraging others to kill journalists and determinedly prosecuting those charged once and for all,” the NUJP said.

The CPJ report said the Philippines has had 42 unsolved cases “with complete impunity” in the past decade, adding that local journalists outside the capital covering politics, corruption, business and crime are mostly targeted—including Duterte critic broadcaster Jun Pala, who was gunned down in 2003, the March 2017 shooting of reporter Joaquin Briones and the killing of tabloid reporter Rubylita Garcia, who was shot dead by armed men outside her home in Bacoor, Cavite.

time division, told AFP. “Europeans during the colonial period were effusive in their praise of Southeast Asian boat-building skill.

But somehow we’ve paid very little attention to this.”

Tribal boat-builders from the southern Philippines, where the boats originated, have made the replicas of the balangay using skills passed on down the generations.

The boats, 18 meters long by three meters wide, are made of hardwood planks, include two sails, two rudders and a roofed area.

Their journey to the southeastern Chinese city of Quanzhou will be about 1,000 kilometers, and the crew members are aiming to do it with as little modern technical help as possible.

“We have no night-sailing capability so we can be run over by a super tanker.

That’s my fear. The greatest difficulty of replicating an ancient voyage is modernity because there are new port protocols,” Valdez said.

“This kind of boat is being treated as a maritime hazard.”

‘Spirit of a nation’ Daily life aboard the boat

is a struggle, according to Dayondon.

“We sleep anywhere because we don’t have quarters.

We have no toilet. We just hold the rope and use a harness and do the proper position so we don’t fall,” she said.

Nevertheless, a third boat with a motor will accompany the balangays otherwise they will not be allowed into Chinese ports.

Their trip is planned to commemorate a journey made about 600 years ago by a sultan from the southern island of Sulu who went to China to pay tribute to Ming Dynasty rulers there but who died of an illness on his way home.

The voyage to China will be the team’s second maritime quest following a 17-month journey that began in 2009 around Southeast Asia.

One of the group’s biggest challenges is off the water— finding enough money to fund the adventure.

The team members plan to open the vessels to the public for educational tours and even wedding shoots to raise money for their upkeep in Manila Bay. AFP

fought back, prompting law enforcers to act in self-defense.

Olalia also cited the need to challenge an array of authoritarian tactics introduced by the Duterte administration, including the police practice of conducting house-to-house drug tests and the use of intelligence “drop boxes” and surveys that violate privacy to boost the list of targeted drug users.

“With the violence on all fronts of President Duterte’s war, there is deep fear indeed among the living that death will come for virtually anyone, sooner, at the door,” Manlaban said.

The group rejected Duterte’s oftrepeated claim that he first needs to wipe out the tentacles of narcotics gangs at the grassroots.

“Extrajudicial killings have not worked before and will never work now,” Manlaban said.

“The effective solution to the drug

problem in the Philippines is cleaning up the government of officials, including the police and politicians, who protect drug syndicates; the effective prosecution of all involved, especially the big drug lords, to dry up the supply chain; and inclusive economic development to uplift the people from penury and thus stem the demand for anti-social vices like drugs.”

The lawyers dismissed as a myth the government’s claim that its conduct of the drug war has popular support from Filipinos.

All Filipinos should support a campaign against drugs, La Viña said.

But he said the surveys had consistently showed that the majority of Filipinos were concerned about extrajudicial killings and scared that they could also fall victims, and believed that Duterte’s campaign was largely targeting poor citizens.

Trump...

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will the 71-year-old president manage to leave behind the spectacular recent developments in the probe into Russian election meddling?

Will he forego his morning tweeting for the duration of the 12-day trip?

The White House has sought to emphasize the length of the five-nation tour—the longest by any US president since George H.W. Bush in 1991—as evidence of Trump’s commitment to engaging with the region.

But doubts linger on that point, most notably on the economic front following Trump’s abrupt decision— three days into office—to pull out of the TPP transPacific trade deal, which unsettled several signatories and Japan in particular.

Supporters of the deal, struck in 2015 by 12 nations who together account for 40 percent of the world economy, had championed it as a vital counterweight to the growing influence of China.

Trump’s ‘friend’ Abe After a brief stopover in Hawaii, Trump will Sunday join his “friend” Shinzo Abe for a new round of golf -- following the one they shared in Florida last February—before a series of meetings aimed at underscoring the strength of the USJapanese alliance.

In South Korea, Trump— unlike many of his predecessors—will not travel to the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Korean peninsula, instead delivering what is set to be a closely-scrutinized speech before the country’s national assembly.

Seoul will be hoping during Trump’s two-day visit starting Tuesday for a reaffirmation of its alliance with Washington, at a time when the North is pushing ahead with its nuclear and ballistic missile programs in

Duterte...

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Development Coordinating Council, which will be “primarily responsible for the immediate rehabilitation and construction of temporary or permanent shelters, and the restoration of water, electricity, and other public utilities.”

The sub-committee on security, peace and order, on the other hand, will be jointly chaired by Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and acting Interior Secretary Catalino Cuy. President Duterte declared Marawi City freed from the Maute group last Oct. 17, which marked the start of the city’s rehabilitation period.

The reorganization of Task Force Bangon Marawi reflects the shift in government’s priority in rebuilding and developing war-affected areas in Marawi.

Earlier, Camarines Sur Rep. Lray Villafuerte urged Malacanang’s economic team to draft a “mini-Marshall Plan” for Marawi City amid estimates that rebuilding the war-torn city would cost more than P90 billion.

'Drug...

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The goal of the government is to... protect and promote the right to life,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said.

“As far as this obligation is concerned, there is a continuing obligation of the state to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of these killings,” he added.

In the same survey, almost five out of 10 respondents, or 49 percent agreed that it is wrong to kill people who use drugs.

Only 19 percent disagreed, while 31 percent were undecided.

This resulted in a net agreement score of moderately strong +29.

The September 2017 Social Weather Survey, conducted from Sept. 23 to 27 had sampling error margins of ±3 percent for national percentages. defiance of the international community.

It is also seeking reassurances of a different nature.

“South Koreans also want to know that the United States is not going to prematurely or unnecessarily draw South Korea into any kind of military conflict,” said Scott Snyder of the New York-based think-tank the Council on Foreign Relations.

Since taking office, the US president has vowed to unleash “fire and fury” if threatened by Kim Jong-Un’s regime, has contradicted his top diplomat about direct contacts with Pyongyang, and sent out a string of cryptic messages—”We’ll do what has to be done!”—that ultimately left observers guessing at his true intentions toward North Korea.

For Michael O’Hanlon, a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, Trump has been “ad-libbing” on what has emerged as the major foreign policy challenge of his presidency so far.

“And people like [Defense] Secretary [Jim] Mattis and Secretary [of State Rex] Tillerson are trying to somehow hold things together and make sense of it and keep the lid on, as best they can.”

Xi Jinping, ‘powerful man’ After Seoul, the 45th US president heads to Beijing next Wednesday to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping just weeks after he was formally handed a second term in power, solidifying his grip on the world’s most populous nation.

“He’s a powerful man,” Trump recently declared of Xi. “I happen to think he’s a very good person,” added the US president, who despite his campaign rhetoric railing against China’s trade imbalance with the United States has so far trodden relatively carefully in dealing with the Asian giant. AFP

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

2 more fratmen deny part in hazing

By Rey E. Requejo

T

WO more members of the Aegis Juris fraternity have sought for the dismissal of the criminal charges filed against them in connection with the fatal hazing of University of Santo Tomas law freshman Horacio Castillo III last Sept. 17.

Fratmen Alex Bose and Nathan Anarna showed up before the Department of Justice and submitted their counter-affidavits on charges of murder, hazing and ob-

struction of justice.

According to them, the complaint filed by the Manila Police District and Castillo’s parents Horacio II and Carminia against them

should be dismissed for lack of probable cause.

“I did not participate in any manner in the alleged planning, initiation rites, hazing, coverup, meetings, char messages, robbery and/ or other purported criminal activities against the person or property of the late Atio Castillo,” Bose said, in his 26-page answer.

“I was not at the alleged place of incident during the alleged final stages of the initiation of Atio, specifically when the late Atio Castillo was allegedly paddled and subsequently died,” he added.

Anarna made a similar denial and also claimed that he was not present in the frat library when the alleged hazing took place.

“I did not and cannot inflict any physical harm against Atio as I was nowhere near UST from Sept.

11 to 17, 2017. Specifically, at the night the alleged crime was committed until the next morning, I never went near the alleged place of incident but was in our house in Silang, Cavite,” he said.

Fraternity president Arvin Balag, master initiator Axel Hipe and other key respon-

dents, including John Paul Solano and Ralph Trangia, have already filed their respective answers to the investigating panel chaired by Assistant State Prosecutor Susan Villanueva in previous hearings.

Most of them claimed that Castillo died not of injuries from hazing but rather due to his pre-existing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy condition.

Balag went as far as claiming there was no proof showing that Castillo underwent hazing in their library.

One of the respondents and fraternity members, Marc

Anthony Ventura had already turned state witness and submitted a tell-all affidavit to the DoJ tagging 23 of his frat brothers in the fatal hazing of Castillo.

However, Bose argued that Ventura’s statement cannot be given weight as it was not submitted before the panel and therefore should be considered as “double hearsay.”

“Respondent Ventura’s alleged extrajudicial confession is inadmissible in evidence against his co-respondents on the basis of the res inter alios acta doctrine (law

Bayan Muna calls for assets audit of SSS officials

PDEA agents nab ‘ecstasy’ supplier AGENTS of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency arrested a Filipino-American believed to be a supplier of ecstasy to showbiz celebrities in Mandaluyong City Thursday at 2 a.m.

At a news conference at the PDEA headquarters in Quezon City, Director General Aaron Aquino said the Filipino-American suspect, Dennis Ray Thieke, 37 was nabbed inside his home at Unit 2104, 21st floor, Eugenia Tower, Tivoli Garden Residences, Coronado Street, Barangay Hulo in Mandaluyong.

He presented Thieke and pieces of evidence—shabu, tablets of ecstasy, cocaine, dried marijuana leaves, a Booster M4 with two magazines containing live ammunition and assorted laboratory equipment to the media. Rio N. Araja

By Maricel V. Cruz and Vito Barcelo

REMEMBERING THE DISAPPEARED. Relatives

Eco group slams littering in cemeteries E N V I R O N M E N TA L I S T group Ecowaste Coalition on Thursday expressed dismay over the widespread littering in various cemeteries in Metro Manila and nearby provinces that marred the observance of All Saints' Day. “We’re downright disappointed by the inconsiderate behavior of some people who simply discarded their trash in cemeteries as if littering forms part of our time-cherished tradition of remembering our departed loved ones,” said Daniel Alejandre, Ecowaste Zero Waste Campaigner.

The trash collected from the cemeteries are mostly paper and styrofoam containers, plastic bags, bottles and cups, donut and pizza boxes, snack packs and wrappers, food leftovers, and soiled diapers and newspapers.

“Sharing a meal and prayer together at the cemetery is perfectly fine. But leaving your discards behind is totally shameful, and very disrespectful for the dead,” Alejandre said. Joel E. Zurbano

Give teachers right salary, DepEd told TWO militant lawmakers on Thursday expressed hope the leadership of the House of Representatives will act immediately on a resolution that will determine the legality of a Department of Education order reducing at a significant amount the take home pay of teachers and other personnel of the department.

ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro and Antonio Tinio appealed to Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez to order the immediate congressional probe into House Resolution 1432 which questioned the DepEd Order 38, Series of 2017 which effectively reduced the Net Take Home Pay of about half of the teaching personnel and other employees of the department to amounts below P4,000.00 for October, ranging from P100 to P900.

“Despite the issuance of DO No. 55, an investigation must ensue to hold the DepEd’s leadership accountable for its arbitrary issuance of DO No. 38,” Castro said. Maricel V. Cruz

doctrine which holds that a contract cannot adversely affect the rights of one who is not a party to the contract),” he argued.

UST law dean Nilo Divina, also a member of the fraternity who was named respondent in the complaint filed by Castillo’s parents, also denied any liability in Castillo’s death. He argued that he cannot be held liable as accomplice of fraternity members involved in the fatal hazing simply because he was not aware of it and only learned of Castillo’s death after the initiation rites.

of involuntary disappearances (Desaparecidos) light up candles and offered solemn prayers on portraits of the victims during an annual fellowship at the Plaza Miranda in Manila’s Quiapo district to commemorate their loved ones who disappeared without a trace allegedly perpetrated by high ranking officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Ey Acasio

Palace allays fears on recall of bananas in Japan

By John Paolo Bencito MALACAÑANG on Thursday assured that Philippine bananas will not be affected by the decision of a Japanese fruit exporter to recall approximately 9,000 bunches of bananas, amid concerns they have been tampered with.

“The Philippines is probably the

biggest supplier of bananas to Japan.

It’s unfortunate that this shipment, this incident happened,” incoming presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said.

“It’s not too big, the shipment is not too big. I don’t think it will affect our current status as the biggest, if not one of the biggest suppliers of the food product into Japan. I think it was

just an accident,” he added.

“I don’t think there’s too much of a reason to worry,” he said.

In a Kyodo news report, Dole Japan Inc., a producer of fruits and vegetables, said Wednesday it will recall approximately 9,000 bunches of packaged Philippine bananas due to concerns they have been tampered with.

The company found an approxi-

mately 3-centimeter-long wire in a banana during a voluntary inspection at its facility in the city of Kawasaki on Friday.

The company reported the incident to local police, believing someone in the Philippines inserted the wire into the banana. The fruit subject to recall is being sold at supermarkets and green grocers across Japan.

FDA to issue ‘reso’ on non-abortifacients

By John Paolo Bencito and Rio N. Araja THE PHILIPPINE Food and Drug Administration is about to finish its evaluation per Supreme Court decision of 51 contraceptives and will be issuing a resolution anytime soon.

Contraceptives found non-abortifacient will then be issued Certificates of Product Registration.

This action will effectively lift the

40-month old Supreme Court TRO dating back to June, 2015.

Parallel to the FDA action, the members of the Implementing Rules and Regulations Drafting Committee of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law, led by former Health Secretary Paulyn Jean Rosell Ubial, signed the revised IRR on Oct. 6, 2017 at the Department of Health, also in compliance with the Supreme Court final decision on ALFI

vs. Garin.

“The twin actions of the FDA and DoH have put the RPRH law back on track to full implementation,” Dr Juan A. Perez III, executive director of the Commission on Population declared.

Some of the revisions on the IRR are the deletion of the qualifier “primarily” in defining abortifacients and contraceptives and the reiteration that written parental consent for minors is needed to be able to

access contraceptives even if the minor is already a parent or has had a miscarriage.

The revised IRR also states that any health care service provider who fails and or refuses to disseminate information regarding programs and services on reproductive health because of his or her religious beliefs will not be punished provided he/she complied with the requirements as evidence of his/her beliefs.

Lawmaker slams MRT3’s off-loading incidents

By Maricel V. Cruz

HEALTH FORUM. Forum for Family Planning and Development president

Benjamin de Leon, former Health secretary Dr. Esperanza Cabral, chairperson National Implementation Team, Dr. Juan Antonio Perez executive director Commission on Population and Dr. Junice Melgar executive director, LIKHAAN attend a press conference in Quezon City to call on the Food and Drug Administration to release the resolution on its findings on contraceptives. Lino Santos

A PARTY-LIST lawmaker on Thursday hit the series of offloading incidents involving the MRT3.

Anakpawis party-list Rep. Ariel Casilao said the three consecutive incidents of passenger off-loading was a grave sign and that the government should immediately do something and not just wait for another serious accident occur to MRT commuters.

Last Nov. 1, there was a reported passenger off-loading due to technical problem and today, there have been three consecutive passengers offloading due to a door, brake and atp failure.

Casilao, a member of the Makabayan Bloc, said the technical failures are a part of the bigger problem of the MRT operation and its maintenance.

Despite the Department of Transportation’s filing of complaints against former DoTC officials to the Office of the Ombudsman, Casilao said the department has yet to cancel the contract of Busan Universal Railway Inc. to give way for other providers’ that will handle MRT3’s maintenance.

“The DoTR had already issued a notice of termination to BURI but how come it is still handling the maintenance of MRT3?,” Casilao asked.

A MILITANT lawmaker on Thursday said an assets and investments audit as well as a lifestyle check must be conducted on all of Social Security Systems board members and other officials of the state-run pension agency in the light of controversy hounding its senior executives.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said his proposal was apart from the suspension and freezing of all the bank and financial accounts of the four SSS executives who were into alleged self-dealing in the stock market.

“This is in line to see if indeed that it is only the four SSS executives who are using their positions to enrich themselves. They must remember that they are there to serve the members of the SSS and most of them are political appointees. They are not there to become rich but to share their supposed skills and talents to the people,” Zarate said.

“As it is, the salaries and bonuses of SSS officials are already so high compared to other government-owned-and -controlled corporations, so they must do all they can to serve the people honestly,” he added.

Zarate also said that the planned increse in contributions of SSS members should be lifted in the wake of the controversy.

PH drops 3 notches In GGG index THE latest Global Gender Gap index saw the Philippines dropping three notches from 7th to 10th spot among 144 countries.

In its 2017 Global Gender Gap report released by the World Economic Forum on Nov. 1, the Philippines scored 0.790 in the overall global index on closing the gender gap. It received a 0.786 score in 2016.

The WEF blamed the country’s “worsening performance” on wage equality for its drop on the rankings.

But despite slipping three spots in terms of closing the gap on gender disparity, Philippines has maintained its position of being the “highest performer” in the East Asia and the Pacific region.

“The country also reopens a Health and Survival gender gap for the first time since 2006, although the Educational Attainment gender gap remains fully closed,” it added.

Nordic countries continue to hold the top spots, while Iceland remains the world’s most gender-equal country for nine years as it closed nearly 88 percent of its gap.

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Opinion

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

mst.daydesk@gmail.com

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

Dent on the economy

T

HE Philippines will still register one of the fastest economic growth rates in Asia in the next five years, but sustaining such a pace could be difficult if the political landscape changes and creates uncertainty to investors.

London-based think tank Capital Economics earlier this week warned that the increased political uncertainty in the Philippines could dent economic growth over the mediumterm period, despite heavy spending on big infrastructure projects.

The research institute, in its latest report, noted that there were signs investors were starting to think twice before committing to longterm investments in the country.

Having grown rapidly between 2010 and 2016, foreign direct investments in the Philippines dropped 15 percent in the first six months of 2017 compared with the same period last year.

Capital Economics said “the worsening outlook for investment is one of the key reasons why we think the Philippines will slightly disappoint expectations over the coming years.”

Companies, it added, needed a stable and predictable business environment before they invest.

The London think tank does not think President Rodrigo Duterte is the disaster for the economy that some feared. But the institute said there were signs that the war on drugs, his erratic policymaking style and the worsening security situation in the south of the country was starting to weigh on investment prospects.

Capital Economics said after having climbed up the business rankings under President Benigno Aquino III, improvements to the business environment appeared to have come to a halt. “If the Philippines is to maintain rapid growth, it requires more capital deepening. It is no surprise that the fastest-growing emerging

markets over the past couple of decades have typically been those with high investment rates,” it said.

Political stability under the previous Aquino administration was a key factor behind the surge in investment growth in the past few years. Military coup attempts and corruption scandals, which were a common feature of political life in the country for much of the postwar period, were notably absent during the Aquino presidency, the think tank said.

The government, however, could neutralize the dent on the economy.

Its plan to ramp up infrastructure investment may turn things around and subdue the political noise.

Congress: Stop protecting sexual harassers Bloomberg editorial

Not the Nobel Prize LOWDOWN

JOJO A. ROBLES IT’S not like it’s the Nobel Peace Prize or anything important like that. It’s more like, if you feel you’ve done such a great job, you pat yourself on the back.

Detained Senator Leila de Lima has been given the “highest human rights honor” by a group called Liberal International. According to a press release from the organization, “[p] oliticians from around the world voted to award Liberal International’s highest human rights honor—the Prize for Freedom—to imprisoned Philippines political prisoner, Senator Leila de Lima.”

“Leila De Lima has been a flag-bearer for human rights in the Philippines and

beyond, setting a shining example for other human rights defenders,” said the chairman of the LI’s Human Rights Committee, Markus Löning, a retired German politician who visited De Lima in jail last July. “Even from inside the prison she keeps fighting for the rule of law and the dignity of individuals.”

According to the LI Web site, De Lima’s Liberal Party has been a member of the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD), which is LI’s regional organization, since 1989. The last Filipino to receive the group’s award for human rights was President Corazon Aquino, who received it in 1987.

Apart from CALD, another of LI’s partner organizations is the Freidrich Neumann Foundation (FNF), which sponsored the trip of Vice President Leni Ro-

bredo to Cape Town, South Africa last April. That trip was described as a huge junket of the LP, attended by all leaders of the party led by Robredo and Senator

De Lima’s award is just more Liberal propaganda.

Considering the giver, it’s not even real news.

Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan.

So it was really a case of the friends, funders and enablers of the political opposition abroad giving more moral support to De Lima, who is detained

in Camp Crame on nonbailable drug charges. If there is any further doubt about this, the press release about the awarding, which was widely reported by media outlets believed to be sympathetic to De Lima’s cause, explains why she was chosen: “Senator De Lima, a vocal and ardent critic [of] the Philippines’ authoritarian president Rodrigo Duterte’s so-called ‘war of drugs’, has been held in pre-trial detention on politically motivated charges since February 2017,” LI said. “She should immediately be released from... detention.”

Note the words “authoritarian,” “so-called war” and “politically motivated” to understand the political underpinnings of the award.

Note further that the real objective of LI is the release of De Lima, something that no Liberal politician, for-

eign or local, has the authority to demand, since De Lima’s case is really up to the courts to decide.

Of course, I understand that it’s been a really slow news week, what with the All Souls holidays and all.

But don’t believe for one second that De Lima is suddenly being hailed as a human rights heroine by the entire world.

I’m sure that the United Nations, the Philippine Supreme Court, rights lawyer Amal Clooney and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will have something to say about De Lima’s record as a protector of human rights. It was De Lima, after all, who ignored a Supreme Court order allowing Arroyo to leave for medical treatment abroad, a rights violation so egregious that a UN body denounced her and the Aquino administration for after Clooney took up her

cause with the international organization.

I don’t really know what De Lima’s human rights track record is, even taking into consideration her uneventful stint as chairman of the Commission on Human Rights during the term of Arroyo, whose rights De Lima trampled upon so blithely as soon as she was employed by Gloria’s successor. All I know is she’s now in jail because she stands accused of allowing the proliferation of the illegal drug trade as justice secretary, using the New Bilibid Prisons as its clandestine headquarters.

De Lima’s award is just more Liberal propaganda.

Considering the giver of the award, it’s not even real news. *** Speaking of fake news, an item I reported in this

CONGRESS has a rich history of exempting itself from rules it imposes on everyone else. Insider trading? Doesn’t apply.

Whistleblower protections? Not in Congress!

Workplace safety rights?

Less is more. The Freedom of Information Act? Surely you jest.

The most egregious example of this “Do as we say, not as we do” approach may concern sexual harassment. This week, as the fallout from the Harvey Weinstein scandal continues, the House Administration Committee announced that it would review the body’s embarrassingly backward harassment policies. It’s about time.

The 1995 Congressional Accountability Act applied most labor and civil rights laws to Congress.

But instead of subjecting itself to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which enforces those laws, Congress created a weaker oversight body, the Office of Compliance—and exempted itself from basic safeguards against violations that are all too common.

As a result, employees of federal agencies—but not members of Congress— are required to take training on sexual harassment. Agencies— but not Congress—must post information about where to report workplace violations. And while most federal workers find it relatively easy to file a complaint, congressional staff members face a convoluted process designed to protect offenders.

Legislative employees who wish to report sexual harassment must “request counseling” from the Office of Compliance, even though its board of directors is appointed by members of Congress, an inherent conflict of interest. After a 30-day counseling period, employees must file “a request for

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Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher ManilaStandard

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

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can be accessed at: manilastandard.net

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Chairman Emeritus, Editorial Board

Opinion

JOHN L. Gokongwei Jr. put up his first company, Amasia Trading, in 1946, when he was 20, to import onions, flour, used clothing, old newspapers and magazines, and fruits from the United States.

The original Universal Robina Corp., as a corn starch factory, was established in 1957, when John was 31. It became No. 1 in branded foods. URC today is the largest player in the ready-to-drink tea market and cup noodles business, and is a respectable second player in coffee business.

John likes to think of URC as the first “Philippine multinational” although that distinction properly belongs to San Miguel Corp. (established 1890).

Of course, URC International has subsidiaries in China (Shanghai and Guangzhou), Hongkong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Myanmar. The international operations contributed 30.8 percent (including 20.9 percent in Asean) of URC’s revenues in 2015.

On Aug. 11, 2016, his 90th birthday, John announced his retirement as well as chair emeritus of JG Summit. Retirement, if you can call it that, frees John from the day-to-day minutiae of managing an enterprise as sprawling as JG Summit and gives him flexibility and the luxury of contemplation as he plots the directions of the group in this decade and next.

John’s successor as JG Summit chair CEO is youngest brother James Go. He has a bachelor’s and master of science degrees, in chemical engineering, from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. Company president Lance Gokongwei has two bachelor’s degrees, Finance and in Applied Science, both from the University of Pennsylvania.

With John at 91, JG Summit should be looking for an entrepreneur of his guts and vision to sustain the conglomerate, during the next 30 years. James Go and Lance are both hugely competent, but they obviously are filling a big, big shoe and walking under a giant shadow.

Taipan John, however, remains robust and healthy.

John originally believed he should serve the basic needs of Filipinos—food (through his branded snack foods, noodles, beverages, sugar, and hogs and poultry); shelter (through his hotels, residential condos and subdivisions), and clothing (he phased out his Litton Mills). Later, he added travel, banking, petrochemicals, even energy.

Listed JG Summit had a market value, as of Oct. 31, 2017, of P534.34 billion, down 14 percent from its peak of P624.24 billion in May 2017. With control of 60.3 percent of JGS, John is worth P322.2 billion or $6.3 billion (at P51 to $1).

It’s incredible but JGS is worth more than twice as much as San Miguel Corp.

(P534.34 billion market cap vs SMC’s P244.98 billion). The nation’s largest company in revenues, profits and diversity of businesses, SMC reported P393 billion in revenues, up 20 percent from a yearago period, and P27.6 billion in recurring net income, in first half 2017, up 21 percent.

In 2017 first half, JGS

made only P134 billion in revenues and P14.6 billion in profits. SMC generated almost three times more revenues and 1.89 times more in profits in the same period, and yet is valued by the market at less than half that of JGS. Surely, SMC is the most underpriced company in the stock market today.

At 50 in 1976, John was a considerably selfmade man. “We had built significant businesses in food products anchored by a branded coffee called Blend 45, and agro-industrial products under the Robina Farms brand,” he recalls.

He became ambitious.

He focused on acquisitions. In 1976, he tried to become a director of giant San Miguel Corp. In three attempts, he lost each time.

Still, said John, “this was one of my defining moments.” “I was able to prove to others—and to myself—that I was willing to put up a fight. I succeeded because I overcame my fear, and tried. I believe this battle helped define who I am today. Since then, I’ve become known as a serious player in the business world, but the challenges haven’t stopped coming.”

Aside from the San Miguel challenge, Gokongwei likes to think he won three big business battles—in airline, in cellular telephony, and in ready to drink tea. “We set up businesses against market Goliaths in very highcapital industries: airline, telecoms, and beverage,” relates John.

With only son Lance in command, John grew Cebu Pacific from five aircraft in 1996 with 360,000 passengers, 24 daily flights to three destinations to, by end-2016—57 aircraft, 20-million passengers, 59 domestic routes, 43 international routes, and 2,820 scheduled weekly flights.

Cebu Pacific became the pioneer low-cost carrier, using the “low fare, great value” strategy. Profitability is achieved by having: high-load, high-frequency flights; high aircraft utilization; a young and simple fleet composition; and low distribution costs.

In 2003, John established Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. and developed a brand for the mobile phone business called Sun Cellular.

Prior to launching Digitel, John was actually offered majority ownership of PLDT by Anthony Salim but was blocked by PLDT top honcho and Salim proxy Manuel V. Pangilinan. PLDT at that time was bleeding money from losses and Salim wanted to get rid of it.

Within one year of its introduction, Digitel’s Sun cellular hit one million customers. Sun’s 24/7 Call and Text unlimited changed the landscape of mobile-phone usage. Digitel, of course, was acquired by PLDT in share swap in 2011.

Says John of the experience with Cebu Air and Digitel: “In the end, it is all about making life better for the consumer by giving them choices.”

In 2004, JGS launched C2, the green tea drink that would change the face of the local beverage industry—then, a playground of cola companies. C2 became No. 1. Are there anymore battles Big John wants to win? biznewsasia@gmail.com

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Homegrown terrorists

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

Gokongwei’s story (2)

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO EIGHT people were killed and 13 others injured when a Uzbekistani terrorist plowed his truck into a crowd in New York City last Tuesday. The attack was carried out in Lower Manhattan in an esplanade along the Hudson River popular with strollers, joggers and bikers. The attack apparently was well planned. The killer knew that Times Square, Central Park and other places popular with locals and tourists were crawling with cops precisely to prevent terrorist attacks.

To hear the CCN panelists talked about it, they sounded like they know all the answers to the problem.

Indeed a few, including a touted Middle East expert did talk sense. She traced the history of why the US and particularly New York attracts terrorists. The resource expert cited the 750,000 refugees and immigrants who were granted visas into the US. This , despite the devastating attack by terrorists who hijacked

four airliners and crashed two of them into the New York Twin Towers killing thousands and obliterating the landmark and symbol of the city as financial capital of the world.

The Uzbek terrorist was consequently shot by police. But the fact he was an immigrant from Uzbekistan who came into the US in 2010 brings into sharp focus that America is fighting terrorism from within by immigrants who are already in the States for several years. These people are called “sleepers” who wait and prepare for the day when they will strike and exact the maximum damage and loss of lives. It does matter to them whether their victims are innocent women and children. These sleeper terrorists consumed by their own hate are walking time bombs waiting to explode.

“Allahu Akbar!” shouted the crazed killer in the latest New York attack. The phrase in Arabic means “God is great!” But what is great about a god who allows or condones such a barbaric act? The mass killer identified as Sayfulla Habibullaevic Saipov, 29, left a note in the truck

claiming he acted for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, more known as ISIS. With a name like that he could have well been named Abdul Kabulbul Tamulmul for all I care. The scary implication of this “lone wolf” terrorist attack is that there could be sick, deranged people around us who could strike at any moment. Saipov came to the United States as a winner in a lottery that allows immigrants from other countries for the purpose of diversifying American society. For sure, a review and possibly a dismantling of the program would ensue as an aftermath of many immigrants turning out to be lurking monsters.

The US Homeland Security, for all the teeth and resources given it by the US government, is finding it difficult to fight a war within its own borders. Whether by design or coincidental, the latest New York attack happened near the Twin Towers trade center.

How does the New York and other acts of terrorism going on all over the world relate to our own circumstances and environment? We have seen what happened in Marawi where many of the victims

were also Muslims. The rampage of a crazed loser at the Resort World casino was ruled out as an act of terrorism by the police. Police have tighten security in Metro Manila to guard against suicide bombings and random shootings.

God forbid that we fall prey to these perverted and sick killers.

It is foolhardy to think that terrorists are spawned mostly from Muslim communities. I do not claim to be an expert on terrorism.

But the trend of terrorism showed a common thread that runs along the history and background of the perpetrators. Take the case of the Boston marathon finish line bombers. Two young brothers from Chechnya were given asylum and citizenship by the US Immigration and Naturalization Service. Yet, after years in the US and enjoying the benefits of the American system, they turned against their host country.

Profiling and stereotyping them as simply messed- up Muslims would be wrong. Call it an aberration as in the case of the white American jihadist who joined Al Qaida several years back. Known as the “Yankee Jihadist,”

Adam Yahiyee Godhan (or goddamn) nee John Adam Walker Lindt alias John Adam Pearlman from California, converted to the Islamic faith like many Caucasians drawn into the ranks of these deranged, murderous terrorists. Then there was the white American, Steven Paddock, who fired at random from the Mandalay Hotel in Las Vegas killing 59 people who were watching a concert at a square below the hotel.

Even here in our country a fertile breeding and recruiting ground for ISIS are the criminals wanted by the police. With their world getting smaller, there is nowhere for them to go but seek refuge in the ranks of terrorists. From primarily criminals for profit, these b*stards assume and even gain a false description as misguided elements for an allegedly noble cause.

With America under constant attack by terrorists, US President Donald Trump may have a valid point in suspending the issuance of visa applications from seven Muslim countries.

But what safeguards has Trump taken to fight those sleepers already in the US, or the enemy within?

Trump rolls out a misguided attack on skilled immigration

from overseas. These aren’t just cosmetic changes either. Reuters reports that the government has issued 45 percent more challenges to H-1B visa requests this year than in 2016.

Even worse, the administration is preparing to eliminate part of the Optional Practical Training program, which lets foreign students work in the US while they complete their degrees. That program, implemented by the George W. Bush administration, has allowed US universities to maintain their global dominance by recruiting top students from around the world.

Since foreign students tend to pay full tuition, it also helps subsidize the

educations of low-income native-born Americans.

Ending the OPT program would be a heavy blow to US universities, eroding the country’s technological dominance and making it harder for the native-born to get a reasonably priced high-quality education.

But the biggest blow against skilled immigration would come if the administration succeeds in passing the so-called Raise Act, short for Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy. Although the bill establishes a system that would award points and give preference to skilled immigrants— a positive step—what’s being proposed is so restrictive that in practice,

few applicants would pass muster. Much more importantly, the Raise Act would end most family reunification immigration -- the main way by which legal immigrants make it to the US In the past decade, an increasingly large percent of legal immigration has been of the skilled variety.

By cutting off what the Trump administration calls “chain migration,” the US would be choking off its biggest source of skilled legal immigrants.

Trump’s moves will fall hardest on Asian immigrants, who tend to be of the high-skilled variety, and who now represent the largest group of new immigrants entering the US The curbs on H-1B visas, the

possible end of the OPT program, the ominous Raise Act, and the administration’s general antiimmigrant attitude have many Indian-Americans rethinking whether they want to stay in the country, and many Indians reconsidering whether it’s worth it to come in the first place.

This is bad news. IndianAmericans are generally recognized as the highestskilled group in the US The median income of IndianAmerican households is higher than that of any other group, and Indian-Americans may also be the most educated. Stopping the inflow of smart, high-earning Indians into the US would be a gut punch to the hightechnology industries that power the US economy.

Without skilled immigrants, the biggest US economic advantages—top universities, concentrations of smart workers and high-value industries— would all be undermined.

Nor would cutting off skilled immigration benefit American workers— studies generally show that these immigrants actually raise the wages of the native-born, by complementing their skills.

In other words, the Trump administration’s attack on skilled foreigners doesn’t just represent a reversal of the president’s campaign promises—it poses a danger to the country as a whole. Bloomberg

ported the same event, ran a statement by Trillanes to the effect that the story was fake news.

But the Trillanes statement on the report picked up by Pilipino Star Ngayon columnist Al Pedroche and Philippine Star pundit Mary Ann Reyes put the blame on social media, instead of identifying these

mainstream outlets as the original source. While Trillanes identified RJ Nieto, of the wildly popular Thinking Pinoy blog, as the source, the Star said it was originally published in a satire site, The Adobo Chronicles.

(PSN took down the Pedroche column from its Web site without any

explanation after it was already published in the print edition. But Reyes’ column was allowed to stand.)

A perplexed Nieto came out with the definitive timeline on the brouhaha in a blog post, while the owner of Adobo demanded an apology and a retraction from the Star.

Trillanes just came out of the incident looking like a bully who did not want to criticize the original mainstream source of the report—whose veracity no one really knows right now.

Maybe someone will ask Trump himself when he visits Manila this month.

Or maybe not.

be a useful process, it can also deepen the pain and subject accusers to pressure from the accused, who can use mediation—which is confidential—to try to talk them out of pursuing their case. If a victim goes public before the conclusion of the counseling and mediation process, he or

she is subject to sanctions.

This system was unenlightened, to put it mildly, when it was instituted in 1995. But in 2017, and in view of the widely reported experience of Hill staff members, it should be seen for what it is: an enabling mechanism. Federal employees who work on

Capitol Hill should have no fewer protections than other federal employees.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has welcomed the administration committee’s review. But the public should demand swift action and accountability.

Mandating training would be a good start, as one

representative (and former staff member) has proposed. Even better would be scrapping its separate and unequal adjudicatory process altogether. Congress should abide by the same laws and standards it places upon federal agencies, private businesses and the general public.

By Noah Smith IN HIS campaign and since winning the presidency, Donald Trump has promised to adopt a system that gives preference to skilled immigrants. He’s doing the exact opposite.

This represents not just a breach of a campaign promise and a trampling of long-standing American ideals, but a threat to a key engine of prosperity.

So far, most of Trump’s attacks have come against the H-1B program. The H-1B work visa allows skilled foreigners to work in the US when sponsored by an employer. Although the visa is nominally about temporary work, in practice H-1B holders often end up applying for green cards and staying in the US permanently. Thus, H-1B is the country’s most important engine of skilled immigration.

Trump’s administration has been attacking this program vigorously. Reason, a conservative website, has reported on the various ways Trump is shutting out smart foreigners. The administration is making it harder for H-1B holders to renew their visas -- even if they were approved once, getting the visa re-approved will be just as onerous. Through this and several other measures, US Citizenship and Immigration Services is placing an increasing burden on businesses that seek to employ the best and the brightest

Not...

From A4

space earlier this week— about US President Donald Trump calling Philippine Senator Antonio Trillanes a “little narco”—has taken a life of its own. A newspaper, which together with its tabloid affiliate first re-

Congress:...

From A4

mediation,” which is led by an outside official. Only after this 30-day mediation process may employees request an administrative hearing or file suit.

Although mediation can

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TODAYNOVEMBER 3, 2017 FRIDAY, mst.daydesk@gmail.com

‘Allegiance fee’ collection scored

By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Sara Susanne Fabunan

S

ENATE Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon on Thursday said the Department of Foreign Affairs should stop collecting “allegiance fees” from Filipinos who want to reacquire their Philippine citizenship.

DRUG RAID. Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director General Aaron Aquino (center, seated) holds up an automatic rifle as he presents to the media seven suspected drug dealers, including their alleged leader Ray Aguilar Thieke (standing, face covered, third from left), and assorted illegal drugs confiscated during a raid at a laboratory in Mandaluyong City on Thursday. Lino Santos

Drilon made the call during a meeting with the Filipino community in Spain last Oct. 29 regarding the Dual Citizenship Law, which he authored in 2003.

He said Filipinos in Spain and Andorra raised the issue of the supposed allegiance fee, amounting to around 45 euros (about P2,700), before they could take their oath of allegiance to the Philippines.

“The DFA is not an income-generating institution. It exists for the service of Filipino citizens abroad,” Drilon said.

The department should immediately stop collecting the allegiance fee “from Filipinos in various parts of the world, who are applying to reacquire their Philippine citizenship under the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003 [Republic Act 9225],” he stressed.

“It would not help us to convince our fellow Filipinos, who have lost their Filipino citizenship, if we continue to burden them with heavy fees,” the senator added.

DFA spokesman Robespierre Bolivar, however, said the department is unaware of Drilon’s claim and assured the senator he would advise all their relevant offices to take appropriate action.

“I haven’t hear of this ‘allegiance fee,’” Bolivar said in a text message.

“I know we have a processing fee, which is for the notarials of the applicants’ documents,” he added.

The spokesman said he will ask for clarification from the DFA’s relevant offices.

Based on a document found on the official DFA website, under Republic Act No. 9225 or the Application for Citizenship Retention and Re-Acquisition and Issuance of Identification Certificate, Filipinos are required to pay 45 euros among the nine requirements listed.

For requirements for dependents or derivative citi-

zenship, each minor child should pay a fee of 22.50 euros (P1,350).

Under RA 9225, Drilon explained, natural-born Filipinos who lost their Filipino citizenship through naturalization in a foreign country may reacquire Philippine citizenship by taking the Philippine Oath of Allegiance before a duly authorized Philippine official.

The oath does not require a person to renounce his allegiance to any other country, he noted.

Drilon said “bureaucratic requirements have discouraged a greater number of Filipinos from availing of the benefits under the law.”

In 2016, Drilon filed Senate Bill No. 19, which seeks to amend the Citizenship Retention and Reacquisition Act of 2003 in order to simplify the manner by which Philippine citizenship is retained or reacquired.

Missing SALNs get former UP college dean in trouble

By Rio N. Araja SECURITY PLANT COMPLEX (SPC) DISPOSAL COMMITTEE NOTICE OF PUBLIC AUCTION The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), through its Disposal Committee, invites bidders to participate in the public auction for the sale, on an “as is, where is” basis, of the following: Item Qty Item Description No

Location

Floor Price

1

1

Auto Printing Machine (Unomatic)

BSP-QC

2

1

BSP-QC

PhP596,000.00

3

1

Goldstamping Machine (Heidelberg) Barcode Number Printing Machine (Atlantic Zeiser)

BSP-QC

PhP447,000.00

4

1

Special Double Semi-Automatic Book Pressing Machine (Zechine)

BSP-QC

PhP790,000.00

5

1

BSP-QC

PhP288,000.00

6

1

7

1

8

1

9

1

Pressing Machine (La Fornigrafica) Double Book Pressing Machine (Zechine) Automatic Folding Machine (ShoEi 2) Perforating Laser Machine (Atlantic Zeiser) Sheet-Fed/Double Deck Offset Printing Press Machine (Komori)

PhP17,955,000.00

BSP-QC

PhP418,000.00

BSP-QC

PhP1,206,000.00

BSP-QC

PhP10,520,000.00

BSP-QC

PhP112,244,000.00

The schedule of activities is as follows: 1. Issuance of Bid Documents Room 403, Starting date: 8 November 2017 4th Floor, Building A, BSP-SPC, East Avenue, Diliman, Quezon City 2. Inspection of Items for Auction Date/Time: 8-10 November 2017 at 9:00 am and 1:00 p.m.

3. Opening of Bids 3/F Staff Dining Room Date/Time: 16 November 2017 at 10:00 a.m.

The BSP reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to declare the bidding a failure, to annul the bidding process and to reject all bids at any given time prior to award of contract, without thereby incurring any liability to the bidders.

Furthermore, the BSP reserves the right to waive any minor defect or formality and to accept the proposal most advantageous to the Bank.

(SGD) ARIEL C, CHUIDIAN Chairperson 25 October 2017 ( M S - N O V. 3 , 4 & 5 , 2 017 )

INVITATION TO SUBMIT PRICE QUOTATION BAC SB 17-001 (Pursuant to Section VI of NEA Memorandum 2017-019: Revised Procurement Guidelines and Simplified Bidding Procedures for Electric Cooperatives IRR-RA 10531 (2017)) 1. THE BUSUANGA ISLAND ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE (BISELCO), through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) will undertake Alternative Mode of Procurement and invites interested entities to submit their Price Quotation for the labor & supervision, supply of tools and materials and equipment and transportation necessary to trim or remove trees and bush, maintain adequate clearance on Power Line Right-of-Way of BISELCO. Contact Term : 1-year (open to renewal) Contract Amount : 2,000,000.00 PhP Scope : 4-months massive cutting and trimming 8 months ROW clearance maintenance Primary & Open Secondary Lines Coverage : Municipalities of Busuanga, Coron, Culion and Linapacan.

2. Any Interested entity must submit their quotation in a sealed envelope using the prescriber form (see Annex A) not later than November 10, 2017 at the BAC SECRETARIAT, BISELCO Bids and Awards Committee, BISELCO Main Headquarters, Mabintangen Road, Brgy. 6, Coron, Palawan.

Include the following eligibility documents in a sealed envelope: a. Certified True copy of Mayor’s Permit b. Certified True Copy of Tax Identification Number (TIN) or TIN Card c. Certified True Copy of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Certificate or Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Registration d. List of works done and respective clients.

Offer /Quotation exceeding the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) shall be rejected.

3. Specifications and Bidding Instructions may be requested to BISELCO BAC Secretariat thru E-mail at biselco79@yahoo. com.

4. BISELCO reserves the right to accept or reject any offer/ quotation, reject all offer/quotation at any time prior to contract award, to exclude any item or reduce the number of unit and the corresponding ABC as determined by BISELCO and to award the contract to the Bidder with most advantageous offer, without thereby incurring any liability to the interested entities.

(Sgd) Engr. Selwin Y. Alili BAC Chairman

THE Office of the Ombudsman on Thursday convicted a former dean of the University of the Philippines’ College of Home Economics for failure to file her Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth in 2008 and 2009.

MTC, Querubin initially entered a “not guilty” plea, but later pleaded guilty.

Alagar ordered Querubin to pay a P4,000 fine for four counts of violation of Section 8 of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, or

INVITATION TO BID

FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF HAULING SERVICES FOR THE TRANSFER OF NFA RICE FROM GID BALOY WAREHOUSES, CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY TO CARAGA REGION AND MARAWI CITY The NATIONAL FOOD AUTHORITY (NFA) REGION X, Cagayan de Oro City, through its Corporate Operating Budget intends to apply the sum of Seven Million Two Hundred Fifteen Thousand Four Hundred Seventy Five Pesos (PhP7,215,475.00) inclusive of VAT being the aggregated Approved Budget for the Contracts (ABC) of hauling services for the transfer of NFA Rice Stocks as follows: APPROVED BUDGET ESTIMATED FOR THE CONTRACT MINIMUM CONTRACT NUMBER (ABC) POINT OF POINT OF NO. OF BIDDING REFERENCE OF BAGS (INCLUSIVE OF VAT) ORIGIN DESTINATION TRUCKING FEE (PHP) NUMBER (bag of (PHP) UNITS PER 50 kg) TOTAL REQUIRED BAG GID Bayugan CONWarehouse, 4,500 2 43.00 193,500.00 500.00 GHS-2017-029 Agusan del Sur GID KM10 CONWarehouse, 24,000 54.00 1,296,000.00 5,000.00 Surigao del GHS-2017-030 4 Norte GID Trento Warehouse, CON1,500 59.10 88,650.00 500.00 GHS-2017-031 Bayugan, 2 Agusan del Sur GID Mangagoy CONWarehouse, 14,500 57.85 838,825.00 1,000.00 GHS-2017-032 Surigao del Sur 4 GID Duplex CONWarehouse, GID Baloy 7,500 2 71.40 535,500.00 1,000.00 GHS-2017-033 Tandag, Warehouses, Surigao del Sur Baloy, GID Cantilan CONCagayan de 500.00 Warehouse, 3,000 2 71.00 213,000.00 GHS-2017-034 Oro City Surigao del Sur CONGID Marawi 1,000.00 GHS-2017-035 Warehouse, 20,000 40.50 810,000.00 LOT A Marawi City 3 CONGID Marawi GHS-2017-035 Warehouse, 20,000 40.50 810,000.00 1,000.00 LOT B Marawi City 3 CONGID Marawi GHS-2017-035 Warehouse, 20,000 40.50 810,000.00 1,000.00 LOT C Marawi City 3 CONGID Marawi GHS-2017-035 Warehouse, 20,000 40.50 810,000.00 1,000.00 LOT D Marawi City 3 CONGID Marawi GHS-2017-035 Warehouse, 20,000 40.50 810,000.00 1,000.00 LOT E Marawi City 3 Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

The National Food Authority Region-X, Cagayan de Oro City, now invites bids for the supply of the abovementioned hauling service. Bidders should have completed, within the last three (3) years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the project to at least fifty percent (50%) of the approved budget for the contract. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the bidding documents particularly, in Section II. Instruction to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using the non-discretionary “pass/ fail” criteria as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Republic Act 9184 (R.A. 9184) otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act.” Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Bids and Awards Committee and inspect the bidding documents at the address given below during office hours and working days: The Bids and Awards Committee National Food Authority 2F, NFA – X Building Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by the interested bidders on October 30 – November 17, 2017; 8:00AM - 12:00NN, 1:00PM – 5:00PM, working days/hours from the address above and upon payment of the non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents.

The National Food Authority will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on November 6, 2017, 10:30AM at the Conference Room, 2F, NFA-X Building, Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City which shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

Bids must be delivered to the address above on or before November 20, 2017 at 10:30AM. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms.

Bid Opening shall be on November 20, 2017, 10:31AM at the Conference Room, 2F, NFA – X Building, Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address above. Late Bids shall not be accepted.

The National Food Authority reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to Contract Award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

For further information, please refer to: REGION X BAC, 2F, NFA – X Building, Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City.

Telephone Nos. (088) 855-2721, (08822) 73-2215, Fax No. (088) 855-2723.

(Sgd.) DIOCANO D. ALOJADO, JR. Assistant Regional Director/ BAC-X Chairperson (MS-NOV. 3 , 2017)

Republic Act No. 6713.

The law requires all public officials or employees to accomplish a statement under oath showing their assets, liabilities and net worth, and financial and business interests as of Dec. 31 of every year, including those of their spouses

Republic of the Philippines NATIONAL FOOD AUTHORITY Region 10 Baloy, Cagayan de Oro City

Approved by: (SGD) RUTH GALANG General Manager

Quezon City Metropolitan Trial Court Judge Don Ace Mariano Alagar also convicted Milagros Querubin for her failure to declare two real properties located at Barangay Putatan, Alabang, Muntinlupa City in her 2010 and 2011 SALNs. During the trial at the QC

Standard – Nov. 3, 2017

and of unmarried children under 18 years of age living in their households, and to submit this on or before 30 April of the succeeding year.

Meanwhile, the Ombudsman indicted former Butuan City mayor Ferdinand Amante Jr. for one count of graft.

‘Keep open mind on med marijuana’

By Maricel V. Cruz THE main author of the medical marijuana bill in the House of Representatives has appealed to critics of the measure to keep an open mind on the medicinal and beneficial use of cannabis by patients suffering from pain and other debilitating medical conditions.

Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano III, principal author of the proposed Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis, urged fellow legislators, various groups of doctors, the medical community and critics to look into the merits of his proposal and give it a chance by allowing a grand debate on the safe, controlled and beneficial use of the herbal substance to take its course.

“We advocate the legal use of medical marijuana, not to put to risk the lives and well-being of the Filipino people,” Albano said, adding the bill does not and will not promote the use of marijuana for recreational purposes.

Albano’s statement came as the House is poised to pass the bill on second reading when Congress resumes its sessions on Nov. 20.

“I urge critics of my proposed medical marijuana bill to please read word for word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph the entire content of House Bill 6517, and internalize it.

The bill clearly provides that the use of medical marijuana has to comply with strict regulatory requirements under the Department of Health,” Albano said.

“By saying that the medical marijuana will be a gateway to illegal drugs or will encourage addiction, the critics of my bill obviously do not know what they are talking about,” Albano added.

Among the vocal critics of the proposed medical cannabis bill are Buhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza and Senator Vicente Sotto III.

Jolo councilor abducted

by Abu Sayyaf released A COUNCILOR of Jolo, Sulu abducted by the Abu Sayyaf Group in late September has been released by the bandit group.

Jolo Councilor Zed Tan was released by the ASG on Nov. 1 at around 9:29 p.m., the Armed Forces’ Joint Task Force Sulu said on Thursday.

Tan was reportedly released somewhere in Barangay Buru in Talipao, according to Brig.

Gen. Cirilito Sobejana, commander of the joint task force.

Tan was snatched on Sept. 27 in Barangay Timbangan in Indanan, Jolo’s neighboring town, Sobejana said.

The councilor was examined at the Camp Bautista Station Hospital in Busbus, Jolo, and was found to be in good physical condition “except for some mosquito bites on his arms,” Sobejana said.

Tan was debriefed and reunited with his family, the general added.

Police said the councilor was in his service vehicle when the ASG bandits waylaid him and seized him at gunpoint. They forced Tan into a red Tamaraw getaway vehicle and escaped toward Talipao town.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports CEU Lady Scorpions bag 7th straight cage title AFTER seven seasons, Centro Escolar University remained on top of the Women’s National Collegiate Athletic Association senior basketball division.

The CEU Lady Scorpions conquered the Philippine Women’s University Patriots, 70-37, at the Rizal Memorial Coliseum over the weekend to rule the 48th season. They carried a twice-to-beat edge after sweeping the four-game elimination round that also automatically sent them to the finals.

Game 1 of the junior best-of-three finals saw De La Salle Zobel whip two-time defending champion Chiang Kai Shek College, 65-37, while Miriam College likewise drew first blood in the midgets championship, upending St. Paul College Pasig, 59-48.

DLSZ and Miriam will try to clinch the titles on Nov. 11, also at RMC. In the best-of-three volleyball finals, DLSZ and San Beda College Alabang similarly moved one win away from repeating as midgets and seniors champions, respectively.

DLSZ outlasted St. Scholatica’s College, 25-23, 19-25, 27-25, and San Beda overcame CEU, 25-23, 2624, 25-19.

In the juniors level, DLSZ will defend its crown against CKSC with Game 1 slated also on Nov. 11.

For other details, schedules and results, visit www.wncaaph.com or email wncaa_ media@yahoo.com.

Pirates nail 9th win in Milcu meet THE Lyceum Pirates continued their winning ways, demolishing Chiang Kai Shek College, 69-61, last Sunday in the 2017 MilcuGot Skills Basketball elite showcase at the Lyceum gym in Intramuros.

Carl Lumbao hit 16 points for the Pirates as they scored their ninth win in 12 games in the 25-under division.

This allowed the Pirates to remain behind the sololeading University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons.

The National University Bullpups-B drew 15 points from Reyland Torres in their 74-70 win over La Salle.

This allowed the Bullpups improve their record in fourth at 8-5.

In the 17-under division, Kobe Palencia emerged as the Best Player of the Game in leading the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs to a 69-57 edging of the Lyceum Junior Pirates.

Palencia made 18 for the Tiger Cubs as they climbed to a share of second at 5-3 with Trinity University of Asia.

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Struggling Cavs fall to Pacers L OS ANGELES—A Cleveland Cavaliers lineup struggling to come together and sustain effort for a full game suffered its fourth consecutive NBA loss on Wednesday, falling 124-107 to visiting Indiana.

Every Pacers starter scored in double figures, with Thaddeus Young netting 26 points, Darren Collison adding 25 and Victor Oladipo pouring in 23 as Cleveland (3-5) suffered a fifth loss in six games, the past three by a combined 58 points.

“The other games we just got our butts kicked,” Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said.

“Tonight, I thought we did some good things. We just couldn’t sustain it. But the other games we just flat out got our butts kicked. So seeing improvement.”

The Pacers had lost nine

meetings in a row with the Cavs since March 2014— four months before LeBron James returned from Miami to the Cavs.

“It’s just we have an opportunity to be very good and then you see some of the lulls that we have and it’s just very difficult on our team right now,” James said.

“We’re just trying to figure it out on the fly and unfortunately we don’t have time to practice a lot and do those things.”

James led Cleveland with 33 points and 11 assists but committed a game-high eight turnovers, while Der-

rick Rose added 19 points.

“We can’t sustain effort for 48 minutes,” James said.

“They hit a few bombs at the end and the game got out of hand.”

Cavs center Tristan Thompson missed the second half with a left calf strain.

“Now Tristan went down again so we don’t know how long he’s going to be out,” James said. “Our team is kind of depleted as well, both on and off the floor.”

With an average age of 30, the Cavaliers have the NBA’s oldest roster.

James is the NBA’s sixth player with 400 regular-

season games of at least 30 points, joining Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

Ex-Cavs guard Kyrie Irving and Jaylen Brown each scored 22 points to power Boston over visiting Sacramento 113-86. The Celtics (6-2) won their sixth in a row while the Kings (1-7) lost their sixth in a row.

James Harden had 31 points and nine assists and Houston scored 16 consecutive points in the second quarter on the way to a 11997 victory at New York.

Australia’s Ben Simmons

Chairman’s Cup up at Forest Hills

CAGE CHAMPS: Team Airquiola emerged victorious in the recent Invitational Friendship Basketball League Season

13, Starter Division, at the Cloverleaf Gym in Guadalupe. The squad swept the eliminations and beat Team Buckets in the title match. Making up the team are (from left, standing) Marlon Borre, Dave Sacayan, Andrew Bantug, Ian Rosales, Derrick Tolentino, Air Urquiola Mark Angelo Samonte, Earl Alegonero, Jonathan Rebolado, Peejay Calonzo and (from left, seated) Emil Gonzalo, EJ Alvin Redoblado, RL Barrientos, Josef Ramos, Karold Berdin and Jolo Zapanta.

THE Forest Hills Golf and Country Club gears up for the grand staging of its annual major tournament when the 15th Cherrylume Chairman’s Cup is held on Saturday at the Nicklaus and Palmer courses in Antipolo City.

The event, held in honor of chairman Atty. Ferdinand Santos, was launched in 2002 and has since been the most awaited tournament among club members. Through the years, Forest Hills has also kept its stature as one of the best courses in the country.

“Every year is a demanding season for us to deliver the best for our members and guests.

That’s why the club, through general manager Raymond Bunquin and his staff, made

Iglupas, Capadocia seal Pintaflores Open clash KHIM Iglupas sustained her top form and came away with a 1-0 (ret.) win over Shaira Rivera to arrange a showdown for the women’s crown with Marian Capadocia in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala Pintaflores Open Tennis Championship at the Sacata Tennis Club in Negros Occidental yesterday.

The second seeded Iglupas used her power and experience to demolish Yasthyme Rivera, 6-1, 6-0, and Janelle Llavore, 6-1, 6-2, then the Iligan City ace made short work of Shaira

Rivera to gain a crack at the championship in the event hosted by Mayor Gerardo Valmayor Jr. and the local government units of San Carlos City.

No. 3 Marian Capadocia cashed in on the early ouster of top seed Clarice Patrimonio to clinch the other finals berth with a 6-2, 6-2 romp over Elsie Abarquez, who stopped Patrimonio’s tormentor, 6-2, 6-1, in the quarterfinal round of the tournament sanctioned by the Unified Tennis Philippines headed by OIC Criston Carmona and backed

by Vice Mayor Rene Gusti-

Iglupas

lo, Julio Ledesma IV and Vice Gov. Bong Lacson.

Top seed Jason Patrombon and No. 2 PJ Tierro stayed on title collision course in the men’s side as they trampled their re-

spective rivals to lead the Final Four cast in the event serving as part of the host city’s Pintaflores Festival celebrations and supported

by Palawan Pawnshop led by president/CEO Bobby Castro and Slazenger.

Patrombon eased out Jimmy Tangalin, 6-3, 6-1, for a semis face-off with John Bryan Otico, who upset No. 3 Fritz Verdad, 6-1, 6-2, while Tierro overpowered Jose Maria Pague, 6-3, 6-2, in the lower half of the 32-man draw to seal a Final Four clash with No. 4 Vicente Anasta, who held off Mar-

cen Gonzales, 7-6(5), 6-3.

The men’s semifinals were being played at presstime with the winners clashing for the top P30,000 purse. The women’s champion will receive P20,000, according to PPS-PEPP sports program development director Bobby Mangunay.

The Open also caps a two-week tennis festival that included an age-group tournament last week with John David Velez of Davao and Alexa Milliam of La Carlota sharing MVP honors after posting two victories each.

Navy holds off Triton A, captures regatta crown PHILIPPINE Navy found a new worthy rival in upsetconscious Triton A, needing to dig deep into its bag of tricks to rule the open and mixed standard events, highlighting a thrilling and action-packed third leg of the Cherifer Premium-PDBF Dragon Boat Regatta at the Manila Bay overlooking the Baywalk in Manila last weekend.

With the Philippine Coast Guard Dragon Boat Team unable to compete due to compulsory training of its members, the Philippine Army Dragon Warriors and Philippine Air Force Dragon Boat Team similarly indisposed, the Navy paddlers were expected to have a breezy time, but found the Triton A bets quite a challenge in the races sponsored

by Cherifer and organized by the Philippine Dragon Boat Federation.

They needed one big push in the last 25 meters in topping the 300-meter open division in one minute and 9.65 seconds of the competition also backed

by Manila Ocean Park, Pepero, Mogu Mogu, Sogo, Rolls Republic, Rexona, Nivea and Native Plate.

The battle for second place was just as keen, with Bruins surging to the finish line in the last 10 meters to share runner-up honors with Triton A, both teams clocking identical times of 1:10.95 in the meet also backed by the Manila city government led by Mayor Joseph Estrada, Tent City and Soundfreak.

After reviewing the video tape replay at the finish line several times, official timers awarded Triton A and the Bruins both joint second place

Members of the Triton A women’s squad proudly pose with their trophy after ruling the women’s standard division of the Cherifer Premium-PDBF Regatta third leg last Sunday at the Manila Bay overlooking the Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard in Manila.

since it was too close to call in favor of either squad in the event held under near ideal conditions.

The Triton A campaigners, however, did not leave home empty-handed as they took the championship

trophy in the women’s division in 2:59.74, relegating Navy (3:02.62) and RCP (3:06.56) to second and third places, respectively.

There was a slight delay in between races as the organizers cleared the area of water hyacinths

that drifted inshore over the competition venue to ensure the safety of the participating squads.

“We would like to thank the squads that saw action the third leg of the Cherifer Premium-PDBF Regatta despite the fact we were nearing All Saints Day,” noted PDBF secretary Jen Escueta. “We are also glad that Triton A has vastly improved and is emerging as threat to our military teams.

We can look forward to an even huge field when the PDBF holds the fourth and final leg of the race in December.”

Scheduled for Dec. 10 also at the Manila Bay, the Cherifer Premium-PDBF Dragon Boat Regatta last leg will decide the overall champions in the women, mixed standard and open divisions over the fourstage series.

Reed tries to foil fellow Aussie Betten, seeks 1st Bellevue 5150 crown IRONMAN champ Tim Reed goes all out to foil fellow Australian Sam Betten’s three-peat bid as he seeks to nail his first 5150 crown in the Bellevue Resort Triathlon which unwraps Sunday (Nov. 5) at the Bellevue Resort in Panglao Island, Bohol.

Winner of the longer, tougher Ironman 70.3 Philippines (1.9km, 90k bike, 21k run) in Cebu the last three

had 19 points, 13 rebounds and nine assists to spark the Philadelphia 76ers over visiting Atlanta 119-109.

It was the Sixers’ third consecutive win and the seventh consecutive loss for the Hawks (1-7). The 76ers reached 4-4, the first time they have been at .500 since November 11, 2013.

Rubio, Gobert spark Utah Frenchman Rudy Gobert sank an equalizing dunk to force over-time and Spaniard Ricky Rubio scored seven of his team-high 30 points in the last 75 seconds to lift the Jazz over visiting Portland 112-103. AFP

years, the 32-year-old Reed hopes to stamp his class in the 1.5km swim, 40km bike and 10km run event although he remains wary of his chances against an elite cast of rivals in the centerpiece men’s Open championship of the event organized by Sunrise Events Inc. and backed by title sponsor The Bellevue Resort.

That includes Betten, who has also primed him-

self up for a shot at a third straight crown along with Alex Polizzi, also of Australia and a veteran Ironman campaigner, and Rwanda’s Gabe Manner.

The 6-4 Betten beat Henry Beck by almost nine minutes to cap a back-to-back title feat last year with the victory also extending his run of 5150 romps to four, making him the triathlete to beat in the event capping SEI’s triathlon

calendar for the year that included the Alaska IronKids series, Xterra Danao, Ironman 70.3 Subic and Regent 5150 Subic.

Meanwhile, Dimity Lee Duke is also all geared up for another crack at the championship in the women’s side of the event held on a course that has the entire field wrapped in excitement for its breathtaking landscape which Betten

described as “perfect’ for triathlon.

The pristine Panglao Island, billed as one of the country’s top tourist destinations, boasts of natural wonders and attractions as well as artistic, cultural and historical treasures.

Panglao Island has also become a haven for weekend travelers and city folk looking for rest and relaxation.

Winners in the Open

championship will receive $2,000 purse each with the top male and female Elite finishers will pocket P30,000 each.

Meanwhile, aside from the Olympic-distance race, SEI will also hold the Sunrise Sprint, a short distance race series and a sub-category of The Bellevue 5i50 featuring a 750m swim, a 20k bike and a 5k run also for the second time in Bohol.

sure we’d be keeping that tradition,” Santos said.

Big prizes await the lucky ace makers with a Ducati Scrambler from Ducati Phils. and a Mazda 3 from Mazda Pasig-ANC Group up for grabs in the event presented by Escala Tagaytay and sponsored by Megaforce Security Services, Golforce and Mizuno-MasterSports.

The Chairman’s Cup is also putting up a Texas Eagle cart from Turf Company, a GPS Tracker from Silicon Computer, a set each from Mizuno and J-Ten Sports and a total of P150,000 cash from Taishan Insurance, Pilipinas Taj Auto Group. Meister Watch and YSA Skin Care for hole-in-one feats.

‘I have...

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coveror TV5, part of the PLDT Group, with a betting company overseas.

“TV5 made the transaction with the betting company without informing the PBA and denied the league the revenues from the said transaction,” Narvasa said.

Narvasa asserted that he serves at the pleasure of the PBA board, of which only a majority or two-thirds of the 12 team membership can remove him from his post.

“Of course, I can resign, but only if majority of the league membership says so. We have rules in the PBA and we should be held hostage to the whims and caprices of a few, who just called for my removal because they cannot get what they want,” Narvasa said. “The Office of the Commissioner is not about one man, but also of the league. Whether it’s me or anyone who becomes commissioner, the Commissioner’s Office should remain free to act in the best interests of the majority, including the fans.”

Narvasa said that the five members of the PBA bloc talked to him as the UCC Cafe last October 30 to pressure him to resign.

“They said I should resign. I came there to meet with Ramon Fernandez (NLEX) about the PBA direction in the coming season, but they were there and told me to resign.

“Fernandez even said that they would help me with the separation,” Narvasa revealed.

Narvasa...

From A8

“This move does not sit well with the rest of us board members. Any move should be made in the proper forum and must be covered the league’s rules and regulations. Any move beyond this is definitely not allowed,” added Non, citing that the group backing the move to remove Narvasa has the habit of changing commissioners at a whim, citing the decisions to remove Commissioner Noli Eala and Sonny Barrios in the past.

“If we allow that to happen, then this will weaken the Commissioner’s Office and turn it into a puppet of whoever is the most powerful among the team owners,” Non said.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 6 DIGITS 00-00-00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

Sports

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

A8

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

9 MBL players headed to PBA

NINE young and talented players from the Millennium Basketball League, led by surprise No. 6 pick Robbie Herndon and No. 8 Sidney Onwubere, were drafted in this year’s PBA Rookie Draft held last Sunday at Robinson’s Place Manila.

MBL chairman Alex Wang congratulated all nine players for being selected during the well-attended annual draft aimed at bringing fresh talents and new faces to Asia’s first play-for-pay league.

The players are expected to be signed by their respective PBA teams within the next few days.

“I congratulate all the new players taken in during the annual PBA Draft, especially the nine players, who have also played in the MBL,” said Wang, also team manager of PBA D-League member Wang’s Ballclub.

Leading the nine new PBA players from MBL is Herndon, the 6’3” Fil-American sensation selected No. 6 overall by Globalport before being traded to Star on the same day.

Also selected in the first round was Onwubere, the 6’3” small forward from Emilio Aguinaldo College, who was taken in at No. 8 by Phoenix.

Another notable firstround selection was Jonjon Gabriel, who teamed up with African Soulemane Chabi Yo to lead Colegio de San Lorenzo to the 2017 MBL Open title last June.

Considered as one of the sleepers in the draft, the 6-6 native of Tarlac was picked at No. 11 by Talk N Text.

The other PBA rookies with MBL experience are Joseph Gabayni (Lyceum), Louie Vigil (University of Santo Tomas), Jayson Grimaldo (Victoria Sports-MLQU), Chris de Chavez (Wang’s Ballclub), Michael Juico (Wang’s Ballclub) and Felix Apreku (Philippine Christian University).

Gabayni was selected

by Star at No. 14 but was traded to Globalport; Vigil was chosen at No. 17 by San Miguel Beer; Grimaldo was picked at No. 21 by Phoenix; De Chavez was acquired at No. 25 by Kia; Juico was taken in at No. 31 by Rain or Shine and Apreku was picked at No. 38 by NLEX.

Koreans blank PH bets, 15-0 THE Philippines took a 0-15 loss to Korea in the opening games of the 2017 Baseball Federation of Asia Under-15 Championship in Shizuoka, Japan.

The Koreans, according to Philippine Amateur Baseball Association secretary general Chito Loyzaga in a Viber message, took charge right in the bottom of the first winning with four runs.

But support from a small community of Filipinos still fired the boys up.

“Considering how far ahead Korea is from the Philippines in the development of baseball, our young boys showed great form on the field. A small community of Filipinos mostly parents cheered the team on every run scored by the boys,” wrote Loyzaga.

Gelo Gonzales, who hit a 2 RBI triple on the 5th and 7th Inning, led the fight for the Philippines.

“He was the shining star of the game as he also scored a run for the team on both occasions,” added Loyzaga.

In other games, Chinese Taipei defeated Pakistan, 150, and Japan massacred Hong Kong, 26-0. Peter Atencio

The Houston Astros celebrate defeating the Los Angeles Dodgers, 5-1, in game seven to win the 2017 World Series at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Houston dedicates win to storm-ravaged city

L

OS ANGELES—The Houston Astros dedicated their World Series victory to their stormravaged Texas home city on Wednesday after claiming the Fall Classic for the first time.

Ever since Hurricane Harvey deluged the Houston region in August, leaving dozens dead and causing catastrophic damage, the Astros have been men on a mission.

And on Wednesday it was mission accomplished as the Astros stunned the Los Angeles Dodgers in the decisive game seven 5-1 to complete a 4-3 series triumph.

Astros players went into the post-season with

patches bearing the slogan “Houston Strong”, underscoring their solidarity with the city.

Series Most Valuable Player George Springer said the determination to win the title for Houston’s fans “was everything.”

“That patch on our chest truly does mean a lot to us,” Springer said.

“I’m so happy for our fans who have endured a lot. We’re coming home

champions.”

Astros star Jose Altuve dedicated the win to the Houston fans.

“I think this is the happiest moment of my life in baseball,” Altuve said.

“We did this for them. I know there has been a lot going on his Houston but they are the biggest reason why we are here.”

Astros owner Jim Crane said the team had been fuelled by the support of fans in Houston.

“This one’s for Houston, we got hit hard,” Crane said.

“Everyone was behind us and the team really picked up on it. We’re just so happy for everybody.”

Astros coach A.J. Hinch

meanwhile said he was delighted to deliver a first World Series to the city.

“You know what Houston—we’re a championship city,” Hinch said.

“We take pride in being there for Houston. They responded by falling in love with this team,” Hinch added.

Meanwhile, George Springer hammered his way to the World Series Most Valuable Player award, belting a recordequalling five home runs to fuel the Houston Astros’ seven-game win over the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“The wildness of this series, the wackiness of this series, the emotional ups and downs, being able to

play in this is something that I will never, ever forget, even if this is the only time I will ever get here,” Springer said Wednesday, after smacking a two-run homer in the Astros’ decisive 5-1 triumph over the Dodgers.

The 28-year-old center fielder looked an unlikely World Series hero after hitting just .115 in the Astros’ seven-game victory over the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

He struck out four times in game one against the Dodgers, and Astros manager A.J. Hinch found himself defending his decision to keep Springer at the top of his lineup. AFP

Narvasa stays as PBA Commissioner PHILIPPINE Basketball Association Commissioner Chito Narvasa is staying put because the rules, policies and principles that govern the professional league are on his side.

This was the statement of San Miguel Beer governor Robert Non, speaking on behalf of the five teams who refuse to succumb to pressure from a renegade bloc seeking for the ouster of Narvasa.

“They cannot just act on a whim.

What they are doing is not in accordance with our by-laws and constitution. All five teams—San Miguel, Ginebra, Star, Kia and Globalport—stand behind Commissioner Narvasa. He enjoys our full support and we have prevailed upon him to stay and do what is right,” said Non. Non said the move by disgruntled members of the PBA board, led by Talk and Text, is unauthorized and not binding under the league’s bylaws and constitution.

“These officials do not constitute the majority needed to remove

or appoint the commissioner and thereafter, make any changes in the PBA structure,” said Non. Under the PBA rules, a majority is two-thirds of its current membership, which is eight of the current 12 members. In this context, only a majority vote of two-thirds of the league board membership is required by its by-laws and constitution to remove Narvasa.

San Miguel, Star, Ginebra, GlobalPort and Kia representatives were unable to attend yesterday’s unauthorized meeting as the notice was only given last Oct. 30, a violation of the sevenday rule for such.

“So without this clear majority, all changes being made by these renegade members are not allowed, including the appointment of Rickie Santos as officer-in-charge, and would not be binding on the whole board membership,” Non said.

“This includes as well the misrepresentation of NLEX board

member Ramon Fernandez as PBA chairman, when in fact, the sitting chairman is still Globalport’s Mikee Romero,” he added.

Non continued that these seven board members cite loss of confidence and poor performance as the reason for calling for Narvasa’s removal, but they cannot cite any instance that would back their claims up, save for the MVP teams’ dissatisfaction with the recent trade consummated between the San Miguel Beermen and Kia Picanto.

Non said he was informed that prior to yesterday’s meeting, five members of the renegade bloc, met with Narvasa at the UCC Cafe in Libis last Oct. 30.

Narvasa attended the meeting with the belief that it was only with Fernandez to discuss PBA’s planning session, but when he arrived at the venue, four other board members—Dioceldo Sy (Blackwater), Mert Mondragon (Rain of Shine), Raymund Zorilla (Phoenix), and

Narvasa

Dickie Bachmann (Alaska)—were also there to discuss his removal from his post as commissioner.

Turn to A7

‘I have always ensured parity’ PHILIPPINE Basketball Association Commissioner Chito Narvasa expressed disappointment over the call of a bloc of disgruntled PBA board members to remove him as commissioner, without adherence to the league’s constitution and by-laws.

Narvasa stated that in his two years as PBA commissioner, he has always ensured parity and transparency in all league decisions, particularly trade transactions involving all PBA teams.

“What call for parity are they talking about?

I have always ensured parity in all decisions I made as commissioner, not only in the trade involving Kia and San Miguel Beer, but even when Talk ‘N Text acquired the first round picks of Kia and Blackwater in the past to get Mo Tautuua and Troy Rosario,”said Narvasa.

He said that he sees nothing wrong even as the Talk ‘N Text team took offense at his revelation that the Tropang Texters submitted the application of FilGerman Christian Standhardinger to the PBA draft.

“That is true, that they submitted the draft application of Standhardinger to the PBA office, so why are they so mad about it?” asked Narvasa, who revealed that while the said PBA bloc, led by the three MVP-PLDT teams denied that the Kia-SMB trade started the move the call for his removal, there might be another reason for such.

He revealed that he is in the middle of an investigation regarding the transaction of PBA TV Turn to A7

Soriano: Conditioning gave me confidence

By Reuel Vidal

Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado (left) trades blows with Robin Catalan during their ONE Championship fight won by Catalan. ONE Championship

YANGON, Myanmar— Filipino ONE Championship fighters Burn “The Hitman” Soriano and Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado exuded confidence as they faced interviewers during the media conference at the Rose Garden Hotel here yesterday, saying they are motivated and ready for combat.

Soriano tests the mettle of Chen Lei of China, while Miado battles Pongsiri “The Smiling Assassin” Mitsatit of Thailand in the under-

cards of ONE: Hero’s Dream at the Thuwunna Indoor Stadium on Friday.

Filipina Atomweight fighter Jomary “The Zamboanginian Fighter” Torres also sees action at ONE: Hero’s Dream when she takes on Nita Dea of Indonesia.

Myanmar’s sporting hero ONE Championship World Middleweight Champion “The Burmese Python” Aung La N Sang battles heavyweight Alain Ngalani in a non-title open weight bout in the main event.

Soriano has had a spectacular if checkered profession-

al career. He has three losses and three wins, with all his fights ending by knockout or submission all in the first round.

The Filipino says he has gained much-needed confidence with the help of conditioning coach George Castro, who has prepared him to fight the distance in his three-round fight.

“I’ve changed my outlook during fights because of my conditioning. Before I wanted to finish my fights quickly because I was worried about my conditioning. That’s no longer the case because I

have coach George (Castro) who helped in my preparation. I’m well prepared to go the full 15 minutes of the fight if needed,” said Soriano in Filipino.

Miado, on the other hand, takes on a dangerous Muay Thai fighter. The Bicol-born Marikina resident is upbeat and sees a slambang affair.

“I expect an exciting fight.

We are both strikers so I expect to trade punches and kicks at the center of the cage. I’ve prepared for six weeks for this fight so I’m ready,” Miado said.

Jollibee ends 12 Hotpot venture B2

Business

Energy eyes other options for BNPP

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com

B1

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

BANCCASURANCE MONTH.

BPI-Philam Life Assurance Corp. celebrated Bancassurance Month in October with the twin launch of their first-inthe-country customer service center Vibe and the Wellness Series. at the launching are (from left) BPI-Philam chief investment officer Ayen Guevarra, Insurance Commission head of IT department Edwin Lauz, BPI-Philam chief executive Surendra Menon and Bank of the Philippine Islands president Cezar Consing.

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Energy Department is mulling over other options for the mothballed 620-megawatt Bataan Nuclear Power Plant as a bomb shelter, hotel, library or data center, if repowering the facility is no longer feasible.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the government had to find “closure” on BNPP which had not operated for over 30 years.

“If we will no longer use it, what are the possible options? We can use it as a bomb shelter, may be a library, hotel, data center,” Cusi said.

The nuclear facility was mothballed in 1986 on safety concerns as the power plant reportedly sits on a fault line.

“I am not saying that Bataan is out definitely, but we have to put a closure to Bataan. As the authority, we have to put a closure to it,” Cusi said.

“Are we going to proceed and make it a nuclear power plant? If we are not going to operate it as a nuclear power plant, then what are we going to do with the structure? What are we going to do with the property?” he said.

Cusi said the Philippines would have achieved greater economic strides if the power plant had started operating.

“If the plant was running at that time, our energy landscape and probably our economic landscape will not be like this. We will be better than our neighbors because electricity is a very important factor in a country’s development,” he said.

Cusi said some sectors were supportive of nuclear energy, as long as it would not involved the Bataan nuclear facility.

“We understand that a lot of people are already favoring nuclear. So, DOE as a policy body, is looking at what should be our direction,” the energy chief said.

He said the Philippines might also pursue modular nuclear facilities but it needed to start with the “acceptance of the community.”

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

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Thursday, November 2, 2017

F OREIGN E XCHANGE R ATE Currency Unit US Dollar Peso United States Dollar

1.000000

51.6860

Japan

Yen

0.008760

0.4528

UK

Pound

1.324800

68.4736

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128205

6.6264

Switzerland

Franc

0.996910

51.5263

Canada

Dollar

0.777303

40.1757

Singapore

Dollar

0.735024

37.9905

Australia

Dollar

0.767500

39.6690

Bahrain

Dinar

2.651465

137.0436

Saudi Arabia Rial

0.266660

13.7826

Brunei

Dollar

0.732332

37.8513

Indonesia

Rupiah 0.000074

0.0038

Thailand

Baht

1.5601

0.030184

UAE

Dirham 0.272301

14.0741

Euro

Euro

1.162100

60.0643

Korea

Won

0.000900

0.0465

China

Yuan

0.151469

7.8288

India

Rupee

0.015489

0.8006

Malaysia

Ringgit 0.236407

New Zealand Dollar

0.688300

Taiwan

0.033190

Dollar

12.2189 35.5755 1.7155 Source: PDS Bridge

Stocks surge to a new record level

S

tocks soared Thursday to a new record above the 8,500-point mark, after a two-day break, following the strong performance of world markets on upbeat appraisal of the US economy.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, jumped 150 points, or 1.8 percent, to close at 8,516.02, beating the previous record finish of 8,497.74 on Oct. 17.

The broader all-share index also advanced 65 points, or 1.3 percent, to settle at 4,956.97, on a value turnover of P9.5 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers, 116 to 79, while 47 issues were unchanged.

Sixteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by miner Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. which climbed 8.9 percent to P2.95 and developer Megaworld Corp. which rose 6.9 percent to P5.70. Conglomerate Ayala Corp. added 5.7 percent to close at P1,090.

The strong demand for emerging market equities also lifted the peso which rose to 51.42 against the US dollar Thursday, from its previous closing of 51.61 agains the greenback.

World stocks were mostly upbeat Wednesday with the Dow rising, Tokyo hitting a two-decade peak and Frankfurt leading Europe higher as the Federal Reserve offered an upbeat appraisal of the US economy.

Well-perceived corporate earnings were behind much of equity markets’ confidence, while Wall Street also welcomed stronger-than-expected jobs data and seemed hopeful that President Donald Trump’s ambitious tax plans are moving closer to becoming reality.

“We’re in many ways in a sweet spot. We’ve got stable and steady economic growth and strong earnings growth and low interest rates and inflation,” said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at BMO Private Bank. “The only issue is valuation.”

The Fed, as expected, kept interest rates unchanged as it reported the US was growing at a “solid pace” and was not

significantly dented by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. That statement solidified the view the US central bank is likely to raise interest rates in December.

The Fed decision came as an ADP report estimated private-sector hiring surged by 235,000 jobs in October, while the Institute for Supply Management reported manufacturing industry growth tempered a bit in October but was still strong.

The US central bank will remain in focus on Thursday with Trump’s announcement of his choice to lead the Federal Reserve.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump informed current Fed Governor Jerome Powell on Tuesday that he will be the nominee. Powell, an attorney and former investment banker who has emerged as a consensus choice.

In Europe, Frankfurt’s Dax index was up a solid 1.8 percent by the close as German investors played catch-up after a bank holiday and a weaker euro gave a boost to exporters.

With Bloomberg, AFP

Megaworld to deliver 1,000 units in Makati

Customs to form regional task forces

By Jenniffer B. Austria

PROPERTY developer Megaworld Corp. said Thursday it will turn over more than 1,000 condominium units in the Makati central business district this year with total sales value of P9 billion.

Megaworld said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it was ready to deliver to buyers the condominium units from the 30-story Paseo Heights and the 50-story Three Central both in Salcedo Village.

“We have started the turnover process middle of this year and our goal is to complete this at the soonest possible time,” said Eugene Em Lozano, first vice president for sales and marketing of Megaworld for Makati CBD. Megaworld last year delivered to buyers 800 residential units in Makati CBD from the Two Central and Greenbelt Hamilton Tower 1 projects.

Megaworld has delivered more than 4,000 residential units from various condominium projects within the Makati CBD to date.

Aside from Two Central and Greenbelt Hamilton Tower 1, these projects also include One Central, Paseo Parkview Towers 1 and 2, One Lafayette Square, Two Lafayette Square, The Manhattan Square and The Salcedo Park Towers 1 and 2 in Salcedo Village; and Greenbelt Chancellor, Greenbelt Excelsior, Greenbelt Madison, Greenbelt Parkplace and Greenbelt Radissons in Legazpi Village.

IN BRIEF CebuPac eyes more HK flights

THE operator of Cebu Pacific is seeking more flights to Hong Kong and Indonesia from Manila on rising demand for travel to both countries, according to the Civil Aeronautics Board.

Cebu Air Inc. filed with CAB an application for allocation and re-allocation of entitlement to Hong Kong from Mania and vice versa under the 2014 Confidential Memorandum of Understanding between the Philippines and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The Philippines singed a new air service agreement with Hong Kong in 2014, doubling the weekly seats assigned to carriers operating flights from Manila to Hong Kong, from 15,000 seats per week to 30,000 seats per week. Cebu Pacific currently operates seven flights daily to Hong Kong from Manila, Cebu, Clark and Iloilo.

The airline also applied for allocation of additional entitlements to Densapar, Indonesia under the Asean Multilateral Agreement on Full Liberalization of Passengers Air Services.

Data from the Department of Tourism showed that tourist arrivals from Hong Kong reached 74,489 in the first eight months while arrivals from Indonesia hit 37,916. Darwin G. Amojelar

Dominguez seeks Ma’s help

FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said he will lead a group of government officials who will meet with Chinese billionaire Jack Ma early next year to hold more extensive dialogs on how to ensure an “enabling” financial regulatory environment for electronic commerce growth in the Philippines.

Dominguez said officials from the Department of Finance and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas would join the trip in 2018. He said e-commerce growth in the Philippines would mainly benefit the micro, small and medium enterprises.

“We are planning to visit him. He invited us to have further discussions in China. We will visit him probably in January with central bank [officials]. We’ll review the regulatory environment here so that we don’t have regulations that choke the growth of e-commerce,” Dominguez said.

The BSP, along with industry stakeholders, jointly launched the National Retail Payment System in December 2015 to create a safe, efficient and reliable electronic

retail payment system in the country.

“We must look at our [financial] regulations and ensure that it will not stymie the growth of our MSMEs,” Dominguez said. Julito G. Rada

BSP auction undersubscribed

THE P130-billion term deposits offered by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in its weekly auction was undersubscribed Wednesday on weak demand for the week-long instruments.

Data showed that total tenders for the six- and 28-day deposits reached P121.147 billion, or P8.85-billion short of the total volume of P130 billion.

The P40-billion six-day deposits attracted bids of just P30.528 billion and fetched a weighted average accepted yield of 3.35 percent.

The P90-billion 28-day deposits were slightly oversubscribed, attracting tenders of P90.619 billion and had a weighted average accepted yield of 3.49 percent.

“There were more maturing TDFs 28 days given the reduction in the volume of offering,” Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said.

The Bangko Sentral said despite the undersubscription, it would keep the weekly volume of P130 billion in the next auction on Nov. 8.

Previous undersubscription forced the Bangko Sentral to reduce the weekly volume to P130 billion from P140 billion previously. Julito G. Rada

PIEP set to hold convention

THE Philippine Institute of Environmental Planners is holding its 26th National Convention on Nov. 8 to 9 at Seda Vertis North in Quezon City.

The two-day event carries the theme “Sustainable Cities and Communities for the Urban Century” highlighting the nation’s need for sound urban planning that balances considerations for socio-political, cultural, economic and environmental issues contributing to a more sustainable development.

Almost half of the Philippine population lived in urban areas as the country has become increasingly urbanized in recent decades, and apparently more so in the years ahead.

The 26th PIEP National Convention aims to raise awareness on the imperative value of environmental urban planning to a broader spectrum of decision-makers, from local to national governance perspectives.

“World Town Planning Day” kicks off with Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista delivering the keynote on Nov. 8 at The Quezon Grand Ballroom of Seda Vertis North.

By Julito G. Rada

RESORTS WORLD DONATION. Resorts World Manila chief integrated marketing officer Martin Paz (second from left) and RWM assistant director for public relations Archie Nicasio (right) present a P1.2-million check donation to YesPinoy Foundation founder and president Dingdong Dantes (center). They are joined by Run With Me partners Rio dela Cruz (left) and Troy Montero (fourth from left).

Govt reduces business competitiveness goal

By Othel V. Campos THE National Competitiveness Council and the Trade Department downgraded their 2022 target for improving the business climate, after the country’s ranking in the World Bank’s ease of doing business report slid this year.

The government now aims for the 38th rank among 190 economies by 2022, down from the previous ambitious target of 20th spot by 2020.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the government would strive to make the Philippines in the top 20 percent of the countries actively pursuing ease of doing business.

“It doesn’t matter whether we are at the 20th or 40th place. What is important is to improve our score. And we aim for higher target since other countries are also moving up, we need to be at par if not better than them,” he said.

The World Bank recently published the 2018 EODB report where the Philippines’

score improved marginally to 58.74 this year from 58.32 in the previous year but dropped 14 notches from 99th to 113th this year.

This served as an eye opener for the government to motivate all agencies to implement reforms that would help increase the country’s overall score in comparison with other economies especially in Asean where many members countries scored better than the Philippines.

The Philippines improved its ranking in one indicator – paying taxes – but lagged in nine other indicators.

The Philippines’ ranking in the “paying taxes” indicator improved as a result of the Home Development Mutual Fund and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. setting up online electronic payments systems.

The Bureau of Internal Revenue, however, still needed to make electronic payments available on a larger scale.

NCC co-chairman Guillermo Luz said the Phil-

ippine should adopt the “leapfrogging strategy”, especially on automation, if the government was to achieve the 38th ranking in EODB by 2022.

“I think the biggest leapfrog move will be the improvements we can make online and on the phone up to the payment system. We need to go on apps and use them,” he said.

Among the recommendations by NCC are amendment to the Corporation Code to allow for single person corporations and eliminate minimum capital requirements; for the the Securities and Exchange Commission to shorten the incorporation process significantly and automate it to improve the Philippines’ performance in the “starting a business” indicator; pass the new Expanded Anti-Red Tape Act; and implement within 2017 the Philippine Business Registry, an online system for entrepreneurs to register corporations and single proprietorships and apply for licenses.

FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez III ordered Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña to create interagency task forces at the regional level to unify and beef up anti-smuggling operations in the provinces.

Dominguez said during a recent Department of Finance executive committee meeting the cooperation among the Bureau of Customs and the Bureau of Internal Revenue along with other government agencies should go down to the regional level to ensure that provincial operations against suspected illicit trading practices were well coordinated.

“We would like the cooperation between the BIR and the Customs to go down to the regional level. They have to be meeting regularly on the regional level, not only in the national headquarters [in Manila],” Dominguez told Lapeña.

Dominguez wants the BOC and BIR to strengthen their cooperation at the regional level against antismuggling activities, as most illicitly traded goods entering the country were being sold outside Metro Manila.

Dominguez said a joint operation conducted recently by the BIR and the National Bureau of Investigation discovered that a commercial establishment in Cabanatuan City was storing 480 master cases of illicitly traded cigarettes.

A few weeks after assuming office, Lapeña unveiled his five-point program for the BOC, which included eliminating the “tara” system, increasing revenue collections, and strengthening the government’s anti-smuggling efforts while improving the incentives and rewards systems for employees.

B2

Business

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Jollibee ends 12 Hotpot venture

R

ESTAURANT operator Jollibee Foods Corp. said Thursday a joint venture company closed down its 12 Hotpot brand in China to focus on larger and fastgrowing businesses.

Jollibee said in a disclosure to the stock exchange 48-percent-owned subsidiary 12 Hotpot (Shanghai) Food and Beverage Management Co. Ltd. had discontinued the operations of the 12 Hotpot brand effective Oct. 31.

It said 12 Hotpot, which was formed in 2012 by

restaurants.

Jollibee has been divesting from smaller businesses.

It divested from China restaurant chain San Pin Wang which had 72 stores and in Chow Fun Holdings Llc., the owner of a restaurant concept known as Jinja Bar and Bistro in United States which operates five outlets.

Jollbee’s China sales grew 17.2 percent in the second quarter, compared to the same period in 2016 while profit grew significantly from a year ago.

Its foreign business sales in the same period increased 24.3 percent, led by Southeast

its larger and fast-growing business in China and other parts of the world,” the fastfood giant said.

The 12 Hotpot business was not consolidated in Jollibee’s financial statements and store count as the Filipino company owned a minority in the joint venture.

Jollibee’s other businesses in China include Yonghe King with 305 stores, Hong Zhuang Yuan with 44 stores and Dunkin’ Donuts with 18 stores for a total of 367 stores.

It is also operating Happy Bee Foods Processing Co. to supply the products to its

By Jenniffer B. Austria

Jollibee and Taiwan’s Wowprime Ltd., operated 16 outlets in Shanghai before its operations was discontinued.

Jollibee said with the discontinuation of the 12 Hotpot business, the joint venture partnership would be dissolved and liquidated.

“JFC will focus on building

Asia (ex-Philippines) with growth of 42 percent, North America with 32.5 percent and the Middle East with 32 percent.

“All these regions are profitable and had significantly improved their profitability versus prior years. JFC will continue to drive strong profitable growth of these businesses, along with the Philippines in the years ahead,” Jollibee said.

Jollibee operates the largest food service network in the Philippines. It operates 2,756 restaurant outlets in the country and 888 stores overseas.

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS DAILY STOCKS REVIEW WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2017

NAME

OPEN

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

FINANCIALS 4.89 217,000 59.95 27,840 99.75 5,279,290 3.89 2,000 144 4,198,690 2.34 956,000 33.6 118,400 9.9 500 15.88 2,200 32.25 2,055,900 8.15 1,800 0.69 7,000 1.79 9,000 940 290 0.66 752,000 89.7 3,754,870 0.82 108,000 12.64 37,600 25 1,800 57.9 403,990 244.4 60 100 400 90 820 59.95 304,180 257 281,950 1,950 1,320 87.15 74,760 1.32 59,000

1,046,900 1,660,974.50 518,773,279.50 7,790 602,687,688 2,152,850 3,970,060 4,950 34,936 67,049,400 14,671 4,830 15,380 272,850 486,470 335,416,514 87,880 474,596 45,000 23,433,891 14,612 40,040 73,800 18,095,556 71,832,168 2,571,625 6,504,948.50 79,460

9,560 1,274,843 -14,491,745.50 157,115,978 -1,522,140 -3,075,345 -4,830 104,584,317.50 -10,965,023.50 14,612 -1,083,120.50 20,560,100 -1,136,826.50 -

41.5 11.9 0.73 1.36 19 0.221 102.1 4.45 14.94 42.65 18.1 61.75 68.8 1.93 6.12 11.32 10.3 14.54 12.3 7.11 5.77 1.76 17.64 63.1 15.2 12 17.72 1.75 248.2 4.14 3.03 30.4 19.02 16.88 291.6 0.206 10.8 2.81 6.3 9.78 7.21 9.56 1.7 11.6 62.3 6.75 306 4.68 4.77 2.06 12.8 4.7 0.139 1.19 137.5 2.07 0.95

INDUSTRIAL 42.25 941,800 12.12 3,890,600 0.75 335,000 1.38 197,000 19.68 20,000 0.224 6,100,000 102.1 40 4.49 40,272,000 14.94 3,034,600 44.1 622,800 18.1 500 63.5 67,750 68.9 840 1.93 25,000 6.12 126,600 11.52 2,600 10.34 5,861,300 14.88 402,500 12.44 91,800 7.18 459,400 5.85 10,888,800 1.76 58,000 17.64 977,700 63.2 112,100 16.46 9,700 12.1 26,100 18.2 1,408,400 1.75 129,000 251.4 740,850 4.34 321,000 3.19 53,000 31 1,186,800 19.02 98,100 17.36 2,137,200 292 651,990 0.215 160,000 11 29,600 2.81 330,000 6.4 80,300 9.81 1,316,600 7.39 169,400 9.56 2,200 1.71 367,000 11.78 533,200 62.55 261,130 6.75 1,300 308 11,590 4.7 154,000 4.77 11,000 2.08 266,000 12.88 679,700 4.8 72,000 0.139 510,000 1.19 235,000 143 1,169,740 2.1 2,436,000 0.95 103,000

39,701,445 46,829,860 245,490 273,060 385,062 1,373,600 4,084 180,691,520 45,443,756 27,211,955 9,050 4,301,584.50 57,920 48,400 784,173 29,452 60,465,634 5,919,224 1,142,528 3,281,499 63,639,678 102,080 17,379,888 7,109,429 152,834 314,260 25,403,654 226,010 184,924,746 1,361,990 161,880 36,772,490 1,873,264 36,975,864 190,387,902 33,310 321,286 933,050 514,661 12,936,184 1,244,742 21,224 626,960 6,279,216 16,298,012 8,775 3,565,118 723,740 52,830 555,020 8,795,726 340,220 70,900 280,130 165,057,284 5,089,950 97,850

773,130 -2,569,598 1,360 78,790 -18,059,650 6,351,238 43,100 2,322,082.50 24,815,868 681,528 -674,958 -1,893,730 -18,015,363 3,651,042 -5,747,453 234,760 1,400,620 -8,900 -2,640,122 -6,200.00 30,300.00 23,456,585 -987,948 15,576,948 79,974,776 -350,940 -3,488,302 -21,224 -2,027,764 1,582,615.50 -1,077,940 -159,800 9,900 2,125,928 -68,220 -3,027,206 -20,800 -

0.335 73.95 15.78 1.02 7 0.425 0.435 1,020 8.49 15.44 7.6 5 1,175 7.96 75.95 5.11 0.79 5.76 17.36 6.71 0.05 1.35 2.07 2.61 102.8 2.58 953 1.43 296.8 0.255

HOLDING FIRMS 0.345 230,000 75 965,230 15.8 3,477,400 1.04 64,000 7.06 74,600 0.43 19,530,000 0.435 3,170,000 1,090 798,815 8.5 6,391,500 15.7 6,931,200 7.75 2,700 5 4,000 1,197 349,090 7.96 100 76.95 1,440,940 5.15 16,600 0.8 688,000 5.77 1,748,600 17.6 662,500 6.92 12,829,700 0.051 40,760,000 1.39 3,519,000 2.12 4,000 2.61 1,000 104 213,540 2.58 5,000 980 366,620 1.45 116,000 297.6 1,050 0.26 970,000

78,650 72,359,162.50 55,142,052 66,540 526,721 8,414,250 1,386,950 868,694,305 54,347,982 108,847,208 20,810 20,000 417,806,470 796 110,657,161.50 85,533 549,490 10,132,921 11,683,298 87,890,408 2,085,840 4,860,830 8,380 2,610 22,215,397 12,900 358,080,180 166,930 312,448 251,150

26,654,410 5,814,204 -52,000 -222,800 157,941,735 1,144,137 3,578,198 95,542,630 24,188,073.50 477,570 -2,413,628 24,735,140 12,300 4,140 13,139,068 38,590,695 -62,520 -150,650

5.1 1.04 8.48 2.4 0.96 43.15 3.79 4.82 5.4 0.51 1.21 1.23 0.198 0.46 39.9 0.66 1.97 1.5

PROPERTY 5.33 250,700 1.06 4,474,000 8.88 4,500 2.52 184,000 0.98 783,000 44 13,770,400 3.79 364,000 4.91 561,000 5.4 16,400 0.51 3,804,000 1.26 100,000 1.25 144,000 0.2 18,680,000 0.46 1,630,000 40 605,700 0.67 1,015,000 2.01 12,790,000 1.53 2,073,000

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

AG FINANCE 4.78 ASIA UNITED 58.5 BANK PH ISLANDS 97.8 BDO LEASING 3.9 BDO UNIBANK 138 BRIGHT KINDLE 2.27 CHINABANK 33.7 CITYSTATE BANK 9.9 COL FINANCIAL 15.88 EAST WEST BANK 32.55 FILIPINO FUND 8.15 FIRST ABACUS 0.69 IREMIT 1.71 MANULIFE 945 MEDCO HLDG 0.66 METROBANK 86.85 NTL REINSURANCE 0.82 PB BANK 12.64 PBCOM 25 PHIL NATL BANK 58.45 PHIL STOCK EXCH 239.2 PHILTRUST 100.5 PSBANK 90 RCBC 59 SECURITY BANK 246 SUN LIFE 1,945 UNION BANK 87.1 VANTAGE 1.35

4.94 59.95 99.9 3.9 146.8 2.39 33.7 9.9 15.88 32.85 8.16 0.69 1.79 945 0.66 90 0.82 12.64 25 58.5 244.4 100.5 90 60 257.4 1,950 87.15 1.35

4.76 58.5 97.7 3.89 137.5 2.2 33.3 9.9 15.88 32.25 8.15 0.69 1.69 940 0.64 86.85 0.81 12.62 25 57.55 239.2 100 90 58.8 244.8 1,945 87 1.32

ABOITIZ POWER 42.45 AGRINURTURE 11.96 ALLIANCE SELECT 0.73 ALSONS CONS 1.36 ASIABEST GROUP 19.12 BASIC ENERGY 0.236 BOGO MEDELLIN 102.1 CEMEX HLDG 4.57 CENTURY FOOD 15.2 CIRTEK HLDG 44.5 CNTRL AZUCARERA18.1 CONCEPCION 64 CONCRETE A 69 CROWN ASIA 1.94 DAVINCI CAPITAL 6.25 DEL MONTE 11.32 DNL INDUS 10.38 EAGLE CEMENT 14.6 EEI CORP 12.32 EMPERADOR 7.25 ENERGY DEVT 5.77 EUROMED 1.76 FIRST GEN 17.7 FIRST PHIL HLDG 64.05 GINEBRA 16.88 HOLCIM 12 INTEGRATED MICR 17.72 IONICS 1.76 JOLLIBEE 248.4 LMG CHEMICALS 4.3 MABUHAY VINYL 3.05 MANILA WATER 30.95 MAXS GROUP 19.3 MEGAWIDE 16.88 MERALCO 291.8 MG HLDG 0.21 PANASONIC 10.8 PEPSI COLA 2.86 PETROENERGY 6.4 PETRON 9.78 PHIL H2O 7.5 PHINMA 9.68 PHINMA ENERGY 1.71 PHX PETROLEUM 11.78 PILIPINAS SHELL 62.5 PRYCE CORP 6.75 PUREFOODS 308 RFM CORP 4.68 ROXAS HLDG 4.95 SFA SEMICON 2.1 SHAKEYS PIZZA 13 SPC POWER 4.7 SWIFT FOODS 0.139 TKC METALS 1.21 UNIV ROBINA 141.3 VITARICH 2.1 VULCAN INDL 0.95

42.45 12.12 0.75 1.39 19.92 0.236 102.1 4.57 15.2 44.5 18.1 64 69 1.94 6.3 11.52 10.38 14.94 12.6 7.25 5.89 1.76 17.88 64.15 16.88 12.1 18.2 1.78 251.4 4.38 3.19 31 19.3 17.38 293 0.215 11.26 2.86 6.44 9.93 7.6 9.68 1.71 11.84 62.6 6.75 308 4.73 4.95 2.14 13.06 4.83 0.14 1.21 143 2.13 0.95

ABACORE CAPITAL ABOITIZ EQUITY ALLIANCE GLOBAL ANGLO PHIL HLDG ANSCOR ATN HLDG A ATN HLDG B AYALA CORP COSCO CAPITAL DMCI HLDG FILINVEST DEV FJ PRINCE A GT CAPITAL HOUSE OF INV JG SUMMIT JOLLIVILLE HLDG LODESTAR LOPEZ HLDG LT GROUP METRO PAC INV PACIFICA PRIME MEDIA PRIME ORION REPUBLIC GLASS SAN MIGUEL CORP SEAFRONT RES SM INVESTMENTS SOLID GROUP TOP FRONTIER UNIOIL HLDG

0.345 75 16 1.04 7.08 0.44 0.445 1,100 8.52 15.9 7.75 5 1,205 7.96 77 5.22 0.82 5.88 17.98 6.92 0.054 1.48 2.12 2.61 104.7 2.58 990 1.46 297.6 0.26

0.345 74.95 15.86 1.02 7.08 0.44 0.44 1,021 8.52 15.62 7.6 5 1,180 7.96 76 5.22 0.82 5.8 17.98 6.73 0.053 1.48 2.07 2.61 104 2.58 955 1.46 297 0.26

VOLUME

HIGH

LOW

CLOSE

VOLUME

VALUE

NET FOREIGN BUYING/(SELLING), PHP

0.79 5.34 0.315 0.37 0.52 6.7 25.2 1.82 3.2 36.7 1.01 7.02 0.88 6.1

0.81 5.7 0.32 0.375 0.54 6.76 26.5 1.82 3.22 37.9 1.03 7.29 0.88 6.15

0.79 5.33 0.31 0.365 0.51 6.48 25.1 1.81 3.2 36.3 1.01 7.02 0.85 6.1

0.81 5.7 0.315 0.375 0.53 6.65 25.1 1.81 3.22 37.55 1.03 7.29 0.85 6.12

2,871,000 75,365,600 11,030,000 940,000 7,082,000 1,553,100 3,018,300 150,000 1,803,000 10,457,300 2,420,000 2,300 20,000 1,692,100

2,305,460 419,840,863 3,474,750 347,450 3,690,910 10,305,310 77,676,975 271,540 5,781,130 392,384,975 2,452,090 16,404 17,300 10,358,316

195,475,519 -353,600 -368,552 -20,594,270 215,390 73,550,865 -710 2,175,487

2GO GROUP 19.32 ABS CBN 38.75 ACESITE HOTEL 1.53 APC GROUP 0.52 APOLLO GLOBAL 0.052 BLOOMBERRY 9.5 BOULEVARD HLDG 0.069 CEBU AIR 109.2 CHELSEA 9.49 DFNN INC 7.55 GLOBE TELECOM 2,046 GMA NETWORK 5.95 GOLDEN HAVEN 18.04 HARBOR STAR 2.5 INTL CONTAINER 105.9 IPM HLDG 8.39 ISLAND INFO 0.151 ISM COMM 1.38 JACKSTONES 3.3 LBC EXPRESS 15.8 LEISURE AND RES 4.01 LORENZO SHIPPNG 1.28 MACROASIA 19.02 MANILA BULLETIN 0.57 MANILA JOCKEY 2.78 MELCO RESORTS 6.8 METRO RETAIL 4.04 MLA BRDCASTING 17.1 NOW CORP 2.21 PACIFIC ONLINE 11 PAL HLDG 5 PAXYS 2.99 PHILWEB 9.05 PLDT 1,692 PREMIUM LEISURE 1.45 PRMIERE HORIZON 0.39 PUREGOLD 51 ROBINSONS RTL 96.5 SBS PHIL CORP 5.9 SSI GROUP 3.84 STI HLDG 1.83 TRANSPACIFIC BR 2 TRAVELLERS 3.9 WATERFRONT 1.02 WILCON DEPOT 8.45

19.4 39 1.53 0.54 0.053 9.86 0.069 111.5 9.49 7.55 2,050 5.95 18.48 2.95 106 8.39 0.153 1.38 3.34 15.8 4.22 1.31 19.54 0.57 2.78 7.2 4.05 17.1 2.25 11 5.08 2.99 9.99 1,730 1.45 0.39 52.1 97.1 6.1 3.86 1.86 2 3.94 1.02 8.5

19.18 38.6 1.51 0.52 0.05 9.46 0.067 109.2 9.31 7.1 2,006 5.91 18.04 2.45 102.6 8.38 0.151 1.38 3.3 15.4 4.01 1.26 19.02 0.57 2.71 6.8 4 17.1 2.18 11 5 2.8 8.88 1,680 1.4 0.39 51 95.55 5.9 3.79 1.76 2 3.88 0.96 8.42

SERVICES 19.18 66,000 38.9 7,700 1.51 184,000 0.54 368,000 0.052 58,280,000 9.67 38,846,600 0.068 42,710,000 111.5 221,910 9.4 1,266,100 7.5 2,000 2,042 201,410 5.92 320,200 18.16 36,200 2.86 22,908,000 103.8 810,330 8.38 382,100 0.151 1,240,000 1.38 123,000 3.34 10,000 15.4 6,500 4.05 377,000 1.31 1,395,000 19.48 2,158,900 0.57 10,000 2.78 189,000 7.1 7,577,300 4.05 1,028,000 17.1 400 2.22 910,000 11 5,000 5.08 5,100 2.81 30,000 8.99 14,045,800 1,720 97,460 1.4 6,049,000 0.39 50,000 52 3,216,960 97 1,875,250 5.95 104,400 3.8 1,800,000 1.82 21,766,000 2 1,000 3.91 430,000 0.98 11,169,000 8.47 929,400

1,270,712 299,075 278,690 192,510 3,000,960 374,342,418 2,894,130 24,470,486 11,881,004 14,285 410,461,070 1,896,345 656,814 63,192,950 85,217,510 3,205,499 187,980 169,740 33,120 101,400 1,555,170 1,783,560 41,985,956 5,700 519,360 53,805,640 4,121,560 6,840 2,019,480 55,000 25,556 84,560 130,186,951 167,157,315 8,636,290 19,500 166,443,084 181,567,781.50 620,002 6,848,950 39,490,120 2,000 1,680,920 10,952,690 7,867,723

9,710 -101,780 -10,400 -45,587,045 10,150 5,743,707 -5,631 -15,477,890 -51,760 -862,658 76,000 41,080 -435,540 3,627,942 24,415,029 -637,930 265,100 -30,741,976.00 -470,140 -2,680,560 -17,143,863.50 48,734,833 -47,240 4,178,310 743,450 -808,960 451,194.00

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

0.0025 1.7 4.83 1.84 1.81 1.61 0.385 8.07 2.8 0.26 0.176 0.18 0.01 0.011 1.89 7.1 1.75 0.5 1.04 0.012 0.014 0.011 2.3 7.88 8.14 42.55 0.0075

0.0025 1.74 4.93 1.84 1.81 1.66 0.385 8.21 2.97 0.26 0.177 0.197 0.01 0.011 2.04 7.45 1.81 0.5 1.13 0.013 0.014 0.011 2.3 7.88 8.14 42.6 0.0075

0.0024 1.69 4.83 1.83 1.81 1.56 0.385 8.01 2.77 0.25 0.173 0.18 0.01 0.011 1.89 7.1 1.75 0.5 1.03 0.012 0.014 0.011 2.29 7.71 7.92 41.5 0.0075

MINING & OIL 0.0024 427,000,000 1.73 4,850,000 4.85 150,900 1.83 25,000 1.81 4,000 1.65 8,892,000 0.385 240,000 8.08 3,700 2.95 49,347,000 0.25 690,000 0.177 4,120,000 0.184 110,000 0.01 31,100,000 0.011 24,000,000 1.99 2,626,000 7.34 24,707,800 1.79 43,000 0.5 80,000 1.07 4,215,000 0.012 116,200,000 0.014 93,600,000 0.011 7,400,000 2.29 21,000 7.77 2,424,500 7.95 3,003,000 41.5 1,589,700 0.0075 10,000,000

1,027,100 8,350,920 732,204 45,770 7,240 14,343,630 92,400 30,248 142,297,670 173,600 722,220 21,370 311,000 264,000 5,270,030 180,299,231 76,830 40,000 4,580,340 1,445,100 1,310,400 81,400 48,120 19,025,985 24,055,513 66,572,430 75,000

828,830 -51,718 -7,240 72,300 -3,522,840 -5,200 -264,000 -2,287,810 32,285,040 -51,360 10,905,721 3,385,208 -40,709,535 -15,000

ABS HLDG PDR ALCO PREF B DD PREF GMA HLDG PDR GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B LR PREF MWIDE PREF PNX PREF 3A SFI PREF SMC PREF 2B SMC PREF 2C SMC PREF 2D SMC PREF 2E SMC PREF 2F SMC PREF 2H SMC PREF 2I

39.8 107.3 105.6 5.63 1,015 1,030 1.06 110 106 2 76 81.95 76.45 78 82.4 79.4 79

39.8 107.3 105.6 5.63 1,015 1,030 1.07 110 106 2 76 81.95 76.45 78 82.4 79.4 79

39.8 107.3 105.6 5.6 1,010 1,030 1.06 110 105.2 1.95 75.7 81.25 76.45 78 80.1 78.5 79

PREFERRED 39.8 36,300 107.3 970 105.6 8,340 5.6 691,700 1,010 500 1,030 7,710 1.07 107,000 110 520 105.2 200 1.95 8,000 75.7 3,490 81.25 18,270 76.45 5,300 78 33,900 80.1 10,460 79 40,620 79 64,450

1,444,740 104,081 880,704 3,878,588 505,070 7,941,300 113,960 57,200 21,136 15,850 264,308 1,485,285.50 405,185 2,644,200 851,904 3,224,920 5,091,550

935,300.00 -3,756,040 -813,000 -

LR WARRANT

2.42

2.54

2.4

WARRANTS 2.47 244,000

598,400

-

ITALPINAS MAKATI FINANCE PHILAB HLDG XURPAS

6.46 2.9 3.85 5.38

7.58 2.9 3.85 5.38

6.46 2.9 3.74 5.3

SME 7.32 2.9 3.85 5.3

35,102,560 2,900 791,960 3,149,799

-4,684,884 3,820 -192,283

129

126

1,713,044

-

NAME

OPEN

IRC PROP MEGAWORLD MRC ALLIED PHIL ESTATES PHIL REALTY PRIMEX CORP ROBINSONS LAND ROCKWELL SHANG PROP SM PRIME HLDG STA LUCIA LAND STARMALLS SUNTRUST HOME VISTA LAND

MS FIRST METRO ETF 126.8

8990 HLDG 5.14 A BROWN 1.05 ANCHOR LAND 8.48 ARANETA PROP 2.44 ARTHALAND CORP 0.98 AYALA LAND 43.2 BELLE CORP 3.83 CEB LANDMASTERS 4.95 CEBU HLDG 5.4 CENTURY PROP 0.52 CITY AND LAND 1.21 CITYLAND DEVT 1.23 CROWN EQUITIES 0.2 CYBER BAY 0.47 DOUBLEDRAGON 40.5 EMPIRE EAST 0.67 FILINVEST LAND 1.98 GLOBAL ESTATE 1.51

5.33 1.09 8.98 2.53 0.99 44.2 3.84 4.95 5.4 0.52 1.27 1.25 0.203 0.47 40.5 0.67 2.01 1.54

1,320,727 4,740,730 38,470 453,430 765,160 603,530,900 1,387,940 2,739,850 88,560 1,940,740 124,890 179,520 3,724,980 750,150 24,244,685 680,040 25,546,840 3,144,580

-46,769 -92,400 -43,930 -120,394,190 -140,470 88,560 3,750 -19,900 4,650 3,836,035 -643,200 -5,210,310 -

TRADING SUMMARY

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 129 13,340

SHARES

VALUE

FINANCIAL

18,744,243

1,677,942,167.70

INDUSTRIAL

93,610,243

1,442,696,335.59

105,609,554

2,314,008,300.81

HOLDING FIRMS

4,836,000 1,000 209,000 593,600

PROPERTY

187,096,920

1,706,377,410.98

SERVICES

244,334,296

1,847,684,975.19

MINING & OIL

816,578,135

471,354,272.64

GRAND TOTAL

1,471,628,895

9,500,835,156.62

FINANCIAL 2,064.46 (up) 63.40 INDUSTRIAL 10,935.37 (up) 24.53 HOLDING FIRMS 8,741.29 (up) 163.40 PROPERTY 4,014.95 (up) 69.47 SERVICES 1,712.15 (up) 3.97 MINING & OIL 13,201.58 (down) 22.90 PSEI 8,516.02 (up) 150.76 All Shares Index 4,956.97 (up) 65.04 Gainers: 116; Losers: 79; Unchanged: 47; Total: 242

NLEX sees P10b worth of revenues

By Darwin G. Amojelar NLEX Corp. said it is on track to meet its P10-billion revenue target this year on higher vehicle volume at North Luzon Expressway and SubicClark Tarlac Expressway.

NLEX president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said the company is likely to end the year with a total revenue of P10 billion, higher from the P8 billion revenues last year.

Franco attributed the increase in revenues to the higher number of vehicles plying at NLEx and SCTEx. He said vehicle traffic at NLEx was projected to grow 4.3 percent to 240,000 per day this year from last year’s 230,000 vehicles a day while vehicle traffic at SCTEx was predicted to increase to 50,000 vehicles a day from last year’s 40,000 vehicles a day.

NLEX’s total revenues rose 8 percent to P5.7 billion in the first half to P5.7 billion from a year ago, on increasing traffic at both NLEx and SCTEx. The company’s net profit in the first six months hit P2.3 billion, up from last year’s P2 billion.

NLEX earlier said it expected toll revenues to reach P24.1 billion by 2022, up from only P11.7 billion this year, boosted by existing and new tollway projects.

Core net income is expected to grow to P9.68 billion by 2022 from P4.7 billion this year.

The company is investing P29.43 billion in new projects between 2018 and 2020.

These projects are NLEx Segment 10 which is projected to be operational by first half of 2018; Segment 10 from C3 to R10 section to be completed by first quarter of 2019; and the expansion of Subic Freeport Expressway to be finished by first quarter of 2019.

PNOC EC’s profit rises to P959m

By Alena Mae S. Flores STATE-OWNED PNOC Exploration Corp. reported a 16-percent growth in net profit in the first nine months to P958.969 million from P825.4 million in the same period last year.

PNOC Exploration said revenues increased 6 percent in January to September to P3.117 billion from P2.937 billion a year ago, on higher oil prices.

The oil and gas arm of Philippine National Oil Co. derives bulk of its revenues from a 10-percent share in the Malampaya-gas-to-power project in northwest Palawan.

The company’s total assets hit P16.3 billion as of endSeptember, versus total liabilities of P2.966 billion and total equity of P13.338 billion.

PNOC remitted P520.52 million in dividends in July covering fiscal year 2016 as a part of its commitment to support national development initiatives.

This was in compliance with Republic Act 7656 and its revised implementing rules and regulations which direct all government-owned and controlled corporations to “declare and remit at least 50 percent of their annual net earnings such as cash, stock or property dividends to the national government.”

The company was unable to pursue other exploration projects due To Executive Order 556 requiring the company to conduct a bidding on oil and gas exploration ventures.

EO 556 mandated government corporations engaged in the upstream and downstream oil industries to conduct public bidding in farm-in or farmout agreements.

Manila

Standard

World

TODAY

IN BRIEF Anti-Trump rallies to be restricted SEOUL―South Korean police will restrict public rallies near the country’s presidential palace during Donald Trump’s first visit as head of state, a report said Thursday, reducing his chances of being exposed to opposition.

It is the first time that Seoul has imposed limits on public gatherings since President Moon Jae-In, a former human rights lawyer, took power in May, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Organizers of around 50 protests―mostly antiTrump rallies―applied to hold the demonstrations across Seoul but police turned down most requests to gather near the presidential Blue House, citing security concerns, Yonhap said.

Police granted two requests in the security area―one of them a proUS meeting to welcome Trump―”to ensure freedom of assembly”, it added.

One of Moon’s campaign promises was restoring freedom of expression and assembly seen to have eroded under his conservative predecessor, Park Geun-Hye, who was impeached over a corruption scandal. AFP

B3

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

Suspect felt good about attack that killed eight NEW YORK―The Uzbek immigrant behind New York’s worst attack in 16 years confessed to acting in the name of the Islamic State group and “felt good” about the killings, having planned the assault for a year, investigators said Wednesday.

The shocking details emerged as federal prosecutors filed terrorism charges against Sayfullo Saipov, who subsequently appeared in court in a wheelchair―he had been shot in the abdomen by police―24 hours after mowing down pedestrians and cyclists, and colliding with a school bus.

US President Donald Trump vowed an immediate crackdown on the visa program that he said allowed the 29-year-old to immigrate in 2010, saying he would “certainly consider”

sending the suspect to the military detention center in Guantanamo Bay and later calling for his execution.

The attack killed eight people, five of them childhood friends from Argentina celebrating 30 years since their high school graduation, a 31-year-old Belgian mother, and two US men from New York and neighboring New Jersey.

Of the 12 wounded, four remained in critical condition following the deadliest attack in America’s financial capital since the AlQaeda hijackings on September 11, 2001.

Saipov first started planning an attack a year ago, before settling two months ago on using a truck to kill as many people as possible during Halloween celebrations, according to a federal terrorism complaint. AFP

WATER FESTIVAL. Cambodian participants row their dragon boats during the Water Festival on the Tonle Sap river in Phnom Penh on November 2, 2017. Tens of thousands of Cambodian spectators flocked to the riverfront in the capital Phnom Penh on November 2 to watch the boat races as the country celebrates the annual water festival. AFP

Trump vows tough measures W

ASHINGTON―President Donald Trump on Wednesday vowed a battery of tough measures to curb immigration after a deadly terror attack in New York, but left the White House scrambling to figure out how to fulfill his promises.

Xi sends rare message to N. Korea’s Kim SEOUL―Chinese President Xi Jinping has sent North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un a rare message, Pyongyang’s official news agency reported Thursday, in his first public communication with his wayward neighbor for more than a year.

The note signaled a possible improvement in their strained relations, which had soured over Pyongyang’s growing weapons ambitions even though Beijing is its longtime ally and economic benefactor.

Xi’s message, dated Wednesday, was sent in response to congratulations from Kim last week for securing a second term as the head of China’s ruling party.

“I wish that under the new situation the Chinese side would make efforts with the DPRK side to promote the relations between the two parties and the two countries to sustainable soundness and stable development,” Xi said, according to the North’s KCNA news agency, addressing Kim as “Comrade Chairman”. AFP

Facebook vows to curb abuse SAN FRANCISCO―Facebook on Wednesday reported that profits leaped on booming revenue from online ads in the third quarter, topping investor forecasts and buoying shares already at record highs.

The leading social network said it made a profit of $4.7 billion in the quarter that ended on September 30, a jump of 79 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg used the update to address criticism of Facebook for allowing disinformation and manipulation during the 2016 US presidential election, hours after the company’s top lawyer faced a grilling at a Washington congressional hearing.

“Our community continues to grow and our business is doing well,” Zuckerberg said.

“But none of that matters if our services are used in ways that don’t bring people closer together. We’re serious about preventing abuse on our platforms.

We’re investing so much in security that it will impact our profitability. Protecting our community is more important than maximizing our profits.” AFP

SECRET GENIUS AWARDS. Halsey speaks onstage during Spotify’s Inaugural Secret Genius Awards hosted by Lizzo at Vibiana on November 1, 2017, in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Taiwan dance festival pays tribute to political victims TAIPEI―In a historic wooden house opening on to a serene courtyard in downtown Taipei, a dancer strips naked and re-enacts the self-immolation of an activist 28 years ago.

The performance is inspired by Cheng Nan-jung, often referred to as Taiwan’s “father of free speech”.

Cheng, the editor of a political magazine, burned himself to death in 1989 when police tried to arrest him on charges of sedition, before the island transitioned to democracy.

The piece is the highlight this year of an annual festival organized by a company founded by the late Tsai Juiyueh, regarded as the pioneer of modern dance on the island.

Shows by the group often touch on political themes, from human rights to land issues.

This year’s four-day festival-which starts Thursday― ties in with the 70th anniversary of a massacre by nationalist Chinese troops known as the 228 Incident.

The tragedy marked the start of decades of bloody political purges in Taiwan, under which Tsai and her husband both suffered.

The show comes as Taiwan reckons with its dark past. The current government has vowed to investigate the purges.

Against ominous background music, three male performers leap and skid across the stage, wearing khaki caps similar to those worn by Taiwanese police officers in the past.

In another scene, female dancers in peasant costumes gesture violently and cover their mouths, punctuating their movement with cries.

Tsai died in 2005, and the company is now run by two of her former students, sisters Grace and Ondine Shiau.

“Although there are scars, it is our history and everyone should be aware of what really happened,” Ondine, who is also Tsai’s daughter-in-law, told AFP. “Tableaux”, the piece dediated to Cheng, is being performed in Taiwan for the first time since 2004, when it was created by renowned Colombian-American choreographer Eleo Pomare at Ondine’s request.

Cheng was a fierce advocate of free speech and defied the Kuomintang government’s censorship laws by drafting a constitution for a democratic Taiwan.

Ondine says Taiwanese dancers were hesitant to perform “Tableaux” in 2004 as it was still taboo then to openly discuss the island’s past. AFP

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

BDO UNIBANK, INC., (formerly BANCO DE ORO UNIBANK, INC.), Mortgagee/s,

TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF TITLE NO. 004-2017000713 Registry of Deeds-Quezon City

FRE NO. 11852

ERNIE C. TORRADO, Mortgagor/s x-----------------------------------x

NOTICE OF EXTRA-JUDICIAL SALE OF REAL PROPERTY UNDER ACT 3135 (AS AMENDED)

*A parcel of land (Lot 52, Block 8, of the conso. subdivision plan, Pcs-04-000820, being a portion of the cons. of Lot 47-A and 47-B, Psd-9299, Lot 54-A and 54-B, Psd.-16445, LRC Rec. No. 1037), situated in the Capitol District, Quezon City, Metro Manila. Bounded on the NW.,along line 1-2-3-4, by Road Lot 12, along line 4-5 by Lot 53, Block 8, both of the conso. subdivision plan; and on the SE., and SW., along lines 5-6-1

by Lot 51 (Open space) Block 8, all of the conso. subdivision plan xxx containing an area of Four Hundred Two (402) square meters. xxx xxx xxx” All sealed bids must be submitted to the undersigned at the aforesaid office on the above stated date and time.

UPON extra-judicial petition under ACT 3135, as amended

by ACT 4118, and pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Deed of Real Estate Mortgage executed on January 31, 2017

by ERNIE C. TORRADO – No. 159 Chico Street, Project 2, Quezon City/Lots 52 and 53, Block 8, Road Lot 12, Filinvest 2, Brgy. Bagong Silangan, Quezon City, Mortgagor/s in favor of BDO UNIBANK, INC. (formerly BANCO DE ORO UNIBANK, INC.), Mortgagee/s, Interested parties are hereby to satisfy the mortgage debt in enjoined to investigate for the amount of P 7,432,274.21 themselves the title/s to the as of September 1, 2017 said property/ies and the inclusive/exclusive of interest, encumbrances thereon, if there penalties, attorney’s fees and be any. other charges together with all the lawful fees and expenses In the event that public auction of foreclosure sale, the Ex- should not take place on said Officio Sheriff of the Regional date due to fortuitous event or Trial Court of Quezon City and/ if the same be declared a nonor his duly authorized Deputy working holiday, it shall be held Sheriff, hereby announces on DECEMBER 5, 2017 at the that on November 23, 2017 same time and place without between the hours of 9:00 further notice.

A.M. to 4:00 P.M. at the Office Quezon City, Metro Manila, of Clerk of Court & Ex-Officio Sheriff, Regional Trial Court, OCTOBER 6, 2017.

Hall of Justice Bldg., Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City, (Sgd.) MANUEL S. PANLASIGUI will SELL through public auction Sheriff IV to the highest bidder and for cash, in Philippine Currency, (Sgd.) GREGORIO C. TALLUD Clerk of Court VII and the following described real Ex-Officio Sheriff property/ies with all the improvements existing thereon, WARNING: It is absolutely to wit: prohibited to remove, deface TRANSFER CERTIFICATE OF or Destroy this Notice of Sheriff’s Sale on or Before the TITLE NO. 004-2017000712 Registry of Deeds-Quezon City date of the auction sale under

*A parcel of land (Lot 53, Block 8, of the conso. subdivision plan, Pcs-04-000820, being a portion of the conso. of Lot 47-A and 47-B, Psd-9299, Lot 54-A and 54-B, Psd.-16445, LRC Rec. No. 1037), situated in the Capitol District, Quezon City, Metro Manila. Bounded on the NW.,along line 1-2, by Lot 54, Block 8 (Payatas Impt. Co.) on the SE., along line 3-4 by Lot 52, Block 8; and on the SW., along

penalty of the law.

Copy Furnished: BDO UNIBANK, INC. (formerly BANDO DE ORO UNIBANK, INC.) 11th Floor, South Tower, BDO Corporate Center, 7899 Makati Avenue, Makati City ERNIE C. TORRADO No. 159 Chico Street, Project 2, Quezon City Lots 52 and 53, Block 8, Road Lot 12, Filinvest 2, Barangay Bagong Silangan, Quezon City (MS-Oct. 20, 27 & Nov. 3, 2017)

plowed a rented truck into cyclists and pedestrians on a New York City bike path Tuesday, came to the country via the program in 2010.

Trump also floated deep changes to how terror suspects are prosecuted and said he would consider sending Saipov to Guantanamo Bay, the US military detention center which holds suspected foreign jihadists in Cuba. “[We] have to come up with punishment that’s far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now,” Trump said.

Trump continued his hard-line rhetoric on Twitter Wednesday night, calling for the attacker’s execution.

“NYC terrorist was happy as he asked to hang ISIS flag in his hospital room.

He killed 8 people, badly injured 12. SHOULD GET DEATH PENALTY!”, he said, using an acronym for the Islamic State jihadist group. AFP

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES PROVINCE OF BATANGAS MUNICIPALITY OF BAUAN

lines 4 to 6-1 by Road Lot 12, both of the conso. subdivision plan xxx containing an area of Three Hundred Seventy Nine (379) square meters. xxx xxx xxx”

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION OFFICE OF THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF QUEZON CITY

-versus-

Looking to burnish his hard-line image after what appeared to be the first major jihadist attack on the homeland during his administration, Trump pledged sweeping changes and later called for the attacker to be put to death.

Surrounded by the cabinet, Trump―who ran for the White House on a promise to end what he called “radical Islamic terrorism”― announced he was “starting the process of terminating” America’s green card lottery.

“Diversity lottery. Diversity lottery. Sounds nice.

It’s not nice,” he said.

“We’re so politically correct that we’re afraid to do anything.”

The program was created 27 years ago and awards US permanent resident visas to around 50,000 applicants from around the world each year.

According to Trump, 29-year-old Sayfullo Saipov, identified by authorities as the man who

Bids and Awards Committee Municipal Government of Bauan Bauan, Batangas Standard Form Number: SF-INFR-05 Revised on: July 29, 2004 INVITATION TO APPLY FOR ELIGIBILITY AND TO BID The Municipal Government of Bauan, through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites contractors registered with and classified by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) to apply for eligibility and if found eligible, to bid for the hereunder contracts: APPROVED SOURCE MODE PROJECT TITLE/ PROJECT DESCRIPTION BUDGET FOR OF OF LOCATION REF. NO. THE CONTRACT FUND PURCHASE Construction of Access Road at Barangay(s) of Aplaya, Sto. BINFR- Supply labor P19,448,000.00 General Bidding Domingo, San 2017-71 materials, Fund and equipment Andres Proper and San Andres I, Bauan, Batangas Prospective bidders should possess a valid PCAB License applicable to the contract, have completed a similar contract with a value of at least 50% of the ABC, and have key personnel and equipment (listed in the Eligibility Forms) available for the prosecution of the contract. The BAC will use non-discretionary “pass/fail” criteria in the Eligibility Check/Screening as well as the Preliminary Examination of Bids. The BAC will conduct post qualification of the lowest calculated bid.

All particulars relative to Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Conference(s), Evaluation of Bids, Post-qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

The complete schedule of BAC activities is listed, as follows: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

ACTIVITIES Issuance of Bid Documents Pre-Bid Conference Opening of Bids Bid Evaluation Post-Qualification Notice of Award

SCHEDULE October 27 – November 15, 2017 November 03, 2017 November 15, 2017 November 16, 2017 November 17 - 20, 2017 November 21 - 24, 2017

The BAC will issue bidding documents only to bidders declared by the BAC to be eligible for the bidding upon payment of non-refundable amount to the Municipal Government Cashier.

The Municipal Government of Bauan assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid.

The Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) of Bauan reserves the right to accept or reject any or all bids, to declare the bidding a failure, not to award the contract, to annul the bidding process, to waive any defects or informalities therein, without thereby incurring any liabilities to the affected bidders and to accept the proposal considered most advantageous to the Government.

Approved by:

(MS-OCT. 27 & NOV. 3, 2017

(SGD) Dr. NOEL C. BAUTISTA Chairman, BAC

LGUs

Jimbo Owen Gulle, Editor editor.lgustandard@gmail.com

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Dino hits ‘Yolanda’ housing czar tag

friday, november 3, 2017

LocaL government units

Unfinished houses, with building materials strewn haphazardly, fill a street at the housing project for Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ survivors in Barangay Lacayon, Bugasong town in Antique province. At the background are some rice fields affected by a flash flood that hit the day before this photo was taken by the group Kilusang Pagbabago’s Region 6 team.

Manila streets cleared

By Bill Casas

T

He city government of Manila has rescued dozens of street dwellers and vendors during a massive clearing operation on Roxas Boulevard and adjacent roads.

A city official clarified the operation is not part of preparations for the visit of world leaders participating in the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations

Summit this November.

Mayor Joseph estrada said the operation was led by the Manila Department of Social Welfare in cooperation with the Metropolitan Ma-

nila Development Authority and supported by the Manila Police District and other city hall offices.

“We’ve been doing this operation simply because we want them off the streets, where they are vulnerable to accidents and crimes. We’re merely protecting them,” the mayor said.

As to the illegal vendors, estrada said he is not against them trying to earn a living, but pointed out that major thoroughfares such as Roxas

Boulevard must, at all times, be cleared of hazardous and traffic-causing obstructions.

MDSW-City Rescue team leader Lindsay Javier said the joint City HallMMDA operation netted a total of 48 street dwellers and 10 ambulant vendors on push carts and pedicabs.

The Oct. 26 raid also resulted to the confiscation of two “kuliglig” (motorized pedicabs) and six pedicabs the vendors also use as their makeshift homes.

Three bicycles were also seized from a group of “solvent boys,” Javier added.

The rescue units started the “reach out and clearing” operation from the City Hall, sweeping the stretch of Kalaw Avenue up to the uS embassy and Baywalk on Roxas Boulevard, onward to the Cultural Center of the Philippines up to the corner of Vito Cruz, and back to City Hall through Taft Avenue.

“This is a massive clearing and rescue operation targeting not only vagrants but also

In BrIef

Makati 2nd job fair set Nov. 10

nv mayor seeks road repair fund BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya—Ambaguio Mayor Arnold Dinungon is seeking funds for the development of a road to boost the town’s eco-tourism potential and provide better roads for upland farmers.

“We need this road development fund to provide better access roads for local and foreign tourists and to discourage influence of communist rebels that we are not doing something to uplift the economic development of our constituents,” he said during a meeting of the Provincial Peace and Order Council here.

Dinungon said members of the New People’s Army frequenting upland villages in their town were capitalizing on undeveloped roads to gain support and sympathy from the villagers.

He said these roads start from barangays Poblacion, Camandag and Napo, which serve as an alternative road for mountaineers going to Mt. Pulag in Benguet province. Ben Moses Ebreo

By Joel E. Zurbano THe Makati City government announced on Thursday it will hold a job fair on Nov. 10 in Barangay Valenzuela, where job-seekers can be hired on the spot by 30 participating companies.

The city’s Public employment Service Office will conduct the event in partnership with the Department of Labor and employment, Philippine Overseas employment Administration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and the Rotary Club District 3880.

The Mega Job Fair will be opened at 8 a.m. at the Valenzuela Covered Court on Hormiga corner Tanay streets.

The city’s information and Community Relations Department reminded applicants to bring copies of their resume and other relevant documents.

mobile vendors who sleep on the street in their carts or pedicabs,” MDSW chief Nanet Tanyag said.

The operation has resulted in the rescue of more than 4,000 individuals since February this year, according to Tanyag.

Asked if this is part of government efforts to clean up Roxas Boulevard in time for the Asean Summit, Tanyag replied: “No. it has nothing to do with it. We’ve been doing this almost every day.”

CeBu CiTY—The Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino took to task the news item that came out in Manila Standard last Oct. 30 titled “Yolanda housing czar hit,” saying the headline was erroneously attributed to Dino.

“The Presidential Assistant for the Visayas was never appointed by the President [Rodrigo Duterte] to be the Yolanda housing czar,” OPAV Assistant Anthony Gerard “Jonji” Gonzales said.

Dino’s office released the statement following news reports that the Kilusang Pagbabago chapter in Region 6 blamed the inefficiency of Dino as “Yolanda” housing czar for the flooding of five barangays in Bugasong town in Antique, after it conducted a fact-finding mission in the area on Oct. 20. in a statement, Gonzales said Dino received verbal instruction from President Duterte to immediately relocate the “Yolanda” victims from the danger zone to the housing units on different relocation sites in Tacloban City, when both of them visited the city Nov. 8 last year.

“On 14 January 2017, PA (Presidential Assistant) Dino formally handed over the work he did in Tacloban City to government line agencies during a meeting presided

by Cabinet Secretary [Leoncio] evasco in Davao City,” Gonzales added.

He stressed that the construction of the “Yolanda” housing units is undertaken by the National Housing Authority. Junex Doronio

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol (third from right) awards to Sarangani Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon (fourth from right), Vice Gov. Elmer de Peralta and other provincial officials a P75-million check for the Special Area for Agricultural Development Program during the Thanksgiving Day event at the upland village of Upo in Maitum town.

DA grants P100m for Sarangani upland farming AGRiCuLTuRe Secretary Manny Piñol recently handed over to officials of Sarangani province a check for P75 million meant for the Special Area for Agricultural Development Program during the Thanksgiving Day at the upland village of upo in Maitum town.

Piñol turned over the check to Sarangani Gov. Steve Chiongbian Solon, Vice

Gov. elmer de Peralta, and other provincial officials.

The amount is the balance of the P100-million grant of the Department of Agriculture for the project.

The initial P25 million was downloaded last year, enabling Sarangani to pick seven of its poorest barangays identified by the Community-Based Monitoring System and Social Welfare

indicators for funding of 436 hectares of upland rice and 190 hectares of white corn.

Sarangani’s SAAD project, organized by the T’boli indigenous people, was lauded by Piñol as the most successful because of its streamlined and efficient implementation.

As of the end of October, four municipalities have produced 111 metric tons of or-

ganic rice, which is expected to increase when the yield from three other towns are accounted for by December.

The agriculture chief said the DA is planning to build a P120-million rice and corn complex in the province to help modernize agriculture in the area and serve as the marketing center for local traders, who will buy agricultural produce from farmers.

QC disaster plan approved

By Rio N. Araja THe Quezon City Council has passed a resolution adopting the formulation and implementation of the Quezon City Contingency Plan for f lood and earthquake as mandated in the Quezon City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council Operations Manual.

The QCCP and QCDRRMC-

OM have set the standard response in a worst-case scenario and the standard operating procedure during emergencies and calamities.

District 2 Councilor Ramon Medalla authored the resolution to acknowledge the importance of having a ready contingency plan during floods and earthquakes, particularly for the expected “Big One” quake estimated to reach intensity 7.4.

COUNCIL MEETING. Laguna 1st District Rep. Arlene Arcillas (center) chairs the Police Regional Office 4A Regional Advisory Council meeting, with PRO4A Director Chief Supt. Ma. O Aplasca (second from left), Chief Supt. Ephraim Dickson (left) and Dr. Adiel S. De Torres (right), the RAC vice chairman. The council signed a deed of donation in the meeting at the MPC Conference Room in Camp Vicente Lim, Canlubang, Laguna. Roy Tomandao

rowdy bar patrons nabbed in caloocan Due to the claps of their tabled guest relations officers, four men were arrested owing to unpaid bills and damage caused inside a disco bar Wednesday night in Caloocan City.

Arrested were Marciano Mongcao, 40, of Barangay 63 Grace Park, 9th Avenue, Caloocan; Mark Stephen Romiano, 23, of Sta. Cruz, Manila; John Laude, 26; and Ryan Dignadice, both from Maricaban, Pasay City.

According to police reports, the four were inside the Rolex Disco and KTV Bar on MacArthur Highway, Monumento Barangay 78, Caloocan. The bar is known for lewd shows.

Apart from their orders of alcoholic drinks and food, the men also asked for female GROs, who ordered for ladies’ drinks. Jun David

estrada sends help to Sampaloc fire victims MANiLA Mayor Joseph estrada has sent aid to families affected by Wednesday night’s fire in Sampaloc. estrada tasked the Manila Department of Social Welfare and Development to ensure the fire victims’ immediate needs are provided, such as food and temporary shelter.

“We will ensure that they are in safe grounds. They are now housed temporarily in an evacuation center,” estrada said, citing the initial report submitted by MDSW chief Nanet Tanyag.

Reports indicated the fire broke out at Ma. Cristina Street in Barangay 455, Sampaloc around 10:17 p.m.

Wednesday, All Saints’ Day. it was put out 12:03 a.m.

Thursday. Bill Casas

Cobonpue evaluates best student outputs

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com fRIday, noVemBeR 3, 2017

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F

urNITure designer and manufacturer Kenneth Cobonpue, along with his faculty pool, extended an invitation to students enrolled in the Industrial Design Program of the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB) to bring forward their best course outputs for the recently-concluded sound review and assessment.

Life

The activity aims to Cobonpue, the Senior give the students the Industry Fellow of the confidence to pitch course, has been credited as concepts and outputs, the man behind five Japan while having the proper Good Design Awards, the attitude in appreciating grand prize at Singapore improvements, and deInternational Design Comveloping the sense for petition, the Design for good form and function Asia Award of Hong Kong, design. the American Society of The annual exercise Interior Design Top Pick wishes to establish a selection and the French culture of open and Coup de Coeur award. He constructive feedback, has likewise been named giving the students the Designer of the Year in the venue to learn from industry practitioners while relat- first issue of Maison et Objet Asia held in March 2014. ing their products and competencies to real-world senThe DLS-CSB faculty represents both the sides of the sibilities and directions in an ever-evolving industrial learned academe and industry movers and doers, who are all design industry. leaders in their own fields, with experience local and abroad.

culture and media

Kenneth Cobonpue assesses pitches and concepts of students of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde's Industrial Design Program

Escuela Taller graduates to help restore

earthquake-damaged built heritage

Cobonpue with Industry Design Program students of Benilde

Casa de Memoria’s auction culminates with cheer and success THe Casa de Memoria main gallery was filled with a familiar combination of camaraderie and competition among guests. Coming from a well-received cocktail preview, many prospective participants—both new and returning— came to vie for the precious lots that couldn’t wait to find a new home. The highly anticipated themed auction, “The Casa Interiors,” was ultimately a success not only for the Casa, but also for everyone in the room.

Furniture, glassware, cabinets, and tapestry—these are just some of the storied pieces that were part of this themed auction’s collection. A pair of candelabras from the 19th century, however, undeniably took the spotlight, as it garnered the highest bids during the exciting affair. This comes to no surprise, as they carry a sense of grandeur and timelessness.

Among the popular lots were the more eccentric pieces such as the pair of Cloisonné Chinese Horses and the Portuguese Silver Ice Bucket, both enjoying a considerable jump from their starting prices.

With lots curated by Creative Director Miguel Rosales, there was a piece that came calling to every type of homeowner. Director Angelique Lhuillier shares, “We absolutely loved how Miguel put together the selections for this auction. While they were all very different, each had a life of their own. As anticipated, the ones with the most character got the highest bids.”

Participants who successfully bid for their desired lots went home satisfied and happier than when they entered the Casa. #TheCasaInteriors auction also marked a fruitful partnership between the country’s premier source of international fine and decorative art and Fight Hunger With Hunger (FHWH), a non-profit organization.

A percentage of the proceeds went to the Philippinebased NGO, whose main mission is to “perpetually end world child hunger by means of a sustainable food business that generates enough net profits to feed children all over the world.” FHWH’s CFO Keith Taylor took advantage of the event to spread the word about their advocacy and partnership. every auction, not only does the Casa make it point to creatively curate lots and restore precious works of art that cater to a unique clientele, but they also make it a point to restore communities while they’re at it. For the following auctions, Casa de Memoria hopes to continue this tradition of appreciating fine art while doing fine work in society.

After the success of The Casa Interiors, patrons are looking forward to what the Casa has in store for the upcoming auctions. Marketing Manager Camille Lhuillier teases, “Aside from the fine art and vintage furniture, this auction also proved that there’s a very healthy demand for small, precious trinkets. Perhaps we could build a theme around that?”

Some of the storied pieces sold off during Casa de Memoria's auction include (from top) a pair of Cloisonné Chinese Horses, a pair of Louis XVI Style Putti Candlesticks, Portuguese Silver Ice Bucket, and Régence Style Comode.

eSCueLA TALLer (eT) of Bohol graduated its first batch of trainees. Among the special guests included Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr., former Mayor of Maribojoc, Spanish Ambassador to the Philippines Antonio Calvo, and Bishop of the Diocese of Tagbilaran, Most rev. Alberto S. Uy. A total of 48 young men and women completed the one-year training program in traditional construction and conservation techniques for masonry, carpentry and wall finishing. This group of young people is now part of a unique pool of specialists and skilled workers in conservation aptly called Heritage Protectors. They can now be tapped to help conserve and restore the historical structures of Bohol ravaged by the 7.2 magnitude quake in 2013 and other heritage structures in the region that consistently demand conservation works through preventive maintenance.

They will be soon be part of the rehabilitation efforts within the Santa Cruz Parish Complex in Maribojoc. The restoration of the church’s retablo, the repairs of the stone steps leading to the rear side of the church and the restoration of the old convent are among the many projects included in their list of future undertakings.

According to eT executive Director Carmen Bettina Bulaong, “escuela Taller’s mission in Bohol is to equip the local youth with skills related to the conservation of built heritage. This new skill set is not simply a means of livelihood for these young men and women. It is their

opportunity, as members of a community, to actively participate in safeguarding the legacy of a culture that they are so much a part of. This is our shared mission with other escuelas Taller in Spain, North Africa and Latin America.” In fact to ensure the quality of their training, eT has sent its finest graduates from Manila to become instructors in the various trades and workshop areas that were established as a response to massive damage due to the earthquake in October 2013. escuela Taller in Intramuros was among the first organized groups who conducted emergency response by conducting the assessment and documentation of the damage caused by the earthquake. eventually, eT’s first satellite training program, which was participated in by 28 young Boholanos, was organized through the support of the Ayala Foundation. The training involved the restoration of the Dauis Watch Tower as the “learn-by-doing” project of the trainees. The Dauis church complex, where the watchtower stands, is a declared National Cultural Treasure by the National Museum and a National Historical Landmark by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. After the satellite training program in Dauis and the completion of the Dauis Watch Tower, escuela Taller established its center for training in Maribojoc Church Complex through the support of Senator Loren Legarda and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts.

Arvin Santos poses with his sculpture and painting entry for Shell NSAC

Budding artists celebrate art ASPIrING art luminaries completed the statement “Art For Me Is…” by drawing an image or writing at the art wall installed at Shell House in Makati City, after they have submitted their entries for the much-awaited Shell National Students Art Competition (NSAC).

The art wall is part of power, energy, and gas technology leader Pilipinas Shell’s celebration of the 50th anniversary of NSAC, the longest-running annual art tilt in the country, that aptly carries the theme, “The Golden Voyage” this year.

Some of the student-artists won Shell Select Deli2Go gift certificates after posting their photo on social media with the hashtags #ShellNSAC50 and #thegoldenvoyage.

Over 800 entries were received from young artists from all over the country un-

der the Oil/Acrylic, Watercolor, Sculpture, and Digital Fine Arts (Print) categories.

Pilipinas Shell continues to support programs for youth development through art as part of its future energy vision of powering nation-building, and sustainable, inclusive growth. The company also does this by promoting technology and innovation, energy efficiency, smarter mobility, energy conservation, and by diversifying the energy mix through continuous efforts to explore gas technology and supply cleaner-burning natural gas, among other initiatives.

Arvin Santos, a student from the university of the east-Caloocan, joined with his painting and sculpture entry. This is Arvin’s third and last time joining Shell NSAC. “I hope this year will be my year” he said.

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017 Isah V. Red, Editor • Nickie Wang, Writer

…are talking about

...are not talking about Jessy Mendiola She’s back on Instagram! That was the headline of a showbiz news site after the actress’s IG account had been inaccessible for almost a week. Her beau explained that Jessy’s account encountered some technical problems. Let’s pretend that we didn’t know that Jessy has been the subject of nasty tasks among netizens because of her behavior online and that we didn’t know that a person could actually temporarily deactivate his or her account.

My Korean Jagiya Despite the tough competition on primetime, the Heart Evangelista – Alexander Lee starrer remains the one to beat on its timeslot.

Performing better than any other shows on GMA Network on primetime, My Korean Jagiya consistently outperforms its rival, which now resorts to social media to measure its performance. Obviously, viewers have an unending appetite for romance and comedy, and the show just got the right formula for it to get the audience hooked.

Alisah Bonaobra Her determination and talent got her back to the popular talent show in the UK. After being eliminated in The X Factor U.K. more than once, entertainment sites in the UK called her the luckiest contestant ever because she’s back in the game as a wildcard. There’s no doubt that Alisah can sing really well, and we’re proud of her waving the country’s flag as she represents local talents on the global stage.

We just hope she cuts all the drama since she’s not in the Philippines anymore where talent shows capitalize on a contestants’ backstory to gain sympathy votes from the audience.

Alessandra de Rossi Declining an endorsement is something most celebrities wouldn’t do regardless of the contract price and the exposure they’d get. For Alessandra, any product or brand that she promotes is an extension of herself that’s why when a company offered to get her service for a multimillion endorsement, she turned her back on the deal because she didn’t believe in the brand. Good thing though after closing her doors on the deal, she got another offer which is much bigger and doesn’t go against her values.

Ruffa Mae Quinto She’s glad she’s back in the limelight after taking some time off to take care of her firstborn. She even went from being a Kapuso to a Kapamilya saying that it was a decision tshe pondered on deeply for a long time .

But does she’s still have space in her new network? Sure, she’s already part of Home Sweetie Home and we hope she’d succeed in bringing something new on the table. If only she’s still as relevant as she was 10 years ago, we would have been very excited about this career move.

Xander Ford Showbiz is littered with novelties and people who bask in “instafame” who believe trending in social media a few times would get them to mainstream. Sadly for Xander, who knew all along that show business was a cruel world, his sudden emergence is nothing but a flash in the pan.

Even without the video that captured him body shaming Kathryn Bernardo, people wouldn’t still consider him as a celebrity.

Perhaps, instead of dwelling on the antibullying case he filed against the netizens who uploaded the viral video, he could also re-examine himself so he can identify the reason why he suddenly got banned from a major network and why nobody cares about him anymore.

St. Anthony is ‘Myx Moves’ champ ANOTHER co-ed crew bested the best of Mega Manila’s high school dance crews. School of St. Anthony’s DanSSA emerged as grand champion of the MYX Moves Streetdance Competition during the grand finals at the KIA Theatre.

DanSSA took home a total of P160,000 in cash prize, P10,000 for emerging from the semi-finals, P100,000 for winning the grand showdown, and another P50,000 for winning the Co-Ed division, where the crew beat Bulihan National High School and last year’s grand champ Colegio San Agustin.

Xavier School’s Dance X came in second place, while School of the Holy Spirit’s Aglaia placed third. Both troupes took home P50,000 each as winners in their respective divisions plus another P10,000 each for pulling through the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, out of the body movers from

the nine semi-finalists, Ella Jacob of the Dominican College Dance Troupe garnered a total of 29,641 online votes, hailing her as the MYX Supreme Mover. This is the second consecutive year of Dominican College reign in the MYX Supreme Mover title.

The MYX Moves Grand Finals was hosted

by MYX VJ’s Ai dela Cruz, Sunny Kim, Donny Pangilinan, Jairus Aquino, and Sharlene San Pedro.

MJ Arda of A-Team, Lema Diaz of the Philippine All Stars, and Von Asilo of The Crew, were the members of the panel of judges.

Philippine hip hop dance crew Legit Status did a striking performance.

Award-winning dancer, choreographer, and Step Up: All In star Parris Goebel and her dance crew, the Royal Family, also wowed the crowd as they served an epic, hair-raising performance.

Dominican College's Ella Jacob (center) wins this year's MYX Supreme Mover award after dominating the dance competition's online poll

Richard Poon at Shangri-La Plaza

Richard Poon takes center stage to share his music with the visitors of Shangri-La Plaza Mall

SHANGRI-LA Plaza brings the music of Richard Poon to mall guests. Shangri-La Plaza always brings in the best musicians and performances to give mall guests unforgettable entertainment experiences.

Tomorrow at the Shangri-La Plaza East Atrium, Richard Poon takes center stage to share his soothing voice and unique style of music with the visitors of the mall.

Richard Poon has won over crowds by giving the “standards” or classic hits by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett, and more, a fresher and younger twist with his cool and distinct voice.

He has brought his masterful reinterpretation of timeless songs in concert tours all over the world, and has shared the stage with none other than the music industry’s biggest names including Regine Velasquez and Lea Salonga. Not only is he a soulful crooner, but Poon is also an acclaimed songwriter, arranger, and music producer who won the 2009 Awit Awards Best Jazz Recording for his original song “Momma Said So” which he wrote for British-Filipino artist, Charlie Green.

Now, he brings his music over to Shangri-La Plaza to serenade mall guests, and give you a taste of his most popular compositions and arrangements.

You can always count on ShangriLa Plaza to bring you the best performances and artists to fill the mall with world-class entertainment.

John Lloyd-Sarah reunion movie in SKY Pay-Per-View STAR Cinema on SKY Pay-Per-View is bringing romance and action to TV screens until Nov.17 with the backto-back feature of John Lloyd Cruz and Sarah Geronimo’s Finally Found Someone and Gerald Anderson’s AWOL. Aprilyn Esguerra (Geronimo) goes viral when videos of her crying her heart out after being left at the altar hits the Internet. Her ex-fiancé’s dad, who’s a mayor, hires a public relations consultant after the incident leaves a bad mark on their family’s image. Raffy Sandoval (Cruz) plans to help Aprilyn move on but what he doesn’t plan is them falling

in love with each other.

Gerald Anderson plays an elite soldier turned rogue in AWOL or absence without leave that is used to describe soldiers who abandon their duties.

In the movie, Anderson’s Lt. Abel Ibarra leaves his post as the leader of an elite sniper group to conduct an investigation on the incident that killed his team and the person behind the attempts on his family.

SKYdirect Prepaid subscribers can also text PPV STARCINEMA <BOX ID> to 23667, while Postpaid subscribers can text SKY to 23668.

‘Wansapanataym’ episode earns nod in International Emmy Kids Awards WANSAPANATAYM a TV series that WANSAPANATAYM, imparts valuable lessons and promotes good values to viewers, bagged a nomination for best TV movie/mini-series category in the 2017 International Emmy Kids Awards and the only Philippine TV show that made it to the prestigious award-giving body.

The show earned its nomination for its “Candy’s Crush” episode with Loisa Andalio and Jerome Ponce. It revolved

around the life of Candy (Loisa), a young lady who got punished after using a magic potion to make the campus heartthrob Paolo (Jerome) fall in love with her. Andoy Ranay directed the episode that was aired in June 2016.

The awards show will take place on April 18, 2018.

Meanwhile, Wansapanataym continues to bring values-laden stories with its current series “Louie’s Biton.”

Motoring

Photos by Automobili Lamborghini

U

NVEILED at the recently concluded Geneva Motor Show, Automobili Lamborghini introduced a more performance version of its Huracan variant.

Dubbed as the Performante, which literally translates into “Performance”, this 2017 version combines lightweight technologies, active aerodynamics with aero vectoring, an all new chassis and all-wheel drive system plus an improved powertrain.

According to Automobili Lamborghini Chairman and CEO Stefano Domenicali, the Performante boasts of forged carbon fiber technology that contributes to a 40 kgs of weight reduction.

“The Huracán Performante is the convergence of technological developments to produce a car delivering perfect performance,” he says.

Acceleration from 0-100kms/ hr is 2.9 seconds with a top speed of more than 325km/hr. Constructed with a lightweight shell and powered by a robust 5.2 V10 aspirated engine with an output of 640 bhp, the Performante has set the bar when it recorded a new production car lap record around the Nürburgring Nordschleife with a mind blowing 6:52.01 minutes. “This new car represents the powerhouse of Lamborghini DNA and innovation, and a 360 degree approach to creating class-leading super sports cars.

It illustrates the pinnacle of Lamborghini V10 production car performance to date, on both track and road, and is perfectly exemplified by its name: Lamborghini Huracán Performante,” adds Domenicali.

Based on a hybrid aluminum and carbon fiber frame, the Huracán Performante’s body is produced from aluminum in conjunction with significant use throughout of Lamborghini’s award-winning Forged Composite. Using chopped carbon fibers in a resin, Forged Composite allows the creation of lightweight, complex geometrical shapes beyond that possible with traditional carbon fiber composite materials, while maintaining optimum stiffness.

The Performante features Forged Composite in structural components including front and

rear spoiler, the engine bonnet, rear bumper and aerodynamic diffuser, contributing to the car’s weight reduction of 40 kg. The Huracán Performante adopts Aerodinamica Lamborghini Attiva (ALA): ALA is also the Italian word for wing. This patented active aerodynamic system developed by Lamborghini for the Huracán Performante provides an active variation of aero load for high down force or low drag.

The system is completely integrated into the vehicle in terms of design, weight and performance.

The front spoiler integrates the electric motor of the front ALA system, built in a carbon forged frame with active flaps on the top exterior surface. The rear bonnet is designed around the air ducts to the rear wing as well as the wing pylons.

Lamborghini’s Piattaforma Inerziale (LPI) governs all the car’s electronic systems in ‘real time’ and is perfectly integrated with the ALA system, activating the ALA system flaps in less than 500 milliseconds to ensure the best aerodynamic set-up of the car in every driving condition.

The LPI turns on the ALA in high throttle conditions, opening the rear flaps to allow air through the rear wing’s inner channels and directing air flow through ridges underneath the wing. This reduces drag and maximizes the car’s acceleration and top speed capabilities.

In addition, the rear wing’s inner air channel is split right and left, allowing aero vectoring for high speed cornering. Depending on the direction of the turn, the LPI instructs ALA to be switched on in either the right or left side of the spoiler, increasing downforce and traction on the inner wheel,

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

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Huracan Performante: Shaped by the Wind

counteracting the load transfer in rolling conditions. This in turn optimizes the chassis’ momentum, requiring a reduced steering angle and improving the car’s overall dynamic stability.

Aggressive Design Containing the DNA of a blue blooded Lamborghini, the Performante’s design unmistakably describes and emphasizes the car’s purpose and inherent technologies, like a piece of technical art.

With design inspiration originating from the Lamborghini Super Trofeo race cars, the design also takes inspiration, particularly at the rear, from naked performance motorcycles, with their exposed frames and ‘streetfighter’ structures expressing function and performance.

The new front fascia is sophisticated and razor-blade sharp like a race car, with the design of the air intakes and splitter giving the impression of incisors, reminiscent of a striking snake. The active aerodynamic front spoiler is clearly visible in Forged Composite. The front bumper has no grills emphasizing lightweight, efficiency and sportiveness.

The racing inspired and fascinating rear, features extensive car-

bon fiber, with Forged Composite components reinforcing the significance of active aerodynamics.

The rear wing with integrated air ducts could only have been created in one piece using the Forged Composite technology. The V10 power plant’s manifold cover in bronze, a finish used in other special edition engines, is a reminder of Lamborghini heritage as well as denoting the enhanced engine and increased power output.

The sportiness of the Performante’s design is exemplified by the high-mounted exhausts, similar to extreme sports motorcycles, which create a more direct physical connection with the engine.

The rear diffuser in matt black is directly inspired by Lamborghini Super Trofeo race cars, in both appearance and function. A trapezoid line from the bottom of the diffuser, also in Forged Composite, emphasizes the width of the car’s rear: technical and sporty with an immense presence.

From the side, the design is characterized by the accelerating line of the rocker cover with air intakes in matt black, the Italian tricolore colors of the Performante’s Sant’Agata Bolognese birthplace on the doors, topped with wing

mirrors in shiny black. The lightweight, Narvi 20” forged wheels, dedicated to the Huracán Performante, are painted in bronze.

Performance oriented engine The naturally aspirated Huracán engine is the most powerful V10 produced to date by Lamborghini. With an ouput of 640 bhp (470 kW) at 8,000 rpm and producing 600 Nm of torque at 6,500 rpm, it is distinguished by a new bronze manifold that draws on the heritage of previous special edition engines such as the Diablo 30th Anniversary power plant. A new powertrain draws on sophisticated technologies including developments from Lamborghini’s motorsports program. Engine fluid dynamics for both intake and exhaust have been optimized, as has the V10’s air intake system with reduced loss improving responsiveness. New titanium valves allow higher valve lifts to increase engine permeability and performance.

The exhaust system has been redesigned to achieve weight reduction and less back pressure.

The exhaust pipes, positioned at a higher and more central position, deliver a more aggressive sound in high performance use, resonant

of motor racing.

The car’s powerful engine produces an optimized torque curve, with more than 70% of torque already available at 1,000 rpm.

Reflecting this, Lamborghini’s seven-speed dual clutch transmission has been also optimized in order to match the increased performance.

All-new chassis and driver oriented interior Lamborghini also revised the suspension system of the Performante, reflecting the supercar’s purpose as a track and performance-oriented car. The suspension has been vertically stiffened by 10% over the Huracán coupé, via both springs and bars, and roll stiffness improved by 15%. The stiffness of the radial and axial arm bushings has been improved by 50%, significantly enhancing lateral control of the car.

The supercar’s double wishbone system, front and rear, features passive dampers with optional magneto rheological suspension. Both systems, passive and active suspension, are designed to improve body and wheel control especially on track.

Electromechanical power steering is offered as standard with optional variable ratio Lamborghini Dynamic Steering (LDS). Both the Huracán Performante’s electronic power steering and LDS have been significantly recalibrated to provide highly responsive steering with maximum driver feedback in all three driver modes: Strada, Sport and Corsa. In Corsa mode, designed for high performance and track environments, the steering offers a racing feeling with a significantly reduced steering ratio variation.

The permanent four-wheel drive system is tuned to maximize traction in all situations, working in conjunction with the ALA system and exploiting the new P Zero Corsa tires. ESC has been calibrated to smooth intervention and be less intrusive.

Dino Ray V. Directo III

FASTLANE Weather proof your interiors UNLIKE basic universal floor mats which are expensive and hassle to install, Hippo techmats are designed to precisely fit specific vehicles, providing edge-to-edge coverage of the foot wells.

Aside from being the most affordable 3D digital mapped floormats in the market today, Hippo also have raised edges around their perimeters to trap and contain liquid. All of this better protects your car’s carpets from water, dirt, mud and other messy things that can get trapped into the vehicle’s carpets or spilled onto the floor.

“Our products also have patterns around the techmats that channel away fluids from your feet to a reservoir at the rear edges. Our 3D digital mapped techmats are easy to install, remove and fits

most cars, pick-ups and SUV’s,” explains Lance Chua of Autospecs, distributor and a popular car accessories and parts shop in Banawe Quezon City. “Our floor mats are also designed to not move around or slip on the floor and the best thing about it is they are easy to clean,” adds Chua.

With countless hours spent on research and development, Hippo Industries 3D digital mapped

techmats are the most affordable and best designed in comparison to its nearest competitor which is double the price. It is also the techmatsof choice of automotive dealers due to its competitive pricing and innovative material Thermo Plasti Vulcanisil B which is weather and scratch proof. Hippo Floormats have precise fitments for the Mitsubishi Montero, Toyota Fortuner, Ford Everest, Honda Mobilio and BRV, Chevrolet variants, and pick-ups such as the Toyota Hi-Lux, Mitsubishi Strada and the Ford Ranger.

Focal multimedia presents: Focal - Where You Are A ROADSHOW designed for the ultimate immersive experience with one of the most critically-acclaimed and best sounding headphones and earphones line in the world. Focal is a French brand known for their top of the line speakers for the audiophile and pro studio setting.

Featuring the Focal Listen and Classic, industry-leading over-ear headphones and the in-ear Focal Sphear, and the brand new Focal Spark, which come in both wired and wireless options. “Focal - Where You Are” brings you a limited edition deal that allows you discounts that you yourself can customize--

get 500PHP off your first item, 10% each off of two items you and your friend buy, or 15% off your total bill if three of you buy one item each.

Visit, follow, and like the FOCAL Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/FocalAudioPH for more details on venue, dates, and discounts.

Motoring

RAMON L. TOMELDAN Edi tor DIN O DIREC TO III A ss t . Edi tor

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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017

Performance

and innovation in Motegi

The PHEV and Hybrid Clarity represents Honda’s vision for 2030

Text and photos by Dino Ray V. Directo III

M

otegi, Japan-Two days before the highly anticipated staging of this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, Honda Cars Philippines Inc (HCPI) took its media contigent to the hollowed grounds of Twin Ring Motegi, Honda’s ground zero to test drive their latest hybrid and fuel cell powered cars. A sidetrip to Motegi was a treat for its guests, as we got to experience the brand’s history by way of a visit to the Honda Collection Hall.

Super GT race cars that inspired Honda Racing technology

Valentino Rossi’s Yamaha Moto GP race bike is on display

The little turbo-fed First-generation City that started a cult in Japan

Situated in Oaza Hiyama, Motegi-machi, Hagu-gun, Tochigi, the Honda Collection Hall lies within Twin Ring Motego, an amusement park and racetrack where the Japan Grand Prix, Super GT and Moto GP are held annually. It is 150 kilometers north from Tokyo.

The trip to the Honda Collection is car and motorbike enthusiasts dream where some 300 plus restored and preserved motorcycles, automobiles, race cars are on display in a three level building.

With our hosts Lyka-Mae dela Cruz and Rome Lopez of HCPI acting our tour guides, our group of eager pen pushers who are diehard motorsports fans had a field day going through the entire collection of historic race cars and Moto GP bikes which also includes a robotic history of ASIMO, Honda’s famous robot.

The first floor is the “exhibits hall” where you’ll see a vintage racing motorcycle, sports cars and the ASIMO and robotics display on your right. The second floor is home to restored production vehicles where you’ll see rare pocket rockets in pristine condition such as the early version of the Honda City, the CRX and the awesome Type R versions of the Civic and the Integra plus the NSX-R. The third floor was a boy racer’s dream, where Honda packed the floor with Moto GP bikes which had Valentino Rossi’s Yamaha championship bike, Super GT machines, JGTC-Spec Honda Accord and the famous Honda Civic Motul race car. Also on display were the Formula One cars of John Surtees and the Honda-McLaren F1 car of Ayrton Senna.

The Honda Collection Hall is a fitting tribute to Honda’s humble beginnings and up to becoming a global innovator in automotive technology and a powerhouse in motorsports.

Tomorrow’s car tested After an exciting visit to the Collection Hall, our group were taken to a small test track within Twin Ring Motegi to test the Honda Clarity line up. Launched early this year in the United States, motoring media from South East Asia got some much needed downtime with thethird generation fuel-cell powered vehicle.

This time, Honda prepared two versions of the Clarity, the fuel-cell version and the Hybrid version. The test was in relation to Honda’s Vision 2030, a plan which aims to sell two thirds electric cars to the global market by that time.

My first encounter with the Clarity was at the Tokyo Auto Salon in 2015. Two years later, I find myself at a test track with fully functional models and a stripped and lightened performance version.

The first variant that I tested was the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), which is aimed at buyers who is conscious about the carbon footprint of his vehicle. It runs on gasoline like a regular carm but it needs to be plugged into a wall socket overnight.

Honda engineers pointed out that the 1500cc Atkinson cycle gas engine behaves like a charger-generator. On a full charge, one can drive the Clarity over 100kms in pure electric mode. Before the batteries die out, the 1500cc engine kicks in to recharge the batteries while the car is in motion.

The other variant was the Clarity FCV which Honda says is the ultimate long term solution for the preservation of our environment. Being an all electric car, this Clarity produces zero emissions. It also emite zero noise and zero harmful emissions. It has a class leading range of 750kms and a 130W/300Nm AC Synchronous motor.

As added bonus to the motoring media, Honda allowed each of us to ride shotgun on a “race” version of the Clarity.

It was not Super GT 300 fast, but it was fast enough for the tires to screech around the bends and scratch the pavement of the test track.

The famous Civic race car by Mugen-Motul

Super GT race cars which figured prominently in motorsports are on display

The famous champion McLaren-Marlboro F1 car driven by the late Aryton Senna

The F1 cahmpionship cars of F1 legend John Surtees