Manila Standard - 2017 November 06 - Monday

CROWNING GLORY.

Actress Teresita ‘Wynwin’ Marquez (left) of the Philippines is crowned Reina Hispanoamericana in Bolivia Sunday while in another international pageant, Karen Ibasco wins the Miss Earth 2017 title during the coronation night held at the Mall of Asia Arena Saturday night.

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Twin wins for Pinay beauties

By Nickie Wang

FILIPINO beauty queens continue to dominate the international pageant stage after a runner-up finish at Miss Globe and a back-to-back win at Miss Earth and Reina Hispanoamericana.

Actress and dancer Teresita Senn Marquez, popularly known for her screen name Winwyn, was crowned Reina Hispanoamericana 2017 on Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) in Next page

Omar Maute’s widow arrested

By Francisco Tuyay and F. Pearl A. Gajunera

T

HE wife of slain chieftain of Islamic State-inspired Maute group that overran Marawi City was arrested by authorities Sunday morning.

Mug shot of Minhati Madrais, an Indonesian national and wife of slain IS-linked Omar Maute, as released by the Philippine National Police in Region 10.

A police report identified the arrested wife of Omar Maute as Minhati Madrais, also known as “Baby,” an Indonesian national.

Madrais was with her six children— four girls and two boys—when she was arrested at 8017 Steele Makers Village in Tubod, Iligan City, at 9:30 a.m. Sunday. The children were turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

No further details were provided, and it was unclear whether Madrais was the same wife that the slain terrorist leader was with when they both underwent training in Jordan in 2012.

Omar Maute and several hundreds of his followers werer responsible for the attack in Marawi City that sparked five months of intense battles that left more

Solon bats for ‘Yolanda’ Day as survivors gather

By Rio N. Araja and Bill Casas LEYTE Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez is batting for the declaration of Nov. 8 of every year as “Typhoon Yolanda Resiliency Day” in Eastern Visayas.

The House committee on the revision of laws, led by

than 1,000 people dead and the Islamic city in ruins.

Maute was killed by a sniper fire while attempting to escape during the last stretch of fighting. Killed with him was Abu Sayyaf leader Isnilon Hapilon, touted as the emir of the Islamic State in Southeast Asia.

Government troops liberated Marawi City on Oct. 23, five months after the siege began.

Police found four blastinc caps, two detonating cords, and a timed fuse inside Madrais’ house.

She was holding an expired Indonesian passport.

In Marawi, soldiers continued to mop up the main battle area, shooting it out with an undetermined number of stragglers that included foreign fighters.

‘Evidence vs Sereno strong’

Pangasinan Rep. Marilyn Agabas, has already transmitted its report endorsing the plenary approval of Romualdez’s proposal.

The panel recently recommended the approval on second reading of House Bill 6591 substituting HB 4383, or Romualdez’s Next page

By Rio N. Araja and Rey E. Requejo HOUSE Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez on Sunday said the impeachment complaint filed against Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was stronger than the one against resigned Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista.

“Mas mabigat pa [It carries more weight],” he said, referring

to the evidence gathered against Sereno.

The complainant, lawyer Lorenzo Gadon, submitted complete and authenticated records, and even members of the Supreme Court are willing to come forward to take the witness stand against the chief justice, Alvarez said.

“Why [is the evidence so] strong? Because all the documents are complete, and there are many Next page

Trump’s Asian tour: One tough question crops up TOKYO, Japan—For all the meticulous planning of Donald Trump’s Asia tour, one question may plague his jet-lagged advisors: Can the notoriously impulsive president navigate nearly two weeks of diplomatic protocols and geopolitical pitfalls— all the while keeping his Twitter habit in check?

North Korea and trade talks will top Trump’s agenda on his marathon tour of the region, as Air Force One whisks him between five countries in 12 days.

A crammed itinerary will see the president attend summits with communist bosses, a reception at Japan’s imperial court and—of course—

play nine holes of golf.

But his personal rapport with a rotating cast of the region’s leaders is likely to determine the success or failure of his trip, with global repercussions.

Trump enjoys a friendly relationship with Japan’s Shinzo Abe, and a frosty start to dealings with Xi Jinping has blossomed into a nearbromance with the Chinese leader praised as “powerful” and “pretty terrific.”

But an uncertain welcome lies in store in South Korea—which Trump has accused of appeasing a certain “Rocket Man” to the Next page

Bar hopefuls Bishops, faithfuls lead rally begin 4 weeks to press for end to killings of exams Rey E. Requejo THE start of this year’s Bar examinations was peaceful and orderly, even as more than 7,000 law graduates were admitted to take what is considered the country’s most grueling tests slated over four Sundays in November at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

The Supreme Court said 7,227 law graduates were admitted to take the 116th Bar exams.

Next page

CATHOLIC bishops on Sunday led thousands of worshippers in calling for an end to killings in President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs as they urged police and troops to stop the violence.

The killing of three teenagers

in August triggered rare public protests against Duterte’s anti-drugs campaign, with rights groups accusing him of committing crimes against humanity in a crackdown that has claimed thousands of lives.

Next page

‘Du30 unlikely to fulfill all vows’ ONLY 35 percent of Filipinos expect President Rodrigo Duterte to fulfill most or all of his promises, down from 63 percent in 2016, the latest survey by the Social Weather Stations shows.

twitter.com/ MlaStandard

The nationwide survey conducted Sept. 23 to 27, 2017 among 1,500 respondents shows that eight percent of Filipinos expect the President to fulfill all of his Next page

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SEND-OFF RITES. Around 15,000 uniformed security and public safety personnel converge at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila on Sunday for the send-off of forces and resources for the upcoming 31st Asean Summit and related meetings next week.

The ceremony marks the start of deployment of police and military troops as well as traffic management officers in key areas in Metro Manila, Pampanga, and Bulacan. Close to 60,000 security and public safety personnel will be deployed for the summit.

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

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SSS execs told: Return ‘ill wealth’ T

By Rio N. Araja

HE Social Security System executives involved in the stock trading mess should be compelled to disgorge all the personal profits they irregularly netted from the tips and concessions they obtained from the pension fund’s accredited stockbrokers, a lawmaker said Sunday.

“This is the right thing to do: For them to be constrained to empty out their pockets of their dishonest earnings. Those profits right-

AFP chief seeks border patrols ARMED Forces of the Philippines chief Lt. Gen. Rey Leonardo Guerrero on Sunday called for greater cooperation and better border security among neighboring countries to combat transnational crimes.

This cooperation can involve more coordinated patrols with the military’s counterparts in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, AFP Public Affairs Office chief Marine Col. Edgard Arevalo.

“The Command Guidance outlines the Chief of Staff’s courses of action and orders for the line units and offices to follow to ensure that the AFP remains on track on its short- and long-term goals,” Arevalo said.

For the active border cooperation, Guerrero hopes to enhance border security with Malaysia and Indonesia through the Trilateral Cooperation Arrangement signed in June 2017 aimed at stopping kidnapping, trafficking, and transit of terrorists in the Sulu Sea. “We will also increase the frequency of our coordinated patrols with our Asean counterparts to prevent the use of our common maritime borders for illegal activities,” Guerrero said.

Moreover, the AFP also banks on the national policy and defense agenda to develop a credible defense force with strengthened naval and air capabilities for more effective monitoring and control of sea lanes and air space.

“For this, we will reinforce our maritime domain awareness.... We will also push through with our capability build-up in order to enhance our maritime operations capability,” the AFP chief said.

‘Du30...

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promises, while 27 percent expect him to fulfill most of his promises.

At least 57 percent expect him to fulfill “a few” promises, while 6 percent see him fulfilling “none, or almost none” of his promises.

In March, 52 percent of respondents said they expect the President to fulfill all or most of his promises.

The drop in expectations was apparent in all regions and across all social classes.

During the presidential campaign, Duterte vowed to rid the country of illegal drug in just three to six months, and also promised to end the practice of contractualizaiton of workers.

In his first State of the Nation Address, Duterte also said he would go after police scalawags, intensify anti-terrorism efforts, carry out tax reforms and pursue peace efforts with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The Palace on Sunday said there is nothing unusual in the drop in expectations, and noted the same held true in previous administrations.

Bill Casas

fully belong to and should go to the SSS,” said Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel.

He made the statement even as Eastern Samar Rep.

Trump’s...

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North—and the Philippines, where any mention of human rights is liable to send President Rodrigo Duterte further into the arms of Beijing.

“I expect this will be an unconventional visit by an unconventional president” said the Brookings Institution’s Ryan Hass, a former security advisor under the Obama administration.

With Japan and the US so closely aligned on policy, one expert has suggested that Trump is only stopping by to get in a round with his golfing buddy Abe. The pair will hit the fairways only hours after Trump lands but, perhaps given the seriousness of the international situation, they are only expected to play nine

‘Evidence...

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who want to testify,” he said.

“The documents are authentic.”

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, House committee on justice chairman, said his panel will resume the hearing on the impeachment charges on Sereno once the House of Representatives resumes regular session on Nov. 20, or after the Philippines finishes hosting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit. The hearing was originally set for Nov. 13.

The committee will determine probable cause if the complaint has sufficient grounds.

Alvarez earlier rejected

Solon...

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“Yolanda Commemoration Day,” under Committee Report 450.

The nation will commemorate the fourth anniversary of Yolanda on Nov. 8.

Super Typhoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ flattened Eastern Visayas and took the lives of over 6,000 people on Nov. 8, 2013.

Meanwhile, People Surge Philippines joined the National Anti-Poverty Commission and the Leyte Center for Development and Empowerment in holding a regionwide Disaster Survivors Conference that gathered farmers and the urban poor in the Oriental Hotel on Sunday.

The Conference sought to gather updated information on the situation of disaster survi-

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Sta. Cruz, Bolivia, making her the first Asian to compete and win in the 26-year-old beauty pageant.

Marquez bested 26 other beauties in the competition that celebrates Hispanic heritage and culture. She succeeded Maria Camila Soleibe from Colombia.

During the pageant’s question-and-answer portion,

Ben Evardone on Sunday urged the SSS to defer its plan to increase its member’s contributions.

Evardone, head of the House committee on banks and financial intermediaries, said there was a need to look into the anomalous stock trading of four SSS officials.

“The issue on this must be clarified. In the meantime, the proposed increase must be postponed,” Evardone told dzBB radio.

Pimentel, chairman of the House good government and public accountability committee, said SSS officials were mere guardians or trustees of

the pension fund’s members.

“When a trustee engages in self-dealing, that trustee commits a serious violation of the fiduciary relationship with the fund owner or the principal,” Pimentel said.

He said it was a grave ethical breach for a trustee to take advantage of his or her position to make money for himself or herself.

“In fact, in other jurisdictions, pension fund trustees who do not voluntarily disgorge their earnings from self-dealing are immediately sued for the recovery of both the wrongful profits they earned and the principal’s

lost profits,” Pimentel said.

The SSS has been hit by a scandal after senior executives overseeing the pension fund’s stock investments were found gainfully trading for themselves based on tips and other benefits, including lucrative initial public offering share allocations, they obtained from accredited brokers.

“We support Social Security Commissioner Jose Gabriel La Viña’s strong views on this matter. There should be no pussyfooting here.

Heads must roll where they should,” Pimentel said.

La Viña said the erring executives availed themselves

of valuable information and IPO share allotments for themselves, instead of allowing their principal―the SSS―to take advantage of the tips and shares.

Companies use IPOs to list at the Philippine Stock Exchange for the first time so that their shares may be freely bought and sold in the open market.

La Viña filed the administrative complaint for “serious dishonesty and grave misconduct” against the four SSS executives implicated in the stock trading mess. Named respondents in the complaint were SSS

executive vice president Rizaldy Capulong; senior vice president and chief actuary George Ongkeko Jr.; vice president Reginald Candelaria, OIC of equities investment division/capital markets group; and Ernesto Francisco Jr., equities product development head.

Ongkeko and Francisco have since resigned their posts, although acceptance of Ongkeko’s resignation has been deferred until the end of the year pending his completion of certain tasks.

Capulong and Candelaria have been suspended from their posts and temporarily

holes—not the 27 they managed in Florida.

In another attempt to put the president at ease, Japan is rolling out wacky crooner and internet sensation Pikotaro, whose bizarre 45-second “pen-pineapple-applepen” ditty went viral last year.

That will be a prelude for a meeting with the Japanese emperor—a protocol minefield that tripped up Barack Obama when he bowed deeply to the 83-year-old Akihito, drawing fire from conservatives.

In Seoul, Trump is scheduled to address South Korea’s parliament, raising concerns he could go off script and send tensions with the nuclear-armed North spiralling with an impromptu remark.

Trump has been engaged in an escalating war of words with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, trading threats

and personal insults. In his maiden address to the UN General Assembly he threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea.

“If Trump says anything that can provoke North Korea, it could send military tensions soaring again,” said Koo Kab-Woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

Arriving in South Korea after Japan, Trump will have to tread carefully to avoid any suggestion that he favors either of the two key US military allies—whose own ties are strained by historical issues.

The US president has a much cooler relationship with left-leaning South Korean President Moon JaeIn—who he has accused of appeasement towards the North—than he does with Abe. China is preparing to greet Donald Trump with what

Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai described as a “statevisit plus,” with an extra dose of pomp and circumstance for the billionaire real estate developer.

Beijing is expected to roll out a military honor guard, formal banquet, and billions of dollars of trade deals that the American leader can tout on Twitter.

The elaborate stagecraft comes against a backdrop of a wide range of contentious issues, from a yawning trade deficit to Beijing’s handling of obstreperous neighbor North Korea.

But the virulent anti-China rhetoric of Trump’s election campaign has given way to effusive praise for Xi. “He’s a powerful man,” Trump recently declared. “I happen to think he’s a very good person.”

David Dollar, an expert on China’s economy at Brookings, predicted Xi will grant

Trump a lavish welcome but few concessions.

“The Chinese are basically quite content with the status quo of the economic relationship,” he said.

Aside from pressing matters of trade and security, another issue hovers over Trump’s visit—will he be able to break through the so-called Great Firewall in a country that has blocked Twitter?

Asked whether Trump will be able to tweet while on Chinese soil, vice foreign minister Zheng Zeguang told reporters: “How President Trump communicates with the outside is not something you need to worry about.”

Thanks to several draft deferments, Trump studiously avoided Vietnam during the war era, but arrives in the Southeast Asian country with trade topping the agenda.

He is expected to wax lyrical on his “America First”

doctrine, calling for bilateral deals and free markets for US goods at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

He will also come face to face with members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership still bristling at his decision to pull out of the massive trade pact, which he decried as a “killer” for American jobs.

In the Philippines, where Trump will take part in a summit of Southeast Asian leaders, the US president’s signals on Duterte’s controversial crackdown on drugs will be closely watched.

The drug war has claimed thousands of lives and led rights groups to warn he may be orchestrating a crime against humanity.

Duterte infamously branded Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, a “son of a whore” for criticizing the campaign, sending relations into a deep freeze. AFP

Sereno’s plea that her lawyers be allowed to cross-examine the witnesses against her, on the ground that the rules of procedure in impeachment proceedings do not provide for such questioning.

Sereno’s appeal is still subject to the approval of panel members.

Gadon, in his impeachment complaint, listed 27 alleged instances of wrongdoing committed by Sereno, and accused her of a culpable violation of the Constitution, betrayal of public trust, corruption and other high crimes, and untruthful declaration of wealth.

An independent think tank on Sunday warned Congress against allowing the use of impeachment process as a tool to serve vested interests.

Bishops,...

The Catholic Church, which counts 80 percent of Filipinos as followers, has been one of the leading critics of the war on drugs and has launched campaigns to stop the killings, including one starting on Sunday dubbed “Heal Our Land.”

The church organized a mass and procession along Edsa.

About 3,000 people—including opposition lawmakers, students and church groups—joined the event, according to police. They carried candles and placards reading, “Stop the Killings.

Start the Healing.”

“Peace to you in the armed forces and the police. Stop the violence and uphold the

law,” Archbishop Socrates Villegas, the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, said at the mass.

“If we do not stop the killings, there will be a punishment for a nation that kills its own people.”

Duterte, 72, won elections last year after campaigning on a law-and-order platform and since then police have reported killing more than 3,900 drug suspects.

Duterte’s spokesman on Sunday said he did not condone extrajudicial killings, adding the government was investigating another 2,243 deaths in unsolved “drugrelated” cases.

“The President himself made a clear stance that any violation committed by the police during operations would be dealt with accord-

ingly,” Harry Roque said.

Critics say that Duterte’s frequent public pronouncements on the drug war have been direct incitements to kill.

Villegas said the killings tested the nation and cited the case of 17-year-old student Kian delos Santos, who died in a police anti-drug raid in August.

“Please stop. I still have a test tomorrow,” Villegas quoted Delos Santos as saying following witness accounts that he had begged for his life.

Malacañang on Sunday said it wants to build a better relationship with the Catholic Church.

“We wish to build better rapport with the Catholic Church and seek the cooperation of its leaders, even as we call on our Catholic brethren to pro-actively help govern-

ment in our anti-illegal drug campaign, particularly in the rehabilitation and treatment of drug dependents.”

“We are one in the true healing of this nation that has long been divided by politics,” Roque said.

“We must come together as one country and one people and help the government in building a nation free from drugs, criminality and corruption,” said Roque.

On the other hand, Roque said that the administration will not or ever condone extrajudicial and vigilante killings.

Roque said he does not see the prayer rally as a show of anti-government groups.

“No. In fact if I had no flight to Cebu later, for a meeting with the provincial press corps, I would join them,” he said. AFP with Bill Casas

vors four years after Yolanda’s onslaught in an effort to produce a region-wide situation report on poverty, food security and human rights in the region as an output, said Marissa Cabaljao, secretary general of People Surge Philippines.

She made her statement even as The Movement Against Tyranny launched for the first time a forum inviting Yolanda’s victims to discuss their experience of militarization and human rights violations within the four years that have gone by after the world’s strongest storm made landfall.

The forum was held at the Tacloban City Training Center on Saturday and was participated in by peasant organization leaders and village officials who experienced the hardships brought

by Yolanda.

Romualdez, a registered

nurse and vice chairwoman of the House committee on government enterprises and privatization, said her proposed measure would honor those who died and recognize the help of the volunteers who extended assistance to the typhoon victims and helped rebuild Eastern Visayas.

“The bill seeks to honor the memory of all who perished, and salute the resiliency and the selflessness of the volunteers and organizations that took part and contributed to the recovery and rehabilitation of all affected communities,” she said.

The bill seeks to declare Nov. 8 of every year as a special non-working holiday in Tacloban City and the provinces of Leyte, Biliran, Southern Leyte, Northern Samar, Western Samar and Ormoc City, Eastern Samar, or in Region 8.

Bar...

Of the 7,270 who initially applied to take the exams, 13 were denied while 30 others withdrew their applications, the high court said.

Associate Justice Lucas Bersamin, the chairman of this year’s Bar exams committee, said this year’s applications were higher than the number of Bar takers in the last three years.

No untoward incident was reported inside and around the vicinity of the venue where 700 policemen were deployed by the Manila Police District.

For the first time in the history of the Bar exams, the high court has deployed a “Justice on Wheels” bus at the venue to serve as a special trial court to hear the case

against anyone arrested by the police disrupting the conduct of the exams or violating the rules around the 100-meter vicinity of the UST. A metropolitan trial court judge manned the special court and was authorized to impose on-the-spot punishment of fines or imprisonment of up to 10 days or both for offenders on charges of direct contempt of court.

As in the previous years, the Manila local government and police implemented security measures for the Bar exams.

A liquor ban is imposed within the 100-meter radius of UST and a “no parking” policy is implemented along España and Dapitan during the conduct of the exams.

“No tent and tarpaulins” and “no loud music” were also declared at the venue.

Medical personnel were also deployed.

The high court also deployed 10 buses from stations all over Metro Manila to transport examinees and personnel to the venue in case of heavy rain.

For the first day of the four-Sunday tests, the examinees faced political law in the morning and labor law in the afternoon.

Next Sunday, they will take the exams in civil law and taxation before facing mercantile and criminal laws on the third Sunday. On the fourth and final Sunday, the examinees will take on remedial law and ethics.

In the 2016 Bar exams, a total of 3,747 passed and became new lawyers. Their batch represents one of the highest passing rate in the history of the Bar exams, or 59.06 percent of the total of 6,344 takers who completed the exams in November last year.

Marquez was asked how she would promote the HispanicAmerican culture with the great difficulty or barrier of language.

Marquez answered: “Language can be learned but the will and determination to contribute to the organization cannot. It has to come from the heart. It has to be natural.

I believe that kindness is a universal language that if you treat people with tolerance, patience and love, you will understand each other.

“The Hispanic culture is not about language only. It’s about love for God, love for country, love for history and culture and love for family. As a Filipina with a unique heritage, I am ready to promote the Hispanic culture not just in Asia but in the whole world.”

The 25-year-old beauty is the daughter of TV and movie actors Joey Marquez and Alma Moreno, and the niece of former Miss International Melanie Marquez.

Meanwhile, in the Miss

Earth 2017 pageant held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on Saturday night, 26-year-old medical physicist Karen Ibasco edged out half-Filipino Nina Robertson from Australia (first runnerup), Juliana Franco from Colombia (second runnerup), and Lada Akimova from Russia (third runner-up) to win the country’s fourth Miss Earth title. The crown was passed onto her by Ecuador’s Katherine Espin who won the title last year.

During the final round, all the contestants were asked the same question by pageant host James Deakin: “Who or what do you think is the biggest enemy of Mother Earth and why?”

Ibasco’s winning answer was: “The real problem in this world is not climate change. The real problem is us because of our ignorance and apathy. What we have to do is to start changing our ways, to start recalibrating our minds and redirecting

our steps because together, as a global community, our micro-efforts will have a macro-effect to help save our home, our planet.”

In another pageant held on Friday in Tirana, Albania, 24-year-old cadet pilot Nelda Ibe finished second behind Miss Vietnam Khanh Ngan. Her runner-up finish was the Philippines’ best performance in the Miss Globe beauty contest since 2015 when model Anne Lorraine Colis won the crown.

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News

Monday, november 6, 2017

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‘Smoking ban remains a challenge’ T

he Department of Health admitted that implementation of a countrywide smoking ban that took effect three months ago remains a challenge.

According to DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III, the full and effective implementation of Executive Order No. 26 continues to face challenges, especially at the hands of local government units.

“It is easy to have an EO but the success of its implementation is another story,” said Duque.

To identify the challenges and find ways to address them, he said that he

intends to hold dialogues with LGUs that has success stories on implementing tobacco control policies.

“We want to know what are the real implementation challenges,” he added.

Under the said plan, he said that they will talk about the experiences of those who were recognized as experts on the program, such as Davao and Makati who were among the re-

cipients of Red Orchid Awards.

The said award is given to LGUs who have outstanding efforts and initiatives on creating a smokefree environment.

Executive Order No. 26 took effect last July that prohibited smoking in all enclosed public places and public conveyances, except in designated smoking areas on a nationwide basis.

Under the said EO, the LGUs were directed to create a task force that will implement what the law provides for those who commit violations which include penalties. PNA

BAR HOPEFULS.

AT LEAST 7,227 law graduatesare taking the 2017 Bar examinations starting Sunday, November 5, 2017 at the University of Santo Tomas.

A total of 775 policemen have been deployed to secure the UST campus for the next three Sundays on November 12, 19, and 26, according to Manila Police District Director.

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Norman Cruz

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Opinion

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

EDITORIAL

Adelle Chua, Editor

The evil that men do

O

N Oct. 5, the New York Times published a story detailing decades of allegations of sexual harassment against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Actresses Rose McGowan and Ashley Judd were among the women who first came forward—and set off a deluge of similar accounts of sexual misconduct and even rape, not only by Weinstein, but by other powerful celebrities.

Since the original accusations were published, other women in the industry, including Gwyneth Paltrow and Angelina Jolie, came forward with their own

accounts of sexual harassment at Weinstein’s hands.

American actress Rose McGowan publicly accused Weinstein of raping her, as did British actress Lysette Anthony. Other victims eventually came forward, including Lupita Nyong’o, Lena Headey, Daryl Hannah, Anabella Sciorra, Dominique Huett and Natassia Malthe.

A group of Weinstein Company employees wrote an open letter asking that they be released from the non-disclosure agreements that stopped them from speaking publicly about what they experienced and witnessed.

Albeit belatedly, Weinstein has begun to pay for his sins.

The company that bears his name fired him, his wife left him, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences voted to expel him, and the Producers Guild of American banned him for life. The UK police are also investigating a number of sexual assault allegations involving Weinstein.

The Weinstein revelations, meanwhile,

have created a domino effect, and given both men and women the courage to speak out over how they were victimized, not only in the entertainment world, but in politics and the media as well.

In the month since the Weinstein scandal rocked Hollywood, allegations of sexual impropriety have been raised against actor Kevin Spacey, British Defense Minister Michael Fallon, US and UK lawmakers, National Public Radio chief Michael Oreskes, Oscar winning actor Dustin Hoffman, director Brett Ratner, country music publicist Kirt Webster, comedian Andy Dick and actor Jeremy Piven.

Some have since apologized, some have resigned while others lost lucrative deals as part of the sexual harassment fallout.

Here at home, revelations of sexual harassment are far and few between and the evil that men do generally goes unpunished.

Perhaps because the complainants are poor, some of these are settled quietly, before they can come to the public’s attention. Given the culture of machismo, too, complaints that

manage to make it to the news are quickly hushed up. Nothing, for example, happened to a mayor who was accused on live TV in 2003 of giving his live-in partner, a daughter of a former president, a sexually transmitted disease and threatening her with a gun. Nor did anything come of accusations of rape from a 14-year-old starlet in 1982 against three popular television hosts, after one of them “talked” her into signing an affidavit of desistance in exchange for them issuing a public apology—which they did. The starlet was found dead in her house three years later, hanging inside a closet from a threeinch thick and 36-inch long cotton sash. Although the police ruled it a suicide, talk that she was killed to silence her has persisted.

Today, two of the comedians are still in show business, while the third has become a senator.

Not exactly the k ind of outcome that would encou rage other victims of sexual harassment or assault to speak up against the power f ul men who victimized them.

Walking

the provisions of B.P. 22 when he issues a bad check in order to pay someone who has blackmailed him, or in discharge of an unconscionable interest? To what ends is the law applied? “Dura lex sed lex” is no magic formula that resolves every knotty issue for there is the invincible conviction that somehow, all law must be “ordo rationis,” an ordinance of reason!

When a provision of law is ambiguous—either textually or in its application—then it must be presumed that the Legislature intended “right” and “justice” to prevail. But these are two extremely nettlesome problems. What is a right? How does one know that a person makes a valid

I WAS about to write something more “profound” for today’s issue, after a break that took me to Caraga right after ogling the “sights” of Binibining Cebu where I was privileged to be one of the judges.

But then I read an article in the Inquirer yesterday about a 20-year-old UST Fine Arts student who walked recently from Sampaloc in Manila to his family’s home in Fairview, Quezon City. That was a journey of some 20 kilometers, but Mico Taberdo did it for a school project, in the process documenting it on a video blog which has since gone viral.

It brought back memories of my elementary school days, when together with a classmate or two, I would sometimes walk from Letran in Intramuros all the way to Dimasalang in Sampaloc, where we lived. Or times when we walked shorter distances, from school to Quiapo Church, where it was easier to take a ride in a jeepney to Sampaloc because of trip-cutting by the “kings of the road”.

Or when we would go to the Escolta or Avenida to watch a blockbuster movie and skip classes. Those were the days.

A better era to which the millennials of today can no longer relate.

Surely most of my cowriters in these two pages can.

But those were infinitely better days, when Metro Manila was much less congested, and when sidewalks were unimpeded (well, mostly) by vendors or other obstacles. To be fair, even the few sidewalk vendors along the Avenida or Quezon Boulevard would keep to their designated spaces. There was no cutthroat competition, so you knew where and who to get some special wares which were cheaper than those sold in the department stores.

Young Mico succeeded in focusing attention from something sorely missing in the metropolis, a social commentary on how “unwalkable” our mega-cities have descended into.

Turn to A5

Turn to A5

Why judges must do philosophy AT SOME time in the past, legal philosophy was part of the curriculum of law students—and was gradually eased out for more “practical” subjects. By “practical” was meant more of the “how to” stuff with which the law student’s program of study brims over: how to draft contracts, how to get persons released who have been unlawfully detained, how to get corporations to cut on taxes, how to apply for a franchise, etc. And when both the Supreme Court, by an administrative order, and the Legislature, through a statute

brought the Philippine Judicial Academy into existence, while there was established a Department of Jurisprudence and Legal Philosophy—that I have chaired since—it was never a favored subject among judges who almost always and invariably demand more sessions on remedial law: how to—how to rule on objections, how to deal with motions, how to pen decisions.

In the Old Testament, when Moses spent most of his day resolving the interminable disputes of his querulous people, he was advised to select “sagely men” who would be judges over them. That exacting criterion—wisdom—continued to be expected of those who sit on the Bench in judgment over others,

obviously law.

Are a very they to high bar. read the For in provisions Aristoof the ConIt should tle’s reckstitution remain an oning of or of the important part what he Civil Code called in the manof the judicial “the inner persons curriculum. tellectual of average vir t ues,” i ntelligent wisdom understood ranked them at the e v e n time they higher than science. “Sci- were crafted, or as the entia” meant that you words stand, or as they knew a thing through its ought to apply to our very causes. But “sapientia” fluid, often radically difdemanded that you knew ferent circumstances? the ultimate causes of There are many maxims things. the judge can always inBut judges in fact are voke, but these maxims called upon to do a lot are by no means consistof philosophizing, and it ent nor coherent and many starts with the very way contradict each other. they treat the text of the And so a judge must make

a philosophical choice of the canons of interpretation that he applies. And as in most things, a critically recognized philosophy is to be preferred to one that is operative but unrecognized and uncriticized.

While it is not difficult to recognize highly philosophically charged issues that the Supreme Court is frequently called upon to resolve—when does human life begin, what are the parameters of that privacy that befit the human person, are rights owed only to positive law such that they do not exist absent a positive provision guaranteeing them—judges in lower courts must also wrestle with philosophical issues. Do you penalize a person under

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

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Opinion

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

A5

Chinas’ military buildup CHINA’S military buildup has become a serious concern to its neighbors in the region. Chinese leader Xi Jinping claimed it’s a self defense measure after a century of humiliation at the hands of Western powers who occupied China.

Chinese defense expenditures, placed at $215 billion in 2016 leaped three times its previous amount as Beijing builds fighter jets, aircraft carriers and a modern army complete with high tech weapons to play catch up with the United States, The Chinese budget for military spending is still three times smaller than that of the US whose pivot to Asia and the Pacific indicates Washington’s strategic stakes in the battle for prospective oil, minerals and gas under the South China Seabed. The US

rebalancing of American forces from Europe to Asia also reinvigorates its selfproclaimed role as a Pacific naval power. The US west coast faces the Pacific Ocean while its eastern seaboard the Atlantic Ocean.

This move plus the armed strength of US allies—Japan, South Korea and Taiwan—is seen by Beijing as an attempt to surround China with a ring of steel.

Xi in his address to the Chinese communist politburo, the top echelon of the Beijing leadership , said the People’s Liberation Army must be upgraded to keep it at par with US forces.

Former senator Juan Ponce Enrile read it right when he said the implication of the Chinese buildup could force Japan to match the muscle flexing of the giant neighbor it once occupied. The Stockholm Institute for Peace also said China’s military buildup would trigger an arms race in the region. Japan and South Korea, two of America’s staunchest allies in

Asia, have no recourse but to prepare against a rising China’s quest for hegemony in the region. Throw in Taiwan which China considers a renegade province and you have an alignment of forces that has heightened tension in Southeast Asia.

North Korea, the closest ally of China, meanwhile, has not let up on its threat to wipe out its enemies from the map of the world.

His continued testing of intercontinental ballistic missiles and sending them across Japan might have already crossed the red line that could tempt the US to unleash a preemptive strike into the heart of Pyongyang.

Technologically advanced Japan for all we know already possess a nuclear bomb but keeping it under wraps. Constrained from having an army except for self defense under the conditions and terms of its surrender to the US in World War II, Japan has been trying to amend its Constitution to modernize

its own army, air force and naval fleet in the light of a rising China that is already dominant in the region.

Its decades long territorial dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands which the Chinese call Diaoyu is another factor in the historical enmity between Beijing and Tokyo. Then there is the territorial dispute between Vietnam and China over the resource-rich Paracels which has erupted in a naval skirmish several years ago which adds to the explosive situation in Southeast Asia.

Malaysia and the Philippines are also contesting China’s sweeping claim of the entire South China Sea. Manila though is a placid player with President Rodrigo Duterte already locked in the embrace of China’s Xi Jinping who has showered the Philippines with money and weapons to fight terrorism and the drug menace.

Roque draws flak New Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque contin-

ues to draw flak from the opposition. The latest barb came from Senator Antonio Trillanes IV who said Roque has been infected

by Duterte’s profane-fueled mouth .

“Nasapian ng masamang espiritu.” [he has been seized by evil spirits], said Trillanes in reaction to Roque’s threat to throw hollow blocks and adobe bricks at critics who throw stones at President Duterte.

Before attending his first press conference with Malacañang reporters, Roque pleaded to them to “be gentle.” Roque probably realized he could not afford a confrontational “give them hell” attitude.

Someone must have warned him not to bring it on against the press who would be glad to accept the challenge Roque also denied in a phone interview with CNN Philippines’ Pinky Webb that he accepted the presidential spokesman position as a long-term agenda to run for senator in the 2019 elections.

The secret to wooing investors? Communication

By Kara Alaimo WHEN Snap went public on March 2, its stock started trading at $24 per share. Since then, its value has decreased by about a third. Earlier this month, chief executive Evan Spiegel said he’d learned a lesson: Communicating effectively with investors is essential.

“One of the things I did underestimate was how much more important communication becomes,” he said. “When you go public, and you really need to explain to a huge new investor base —instead of having 10 investors, you have 10,000 —you have to explain how your business works, and at the same time that you need to do that, there are also all these new regulations about what you can and can’t say.”

New research backs him up—and shows that communicating with investors is important long after an initial public of-

Why..

From A4

and enforceable claim to a right? Does one go the way of positivism? And what are the demands of justice?

Somehow, when Philippine law incorporated the American doctrine of

Walking From A4

Google told him it would take four and a half hours.

Well, it took him nine hours, in the process having to suffer air pollution and of course the heat, plus zig-zagging through obstacles in sidewalks narrowed by building owners, and braving the possibility of falling into open pits left by construction workers or being bitten by stray dogs.

“I was really forced to get off the sidewalk and use the road instead because of the parked cars and construction work”, the young man related. He also took note of ramps for the disabled blocked by of all things, electric posts.

I live in what was once a genteel district of Manila, where one could walk in cool fashion past La Salle to watch a basketball game at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, and beyond there to Harrison Plaza, a once ton-

fering. A study released by the communications agency Weber Shandwick this week found that 80 percent of major buyside investors give nonfinancial factors “a lot” or “some” consideration when making their buying decisions. The No. 1 factor they consider is their confidence in management.

What’s remarkable about this survey— which involved 104 US buy-side investors who work for organizations with more than $500 million in assets—is that so many powerful investors acknowledged how important intangible factors are to their buying decisions. This means that one way chief executives can maintain their stock positions and increase investor interest is by investing in their own communications, in order to reassure financiers about the quality of their leadership. Here are four ways to do it.

First, communicate often and directly with investors. Weber Shandwick’s study finds that investors want senior executives to communicate with them, on average, 3.1 times per year by email, 2.3 times per year by phone, and 1.3 times per year in person.

Second, openly respond to investor fears.

Spiegel, for example, drew criticism on the company’s first earnings call for not adequately answering a question about the threat of competition from Facebook.

When askedwhether the social media rival scared him, he laughed, discussed creativity and then said: “At the end of the day, just because Yahoo, for example, has a search box, it doesn’t mean they’re Google.”

A better way to handle these kinds of worries is by tackling them headon. Spiegel should have laid out exactly how he was working to counter

the threat posed by Facebook, such as by building better features or finding savvier ways to attract users.

Third, convince investors that you’re prepared to handle crises. Liz Cohen, Weber Shandwick’s executive vice president and head of financial communications, believes one reason investors are placing more importance on management factors in their investment decisions is that the “accelerant factor” of social media allows damaging information to spread faster than ever before. This makes crises more damaging to organizations than they were in the past, she says.

That’s why chief executives should tell investors what steps they’re taking to get ready for possible future crises.

“It’s comforting for investors to understand where companies are from a preparedness standpoint,” Cohen says. “Com-

panies should show that they have given thought to likely situations and how they’d be addressed and are prepared to handle them.”

Finally, communicate the chief executive’s and company’s values proactively. “Since the 2008 recession, there’s been a lot of distrust in how financial institutions value companies and conduct themselves,” Leslie Gaines-Ross, Weber Shandwick’s chief reputation strategist, says. A good way to instill confidence is by transparently discussing the specific policies and governance controls the company has in place to guard against unnecessary risk-taking and other lapses.

In this new study, investors have clearly spoken: They consider management quality a key factor in their decisions to purchase stocks. To promote investor interest, chief executives should do the same. Bloomberg

“binding precedent” we traded in the thoughtfulness that often accompanies the European tradition of “doctrine” that will be found in the writings of jurists and publicists who are cited with great deference bordering on reverence

by Spanish, French and Italian lawyers and legal scholars. For sometime,

Manressa meant a lot to the Philippine legal scholar. And Tolentino cited Ruggiero, Capetant, Castan and others in his masterful treatise on the civil code. Alas, those days of thoughtfulness seem to be behind us now, as the overriding passion of the law student—and the judge— is to get his hand on the

latest pronouncement of the Supreme Court hardly ever bothering to distinguish between “ratio decidendi” and “obiter dictum”. It seems to be enough that one can quote a paragraph, a line, even a phrase, and then cite the correct G.R. number and its date to clinch a convincing argument.

In the belief that we

can and should do better—and that our judges can approximate that wisdom demanded of all of all judges—philosophy remains and should remain an important part of the judicial curriculum.

ey place now gone to seed.

These days I dread even driving there, especially on a rainy night, lest I bump a pedestrian using the streets because of cars which have blocked the narrowed sidewalks. Cars owned by the rich students of La Salle and St. Benilde, parked for them willy-nilly by barangay attendants making an extra buck, or parking collectors of the city government.

They park on both sides of Leon Guinto St., mind you, even if there are fading signs that say “No Parking.”

For the longest time, I thought there were laws or ordinances that decreed two to three-meter wide sidewalks for pedestrians to walk upon on each side of the street. And yet, even an “elite” school, St. Scholastica’s, where President Cory and Senator Risa studied, violate this.

Along the entire stretch of P. Ocampo, which we still call Vito Cruz, the nuns

who run the school have fenced off their property all the way to the street, forcing the “hoi polloi” to walk in the street, imperiled by cars which have to skirt off jeepneys whose drivers wait for passengers right in the middle of the street.

Meters away, incidentally, is a police station.

A distinguished friend, architect and urban planner Jun Palafox lamented how efforts to make NCR more “pedestrian-friendly have been moving at a snail pace over the last 40 years.”

Frankly, I have never observed any effort at all, except during the short period when Bayani Fernando as MMDA chair forcibly cleared the sidewalks despite the howls of vendors who cried “naghahanapbuhay lang kami,” editorialized by television newsreaders with a hint of pity.

A friend of mine once posted on his Facebook page a proposal to get government to construct an overhead walk-way

cum bicycle lane along the stretch of Edsa to supplement the over-crowded MRT. Made a lot of sense, but no one picked the idea.

The MMDA even denied that the sidewalks were impassable.

Indeed, it would be more convenient for one to walk, if it was at all possible, from the Ortigas corner of Edsa to Shaw, or from Guadalupe to Buendia, rather than line up for hours to get an MRT ride. Quezon Avenue to Cubao even. Or bike from North Avenue all the way to work in Makati, IF it was at all possible without getting killed or injured.

Where I am work-assigned now, people do this all the time, even if there is little traffic, and public transport is excellent. But in the Philippines, particularly in our Metro-Manila, where public transport is a nightmare, even walking, or biking, is proscribed by the negligence of government.

Conceivably, you can

walk or bike comfortably from Taguig to the front of Manila Bay, if only government had the imagination and the will to do it.

Figure it in your mind.

Start at BGC which could have been a well-planned community with wide boulevards and parks until the Ayalas and Camposes allowed the construction of so many buildings (well… profit, naturalmente).

Traverse from there through Forbes Park and Dasmarinas, enclaves of the super-elite, IF government could impose rightof-way upon their fringes, and into Ecology Village, where a creek begins.

The waterway, which is beyond the commerce of man, and is “owned” by the Republic, flows past Magallanes Village into the Tripa de Maricaban upon Malibay, thence through the vicinity of Naia into Baclaran, and voila, MOA! Certainly doable.

Let’s listen to UST’s Mico Taberdo (good

rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@outlook.com

Asean the global player AHEAD of the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila next week, the Philippine capital is abuzz with the kind of anticipation that attends gatherings of such importance. More than 20 world leaders are expected to attend the summit and related meetings, including US President Donald Trump, European Council President Donald Tusk, and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, attesting to the increasingly global significance of the region.

And for good reason. Two decades after the devastating 1997 Asian financial crisis and two years after the formal institution of the Asean Economic Community, the bloc continues to flex its newfound economic muscle. As we speak, the ten nations that make up the AEC has a combined Gross Domestic Product of $2.4 trillion, the third fastest growing in Asia after China and India and the fifth largest Its young, in the world.

Its young, educated educated demographic and largely untapped markets buck demographic global trends, and the poand largely tential to grow even more is unparalleled by any reuntapped gion elsewhere. The goals of the AEC include furmarkets buck ther reducing, if not reglobal trends, moving, many trade barriers within the region en and the route to a seamless movement of goods, services, potential to investment, and skilled grow even more labor among the memberstates. After the creation is unparalleled of a single customs window, regional agreements by any region to facilitate the movement of Asean nationals within elsewhere. the bloc are already in the pipeline.

This bodes well not just for the young and bustling Asean population but for the rest of the world as well. The region is simultaneously one of the world’s fastest-growing markets and one of the least well known. It currently has five regional free trade agreements: with Australia and New Zealand, China, Japan, South Korea, and India. However, only financial powerhouse Singapore has free trade agreements with both the US and the European Union.

This is critical in light of concerns regarding stagnant growth outside Asia and Africa. While China, for good reason, remains the epicenter of emerging markets, right on its doorstep are the ten dynamic markets that constitute Asean, all of which, despite being at different stages of development, share key growth potential not only in manufacturing and trade but also as a consumer market.

It is precisely the devastation wrought by the 1997 Asian financial crisis that, 20 years on, gave the region the resiliency that enabled it to survive the 2008 global financial crisis relatively unscathed, a testament to the robust macroeconomic fundamentals that its governments had put in place and which had translated to a stable fiscal position.

This is interesting given Asean’s roots in the geopolitics of 1960s Cold War. From a security-oriented community, the bloc has shifted its focus to economic cooperation, culminating in the establishment of the Asean Free Trade Area in 1992 and the AEC in 2015. Considering where the region now stands economically and despite the unique “Asean way” of achieving cooperation, the transition seems to be ultimately worth it.

The emergence of China as an often brazen global power—economically and, increasingly, militarily—only serves to emphasize the continuing importance of cooperation among the Asean countries, all of which are puny compared to the Asian goliath. And it is a cooperation that has to mobilize the same solidarity from the rest of the world—the US, EU, and Japan, notably—and invoke the rule of law in its engagement of rising China.

This new and complex global configuration is the subject of a conference on “Asean Leadership amid a New World Order” hosted by private think tank Stratbase ADR Institute on Nov. 8 at the Makati Shangri-La. Featuring leaders in security, economics, and international affairs, the gathering seeks to stress the viability of Asean as a model of regionalism and to reflect upon its purpose as a global player.

“In view of Asean’s 50th anniversary and the dramatic changes that its member-states have undergone during that period, the conference will feature insights on Asean’s ability to make use of its strengths and capture its potential as a global platform for cooperation,” said professor Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase.

The uncertainties surrounding global trade and China are relevant for the bloc, Manhit said, even as the demand for meaningful cooperation is more urgent than ever.

“As Southeast Asia more closely integrates with the rest of East Asia and the broader Asia-Pacific region, the causes and consequences of our countries’ actions have also broadened. In an ever-more integrated world, the Philippines and its neighbors share their challenges, whose political, economic, and socio-cultural aspects transcend country borders and link together 600 million people.”

Titans of the Philippine economy will provide their perspectives on the changing international landscape, and weigh in on what they see to be the risks and opportunities for the Southeast Asian business community as it takes advantage of and adapts to these new realities.

The sage insights from this rare gathering will prove very useful for our government leaders and policy makers in designing the Philippine’s strategy amidst developing events in the region. thing he is not taking up law and thus beyond being attracted to join a fraternity of “officers of the court”): “I initially thought of the children who would cross mountains and rivers just to attend school. (Yet) now I feel a stronger connec-

tion with those who have such daily struggles.”

He added: “I think many were able to relate to the video because, at a certain point, all of us thought about our daily commute and asked, what if I just walk home?”

Why not, indeed?

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK Manila

News

Standard

A6

TODAY NOVEMBER 6, 2017 MONDAY, mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Taguig, not Makati, owns The Fort—CA

By Rey E. Requejo

T

HE Court of Appeals has turned down the appeal of Makati City government to reverse its decision issued last March that upheld the ownership of Taguig City over the 729-hectare Fort Andres Bonifacio, popularly known as “The Fort.”

In a five-page resolution, the CA’s Special Former Sixth Division through Associate Justice Edwin Sorongon ruled that it found no basis to grant motion for reconsideration filed by the Makati City government.

In its March ruling, the appellate court granted the motion to dismiss for forum shopping the appeal made by the

Makati City government on the July 8, 2011 order of the Pasig City regional trial court enjoining the latter from exercising jurisdiction over the property.

In its motion for reconsideration, Makati City stressed the CA decision would have a deep effect on the political, economic and financial aspects of both Makati and Taguig and their respective constituents.

However, the CA said Makati’s arguments were not sufficient to warrant the reversal of its March 8 decision.

“Guided by the Supreme Court’s categorical and emphatic pronouncements that Makati is guilty of willful and deliberate forum shopping in City of Taguig versus City of Makati, we reiterate that the dismissal of this appeal is but a necessary legal consequence of Makati’s own acts,” the appellate court said.

The CA held that Makati City failed to present new arguments that would convince the court to reconsider its decision.

“We found nothing novel in the other arguments that were propounded in Makati’s motion

for reconsideration. These were but a rehash of the issues and arguments raised in its previous pleadings which have already been passed upon and duly addressed in our March 8, 2017 resolution,” the appellate court said.

In a ruling issued last year, the Supreme Court Second Division granted Taguig’s petition and cited the Makati City government in contempt for forum shopping in its legal tug-of-war with the former over the jurisdiction on Fort Bonifacio.

The city government of Makati was found guilty of committing forum shopping when it simultaneously pursued legal remedies for the same case before the Pasig City regional trial court and the CA.

Solon: Unmask Aegis Juris financier Groups hold Pink Ribbon Day against breast cancer

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

A Sure Bet for Progress in Gaming, Entertainment and Nation Building

InvItatIon to BId for the Lease of two (2) Lots eLectronIc BIngo (e-BIngo) MachInes under ItB no.PB18-00-001COR The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) is inviting all interested bidders in its forthcoming public bidding for the Lease of Two (2) Lots Electronic Bingo (E-Bingo) Machines under ITB No.PB18-00-001COR. Brief Description

Delivery Schedule Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC)

Lot No.

Lease of Electronic Bingo (E-Bingo) Machines for Game Types/Variants Set A

2

Lease of Electronic Bingo (E-Bingo) Machines for Game Types/Variants Set B

The complete schedule of deliveries is provided in Section VI (Schedule of Requirements) of the Bidding Documents which will commence from the date of receipt by the winning supplier/contractor of the Notice to Proceed.

The total ABC is Two Hundred Sixty Million One Hundred Thousand Pesos (PhP260,100,000.00), based on Twenty Percent (20%) of the Machines’ Net Winnings, subject to applicable tax as required by the Philippine Government for a period of three (3) years with breakdown as follows: Lot

Source of Funds

Description

1

Description

ABC (Based on Twenty Percent (20%) of the Machines’ Net Winnings, subject to applicable tax as required by the Philippine Government)

1

Lease of Electronic Bingo (E-Bingo) Machines for Game Types/Variants Set A

One Hundred Ninety Million Eight Hundred Thirty-One Thousand Six Hundred Sixty-Seven Pesos (PhP190,831,667.00)

2

Lease of Electronic Bingo (E-Bingo) Machines for Game Types/Variants Set B

Sixty-Nine Million Two Hundred Sixty-Eight Thousand Three Hundred Thirty-Three Pesos (PhP69,268,333.00)

SENATOR Sherwin Gatchalian on Sunday vowed to unmask who paid for the meeting of the Aegis Juris fraternity members at the posh Novotel Manila- Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City to hatch the plot to conceal the death of Horacio Castillo during an intitiation rites in Manila in September.

“One thing that’s entering my mind was why Novotel? Who paid Novotel? I have been there many times and that’s a very beautiful hotel for just a frat meeting to talk about concealment of this [fatal hazing],” the

senator said.

“Either the students have money to pay or somebody paid [for them]. That’s the loose end that we want to know,” he added.

Gatchalian said the frat members even rented a boardroom in the hotel, which was very costly. They also paid for their food.

“And the [expenseses were] not that cheap and for students like them, they’re not capable of paying [that amount],” he said.

He said some senior members of the fraternity may have shoudered the expenses.

Gatchalian said he wants to clarify the

links of some politicians who may have been involved in the coverup when the Senate committee on public order resumes its hearing today (Monday).

“They met to plan the coverup or how to cover up for the crime.

It also appeared that they’re covering up for some politicians. That’s one angle that should be pursued because it might amount to obstruction of justice,” he added.

He said those who paid for the boardroom or room in the hotel where the meeting to conceal the crime can also be held liable for obstruction of justice.

By Macon Ramos-Araneta WITH the Philippines having the highest incidence of breast cancer in Asia—with one in every 13 Filipino women at risk of getting it in their lifetime—the Philippine Breast Cancer Soceity has teamed up with SM Prime Holdings Inc. to hold the “Pink Ribbon Day” to promote breast cancer awareness and encourage Filipinas to have regular breast examination for early detection and intervention.

The event was attended by cancer survivors, women members of the Philippine National Police and

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan City of Balanga BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE OFFICE

Corporate Budget for CY 2017

NOTE: Bidders may bid in any or all lots Bidders should have completed, within the last three (3) years before the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

members of cause-oriented groups.

Pink Ribbon Day aims to raise awareness on the struggles of breast cancer patients.

While the cause of breast cancer has yet to be identified, medical experts have attributed it to several factors, including the decision of many Filipino women not to have children or to delay marriage and having kids until they are in their 30s.

Oncologist Dr. Christina Galvez, president of the PBCS, said the decision to delay having children until women are in their 30s increases the risk of having breast cancer due to the longer duration of exposure to estrogen.

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan City of Balanga BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE OFFICE

InvItatIon to BId no. goods-070-2017

InvItatIon to BId no. goods-069-2017

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

The Provincial Government of Bataan, through the General Fund70intends to apply the below listed procurement w/ corresponding Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC).

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected a bid opening.

The Provincial Government of Bataan, through the Special Education Fund69intends to apply the below listed procurement w/ corresponding Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC). Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected a bid opening.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183.

Name of Project

Name of Project

PAGCOR will hold a Pre-Bid Conference, which shall be open to prospective bidders.

All particulars relative to Pre-Bid Conference, Detailed Evaluation of Bids, PostQualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its IRR.

Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC)

1. Supply and Delivery of Various Food Supplies for Tulong Mula sa Pamahalaan 2017, Province of Bataan

=P=57,000,000.00

Date, Time and Venue November 6, 2017 (Monday) to November 28, 2017 (Tuesday)

November 16, 2017 (Thursday), 10:00 a.m.

Corporate Lounge, 6th Floor, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1558 M. H. Del Pilar cor. Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Mla. 3. Deadline for the November 28, 2017 (Tuesday), 10:00 a.m.

Submission and Receipt Corporate Lounge, 6th Floor, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1558 of Bids M. H. Del Pilar cor. Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Mla. 4. Opening and Preliminary November 28, 2017 (Tuesday), 10:00 a.m. onwards Examination of Bids Corporate Lounge, 6th Floor, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1558 M. H. Del Pilar cor. Pedro Gil Streets, Malate, Mla.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Procurement Department (PD), acting as the BAC Secretariat, of PAGCOR and/or inspect the Bidding Documents at Eight (8th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Annex, Carmen Building, UN Avenue cor.

Orosa St., Manila during office hours of PAGCOR from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders upon payment of the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of Fifty Thousand Pesos (PhP50,000.00).

Prospective bidders may also download the Bidding Documents free of charge from the following websites: www.pagcor.ph and www.philgeps.gov.ph and may be allowed to submit bids provided that bidders shall pay the applicable fee of the Bidding Documents not later than the deadline for the submission and receipt of bids.

Prospective bidders should present to PAGCOR’s Cashier located at the Sixth(6th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Office, New World Manila Bay Hotel, 1588 M.H. del Pilar Street corner Pedro Gil Street, Malate, Manila either the Payment Slip which may be secured from PD or a copy of this ITB in effecting payment for the Bidding Documents.

Bidders shall bear all costs associated with the preparation and submission of his bid, and PAGCOR will in no case be responsible or liable for those costs, regardless of the conduct or outcome of the bidding process.

Bidders should note that PAGCOR will accept bids only from those that have paid the applicable fee for the Bidding Documents.

All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the venue of the bid opening. Late bids shall not be accepted.

PAGCOR assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of their bids.

In accordance with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Circular 062005 - Tie-Breaking Method, the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC)shall use a nondiscretionary and non-discriminatory measure based on sheer luck or chance, which is “DRAW LOTS,” in the event that two (2) or more bidders have been post-qualified and determined as the bidder having the Lowest Calculated Responsive Bid (LCRB) to determine the final bidder having the LCRB, based on the following procedures: a) b)

In alphabetical order, the bidders shall pick one rolled paper.

The lucky bidder who would pick the paper with a “CONGRATULATIONS” remark shall be declared as the final bidder having the LCRB and recommended for award of the contract.

PAGCOR 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 in accordance with Section 41 of RA 9184 and its IRR, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

Please address all communications to the BAC thru PD, Eight(8th) Floor, PAGCOR Corporate Annex, Carmen Building, UN Avenue cor. Orosa St., Manila, Tel No.: 5243911, 336-6906 and/or 521-1542 local 223 or 671.

RODERICK R. CONSOLACION (SGD) Chairperson Bids and awards Committee (BaC) 2

=P=14,550,000.00

The Provincial Government of Bataannow invites bids for the above listed Procurement.

Delivery of goods is requiredwithin 30 Calendar Days.Bidders should have completed, at least one (1) contract that is similar to the contract to be bid. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary pass/fail criterion as specified in the 2016 Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act 9184 (RA 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Office of Bataan Bids & Awards Committeeand inspect the Bidding Documents from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the same office.

Bid documents will be available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a nonrefundable amount of using standard rates approved by GPPB as stated on their Resolution No. 04-2012 listed below.

Approved Budget for the Contract 500,000 and below More than 500,000 up to 1 Million More than 1 Million up to 5 Million More than 5 Million up to 10 Million More than 10 Million up to 50 Million More than 50 Million up to 500 Million More than 500 Million

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Peso) 500.00 1,000.00 5,000.00 10,000.00 25,000.00 50,000.00 75,000.00

The Provincial Government of Bataanwill hold a Pre-Bid Conference on November 13, 2017 at 10:00 A.MatProvincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan.

Bids must be delivered on or before November27, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated on IRR of RA 9184 or Bid Securing Declaration in standard form.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend opening of Bids at Bataan BAC Office. Late bids shall not be accepted.

In case of the above dates is declared a special Non-Working Holidays, it will automatically reset on the next working days.

Other necessary information deemed relevant by the Provincial Government of Bataan 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Activities Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid Eligibility Check Issuance and availability of Bidding Documents Request for Clarification Opening of Bids

Schedule November 6 – 12, 2017 Refer to date of Opening of Bids November 6 – 27, 2017 November 17, 2017 November 27, 2017

The Provincial Government of Bataanreserves 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.

Ms. Aileen C. Sagun Provincial BAC / PEO Bataan Provincial BAC / PEO Office, Capitol Compound, BalangaCity, Bataan 047-237-9316 bac@bataan.gov.ph

(MS-NOV. 6, 2017)

Bidding is open to all interested bidders, whether local or foreign, subject to the conditions for eligibility provided in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Office of Bataan Bids & Awards Committeeand inspect the Bidding Documents from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. at the same office.

Bid documents will be available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a nonrefundable amount of using standard rates approved by GPPB as stated on their Resolution No. 04-2012 listed below.

Approved Budget for the Contract 500,000 and below More than 500,000 up to 1 Million More than 1 Million up to 5 Million More than 5 Million up to 10 Million More than 10 Million up to 50 Million More than 50 Million up to 500 Million More than 500 Million

Maximum Cost of Bidding Documents (in Philippine Peso) 500.00 1,000.00 5,000.00 10,000.00 25,000.00 50,000.00 75,000.00

The Provincial Government of Bataanwill hold a Pre-Bid Conference on November 13, 2017 at 10:00 A.M at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan.

Bids must be delivered on or before November27, 2017 at 2:00 p.m. at Provincial BAC Office, PEO Capitol Compound, Balanga City, Bataan. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated on IRR of RA 9184 or Bid Securing Declaration in standard form.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend opening of Bids at Bataan BAC Office. Late bids shall not be accepted.

In case of the above dates is declared a special Non-Working Holidays, it will automatically reset on the next working days.

Other necessary information deemed relevant by the Provincial Government of Bataan Activities 1. Advertisement/Posting of Invitation to Bid 2. Eligibility Check

Schedule November 6 – 12, 2017 Refer to date of Opening of Bids

3. Issuance and availability of Bidding Documents 4. Request for Clarification 5. Opening of Bids

November 6 – 27, 2017 November 17, 2017 November 27, 2017

The Provincial Government of Bataanreserves 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: Ms. Aileen C. Sagun Provincial BAC / PEO Bataan Provincial BAC / PEO Office, Capitol Compound, BalangaCity, Bataan 047-237-9316 bac@bataan.gov.ph

For further information, please refer to:

(SGD) ENRICO T. YUZON BAC CHAIRMAN (MS-NOV. 6, 2017)

1. Supply and Delivery of Technical and Scientific Equipment for distribution to Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Division of Bataan

The Provincial Government of Bataannow invites bids for the above listed Procurement.

Delivery of goods is requiredwithin 30 Calendar Days.Bidders should have completed, at least one (1) contract that is similar to the contract to be bid. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

The schedule of bidding activities is listed, as follows: Activities 1. Issuance of the Bidding Documents 2. Pre-Bid Conference

Approved Budget of the Contract (ABC)

(SGD) ENRICO T. YUZON BAC CHAIRMAN (MS-NOV. 6, 2017)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports Marikina caging a haven for Gilas jrs THE Marikina City Basketball League, the hotbed of basketball in the East, has become a perfect sanctuary for the Batang Gilas-under 16 squad preparing for the FIBA Asia Cup early next year.

Not only is the national youth team starting to build up its chemistry, it is also toughening up for the World Under-17 Championship qualifier by facing more experienced rivals, who previously saw action in the PBA and PBA DLeague.

Head coach Mike Oliver considers this tournament as a good way to equip his squad once the team meets taller and bulkier opponents in the FIBA Asia Under-16 tourney.

“Very important itong ligang ito para sa preparations ntin. This will be one of the last two tournaments na lang na puwede natin salihan bago mag FIBA Asia,” said Oliver. “Dito natin makikita kung ano ang kulang natin sa system na nira-run natin at the same time, makikita din natin mga kailangan pa nating i-develop offensively and defensively.”

In the MCBL, Batang Gilas will play without 6’11”, 14-year-old stalwart Kai Sotto, who wasn’t allowed by his mother school, Ateneo, to play in the commercial league but was given an assurance that he will be released by the institution in time for the FIBA Asia tournament.

Without Sotto, the Batang Gilas squad had to rely on its other key players led by mainstays RC Calimag, Renz Padrigao and MacLaud Guadana among others.

In the team’s last outing, Batang Gilas lost to R. Lapid’s/Tito Rex, 83-77.

Oliver, however, is satisfied with the way how his team was able to push its more experienced counterparts to the limit and maximize its main weapons needed in international tournaments.

“Yes, offensively we have firepower from the outside and that’s one of the most important things in FIBA tournaments. The only way we can beat other countries will be our speed and outside shooting,” said Oliver.

PH batters clobber HK

A 10-0 RUN in the first inning allowed the Philippines to pull off a 14-2 crushing of Hong Kong in the 2017 Baseball Federation of Asia Under-15 Championship in Shizuoka, Japan.

Their second win in four matches came a day after their 8-4 triumph over Pakistan.

With their 2-2 winloss record, the Filipinos moved to fourth position, behind solo-leading Japan (4-0).

Korea and defending champion Chinese Taipei share second and third at 3-1.

Japan extended its winning streak to four after their 15-2 stopping of Pakistan.

Chinese Taipei moved up in the standings after turning back Korea, 5-3.

Peter Atencio

A7

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Balanced attack lifts Grizzlies

L

OS ANGELES—The Memphis Grizzlies used a balanced offensive attack and some timely fourth quarter baskets to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 113-104 on Saturday at Staples Center arena.

Mike Conley tallied 22 points and was one of seven players to score in double figures for the visiting Grizzlies, who led most of the first half behind some efficient offensive play as they connected on almost 44 percent of their three-

point attempts.

Memphis (6-3) got key contributions off the bench from guards Tyreke Evans and Mario Chalmers, who scored 20 and 12 points respectively, as well as 13 points from Brandan Wright and 10 by

Chandler Parsons to keep the Clippers at bay.

Conley’s offence was a welcome addition as the Grizzlies snapped a twogame losing skid.

“He still isn’t 100 percent,” Memphis head coach David Fizdale said of Conley. “But you could see a difference in places he is on the floor when he’s a little healthier. Any time he’s playing well, we’re in the game.”

The Grizzlies cooled off from three-point range in the second half, closing

the game at 41.9 percent from beyond the arc.

By comparison, the Clippers shot a miserable four-of 26 overall from three-point range.

Despite their poor three-point shooting, the Clippers kept it close, pulling level midway through the third quarter.

Forward Blake Griffin buoyed the Clippers in all phases with a season-high 30 points, 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals.

Griffin was one of five Clippers to score in double

figures along with guards Patrick Beverley (23) and Lou Williams (13), center DeAndre Jordan (12) and forward Danilo Gallinari (10).

“We were awful defensively in the first five minutes,” Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said.

“We clicked and started getting stops and running.

This is the first game in three games that we got our pace back.”

Elsewhere, Kevin Durant scored 25 points, Stephen Curry had 22

points and 11 assists, and the Golden State Warriors routed the Denver Nuggets 127-108.

Draymond Green had 15 points, eight assists and seven assists and Klay Thompson scored 15 points for Golden State, which has won three straight and six of its last seven.

Will Barton had 21 points and eight rebounds and Emmanuel Mudiay scored 15 points for Denver, which lost the second game of a home back-to-back. AFP

Tight security for New York Marathon

CHINA CUP REGATTA CHAMP: Beating more than 2,000 sailors from all over the world, Standard Insurance Centennial captured the overall championship in the IRC A class, the top premier division, at the recent 11th China Cup International Regatta held in Shenzhen, China. The TP 52 Davidson yacht was skippered by Standard Insurance Group chairman Judes Echauz (holding the trophy). The all Filipino athletes from the Philippine Sailing Association, helmed by Asia’s top match racing skipper Allan Balladares and managed by Standard Insurance IT computer engineer Steve Tan, whisked the other high-tech yachts of its class crewed by foreign professional sailors through superb crewman-ship and tactics.

Filinvest Mimosa+ Leisure City hosts CM50 FILINVEST Mimosa+ Leisure City, the newest masterplanned business and leisure destination at the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga, is proud to play host to the 7th Clark-Miyamit Falls Trail Ultra.

Also known as CM50, the event will be held on Nov. 26.

The CM50 is the first major international sports event at Filinvest Mimosa+.

This partnership marks the beginning of more exciting events to take place in the Filinvest-redeveloped leisure estate. The township’s enhanced layout incorporates an equally balanced space for infrastructure and green expanse that is significantly part of its vision of becoming a central zone for various industries and lifestyles.

The CM50 has two challenging categories, the 60K and the 50 miles. Both dis-

tances kick off at the Filinvest Mimosa+, taking runners to an out-and-back course on a footpath connecting Clark to the scenic Miyamit Falls in Porac, Pampanga. Dubbed as the final race of the most demanding CM50 trail series and one of the 2017 Super Trails (Philippines, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia) of the Asia Trail Master Series, the CM50 offers scenic views and environs, beginning at the Filinvest Mimosa+, traversing the Sacobia River, Punning Spa, and Sitio Target. It goes up a dirt road covering a sugar cane plantation, which leads to Sitio Ebus and heads down the expansive Pasig-Portrero River. This route takes the runners towards a parallel dirt road along SCTEX and the Crow Creek, and they will pass through an AETA community going up the Miyamit Falls, the peak, and

back to Clark.

The strict time barrier for the 50-mile race is 18 hours only, while the 60K participants should finish the race within 16 hours.

CM50 runners who finish within the tight time barrier for the 50-mile category rightfully earns the title “BAD ASS”. The term “BAD ASS” was coined during the first edition of CM50 in 2011 to refer to the difficulty of the additional 20kms to make it a 50-mile course covering the hilly and rugged part from Aid Station 4 up to the peak, which is 3kms from the caldera of Mt. Pinatubo.

As CM50’s official hotel partner, Quest Hotel – Clark offers exclusive rates for the participants valid from Nov. 25 to Nov. 27. Participants may avail of an overnight stay at a Deluxe Room for only P4,300 net. Those who wish to indulge in a breakfast buffet, in

A CM50 participant

addition to the overnight stay at a Deluxe Room, will be given a special rate of P5,200 net. To join the CM50, log on to www.cm50ultra.com. For more info about the many exciting things that Filinvest Mimosa+ has to offer, along with all coming developments, visit its official website at www.mimosaplus.com.ph.

NEW YORK—Five days after the worst attack on New York since September 11, 2001, the city stages a show of defiance Sunday, when 2.5 million people will pack the streets to cheer on 50,000 marathon participants from around the world.

The day after an Uzbek man killed eight people and wounded 12 others in Manhattan near the 9/11 Memorial, Mayor Bill de Blasio maintained the celebrated event would go on, vowing: “We will not be cowed. We will not be thrown off by anything.”

The city is heavily bolstering security for the race, parking more sand trucks to prevent vehicle attacks, stationing extra police on rooftops and deploying more anti-sniper units.

In addition to uniformed officers along the route, plainclothes officers will blend in with the spectators.

Security had already been boosted in 2013 after the Boston marathon attack that saw two youths of Chechen descent plant two bombs near the arrival line, killing three people and wounding more than 250 others, including spectators.

The Islamic State group has described Sayfullo Saipov -- the 29-year-old man charged with driving a rented pickup truck down a bike path in Manhattan as children and their parents prepared for Halloween -- as one of its own, prompting President Donald Trump to call for his execution.

Sunday’s marathon will serve as a means for New Yorkers to come together in defiance in the aftermath of the latest attack to strike America’s most populous city.

- ‘Opportunity to show resilience’ The race that takes runners through all five boroughs and culminates at Manhattan’s iconic Central Park will be a show of “resilience” for a city recovering from tragedy.

“What I do know, 100 percent, is that we’re a very resilient nation and I don’t think there are many tougher people than New Yorkers, and marathoners are pretty tough too,” said American runner Shalane Flanagan, the 2008 Olympic silver medallist over 10,000m.

“So I think it’s an opportunity to show resilience and strength and coming together... And when you come together as a community it really empowers people and helps people heal.”

Flanagan said the carnage in New York had hit her hard as a veteran of the 2013 Boston marathon.

“It’s obviously devastating and very concerning,” she said of the New York attack.

“I’ve been in a terrorist attack in 2013 in Boston. I was there that day and had just completed my race. So it very much hits home and is very personal to me having been a part of a terrorist attack.”

Flanagan said she may consider retiring if she stuns the field with a victory on Sunday. AFP

Lhuillier eyes 2020 Olympics for Blu Girls BUOYED by the encouraging performance of RP Blu Girls in this year’s World Cup and Canada Cup, Amateur Softball Association of the Philippines President and Philippine sports patron Jean Henri Lhuillier expressed confidence on the te aam’s chances in the coming Asian Softball Championships to be held in Taiwan on Nov. 28 to Dec. 4.

“This tournament will enable us to gauge once again the team’s readiness to qualify in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. We have beaten Asia’s no. 3 Chinese Taipei in the recent World Cup so I’m confident we’ll do well in these competitions. The girls are really

training hard for this so I’m very confident we could at the very least finish in the Top 3. I’ve always believed that we have what it takes to excel globally in the sport of softball, said Lhuillier.”

The PH Blu Girls created a stir in the World Cup and Canada Cup held early this year by stunning world no. 3 Canada, no. 4 Australia, no. 9 Chinese Taipei and twice defeating 10th-ranked Mexico.

The team, beefed up by Filipinos based abroad, and with improved play by the homegrown players, will be using the Asian Championships as part of their preparations towards the goal of

making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The coming Asian Championships serves as a qualifying tournament for the 2018 Asian Games and World Championships.

The PH Blu Girls are targeting to play in 3 Olympic qualifying tournaments in 2018 and 2019, namely the World Championships, Asia-Oceania tournament and the World Open tournament.

Meanwhile, Lhuillier also bared the grassroots activities being implemented by ASAPHIL as part of the organization’s thrust of making it a world-class softball association.

“We have conducted several

Softball president Jean Henri Lhuillier with the PH Blu Girls

coaching seminars, distributed International Softball Federation rule books, produced softball 101 videos and we will be organizing Batang Pinoy tournaments in Visayas and Mindanao by end of the year. All of these efforts are

UE Lady Warriors stay unbeaten in UAAP 2nd round UNIVERSITY of the East held steadier down the stretch to beat De La Salle, 82-79, and bolster its semifinal bonus bid in the UAAP Season 80 women’s basketball tournament yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Love Sto. Domingo hit three key free throws in the final seconds to help the Lady Warriors

stay perfect in five secondround matches.

UE rose to 10-2 and moved to solo second place after Far Eastern University downed University of Santo Tomas, 62-58.

The Tigresses absorbed their third loss in 13 contests, now trailing the Lady Warriors by half-a-game in the race for the

No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

Eunique Chan (21 points, 14 rebounds) and Sto. Domingo (18 points, 17 rebounds) produced double-double numbers for UE, while Ruthlaine Tacula and Anna Requiron added 18 and 14 points, respectively.

The Lady Tamaraws, for their part, fortified their bid for the remaining semifinals slot

by improving to 6-6.

FEU thus moved half a game ahead of Adamson University, which on Saturday boosted its own Final Four bid with a 4746 win over Ateneo for a 6-7 mark.

Valerie Mamaril led the Lady Tamaraws with 23 points while Precious Arellado added 13 points and seven assists.

to help popularize the sport in the country and discover fresh talents every year. We are eyeing beyond the 2020 Olympics. We want our softball team to be in every Olympics from here on,” added Lhuillier.

LOTTO RESULTS 6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

P0 M+ P0 M

Sports

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

A8

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

Blatche coming Nov. 12 to boost Gilas PH

By Jeric Lopez

NBA veteran Andray Blatche, who wasn’t able to join the Gilas team last time around during the FIBA Asia Cup in Beirut due to security reasons, is coming back to reinforce the Philippine team in the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers.

Tams fortify Final 4 bid

By Jeric Lopez

A

PLAYER entering his prime already winning his fourth Most Valuable Player award. Let that sink in.

And it came at a time when the Far Eastern University Tamaraws’ threepoint shots starting falling and connecting.

The Morayta-based dribFOUL trouble took its blers went on to post an toll on the University of the 88-81 smashing of the UE East Warriors in the fourth Warriors Sunday in the 80th period.

University Athletic AssociaGames Wednesday (Araneta Coliseum) 2 p.m. FEU vs NU 4 p.m. Ateneo vs UP

PH Arena could be SEA Games main hub

By Peter Atencio THE Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan could serve as the main venue of the 2019 Southeast Asian Games.

Talks are shaping up over the role that will be given to the facilities put up by the church of Iglesia ni Cristo in Ciudad Victoria back in 2014.

Philippine Sports Commission Chairman William “Butch” Ramirez said this has been mentioned in ongoing talks with Foreign Affairs Secretary Allan Peter Cayetano, who is the Chairman of the 2019 SEA Games Organizing Committee.

“There are discussions.

There’s a very strong possibility that we will have the Philippine Arena for the opening games,” said Ramirez.

From there, the other venues of the Games’ events can be spread out to Subic Bay, Olongapo, Clark Field in Pampanga in Manila.

The PSC is preparing plans to have renovations and repairs done on facilities inside the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex and those that are under the care of the Philippine Sports Commission.

Around P2 billion will be needed for the initial cost.

PSC officals said this is the ballpark figure that they have come up in order to push through with the makeovers on the sports facilities in the last quarter of the year.

“We are prioritizing the venues that the athletes will need for their training,” PSC Executive Director Sannah Privaldo.

tion of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.

Triples from Hubert Cani and Arvin Tolentino set the tone for a big scoring run as the Tams broke the game wide open in the last 7:58.

Their outside sniping shattered the game’s last deadlock, 49-all and gave them a four-point edge, 55-51.

A three-point play from Prinze Orizu and two freebies from Jasper Parker in the remaining 5:48 followed as FEU started puling away,

60-55.

The Tams, who made 11 of 28 three-point attempts the whole afternoon, then found themselves ahead by 12, 69-57, after Parker struck with another trey with 3:37 left.

Parker and Orizu led with 18 and 14 points, respectively, for the Tams, who picked up the win after bowing to the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons, 56-59.

The Tams now have a 6-6record, keeping them

in contention in the race for the last Final Four seat with UP. UE, with Alvin Pasaol shooting 18 points and Mark Olayon making 14, is down in seventh place at 3-10.

“After our loss to UP, we really needed this win. We need more wins in our remaining games. But I think this is a good confidence booster for us going into the home stretch,” said FEU coach Olsen Racela.

The Tams need to hurdle their matches against Nation-

al University and Adamson to have a place in the Final Four. Peter Atencio The Scores FEU 79 – Parker 18, Orizu 14, Tolentino 10, Dennison 9, Trinidad 9, Cani 8, Tuffin 4, Escoto 3, Comboy 2, Bayquin 2, Inigo 0, Ebona 0, Ramirez 0 UE 63 – Pasaol 18, Olayon 14, Maloles 8, Acuno 8, Manalang 7, Bartolome 4, Conner 4, Derige 0, Varilla 0, Cullar 0, Toribio 0, Abanto 0 QUARTER SCORES: 1822, 29-33, 49-49, 79-63

Graf: Williams can break Court’s slam record ZHUHAI—Tennis legend Steffi Graf said Sunday that Serena Williams can “absolutely” break Margaret Court’s Grand Slam singles title record if she returns to tennis.

Former world number one Serena Williams, who gave birth earlier this year, has already overtaken Graf with 23 Grand Slam wins but is yet to surpass Court, who boasts 24 major titles.

“Absolutely, yes,” Graf said when asked if the record was within Williams’ reach.

Court is renowned as the most successful player in Grand Slam history -- the only player to win 10 or more titles of a single Slam -- lifting the Australian Open a staggering 11 times between 1960 and 1973.

Graf, who also has 22 Grand Slam singles titles under her belt and is famed for having spent 377 weeks ranked world number one, was speaking in Zhuhai, China, where she is ambassador for the WTA Elite Trophy tournament.

“A lot of it is determined on her drive and if that’s what she wants to do,” she said of Williams.

Australian Open organizers said in October

they were hopeful of a stunning return by Williams in January as they raised the winners’ prize money to a bumper Aus$4 million (US$3.1 million).

Williams won this year’s Australian Open while pregnant, and she has spoken of her “outrageous” plans to play in Melbourne in 2018 -- just four-and-a-half months after giving birth to her baby girl.

“It sounds from what I hear that she’s looking to come back to tennis,” Graf added.

“You know, everything that she has shown over her career just makes you believe that if she has that in her sights then she will go after it and achieve it.”

The $2 million Elite Trophy features 12 players ranked from around nine to 20.

This week saw US Open winner Sloane Stephens crash out of the tournament in the round robin stage after losing her first match to Latvian Anastasija Sevastova and retiring from her second to Czech Barbora Strycova after just five games.

America’s CoCo Vandeweghe is set to face Germany’s Julia Goerges in the final on Sunday. AFP

WHILE the Philippine Basketball Association is still in the middle of a crisis, the opposite can be said for Gilas Pilipinas.

The National team is surprisingly intact and now looks forward to the return of naturalized player and former NBA veteran Andray Blatche.

Blatche’s status to rejoin the team for the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers late this month is confirmed and he is scheduled to be back in the country next week, Nov. 12, to start training with the pool of National coach Chot Reyes.

Gilas missed the services of Blatche in the last FIBA Asia Cup several months ago in Beirut as he begged off due to security reasons.

Now, the team looks forward to welcoming Blatche back as he will be a boost for the Philippines’ pivotal campaign ahead.

The Philippines is set to take on Japan on Nov. 24 t the Komazawa Olympic Park General Sports Gymnasium before facing Chinese Taipei on Nov. 27 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Australia will be the PH team’s final Group B foe.

The Gilas pool, led

by Reyes, started practicing last Friday and it has less than three weeks to prepare for the battles ahead.

Due to the status of league commissioner Chito Narvasa, there were doubts that Gilas might be affected but for a start, that wasn’t the case.

Most players that are part of the pool were present in the team’s first practices back led by four-time PBA Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo, Japeth Aguilar, Jayson Castro, Calvin Abueva, Matthew Wright, Roger Pogoy, Troy Rosario, Gabe Norwood, Raymund Almazan, Jio Jalalon, Allein Maliksi, Mac Belo, Kevin Alas and Carl Bryan Cruz.

Other key parts of the pool such as No. 2 overall pick Kiefer Ravena, Kevin Ferrer, Baser Amer, LA Revilla, Von Pessumal and Mike Tolomia are set to join the training the soonest as well.

Australians fastest in Bellevue Resort 5150 Triathlon

By Randy Caluag

PANGLAO, Bohol—Aussies Tim Reed and Kerry Morris dug deep from their vast ammunition to rule the last edition of the Bellevue Resort 5150 Triathlon here yesterday.

Reed completed a spectacular return to short-distance racing as he outlasted compatriot and defending champion Sam Betten in the Men’s Pro event, turning in the day’s best time of 1 hour and and 58.24 minutes in finishing the 1.5km, 40k bike and 10k race.

Betten, champion of the previous two editions of the event organized by Sunrise Events, took the pace in the swim and bike courses but faded in the run race of the elite category he dominated the last two years.

“I did pretty good in the bike. My plan was to hold my rhythm. But it’s always a matter of whether I can hold on in the run,” said Betten, who settled for the runner-up finish with a clocking of 2:01.24. “Unfortu-

nately, I was really struggling out there in the run today as my plan was to get as hard as I could from start to finish.”

Behind by Betten by about two minutes after the bike race, Reed, last year’s World Champion, poured it on in the run duel and caught up with the erstwhile titlist in the first four kilometers. Then, he turned on the heat and cruised to the finish for his first 5150 title in a long while.

“My last short-distance race was three or four years ago. I thought I’m just gonna race my race and try to have a good run.

Thankfully, sometimes when your legs are tired on the bike, you feel great on the run,” said Reed, champion of the longdistance Ironman 70.3 in Cebu the last for the last three years.

“Certainly, I’m gonna come back here for more races, including 5150 races of course.”

Finishing third overall with a time of 2:10.50 was Cebuano Jorry Ycong, who emerged champion of the Male Asian

Elite in this event presented by the Department of Tourism and Tourism Promotions Board of the Philippines and backed by venue hosts Province of Bohol, Municipality of Panglao and bike course partner Municipality of Dauis.

In the Women’s Pro duel, Morris, starting to reap the benefits of taking triathlon fulltime, won her first title in the Philippines.

Setting the pace from start to finish, she finished with an official time of 2:24.45, which was 38 seconds faster than compatriot Dimity-Lee Duke.

Morris, who momentarily gave up her engineering career to focus on triathlon, was fresh from a third-place finish in the recent 70.3 Cebu Ironman.

It looked like the sting was still there as she brushed aside Duke’s challenge all the way to the finish.

“You are as tough as nails,” Morris told Duke after the race.

“So much respect for you.”

Duke said he thought Morris

would give it up in the run race.

“I thought she was struggling, but she kept on and got it.”

Placing a far third was American Laurel Wassner, who obviously was still trying to keep pace with short-distance specialists even as she was coming off two successive Ironman victories in Taiwan and Israman.

For compete results, visit www.bellevue.

5150philippines.com.

Nearly 500 local and international triathletes saw action, including the Sunrise Sprint category in this supported by 2GO Express, Powerade and Wilkins Pure, official swim cap Tyr, registration partner Active Network. Other sponsors are David’s Salon, Gu, Intercare and Pioneer, while The Philippine Star, Trilife, Asiatri.com and Finisherpix are media partners, Alcoplus, Bohol Bee Farm, Cetaphil, Daylong, Devant, Regent Sanicare, Ssangyong, Storck and Timex are the marketing partners.

Tim Reed crosses the finish line.

Flat trading likely; eyes on earnings of blue chips B2

IN BRIEF Contraceptives review process scientific—FDA

THE Food and Drugs Administration asked the various groups involved in the issue on the reevaluation and recertification of contraceptives products to “exercise sobriety” and “keep the productive dialog going.”

FDA director-general Nela Charade Puno issued the call in the wake of what the FDA said was “an escalating attack on the integrity of the agency and its processes” as it comes closer to concluding its review of more than 50 contraceptives products.

Puno also assured the public that the review process was scientific and will not be political.

“The process is technical and scientific in nature and not a political one,” Puno said “As scientists, we work with empirical evidence and we make sure that our conclusions are based on facts and not on hysteria,” she said.

The ongoing FDA review followed a recent Supreme Court statement that it may lift the temporary restraining order on the country’s Reproductive Health Law as soon as the FDA completed a required public hearing and technical review process and should the agency certify anew that the two contraceptives do not induce nor cause abortion.

The TRO was issued at the instance of the Alliance for the Family Philippines Inc., an anti-RH group.

Puno expressed concern that the assault on the FDA and its processes “from various sides” was “unfair, not just to the agency but to the public it serves”.

Business

PLDT cable stations get ISO awards

PLDT Inc. said it obtained an international certification for its world-class cable landing stations that provide international connectivity for data, voice and leased line services via fiber optic cables to its global network partners.

ISO 22301:2012 is the highest and most comprehensive international standard for management systems that ensures business continuity. It was awarded

by TÜV Rheinland, one of the leading recognized providers of technical services worldwide.

The three PLDT cable landing stations that have been ISO certified are the La Union Cable Landing Station in Bauang, La Union; the Daet Cable Landing Station in Daet, Camarines Norte; and the Batangas Cable Landing Station in Nasugbu, Batangas.

“This ISO certification states that PLDT is well-prepared and equipped to manage the impact of disasters that may affect our cable landing stations which are mission critical facilities in delivering quality voice and data services to our customers,” said PLDT chief corporate services officer Ray Espinosa.

“PLDT’s cable landing stations play a significant part in the company’s mission to provide the best and most reliable data experience to our consumer and enterprise customers. These newly ISO-certified cable landing stations are PLDT’s gateway to the other international cable systems which enable the PLDT Group to provide the latest digital services to more homes and businesses in the country,” said PLDT vice president and head of technical operations center Emer Hernandez. Darwin G. Amojelar

BSP tightens rules on banks’ cybersecurity

THE Monetary Board, the policy-making body of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, approved the pioneering guidelines on information security management that place a renewed focus on cybersecurity in a bid to promote resilience of the domestic banking industry.

“This is to address the growing concerns on the fast-evolving cyber-threats that continue to confront global as well as domestic financial communities,” the Bangko Sentral said in a statement over the weekend.

It said the cyber-threat landscape had continuously evolved with more threats surfacing in the cyber realm in an increasingly complex and sophisticated fashion. Various researches and publications projected global cybercrime losses to increase exponentially with the financial services industry remaining to be a prime target across all industries.

“If not properly managed, cyberthreats and attacks launched against Bangko Sentral-supervised financial institutions may result in operational, legal, reputational and systemic risks,” it said.

The amendments highlight the role of the board and senior management of BSPsupervised financial institutions in spearheading sound information security governance and strong security culture within their respective networks. Julito G. Rada

business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

B1

Malaysia’s CIMB expanding in PH

By Julito G. Rada

C

IMB Group Holdings Berhad, a universal bank headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, plans to open a branch in the Philippines before the end of the year, a source from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said in an interview.

The source said the policy-making Monetary Board was expected to approve the CIMB’s application to operate domestically “within this year.”

CIMB Group chief executive Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz said in January this year the bank submitted an applica-

tion to the Bangko Sentral to start banking operations in the Philippines as the group planned to complete its presence in all 10 member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The bank’s last expansion into Asean was in Vietnam, where a full banking license was granted in December 2016.

CIMB said earlier it was looking at mid-tier Philippine banks as possible acquisition targets after a failed attempt to buy into Bank of Commerce in 2013 on valuation issues.

CIMB Group is an Asean investment bank, the largest Asia Pacific-based investment bank (except Japan) and one of the world’s largest Islamic banks. CIMB has a wide retail branch network with 1,080 branches across the region.

The group operates under several en-

tities, which include CIMB Investment Bank, CIMB Bank, CIMB Islamic, CIMB Niaga CIMB Securities International and CIMB Thai.

The group’s business activities are primarily in the areas of consumer banking, wholesale banking, investment banking, corporate banking treasury, and strategic investments. Its core markets are Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand.

CIMB Islamic operates in parallel with these businesses, in line with the group’s dual banking model.

The group has over 40,000 employees across 18 countries, covering Asean and major global financial centers.

The group’s geographical reach and its products and services are complemented by partnerships. Its partners include the Principal Financial Group, Bank of To-

kyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Standard Bank and Daewoo Securities.

Bangko Sentral officials said the country remained an ideal location for foreign banks because of the liberalized domestic banking industry and promising growth prospects of the economy.

Switzerland-based bank Credit Suisse recently signified its intention to put up a representative office in the Philippines.

The Bangko Sentral allowed 10 Asian banks to fully operate in the country over the past three years. These are Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.; Singapore’s United Overseas Bank Ltd.; South Korea’s Shinhan Bank, Industrial Bank of Korea, and Woori Bank; Taiwan’s Cathay United Bank, Chang Hwa Bank, First Commercial Bank, Hua Nan Bank and Yuanta Commercial Bank Co. Ltd.

ICTSI decides to sell stake in Jakarta container port

By Darwin G. Amojelar

DOE to weigh pass-through power charges

THE Energy Department plans to prevent power industry players from passing on charges caused by “inefficiencies” to consumers.

“The pass through expenses from inefficiencies, negligence…that should not be passed on. The cost should not be passed on to the consumers,” Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said.

Cusi cited the over contracting of supply by power distributors or electric cooperatives.

“If they have are overcontracting, who should pay for that? Why is it being passed on to the consumers. So why are they passing on their inefficiencies to the consumers,” he said.

Cusi said the government could not encourage efficiencies from the power industry players if they had the option to pass on their inefficiencies” under the pass-through provision of their contracts “We are crafting policies on the passthrough expenses…We will try to limit what they can pass on the consumers. We are visiting all the pass-through expenses,” Cusi said.

The department also proposed a “causer’s pay policy program” which would charge power generators when their plants went on forced outages.

“We will come out with a causer’s pay policy program on charging the cost of electricity to the generator that went on forced outage,” Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella said earlier.

Alena Mae S. Flores

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

ASIAN RETAILERS CONVENTION. Federation of Asia Pacific Retailers Associations chairman and Philippine Retailers Association chairman Lorenzo Formoso (left) delivers a speech at the opening of the 18th Asia Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. With Lorenzo are (from left) Malaysia Retailers Association secretary Dato’ Sri Meer Sadik Habib, MRA deputy president James Loke, MRA president Sri William Cheng, Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives & Consumerism Dato’ Seri Hamzah Zainudin, MRA deputy president Shinobu Washizawa and MRA treasurer Michelle Oon.

PAL sees 2018 as a good year for growth PHILIPPINE Airlines said it expects a ‘good’ year in 2018, when a million visitors from China are expected to visit the Philippines.

“We hope, we’re expecting that 2018 will be another good year in terms of growth. As mentioned by IATA [International Air Transport Association], the Philippines and the Asia Pacific region is really a huge growth area,” PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said.

“One third of the flying customers will be coming from this region. Asia Pacific region is

where the Philippines is a part of. We just hope that the government will continue to support our initiatives to have better infrastructure,” Bautista said.

Bautista said PAL posted a double-digit growth in traffic this year on rising demand, and this would continue next year with the improvement in international visitor arrivals.

“In terms of traffic, we grew our traffic by more than 12 percent. So, it’s a doubledigit growth and the demand is growing for domestic and international. I think tourist arrivals will improve next year.

We’re expecting that there would be more than a million Chinese visitors next year from a little over 600,000 or less than 700,000. This will result in more than a million tourists from China,” he said.

The airline said it expects to carry 16.5 million to 17 million passengers in 2018, up from 15 million projected this year.

PAL Holdings Inc., the parent firm of PAL, earlier reported a total comprehensive loss of P1.05 billion in January to June, a significant downturn from the P4.62-billion profit a year ago.

Darwin G. Amojelar

PORT operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. said it is divesting from a container terminal port in Jakarta, Indonesia.

ICTSI, a company led by businessman Enrique Razon Jr., said Indonesian unit PT ICTSI Jasa Prima Tbk had signed a conditional share purchase agreement with PT Samudera Terminal Indonesia involving its interest in PT Perusahaan Bongkar Muat Olah Jasa Anda or OJA. ICTSI said the transaction was subject to certain conditions, but did not provide more details.

ICTSI completed the purchase of 100 percent shares of OJA in July 2012. OJA operates Berths 300-303 in Terminal III in the Port of Tanjung Priok

which handle international containerized and non-containerized cargo.

ICTSI, a Filipino company with global footprint, earlier signed an agreement for the second major development phase of the Basra Gateway Terminal in North Port, Umm Qasr, Iraq.

The company said two new berths would be developed, incorporating a 20-hectare yard area which would raise annual BGT container handling capacity by 600,000 twenty-foot equivalent units to a total of 1,200,000 TEUs. The berths will be configured and equipped with quay and landside container handling systems to handle container vessels of up to 10,000 TEUs. Combined with the adjacent Berth 27, it will offer a continuous berthing line of 600 meters.

Manila

Standard

Form 2B (Revised June 2014)

TODAY 16th to 19th Floors, Fort Legend Towers 31st Street corner 3rd Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City 1634 Statement of Condition (Head Office and Branches) As of September 30, 2017

BOAR

AMOUNTS ASSETS

CURRENT QUARTER

PREVIOUS QUARTER

Cash and Cash Items PhP Due from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Due from Other Banks Financial Assets at Fair Value through Profit or Loss Available-for-Sale Financial Assets-Net Held-to-Maturity (HTM) Financial Assets-Net Unquoted Debt Securities Classified as Loans-Net Investments in Non-Marketable Equity Security-Net Loans and Receivables - Net Interbank Loans Receivable Loans and Receivables - Others Loans and Receivables Arising from RA/CA/PR/SLB General Loan Loss Provision Other Financial Assets Bank Premises, Furniture, Fixture and Equipment-Net Real and Other Properties Acquired-Net Other Assets-Net

359,915,803.76 4,995,592,869.76 1,393,556,449.39 772,839,138.15 815,932,950.08 840,643,619.16 12,627,031.72 12,440,816.63 30,202,302,374.93 3,023,670,047.61 27,049,241,799.74 500,000,000.00 370,609,472.42 121,825,642.04 207,969,532.82 118,119,831.95 1,187,721,301.90

371,685,704.26 4,375,237,018.00 1,128,538,209.41 786,447,460.58 628,030,898.02 836,631,761.39 18,491,297.48 12,440,816.63 29,403,392,147.24 1,520,396,889.55 25,780,027,404.44 2,442,201,738.00 339,233,884.75 119,880,045.67 221,367,840.93 96,574,860.91 871,331,422.54

TOTAL ASSETS

PhP

41,041,487,362.29

38,870,049,483.06

Financial Liabilities at Fair Value through Profit or Loss Deposit Liabilities Bills Payable a) Interbank Loans Payable Due to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Other Financial Liabilities Other Liabilities

PhP

19,317,045.82 29,708,593,265.02 1,571,758,765.00 1,571,758,765.00 0.00 522,916,143.62 2,121,073,374.30

50,067,393.24 26,740,415,175.50 2,879,803,059.00 2,879,803,059.00 0.00 675,218,199.64 1,508,549,072.12

TOTAL LIABILITIES

PhP

33,943,658,593.76

31,854,052,899.50

Capital Stock Other Capital Accounts Retained Earnings

PhP

2,533,200,985.17 197,563,552.34 4,367,064,231.02

2,533,200,985.17 115,731,367.37 4,367,064,231.02

TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

PhP

7,097,828,768.53

7,015,996,583.56

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

PhP

41,041,487,362.29

38,870,049,483.06

LIABILITIES

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Moody’s: Manufacturing rose faster in September THE manufacturing sector likely grew faster in September at 4.1 percent from 2.8 percent in August on strong external demand for locally-manufactured products, Moody’s Analytics, a division of Moody’s Corp., said in a report over the weekend.

“Industrial production in the Philippines likely grew 4.1 percent year-on-year in September… Although the Philippines has a small exportmanufacturing sector compared with other economies in the region, industrial production has still benefited from the upswing

in global demand,” Moody’s said in a report.

It said exports of electronics and components went up 10.9 percent year-on-year to August, after a 1.8 percent rise in the same period last year.

“Firm external demand along with strong investment, which is driving up production of products such as cement, are expected to continue supporting industrial production,” it said.

The government is scheduled to release the September manufacturing data this week.

Manufacturing output in Au-

gust recovered from its decline in July and the National Economic and Development Authority said the trend would improve in the last quarter of the year.

The Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries of the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that the volume of production index increased2.8 percent in August, following a 3.5-percent decline in July.

The value of production index also rose 2.4 percent in August from a drop of 2 percent in the previous month. Julito G. Rada

Financial Standby Letters of Credit Performance Standby Letters of Credit Commercial Letters of Credit Trade Related Guarantees Commitments Spot Foreign Exchange Contracts Trust Department Accounts a) Trust and Other Fiduciary Accounts b) Agency Accounts c) Advisory/Consultancy Derivatives Others

PhP

TOTAL CONTINGENT ACCOUNTS

1,959,176,250.02 145,214,856.74 845,980,300.41 12,249,717.98 989,780,000.00 1,757,216,355.92 1,627,591,742.83 709,925,255.83 917,666,487.00 0.00 8,664,483,654.22 872,566,752.17

1,851,822,439.16 315,191,557.38 679,957,452.98 72,231,982.15 605,640,000.00 3,426,865,835.64 1,566,569,056.34 652,951,612.77 913,617,443.57 0.00 10,510,046,368.06 465,616,476.68

PhP

16,874,259,630.29

19,493,941,168.39

PhP PhP

30,930,205,257.47 357,293,410.12

30,113,559,202.69 370,933,170.70

PhP PhP

427,998,126.17 1.38% 70,704,716.05 0.23% 170.07%

445,600,591.58 1.48% 74,667,420.88 0.25% 159.37%

83.48%

83.24%

PhP

571,415,909.32

585,900,732.67

PhP

21,310,915.89

31,493,412.94

PhP

0.07% 0.00

0.10% 0.00

0.00%

0.00%

3.08% 4.40% 3.80%

3.10% 3.37% 3.71%

19.46% 18.59% 18.59%

20.36% 19.50% 19.50%

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Gross Total Loan Portfolio (TLP) Specific Allowance for credit losses on the TLP Non-performing Loans (NPLs) a. Gross NPLs b. Ratio of gross NPLs to gross TLP (%) c. Net NPLs d. Ratio of Net NPLs to gross TLP (%) e. Ratio of total allowance for credit losses to gross NPL (%) f. Ratio of specific allowance for credit losses on the gross TLP to gross NPL (%) Classified Loans & Other Risk Assets, gross of allowance for credit losses DOSRI Loans and receivables, gross of allowance for credit losses Ratio of DOSRI Loans and receivables, gross of allowance for credit losses, to TLP (%) Gross Non-performing DOSRI loans and receivables Ratio of gross non-performing DOSRI loans and receivable to TLP (%) Percent Compliance with Magna Carta (%) a. 8% for Micro and Small Enterprises b. 2% for Medium Enterprises Return on Equity (ROE) (%) Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) on Solo Basis a. Total CAR (%) b. TIER 1 Ratio (%) c. CET 1 (%)

I/ We hereby certify that all matters set forth in this Published Balance Sheet are true and correct, to the best of my knowledge and belief.

(Sgd.) ANDREW A. FALCON Chief Finance Officer-OIC

MR. W Vice Ch

DIREC MR. PE MR. FR MR. CH MR. ED MR. NG

EXECU

MR. PE Preside

MR. ISM Senior

MS. JAM Execut

MR. OL Execut

MS. MA Senior

MS. CE Senior

MR. ED Senior

MR. JIM Senior

MR. JO Senior

MR. RA Senior

CONTINGENT ACCOUNTS

INNOVATION PLATFORM. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez (seventh from left) calls on startups and investors to take part in transforming Asean into a regional hub for innovation during his keynote speech during the Slingshot Asean Startup and Innovation Summit at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.

With Lopez are Asean director-general for operations Marciano Paynor Jr. (sixth from left), Trade Undersecretary Nora Terrado (fifth from left), Export Marketing Bureau director Senen Perlada (left), presidential adviser Joey Concepcion (fourth from left) and YEI Advisory chief executive Victoria Elenowitz (second from left).

MR. JA Chairm

(Sgd.) WEI, ERH - CHANG (a.k.a. PETER WEI) President and CEO

MR. REM Senior

MR. AN Senior

MR. MA Senior

MR. LO Senior

B2

Business

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

San Miguel set to acquire 4.24b shares of Pure Foods DIVERSIFIED conglomerate San Miguel Corp. said it will acquire 4.24 billion in additional common shares in food manufacturing unit San Miguel Pure Foods Co. Inc. San Miguel said in a regulatory filing its board of directors in a special meeting held Nov 3. approved the subscription to an additional 4.24 billion common shares in SMPFC to be issued out of the increase in the unit’s authorized capital stock, stock split and corresponding amendment to its articles of incorporation.

“The subscription amount valued at P336,349,294,992.60 was based on the independent valuation expert report of ING Bank N.V. presented to the board of directors, with Standard Chartered Bank as the transaction adviser,” San Miguel said.

In exchange, San Miguel will

convey its 7.859 billion common shares in San Miguel Brewery Inc. and 216,972 million common shares of Ginebra San Miguel Inc. as full payment for the subscription to the new additional shares.

San Miguel said it would file a request for a tax-free ruling from the Bureau of Internal Revenue relating to the exchange of shares.

It will notify the Philippine Competition Commission of the transaction between San Miguel and SMPFC and the non-application of the requirement to obtain PCC approval to proceed with the transaction It will also obtain the relevant consents and approvals of the Philippine Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the listing by SMPFC of the new shares.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Flat trading likely; eyes on earnings of blue chips

By Jenniffer B. Austria

S

HARE prices are expected to move sideways this week after the market rallied to near the 8,600-point level in the past week, with investors focusing on third-quarter earnings report of listed companies.

A slew of companies including market heavyweights Ayala Group, Aboitiz Group, San Miguel Corp. and PLDT Inc. are scheduled to release their third quarter financial reports this week ahead of the fiveday holiday next week to give way to the Asean leaders’ meeting.

Aside from the third-quarter financial performance, investors are expected to look at spending plans of firms for next year and earnings outlook or earnings guidance for

2017 and 2018.

BPI Asset Management said foreign investors, after taking quick profit following the market’s new record close last week, are slowly coming back, with overseas turning out be net buyers in the last two trading days.

Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia last week said the domestic economy likely grew between 6.3 percent and 7.3 percent in the third quarter,

Pernia, who is also National Economic and Development Authority director-general, said the growth might have been driven by strong consumption and recovering exports.

The 30-company PSEi last week advanced by 0.97 percent to 8,376.13 on a shortened trading week, while the broader All Shares Index climbed 0.85 percent to 4,898.90.

The index hit a new all time high of 8,605.15 on Thursday before succumbing to profit taking on Friday.

Among the sub-indices, the industrial posted the biggest gain which rose 2.83 percent, followed by holding firms and financial which gained 1.1 percent and 0.89

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 3, 2017 Close Volume Value

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources Citystate Savings COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. First Abacus I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine trust Co. PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

4.82 59.95 144.00 95.60 33.45 3.90 2.26 9.89 15.88 32.45 8.00 0.69 1.7 940.00 0.650 90 0.81 12.62 25.00 58.00 90 104.9 241 58.85 248.8 1930.00 87.15 1.25

1,504,000 68,880 9,651,570 9,190,760 311,100 19,000 1,967,000 1,000 5,400 3,872,900 3,500 8,000 149,000 290 1,881,000 7,408,790 1,514,000 96,000 5,500 1,018,560 1,230 840 5,660 816,860 1,000,720 1,725 137,970 208,000

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Basic Energy Corp.

Bogo Medelin C. Azuc De Tarlac Cemex Holdings Century Food Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Eagle Cement Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Euro-Med Lab First Gen Corp.

First Holdings ‘A’ Ginebra San Miguel Inc. Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp.

Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ MG Holdings Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp.

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Petroenergy Res. Corp.

Phil H2O Pilipinas Shell Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas Holdings San Miguel ‘Pure Foods `A’ SFA Semicon Shakeys Pizza SPC Power Corp.

Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

40.5 11.8 0.76 1.38 19.7 0.221 102 18.12 4.39 14 68 44.3 63.75 1.9 6.1 11.52 10.240 14.96 7.18 5.84 12.46 1.76 17.96 63.15 15.54 12.10 18.8 1.750 248.20 60.60 4.15 3.14 22.80 31 19 17.36 290.20 0.205 11.00 2.81 9.65 6.44 7.33 62.5 9.50 1.70 11.70 6.54 4.70 4.8 308 2.1 12.94 4.71 0.140 1.19 142 3.25 2.12 0.94

2,950,600 8,937,500 670,000 898,000 41,800 31,960,000 140 3,100 47,946,000 4,698,300 1,750 1,719,100 1,011,170 276,000 252,000 10,200 8,958,600 5,625,900 3,563,600 42,562,300 464,100 68,000 3,853,100 239,730 28,600 481,600 9,186,600 480,000 1,834,910 3,100 1,217,000 536,900 8,200 2,047,200 986,200 8,376,800 2,305,080 8,540,000 237,496 589,000 8,351,000 191,100 428,100 819,660 112,100 3,869,000 71,542,000 50,000 269,000 98,000 52,950 1,402,000 2,155,800 168,000 1,270,000 539,000 4,634,930 15,000 8,343,000 153,000

Abacus Cons. `A’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor `A’ ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp `A’ Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ Filinvest Dev. Corp.

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings `B’ Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

LT Group Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Pacifica `A’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion Republic Glass ‘A’ San Miguel Corp `A’ Seafront `A’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. Top Frontier Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.350 72.00 15.86 1.08 7.06 0.445 0.445 1061 8.49 15.60 5 7.75 0.192 1200 7.96 74.00 5.05 5.37 5.8 0.82 17 6.74 0.0530 1.300 2.100 2.61 101.30 2.58 967.00 1.44 297.600 0.2600 0.1850 0.212

730,000 3,078,370 16,788,600 186,000 200,800 39,920,000 8,090,000 1,720,480 13,326,700 14,469,600 7,100 194,700 60,000 602,775 88,700 5,082,040 20,200 500 7,629,800 1,496,000 7,851,700 41,725,900 99,300,000 6,586,000 870,000 2,000 1,168,160 28,000 1,451,360 913,000 4,450 5,950,000 840,000 1,110,000

8990 HLDG Anchor Land Holdings Inc. A. Brown Co., Inc. Araneta Prop `A’ Arthaland Corp.

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ Cebu Holdings CEB Landmasters Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport `A’

5.400 8.88 1.04 2.480 0.980 44.000 3.85 5.4 4.91 0.510 1.26 1.250 0.202 0.480 40.05 0.680 0.142 1.51 2.00 0.86

1,686,000 111,800 11,515,000 1,715,000 5,086,000 35,351,900 3,140,000 25,800 1,465,000 11,941,000 245,000 249,000 43,140,000 2,090,000 1,013,500 5,873,500 120,000 6,354,000 26,544,000 11,105,000

FINANCIAL 7,442,230.00 4,101,913.50 1,376,395,662.00 899,248,656.00 10,443,595.00 74,090.00 4,467,010.00 9,931.00 85,192.00 125,914,415.00 28,271.00 5,520.00 254,190.00 272,850.00 1,217,880.00 658,854,895.50 1,218,190.00 1,221,112.00 137,750.00 59,342,255.00 110,070.00 84,371.00 1,379,622.00 48,447,689.50 251,785,794.00 3,352,050.00 12,004,925.00 265,750.00 INDUSTRIAL 122,865,400.00 106,125,592.00 495,530.00 1,227,360.00 805,060.00 7,439,570.00 14,291.00 56,114.00 215,300,980.00 85,484,499.00 120,432.00 75,875,420.00 64,640,924.50 528,140.00 1,569,650.00 116,022.00 92,349,728.00 83,188,604.00 25,551,106.00 248,921,736.00 5,755,252.00 118,160.00 68,606,440.00 15,206,194.00 445,410.00 5,816,342.00 164,185,698.00 838,530.00 458,857,558.00 187,860.00 5,138,890.00 14,992,830.00 183,405.00 63,343,645.00 17,360,494.00 142,081,026.00 674,490,272.00 1,731,700.00 759,496.00 1,674,390.00 81,655,275.00 1,222,716.00 3,153,913.00 51,233,212.50 1,070,822.00 6,567,240.00 822,982,654.00 327,698.00 1,262,220.00 467,500.00 16,300,916.00 2,929,710.00 27,918,044.00 791,930.00 177,060.00 641,640.00 657,129,191.00 48,750.00 17,602,020.00 144,900.00 HOLDING FIRMS 251,300.00 226,351,322.50 267,491,190.00 195,100.00 1,412,990.00 17,373,700.00 3,569,450.00 1,855,691,195.00 113,399,072.00 226,443,164.00 35,350.00 1,491,476.00 11,480.00 720,531,370.00 687,462.00 386,868,924.00 104,159.00 2,685.00 44,082,914.00 1,206,900.00 138,568,246.00 284,756,369.00 5,119,020.00 9,157,430.00 1,817,130.00 5,220.00 121,183,403.00 72,240.00 1,753,024,225.00 1,311,170.00 1,323,200.00 1,546,700.00 156,220.00 225,740.00 PROPERTY 9,040,645.00 972,570.00 12,122,080.00 4,283,010.00 5,012,300.00 1,554,963,035.00 12,032,420.00 139,320.00 7,170,970.00 6,092,150.00 306,340.00 309,540.00 8,606,050.00 964,800.00 40,651,515.00 4,537,460.00 17,070.00 9,623,940.00 52,889,300.00 9,377,850.00

OCTOBER 23-27, 2017 Close Volume Value 4.76 59 138.00 98.00 33.6 3.90 2.30

1,463,000 13,080 13,393,850 7,919,060 1,196,700 106,000 10,921,000

7,160,090.00 776,549.50 1,818,746,261.00 774,530,895.50 40,153,325.00 411,220.00 25,910,430.00

15.88 32.05 8.23 0.65 1.7 935.00 0.650 88.95 0.81 12.8 25.00 57.90 90 101 242 59.05 252 1915.00 86.90 1.26

66,600 4,812,000 50,600 21,000 36,000 1,880 4,876,000 9,017,240 2,236,000 45,900 11,900 1,126,140 5,300 2,690 16,720 2,231,610 2,041,700 1,010 58,530 1,641,000

1,042,260.00 151,912,845.00 416,451.00 13,770.00 61,780.00 1,745,315.00 3,202,650.00 792,531,538.50 1,806,820.00 587,154.00 297,285.00 65,551,459.50 625,306.00 277,073.00 4,016,154.00 135,739,157.00 518,473,090.00 1,954,500.00 5,085,592.00 2,088,800.00

42 11.78 0.76 1.38 19.78 0.228 102.2 18.40 4.66 15.28 70 44.5 65 1.92 6.36 11.68 10.300 14.66 7.10 5.77 12.66

3,856,800 9,760,900 869,000 4,603,000 77,800 17,350,000 800 12,800 74,941,300 8,903,300 830 2,661,600 33,550 502,000 376,300 59,400 55,744,900 6,338,900 10,155,100 44,833,200 783,600

162,555,155.00 113,581,996.00 651,560.00 6,396,320.00 1,542,113.00 3,890,920.00 81,665.00 239,420.00 371,536,646.00 134,721,836.00 58,940.00 119,578,190.00 2,142,475.00 954,350.00 2,437,701.00 688,612.00 568,271,058.00 92,490,884.00 70,561,045.00 254,807,301.00 10,083,882.00

17.7 63 15.20 11.90 17.42 1.750 249.80

5,716,400 444,660 297,700 1,322,500 10,139,700 1,791,000 3,820,570

99,347,248.00 28,054,706.50 4,745,700.00 15,861,698.00 184,144,484.00 3,131,290.00 952,827,450.00

4.29 3.19 22.90 30.6 19.3 16.4 290.00 0.216 10.80 2.9 9.95 6.34 7.5 62.6 9.69 1.71 11.42 6.72 4.68 4.77 307 2.07 13.1 4.63 0.140 1.21 142 3.25 2.12 0.94

6,954,300 98,000 13,000 3,765,400 289,200 7,318,400 2,577,900 2,050,000 142,000 3,551,000 5,303,600 420,800 2,478,600 2,218,640 72,800 3,741,000 1,626,300 115,600 1,195,000 398,000 28,200 4,436,000 2,736,000 284,000 4,900,000 255,000 3,326,560 61,000 48,571,000 1,429,000

31,309,028.00 312,680.00 280,030.00 115,422,250.00 5,534,206.00 119,203,994.00 738,703,834.00 436,640.00 1,545,614.00 10,451,910.00 52,548,701.00 2,629,306.00 18,335,565.00 138,372,052.00 707,949.00 6,456,800.00 19,016,404.00 760,368.00 5,652,300.00 1,875,540.00 8,677,822.00 9,461,540.00 35,720,696.00 1,314,550.00 686,300.00 308,410.00 466,258,619.00 199,160.00 104,552,250.00 1,355,940.00

0.340 74.90 15.88 1.10 7.01 0.440 0.440 1030 8.49 15.68 4.9 7.55 0.191 1140 7.75 74.60 5.5 5.37 5.7 0.8 17.96 6.7 0.0540 1.540 2.110 2.72 103.00 2.58 935.00 1.43 299.000 0.2700 0.1860 0.215

950,000 2,907,110 31,506,500 16,000 596,500 161,010,000 37,310,000 2,006,915 26,741,700 28,718,300 1,000 80,600 2,800,000 601,795 183,200 3,136,460 48,500 2,700 22,596,300 10,278,000 2,732,600 93,100,400 177,160,000 18,459,000 1,793,000 24,000 2,355,280 36,000 1,533,810 3,552,000 47,840 160,000 2,160,000 2,010,000

319,200.00 215,414,696.00 482,806,398.00 16,840.00 4,196,665.00 72,271,150.00 16,730,900.00 2,041,321,725.00 227,379,283.00 447,132,526.00 4,900.00 608,660.00 540,310.00 693,755,135.00 1,421,589.00 235,413,738.00 248,131.00 14,534.00 143,508,065.00 8,464,830.00 48,680,422.00 630,331,948.00 9,607,080.00 29,705,440.00 3,753,670.00 63,460.00 241,948,355.00 92,890.00 1,451,462,980.00 5,118,740.00 14,120,186.00 42,450.00 407,000.00 414,240.00

5.210 8.50 1.08 2.400 0.980 43.350 3.76 5.4 4.85 0.520 1.24 1.230 0.199 0.475 40.8 0.670 0.147 1.50 1.94 0.78

3,562,100 46,500 13,705,000 441,000 9,548,800 49,640,900 2,384,000 284,500 5,128,000 37,096,000 1,196,000 2,085,000 89,690,000 2,420,000 1,027,400 2,031,000 2,060,000 31,517,000 64,592,000 6,463,000

17,774,541.00 400,275.00 14,773,870.00 1,051,400.00 10,274,270.00 2,154,145,750.00 8,902,090.00 1,530,643.00 24,670,020.00 18,914,630.00 1,472,310.00 2,551,040.00 18,364,610.00 1,129,600.00 42,085,080.00 1,377,570.00 294,580.00 47,349,970.00 124,370,880.00 5,021,430.00

STOCKS

OCTOBER 30-NOVEMBER 3, 2017 Close Volume Value

Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’ Primex Corp.

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

5.64 0.335 0.4100 0.540 6.75 24.65 1.81 3.22 37.40 1.03 7.29 0.860 6.070

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Apollo Global Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ.

Chelsea DFNN Inc. FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ IPeople Inc. `A’ IPM Holdings Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones LBC Express Leisure & Resorts Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp.

Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp.

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Wilcon Depot

19.28 39.3 1.5 0.520 0.051 11 5.02 9.90 0.0670 108 8.2 9.77 7.40 965 2030 5.92 18.50 2.83 101.5 2.60 11.86 8.37 0.159 1.4000 3.23 15.4 4.00 1.28 20.90 17.18 0.550 2.73 7.04 4.03 2.370 11 5.07 2.9 177.00 8.53 1660.00 0.395 1.410 51.10 93.50 6.04 3.80 1.790 2 3.87 0.980 8.330

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

United Paragon

0.0024 1.74 5.04 15.44 2.1800 1.8100 1.65 0.385 8.03 2.970 0.265 0.174 0.184 0.010 0.0110 1.99 7.4 1.81 0.4950 1.0700 0.0120 0.0140 7.90 8.89 0.0120 2.2900 41.30 0.0075

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ Alco Preferred B DD PREF First Gen F GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

38.8 532 530 107.3 105.3 106 539.5 5.58 1039 1030 1.06 112.9 1145 1007 106 108.3 75.3 81.7 76.45 78.1 82.45 79 79.1 1.95

LR Warrant

2.390

Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Philab Holdings Xurpas

2.9 7.88 3.75 5.32

First Metro ETF

127.8

OCTOBER 23-27, 2017 Close Volume Value

161,962,300 78,200,000 30,480,000 16,362,000 4,352,100 5,656,500 1,483,000 4,999,000 24,668,800 3,737,000 2,300 77,000 13,138,200

906,009,954.00 25,509,400.00 11,953,500.00 8,614,790.00 28,974,376.00 143,784,065.00 2,684,810.00 15,995,900.00 920,785,475.00 3,796,940.00 16,404.00 66,310.00 79,787,688.00 SERVICES 160,800 3,096,140.00 43,800 1,703,540.00 387,000 586,940.00 3,291,000 1,715,010.00 176,150,000 9,065,430.00 1,903,900 20,942,900.00 4,800 24,362.00 69,462,500 668,924,450.00 72,720,000 4,935,000.00 659,810 72,172,732.00 1,100 9,770.00 3,032,500 28,917,683.00 13,100 93,913.00 60 57,900.00 261,775 532,623,600.00 1,063,300 6,284,646.00 59,500 1,087,564.00 52,487,000 148,575,510.00 2,193,430 228,727,296.00 28,000 72,880.00 6,500 77,090.00 1,180,700 9,891,907.00 8,960,000 1,394,360.00 472,000 657,110.00 139,000 449,360.00 7,300 113,760.00 2,817,000 11,361,080.00 3,932,000 5,087,820.00 11,706,000 233,342,890.00 4,600 78,844.00 43,000 23,910.00 629,000 1,734,270.00 15,120,100 105,967,747.00 1,329,000 5,338,080.00 5,821,000 13,469,970.00 19,200 211,250.00 34,200 172,946.00 105,000 307,940.00 5,370 941,692.00 17,628,300 160,553,927.00 282,450 480,073,635.00 400,000 156,850.00 43,783,000 63,169,910.00 9,414,750 484,470,204.50 3,870,230 373,472,305.00 155,100 921,358.00 9,103,000 35,367,510.00 88,661,000 160,166,340.00 9,000 17,410.00 994,000 3,870,510.00 34,592,000 34,205,350.00 7,612,100 63,653,098.00 MINING & OIL 644,000,000 1,547,900.00 23,063,000 39,969,640.00 438,900 2,172,184.00 312,678 16,986.00 33,000 60,790.00 5,000 9,050.00 20,418,000 33,330,780.00 1,130,000 433,200.00 15,600 126,054.00 123,715,000 362,204,700.00 780,000 196,950.00 44,140,000 7,695,800.00 1,380,000 252,220.00 67,100,000 673,100.00 24,100,000 265,100.00 4,847,000 9,764,980.00 45,917,700 336,336,186.00 472,000 846,410.00 226,000 112,435.00 6,153,000 6,633,020.00 140,600,000 1,737,900.00 96,900,000 1,356,600.00 4,346,400 34,041,953.00 20,208,500 169,159,591.00 60,000,000 660,300.00 105,000 238,430.00 4,891,800 204,668,690.00 26,000,000 195,000.00 PREFERRED 49,200 1,944,790.00 250 133,000.00 230 121,900.00 1,070 114,881.00 20,770 2,192,360.00 10 1,060.00 500 269,750.00 1,482,800 8,311,759.00 985 1,002,675.00 7,745 7,977,875.00 137,000 145,810.00 5,050 553,787.00 960 1,099,200.00 1,000 1,008,150.00 10,210 1,082,196.00 1,200 129,800.00 12,450 940,753.50 101,190 8,214,468.00 5,350 409,007.50 170,420 13,306,412.00 32,070 2,588,132.00 68,620 5,422,920.00 73,550 5,810,460.00 9,000 17,800.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 576,000 1,396,330.00 SME 1,000 2,900.00 14,861,600 115,651,230.00 702,000 2,687,090.00 2,171,400 11,530,316.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 85,030 10,948,803.00

5.32 0.315 0.3700 0.540 6.81 25.20 1.82 3.11 35.70 1.03 7.34 0.860 5.980

111,490,800 72,570,000 15,130,000 48,850,000 10,428,200 7,206,000 1,593,000 980,000 26,994,900 7,947,000 5,600 283,000 18,460,900

590,388,430.00 22,920,850.00 5,783,900.00 26,343,180.00 70,592,693.00 181,433,330.00 2,888,130.00 3,047,740.00 970,788,785.00 8,119,840.00 38,989.00 241,510.00 106,257,641.00

19.44 38.8 1.52 0.530 0.054 10.98 5.02 9.50 0.0690 107 8.98 9.4 7.56 960 2042 5.95 18.62 2.46 104 2.65 12.1 8.38 0.154 1.4000 3.25 15.22 4.00 1.31 18.88 16.30 0.550 2.87 6.7 4.05 2.200 10.96 5.10 2.99 181.00 8.05 1679.00 0.390 1.440 51.00 94.45 5.90 3.91 1.740 2.05 3.87 0.950 8.490

349,900 86,800 1,418,000 1,740,000 438,660,000 8,200 11,600 60,193,200 43,290,000 1,091,080 11,100 14,014,200 109,900 100 167,295 1,959,200 107,100 23,923,000 3,253,690 105,000 200 1,577,500 11,500,000 1,055,000 337,000 22,800 3,011,000 8,559,000 16,850,800 4,500 851,000 1,643,000 26,711,600 1,938,000 3,773,000 31,100 25,600 2,313,000 404,730 2,984,900 493,205 7,230,000 186,295,000 10,904,640 5,031,810 722,000 10,470,000 78,347,000 37,000 4,952,000 78,442,000 8,145,800

6,956,317.00 3,367,305.00 2,230,650.00 919,730.00 23,185,400.00 89,996.00 58,430.00 582,008,267.00 3,028,720.00 117,788,705.00 99,170.00 138,243,184.00 787,872.00 96,000.00 337,672,630.00 11,684,025.00 2,060,050.00 60,702,760.00 335,655,394.00 275,930.00 2,420.00 13,217,778.00 1,768,980.00 1,446,210.00 1,057,920.00 347,928.00 12,110,040.00 11,641,240.00 326,678,414.00 74,600.00 468,050.00 4,726,170.00 194,784,543.00 7,859,010.00 8,345,240.00 340,524.00 129,453.00 6,948,160.00 70,834,710.00 24,954,527.00 845,779,230.00 2,841,750.00 259,179,900.00 554,064,611.50 468,387,709.00 4,380,093.00 42,262,020.00 133,183,210.00 71,430.00 18,969,630.00 73,128,620.00 68,861,408.00

0.0024 1.72 4.93 14.98 1.8700 1.8100 1.68 0.385 8.18 2.800 0.260 0.185 0.198 0.010 0.0110 1.94 6.78 1.75 0.4950 1.0100 0.0120 0.0130 7.55 7.88 0.0110 2.3300 42.55 0.0075

278,000,000 29,663,000 448,100 33,400 223,000 216,000 70,879,000 530,000 21,700 84,070,000 2,000,000 66,110,000 9,880,000 81,500,000 218,700,000 5,061,000 18,512,000 439,000 1,961,000 1,299,000 19,300,000 306,600,000 7,676,400 33,429,900 122,000,000 287,000 11,655,000 29,000,000

680,500.00 51,517,900.00 2,208,476.00 491,620.00 406,610.00 391,190.00 120,084,440.00 202,250.00 178,258.00 224,719,730.00 501,500.00 12,087,230.00 1,898,930.00 873,200.00 2,505,900.00 10,117,900.00 126,121,910.00 754,810.00 980,720.00 1,322,410.00 240,200.00 4,089,700.00 58,051,345.00 271,302,659.00 1,342,000.00 685,220.00 488,247,300.00 218,500.00

39 532 520 107.3 106 107.9 539.5 5.66 1040 1030 1.07 110 1150 1007

440,100 33,650 440 8,300 30,280 350 2,990 1,683,200 1,525 205 335,000 40,160 55 11,640

17,160,310.00 17,901,800.00 228,800.00 893,300.00 3,199,256.00 37,765.00 1,613,105.00 9,553,823.00 1,556,000.00 211,225.00 354,900.00 4,337,630.00 63,070.00 11,749,695.00

112.8 76 81.95 76.45 78.1 80.85 78.5 78.7 1.95

300 78,380 371,440 26,670 25,760 226,850 96,700 170,000 7,000

33,840.00 5,915,448.00 30,133,916.50 2,392,237.00 2,011,856.00 18,179,533.00 7,643,880.00 13,390,142.00 15,300.00

2.410

669,000

1,589,500.00

6.43 4.05 5.34

13,807,500 398,000 2,720,000

87,218,882.00 1,632,670.00 14,742,257.00

125

75,930

9,549,742.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining Apollo Global Megaworld Oriental Pet. `A’ Ferronickel Pacifica `A’ Oriental Pet. `B’ STI Holdings MRC Allied Ind. Boulevard Holdings

VOLUME 644,000,000 176,150,000 161,962,300 140,600,000 123,715,000 99,300,000 96,900,000 88,661,000 78,200,000 72,720,000

STOCKS Ayala Corp `A’ SM Investments Inc. Ayala Land `B’ Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. SM Prime Holdings Megaworld Bank of PI Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

GT Capital Mla. Elect. Co `A’

VALUE 1,855,691,195.00 1,753,024,225.00 1,554,963,035.00 1,376,395,662.00 920,785,475.00 906,009,954.00 899,248,656.00 822,982,654.00 720,531,370.00 674,490,272.00

percent, respectively.

The Mining and oil index advanced 0.79 percent last week on rising metal prices in the world market.

Services, meanwhile, declined 0.59 percent while industrial decreased 0.50 percent.

Foreign investors were net buyers for the week by P1.22 billion. The average daily value traded stood at P8.6 billion from last week’s average of P7.2 billion.

Weekly top price gainer were Megaworld Corp., which advanced 6 percent to P5.64; GT Capital Holdings Inc., which rose 5.3 percent to P1,200; and SM Prime Holdings Inc., which increased 4.7 percent to P37.40.

Weekly top price losers were LT Group Inc., which declined 5.3 percent to P17; Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., which dropped 3.8 percent to P72; and Semirara Mining and Power Corp., which fell 2.9 percent to P41.30.

Wall Street stocks finished at fresh all-time highs Friday, with technology shares especially sky-bound following a solid US jobs report and strong Apple earnings.

All three US indices ended at records, with the Nasdaq gaining the most and the Dow notching its 56th record high of 2017 as third-quarter earnings season entered the home stretch. With AFP

Sta. Lucia borrowing up to P7b to fund capex

By Jenniffer B. Austria PROPERTY developer Sta. Lucia Land Inc. plans to issue between P5 billion and P7 billion worth of debt securities next year to partially finance a P15-billion, threeyear capital expenditure program.

Sta. Lucia executive vice president and chief finance officer David dela Cruz said in a recent interview the company was considering several options in raising fresh funds, including the issuance of bonds or corporate notes with five-year to seven-year tenor.

Dela Cruz said the company’s balance sheet allowed it to gain access to bank loans or issue bonds after Sta. Lucia recently pre-paid P3 billion worth of bonds.

The company currently has no plans of tapping the equities market because its shares are undervalued.

“We will sell equity at the right time but right now, there are no plans because our shares are highly undervalued,” dela Cruz said.

Sta. Lucia in September reported that earmarked P15 billion in capital expenditures over the next three to five years to develop a recurring income business and complete residential projects.

The property firm said it planed to develop more retail, commercial and tourism-related establishments to complement its massive residential developments.

Dela Cruz said Sta. Lucia has six to eight 8 condotel projects under Sotogrande brand located in Davao, Iloilo, Fairview in Quezon City and Katipunan, also in Quezon City.

The company also plans to develop retail establishments within its residential projects across the country.

Dela Cruz said the company aimed to maintain or surpass its 20 percent compounded annual growth rate from 2010 to 2016.

Bussiness/World IN BRIEF Princes held in sweeping Saudi purge RIYADH―Saudi Arabia arrested 11 princes, including a prominent billionaire, and dozens of current and former ministers, reports said, in a sweeping crackdown as the kingdom’s young crown prince consolidates power.

Separately, the head of the Saudi National Guard, once a leading contender to the throne, as well as the navy chief and the economy minister were replaced in a series of high-profile sackings that sent shock waves in the kingdom.

The crackdown was reported immediately after a new anti-corruption commission, headed by powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was established by royal decree late Saturday.

Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported that the princes, four current and dozens of former ministers were arrested as the commission launched a probe into old cases such as floods that devastated the Red Sea city of Jeddah in 2009. AFP

Securing nukes requires US invasion, says report WASHINGTON―The only certain way to locate and secure all North Korea’s nuclear weapons sites would be via a US ground invasion, the Washington Post reported Saturday, citing a letter from Pentagon officials sent to US lawmakers.

It said the letter, reportedly written by the vice director of the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, noted that such a conflict could prompt Pyongyang to deploy biological and chemical weapons.

The report detailing the prospect of war on the Korean peninsula comes as President Donald Trump embarks on a nearly twoweek Asia tour, with the North’s nuclear and missile program expected to top the agenda.

The US Defense Department sent the letter in response to a request from

two members of Congress for details regarding “expected casualty assessments in a conflict with North Korea” for US and allied forces in Japan, South Korea and Guam as well as civilians, the Post said.

Tensions have soared over North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs in recent months, goaded by Trump and Pyongyang leader Kim Jong-Un’s fiery exchanges of insults and warnings of conflict.

On Saturday, North Korea welcomed Trump to the region by threatening to increase its nuclear arsenal and saying the idea of talks was “daydreaming,” according to the state-run KCNA news agency.

Neither the US president nor his fierce rhetoric were mentioned in the letter, the Post said. AFP

PRESENTATION. In this photograph taken on November 4, 2017, French Prime Minister Edouard Phillipe (C) listens during a presentation by The Lumina Association at “le cozy” co-sharing workspace in Fort de France, Martinique. AFP

Trump boasts of US resolve T

OKYO―President Donald Trump warned Sunday that “no dictator” should underestimate the United States, as he launched an Asia tour that will be dominated by the North Korea nuclear crisis.

27 killed in typhoon in Vietnam DANANG, Vietnam― At least 27 people have died and nearly two dozen are missing after Typhoon Damrey barreled into Vietnam, authorities said Sunday, damaging tens of thousands of homes and submerging highways days before the country welcomes world leaders to the APEC summit.

The storm, which made landfall on Saturday, is the worst in decades to strike the country’s southern coastal region, an area normally spared the typhoons that usually hit further north.

More than 40,000 homes were damaged as heavy rain and 130 kph winds tore through the area, leaving 27 dead and 22 reported missing, according to the disaster management office.

Coastal Khanh Hoa province, home to the popular white sand Nha Trang beach, was hardest hit with 16 dead and 10 injured, the government said. AFP

CLARO G. GANAC, DBA

GREEN LIGHT (Part 1 of 2)

IN what was before a sleepy, old district of Calumpang, Marikina in the eastern side of Metro Manila, the construction of a new Ayala Mall called Feliz is being rushed for soft opening not later than December this year. According to Inquirer Business, Ayala Land—synonymous to quality properties—is expanding its mall network with the opening of 11 new shopping malls in 2017 and 2018.

Upscaling malls In recent years, mall developers in the Philippines have not been only expanding in quantity but more so upscaling to new lifestyle-oriented branded mall properties or upgrading existing ones to cater to the level-up preferences of mall customers.

Even traditional mall developer SM Prime came up with an alternative concept called SM Aura and spruced up its SM North Mall with a mall called The Box, to cater to high-end customers some years ago.

Redefining the concept of malls The standard business

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017 Cesar Barrioquinto, Editor

PEACE RALLY. Demostrators dressed as North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and US President Donald Trump embrace during a peace rally in Seoul on November 5, 2017.Thousands of South Koreans called for peace in a protest against a coming visit by Donald Trump as he begins a two-week Asia tour amid tensions over North Korea’s weapons drive. AFP

The rise of lifestyle malls and the cosmopolitan consumer model for mall properties is to build in mainly developed or commercial areas. The architecture and merchant mix of malls are then designed to cater to the target consumers within the mall’s primary target area and market.

But the rise of the likes of Ayala’s UP Town Center Mall, the Marquee in Pampanga and now the Feliz in Marikina appears to defy this strategy of locating in commercial areas and of ex ante matching the mall concept with the anticipated target customer profile.

Metro Manila and the sprawling areas in Laguna, notably the Nuvali district, are now seeing the advent of the new lifestyle malls in the Philippines. The concept of shopping malls is being redefined, as they contend with the significant shift in consumer shopping to online retail portals where shoppers can obtain their typical product needs in the comforts of their homes.

Malls are now places of experiences, not just shopping. A highly observable trend is the growing cosmopolitanism of communities where the lifestyle malls

have sprouted. High-end malls feature famous luxury brands such as Zara, Ferragamo, Lacoste and others which heretofore can only be found in Hong Kong or Singapore. Along with fastfashion retailers like H & M and Uniqlo, they dictate fashion trends and define cosmopolitan taste and sensibility.

Changing the face of communities Lifestyle malls offer greater choices of shopping, dining and recreational experiences than the regular malls. They are distinguished by the presence of famous international brands; good casual dining places notches above the run-of-the-mill fast food restaurants; distinct retail and entertainment concepts; and more modern designs and expansive ambiance that are equated with sophistication and luxury.

Upscale malls are changing the face of communities, even cities. The area in Sta. Rosa leading up to Silang and Tagaytay in Cavite epitomizes the face of the new suburbia because of the Ayala Nuvali development, which spurred Robinsons,

Vista Land and other de- Marketing Research, Public velopers to follow suit and Relations among other subbuild their own lifestyle- jects under the undergradubased malls. ate and masters Marketing In Metro Manila, the Management program of landscape is also giving DLSU. way to more upscale developments. The UniverThe views expressed here sity of the Philippines (UP)- are the author’s and do not Balara-Katipunan area used necessarily reflect the official to be lined up by makeshift position of DLSU, its faculty, carinderias that catered to and its administrators.

MWSS employees and Manila students from UP and nearby schools. But they Standard TODAY have given way to prime, classy restaurants plus foreign fashion brands galore with the incursion of the UP Town Center Mall into this community. (To be continued next week.)

Dr. Gañac is assistant professorial lecturer in the Ramon Del Rosario College of Business of the De La Salle University. He joined the academe in 2012 after a broad career in corporate communications, corporate marketing, corporate social responsibility and investor relations spanning more than 30 years. He teaches Consumer Behavior,

Speaking to cheering military personnel at Yokota Air Base just west of Tokyo, Trump donned a bomber jacket and issued a threat that “no one, no dictator, no regime and no nation should underestimate... American resolve.”

“Every once in a while in the past, they underestimated us. It was not pleasant for them, was it?” roared Trump.

“We will never yield, never waver and never falter in defense of our people, our freedom and our great American flag.”

Trump’s marathon trip comes with the North Korea crisis at fever pitch, as US bombers fly sorties over the Korean peninsula and fears mount of another Pyongyang missile test.

According to the Washington Post, Pentagon officials have warned that the only way to locate and secure North Korea’s nuclear weapons sites would be via a ground invasion.

The president’s first stops are Japan and South Korea― frontline US allies in the effort to force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program, and the two countries with most to fear should a fullscale conflict break out.

Trump touched down under clear blue Tokyo skies and stepped out with his wife Melania in bright sunshine to greet the crowds.

Speaking to reporters on the plane, he announced he would likely be meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin during the tour, as the international community scrambles for a solution to the North Korean crisis.

“I think it’s expected we’ll meet with Putin, yeah. We want Putin’s help on North

Korea, and we’ll be meeting with a lot of different leaders,” said Trump.

He added that North Korea was a “big problem for our country and for the world, and we want to get it solved” but had kind words for the people in the hermit state.

“I think they’re great people. They’re industrious. They’re warm, much warmer than the world really knows or understands.

They’re great people. And I hope it all works out for everybody,” he said.

The next stop was a golfing date with his “friend” Shinzo Abe, prime minister of Japan, with whom he enjoys a close personal relationship.

Trump joked with reporters on Air Force One that they should not believe him if he claims to outhit Hedeki Matsuyama, one of the world’s best players who joined the leaders on the course.

Abe has emerged strengthened from a crushing victory in a snap election and has firmly supported Trump in his policy of exerting maximum pressure on Kim, backed up with the threat of military force.

“I want to further cement the bond of the Japan-US alliance, based on our relations of trust and friendship with President Trump,” Abe said as Trump arrived.

Trump for his part described Japan as a “treasured partner and crucial ally of the US.” “Trump only has to play golf in Japan, as he knows Japan will follow (the US) whatever happens. Everything has been sorted out beforehand,” Tetsuro Kato, political scientist at Tokyo’s Hitotsubashi University, told AFP. AFP

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

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monday, november 6, 2017

Farmers’ plight not ‘fake news,’ group laments

LGUs Local government units

MEDICAL MISSION. Mother and child line up for free medicines while attended by medical staff and pharmacists of the University of Perpetual Help Medical Center at the covered court in Abra de Ilog, Occidental Mindoro. Thousands of residents received free medical and dental services during the one-day corporate social responsibility program of the medical institution in the area.

CEBU CITY—The pro-Duterte mass movement Kilusang Pagbabago has lamented how the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino brushed aside as “fake news” reports of flooding because of an unfinished rehabilitation site for survivors of Super Typhoon “Yolanda.”

Barely a fortnight before the fourth anniversary of “Yolanda,” Barangays Puho, Hatay-Hatay, Calog, Lacayon and Cubay in South Bugasong town in Antique suffered their worst flood in years.

“We are sad that situations like this affecting our poor farmers are brushed aside as fake news. We are attaching pictures of the situation in Lacayon, Bugasong, Antique for the public,” said Fr. Jose Elmer Cajilig, KP Region 6 lead convenor and Visayas co-convenor.

The KP, which has chapters all over the country and abroad, is aligned with the Office for Participatory Governance under the Office of Cabinet Secretary Leoncio Evasco Jr. Cajilig noted that in a Facebook post about the OPAV press statement replying to the news report in Manila Standard, the phrase “fake news” in red color was superimposed. Junex Doronio

4th Manila Bay project OKd

By Bill Casas

M

anila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada has approved another multi-billion-peso reclamation project in Manila Bay—a 318-hectare commercial and tourism hub along the shorelines of Roxas Boulevard.

Called the “Manila Wa- the fourth big-ticket reclaterfront City,” this mixed- mation venture approved use development project is under the Estrada admin-

istration in less than two years’ time.

“Reclamation projects are the cornerstone of our urban renewal program,” said Estrada, during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with Philippine Reclamation Authority Chairman of the Board Alberto Agra, General Manager Janilo Rubiato and Waterfront Manila Premier Development Inc. president Kenneth Gatchal-

ian at the city hall.

“They translate to more lands, better infrastructure, more businesses and more jobs, increased revenues, and better opportunities for all,” Estrada pointed out.

The signed MOU virtually seals the deal for the construction of the new mixeduse development center at another portion of Manila Bay which proponents described will respect the “historic content and character”

of the city of Manila.

The soon-to-be constructed island will host commercial centers and residential buildings, highclass hotels, and entertainment facilities and gaming venues such as casinos, according to Gatchalian.

It will also house amusement parks, medical centers, government offices, schools, and other establishments such as art museums and exhibits, aside

from sports facilities and amenities for aquatic sports such as rowing and sailing.

Most importantly, the man-made island will have a port for international cruise ships.

“The inspiration here is basically expanding what the city of Manila has right now which is its historic character… the concept is basically extending Luneta [Rizal Park] and sticking to the historic content of Ma-

nila which in itself is what it is known for,” Gatchalian said in an interview.

What sets the Manila Waterfront City apart from the other reclamation projects in Manila Bay, Gatchalian pointed out, is its adequate open space “where we give the parks back to the city and the people.”

“It’s a self-sustaining environment but we will not clutter it with concrete infrastructures,” he added.

QC unveils redeveloped T. Morato Avenue

By Rio N. Araja QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista has inaugurated the 2.3-kilometer redevelopment of Tomas Morato Avenue.

Bautista led the opening of the west and east sides of the improved Tomas Morato Avenue sidewalk from Eugenio Lopez Sr. Avenue to E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue.

To deter the occurrence of crimes at dark in the area, the redevelopment project features better illumination through the installation of brighter park

and street lights.

The city government also paved the pedestrian walk with stamped concrete to give the public more walkable space with a regulated parking zone.

According to Bautista, Quezon City, in its advocacy as a green city, has included bicycle lanes and added trees to improve the sidewalk.

Bautista, along with Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and District 4 councilors, also inaugurate other infrastructure projects, such as the road and

drainage improvement on Timog Avenue in Barangay Laging, and west side streets of Scout Limbaga, Scout Fuentabella, Scout Deguia and Scout Delgado.

Meanwhile, the city council has passed a resolution giving Bautista the green light to extend financial aid to the Quezon City Punong Barangay Foundation Inc. District 2 Godofredo Liban II authored City Resolution 7226, authorizing the donation of P500,000 to the city’s 142 barangays.

In Brief Special needs kids’ center approved QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista has approved the creation of a center for children with special needs.

Bautista approved Ordinance 2617, institutionalizing a program for children with special needs and the creation of an assessment and rehabilitation center that shall coordinate the city government’s efforts for such sector.

Councilors Julienne Alyson Rae Medalla of District 5 and Lena Marie Juico introduced the measure that fleshes out the provisions of the Quezon City Children’s Code of 2012, or City Ordinance 2180-2011 mandating the city government to “provide an integrated health service for children with disabilities.”

The city’s center for children with special needs shall provide evaluation and diagnosis of children with suspected or confirmed developmental disorders, therapy services, educational services, special education tutorials, and training of family members and/or guardians. Rio N. Araja

‘Undas’ in Calabarzon ‘generally peaceful’

BINIBINING GENTRI. Twenty-seven lovely candidates vying for Binibining General Trias 2017 posed before photographers at the city hall building on Saturday. The pageant’s coronation night is set Dec. 7 at General Trias Cultural and Convention Center.

Financial literacy training for Ecija co-op ‘Tindahan ni Ate Joy’ brings aid

Global Peace Foundation Philippines, a non-government organization that promotes community development programs, recently collaborated with BDO Foundation, One Network Bank and the provincial government of Nueva Ecija to conduct a financial literacy seminar for the officers and members of the AllLights Village Cooperative and Association.

The training was facilitated by financial literacy expert Salvador Garcia Jr., North Luzon region sales head of ONB, the rural bank subsidiary of BDO Unibank.

Attended by more than 60

participants, the corporate citizenship initiative is in keeping with the educational component of BDO Foundation’s financial inclusion advocacy.

The seminar was designed to empower the cooperative by educating its members on the importance of saving. Participants learned lessons on personal finance and understood the consequences of financial decisions. They also learned the procedures for opening a savings account.

According to the officers of the All-Lights Village Cooperative and Association, the training inspired them

to become more financially responsible and make sound financial decisions for the future of their families. They gained a better appreciation of the importance of saving and insights on money management. Attendees were also encouraged to share the lessons they learned with their children.

All-Lights Village is a long-term program that provides solar-powered light to rural villages with limited access to electricity. It aims to improve the quality of life of residents through education, clean water solutions and income generation.

CAMP VICENTE LIM, Laguna—The observance of All Saints’ Day 2017 or “Undas” in the Calabarzon region was generally peaceful, with a significant decrease in the number of crimes from October 31 to November 2 compared to the same period last year, the Police Regional Office 4A said in a statement.

PRO 4A reported a total of 37 crimes against persons such as murder, homicide, physical injury and rape, compared to 71 crimes last year, during “Undas.” Similarly, crimes against property like robbery, theft, and carnapping also decreased, from 68 incidents last year to 41 this year. Roy Tomandao

Cemetery visitors applaud E-trike help Visitors at the Manila North Cemetery have praised Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada for providing free shuttle services during the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. Estrada has lent 100 electric tricycles (E-trikes) to help people, especially senior citizens and persons with disabilities, go around the 54-hectare cemetery since all kinds of vehicles were prohibited inside.

“We’re glad to be of help. We only want to give at least a small measure of comfort to the elderly and handicapped who were visiting their departed loved ones,” Estrada said. Bill Casas

Officers and members of the All-Lights Village Cooperative and Association stand with executives from Global Peace Foundation Philippines, BDO Foundation, One Network Bank and the provincial government of Nueva Ecija after their financial literacy seminar.

CLOSE to 200 solo parents in Quezon City have been granted livelihood aid under the “Tindahan ni Ate Joy” livelihood program of the Office of the Vice Mayor.

Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte said P10,000 worth of “sari-sari” store merchandise were each given to 200 single parents as beneficiaries of her livelihood program.

On its fifth year, the program is providing a startup business support for jobless solo parents.

Belmonte, daughter of former House Speaker and District 4 Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr., recently spearheaded the distribution of the variety store merchandise at the city hall.

She said almost a thousand solo parents have already benefited since the start of the “Tindahan ni Ate Joy” program in 2012.

The Office of the Vice Mayor also monitors the earnings of the beneficiaries after a year since they received the aid.

Rio N. Araja

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

food

monday, november 6, 2017

the joyce of eating Joyce Babe Pañares

A

nyone can cook, especially if you have the right ingredients, says chef Chris Locher of Amare Ristorante as he prepared two of his original recipes – fettuccine riviera and penne con longaniza – during a cooking demonstration to mark World Pasta Day last month.

The quote may have been inspired by the movie Ratatouille, but it rings true in real life unless you have two left hands, he adds in jest. And by right ingredients, Locher points to Doña Elena Al Dente as his pasta of choice.

“It is made with 100-percent durum wheat semolina flour mixed with water and nothing else. It has no egg, which makes it suitable even for vegans,” Locher says, noting how cooked Doña Elena pasta, which comes in fettuccine, spaghetti, penne rigate, fusilli, and lasagna variants, remains al dente or “firm to the bite.”

“Even if you leave it a minute or two on the stove, it won’t be soggy. That sort of firmness and consistency only comes from artisan quality pasta.”

When Locher arrived in the Philippines more than two decades ago, pasta choices were limited and not very accessible, but the pasta scene has since exploded with major supermarkets and even sari-sari stores carrying all kinds of brands.

“It is not rocket science (when choosing a pasta brand). I think the mark of a really good pasta is when the ingredients are very simple and you can taste the good quality of the pasta,” he says.

Aside from pasta, a key ingredient under the Doña Elena line of products from Fly Ace Corp. is olive oil.

According to Zen Prudentino, group

The right ingredients Doña Elena’s strong market position for the pasta and olive oil segments is bouyed by its artisan-quality products.

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product manager for oils, Doña Elena Olive Oil has maintained its position as the number one brand in the country for more than a decade now, accounting for about 45 percent of the market share.

“We have earned the trust of the Filipino people that is why we are the dominant olive oil brand in the market,” she says.

From dipping, sautéing to frying, top quality olive oil comes in handy in elevating the taste not just of restaurant dishes but of home-cooked meals as well.

It comes as no surprise then that two of the country’s culinary masters – Locavore’s executive chef Mikel Zaguirre and Raintree Restaurant’s corporate chef Kalel Chan – headlined Doña Elena Olive Oil’s Chef Ambassador Series campaign.

“Doña Elena Olive Oil is made for the Filipino palate – it is not too strong yet it remains flavorful. Plus it is easily accessible and the price is very competitive,” says Chan, who executed a very easy to prepare Spanish-style balsamic bangus belly.

“This dish is not only something that anyone can replicate at home, it is also meant to encourage healthy home cooking on a regular basis. It is simple, satisfying, and perfect for days or nights you need to serve something on the table in,” he adds.

Zaguirre, who prepared his own mojo chicken paired with chimichurri, underscores the simple yet sophisticated flavor of the dish.

“Chimichurri is a classic pair that is bouncing with aromatic, garlicky taste with extra virgin olive oil as the main ingredient that binds. It is thick, chunky, and grainy—absolutely perfect for all things roasted and baked,” says Zaguirre.

For Abbie Ng-Reyes, Fly Ace assistant vice president for marketing, earning the trust of Filipinos is the most important accomplishment for the Doña Elena brand.

She notes, “We are proud that Doña Elena continues to the country’s most trusted brand, not just by our loyal consumers but even by today’s most renowned local chefs. The overwhelming response from our consumers inspire us to bring the best of the Mediterranean cuisine’s ingredients to Filipino homes.”

For feedback, send comments to joyce.panares@gmail.com

Taking ‘pulutan’ as General Romulo would Known for its popular main courses, such as Lola Virginia’s Chicken Relleno, Adobo Romulo Style, and Tito Greg’s Kare-Kare, Romulo Café now introduces a surprising lineup of cocktails and Filipino-style tapas.

“Tapas are considered strictly Spanish; associated only with Spanish food,” says Sandie Romulo Squillantini, owner of Romulo Café and granddaughter of Carlos P. Romulo. “We wanted to tweak that idea because Filipino finger foods also go nicely with

wine, Cava and other drinks. Basically, we’ve taken the tried and tested combination of beer and pulutan, and we’ve made it a little friendlier to an international clientele.”

“It’s the right time,” she adds, no doubt gleaning insights from Romulo Café’s first international outpost, in London, while also pointing out how Filipino cuisine has taken the world by storm. “While Filipino beer will always be a staple that goes perfectly with local flavors, we also want wine and cocktail

drinkers to taste—to experience—what its newest additions to the lineup Rel- from the early 70s, when his friends and is just super great bar chow.” leno Empanadita, Chorizo Empanadita, colleagues teased Romulo about dating an American while serving as the Minisand Pato Tim on a steamed bun. ter of Foreign Affairs (Beth Day married Filipino-style tapas him in 1979); Spritzer Pulitzer, signifying Tinapa Rolls might be a good place Signature cocktails to start, since spring rolls are already Romulo Café’s signature cocktails are the 1942 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism; and familiar to people all across the world. inspired by the multifaceted life of Car- Dirty White Dove, which makes reference Other Filipino-style tapas include Ban- los P. Romulo, each reflecting an aspect to two facts: that he loved white doves and kept them as pets, and that he patronized gus Pate with Pandesal Chips, Lechon of the late general’s life.

Sisig wrap, Cheese and Vigan LongIncluded in the drinks list are Old Gen- the Sign of the Dove restaurant in New ganisa Dumplings, Crispy Crablets, eral, denoting Romulo as the quintes- York City. Imelda’s High Heels and Amor Fish and Squid Balls, Pinoy Nachos, sential diplomat and soldier; A Foreign de Familia are also part of the lineup.

Crispy Squid, Camaron Rebosado and Affair, which hints at an insiders’ joke Turn to C2

Romulo Café’s lineup of Filipino-style tapas are best enjoyed with the restaurant’s five newest signature cocktails, namely Amor de Familia, A Foreign Affair, Spritzer Pulitzer, Dirty White Dove, and Imelda’s High Heels

Life

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monday, november 6, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Jolan Penafiel

at World Bartending Championship

I

n a male-dominated competition, a Filipina wowed Asia with her bartending skills. Jolan Penafiel, a bartender from TGIFridays Greenbelt, bagged the top spot at the recently-concluded TGIFridays Asia-Pacific Bartending Championship in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Penafiel (left) with Rizza Umlas, 2015 TGIFridays world bartending champion

World-class techniques, audience engagement, outstanding technical knowledge of the TGIFridays bar elements, plus a personality which is as spirited as TGIFridays’, enabled Penafiel to win over other contestants from Asia.

Larry Tsai of Taiwan was first runnerup while Ken Miyamoto of Japan won second runner-up.

Penafiel will represent Asia-Pacific at the prestigious TGFriday’s World Bartender Championship in Dallas, Texas.

“It was an honor to represent the Philippines at the regional tilt; that was why I really gave it my best shot into this once in a lifetime opportunity amidst the really tough competition. And I am overwhelmed to go home to our country bringing with me this significant victory,” said the 24-year-old champion.

Should Penafiel win at the World Barchamps, she will be the second Filipina to be bestowed the much-coveted title, following in the footsteps of Rizza Umlas who was adjudged champion at the World Bartender Championship at the House of Blues in Dallas, Texas in 2015. A male TGIFridays bartender, Eric “El Terrible” Martinez, also brought home the world title in 2006.

“Once again, we have proven that the Philippines is indeed home to some of the world’s best bartenders. Even our female bartenders can beat the rest of this male-dominated competition with their bartending knowledge and skills. With the proper training, hard work and determination, we are looking forward to duplicating this victory at the World Bartending Championship next year,” said Rechele Tiongson, vice president for Operations, TGIFridays Philippines.

PINAY POWER. Jolan Penafiel of the Philippines was adjudged champion at the recent TGIFridays Asia Pacific Bartending Championship held in Indonesia

Homemade Asian comfort food The weather is very fickle nowadays. After intense heat in the morning, the afternoon is showered with rain and thunderstorm or the other way around. Whatever mood you are in, find opportunities to spend time in the kitchen and whip up a delightful, and oh-so-special Asian-inspired comfort food.

After a long day at school or work, everyone will surely appreciate a steaming bowl of noodle or a sumptuous noodle dish. Just follow these easy-to-follow recipes from Good

Life. It will not take much of your time as these dish can be prepared and cooked in just under 20 minutes.

Since Good Life premium vermicelli is made with premium ingredients that makes each noodle firm and crystal-like, you are sure to taste only the best-tasting flavors of your favorite Asian dishes.

For those yearning for a classic flavor, try the Sotanghon Soup and/or the Sotanghon Guisado ala Good Life.

Malkist cracker sandwich is made with real chocolate

Experience real chocolate, crunchy goodness with Malkist Chicken Sotanghon Soup

CHICKEN SOTANGHON SOUP Iingredients: 250 g

Good Life Premium Vermicelli 1 ½ cups flaked chicken meat 250 g medium sized shrimps, shelled 1 cup rehydrated wood ear fungus, sliced 1 thinly sliced carrot 6 cloves garlic, minced 1 chopped red onion 4-5 cups shrimp stock 4-5 cups chicken stock 1 tbsp powdered atsuete powder

fish sauce

white ground pepper

fried garlic

SOTANGHON GUISADO ALA GOOD LIFE Ingredients: 250 g Good Life Premium Vermicelli 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tbsp. palm oil 1 pc. medium-sized onion, chopped carrot, cut into strips 1 pc.

6 pcs. mushroom, thinly sliced 1 pc. chicken breast, thinly sliced ¼ cup fish sauce ¼ cup soy sauce annatto oil ½ cup 2 cups chicken stock 1 cup snow peas (sitsaro) 4 pcs. spring onions, minced salt and pepper to taste

Procedure: 1.

In a pot, add oil and sauté garlic and onions.

2.

Add 4 cups of shrimp stock, 4 cups of chicken stock and wood ear fungus.

3.

Add chicken and Good Life Premium Vermicelli and cook for 4 minutes.

4.

Put the shrimp and cook for additional 3 minutes.

Add additional stock if needed.

5.

Get ½ cup soup from the pot and place it in a cup, add the atsuete powder and stir until dissolved.

6.

Add the atsuete mixture and carrots to the soup, season with fish sauce and white ground pepper the top with toasted garlic.

7.

Serve and enjoy!

Procedure: 1.

Soak Good Life Premium Vermicelli noodles in hot water for 10 minutes or until soft. Drain and set aside.

2.

Over medium heat, sauté garlic in 1 tbsp. palm oil, add onion until cooked.

3.

Add sliced carrots, mushrooms, thinly sliced chicken, fish sauce, soy sauce, annatto oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Bring to a boil until cooked.

4.

Add 2 cups of chicken stock. Then add in soaked Good Life Premium Vermicelli noodles and snow peas.

5.

Sprinkle chopped spring onions on top. Enjoy!

Calling all Filipino chocolate lovers!

Looking for that rich chocolatey taste to satisfy your taste buds?

Introducing Malkist, the newest cracker sandwich made with real chocolate that will give anyone, especially moms and their children, an exciting and flavorful experience with every single bite of its seven crunchy layers.

Brought to you by Mayora Philippines, Malkist can be enjoyed by Filipinos easily throughout the day whether in the classroom, office, gym, or just at their own homes.

“We are excited to introduce Malkist in the country as this will give our consumers a real chocolatey and

crunchy experience with every bite,” said Maica Rivera, Mayora Philippines brand manager for Confectioneries and Biscuits. “With our products at Mayora, we make sure that we provide our consumers only the best by giving them a flavorful experience that is delicious and budget-friendly.”

Malkist is now available in supermarkets and sari-sari stores nationwide for only P5.00. Students may also catch the nationwide school tour to get that real chocolate and crunchy experience from Malkist’s sensational taste.

For more information about Malkist and other products of Mayora, visit mayora.com.

Taking ‘pulutan’...

Merchant Ralph’s Stoli Vodka also provided a splendid taste for the signature drink Dirty White Dove, while Don Papa Rum is mixed with the A Foreign Affair and Amor de Familia.

Experience Romulo Café’s Happy Hour, 5:30 -7:30 p.m., in all its four branches: Scout Tuazon, Tomas Morato, Quezon City; Jupiter Street, Makati; Azumi Hotel in Ayala Alabang; and Kensington, London, UK.

From C1

Moreover, Wine Warehouse Corporation surely added doses of happy in the Happy Hour, serving excellent drinks exclusively for the occasion such as Candidato Tempranillo and Viura from Spain, and Undurraga U Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay from Chile. The majestic Mancino Vermouth Cocktails and Rinomato Aperitivo that hail from the “Wine Country” Italy are likewise featured, along with Martin Miller’s Gin from the UK/Iceland. Philippine Wine

For more information on the times of General Carlos P. visit www.carlospromulo.org Romulo Café restaurants in visit www.romulocafe.com

life and Romulo, and on Manila,

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

‘BALITANG AMIANAN’

expands ratings dominance Idris Elba (left) and Kate Winslet play stranded survivors of a plane crash in "The Mountain Between Us"

Kate Winslet, Idris Elba in ‘The Mountain Between Us’ AYALA Malls Cinemas exclusively brings an epic romance amidst a harrowing adventure – The Mountain Between Us with Academy Award® winner Kate Winslet and Golden Globe® winner Idris Elba as strangers thrown together under the most extreme circumstances imaginable about to reshape the course of their lives.

The story is set dramatically into motion once the pilot of the plane Alex (Winslet) and Ben (Elba) have charted suffers a stroke midflight, and the craft crashes—Beau Bridges appears in a brief but memorable term as the doomed man. When Ben first emerges from the wreckage, he takes in the full isolation and desperation of their predicament. Making matters worse, Alex is severely injured— she’s unconscious for nearly two days. Ben uses his medical training to tend to her wounds, and after she finally wakes, he suggests that they settle in and remain calm, that help surely will arrive shortly. It’s Alex who realizes that the pilot never filed a flight plan, meaning if they are to survive, they must take action—and quickly.

To make it out of the mountains alive, Alex and Ben will have to cover miles and miles of punishing terrain. With meager supplies, they set out, accompanied by the pilot’s faithful dog. The going is slow, and along the way, the survivors become increasingly dependent on one another as they face a series of

perilous situations. Her mental and his physical wherewithal are both needed to overcome the imminent danger they are in.

“They definitely clash over their strategic maneuvers throughout the story, but those are the things that bring them together,” Winslet says. “They have to work together. They have to get through those differences.

And then it does take them to the point where they can’t be without one another.”

They also begin to learn intimate details about each other’s lives— though the expressive Alex is initially more forthcoming than the reserved Ben. She reveals that she’s only recently committed to marrying Mark, played by Dermot Mulroney, while introverted Ben, on the other hand, secretly and sparingly listens to classical music on his cell phone, a reminder of his loving wife who passed away from cancer years before. They selflessly begin to care for one A fascinating and intelligent drama, The Mountain Between Us is an inspiring exploration of selflessness, courage and humanity at its best.

The Mountain Between Us opens on Nov. 8 at Ayala Malls Cinemas (Glorietta 4, Tinoma, Market!Market! and Fairview Terraces) from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Trailer link: https:// www.youtube.com/ watch?v=lYYLVQp0tMA

M

EDIA giant GMA Network, through its regional arm, GMA Regional TV (GMA RTV), further strengthens its presence all over the Philippines by making the top-rating local newscast Balitang Amianan available in more areas in North and Central Luzon since Oct. 23.

GMA RTV’s flagship local news program, which has been consistently lording over competition, is now simultaneously broadcast in key cities and provinces in North and Central Luzon (NCL), specifically in Pangasinan, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Abra, Benguet, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, and Pampanga thru GMA Network’s local channels GMA TV 10 Dagupan, GMA TV 5 Ilocos Norte, GMA TV 48 Ilocos Sur, and GMA TV 7 Abra. It airs from Monday to Friday at 5 p.m.

With the tagline, “Sandigan ng katotohanan.

Serbisyong totoo lamang.

accompaniment for the participants.

Grand winner Winona Malazarte channeled the experience of falling for a friend in “Sa Aking Tabi,” where she secretly admits her feelings.

Rice Lucido and Andre Agar, second and third places, respectively, painted lives that have no happily-ever-after, while the other highlights the determination to move on from failed relationships.

The judges included Benilde Arts and Culture Cluster (BACC) Associate Dean Sunita Mukhi, Record Producer Alwin Cruz, Songwriter Dojie Fernandez, and Music Expert Sari Suplido, and Louie Ocampo.

Up for grabs were Sodexo Gift Certificates: P25,000 for the Grand Prize, P15,000 for the Runner-up, P10,000 for the Third Placer.

Due to popular demand, a compilation album of all the finalists’ songs will be released.

Basas revealed there are plans to hold another Hugot contest in the future, open to students from other schools and universities.

‘MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS’

MEET Hercule Poirot, the greatest detective on earth in the upcoming thrilling adventure Murder on the Orient Express with an impressive cast that includes Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Judi Dench, Penélope Cruz, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Willem Dafoe and Kenneth Branagh.

Our mystery detective’s exploits begin when someone is murdered in the luxurious Orient Express where a set of strangers have all become suspects in the crime committed inside the train. The setting for the thrilling and visually breathtaking detective story is a train ride through Europe – from Istanbul to London.

Taking the audience back in time to the Golden Age of rail travel, the cracking

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Monday, November 6, 2017

ACROSS 1 Be stingy 6 Tubular pasta 10 — accompli 14 Microsurgery tool 15 British prep school 16 All, in combos 17 Actress — Papas 18 Enjoys a siesta 19 Rub the wrong way 20 Asked earnestly 22 Reel 24 Tree with pods 26 Zoo barriers 27 Become fond of (2 wds.)

30 Ipso — 33 Dorian Gray’s creator 34 Huge hairstyle 5 Something 3 owed 39 Work by Keats 40 Process, as film 3 Thai neighbor 4 4 4 Appear to be 4 6 Nevada casino city 7 Monk’s garb 4 9 Medal 4 5 1 Salad ingredient 52 Enjoy a puddle 5 Backbone 5

57 Peace 60 Thoreau’s friend 64 Sub — (secretly) 65 “— She Sweet?”

67 Slight trace 68 Web habitue 69 Mental picture 70 Colder 71 Sweater letter 72 Year-end tune 73 Attired like Superman DOWN 1 Minor mistake 2 Malden of “Patton” 3 Shrink’s reply (2 wds.)

4 Threatened 5 Came before 6 Castle town in Ruritania 7 Give — — try 8 Outperforms 9 Scholarly org.

10 Permanently (2 wds.)

11 Pablo’s girl 12 Estuary 13 Wedding-cake layers 21 Author Umberto — 23 Oz. or tsp.

25 Displeases

Solid Amianan,” Balitang Amianan features comprehensive and in-depth delivery of news and information in North Central Luzon. CJ Torida, awardwinning local news correspondent Joanne Ponsoy, and news presenter Faye Centeno anchor the newscast. Joining them are local news teams based in Pangasinan and Ilocos, as well as news stringers across North Central Luzon.

GMA Vice President and Head of Regional TV Oliver Amoroso takes pride in this new milestone for Balitang Amianan. “GMA Regional TV continues to deliver relevant, accurate, and impartial local news in key cities and

World’s greatest detective back in

Hugot music competition showcases student talents STUDENT-SONGWRITERS recently sang their hearts out in a concert for Hugot Music: A Songwriting Competition, at the School of Design and Arts (SDA) Theater of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB).

With Nagmahal, Nasaktan, Humugot as its theme, the event was originally a project by multiawarded songwriter, music director, and Benilde faculty Louie Ocampo plus the AB Music Production program, under Aji Manalo, chairman, and Primo Musi.

Co (Primo), the official music organization of the college.

Primo President Michelle Basas said they wanted the participants to express their creativity through the tourney.

“You wouldn’t just be sad because you are brokenhearted. You can divert it by showcasing your talent,” Basas shared.

All performances were collaborations between the contestants, and the Music Production students who arranged and provided musical

"Balitang Amianan" news anchors Joanne Ponsoy, CJ Torida and Faye Centeno

2 7 Pairs 8 Helper 2 9 MOMA artist 2 31 Guthrie of folk music 32 Imitate a dove 4 State firmly 3 36 Isle of exile 3 7 Lure 38 Oz canine 41 Diamond stat 42 Kind of spelling 4 5 Lash darkener 4 8 New World 0 Question starter 5

1 Ryan or Conway 5 52 Cancel a launch 53 Unfastened 54 Initial stage 5 6 Flower part 5 8 Picnic ruiner 9 Aeneas’ lover 5 61 Cut with quick strokes 6 2 Ess molding 6 3 Socially inept one 6 Born as 6

Kenneth Branagh leads the cast of the highly anticipated American mystery film, "Murder on the Orient Express"

murder mystery is directed with ingenuity and flair by Kenneth Branagh. As the story unfolds, someone is murdered.

13 strangers are stranded on the train in a snowdrift. Every one of them is a suspect. It’s a race against time to discover the identity of the murderer before he or she strikes again. Tasked with solving the puzzle is none other than Belgian private detective Hercule Poirot— distinguished by his large mustache—and brought vividly to life by Kenneth Branagh, who also directed the film.

Join the world’s greatest detective on his quest to uncover the mystery behind the crime in Murder On the Orient Express when it opens on Nov. 29 in cinemas nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

provinces across the Philippines.

The heart of all these is our team’s commitment in producing local stories that have positive impact to our communities.

With the full support of GMA’s Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon and President and COO Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr., we are happy and proud of our top-rating local news program. As Balitang Amianan begins a new chapter, I congratulate the men and women of GMA Regional TV in North Central Luzon.”

Ratings data from Nielsen’s MCTAM Dagupan show that Balitang Amianan beat its rival program by two percent

during the third quarter of 2017.

Further, Balitang Amianan’s average quarterly rating shot to 5.4 percent, marking a remarkable 1.9 percent increase from its second quarter average.

“GMA North Central Luzon has a wide area of coverage. Our local newscast Balitang Amianan has been consistently leading in ratings against competition. To all our Kapuso in NCL, we are truly grateful for your trust and support to our program. Rest assured that we will continue to play an important role in delivering fresh and exclusive stories in the region,” says GMA Dagupan and Ilocos Station Manager Jojo Balingit.

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2017

G

MA Network adds excitement to its upcoming primetime series The One That Got Away as it proudly introduces three more Kapuso heartthrobs who will join the stellar cast.

Ivan Dorschner, Migo Adecer, and new Kapuso Jason Abalos are the men who will play important roles in the lives of Zoe (Rhian Ramos), Darcy (Max Collins) and Alex (Lovi Poe).

This time around, these leading men will showcase their acting skills and the sexier and more daring side of them never seen before TV. Ivan rose to fame as the dreamy Ethan SpencerHughes in the top-rating primetime series Meant To Be. But in this particular series, Ivan channels his alter ego and plays Iñigo Sandoval, the antithesis to his former role.

Iñigo is a spoiled trust fund baby and has a business degree but would prefer traveling the world than work in Liam’s (Dennis Trillo) company. He’s a playboy and knows how to smooth-talk his way around ladies.

Meanwhile, Starstruck Season 6 Ultimate Male Survivor Migo was known as Yuan Chavez in the local adaptation of the hit series My Love From The Star. Recently, he released his very first single “I Long To Ask You” and has

IVAN DORSCHNER, MIGO ADECER, and JASON ABALOS in ‘THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY’

From left: Migo Adecer, new Kapuso Jason Abalos, and Ivan Dorschner bring kilig and good vibes in GMA’s "The One That Got Away"

been charming fans with his desirable skills in singing and playing the guitar.

Migo plays the role of Samuel Isaac or Sam. He is Zoe’s halfbrother tasked to manage their family’s coffee shop business because they deem him to

have no direction in life. He is immature, irresponsible, and doesn’t know where he wants to be in life but he displays a talent in animation and music.

Newest Kapuso and 2008 Gawad Urian Best Actor Jason, on the other hand, stars in his

very first drama project on GMA. But when he’s not working, his hobbies include playing basketball, going surfing, and even extreme sports such as motocross.

Jason breathes life to Gael Harrison Makalintal or simply

Gael. He is Alex’s older brother and works as a nurse. He is a cool single-dad to his four-year old son. Frankly, he is a chickmagnet and goes on a lot of dates but he never introduces his girlfriends to his family because unknown to many, he is a closet

gay.

No less than multi-awarded and esteemed film and TV director Maryo J. Delos Reyes helms this show.

Watch out for Ivan, Migo and Jason in The One That Got Away soon on GMA.

Kapamilya artists unite voices to inspire Filipinos THE biggest names on the OPM scene have come together to spread love in the whole nation this coming holiday season as they bring life to ABSCBN’s 2017 Christmas theme #justLOVE. Filipino music icons Gary Valenciano, Martin Nievera, Ogie Alcasid, and Zsa Zsa Padilla lead the star-studded lineup, which also includes big names Piolo Pascual, Sarah Geronimo, Toni Gonzaga, Erik Santos, Billy Crawford, and Yeng Constantino.

The recording video of the song by Jimmy Antiporda with words by Lloyd Oliver Corpuz, Christian Faustino, and ABS-CBN Creative Communications Management head Robert Labayen, was launched on Thursday on the ABSCBN Entertainment Youtube channel.

Other singers that shared their talent to inspire people to let love rule the world through the song were ASAP regulars Darren Espanto, Boyband

PH, Birit Queens Morissette Amon, Angeline Quinto, Klarisse, and Jona; Soul Sessions members Kyla, Daryl Ong, Jason Dy, and KZ Tandingan; Jambayan members Inigo Pascual, Zia Quizon, Moira Dela Torre, Kaye Cal, Migz Haleca, and Isabela Vinzon, Jeremy Glinoga, Mica Becerro, and Jona Marie Soquite of The Voice Teens, Ella Nympha and Xia Vigor of Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids, John Clyd Talili of Tawag ng Tanghalan, and Angel of Little Big Shots.

With the release of the recording video, anticipation will surely rise for the 2017 Christmas Station ID, which has become a family tradition not only for ABS-CBN but for Filipinos around the world. The new Station ID will feature more ABSCBN artists and personalities, as well as ordinary Filipinos that will inspire the nation to focus on Kapamilya music stars Martin Nievera, Zsa Zsa Padilla, "The Voice Teen" grand winner Jona Marie Soquite , Sarah love this Christmas season and beyond.

Geronimo and Piolo Pascual lead the star-studded lineup of ABS-CBN’s 2017 Christmas theme #justLOVE

GMA Network ratings still frontrunner in October BROADCAST leader GMA Network, Inc. (GMA) continued its strong showing in the nationwide television ratings in October based on data from Nielsen Phils. TV Audience Measurement.

From Oct. 1 to 28 (with Oct. 22 to 28 based on overnight data), GMA maintained its ratings supremacy in the National Urban Television Audience Measurement (NUTAM) gaining an average total day people audience share of 41.7 percent besting ABS-CBN’s 38.1 percent.

Kapuso Network posted winning numbers across all day parts in NUTAM. In the morning block, GMA registered a 38.5 percent people audience share versus ABS-CBN’s 35.9 percent.

The Network’s powerhouse afternoon lineup dominated its time block with 45.4 percent as against ABSCBN’s 37.5

percent. Subsequently, the evening block was also ruled by GMA with 40.2 percent versus competition’s 39.4 percent.

GMA likewise toppled its rival network in all time blocks in both Urban Luzon and Mega Manila, which respectively account

for 76 and 59 percent of all urban viewers in the country.

In Urban Luzon, the Network garnered a total day people audience share of 47.2 percent; way ahead of ABS-CBN’s 32.6 percent.

GMA also sustained its dominance in Mega Manila (based on Oct. 1 to 21 data) with 48.8 percent total day

people audience share versus ABS-CBN’s 29.3 percent.

More Kapuso shows also made it to the list of top programs in NUTAM with the award-winning weekly family sitcom Pepito Manaloto as the most watched Kapuso program nationwide in October.

Included in the list as well were Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho; 24 Oras; Magpakailanman; Super Ma’am; Daig Kayo ng Lola Ko; 24 Oras Weekend; AllStar Videoke; and Alyas Robin Hood.

Completing the list of most watched Kapuso programs in NUTAM were Wowowin; Ika6 na Utos; My Korean Jagiya; Imbestigador; Eat Bulaga; Sunday PinaSaya; Impostora; and Tadhana.

GMA Network also dominated the list of top programs in Urban Luzon with 8 of the top 10; while again sweeping Mega Manila’s top 10 list.

CMMA honors weekly drama MAYNILA, the weekly television program hosted by Buhay Party-list Representative and former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, received a Special Citation at the 39th Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA).

Cong. Atienza’s daughter and Maynila Executive Producer Angela Lei Atienza-Valdepeñas, received the plaque from CMMA during the awards night held at the Star Theater in Pasay City.

“We would like to thank the Catholic Mass Media Awards for this Special Citation in recognition of Maynila’s efforts to continuously give inspiration to our audiences through interesting life stories promoting love of life and the family, as well as traditional Filipino values and culture. I am proud of my dad, who started this program 18 years ago. For almost two decades, he has maintained the show’s noble objective of promoting positive values,” Angela Lei said.

Maynila, the multi-awarded weekly morning Saturday television show of GMA 7 (9:40 a.m.), was started by then Mayor Atienza in 1999. It has been a consistent top-rating program in its time slot and is one of the longestrunning “block-time” TV programs in the broadcast industry.

The show had been previously cited for its contributions to the cultural

appreciation and values orientation of today’s youth, most notable of which is the Anak TV seal, an award given to Philippine TV shows which are childfriendly, that underscores the show’s attraction for the whole family.

Receiving the Special Citation from CMMA’s Benjamin V. Ramos, assistant to the acting chairman and President and The Rev. Msgr.

Esteban Lo, chaplain, Chapel of the Eucharistic Lord, SM Megamall are Maynila Executive Producer Angela Lei Atienza-Valdepeñas, director Phil Noble, head writer Robert Raz and associate producer Mary Ann Agnes Rivera.

"Maynila" host Rep. Lito Atienza