Manila Standard - 2017 November 13 - Monday by Manila Standard

WORLD LEADERS HERE FOR ASEAN SUMMIT By Bill Casas

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu

Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Tumbull

Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha

China upholds ‘freedom of navigation’ By John Paolo Bencito BEIJING is making no attempt to change the status quo amid its reported militarization and construction of artificial islands and facilities in the disputed South China Sea, Chinese President Xi Jinping told President Rodrigo Duterte as they vowed to uphold freedom of navigation in the crucial waterways. Speaking to reporters on his arrival from the 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Da Nang, Vietnam, Duterte said Xi gave him “specific answers” to his queries about China’s intentions in the disputed waters. He made statement even as international security experts sounded the alarm over what they said was the lackluster future of an all-important code of conduct on the West Philippine Sea. “Those negotiations, if they begin―and they haven’t―would still take years,” said Gregory Poling, director of Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the sidelines of the Stratbase ADR Institute summit on “Asean Leadership amid a new world order” held recently in Makati. “What I expect is that the disappointments that [are] going to be obvious after this year might finally kick Asean states into gear, make them realize that they need to think of a different venue to get this done.” Next page

US willing to mediate in sea disputes HANOI―US President Donald Trump told his Vietnamese counterpart Sunday he is ready to help resolve the dispute in the resource-rich South China Sea, which Beijing claims most of. “If I can help mediate or arbitrate, please let me know... I am a very good mediator,” the deal-making American leader told Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang during an ofﬁcial state visit Sunday. In Manila, the Philippines thanked Trump for his offer to mediate in the South China Sea dispute. “We thank him for it. It’s a very kind, generous offer because he is a good mediator. He is the master of the art of the deal,” Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told reporters. “But of course the claimant countries have to answer as a group or individually, and not one country can just give Next page

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US PRESIDENT Donald Trump arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on Sunday afternoon for the 31st Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit and Related Meetings. Trump first met President Rodrigo Duterte in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings in Vietnam last week. The two were said to have established rapport and seemed to get along well. Trump, a widely unpopular world leader since he won an electoral-college victory in the 2016 presidential election, is visiting the Philippines for the first time. Riot police used water canon to prevent hundreds of protesters reaching the US Embassy in Manila on Sunday, just a few hours before the arrival of Trump in the Philippines for a regional summit and the last leg of his Asia tour. Carrying placards declaring “Dump Trump” and “Down with US Imperialism,” the left-wing protesters were blocked by police in riot gear with shields and batons, and then showered with jets of water from a fire engine. “Trump is the CEO of the imperialist government of the US, said 18-yearold student Alexis Danday after the Next page

Duterte promises a better Philippines By Bill Casas

N HIS last day at the Asia Paciﬁc Economic Cooperation summit in Vietnam, President Rodrigo Duterte promised to make the country even more competitive in the region.

“Together with other Apec Economic Leaders, we agreed to work tirelessly for free and open market and investment towards quality and innovative growth in the 21st century,” Duterte said. “Connectivity, the internet and digital economy, public-private partnerships, and the inclusion of MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) in global value chains were some of the salient points and shared priorities of economies in the Asia-Paciﬁc region,” he added. The President said he had an opportunity to discuss with his fellow leaders the importance of inclusive growth

and the need to provide MSMEs with the opportunities to grow and become catalysts for national development. For small and medium businesses to grow, Duterte said, the country must focus on stamping out corruption and red tape as well as address illegal drugs and security. “I need peace in my country and I need to get rid of corruption... We have come up with the gamut of so many things,” the President said. Eliminating corruption, criminality and illegal drugs were among the main campaign pledges of President Duterte when he ran for ofﬁce. Next page

Trump tweet misspells host country

US PRESIDENT Donald Trump in a tweet on Sunday misspelled the Philippines as he announced his scheduled trip to the country to attend the 31st Southeast Asian Nations Leaders’ Summit and Related Meetings. “Will be doing a joint press conference in Hanoi, Vietnam then heading for ﬁnal destination of trip, the Phillipines,” Trump said in his tweet, adding one “l” and subtracting one “p” from the correct spelling.

A Twitter user noticed the mistake and reminded Trump: “Mr. President it’s Philippines.” With tongue in cheek, former party-list lawmaker Teddy Casiño noted that welcome tarpaulins put up ahead of the Asean summit also misspelled the country’s name as “Philppines.” The tarpaulins have since been taken down, but Trump’s tweet has been left unchanged. Bill Casas

RAISE YOUR GLASS. President Rodrigo Duterte (right) and US President Donald Trump (left), both wearing the traditional barong Tagalog, toast to start the special gala celebration dinner of the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Malacañang Press Pool Photo

‘Fist salute’ seen to put world leaders on a spot WHEN US President Donald Trump and other world leaders meet in the Philippines from Sunday, copying their controversial host’s signature ﬁst salute could land them in hot water. President Rodrigo Duterte

has adopted a clenched ﬁst, often stuck out in front of his chest or sometimes at eye level, as his trademark gesture. Duterte often seeks to have visitors pose for photos with him doing the salute,

with Chinese internet tycoon Jack Ma and Hollywood actor Steven Seagal among those pictured doing so. But critics warned the gesture has come to represent the brutalities of Duterte’s Next page

PNP primed to regain lead in war on drugs ASEAN SCENES. Activists protesting the arrival of United States President Donald Trump and other world leaders for the 31st Asean Summit are bombarded with water as they face the police near the US Embassy in Manila (left photo). Meanwhile, long lines of traffic form near the Ortigas intersection in Pasig City as the rest of Edsa is cleared for special Asean Summit lanes (right). AFP and Lino Santos

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THE Philippine National Police may retake the lead in the campaign against illegal drugs if the number of drugrelated cases rises, President Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday.

He reiterated his commitment to rid the country of illegal drugs in his arrival speech from Vietnam, where he joined the Asia-Paciﬁc Economic Cooperation Summit 2017.

“I don’t like drugs,” Duterte told reporters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. He also said that, aside from supervising the police, Next page

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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017

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China aid crucial to battle for Marawi By Bill Casas and Julito Rada

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has thanked China for its “crucial help” to the Philippines during the rebellion in Marawi City. Duterte met with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Crowne Plaza Da Nang before his departure to Manila following the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Economic Leaders Meeting in Vietnam. “First of all, let me thank you for your crucial help in our fight in Marawi a few weeks ago,” Duterte said in his opening statement. “We badly needed help and it was China who first came to our aid,” he said. “For that, we are very, very

thankful to you. As you say, we value your friendship more than anything else... I said I gave you my word that we can be your true friends.” Meanwhile, the Philippine and Japanese governments are expected to sign the exchange of notes on projects intended for rehabilitating Marawi City and strengthening the maritime safety capability of the Philippine Coast Guard, the Finance Department said over the weekend. In a report to Finance Sec-

retary Carlos Dominguez III during a recent executive committee meeting, the DoF fs International Finance Group said a grant of 1.5-billion yen (around P676 million) from the Embassy of Japan will be given to the Department of Public Works and Highways in the form of heavy equipment and machineries to be used for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of heavily damaged Marawi City. The equipment includes bulldozers, excavators and dump trucks, the IFG said. The Philippine Coast Guard will also receive Japanese aid in the form of equipment for the improvement of its maritime safety and counterterrorism capability, the IFG told Dominguez. These include radar systems, closed

circuit televisions, and radio systems, it said. Duterte noted that the arms provided by China were very crucial, adding that one of the Filipino snipers killed terrorist Isnilon Hapilon using a Chinese-made sniper rifle. “I will congratulate your guys here who make the firearms—very good, very accurate. And I’m happy to have received them for my country,” he said. Duterte led the handover of the military aid package from China intended for the counter-terrorism efforts in Marawi City. Among the weapons given by China were TY-85 7.62 mm sniper rifles, CS/LR4A high precision rifles, and CQ-A5 5.56 automatic rifles. China also donated ammunition. In the visit of President

Rodrigo Duterte to Japan last year, Dominguez and Japan International Cooperation Agency president Shinichi Kitaoka formalized several agreements that would help improve the Philippines f maritime safety capability, including a deal for a 16.5-billion-yen concessional loan covered by Tokyo fs Ofﬁcial Development Assistance for the acquisition of two large-scale patrol vessels for the coast guard. The loan was part of Tokyo fs continuing assistance to the coast guard fs Maritime Safety Capability Improvement Project. ‘‘Equivalent to P6.8 billion, this Jica loan was extended at an interest rate of between 0.01 [consulting component] and 0.10 [nonconsulting component] per-

Rody sees Trump skirting human rights issues PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Sunday he was “sure” Donald Trump would not raise human rights concerns when they meet in Manila, after the US President praised his deadly drug war. Trump is due to land in the Philippine capital on Sunday evening ahead of two days of summits, and rights groups have urged him to pressure Duterte over the thousands of lives lost in the controversial anti-drugs crackdown. Duterte expressed conﬁdence this would not happen, saying Trump had already given him “words of en-

couragement” during a brief encounter on the sidelines of another regional summit in Vietnam on Saturday. “He said something about: ‘You know, you handle it very well’,” Duterte told reporters early Sunday morning after returning to Manila. He said Trump was referring to the crackdown on drugs as well as a military campaign against Islamic State supporters in the southern Philippines. When asked if the issue of extrajudicial killings—which rights groups say are rampant in the drug war—would be discussed, Duterte said: “I’m

sure he will not take it up.” Duterte also explained that his threatening to kill illegal drug perpetrators does not amount to a conspiracy. “If at all, criminal liability is personal. That’s the rule. When you commit a crime and there is no conspiracy, it is not transferred to anybody else,” said Duterte. “By saying that I will destroy you or kill you, that is not a conspiracy. That is the rage in my heart for treating the Filipinos like shit,” he continued. Rights groups have expressed alarm and disappointment that Trump and

most other world leaders are likely to endorse or stay silent over Duterte’s violent rule, which has seen thousands of people killed. Duterte won elections last year after promising to eradicate illegal drugs in society with an unprecedented crackdown that would see up to 100,000 people killed. Since he took ofﬁce, police have reported killing 3,967 people in the crackdown. Another 2,290 people have been murdered in drug-related crimes, while thousands of other deaths remain unsolved, according to government data.

Many Filipinos back Duterte, believing he is taking necessary measures to ﬁght crime, but rights groups warn he may be orchestrating a crime against humanity. Amnesty International on Saturday called on Trump to raise the issue with Duterte, either publicly or privately. The pair are tentatively scheduled to hold one-onone talks on Monday. “The US has to use its inﬂuence and leverage to call out Duterte’s record on human rights,” said Amnesty’s Philippine director Jose Noel Olano. AFP with John Paolo Bencito

China...

his countrymen.” He said Xi had assured him that China would not impede the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. “Do not worry, you have all the rights of safe passage. That will be applicable to all countries,” Duterte quoted Xi as saying. Duterte met with Xi on Saturday along with his top Cabinet ofﬁcials in a bilateral meet held at the Da Nang Crowne Plaza Hotel. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, who joined Duterte and other members of the Cabinet in his talks with Xi, said both tackled the issue on the freedom of navigation since everyone

“would be sailing from the Indian Ocean through the West Philippine Sea” and there was a need for unhampered navigation. In his remarks, Duterte claimed Xi expressed surprise over the country’s stronger and more assertive tone in discussing the maritime dispute amid the muchstronger statement issued by the Asean ministers in August. “He was quite surprised by my coming in very strong, of my statement about the [Code of] Conduct in the [South China] Sea. I said I’m not raising any sovereign issue, do not worry, but I said as [Asean] chairman, I was

made a channel of the communications, to be active,” Duterte said. “I had to do it because the Philippines chairs Asean, I cannot escape from that duty. I had every right to ask him. But I explained it to him in a very nice way that’s all there is to it.” Duterte said Xi likewise appeared to have jested that Manila was siding with another country, then responding that he only made such pronouncements since the Philippines was this year’s rotating chairman of the Asean. “We were joking. ‘You like the other one better.’ I said ‘No. We look upon you

as a country with honor. I’m just trying to perform my duty as chairman,” Duterte said. He said the Philippines remained to be a good friend of China despite the ongoing territorial tussle over the disputed waters. Before leaving to attend the APEC meeting, Duterte said he would raise the supposed militarization in the South China Sea, since the Aseam was quite aware of Beijing’s militarization in the disputed waters. Duterte also said he would not be asking for any military assistance from Washington to help wage war against Beijing.

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Duterte said Xi had assured him that the increasing militarization in the South China Sea was “nothing.” “I was talking about the military buildup, he says ‘no, it’s nothing’,” Duterte said. “He knows that if he goes to war, everything will blow up. He acknowledged that war cannot be promoted by anybody, but it would only mean destruction for all of us.” Duterte said he believed Xi’s explanation “because, like me, he’s worried about the health and the problem of

PNP... From A1

he wanted Interior Undersecretary Eduardo Año to investigate mayors and governors for corruption. “When I see you are making things difﬁcult or you allow corruption to thrive in your locality, then as mayor or governor, I will order the new Secretary of the DILG, the chief of staff, General Año, to investigate you,” Duterte said. The police once led the administration’s war against drugs, but in a memorandum signed on Oct. 10, Duterte tasked the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to conduct all anti-illegal drug operations. He cited the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 stating that PDEA should be the lead agency when any investigations of the National Bureau of Investigation, the PNP or other agencies were found in violation of the act. But Duterte said he was only trying to gauge the improvement he had introduced. “I have allowed PDEA to have the exclusive. So mawala na ‘yun, nawala na. For the longest time, I haven’t had any talks with the PDEA,” he said. “Titignan ko lang kung tataas, pagka tataas babalik ang pulis. ‘Pag magbalik ang pulis, ‘yun ang trabaho nila, destroy the drug syndicates.” Duterte said the police should enforce all measures if and when the authority to lead the war on drugs had been restored to them. Duterte ﬂew back in time for the arrival of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations who will converge in Manila for the 31st Asean Summit and Related Meetings this week. He is expected to hold bilateral talks with world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, on the sidelines of the summit. Rights groups have urged the world leaders to urge Duterte to stop the killings related to his war on drugs, which has claimed thousands of lives. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said they were not expecting Trump to talk about the Philippines’ drug war with Duterte during their bilateral meeting.

World... From A1

protesters were scattered. “We know he is here to push for unfair treaties between the Philippines and the US.” Trump arrived in the Philippines for meetings with leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other East Asian nations, fresh off an AsiaPacific summit and bilateral visit in Vietnam. The Philippines is Trump’s last stop on a marathon tour that has taken him to Japan, South Korea, China as well as Vietnam. Duterte met Trump on Saturday, Nov. 11, during the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting in Ha Noi Hall, International Danang Resort, Vietnam. “The meeting was warm and cordial,” said Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque during a press briefing held at the International Media Center.

‘Fist... From A1

drug war, which has claimed thousands of lives. They also said it has uncomfortable similarities with Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s salute. “Foreign leaders should recognize that the ﬁst... symbolizes a purposeful attack by Duterte on rule of law that has inﬂicted a human rights calamity on thousands of Filipinos,” Phelim Kine, Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director, said. “[They] should deny the architect of this human rights calamity the international recognition he

“President Trump reportedly told President Duterte that he will see him tomorrow,” Roque said. “The two leaders were genuinely pleased to have ﬁnally met each other in person,” Roque added. Leaders from around the world arrived in the country on Sunday ahead of the Asean Summit in Manila. Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith was the ﬁrst to land for the day at the Clark International Airport in Pampanga at 10:37 a.m. Sisoulith waved to the crowd upon his arrival to attend the Asean Summit and related meetings in Clark, Pampanga, Sunday. He was welcomed by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi and Pampanga Gov. Lilian Pineda. Hundreds of students in colorful costumes also performed a dance number for Sisoulith. Duterte had earlier met Sisoulith in the past two Asean Summits: in Manila last April and in Vientiane, Laos last September. Indonesian President Joko

Widodo meanwhile landed in Pampanga around 12:15 p.m. Like Duterte, Widodo has waged war against narcotics. The number of suspected drug dealers killed by Indonesian police has more than tripled so far this year from the whole of 2016, activists said. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern arrived after Widodo. Leaders from 19 countries plus the heads of the United Nations and European Union are set to join the Asean meetings that will run until Tuesday. Among those attending are Trump, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, Russian Premier Dmitry Medvedev and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen arrived in the country on Saturday.

undeservedly craves.” Australia’s spy chief, Nick Warner, was criticized when he returned home from Manila in August to ﬁnd the Philippine government had released photos of him clenching his ﬁst with Duterte. “Completely inappropriate photo for the head of one our most important intelligent (sic) services to be in,” federal opposition member of parliament Anthony Byrne said in a Twitter post. With the photos becoming a major news item in Australia, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop was forced to publicly defend Warner. Bishop had previously criticized the drug war. Trump and Duterte are ex-

pected to hold a one-on-one meeting in Manila on Monday on the sidelines of a 20-nation summit of Asia-Pacific leaders. Eyes will be on whether Trump does the fist pump, having told Duterte in April he was doing a “great job” in his drug war. Arriving back in Manila early Sunday, Duterte seemed confident he had Trump’s backing for his deadly war on drugs. “He said something about: ‘You know, you handle it very well’,” he told reporters. Duterte might also expect support from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who struck the pose when the pair met in Tokyo last year. AFP

cent per annum with a maturity period of 40 years, inclusive of a 10-year grace period,” the department said. The acquisition of two 94-meter large-scale patrol ships under Phase Two of the MSCIP is on top of the ongoing official development assistance from Japan for the first phase of the project, which involves the procurement of 10 units of 40-meter PCG patrol vessels. As of June 2017, five out of 10 vessels have already been delivered to the Philippines. The targeted completion of the delivery of all the 10 vessels is in August 2018. Besides the loan agreement, Japan had also announced the provision of additional vessels for the coast guard through a JPY600 million grant (about P280 mil-

lion) for the procurement of high-speed boats and other equipment to boost the Philippines’ anti-terrorism and security activities. This grant covers the acquisition of one 20-meter highspeed vessel and 14 units of 7-meter high speed boats. In a high-level infrastructure cooperation meeting between Japan and the Philippines held last July in Manila, a list of projects with an estimated total cost of P315.4 billion were pipelined for possible Japanese ﬁnancing. Both sides also exchanged views on the support for Mindanao and other areas of cooperation including power and energy, anti-illegal drug measures, public safety and counterterrorism, and information and communications technology.

Duterte...

thank Mr. Xi Jinping for the timely and crucial help that he extended to our country when we were fighting the siege of Marawi,” he said. China donated firearms and committed financial support for the rehabilitation of Marawi and for state troops who fought Islamic Stateinspired terrorists. Russia also gave the Philippines firearms and other military equipment. Duterte said the issue on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea was discussed noting that the Chinese President expressed willingness to hold a summit or a multilateral dialogue to tackle the matter. “President Xi Jinping mentioned about a summit or a meeting, multilateral only to talk about the rules of conduct. It has nothing to do with sovereignty,” he said. He added that China made the assurance that it would not impede the freedom of navigation in the disputed sea. He said he believed that the tensions in the South China Sea would not escalate into war, saying that China also could not afford to put the lives of its people in danger. “He knows that if he goes to war, everything will blow up. He acknowledged that war cannot be promoted by anybody, but it would only mean destruction for all of us,” he said. The two leaders also discussed North Korea. “At this time when everybody has in his pocket a large number of nuclear arms, China, America, Russia, Iran, North Korea, it is not a good time to talk about a quarrel,” Duterte said. Duterte said he assured Xi that his friendship with him would remain “warm and robust.” On Sunday, Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles said the country would receive even bigger investments after an independent pollster said he was the most trusted Philippine president in the last 20 years. With Rio N. Araja

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The government will also focus on education, with the President suggesting that Filipino school children should learn the basics about cyberspace and digital communications. “And I will make that mandatory,” he said. Duterte said the government will also increase infrastructure spending to “realize the ‘Golden Age of Infrastructure’ that will enhance mobility and connectivity.” There must be an improvement in food security, he said, noting that while the country allocates vast tracts of land for commercial cultivation of crops for the export market, ensuring enough local supply of food must be given priority. Arriving Sunday from Vietnam, Duterte said he had “most productive” meetings with the leaders of China and Russia, who were also at the Apec summit. “I took the opportunity to meet my counterparts from many economies. I renewed my friendship with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and with President Xi Jinping of China,” Duterte said upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2. Duterte first met with Putin on the sidelines of the Apec Economic Leaders Meeting, where the Russian president vowed to support the country’s fight against terrorism ,which is a common challenge for both countries. Duterte thanked Putin for Russia’s “timely assistance” in putting an end to the fivemonth long Marawi crisis. Before he returned to Manila, Duterte met with President Xi Jinping, lauding him also for China’s assistance in resolving the Marawi siege. “I see a very bright future for our relationship. Nothing to do with military. I have stated before and I was not lying, I would not entertain talks about military or anything except that I had to

US... From A1

an instant reply because mediation involves all of the claimants and non-claimants.” Vietnam has long courted support from Washington in its dispute with China over the precious waterway, where Beijing has built military installations and artiﬁcial islands. Beijing’s sweeping claims also overlap with those of the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan. Trump’s comments come ahead of a state visit on Sunday afternoon by Chinese President Xi Jinping who will meet with top communist leaders. Tensions over the sea spiked earlier this year when Vietnam suspended an oil exploration project in an area of the waterway also

claimed by Beijing, reportedly over pressure from its powerhouse communist neighbor. In 2014, China moved an oil rig into the waters off Vietnam’s coast, sparking violent protests in several Vietnamese cities. Trump is in Hanoi for a brisk visit that could touch on boosting military support for America’s former wartime foe. Talks will also focus on promoting trade between the cozy allies, though Vietnam’s gaping trade surplus with the United States, worth $32 billion in 2016, could be a sticking point. Trump heads to Manila later Sunday for the ﬁnal stop on his marathon Asia tour that has mainly focused on building regional consensus against North Korea’s nuclear ambitions and espousing his “America First” vision of global trade. AFP

News DFA ready for crisis in Mideast By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan The Department of Foreign Affairs on Sunday said it is ready to respond to any contingency arising from the brewing tensions in the Middle east to ensure the safety of close to two million Filipinos working in the region. Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano assured the public the DFA is on top of the situation and that it is continuously monitoring developments in the Middle east, particularly in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Iraq. “Of course, we are very much concerned with what is happening in the Middle east because whether we like it or not we would be affected by the outcome of developments taking place there,” Cayetano said. “We would like to assure the public, however, that there is no need to be alarmed at this point but if the situation escalates, we can be expected to respond and lead our kababayans out of harm’s way,” he added. Cayetano also expressed his concern over last week’s ballistic missile attack on Saudi Arabia, host to almost one million Filipino workers. he said the attack, which targeted the heavily populated airport area in Riyadh, endangered the lives of many innocent civilians, including Filipinos.

MoNday, NoveMber 13, 2017

Lopez hit for Asean lane gaffe A CTReSS and beauty queen Maria Isabel Lopez may have her driver’s license suspended or revoked after she admitted on social media that she drove on the exclusive lane for the delegates to the 31st Association of Southeast Asian nations Summit to escape the horrendous traffic along epifanio Delos Santos Avenue or edsa.

In a statement shared by the Department of Foreign Affairs, national Capital Region Police Office director Oscar

Albayalde on Sunday, the task group commander for Asean route security, said his office fully supports the recommen-

dation of two other agencies for the suspension or revocation of Lopez’s driver’s license for violation of traffic rules and for breach of security. “We strongly support the recommendation for the suspension or revocation of Ms. Ma. Isabel Lopez driver’s license,” Albayalde said. “A person of her stature should be an example to the Filipino community but she did just the contrary,” he added. Albayalde said the incident should serve as a “stern warning and remind-

er” to the public. Later, the Asean committee on security, peace and order, and emergency preparedness and response warned the public against defying the traffic plan put in place in connection with the Asean Summit or face criminal charges. The committee chairperson, Interior and Local government Secretary Catalino Cuy, issued the stern warning after Lopez admitted on Saturday she disregarded traffic regulations by removing the divider cones or

her violation could put risk to the lives of both the delegates and the public. “As a public figure, Ms. Lopez must be mindful of the impacts of her actions. We tirelessly remind the people that traffic rules are created to save lives and put order in the management of traffic flow, especially now that we are hosting the Asean Summit. We will not allow someone like her to simply put our plans to naught,” Cuy said. Sara Susanne D. Fabunan and Rio N. Araja

Palace elated over Pulse Asia survey

WHAT A CATCH.

Miss International beauty pageant contestants, (from left) Miss Portugal Ana Rita Almeida Marques, Miss Myanmar Sao Yoon Wadi, Miss Singapore Kylie Yeo, Miss Russia Elena Kviatkevich, Miss Poland Paulina Maziarz, Miss Moldova Daniela Dejan, Miss Taiwan Ling Tzu Hsieh, Miss Philippines Maria Angelica De Leon and Miss Nepal Niti Shah, pose with Kiyoshi Kimura (center), president of sushi restaurant chain SushiZanmai, and a 250-kilogram bluefin tuna at his main restaurant near the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo on Sunday. The 69 contestants will compete for the Miss International crown on Tuesday, Nov. 14 in Tokyo. AFP

By Bill Casas

Abu Sayyaf bandit killed, 2 others nabbed in Sulu An ABu Sayyaf group bandit was killed, two others were captured, and eight others surrendered in separate operations over the weekend, the military reported Sunday. Brigadier general Cirilito Sobejana, commander of

traffic barriers in place used for the smooth flow of traffic and to “reserve” priority lanes for Asean delegates. “In the same post, she also mentioned that several motorists took advantage of what she did and followed suit,” the committee report read, in a Facebook message posted by Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board spokesperson Aileen Lizada. Lopez’s behavior should neither be condoned nor tolerated, Cuy said, adding

Joint Task Force Sulu, said the operations were “another significant setback on the part of the ASg.” Sobejana said an unidentified ASg fighter was killed in an operation in Sitio Tubig gantang, Ba-

rangay Lagasan-higad at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday. government troops also arrested Delson Kansiong, 27, and nadzfar Abdulla, 19, and recovered two highpowered firearms and other assorted ammunition.

Along with the slain fighter, the three bandits are members of the ASg under sub-leader Idang Susukan, Sobejana said. Kansiong and Abdulla have been brought to Sulu Provincial Police Office for detention.

MALACAñAng on Sunday welcomed a recent Pulse Asia survey showing President Rodrigo Duterte having the highest public approval and trust ratings out of the four most recent chief executives. “Ito po ay magsisilbing inspirasyon sa ating Pangulo at sa mga miyembro ng Gabinete na mas lalo pang galingan ang trabaho at tutukan ang mga reporma na ipinangako ng ating mahal na Pangulo nung kampanya noong 2016 [This will inspire the President and his Cabinet to do a better job and focus on the reforms promised during the campaign],” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said. The executive branch and the President’s supporters are likewise elated

by the survey result and will work even harder to deliver Duterte’s other commitments, especially those on infrastructure, Andanar added. As of September 2017, President Duterte got an 80-percent trust and approval rating, higher than any rating received by his predecessors Joseph estrada, gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and Benigno Aquino III. Andanar, who arrived Sunday from Vietnam, also recapped the President’s visit to Da nang, where he pushed for equal opportunities among nations. Duterte met with Vietnamese President Tran Dai Quang and congratulated him over Vietnam’s successful hosting of the Asia-Pacific economic Cooperation Summit 2017.

Opinion

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017

Adelle Chua, Editor

EDITORIAL

Security oversight

RANSPORT authorities are in a huff after a former beauty queen, to escape traffic, used a lane along Edsa reserved for accredited delegates to this week’s Asean Summit.

On her Facebook page, former beauty queen and actress Maria Isabel Lopez bragged about how she removed some divider cones along the southbound lane of Edsa, and simply drove into the reserved Asean lane with her hazard lights turned on. “I removed the divider cones! Then all other motorists behind me followed! MMDA thinks I’m an official Asean delegate! If you can’t beat them, join them!” Lopez said in her post, which was accompanied by two videos showing her speeding down the Asean lane while motorists remained stuck in the regular lanes, which were under a partial lock-

down. Lopez seemed to revel in her ability to escape the special traffic regulations, using the hashtags #nosticker, #pasaway and #selfpreservation on her post. The Metro Manila Development Authority was not amused, noting that the Asean lanes were set up to ensure safe and speedy trips for world leaders and delegates attending the 31st Asean and Related Summits. Calling her action “a serious breach of security,” an MMDA spokesman said it would recommend to the Land Transportation Office that Lopez’s driver license be canceled.

It also said an apology, which Lopez said she would issue, would not be enough. In her defense, Lopez told one newspaper, “The end doesn’t justify the means, but I had to answer the call of nature because I was stuck in traffic for 3 hours. Sorry but I’m just human.” But the MMDA said it was wrong for a woman of her stature to brag about an illegal act on social media. Metro Manila police chief Oscar Albayalde agreed. “We strongly support the recommendation for the suspension or revocation of Ms. Maria Isabel Lopez’s driver’s license for violation of traffic rules and also for breach of security. A person of her stature should be an example to the Filipino community but she did just the contrary,” he said. Lopez’s antics have also angered the

Asean security committee, which released a separate statement saying such actions could “derail traffic management and can put at risk both the summit delegates and the traffic violators themselves.” The Asean Technical Working Group on Traffic Management said charges could be filed against Lopez. In the meantime, social media habitues, took to Facebook and Twitter to register their disgust that they had to sit through hours of traffic while Lopez cruised down easy street. In all the kerfuffle over Lopez’s misadventure, however, nobody has pointed out how trivial it was for one person to breach the Asean security arrangements. All Lopez had to do was remove some plastic divider cones. A terrorist with a bomb in the trunk could have done that too.

Asean at 50

There is very strong legislative support for the bill that introduces divorce to the Philippine legal system—after decades of being kept at bay! I have, in fact, very little doubt that Congress will pass the divorce law. Not that I approve of it but the argument—actually fallacious—that we are the only state, besides the Vatican (quite obviously!) that does not allow for divorce seems very persuasive to many of our people who have quite regrettably been habituated to sophistry! The argument is often advanced that it is pointless, if not heartless, to force persons into a union that has become hurtful, dysfunctional if not destructive. If this is the argument, it clearly will not do because we have ample provisions on the nullity of marriage, its

FOR the next few days, the Philippines will be in the limelight. The whole world will be watching as we host the 50th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which has grown from the time when five countries, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines banded together to form a regional organization dedicated to facilitating economic, political, military and cultural integration amongst member Asian states. Asean’s original fivenation grouping has since 1967 increased to ten, to include Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. Early on, in 1963, Presidents Diosdado Macapagal and Indonesia’s Sukarno met in Manila to proclaim a panMalayan organization called Maphilindo, which was scuttled as soon as it was formed when the latter declared a confrontational policy against the then Malaya. Before that, through the auspices of the Americans, a Southeast Asian Treaty Organization, patterned after Nato, was put up to counter growing Communist threats across the region. But Asean has withstood the test of time, and is now 50 years old. While it is coincidence that the Philippine president is now the chair of the Asean on its 50th year, it also highlights the fact that our country has always been pivotal in the formation and strengthening of the regional grouping. The ten-member aggrupation aims to accelerate economic growth and progress among its members as well as promote regional stability while resolving differences amongst each other peacefully. Yet 50 years since its founding, it has been criticized for being “too soft, too loose” and given to just annual gatherings that produce little. This may not be a fair assessment, as it has promoted steps towards integration, such as the Asean free trade deals

Turn to A5

Filipinos and American divorces MY DEAR friend and colleague, Judge Selma Alaras, recently posted on Facebook, an article by an American immigration lawyer that is certainly of interest to the many Filipinos looking forward to crossing over to “the land of promise,” leaving behind troubled lives and dysfunctional marriages. The article rightly assured the migrating Filipina that she need not worry about applying for and obtaining a decree of nullity before our Philippine courts. Once in the US, he wrote, she could divorce her Filipino husband and wed her American boyfriend— and by contrast to nullity proceedings in the Philip-

pines that could take forever, American divorces on such a common ground as “irreconcilable differences” can be favorably resolved in a matter of months. What the article’s author failed to mention, however, are the complications attending this route. If she files for divorce from her husband before a US court before she becomes a naturalized American, that divorce will have utterly no currency in the Philippines. The result is that her spouse may very well charge her with the crime of bigamy. Worse, it will not deprive her spouse, left in the Philippines, of the rights of administration and co-ownership over the community property—because insofar as this jurisdiction is concerned, they would still be married. Should she subsequently obtain naturaliza-

tion as an spouse American, and one then, by a p e t i ju r ispr utioned The promises dential by the made in interpretaFi l ipi no tion of the spouse, marriage—as in Family there is the Sacrament of Code, the one matdivorce Order—are acts of ter that w o u l d does not supreme have the receive effect of sufficient freedom. freeing attenher own tion. It spouse is blackhere from letter law the matrimonial bond, leav- that when the American ing him free in turn to petitions for and obtains a remarry. Should there be divorce against a Filipino children by the first mar- spouse, the decree of diriage, that would put in an vorce, once recognized in added complication! this jurisdiction, enables the While, often, law profes- Filipino spouse to re-marry. sors in the Philippines will By contrast, when it is the point to the difference be- Filipino spouse who applies tween a US divorce at the for the divorce, the decree instance of an American will not have any effect in

this jurisdiction insofar as the marriage is concerned. There is however the principle of private international law that status is determined by national law, a principle the Supreme Court applied in the landmark case of Van Dorn v. Romillo. And so, if a Filipino obtains a US divorce against an American spouse, while that divorce may not be recognized in the Philippines it will have the effect of changing the status of the American, because his or her status will not be reckoned by Philippine law but by US law. One will then reach the curious result that while the divorce obtained by the Filipino against an American spouse is not recognized in the Philippines, the American spouse will, by the laws of the US, no longer have the status of spouse to the Filipino!

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 13, 2017

Marijuana menace NO, THEY are not having pot sessions in the Lower House. But for our congressmen to even consider a bill legalizing marijuana for medicinal use is giving rise to suspicion some of them could be sniffing it in closed-door sessions. Going against the tide, Buhay Party-List Rep. Lito Atienza raised his vocal opposition to the proposal to legalize the use of marijuana as medicine. So far, 80 House members signed up as co-sponsors of the Medical Marijuana Bill authored by Isabela Rep. Rodito Albano. The bill is now up for deliberations for approval on second reading. Atienza aired his concern that when people want to try smoking something other than a cigarette, marijuana seem to them like an attractive forbidden fruit. From cigarettes to marijuana , their addiction takes them to the next higher level and the dark world of dangerous drugs like shabu and cocaine. Legalizing

marijuana, Atienza pointed out, is a contradiction to President Rodrigo Duterte’s all out war on illegal drugs. “There is no conclusive study that marijuana or cannabis really has medicinal benefits. If the misconception is that marijuana can be used as a pain-killer, there are already medicines with proven efficacy in the market for this purpose,” said Atienza. Results of medical study in fact showed that marijuana has adverse effects. The brain of a heavy marijuana user becomes addled making him or her hallucinate and become violent. Marijuana is more addictive than cigarettes which the government is strongly waging a campaign to discourage smoking which is often the cause of lung cancer, emphysema and cardiac attacks. “Mary Jane” as teenagers call the weed, is already widely sniffed at disco bars and other private gatherings. While there is a ban against smoking in public places, one can get high by just being inside some disco bars where the air is heavy with the sharp smell of marijuana. The pervasive smoking of

marijuana somehow goes on with the complicity of bar owners and security guards who are told to look the other way because unrestricted environments draws the young crowd in which is good for business. Planting marijuana instead of rice and other agricultural food for the masses is counterproductive to increasing the country’s agriculture output which is a big factor in the GNP percentage. Atienza warned that legalizing marijuana as medicine could grow into a cottage industry that might give the country the tag “marijuana capital of the world.” The cannabis plant can be grown in the family backyard or even in pots placed on the terraces of condominium apartments or rooftops of houses. This is being done by “potheads” in the United States on the pretext they need to smoke marijuana for health benefits. Only two or three states so far have passed laws making the use of marijuana legal. While some state may legalize marijuana, the prospect of a federal law for a US-wide decriminalizing its use is still remote in America.

Atienza is the last few minority opposition in the House. Against the supermajority in the lower chamber, he may be waging another lonely fight on the issue of “medical” marijuana. He vowed to his constituency , however, that as Buhay Party List representative, he will oppose the measure on the House floor. A staunch pro-life advocate, Atienza also opposed the passage of the controversial Reproductive Health bill. The RH law, as it is turning out, is not proving effective because of the shortage of contraceptives or condoms doled by government to the low income class. This sector of society which includes those unable to even finish secondary education are the most vulnerable and prolific in contributing to the burgeoning 100.2-million population. The bright side to Atienza’s crusade if one call it that is the Catholic Church supports his advocacies. Second, newly reappointed Health Secretary Francisco Duque III has not given his unequivocal support for the medicinal marijuana measure. He is most probably weighing his stand care-

fully lest he offend some congressmen who are also members of the bicameral Commission on Appointments who will vet and approve his nomination by the President. More importantly, President Duterte who has his hands full attending the Asia Pacific Economic Conference in Da Nang, Vietnam and will also host the Asean and Dialogue Partners Summit in Manila/Clark this week has not given his official stand on the marijuana bill. It would be incongruous that Duterte who is anti-illegal drugs would support the use of marijuana. But then, who knows? Who then is /are behind the group pushing for the marijuana bill in the House? Don’t look at me for answers; look at the usual suspects who might have a hidden history of substance abuse. There are speculations smugglers want to export (not import) marijuana to other countries in Asia, the US and Europe. Indeed the planting of marijuana as an alternative crop to the decline of tobacco growing could be lucrative to hacenderos who own vast tracts of idle land.

Trump and Xi both ‘lose-lose‘ By Michael Schuman CHINA’S President Xi Jinping likes to talk of “winwin” diplomacy and this week’s official visit by President Donald Trump to Beijing would seem to fall into that category. Trump walked away with a very tweetable $250 billion in deals—covering everything from aircraft to soybeans—to brag about to his domestic supporters. Xi, like so many Chinese leaders before him, appears to have shipped off the barbarian chieftain with a few baubles to distract him from harassing the empire. The reality, though, is that the Trump-Xi summit was a “lose-lose” proposition. By focusing on headline-friendly deals, the two leaders shunted aside the more difficult economic challenges facing the USChina relationship—and set back the long-term interests of both their nations. Sure, we shouldn’t sniff at a quarter-trillion dollars—even if many deals, merely in the memorandum

stage, may never materialize. Whatever develops will be a boon for US businesses and farmers. And Xi benefits, too. By appeasing a White House obsessed with trade deficits, Xi could deflate, at least temporarily, mounting pressure in Washington to take action against unfair Chinese business practices. But there’s the rub. Trump didn’t do US businesses any favors by failing to address the major issues they face in China. American CEOs want the Chinese government to open its gargantuan market more widely to foreign business, better protect their intellectual property, stop extracting technology in exchange for access and treat their companies as equals to their Chinese rivals. Trump barely flicked at any of these problems (at least publicly). In fact, he went even further, practically absolving China of any responsibility for treating the US unfairly. “I don’t blame China,” he said. “After all, who can blame

Filipinos... From A4

annulment or legal separation, not to mention the protective provisions of the Violence Against Women and Their Children Act that more than sufficiently take care of these hurtful and pernicious cases. The real point seems to be that is the prevailing, underlying ethos of the age that no one should be enslaved by life-long promises or vows. It is in the same spirit that the Catholic Church’s insistence on the life-long celibacy of its priests has been characterized as

Asean... From A4

and its zero-tariff among members to promote regional trade. Unlike the European Union, which began with a European Economic Community, Asean’s way is less formal and more interpersonal. Consensus is the rule in all conferences, where delegates consult each other and try to iron out differences in policies and programs via small compromises. Conflicts, if any bigger than minor, are often kept under wraps, and if consensus is not achieved, decision-making is put off for a more propitious time. It is called the Asean way, and contrasts with the Western way where candor

a country for being able to take advantage of another country for the benefit of its citizens? I give China great credit.” That made for many enthusiastic handshakes during Trump’s Beijing jaunt. It left US companies no better off, though, with little support from their own president on issues that could determine their ability to compete—even survive—in the world’s second-largest economy. For his part, Xi was only too happy to dodge. Trump’s soft-glove approach has ensured China can continue to pursue a nationalistic agenda to upgrade key industries, amply subsidized by the state. Yet Xi shouldn’t feel too proud of himself. The same reforms Trump should have been pushing would help the Chinese leader achieve his goals, too. Opening China’s domestic market would enhance competition, in the process improving the performance of Chinese companies. That would help control risky

obsolescent if not ‘unnatural’. Paradoxically however the very same freedom that the advocates of divorce and the opponents of life-long vows and promises so strenuously champion is what is compromised by this advocacy! The promises made in marriage— as in the Sacrament of Order—are acts of supreme freedom. They are the deliberate and free determination of an otherwise indeterminate future. The choice of a possibility always entails the rejection of others. Whether at the table or at life, one cannot have his cake and eat it too! Similarly, one when enters

is more visible to the public. Take the present situation in the border of Myanmar and Bangladesh, where some half a million Rohingya are forced to flee because of what many perceive to be some form of ethnic cleansing by the Buddhist majority against the small Islamic community. On its 50th year, Asean as a group has not publicly come up with a common stand on this humanitarian crisis. Our president has spoken about the plight of the Rohingya, in an oblique way of questioning the interference of human rights activists who keep pestering him with criticisms about the conduct of his war on drugs while being eerily silent on the humanitarian crisis that has befallen a poor minor-

debt and enliven sagging productivity. A more open economy would also encourage greater consumption—also a stated Beijing policy—which would in turn give a boost to healthier growth. Stricter protection of intellectual property would entice foreign firms to import much-needed technology into China and spur local entrepreneurs to innovate—both critical if China is to leap into the ranks of the world’s most advanced economies. And by taking such steps, China would go a long way towards dissuading the US and other governments from erecting protectionist hurdles to Chinese business. That would ensure Chinese companies the continued free access to foreign markets they need to expand internationally, thus fulfilling yet another of Xi’s economic priorities. Perhaps Xi will eventually arrive at the conclusion that such reforms are indeed necessary. But some swift kicks from the US could

into a marital union, one chooses a spouse and foreswears all other unions and liaisons. It is the same thing with the promise to give one’s life in the service of God’s people and the Church. It is an extremely difficult promise, but it is certainly not impossible, failings and failures notwithstanding! Allowing for divorce is allowing one to go back on one’s promises and to negate the power and efficacy of a supreme act of human freedom! Yet, human society and its flourishing depend on certain promises being kept in perpetuity: such as the promise of parents to care for their

ity on account of religiocultural differences. As often, Duterte has been exception. Or the South China Sea issue, where several Asean states have territorial disputes with China. Each member-nation is left to his own devices in confronting the dispute, such as when former President Benigno S. Aquino III filed a suit in the Permanent Court of Arbitration. In the course of its existence, Asean has also enlarged the concept of regional cooperation to include first three of its richest neighbors, namely China, Japan and South Korea. Thus, many of its conferences include these three countries and agreements have been forged in what is now called Asean Plus

speed that process along. Without external pressure, Xi has a lot less incentive to undertake changes that would transform the country’s state-led economic system and threaten players who currently benefit from it. Of course, such high-profile summits are often more about cooperation than confrontation. Once back in Washington, Trump may toughen his stance and press Xi harder. Perhaps Xi, the country’s unchallenged leader after last month’s Communist Party congress, will march forward more quickly on reform as many China watchers hope. But those are all maybes. What was missed on Trump’s trip to China was an opportunity for the world’s two most powerful men to tackle some big decisions on issues that could shape not just the future of the US-China relationship, but the growth prospects and competitiveness of both economies. That truly would have been a “winwin.” Bloomberg

children, and the promise of citizens to abide by law, and the promise of humankind to respect and hold sacred human life. In the end, it is not only the expediency by which one can dump a spouse and pick up another that is at stake in the divorce debate, but the human capacity of make binding decisions and free choices that determine an otherwise open-ended future, and to make of it a future shaped by human intellect and will! rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@outlook.com

Three. This writer was one of those who participated in the long process that resulted in an Asean Plus Three Emergency Rice Reserve agreement, where nations committed to provide a rice reserve contribution to prevent spikes in prices of its staple food commodity. This was in reaction to the rice crisis of 2008, when the world market price of rice shot through the roof, and rice-deficient nations such as ours saw poor people forming long lines for their daily rice consumption heavily subsidized by government, then under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The plus-three countries have likewise come up with the largest rice-reserve contribution, realizing that rice is both an economic and po-

litical commodity being the staple food of all of the region, theirs included. Food security after all impacts most on regional stability. Further on, Asean has also forged links with other countries far removed geographically from the Southeast Asian region, such as the US, Russia, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. But it is certainly far from being a community similar to the European Union, with a single currency and a Schengen visa covering almost every member state. Still and all, we must take small steps towards solidifying and strengthening the 50-year old aggrupation. With 2020 just around the corner, what will happen to Asean’s 2020 Vision? It is confronted by many prob-

Commitment to the rule of law vital to Asean stability THE curtain-raiser for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and related events in Manila this week was a forum that featured a powerhouse line-up of local and international experts. Organized by the private think tank Stratbase Albert del Rosario Institute, “Asean Leadership amid a New World Order” aptly set the stage for what would no doubt prove to be a pivotal gathering for the 50-year-old regional bloc. Context was key in highlighting just how critical this part of the world has become in light of increasingly complex and quickly evolving global geopolitics. Former foreign affairs secretary Albert del Rosario opened the proceedings with an important reminder on just how high the stakes are when one considers Asean’s unique position. He explained: “Over 600-million people call Southeast Asia home. The region is not only one of the world’s largest population centers, it is host to several of its youngest, fastest-growing, and most dynamic economies.” Even so, he said, while such plethora of factors work in the region’s favor, an unfolding trend can well prove to be a game-changer. “The fates of the Southeast Asian nations and our primary trade and security partners are becoming more intertwined. Financial problems in one country may ricochet on another, just as security concerns in one area can engulf others.” As such, recent developments such as the threat of a nuclearized Korean Peninsula and an increasingly militarized West Philippine Sea can no longer be confined to the arena of security. Beijing’s continued aggressiveness in the disputed waters, for instance, had been seen as inherently connected to its trade-related needs to secure the critical sea lane. Such naked ambition had naturally come at the expense of diplomacy, about which the rising superpower seems to have no qualms. Such naked Beijing had summarily ignored and continues to igambition had nore the 2016 ruling on the naturally come West Philippine Sea issued at the expense by the international tribunal, a clear gap where Asean as of diplomacy, a community envisioned 50 about which years ago in Bangkok can and should come in. the rising This role is in jeopardy, superpower however, Del Rosario said. “Many of our states have seems to found themselves being have no pulled in different directions. qualms. This has been worsened by a lack of leadership from among us. In broader context, one can say that Asean is adrift.” The international tribunal’s decision represents a lost opportunity then, considering the Duterte administration’s all but resigned and defeatist attitude about it. Considering the complexity of Asean-China relationship, the ruling could have provided the much-needed boost in leveling what is a grossly uneven playing field. The award, propped up by international law, could have become “an essential piece of the puzzle in fostering the maritime security that we desire in Southeast Asia,” said Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase ADRi. “The case not only showed that disputes can be resolved without recourse to force and in accordance with law, it has become an example for the region to lean on in understanding their own rights and responsibilities,” he added. The ruling, Manhit said, could have even served as a guidepost as Asean formulates critical mechanisms in maintaining regional stability, mechanisms that are guided by principles of self-restraint and peaceful dispute resolution. Examples cited include the Code on Unplanned Encounters at Sea and a legally-binding Asean Code of Conduct. For his part, defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana acknowledged the need to establish such a code of conduct in the disputed waters, ostensibly to strengthen strategic trust among nations, especially in light of warming ties between Beijing and Manila. Even so, his recommendations include deepening military exchanges with other regional and global players, including the US, Australia, Japan, and others. Del Rosario, who as foreign affairs secretary was notably tough on Beijing, said he still believes that China’s trajectory toward global superpower status can still be within the framework of international law. “China should consider if, in achieving its present military or economic objectives, it will continue to have a measure of respect from its neighbors. We know that it can do so, because China’s path to ascendance as a nation has not always been led by its might.” If this vision is too idealistic, it still doesn’t compare to just capitulating to Beijing’s whims, del Rosario said. For the smaller states to abandon their sovereign equality, he warned, will only “guarantee that we bequeath our grievances to our children.” The option, he said, is totally unsatisfactory. The only recourse then is to carefully consolidate whatever leverage Asean has in its evolving relationship with its neighbor. In this case, a steadfast commitment to the rule of law should always be the first—and perhaps the most critical—step. lems, not the least of which is globalization, which has benefited some nations more than others, and which is currently being challenged by an insularity in the American president’s policy thinking. In the next few days, our country shall be in the limelight while hosting an historic summit of leaders, and it is perhaps propitious that Asean’s chairman in this summit marking fifty

years is someone who finds the ways of “quiet diplomacy” too tedious, and is always anxious to achieve desired results quickly. We can only wish Asean well, and hope that in our lifetime, economic integration of ten countries with a combined population of some 650 million, of which Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam constitute 450 million, will yet come to fruition.

News

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017 mst.daydesk@gmail.com

Land agency to upgrade 24m titles T HE Land Registration Authority has accelerated its efforts for a nationwide launch of the Title Upgrade Program by holding a series of roadshows with its key stakeholders. These roadshows will serve as venues for LRA to consult and discuss with banks, real estate developers and government owned and controlled corporations the enhancements on the security and safety of land titles when land owners upgrade their manually issued land titles into eTitles.

There are 24.5-million land titles all over the country, a fraction of which are currently being converted as digitized titles. The roadshows are set on Nov. 22 and 29, 2017 at the Sulo Riviera Hotel, Quezon City and on Nov. 27, 2017 at the Banker’s Association of the Philippines office. The Nov. 22 and 27 roadshows will target banks and financial institutions while the Nov. 29 roadshow will cater to LRA’s partner GOCCs and real-estate developers. “The Title Upgrade Program was launched to safeguard the security and integrity of the certificate of land title, which is the best proof of own-

ership over a land,” LRA Deputy Administrator Robert Nomar Leyretana said. Leyretana adds that the program is part of LRA’s Land Titling Computerization Project which seeks to secure all paper documents, have them converted into digital copies and establish an electronic database parallel to the physical copy. “With this, LRA is pursuing a better way to safely store, archive and retrieve land records,” he said. The title upgrade program is currently being implemented in 24 Registry of Deeds Ofﬁces, namely: Dagupan City, Legaspi City, Laguna, San Carlos, Batangas, Romblon, Mindoro

Occidental, Catanduanes, Quezon City, Marikina City, Iloilo, Iloilo City, Cebu, Cebu City, Cotabato City, Biliran, Gingoog City, Misamis Occidental, Maguindanao, Camiguin, Lanao del Sur, Zamboanga del Sur, and Agusan del Sur. When landowners and title holders present an annotation transaction with the RD, the manually-issued titles will be automatically upgraded into an eTitle. Once digitized, the vault copy of the title will be free from the risk of theft, loss or damage. Unlike paper titles, eTitles are secured from natural and man-made disasters. LRA intends to work with banks,

real estate developers and GOCCs through a signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) to set in motion the Authority’s efforts for more efﬁcient and reliable land registration procedures. “We hope to forge partnerships with our stakeholders so that the public will be able to ﬁnd easier access in converting their manually issued titles to eTitles,” LRA Deputy Administrator Ronald Ortile pointed out. Through the MOA signing with its key stakeholders, millions of the manually-issued titles will undergo data conversion process and be stored in LRA’s database prior to conversion to eTitles.

Former BSU execs told to return excess pay By Rio Araja

SUMMIT VENUE. Security measures are put in place at the CCP Complex in Pasay City and other Asean Summit venues as the Philippines hosts the 31st staging of the regional event from Nov.1315, 2017. Revoli Cortez

Pinoy medics in US reject marijuana bill FILIPINO physicians based in the United States have rejected the proposed new legislation in the Philippines that seeks to authorize the prescription of medical marijuana for a variety of ailments, warning against the high risk of abuse owing to the addictive effects of the illegal drug. “We currently have enough drug addiction problems in the Philippines and certainly do not want to add more,” said Dr. Philip S. Chua, a heart surgeon and chairman of the Filipino United Network (FUN)USA. FUN-USA is “a humanitarian foundation composed of FilipinoAmerican associations and medical graduates of the Philippines now practicing in the US. “While as a heart surgeon I am personally in favor of therapeutic marijuana for those medical cases that do not respond to standard medical care, I feel as you do that this will be abused in our country and turn the Philippines into a zombie nation as you stated. This is already happening in America,” Chua said in a statement of support e-mailed to the ofﬁce of Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza. Atienza, the senior deputy minority leader, has been at the forefront of the opposition to the passage of the proposed Act Providing Filipinos Right of Access to Medical Marijuana, or House Bill 6517.

Gun show turns 25, opens Nov. 16; PNP chief main guest ALL roads lead to the SM Megamall in Mantdaluyong City on Nov. 16 to 20 as the 25th Defense & Sporting Arms Show Part 2 opens its door to gun enthusiasts with more exciting array of modern weaponry, activities, interesting seminars and even rafﬂe prizes await lucky visitors. World shooting champion Jethro T. Dionisio, president of the Association of Firearms and Ammunition Dealers of the Philippines Inc. , says a wide selection of ﬁrearms, ammunition

and shooting paraphernalia will be showcased in the country’s longest running gun exhibit which opens to the public at 10 a.m. on Nov. 16. Director General Ronald dela Rosa, chief of the Philippine National Police , was invited as guest of honor and speaker during the ribbon cutting ceremonies at 11a.m. on Nov. 17, the second day of the DSAS. In partnership with the PNP, the DSAS will again spearhead the Firearms Caravan which will process applications for License to Own and

Possess Firearms, Permit to Carry Firearms Outside of Residence and Provisional LTOPF. The Firearms Caravan will also have an onsite printing of LTOPF and Firearms Registration ID cards during the gun show. Applicants are advised to check the requirements in the Defense & Sporting Arms Show Facebook page before availing the services of the Firearms Caravan. On Nov. 19, some members of the Philippine delegation who raked

medals during the 2017 IPSC Handgun World Shoot XVIII held in France last Aug. 28 to Sept. 3 will also hold a meet and greet session for DSAS visitors. In celebrating the 25th anniversary of the DSAS, AFAD will rafﬂe exciting prizes for lucky visitors during the ﬁve-day gun show event. Gun show visitors are advised to pre-register at www.afad.ph/dsas to shorten the queuing at the entrance of the Megatrade Hall, Building B of SM Megamall.

Senator sees no need for new taxes

AGAINST UNSAFE TOYS. With Christmas just around the corner, the Ecowaste Coalition holds an event t at Quezon City Circle to remind kids and adults of the potential hazards in toys that are not properly labeled and have not undergone quality and safety assessment, which can put one’s health, safety and development at risk. Manny Palmero

WITH the improved tax collections of the Bureau of Customs, Senator JV Ejercito said the government may no longer need to increase taxes on oil and beverages under the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion. “I consider it as a strong argument against the TRAIN the recent developments where the BoC [Bureau of Customs] collected P42 billion worth of import duties and taxes last October,” said Ejercito. He said the collection is the highest take in a month in the bureau’s history. He also said the Bureau of Internal Revenue netted over P138 billion in September, which was higher than its P130.12 billion goal for the month. He said this is an indication that we can raise revenues even without increasing the taxes or imposing new ones. Macon Araneta

THE Commission on Audit has directed former officials of the Bulacan State University to return P37.88 million in an unauthorized extra compensation they received in 2012. Chairman Michael Aguinaldo, and Commissioners Jose Fabia and Isabel Agito issued an order, denying the petition of former university president Mariano de Jesus, board of regent member Hermogena Bautista and other university officials to seek the lifting of 42 notices of disallowance issued on March 12, 2013 ordering them to refund the full amount. The notices were received on March 25 and 26, 2013, but the petition for review was filed only after 231 days. Under the CoA rules, an appeal must be filed within 180 days. The seven-page CoA decision dated Sept. 27, 2017 but released only last November 3 affirmed the CaA Region 3 pronouncement that the grant of accomplishment incentive award to university official of P37,876,296.57 had no basis. “It bears emphasizing that the appeal is not a right but a mere statutory privilege. Petitioners’ late filing of their appeal is a clear disregard of this Commission’s procedural rules… [they] gave this Commission no other option but to deny their petition,” the order read.

Climate woes major threat, Trump told

AN ENVIRONMENTAL group has made an appeal to US president Donald Trump to take a second look at the issue of global warming and climate change as it cited studies pointing to the Philippines as among the top countries gravely affected by global warming and climate change. Clean Air Philippines Movement Inc. chairman Michael Aragon said: “Few days ago we remembered the painful memories of the gruesome deaths of 6000 Filipinos and the massive devastations of a great part of our country brought about by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) that ravaged the Philippines last Nov. 8, 2013. Because of the continuing threat to Filipino life and limb we are appealing to US President Donald Trump, to take a second look at the issue of global warming and climate change. Studies of the German Watch organization (particularly the Global Climate Risk Index), the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and many other credible studiets have shown that the Philippines (although not a major contributor to the overall global carbon footprint of the world) is included among the top list of countries most vulnerable to the deadly effects of climate change. The Philippines’ minor contribution to the total global carbon footprint is only 0.3 percent or less than one percent vis-à-vis the major carbon footprint contributions of the first world countries (like the United States) yet when fatal disasters strike due to global warming and climate change it is the Filipinos who suffers most.”

Standard

TODAY

game against Minnesota with a sore left thigh. J.J. Redick ﬁnished with 17 points, French guard Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot came off the bench to score 15 and forward Dario Saric added 14 for the 76ers. Elsewhere, Bradley Beal and Markieff Morris combined for 37 points as the Washington Wizards defeated the Atlanta Hawks 113-94. Beal tallied 19 points and Morris 18 as the Wizards improved to 7-5 on the NBA season. Kelly Oubre also had 18

OS ANGELES – The Golden State Warriors delivered a message Saturday that the defending league champs are back on form with a dominating 135-114 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Saturday.

By Peter Atencio

Philadelphia had won ﬁve of its last six, but found itself hopelessly outgunned in the second half against the Warriors, who extended their winning streak to six games. All six wins have been by 17 or more points, the longest such streak in franchise his-

THE University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs, behind big man John Cansino and newcomer Kobe Palencia, upended the University of the Philippines Integrated School Junior Maroons, 97-62, last Saturday at the Arena in San Juan. The 6’1” Cansino, who struck with 28 points and 11 rebounds, led a decisive 13-4 run in the start of the first half, lifting UST to its first win with three others in the 80th University Athletic Association of the Philippines Junior Basketball Tournament. Scoring 11 points in the third canto, Casino unloaded 10 of it in the last seven minutes, and from there, UST had little trouble taking charge. “Nakuha ng mga bata ang kumpiyansa nila. Although, nung first and second quarter, nara-rattle pa,” said UST coach Christopher Cantonjos, who is on his second year of handling the team. The Tiger Cubs had a five-point lead, 36-31, at halftime. Four charities and a triple from Cansino allowed UST to move away for good, 4333, with 7:27 left left. Palencia, a Palarong Pambansa standout from Ormoc, was among eight newcomers in the Tiger Cubs, had a great with 23 point output that afternoon. He helped widen UST’s edge with his three-point play and three-point shot off Batang Gilang standout Bismarck Lina’s pass in the last 6:17 to go. From there, UST moved further away, 69-35. The Junior Maroons, coached by Paolo Mendoza, got 15 points from Matt Santiago. Earlier, defending champion Far Eastern University, Ateneo and National University also picked up their first wins. The Baby Tams, who were in control for three quarters, held their ground as La Salle Zobel rallied in the fourth, and they got off with a 71-67 win.

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – The World Robotics Olympiad, being held in Costa Rica this weekend, shows human athletes still have little to worry about: sweat and glory do not compute well when relegated to faceless automatons. But the same may not be true for workers, especially those in menial or transport activities where robots are steadily taking over. Think factory assemblers and sorters, or even self-driving cars. Some of the technology behind the robot revolution could be seen in the Olympiad, which gathered more than 2,500 people from more than 60 countries in a vast hall on the outskirts of Costa Rica’s capital San Jose -- the ﬁrst time the event, now in its 14th year, has been held in the Americas. AFP

Durant leads Dubs past 76ers L

Tiger Cubs score big win

‘Bots battle for the ball in Robot Olympiad

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017 sports_mstandard@yahoo.com

Sports

Manila

tory. Forward Kevin Durant returned from a one game absence to lead all scorers with 29 points. Klay Thompson had 23 and Stephen Curry 22 for the Warriors, who shot 58.5 percent from the ﬁeld. Durant sat out Wednesday’s

Foreign aces try to rebound at WW East DOMINATED by the locals in the first three legs, the crack foreign field aims to end the Filipinos’ surge in the PGT Asia Tour when the fourth leg is fired off Wednesday (Nov. 15) for the ICTSI Wack Wack Championship at WW East. Pasavee Lertvilai banners the 48 foreign entries from 16 countries in the $100,000 event with the Thai shotmaker out to atone for his playoff setback to unheralded Rene Menor in the second leg of the region’s newest circuit at Splendido last September. Wisut Artjanawat, another Thai entry who placed seventh in the kickoff leg at Wack Wack won by Miguel Tabuena, and Manila-based Dutchman Guido Van der Valk, who wound up sixth at Riviera topped by Clyde Mondilla, are also in the fold, both raring to slug it out with the local top guns on a tight course that requires accuracy more than length. Young American Micah Shin, and James Bowen, Paul Harris and Lexus Keoninh, also of the US, Dengshan Koh and Choo Tze Huang of Singapore, Aussies David Gleeson, Andrew Campbell and Rick Coleman are the other foreign entries tipped to contend for the top $17,500 purse in the 72-hole championship sponsored by ICTSI and organized by Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc. But they face another uphill battle against the fired-up local crew with Tabuena, Menor and Mondilla back in pursuit of a second crown and a slew of others all primed up for a crack at the title, including Tony Lascuña, Jay Bayron, Elmer Salvador, Jhonnel Ababa, Charles Hong, Zanieboy Gialon, Ferdie Aunzo, Orlan Sumcad, Mhark Fernando, Gerald Rosales and Marvin Dumandan.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCH 90, QUEZON CITY ROBERT FRAGMAN, represented By MARILYN MENDEZ Plaintiff, -versusCIVIL CASE NO. R-QZN-14-00713-CV VICENTE O. AGUSTIN Defendant. x------------------------------------------x

NOTICE OF SALE ON EXECUTION OF REAL PROPERTY WHEREAS, by virtue of the Writ of Execution dated July 29, 2016 issued in the aboveentitled case, wherein ROBERT FRAGMAN, represented by MARILYN MENDEZ, is the plaintiff, and VICENTE O. AGUSTIN is the defendant for Collection of Sum of Money with Damage/s the defendant is ordered to pay the plaintiff the following: (1) Php 2,420,000.00 as actual damages with 6% interest per annum to be computed on the Php 2,420,000.00, computed from the date of demand in August, 2009 until fully paid; (2) Php 500,000.00 as moral damages; (3) Php 200,000.00 as exemplary damages to teach defendant not to deceive foreigners and other persons similarly situated to part with their money; (4) Php 100,000.00 as attorney’s fees; and (5) Php 63,214.00 as costs of suit, together with the lawful fees for the service of this execution and sale, and on August 09, 2017, levy was made upon the rights, interests, titles, and participation of the defendant VICENTE O. AGUSTIN may have in the real property and all existing improvements which are more particularly described as follows, to wit: “TAX DECLARATION REAL PROPERTY

TD/ARP No.: F-041-02984 0000-2017-01-074821 PROPERTY INDEX: 21-041031-075 Owner: AGUSTIN GRACIA M & VICENTE O AGUSTIN (GS Address: LOT 2 BLK 45 FAIRVIEW PARK QC Location of Property: FAIRVIEW CAPITOL Quezon City OCT/TCT 157368 Dated: 08/14/1970 Lot No.: 2 Block NO.: 45 -----------------------------------------

KIND OF PROPERTY ASSESSED LAND Ra-3 CORNER N Actual Use: RESIDENTIAL Area: 514.000 Market Value (Php): 6,168,000.00 Classification: RESIDENTIAL Assessment Level (%): 6 Assessed Value (Php): 308,400.00 Total Assessed Value: THREE HUNDRED EIGHT THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED PESOS Taxable/Exempt: TAXABLE Effectivity of Assessment/ Reassessment: 2017 Annual Tax Due: 7,710.00 This declaration cancels TD/ ARP: E-041-03977 Previous AV: 138,780.00 (php) Prev. Owner AGUSTIN GRACIA M & VICENTE O AGUSTIN (GS xxx” NOW THEREFORE, by virtue of said Execution and in accordance with Rule 39 of the 1997 Rules of Civil Case Procedure, the undersigned Sheriff will sell thru Public Auction to the highest bidder, for CASH and in Philippine Currency on December 15, 2017 at 9:00 o’clock in the morning, in front of the Hall of Justice Building, Regional Trial Court, Quezon City, all the rights, interests, titles and/or participation of the defendant VICENTE O. AGUSTIN in the above-described real property together with its improvements in order to satisfy said Writ of Execution together with expenses for this execution and sale. This NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALE will be published in the MANILA STANDARD, newspaper of general circulation, once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks. Likewise, let copies of this Notice of Sheriff’s Sale be posted in three (3) conspicuous places where the real property is located and where the public auction shall take place. Prospective bidders or buyers are enjoined to investigate for themselves the title to the said real property and the encumbrances thereon, if there be any. Quezon City, November 08, 2017. FOR THE EX-OFFICIO SHERIFF:

points for the Wizards, who won back-to-back games for the ﬁrst time since opening the season 3-0. Morris said he is now looking forward to the next couple of weeks when they face teams like Toronto and Miami that are higher in the standings. “Not to take credit away from the (Los Angeles) Lakers and the Hawks, but they’re not the best offensive teams. Once we get to those good teams, then we’ll be able to measure what we have,” Morris said. Washington shot 53.8 per-

held to 12 points. The 76ers have now lost nine straight against Golden State. They had a chance to take a lead at the end of the second quarter, but Kevon Looney blocked Ben Simmons underneath the rim. Looney got the ball which led to a threepointer from Thompson to put Golden State up 65-64 at the half. The Warriors had a scare in the ﬁrst 24 minutes when they lost Curry for a few minutes after Simmons’ knee banged into Curry’s right thigh. AFP

Cignal dominates Iriga in Philippine Superliga Grand Prix action MALOLOS CITY—Cignal banked on its rock-solid defense to dominate Iriga City, 26-24, 25-23, 25-17, in the Chooks to Go-Philippine Superliga Grand Prix Saturday at the Malolos Sports and Convention Center here last weekend. Jovelyn Gonzaga provided the spark, but it was the imposing defensive presence of imports Beth Carey of Australia and Alexis Matthews of United States and Paneng Mercado

that did the damage for the HD Spikers in this prestigious club league bankrolled by Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller, Grand Sport, Rebisco, Island Rose, Cloudfone and UCPB Gen. Gonzaga ﬁred 15 kills while Carey and Matthews delivered 10 markers apiece as the HD Spikers controlled the blocking department, 8-1, in this battle that also has Gold’s Gym and Gerﬂor as technical sponsors and ESPN5 as

ofﬁcial broadcast partner. With the win, the HD Spikers shared the fourth spot with idle Generika-Ayala with a 2-3 winloss card and stepped back on the winning track following a pair of setbacks to Petron and Cocolife, respectively. “We all know that we came from back-to-back losses so we wanted to come back stronger,” said Gonzaga, who stepped up in the absence of star

Manila

Republic of the Philippines StandardENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION

SSC

spiker Rachel Anne Daquis who was nursing a bruised knee. “Rachel is not here, so I needed to step up for the team. We’re also coming from a loss and get this victory. We’re focusing more on our training and improving our weaknesses. I hope our streak continues.” Despite losing Grethcel Soltones to a one-year suspension, the Lady Oragons came out ﬁring early on.

start-up fees applicable to DR, in PhP / kWh, for the current billing period

s X [(VHFOX Actual HF cost per liter) + (Vlube, x Actual LO cost per liter)] Total Energy

Summation of Energy generated or dispatched in a particular interval hour due to Non-Firm Contracted Capacity, in kWh.

the number of days in the billing month.

Fuel

fuel oil, lube oil and related fuel rates, in PhP /kWh.

The monthly actual cost per liter of fuel oil, lube oil and related fuel shall be calculated based on the “first in, first out” procedure using the data of actual monthly invoices of deliveries, inventories and consumption.

TODAY

San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City Where:

IN THE MATTER OF THE JOINT APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE ANCILLARY SERVICES PROCUREMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES AND THERMA MARINE, INC. (FOR MOBILE 2), AND APPROVAL OF THE INCIDENTAL ENERGY SUPPLY AGREEMENT TEMPLATE, WITH PRAYER FOR ISSUANCE OF PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY,

ERC CASE NO. 2017-076 RC

NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES AND THERMA MARINE, INC., Applicants.

HFR

Heavy fuel oil rate in Php/kWh

x---------------- --- --- -- -- -- -- --------x

LOR

Lube oil rate in Php/kWh

HFCR

Heavy fuel oil consumption rate of 0.23580 liters/kWh or actual, whichever is lower.

LOCR

Lube oil consumption rate of 0.00240 liters/kWh or actual, whichever is lower.

PCPIm

Philippine CPI of the current billing month

PCPIb

Philippine CPI of 126.4 as of June 2011

UCPIm

US CPI of the current billing month

UCPIb

US CPI of 225.722 as of June 2011

ECPIm

EURO CPI of the current billing month

ECPIb

EURO CPI of 96.050 as of June 2011 [2015=100]

JCPIm

Japan CPI of the current billing month

JCPIb

Japan CPI of 96.4 as of June 2011 [2015=100]

PUXm

Peso to US Dollar exchange rate at the end of the current billing month

PUXb

Peso to US Dollar exchange rate of 44.8210 PHP /USD as of 17 May 2010

PEXm

Peso to EURO exchange rate at the end of the current billing month

PEXb

Peso to EURO exchange rate of 55.4032 PHP /EURO as of 17 May 2010

PYXm

Peso to Yen exchange rate at the end of the current billing month

PYXb

Peso to Yen exchange rate of 0.4851PHP/JPY as of 17 May 2010

total number of start-ups for the current billing month based on customers’ dispatch instructions.

VHFO

200 liters per engine per start-up/shutdown cycle.

VLube

10 liters per engine per start-up/shutdown cycle.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on 18 August 2017, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and Therma Marine, Inc. (TMI) filed an Application seeking the Commission’s approval of their Ancillary Services Procurement Agreement (ASP A) and of their Incidental Energy Supply Agreement Template (IESAT), with prayer for the issuance of a provisional authority. In their Application, NGCP and TMI alleged the following: NATURE OF THE CASE 1.

This Application is for the approval of the Ancillary Services Procurement Agreement (ASPA) between the NGCP and TMI, pursuant to the Decision dated 3 October 2007 in ERC Case No. 2006-049RC, entitled: “In the Matter of the Application for the Approval of Ancillary Services - Cost Recovery Mechanism (AS-CRM) of the Ancillary Services Procurement Plan, with Prayer for Provisional Authority” and approval of the accompanying “Incidental Energy Supply Agreement” template. PARTIES

Applicant NGCP is a corporation created and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with office address at NGCP Building, Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Diliman, Quezon City. It holds a franchise under Republic Act No. 95111 to engage in the business of conveying or transmitting electricity through high-voltage back-bone systems of interconnected transmission lines, substations and related facilities, and for other purposes. The franchise also includes the conduct of activities necessary to support the safe and reliable operation of the transmission system. Applicant TMI is a generation company duly organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of Philippine with office address in Barangay Nasipit, Agusan del Norte. It owns and operates the 100MW Power Barge (Mobile 2) in Brgy. Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, which has been certified and accredited by NGCP to be capable of providing Contingency Reserve (“CR”) and Dispatchable Reserve (“DR”). The copies of the Securities and Exchange Commission Certificate of Filing of the Amended Articles of Incorporation, Amended Articles of Incorporation, General Information Sheet, and the Honorable Commission’s issued Certificate of Compliance for Mobile 2, are attached hereto as Annexes “A”, “B”, “C” and “D”, respectively. ANTECEDENT FACTS

Republic Act No. 9136 provides that it is the responsibility of NGCP to ensure and maintain the reliability, adequacy, security, stability and integrity of the nationwide electrical grid in accordance with the performance standards for its operations and maintenance, as set forth in the Philippine Grid Code (PGC), adopted and promulgated by the Honorable Commission, and to adequately serve generation companies, distribution utilities and suppliers requiring transmission service and/or ancillary services through the transmission system2.

Similarly, the PGC provides that NGCP is responsible for determining, acquiring, and dispatching the capacity needed to supply the required Grid Ancillary Services and for developing and proposing Wheeling Charges and Ancillary Service tariffs to the ERC3.

Ancillary services (AS) as defined in Section 4b of the EPIRA, “refer to those services that are necessary to support the transmission of capacity and energy from resources to loads while maintaining reliable operation of the transmission system in accordance with good utility practice and the Grid Code to be adopted in accordance with this Act.” These services are essential in ensuring reliability in the operation of the transmission system and consequently, in the reliability of the electricity supply in the Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao grids.

In order to implement and regulate the procurement of AS, the Honorable Commission approved the Ancillary Services Procurement Plan (ASPP) through its Order dated 9 March 2006 in ERC Case No. 2002-253 and the Ancillary ServicesCost Recovery Mechanism (AS-CRM) through its Decision dated 3 October 2007 in ERC Case No. 2006-049RC.

Pursuant to its mandate, NGCP invited and negotiated with all prospective generation companies capable of providing ancillary services, one of which is TMI.

On 16 November 2016, NGCP issued Accreditation Certificate No. 2016-M012 for TMI-Mobile 2, certifying that the power plant has met and complied with the Standard Ancillary Services Technical Requirements of the ASPP. The copy of the Accreditation Certificate No. 2016-M012 for TMI-Mobile 2, dated 22 November 2016 is attached as Annex “E”.

Total Energy = total energy delivered to all customers of Supplier for the current Billing Period. Notes:

Contingency Reserve i. 48 MW, less Pmin for Mobile 2 Unit 1; and ii. 48 MW, less Pmin for Mobile 2 Unit 2.

Dispatchable Reserve i. Up to 48 MW for Mobile 2 Unit 1; and ii. Up to 48 MW for Mobile 2 Unit 2.

If the CPI of current billing month is not published and available within two days from the end of the billing period, the most recent available published index shall be used.

If the source of any of the foregoing indices is no longer available or is not been published or available for a prolonged period, the replacement index shall be selected by Service Provider.

If any of the foregoing indices are re-based during the duration of this Agreement, Service Provider has the option to apply a corresponding adjustment to the inflation formula to conform with the rebasing of the subject indices.

16. Consistent with the AS-CRM, all the related and incidental expenses which NGCP will incur as a result of the procurement and operation of the ancillary services shall be recovered from all the load customers in the Mindanao Grid. ALLEGATIONS IN SUPPORT OF THE PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY 17. It is a declared policy of the State to ensure the quality, reliability, security and affordability of the supply of electric power (Section 2b, EPlRA). With this end in view, there is a need to comply with the system requirements for AS to ensure grid system reliability. As mentioned above, NGCP has the mandate to procure the required AS. However, the Honorable Commission must first approve the contract before the same could be implemented. As the demand for power in the Mindanao increases, the requirements of the system to ensure stability, reliability and security likewise increases. Ensuring the integrity of the system is essential to protect the interests of the public. The absence of system reliability and stability will certainly discourage investments and growth.

10. Consequently, on 31 July 2017, NGCP and TMI entered into an Ancillary Services Procurement Agreement (“ASPA”) for TMI to provide the Mindanao Grid, on a non-firm basis for: a.

A copy of the IESA template is attached herein as Annex “H”.

18. Based on the current levels of available contracted AS in the Mindanao Grid, the CR and DR have not yet met the required levels. The copies of the Mindanao CR Availability and Mindanao DR Availability showing the required and available levels of CR and DR are attached as Annexes “I” and “I-1”, respectively. 19. Applicants respectfully submit that the immediate approval of the ASPA and IESA template by this Honorable Commission is a necessity to ensure the reliability and security of the Grid. In support of these allegations, NGCP submits a copy of the Judicial Affidavit of Engr. Lisaflor Bacani-Kater which is attached as Annex “J” and TMI submits a copy of the Judicial Affidavit of Mr. Benedick Salvador as Annex “K”.

A copy of the ASPA is attached as Annex “F.” CONTRACTED CAPACITY RATES AND IMPACT SIMULATION

PRAYER

11. Schedule 4 of the ASPA provides for the agreed upon formula for the computation of the ancillary fees as well as the applicable maximum hourly rate for the ancillary services covered by the ASPA:

WHEREFORE, premises considered, Applicants respectfully pray that the Honorable Commission to:

Non-Firm:

Ancillary Service

Applicable Rates (Maximum Hourly Rate)

Contingency Reserve (Primary Reserve)

Php2.25/kW /Hr

Dispatchable Reserve (Tertiary Reserve)

Php1.25/kW /Hr

Immediately ISSUE a provisional authority to implement the subject ASPA and immediately ISSUE a provisional authority to implement the subject IESA template; and

APPROVE, after notice and hearing, the subject ASPA and the IESA template.

The Commission has set the Application for determination of compliance with the jurisdictional requirements, expository presentation, Pre-trial Conference, and presentation of evidence on 05 December 2017 (Tuesday) at ten o’clock in the morning (10:00 A.M.) at Almont Hotel and Inland Resort, JC Aquino Ave., Butuan City, Agusan Del Norte..

12. It is respectfully submitted that the rates represent reasonable recovery of opportunity cost in making available generation capacity to provide the procured AS.

All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the instant case may become a party by filing with the Commission a verified Petition to Intervene at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements under Rule 9 of the 2006 Rules of Practice and Procedure, indicating therein the docket number and title of the case and stating the following:

13. The rate under the ASPA were subjected to a simulation with the following results:

Ancillary Service

Applicants pray for other just and equitable relief under the premises.

Indicative Rate Impact P/kW-mo

P/kWh

Contingency Reserve (Primary Reserve)

18.0618

0.0383

Dispatchable Reserve (Tertiary Reserve)

24.0824

0.0511

14. Until such time when the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), or any similar market, is in commercial operation in Mindanao, TMI’s load customers shall pay for the Incidental Energy Fee. 15. Under the accompanying IESA template, TMI shall supply Incidental Energy to TMI’s customers when it has been dispatched for ancillary services. TMI’s customers shall pay the corresponding Incidental Energy Fee relative to Contingency or Dispatchable Reserves computed as follows: Incidental Energy Fee

HFR + LOR + related actual fuel cost, in Php/kWh

HFR

HFCR x Actual HF cost per liter, in Php/kWh

LOR

LOCR x Actual LO cost per liter, in Php/kWh

VOM

0.15245 Php x IFv + SSC kWh

IFv

A statement of the relief desired.

All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the case may file their Opposition or Comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before Applicants rest their case, subject to the requirements under Rule 9 of the 2006 Rules of Practice and Procedure. No particular form of Opposition or Comment is required, but the document, letter, or writing should contain the following:

A copy of the rate impact simulation is attached as Annex “G.”

Fuel

The petitioner’s name and address;

2 . The nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and

The name and address of such person;

A concise statement of the Opposition or Comment; and

The grounds relied upon.

All such persons who wish to have a copy of the Application may request from Applicants that they be furnished with the same, prior to the date of the initial hearing. Applicants are hereby directed to furnish all those making such request with copies of the Application and its attachments, subject to the reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Any such person may likewise examine the Application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the standard office hours. WITNESS, the Honorable OIC Chairman and CEO ALFREDO J. NON, and the Honorable Commissioners GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 18th day of October 2017 in Pasig City. FOR AND BY AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION:

Inflation factor for VOM JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT Oversight Commissioner for Legal

(Sgd.) EDWIN F. VIRAY Sheriff IV WARNING: It is absolutely prohibited to remove, deface or Destroy this Notice of Sheriff’s Sale on or Before the date of the auction sale under penalty of the law. (MS-Nov. 13 & 20, 2017)

cent from the floor and led by as many as 25 points in the first meeting with Atlanta since winning last season’s firstround playoff series. In Houston, James Harden scored 38 points as the Houston Rockets beat the Memphis Grizzlies 111-96. Harden made 11 of 25 shots, including six three-pointers. Eric Gordon also hit six threepointers and added 26 points for the Rockets. Reserve Tyreke Evans led the Grizzlies with 22 points. Marc Gasol added 15 while Mike Conley was

2 3

An Act Granting the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines a Franchise To Engage in the Business of Conveying or Transmitting Electricity Through High Voltage Back-Bone System of Interconnected Transmission Lines, Substations and Related Facilities, and for other Purposes. Section 9 (c) and (d). Section 6 .3.1.2 of 2007 Philippine Grid Code. (MS-NOV. 13 & 20, 2017)

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Sports

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

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017

Ateneo De Manila University Blue Eagle Thirdy Ravena (0) battles La Salle Green Archer Ben Mbala (23) for ball possession. The Green Archers beat the Blue Eagles, 79-76. Lino Santos

Tabora captures women’s crown at 53rd World Cup

FTER 14 years, Krizziah Lyn Tabora earned the distinction of becoming only the fifth Filipino to capture the Bowling World Cup international crown Saturday night (Sunday morning in Manila) in Hermosillo, Mexico. Getting a second crack at the world’s most prestigious keg title in ﬁve years, the 27-year-old Tabora did not let the op-

portunity escape her this time by blasting Malaysia’s Siti Saﬁyah Amirah Abdul Rahman, 236 to 191, in the one-game ﬁnal

after crushing Colombia’s Rocio Restrepo, 249-222, in the semiﬁnals. “I feel very happy and so overwhelmed,” Tabora said moments after clinching the women’s title in the 53rd BWC to join legendary Paeng Nepomuceno, the late Lita dela Rosa, Bong Coo and C.J. Suarez in the distinguished list of Filipino champions. Nepomuceno is, of course, the most spectacular

among them and the rest of the world winners by taking the title four times – in 1976 in Teheran, Iran, 1980 in Jakarta, Indonesia, 1992 in Le Mans, France and 1996 in Northern Ireland. American Jakob Butturff produced a dominating performance to take the men’s plum. Butturff demolished Colombia’s Oscar Rodriguez, 246-201, in the ﬁnals after knocking out Malaysia’s Ahmad Muaz Mohd

Fishol, 266-176, in the semifinals. Rahman set up the final meeting with Tabora by ousting last year’s champion and this year’s consistent frontrunner, Sweden’s Jenny Wegner, 227-197, while Rodriguez ousted Venezuela’s Ildemaro Ruiz Jr., 232-193, in the other semifinal matches. The other Filipino entry, Jomar Roland Jumapao, finished 33rd in the men’s

division with a 24-game series of 4,757 pin falls. Suarez was the last Filipino BWC international champion, winning in 2003 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Dela Rosa emerged as the ﬁrst PH women’s titlist in in Bogota, Colombia in 1978, followed by Bong Coo a year later in Bangkok, Thailand. Tabora is scheduled to ﬂy home from Mexico tomorrow (Tuesday) night.

E-sport Cebu, Leyte bets emerge as fastest runners at Batang Pinoy popularity dwarfs income

LISBON, Portugal—It is a paradox pitting popularity against relative pittances – e-sports have exploded into the global consciousness but the big money has not yet appeared pitchside, or screenside. Participation has soared as virtual games gain traction, with a worldwide fan audience now estimated at 280 million, approaching that for the NFL. Such a leap in growth has helped fuel talk that competitive electronic sports, or professional gaming, could even soon become an Olympic “discipline”. But even if the League of Legends ﬁnal drew a huge audience to the “Bird’s Nest” National Stadium in Beijing earlier this month the sector has yet to mature economically and needs to secure more funding in order to secure a longer term foothold in the sporting world, analysts say. And the question of how to open the revenue stream sluice gate is complex. “This year, e-sport should earn a little over 850 million euros ($990 million) and studies show that come 2021 we’ll reach turnover of some three billion euros,” says Laurent Michaud, director of studies at Idate, a leading European think tank on the digital economy. “But that’s set against a global video games market worth more than 65 billion euros.” How to ramp up low monetization is exercising minds given that an e-sport fan brings only three euros to the table annually on average, according to a recent study by Nielsen Sports. AFP

DUMAGUETE—Cebu’s Kylie Kenjie Dahili and Leyte’s Bianca Jane Combate emerged as the fastest runners while Aklan swimmer Michael Gabriel Lozada became the first triple gold medalist to highlight Day 2 of the Batang Pinoy Games Visayas regional championships on Sunday here. Scratched from last year’s Cebu provincial squad for lack of funds, Dahili vindicated his inclusion this time in eking out a close win in the boys 100-meter dash in 11.88 seconds, relegating La Carlota’s Rhome Jed Ojeno (11.984) and hometown bet Mark Francis Pelletero (11.989) to the silver and bronze, respectively at the Gov. Mariano Perdices Stadium. The reigning Palarong Pambansa sprint champion, Combate reasserted her mastery over the field in the handily topping the girl’s century dash in 12.321 seconds in the weeklong youth sportsfest organized and supported by the Philippine Sports Commission. Overcoming his heartbreaking disqualification in the boys 12-and-under

Ball sets NBA record

MILWAUKEE—Rookie Lonzo Ball became the youngest player in NBA history to record a tripledouble but it was in vain as the Los Angeles Lakers lost 98-90 to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. Ball, who is 20 years, 15 days old, ﬁnished with 19 points, 13 assists and 12 rebounds as the struggling Lakers lost their third straight game. Ball completed the tripledouble by getting his 10th rebound early in the fourth quarter. He had 13 points and 11 assists at the time. He surpassed the mark set by LeBron James, who was 20 years, 20 days old when he recorded a tripledouble on January 2005 for the Cleveland Cavaliers. “I really don’t care,” Ball said. “We took a loss. It don’t really mean nothing. I just wanted to win tonight. I thought we were in good position to get it but it didn’t happen.” AFP

400-meter individual medley event, Lozada gamely came back to wind up on a winning note in handily ruling the 200-meter backstroke in a personal best of 2:48.34 at the Lorenzo G. Teves Aqua Center. Counting his wins in the 200-meter IM and 50-meter backstroke last Saturday, the 10-year-old Kalibo pride is the ﬁrst athlete to capture three golds in the meet also backed by the Dumaguete city government led by Felipe Mariano “Ipe” Remollo. “Hindi ako nakasali last year po dahil nag-kulang ng pondo yong team namin,” bared Dahili, who won a silver each in the high school boys 400-meter run and 4x100-meter relay in the Palarong Pambansa held in San Jose, Antique last April. “Medyo conﬁdent po akong mananalo,” said Combate, a member of the Leyte Sports Academy based in Tacloban, who beat teammate Shane Avryl Demiao (12.98) and Bacolod City’s Antonette Jay Agulion (13.214).

Cebu’s Kyiie Kenjie Dahili (right) crosses the finish line first to rule the boys 100-meter run of the Batang inoy Games Visayas regional trackfest at the Gov. Mariano Perdices Complex in Dumaguete City yesterday. PSC-POC Media Group

La Salle prevents Ateneo sweep THE Green Archers of La Salle came back from seven points down in the last two minutes to beat the Ateneo De Manila University Blue Eagles, 79-76, in the UAAP Season 80 seniors basketball tournament held yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The loss snapped the winning streak of the Blue Eagles preventing a sweep of the doubleround robin elimination and sending both squads to the Final Four. La Salle stars Ben Mbala and Kib Montalbo virtually took over late in the game to power their team to victory over their bitter rivals. Montalbo was fearless as he drained a jumper which finally pushed Ateneo ahead for good in the last 40.3 seconds while Mbala did a little of everything else as he finished with 28 points and 19 rebounds. Montalbo found redemption after leading his team to victory. His costly turnover late in the game led to La Salle’s 75-76 defeat to Ateneo in the first round of the eliminations. The Green Archers thus finished the elimination round with a 12 win, two loss card while handing Ateneo its first loss of the season. The Blue Eagles retained their number one seed and will take on the fourth seed Far Eastern University Tamaraws on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum. La Salle battles the Adamson University Soaring Falcons on Saturday also at the Big Dome. Ateneo and La Salle will enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage over their rivals. Meanwhile, the University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers averted a winless season after subduing the University of the East Red Warriors, 88-85, in the earlier game. UST coach Boy Sablan was emotional as he was surrounded and then embraced by his players after their only victory this season. He said he was proud of his team’s effort as well as the attitude of the players despite the trying conditions. The Tigers came out strong and posted an early 23-9 lead and then prevented any UE rally to finish with a 1-13 record.

Bottas shines on troubled day for Mercedes and Hamilton SAO PAULO, Brazil—Valtteri Bottas allowed himself a roar of delight on Saturday when he claimed pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix after Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton had crashed out of contention. The 28-year-old Finn said he was delighted to succeed because he had promised to take pole to boost spirits in the team after some members

had been robbed at gunpoint on Friday when they left the track in a mini-bus. “I spoke with them this morning and I said we were going to put it on pole position and cheer everyone up, so I’m glad we did that,” said Bottas. “First of all, I’m happy everyone is in one piece and nothing physical happened to anyone, but it

was a pretty bad situation to be in and I’m happy everybody is still here.” Bottas’s pole brought to an end a difﬁcult period during which he had slid out of contention for the drivers’ championship and been out-qualiﬁed by Hamilton at every race since the mid-season break in August. “For sure, it has been more

difficult, sometimes better, but that’s how it goes in racing,” added Bottas, who said he felt a duty to perform for the team especially after Hamilton, who clinched his fourth drivers world title in Mexico two weeks ago, spun off into the barriers on his first flying lap in Q1. Hamilton was relegated to the back of the grid and then discovered he will start Sun-

day’s race from the pit lane after Mercedes decided that they would have to take his car out parc ferme to carry out repairs. “I think the performance line, for me, in the last few races has been all the way going up,” added Bottas. “I’m just feeling better and better with the car, we’ve just been working hard on the issues we’ve been having. AFP

PSA-Standard Insurance rules 2017 China Cup AFTER capturing the overall championship in the IRC A class, the Philippine Sailing Association-Standard Insurance Team also ruled the Far East 28R Class in the 2017 China Cup International Regatta’s Asian Sailing Association Federation held in Shenzhen, China. With all ﬁrst places in the seven counted races, the Filipino team

overwhelmed the New Zealand and Singapore national sailing teams which placed second and third overall, respectively. The squad is skippered by Southeast Asia Games 470 class medalist Emerson Villena. The crew include 470 and 420 dinghy class sailors of the Philippine National team namely Lester Troy Tayong, Janno Dalanon,

Edgar Villapana, Alaiza Mae Belmonte and Jerome Calamansi. The Men’s 470 is a sailing event at the Southeast Asian Games program at the National Sailing Centre, in the 470 dinghy. Sailing at the 2015 Southeast Asian Games took place at the National Sailing Centre in East Coast Park, Singapore and Marina Bay, Singapore.

Members of the PH team led by skipper Emerson Villena (right), accept their trophy. The crew include, from left: Lester Troy Tayong, Janno Dalanon, Edgar Villapana, Alaiza Mae Belmonte (holding the trotphy) and Jerome Calamansi.

Market poised to track sideways in thin trading

Business

Ray S. Eñano, Editor Roderick T. dela Cruz, Assistant Editor business@manilastandard.net extrastory2000@gmail.com MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017

HK, Asean sign free trade deal IN BRIEF

By Othel V. Campos

CORPORATE LANDMARK.

D&L sees increased net profit

Philippine Airlines unveils an actual Airbus A330 tailfin, erected in front of PAL’s corporate headquarters in Pasay City, to symbolize PAL’s legacy to the country. It is a gift from Lufthansa Technik Philippines – PAL’s aircraft maintenance service provider. The iconic PAL livery was first painted on a B747 in July 1986. Cutting the ceremonial ribbon are (from left) PAL senior vice president for airline operations Ismael Augusto Gozon, PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista, LTP president Elmar Lutter, PAL chairman and chief executive Dr. Lucio Tan and PAL executive vice president and treasurer Stewart Lim.

FOOD ingredients and chemicals manufacturer D&L Industries Inc. upgraded its full year net income target after posting strong thirdquarter earnings. D&L president Alvin Lao said in a recent press brieﬁng the company was likely to post a 10-percent, full-year net income growth, instead of the earlier projection of a high single-digit increase after exports rose strongly in the third quarter of 2017. “It looks like we have better chance now get at least 10 percent growth for the whole year,” Lao said. Net income in the third quarter jumped 15 percent to P771 million boosting, nine-month earnings to P2.12 billion, up 10 percent year-on-year. “This quarter showed us returning to normal growth. The ﬂattish growth we saw in the second quarter was a temporary effect of the high earnings base in 2016 which was boosted by election-related spending. Moving forward, we continue to see robust growth across all our segments,” Lao said. Jenniffer B. Austria

Alsons’ income rises 15% ALSONS Consolidated Resources Inc. reported a 15-percent increase in net earnings in the first nine months of 2017 to P 274.48 million from P238.09 million year-on-year. Alsons attributed the higher income to the robust revenue growth from the operations of the first 105-megawatt section of the 210-megawatt coal-fired baseload power plant of unit Sarangani Energy Corp. in Maasim, Sarangani province. Alsons, the publicly-listed company of the Alcantara Group and Mindanao’s first and most experienced independent power producer, also reported a 6.9-percent increase in parent-attributable net earnings to P117.66 million from P110.04 million on year. Consolidated revenues for the period rose 6.7 percent at P5.22 billion from P4.88 billion on year. Alsons’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) surged to P1.28 billion, up 73.8 percent fromP 718 million. Alena Mae S. Flores

ATI bares earnings of P1.77b ASIAN Terminals Inc. said net income rose 23 percent in the ﬁrst nine months of the year on robust domestic and international trade. The port operator owned by businessman Eusebio Tanco posted a net income of P1.77 billion in the January-to-September period from P1.43 billion year-on-year. ATI’s total revenues for the period reached P7.72 billion, up 13.7 percent from P6.80 billion on year. Manila South Harbor handled over 820,000 teus (twenty foot equivalent units) of foreign boxes, setting it on track of a backto-back 1,000,000-teu annual throughput performance, after achieving a record year in 2016. Batangas Container Terminal continued to step up its role as South Luzon’s international trade facilitator, offering competitive market connectivity to major shippers in the region and effectively decongesting Manila’s roads. BCT handled just short of 150,000 teus by end-September, bringing it close to its 2016 full year container throughput of nearly 160,000 teus .Darwin G. Amojelar

BDO lands in Forbes’ top 50 list BDO Unibank Inc., the country’s largest bank in terms of assets, was the only Philippine ﬁnancial institution to be named in the Top 50 of Forbes’ Best Employers in the world for 2017. The Forbes list is based on the publication’s 2017 Global 2000 rankings, which featured publicly-listed companies from 58 countries. The Henry Sy Sr.-led bank placed 23rd in the prestigious list, after Forbes commissioned Statista, an online statistics and market research ﬁrm, to facilitate a survey and analysis of more than 360,000 global recommendations. Employees from around the world were asked to rate their own employer and the likelihood of them recommending their company to a friend or family member. The respondents were also asked to recommend other employers they admired. This is the second time in recent weeks that an independent entity has made a sound endorsement of BDO as a top employer.

HE Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, on Sunday signed a free trade agreement at the sidelines of the 31st Asean summit and related meetings in Manila.

The Philippines’ Department of Trade and Industry said the Asean-Hong Kong, China Free Trade Agreement is part of the region’s efforts to expand external economic relations to foster greater trade opportunities in the Asean Economic Community. “This will open more opportunities for Asean as we ensure greater market access for our products and sustained ﬂow of foreign direct investments,” said Trade Secretary and 2017 Asean Economic chair Ramon Lopez. The two parties also signed the AseanHong Kong Investment agreement. Lopez said the two agreements would provide job opportunities for people and enhance collaboration among businesses, especially the micro, small and medium enterprises. AHKFTA is Asean’s sixth free trade agreement with external partners, after China, Korea, Japan, India and Australia and New Zealand. AHKFTA covers trade in goods, rules of origin, non-tariff measures, customs procedures and trade facilitation, trade remedies, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade in

services, intellectual property rights and economic and technical cooperation. Lopez said in the case of the Philippines, the lead country for creating an inclusive and innovative region, the deals would provide more opportunities for MSMEs and to the country’s export industries, given Hong Kong’s role as a gateway to the China market and their tourism markets. Hong Kong was Philippine’s third top export destination in the first eight months, with $5.55 billion worth of exports equivalent to 13.18 percent of total exports. Investments from Hong Kong reached $10.74 million in the first half, making it the 12th largest source of investments in the Philippines. Meanwhile, Lopez said the the Philippines aimed to conclude Asean 2017 chairmanship with big strides in economic and bilateral relations specifically on Asean free trade agreements with six external trade partners. Lopez officially opened the summit Sunday, citing the need to come up with stronger measures to ensure the success of Asean integration into one Asean Economic Community. “We worked doubly hard on enhancing our external partnerships. These include upgrading and enhancing our existing free trade agreements, intensifying our efforts to complete on-going FTA negotiations, considering new FTA partnerships and strengthening our economic cooperation mechanisms. Nonetheless, there is much work that needs to be done in order to ensure that we stay the course,” he said.

Filipino-French joint venture optimistic on San Bernandino Strait tidal project By Alena Mae S. Flores SAN Bernardino Ocean Power Corp., a joint venture between local company H&WB Asia Paciﬁc (Pte. Ltd.) Corp. and Sabella SAS of France, expressed optimism that it will launch the country’s ﬁrst tidal project in San Bernardino Strait fol-

lowing the successful public consultation in October. SBOPC is a special purpose company that explores and develops the Philippines’ vast ocean energy resource, deploying tidal in-stream energy conversion, or the Tisec technology of SAS. The Energy Department’s Renewable Energy Man-

agement Bureau held a successful public consultation with SBOPC and PNOC Renewable Energy Corp. on Oct, 24 in Capul island, Northern Samar. “Tisec could be the technology of choice in ocean renewable energy development in the Philippines,” said Antonio Ver, president

of H&WB, the joint venture partner of Sabella in SBOPC, which was received three ocean power service contracts on Oct, 30, 2013. The pioneering and transformative project is envisioned to provide reliable and clean power supply to the island of Capul, which is off-grid under the Small

islands Power Utility Group of state-run National Power Corp. The remote island solely relies on diesel generators for electricity. Northern Samar Electric Cooperative will buy the capacity of the initial 1.5-megawatt power plant, harnessing the marine current resource in San Bernardino Strait,

MTD gets proponent status for P13-b Clark govt center STATE-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority granted the original proponent status to MTD Capital Berhad for the P12.7-billion development of a 60-hectare portion of the National Government Administrative Center in New Clark City. The granting of OPS to MTD Capital Berhad also signaled the opening of the competitive Swiss challenge for the project. Interested proponents may participate in the competitive challenge for BCDA’s possible joint venture partner by following eligibility protocols. Based on the joint venture guidelines, MTD Capital Berhad has the right to outbid the declared best proposal from the private sector challengers. A pre-eligibility conference will be held on Nov. 24 at the BCDA Corporate

Center, while submission of eligibility documents is set on Dec. 11. The BCDA will announce the final winner in January 2018. MTD Capital Berhad submitted its unsolicited proposal earlier this year. Among the salient features in the proposal are the construction of an extension office of the Philippine President and executive buildings, site development for embassies and international schools, construction of housing for government employees, building sports facilities, a central communications and security command center, public schools, a government hospital, a public library and community centers. The National Government Administrative Center is envisioned to house satellite offices of various government agencies. Othel V. Campos

Higher fuel prices lead to PAL’s loss By Darwin G. Amojelar

SM’S P1-T MARKET CAPITAL. SM Investments Corp. bags a special award from the Philippine Stock Exchange for breaching the P1-trillion market capitalization level in the stock market. Aside from the special award received by SM, its banking arm, China Banking Corp. also gets a special citation as a PSE Bell Awardee for five consecutive years. Property arm SM Prime Holdings Inc. clinches the Best Investor Relations Program for Listed Companies. At the awarding ceremony are (from left) PSE director Edgardo Lacson, SM chairman Jose Sio, PSE chairman Jose Pardo, SM vice chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson, PSE president and chief executive Ramon Monzon, PSE director Vivian Yuchengco and SM president Frederic DyBuncio.

Filinvest earns more; JG Summit, Alliance Global post lower net profits By Jennifer B. Austria CONGLOMERATES Filinvest Development Corp., JG Summit Holdings Inc. and Alliance Global Group Inc. reported mixed earnings in the ﬁrst nine-months, as their respective units faced challenges this year. FDC, the holding company of the Gotianun family, reported a robust 19-percent increase in nine-month net income to P7.3 billion, led by strong performance of its banking and property businesses. FDC, which owns East West Banking Corp. and

Filinvest Land Inc., booked a 15-percent growth in consolidated revenues to P48.2 billion in January to September from P42 billion a year ago. East West reported a net income of P3.7 billion in the ﬁrst three quarters, up 60 percent over the same period last year on higher net interest income and feebased income. “EastWest’s higher income is mainly due to improving productivity and lower loan provisions despite higher coverage due to improved quality of its loan portfolio. These more than offset the

which separates the islands of Luzon and Samar. Sabella Société par Actions Simpliﬁée (Sabella) of France is deploying a resilient marine turbine that will use tidal in-stream energy conversion technology, an ocean power technology mostly adaptable in Philippine waters.

lower trading revenues and substantial increase in taxes,” FDC chairman Jonathan Gotianun said. Filinvest Land also posted a net income of P3.7 billion in the first nine months, an increase of 7 percent from last year, on higher residential and rental revenues. Meanwhile, Alliance Global of billionaire Andrew Tan declared a net profit of P10.2 billion in the first nine months, down 8 percent from the same period last year, on revenues of P100.3 billion. AGI said core businesses

posted a mixed outcome in the nine-month period, with real estate operations and quick service restaurants recording very strong earnings, which tempered the weak performance of liquor and integrated resorts operations. “The challenges we faced earlier this year required us to remain strong and persevering, never losing our sights on the future,” said AGI president Kingson Sian. “The various initiatives we have undertaken and continue to pursue across all business segments are already poised for takeoff. We are therefore ex-

cited about the coming year which is even now presenting outstanding opportunities,” Sian said. JG Summit of the Gokongwei family, also reported an 8-percent decline in consolidated net income in the ﬁrst three quarters to P21.24 billion from P23.07 billion a year earlier. JG Summit attributed the decline to lower proﬁt of the airline business, which was affected by the rise in fuel prices. It was also linked to a lower income from food manufacturing business and losses from mark-to-market hedging.

PHILIPPINE Airlines said it posted a net loss in the first nine months on costlier jet fuel prices this year. The airline, controlled by tycoon Lucio Tan, said it recorded a comprehensive loss of P3.5 billion in January to September, a turnaround from the P2.96-billion total comprehensive income it declared in the same period last year. PAL said it posted a comprehensive loss of P2.49 billion in the third quarter, or 49.9 percent higher than last year’s P1.66-billion loss. Revenues in the first nine months rose 15.6 percent to P98.63 billion from P85.35 billion a year earlier. Passenger revenues grew to P81.96 billion from last year’s P71.47 billion, while cargo revenues increased to P6.09 billion from P4.94 billion. Revenues in the third quarter amounted to P3.09 billion, up by 11.1 percent from last year’s P27.78 billion. “The increase was attributable to the growth in passenger and cargo traffic as well as ancillary revenues, resulting from additional flight frequencies and introduction of new routes,” PAL said. Total expenses climbed 27.3 percent to P103.82 billion from P81.55 billion on increase in flight frequencies and introduction of new routes.

Business

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

Market poised to track sideways in thin trading

ABS-CBN on target to hit P3-b profit goal this year By Darwin G Amojelar ABS-CBN Corp. expects to post nearly P3 billion in net income this year despite a 20-percent drop in earnings in the first nine months of the year. “We’re already at P2.3 billion. So, we are looking at least closer to P3 billion,” ABS-CBN chief financial officer Aldrin Cerrado said over the weekend. The company’s profit guidance for this year is between P2.7 billion and P3 billion. ABS-CBN reported a net profit of P2.3 billion in the first nine months of the year, down 20 percent from P2.85 billion year-on-year. Advertising revenues reached P15.3 billion in the first nine months of the year, or 3 percent lower than P15.8 billion on year, net of election-related spending. The decline in the recurring ad sales was tempered by an 11 per-

cent increase in consumer sales to P14.2 billion. The robust growth in consumer sales was driven by strong demand for ABS-CBN TVplus digital boxes and an increase in Sky’s Direct-to-Home and broadband subscription revenues. The company in February 2015 launched its Digital Terrestrial Television initiative, pioneering the country’s transition from analog to digital transmission. Approximately 36 percent of households in Mega Manila now have DTT boxes, while the ﬁgure for Metro Manila is about 40 percent. The company sold a cumulative total of over 3.6 million DTT boxes at end-September. Sky’ Cable Inc.’s revenue in the ﬁrst three quarters of 2017 rose 7 percent to P6.8 billion from P6.4 billion over the same period last year. The revenue increase was attributed to the growing number of Sky’s broadband and DTH subscribers.

the recent weeks. With third quarter earnings generally within market’s expecHARE prices are expected to continue trading tations, sentiments that earnings sideways this week as investors try to balance the could further accelerate in the pressure to take proﬁts and sticking on their portfolio fourth quarter of the year could amid the positive outlook on the economy. be a factor and propel the market to retest the 8,600-point level. “Chartwise, the week’s close The stock market will have a trade deals as well as greater coopat 8,433.48 highlights the marregular trading from Monday to eration among Asean countries. Wednesday which have been deSince most of the companies ket could still try another assault clared holiday by the government have released their third quarter ﬁ- towards the 8,600 levels in the because of the Asean summit. But nancial reports, investors are likely near-term,” Ravelas said. Immediate support and resisanalysts said the trading could be to look for other catalysts that tance is seen at 8,300 and 8,600 thin this week as most investors could move the market higher. could be on a holiday. BDO Unibank chief investment levels, respectively. The PSEi last week gained 0.68 Investor are looking look for the strategist Jonathan Ravelas said favorable outcome of Asean Min- the positive investors’ sentiments percent to 8,433.48, while the isters and Asean Leaders’ meeting, on the third corporate earnings re- broader All Shares Index inched including foreign investments and port caused the market to rally over up 0.67 percent o 4,931.86.

By Jenniffer B. Austria

MANILA STANDARD BUSINESS WEEKLY STOCKS REVIEW STOCKS

NOVEMBER 6-10,2017 Close Volume

Value

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources China Bank 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

4.49 59.2 147.60 99.00 3.84 2.00 33.5 9.03 15.9 32.15 8.10 0.69 1.39 951.00 0.620 95 0.8 12.2 25.00 58.50 87.1 104 244.8 54.15 258.8 1930.00 87.00 1.26

765,000 126,280 9,695,150 8,042,420 151,000 13,018,000 1,066,600 100 157,600 5,531,200 13,600 217,000 109,200 870 6,188,000 17,608,020 2,277,000 193,800 15,600 2,086,150 9,520 870 4,130 1,434,260 1,041,870 20 481,210 520,000

FINANCIAL 3,553,210.00 7,504,696.00 1,411,109,826.00 792,921,803.50 583,490.00 26,971,460.00 35,748,730.00 903.00 2,504,730.00 184,273,430.00 108,840.00 144,750.00 204,000.00 820,580.00 3,920,990.00 1,652,093,506.00 1,808,720.00 2,396,126.00 390,000.00 122,540,065.50 837,300.50 88,465.00 994,300.00 80,891,999.50 266,200,382.00 38,600.00 41,835,700.00 686,070.00

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 Chemphil Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Conc. Aggr. ‘A’ Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Eagle Cement EEI Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 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 MG Holdings Mla. Elect. Co À’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. Petroenergy Res. Corp. Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phinma Energy Phoenix Petroleum Phils. Pilipinas Shell Pryce Corp. À’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings San Miguel ‘Pure Foods À’ SFA Semicon Shakeys Pizza SPC Power Corp. Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp. Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp. Vivant Corp. Vulcan Ind’l.

41.4 12.32 0.72 1.36 18.98 0.217 103 18.70 4.1 15.6 165.3 44 67.8 65 1.9 5.7 11.5 10.260 14.92 12.28 7.27 5.75 1.63 17.82 61.5 26.00 11.90 22.3 2.050 251.20 58.50 4.08 3.1 22.70 30.2 18.68 18.2 0.201 295.00 10.10 2.7 6.28 9.90 7.3 9.50 1.67 11.80 62.2 6.69 5.03 1.96 4.72 500 2.15 13 4.93 0.138 1.20 136.5 3.35 2.12 25.05 0.95

5,282,800 6,592,300 1,920,000 3,060,000 79,900 9,560,000 540 187,800 103,914,000 7,525,200 220 2,906,900 4,260 80,940 1,105,000 696,000 34,200 27,196,800 9,205,400 4,434,300 2,221,500 78,121,200 533,000 5,770,700 962,190 34,085,900 7,451,200 25,834,900 20,557,000 3,711,640 1,600 2,592,000 104,000 2,300 9,444,400 1,111,400 21,158,600 5,080,000 6,197,810 276,800 9,392,000 4,085,900 15,869,500 748,200 82,200 8,952,000 2,788,500 1,881,230 494,500 3,262,900 88,000 2,733,500 2,066,490 2,173,000 1,693,700 1,465,500 3,690,000 392,000 8,749,120 427,000 67,950,000 900 1,873,000

INDUSTRIAL 220,047,640.00 79,976,436.00 1,403,220.00 4,115,290.00 1,515,330.00 2,094,310.00 55,070.00 3,765,929.00 446,790,120.00 113,283,304.00 36,366.00 129,442,055.00 289,675.00 5,261,652.00 2,094,970.00 4,008,117.00 386,526.00 277,465,354.00 137,459,080.00 53,920,960.00 16,114,952.00 452,455,443.00 870,380.00 106,187,302.00 60,176,684.00 893,619,059.00 90,140,136.00 539,278,364.00 40,948,320.00 935,151,838.00 96,423.00 10,519,350.00 318,380.00 51,815.00 290,112,670.00 20,933,250.00 379,187,840.00 1,020,080.00 1,845,902,824.00 2,870,454.00 25,467,240.00 27,568,235.00 160,476,635.00 5,660,889.00 776,072.00 14,922,300.00 33,129,150.00 116,826,423.50 3,226,260.00 16,029,300.00 171,750.00 13,832,489.00 992,972,803.00 4,756,290.00 34,878,080.00 7,228,210.00 512,770.00 462,900.00 1,216,930,412.00 1,305,730.00 146,915,750.00 23,735.00 1,717,510.00

Abacus Cons. À’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. Anglo Holdings A Anscor À’ ATN Holdings A ATN Holdings B Ayala Corp À’ Cosco Capital DMCI Holdings F&J Prince ‘A’ F&J Prince ‘B’ Filinvest Dev. Corp. Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings À’ Keppel Holdings `B’ Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. Lopez Holdings Corp. LT Group Mabuhay Holdings À’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. MJCI Investments Inc. Pacifica À’ Prime Media Hldg Prime Orion San Miguel Corp À’ Seafront À’ SM Investments Inc. Solid Group Inc. South China Res. Inc. Top Frontier Transgrid Unioil Res. & Hldgs Wellex Industries Zeus Holdings

0.325 72.60 15.30 1.05 7.02 0.425 0.430 1050 8.06 15.50 5.1 5.2 7.75 0.189 1194 7.69 75.05 5 5.3 5.37 0.73 5.79 17.4 0.385 6.76 3.17 0.0500 1.200 2.070 115.00 2.58 980.00 1.46 0.89 297.000 190.10 0.2450 0.1830 0.202

HOLDING FIRMS 5,270,000 1,737,850.00 4,480,500 329,038,601.00 28,857,100 450,139,180.00 357,000 364,400.00 181,400 1,266,606.00 66,580,000 29,561,300.00 10,200,000 4,603,300.00 1,380,300 1,475,254,335.00 5,028,200 41,321,040.00 33,735,900 524,731,676.00 37,600 190,570.00 8,400 43,680.00 635,900 4,939,222.00 770,000 146,670.00 853,250 1,020,588,050.00 880,800 6,868,767.00 5,601,360 424,449,701.00 12,300 61,535.00 11,500 60,950.00 700 3,759.00 7,811,000 5,893,010.00 8,864,900 50,794,242.00 9,129,800 158,719,764.00 50,000 19,250.00 131,260,100 894,181,870.00 5,000 15,850.00 186,710,000 9,182,940.00 6,550,000 8,330,450.00 500,000 1,038,240.00 5,324,950 603,672,953.00 60,000 155,290.00 1,214,610 1,189,787,885.00 9,199,000 13,193,150.00 40,000 35,600.00 69,160 20,565,198.00 10 1,901.00 6,180,000 1,535,800.00 1,350,000 249,860.00 1,150,000 233,640.00

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Anchor Land Holdings Inc. Araneta Prop À’ Arthaland Corp. Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. À’ CEB Landmasters Cebu Holdings Cebu Prop. `B’ Century Property City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. À’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp. Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Filinvest Land,Inc. Global-Estate Interport À’ Megaworld

5.350 0.96 8.75 2.520 0.960 43.800 3.86 4.84 5.46 5.79 0.510 1.20 1.200 0.203 0.500 38 0.670 0.139 1.92 1.52 0.85 5.62

3,881,700 38,770,000 55,800 504,000 22,903,000 36,456,500 2,773,000 7,930,400 304,000 200 36,970,000 859,000 3,237,000 30,630,000 10,090,000 3,618,900 42,036,000 2,620,000 31,939,000 40,104,000 4,950,000 160,071,600

PROPERTY 20,837,261.00 38,755,210.00 488,232.00 1,245,200.00 9,484,750.00 1,632,985,665.00 10,719,720.00 39,611,013.00 1,647,699.00 1,131.00 18,915,180.00 1,040,990.00 3,973,480.00 6,171,750.00 4,968,050.00 140,745,045.00 28,246,860.00 367,500.00 61,974,630.00 62,407,510.00 4,110,380.00 916,017,007.00

OCTOBER 30 - NOVEMBER 3, 2017 Close Volume Value 4.82 59.95 144.00 95.60 3.90 2.26 33.45 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 19,000 1,967,000 311,100 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

7,442,230.00 4,101,913.50 1,376,395,662.00 899,248,656.00 74,090.00 4,467,010.00 10,443,595.00 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

40.5 11.8 0.76 1.38 19.7 0.221 102 18.12 4.39 14

2,950,600 8,937,500 670,000 898,000 41,800 31,960,000 140 3,100 47,946,000 4,698,300

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

44.3 68 63.75 1.9 6.1 11.52 10.240 14.96 12.46 7.18 5.84 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 0.205 290.20 11.00 2.81 6.44 9.65 7.33 9.50 1.70 11.70 62.5 6.54 4.70

1,719,100 1,750 1,011,170 276,000 252,000 10,200 8,958,600 5,625,900 464,100 3,563,600 42,562,300 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 8,540,000 2,305,080 237,496 589,000 191,100 8,351,000 428,100 112,100 3,869,000 71,542,000 819,660 50,000 269,000

75,875,420.00 120,432.00 64,640,924.50 528,140.00 1,569,650.00 116,022.00 92,349,728.00 83,188,604.00 5,755,252.00 25,551,106.00 248,921,736.00 118,160.00 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 1,731,700.00 674,490,272.00 759,496.00 1,674,390.00 1,222,716.00 81,655,275.00 3,153,913.00 1,070,822.00 6,567,240.00 822,982,654.00 51,233,212.50 327,698.00 1,262,220.00

4.8 308 2.1 12.94 4.71 0.140 1.19 142 3.25 2.12

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

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

0.94

153,000

144,900.00

0.350 72.00 15.86 1.08 7.06 0.445 0.445 1061 8.49 15.60 5

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

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

7.75 0.192 1200 7.96 74.00 5.05

194,700 60,000 602,775 88,700 5,082,040 20,200

1,491,476.00 11,480.00 720,531,370.00 687,462.00 386,868,924.00 104,159.00

5.37 0.82 5.8 17

500 1,496,000 7,629,800 7,851,700

2,685.00 1,206,900.00 44,082,914.00 138,568,246.00

6.74

41,725,900

284,756,369.00

0.0530 1.300 2.100 101.30 2.58 967.00 1.44

99,300,000 6,586,000 870,000 1,168,160 28,000 1,451,360 913,000

5,119,020.00 9,157,430.00 1,817,130.00 121,183,403.00 72,240.00 1,753,024,225.00 1,311,170.00

297.600

4,450

1,323,200.00

0.2600 0.1850 0.212

5,950,000 840,000 1,110,000

1,546,700.00 156,220.00 225,740.00

5.400 1.04 8.88 2.480 0.980 44.000 3.85 4.91 5.4

1,686,000 11,515,000 111,800 1,715,000 5,086,000 35,351,900 3,140,000 1,465,000 25,800

9,040,645.00 12,122,080.00 972,570.00 4,283,010.00 5,012,300.00 1,554,963,035.00 12,032,420.00 7,170,970.00 139,320.00

0.510 1.26 1.250 0.202 0.480 40.05 0.680 0.142 2.00 1.51 0.86 5.64

11,941,000 245,000 249,000 43,140,000 2,090,000 1,013,500 5,873,500 120,000 26,544,000 6,354,000 11,105,000 161,962,300

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 52,889,300.00 9,623,940.00 9,377,850.00 906,009,954.00

STOCKS

NOVEMBER 6-10,2017 Close Volume

OCTOBER 30 - NOVEMBER 3, 2017 Close Volume Value

Value

MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp. Phil. Realty `A’ Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 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

0.315 0.3900 0.570 28.30 7.2 24.45 1.84 3.17 36.60 1.03 7.22 0.840 6.240

158,160,000 44,570,000 65,551,000 300 26,913,300 5,643,600 1,574,000 707,000 33,846,200 4,785,000 5,900 317,000 20,958,300

51,454,100.00 18,368,100.00 34,911,690.00 8,490.00 190,530,670.00 141,320,265.00 2,861,550.00 2,269,390.00 1,269,022,280.00 4,884,470.00 41,363.00 269,500.00 127,607,032.00

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. Discovery World Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Golden Haven Grand Plaza Hotel Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. À’ IPeople Inc. À’ 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. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp. Philweb.Com Inc. PLDT Common PremiereHorizon Premium Leisure Puregold Robinsons RTL SBS Phil. Corp. SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils. Wilcon Depot

18.4 38 1.5 0.495 0.047 10.98 5.01 10.88 0.0670 103.5 8.8 9.35 7.30 2.01 3.12 1020 2008 5.90 18.20 11.00 3.08 102 2.45 12 8.34 0.150 1.3800 3.26 15.9 3.79 1.28 22.30 16.80 0.540 2.9 6.99 4.03 2.450 11.18 5.01 2.87 7.71 200.00 8.17 1690.00 0.325 1.360 50.95 95.00 6.00 3.54 1.710 3.81 0.920 8.480

404,200 325,600 3,090,000 24,852,000 402,940,000 12,000 9,800 111,855,300 35,710,000 721,800 153,200 10,342,500 94,000 4,000 14,000 1,320 252,320 1,797,400 78,300 1,100 136,550,000 3,689,440 149,000 76,300 1,700,000 25,350,000 2,147,000 422,000 18,400 13,567,000 11,901,000 31,609,100 5,300 354,000 677,000 15,300,000 8,285,000 32,464,000 97,300 110,800 81,000 16,300 12,580 3,608,900 314,625 15,630,000 14,975,000 6,471,270 5,048,970 575,800 14,471,000 127,212,000 2,893,000 55,746,000 23,130,300

SERVICES 7,605,924.00 12,505,150.00 4,673,430.00 12,499,460.00 19,253,350.00 131,990.00 49,202.00 1,174,572,099.00 2,366,260.00 75,477,093.00 1,350,045.00 98,366,721.00 758,675.00 8,040.00 45,250.00 1,322,000.00 514,441,450.00 10,683,710.00 1,415,044.00 13,100.00 445,888,530.00 378,378,862.00 390,440.00 917,040.00 14,215,443.00 3,879,340.00 2,911,550.00 1,345,240.00 288,198.00 53,791,230.00 15,611,180.00 706,359,025.00 85,176.00 192,260.00 1,900,420.00 106,763,186.00 32,883,790.00 80,552,490.00 1,076,874.00 561,977.00 238,830.00 127,325.00 2,445,426.00 30,324,195.00 538,159,795.00 5,984,450.00 20,609,570.00 330,879,072.50 477,118,854.50 3,504,888.00 51,272,750.00 226,792,270.00 11,116,080.00 54,858,560.00 191,989,667.00

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

0.0025 1.68 1.71 5.01 15.00 1.8000 1.8200 1.63 0.370 7.90 2.890 0.255 0.154 0.159 0.011 0.0110 2 7.01 1.77 0.4900 1.0200 0.0120 0.0120 7.60 8.38 0.0120 2.2700 38.30 0.0075

MINING & OIL 1,391,060,000 3,483,400.00 32,208,000 54,881,060.00 6,385,000 10,978,530.00 2,977,900 14,953,209.00 18,700 260,496.00 83,000 151,780.00 257,000 472,030.00 22,153,000 36,073,470.00 2,200,000 817,200.00 169,100 1,316,973.00 162,497,000 481,500,330.00 2,840,000 712,610.00 86,528,000 17,619,250.00 20,110,000 3,367,460.00 657,800,000 6,905,300.00 10,200,000 112,200.00 4,233,000 8,520,790.00 38,848,600 282,406,032.00 1,529,000 2,672,020.00 201,000 98,930.00 5,425,000 5,487,240.00 35,600,000 427,300.00 107,100,000 1,303,500.00 2,780,000 21,860,889.00 55,628,900 497,233,348.00 32,500,000 366,800.00 83,000 188,340.00 20,382,200 804,633,705.00 16,000,000 120,000.00

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. Alco Preferred B Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ DD PREF First Gen F First Gen G FPH Pref C GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. GTCAP PREF A GTCAP PREF B Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A 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 G SMC Preferred H SMC Preferred I Swift Pref

37.5 108 532 515.5 105 107 118.5 517 515.5 5.59 1035 1028 1.07 105 1049 1141 1007 105.9 110.5 75.65 81.75 76.45 78.1 81 77.2 78.35 79.85 1.96

1,952,500 74,550 16,450 2,420 165,650 1,910 2,680 800 56,780 3,147,100 1,300 5,710 556,000 20,520 12,540 6,620 38,550 9,470 10,800 63,040 360,360 126,600 17,070 218,020 112,690 52,760 133,510 7,000

LR Warrant

2.410

WARRANTS & BONDS 3,743,000 9,353,790.00

PREFERRED 73,848,940.00 8,000,390.00 8,751,400.00 1,251,575.00 17,412,890.00 203,470.00 317,748.00 413,600.00 29,871,330.00 17,651,855.00 1,333,000.00 5,881,190.00 596,850.00 2,165,066.00 13,319,460.00 7,575,075.00 38,756,645.00 1,002,806.00 1,190,400.00 4,760,792.50 29,406,031.50 9,681,090.00 1,332,717.00 17,483,882.00 8,708,693.00 4,145,891.00 10,584,430.00 13,720.00

SME 574,240,415.00 3,991,540.00 78,669,064.00

Italpinas Philab Holdings Xurpas

16.82 3.48 5

46,601,800 1,124,000 15,613,600

First Metro ETF

127.6

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 18,020 2,316,560.00

USD DMPL A1

10.3

8,100

0.335 0.4100 0.540

78,200,000 30,480,000 16,362,000

25,509,400.00 11,953,500.00 8,614,790.00

6.75 24.65 1.81 3.22 37.40 1.03 7.29 0.860 6.070

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

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

19.28 39.3 1.5 0.520 0.051 11 5.02 9.90 0.0670 108 8.2 9.77 7.40

160,800 43,800 387,000 3,291,000 176,150,000 1,903,900 4,800 69,462,500 72,720,000 659,810 1,100 3,032,500 13,100

3,096,140.00 1,703,540.00 586,940.00 1,715,010.00 9,065,430.00 20,942,900.00 24,362.00 668,924,450.00 4,935,000.00 72,172,732.00 9,770.00 28,917,683.00 93,913.00

965 2030 5.92 18.50

60 261,775 1,063,300 59,500

57,900.00 532,623,600.00 6,284,646.00 1,087,564.00

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

52,487,000 2,193,430 28,000 6,500 1,180,700 8,960,000 472,000 139,000 7,300 2,817,000 3,932,000 11,706,000 4,600 43,000 629,000 15,120,100 1,329,000 5,821,000 19,200 34,200 105,000

148,575,510.00 228,727,296.00 72,880.00 77,090.00 9,891,907.00 1,394,360.00 657,110.00 449,360.00 113,760.00 11,361,080.00 5,087,820.00 233,342,890.00 78,844.00 23,910.00 1,734,270.00 105,967,747.00 5,338,080.00 13,469,970.00 211,250.00 172,946.00 307,940.00

177.00 8.53 1660.00 0.395 1.410 51.10 93.50 6.04 3.80 1.790 3.87 0.980 8.330

5,370 17,628,300 282,450 400,000 43,783,000 9,414,750 3,870,230 155,100 9,103,000 88,661,000 994,000 34,592,000 7,612,100

941,692.00 160,553,927.00 480,073,635.00 156,850.00 63,169,910.00 484,470,204.50 373,472,305.00 921,358.00 35,367,510.00 160,166,340.00 3,870,510.00 34,205,350.00 63,653,098.00

0.0024 1.74

644,000,000 23,063,000

1,547,900.00 39,969,640.00

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

438,900 312,678 33,000 5,000 20,418,000 1,130,000 15,600 123,715,000 780,000 44,140,000 1,380,000 67,100,000 24,100,000 4,847,000 45,917,700 472,000 226,000 6,153,000 140,600,000 96,900,000 4,346,400 20,208,500 60,000,000 105,000 4,891,800 26,000,000

2,172,184.00 16,986.00 60,790.00 9,050.00 33,330,780.00 433,200.00 126,054.00 362,204,700.00 196,950.00 7,695,800.00 252,220.00 673,100.00 265,100.00 9,764,980.00 336,336,186.00 846,410.00 112,435.00 6,633,020.00 1,737,900.00 1,356,600.00 34,041,953.00 169,159,591.00 660,300.00 238,430.00 204,668,690.00 195,000.00

38.8 107.3 532 530 105.3 106

49,200 1,070 250 230 20,770 10

1,944,790.00 114,881.00 133,000.00 121,900.00 2,192,360.00 1,060.00

539.5 5.58 1039 1030 1.06 112.9

500 1,482,800 985 7,745 137,000 5,050

269,750.00 8,311,759.00 1,002,675.00 7,977,875.00 145,810.00 553,787.00

1145 1007 106 108.3 75.3 81.7 76.45 78.1 82.45

960 1,000 10,210 1,200 12,450 101,190 5,350 170,420 32,070

1,099,200.00 1,008,150.00 1,082,196.00 129,800.00 940,753.50 8,214,468.00 409,007.50 13,306,412.00 2,588,132.00

79 79.1 1.95

68,620 73,550 9,000

5,422,920.00 5,810,460.00 17,800.00

2.390

576,000

1,396,330.00

7.88 3.75 5.32

14,861,600 702,000 2,171,400

115,651,230.00 2,687,090.00 11,530,316.00

127.8

85,030

10,948,803.00

DOLLAR DENONIMATED SEC. 84,330.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining Manila Mining À’ Apollo Global Pacifica À’ Ferronickel Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Harbor Star Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. STI Holdings

VOLUME 1,391,060,000 657,800,000 402,940,000 186,710,000 162,497,000 160,071,600 158,160,000 136,550,000 131,260,100 127,212,000

STOCKS Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Metrobank Ayala Land `B’ Ayala Corp `A’ Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. SM Prime Holdings Universal Robina SM Investments Inc. Bloomberry GT Capital

VALUE 1,845,902,824.00 1,652,093,506.00 1,632,985,665.00 1,475,254,335.00 1,411,109,826.00 1,269,022,280.00 1,216,930,412.00 1,189,787,885.00 1,174,572,099.00 1,020,588,050.00

Foreign investors were net sellers by just P39 million, while the average daily value traded stood at P7.76 billion, down from the previous week’s average of P8.6 billion. Weekly top price gainers were Italpinas Development Corp., which surged 113 percent to P16.82 per share; Ginebra San Miguel Inc. which advanced 67.3 percent to P26; and San Miiguel Pure Foods Co. Inc., which surged 62.3 percent to P500. Weekly top price losers were Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., which declined 7.9 percent to P54.15; Semirara Mining and Power Corp., which fell7.2 percent to P38.30; and Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc., which dropped 6.6 percent to P4.10. Global stock markets retreated Friday, extending the previous session’s losses, as uncertainty over US President Donald Trump’s much-vaunted tax cuts and lackluster corporate earnings took their toll on investor conﬁdence. At the close of the trading day in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average snapped an eight-week winning streak, closing 0.2 percent lower, while the broad S&P 500 and tech-dominated Nasdaq were essentially ﬂat. With AFP

Okada registers 9-month loss in PH OKADA Manila, the latest resort resort and casino to open in Pagcor Entertainment City, registered an operating loss of 7.06 billion Japanese yen (P3.18 billion) on sales of 7.06 billion yen (P4 billion) in the first nine months of the year, according to the latest filing by parent Universal Entertainment Corp. The operating loss is higher than the 2.96-billion yen (P1.33 billion) loss recorded in the same period a year ago. Japan’s Universal Entertainment in a filing with the Tokyo Stock Exchange also reported that Okada Manila was in the final stage of preparations for the “grand opening” in early 2018, more than one year after some portion of its facilities were launched to the public. “The plan is for OKADA MANILA® to start making a material contribution to consolidated performance once this resort and casino holds its grand opening,” the Japanese firm, owned by Japanese billionaire Kazuo Okada, said. Okada Manila started casino operations in December 2016. Universal Entertainment said the casino, which includes a VIP section, had been generating steady growth in revenue. Okada Manila is scheduled to complete Pearl Wing luxury hotel, which will have a total of 464 rooms. Construction of the fine dining section and shopping mall is also ongoing, with more tenants starting their operations. “The improvement in monthly profitability is continuing in the casino resort business as the rising utilization rate of facilities makes it possible to cover an increasing amount of fixed expenses,” Universal Entertaiment said. Meanwhile, Okada Manila plans to start operating Cove Manila in December 2017. The all-weather dome has a beach club, night club and space for 5,000 people planning to attend a variety of events. Jenniffer B. Austria

Business/World

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017 extrastory2000@gmail.com

With (Front row, fromleft) Asean Foundation Head Elaine Tan, Philippine Permanent Representative to Asean Amb. Elizabeth Buensuceso, Brunei Darussalam Minister Pehin Lim Jock Seng, DFA head of Foreign Service Institute Amb. Claro Cristobal, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, former Prime Minister of Thailand HE Abhisit Vejjajiva, President Rodrigo Duterte, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA)Prof. Hidetoshi Nishimura, DFA Sec. Alan Peter Cayetano, former Minister of Trade and former Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia Dr. Mari Elka Pangestu, Ambassador and former DFA Secretary Delia Albert, Associate Professor and Head of Centre of Non-Traditional Security Studies, Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Dr. Mely Caballero-Anthony, (Second row , from left) former Asean Secretary General, Thailand Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, former First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vietnam Amb. Le Cong Phung,former AseanSecretary General Tan Sri Dato Ajit Singh, Japan’s Permanent Representative to Asean Amb. Kazuo Sunaga, former Asean Secretary General, Singapore , Amb. Ong Keng Yong

THE HIGH-LEVEL FORUM ON ASEAN@50 ARRIVAL. US President Donald Trump and Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang attend a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Hanoi on November 12, 2017. Trump told his Vietnamese counterpart on November 12 he is ready to help resolve the dispute in the resource-rich South China Sea. AFP With Dr. Mari Elka Pangestu, former Minister of Trade and former Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy, Indonesia; now, Professor of Economics, University of Indonesia, Amb. Le Cong Phung, former First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Vietnam, Henry Motte-Munoz, founder and chief executive officer of Edukasyon.ph., Philippines, Dr. Mely Caballero-Anthony, Associate Professor and Head of Centre of Non-Traditional Security Studies, Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Amb. Delia Domingo-Albert, former Secretary of foreign Affairs, Philippines, Pehin Lim Jock Seng, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei Darussalam, Prof. Hidetoshi Nishimura, President of Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA), Tan Sri Dato Ajit Singh, former Asean Secretary General, Amb. Claro Cristobal, head of Foreign Service Institute, DFA, Philippines, Amb. Elizabeth Buensuceso, Philippine Permanent Representative to Asean STILL on Asean. Bear with me, folks, we’d probably never get these opportunities again. In fact, by the time you read this, the 31st Asean Summit and the Asean Business and Investment Summit 2017 would have gone underway, but I am getting ahead of myself. These are exciting times for the country as host, in a milestone year at that, and if you cannot catch any of that excitement or pride, well, I’d rather not say. As part of the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of Asean, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), under the able leadership of Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, together with the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) of the Philippine government under the tutelage of Ambassador Claro Cristobal, Director-General, and the Economic Research Institute for Asean and East Asia (ERIA) headed by Chairman Datu Paduka Lim Jock Hoi and President Professor Hidetoshi Nishimura, hosted the High-Level Forum on Asean@50 last October at the Conrad, Manila with the theme “Retrospectives and Perspectives on the Making, Substance, Significance and Future of Asean”. The High-Level Forum was also organized with support from the Japan-Asean Integration Fund (JAIF) and the Asean Foundation. This Forum was a first in many respects in that it involved a sitting Head of State, former Heads of State, Ministers, former Ministers and former Asean Secretaries-General; hence, the reason why it was called “High-Level”. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte delivered the keynote speech where he declared Asean as one of the most successful regional organizations in the world. In the same vein, he called upon Asean leaders to imbibe the importance of Asean in their respective peoples and on its impact in their daily lives. He also said that the people of Asean member-states must own the Asean story as their own and to treat its future as their future as well. Former President and now Congresswoman Gloria MacapagalArroyo was one of the invited speakers, as well as the former Prime Minister of Thailand Abhisit Vejjajiva. Both leaders—who, by the way, were contemporaries—spoke of their vast experience in Asean affairs. They touched on the importance of the stability in inter-state relations, the plethora of challenges the region faces both on the political and economic front, and on socio-cultural cooperation. I was once again asked to do the yeoman’s job of moderating the morning panel discussion which revolved around “Asean: Partnering for Change, Engaging the World.” I thank Dr. Ponciano “Pons” Intal Jr., Ph.D., ERIA Senior Economist, respected expert on Asean, and member of the organizing committee, for the invitation to moderate. The resource persons in this discussion were Honorable Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia Lim Jock Seng, Minister at the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Brunei Darussalam; my good friend Ambassador Delia Albert, former Philippine Secretary of Foreign Affairs; Professor Dr. Mely Caballero-Anthony of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Ambassador Le Cong Phung, former First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam; Professor Dr. Mari Elka Pangestu, former Minister of Trade and Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of Indonesia; and Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand and former Asean Secretary-General. The panel members shared with the audience—composed of members of the academe, government, media, civil society, and international organizations—their views on several aspects on Asean. One topic which particularly elicited a lively and engaging discussion was whether the Asean Way needed to be reframed in the light of an evolving new world order. These were, indeed, heavyweights not only in their respective countries but also in their respective fields. It was a daunting task to navigate the discussion as an erstwhile ship captain would through rock-strewn passages and jagged coastlines. But into a calm and serene bay we steered, so to speak, as all agreed that the significance of the role of Asean not just as a regional organization but also as a strategic aggrupation in the global politic should not be downplayed or undermined. The Forum was also the occasion to launch the five-volume commemorative publication on Asean@50 which presents the Asean story for the past half-century from the viewpoint of governments, peoples, communities and other stakeholders. Asean heads of state and other world leaders, headed by the two most powerful nations, the United States of America and the People s Republic of China, are now in Manila. The Asean Summit will again showcase Asean as a model of regionalism. As a region, let us take advantage of this present platform to show that Asean can take the lead and not just be a bystander in world affairs. As a nation, let us show that, under our Chairmanship, Asean will soar to greater heights in the next 50 years. With Cong. Art Yap, Former Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and Ambassador and former DFA Secretary Delia Albert

With Amb. Elizabeth Buensuceso, Philippine Permanent Representative to Asean

With DFA Undersecretary Manuel Teehankee, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, and Secreatry Martin Andanar

Debt default to worsen Venezuela’s problems Another C Trump dig ARACAS―Luber Faneitte has lung cancer but there’s no medicine to treat it. She cannot make ends meet. Crime is rampant in her neighborhood. And she fears that if Venezuela defaults on its $150 billion debt, which is considered likely, things will get worse. Faneitte, 56, lives on the 18th story of a decrepit building in downtown Caracas. In her fridge there is only water. Meat is a luxury of the past because of inﬂation that the IMF projects will hit 2,300 percent in 2018. “We get by on grain, and that is just when we can get it. We make a kilo last two or three days,” Faneitte told AFP. She is on disability from her job as a civil servant and survives on a bare pittance, equivalent to $8.70

per month. She depends on food the government sells once a month at subsidized prices to offset the shortages of just about everything. Last time she brought home two kilos (4.4 pounds) of beans, a kilo of rice, two liters of cooking oil, a kilo of powdered milk and four kilos of ﬂour. But it went fast. Faneitte lives with a daughter and four grandkids. They all depend on her income. Cendas, an NGO that monitors the cost of living in this oil-rich but now destitute nation, says that in September it took six times the minimum wage to provide

for the average family. Although she has nothing to cook, Faneitte leaves the gas stove running to save on matches. The faucet drips, day and night. But she has no money to ﬁx it, and water―like other utilities―is practically given away by the government. Politically, the idea of Venezuela declaring default is seen as offering a possible short-term boost for widely unpopular President Nicolas Maduro, who has his eye on elections next year. As oil prices are down― petroleum accounts for 96 percent of the country’s hard-currency revenue― Venezuela has cut down on imports to save money for debt service, worsening the seemingly endless shortages of basics, even such stuff as soap and toilet paper. If Maduro declares default, it would free up money

to buy imports, do election campaigning and thereby ease the risk of street protests. But analysts say the longterm impact of defaulting would be disastrous. Venezuela would be mired in lawsuits by creditors and see its assets frozen abroad, said Alejandro Grisanti of the consultancy Ecoanalitica. Maduro has said he wants to reﬁnance and restructure Venezuela’s debt. But the idea of default is seen as looming. “I don’t know if that is what Venezuela needs to open its eyes,” said Faneitte. “What I do know is that we are going to go hungrier and be more in need.” She does not know how things got so bad but she sure is feeling the effects. AFP She gave up chemotherapy in January because of the acute shortage of medicine to treat her cancer. AFP

Controversial Da Vinci is star of NY auction season NEW YORK―What is the only Da Vinci painting on the open market worth? A Russian billionaire believes he was swindled when he bought it for $127.5 million. This week he’ll ﬁnd out if he was right. “Salvator Mundi,” a painting of Jesus Christ by the Renaissance polymath Leonardo da Vinci circa 1500, is the star lot in New York’s November art auctions that will see Christie’s and Sotheby’s chase combined art sales of more than $1 billion. It goes under the hammer at Christie’s on Wednesday, something of an incongruous lot in the post-war and contemporary evening sale,

which attracts the biggest spenders in the high-octane world of international billionaire art collectors. The auction house, which declines to comment on the controversy and identiﬁes the seller only as a European collector, has valued it at $100 million. “Look at the painting, it is an extraordinary work of art,” said Francois de Poortere, head of the old master’s department at Christie’s. “That’s what we should focus on.” But the price will be closely watched―not just as one of fewer than 20 paintings by Da Vinci’s hand accepted to exist, but by its owner Dmi-

try Rybolovlev, the boss of soccer club AS Monaco who is suing Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier in the city-state. Rybolovlev accuses Bouvier of conning him out of hundreds of millions of dollars in parting with an eyewatering $2.1 billion on 37 masterpieces. One of those works was “Salvator Mundi” that has been exhibited at The National Gallery in London. Bouvier bought the Da Vinci at Sotheby’s for $80 million in 2013. He resold it to the Russian tycoon for $127.5 million. The painting’s rarity is difﬁcult to overstate. For years it was presumed to have been

destroyed. In 1958, it fetched 45 pounds ($60 in today’s money) and disappeared again for decades, emerging only in 2005 when it was purchased from a US estate. It was long believed to have been a copy, before eventually being certiﬁed as authentic. All ll other known paintings by Da Vinci are held in museum or institutional collections. “For auction specialists, this is pretty much the Holy Grail,” Loic Gouzer, co-chairman of Christie’s Americas post-war and contemporary art department, has said. “It doesn’t really get better than that.” AFP

at ‘fat and short’ Kim

HANOI―US President Donald Trump took his verbal jousting with Kim JongUn to a new level Sunday, taunting the North Korean leader over his height and weight before musing over the idea of them eventually becoming friends. While they have never met, Trump and Kim have form when it comes to name-calling, with the US president a more than willing match for the highly rhetorical ﬂourishes deployed by his adversary in Pyongyang. Trump has referred to Kim as a “madman” and “Rocket Man” while the 33-year-old responded by calling the 71-year-old former reality TV star a “mentally deranged dotard”. On Sunday Trump got down to basics, with a sarcastic tweet prompted by recent descriptions of him in the North’s state media as a “lunatic old man”. “Why would Kim JongUn insult me by calling me ‘old,’ when I would NEVER call him ‘short and fat’?” the president tweeted from Hanoi -- the latest leg of a lengthy Asia tour that had, until then, appeared to have moderated his Twitter habit. “Oh well, I try so hard to be his friend―and maybe someday that will happen!” he wrote. AFP

The rise of lifestyle malls and the cosmopolitan consumer CLARO G. GANAC, DBA

GREEN LIGHT (Part 1 of 2)

DO luxury shopping malls inﬂuence consumer styles and taste and shopping behavior? The answer appears to be a strong “yes.” Increased visibility and consumption of upscale brands have made consumers aware of the variety of choices available. Also, more Filipinos now travel and have contact with physical environments and ambiance that were only seen in shopping experiences abroad. Thus, they are more open to shopping stimuli that

enable the assimilation of international and more sophisticated lifestyle choices and preferences. Influencing lifestyle and taste Income is a direct determinant of purchasing power, but not necessarily of consumer taste and decision styles. Where before the customer preference profile determined the mall environment, architectural design and shopping mix, the reverse effect is being observed. Malls are now influencing consumer lifestyle and taste. Malls act as the visible symbol and barometer of shopping styles and appear to have a reciprocal effect on consumer behavior. A study by Hauge (2007) has noted that holistic and

reciprocal interactions between shoppers and shopping malls often occur during shopping, and concluded that “People affect places, and places inﬂuence how people see themselves.” Playing a major role Malls play a major role in consumers’ lifestyle and serve their needs for socialization and recreational activities, entertainment and even societal status. That role is expected to further grow in the future as individuals increasingly integrate their personal lives with the consumption of products, brands and experiences. If so, then the Philippines will see an upsurge not only in upscale, sophisticated mall concepts,

but also the more pervasive transformation of the consumer psyche. To a great extent, Filipinos are global citizens even they have never stepped foot out of the country. Many have one or even a few ﬁrst-degree relatives and friends who work or live in the US, Australia, Europe and other parts of the world. Their gifts, pasalubongs, and stories have exposed us to this global sense and taste. With this unmistakable trend, the local retail brands will have to step up to the challenge and re-create their brand experiences. They must strive to cater to the global and “cosmopolitan” Filipino consumer, alongside the rise of lifestyle malls.

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, Marketing Research, Public Relations among other subjects under the undergraduate and masters Marketing Management program of DLSU. The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reﬂect the ofﬁcial position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.

KP on ‘Yolanda’ rehab: A lot still has to be done

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

monday, november 13, 2017

LGUs LocaL government units

FRESH CATCH. Senator Cynthia A. Villar (left) shows off the tilapia harvested from a fishpond provided by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources to Tondo residents who

have benefited from a livelihood and cleanup caravan led by the lawmaker with BFAR and Department of Environment and Natural Resources officials. BFAR officials also demonstrated smoked fish making. Lino Santos

CEBU CITY—The Kilusang Pagbabago Visayas, a mass movement of supporters of President Duterte, has expressed that “a lot has still to be done” with the turnover by the National Housing Authority in Region 7 of some 100 housing units to “Yolanda” survivor-beneficiaries in Bantayan town, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the super typhoon that struck Cebu island. Rey Canoy, KP Cebu provincial officer, made the statement after site visits of his team last week in northern Cebu. He noted that the units being turned over was on top of 219 units turned over earlier under phase 2. A total of 450 units were finished and now occupied by Yolanda survivors under phase 1. However, the KP team noted that NHA records showed that the magnitude involves the building of 22,423 units with 15,348 already bidded out in 16 towns in northern Cebu. On the other hand, KP Region 6 lead convener Fr. Jose Elmer Cajilig attended the 888 Media Forum on Tuesday to correct a Facebook post where a copy-pasted news story of what happened in Barangay Lacayon, Bugasong town, in Antique province, was superimposed with the words “fake news” in red. Junex Doronio

‘Mission 2020’ for Manila

By Bill Casas

ITH Metro Manila now ranked as the third worst traffic-congested urban areas in Asia, Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada has ordered the Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau to establish a longterm plan to solve the traffic problem in the city, including the recruitment of up to 10,000 volunteers by year 2020.

Estrada, citing the recent Uber-commissioned survey, said commuters and motorists in the metropolis spend the third longest average time being stuck in traffic every day at 66 minutes, next to Bangkok with 72 minutes and Jakarta with 68 minutes. “We have to come up with decisive measures to solve our traffic problems, if not our country’s economy will continue to suffer,” Estrada said. According to the Uber

study, drivers spend almost P100,000 looking for parking and sitting in traffic every year. In a year, it said Metro Manila residents spent 402 hours stuck in traffic. “The impact of traffic is horrendous. People spend so much time in the roads,” Estrada lamented. Based on the “Mission 2020” traffic plan of MTPB chief Director Dennis Alcoreza, Estrada said 10,000 volunteers, 3,000 of them bikers or

motorcycle riders, would boost efforts by the city government to address the perennial traffic congestion in the city. Alcoreza met with Elvis Allan Patao, chief of the MTPB’s Barangay Traffic Auxiliary Group, for the City of Manila and the barangays to work on a joint project to improve traffic in the city. “The ‘Vision’ of the MTPB-BTAG is to revive ‘Manila’s Past Glory’ through traffic discipline in the

city,” said Patao With this plan, Patao said part of the MTPB-BTAG vision of traffic plan for Manila would be to recruit 10,000 volunteers from different sectors including bikers or motorcycle groups to assist government traffic personnel. Out of the 10,000 volunteers, Patao said 7,000 would serve as “force multipliers “The reason why we called it Mission 2020, at least we have a time, in three

years’ time, everything will be included in the plan,” he pointed out. The plan would include recruiting 10,000 traffic volunteers by 2020; establish 24/7 Traffic Responders; 24/7 Traffic Action Centers; 24/7 Motorcycle/Bike Patrollers Group; Social Media I-tag Reporters; Traffic Monitoring Groups; Radio Communication Group; and Traffic Hero Volunteers, from 896 barangays in Manila.

Herbert wants to make QC more walkable By Rio N. Araja QUEZON City Mayor Herbert Bautista on Sunday ordered the further redevelopment of some major areas in the city. The goal of the redevelopment is to make Quezon City a walkable city, the mayor said. The redevelopment shall include bicycle and pedestrian lanes and designated parking areas, and that street lights would also be installed for the safety of the commuting public, he added. Bautista tasked the City Engineering Department and the City Architecture Department to sur-

vey the areas for redevelopment. He also gave instructions to implement a color-coding scheme for commercial and residential areas. The concerned department has already started the feasibility study of the mayor’s proposal. Ronald Pamintuan, architect from the Special Design Group, they have identified several locations for improvement, such as West Avenue, Sgt. Esguerra, Kamuning, Kamias and Scout Tuazon. According to Pamintuan, the goal is to secure the pedestrians. “West Avenue, however, will have a different approach,” he said. “There will be added elements for

West Avenue. Food kiosks, ambulant vending stalls and stage shows would be put up to attract people,” he added. Architect Virgilio Regala, Special Design Group head, said the improvement shall also cover the Quezon Memorial Circle and the kilometer-long street leading to Santuario de San Pedro Parish to be transformed into an Ilocos Sur’s Vigan City heritage village. Apart from the establishments that will be affected by the redevelopment, the city government has already sent letters to telecommunications companies concerning utility poles blocking pedestrian and bike lanes.

In BrIef manila sets citywide building inspections THE city government of Manila under Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada is set to launch an extensive citywide inspection of old buildings and other structures in the midst of the heightened concern over Metro Manila’s vulnerability to a strong earthquake—the so-called “Big One” experts believed could strike anytime. Estrada said this step is “very necessary” so the city government will have ample time to identify structures that are most susceptible to earthquake damages, thus, saving precious lives and properties. “While we have been initiating measures to mitigate the damages of a possible earthquake, it is also essential to conduct serious inspections of buildings so we can identify and correct the deficiencies before it is too late. This is very necessary,” Estrada said. “That ‘Big One’ may hit when least expected so we have to be prepared,” Estrada added, referring to the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology warned would hit Metro Manila. Bill Casas

tesda twin programs to address ‘mismatch’ SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga—Central Luzon is addressing the manpower skill mismatch between local employers’ needs and the resident workforce. Nomer Pascual, chief operation officer of Technical Education and Skill Development Authority in Central Luzon, said the close cooperation of the employers, especially in the economic zones here, is one step address the old problem. Two mechanisms are now being implemented in cooperation with local trade associations like the Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Pascual said. Romeo Dizon

SINAG AWARDS. The top 10 awardees from 20 finalists of the BPI Sinag Awards business incubation program, held in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry, stand on stage with officials of the Bank of the Philippine Islands and BPI Foundation as they receive cash awards up to P500,000 on Friday at the Makati Sports Club. The winners are Custom-Made Crafts Center Inc.; Happy Helpers; Lamlifew Village Museum and School of Living Tradition; Zarraga Integrated Diversiified Organic Farmers Association; Accents and Petals Crafts and Accessories; Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation; Association of Differently Abled Persons; Buhatan River Eco-Adventure Services Cooperative; and Coffee for Peace. Diana B. Noche

‘Sapantaha’ 3-play production at UPLB on Nov. 15-16 UNIVERSITY of the Philippines–Los Baňos Students under the Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts program, in line with the courses THEA 107: Theater Communication and THEA 108: Acting, continue in their preparations for the upcoming production “Sapantaha: Aninag sa Realidad.” “Sapantaha” will be staged at the NCAS under the direction of

Sir Jeremy dela Cruz, with show dates on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. The production is composed of three plays: “The Maids” by Jean Genet, “Bayan-Bayanan” by Bienvenido M. Noriega, Jr., and “Isang Buhay sa Tambakan” by Rolando Tinio. For tickets and inquiries, please contact the production manager Alyssa Silvano at

(0920) 485-2093. “Sapantaha” explores the intense relationships between characters in three drastically different settings. “The Maids” takes place in a grand manor house with two sisters Solange and Clara as they create a dark plot revolving around the woman they address only as “Madame”, under whom they serve as seemingly

Cleanfuel opens first Bulacan station in Pulilan

HERE’S another reason for the friendly fuels is opening soon, its er of commerce and trade that is residents of Northern Luzon to first station in Bulacan province. moving toward commercializabe glad: Cleanfuel, the country’s Pulilan is a first class urban tion and industrialization. leading supplier of environment- municipality in Bulacan, a centCleanfuel as a full-service fuel

Ferrer, gentri laud eco-friendly schools JAVALERA, General Trias City―Mayor Antonio A. Ferrer, Cavite 6th District Rep. Luis “Jon Jon” Ferrer IV and Team GenTri recently congratulated the winner of National Search for Sustainable and EcoFriendly Schools based here. The Search committee awards Javalera Elementary School under Demetrio Recto Jr, Principal II, adjudged as Regional Champion of Region IV-A Calabarazon in the 2017 NSSEFS. Javalera Elementary School also notched Best School Implementor 2017 Division Search for Brigada Eskwela (Medium School Category) during the Cavite Gawad Bandila awards held recently at Fr. Luigi Caburlotto School in Barangay Buho, Amadeo, Cavite.

loyal maids. “Bayan-Bayanan” takes place in Switzerland, where a miniature community of sorts is formed under the nurture of Manang and Manong, who act as guardian figures for a colorful cast of Filipino characters― some looking to find a sense of affinity in a foreign land, some only stopping by between their own escapades.

Cleanfuel strengthens its Northern Presence with its new Pulilan, Bulacan station.

station is a welcome addition to the developing municipality, offering high quality Euro 4 Diesel, Unleaded 91, and Premium 95 octane gasoline for less. The station also provides first-rate facilities such as clean and spacious air-conditioned restrooms, air and water services, credit card facility, a commercial space for lease, customer rewards program, and credit card facility, which are ready to serve motorists 24/7. This new branch located at Doňa Remedios Trinidad Highway, in Sto. Cristo, Pulilan strengthens Cleanfuel’s presence in the Northern Tagalog region, bringing quality fuel and better service closer to motorists and businesses in the area. For more information about Cleanfuel and its other stations, please call (02) 655-6407; (02) 655-9219 or visit its website at www.cleanfuel.ph. Cleanfuel– Quality Fuel for Less!

the joyce of eating Joyce BaBe Pañares

Life

Isah V. Red, Editor Bernadette Lunas, Writer isahred@gmail.com

food

monday, noVemBeR 13, 2017

HERE is a generous slab of pork ribs on my plate, plus slaw and corn on the side. it is the same fall-offthe-bone goodness of Racks barbeque that i’ve come to love over the years. But unlike the family-oriented Racks, this joint at SM Aura serves Engkanto craft beers. And then there are Cards Against Humanity and unO cards, a Treat-or-Dare dartboard, and a beer pong set-up. Rackshack, with its industrial interior design and loud music, is “Rack’s cooler, younger brother,” says restaurant owner Leopoldo “Chukri” Prieto III. “Racks is kind of at a crossroads now, given the influx of local and international smokehouses. Racks’ DnA is still here, but we wanted a more relaxed, laid-back fast casual. Everything ‘We believe that barbecue should have no boundaries. We want to turn barbecue into a unique social and interactive experience,’ says Rackshack owner Leopoldo ‘Chukri’ Prieto III. that we could not do at Racks, we did it with a lot of fun here at Rackshack,” “But here at Rackshack, there is somesays Prieto. thing for everyone and every taste imagPrieto has been responsible for Racks’ inable—whether that’s mild and sweet, a second wind more than a decade ago aflittle on the tangy side, Asian-inspired, ter eating at then the last run-down Racks or spicy. And if these flavors aren’t restaurant in El Pueblo in Ortigas in 2005, enough to please you, you can always when the brand was still owned by anothmix and match these sauces to fit your er entrepreneur. He was able to turn the unique taste,” Prieto adds. brand around, with more than 18 branches The menu is very straightforward, of Racks under his helm now. and you order your dish of choice in But Rackshack, Prieto says, will not three simple steps: Step 1. Choose your spell the end for the original brand. meats. Step 2. Choose your sides. Step 3. “Racks will build its own path. it has Choose your sauce. already carved a niche as a wholesome Other items in the menu take their cue family place and it will continue to be from Southern, Mexican, English, Spanone. But we thought it was time to apish, Japanese and other Asian influences: peal to a younger demographic, that is street corn salad, carnitas plate, Harawhy we were very conscious in differjuku potato salad, Creole garlic shrimp, entiating Rackshack,” he adds. and fish and chips, among others. Rackshack has expanded the signa“We don’t tell you which are the best ture sauces that its older brother has beitems on our menu. Our customers decome well known for. There’s the Mothcide that for themselves, and being giver Sauce, Rackshack’s signature house en the freedom to customize their dish blend which is mild and sweet; Spicy allows their personal preferences and Mother Sauce; Hoisin Sauce, a burst of tastes to shine through,” Prieto says. Asian flavors with a spicy kick; Caro“We believe that barbecue should have lina Gold, for mustard lovers who enjoy no boundaries. We want to turn barbecue the blend of sweet and tangy flavors; and into a unique social and interactive experiKansas Sauce, a sweet and spicy blend, ence. Barbecue should be fun to eat and to and a personal favorite of Prieto’s. share among friends. That’s the experience “Rackshack’s key highlight is its wide we’d like to bring to Rackshack, and take it range of sauces, which is a homage to the to a whole new level.” original Racks’ brand. Barbeque is very global now, and we do not want to be stuck For feedback, send comments to Brownie smores and street corn salad in a specific barbeque style,” he says. joyce.panares@gmail.com

BarBeque

without boundaries

Discover Thai Tea with a twist YOuR go-to café, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, is putting a twist on a Thai street food favorite and bringing Filipinos two strong, sweet, and satisfying drinks. Add a burst of flavor to an otherwise ordinary day with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s signature blend of Assam black tea combined with the sweetness of condensed milk as Thai Tea Latte & Thai Tea ice Blended hit stores nationwide. Assam black tea is known for its body, briskness, and robust flavor. This, when combined with creamy and sweet condensed milk, makes traditional Thai tea both a great way to jumpstart the day and a refreshing treat to sip on over your break. it is often sold out of street carts or at coffee shops in its home country of Thailand, but you can now savor this delicious drink the way you want to, right in the comfort and warmth of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf’s cozy spaces. Drop by The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and chill with your friends with

Thai Tea Latte & Thai Tea Ice Blended made of Assam black tea with condensed milk

Mixologist Kathryn Eckstein Cornista shows guests how the perfect drink is made during the Wine and Liquor Royale.

Month-long wine, spirits, and beer festival ROBinSOnS Selections treated its special guests and loyal patrons to a taste of the luxurious lifestyle of high-rolling casino players, kicking off the holiday season with its annual wine, spirits, and beer festival held at Venice Grand Canal Mall in McKinley Hill, Taguig City. Called the Wine and Liquor Royale, the event had guests playing fun versions of card table games as they enjoyed sampling different wines, import-

ed beers and liquors with food cocktails at Robinsons Selections. Guests also learned about mixology from Don Papa resident mixologist Kathryn Eckstein Cornista, who talked about the art of making the perfect drink and the science behind designing cocktail mixes and preparing ingredients. For the entire month of October, patrons availed of various wines, import-

ed beers, and liquors at discounted prices in all Robinsons Selections branches to add a touch of extravagance to their holiday celebrations. The wine, spirits, and beer festival was presented by Robinsons Selections in partnership with Philippine Wine Merchants and Absolute Sales Corporation, and sponsors Emperador, San Miguel Brewery, Ginebra San Miguel, and Convoy.

a cool drink of iced Thai Tea Latte, paired with delicious Roast Chicken & Mushroom Fusilli for lunch or a hearty afternoon meal. Or if you’re craving for something sweet, the Triple Decker Cheesecake goes perfectly with Thai Tea ice Blended. no matter how you take your tea, you can be sure that The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf sources its ingredients from only the best plantations around the world, giving you the premium tea you’re looking for with fresh twists you’ll enjoy, along with an elevated café experience you’ll want to keep coming back to. So, watch out, tea lovers, and be the first in line to try the Thai Tea Latte and Thai Tea ice Blended only at The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. For updates, follow @coffeebeanphilippines on Facebook, @cbtlph on Instagram and @cbtlph on Twitter, or visit http://coffeebean.com.ph to find a store near you.

Life

monday, november 13, 2017 isahred@gmail.com

Favorite breakfast fares at the Breakfast Corner

Meaty goodness awaits at the barbecue and carving stations

Sushi choices available at the Sushi Bar

Taste of the World at Crimson Hotel

HErE is no need to fly and travel to enjoy top international cuisines. Take an around-the-globe culinary journey with your whole family by heading South to enjoy the world on a plate through Crimson Hotel Filinvest City Manila’s World On A Plate Family Sunday Brunch Buffet at Café Eight.

Families and food enthusiasts can indulge in an exciting variety of food selections ranging from Mediterranean for appetizers and exciting flavors from Asia, Europe and America for the main course. Expect tasty rewards at the live

stations of sushi, shawarma, fried rice and noodles, pasta and seafood; and feast on delectable treats at the carving stations of prime rib, curry salmon, lamb leg, and slow roast of pork belly roulade made richer by a complimen-

tary glass of Mimosa. The kids also get to have their own buffet corner featuring sweet treats such as mini cupcakes, cotton candy and gummy candies. Other kids’ favorites include mini beef burgers, chicken lollipop, ham and cheese sandwich, and hotdog among others. All of these while doing fun activities such as face painting, balloon twisting and magic show. For as low as P1,305+++ per person, one can enjoy the best of the world’s top cuisines and breakfast corner.

Enjoy this satisfying buffet special with free-flowing drinks for only P1,712+++. These rates are inclusive of three-hour swimming pool use and complimentary parking. Making Sundays a great bonding moment for everyone, Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila adds excitement to the Family Sunday Brunch Buffet by staging a “Spin-the-Wheel” game which gives customers the chance to win any of the following prizes: up to 30 percent discount food coupons, a bottle of wine,

and an overnight stay at Crimson Hotel. Availing and enjoying the world’s most sumptuous dishes during the Family Sunday Brunch Buffet would also mean a chance to win an X-box One! Per DTI-FTEB Permit No. 13729, see posters and flyers for details. Promo is good until Nov. 30. For more information or reservations, please visit the official website at www. crimsonhotel.com/manila/ or call (02) 863-2222.

DiMpleS RoMana

The happy home cook

CDO Karne Norte Classic

Macaroni recipes with CDO Karne Norte

CDO Karne Norte is sharing with us special recipes for the whole family to enjoy. Every dish made is an affordable, tasty and meaty delight with the no.1 Karne Norte in the Philippines made meatier and tastier; the signature guisado taste that the family loves has been made even better. Now moms from around the country have an even more compelling reason to use CDO Karne Norte as their sikretong sahog. With this upgrade, now every creative mama can cook affordable and creative eats for her family. Featured recipes are Warm Macaroni Salad and Mac and Cheese.

Warm Macaroni Salad Ingredients: 50 grams 2 cups 1 tbsp 2 tbsps 2 tbsps ¾ cup ½ cup ¼ cup

CDO Karne Norte Classic Salad macaroni, cooked Onions, minced Carrots, diced and boiled Celery, diced and boiled Mayonnaise All-Purpose Cream Danes Classic Cheese, grated

Procedure: 1. In a bowl, toss together macaroni, onions, carrots, and celery while still warm. 2. Add CDO Karne Norte, mayonnaise, cream, and Danes Classic Cheese, Mix well. 3. Season with salt and pepper. 4. Transfer to a serving platter, Serve warm.

Mac and Cheese Ingredients: 50 grams 2 tbsps 2 tbsps 1 cup 3 cups 3 cups ¼ cup 1 tbsp

CDO Karne Norte Classic Vegetable Oil Onion minced Fresh Milk Danes Classic Cheese, grated Elbow Macaroni, cooked Butter Parsley, chopped Salt and Pepper to taste

Procedure: 1. In a sauce pan, sauté onions and CDO Karne Norte. 2. Stir in fresh milk, half of the Danes Classic Cheese, and Butter. Season with Salt and Pepper. Let it simmer. 3. Toss macaroni into the sauce. Mix well. 4. Transfer to a serving casserole, Sprinkle with the remaining Danes Classic Cheese and parsely, Serve hot.

“EVEryBODy loves to eat, but growing up with a Kapampangan mom just elevates your appreciation of food,” Dimples Romana says with a laugh. “I can’t recall a time when I wasn’t cooking or experimenting in the kitchen. It was always just a part of life.” She was already an established character actress when she decided to take a break from show business and take up culinary arts as an Enderun scholar in 2005. “I was pretty adept in a home kitchen already, but I really enjoyed learning the technical aspects of culinary arts,” Dimples says. “We often take the basics for granted, but when you know the little things, it gives you the confidence to grow.” While she eventually returned to acting, Dimples still shares her passion for food with family and friends any chance she gets. “I love feeding people at home,” she says with a smile. “Food makes people happy and I get happy when people appreciate what I’ve made.” This love for sharing extends beyond her home. During times of calamity, she and her husband would prepare and deliver food packs for affected communities. It was this spirit of generosity that moved her to join resorts World Manila’s (rWM) LOVE Dish 2017. LOVE Dish lets people enjoy special recipes by local celebrities who are into culinary arts at select rWM’s signature restaurants. Proceeds from their sales will be donated to COr Foundation, Pasay Social Welfare and Development, and right Start Foundation. “To be able to help is a privilege that not everyone has,” Dimples says. “We all have skills and talents, and when you get the chance to give of yourself for others, you should take it.” Dimples’ Salted Egg Prawns recipe received the haute cuisine treatment from Chef Cyrille Soenen, rWM’s Director for Culinary Arts and the first and only Master Chef of France in the Philippines. The salted egg yolk flavor has recently enjoyed its turn in the spotlight, with the ingredient being slathered on everything from potato chips, to custard buns, to fried chicken. “It’s a very timely and trendy dish, and I’ve put a very Filipino spin on it,” Dimples says of her recipe. “My dish is slightly sweet, very saucy, and goes very well with rice. Chef Cyrille has also added extra touches that gave it an extra depth of texture and flavor.” Dimples romana’s LOVE Dish is available at Passion 2F Maxims Hotel, resorts World Manila. For bookings and inquiries, visit rwmanila.com or call the The Salted Egg Prawns served at Passion for LOVE Dish is a collaboration between tourist/visitor hotline at (02) 908-8833. Dimples Romana and Chef Cyrille Soenen.

Go loco over Buko Loco

WHEN it comes to keeping the body properly hydrated, buko juice has been a classic favorite for being a natural source of electrolytes. Thanks to Buko Loco of the Fruitas Group of Companies for making buko juice available in a bottle to suit the lifestyle of on-thego young professionals or yuppies. Now, Buko Loco is diversifying its famous bottled buko juice with a twist by introducing new flavors of coconut goodness, which are tasty, healthy, and exciting. The Coco Strips and Coco Ube offer new buko juice experiences to meet the varied preferences of the Filipino youth. “At Buko Loco, we recognize that active and on-the-go yuppies do not settle for only one taste. They are adventurous with their choices and in need of diversity just like how they venture into a variety of outdoor activities. We want to complement this with a wider selection of flavors,” says Peter Carrillo, Marketing manager of Fruitas Group of Companies. The first new offering is the Coco Strips, which adds fresh buko meat strips to the classic Buko Loco juice, making it tastier and even healthier. As the coconut water keeps the body hydrated and help nerves function well, the coconut meat Buko Loco’s Coco Strips and Coco Ube variants helps restore oxidative tissue damage and is a great

source of healthy fats, proteins, and various vitamins and minerals. Meanwhile, Coco Ube makes flavored buko juices more appealing to those craving for a more adventurous local taste with its ube twist. The fresh and pure coconut juice is infused with creamy ube flavor, with nata crystals added to make the drink more enjoyable. It’s not only tasty; it’s also good for the body as ube has antibacterial properties and is known to be a good source of carbohydrates. This drink can give adventurous souls more energy to keep them active throughout the day. “Buko Loco does not shy away from introducing twists to our buko juices. As the leading fresh buko juice player in the industry, we have introduced other flavor combinations such as Coco Milko with Nata Crystals, and Coco Pandan with Green Jello. With the addition of Coco Strips and Coco Ube, we are further diversifying our selection to further suit our products to the lifestyle of young Filipinos,” says Carrillo. Buko Loco’s Coco Strips is available in 330mL for only P45.00 and in 500mL for P55.00, while you can get Coco Ube in 330mL for only P49.00 and the 500mL for P59.00. These new variants are available in all Buko Loco branches nationwide.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017

Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy in ‘Breathe’

Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy in an inspiring biographical drama about a man who devotes his entire life helping patients and disabled

FROM his breakout role as Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network to finding himself as Peter Parker in The Amazing Spider-Man, Andrew Garfield is back in one of his most dramatic roles to date in Breathe co-starring Golden Globe winning actress Claire Foy. The film takes us back to the 1950’s at the height of the Polio outbreak and welcomes us into the life of Robin Cavendish, who after being given only three months to live when she was paralyzed from the neck down by polio at age 28, becomes a pioneering advocate for the disabled. What does one do when an illness takes away your life during its prime? Does one succumb to the sickness or do you continue fighting and hope that somewhere along the way you find a silver lining? Together with his wife Diana, they travel the world with the hopes of transforming the lives of others like him. Critics were spreading praises to the beauty of the story and how two of Hollywood’s finest gave their unforgettable performances in this docudrama. The New York Times finds Breathe the perfect mix of horror, drama and awareness needed for a movie with this kind of theme, “It’s a rebel moment of chillingly authentic horror that seems to have slipped through every bad-feeling filter the filmmakers have installed.” Andy Serkis who has become a household name with a household face, makes his directorial debut in this film and is seen to be one for the books, Common Sense Media had this to say to the highly talented actor for his boldness in directing Breathe. “In his directorial debut, Serkis keeps the focus tightly on the characters -- and reaps the rewards, especially from Foy’s superb performance as Diana.” Serkis gives you a glimpse of how a British film can be beautifully executed making it highly possible for it to reach the most golden of award ceremonies. Breathe hits theaters near you on Nov. 22.

E HAD a chat with the confidently beautiful millennial queen herself, Pia Wurtzbach, who happily chimed her thoughts on how millennials are conscious tech consumers, and how the Huawei Nova 2i captures fantastic value in an affordable package. “Millennials are very smart,” she says of today’s tech-savvy generation. “A lot of millennials right now don’t buy phones because it’s uso. They’re making sure they pay for a quality device and right now it’s all about finding good reviews, finding out if this is really something worth my money because they’re smart now.” Taking the Huawei Nova 2i as a prime example, Pia enthuses about the phone’s jam-packed feature set, saying, “It ticks all the boxes, really. First of all, it’s affordable. Second, the features aren’t compromised because of the price.” Marveling at the 5.9-inch FullView HD Display, Pia exclaims “The screen is even bigger than the P10 Plus, it is light and I really like it.” When told that the phone’s price is only P14,990, Pia was even more amazed! “This is good, I wouldn’t have guessed that this is priced at P15k!” Pia admits that she doesn’t

CONFIDENT SELFIE. Pia Wurtzbach poses for a promotional photo for the mid-market smart phone Huawei 2i

PIA WURTZBACH, MILLENNIALS, and HUAWEI NOVA 2i

a match made in heaven

really subscribe to fads, or just going with whatever is considered bandwagon trends nowadays. She puts a lot of thought into her purchases, especially gadgets, by comparing speciﬁcations and looking up user comments and reviews. “I deﬁnitely check the specs of the gadgets I purchase. I don’t buy something because everyone’s buying it,” Pia says of blind, faddriven expenses. Furthermore, she says, “Right now, word of mouth is really important. Besides reading reviews online, you have to ask around.”

Lou Bonnevie at Strumms THE country’s top female pop-rock singersongwriter-producer Lou Bonnevie celebrates her anniversary in Philippine showbiz with a benefit show on Nov. 15, 8 p.m. at Makati’s premier social bar, Strumm’s on Jupiter St.. Dubbed Happy Woman, she will be performing songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s and some from her iconic favorite female songwriters encompassing the current and the previous decades. The audiences will be treated to the classics of Janis Joplin, Carole King, Carly Simon, and Bonnie Tyler spiced up with hits of Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morisette Morisette, and Lady Gaga. Furthermore, Lou will be jamming with friends Barbie Almalbis, Noel Cabangon, Radha Radha, and Gino Padilla. Expect a night of surprises as they unleash collaborations that range from OPM, soul, environmental ditties and music from the 80’s circa. The show’s overall direction is by Toto Gentica Gentica. As part of the “happy woman” concept, inspirational messages will be flashed during the show from iconic women in various fields essaying their commitment to happiness. The show is presented by Dimitri productions and Creative Minds & JNA Events in association with Strumms with support from the New San Jose Builders,Inc., Divina Law, Bright Maritime Corporation, David’s Salon, Home Matters, Shinagawa Lasik and Aesthetics and Business Mirror. Proceeds of the show will go to Earthday Jam Foundation Inc. and Rotary Club outreach programs. For more info, call 0995-9220136 and like Lou Bonnevie Facebook fan page.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE Monday, November 13, 2017

ACROSS 1 Kingdom 6 Slumps 10 Metallic element 14 Leave-taking 15 Toss 16 Bloodhound’s clue 17 Green gemstones 18 To be, to Henri 19 Lady of Spain 20 Texas town 22 Final words (var.) 24 — -de-sac 25 Gumbo veggie 26 Item to dunk (2 wds.) 30 Took to the cleaners 33 Drive forward 34 Foamy 35 Ring thing 37 Dreadful 38 Unusual sighting 39 Data amount 40 Bulldogs backer 41 More confident 42 Scruffs 43 Passed by 45 Not pro 46 Deep tracks 47 Portly 48 Work too hard 51 Credulous (hyph.)

Pia pays considerable attention to screen quality, since she agrees “Everybody views everything through screens now.” She lists down a number of activities like playing games, watching videos, browsing, reading articles, looking at pictures on Instagram, and taking pictures that, in her own words, afﬁrms “A bigger screen is always better.” “That’s also a big part of being a millennial. Everybody has a social media account. Nobody’s left behind, nobody’s disconnected,” Pia says of the time and effort millennials have

56 Legend 57 Middle Ages quaff 59 BYU site 60 Pandora’s boxful 61 Sea eagle 62 Buenos —, Argentina 63 Straphanger’s lack 64 Get dizzy 65 Steel plow inventor DOWN 1 Indian potentate 2 Mild Dutch cheese 3 Verdi masterpiece 4 Lascivious look 5 Broadway production 6 Sleeveless blouse 7 Traffic clogger 8 Canine warning 9 Glossiest 10 Gemini’s locale 11 Adored one 12 Forbidden thing (hyph.) 13 Rocky ledge 21 Clumsy person 23 Zebras, to lions 25 Senior

26 Driftwood bringer 27 Rousseau novel 28 Showery time 29 Flower visitor 30 Showed vexation 31 Pyramid site 32 Discourage 34 Blisters 36 Phoenix neighbor 38 Buyer 39 Make illegal 41 Tater

42 Journalist’s need 44 Detain 45 Boor 47 Cuban premier 48 Redding of R&B 49 Glen or dale 50 Ms. Fitzgerald 51 Diminish 52 Great Lake 53 Time long past 54 Happily — after 55 Rx amount 58 Previously

invested in social media. She recognizes that staying up-todate on the latest and greatest relies on having a good phone, going so far as to say “Everybody treats their phone like a part of their body.” “It’s perfect since we all like to keep everyone updated of ourselves through social media, we use the cameras a lot.” Pia refers to the Huawei Nov a2i’s four-camera system – a ﬁrst on any Huawei device, which takes studioquality photos from the front and back. The rear-facing 16MP/2MP camera combo on the back makes

for excellent, high-resolution group shots while the front-facing 13MP/2MP cameras ensure ﬂawless bokeh on selﬁe potraits. Pia Wurtzbach clearly loves the incredible features of the Huawei Nova 2i, with its two biggest features – the FullView HD Display and four-camera system – being particularly appropriate for the visual-centric lifestyle of millennials. With a ringing recommendation from Queen P herself, tech-savvy and value-conscious millennials can’t go wrong with the Huawei Nova 2i.

Winners of

‘THE WALKING DEAD 100’

Isah V. Red, Editor Nickie Wang, Writer isahred@gmail.com MONDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2017

ISAH V. RED

HE’S not just an excellent actress and outstanding artist. She’s also a shooter! Yes, Heart Evangelista-Escudero is as nimble with a paintbrush as she is also quick with a gun and as precise when hitting a target. “Please excuse the getup! Impromptu practice shooting at the Kasanggayahan Firing range with Maning Frivaldo and the hubby,” Heart captions her Instagram photo while in her shooting gear of white polo and black shooter’s pants. Senator Chiz Escudero encouraged her to take up target shooting when they were at the Kasanggayah Firing range once. Her followers in the social media have been asking, what can’t she do in this world? Considering her busy schedule as an actress and the time when she promotes My Korean Jagiya, she still manages to squeeze in painting while doing all the preliminaries before launching her home and clutch line. Heart confirmed Maison Love Marie is really pushing through. “I am working on two major things: my home line [with] plates and candles, and my clutch line, which is gonna be so nice! I am designing everything and we are making things happen. “I’ve been working on this for almost two years now. It’s not easy, but I want quality,” says Heart in an interview with an online magazine. “I am already looking for an office and starting to hire more people to help me out. This is it! It’s going to be a company, and I think this is the best decision I have ever made,” she added. Heart just arrived from Japan where she met personally Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. “It’s such an honor to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe,” Heart said of the Japanese leader in an Instagram post. Heart is also the Filipina ambassador or the luxury brand Carolina Herrera that recently established its presence in the country. Then she traveled again to her husband’s province, Sorsogon in the Bicol region. “I’m over the moon happy for my CPA (Cerebral Palsy Association) angels. Finally, there is a center here in #Sorsogon that will cater to their needs in a more proper environment. My husband Chiz facilitated the construction of the CPA centers, and we inaugurated it a few days ago with Nanay Evie, the doctors and other officials. It’s such a big blessing to do this with them as well as my family here in Sorsogon! Ang saya kong nagkita-kita na tayo ulit! Sana, mas marami pang makapagpa-konsulta at magpatingin dito. Maituturing niyong pangalawang tahanan itong center. Mahal namin kayo.” With all this, does she ever think of how she and her husband can have a baby of their own? As she always says, “It will come…it will come!” ***

Lifestyle program host William Thio

FOX Networks Group Asia (FNGA) announced the winners of The Walking Dead 100 Quarantine Box Game following the success of the multi-city marketing stunt to promote the 100th episode and season 8 premiere of The Walking Dead on FOX across Asia on Oct. 23 at 11:30 a.m. with a primetime telecast at 9 p.m.. The Walking Dead: Escape Rooms promotional stunts ran from Oct. 21 to 23 in select Breakout branches; 2F, The Block, SM North EDSA / 3F, Greenbelt 5 / 2F, Serendra Piazza, Bonifacio Global City — where Kapuso sweetheart fans of the show were treated to an Heart Evangelista exhilarating Breakout game. in a photo op with Over 1,000 players found Japanese Prime themselves locked in a room for 20 Minister Shinzo Abe minutes, all provided with clues from during their recent the series and non-linear puzzles meeting in Tokyo hidden throughout, given one mission – to escape. Further to the on-ground efforts of the channel, FOX provided 150 TWD 100 Quarantine box games to trade, affiliate and marketing partners — including the press in pursuance of an immersive and experiential campaign. Each box contains TWD items along with relevant instructions, clues (we mean deciphering codes of different origins, highly analytical tasks, the works.) with an email address to progressively handle the game, all in the hopes of making it to the ‘safe zone’. Partners effectively teamed up when the activity commenced last October 19 at 5:00 p.m., exactly 100 hours before the much-awaited premiere of the show, timed to the tee as the final clue for the game is embedded within the pilot airing of The Walking Dead season 8. SVP - General Manager of FNG Philippines, Jude Turcuato, said, “FOX takes pride in providing only the best content, and the launch of The Walking Dead Season 8 is a testament to that. After the SEAwide TWD Escape Room stunt, them back together. Meanwhile, viewers nationwide we went further by extending the also showed their support for activity to our partners who also Bianca and Gabriel’s much- enjoy the value of the content we awaited wedding as the series won offer. A total of 150 boxes were in national TV ratings. On Nov. 6, provided to the participating the show recorded a national TV partners across our trade, affiliate rating of 17.9 percent, compared and marketing roster. We really are to The Lolas’ Beautiful Show that delighted to share this feat with them, only got 7.2 percent, according to as they continuously remain true fans of our brands. We are happy to data from Kantar Media. announce a number of partners who managed to top the games despite their busy schedules.” As The Walking Dead officially hits the Philippines — with it comes the final clue flashed on the TV screen. Players from various industries eagerly raced against time to accomplish the final step of the TWD 100 Quarantine box game all armed with the goal of finishing first and making out alive amidst the Walker epidemic. Immediately after the 9:00 p.m. primetime replay telecast aired, the game was put to a stop and top winners have been selected. Advertising giant, Mindshare took the first win of the TWD 100 Quarantine box game from the partners rosters, led by Mark Naluz with team members; Ethan Reyes, Angelica Afable, Myca Maala, and Macky Alano. Closely followed by Voyager Innovations led by Alexandra Malto with members; David Agoncillo, Luigi Danao, Korina Karamihan, Chelsea Lopez, Rayson Lozada. Finally, rounding up the winners is Team Courage from GSAT led by Renz Lim with team members; Lorlyn Velarde, Marme Alonsabe,, Baby Lyn, Ragueño and Junomay Tadlan. With the game presenting resounding success in partner relations, FOX will be seeding out the TWD 100 box game once again to fans of the show. Participants for the second wave will be selected via FOX’s Instagram account @ foxchannelph soon! For more exclusive stunts, don’t miss the fresh episode premieres of The Walking Dead every Monday, at 11:30 a.m. with a primetime telecast at 9 p.m. on FOX. The show is also available on demand on FOX+, FNGA’s newly launched video-streaming service featuring an unrivalled combination of content. Binge watch Season 1 to 7 anytime, anywhere on FOX+ in preparation for Season 8.

HEART EVANGELISTA’S

busy sked gets in the way of her motherhood plans Welcome back William Thio! Thio hosts the weekly talk show Sotlight (4:30 p.m.) on UNTV every Saturday. Sotlight features stories of famous individuals and celebrities, their triumphs and challenges. The show delves into the private lives of many prominent, powerful, and iconic ﬁgures in the Philippines, also their quirks, habits and past times to show that even the most powerful people do let their hair down once in a while. The idea is to humanize a popular icon and re-introduce them to the public in a way they have never seen them before. This is also a great opportunity to learn from their failures and success. Summing up all these components perfectly describes Sotlight, a show that is both informative and entertaining. The show interviews Ben-hur Villanueva, Visual Artist; Jordan Mang-osan, Solar Painter; and Robin Nievera, Wish FM DJ. Thio (born William Frederick Silvestre Thio) is a highly experienced news anchor and talk show host. He has a proven track record in the broadcast industry in the area of news reporting and entertainment. Apart from UNTV’s bio-documentary Spotlight, he also anchors the station’s evening News Program in English, Why News. Prior to hosting Sotlight, William had many other programs in various networks such as Solar Entertainment’s, NBN’s legal aid

program A t Y o u r Service and the long term running Public Service show Damayan. UNTV is also beamed “live” in real time in North America through IP Qube, in Japan through World on Demand - New Media Group and via the internet thru www.untveweb.com with 24/7 live video streaming. UNTV is owned and operated by Progressive Broadcasting Corporation (PBC) together with Breakthrough and Milestones Production International, Inc. (BMPI) in charge of its daily operations and programming. UNTV programs are focused on public service and News and Current Affairs. One of its flagship programs is Get It Straight anchored and hosted by BMPI CEO-President and multi-awarded broadcaster Kuya Daniel Razon. *** We join GMA Network in congratulating the new Reina Hispanoamericana, Winwyn Marquez. Teresita Ssen “Winwyn” Marquez marks another milestone in pageant history as she bagged Philippines’ first-ever Reina Hispanoamericana 2017 crown on Nov. 4 in Sta. Cruz, Bolivia. The Kapuso actress is the first Filipina and Asian delegate to compete in the annual pageant that celebrates Hispanic heritage, language and culture. Winwyn started her career in GMA. She hosted Candies, a lifestyle program which was aired on QTV Channel 11. She’s also proven her prowess in acting in various Kapuso drama programs – Blusang Itim, One True Love, Dormitoryo, Kambal Sirena, The Half Sisters, Little Nanay, Encantadia, and Mulawin vs. Ravena. Aside from acting, Winwyn was one of the regular performers on the network’s musical-variety programs, Party Pilipinas and Sunday All Stars. After winning the coveted crown, Winwyn shared her message as Reina Hispanoamericana on the pageant’s official Facebook page

last Sunday. “Hola, hello everyone! I’m your new Reina Hispanoamericana, I am very happy and I promise, I will make the Hispanic culture alive.” She ended, “I love you Filipinas. Mabuhay! Te amo, Bolivia. Gracias!” *** Recently, Kapamilya diehards were treated to a morning filled with love and celebration as Bianca (Kim Chiu) and Gabriel (Gerald Anderson) finally tied the knot in the Kapamilya morning series Ikaw Lang ang Iibigin. It was the most magical day for Bianca and Gabriel as their dreams of being together forever finally came true, with their loved ones in full attendance to show love and support for their union. But the occasion also turned emotional as the two exchanged their wedding vows and reminisced all the struggles they faced just to be with each other. “Bianca, you are the first person that made my heart beat. You helped me reach my dreams. But my biggest dream is you, and to build a family with you,” said Gabriel. “Gabriel, I want to thank you because you had not given up on me since we first met. I promise to God and to all the people we love that I will be your companion and your ally against every obstacle that will come our way,” said Bianca. Bianca and Gabriel’s relationship was put to test several times by the sins of the past involving their parents Maila (Bing Loyzaga) and Rigor (Daniel Fernando), that also forced them to part ways. They also gave love another shot when they met new people such as Percy (JC Santos) and Alex (Arci Muñoz), who helped them heal their broken hearts. However, despite living life away from each other, their love still prevailed and brought