The Standard - 2015 April 06 - Monday

VOL. XXIX  NO. 50  3 Sections 32 Pages P18  MONDAY : APRIL 6, 2015  www.manilastandardtoday.com  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

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For Tukanalipao farmers, future is still uncertain

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4 hurt while taking selfies during storm

‘STAND DOWN ORDER STILL MAIN ISSUE’ Next page

Condemnation. Pope Francis leads the Easter Mass at St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, when he condemned the indifference and “complicit silence” to the jihadist attacks on Christians. AFP

Starry night for Galaxy in Paris

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Pacman puts on best show in sparring

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‘Stand down’ order key issue

By Florante S. Solmerin

A LEFTIST lawmaker insisted Sunday that President Benigno Aquino III could have ordered Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. to stand down while police commandos battled Muslim rebels in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, on Jan. 25, leading to the death of 44 of the Special Action Force (SAF) members.

Unveiling. A child playing an angel removes the veil from a statue of Virgin Mary during the annual “Salubong” on Easter Sunday in Tabaco, Albay. Danny Pata

Future uncertain for Tukanalipao farmers

By Joel Guinto TUKANALIPAO, Maguindanao—Farmer Lot Pangaoilan gazes towards a vast cornfield in the Philippines’ rebel-infested south, hoping that one day he will be able to farm his land without fear of being killed.

For two decades, he has been ploughing his three-hectare (7.4acre) land by hand and with the help of a water buffalo, worried that if he uses a heavy motor tractor he might detonate an explosive.

“If I’m not careful, I might hit a bomb... it could explode and I might die,” Pangaoilan, whose leathery skin, cloudy eyes and thin frame make him look much older than his 50 years, told AFP. Two months ago, the farmer’s marshland village of Tukanalipao was the site of a day-long battle between Muslim militants and police that left more than 60 people dead as security forces hunted down alleged top terrorists.

The latest carnage has seriously jeopardised efforts to end a fourdecade Muslim separatist rebellion which has claimed 120,000 lives, dimming hopes again that people such as Pangaoilan will be able to prosper in peace.

The nation’s biggest rebel group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), signed a pact last year agreeing to give up its struggle in return for an autonomous home-

land in the impoverished southern region of Mindanao.

But the January 25 battle in Pangaoilan’s village -- in which 44 police commandoes, 17 rebels and at least three civilians died -triggered a huge political backlash that threatens the passage of a proposed national law endorsing the autonomous region.

The new region would take in large parts of Mindanao, which the nation’s Muslim minority of roughly five million people regard as their ancestral homeland, including Pangaoilan’s village.

Despite fertile farming lands, vast mineral resources and idyllic beaches ripe for tourism, the region is the poorest in the country with nearly half of the population living in poverty, according to government data.

Tukanalipao, with no electricity or running water, is a typically impoverished Muslim community in Mindanao.

Its 1,600 residents live in palm thatch houses on wooden stilts, with corn and rice farming their only source of regular income.

Pangaoilan has six children but he was not able to afford to send them to school.

Military chiefs say villages like his make good recruiting grounds for the MILF, which has about 10,000 fighters, and other rebel groups.

In a typical cycle of violence and poverty that builds resentment, a

military offensive launched after the January battle against a small breakaway rebel group opposed to the peace process displaced 120,000 people.

Two displacement camps with tarpaulin tents lie on a road close to Tukanalipao, although the military last week declared the offensive over and hopes the displaced people will soon return home.

Corn farmer Haji Maul said he had been in and out of evacuation shelters three times during the offensive to escape bursts of fighting near Tukanalipao, but this was not unusual.

“It has been a very difficult life for me and my family,” Maul, 60, told AFP, as troops wearing helmets and with their rifles pointed to the ground patrolled the parched earth, alongside water buffaloes, chickens and dogs.

As part of its efforts to promote the peace process, President Benigno Aquino’s administration has increased annual infrastructure spending on the region from 8 billion pesos ($179 million) in 2010 to 24 billion pesos this year.

In Tukanalipao, a sore lack of infrastructure is symbolised by a rickety patchwork of logs that its residents use to cross a stream and get to their farmlands.

When the stream overflows during the rainy season, work stops as farmers can not get their animals across because the improvised bridge might fall apart, ac-

cording to Pangaoilan.

This week the government broke ground on a concrete and steel bridge to replace the wooden structure.

Tukanalipao and the surrounding township of Mamasapano has become a “representation” of the Muslim region, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad told AFP as he guided journalists through the area to witness the inauguration.

“Our presence here today and these symbolic projects are meant to deliver a message that poverty is the root cause of conflict and that we are sincere in pursuing peace,” Abad said as he stood alongside supportive MILF leaders.

The symbolic impact was deepened by building the new bridge in the same area as the deadly battle two months ago, showing the government and the MILF remained partners in peace even in the most volatile of areas.

“One of the requirements of building peace is development, we need development,” MILF army spokesman Von Al Haq said in a speech at the inauguration ceremony.

But without a final peace pact, infrastructure spending appears destined to offer only small band aid solutions.

“Without a political settlement, these socio-economic projects are just part of counter-insurgency,” MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal told AFP. – aFP

“The main issue now here is did President Aquino order the AFP that no artillery or aircraft support be conducted so as not to endanger the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL)?” said Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares.

The question is just one of the many questions that President Aquino must answer if he wants closure on the Mamasapano incident, Colmenares said.

“We cannot just move on because there so many unanswered questions and these should be answered for the victims and their families to attain justice. Answering these questions would be the first important steps towards truth and accountability and we hope that President Aquino discerned these insights during the Lenten season,” Colmenares said.

In at least five televised hearings and several executive sessions at the Senate, military officials insisted that the police had not coordinated with them on Operation Exodus, the illfated mission to capture or kill two major terrorists.

The Mamasapano debacle led the Commission on Appointments to defer the confirmation of Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, whose judgement and ability to manage a crisis were called into doubt.

A police board of inquiry established that President Aquino knew and approved of Operation Exodus, as presented to him by then suspended police chief Alan Purisima and then commander of the SAF, Getulio Napeñas.

Senior Supt. Fernando Mendez Jr., acting chief of the Philippine National Police’s Intelligence Group, provided the information on which the operation was based. He, too, is facing confirmation to the rank of general.

The debacle in Mamasapano and the involvement of fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), with which the government is talking peace, has thrown a wrench in the administration’s efforts to pass the BBL, the lynchpin in its peace agreement with the MILF. Lawmakers, angered by what happened in Mamasapano, have also questioned the constitutionality of several of the BBL’s provisions.

While the administration has called for the passage of the BBL in the interest of peace, Colmenares said true peace cannot be achieved without justice.

“Genuine peace is always based on truth and justice. The President does not only owe this to the victims of the Mamasapano incident but to the whole

country as well. Evading this opportunity now will just let this issue fester and may even aggravate it,” Colmenares said.

The House of the Repsentatives had conducted only one hearing so far on the Mamasapano debacle and its investigation will resume on April 7-8.

“Of course we want President Aquino to attend the hearings this week but if he chooses not to, then there are other options for him to tell the whole truth, one of which is to submit a sworn affidavit categorically answering our 20 questions regarding the incident that we submitted last week,” Colmenares said.

“It must also be noted that these questions have not been answered by the President and they are the very questions that 80 percent of us Filipinos want answered, based on the latest Pulse Asia survey,” he added.

“As it is, there are many inconsistencies on the Mamasapano incident that only President Aquino can answer,” he said.

Among them are: 1) President Aquino’s approval of Oplan Exodus; 2) the problem of coordination between the SAF-PNP, AFP and between the departments; 3) the involvement of suspended PNP Chief Alan Purisima;l 4) the issue of President Aquino’s command responsibility; 5) the involvement of the US, and 6) the issue of AFP assistance to the SAF commandos.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte has consistently ruled out the need for Aquino’s presence in the House probe, saying the President has already “sufficiently explained” his role in the police operation.

“I wish for an end to unproductive criticism and faultfinding that will only result in a pained and divided nation,” Belmonte said in his Easter message.

“I wish for us to achieve genuine peace and growth that stems from shared efforts and hard work coming from each of us,” Belmonte added.

Malacañang has earlier insisted that most of the 20 questions listed by the Makabayan bloc have already been answered by the President.

“If anyone looks at the questions posed by the Makabayan bloc, most of them have been responded one way or the other by the President,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“The question is: why are you asking these questions again? You don’t want the answers the President gave, one reason, or you are not satisfied with the President’s statement or there is a line that you want the President to state, to say,” Lacierda added.

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Cayetano hits Robin for being Tinga’s tool

By Macon r. araneta

They don’t learn. People mainly from the slums escaped the heat on Sunday by swimming in the polluted waters of Manila Bay. Manny PalMero

PNoy likens economic growth to Resurrection

By Sandy araneta

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III said the fight against poverty was not yet over as he likened Easter Sunday, the day Jesus Christ came back from the dead, to the resurrection of the Philippines from Sick Man of Asia to Asia’s Rising Tiger.

“Of course, while we have attained many victories and have overcome many challenges, we still need to do a lot of things,”

Aquino said in his Easter message.

“Our fight against corruption and poverty is not yet over, and there are still problems we do not want our successors to inherit.

And expect that while the elections are nearing, there will be those who will work double time to sow distrust and to destroy trust for each other.”

Aquino likened Lent to the ordeal of the country where, for the longest time, many embarked on the rotten system, the people lost their trust in the government and the world held the country in low esteem.

“But our people did not allow themselves to be defeated. They joined their voices, and decided to trek the straight path,” Aquino said.

“This started healing the wounds

of our institutions. Our economy became vibrant, and the once socalled ‘Sick Man of Asia’ rose to become Asia’s Rising Tiger.”

“Aquino said the peace talks between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front was at a crossroads.

“Do we allow anger and fear to prevail in us or do we choose to end the cycle of poverty and violence in Mindanao?,” Aquino said.

There has been public anger over the Mamasapano debacle in which 44 Special Action Forces troopers were massacred by rebels from the MILF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters on Jan. 25.

Because of the lingering anger, many Filipinos rejected the BBL as reflected in the recent Pulse Asia

Survey.

“In the face of all these, we should remember that as long as we walk together, as long as trust and sobriety prevail, and as long as we turn our backs against those abusive and corrupt, we can make permanent the transformation we have started,” Aquino said.

“Today we are celebrating the victory of the noble love of God against death and sin. We are calling this Easter Sunday: the death and resurrection of Christ to redeem us from the bondage of sin and open to us the door of heaven,” Aquino said.

He said Easter was a reminder to all of us that we could have an eternal life if our faith remained strong and we continued to choose what was right.

SENATE Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano says he believes “Taguig politics” is behind actor Robin Padilla’s criticisms of his hard-line stance against the Bangsamoro Basic Law. Cayetano, speaking in an earlier interview over DZMM radio, said Padilla was a staunch supporter of the Tingas, his family’s political rivals in Taguig.

“He is close to the Tingas,” he said.

Cayetano, the most vocal critic of the BBL in the Senate, said Padilla always attacked them every time there was an issue involving the Cayetanos.

Padilla on Sunday appealed to lawmakers to pass the BBL because, he said, that would end the conflict in Mindanao.

He said his support for the BBL actually saddened him because it meant he would be abandoning his support for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

He said he decided to back the BBL because it was the best solution for bringing peace to Mindanao even if it would result in the ARMM’s abolition.

“I am for peace,” Padilla said.

He made his statement even as the first cardinal appointed in Mindanao on Sunday asked the Catholic faithful to pray for the success of the Citizens’ Peace Summit that President Benigno Aquino III had called to be convened to discuss the BBL. Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Cardinal Quevedo said the Peace Summit was a praiseworthy move by the President in response to the waning public support for the BBL. “The work of the Peace Council initiated by the President is most laudable,” Quevedo said.

“Such effort needs our prayers and support and may the Lord bless their work for peace.”

The Cayetanos and the Tingas have a long history of bitter political feuding, and it started when Alan’s father, the late Senator Renato Cayetano, defeated Dante Tinga in the election for assemblymen in 1984.

Tinga, a retired associate justice of the Supreme Court, lost to Alan Peter’s wife Lani in the May 2010 elections for the city’s mayoral seat.

In seeking a second term during the last elections, the incumbent Taguig mayor trounced Tinga’s daughter Rica Tinga.

Alan Peter’s wife also served as representative of Taguig-Pateros, succeeding Tinga’s son Sigfrido Tinga.

Tinga’s son is now the representative of the second district of Taguig after it was declared a city separated from Pateros. It also has two legislative districts.

Alan Peter also recalled there were several occasions they welcomed Padilla in Taguig. The Muslims in Taguig had also repeatedly sent him messages and invited him to see the developments in the Muslim communities in the city when he spoke for the Tingas in the 2010 and 2013 elections. With Sandy araneta

Koko wants IT people in Comelec

By Macon r. araneta and rey e. requejo SENATOR Aquilino Pimentel III vowed Sunday to block the appointment of politicians to the top positions of the Commission on Elections, particularly if they are not well versed in information technology.

Pimentel, a member of the powerful Commission on Appointments, said he would only approve the appointment of independentminded appointees familiar with the automated election system.

If the appointee was a politician at one time, he or she must have shown independence in the past, and must be completely retired from politics, Pimentel said. ]President Benigno Aquino III has not yet designated a replacement for Comelec Chairman Sixto Brillantes and Commissioners Elias Yusof and Ramoncito Tagle, who retired.

Pimentel, who was a victim of vote shaving, said automated elec-

tions would ensure clean, honest and credible elections.

He added that full automation must be preserved to safeguard the true will of the people.

The Automated Election Law requires that elections be automated.

Pimentel, who is from Mindaano, said he prefers a “qualified Muslim appointee” to assume one of the three vacant posts.

Also over the weekend, a former official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the contract between the Comelec and Smartmatic-Total Information Maangement (TIM) Coprp. For the repair and refurbishment of some 80,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines.

In a letter to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz urged the Ombudsman to investigate the complaint filed by the conveners of Citizens for Clean and Credible

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Elections (C3E).

Cruz saidthe Ombudsman has a duty to determine if the negotiated P268 million contract between Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM would benefiit the Filipino people.

Cruz also expressed support for calls to blacklist Smartmatic-TIM for alleged violations of election laws.

In its “Request for Assistance”, the C3E asked the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate the “illegal and unjust” refurbishment contract between the Comelec and Smartmatic-TIM. “Extending the warranty can only mean extending the warrantor’s obligation to repair or replace PCOS defects for free. Smartmatic is the warrantor. Reversing the warranty burden is illegal and unjust,” C3E said.

The group named Brillantes, acting Chairman Christian Lim, and Commissioner Al Parreno as among the possible respondents in the complaint.

easter parade. Children in fairy-tale costumes join the Easter Storybook parade, one of the main activities in Eastwood City. Manny PalMero

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Local air carriers to follow new cockpit rule

By Eric B. Apolonio

Crater lake. Mountain climbers are greeted by this spectacular view of the crater of Mt. Pinatubo during the hot months. EDUARDO VALMORIDA

Waves injure 4 taking ‘selfies’ during typhoon

By Francisco Tuyay

Four people were injured after huge waves generated

by Typhoon Chedeng hit them while they were taking “selfies” along the shoreline of Dipaculao town in Aurora province Saturday, hours after it made landfall.

Chedeng, whose strength weakened to 155 kph from its earlier super-typhoon classification, dissipated shortly after hitting Isabela province.

The disturbance was downgraded to a tropical storm after it decreased to 115 kph before midnight Saturday and became a tropical depression while moving inland to Isabela province.

Chief government weather forecaster Esperanza Cayanan said the absence of moisture along the path of Chedeng and the presence of forests weakened it.

“When Chedeng approached

land towards Isabela, the water was cold, prompting the typhoon to slow down and eventually lose strength,” Cayanan explained.

Pagasa viewed the sudden change of Chedeng’s behavior as a “miracle.”

The four injured, whose identities were not immediately available, sustained cuts and abrasions in different parts of their bodies after they were hit by huge waves while taking photos of the typhoon and themselves.

One of the victims, reportedly a tourist from Pasay City, was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment

of severe cuts.

On the eve of Chedeng’s arrival in Aurora and Isabela provinces, waves measuring five meters high forced residents along the shoreline to flee.

Other than the four injured persons, the NDRRMC has not received any reports of casualties reports after Chedeng, the third typhoon to hit the Philippines this year, hit Dipaculao, Aurora and Isabela province at about 8 a.m.

Earlier, Chedeng forced 2,140 persons from the three coastal towns of Divilacan, Maconacon and Dinapigue in Isabela and the towns of Dilasag, Baler, Casiguran and Dipaculao, all fronting the Pacific coastline, to move to various temporary shelters.

NDRRMC, in its 5 p.m. update, reported that all evacuees were permitted to return to their respective residences because there was no longer any impending threat to them.

Meanwhile, at least 361 passengers and eight passenger vessels were

stranded in different ports in Bicol, Palawan and Polilio Island, while 12 ships and 75 motorized bancas took shelter in Southern Tagalog islets due to rough seas spawned by Chedeng.

Meanwhile, Malacanang yesterday assured the United Nations that the Philippines is making disaster risk reduction a priority of the government.

“First of all, disaster risk reduction should be a priority of the government. This is one of the pillars or one of the programs of the Philippine Development Plan. So that up to the highest level of the administration, we have a climate change Cabinet cluster that oversees all concerned agencies which are responsible to face the challenges of climate change mitigation and adaptation,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. during yesterday’s interview over staterun dzRB. With Sandy Araneta and

Macon Ramos-Araneta

IN an effort to make airline travel safer, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines will require local carriers to adhere to a two-in-acockpit policy.

Under the new rules, two pilots, or one pilot and a flight crew member (preferably male but not necessarily a pilot) will be required to be inside the flight deck at all times during a flight, should one of the pilots leave the cockpit for whatever reason.

This will ensure that there are two crew members in the cockpit at any given time, CAAP said.

Recently, an Airbus A320 operated by low-cost carrier germanwings crashed in the French Alps, killing all 150 passengers, last March 24 after 27-year-old german co-pilot Andreas lubitz locked the captain out of the cockpit after the latter went on a lavatory break.

Another provision dictates that the cockpit door must be closed and locked from the time all external doors are closed following embarkation, except to permit entry by authorized persons.

CAAP said measures shall be provided for monitoring from either pilot’s station the entire door area outside the flight crew compartment to identify persons requesting entry and to detect suspicious behavior or potential threats.

The amendment was approved and signed by Director general William Hotchkiss last April 1 and will take effect 15 days after publication in the Official gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Majority of local carriers have been practicing these rules for years but the introduction of state-of-the-art computer systems inside a cockpit in new aircraft have eliminated the services of a third person (the navigator or flight engineer) has led to security lapses like pilots being lock out from the cockpit.

CAAP has been on the forefront of innovating practical rules and regulations for improving air safety, like requiring Philippine pilot’s license holders to undergo twiceyearly psychological and neurological examinations.

Recently, CAAP made the Philippines one of the first countries to regulate the use of drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for safety and security reasons.

War crime proposal needs more study

Strawberry season. A vendor in the Baguio City market piles up strawberries, a favorite among visitors to the “summer capital.” DAVID CHAN

ClASSIFyINg the killing of journalists and media workers as a “war crime” needs further study, a Malacanang official said yesterday. “[This] needs further and thorough study. Our principle here, it is clear, is that we recognize the importance of the freedom of the press. We are ready to implement

measures towards stronger protection for legitimate and professional journalists who use this freedom of the press,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. during an interview over state-run dzRB yesterday.

Coloma made the statement in response to a report that the Na-

tional Press Club of the Philippines welcomed welcomed the proposal of Associated Press president gary Pruitt to classify the killing of journalists and media workers as a war crime.

“For our administration, the life of every Filipino is important. The life of every journalist is important. And the ad-

ministration would like to give protection for those who use the freedom of the press,” said Coloma.

Coloma said the Aquino administration is continuously working on creating an environment where the freedom of the press can be protected so that journalists would not fear for their lives.

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Two AFP officers cleared of coup

By Rey Requejo THe Court of Appeals has exonerated two officials of the Armed Forces of the Philippines of coup d’état charges in connection with their participation in the June 27, 2003 Oakwood mutiny.

The court said their action “was a valid and legitimate exercise of their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression.”

In a 21-page decision, the CA’s Ninth Division through Associate Justice Victoria Isabel Paredes reversed the judgment rendered by the Makati City Regional Trial Court, Branch 48, which found 1Lt Lawrence San Juan and 1Lt Rex Bolo guilty of the crime of committing coup d’état and sentenced them to six years up to 12 years of imprisonment.

San Juan and Bolo were not among the military officers belonging to the Magdalo group who applied and granted amnesty during the term of the President Arroyo and later the Aquino administration.

In absolving the two military officers, the appellate court gave credence to their arguments that the prosecution failed to prove the presence of all the elements of coup d’ etat and that their constitutional right to equal protection was violated when Senator Gregorio Honasan II was exonerated by the DOJ and they were not.

Honasan allegedly instigated the young military officers to launch the mutiny.

Shaky pact. An armored personnel carrier traverses a road in Maguindanao, an area where clashes between military and Muslim rebels have become more frequent. President Benigno Aquino has called on lawmakers to pass a bill endorsing a pact aimed at ending a decades-long Muslim separatist rebellion, warning them they would otherwise start counting “body bags”. Aquino had wanted the bill, which would give autonomy to the majority Catholic nation’s Muslim minority in the south, passed this month. AFP

Binay renews plea for convicted OFW

By Macon Araneta

Vice President Jejomar C. Binay on Sunday said the family of a Filipino migrant worker who was doomed to die by firing squad over a heroin smuggling case will leave the country for Indonesia.

“They will visit her,” said Binay in an interview in Lucena City last Saturday.

He said the Philippine has filed a second petition with the Supreme Court of Indonesia for judicial review of the case of death row convict Jane Veloso.

“I am hoping, I am optimistic

that they will grant our appeal,” said Binay as he noted that Veloso was a first-time offender.

He said it was the first time for Veloso, who has two children and a widow, to leave the country to work.

“It’s not her job to transport illegal drugs. She was indeed a

first-timer to all these things...

So we are hoping that she will be given a reprieve,” said Binay.

Binay, the presidential adviser on OFW Concerns, said they are just finishing with the process before going back to Indonesian President Joko Widodo to seek a reprieve.

Binay had begged Widodo to commute Veloso’s death sentence.

He also wrote Widodo earlier this month to “convey to him the Filipinos’s hope and prayers that the Indonesia Supreme Court will look kindly and with compassion on the circumstances surrounding the case of Veloso.

“I am not saying that she (Veloso) should be forgiven because she committed a crime. What I was asking is for a reprieve,” Binay said.

He earlier met with Jane’s parents—Celia and Cesar Veloso at the Makati City Hall and assured them the government is exhausting all legal remedies and options to save their daughter from the gallows.

Jakarta has previously said it will wait for any outstanding legal appeals to conclude before executing all 10 drug convicts – including Veloso – at the same time.

Police: DNA test on Marwan final

By Florante S. Solmerin

Bonding on the beach. The beach of Iba, Zambales serves as backdrop for a groupie.

Revoli CoRtez

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THe Philippine National Police on Sunday declared as final the latest result of the DNA test conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Zulkifli Abdhir alias Marwan, a Malaysian terrorist linked to Jemaah Islamiyah who was slain by police commandos during a raid in his lair on January 25 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

“I declare that Marwan is dead. Mission accomplished,” PNP Officer-inCharge Deputy Director General Leonardo espina said in a statement. espina said it is a welcome

development that the FBI has finally issued “the result of the confirmatory DNA tests and further investigation” on the slain Malaysian terrorist.

Special Action Force commandos cut off one of the fingers of Marwan after he was shot dead.

“These conclusive findings effectively dismissed any and all doubts about the death of one of Asia’s most wanted and dangerous terrorists.

Based on this new evidence provided by modern science, there is no doubt that the PNP-SAF indeed got their man, as they always do. This fact should add to the glory and honor of the 44 brave

young men who offered the supreme sacrifice to get the job done,” espina said.

The death of the 44 SAF men dealt a big blow to the police mission and cast doubt on who really was in control during the the SAF operation dubbed as Oplan exodus.

Combined fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and its faction, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters , and some private armed groups (PAGs) claimed they also suffered casualties, with 17 killed and scores wounded. Three civilians also died during the January 25 firefight, probers said.

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State firm remits P5 b For the first time in nearly three decades of its existence, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation remitted P5 billion in total cash dividends to the National Treasury.

PAGCor Chairman and CEo Cristino Naguiat Jr. said the P-5 billion is “the biggest amount in a single check ever issued by our corporation in its history.”

Naguiat added that with this year’s remittance, the state-owned gaming firm has fully settled all remaining arrears in cash dividends that were incurred by the previous administration since 2005.

With its recent P-5 billion remittance, PAGCor’s total cash dividends to the National Treasury under its current management now totals roughly P-11.5 billion. It also maintained PAGCor’s position as one of the GoCCs in the elite “Billionaires’ Club” or agencies that consistently remitted cash dividends of at least a billion pesos to the government.

According to Naguiat, the purpose of declaring dividends is to be able to return good earnings to the shareholders of a company. “PAGCor’s shareholders are the Filipino people. We are giving back to them the fruits of a wellrun GoCC,” he said.

Naguiat further cited that it is only during the term of the present management of PAGCor that it started remitting cash dividends to the government. Apart from cash dividends, the corporation also remits (on a monthly basis) the 50% government share from PAGCor’s earnings to the National Treasury. “our total remittances to the National Treasury in 2014 alone amounted to P-14.2 billion,” he added.

Last year, PAGCor’s total contributions to nationbuilding (that includes remittances to national coffers and its other mandated beneficiaries) reached P-21.68 billion. This is the highest contribution ever made by PAGCor under Naguiat’s leadership.

Naguiat also said that PAGCor remains to be the number one non-tax revenue source of the Philippine government. “We generate income from our gaming and regulatory operations,” he said.

Meantime, the biggest revenue generators for our government are the Bureau of Internal revenue and the Bureau of Customs.

Their earnings emanate from collections in taxes and customs duties.

Taboo. Members of the Manila Police District guard the Baywalk along Roxas Blvd. City and national authorities prohibit swimming in the polluted waters of Manila Bay. MANNY PALMERO

Blue Ridge residents block school creation

By Rio N. Araja

AFTER getting a 20-day temporary restraining order from the Quezon City Regional Trial Court, residents of the upscale Barangay Blue ridge A have vowed to fight the transfer of an international school from Barangay Loyola Heights to their area.

They raised fears of a major disaster occuring once a powerful equarthquake of magnitude 7.2 hits the area.

They said the proposed establishment – the Multiple Intelligence Inter-

national School—is 300 meters from the West Valley Fault.

Blue ridge A chairperson Gabriel Legaspi led the oppositors along with barangay councilor Marie Antoinette Mendoza and homeowners Victor Endaya, Gonzalo Misa, Sonia roco, Sonia Mendoza, Wilfred Datu Cruz, raul Consunji, Maria

Lourdes Manzano-Carlos, Lester Lao and Lonabel Encarnacion .

They invoked the city’s amended zoning law under Sangguniang Panglunsod 2200 of 2013 that classified their area as a special urban development zone and prohibited the construction of a new school in Barangay Blue ridge A. Moreover, the residents said traffic could worsen in their area because of the school’s operation. on March 26, the Quezon City regional Trial Court ruled in favor of Legaspi and the other petitioners to stop the school’s transfer from J. Escaler Street at the Loyola Heights to Katipu-

nan Avenue corner Highland Drive in Blue ridge A within 20 days, and directed the city’s two officials – Isagani Verzosa of the Department of Building official and Tomasito Cruz of the City Planning Department and the MIIS officials to enforce his order.

“The public respondents are hereby enjoined from enforcing the locational clearance issued by the Quezon City Planning and Development office; from issuing or granting a building permit or other permits to respondent MIIS,” Branch 226 Judge Manuel Sta. Cruz’s three-page decision read.

“Both petitioners and respondents were directed to submit the judicial affidavits of their respective witnesses five days before April 6.”

Sta. Cruz directed Verzosa and Cruz to stop the enforcement of a locational clearance and a building permit issued to MIIS. The court is set to take up today at 8:30 a.m. the arguments of the barangay officials and the residents in connection with the issuance of a permanent writ of a preliminary injunction.

Verzosa, Cruz and the school operators have been given the chance to present their side on April 7 also at 8:30 a.m.

3 soldiers killed in Surigao blast

By Alvin T. Guanzon

Cherubic. A Filipino child dressed as an angel takes a selfie during a religious procession outside a Catholic church to mark the resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. AFP

BUTUAN CITY- Three people were killed while six others were wounded in an ambush followed by landmine explosions along provincial road in Sitio Ban-as, Barangay Mahayag, San Miguel, Surigao del Sur in the evening of Holy Wednesday, the military said.

Apart from the two dead soldiers, a civilian also was killed while a companion was wounded as the NPA rebels ambushed a military convoy and detonated landmines.

In an official report filed by 401st Infantry Battalion Public Affairs officer Captain Jasper T. Gacayan, the

soldiers belonging to 41st Division recon Company and 4th Field Artillery Battalion were on a convoy of four military trucks when an undetermined number of NPA rebels attacked them.

Gacayan said that as the military trucks stopped to assess the damage, the rebels fired on the convoy, killing two soldiers and wounding five others. The rest of the soldiers disembarked and engaged the NPA rebels in a firefight.

Dead on the spot were Army Sgt. Luisilo Pastor, Army Corporal rey Esmalde Gerzon and a civilian Danilo Sumaoy Bendanillo.

Five other soldiers were

critically wounded.

Gacayan said the NPA rebels planted landmines which violated the United Nation’s recognized (Comprehensive Agreement on respect for Human rights and International Humanitarian Law. In Gingoog City, a council member and four other people were killed during a Holy Week violence in Misamis oriental, police said.

Councilor Mark Bagaipo, 43, was shot by an unidentified assailant.

Four other persons were shot in a spate of violence with the gunmen using .45 caliber pistols, police said.

Police were looking into the series of killings.

M O N day : a P RI L 6 , 2 0 1 5

A7

news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Lawyers: Comelec railroading recall

By Orlan T. Mauricio

MALOLOS CITY— Lawyers of Bulacan Governor Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado lambasted acting Comelec chairman Christian Robert S. Lim for “railroading the recall proceedings” against the governor and threatened that they would consider filing an impeachment case against the commissioner.

Big Fight. Residents of Bgy. Camansi, Carigara, Leyte watch horses fight during Turogpo 2015 held Black Saturday. MEL CASPE

John Hay litigants welcome Congress probe

By Dexter A. See BAGUIO CITY—State-owned Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and Sobrepeña-owned Camp John Hay Development Corporation (CJHDevCO) said they welcomed the investigation to be made by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the controversy surrounding the 247-hectare John Hay Special Economic Zone (JHSEZ).

“The public deserves nothing less than the truth,” said BCDA president Arnel Paciano Casanova.

“We have always been ready

to explain our side even in front of our lawmakers. We are not hiding from any investigation,” Alfredo Yñiguez, executive vice president and chief operating officer of CJHDevCo, said.

The row follows the decision by the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center Inc. on the mutual restitution of the original and revised agreements covering Camp John Hay. PDRCI ordered CJHDevCO to return to BCDA the government property but declared as invalid the demand of BCDA that the former should pay it P3.5 billion in accumulated lease rentals.

In the same PDRCI decision, the BCDAwas ordered to return P1.42 billion in lease payments to the CJHDevCo. Both parties recently filed their separate petitions before the city’s Regional Trial Court (RTC) to render the required judicial confirmation on the arbitration tribunal ruling and issue the writ of execution for both parties to comply with their obligations under the 280-page PDRCI ruling.

Casanova said the probe would allow the BCDA to give its side of the story especially on the separate opinion penned

by PDRCI Arbitrator Teodoro

Kalaw IV. Kalaw stated that CJHDevCo should pay BCDA P2.4-B because CJHDevCo has expressly acknowledged to owe BCDA P2.4-B at the time of the execution of the 2008 Restructured Memorandum of Agreement.

For his part, Yniguez said CJHDevCO had always wanted to talk things over with the BCDA. It seemed, however, that BCDA officials have already made up their minds and is now harassing sub-locators to favor their illegal actions against them, done prior to the rendering of the confirmation of the tribunal’s decision.

Retired Marine officer taken by Abus in Sulu

By Florante S. Solmerin A RETIRED Marine officer who operates a passenger boat was abducted Sunday by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits in Pantukan Island in Barangay Panglima Tahil, Sulu, according to report released by Task Force ZAMBASULTA (Zamboanga, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi).

The task force, a unit led by Naval Forces Western Mindanao commander Rear Admiral Yoma, identified the victim as Master Sergeant Renato Fernandez.

It said five armed men who posed as passengers of Fernandez’s M/L RJ Express seized him while aboard the water craft.

Fernandez’s wife, Embraida Usman Fernandez, confirmed to authorities that her husband had been abducted.

According to Embraida, the former Marine left Jolo pier aboard their own boat around 9:15 a.m. going to Pangutaran Island. The boat had around 40 passengers.

“At around 10:30 a.m., while sailing, three of his passengers took their hidden long firearms and immediately seized Fernandez,” the task force’s report said.

Two pump boats with a pair of armed men approached the boat and the abductors transferred with their victim. They sailed towards the area of Barangay Buton Mahablo, Parang, Sulu.

What storm? A fisherman from Legazpi City, Albay shows his fresh

catch from Catanduanes Bay on Sunday despite a coming typhoon, later downgraded to a tropical depression. DANNY PATA

The lawyers said that Lim alone heard and granted an exparte Motion of petitioner Perlita Mendoza, sister of former governow-now-Rep. Jonjon Mendoza, seeking to terminate the validation of signatures and thumb marks of petitioners in the recall proceedings. The decision was supposed to be made by the commission en banc.

“The Motion, which Mendoza filed only on March 30, is not only illegal but deprived us of basic due process to be given the simple chance to comment on the matter. Secondly, exparte motions are only allowed in the trial courts where only a single judge decides by virtue of his discretionary powers,” Alvarado’s lawyers said.

A copy of the Comelec En Banc Order docketed as E.M. No. 14-006 (RCL) given to The Standard showed that only Commissioner Lim in his acting capacity as chairman signed the Order, the dispositive portion of which reads: “the Commission en banc hereby GRANTS the aforementioned Motion ending the verification of signatures by the Election Officers at 5:00 p.m. today, 31 March, 2015.”

The lawyers met over weekend to map out a strategy to thwart their perceived bias of the Comelec for recall petitioners led by Perlita Mendoza, sister of former governor-nowRep. Jonjon Mendoza (3rd District).

Alvarado’s legal team, composed of former stalwarts and presidents of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Bulacan chapter, said they have been strictly adhering to the rules and guidelines as set forth under Comelec Resolution 7505 (the law governing the recall elections). The verification should have ended only on April 1, under the earlier ruling of the En Banc.

“However, if the Comelec who should be neutral in implementing the law keeps on changing the rules every step of the way, we cannot have a fair chance of defending the governor against this anarchy of rules and mockery of justice,” they said.

M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 , 2 0 1 5

A8

opinion lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

Rice off the Road

BY sheer dint of ineptitude and arrogance, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has become the poster child for the kind of atrocious performance that passes as public service in this administration.

After punishing vehicle owners with months-long delays in the release of license plates, drivers licenses and even simple renewal stickers, the agency announced last week that it will strictly implement a “no registration, no travel” policy beginning this month.

Vehicles without license plates will be stopped, and the driver must present a certificate of registration and an official receipt. If these are presented, the driver will be fined P5,000 for failing to attach the license plates.

On the other hand, if the driver does not have the OR or CR, he must present a sales invoice showing that his car was bought at most seven days before his arrest. If no such document can be produced, the owner will be fined P10,000 and the driver P1,000 for reckless driving.

The stern warning and the threat of stiff fines are outrageous in that they suggest that longsuffering vehicle owners are somehow delinquent and to blame, when in fact it has been the LTO that has been remiss in its duties for years.

Following the lead of his boss in the presidential palace, Transport Secretary Joseph emilio Abaya, who is ultimately responsible for the LTO, sought to pass off the blame for his failure on a scapegoat, in this case “errant” car dealers whom he said deliberately misinformed customers about the status of their license plate applications.

“The problem is that the delinquent dealers tell their customers that the LTO does not have new plates, when in fact, they’re the ones who aren’t fulfilling their services, Abaya said.

“They let months pass despite knowing fully well that the plates are ready—and they even mislead their customers about it.”

Secretary Abaya, who has allowed the public transport system to go to pot since he took over the Department of Transportation and Communication in 2012, and who has been charged with graft over a questionable P1 billion contract, would now have us believe him when he says that the LTO, which has given car owners and drivers nothing but grief, is suddenly on the ball, that there has been a stockpile of license plates for every car owner who wants one all this time, if only these lazy dealers would bother to pick them up.

A week ago, he even threatened to suspend or revoke their accreditation.

The trouble with this lemon of a story is that it falls far from the tree of logic and common sense.

After all, what possible motivation could any car dealership possibly have for antagonizing its customers? Would it not be in their best interest to keep car buyers happy? What possible advantage would these dealers gain by putting their customers at risk?

That the LTO has not moved against these “delinquent” dealers suggests either that it is again remiss in its duty to protect car buyers, or that the accusation was merely a dodge to deflect criticism of his agency’s continued ineptitude.

Clearly, Secretary Abaya has a credibility problem. now this is par for the course for government officials these days, but when he goes on to threaten to punish honest car buyers for failing to attach license plates that his own agency has not delivered in a timely manner, he has gone much too far.

This is exactly the kind of official idiocy and arrogance that will be the death of this administration, and when we stand over its grave next year after the elections, we will all heave a sigh of relief, thank Secretary Abaya and his ilk for being stupid and insensitive enough to alienate the voters, and say good riddance to bad rubbish.

pensées fr. ranhilio callanGan aquino On THe one hand, the Resurrection is that of which Medieval thinkers could write: there is a desiderium naturale...and of such an innate desire, one could not make light, because they reasonably thought that inane non potest...they could not be looked at askance! There is in fact a natural desire for fulfillment and as natural a horror at the prospect of total personal obliteration.

There is furthermore the persistent wisdom that a difference, to be real, must make a difference. And when the life of a virtuous person lived in utmost charity towards others, in thoughtfulness and in kindness, without the least hint at selfseeking passes away in the very same manner as the life of on who lived only for himself, many times at the expense of others, with utmost disregard of the interests of all except his own, then one correctly asks whether it makes a difference to be virtuous. Then too, one thoughtfully asks whether a life stamped by validity would be of any signifi-

A9

pastor apollo quiboloy

Good riddance to bad rubbish

Alive!

editor

plumbline

[ EDI TORI A L ]

cance if, after death, it would be left to the transience of human memory.

But from “I wish it were so” to “It is so” is quite a jump over a logical chasm wider than the distinction between modal and categorical propositions.

Without much more than a natural desire for fulfillment, we would be wading into the perilous waters of wishful thinking. Christians point to a defining experience, a phenomenon that exceeded all expectation, that irrupted into both personal and communal existence rupturing all the boundaries of the reasonable and the expected. This was the experience of Jesus’ victorious life in the face of his ex-

ADELLE chuA

the resurrection jeopardizes our understanding of what it is to be ‘alive’.

ecution by the cruelest method available at the time. It was, in terms familiar to some writers today, a “saturated phenomenon”, a phenomenon they could not ignore, nor one that they could attribute to their own desiderata!

In respect to the empiri-

cal, all they had were negatives: “He is not here”....”The tomb is empty”....”We do not know where they have laid him.” But the experience that drove them from hiding, transforming them almost overnight into bold proclaimers of a dangerous message —a message that would cost, and still costs, the blood of martyrs through centuries, was so compelling, but also so “saturated”. When propositions prove inadequate, what the human person has left is the language of praise and invocation, summed up in that jubilant but mysterious cry: Alleluia!

As Christians remembered Jesus, they arrived at the realization that at the core of their

experience of Jesus was an openness to one he called his Father that showed itself in an incalculable, irrevocable and irreversible openness towards others: something he made a command of for all who followed him. not only that: When he discoursed on the meaning of life and of its finality, drawing upon the common images of the time—judgment, the separation of the just from the unjust, the exaltation of some and the rejection of others—he linked escha-

Standard TODAY Manila

tology and human destiny to concern for the poor, the rejected, the outcast.

The Resurrection jeopardizes our understanding of what it is to be “alive”. But “alive”, after all, has been challenged of late in a different way.

For many hardly consider themselves alive today unless they are wired—mobile phones, satellite phones, WiFi connections. Many Filipinos loathe life unless it is lived abroad, looking at “real life” as the life made possible by dollars and euros. It is a different thing with

527-2057 (Credit and Collection). Fax numbers: 521-8340 (Advertising) 5275550. P.O. Box 2933, Manilaand Central 6406 P.O. Box 2933, Manila Post(Subscription).

Office, Manila.

Website: www.

Central Post Office, Manila. Website:E-mail: www. manilastandardtoday.com manilastandardtoday.com E-mail: mst@ contact@thestandard.com.ph PublishedMonday MondaytotoSunday Sundaybyby Philippine manilastandardtoday.com Published Kamahalan Manila Standard Publishing at 6/F Publishing Corporation at 2 ndInc. Floor PJI canbe beaccessed accessedat: at: Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo Roxas, can Building, Railroad corner 20th de Streets, www.manilastandardtoday.com ONLINE www.manilastandardtoday.com corner PereaManila.

St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. ONLINE Port Area, Telephone numbers MEMBER Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 521-8507 (connecting all departments), MEMBER Philippine Press Institute 832-5558521-5581, (connecting all departments), (Editorial), (Editorial Fax) 521-7381 Philippine Press Institute The National Association (Advertising), 521-8507(Advertising), (MIS) 521-5591 (Editorial), 832-5546, 832The National Association of Philippine Newspapers of Philippine Newspapers (Sales and Distribution/Subscription) and

MST MST

PPI PPI

the Risen Lord: Where the hungry are fed for no other reason than that they are the poor of the Lord (whether they know it or not, whether they acknowledge it or not), when the message of liberation is boldly preached, and when a person who has lived unselfishly can die secure in hope, there he is alive.

There he goes before us! rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

MST Management, Inc. Philip G. Romualdez Arnold C. Liong Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Jocelyn F. Domingo Ron Ryan S. Buguis

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Director of Operations Finance Officer

Ma. Editha D. Angeles Advertising Manager Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

THeRe is this joke about how countries prevent their roads from deteriorating.

The Germans pour sealants on cracks, the Japanese top theirs with asphalt and the Filipinos spread palay on them – because anything covered with grains will be spared the wear-and-tear caused by vehicular traffic.

And ‘tis the time of the year when Philippine rural roads turn golden brown. This seasonal change in highway hue is caused by the fact that you can’t mill palay without drying it first.

Here’s Rice 101. Drying unglues the grain from the husk, preserves it, makes it strong, so when milled, it would easily separate from the chaff, and will come out as a polished whole and not as broken grits or, worse, pulverized.

So this is one of rice’s many idiosyncrasies. Take for example, drying. Simple as it may seem, palay follows a tiring demoisturizing ritual.

Palay has to be bagged, transported, unbagged, spread out, raked, rebagged, and transported again to storage.

And this is just in the drying phase, which is but one of many for a crop whose production from plowing (when a farmer has to trudge 50 kilometers in thigh-deep mud with an iron plow on one hand and a half-ton beast on another) to milling is a choreographed exercise.

Last year, the Philippines produced 19 million tons of palay, or 380 million bags, each of which must be dried, mostly under the sun and a miniscule portion in mechanical dryers fed by biomass and other fuels.

Because sun-drying is the norm, farmers have no choice but to find any heatconducting flat surface. Thus, plazas are taken over, and in basketball courts this substitution is called: players out, palay in.

But most go to national roads which, for lack of non-street pavements, have become a processing place for our national food. And there also lies the problem.

Obviously, palay on the road poses a danger to motorists. It slows down traffic and makes our already congested roads narrower.

It need not be stressed that highways must be free of even the smallest obstacle.

And the bigger the swath of the road commandeered for palay drying, the bigger danger it poses to motorists.

Food security is also hit, big-time.

Studies show that we lose 16.5 percent of our rice output to lack of, or poor, postharvest facilities or practices. Crunch the numbers. This means that even if our yearly grain output climbs to 20 million metric tons yearly, 3.3 MMT will be lost lack of dryers, dearth of storage, outdated milling technology.

Continued on A11 Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Jojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Jojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors P. Palacios News Editor FrancisJoel Lagniton News Editor Francis Lagniton Editor Joyce Pangco Pañares CityCity Editor Arman Armero Senior Deskman Adelle Chua Senior Deskman Leo A. Estonilo Senior Deskman Romel J. Mendez Art Director Romel J. Mendez ArtPhotographer Director Roberto Cabrera Chief Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer

M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 , 2 0 1 5

A8

opinion lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

Rice off the Road

BY sheer dint of ineptitude and arrogance, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has become the poster child for the kind of atrocious performance that passes as public service in this administration.

After punishing vehicle owners with months-long delays in the release of license plates, drivers licenses and even simple renewal stickers, the agency announced last week that it will strictly implement a “no registration, no travel” policy beginning this month.

Vehicles without license plates will be stopped, and the driver must present a certificate of registration and an official receipt. If these are presented, the driver will be fined P5,000 for failing to attach the license plates.

On the other hand, if the driver does not have the OR or CR, he must present a sales invoice showing that his car was bought at most seven days before his arrest. If no such document can be produced, the owner will be fined P10,000 and the driver P1,000 for reckless driving.

The stern warning and the threat of stiff fines are outrageous in that they suggest that longsuffering vehicle owners are somehow delinquent and to blame, when in fact it has been the LTO that has been remiss in its duties for years.

Following the lead of his boss in the presidential palace, Transport Secretary Joseph emilio Abaya, who is ultimately responsible for the LTO, sought to pass off the blame for his failure on a scapegoat, in this case “errant” car dealers whom he said deliberately misinformed customers about the status of their license plate applications.

“The problem is that the delinquent dealers tell their customers that the LTO does not have new plates, when in fact, they’re the ones who aren’t fulfilling their services, Abaya said.

“They let months pass despite knowing fully well that the plates are ready—and they even mislead their customers about it.”

Secretary Abaya, who has allowed the public transport system to go to pot since he took over the Department of Transportation and Communication in 2012, and who has been charged with graft over a questionable P1 billion contract, would now have us believe him when he says that the LTO, which has given car owners and drivers nothing but grief, is suddenly on the ball, that there has been a stockpile of license plates for every car owner who wants one all this time, if only these lazy dealers would bother to pick them up.

A week ago, he even threatened to suspend or revoke their accreditation.

The trouble with this lemon of a story is that it falls far from the tree of logic and common sense.

After all, what possible motivation could any car dealership possibly have for antagonizing its customers? Would it not be in their best interest to keep car buyers happy? What possible advantage would these dealers gain by putting their customers at risk?

That the LTO has not moved against these “delinquent” dealers suggests either that it is again remiss in its duty to protect car buyers, or that the accusation was merely a dodge to deflect criticism of his agency’s continued ineptitude.

Clearly, Secretary Abaya has a credibility problem. now this is par for the course for government officials these days, but when he goes on to threaten to punish honest car buyers for failing to attach license plates that his own agency has not delivered in a timely manner, he has gone much too far.

This is exactly the kind of official idiocy and arrogance that will be the death of this administration, and when we stand over its grave next year after the elections, we will all heave a sigh of relief, thank Secretary Abaya and his ilk for being stupid and insensitive enough to alienate the voters, and say good riddance to bad rubbish.

pensées fr. ranhilio callanGan aquino On THe one hand, the Resurrection is that of which Medieval thinkers could write: there is a desiderium naturale...and of such an innate desire, one could not make light, because they reasonably thought that inane non potest...they could not be looked at askance! There is in fact a natural desire for fulfillment and as natural a horror at the prospect of total personal obliteration.

There is furthermore the persistent wisdom that a difference, to be real, must make a difference. And when the life of a virtuous person lived in utmost charity towards others, in thoughtfulness and in kindness, without the least hint at selfseeking passes away in the very same manner as the life of on who lived only for himself, many times at the expense of others, with utmost disregard of the interests of all except his own, then one correctly asks whether it makes a difference to be virtuous. Then too, one thoughtfully asks whether a life stamped by validity would be of any signifi-

A9

pastor apollo quiboloy

Good riddance to bad rubbish

Alive!

editor

plumbline

[ EDI TORI A L ]

cance if, after death, it would be left to the transience of human memory.

But from “I wish it were so” to “It is so” is quite a jump over a logical chasm wider than the distinction between modal and categorical propositions.

Without much more than a natural desire for fulfillment, we would be wading into the perilous waters of wishful thinking. Christians point to a defining experience, a phenomenon that exceeded all expectation, that irrupted into both personal and communal existence rupturing all the boundaries of the reasonable and the expected. This was the experience of Jesus’ victorious life in the face of his ex-

ADELLE chuA

the resurrection jeopardizes our understanding of what it is to be ‘alive’.

ecution by the cruelest method available at the time. It was, in terms familiar to some writers today, a “saturated phenomenon”, a phenomenon they could not ignore, nor one that they could attribute to their own desiderata!

In respect to the empiri-

cal, all they had were negatives: “He is not here”....”The tomb is empty”....”We do not know where they have laid him.” But the experience that drove them from hiding, transforming them almost overnight into bold proclaimers of a dangerous message —a message that would cost, and still costs, the blood of martyrs through centuries, was so compelling, but also so “saturated”. When propositions prove inadequate, what the human person has left is the language of praise and invocation, summed up in that jubilant but mysterious cry: Alleluia!

As Christians remembered Jesus, they arrived at the realization that at the core of their

experience of Jesus was an openness to one he called his Father that showed itself in an incalculable, irrevocable and irreversible openness towards others: something he made a command of for all who followed him. not only that: When he discoursed on the meaning of life and of its finality, drawing upon the common images of the time—judgment, the separation of the just from the unjust, the exaltation of some and the rejection of others—he linked escha-

Standard TODAY Manila

tology and human destiny to concern for the poor, the rejected, the outcast.

The Resurrection jeopardizes our understanding of what it is to be “alive”. But “alive”, after all, has been challenged of late in a different way.

For many hardly consider themselves alive today unless they are wired—mobile phones, satellite phones, WiFi connections. Many Filipinos loathe life unless it is lived abroad, looking at “real life” as the life made possible by dollars and euros. It is a different thing with

527-2057 (Credit and Collection). Fax numbers: 521-8340 (Advertising) 5275550. P.O. Box 2933, Manilaand Central 6406 P.O. Box 2933, Manila Post(Subscription).

Office, Manila.

Website: www.

Central Post Office, Manila. Website:E-mail: www. manilastandardtoday.com manilastandardtoday.com E-mail: mst@ contact@thestandard.com.ph PublishedMonday MondaytotoSunday Sundaybyby Philippine manilastandardtoday.com Published Kamahalan Manila Standard Publishing at 6/F Publishing Corporation at 2 ndInc. Floor PJI canbe beaccessed accessedat: at: Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo Roxas, can Building, Railroad corner 20th de Streets, www.manilastandardtoday.com ONLINE www.manilastandardtoday.com corner PereaManila.

St., Legaspi Village, Makati City. ONLINE Port Area, Telephone numbers MEMBER Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 521-8507 (connecting all departments), MEMBER Philippine Press Institute 832-5558521-5581, (connecting all departments), (Editorial), (Editorial Fax) 521-7381 Philippine Press Institute The National Association (Advertising), 521-8507(Advertising), (MIS) 521-5591 (Editorial), 832-5546, 832The National Association of Philippine Newspapers of Philippine Newspapers (Sales and Distribution/Subscription) and

MST MST

PPI PPI

the Risen Lord: Where the hungry are fed for no other reason than that they are the poor of the Lord (whether they know it or not, whether they acknowledge it or not), when the message of liberation is boldly preached, and when a person who has lived unselfishly can die secure in hope, there he is alive.

There he goes before us! rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

MST Management, Inc. Philip G. Romualdez Arnold C. Liong Former Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno Jocelyn F. Domingo Ron Ryan S. Buguis

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Director of Operations Finance Officer

Ma. Editha D. Angeles Advertising Manager Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

THeRe is this joke about how countries prevent their roads from deteriorating.

The Germans pour sealants on cracks, the Japanese top theirs with asphalt and the Filipinos spread palay on them – because anything covered with grains will be spared the wear-and-tear caused by vehicular traffic.

And ‘tis the time of the year when Philippine rural roads turn golden brown. This seasonal change in highway hue is caused by the fact that you can’t mill palay without drying it first.

Here’s Rice 101. Drying unglues the grain from the husk, preserves it, makes it strong, so when milled, it would easily separate from the chaff, and will come out as a polished whole and not as broken grits or, worse, pulverized.

So this is one of rice’s many idiosyncrasies. Take for example, drying. Simple as it may seem, palay follows a tiring demoisturizing ritual.

Palay has to be bagged, transported, unbagged, spread out, raked, rebagged, and transported again to storage.

And this is just in the drying phase, which is but one of many for a crop whose production from plowing (when a farmer has to trudge 50 kilometers in thigh-deep mud with an iron plow on one hand and a half-ton beast on another) to milling is a choreographed exercise.

Last year, the Philippines produced 19 million tons of palay, or 380 million bags, each of which must be dried, mostly under the sun and a miniscule portion in mechanical dryers fed by biomass and other fuels.

Because sun-drying is the norm, farmers have no choice but to find any heatconducting flat surface. Thus, plazas are taken over, and in basketball courts this substitution is called: players out, palay in.

But most go to national roads which, for lack of non-street pavements, have become a processing place for our national food. And there also lies the problem.

Obviously, palay on the road poses a danger to motorists. It slows down traffic and makes our already congested roads narrower.

It need not be stressed that highways must be free of even the smallest obstacle.

And the bigger the swath of the road commandeered for palay drying, the bigger danger it poses to motorists.

Food security is also hit, big-time.

Studies show that we lose 16.5 percent of our rice output to lack of, or poor, postharvest facilities or practices. Crunch the numbers. This means that even if our yearly grain output climbs to 20 million metric tons yearly, 3.3 MMT will be lost lack of dryers, dearth of storage, outdated milling technology.

Continued on A11 Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Rolando G. Estabillo Publisher Jojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Jojo A. Robles Editor-in-Chief Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Managing Editor Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Associate Editors P. Palacios News Editor FrancisJoel Lagniton News Editor Francis Lagniton Editor Joyce Pangco Pañares CityCity Editor Arman Armero Senior Deskman Adelle Chua Senior Deskman Leo A. Estonilo Senior Deskman Romel J. Mendez Art Director Romel J. Mendez ArtPhotographer Director Roberto Cabrera Chief Roberto Cabrera Chief Photographer

A10

MONDAY: APRIL 6, 2015

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

STANDING FREEDOM AND OTHER TRADEOFFS

BY THEIR MEN WHILE women now compete with, and sometimes even outRITA LINDA do, men in nearly evV. JIMENO ery profession, job or calling, there are still those who are happy just complementing and supporting their husbands.

Women’s rights advocates and feminists will be quick to say that being a wife happily standing by her man is passé but there really are many women who will be just as quick to disagree.

Although I know of many an unfortunate woman who dropped her thriving career to be her husband’s devoted homemaker, only to be dumped by him for a much younger woman when it was too late for her to pick up the pieces, I know too of many wives who are genuinely happy playing the supporting role behind their successful husbands.

This article is a peek into the subject because I could not help noticing the beautiful, warm, and gracious wife of Mayor Gaudioso “Jurly” Manalo of our adopted hometown, Lobo, Batangas. Popularly called Mayora, Lota Manalo is the picture of a totally supportive wife behind her man. While the mayor busies himself with the day-to-day affairs of the municipality and developing it into his vision of a premier tourist destination, she, on the other hand, complements him by heading the resort town’s Committee of Tourism drive. She has also made it her concern to empower the local women by organizing skills trainings and organizing activities that encourage a healthy competition among the municipality’s barangays. She happily mingles with barrio folk but is equally comfortable carrying out conversations with people in high places.

She, of course, is not alone. As they say, behind every great man is a great woman. Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy was the supportive, loyal, and confident woman behind John F. Kennedy. Nancy Reagan was the pillar behind Ronald Reagan who wrote many love letters to her thanking her and saying that without her, he would be totally lost and desolate. Hillary Clinton helped Bill Clinton in all his campaigns, served as a sounding board to refine his ideas, and stood by him during a crisis in his presidency. Laura Bush was the emotional rock that helped George W. Bush lay off the bottle in his early 40s, got him back on his feet, and supported him in his political career.

Are women who support and propel their husbands to success happy? On the flip side, are husbands happy with their wives’ successes?

A new study from the American Psychological Association found that women like it when their husbands are successful while men, on the contrary, do not enjoy their wives’ or girlfriends’ victories. According to the study, men’s self-esteem take a beating when their wives do well while women’s egos are not affected by their husbands’ victories. The study revealed that in tests conducted in the US and the Netherlands, which is a model for gender equality, there is little difference in how the males reacted to their wives’ successes. The Dutch men say that though they are used to seeing more women in corporate boards, they feel a bit smaller when their wives or significant others do well. The research found evidence that men automatically interpret a partner’s success as their failure even when they are not in

OUT OF THE BOX

THE recent death of Singapore’ s founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, ADELLE brought to fore the CHUA question of whether countries need a fair amount of autocracy, a not-so-unseen iron hand, for it to be able to function effectively.

Decades ago, Singapore was far from where it is now. There were riots all over. The place had no apparent sustainable resources. But it had a resolute leader, Mr. Lee. Over the next few decades, Singapore worked its way from the bottom to the top of the Asean economic hierarchy. It is now a model of prosperity and discipline.

Mr. Lee turned over the reins of government to a successor he had groomed for years, and eventually to his own son even as he himself remained an engaged adviser to his nation‘s affairs.

By contrast, the Philippines after the Marcos era has had a succession of leaders, all elected democratically.

From 1986 onwards, freedom became a buzzword such that we have taken to saying it is our nation’s most cherished possession. We have been starved for freedom such that we are fiercely protective of it. Any attempts to subvert that freedom—changing the Constitution to prolong officials’ terms, suppression of free speech— are immediately called out and protested.

The result is that after many years, and despite our great potential, the Philippines has been unable to take off in the manner we think we deserve to. After many decades, the same ills haunt us: gaping inequality, corruption, personality politics, patronage, limited jobs, alarming crime rates.

Some people have said that this is because we enjoy too much freedom.

To be able to achieve economic development, equality and peace and order, must people be ruled by somebody with an authoritarian streak? Filipinos have often been characterized as “pasaway”—always breaking rules, trying to see if they can get away with the slightest things (“makakalusot”) or can sweet-talk their way out of trouble (“baka pwede naman pag-usapan”). *** Another tradeoff that must be suffered: relative progress under the rule of local leaders perceived to be corrupt. Some people have said they would be willing to tolerate a little corruption so long as they could see that their local executives are doing something for the people—never mind that they may be doing something

CHASING HAPPY

more for themselves.

This may be the reason that a particular politician, even a family, maintains its hold on an area. People perceive them to be championing the interests of the people, and even making taxpayers’ money work for them.

Consider what is lost in corruption a small leak —the important thing is that there are results.

But is this necessarily better than an administration which botches attempts at governance, is perceived as incompetent, and yet arrogantly proclaims itself as treading a straight path?

What, then, do people get aside from the initial high from the knowledge of being led by “honest” leaders?

Sadly, we are constrained to think that this is a choice, that it has to be one or the other.

We can either choose freedom, which calls for hearing everybody out and respecting everybody’s rights, which could be counterproductive or even maddening.

The other option is leadership by a single person. It might be great if the person is able and knew when to step back; dangerous if he or she is somebody who becomes addicted to power and starts believing that the LGU or the country will no longer function under any other leader.

We are also forced to choose between the benevolent but corrupt leader and the incompetent or arrogant (or both), but supposedly honest politician. If you are a parent or grandparent wanting to leave behind a better life for your loved ones, what would you choose? Whom would you rather have?

This is what is happening now, but it does not mean that this is how things must be.

There must be some sweet spot between utter freedom and utter restriction of it, that would allow people to pick up after themselves, observe the golden rule, not take more than they need and genuinely contribute to the common good.

And there must be that kind of a leader who is both able, compassionate, honest and decisive all at the same time. Maybe we just have not heard of that leader yet.

Or maybe we have—we just have not been paying attention.

It is difficult to be optimistic these days given what we are seeing. But it is not a choice, too, between just seeing the bad and being Polyanna. We can only move forward if we believe we can, but also if we reject flowery promises and demand real results. adellechua@gmail.com

direct competition. the study. Thus, they look for reasons What is the reason for the difference to connect with other people while in men and women with respect to the men look for differences. Women success of their partners? For one, the are more concerned with smoothing study said, men are generally more comsocial interactions than men, makAre women who petitive than women. For another, men ing them happy to share in their hussupport and propel may feel they have to be more successful bands’ success than highlighting their their husbands to success happy? to hold on to their partners, and womown. en may be guilty of feeding into this, Thankfully, the research also said at least partially, the research said. The that while men subconsciously felt study added, women indeed feel more smaller by their partners’ success, satisfied with their relationship when they usually have the cognitive wherethey think about their partner’s success withal to get over it. They are able to than their partner’s failure. It may also be that cultural recognize that having a wife who is successful has its pressures still run deep and both men and women are advantages. As economists have noted, the people who subconsciously conforming to old-school partnership have benefited most from the increasing earning power models of the male provider and the dependent, devot- of women are the men who married them. ed woman he is supporting, the study said.

Another explanation could have to do with the fact Email: ritalindaj@gmail.com Visit: www.jimenolaw. that women tend to be more communal, according to com.ph

M O N d aY : a P R I l 6 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION

adelle chua EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

A11

Three misconcepTions abouT inequaliTy by peter r. orszag concern about inequality in the U.S. is getting well-deserved attention. Unfortunately, though, discussions of the problem too often rest on three misconceptions: that capital is rising as a share of the economy, that most of the rise in wage inequality is explained by growing gaps within companies between higher and lower paid workers, and that workers are increasingly moving from one job to another. all three of these notions are wrong, to varying degrees: capital outside of housing and land has not increased in the U.S. relative to the economy.

Most of the increase in wage inequality has occurredbetween companies, not within them. and people are less, not more, likely to switch jobs today than they were in the past.

The piece of this that might hold the most potential to explain all the misunderstanding is that companies have diverged in their productivity and profit rates. and that in turn could signal the rise of “economic rents”—for example, profits at some companies well in ex-

RIcE Off... From A9 That’s 66 million sacks of wasted rice, enough to gift each of the 105 million unli-rice-loving Pinoys 31 kilos. or if annual per capita rice consumption in this part of the world is 114 kilograms, then all that wasted rice would be enough to meet the rice needs of 22 million Mindanaoans, pro-BBl or not, for one year and four months.

But for accuracy’s sake, drying mistakes are not the sole culprit for the huge post-harvest losses. it accounts, however, for the biggest, at 5.8 percent. next is milling (5.4 percent); followed by threshing (2.2 percent); harvesting (2 percent); and storage and handling combine for 1 percent.

cess of what’s necessary to keep them in the market. Such windfall gains to some firms (and workers) may underlie the whole three-part puzzle. consider that, from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s, some U.S. manufacturing plants became far more productive than others. and much the same thing happened in the U.K. from the 1980s to the 2000s. during roughly the same period, the return on invested capital—that is, how much profit is generated for each dollar of investment—alsogrew more unequal between companies.

While the typical return was roughly constant, at about 10 percent, returns became more dispersed over time. in particular, from 1965 to 1967, only 1 percent of non-financial firms earned returns of 50 percent or more, but from 2005 to 2007, 14 percent did. in other words, 50 years ago, one out of 100 firms earned 50 percent returns. More recently, one out of seven did.

These data suggest three things: first, the typical return to capital hasn’t changed much, which is what you would expect, given that the cap-

To its credit, this government is addressing these problems at a pace and funding level unseen before. rice processing complexes or rPcs, with a sticker price of P32 million each, are sprouting everywhere. government-bought or loaned mechanized rice harvesters, like supersized lawnmowers, are scything their way across the countryside. These machines bypass the wasteful winnowing and threshing stages as what they spew are ready-tobe-bagged palay.

But even if government builds more rPcs, these won’t be enough to meet the demand. each can only accommodate 600 sacks of palay in its biomass-fed dryers every eight hours. and there’s the element of cost too, because the fee of P40

#failocracy

ital-output ratio excluding land and housing has been stable.

Second, from company to company, that return has become much more unequal, as has productivity. Some of this inequality between companies in returns and productivity tends to spill over into wages. and this is precisely what we’ve seen. it explains more of the rise in overall earnings inequality than does the increased gaps between the pay of higher earners and rankand-file workers within a given company. finally, workers at the high-paying, high-return, high-productivity companies are not motivated to leave, so entry into jobs at those companies may be limited. This reduces aggregate job turnover.

This alternative narrative may have a few holes—as it is cobbled together from different pieces of information— but it at least deserves more attention. (note that even if it can help to explain inequality, it can’t explain wage stagnation, which is often conflated with inequality.)

The most troubling aspect of this narrative, by the way, is that much of

per bag is hard to bear for farmers struggling with thin if not negative returns. a recourse is to build more solar dryers, either by paving farm-to-market roads so these could function as drying surfaces during the harvest season, or build more barrio basketball courts with a dual purpose.

The logic behind the latter is to construct infrastructure with multiple uses. These, however, come at a cost. The dPWh price tag for a kilometer of concrete road is about P20 million.

But there are practical solutions which do not burn a hole in the taxpayer’s pocket, things which have escaped the attention of planners used to bigticket items. one of which is to give farm-

what the increasingly profitable companies are earning may exceed what’s necessary for them to continue producing their goods or services.

The McKinsey & co. team that documented the rise in super-high returns noted, “in many cases, this improvement has occurred in industries with strong barriers to entry, such as patents or brands where gains that companies have made from decreased raw-material prices and increased productivity have not been transferred to other stakeholders.” The rise in housing and land values, which explains the entire rise in the ratio of capital to output, may represent yet another form of windfall gains.

Thus, as Joseph Stiglitz has said, our understanding of growing inequality “requires a greater understanding of rents, what gives rise to them, and how they evolve over time.” for all the concern that has been focused on the problem of inequality, this understanding of the role played by windfalls and company-to-company inequality has received shockingly little attention.

Bloomberg

ers a couple of 60-square meter trapals, which are effective drying mats, and which can be bought for less than P1,000 in divisoria. if government can give P15,000 a year to 4 million families under the conditional cash Transfer , why can’t it give sturdy rubberized tarps to , for starters, 2 million farmers, for a fraction of the cost? if a farmer has a rubberized trapal, he will no longer lug his palay to the nearest public road for drying. he can do it in his yard or in the just harvested field. he will not impede traffic, and grains will not be blown away by cars whizzing by.

When it rains, his palay is protected. and he can use his trapal as canopy for fiestas, baptism and emergency roofing

during typhoons. at the rate it is building infrastructure, it will take government ages to build solar dryers, a procurement prone to delays, corruption, and if done on private lots, hassles of expropriation. one-fourth kilometer of concrete road cum solar dryer will cost millions and takes years to build. or for a fraction of that cost, plus quicker delivery, and a drying surface thousands of times larger, government can do the commonsensical and supply farmers with trapals as a supplemental drying equipment. actually, government has been buying trapals in bulk, by the millions. The only problem is that they’re used for epal tarpaulins.

chong ardivilla

m o n day : a p ri l 6 , 2 0 1 5

A12

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Lefty expects ‘sharp’ Woods Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR THE APPROVAL OF THE SALE OF VARIOUS SUBTRANSMISSION LINES/ASSETS OF THE NATIONAL TRANSMISSION CORPORATION (TRANSCO) TO CAMARINES NORTE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (CANORECO), AS COVERED BY A LEASE PURCHASE AGREEMENT (LPA) DATED JULY 5, 2011 NATIONAL TRANSMISSION CORPORATION (TRANSCO) AND CAMARINES NORTE ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (CANORECO), Applicants. x- - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - x

ERC CASE NO. 2014-132 RC

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on September 3, 2014, the National Transmission Corporation (TRANSCO) and the Camarines Norte Electric Cooperative, Inc. (CANORECO) filed a joint application for the approval of the sale of various subtransmission lines/assets of TRANSCO to CANORECO as covered by a Lease Purchase Agreement (LPA) dated July 5, 2011.

In the said joint application, TRANSCO and CANORECO alleged, among others, that:

“That’s a tough tournament to miss,” Mickelson said of the first major championship of the season in the lush confines of Augusta National.

“I just don’t think anybody would miss it if they were in it, if they were physically able to play,” Mickelson said at the Houston Open on Friday, after Woods confirmed he would end his self-imposed layoff from tournament golf.

He hasn’t played in a tournament since withdrawing at Torrey Pines on February 5 with back pain.

That followed a dismal showing at the Phoenix Open, and the 14-time major champion announced the following week that he was taking an indefinite break until he could

WooDS

improve his game to a competitive level.

Pundits have pointed to the glaring weaknesses displayed this season in Woods’ oncemighty short game as making Woods an unlikely contender.

But Mickelson, who has endured struggles of his own this year, believes Woods has had enough time to sort things out.

“He’s had such a good short game and such a great game throughout his career, I think it’s going to be an easy fix,” Mickelson said. “I think

his game will be sharp.”

Woods’ decision to play the Masters, revealed on his website and in a Twitter posting by the 14-time major champion, sparked immediate reaction on social media. “@TheMasters isn’t the same without @TigerWoods,” tweeted fellow pro Bill Horschel.

“Glad to see him back playing again. Going to be an electrifying week as always! #cantwait” “Was it ever really in doubt,” tweeted England’s Ian Poulter.

“Best show on earth just got better.”

The news even caught the eye of Olympic swimming superstar Michael Phelps.

“Pumped to watch @TigerWoods at the masters,” the 18-time Olympic gold medallist tweeted. afp

1.

TRANSCO is a government-owned-and-controlled corporation (GOCC) duly created by virtue of Republic Act No. 9136 (R.A. 9136), otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or the EPIRA, with principal office address at the TRANSCO Main Building, Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Diliman, Quezon City;

2.

CANORECO is an electric cooperative (EC) organized and existing under the laws of the Republic of the Philippines with principal office address at J.P. Rizal Street, Daet, Camarines Norte;

3.

By virtue of Section 8 of the EPIRA, TRANSCO assumed the electrical transmission functions of the National Power Corporation (NPC) and its authority and responsibility for the planning, construction and centralized operation and maintenance of the high voltage transmission facilities, including grid interconnections and ancillary services;

4.

Section 8 of the EPIRA and Rule 6, Section 8 (e) of its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) also mandate the segregation of the transmission and subtransmission functions and assets for transparency and disposal, and authorize TRANSCO to negotiate, and to transfer such subtransmission assets (STAs) and facilities to qualified distribution utilities (DUs), electric cooperatives (ECs) and consortia;

5.

Pursuant thereto, the Commission promulgated on October 17, 2003 the “Guidelines to the Sale and Transfer of TRANSCO’s Subtransmission Assets and the Franchising of Qualified Consortiums”, as amended;

6.

Consistent with the Commission’s Guidelines, TRANSCO has adopted its own guidelines on the Sales of Subtransmission Assets (TRANSCO Guidelines) [Annex “A”] as approved

by TRANSCO Board Resolution No. TC-2003-067 dated November 28, 2003 [Annex “B”], as further amended by TRANSCO Board Resolution No. TC-2004-009 dated March 16, 2004 [Annex “C”];

7.

On July 16, 2011, the Commission issued Resolution No. 15, Series of 2011, entitled “A Resolution Adopting the Amended Rules for the Approval of the Sale and Transfer of TRANSCO’s Subtransmission Assets and the Acquisition by Qualified Consortiums”;

8.

On March 4, 2013, the Commission issued Resolution No. 04, Series of 2013, amending Resolution No. 26, Series of 2011. Under the said issuance, TRANSCO was given until December 31, 2015 within which to dispose of its Residual Subtransmission Assets (RSTAs). The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) was, likewise, directed to execute a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the concerned DUs in regard to the amortization of uncollected Connection Charges and Residual Subtransmission Charges (CC and RSTC);

9.

On the basis of the aforesaid Guidelines, TRANSCO has determined that the Batobalani and Talisay load-end substations are subtransmission assets. Copies of the Report that the assets for sale are subtransmission assets, List of STAs for sale, and the Electrical Diagram are attached as Annexes “D”, “E” and “F”, respectively;

10.

After a careful evaluation, TRANSCO has likewise established that CANORECO meets the financial and technical requirements that qualify an EC to acquire, operate, maintain, upgrade and expand the subject STAs. Attached as Annexes “G,” “H” and “I,” respectively, are copies of its Independent Auditor’s Report and Financial Statements as of December 31, 2009 and 2010, and Technical and Financial Qualification Evaluations;

11.

On July 5, 2011, TRANSCO and CANORECO concluded a LPA attached to the instant application as Annex “J” which covers the subject assets amounting to Ten Million Eight Hundred Ninety-Five Thousand Four Hundred Sixteen Pesos, Philippine currency (PhP10,895,416.00), net of adjustments and deductions, based on the Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) valuation (Annex “K”). Also attached to the application as Annexes “L” and “M,” respectively, are the Schedules of Payment and Draft Deed of Absolute Sale;

12.

On February 18, 2014, the CANORECO Board of Directors issued Board Resolution No. 24, Series of 2014 entitled “Resolution Confirming the Action Done by Former GM Engr. Lorenzo Canlas, Jr. and Dir. Arwin A. Segundo for the Lease Purchase Agreement of Tawig and Talisay Substation Between CANORECO and National Transmission Corporation”attached to the application as Annex “N”;

13.

On May 31, 2007, the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued BIR Ruling No. 11-07 which exempted TRANSCO from the payment of a twelve percent value-added tax (12% VAT) on the divestment of its STAs. However, the same was revoked when the BIR issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 66-2013 dated September 30, 2013 attached to the application as Annex “O”;

14.

On February 7, 2007, the BIR issued Revenue Regulation No. 04-2007 attached to the application as Annex “P” which also imposed a twelve percent (12%) VAT on the interest rate over the amortized amount of the STAs;

15.

Thus, TRANSCO is constrained to demand from CANORECO a twelve percent (12%) VAT on the contract price of PhP10,895,416.00 as well as on the interest thereon over the amortized period.

Attached to the application as Annex “Q” is a copy of CANORECO’s conformity to pay VAT;

Some of the world’s best paragliders showcased their prowess in the Philippine leg of the Paragliding Accuracy World Cup 2015 at the Ground Zero in Safi Ranch, Maasim, South Cotabato.

16.

CANORECO is the only EC which is directly connected to, and qualified to acquire, the subject STAs, as per Annex “R” of the application. Attached to the application as Annex “S” is a copy of CANORECO’s Franchise Description;

Sarangani hosts world paragliding tilt

17.

The proposed sale has satisfied all of the requirements and criteria which are set forth under the EPIRA and its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR), as well as the Commission’s and TRANSCO’s Guidelines on the Sale of Subtransmission Assets;

18.

The approval by the Commission of the instant application shall pave the way for the attainment of a reformed electricity industry under the EPIRA, towards a competitive regime/cost of electricity through open access and customer choice of supplier of electricity, which would ultimately best serve the interest of the consuming public; and

19.

It prays that after due notice and hearing, judgment be rendered approving the sale of TRANSCO’s subject subtransmission assets1 to CANORECO under the terms set forth in the LPA dated July 5, 2011.

SARANGANI – The best and the brightest paragliders in the world showed their wares in the Philippine leg of the Paragliding Accuracy World Cup 2015 recently at the Ground Zero in Safi Ranch, Maasim, South Cotabato.

At least 48 pilots from 16 countries vied for honor in the first of six stages of the tournament, hosted by the provincial government of Sarangani, led by Governor Steve Solon and Maasim Mayor Jojo Lopez.

PGWAC tournament director Col. (ret.) Basir Rahman of Malaysia said that 15 international judges were on hand to check and process safety measurements of all participants composed of celebrities, sports enthusiast and commercial flight pilots.

Pilots came from Indonesia, Malaysia Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, China, Serbia,

The Commission has set the application for jurisdictional hearing, expository presentation, pre-trial conference and evidentiary hearing on April 28, 2015 (Tuesday) at ten o’clock in the morning (10:00 A.M.) at the CANORECO’s Main Office, J.P. Rizal Street, Daet, Camarines Norte.

All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding may become a party by filing, at least five (5) days prior to the initial hearing and subject to the requirements in the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, a verified petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of the proceeding and stating: (1) 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 (3) a statement of the relief desired.

All other persons who may want theirs views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may file their opposition to the joint application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before the applicants conclude the presentation of their evidence. No particular form of opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon.

All such persons who may wish to have a copy of the joint application may request the applicants, prior to the date of the initial hearing, that they be furnished with a copy of the joint application. The applicants are hereby directed to furnish all those making a request with copies of the joint application and its attachments, subject to reimbursement of reasonable photocopying costs. Likewise, any such person may examine the joint application and other pertinent records filed with the Commission during the usual office hours.

WITNESS, the Honorable Chairperson, ZENAIDA G. CRUZ-DUCUT, and the Honorable Commissioners, ALFREDO J. NON, GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, and JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 2nd day of February 2015 at Pasig City.

(SGD.) ATTY. FRANCIS SATURNINO C. JUAN Executive Director III 1

LOS ANGELES—Three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson isn’t surprised that Tiger Woods will tee it up at the Masters next week—and he thinks the four-time winner will be ready.

Batobalani and Talisay Load-End Substations (TNS-MAR. 30 & APR. 6, 2015)

HEAD jr tennis unfurls MORE than 700 young tennis players all over the Visayas region are expected to compete in the 17th HEAD Graphene XT Junior Tennis Satellite Circuit’s six-leg Visayas schedule starting this week in Dumaguete City.

After a successful four-leg competition in Mindanao last week, the country’s only annual Junior Tennis Satellite Circuit now invades Dumaguete City for the fifth leg on April 5 to 9, followed by the sixth leg in Bohol on April 11 to 15, before moving to the seventh leg in Lapu-Lapu, Cebu on April 17 to 21.

The eighth leg goes to Bacolod City on April 23 to 27 and Iloilo City for the ninth leg on April 29 to May 3, before wrapping up the Visayas area in the 10th leg in Kalibo, Aklan on May 5 to 9.

The Luzon campaign starts in Naga, Bicol, simultaneously with the Kalibo leg on May 5 to 9.

Wildcats crash back to earth

Spain, Pakistan, Canada, Thailand, South Korea, Bulgaria and host Philippines.

“This is the biggest so far in terms of participants. The venue is perfect and we expected a clear jump and landing at the Ground Zero,” Rahman said.

Gov. Solon hosted a welcome dinner for the participants and officials and said the tournament boosted not only the sports development program of the province, but also the tourism industry of Sarangani.

“We are known for boxing champions for the past years and now, both local and international tourists are also expected to come to our province to visit some of our tourist spots and try paragliding as well,” said Gov. Solon.

Other hosts of the World Cup are Malaysia, China, Germany, Serbia and Bulgaria.

INDIANAPOLIS—The Wisconsin Badgers knocked off mighty Kentucky 71-64 Saturday, handing the Wildcats their only loss of the season and setting up a championship clash with Duke.

Frank Kaminsky finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds as Wisconsin ended the NCAA Final Four college basketball contest on a 15-4 run over the last four and a half minutes.

The Badgers will play for a national title on Monday night for the first time since winning their only championship in 1941. They’ll face Duke, which beat Michigan State 81-61 in the other semi.

Sam Dekker tallied 16 points for Wisconsin while Nigel Hayes and Bronson Koenig each scored 12.

Number one ranked Kentucky’s quest to become the first undefeated champion since Indiana went 32-0 in 1976 ended with a whimper. The Wildcats made just one field goal and scored just four points over the last six and a half minutes after taking a 60-56 lead with an 8-0 surge. afp

m o n day : a p ri l 6 , 2 0 1 5

A13

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Prima grabs silver, bronze at Asian tilt

Enzo Hernandez (left) and Ivan Malig (center) display their medals. They are with coach Jojo Canare.

Asian body gives PH golf a big boost THE Asian Development Tour re-affirms its commitment to boost local golf as it sanctions two $60,000 ICTSI Philippine Golf Tour events, beginning with the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational on April 15-18 at the Eagle Ridge Golf and Country Club in Gen. Trias, Cavite.

Reigning ADT Order of Merit titlist Pavit Tangkamolprasert of Thailand and ADT leg winners James Byrne of Scotland, American James Bowen, Mitsuhiko Hashizume of Japan, and Malaysians Wilson Choo and Arie Irawan head the crack roster of foreign players slugging it out with the local aces in the 72-hole championship also serving as the third leg of the ICTSI PGT. Three-time PGT OOM winner Tony Lascuna, who notched his

first ADT win in the Aboitiz Invitational last year, will spearhead the local challenge along with ADT leg champions Elmer Salvador and brothers Jay and Rufino Bayron and top guns Angelo Que and Miguel Tabuena, who ruled the first two legs of this year’s ICTSI PGT. The ICTSI Sherwood Hills Classic, meanwhile, will cap the twoweek ADT swing on April 22-25 with Charles Hong seeking to make it two-in-row after ruling the all-local

event last year.

The Asian Tour farm circuit has been a chief backer of the local circuit sponsored by International Container Terminal Services, Inc. with the Filipino players topping the three ADT-sanctioned events here last year, including Salvador (Riviera Classic) and Rufino Bayron (Orchard Golf Championship).

Also entered in the ICTSI Eagle Ridge Invitational organized by the Pilipinas Golf Tournaments, Inc., are Thais Phachara Khongwatmai and Panuwat Muenlek, Rizal Amin of Malaysia, Niall Turner of Ireland, American Brett Munson, a former Philippine Open winner, Thai ace Wisut Artjanawat, Nils Floren of Sweden, Singapore’s Koh Deng Shan, Lam

Chih Bing, Choo Tze Huang and Quincy Quek and Korean Jinwoo Park.

Joining Lascuna and company in the local roster are Ferdie Aunzo, Clyde Mondilla, Cassius Casas, Orlan Sumcad, Frankie Minoza, Dante Becierra, Marvin Dumandan, Arnold Villacencio and Elmer Saban.

Others expected to see action in the event backed by Aboitiz, Srixon, Callaway, Empire Golf and Sports Shop, Nike Golf, TaylorMade, Custom Clubmakers, Sharp, Omnisource and Silicon Computer and Telecoms, Inc., are the top foreign players on the PGT, including Koreans Woo Seong Bin, Seongki Lee, Gyuha Park and Anthony Kim, Japanese Toru Nakajima and Dutch Guido Van der Valk.

PHILIPPINE junior bowlers snared silver and bronze medals recently in the prestigious 18th Asian Youth Tenpin Bowling Championships at the Complexo Desportivo Internacional do Cotai Bowling Centre in Macau, China.

Enzo Hernandez, 18, registered 1480 total pin falls, highlighted by a perfect (300) game in the third game to bag the silver medal in the boys’ singles competition, participated in by 15 Asian countries, headed by powerhouse Singapore, Korea and Malaysia, among others.

“It was good to roll the first perfect game here. That helped bag for us the silver medal,” said Hernandez, a member of Team Prima bowling team. “Hopefully, we’ll win more medals in the coming events.”

Malaysian Muhd Rafiq Ismail bagged the gold medal in the boys’ singles’ event, with 1615 total pin falls, while Javier Tan of Singapore settled for the bronze with 1433.

The Philippine junior tandem of Ivan Malig and Enzo Hernandez clinched the bronze in the boys’ doubles category by producing 2690 total pin falls.

Malaysia (2814) and Singapore (2763) grabbed the spotlight after finishing with the gold and silver medals, respectively.

The weeklong campaign of the Philippine junior bowlers, under the tutelage of coaches Jojo Canare and Boy Florencio, was supported by the Philippine Sports Commission, the Philippine Bowling Congress, US Polo Association and Cebuana Lhuiller.

The Philippine junior bowling team is also composed of boys Mitch Espinosa and Merwin Tan, and girls Bea Hernandez, Angel Lazo, Bea Santarin and Jasha Jaron.

Team officials were Alex Lim, Jerry Lee, Adrian Saguinsin and Rachelle Leon.

Petron spikers seek 3rd win Games Today

(Cuneta Astrodome) 4:15 p.m. — Petron vs Shopinas 6:15 p.m. — Philips Gold vs Cignal HEAVYWEIGHT Petron (2-0) faces another major test in Shopinas (2-1) as action resumes today in the 2015 Philippine Superliga women’s volleyball tournament All-Filipino Conference at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Powered by a star-studded roster, the Blaze Spikers face the Lady Clickers at 4:15 p.m. in attempting for a third consecutive triumph that will solidify their grip on the leadership of this prestigious inter-club tournament backed by Asics, Mikasa, Senoh, Mueller Sports Medicine, Via Mare, LGR and Healthway Medical.

A memorable boxing week inside sports ronnie nathanielsz LAST week was a hectic and truly exciting one for our favorite sport – boxing.

There was the 15th Annual Flash Elorde Awards and Banquet of Champions at the Manila Hotel and on March 28, the terrific fight card at the Araneta Coliseum, which indeed is the home of boxing, beginning with its inauguration on March 16, 1960 when Flash Elorde won the world junior lightweight championship with a seventh-round knockout of American Harold Gomes, with youthful promoter (at that time) Nene Araneta claiming that somehow, they squeezed 36,000 people into the venue.

Years later, the Araneta Coliseum solidified its claim to fame by being the venue for the famous “Thrilla in Manila” between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in a fight regarded to this day as one of the greatest heavyweight championships of all time.

Indeed, whenever Mr. Araneta, a respected friend of the past 50 years, visits the US on business or vacation, people who know where he is from, always talk about the “Thrilla in Manila,” which is part of the storied history of boxing in our country and one which our collective memories will never forget.

Ali, speaking through his daughter Rasheda, said he is with Team Pacquiao “all the way” in his multi-million dollar showdown with undefeated pound-for-pound No.1 Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas on May 2. It was a clear indication of Ali’s affection for the Philippines and the Filipinos, who treated him so well during his visit to Manila.

Beyond that is his respect for Manny Pacquiao, the eight-division world champion, as a terrific fighter but more than that, for Manny’s remarkable concern for the people in need and his overall demeanor outside the ring. This is a quality that is dear to the heart of Ali who, like Pacquiao, has always fought for his principles, highlighted by the consuming desire to help people and for peace and unity.

The lives of Ali and Pacquiao, who defended his WBC flyweight title at the Araneta Coliseum and scored a smashing fourth-round TKO over Gabriel Mira of Mexico on April 24, 1999, are somehow linked by both the Araneta venue and the boxing fans in our country to whom Pacquiao and Ali are indeed heroes of our time.

Flash Elorde, the first Filipino boxer to be enshrined in the Boxing Hall of Fame, and whose birth anniversary is celebrated every year with an absolutely classy presentation by son Johnny and

his wife Liza, took the awards night to another level with the elevation of WBO and Ring Magazine light flyweight champion Donnie Nietes, who surpassed Elorde’s 47-year-old record of reigning as world champion for seven years and three months last Jan. 1, to the Elorde Hall of Fame, alongside popular five-division world champion Nonito Donaire.

They were enshrined alongside the first fighter to be honored as a Flash Elorde Hall of Fame inductee, Manny Pacquiao.

Elorde’s grandsons, WBO Asia Pacific junior lightweight champion Juan Martin “Bai” Elorde, who is a southpaw like his grandfather and even carries his nickname “Bai” and Juan Miguel “Migs” Elorde, a talented super bantamweight, both won rather handily to cap a night of worthy homage to their illustrious grandfather although, but to be brutally frank, they are a far cry from the consummate skill, savvy and overall ring generalship of the Flash.

As their grandmother, the charming matriarch Laura Elorde told us some months ago when welcoming Donnie Nietes to her home in Sucat, Paranaque, young men from a comfortable life will not make it, unlike those from the depths of poverty such as Elorde himself, who was the son of a poor farmer from Bogo, Cebu and Pacquiao.

There is something inherent in the poorness of young people that drives them to look at their poverty not as a burden, but as a challenge, invariably rising to great heights on the anvil of dedication, discipline, hard work and the innate courage of the Filipino.

To be sure, Donnie Nietes, just like Elorde, who he considered his hero and his inspiration, and Pacquiao, who is a genuine hero and a source of pride and continuing joy to a nation of 100 million, are worth extolling as two of the greatest Filipino fighters of all time.

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Fantasy Match. NESTEA Beach Volleyball ambassadress Gretchen Ho (left), consumer marketing manager

Leanne Jacinto (center) and technical director Otie Camangian are shown during the press launch of the first-ever NESTEA Beach Volleyball Fantasy Match in Boracay on Labor Day weekend. NESTEA will bring in the former player from Ateneo and other star spikers, who will show off their best moves for the Fantasy Match.

Fans are given a chance to decide on who they want to watch compete in Boracay via online voting at www. nestea.com.ph.

Cagayan, Navy overpower foes FORMER champion Cagayan Valley used its experience and overpowered newcomer Fourbees-Perpetual Help, 25-13, 25-12, 25-10, while Navy also swept a debuting Coast Guard, 26-24, 25-14, 25-18, yesterday at the start of the Shakey’s V-League Season 12-Open Conference at The Arena in San Juan City.

The Rising Suns, who have been together for three years now, needed just a little over one hour to wallop the Lady Altas, made up of players from the Las Pinasbased school, and secure the win with coach Nes Pamilar having the luxury of using all her 14 players with all but two churning out at least a hit.

“We’re just the more experienced team,” said Pamilar, who drew nine hits apiece from veteran Ma. Angeli Tabaquero and former San Beda hotshot Janine Nicole Marciano.

The Rising Suns, starring their aces, went on an attack mode early and were never really threatened in the match aired liver over GMA News TV Channel 11.

Then Pamilar went to his bench and sat out his starters – Tabaquero, Marciano, Pau Soriano, Wen-

Games tomorrow (The Arena, San Juan) 2 p.m.- Navy vs. Meralco 4 p.m.- Army vs Fourbees-Perpetual

neth Eulalio, Chie Saet and reigning MVP Aiza Maizo-Pontejos – with rookies Marivic Meneses and Elaine Sagun dishing out impressive games.

Meneses, a University of Santo Tomas mainstay and the UAAP’s Best Blocker, scored five hits while Sagun, a vital cog in Arellano University’s NCAA title reign two months ago, added four markers.

“They have the potential and they are good additions to our team,” said Pamilar of Meneses and Sagun.

Jamel Suyat produced eight hits for the Sammy Acaylar-coached Perpetual side hoping to gain ex-

perience in the league sponsored

by Shakey’s and organized by Sports Vision.

Later in the day, Navy banked on Hezzymie Acuna and Pauline May Genido, who unloaded 12 and 10 hits, respectively, as the Sailor Women joined the Rising Suns in the early lead in the season-opening of the league presented by PLDT Home Ultera.

“Our goal is to try to finish in the top four and this is a good start for us,” said Navy mentor Edgardo Rusit.

Rossan Fajardo led Lady Dolphins, who are coached by Arnold Laniog, with 18 hits but couldn’t get enough support from the rest of the squad.

Meanwhile, the Navy-Coast Guard match will aired at 1 p.m. today, also on GMA News TV Channel 11.

Top DavNor firms back Palaro DAVAO DEL NORTE —The top corporations in Davao del Norte and in the entire Davao region have thrown their support to help guarantee a successful staging of the 2015 edition of the Palarong Pambansa which kicks off in less than a month.

The cream of the crop of business in the region—Tagum Agricultural Development Company, Inc. or TADECO, Damosa Land, Davao Packaging Corporation or DPC, Davao International Container Terminal, Inc. or DICT and Pearl Farm Beach Resort—are backing the May 3 to 9 games that organizers are hiping to emerge as the “Best Palaro Ever.”

“We are not only thankful, but also very proud of their generous support for the Palaro,” Davao del Norte Governor Rodolfo del Rosario said.

“With their help, we are on track to out objective: to stage the best Palaro ever.”

Some 15,000 athletes and officials, and thousands more chaperones, tourists and supporters, are expected to flock for the Palaro, which will feature competitions in 17 regular and five demonstration sports in the primary and secondary levels.

The Palaro was launched just before the Holy Week break and that early, the organizers—led by the provincial government of Davao del Nore and the city government of Tagum—have already drew unprecedented positive reaction from the Department of Education.

“We are looking at this year’s Palaro as the benchmark/standar for succeeding games,” DepEd Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro said during the launch at the Bulwagan ng Lalawigan of the Davao del Norte provincial capitol.

Two of the so-called “firsts” in the Palaro which are being implemented in Davao del Norte are a comprehensive website (www.davnorpalaro2015. com) and an Olympic-style 2015 Palarong Pambansa Guidebook, which will serve as the “bible” for all participants in the weeklong games.

“Hosting the Palarong Pambansa is a privilege and it gives us—in Davao del Norte—the opportunity not only to showcase our capability to stage multi-sports competitions, but also how well the province and the region have become in terms of business, economy and tourism,” Del Rosario said.

Notice of Dissolution of Jobin & Jobin Incorporated Notice is hereby given of the dissolution of JOBIN & JOBIN INCORPORATED as of December 31, 2012. Any party who has interest in this regard may give notice thereof at: SAPALO VELEZ BUNDANG & BULILAN LAW OFFICES 11TH FLOOR, SECURITY BANK CENTRE 6776 AYALA AVENUE, MAKATI CITY ( T N S - M A R 2 3, 3 0 /A PR 6, 2 015)

We, the family of the late Engr. Fernando M. De Castro Jr. who peacefully passed away in the grace of our Lord last January 20, 2015 at the age of 82 wish to express our heartfelt gratitude and sincerest appreciation to all who offered masses and prayers, sent flowers and messages of sympathy and who in countless ways, condoled with and comforted us in our hour of bereavement. ( T N S - M A R 2 3 , 3 0 /A PR 6 , 2 015)

Provincial Government of Bataan P U B L I C - P R I VAT E PA R T N E R S H I P S E L E C T I O N C O M M I T T E E Invitation to Submit Comparative Proposals Public notice is hereby given that the Public-Private Partnership Selection Committee of the Provincial Government of Bataan (PPPSC) and MTD Philippines, Inc., the Original Proponent (OP) for the development of the Bataan Government Center and Central Business Hub under a joint venture arrangement, for an estimated total Project Cost of Philippine Pesos: Two Billion Four Hundred Million (PhP 2.4 Billion), have completed successful negotiations on March 30, 2015 under Stage 2 of the Competitive Challenge process pursuant to the Provincial PPP Ordinance 02, S. of 2013. Under the negotiated terms of the joint venture agreement, the Private Sector Proponent (PSP) shall invest, fund and finance the minimum amount of PhP 2.4 Billion, through the development, construction, operation and maintenance of the Bataan Government Center and Central Business Hub and lease the same to the Provincial Government of Bataan, government agencies and private companies.

Final notice is hereby given to eligible private sector proponents (PSPs) to submit their comparative proposals. Interested PSPs must submit their notarized Expressions of Interest (EOls) to submit comparative proposals on or before 5:00 in the afternoon of Friday, April 16, 2015.

EOls must and can only be submitted by the PSP that will apply for eligibility and submit comparative proposals. The EOI must also contain a statement that the PSP has undertaken and completed a similar development project under a similar arrangement.

Further, the EOI must contain an undertaking by the PSP that it will adhere to the Ordinance, policies, pronouncements of and qualification criteria set by the PPP-SC, and that it will not seek and obtain a writ of injunction or prohibition or restraining order against the PPP-SC, the Province and its officials to prevent or restrain the Competitive Challenge process, the award of the Project and carrying out the Project, and that it will not institute any criminal, civil and/or administrative cases against the officials of the PPP-SC and the Province.

PSPs that will participate must acknowledge the right of the original proponent to match the best qualified proposal submitted in this Competitive Challenge, upon which the PPP Project shall still be awarded to the original proponent under the terms and conditions of the said best qualified proposal.

If no notarized EOI from a proper entity is received within the aboveprescribed period, the Project will be awarded to the OP and Stage 3 of the Competitive Challenge process is deemed terminated.

PSPs which have filed their EOls may obtain the forms for pre-qualification and eligibility, and tender documents upon payment of a non-refundable fee of Philippine Pesos: Seventy Five Thousand (PhP 75,000.00), and must submit their comparative proposals from April 20 to April 24, 2015, during office hours. If no PSP procures the tender documents and/or submits compliant comparative proposals, the Project will be awarded to the OP and Stage 3 of the Competitive Challenge process is deemed terminated.

The PPP-SC reserves the right to reject any and all application for qualification and eligibility found not in conformity with the aforesaid Ordinance, relevant issuances, and this Notice.

Prepared by:

Approved by:

(SGD.) ATTY. AURELIO C. ANGELES, JR. PPP-SC Secretary

(SGD.) ENGR. ENRICO T. YUZON PPP-SC Chairman

(TS-APR. 6, 2015)

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Filipino bets score 1-2-3 Cebuana netfest finish in 400m, long jump unwraps

By Peter Atencio

MEMBERS of the national pool, led by 400-meter specialist Edgardo Alejan and long-jumper Julian Reem Fuentes, towed their teammates to 1-2-3 finishes in their respective events in Day 1 of the 77th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships at the Singapore Sports Hub. The athletes came up with impressive showings to carry Team Philippines to fourth spot in the overall medal race after Filipino tracksters picked up a total of two golds, four silvers and four bronze medals.

On the other hand, come-backing Marestella Torres showed why she deserves another chance with Team Philippines when she landed a sil-

ver medal in the women’s long jump behind reigning Southeast Asian Games champion Maria Natalia Londa of Indonesia.

This put Alejan, Fuentes, Torres and their teammates in contention for medals in the coming 2015 Southeast Asian Games.

According to the tournament’s official website, the 29-year-old Alejan

reached the finish line in 47.18 seconds, a time which was better than teammate Archand Christian Bagsit’s gold medal clocking of 47.22 seconds in the 2013 Southeast Asian Games.

He also surpassed his silver-medal finish time of 47.28 in the 2015 National Open and his silver medal time of 47.45 seconds in the 2013 SEA Games.

Newcomer Joan Caido settled for the silver (47.82) ahead of Bagsit, who was third in 47.83.

Fuentes won the men’s long jump in 7.53 meters on his fourth attempt.

Teammates Janry Ubas and Benigno Marayag cleared 7.28 and 7.21 meters as Team Philippines ruled the event.

The 21-year-old Fuentes, who is being eyed to take the place of injured Henry Dagmil, tied the 2013 SEAG

Manny Pacquiao is shown with Fr. Vic Calvo, O.P. and the Letran Knights. FR. VIC CALVO

bronze medal finish of Pham Van Lam of Vietnam with his effort.

The College of St. Benilde student, however, was 2 centimeters short of his 7.55 meter leap in the 2015 National Open.

In women’s long jump, Londa broke the course record when she cleared 6.4 meters on her fifth attempt. This was 3 centimeters better than her SEA Games gold medal mark.

Torres cleared 6.42 meters on her fourth try for the silver, with teammate Kat Kay Santos taking the bronze in 6.4 meters.

Torres’ leap was below her effort of 6.47 meters in the 2015 National Open and 16 centimeters better than the 6.24-meter showing of Thitima Muangjan of Thailand in the SEA Games two years ago.

POLOMOK, South Cotabato will be the venue for legs four and five of the 2015 Cebuana Lhuillier Age-Group Tennis Championship series today, with close to 120 entries from different provinces in Mindanao expected to participate.

Young tennis players from the Davao region, North and South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, General Santos and Davao City have confirmed their participation in the event hosted by the Polotana Tennis Club and the Canary Housing Tennis Club.

Past champion Janus AlNajeeb Ringia, who ruled the 14-under and 16-under age groups in previous legs of the series, is expected to participate.

Earlier hosts this year were Valencia City, Cagayan de Oro and Kidapawan.

Organizers hope to discover new talent for the national team, including the Philippine Davis Cup squad, which is also supported by Cebuana Lhuillier.

“We are encouraged by the big turnout of participants in each leg. It only shows that our efforts are not going to waste as tennis has continuously grown in popularity.

The quality of tennis has also significantly improved at the age-group level. We will continue our grassroots program to produce future world-class players,” said Cebuana Lhuillier President/CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier, also chairman of the Philippine Tennis Association and many-time Davis Cup team manager.

The sixth leg of the series is set in Molave, Zamboanga del Sur on April 11 to 16.

Pacquiao to support Knights?

FILIPINO ring icon Manny Pacquiao is working on a partnership with the Letran Knights’ Basketball Team.

The Knights have been a force in National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball, boasting of 16 championships.

In the coming season, the team will be shooting for a 17th crown with new coach, Aldin Ayo, a former Knight, who was part of the 1998-2000 championship team.

Headed by then rookie coach Louie Alas, Letran went 2-0 in that NCAA Season 74 finals over San Sebastian College, ending the Stags’ five-year reign in the league.

Ayo is also part of the coaching staff of Pacquiao’s Philippine Basketball Association team, Kia Carnival.

After former Letran Coach Caloy Garcia’s two-year contract ended, rumors swirled around basketball circles that Pacquiao will be supporting Letran in the future, which the school confirmed, adding that there are ongoing talks.

“Pacquiao is one of the biggest benefactors in sports. He is also known for being very supportive and helpful in developing young athletes to be great players in the future,” said Fr. Vic Calvo, O.P., Letran Athletics Moderator.

Taconing mauls ex-world champ

By Ronnie Nathanielsz WORLD Boxing Council’s No. 3-ranked Jonathan “Lightning” Taconing mauled former world light flyweight champion Ramon Garcia Hirales before a hometown crowd in Mexico to win by a rousing 10th-round TKO, in which the Filipino southpaw risked a mandatory title eliminator for the crown held by Pedro Guevara.

Guevara is scheduled to defend his title against WBC Asian Boxing Council champion Richard Claveras in Sinaloa, Mexico on April 11 despite the fact that the latter is only ranked No. 26 by the WBC.

Liza Elorde, wife of Taconing’s manager Johnny Elorde, informed the Standard/boxingmirror.com: “It was stopped in the 10th round because Garcia Hirales was about to fall. Great fight.”

Referee Gelasio Perez Huerta stopped the bout at 2:53 of the round.

Elorde said Taconing dominated the 10-round bout, winning eight or nine rounds as Hirales “kept running and clinching.”

She is hoping the WBC will now sanction a title fight against Guevara, claiming that they (Guevarra’s camp) were avoiding Taconing, who is ranked No. 3 and is likely to be given mandatory challenger status after the dominating performance.

Golf champ. Andrew Chua shows his winning form as the runaway Boys’ Class E (7-8 years) champion during the recent International Container Terminal Services Inc.Junior Golf Federation of the Philippines Baguio Junior Open at the Baguio Country Club course in Baguio City. Chua beat Mico Granada and Sevi Arenas for the crown.

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SPORTS Pacquiao puts on his best sparring show yet Ronnie Nathanielsz

Manny Pacquiao rests during one of his breaks in training.

Painters’ treys bury Bolts

By Jeric Lopez AFTER a shaky first half, Rain or Shine regained its rhythm and put on an impeccable shooting display from downtown to wallop Meralco, 92-82, and grab a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-three semifinal showdown in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Rain or Shine is we still need to finish the job now a win away from and get another win. I hope Game Monday sweeping Meralco and we can get that right away in (Araneta Coliseum) one win away from enthe next game to make the 7 p.m. - Purefoods vs TNT tering the finals for the finals. We hope to close it on third time in the last Tuesday,’’ said Rain or Shine five conferences. coach Yeng Guiao. ‘’It was a The Elasto Painters can do that and close hard game and that’s what we expected. It out the series tomorrow, when the teams just so happened we were making our outplay again in an all-important Game 3 at side shots.’’ the same venue.

Overall, Rain or Shine shot an impec‘’It’s good that we’re now ahead, 2-0, but cable 50 percent clip from beyond the arc as

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it connected on a total of 19 treys out of 38 attempts.

Best Player of the Conference candidate Paul Lee led the Elasto Painters, scoring a team-high 23 points, including an outstanding 5-of-7 shooting from downtown.

He also had four rebounds and three assists, while getting help from rookie Jericho Cruz and import Wayne Chism, who added 15 and 11 points, respectively.

The Elasto Painters banked on a rousing shooting display in the third quarter to turn the tide, pull away and break the game wide open.

Rain or Shine converted eight triples in the third to outscore Meralco, 32-14, and post a commanding 76-61 lead heading to the final 12 minutes of play.

Lee, Cruz, and Jonathan Uyloan, who came off the bench to score all of his nine points in that decisive canto, were responsible for six of those eight treys in that thirdquarter storm. ‘’Those three pointers were huge for us in this game,’’ said Guiao.

LEFTY SEES A ‘SHARP’ WOODS AT MASTERS TURN TO A12

EIGHT-DIVISION world champion Manny Pacquiao put on his finest performance in sparring so far as he went 10 rounds at the Wild Card Gym of seven-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach on Saturday (Sunday in Manila).

Roach’s assistant trainer Marvin Somodio told the Standard/boxingmirror.com: “It was Manny’s best performance so far. He sparred five rounds with Kenneth Simms Jr. and five rounds with Dashon ‘Fly Boy’ Johnson.”

Fly Boy, the former UFC lightweight contender, who claimed he started boxing because of undefeated pound-for-pound No.1 Floyd Mayweather Jr., but said he is totally committed to helping Pacquiao prepare for the multi-million dollar showdown against the American at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 2.

“Honestly, it’s a dream come true.

Watching Manny over the years, and seeing him progress, and him actually having me in camp for arguably the biggest fight in history, it’s honestly a blessing. I couldn’t be more happy just to be here,” ES News quoted Johnson.

Johnson conceded: “It’s a little difficult, but I’m doing the best that I can. I’m just here to do what I can do for Manny and here to make history. He’s coming from different angles. It’s hard to predict. You can’t find sparring partners like that to match Manny. It’s gonna be a tough fight for Floyd.”

In a relentless week of training, Pacquiao sparred nine rounds on Tuesday and 10 rounds on Thursday before he capped a fine week in the ring with a terrific windup over 10 rounds on Saturday.

Pacquiao sparred nine rounds on Tuesday which was one more than planned despite a sore leg, with Roach convincing him to ignore the discomfort and work through it. He went four rounds with Haiti-born Dierry Jean, who fights out of Montreal, Canada and followed it up with five rounds against 21-year-old, undefeated Simms Jr. “I like what we are seeing. We are getting there,” said Roach.

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RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESS

CAAP’s collection agent. The Civil Avia-

tion Authority of the Philippines will soon be using the collection facility of United Cconut Planters Bank after the signing of an agreement between the aviation authority and the bank at the CAAP Building in MIA Road, Pasay City. UCPB under the agreement will serve the collection requirements of CAAP, including overflight, air navigation and other fees from the agency’s key accounts and customers. CAAP director William Hotchkiss (left) shakes hands with and UCPB president Jeronimo Kilayko after signing the collection agreement.

PSe comPoSite index Closing April 1, 2015

Ayala interested in managing Naia

By Darwin G. Amojelar

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. is interested in joining the bidding for the redevelopment, operation and maintenance of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, a company executive said over the weekend.

The Transportation Department plans to turn over

the operation and maintenance of the country’s main gateway to

the private sector under a publicprivate partnership scheme.

It also aims to tap the private sector to redevelop the airport’s facilities. The plan is now being studied by the National Economic and Development Authority.

“Well in NAIA, we are interested in that, if that happens.

But, for now it is still up in the air,” AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. president and chief

Power outage strikes Mindanao

By Alena Mae S. Flores MINDANAO suffered a sevenhour brownout Sunday for still undetermined causes, National Grid Corporation of the Philippines said.

“NGCP restored at 7:50 a.m. power transmission services to affected power customers in Mindanao. Loss of power earlier occurred in the Mindanao grid at 1:01 a.m.,” National Grid said in a statement.

National Grid operates the country’s transmission highway. It delivers power

B3

from generating companies to the electric cooperatives and distribution utilities nationwide.

The company said all substations were operating normally, adding that it was in close communication with local electric cooperatives and distribution utilities.

“NGCP is still investigating the cause and extend of the incident,” it said.

Mindanao also suffered a systemwide blackout on February 27 last year.

The Mindanao system-wide

Filinvest spending P24b

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

B4

blackout occurred at dawn of February 27, 2014 when a series of power plant trip-offs or automatic shutdown triggered a system-wide blackout across the entire Mindanao grid.

Reports last year indicated that the tripping of the Mindanao power plants started from the breaker of the Agus 1 switchyard.

The breaker or the switchyard of the power plants is the facility that links the power plant to the transmission network.

As a consequence, other plants also tripped which led to the power grid’s system collapse.

P1-b PLDT data center up

executive John Eric Francia said.

AC Infrastructure is the newly formed unit of Ayala Corp. that engages in infrastructure projects under the PPP scheme.

The Transportation Department said it expected Neda’s Investment Coordination Committee to approve not later than the second quarter this year the privatization of NAIA’s operations and maintenance as well as its redevelopment.

The NAIA redevelopment includes the augmentation of the air- and land-side facilities to accommodate the expected rise in passenger traffic.

A recent study done by the Japan International Cooperation Agency showed NAIA would exceed its designed capacity this year, with its four terminals handling 37.78 million passengers, above the 30-million capacity.

By 2040, passenger traffic would reach 101.49 million, according to the Jica study.

Meanwhile, Francia said AC Infrastructure was not interested in regional airports the government was currently bidding out.

B6

Batangas coal plant opens

7,993.09 52.60

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing APRIL 1, 2015 45

P44.580

44

CLOSE

43 42 41

HIGH P44.580 LOW P44.680 AVERAGE P44.623 VOLUME 734.800M

P508.00-P728.00 LPG/11-kg tank P38.27-P43.92 Unleaded Gasoline P26.20-P32.50 Diesel

oPriceS il P today

P31.55-P42.22 Kerosene P23.70-P24.40 Auto LPG Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Wednesday, April 1, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

44.7250

Japan

Yen

0.008332

0.3726

UK

Pound

1.482800

66.3182

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128982

5.7687

Switzerland

Franc

1.028172

45.9850

Canada

Dollar

0.789266

35.2999

Singapore

Dollar

0.729022

32.6055

Australia

Dollar

0.763009

34.1256

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652450

118.6308

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266603

11.9238

Brunei

Dollar

0.726375

32.4871

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000077

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.030750

1.3753

UAE

Dirham

0.272272

12.1774

Euro

Euro

1.074500

48.0570

Korea

Won

0.000903

0.0404

China

Yuan

0.161301

7.2142

India

Rupee

0.016034

0.7171

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.270124

12.0813

New Zealand

Dollar

0.749176

33.5069

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032010

1.4316 Source: PDS Bridge

MONDAY: APRIL 6, 2015

B2

BUSINESS business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

MST BuSineSS Weekly STockS RevieW STOCKS

MARCH 30-APRIL 1,2015 Close Volume Value

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

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl Reinsurance Corp.

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

7.2 71 123.00 102.40 46.5 2.33 2.25 10 16.6 24.7 8.88 0.8 1.69 728.00 0.440 99 1.11 18.50 31.00 77.05 95.50 317 45.3 173 1386.00 69.15 3.1

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Bogo Medellin C. Azuc De Tarlac Century Food Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Euro-Med Lab. Federal Res. Inv. Group First Gen Corp.

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

Lafarge Rep Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp.

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas Holdings San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

44.75 1.69 1.1 2.06 12.08 48.8 86.05 20 31 63.3 1.78 11.84 20.350 11.50 8.29 9.93 2.45 21 30.95 95.25 14.98 0.4700 14.50 6.57 0.620 222.40 9.23 35.00 2.53 27.1 26.85 8.130 264.00 4.16 4.18 9.90 5.25 11.60 4.13 2.60 3.75 5.15 6.5 208.6 1.68 0.175 1.31 2.22 226 4.6 0.69 21.00 1.48

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

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

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Minerales Industrias Corp.

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

0.470 57.50 27.00 1.40 7.00 1.92 2.87 2.82 799 8.79 15.44 3.15 4.50 0.320 1380 6.30 72.50 8.38 0.78 16.32 0.63 4.85 5.2 3 0.0400 0.750 2.48 67.00 2.95 905.00 1.21 0.93 263.20 103.00 0.4150 0.2430 0.330

Close

FINANCIAL 3,076,919.00 3,743,082.00 1,108,381,066.00 459,519,198.00 7,947,145.00 272,410.00 544,040.00 2,000.00 6,473,462.00 14,308,420.00 1,010,192 88,000 11,830.00 7,280.00 324,750.00 1,516,374,018.00 2,887,520.00 9,947,546.00 31,000.00 154,215,150.00 149,480.00 998,638.00 69,915,725.00 473,779,013.00 706,310.00 3,907,394.00 238,210.00 INDUSTRIAL 6,093,800 271,177,265.00 52,000 90,320.00 952,000 1,026,410.00 42,021,000 89,729,890.00 395,400 4,782,196.00 1,000 48,800.00 4,860 467,969.00 2,237,300 44,693,877.00 6,622,300 199,252,500.00 578,700 36,773,544.00 346,000 616,060.00 284,400 3,306,214.00 4,403,500 89,136,360.00 9,277,400 108,367,268.00 100,445,000 859,723,390.00 3,125,600 31,476,367.00 3,462,000 8,651,110.00 1,494,500 32,140,279.00 13,548,100 413,677,850.00 1,383,490 133,835,004.00 18,300 274,170.00 290,000 134,000.00 20,100 291,568.00 2,031,500 13,363,156.00 566,000 353,920.00 3,973,210 876,803,566.00 2,723,700 25,612,173.00 3,900 143,160.00 301,000 777,310.00 4,504,900 122,064,035.00 4,011,600 108,787,025.00 2,326,400 18,372,453.00 1,370,840 368,063,577.00 34,000 142,080.00 21,106,000 86,532,820.00 3,328,200 32,807,956.00 5,100 25,098.00 348,200 4,004,868.00 3,757,000 15,576,200.00 7,098,000 6,750,581.00 24,979,000 92,749,930.00 1,897,800 9,961,968.00 78,600 516,231.00 53,740 11,147,792.00 472,000 789,810.00 32,660,000 5,671,560.00 614,000 892,790.00 5,890,000 12,970,620.00 7,903,380 1,773,940,082.00 103,000 464,250.00 457,000 315,960.00 400 8,400.00 271,000 399,990.00 HOLDING FIRMS 1,591,000 863,300.00 7,293,290 421,474,509.00 28,993,400 774,800,605.00 605,000 857,000.00 31,900 223,857.00 300,000 530,010.00 933,000 2,639,810.00 36,000 101,580.00 2,481,560 1,974,708,210.00 11,332,800 101,459,575.00 24,107,800 371,965,000.00 22,000 69,500.00 65,000 292,570.00 7,920,000 2,513,200.00 422,060 567,783,255.00 64,100 402,010.00 10,158,260 733,180,903.00 4,719,590 48,907,205.00 4,021,000 3,108,110.00 7,508,400 122,789,328.00 2,654,000 1,679,710.00 70,083,000 341,302,250.00 309,600 1,598,037.00 5,000 15,000.00 3,600,000 145,000.00 2,776,300 2,117,600.00 5,000 12,400.00 1,044,790 70,573,228.00 20,000 58,850.00 732,640 662,964,055.00 57,000 68,880.00 402,000 374,610.00 30 7,896.00 14,040 1,464,828.00 66,550,000 24,502,250.00 3,960,000 948,930.00 86,000 155,600.00 PROPERTY 2,367,155 53,420 8,989,820 4,521,550 170,800 118,000 249,000 200 392,000 579,400 114,400 110,000 7,000 10 760,000 15,430,370 2,624,000 540,000 1,000 1,989,450 1,540 3,130 1,539,200 2,760,090 505 56,500 77,000

MARCH 23-27,2015 Volume Value

7.2 70.45 121.50 101.30 46.6 2.32 2.32

2,074,500 103,870 14,614,350 7,236,200 229,200 256,740 1,572,000

14,268,212.00 7,264,747.00 1,754,952,360.00 731,541,589.00 7,212,180.00 397,894.00 3,503,850.00

16.74 24.6 9.00

338,100 4,536,100 287,500

5,586,788.00 111,203,915.00 2,595,882

1.79 746.00 0.430 97.3 1.05 18.34 31.00 77.90 95.00 330 45.7 170 1440.00 69.10 3.03

6,000 5,890 4,960,000 26,550,690 172,500 104,300 85,400 1,501,080 153,985 43,380 1,161,800 2,674,860 2,435 69,000 72,000

10,610.00 4,393,310.00 2,210,950.00 2,558,692,853.00 993,080.00 2,269,468.00 2,647,550.00 117,335,512.00 755,785.00 14,532,190.00 53,098,280.00 455,575,760.00 3,434,830.00 4,765,463.00 177,890.00

44.5 1.79 1.1 2.27 12.68 50 90.00 20.55 29.2 63.7 1.78 11.7 20.300 11.36 8.50 10.30 1.32 23.5 30.2 99.6 14.98 0.4600 14.60 6.67 0.620 217.40 9.6 34.10 3.01 26.9 27.95 7.800 269.00 4.15 4.12 9.84 5 11.48 3.97 2.93 2.94 5.40 6.25 203.4 1.67 0.172 1.42 2.23 212.2 4.72 0.7 20.85 1.50

12,735,400 76,900 1,631,000 57,048,000 3,301,400 6,080 1,160 3,162,200 3,563,700 205,680 656,400 1,296,300 23,050,600 18,932,900 159,333,500 6,587,100 87,000 3,734,000 11,604,400 2,799,620 101,400 630,000 42,300 2,710,700 553,400 3,920,560 6,307,500 9,200 4,589,000 8,818,600 3,110,200 819,500 923,330 53,000 14,550,000 9,267,400 17,000 423,900 2,282,000 9,300,000 52,871,800 9,351,800 38,600 38,870 1,138,600 27,160,000 359,000 4,270,500 9,891,210 439,000 5,436,000 2,200 1,429,000

576,328,100.00 183,150.00 1,769,930.00 128,040,360.00 36,211,890.00 316,186.00 104,350.00 77,948,807.00 92,620,360.00 12,869,370.00 1,265,580.00 15,137,322.00 466,037,605.00 216,783,120.00 1,328,225,323.00 75,909,413.00 118,230.00 91,185,145.00 341,362,020.00 282,511,064.00 1,430,498.00 290,600.00 617,348.00 18,217,679.00 396,560.00 845,720,044.00 60,915,751.00 324,445.00 14,077,100.00 235,108,560.00 88,350,200.00 6,393,585.00 249,309,264.00 215,170.00 60,195,420.00 92,321,557.00 79,753.00 4,865,832.00 9,037,080.00 27,156,230.00 196,852,480.00 54,862,287.00 243,294.00 7,940,324.00 2,054,510.00 8,046,900.00 505,290.00 10,507,270.00 1,799,207,564.00 1,988,230.00 3,815,800.00 46,035.00 2,142,670.00

0.470 57.05 26.95 1.43 7.07 1.74 2.74 2.71 780 8.98 15.58 3.15 4.54 0.335 1321 6.39 71.30 8.75 0.78 16.54 0.64 4.89 5.2

850,000 4,704,980 52,498,500 588,000 183,600 17,000 6,647,000 292,000 2,046,410 26,693,900 33,340,000 30,000 195,000 15,510,000 1,035,920 405,700 14,335,850 17,483,600 12,434,000 29,466,000 1,844,000 165,670,000 487,600

394,570.00 266,231,219.00 1,415,018,180.00 820,580.00 1,292,307.00 28,930.00 19,045,080.00 831,880.00 1,582,619,925.00 241,175,708.00 514,346,194.00 94,500.00 888,390.00 5,077,900.00 1,360,389,250.00 2,552,297.00 1,014,400,368.00 153,482,747.00 9,697,930.00 481,856,694.00 1,373,850.00 815,516,680.00 2,485,810.00

0.0400 0.710 2.45 67.00 2.93 888.50 1.25 0.95

7,300,000 585,000 40,028,800 3,450,340 164,000 2,650,220 338,000 497,000

297,200.00 419,490.00 45,720.00 234,903,408.00 467,430.00 2,368,616,525.00 409,470.00 480,290.00

100.00 0.4350 0.2400 0.315

597,248 55,150,000 4,280,000 1,688,000

5,746,494.00 25,121,350.00 1,037,900.00 735,650.00

STOCKS

MARCH 30-APRIL 1,2015 Close Volume Value

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

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ Cebu Holdings Cebu Prop. `A’ Cebu Prop. `B’ Centennial City City & Land Dev. Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

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

Megaworld Prop.

MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’ Primex Corp.

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

8.410 0.94 1.320 0.245 40.00 4.22 5.1 6.2 6.2 0.95 1.22 1.01 0.150 0.455 0.890 0.207 1.45 1.82 1.48 5.52 5.5 0.123 0.3550 0.4900 7.88 30.10 1.76 3.28 20.10 0.81 7.41 1.090 8.420

2GO Group ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Asian Terminals Inc. Berjaya Phils. Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp.

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Centro Esc. Univ.

Discovery World DFNN Inc. FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Lorenzo Shipping Macroasia Corp.

Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown MG Holdings 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 Retail SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

7 61.5 1.12 0.690 14 27 10.68 0.1140 3.77 85.5 10.02 1.84 6.95 980 2062 6.71 1.54 110 6.51 0.014 0.242 1.2200 3 8.50 2.10 1.41 2.20 0.690 1.85 9.44 0.360 0.495 18.38 4.50 3.04 9.2 110.00 13.56 2840.00 0.590 1.560 41.40 84.50 10.20 0.70 1.87 6.46 0.350 1.420

Abra Mining Apex `A’ Atlas Cons. `A’ Atok-Big Wedge `A’ Basic Energy Corp.

Benguet Corp `A’ Benguet Corp `B’ Century Peak Metals Hldgs Coal Asia Dizon Ferronickel Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. Lepanto `A’ Lepanto `B’ Manila Mining `A’ Manila Mining `B’ Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. Nickelasia Nihao Mineral Resources Omico Oriental Peninsula Res. Oriental Pet. `A’ Oriental Pet. `B’ Petroenergy Res. Corp.

Philex `A’ PhilexPetroleum Philodrill Corp. `A’ Semirara Corp.

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0055 2.80 8.71 10.80 0.255 7.3600 6.9800 1.07 0.92 8.10 1.9 0.375 0.228 0.240 0.0150 0.0150 4.9 23.5 3.8 0.7300 2.150 0.0130 0.0140 5.53 7.43 2.43 0.016 163.90 4.1 0.0110

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure & Resort Pref.

MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred A SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C

62.6 510 523 115.2 506.5 6.4 1.08 108.9 1090 1100 1046 76.05 83 84.5

8,180,900 3,019,000 667,000 7,160,000 48,305,000 18,338,000 911,500 7,300 1,000 13,215,000 26,000 173,000 45,050,000 2,810,000 324,000 130,000 6,890,000 23,632,000 975,000 40,312,100 36,775,300 9,080,000 1,640,000 1,135,700 7,329,300 15,777,400 500,000 143,000 38,296,900 9,184,000 40,784,800 266,000 46,568,300

71,611,773.00 2,792,280.00 870,090.00 1,925,400.00 1,874,747,040.00 77,467,710.00 4,688,077.00 45,330.00 6,200.00 12,446,250.00 31,550.00 174,730.00 6,731,080.00 1,264,300.00 288,360.00 26,080.00 10,013,800.00 42,619,990.00 1,404,110.00 221,539,637.00 204,320,133.00 1,086,500.00 553,500.00 681,590.00 58,049,816.00 485,944,870.00 878,710.00 456,250.00 768,983,598.00 7,583,520.00 301,822,344.00 282,420.00 381,855,010.00 SERVICES 2,840,700 19,571,004.00 92,500 5,733,533.00 164,000 186,260.00 1,648,000 1,126,820.00 27,200 380,860.00 2,300 57,225 22,056,500 231,589,666.00 113,350,000 12,970,830.00 1,084,000 4,164,040.00 2,014,060 172,169,700.00 100 1,002.00 937,000 1,591,040 273,000 1,900,135.00 505 504,100.00 278,835 573,187,830.00 615,400 4,090,414.00 308,000 473,070.00 4,463,030 490,551,533.00 15,100 98,301 27,800,000 389,500.00 69,830,000 16,367,990.00 1,223,000 1,511,640.00 1,349,000 3,936,280.00 2,935,500 25,480,096.00 442,000 872,230.00 30,000 42,000.00 66,000 145,850.00 240,000 164,760.00 194,000 380,940.00 10,097,600 93,322,872.00 1,560,000 561,700.00 805,000 385,740.00 12,200 222,546.00 85,000 382,230 376,000 1,153,040.00 50,088,000 451,870,125.00 1,730 190,141.00 4,689,800 63,456,976.00 596,815 1,706,906,290.00 7,635,000 4,490,340.00 123,730,000 183,462,420.00 6,353,900 263,476,710.00 3,463,630 293,855,814.00 4,619,700 47,488,332.00 10,541,000 7,417,680.00 44,000 87,780.00 7,039,800 47,058,829.00 650,000 230,100.00 1,387,000 1,959,560.00 MINING & OIL 1,391,000,000 7,927,700.00 2,947,000 8,311,060.00 1,397,900 12,294,038.00 1,700 18,360.00 1,970,000 503,850.00 1,022,300 6,938,059.00 73,200 510,958.00 8,863,000 9,631,660.00 3,849,000 3,433,750.00 653,300 5,259,064.00 207,964,000 383,693,970.00 32,600,000 12,663,100.00 16,240,000 3,701,810.00 4,090,000 964,580.00 1,014,200,000 14,201,900.00 66,000,000 981,600.00 4,220,700 21,109,802.00 47,058,400 1,191,242,445.00 25,872,000 97,472,450.00 2,695,000 1,979,880.00 1,815,000 3,844,290.00 27,600,000 334,400.00 6,200,000 86,800.00 116,200 643,405.00 3,725,700 27,610,789.00 2,225,000 5,523,820.00 71,200,000 1,083,100.00 2,166,830 356,772,070.00 1,201,000 4,922,950.00 1,527,200,000 15,443,500.00 PREFERRED 539,520 33,382,704.00 23,490 11,919,525.00 34,850 18,245,030 24,960 2,870,538.00 100 50,650.00 109,400 699,740.00 6,000 6,480 17,790 1,944,886.00 2,055 2,229,450.00 5,420 10,020,000.00 16,415 17,154,930.00 463,280 35,224,803.00 18,990 1,576,170.00 535,350 44,986,027.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 495,000 1,894,940.00 2,000 8,900.00 SME 8,682,400 76,194,187.00 69,400 5,132,472.00 6,163,700 61,834,345.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 26,170 3,382,972.00

Close

MARCH 23-27,2015 Volume Value

8.880 0.95 1.370 0.250 37.60 4.27 5.29 5.8

17,480,900 859,000 164,000 1,060,000 51,967,800 9,916,000 13,066,900 224,800

158,472,644.00 809,280.00 217,430.00 260,400.00 1,935,409,780.00 42,350,680.00 68,721,770.00 1,297,880.00

0.95 1.21 1.02 0.154 0.455 0.890 0.196 1.50 1.80 1.49 5.52 5.53 0.124 0.3400 0.5100 8.01 31.30 1.77 3.22 20.15 0.83 7.3 1.100 7.700

9,772,000 9,000 57,000 86,930,000 3,080,000 2,338,001 5,030,000 4,178,000 133,711,000 3,568,000 140,250,500 30,696,600 9,340,000 1,000,000 5,817,000 4,837,400 22,446,200 745,000 350,000 76,430,200 5,468,700 46,993,900 3,336,000 74,808,800

10,650,720.00 10,890.00 57,420.00 13,302,530.00 1,427,650.00 2,174,700.00 995,190.00 6,246,000.00 240,395,820.00 5,421,670.00 761,759,358.00 169,030,350.00 1,149,610.00 340,500.00 3,163,900.00 130,239,403.00 687,329,320.00 1,323,670.00 1,108,100.00 1,527,726,859.00 7,369,860.00 343,756,915.00 3,636,360.00 564,544,475.00

6.6 63 1.2 0.700 14.3

4,511,400 71,220 4,442,000 1,609,000 592,400

31,480,746.00 4,477,324.00 5,293,590.00 1,113,210.00 8,296,426.00

10.40 0.1200 3.96 84.95 10.6 1.67 7.00 1000 2002 6.49 1.54 109.5 6.51 0.014 0.242 1.2700 2.94 8.78 1.98 1.35 2.29 0.680 1.97 9.06 0.370 0.530 18.06 4.60 3.17 9.01 110.00 13.46 2830.00 0.580 1.520 41.00 84.55 10.26 0.72 2 6.97 0.355 1.390

29,011,900 682,560,000 4,765,000 4,494,000 2,200 268,000 1,669,400 2,940 416,735 785,300 1,031,000 4,553,260 18,300 523,700,000 135,530,000 2,453,200 2,039,000 3,628,000 219,000 198,000 111,000 672,000 94,000 46,983,600 6,040,000 2,159,000 27,100 137,000 587,000 100 47,470 1,666,500 873,860 6,785,000 73,792,000 15,146,100 11,908,570 21,305,600 10,189,000 18,000 8,684,000 1,190,000 189,000

302,596,938.00 80,538,500.00 18,861,170.00 386,440,705.00 23,290.00 474,820 12,057,692.00 2,683,300.00 831,961,420.00 5,141,291.00 1,601,380.00 505,059,543.00 119,022 7,331,900.00 35,599,170.00 2,037,207.00 3,490,923.00 31,060,587.00 439,180.00 272,250.00 251,750.00 454,850.00 181,520.00 422,464,429.00 2,239,250.00 1,062,600.00 488,932.00 625,520 2,003,600.00 901.00 5,063,249.00 22,386,656.00 2,471,147,970.00 3,987,480.00 110,493,830.00 611,921,555.00 1,014,709,575.00 223,930,546.00 7,334,990.00 36,000.00 60,987,470.00 418,450.00 264,280.00

0.0056 2.84 9.00 10.80 0.260 6.9700 7.0000 1.13 0.91 8.08 2.01 0.450 0.230 0.236 0.0140 0.0150 4.98 28.15 3.96 0.7300 2.070 0.0130 0.0140 5.85 7.57 2.59 0.016 161.50 4.1 0.0120

2,808,000,000 154,500 4,847,100 3,400 4,990,000 3,000 16,500 4,068,000 13,959,000 2,177,900 204,131,000 131,470,000 71,430,000 19,781,000 153,800,000 323,400,000 7,163,900 26,616,800 33,595,000 2,484,000 4,556,000 241,800,000 93,200,000 32,300 4,368,300 3,359,000 141,600,000 3,334,490 202,000 109,400,000

16,160,400.00 466,550.00 43,725,382.00 36,720.00 1,300,150.00 20,910.00 115,500.00 4,583,710.00 13,115,300.00 18,491,374.00 454,885,360.00 57,288,500.00 16,622,920.00 4,777,350.00 2,228,000.00 4,851,000.00 35,564,002.00 749,184,555.00 134,349,860.00 1,877,710.00 9,533,860.00 3,092,800.00 1,345,700.00 187,705.00 33,243,196.00 8,626,900.00 2,142,300.00 532,336,888.00 820,420.00 1,218,200.00

63 507 522 115 506 6.22 1.08 111 1080 1100 1045 76.1 84 84.4

735,440 24,110 61,820 103,510 28,130 174,800 5,049,000 152,270 260 20,070 55,050 1,875,340 57,280 502,000

47,036,359.00 12,291,130.00 26,398,855 12,072,122.00 13,262,600.00 1,094,493.00 5,424,790 16,716,010.00 281,350.00 21,718,725.00 57,430,025.00 142,512,565.00 4,751,102.00 42,253,572.00

3.910

2,621,000

10,243,040.00

8.76 68.95 10.4

35,298,300 80,600 10,946,300

310,185,711.00 6,191,823.00 115,566,398.00

128

52,280

6,671,803.00

MST WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS

United Paragon Abra Mining Manila Mining `A’ Ferronickel Premium Leisure Boulevard Holdings Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) Philodrill Corp. `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Island Info

VOLUME 1,527,200,000 1,391,000,000 1,014,200,000 207,964,000 123,730,000 113,350,000 100,445,000 71,200,000 70,083,000 69,830,000

STOCKS Ayala Corp `A’ Ayala Land `B’ Universal Robina PLDT Common Metrobank Nickelasia Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Jollibee Foods Corp.

Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) Alliance Global Inc.

VALUE 1,974,708,210.00 1,874,747,040.00 1,773,940,082.00 1,706,906,290.00 1,516,374,018.00 1,191,242,445.00 1,108,381,066.00 876,803,566.00 859,723,390.00 774,800,605.00

Leisure & Resort Warr.

3.850 Megaworld Corp. Warrants2 4.45 Double Dragon Ripple E-Business Intl Xurpas

8.8 76.95 9.99

First Metro ETF

129.7

MONDAY: APRIL 6, 2015

B3

BUSINESS business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

Filinvest Land to spend P24b

By Jenniffer B. Austria

DMCI-Marubeni out of MRT-7 SAN Miguel Corp. is set to announce the winning contractor that will construct the $1.2-billion Metro Rail Transit Line 7, and it is not going to be the Marubeni-DMCI consortium, the original contractor tapped by the conglomerate.

While San Miguel president Ramon Ang did not divulge the winning bidder for the project, he said the contractor would no longer be the Marubeni-DMCI joint venture.

The joint venture of Japan’s Marubeni Corp. and DMCI won the $1.2-billion project in 2012 when it signed an engineering, procurement and construction contract for both the MRT Line 7 and Intermodal Transport Terminal of MRT 7 with San Miguel-led Universal LRT. Ang, however, announced in November last year San Miguel would bid out again the construction contract for MRT 7, because of the need to update the project’s cost, with prices of construction materials changing substantially since 2012.

Once the new contractor for the project is announced and the financial closing is completed, construction of the 22-kilometer line from San Jose del Monte in Bulacan all the way to North Avenue, Quezon City, is expected to go full blast.

The Consunji group said it respected San Miguel’s decision and even participated in the rebidding process.

Jenniffer B. Austria

FILINVEST Land Inc., the property unit of the Gotianun family, plans to spend P24 billion in 2015 to fund the construction of residential projects, office buildings and shopping malls.

Filinvest Land said in an information statement filed with the stock exchange around P7.4 billion of the programmed spending would be allocated for residential projects, while P13.2 billion would be used for the construction of office buildings and commercial developments.

The company will allot the balance of P2.9 billion for land banking opportunities.

Filinvest Land said it remained focused on core residential and real estate development, which now included construction of mid-rise and high-rise condominium projects, residential farm estates and leisure developments.

The company is also expanding its retail and office building

portfolio to generate recurring revenues.

It said it planned to launch P16.2 billion worth of new projects this year, including five midrise buildings, 10 horizontal developments, one condotel project and two high-rise buildings.

Filinvest Land is slated to complete the first of the four BPO buildings within the 1.2-hectare joint venture project with the provincial government of Cebu as a part of a strategic goal to triple the size of its office buildings by 2019.

It said for the retail portfolio, it would expand Festival Supermall at Filinvest City by another 46,705 square meters. It will also start constructing two malls, one in Tagaytay City and another at

Princeton Heights in Cavite.

Filinvest Land recorded a 16-percent growth in 2014 in consolidated net income to P4.60 billion from P3.98 billion in 2013.

Meanwhile, Filinvest Land is also venturing into construction as part of its diversification and expansion plans.

The company said it would seek shareholders approval to amend its articles of incorporation to include the business of construction as one of its primary purposes.

“The amendment of the primary purpose is in line with the company’s diversification and expansion plans,” Filinvest Land said.

“Furthermore the amendment of the primary purpose will enable the company to secure the necessary accreditation from and become a licensed contractor and member of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board,” it said.

Filinvest Land will join property firms such as Ayala Land Inc. and DMCI Homes, which have construction units in charge of developing their real estate developments.

Gokongwei firms change fiscal year

JG Summit Holdings Inc., the investment company of the Gokongwei family, will change the fiscal year of its two major units—Robinsons Land Corp. and Universal Robina Corp. to follow the calendar year starting 2016.

The reporting period for RLC and URC starts October and ends September of the following year. While most companies report their financial performance in the October-December period as the fourthquarter period, RLC and URC report them as the first-quarter of the group’s fiscal year. This creates complication in the full-year financial report of JG Summit, which has other subsidiaries.

JG Summit chief finance officer BJ Sebastian said the conglomerate’s 2014 financial report would incorporate the full-year financial performance of RLC and URC, covering January to December, on a pro-forma basis.

Sebastian said while the transition process would be a long one, both RLC and URC will eventually follow the calendar year for the reporting period. Jenniffer B. Austria

Husband fakes wife’s death certificate

The Social Security System, which manages the pension fund of more than 31 million private sector employees, has discovered that some people will go to the extent of declaring a spouse dead, even if she is alive and well, to get money from the fund.

SSS said it was prepared to take these fraudulent claimants to court and recently scored a favorable decision from La Union municipal trial court against a husband who was found guilty of falsifying public documents to declare his wife deceased.

MTCC Branch II presiding judge Edilberta Casiano convicted SSS claimant Noel Laconsay to a maximum imprisonment of four years and nine months, for purporting to be the surviving spouse and beneficiary of a deceased SSS member who turned out to be alive.

Laconsay, a resident of Gonzales, Tubao, La Union was found guilty of falsification of public documents for submitting spurious documents to support his SSS funeral and death claim for a certain Maura Apurado, whom he claimed as his deceased wife.

SSS said Laconsay, who represented himself as the widower, had personally filed claims by producing a fake funeral receipt, a falsified death certificate and true copies of the marriage certificate and birth certificate of the minor child of Maura. He also presented fake identification cards.

SSS discovered Laconsay’s scheme under its anti-fraud program.

“The timely discovery of the spurious claim prevented us from issuing the check. But even without financial damage, we pursued the case against Mr. Laconsay. May his conviction be a strong warning we have strengthened our anti-fraud programs”, said Rogelio Atos, cluster legal head of SSS Luzon North.

Laconsay was also ordered to pay a fine of P5,000 plus the cost of the suit for violation of the Social Security Act and the Revised Penal Code.

New Startek center.

Senator Cynthia Villar acknowledges the business processing outsourcing sector’s significant contribution to economic growth during the inauguration of the fourth Startek center in the Philippines in Ortigas, Pasig City. Villar recognized the information technology-BPO sector as a high potential and priority development area for investment, with the Senate strongly supporting the industry.

Shown with Villar (second from right) during the opening ceremony are Startek executives.

Stock index seen passing the 8,000 level STOCKS are expected to resume the upward momentum this week, with the index likely to trade above the 8,000-point level as foreign funds continue to flow to the local equities market.

Analysts said the rally during the shortened three-day trading session last week could also boost market trading this week.

“We expect the bullish run to continue [this] week due to pent-up demand from the Easter hiatus. There are still a handful of companies that have yet to release their earnings results but these will likely be unveiled soon given the bourse’s April 15 deadline for annual reports,” RCBC Securities research head Raul Ruiz said in a weekly market recap.

BPI Asset Management said while the local stock market would continue to attract foreign funds, there could be some rotation of funds to laggards and mid-tier names, after the stock index reached all-time highs.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 1.5 percent last week to close at 7,993.09 on April 1 while the broader all-shares index went up by 0.7 percent to 4,576.21.

The PSEi for the first time hit the 8,000 level on upbeat investor sentiment after the International Monetary Fund upgraded its growth outlook for the Philippines to 6.7 percent this year.

The PSEi set new record highs

for 24 times since the start of the year and registered a gain of 10.5 percent year-to-date.

“Our stock market managed to close higher despite the decline in major Asian indices. This resilience has been evident as local economic and corporate developments continue to positively influence investor sentiment,” PSE president Hans Sicat said.

Except for the mining and oil sub-index, which declined 3.5 percent, all other sub-major indices ended in the green, led by property firms which jumped 2.7 percent; holding firms, which climbed 1.30 percent; and financial sector which rose 1.1 percent. Jenniffer B. Austria

B4

BUSINESS

P140-m Talisay loan. Philippine Veterans Bank signed a P140-million loan agreement with the municipal government of Talisay, Batangas to finance the design and construction of the town’s government center. The local government will use part of the proceeds from the 10-year loan to purchase the lot where the center will be developed. Shown signing the loan agreement are (from left) Talisay Sangguniang Bayan secretary Elena Cabrera, Talisay Vice Mayor Allano Lamano, PVB chairman and chief executive Roberto de Ocampo, Talisay Mayor Gerry Natanauan and PVB chief operating officer Nonilo Cruz.

P1-b PLDT data center up

By Darwin G. Amojelar

A WHOLLY-OWNED subsidiary of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. is spending P1 billon to construct a state-of-the-art data facility in Makati’s central business district.

“The PLDT Group is investing in ensuring that the latest VITRO facility is at par with data centers in leading countries with world-class security features adhering to global-standard operations,” Eric Alberto, president and chief executive of ePLDT. said. “Over the years, we have strived to ensure that PLDT is at the core of enabling this country to be digitally ready.”

“When completed, VITRO

Makati will add 3,600 full racks to our network of VITRO Data Centers and will ensure our readiness to support the growing ICT requirements of the enterprise market,” he added.

The newest VITRO Data Center, which is set to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year, will have the largest floor space among its current line of data centers at 18,000 square meters. It

will deploy an eight-layer level security to safeguard critical equipment and data of customers with maximum protection.

VITRO Makati will have data center-rated generators designed to run continuously to eliminate the need for periodic cut-over to other gensets during long commercial power failures. This ensures the continuous operations of client servers collocated at VITRO Makati, even during lengthened power outages.

The new data center will have isolated rooms for the air handling units which are intended to increase security and privacy of client-availed collocation services. Maintenance work can be

done without having to access or expose the client’s servers. The new configuration will also minimize the possibility of dust and dirt entering the colocation space.

“As the trusted expert end-toend ICT partner of the enterprise market, we are set on maintaining our leadership in the data center business. Our newest VITRO Data Center is a game-changing milestone for the group as we expand our services and capacity for the increasing demand of our various clients,” Jovy Hernandez, first vice president and head PLDT ALPHA Enterprise & SMART Enterprise Group said.

In addition to the new technology that the PLDT Group has invested

in, VITRO Makati will be PCI-DSS compliant and ISO certified, both globally-recognized and widely-required by multinational clients.

Strategically centered in Makati, VITRO’s fourth data center will largely cater to the colocation and other data center service requirements of large corporations, and the banking and finance companies with headquarters in the business district.

The Makati facility will be designed according to the TIA-942 infrastructure standards for data centers based on global parameters on network architecture, electrical design, system redundancy, network access control and security, and environmental power management.

Stock market trading rose 40% in Q1 PNOC Exploration set to spend P8b this year

By Jenniffer B. Austria TRADING at the Philippine Stock Exchange surged 40 percent in the first three months of 2015 to P641.59 billion from P457.08 billion year-on-year on robust market participation by both foreign and local investors.

The PSE in a statement said the average daily turnover jumped 48 percent year-on-year to P10.87 billion.

“We are pleased with the market participation we saw in the first quarter. Investors are really keen on being part of the Philippine growth story. We hope that upbeat corporate earnings and optimism over the local economy will continue to attract investors to our market,” said PSE president Hans Sicat.

The brisk trading activity in the first quarter boosted the 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index in registering 23 all-time intraday highs, the most recent of which was on March 30, 2015 when the benchmark hit 8,007.98 .

Other positive stock market in-

Investors are really keen on being part of the Philippine growth story.

dicators in the first quarter include the significant increase in total market capitalization to P14.98 trillion, up 18 percent from P12.74 trillion on year.

Net foreign buying in the January-to-March period soared 182 percent to P48.87 billion from P17.33 billion in the same period in 2014.

The PSEi posted a 9.8-percent gain at the first quarter of 2015, the biggest quarterly gain since the first quarter of 2013, when the main index climbed 18 percent. The All Shares index advanced 6.9 percent.

Four of the six sectors rose year-todate. The property and holding firms sectors posted double-digit gains of

13.6 percent and 12.3 percen,t respectively. The financials sector gained 9.9 percent while the industrial sector advanced 7.1 percent.

However, the services and mining and oil sectors fell 1.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the PSE said the conduct of the first market rehearsal for its new trading system, the PSEtrade XTS, was successful.

The market rehearsal was part of the final stages of testing being done in preparation for the rollout of the new trading engine in May. It is designed to replicate the behavior of the market under a regular trading environment and involves trading participants entering mock trades and orders.

“We are pleased with the turnout for the market rehearsal as it provided our market operations team and brokers the experience of using XTS during trading. It also gave us the opportunity to identify issues that need to be resolved as we prepare for the implementation of the new system,” Sicat said.

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE board of PNOC Exploration Corp., a unit of state-owned Philippine National Oil Co., approved an P8.039-billion budget this year, with the bulk to be spent for petroleum exploration.

PNOC Exploration is allocating around P4.560 billion for oil and gas exploration and P2.436 billion in the existing Malampaya natural gas project in northwest Palawan.

PNOC Exploration owns a 10 percent stake in the Malampaya project.

PNOC Exploration has expressed interest to take a 15-percent working interest in service contract 55 located in offshore southwest Palawan.

Its participation is still subject to approval by the Office of the President.

The company plans to spend P250.84 million on coal exploration and P250.84 million on proj-

ect development. PNCO Exploration did not identify the projects lined up this year.

It is allocating P498.3 million on operating expenses (net of depreciation) and P55.25 million on capital expenditures.

PNOC Exploration’s budget is subject to adjustment within the year, after the conduct of a strategic planning by the management.

The company last year allocated around P7.19 billion for its work program.

PNOC Exploration president Pedro Aquino Jr. earlier said the company would explore investing in oil fields in Indonesia this year.

“We will make overseas investment in oil producing fields in Indonesia,” Aquino said.

Aquino said PNOC Exploration would also continue a coal mine project in Isabela. The Isabela mine-mouth coal project is estimated to have a generating capacity of 100 megawatts.

M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 , 2 0 1 5

BUSINESS business@thestandard.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

China boosts Asean fund

Gerda Maersk’s maiden call.

Adriatic Gate Container Terminal, the container handling facility of International Container Terminal Services Inc. in the Port of Rijeka, Croatia, served the largest vessel to call in the country, the 10,000 TEU-capacity Gerda Maersk. The 367-meter Gerda Maersk is part of the alliance between two of the world’s megaliners, Maersk and Mediterranean Shipping Co. The alliance, which connects Rijeka and the Far East, deploys 15 vessels with average capacities of 9,600 to 11,300 TEUs.

By Othel V.Campos CHINA is recapitalizing the Asean Fund by alloting as much as $3 billion to help develop industries in the region, including Philippine companies, under the economic powerhouse’s Maritime Silk Road program.

China Import Export Bank and the Bank of China, owners of the fund, are extending the assistance to all Asean countries to help them improve their transport industries and eventually showcase the Southeast Asia as as a world leader in maritime trade.

Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman emeritus Francis Chua, who is also the fund administrator for the Philippines, said China was extending the financial assistance as a development package.

“This is direct investment, not loan. They will bring the money to an existing project that lacks capital. This fund they have is not to make money with. It’s a funding they use to help develop a certain region. For instance the first $1 billion released last year was to help Asean industries. They make sure they are helping make a certain industry grow,” he said.

The Philippines received as much as $125 million from the first $1 billion Asean Fund that was used to invest in 2GO Group Inc. of Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. China is expected to release the fund by the second half of 2015.

Chua said he was hoping the Philippines would get at least as 10 percent of the $3-bilion fund.

“Hopefully by the end of the year we’ll have the list of what industries will benefit the assistance,” he said.

B5

NTC readies fines vs. poor Internet service

By Darwin G Amojelar

CONSUMERS may soon avail rebates or refunds from telecommunication companies whenever their broadband service is interrupted or speeds fall below minimum standards, the National Telecommunications Commission said over the weekend.

The regulator proposed in a draft circular to penalize telecommunication companies if their broadband service is below standard.

“Upon the occurrence of periods where the service is interrupted, said periods shall not be subject to billing by the service provider,” the NTC said.

“Should these periods not be

contiguous or should these periods be intermittent, they shall be aggregated for purpose of refund or rebate,” it added.

The NTC also said the minimum actual downstream and upstream data rates should not be less than 50 percent of the advertised “up to” data rates.

Similarly, the data rate, service reliability and overall reliability

should not be below 80 percent.

The regulator said subscribers should be properly informed of the broadband/Internet connection services being offered to them.

“Service offers made through advertisements, flyers, and brochures shall contain the service rates for broadband/Internet connection data rates, data reliability and service reliability,” the NTC said.

The regulator said service providers who failed to comply with the proposed circular would be charged with appropriate administrative case and penalties.

The NTC is revising an earlier directive on the “Minimum Speed of Broadband Connections” to address rising consumer complaints.

Under the old NTC rules, telcos are ordered to disclose their minimum broadband speeds, as well as the service rates and reliability of their offers to consumers through advertisements, flyers, brochures and service agreements.

The country’s fixed and wireless broadband subscribers stood at nearly 7 million as of the end of 2014. The PLDT Group had over four million fixed and wireless broadband subscribers while Globe Telecom Inc. had 2.8 million.

The PLDT Group, which includes PLDT ALPHA Enterprise, PLDT SME Nation, PLDT HOME, and mobile subsidiaries Smart Communications and Sun Cellular, cornered nearly 60 percent of the total broadband subscribers in the Philippines.

February bank lending growth slowed to 15.2%

By Julito G. Rada

R & E booking app. Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairman Winston Ginez

(center) witnessed the recent launch of the R & E Taxi Booking App. With him (from left are) Ramil Enriquez of Nine Stars, Dennis Ng of Govago Inc., Jason Enriquez of Sturdy and Jomar Marcelo of EFE. R & E will roll out the GPS-based system developed by Govago in its over 500 taxi fleet in Metro Manila.

THE growth of bank lending slowed in February this year to 15.2 percent from 17.3 percent a month ago as loans to production activities, especially real estate, expanded at a moderate pace.

Data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed outstanding loans of commercial banks, net of reverse repurchase placements with the Bangko Sentral, increased to P4.372 trillion from P3.795 trillion in February last year.

The expansion was slower than the January figure, when bank lending stood at P4.386 trillion from P3.739 trillion a year ago.

“Loans for production activities--which comprised more than 80 percent of banks’ aggregate loan portfolio--expanded albeit at a slower rate of 14.5 percent in February from 16 percent in January,” the central bank said.

“While double-digit growth has continued in most major segments such as manufacturing, the pace of credit growth to production activities has moderated for some subsectors, particularly real estate, renting and business services,” it said.

The Bangko Sentral since 2012 has introduced pre-emptive macro-prudential policy

MONDAY: APRIL 6, 2015

B6

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

Batangas coal plant opens Can our mind do away with unconscionability?

THE Doctrine of Unconsionabi ll ity cited by Henry Amoroso, during the 9th InternaInterna tional Conference on Catholic Social Thought and Business Education, raised up my curiosity. Unconscionability is when a contract unreasonably favors one party. The principle cannot be mechanically applied because the circumstance needs to be understood. I found out that the Philippine Supreme Court has in fact applied this doctrine on the imposition of unconscionable rate of interest on money. Further research led me to a US court ruling: an employment contract would be unconscionable, when the circumstance of the contract has a level of oppression and surprise within the reasonable expectation of the weaker party; and is unjustifiably one-sided to such an extent that it shocks the conscience.

Unconscionable circumstances The social pressures and economic motives that surround businesses expose vulnerable employees to unconscionable circumstances. The freedom to contract, which promotes equal bargaining opportunities unfortunately provides no respite to an employee as impartiality is curtailed because stronger parties may impose unfair and oppressive bargains. Do ethical outcomes matter when people have become more focused in their self-serving interests that become deleterious to family and society?

The definition of the “common good” according to the classical utilitarian perspective differs from that of the Catholic Social Thought.

The utilitarian view considers the well-being of the greater number over an individual. It is also associated to consequences of an individual’s action. CST’s definition, however, regards the values which promote all together the individual’s material and spiritual welfare.

Pope Leo XIII said people are entitled to work because they need to live and care for their families. Amoroso said that probably the most important contract a person would ever enter is the salary he has negotiated. It is important to promote social conditions that will allow people to thrive and develop. It is therefore not simply a sum total of a specific gain.

Weakening human dignity Unfortunately, in many situations, these favorable conditions do not exist. Certain situations weaken human dignity at work.

For example, employees that enter contracts may be subjected to contracts of adhesion where employees follow the contract and have no power to negotiate or modify the terms.

There are situations where employees are served their contracts after they have already started working and have been working for some time. Time and again, the employee simply signs the contract.

In Dr. Divina Edralin’s study, the strategic business decisions to outsource, contract-out, or subcontract are contributors to precarious working arrangement. These innovative redirection of workforce, as presented by Edralin, weakens the collective bargaining agreement of a united labor force.

In conformity with one’s conscience Philosophical and psychological orientation provides rich knowledge in understanding how the mind thinks which can be linked to business and legal reasoning. According to domestic policy expert William Galston, “the law is capable of establishing templates to distinguish between real and spurious claims, and courts and agencies are capable of applying them.”

I believe that the application of law, however, has limits. If we alone depend on rules, we would be likened to computers who are simply programmed to perform. The application of the doctrine of unconscionability will only be effective if the meaning of being conscionable is sensibly employed. That is, being in conformity with one’s conscience. Galston concluded that the “writ of conscience … though far from absolute, are stronger than what either the contemporary Supreme Court or secular-oriented philosophers are willing to concede.”

Whether it is the business leader or the courts that makes the decision on the fate of the worker, the highest ethical principles should embrace the conscience of every decision maker. It would therefore make the decision maker become fully aware, responsive, and to intentionally act with moral values. The act of which respects human rights and enriches human dignity. Although this clearly agrees with the Catholic social teachings as it realizes CST’s definition of what is the “common good,” putting high regard to every human being is not at all inappropriate.

ANA LIZA ASIS-CASTRO

Green LiGht

Ana Liza “Pinky” Asis-Castro teaches corporate social responsibility and corporate governance at the Ramon V. Del Rosario Sr. College of Business of De La Salle University. She can be reached at ana.asis-castro@dlsu.edu.ph.

The views expressed above are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its faculty, and its administrators.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

POWER generator South Luzon Thermal Energy Corp. started the commercial operation of the first phase of its coal power plant in Calaca, Batangas over the weekend, adding 135 megawatts to the Luzon grid.

South Luzon is the joint venture company established by AC Energy Holdings Inc., a unit of Ayala Corp. and Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp. of the Phinma Group.

“We synced to the grid [Friday afternoon],” Trans Asia president Francisco Viray said.

He said after synchronizing the plant’s operations to the Luzon grid Friday, “must-perform tests” were conducted and the plant was ready to deliver full capacity by Saturday night.

“Export kilowatt-hours [is]

subject to SO [system operations] dispatch level,” Viray said.

The first phase, with a capacity of 135 MW, cost P12.9 billion.

The second phase, which involves another 135 MW in the same area, is estimated to cost P9.6 billion, Energy Department records showed earlier.

Both the first and second phase of the coal projects were approved by the Board of Investments for tax incentives.

The first phase of the project broke ground for construction in early 2012 and was originally

targeted for completion in mid to late 2014.

The project proponents signed a P9-billion project loan facility with Banco de Oro Unibank, Security Bank Corp. and Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. in 2011 to finance the construction. “[Once completed] it will provide part of capacity requirements for 2015 to 2016,” Viray earlier said.

The company is accelerating the development of its coal project in Batangas to support the growth of the economy and rising demand for electricity.

The South Luzon consortium earlier awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the first phase of the coal plant to DM Consunji Inc. The coal plant, located in Barangay Puting Bato West, Calaca, Batangas, uses coal from Semirara Mining Corp. and those from Indonesian coal suppliers.

Biggest employer. Convergys, the Philippines’ largest private employer, is set to further expand its

operations in Clark and relocate its current center from Clarkfield Pampanga to a new, bigger site at SM Clark, Angeles City in May 2015. As many as 400 people applied on the first day of recruiting. Convergys now operates 34 sites nationwide with close to 60,000 employees. Shown are leaders and team members of Convergys Clark outside the temporary recruitment center at Century Hotel.

Albay spending P4.4b in new township DARAGA, Albay—A P4.4-billion economic township, hailed as the country’s largest and most ambitious government-initiated development, is now rising in this province.

The Guinobatan-CamaligDaraga-Legazpi or Guicadale economic township is a vital geostrategic intervention program aimed at building new business and settlement centers away from identified risk areas.

Its road networks link up some 40 resettlement communities around the Daraga International Airport in Barangay Alobo, Daraga.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, who formulated and initiated the scheme in 2007, said the Guicadale economic township road networks were expected to be completed in time with the opening of DIA in two years.

Guicadale and DIA are envisioned to complement each other and transform Albay into a hub of economic development in Southern Luzon, backed by a strong tourism industry.

Salceda said the project would include roads connecting at least 40 resettlement communities, roads traversing around DIA and roads that would link up with existing town and city centers.

The Guicadale economic platform is founded on the principles of disaster risk reduction, where Albay is considered a United Nations model.

Funded initially in 2010, the project is being implemented by the Public Works Department. At present, most road sections that connect upland roads are now open, with connecting bridges being constructed and most road sections being concreted.

Salceda said the Guicadale economic township was a disaster risk reduction and management strategy, designed along the concept of moving people out of harm’s way.

He said the township would provide the necessary requirements for Albay businesses to settle and relocate, once the DIA opened, in a safe economic platform far from identified danger zones at the foot of Mayon Volcano, red areas prone to flash floods and lahar flows and coastal places risky to typhoon surge.

With a development approach anchored on its green economy program and powered by a pioneering disaster risk reduction strategy, Albay has climbed out of the quagmire of underdevelopment wrought by frequent disasters to become a leading tourism destination.

M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

Russia: Stop Yemen air strikes UNITED NATIONS—Russia called on the UN Security Council Saturday to push for a pause in the air war in Yemen as a Saudiled coalition pounded rebels in the country for a 10th day.

After the attack. People inspect the rubble of destroyed houses in the village of Bani

Matar, 70 kilometers West of Sanaa, on April 4, a day after it was reportedly hit by an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition against Shiite Huthi rebel positions. A Saudi-led coalition pounded rebels in southern Yemen and dropped more arms to loyalist fighters as the UN Security Council prepared to discuss calls for “humanitarian pauses” in the air war. AFP

Tokyo, Okinawa still apart on base TOKYO—Shinzo Abe’s righthand man and the governor of Okinawa remained apart in a lingering row over the construction of a US air base at a meeting Sunday ahead of the Japanese premier’s visit to Washington later this month.

The base’s construction, first mooted in 1996, has been stymied by local opposition from islanders who say they bear a disproportionate burden in hosting more than half of the 47,000 US service personnel stationed in Japan.

In the latest twist in the two-decade row, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told Governor Takeshi Onaga: “We hope to get your understanding on the plan...for maintaining the deterrent power of the Japan-US alliance.”

However, the Okinawan governor countered that while he understood the importance of the alliance with the US, any national security plan must have the Japanese people’s support.

“Okinawa never voluntarily offered (land) for bases. I’m convinced that it is impossible to construct a new base”, Onaga said, referring to a plan to replace the urban Futenma Air Base with one on a rural coastline at Nago.

After the meeting, he told reporters: “I will never step back on the base issue,” criticizing the government’s top-down approach.

Hundreds of anti-base protesters rallied outside the hotel in Okinawa’s capital Naha where the talks took place, holding banners that read “rescind the relocation plan!”

The anti-base camp—who want the base off Okinawa— struck a blow late last month when Onaga said coral just outside the permitted zone at the site on the island’s northeast coast had been damaged and demanded a halt to the work.

The central government last week muscled the governor out of the way, suspending his stop-work order, and ahead of Abe’s week-long US tour starting on April 26, which will focus on deepening trade and military ties. AFP

Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Caraga Administrative Region Division of Agusan del Sur

Republic of the Philippines Department of Agriculture Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, Philippines www.philmech.gov.ph INVITATION TO BID Supply of Labor and Materials for the Fabrication, Delivery, Installation and Testing of Experimental Prototype of a 5ton/ hr capacity Fluidized Bed Dryer (PHilMech Goods 15-04-03) 1.

2.

Total

ABC

5.

6.

SCHOOL RECEPIENTS

APPROVED BUDGET FOR THE CONTRACT (PhP)

1

43

2,064,000.00

2

46

2,208,000.00 4,272,000.00

2.

The Department of Education - Agusan del Sur Division now invites bids for the DepEd Internet Connectivity Project. Bidders should have completed, within 10 years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

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

PhP 2,339,564.67

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using nondiscretionary pass/fail criteria as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations Part A (IRR-A) of Republic Act 9184 (R.A. 9184), otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act,” and is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to Republic Act 5183 (R.A. 5183) and subject to Commonwealth Act 138 (C.A. 138). Only Bids from Bidders who pass the eligibility check will be opened. The process for the eligibility check is described in the Bidding Documents. The bidder with the Lowest Calculated Bid (LCB) shall advance to the post-qualification stage in order to finally determine responsiveness of the bid to technical and financial requirements of the project. The contract shall then be awarded to the Lowest Calculated and Responsive Bidder (LCRB) who was determined as such during the post-qualification procedure.

CLUSTER

TOTAL

PhP 2,339,564.67

Delivery of the GOODS is required within Ninety (90) calendar days from receipt of the Notice to Proceed. The description of an eligible Bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents.

4.

The Depar tment of Education (DepED) – Agusan del Sur D i v i s i o n i n t e n d s t o a p p l y t h e s u m o f Fo u r M i l l i o n Fo u r H u n d r e d S i x t e e n T h o u s a n d P e s o s O n l y ( P h p 4 , 2 7 2 , 0 0 0 . 0 0) b e i n g t h e A p p r ove d B u d g e t f o r t h e C o n t r a c t ( A B C) t o p ay m e n t s u n d e r t h e c o n t r a c t f o r t h e w o r k s d e s c r i b e d b e l o w, t o w i t :

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization now invites Bids from eligible bidders for the following items: Supply of Labor and Materials for the Fabrication, Delivery, Installation and Testing of Experimental Prototype of a 5ton/hr capacity Fluidized Bed Dryer

3.

INVITATION TO BID FOR DepEd Internet Connectivity Project 1.

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) through its Regular Fund intends to apply the sum of PhP 2,339,564.67 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) as indicated herein to payments under the contract for the Supply of Labor and Materials for the Fabrication, Delivery, Installation and Testing of Experimental Prototype of a 5ton/ hr capacity Fluidized Bed Dryer. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at Bid opening.

ITEMS

“We thank the kingdom of Saudi Arabia and all the Gulf countries, as well as our brothers in Arab countries, for dropping supplies,” said Ahmad Qassem al-Shaawi, a local militia chief.

“God willing, we will be victorious and bravely carry on fighting as heroes, and fight off any attack.”

Russia, meanwhile, presented a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for a humanitarian pause in the air campaign to allow for the evacuation of foreigners, diplomats said.

The measure would demand “regular and obligatory hu-

Yemen’s main southern city, a last foothold of supporters of self-exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, has been shaken by more than a week of clashes between Shiite Huthi rebels and loyalist militia.

Coalition warplanes and ships bombarded rebel positions in Aden on the 10th night of Operation Decisive Storm.

A military source said at least 13 rebel fighters were killed.

For a second night, the coalition airdropped weapons and ammunition to supporters of Hadi, who fled to Saudi Arabia last month as the Iran-backed Huthis approached Aden.

manitarian pauses in the air strikes...to allow all concerned states and international organizations to evacuate their citizens and personnel from Yemen,” the draft text said.

Russian Deputy Ambassador Vladimir Safronkov told reporters the pause would ensure that “when we evacuate people, to make sure it’s secure and safe.”

Aided by the strikes and arms drops, Hadi loyalists have managed to drive the rebels back from some parts of central Aden.

At least 185 dead and 1,282 wounded have been counted in hospitals in Aden since March 26, the city’s health department director Al-Kheder Lassouar said.

The toll does not include casualties among the rebels and their allies, who do not take their people to public hospitals, or victims of air raids, he said. AFP

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from BAC Secretariat, DepED Agusan del Sur Division, Government Center, Patin-ay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:00AM-5:00PM (Mondays thru Fridays).

5.

Interested Bidders may obtain further information from the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Only those who have submitted Affidavit of Undertaking shall be allowed to purchase Bidding Documents and participate in the bidding project.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on April 01,2015 until date of Bid Submission from the address below and upon payment of a non-refundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of PhP 5,000.00 per cluster upon completion of filing of Letter of Intent using DepED Standard Form not later than April 07, 2015 at 09:00 AM.

6.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be acquired by interested Bidders from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents, pursuant to the latest Guidelines issued by the GPPB, in the amount of PhP 5,000.00.

The method of payment will be in cash. The Bidding Documents shall be received personally by the prospective Bidder or his authorized representative.

The Department of Education - Agusan del Sur Division will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on April 07, 2015 at 10:00 AM at Department of Education – Agusan del Sur Division, Government Center, Patinay, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur which shall be open to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

7.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before April 20, 2015 at 10:00 AM. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization will hold a Pre-Bid Conference open to all interested parties on April 13, 2015, 10:00 am at PHilMech Liaison Office, 3rd Floor, ATI Bldg. Elliptical Road Diliman Quezon City.

7.

Bids and eligibility requirements must be delivered to the address below on or before April 27, 2015. All Bids must be accompanied by a Bid security in the form and amount stated in the Bid Data Sheet or an equivalent amount in a freely convertible currency. Late Bids shall not be accepted.

8.

Bid opening shall be on April 27, 2015, 10:00am at PHilMech Liaison Office, 3rd Floor, ATI Bldg. Elliptical Road Diliman Quezon City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below.

9.

The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization reserves the right to accept or reject any Bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all Bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected Bidder or Bidders.

PHILIPPINE CENTER FOR POSTHARVEST DEVELOPMENT AND MECHANIZATION (Formerly BUREAU OF POSTHARVEST RESEARCH AND EXTENSION) Main Office :CLSU Cmpd., Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija Tel. No. (044) 4560287 / 4560213 FAX No. (044) 4560110 Liaison Office : 3F ATI Bldg., Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City Tel. No. 9274019 / 9274029 FAX No. 9268159

Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

IMELDA N. SABORNIDO,Ph.D The Division BAC Chairperson Agusan del Sur Division Government Center, Prosperidad Agusan del Sur 8.

The Department of Education – Agusan del Sur reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

9.

For further information, please refer to: SGD. LEONORA G. TABANGCORA / LALAINE GOMERA /SHERYL ANN MOMBILLE The DBAC Secretariat DepED – Agusan del Sur Division Gov. D.O. Plaza Gov’t. Center, Patin-ay Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur

(SGD.) RAUL R. PAZ BAC Chairman (TS-APR. 6 & 10, 2015)

SGD.IMELDA N. SABORNIDO,Ph.D DBAC Chairperson (TS-APR. 6, 2015)

M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 , 2 0 1 5

B8

cesAR bARRIOquINtO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

world

Ukraine at breaking point PARIS—Bruised and battered after a year of armed conflict, Ukraine has been crippled by a combination of monetary, budgetary, industrial, banking and energy crises that could make it dependent on outside help for decades.

Kadhafi palaces reduced to dumps TRIPOLI—The sprawling palace compounds from which Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi ruled for four decades have been reduced to garbage dumps and pet markets by the 2011 revolution that toppled him.

In the heart of Tripoli, the once feared but now humbled Bab al-Aziziya compound resembles a wasteland.

During his rule, Libyans would be nervous just walking anywhere near the fortress-like seat of the Kadhafi regime.

“People were afraid even to look at the walls, for fear of being arrested,” said Hassan, a Tripoli taxi driver.

All that remains of the compound, which had been hit in a 1986 US air strike before being pounded by NATO four years ago, are a few ruined buildings, the green flooring of Kadhafi’s home and a dug-up network of underground tunnels.

The monument of a gold-colored fist clenching a US fighter plane was vandalized and sent off to Misrata, a rebel bastion during the revolt which ousted and killed Kadhafi.

At a safe distance from his people, Kadhafi lived behind fortified walls with his wife, their children, close advisers and guards.

Apart from the Bedouin tents on which Kadhafi prided himself and which accommodated him on travels abroad, the compound once showcased a zoo, an indoor pool, countless murals and a fairground in its gardens.

Kadhafi had expanded the grounds by knocking down adjacent neighbourhoods.

Bab al-Aziziya “was a symbol of the Kadhafi era. Today, we have destroyed this symbol, we have demolished and razed it to the ground,” said Adel Mohammed Farina, tourism ministry spokesman of a Tripoli-based government.

“He [Kadhafi] will be mentioned briefly in history books and documentaries but nothing of his will remain as it is,” said Farina. AFP

Easter mass. Italian soldiers perform ceremonial duties before the Easter Mass at St. Peter’s square on April 5 in the Vatican. Pope Francis condemned indifference and “complicit silence” to jihadist attacks on Christians as he presided over Easter ceremonies in the wake of a massacre of nearly 150 people at a Kenyan university by Shebab Islamists. The leader of the world’s 1.2-billion Catholics brought up the extremist persecution of Christians as the holiest ceremonies of the Church calendar reached a climax on Sunday, when believers celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. AFP

The country has suffered a series of shocks that has obliterated its fragile economy.

Its vital heavy industry, in the east, has been completely hamstrung, with production plunging by a fifth -- not helped by a sharp decline in steel prices.

In addition, with foreign investors fleeing the uncertainty, the value of the local currency, the hryvnia, has fallen by around 50 percent since the beginning of the year.

“Like many emerging markets, this has a direct effect on households, businesses and public finances, because both private and public debt is denominated in foreign currency,” said Julien Marcilly, chief economist at insurance firm Coface.

Gross domestic product contracted 6.8 percent last year, according to official statistics and the central bank is bracing for a decline of as much as 7.5 percent in 2015.

Ukraine is also suffering a debt crisis, with its proportion of public debt to gross domestic product expected to spiral to 94 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund—from a healthy 40 percent in 2013.

“There is a banking crisis, a monetary crisis and an economic crisis that translated into a strong contraction of GDP last year. This year, there will probably also be an energy crisis,” said Francis Malige, Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

The international community, desperate to avoid a collapse in the Ukrainian economy that could be a propaganda coup for Russia, has rushed to its aid.

In April 2014, the IMF sketched out a bailout plan worth some $17.5 billion to come in a series of tranches -- $5 billion of which has already been paid out.

This is part of a package of $40 billion pledged by the international community to help Ukraine back on its feet.

The European Union has offered Ukraine about 1.6 billion euros ($2 billion) in short-term assistance and put together a wider package worth about 11 billion euros.

Ukraine has encountered huge difficulties in borrowing on the open market, raising only small sums over short periods of time. AFP

Kenya rejects ‘slow-response’ criticism

Rare appearance. This handout picture released on April 3 by Cuban official website www.cubadebate.cu shows former Cuban president Fidel Castro greeting a member of the Venezuelan delegation “II flight Solidarity Bolivar-Marti,” who are in Cuba taking part in social and political activities, in Havana on March 30. AFP

NAIROBI—Kenyan special forces took at least seven hours to deploy at a university massacre in which almost 150 people were killed, scathing reports said Sunday, but the security chief defended their response.

Alarm bells rang in Kenya’s elite Recce Company in Nairobi as soon as the first reports of Thursday’s predawn attack around 5:30 am emerged in Garissa, a northeastern town some 365 kilometers from the capital.

But it would take until just before 2:00 pm until the main team reached the attack site, Kenya’s major Nation newspaper said, noting that the first airplane carried the interior minister and police chief.

“This is negligence on a scale that borders on the criminal,” the Nation wrote in its editorial on Sunday, re-

calling how survivors said “the gunmen, who killed scores of students with obvious relish, took their time.”

Some journalists based in Nairobi who drove to Garissa after hearing the first reports of the attack arrived before the special forces, who came by air.

The Standard newspaper’s editorial cartoon accused security forces of sleeping on the job, depicting a snake labeled “terror threat” waking a snoring security officer with a bite, as a dog barks, “too little, too late”.

Interior Minster Joseph Nkaissery has said the attack was “one of those incidents which can surprise any country,” but newspapers on Sunday were deeply critical of the government response.

The day-long siege that began long before dawn in Garissa, close to the

border with Somalia, claimed 148 lives, including 142 students, three police officers and three soldiers.

About an hour before darkness fell, around 5:00 pm, troops moved in on the dormitory where the gunmen were holed up, apparently determined to prevent the siege lasting overnight as seen in the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi in September 2013, when Shebab fighters killed at least 67 people over four days.

“It...beggars belief that many of the failures that were witnessed during the Westgate siege—including the late deployment of specialized police— were repeated in Garissa,” the Nation added.

The massacre was Kenya’s deadliest attack since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi. AFP

M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 : 2 0 1 5

C1

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

LIFE

S

STARRY NIGHT Samsung’s Galaxy of Stars in Paris

amsung hosted the “Tasting Night with Galaxy” at the Four Seasons Hotel George V in Paris. The fabulous Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 edge were introduced during the event attended by A-listers in the global fashion community. The event served as a gateway to introduce Samsung’s latest innovations to the everevolving fashion industry worldwide.

Samsung as a trend setter in the IT industry has become a lifestyle icon.

Owning a Samsung smartphone has become a symbol of living the Next is Now persona. In light with being a lifestyle icon, Samsung staged the Tasting Night with Galaxy that was anchored on a year-long fashionfocused campaign called “Forces of Fashion” which emphasizes Samsung’s

role as an innovator in the technology and fashion space. Through this event, Samsung looks forward to collaborating with fashion designers and brands that share its vision of unifying the world of fashion and technology.

The well-attended event was joined by the fashion industry’s elite including event co-host Brad Goreski, models such as Jessica Stam, Leigh Lezark, Doutzen Kroes, blogger Susie Lau, famed fashion editor Carine Roitfeld and actress Kangana Ranaut.

Samsung executives were also on hand during the launch, among them, Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Mobile Communications at Samsung, Younghee Lee and Vice President, UX Innovation Group, Mobile communications at Samsung Electronics Hyunyeul Lee.

The new Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge represent Samsung’s vision to unite the world of fashion and technology through an all-new Galaxy experience with exceptional design, innovative capabilities, and a premium user experience. The event space served as an inspiration to the sophistication of architectural fluidity, luxury designs and colors of the new phones. Thin and lightweight, the Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge were designed to blend beautiful form and first-class components with high-end technology innovation, such as an advanced camera and super charging.

Attendees enjoyed an exclusive unveiling presentation served by 100 male models and a finale runway walk from Stam. Following the

presentation, celebrity DJs The Misshapes, featuring Leigh Lezark and Geordon Nicol, kept the after party rocking while attendees enjoyed cocktails and treats while experiencing the new devices.

As part of its campaign, Samsung is collaborating with fashion designers and brands to offer a premium accessory eco-system for the new Samsung Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge. These include top designers and brands such as Kate Spade, Burton, Swarovski, Montblanc, Rebecca Minkoff, and Romero Britto. This robust portfolio of accessories will offer people the freedom to customize their mobile experiences to fit their personal style while enhancing the beautiful and purposeful design of Samsung’s newest devices.

M ONDAY : APRIL 6 : 2015

C2

LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE E D I TOR

glweekend @ gmail.com

Designing your home to make the most out of the available space and setting up your home theater system are challenges that can be addressed with the proper sound system.

ENHANCING YOUR HOME WITH SONY’S COMPLETE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM

D

esigning the family room can be a challenge for everyone, most especially when it comes to settingup the home entertainment system that you and your family need. Most people usually find it difficult if the space is small and there are just too many wires used to connect the television to the player and speakers. Sony has what consumers need when it comes to designing the family room with its complete home entertainment systems and current line of sound bar products.

Flexible to use and place anywhere at home, Sony’s sound bar speakers are packed with features that complement the signature superior sound quality that only Sony is able to reproduce. “We know how challenging it is to design the family room and set-up a home theatre system in a small space. Consumers always demand for great sound quality and unlike other sound bars, we at Sony focus on products that deliver an immersive true home theatre experience that is easy-to-setup and enjoy,” said Nobuyoshi Otake, President and Managing Director, Sony Philippines.

For condo dwellers, match the size of your family room or living space with a home theatre system that allows you to

maximize space but still provide you with the aesthetics that complement the look of your home. Choose a sound system that will best fit the space; sound bars are a good option when you want to lessen the clutter.

The Sony sound bar delivers powerful sound despite its size and position in the room. With numerous speakers and sound systems available in the market today, it is good to know what can actually deliver and provide the best sound quality that will fit your family needs. Packing powerful sounds in a small body, Sony brings its HT-ST7 sound bar speaker, one of its first entries into the premium sound bar category as well as its HT-CT370, Sony’s entry-level sound bar that both provide high quality audio and immersive cinematic experience.

The HT-ST7 incorporates nine independent speaker drivers and seven discrete amplifiers.

Using both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio decoders for high definition audio decoding, this system delivers the master quality sound experience with deep, clean bass from its high quality dual driver wireless subwoofer. Each component is meticulously designed to deliver the best audio reproduction possible, which results in great imaging with a wide sound stage,

something traditionally found only in larger component based home theaters.

If you want something simpler but delivers clear quality sound, Sony also provides the HT-CT370 sound bar that comes with 300W of power that will surely make your favorite music and movies sound bigger than ever.

Featuring an enhanced sound space, the HT-CT370 pushes sound wider and further into the room so it becomes more realistic wherever you sit. Also using both Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD, it allows you to enjoy movies just the way the director intended.

“Filipinos love entertaining at home that is why it is important to choose products that can help you design your home regardless of the space or environment you have and at the same time, provide the family with a variety of entertainment choices. With the complete home theatre systems available at Sony, we are giving families more reason to stay at home and enjoy quality time together,” said Allet Velves, Head, Home Entertainment System, Sony Philippines.

For more information on Sony’s full lineup of home theatre systems, head down to the nearest Sony Centre to check out the latest products or visit the website at www. sony.com.ph.

EXCESSIVE PHONE USE LINKED TO DEPRESSION

BY ED BIADO Due to our dependence on smartphones, they’re almost always within reach. We hold onto them every waking hour as if they’re the key to our lives and we check them obsessively—at a rate of 150 times per day—for updates from our social networks and contacts.

In an upcoming issue of the journal Personality and Individual Differences, researchers from Baylo University in Texas investigated the links between “cell phone addiction” and a variety of personality and psychological conditions.

Yahoo Australia reports, “During the study, 364 participants were

asked to complete a questionnaire about their personality type as well as their relationship with their mobile phones. As well as emotional stability, scientists also found that ‘attention impulsiveness’ (an inabil-

ity to focus on the task at hand) had a significant link with mobile phone addiction.”

“Couched in Mowen’s (2000) 3M Hierarchical Model of Personality, the elemental traits of emo-

tional instability and materialism were positively associated while introversion was negatively associated with cell phone addiction. The central trait of attention impulsiveness exhibited a direct and positive association with cell phone addiction. A significant negative relationship between conscientiousness and all three dimensions of Barratt’s impulsiveness scale (central trait) was found. Several additional relationships between the elemental traits of Mowen’s personality hierarchy and the three dimensions of impulsiveness (central trait) also were uncovered,” the researchers described in the paper’s abstract.

In simpler terms, they found that those who exhibited symptoms of cell phone addiction were also more likely to be emotionally unstable or materialistic. On the other hand, introverts, being “negatively

associated with cell phone addiction,” tend to be less dependent on their mobile devices. It is further stated that a moody and temperamental person “may be more likely addicted to their cell phone than more stable individuals.”

The working hypothesis is that phones are being used as a tool to help improve one’s emotional state, functioning as “mood enhancers” in ways similar to antidepressants.

The researchers wrote, “Much like a variety of substance addictions, cell phone addiction may be an attempt at mood repair...distracting him or herself from the worries of the day and providing solace, albeit temporarily, from such concerns.”

If you feel like you’re on your phone more than the average person, you could be addicted. And that could be a sign of a much deeper problem, which you probably should have checked out.

M ONDAY : APRIL 6 : 2015

LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE E D I TOR

glweekend @ gmail.com De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde President and Chancellor Br. Dennis Magbanua FSC describes how the Benilde Prize and Lasallian Innovator inspired the youth to produce “relevant, trailblazing and extraordinary social design solutions.”

BENILDE PRIZE FOR DESIGN EXCELLENCE THE BAMBOARD GAME PROJECT

“The Benilde Prize made us realize that what we are doing is not about the board game. It’s not even about the competition. What we are doing is for something that is bigger than ourselves,” explain The Bamboard Game Project members Cindy Bonachita, Khail Santia and Queenie Maria Guibao (from left to right).

INNOVATORS D

umaguete’s Silliman University and Manila’s De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde were declared winners of the first ever Benilde Prize for Design Excellence and Lasallian Innovator Award respectively.

Launched by De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde in 2014, the Benilde Prize for Design Excellence is the first national student competition on inclusive and innovative social design solutions.

Teams of high school and college student social designers from all over the country presented their creative and groundbreaking design concepts addressing issues such as globalization, human development, biodiversity and resource conservation.

To recognize social design breakthroughs of De La Salle Philippines schools, a special category was created for Lasallian students joining the Benilde Prize.

The Lasallian Innovator Award is given to the most inclusive and innovative social solution designed by any of the 16 De La Salle Philippines schools. For this year’s Lasallian

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Innovator, it was a stiff competition between De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde and University of Saint La Salle Bacolod, with Benilde ultimately taking home the special award.

“We understand that anyone can be an ideator. Whether you are a Lasallian or not, there is always this one big idea just waiting to be unleashed. We want all these ideas to be heard and, if they are really brilliant ideas, to be seen implemented. Thus, the reason for a Lasallian Category,” explained De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde Vice Chancellor for Advancement Robin Serrano.

The Benilde Prize winner Team Bamboard got half-a-million peso grant money and the chance to implement their prototype under the guidance of their mentors for six months.

The Lasallian Innovator Awardee Green Roof Team, on the other hand, received PhP 200,000 funding to carry out their project.

In addition to the grant, the winners also received a trophy created by multi-awarded sculptor and designer Ann Pamintuan.

MARSHALL INTRODUCES NEW PRODUCTS IN THE PHILIPPINES

Khail Santia, Queenie Maria Guibao and Cindy Bonachita of Silliman University designed a customizable, multi-ruleset bamboo board game to facilitate the teaching and learning of Basic Math in technologically marginalized schools. The Bamboard Game Project is a sustainable social design to solve the drop-out crisis through innovative game development and livelihood project that will teach bamboo carpentry to people to the locals of Negros Oriental.

“The Green Roof Project has a simple goal: to innovate in a way that we can change lives through our research and disaster solutions,” share The Green Roof Project members Arnold Gomez Jr., John Clemenn Bugcat and Mark Ryan Jervoso (from left to right).

LASALLIAN INNOVATOR AWARD THE GREEN ROOF PROJECT

Mark Ryan Jervoso, Arnold Gomez Jr., John Clemenn Bugcat of De La SalleCollege of Saint Benilde explored the feasibility of developing an alternative roof tile that uses parts of the Buri Palm as its raw material. The Green Roof Project involves prototype sampling, material flexural strength testing and survey research to find evidence that Buri Palm can pass the roof tiling standards and be made into low-cost roofing alternative.

“It is said that if we can’t be the light, we can be the spark. This is what Benilde Prize and Lasallian Innovator are all about. We strive to inspire others, and

we allow others to inspire us as well,” Benilde President and Chancellor Br. Dennis Magbanua FSC said. “Benilde shines as a beacon of innovative thinking and creative talent. I think we have the responsibility to share and give back our resources for the service of the community through excellence in design.”

Benilde partnered with SMART Communications, Power Mac Center, Fully Booked, Primer Group of Companies, Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for the winners to have more opportunities for collaborative arrangements with corporate, individual, and government institutions.

MARSHALL WOBURN SPEAKER

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arshall headphones and speakers, together with Marshall amplification, recently introduced the Mode, Mode EQ, Acton and Woburn to the Philippines.

Marshall is a true rock legend. Its uniquely clear and expressive sound combined with its mythical stage presence has enraptured music fans around the world for over five decades.

MARSHALL MODE AND MODE EQ HEADPHONES

Marshall Mode and Mode EQ both offer a huge sound in a small package.

Customized drivers deliver highoutput sound at minimal distortion, and the unique in-ear design anchors and provides a comfortable fit. The Mode comes in black with white brass while the Mode EQ comes in black with gold brass. They both have a remote feature with an updated wire clip, which allows you to easily attach the headphones to your T-shirt.

The Mode EQ features a unique EQ switch on the remote, allowing you to customize your sound experience even more. It lets you choose between

two sound steps EQ I, if you like a warmer, bass-heavy sound, and EQ II, if you prefer music brighter, with an emphasis on mids and highs.

The Marshall Mode retails for P3,150, while the Marshall Mode EQ is available for P4,450.

MARSHALL ACTON SPEAKER

This unit might look small in stature, but don’t let that fool you. The Acton, in black or cream, is an impressive and compact active stereo speaker that’s packing some serious power into its stout frame. Completing the ultimate set-up in your home or office, this pintsized speaker will bring style and sound to even the smallest of spaces.

The Acton’s powerful deep bass seems to defy the laws of nature for its small size. Its Hi-Fi qualities packed into a classically designed and compact frame set the Acton apart, positioned to take on even the largest of competitors. Acton’s custom control 3 analogue interaction knobs allow you to fine tune it to the exact sound you desire.

The Marshall Acton is now available for P15,950.

Just like the glory days of rock ‘n’ roll, the Woburn is all about freedom, allowing you to play your music multiple ways. Make your music come alive, the Woburn is crafted to deliver accurate response throughout the frequency range. With its unique sound and design and quality components, the Woburn is built to thrill.

This loudspeaker hits high trebles cleanly, handles low bass with ease, and has a clear and lifelike mid range. The analog treble, bass, and volume knobs give you custom control of your sound.

With two standby modes, powersaver and standard, it also minimizes the speaker’s environmental impact when not actively in use. The overall experience is powerfully rendered music full of punch and drive.

The Marshall Woburn is now available for P28,500.

MARSHALL RESELLERS:

You can get a hold of the new Marshall headphones and speakers at Astroplus, Avid Surfer, Beyond the Box, BZB Gadget Hive, Cebu Audiophile, Complink, Digital Arena, Digital Hub, Digital Walker, E-Central, Egghead, Heima, iCenter, iCon, iStore, iStudio, Lazada (online), Listen Up, Listening Room, Mobile 1, Odyssey, PC Hub, PowerHub, Quicksound, Republik, Senco Link, SM Music & Video, Spectra, Stored Inc, Switch, Sync, Technoholics, TechSavvy, TechShop, and Technopop.

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LIFE

BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

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FOR PARTY ANIMALS ONLY

BOB ZOZOBRADO

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TOURISM INDUSTRY’S BEST

This year, being Visit The Philippines Year, the country’s tourism leaders are busier than ever, crisscrossing the archipelago, tending to the needs of the perked up components of the industry. They are optimistic that we will finally see 10 Million tourists by the end of next year, and this surge of visitors would employ a total of 600,000 of our countrymen. That’s success, any which way you look at it!

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1ST THEOXENIA TOURISM AWARDS

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he College of International Tourism and Hospitality Management (CITHM) of the Lyceum of the Philippines University (LPU)-Manila campus, is the biggest Tourism and Hospitality Management school in Asia, with an average of 9000 students enrolled in its various Programs every semester.

It also prides itself with having the only internationally accredited Tourism and Hospitality Management Programs in the country.

With that in mind, the officers of the LPU Student Chapter of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) Philippines decided to embark on a project to recognize and honor the outstanding Tourism establishments and personalities in the country who have displayed the culture of excellence. This laudable undertaking was pioneering of sorts, as no other university has ever done so.

The Student Chapter officers then

initiated a 2-month long survey on the 9000 students enrolled in in LPU’s Tourism and Hospitality Management Programs, to determine the best of the various components of the industry.

The feedback came from the students’ personal experience, or that of their relatives and friends. And so it came to pass, the 1st Theoxenia Tourism Awards took place the other day, at the university’s JPL Hall. “Theoxenia” is Greek for “hospitality shown to a god who comes as a guest.”

A total of fourteen establishments and personalities were presented their trophies by LPU Assistant to the President Paolo Sotero Laurel, together with the event’s Keynote Speaker, Tourism Undersecretary Benito C. Bengzon, Jr. They were: 5-Star Hotel: Diamond Hotel; 4-Star Hotel: Hotel Jen; Airline: Philippine Airlines; Cruise Line Company: Royal Caribbean International; Travel Agency: Rajah Travel; Most Visited-

Region: 4B (MIMAROPA); and Buffet Restaurant: Vikings Luxury Buffet Other winners were: Chef: Boy Logro. Food Columnist: Michaela Fenix of Philippine Daily Inquirer; Travel Writer: Christine Martine Dayrit of The Philippine Star; Travel Magazine: Asian Traveler; Resort: Balesin Island Club; and, Entertainment Park: Enchanted Kingdom.

The Tourism-Oriented TV Show was awarded posthumously to the late Susan Calo Medina of Travel Time, and was received by her daughter, Lui Medina and the show’s producer, Manu Sandejas who announced, to the delight of everybody, that the show will continue to air with a new host.

The glittering event, which had a Filipiniana theme, was made possible through the combined efforts of the PATA-Philippines LPU Student Chapter, headed by its President, Jopo Gian Delloro, and LPU’s CITHM Dean, Dr. Lilibeth C. Aragon.

1 (from L) Tourism Usec. Benito Bengzon, Jr., Me, Christine Dayrit with her Travel Writer of the Year Trophy, and LPU Asst. to the President Paolo Laurel 2 Bengzon, Hotel Jen’s Director of Operations Frencie Duadua, Laurel, and Jopo Gian Delloro, President of PATA Philippines LPU Student Chapter 3 Bengzon, PAL Senior Asst. Vice-President Harry Inoferio, Laurel and Delloro 4 Lynne Adante, Head of Sales of Enchanted Kingdom, receiving the award for Entertainment Park of the Year 5 Bengzon, Lui Medina (daughter of the late Susan Calo Medina) accepting the award for Travel Time, as Best Tourism-Oriented TV show, with Delloro, and the TV show’s producer, Manu Sandejas 6 Gabriel de la Cruz, Publisher of Asian Traveler magazine, receives the award for Travel Magazine of the Year 7 Bengzon, Region 4B Supervising Tourism Operations Officer Cecil Aranton, and Laurel 8 Aileen Clemente, President and General Manager of Rajah Travel received the Travel Agency of the Year Award 9 Col. Mike Asperin, Chief Executive Officer of Balesin Island Club holds on to his trophy for Resort of the Year 10 Stewart Lee, Marketing Director of Vikings Luxury Buffet accepted the trophy for Buffet Restaurant of the Year 11 Joy Abrogar, Senior Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of Arpan Air, General Sales Agent of Royal Caribbean international, receives the Cruise Line Company of the Year trophy 12 Bengzon, Micky Fenix with her Food Columnist of the Year Award, Laurel and Delloro 13 Undersecretary for Tourism Development Benito Bengzon Jr., making his Keynote Speech 14 Dr. Lilibeth Aragon, Dean of LPU’s College of International Tourism and Hospitality Management doing the Opening Remarks 15 Diamond Hotel’s Sales and Marketing Director Sunshine Robles, Me and General Manager Vanessa Suatengco holding the 5-Star Hotel of the Year trophy

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrad@gmail.

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YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE

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A: Look at that young person with the short hair and blue jeans. Is it a boy or a girl?

B: It’s a girl. She’s my daughter.

A: Oh, I’m sorry, sir. I didn’t know you are her father.

B: I’m not. I’m her mother.

M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 : 2 0 1 5

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

‘OSCARWORTHY’ MOMENTS AT 9TH ASIAN FILM AWARDS

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he 9th Asian Film Awards (AFA) ceremony, dubbed the “Oscars of Asia”, was held at The Venetian Macao recently, commemorating another year of excellence in Asian cinema. It was organized by the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA), and its constituent partners – Busan Film Festival, Tokyo Film Festival and Hong Kong Film Festival.

Hong Kong pop star, and breakout actress Ivana Wong opened the 9th AFA ceremony with a heartfelt singing performance. Later, South Korean band Infinite entertained guests with an energetic musical set, followed by a loud applause from their dedicated fans.

Overall, Mainland China’s films stole the show, winning awards in 10 categories, including three out of the four major accolades.

This year’s coveted Best Film Award went to Blind Massage. Other major winners this year include Ann Hui who took home the Best Director award for The Golden Era. Liao Fan beat other nominees for the Best Actor Award for his role in Black Coal, Thin Ice. However, it was South Korean Bae Doo-na who won Best Actress for her stunning performance in A Girl At My Door.

Upon receiving the Best Actor Award, Liao Fan delivered a short but meaningful speech, thanking his fellow cast members and crew, stating, “I am only receiving this award thanks to all of their support.”

The “Godfather of Korean Cinema,” revered director Im Kwon-taek, received top honors, earning the Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to Korean Cinema throughout his over 50-year career.

Japanese actress Nakatani Miki was also recognized this year, securing the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award in honor of her diverse, multi-award winning career. Upon accepting her award, she vouched for unity among mankind, sharing the profound thought, “I believe that there are still many messages that we are able to convey through movies. I would like to take this opportunity to express my hope that even between nations with political differences we can gain a better understanding of each other through the shared language of film.”

1 “Godfather of Korean Cinema Im Kwon-Taek” receives the Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his numerous contributions to Korean cinema 2 Bae Doo-na receives the Best Actress Award for her performance in ‘A Girl at my Door’ 3 Japanese actress Ikewaki Chizuru receives the Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance in ‘The Light Shines Only There’ 4 Liao Fan receives the Best Actor Award for his performance in ‘Black Coal, Thin Ice’ 5 Renowned director and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Im Kwon-taek hands over the Best Director award to Ann Hui for ‘The Golden Era’ 6 Miki Nakatani delivers a touching speech upon accepting the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, one of the only two special awards awarded 7 South Korean superstar Doh Kyung-soo 8 Ivana Wong entertains guests with a heartfelt performance 9 Anthony Wong announcing the Best Supporting Actress Award winner

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WINNERS AT THE 9TH ASIAN FILM AWARDS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Im Kwon-taek EXCELLENCE IN ASIAN CINEMA Nakatani Miki BEST FILM: Blind Massage

BEST DIRECTOR: Ann Hui, The Golden Era

BEST ACTOR: Liao Fan, Black Coal, Thin Ice BEST ACTRESS: Bae Doo-na, A Girl At My Door

BEST NEWCOMER: Zhang Huiwen, Coming Home

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Wang Zhiwen, The Golden Era

Best supporting actress: Ikewaki Chizuru, The Light Shines Only There

Best Screenwriter: Diao Yinan, Black Coal, Thin Ice

Best Cinematographer: Zeng Jian, Blind Massage

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Liu Qing, Gone with the Bullets

BEST COMPOSER: Mikey McCleary, Margarita, with a Straw

BEST EDITOR: Gareth Evans, The Raid 2: Berandal BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Rick Sander and Christoph Zollinger, Gone with the Bullets

BEST COSTUME DESIGNER: William Chang Suk Ping, Gone with the Bullets

M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 : 2 0 1 5

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SHOWBITZ

EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

BAEK Z YOUNG PERFORMS IN MANILA

Baek Z Young, the Korean queen of K-Pop ballad, performs in Manila on April 15

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outh Korean’s “Queen of K-Pop Ballad” Baek Z Young performs in Manila, 8 p.m. on April 15.

Billed as Baek Z. Young: Close up 2015 Manila, the show will be staged at the Resorts World’s Newport Performing Arts Theatre in Pasay City.

Baek began her music career in 1999, entering the South Korean dance scene with her first album Sorrow. The first single, Choice, was unusual.

It was one of the first Korean pop songs to feature a Latin beat. It proved to be popular, however, and performed well in the charts. She quickly followed the album with a second, Rouge, which came out in April 2000, selling 360,000 copies, solidifying her status as one of South Korea’s most popular female dance artists.

Two years after the release of her third album, Tres, Baek released again her fourth, Smile, in September 2003. Although

not a runaway success, it managed to sell a decent number of copies, placing 46th in the charts for the year.

Her real comeback score occurred in 2006, when Baek released her fifth album, Smile Again, in March. “I Won’t Love”, her first single from the album, was a ballad, unlike the rest of her Latin-style singles. It was a significant change, but proved very popular and landed on top of the ratings in certain performance show charts. This change, however, was not sustained. There were many Latin/ dance tracks in the album.

Interestingly, the second single in the album has seen Baek going back to her musical roots, as Ez Do Dance is a sexy Latin number. She performed this single until the end of summer 2006. After her promotional activities for the album, she won the Best Female Solo Singer honors at the MKMF Awards in November

13-YEAR-OLD FAN TO MEET ARIAN GRANDE IN LA

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iona Uy never thought something as casual as subscribing to SPINNR or listening to songs of Ariana Grande could land her the experience of a lifetime.

But the 13-year old Arianator is bound for that grand experience to watch the “Love Me Harder” hit maker and chat with Ariana in the flesh via a meet-and-greet session for the Los Angeles leg of the singer’s Honeymoon concert tour this month. The promo was made possible through SPINNR’s partnership with MCA Music.

“I’m very happy. I shouted and shouted when Spinnr told me that I won!” Uy said last March 27 when she claimed her winnings at the Smart Tower in Makati City.

Uy was just “at home,” doing what Arianators do best during summer vacation (Read: listening to an overload of Ariana songs). The self-confessed die-hard fan, who named “One Last Time” as her current favorite, said, “I always to listen to Ariana no matter what I’m feeling. She inspires me with her songs and her voice and just about everything she does!”

The moment Uy, currently a 9th grader from St. Paul College in Pasig, learned that Ariana will have a concert in Manila in August, she wanted so badly to watch the show. What she did not know was that she’s bound to watch it ahead of everyone else in the Philippines because SPINNR is flying her off to LA along with her mother Regie Uy and her sister Jercyl Uy to watch the concert and chat with Ariana.

“I might just spend all our time together shouting,” said the SPINNR Fly-Off winner when asked how she would react during her meet and greet. I’m just very excited!”

To SPINNR, Smart’s homegrown music app that lets fans all over the Philippines turn their dreams into realities, Uy will forever be grateful. “Thank you to Smart and SPINNR for giving me this opportunity. It’s going to be very memorable and I’m sure this will be that one trip that I will never ever forget.

KATY PERRY NEXT In 2014, Arianators trouped to Smart Tower

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ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 More competent 6 Lacking forethought 10 Quote from 14 Dashboard dial 15 Verge 16 Phone, slangily 17 Rigel’s constellation 18 — - — -tat-tat 19 No future — — 20 Makes a pit stop (2 wds.)

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2006 and was nominated for the Overseas Viewer Award.

Baek has also participated in numerous soundtracks for TV dramas, most of which were tremendous successes, including Don’t Forget for IRIS, Love Is Not a Crime for Ja Myung Go, Love and Love for Arang and the Magistrate, and Spring Rain for Gu Family Book. The most famous thus far has been That Woman from Secret Garden, which won Outstanding Korean Drama OST at the 2011 Seoul International Drama Awards.

“I love to participate in producing music for soaps if I like the female lead after reading the script. It’s a thrill to hear my song played during melodramatic moments in soaps,” she confides. She later released Flash Back 2013, a collection of television drama soundtracks she recorded.

In 2012, Baek announced she would release her major dance

for a Google Hangout session with Ariana— and the fans went wild. Some of the teens cried as soon as Ariana greeted her fans.

“We saw how ecstatic Ariana Grande’s fans were when we did our Google Hangout event at the Smart office so what better way to support the Ariana fever but to send lucky fans to actually be at her concert in California,” said Lucille Tang, SPINNR’s product manager.

“This is really about going beyond the listening experience that the country’s leading music app already provides. The Ariana Grande Fly-Off promo will not only let fans watch the show, experience an all-expense paid trip to California but also see it through that they will get to spend the best time of their lives with a meet and greet with Ariana herself,” she added.

Fly-Off promos are regular fixtures on SPINNR’s experience-heavy music events.

SPINNR will soon pump up the concert scene anew with the VIP ticket raffle promo to Katy Perry’s upcoming “Prismatic” concert in Manila in May. Just visit Spinnr.ph, SPINNR’s Facebook page, Instagram and smart.com.ph for more details.

album in three years. She also became a judge/coach on The Voice of Korea, the local version of reality singing competition, The Voice. Subsequently, she released a ballad from the mini-album entitled Voice, featuring Gary from Leessang, and her Good Boy mini-album that includes dance title track of the same name featuring Yong Jun-hyung of B2ST. On Feb. 16, 2013, Baek held a solo concert at the Jamsil Gymnasium in Seoul, followed by a nationwide tour in March.

She also performed for the first time in Japan at a sold-out concert in May of the same year.

Baek Z. Young: Close Up 2015 Manila is co-produced by Resorts World Manila with Philippines Airlines (Rakso Travel/ Onfill), Bang’s Prime Salon by Tony and Jackey, KCC, Ceragem, Chum Chu-rum as sponsors, Myx as media partner, and official PR/Media partner Media Blitz Group.

Ariana Grande

Fiona Uy is bound for the best summer experience with Ariana Grande in Los Angeles, California.

M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 : 2 0 1 5

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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KAPUSO STARS IN DAPITAN From C8

Jasmine Curtis-Smith is being linked with Paulo Avelino

JASMINE CURTIS-SMITH DENIES ROMANCING PAULO AVELINO

Kapuso stars descend on Dapitan in Mindanao for an early summer rendevous. They include Alden Richards, Benjamin Alves, Geoff Eigenmann, Rafael Rossell, Andrea Torres, and JC Tiuseco

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welve of the hottest GMA celebrities were in the country’s Shrine City via the “Kapuso Weekend in Dapitan” the previous month.

Alden Richards, Andrea Torres, Benjamin Alves, Geoff Eigenmann, Gwen Zamora, JC Tiuseco, LJ Reyes, Louise delos Reyes, Mark Herras, Mike Tan, Rafael Rosell, and Rochelle Pangilinan joined the merrymaking on March 20, including the Beach Games Zumba session at Dakak Park and Beach Resort.

The GMA stars proceeded to the Kapuso Night at the Gloria Thea Complex Stage of Gloria’s Fantasyland, Dapitan’s world-class theme park.

The second set of Kapuso Beach Games resumed as early as 8 in the morning in the resort the following day.

By two in the afternoon, the GMA stars engaged themselves into more difficult challenges through the Kapuso Outdoor Challenge at the Dakak Adventure Zone.

Come sundown, amidst the soothing sound of the waves breaking against the shore of Dakak, locals and tourists alike enjoyed the local bands performing in the Kapuso

Reggae Night. Capping off the two-day summer activity was another fun-filled Kapuso Night held at Gloria’s Fantasyland.

Mike “Pekto” Nacua and Boobay, together with disk jockey Rico Robles, hosted the shows.

HHHHH What do Kuya Kim Atienza, Matteo Guidicelli, and Karylle run for?

The TV personalities make a bold statement for their causes as they come together to join “DZMM Takbo 2015,” on April 12 at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.

The fun run aims to help DZMM’s 75 scholars continue their elementary education, an activity that DZMM has done for five years since 2011.

The registration ends on April 8, so make sure to visit dzmm.com.ph/takbo to register online or troop to onsite registration centers at the ABS-CBN Tulong Center (9 a.m.-5 p.m.), Reebok branches at Robinsons Galleria, Royal Sporting House at Glorietta and Robinsons Ermita, Runnr Store at Bonifacio High Street, and Transfer It branches at Marikina Riverbank Mall and Farmers Plaza in Cubao.

Kuya Kim Atienza and Karylle join DZMM fun run

“DZMM Takbo 2015” includes the 21K category with a regular registration fee of P900, 10K (P700), 5K (P600), and 3K (P500). Senior citizens can avail of the 20% discount, while students can get P100 off for any category.

The fee comes with a race kit, bib number, as well as a singlet the registrant’s preferred statement. Kuya Kim expressed that he will run for Philippians 4:13, while Karylle will run to get the feeling of flying.

Joining them are DZMM anchors Winnie Cordero, Bernadette Sembrano, Atty.

Claire Castro, Jasmin Romero, Nina Corpuz, and Atom Araullo who will run for family, service, justice, OFWs, and hero mommies, and readiness, respectively.

Also supporting DZMM’s cause are Noli De Castro, Gerry Baja, Marc Logan, Maresciel Yao, DJ Richard, Ahwel Paz, and many more.

This is the fifth time DZMM is organizing a run to advocate education, following “Takbo Para sa Karunungan” held from 2011 to 2014 and benefited scholars from Ondoy, Sendong, and Habagataffected areas.

Birthday girl Jasmine Curtis-Smith sheds light on the rumor that she and JOSEPH PETER GONZALES Paulo Avelino are allegedly playing beautiful music together at this point.

“Of course not!” she avers.

“Just like what he said in a recent interview, we’re just friends.

There’s nothing special going on between us, period!”

It all started when a picture of them dining in a restaurant together circulated of late in the social media.

“Oh, that one you mean? Actually, we were in a group. Paulo and I are currently filming Mara under Regal Entertainment. So we’re friends and fellow workers who casually like to have dinner with a group. That’s it. There should really be no issue at all!”

The pretty Kapatid talent remains unfazed despite flaks coming from bashers, believed to be followers of Paulo and KC Concepcion. The rumor between her and Paulo cropped up at a time when the latter’s alleged love affair with KC was reported to have fizzled out.

“I’m not really affected because that’s the way it is in the ‘biz. When you befriend someone from the opposite sex, it can be given color instantly. I just have to accept that. As long as I know and everyone else what the truth is, what really went down, it’s enough for me. We heard Paulo saying that we’re just friends and co-workers. That’s the truth!”

For the record, no courtship happened between them?

“There’s nothing like that.

He didn’t court me. We’re just friends who like to hang-out together,” says Jasmine.

She is celebrating her birthday today.

“Yes! I’m happy to be 21 now.

I’m thrilled with the thought that a lot of exciting things await me at this stage.”

Does she have any wish on her special day?

“That would be more and more projects! I started 2015 with a busy work schedule. I hope it remains that way for the rest of the year. I’m simply grateful. I also wish that I’ll be more mature when it comes to my work relationship with fellow actors,” ends Jasmine.

HHHHH According to Bea Alonzo, she is happy and proud of boyfriend Zanjoe Marudo’s present success because of his hit soap opera titled Dream Dad. “Oh yes! For one, it’s on prime time…and on the first slot! Everybody knows how stiff the ratings competition is for that block, and yet the show is doing very well. It’s really something that you should be proud of.

“In fact, I’m so glad when outside, he is being called Mr. President. It means, he was able to endear his character to the viewers. I’m simply happy for him,” she says.

In one of his interviews, Zanjoe said that like his role in the soap, he is already prepared to become a father in real life.

“Well…good for him! Ha-haha! It just shows that he is the serious type. He takes our relationship seriously. I’m happy about that. But for sure, he also said not anytime soon!”

When it comes to her own television exposure, many notice that after her soap Sana Bukas Pa ang Kahapon, she’s not that visible anymore.

“It’s because I’m doing the movie Crossroads with Mr. Richard Gomez and Ms. Dawn Zulueta. After shooting this project, I might get back to the soap opera scene,” Bea states.

Bea Alonzo is proud of her boyfriend Zanjoe Marudo

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M O N D AY : A P R I L 6 : 2 0 1 5

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

MEGAN YOUNG IS HOME SIMPLY RED ISAH V. RED

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iss World 2013 is home, both from globetrotting as the international beauty pageant’s title holder, and from being a Kapamilya for sometime.

Megan Young, to refresh our memories, was one of the faces that was discovered by the Kapuso network’s second season of StarStruck, the artista search.

Tuesday last week, the Starstruck II alumna returned to her home network. She inked a oneyear exclusive contract with GMA Network.

GMA Network’s Chairman and CEO Atty.

Felipe L. Gozon and President and COO Gilberto R. Duavit, Jr. were very happy the first Filipina to win the international beauty crown has chosen GMA Network as her home in the next 12 months.

Entertainment TV’s Senior Vice President Lilybeth G. Rasonable said the network has big plans for the Miss World titlist, including a major soap opera for primetime.

Vice President for Entertainment TV Marivin T. Arayata, Vice President for Drama Productions Redgie Acuña-Magno, Senior Assistant Vice President for Alternative Productions Gigi

Santiago-Lara, Assistant Vice President for Drama Productions Cheryl Ching-Sy were also present during the contract signing along with Ms. World Philippines Vice Chairman and talent manager Arnold Vegafria.

The beauty queen revealed her delight as she will be active again in showbiz with hosting stints and soap opera roles. “Masaya akong nagbabalik dahil I’ve grown so much as a person, as an artist, and now nandito na ulit ako, I can offer the people a better version of myself,” said Megan.

Megan also talked about her relationship with fellow artists and staff, and how she missed most of those who have supported her from the start of her career. She also mentioned that she wants to go back to acting, “Na-miss ko rin ang pag-act, kasi sa Miss World, hindi ka naman nag-a-act doon. Isa’t kalahating taon din akong nag-stop, kasi kailangan siyempre yung concentration ko nasa Miss World. Pero ngayong nagbabalik, kailangan ko naman ulit mag-prepare for acting, kasi matagal din akong nawala.”

During the contract signing held at the Boardroom of GMA Network, Atty. Gozon ex-

pressed his genuine support for Megan, “We are very glad and proud and honored na tayo ang pinili ni Miss World. Kaya maski saan siya nakarating, ang puso niya nasa Kapuso pa rin.

At ang puso natin, nasa kanya rin. So we are lining up many things for Megan to do.”

Mr. Duavit, in turn, shared that he is both glad and excited now that Megan is back with the Kapuso Network, “Nakakatuwa kapag ang isang nagsimula bilang Kapuso ay nagbabalik bilang Kapuso. And in Megan’s case, sa mga dumaang panahon, bukod sa Miss World, she also embodies or personifies certain values that are consistent with ours. So we’re very excited. Megan is versatile, she’s very professional at meron ng mga nakahanay na mga proyekto para sa kanya. So, welcome back kapuso, we’re all very proud of you. And very happy you’re back home.”

Rasonable revealed some of Megan’s upcoming projects this year, “She will be cohosting StarStruck with Dingdong Dantes, so that’s the first big project. And then there’s another one coming up. It’s a big primetime soap, but we’ll announce it when the time comes.” Continued on C7

We are very glad and proud and honored that Miss World has chosen us, the kapuso network.

Wherever she goes, she still Kapuso, and our hearts are with her. So, we’re lining up many things for Megan to do – Atty. Felipe L. Gozon

Megan Young signs a year’s contract with GMA Network. Witnessing the contract signing are GMA officers Lilybeth Rasonable, Jimmy Duavit, Atty. Felipe L. Gozon, and Mis World Vice Chairman Arnold L. Vegafria