The Standard - 2015 June 03 - Wednesday

VOL. XXIX  NO. 105  3 Sections 32 Pages P18  WEDNESDAY : JUNE 3, 2015  www.manilastandardtoday.com  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

FILIPINOS DON’T TRUST CHINA

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POE UNQUALIFIED, UNA DECLARES Next page

Proof? Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco holds up a copy of Senator Grace Poe’s certificate of candidacy in the 2013 elections as supposed proof that she is not qualified to run for President or vice president in 2016 because she lacks residency. XIANNE ARCANGEL,GMA NEWS ONLINE

BBL payola from Chinese crime lord given in tranches

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‘BBL payola paid out in tranches to congressmen’

By Christine F. Herrera SOME P440 million purportedly extorted from a suspected Chinese crime lord was being distributed to congressmen in tranches to make sure there is a quorum during the marathon plenary debate on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), lawmakers said Tuesday.

The money flooding the House is aimed at the swift passage of the Palace-drafted BBL, which will create a new Bangsamoro region under a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), House insiders said.

“The BBL payola is being raised by the President’s men, mostly from the ruling Liberal Party. They call it lobby fund,” said a lawmaker who is a member of the Liberal Party and is privy to some of the LP’s lobbying on behalf of the BBL. “The Speaker may not know some of the actions in his own backyard because it is the Liberals that are operating inside and outside the House,” the LP lawmaker said.

He named some of the “BBL fund raisers” but asked that they not be disclosed pending a decision from the House leadership on whether or not to launch a congressional investigation.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has yet to respond to the demand from opposition lawmakers to conduct a probe on the alleged involvement of administration officials in cutting a deal with Wang.

The independent minority bloc led by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has filed a House resolution calling for an investigation.

1BAP Rep. Silvestre Bello III, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio and Gabriela Rep. Emmi de Jesus have made similar calls.

“The Palace, which imposed and insisted on the June 11 deadline, is very concerned that the deadline will not be met due to a lack of quorum,” said the lawmaker, who requested anonymity.

“There was a huge budget to ensure the swift passage of the BBL. While we were not told about the source of the budget, we knew it is from Malacanang. If the source includes the BBL payola from the supposed crime lord, Malacanang had found a way of renaming it as travel, attendance and operations allowances,” the source said.

The source was referring to the $10 million [P440 million at P44 to a dollar] that officials from the Bureau of Immigration allegedly raised for the BBL by cutting a deal with Wang, who was granted a release order on May 21.

His release was stopped, however, when the Chinese Embassy in Manila protested.

An earlier deportation order was then reinstated.

Top Immigration officials are accusing each other of cutting a deal with Wang, with Commissioner Siegfred

Mison pointing out that it was his two deputy commissioners who voted for his release.

The House insider said the allowances from the BBL lobbying team would give lawmakers no excuse for not attending the plenary debates because even their plane fares would be covered.

On Monday, some 193 House members—enough for a quorum--showed up but the number dwindled to 40 in the early evening, prompting Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza to question the quorum.

The sessions were suspended until 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Quorum bells were busy pealing on Tuesday to summon the lawmakers to attend the sessions.

Sponsorship speeches that were cut short Monday resumed Tuesday afternoon after sessions resumed.

Belmonte said no money was offered to pass the BBL and said he would resign if it were proved otherwise.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, an LP stalwart, said there was no telling if the Palace had the numbers to ensure the passage of the BBL. “We cannot compel the other members from the majority coalition such as the Nationalist People’s Coalition, Nacionalista Party and the National Unity Party because even the Liberal Party is not that solid on the BBL,” Gonzales said.

The Visayan bloc, with 42 members led by Bacolod City Rep. Albee Benitez, vowed to vote as a group, regardless of their political affiliations.

Benitez said if the majority decides to vote against the BBL, then all of them would vote that way. The same would hold true if the majority favored the passage of the bill, he said.

Gonzales said House leaders were considering dropping one of the most controversial provisions of the bill—the opt-in provision—to improve the chances for the bill’s passage.

The opt-in provision allows provinces adjacent to the proposed Bangsamoro autonomous region to petition to join it after it has been formed.

The opt-in provision was among eight provisions that Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the ad hoc committee on the BBL, vowed to remove, but then kept intact after a 12-hour meeting with President Benigno Aquino III in Malacanang.

“For 12 hours, from 1:30 p.m. Sunday to 2 a.m. Sunday of May 17, the President only went out three times to smoke. He was really deep into the discussion and defended every provision that he wanted restored,” the source said.

From May 18-20 during the voting on line-by-line amendments, six of the eight provisions from the original Palace bill were restored.

The BBL was approved at the committee level 50-17, with one abstention, on May 20. – With Vito Barcelo

Fatal flaw? Detail of Poe’s signed certificate of candidacy filed with the Commission on Elections for the May 2013 elections shows her declaring that she would only be a resident of the Philippines for six years by election day.

Grace not qualified to run, UNA claims

By Maricel V. Cruz

SENATOR Grace Poe is not qualified to run either for President or vice president in the 2016 national elections because she does not meet the residency requirement, United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) interim president and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said on Tuesday.

At a news conference, Tiangco showed a certificate of candidacy (CoC) supposedly filed by Poe when she ran for senator in 2013 as proof that the senator could not pursue her political ambition in next year’s elections.

“The constitutional requirement for vice president and President is 10 years,” Tiangco said, citing Article 7, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution.

He quoted the provision in full: “No person may be elected President unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election.”

But Tiangco said Poe’s CoC showed that she had been a Philippine resident for only six years and six months before election day on May 13, 2013. Thus, she would only be a resident for nine years and six months

by May 2016, six months short of the constitutional requirement.

“Six years and six months plus three years equals nine years and six months...

You can’t argue with the number,” Tiangco said, noting that Poe herself attested to that fact when she signed her 2013 CoC. “By her own declaration, in her own sworn statement, she herself says that she is not qualified in 2016,” he added, noting that a CoC was a public document and should only contain the truth because lying would constitute perjury.

Tiangco also took a swipe at Poe’s earlier remark that the country needed a leader with honesty rather than a leader with experience.

“If the issue of honesty is that important to her, she should’ve been honest to the people that she isn’t qualified to run.”

Although Poe was born and educated in the Philippines, she has spent most of her adult life in the United States, where she studied at Boston College.

Sought for comment, Poe’s camp said the senator returned to the country in late 2004 following the death of her father, actor and then opposition standard-bearer Fernando Poe Jr. “The fact remains that Grace Poe and her whole family permanently re-

sided in the country soon after FPJ died in December 2004 to [provide] company to the grieving widow Susan Roces,” said Nelson Victorino, Poe’s chief of staff.

She decided to return permanently to the Philippines after her adoptive father, movie actor Fernando Poe Jr., died in 2004 after losing the presidential election of that year to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Poe has always maintained that her father was cheated of the presidency and entered public service in the 2010, when President Benigno Aquino III appointed her chairperson of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board.

She served two terms at the MTRCB until she filed her candidacy for senator in September 2012.

She ran with funding from the Team PNoy coalition, although she officially ran as an independent and was also a guest candidate of UNA along with Senators Loren Legarda and Francis Escudero. She topped the 2013 senatorial election in her first bid for public office.

Both UNA and the Liberal Party have been actively persuading her to join their ticket in 2016 because of her performance in 2013 and in presidential preference surveys.

But on May 30, Poe appeared to have closed the door to the Binay camp after she signed the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee’s recommendation that plunder charges should be filed against Vice President Jejomar Binay, UNA’s presumptive presidential candidate, over the alleged P2.7 billion overpricing of the Makati City Hall parking building.

Poe was among the four signatories to the draft partial report which also suggested the filing of similar charges against the Vice President’s son, Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay and others, including former and incumbent Makati City officials.

Asked why UNA revealed Poe’s certificate only now, Tiangco said Binay is too much of a gentleman to bring the matter up. “The Vice President is very polite. When I told him about (the issue of residency), he said let it come from other people,” Tiangco said.

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De Lima promises to investigate Wang’s ‘fairy tale’ in that case. If money changed hands, then JUSTICE Secretary we should really inLeila de Lima said vestigate it well and Tuesday that if money file charges. But if this changed hands in ex- is just rumor, then it’s change for a release also unfair for them order for a suspected (commissioners),” she Chinese crime lord, said. appropriate charges The Bureau of Immiwould be filed against gration is an attached the Immigration offi- agency of the Justice cials involved.

Department.

Even before speak“What a ridiculous ing to the Immigration claim! What a ridicuofficials, however, De lous story!” De Lima Lima dismissed as “a said in an interview. fairy tale” reports that Wang, who is wanted millions of pesos ex- by Interpol and the torted from Wang Bo Chinese government were used to raise cam- for allegedly embezpaign funds for the rul- zling $100 million, is ing Liberal Party and to still in detention. bribe lawmakers into The Chinese Emswiftly approving the bassy had sought the Bangsamoro Basic Law Immigration Bureau’s (BBL). assistance in appreDe Lima said she hending Wang, saying will call Immigration that he was wanted for Commissioner Siegfred illegal gambling and Mison and two deputy that his passport had commissioners, Gilber- been cancelled. to Repizo and Abdullah Wang, employed at Mangotar, to a meeting the ELC Technology to “clear the air” about Consulting Co. Inc. reports that they or- based in the Cagayan dered the Chinese fugi- Economic Zone, will tive Wang released in remain in the BI’s cusexchange for millions tody while his case is of pesos. pending with the Jus“I can see that there tice Department. are a lot of intrigues On March 5, the surrounding that Board of Commiscase. To set the record sioners issued a sumstraight and clear the mary deportation order air, I intend to sit down against Wang. with all three of them But on May 21, the and clarify certain fac- board granted Wang’s tual matters,” said De request and removed Lima, who stopped his name from the Wang’s release follow- blacklist. ing a protest from the Among the arguChinese Embassy in ments raised was that Manila. there was no official De Lima declined to document showing comment on a report in that Wang’s passport The Standard quoting had been cancelled and Oriental Mindoro Gov. there was no warrant Alfonso Umali, who for his arrest. defended Repizo and All the three board Mangotar and accused members – Mison, Mison instead of cut- Mangotara and Repizo ting a deal with Wang.

– signed the May 21 reUmali’s statement lease order. seemed to confirm that However, on the Immigration officials same day, Mison said, had cut a deal with the Chinese Embassy Wang, although he ac- informed him that cused Mison of being be- Wang’s passport had hind the move to release indeed been cancelled, the Chinese fugitive. so he deferred Wang’s Mison, on the other release. hand, said the official When the board conrecords would show that vened again on May 26 it was the deputy com- to discuss Wang’s case, missioners who pushed Mison was outvoted by for Wang’s release, after the two deputy comthey were reported to missioners, who fahave met with Wang’s vored releasing Wang. representative.

The Chinese EmDe Lima said she bassy has confirmed would issue a statement Wang’s criminal staafter she had clarified tus, citing a warrant all the facts surround- for his arrest, a written ing Wang’s case with the declaration of the canImmigration officials. cellation of his pass“I just want to know port, and the criminal what really happened charge against him.

THE STANDARD POLL T RUS T R ATINGS OF COUN T RIES

By Rey E. Requejo

Survey: Filipinos don’t trust ‘frenemy’ China

By Joyce Pangco Pañares

MOST Filipinos consider China as the Philippines’ top “ frenemy” and its least-trusted neighbor following Beijing’s massive reclamation in the West Philippine Sea, the result of the first The Standard Poll showed.

China posted a net trust rating of -60 (eight percent “much” trust, 68 percent “little” trust) in the survey conducted by resident pollster Junie Laylo from May 8 to 18.

China was also the top of mind response of the Filipinos for the countries considered as “not real friends” of the Philippines, with an overwhelming 83 percent.

The poll, which had a sample size of 1,500 with 300 respondents each from the National Capital Region, North/Central Luzon, South Luzon/ Bicol, the Visayas and Mindanao, saw the United States and Japan getting the highest net trust rating of +69 and +13, respectively.

The United States and Japan were also ranked as the top two “real friends” of the Philippines while Indonesia came in second after China among its “not real friends.”

Most of the Filipinos polled said the attempt of other countries to

seize Philippine territory and resources was the number one threat that they were most concerned with.

The respondents were also most concerned with the possibility of other countries declaring war or annexing the Philippines and the threats of terror attacks.

A plurality of those polled said they were satisfied with the performance of the Aquino administration in protecting the country from any possible threats from China (45 percent satisfied, 22 percent dissatisfied).

The opinion, however, on the correct track that should be taken by Manila in resolving the territorial row with Beijing was divided, with 47 percent going for the arbitration case before the United Nations and 53 percent saying the issue should be resolved diplomatically.

The majority of the respondents (64 percent) expressed confidence that the United States would help the

Philippines should the country get embroiled in an armed confrontation with China.

They also said it was important for the country to boost its strategic partnership with Japan, which is also embroiled in a maritime dispute with China over the Senkaku Islands.

At least 55 percent of the Filipinos polled also thought that Japan should be allowed to strengthen its military capabilities for defense purposes amid the tensions in the region.

Those surveyed also supported the government’s pronouncement that it will pursue a strategic partnership with Vietnam—another claimant to the disputed territories in the West Philippine Sea—with 52 percent of the respondents saying that would help secure freedom of navigation in the area while protecting our

own territorial claims.

On the other hand, 51 percent of the respondents rejected the possibility of entering into a joint exploration agreement in the Spratlys with other claimant-countries.

When asked specifically if the Philippines should partner with China in exploring the Spratlys, 53 percent of the respondents said that should not be pursued.

The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said that China’s massive reclamation in the West Philippine Sea had resulted in the destruction of 121 hectares of coral reef, which was equivalent to $100 million in economic losses to the coastal areas.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario had said China is alone in its nine-dash line territorial claim.

“No country in the world recognizes that

the 9-dash line is a valid claim on the part of China,” Del Rosario said.

But Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has downplayed the criticisms over the reclamation projects, claiming these were being done in the areas that were well within China’s jurisdiction.

China claims 90 percent of the West Philippine Sea, which is believed to be rich in oil and gas.

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan have also claimed parts of the disputed areas.

The Standard Poll had error margins of +/- 2.6 percent for the national result and +/- 6 percent for the regional results.

All regions were represented in the survey.

Laylo, The Standard’s in-house pollster, has 25 years of experience in political polling and strategic research.

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC In compliance with the Memorandum Order dated 03 April 1998 of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), BAYANTEL publishes herewith its applicable Foreign Currency Adjustment (FCA) to be collected from BAYANTEL subscribers of its local exchange service. The FCA shall be added to BAYANTEL’s approved Monthly Recurring Rate (MRR) under Case No. 95-390, as modified under Case No. 97-055.

LOCAL SERVICE RATES (In Philippine Peso)

Effective 30 JUNE, 2015

FCA

RES

BUS

Trunk 1 & 2

Trunk 3 & up

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

NTC Determined FX rate (for June 2015): P44.61 to US$1.00

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Hearings vs Binay meant to sway polls

By Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta

The cost of Bangsamoro. Senator Francis Joseph Escudero confers with Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares during the Senate hearing on financial matters of the Bangsamoro Basic Law. EY ACASIO

Peace exec admits BBL not a peace guarantee

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

A MEMBER of the government’s negotiating team admitted Tuesday the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will not guarantee peace in the Muslim Mindanao as senators said they were unlikely to meet a second deadline for its passage by October.

“What is your assurance that we will have peace here? Isn’t it possible that after this, a new group will emerge?” Senator Ralph Recto asked former Agriculture secretary Senen Bacani, one of the government’s peace negotiators, during a Senate hearing on the BBL.

“Definitely, no guarantee for peace, even with its passage,” Bacani replied.

Since it is a peace process, Bacani said, all they could do was to lay the groundwork for longer-term solutions to the problems in Mindanao.

He added that the “additional overhead” of implementing the BBL

would be easily paid back through lower expenditures by the military and the police in the region.

But Recto pointed out that Bacani’s estimate assumed that peace would follow.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., chairman of the Senate committee on local governments that is deliberating on the BBL, said he agreed with Bacani that achieving peace was a process.

“We look upon the BBL as a part of the peace process. It is not going to by itself as finish the problem in Mindanao. It will be part of that if we have a good version of the BBL that is constitutional, that is legal, that will be successful. Even if the ideal situation prevails, we still have to do many other things to make sure that there will be

peace,” Marcos said.

Marcos said the BBL should not be rejected simply because it could not guarantee peace. The law, he added, might help achieve peace in Mindanao and address the concerns of major armed groups in the region.

Senator Francis Escudero said the October deadline set

by Senate President Franklin Drilon was not enough to scrutinize the BBL and identify the needed revisions.

“I honestly don’t know if a deadline is doable. We also have to factor in the bicameral approval. Again I am not a believer in deadlines when it comes to a very important piece of legislation,” Escudero said. With Sandy

Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

THE ongoing Senate investigation and the leakage of a report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council are clearly being used to influence the results of presidential surveys as shown by the results of the Standard Poll, the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay said on Tuesday.

But Binay’s political spokesperson Rico Quicho said support for the Vice President remains solid because Binay remains on top of voters’ presidential preferences.

“As the 2016 presidential election comes closer, we can expect aspirants lagging behind in surveys to take advantage of the demolition job directed at the Vice President to try and improve their ratings while hiding their thin credentials and unpreparedness for the job,” Quicho said.

“His base of support remains solid and this cannot be disputed,” Quicho said. “On the other hand, the survey ratings of other personalities go up or down depending on their media visibility. The Vice President is thankful to the people for standing by him and sharing his vision for the country.”

Quicho said Binay remains ready and willing to fight to uplift the lives of the masses and stays committed to replicate the successful programs he started in Makati to the rest of the country.

The Vice President’s daughter, Senator Nancy Binay echoed the sentiment and said the senators who signed the Blue Ribbon subcommittee report recommending plunder against her father only wanted to boost their rankings in the surveys.

She said the draft report is all about surveys and “since it’s survey period now, they wanted to seek media attention.”

“My colleagues have their own reasons for signing and I respect that. But I wish those who signed, thinking it would boost their plans to run for president or for vice president, will be candid enough to admit their personal motives.

“For those who wanted to be a president or vice president, just tell the people what you stand for, not what you stand against. It’s easier to say that you are against one thing or a person, but what’s really your answer to the problems of the poor?” the senator said.

Because of their personal interests, she said her colleagues simply ignored the bullying on people identified with her father, condoning lies and demolition against them.

DOJ: No pork raps vs some solons

By Rey E. Requejo AS probers finalized their report on the third batch of lawmakers who will be charged for misusing their pork barrel funds, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima insisted that some of the lawmakers, including members of the ruling Liberal Party, may not be included in the rap sheet.

De Lima refused to identify the lawmakers who would be excluded, but she maintained that some lawmakers are claiming that their signatures on the pork barrel documents were forged.

“It’s unfair to announce their names, if they would not be included as among those to be charged. It would unnecessarily

affect them,” De Lima said, in an interview.

According to her, the DOJ continues to study the impact of the supposed forgery on some pork barrel-related documents to the new batch of charges, but she noted that three or four individuals currently being investigated by the DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation already made forgery claims.

“There are findings that certain documents [was not signed by] one and the same person, the handwriting. In other words, when they compare the specimen signature of the lawmaker concerned, that is not it,” she said. “I already ordered the team to determine if that is enough to

exculpate them.”

Justice Undersecretary Jose Justiniano earlier revealed that incumbent senator and some administration allies would be among the personalities to be charged in connection with their supposed involvement in the pork barrel scam, but also refused to identify them.

The nine former and incumbent lawmakers will face graft and malversation charges, but there will be no plunder charges because the amounts involved did not reach and exceed P50 million.

Aside from opposition leader Senator Gregorio Honasan, the third batch would also include allies of President Benigno Aquino III.

Skills competition. Valenzuela City rescuers move concrete slabs during the first MMDA Rescue Skills Olympic at Qurino Grandstand in Manila on Tuesday.

DANNY PATA

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UK queen honors 2 Filipinos

By Vito Barcelo TWO Filipino women were honored by Queen Elizabeth II of England for the exemplary work they rendered in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda, (international name “Haiyan”).

The Queen conferred the honor on Vice Consul Victoria Buenaventura and Pro-Consul Joanna Teh, staff members of the Consular Section at the British Embassy in Manila.

The Order of the British Empire recognizes distinguished service to the arts and sciences, public services and work with charitable and welfare organizations of all kinds.

British Ambassador Asif Ahmad congratulated the two, who he said immediately went to Samar and Leyte “to account for all those who were reported as missing and those who need help.”

“In their daily work, both of them continue to meet the needs of British citizens who live, work or travel to the Philippines. The demands can range from dealing with bereavement to help with lost documents. Victoria and Hannah’s work has been recognized by Her Majesty the Queen and it is a source of great pride to us all,” the ambassador said.

“In the midst of the aftermath and difficulty, our two staff members from the British Embassy went to Leyte and Samar. Their own courage and resilience and professionalism meant that we were able to account for all those who were reported as missing and those who needed help.

Japan visit. President Benigno Aquino arrives at the Tokyo international airport on June 2, 2015. Aquino is on a four-day visit to Tokyo as a state guest. AFP

PH gets 10 patrol boats from Japan amid sea row

By Sara D. Fabunan and Sandy Araneta

With the confirmation that the Philippine President Benigno Aquino III and Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will take up the dispute over the West Philippine Sea, Tokyo will formally start carrying out a two-year-old agreement covering the donation of 10 Japanese patrol vessels to the Philippines.

Japan Minister for Economic Affairs Hiroyuki Uchida said that Aquino, who left for Japan on Tuesday for an official visit will be witnessing the official signing of the agreement with the Philippine Department of Transportation and Communication and Japan Marine United on Thursday as signatories.

Uchida said that Tokyo will start

delivering the 10 patrol boats from 2016 to 2018 to support the Philippine Coast Guard’s monitoring capabilities and disaster response and relief efforts.

“The 10 patrol vessels that are provided by Japan over the years through an Official Development Assistance facility, will start constructing the boats and it will be scheduled to be delivered next

year... but it will take two years to deliver all kinds of vessels,” Uchida told the reporters in a press conference at the Japanese embassy in Manila yesterday.

In 2014, the Japanese government earmarked P29-billion in soft loan to provide new multirole response vessel to the Philippines. The patrol vessels costs around $10-million, each vessel measuring 40 meters.

Foreign Affairs secretary Albert del Rosario said some parts of the vessels would be manufactured in the Philippines while the rest would be made in Japan.

Uchida said that the signing on Thursday afternoon is a partnership of Japanese and Philippine government contracting a certain Japanese private company who is tasked to create or construct the 10

patrol boats.

The Philippines and Japan’s exchanges of equipment and military knowledge are taking place amid China’s reclamation activities in the disputed areas in the South China Sea. Uchida confirmed that during Aquino’s Summit meeting with Abe on Thursday, both leaders will discuss the maritime issue and tension in the disputed waters.

“The key points of the State Visit, both leaders will discuss their new stage of Japan and Philippines Strategic Partnership particularly strengthening the relationship in the political and security sea; enhancing economic exchanges; enhancing people to people exchanges; and improving cooperation in regional and global community,” he said.

House okays rural aid bill

By Maricel V. Cruz

One-way lane is what has become of a street in Quezon City as a result of the excessive

number of vehicles parked on either side of the road. House bill 5098 requires motorist to first own a parking space or garage in their residences before they are allowed to buy a motor vehicle. LINO SANTOS

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

THE House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a proposal mandating the government to provide employment assistance to qualified heads of families or unmarried, single adult members of qualified poor households in rural areas.

House Bill 5672 or the proposed “Rural Employment Assistance Act” of Rep. Christopher Co of Ako-Bicol party list, provides for the program that

would be similar to the dole program of the Aquino administration dubbed as the cash for work program” of the Social Welfare and Development department.

“The bill is envisioned to arrest the growing unemployment rate in the country which is highest in the ASEAN region. But above anything else, it is designed to make our rural poor productive in order to uplift their lives and their families as well as to spur economic growth in their commu-

nities,” said Co, a vice chair of the House Committee on Globalization and WTO. The measure acknowleged the declared policy of the State to promote a just and dynamic social order that will ensure the prosperity of the nation and free the people from poverty through policies that provide adequate social services, promote full employment, a rising standard of living, and an improved quality of life for all.

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Romero group pressed to pay workers’ benefits

By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

MALACAÑANG has asked businessman Reghis Romero of RII Builders and Primestate Ventures Inc. to pay in full the benefits of the IBC Employees Union as stipulated under the Joint Venture Agreement.

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. also assured the IBCEU members that the Aquino administration will enforce what has been agreed under the JVA which include the payment of benefits amounting to P278 million to IBC employees.

According to Joseph Yee, president of the IBCEU, Romero still owes them P128 million as payment of benefits under the JVA. RII has already paid P150 million in employees benefits as agreed between the union and management’s JVA on March 24, 2010.

“Ang kahilingan namin kay Mr. Romero ay bayaran na lamang kami ng buong P128 milyon upang mapakinabangan na ito ng mga empleyado at pamilya nito kung saan ang iba ay nagkamatay na sa kahihintay na mabayaran sila sa ilalim ng kanilang kasunduan sa Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA),” the IBCEU president.

RII Builders promised the employees to pay the remaining P128-M in two tranches, P64-M in March 2015 and the remaining P64-M in March 2016.

Earlier, Joe Villanueva

of the Philippine Crusader for Justice asked the Commission on Audit to reveal the latest COA report on a questionable deal between the IBC 13 and RII Builders/ Primestate Ventures.

According to Villanueva, the deal was disadvantageous to the government and favorable to RII Builders.

IBC and RII BuildersPrimestate Ventures signed a JVA to develop the 36, 401 of the 41, 401 sq. meter property of IBC 13 in Broadcast city, Capitol Hills, Quezon City into a residential complex and the remaining 5,000 sq m set aside for 2

buildings for IBC 13.

In a 2010 COA report, COA said the land contributed to the JVA was undervalued at only P9,999.99 per sq m when it could have been appraised at a much higher rate of P22,000 per sqm.

“Being the main state auditor, the COA should report to the public its latest report on the disadvantageous deal. We have to know the truth regarding these transaction,” Villanueva added.

The transaction has also been the subject of an investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman since 2013.

Yolanda movie.

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (right) shares a light moment with multi-awarded director Brillante Mendoza during the premier showing of the film ‘Taklub’ at SM Aura in Taguig City.

Mendoza’s movie made waves at the 68th Cannes International Film Festival. It was a portrayal of three surviving families a year after super typhoon Yolanda ripped through the city of Tacloban.

VER NOVENO

By Florante S. Solmerin

A COMMUNIST leader, Adelberto Silva, was arrested by a joint team of military and police in Cavite, a military spokesman said on Tuesday.

Silva, the alleged replacement for detained communist leader Wilma Tiamzon as secretary general of the rebel group, was cornered on the strength of a warrant of arrest for murder at his safe house in Bacoor, Cavite.

Lieutenant Colonel Harold Cabunoc, public affairs chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), said Silva was facing 15 counts of murder before the Regional Trial Court Branch 18 of Hilangos, Leyte.

Allegedly recovered from him were 3 rifle grenades, subversive documents, improvised bomb components and several electronic devices.

“Silva is the current head of National Organization Department of Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) Central Committee. He is said to be the replacement of Wilma Tiamzon,” Cabunoc said.

In March 2014, elements of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines arrested Wilma Tiamzon and her husband, the head of the CPP Politburo, together with 5 other ranking rebel leaders in Cebu.

The rebel leaders are detained at the Custodial Center of the Philippine National Police at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Chinese gets double life for drug dealing

By Joel E. Zurbano

Parallel bidding okayed for 2016 poll machines The Commission on Elections on Tuesday approved the conduct of a simultaneous bidding for the refurbishment of Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines and for the procurement with an option to purchase, of more than one hundred thousand units of optical mark readers (OMRs).

The poll body’s approval came after its law department, in a Memorandum dated April 28, 2015, recommended the conduct of “parallel bidding” as there is no prohibition against the same and “considering that time is of the essence due to the proximity of the May 9, 2016 National, Local and ARMM Regional Elections.”

For the purpose of the parallel bidding, Comelec has approve the creation of two (2) separate Special Bids and Awards Committees (SBAC) and the designation of two

Top Red arrested

(2) additional members of the SBAC considering the technical expertise needed in the bidding process.

It also approved a P14. 579 billion budget for the simultaneous bidding.

It also ruled to require, as additional bidding requirement, “an undertaking of the bidder that it has no right or cause of action to compel the BAC of this Commission to award the contract to it, as it is the Commission which has the authority to ascertain or decide what options to choose or award bearing in mind the course of action most advantageous to, and in the best interest of the government.”

For his part, Comelec spokesman James Jimenez stressed that in coming up with this decision, the poll body led

by Chairman Andres Bautista consulted various stakeholders on how best to conduct honest and credible elections next year. Sara Fabunan

Honest Abe. SM Southmall guard Ludy Lopez of Selective Security Services

receives a letter of commendation for his honesty. Lopez found a smartphone worth P25,000 while conducting a clearing inspection at the IMAX after a last full show. He turned over the phone to the CRS office where it was immediately returned to the owner, Toni Almazan (3rd,L). Lopez and Almazan are shown with SM Supermalls Regional Operations Manager - Central South 1 Lorenzo Calingasan IV and SM Southmall CRS Manager Edna Gonzales.

A PARAÑAQUE City judge sentenced to double life imprisonment a Chinese national who was arrested by anti-narcotics agents during a buy-bust operation at a mall parking lot in Barangay Tambo three years ago.

In a 19-page decision, Judge Danilo Suarez of Paranaque City Regional Trial Court Branch 259, found Benny Chua Ang guilty for violating the Dangerous Drugs Act. “The prosecution has established its cases against the accused Benny Chua Ang, with moral certainty, proven the existence of elements of the offense charged and that the corpus delicti was properly established and preserved,” the court decision stated.

Agents of the National Police–Anti Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force arrested Ang at the parking lot of Uniwide Coastal Mall on October 12, 2012.

An undercover agent initially bought a kilo of methampetamine hydro-chloride, locally known as shabu, from Ang inside his vehicle. The arresting team had to force Ang outside his Toyota Rav4 with registration plate ZKL391 after he resisted arrest.

w e d n e s d ay : j u n e 3 , 2 0 1 5

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news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Albay road widening project kills 5

By Manilyn Ugalde

Freshwater bath. This cold spring in Maripipi Island, Biliran has three connecting pools depicting the stages of water usage: drinking, bathing and washing. MEL CASPE

Education execs deny closing Lumad schools

By John Paolo Bencito

DAVAO DEL SUR – Department of Education officials on Tuesday denied allegations made by militant groups over the closure issue of private schools catering to Lumad minorities in the Davao Region.

According to reports, three campuses of private school Salugopungan Ta Tanu Igkanunon were ordered to shut down their operations by local education authorities in the area.

This was after reports made by the military and the local municipal tribal council in Talaingo town, Davao Del Norte that the

schools were being used as fronts for extremist group New People’s Army (NPA).

DepEd Region XI Information Officer Jenilito Atillo said the reason for the recommendation made by the Division of City Schools Davao del Norte was the schools’ failure to process/renew their annual permit to operate.

In an interview with The Standard, Davao del Norte Division Superintendent Josephine Fadul made it clear that the recommendations in her letter to Regional Director lawyer Alberto Escobarte were just made “to keep the spirit of the stand made by the tribal council and other stakeholders against the alleged use of these schools as ‘fronts’ of the NPA.” Fadul also explained that they were just trying to suggest possible options that they make take to solve the vacuum of their nonpresence in the area.

Militant groups lamented Fadul’s recommendation in her communication that para-military

elements be employed in areas to be left by the Salugopungan.

She later clarified that these were just one of the inputs presented in consultations made by the DepEd together with the municipal tribal council, the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples and other stakeholders in the area.

Atillo also added that other options can also be done, such as multi-grade instruction, combination classes, and creating extension classes from the nearest public school in the area.

“It is not necessary that we employ paramilitary solutions. We have many options, most viable of which are extension classes,” Atillo added.

LEGAZPI CITY—The highway widening project of the Department of Public Works and Highways here has cost the lives of at least five persons in three separate traffic incidents last week.

On May 26, 24-year-old Chrisyl Balino of Sto. Domingo town died when a dump truck owned by HiTone Construction in Legazpi sideswiped her motorcycle at Barangay Lidong, killing her on the spot.

The following day, Louilito Magpantay, 27, was killed in Barangay Tabiguian, Tabaco City when a speeding Penafrancia Travel Tour bus from Manila rammed his motorcycle.

In Daraga town, a Toyota Vios crashed into a concrete fence early morning on May 29 in Barangay Tagas, killing three of the four passengers while undergoing treatment in hospitals. They were identified as Paul Toralba, 21, Jose Gabriel Sta Cruz, 24, Jose Marie Marquez, 22, all of Legazpi City. The driver, Joshua Broqueza, 21, survived the accident.

Started early last year, the widening and concreting project of the DPWH has been on the fast track.

A highway should have a minimum of four lanes at a width of 3.1 meters per lane.

Albay 3rd district Rep. Fernando Gonzalez, however, disputed the DPWH road widening claim saying what is being implemented is actually a concreting and improvement of an already existing road from its usual two-lane concreted status.

School sues mayor for failure to pay tuition of city scholars CEBU CITY, Philippines— A Cebu City college has filed a damage suit against Mayor Michael Rama before the Regional Trial Court for the city’s failure to pay some P136 million in tuition of the lars.

The Asian College of Technology International Education Foundation Inc. filed the petition for mandamus with prayer for issuance of a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction and damages against Rama.

The petitioners are ACTIEF president and chairman Joseph Stephen Descallar, city scholars Rhodchel Lhuven Marie Espa-

ñola and Veronica Caballero, Caballero’s mother Josephine, and Christina Gutierrez the mother of a Cebu City scholar who graduated from the Asian College of Technology, ACTIEF’s former name.

Pelagio Lawrence Cuison, counsel for ACTIEF, said since school year 2015-2016 is about to start, they asked the court to compel Rama to fully enforce and implement the scholarship program, including his obligation to the new and returning Cebu City scholars.

The petition said there were 2,624 Cebu City scholar graduates of ACTIEF who had not

received their transcript of records due to the city’s failure to pay their tuition for school years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.

There are also 1,329 returning city scholars who are currently enrolled with ACTIEF whose tuition has not yet been paid by the city government since school year 20132014.

The petition requires Rama to sign and enter into a memorandum of agreement with ACTIEF and pay a total of P136,962,874.84 for the tuition of the Cebu City scholars enrolled during school years 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.

Making hay. A farmer carries hay for his farm animals in Tagudin, Ilocos Sur. CHRISTINE JUNIO

W E D n E s D Ay: J u n E 3 , 2 0 1 5

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opinion

ADELLE chuA editor

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

baCK CHannel alejandro del rosario

Treason

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Corruption Confirmed PERHAPS someone in the administration should brief the governor of Mindoro, Alfonso Umali, that silence is golden.

On Monday, Umali all but confirmed what everyone else in the administration and the ruling Liberal Party were adamantly denying—that high officials from the Bureau of Immigration signed a release order for an alleged Chinese crime lord in exchange for millions of pesos in cash.

In doing so, Umali, who is the Liberal Party treasurer and who claims a special relationship with President Benigno Aquino III, unwittingly exposed how crooked this government can be under the “straight path” policy of his boss.

The impetus for Umali’s careless admission was his defense of two of his fellow Liberals, Immigration Deputy Commissioners Gilberto Repizo and Abdullah Mangotara, who were linked to the May 21 release order for the alleged crime lord, Wang Bo. “It’s Mison who made the deal with Wang,” Umali said, referring to Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison. “He turned the story around when the deal was discovered.

Mison panicked.”

Addressing The Standard’s report Monday, which used anonymous sources, Umali said: “I will no longer ask who your source was. It’s Mison. Everything that he pinned on his deputies was what he actually did. That’s all his doing. He pinned it on [his two deputy commissioner] because he was exposed.”

Of course, Umali is not a disinterested party—he admits to being close to the two deputy commissioners, and had in fact vouched for them to the President. Repizo is also Umali’s personal lawyer.

The governor said he had sent the President a report to expose Mison’s alleged illegal activities, and that the President told him not to worry because he believed him.

Mison, on the other hand, denies Umali’s accusations and points to official records that show Repizo was the one who pushed for Wang’s release.

Mison said he was willing to face any inquiry and testify that Chinese Embassy officials had told him that Repizo and other Immigration officials had met with a representative of Wang, and after that meeting, they pushed for the issuance of a release order.

Regardless of who is telling the truth, there is one thing both sides agree on: money changed hands at the highest levels in the bureau to effectively block the deportation of a wanted international fugitive.

This stunning revelation alone is reason enough to question the President’s straight-path rhetoric.

Umali’s claim that he sent a report to the President also links Mr. Aquino to the entire sordid affair, and compels him to explain what action he took upon learning of the high-level corruption in his own administration.

This assumes, of course, that the President knew nothing of the agreement, and that the money wasn’t in fact used to bribe congressmen into supporting the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which Mr. Aquino seems hell-bent on ramming through Congress.

Given this administration’s track record of using bribery and intimidation, however, we can assume nothing and must should probably brace ourselves for even more disturbing revelations.

Grace’s baptism of fire lowdown jojo a. robles tHeRe’S wisdom, in the current political climate, not to declare one’s intentions for public office. or, as the old saying goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. of course, we’ve already been treated to what some are already calling the longest Senate investigation of all time, the six-month-old probe into allegations of corruption

A9

made against Vice President Jejomar Binay. And no sooner had Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte started his “listening tour” to determine if he should go for higher office were we regaled by resurrected stories of the creation of death squads and other human rights atrocities supposedly perpetrated by the tough-guy local executive.

And now, it’s apparently Grace Poe’s turn. Because Poe has been all the rage recently, what with her growing popularity in various surveys, reports of her purported ineligibility on residency (and possibly

even on citizenship) grounds have suddenly resurfaced. the common theme in all three cases – apart from the fact that Binay, Duterte and Poe are all being considered serious contenders for the presidential race – is that all the charges against them are old hat. Binay has long been whispered about as having enriched himself in office; the charge that Duterte is harboring anti-crime execution teams has been circulating almost from Day one of his mayorship; and Poe’s citizenship issues have always been fodder for gossip amongst the

poe is the most vulnerable to the hammering that is the fate of early frontrunners.

political cognoscenti since her name was still Llamanzares. the fact that all three are “serious” contenders seems to be key, as well. For instance, former Senator Panfilo Lacson has long declared his plans to run again for the presidency. But no one is bringing up the Kuratong Baleleng rubout or dragging Mary “Rosebud” ong from the dance floors that she now frequents to bear witness against Ping, simply because Lacson is lagging behind in the surveys and is not really considered a major threat to anyone.

And then there’s the “presumptive” candidate of the ruling Liberal Party, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas. everyone seems to

be convinced that Roxas is gunning for the top spot next year – but no one is really betting that he will win. (of course, President Noynoy Aquino – who supposedly has Roxas on the top of his list of possible successors to continue his reforms – has all but declared his support for Mar. But Aquino’s virtual anointing of his former running mate has not improved his survey standings significantly, a fact that speaks volumes about the selfproclaimed efficacy of the President’s “endorsement power.”)

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial), 832-5546, (Advertising), 832-

*** Having said all that, of the three supposedly leading candidates in the run-up to the 2016 elections, it appears that Poe is the most vulnerable to the hammering that is the fate of early frontrunners.

After all, Poe is not only a neophyte in the field of scorched-earth national politics; she is also expected to have not only Binay as her nemesis, but Roxas, as well.

Because yesterday’s accusations about the alleged ineligibility of Poe have been raised by Navotas Rep. toby tiangco, it’s natural to assume that

5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. manilastandardtoday.com E-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph

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MEMBER

PPI

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Binay has her in his sights. But I submit that Roxas’ camp has even more motivation to go after Poe than even the Vice President.

It’s simple, really. If you subscribe to the belief that Roxas (and the Aquino administration) is behind the longrunning demolition job against Binay, then you must admit that the sudden appearance of Poe only means that the local government secretary has once again failed to capitalize on the supposed travails of the Vice President.

Continued on A11

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

Not a few legal eyebrows were raised when Buhay Party List Rep. Joselito Atienza and a group of like-minded citizens filed charges of inciting to sedition and treason against government peace panel negotiators Miriam Coronel Ferrer and teresita Deles for the flawed framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. treason? That may sound too harsh an accusation against civil servants who were just doing their job on instructions of the President who, one will have to give the benefit of the doubt, only desires to see peace come to troubled Mindanao.

But in giving away too many concessions to the rebel secessionist MILF -- Atienza, fellow Party List Reps. Jonathan de la Cruz, Michael Velarde, Jr., Irwin tieng and former Ambassador Jose Romero —considered that the government panel’s failure to protect the interests of the republic is not only a dereliction of duty. It also compromised the security of the state. This was the basis of the complaint filed before the Manila prosecutor’s office last week.

Ferrer is a UP law professor while Marvic Leonen, who’s also named in the citizen suit, headed the government peace panel before he was appointed by President Aquino as associate justice of the Supreme Court. teresita Quintos Deles is the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process who was criticized by senators for speaking and defending the MILF during the inquiry into the Mamasapano incident. The three officials, according to the complaint, abdicated their duty to in advise President Aquino that several provisions in the BBL violated the Constitution.

The MILF is threatening to wage war again if the BBL is not approved This would mean fighting battles on two fronts—in the country’s southern part, as we also face an external threat from China in the West Philippine Sea, according to Atienza.

“Had the Mamasapano massacre not happened, we would not have known the extent and gravity of this act of treason,”said Atienza. Lito had opposed from the start the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law by not participating in the discussion of the draft law at the House ad hoc committee level which reviewed the measure as a result of the massacre of 44 members of the PNP-Special Action Force at the hands of MILF and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Although Atienza is not a lawyer, he knows the provisions of the Constitution.

The former member of the Batasang Pambansa has always maintained the proposed Bangsamoro homeland is unconstitutional because it plans to establish a state within a state. Lito has been proven right by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago who heads the Senate committee on constitutional amendments whose report finding the BBL legally flawed has been signed by no less than 12 senators.

Continued on A11 Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Associate Editors News Editor City Editor Senior Deskman Art Director Chief Photographer

W E D n E s D Ay: J u n E 3 , 2 0 1 5

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA editor

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

baCK CHannel alejandro del rosario

Treason

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Corruption Confirmed PERHAPS someone in the administration should brief the governor of Mindoro, Alfonso Umali, that silence is golden.

On Monday, Umali all but confirmed what everyone else in the administration and the ruling Liberal Party were adamantly denying—that high officials from the Bureau of Immigration signed a release order for an alleged Chinese crime lord in exchange for millions of pesos in cash.

In doing so, Umali, who is the Liberal Party treasurer and who claims a special relationship with President Benigno Aquino III, unwittingly exposed how crooked this government can be under the “straight path” policy of his boss.

The impetus for Umali’s careless admission was his defense of two of his fellow Liberals, Immigration Deputy Commissioners Gilberto Repizo and Abdullah Mangotara, who were linked to the May 21 release order for the alleged crime lord, Wang Bo. “It’s Mison who made the deal with Wang,” Umali said, referring to Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison. “He turned the story around when the deal was discovered.

Mison panicked.”

Addressing The Standard’s report Monday, which used anonymous sources, Umali said: “I will no longer ask who your source was. It’s Mison. Everything that he pinned on his deputies was what he actually did. That’s all his doing. He pinned it on [his two deputy commissioner] because he was exposed.”

Of course, Umali is not a disinterested party—he admits to being close to the two deputy commissioners, and had in fact vouched for them to the President. Repizo is also Umali’s personal lawyer.

The governor said he had sent the President a report to expose Mison’s alleged illegal activities, and that the President told him not to worry because he believed him.

Mison, on the other hand, denies Umali’s accusations and points to official records that show Repizo was the one who pushed for Wang’s release.

Mison said he was willing to face any inquiry and testify that Chinese Embassy officials had told him that Repizo and other Immigration officials had met with a representative of Wang, and after that meeting, they pushed for the issuance of a release order.

Regardless of who is telling the truth, there is one thing both sides agree on: money changed hands at the highest levels in the bureau to effectively block the deportation of a wanted international fugitive.

This stunning revelation alone is reason enough to question the President’s straight-path rhetoric.

Umali’s claim that he sent a report to the President also links Mr. Aquino to the entire sordid affair, and compels him to explain what action he took upon learning of the high-level corruption in his own administration.

This assumes, of course, that the President knew nothing of the agreement, and that the money wasn’t in fact used to bribe congressmen into supporting the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which Mr. Aquino seems hell-bent on ramming through Congress.

Given this administration’s track record of using bribery and intimidation, however, we can assume nothing and must should probably brace ourselves for even more disturbing revelations.

Grace’s baptism of fire lowdown jojo a. robles tHeRe’S wisdom, in the current political climate, not to declare one’s intentions for public office. or, as the old saying goes, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. of course, we’ve already been treated to what some are already calling the longest Senate investigation of all time, the six-month-old probe into allegations of corruption

A9

made against Vice President Jejomar Binay. And no sooner had Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte started his “listening tour” to determine if he should go for higher office were we regaled by resurrected stories of the creation of death squads and other human rights atrocities supposedly perpetrated by the tough-guy local executive.

And now, it’s apparently Grace Poe’s turn. Because Poe has been all the rage recently, what with her growing popularity in various surveys, reports of her purported ineligibility on residency (and possibly

even on citizenship) grounds have suddenly resurfaced. the common theme in all three cases – apart from the fact that Binay, Duterte and Poe are all being considered serious contenders for the presidential race – is that all the charges against them are old hat. Binay has long been whispered about as having enriched himself in office; the charge that Duterte is harboring anti-crime execution teams has been circulating almost from Day one of his mayorship; and Poe’s citizenship issues have always been fodder for gossip amongst the

poe is the most vulnerable to the hammering that is the fate of early frontrunners.

political cognoscenti since her name was still Llamanzares. the fact that all three are “serious” contenders seems to be key, as well. For instance, former Senator Panfilo Lacson has long declared his plans to run again for the presidency. But no one is bringing up the Kuratong Baleleng rubout or dragging Mary “Rosebud” ong from the dance floors that she now frequents to bear witness against Ping, simply because Lacson is lagging behind in the surveys and is not really considered a major threat to anyone.

And then there’s the “presumptive” candidate of the ruling Liberal Party, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas. everyone seems to

be convinced that Roxas is gunning for the top spot next year – but no one is really betting that he will win. (of course, President Noynoy Aquino – who supposedly has Roxas on the top of his list of possible successors to continue his reforms – has all but declared his support for Mar. But Aquino’s virtual anointing of his former running mate has not improved his survey standings significantly, a fact that speaks volumes about the selfproclaimed efficacy of the President’s “endorsement power.”)

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial), 832-5546, (Advertising), 832-

*** Having said all that, of the three supposedly leading candidates in the run-up to the 2016 elections, it appears that Poe is the most vulnerable to the hammering that is the fate of early frontrunners.

After all, Poe is not only a neophyte in the field of scorched-earth national politics; she is also expected to have not only Binay as her nemesis, but Roxas, as well.

Because yesterday’s accusations about the alleged ineligibility of Poe have been raised by Navotas Rep. toby tiangco, it’s natural to assume that

5550. P.O. Box 2933, Manila Central Post Office, Manila. Website: www. manilastandardtoday.com E-mail: contact@thestandard.com.ph

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

Binay has her in his sights. But I submit that Roxas’ camp has even more motivation to go after Poe than even the Vice President.

It’s simple, really. If you subscribe to the belief that Roxas (and the Aquino administration) is behind the longrunning demolition job against Binay, then you must admit that the sudden appearance of Poe only means that the local government secretary has once again failed to capitalize on the supposed travails of the Vice President.

Continued on A11

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

Not a few legal eyebrows were raised when Buhay Party List Rep. Joselito Atienza and a group of like-minded citizens filed charges of inciting to sedition and treason against government peace panel negotiators Miriam Coronel Ferrer and teresita Deles for the flawed framework agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. treason? That may sound too harsh an accusation against civil servants who were just doing their job on instructions of the President who, one will have to give the benefit of the doubt, only desires to see peace come to troubled Mindanao.

But in giving away too many concessions to the rebel secessionist MILF -- Atienza, fellow Party List Reps. Jonathan de la Cruz, Michael Velarde, Jr., Irwin tieng and former Ambassador Jose Romero —considered that the government panel’s failure to protect the interests of the republic is not only a dereliction of duty. It also compromised the security of the state. This was the basis of the complaint filed before the Manila prosecutor’s office last week.

Ferrer is a UP law professor while Marvic Leonen, who’s also named in the citizen suit, headed the government peace panel before he was appointed by President Aquino as associate justice of the Supreme Court. teresita Quintos Deles is the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process who was criticized by senators for speaking and defending the MILF during the inquiry into the Mamasapano incident. The three officials, according to the complaint, abdicated their duty to in advise President Aquino that several provisions in the BBL violated the Constitution.

The MILF is threatening to wage war again if the BBL is not approved This would mean fighting battles on two fronts—in the country’s southern part, as we also face an external threat from China in the West Philippine Sea, according to Atienza.

“Had the Mamasapano massacre not happened, we would not have known the extent and gravity of this act of treason,”said Atienza. Lito had opposed from the start the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law by not participating in the discussion of the draft law at the House ad hoc committee level which reviewed the measure as a result of the massacre of 44 members of the PNP-Special Action Force at the hands of MILF and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Although Atienza is not a lawyer, he knows the provisions of the Constitution.

The former member of the Batasang Pambansa has always maintained the proposed Bangsamoro homeland is unconstitutional because it plans to establish a state within a state. Lito has been proven right by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago who heads the Senate committee on constitutional amendments whose report finding the BBL legally flawed has been signed by no less than 12 senators.

Continued on A11 Rolando G. Estabillo Jojo A. Robles Ramonchito L. Tomeldan Chin Wong/Ray S. Eñano Francis Lagniton Joyce Pangco Pañares Adelle Chua Romel J. Mendez Roberto Cabrera

Publisher Editor-in-Chief Managing Editor Associate Editors News Editor City Editor Senior Deskman Art Director Chief Photographer

a10 A no-win situAtion IN CHINA, to partly to the solve traffic congespoint tion in many of its cities, and to prevent emil p. parking of vehicles jurado along the streets, there’s now a rule that before vehicles can be registered, owners must first have spaces in which to park their vehicles.

This makes sense. In China, vehicles parked along the streets, particularly on narrow side streets, prevent the flow of traffic. This is also true in Metro Manila, a metropolis of some 3.2 million vehicles.

Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis Tolentino should study this plan to decongest traffic flow and prevent people from buying vehicles every year using side streets as a big parking lot. *** I have been thinking lot about the Bangsamoro Basic Law and its impact on the country, especially in Mindanao, along the achievement of final peace and development of that “promised land.”

If the BBL is not enacted, there will surely be war again with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. No less than Mohagher Iqbal, peace negotiator of the Moro rebels, had vowed there would be. However, if the BBL is enacted with all its constitutional infirmities, the Supreme Court will surely strike it down just as it did with the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain that was earlier crafted, supposedly for peace in Mindanao.

If a watered-down BBL were to be enacted by Congress, will the MILF accept it? Again, the MILF said that it would not. So, Santa Banana, the Moro rebels will go back to war.

Thus, whether or not the BBL is enacted with or without its controversial and unconstitutional provisions, is that a guarantee for a final peace in Mindanao? My gulay, not with the many other stakeholders, like the Moro National Liberation Front, the Sultanate of Sulu, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, the newly formed Justice for Bangsamoro Movement, the many indigenous tribes within the Bangsamoro juridical entity who were not consulted. The Aquino administration has only been talking with the MILF. Thus, the whole process becomes a no-win situation for the whole country, and all because President Aquino and his conscripted peace panel negotiators Miriam Coronel Ferrer and Teresita Deles want to have the BBL enacted in time for the State-of-the-Nation Address in July. No doubt, he wants to boast about this legacy.

It is for these reasons that I agree with former Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno who suggests that a Constitutional Convention should be called for drafting a law where all the controversial and unconstitutional provisions of the BBL can be deliberated on.

I concur with Puno’s proposal. I think, too, that since the BBL is funded by the taxes all Filipinos pay, ratification should also be nationwide and not only within the Bangsamoro juridical entity. “Ano sila, sinuswerte? (Are they that lucky?)”

A Con-Con may not be possible while President Aquino is still in office, one can be achieved by the next administration so long as the BBL is deemed constitutional.

My gulay, why are we rushing a law that affects sovereignty and national interest? Just for President Aquino’s satisfaction? No way. *** The proposed BBL speaks of a parliamentary form of government headed by a Chief Minister likened to that of a Prime Minister.

Granted, without assuming that it is constitutional, since we have a unitary and republican form of government, can

Why are we rushing a law that affects sovereignty and national interest?

W e d n e s d ay: J U n e 3 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

dAnding’s P363.5-billion gift to coco fArmers the coco levy money in the name of ON March 18, this year, President the Coconut Industry Investment Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino Virtual Fund (CIIF) and San Miguel, did the III issued two executive orders that tycoon use the levy under CIIF or did take possession of more than P363.5 reality he use the deposits of SMC? billion worth of assets produced tony By buying control of UCPB and of through the vision and entrepreSMC, Cojuangco intended to grow neurial zeal of one man—Eduardo lopez two major conglomerates – a co“Danding” Cojuangco Jr. conut products and coco-chemical EO 179 provides administrative guidelines for the inventory and privatization of coco levy complex (along the line of crude oil majors producing assets. EO 180 provides administrative guidelines for the oil, processing it, and converting by-products into petroreconveyance and utilization of coco levy assets for the chemicals which in turn become raw materials for more benefit of the coconut farmers and the development of the products like anything made of plastics); and San Miguel.

In 1986, however, the government, seized UCPB only coconut industry.

EO 179 wants to know how much in coco levy assets for the bank to suffer billions in losses due to mismanthere are. EO 180 seizes and transfers to the government agement and ownership disputes (it cannot even call a those assets, ostensibly for the good of the coconut farmers stockholders’ meeting because doing so would require and the coco industry which in the 1970s was the mainstay Cojuangco’s consent). “The bank is seen to post a net loss in 2014, reducing its equity book value (with regulatory of the economy.

Cojuangco has something to do with P363.5 billion of concessions) to P19 billion or a capital adequacy ratio of those assets. In fact, the P363 billion is the bulk of the 8.87 percent, below the current Bangko Sentral requirecoco levy assets. It is not clear, at this writing, what, how ment,” said Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima in a memo much, and where are the other coco levy assets, outside of dated March 16, 2015 to the Office of the President.

Cojuangco has always maintained the purchase of 31 the P363.5 billion.

Under Cojuangco, the coconut levy became one of the percent of San Miguel (from the Soriano Group) was a leveraged buyout –meaning SMC placed the money as a most successful innovations in Philippine business.

The P363.5-billion assets consist of two parts – P93.018 deposit used to buy the 31 percent in SMC. He merely borbillion in cash stashed in government treasury coffers and rowed that deposit. “In effect, San Miguel bought itself,” P270.5 billion in assets of the United Coconut Planters Cojuangco explains. “At no time did coco levy deposits Bank (UCPB), the Philippines’ 12th largest commercial in UCPB exceed that of San Miguel,” he insists.

The government didn’t buy that line though and went to bank in resources. Both assets were originally seized by the government after the 1986 People Power claiming they the Supreme Court which upheld the state. It acknowlcame from the coco levy of 1973-1982 which the Supreme edged Cojuangco’s ownership of his 20 percent in San Miguel but asserted the 31 percent belonged to the govCourt said was like a tax.

A government audit in 1986 found P9.69 billion in coco ernment, in trust for the coconut farmers.

In the beginning, “coconut farmers” meant the owners levies was collected from 1973 until August 1982 when the levy was stopped. Cojuangco used a modest P115.52 of the land on which the coconut trees were planted. The million of coco levy to buy controlling equity in the First term never meant “coconut workers” – those hired by the United Bank which was renamed UCPB. Under his man- landowner to work in the coconut farm.

The government seems to use “coconut farmers” to refer agement, UCPB became the first universal commercial bank, the No. 1 domestic bank in equity, and the No. 2 to the farm workers, who today, along with fishermen, are the poorest Filipinos. domestic bank in resources.

Cojuangco used only P2.57 billion of the P9.69 billion Thus, the government says the P363.5 billion asset total coco levy. The rest went to the government and other hoard – the P270 billion assets of UCPB and the estimated P93 billion value of today of CIIF’s 1983 investment origiprivate groups.

When he acquired 20 percent of San Miguel in early 1983, nally in SMC -- belongs to the country’s coconut farmers.

Under the law, any money that is ill-gotten should go to Cojuangco made UCPB as the beer and food giant’s depository bank. This made UCPB huge in no time at all. At that agrarian reform. The Supreme Court, however, declared time, in 1983, SMC was grossing P6.644 billion in annual in various rulings that the coco levy – the main source of revenues or P18.2 million daily. So you could imagine the the assets – is not ill-gotten money. Thus, proceeds from use of the coco levy should go to the development of the deposits SMC was making in UCPB – daily.

In 1983, only P2.75 billion coco levy was collected, coconut industry and the upliftment of coconut farmers equivalent to just 42 percent of SMC revenues. It was obvi- — today, among the poorest of Filipinos.

In effect, Danding Cojuangco gave a P363.5-billion gift ous there were more SMC deposits than deposits of the Coconut Industry Investment Fund (CIIF), the investment to coconut farmers in particular, and to the coconut industry in general. He had wanted to develop the coconut arm of the coco levy.

Also in 1983, an opportunity came to Cojuangco to buy industry into one of the biggest in the region but was styanother 31 percent of SMC. It would raise his stake in the mied by government campaign labeling him as a “crony” brewery to 51 percent or a majority or controlling interest. of Ferdinand Marcos.

The bottomline: Danding Cojuangco didn’t steal money He borrowed P1.65 billion to buy the 31 percent Soriano from the coconut farmers.

Group shares in SMC.

Since Cojuangco borrowed the P1.65 billion from UCPB, biznewsasia@gmail.com which was the depository bank of two large depositors – that parliamentary system of the Bangsamoro really reflect the will of the Bangsamoro juridical entity?

I don’t believe so since knowing the history and culture of the Moros, for sure, tribal clans and dynasties will rule the Parliamentary. This can only mean that the same Muslim clans and dynasties that have contributed largely to the extreme poverty and joblessness in Muslim Mindanao will again dominate the Bangsamoro parliament.

The result of this is to perpetuate what the Moros call the “rido” where clans and tribes will try to dominate others with their guns. *** It has been more than a half year since a businessman friend became the victim of the Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airline’s discrimination and unfair treatment of Filipinos.

About September last year, the business class booking of my friend was arbitrarily downgraded to economy class during a trip to Hong Kkng. He had paid a total of $1,958.58 for two business-class tickets for himself and a companion, and $538.56 additional round trip economy class tickets for two other companions.

The reason given by the Cathay Pacific’s ground crew was that there were no business class seats available in that flight. What the airline did not say was that the business class seats were all reserved by the Chinese from Hong Kong. It became worse when the plane that was to fly them originally had to be grounded unexpectedly for some mechanical problems. Or so they were told.

My friend naturally expected to be automatically paid for the difference of $1,420 between the business class be booked and the economy class accommodations. Instead, the airline tried to pay him P3,000 in exchange for signing a document that airline personnel claimed was a receipt for “advance” payment of a future reimbursement of the fare difference. When my friend studied the paper he was made to sign, it was a “quit claim” absolving the airline of all liabilities.

My friend had no choice but to raise the issue to the Civil Aeronautics Board. But, up to this date, the airline has not responded. Eventually, the airline relented last month and offered to pay the price difference of $1,402. Too late, the cheating airline had done my friend damage, and he preferred to file a suit for damages.

W e d n e s d ay: J u n e 3 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION

adelle chua EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

IT’S A FOUR-WAY FIGHT IN 2016 (Lito Banayo, a former Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs and political adviser to several national politicians, begins his twice-weekly column at The Standard with this maiden piece. His columns will appear every Monday and Wednesday.)

This early, it looks like there will be at least four presidential candidates in next year’s elections.

For the current survey front-runner, Vice President Jejomar Binay, there can be no turning back. Battered by accusations of corruption while he and his family dominated the premier city of Makati, Binay’s numbers have plummeted from a high 41 points in June last year to 29 points in March this year, based on Pulse Asia’s quarterly Ulat ng Bayan.

Despite the incessant attacks on the VP’s reputation, political analysts say he has a firm hold on a quarter of the national vote. Although he has not yet resigned from President Aquino’s cabinet, as Chairman of the housing and Urban Development Coordinating Commission, his political party, the United Nationalist Alliance, has positioned itself as the main opposition grouping against the administration and the Liberal Party.

On the other side of the four-cornered ring is the LP’s Manuel A. Roxas ii, or Mar, heir to a political dynasty founded by his grandfather, President Manuel A. Roxas sr., the Third Republic’s first president. Mar’s father, Gerardo, was a senator and president of the Liberal Party. if President Ferdinand Marcos had not declared martial law in 1972, senator Gerry Roxas would have battled senator Benigno Aquino Jr. in the Liberal Party convention to choose its presidential candidate in 1973.

Mar, the current DiLG secretary, and before that DOTC head, is languishing in single-digit territory, overtaken by political upstarts, but has a lock-in on the administration party, which has more than a hundred members in the Lower

Grace’s..From A9 in other words, as the Tagalog saying goes, Mar did all the planting, but Grace is now all set to do the eating. And so it makes sense for Roxas to do everything he can to cut the interloper down to size, to teach her a hard lesson in hardball politics. if anything, the fact that Binay has fired the first shot against Poe only means that Roxas and his highly-paid propaganda black-ops

#failocracy

house, and a majority of local officials.

President Aquino recently declared that Mar is on top of his list of presidential candidates.

Yet a year ago, Mar was the “only” candidate of Aquino and his Liberals, as declared by all the party top leaders, including senate President Franklin Drilon. That he is now Number One in a “list” shows how his political fortunes have descended in the estimation of his party-mates.

But Malacanang insiders keep saying that unless Mar himself bows out of the race, he is PNoy’s choice as successor to the self-proclaimed “Daang Matuwid” political mantle. And his mother, Judy Araneta Roxas recently wrote finis to any doubts about Mar’s presidential candidacy when she gathered Negros Occidental’s sugar barons over the weekend to rally their support behind her son. Madamme Judy, or JAR, knows best for son MAR. Of late however, two “outliers” have hogged the limelight and captured the nation’s imagination: neophyte senator Grace Poe Llamanzares, born in iloilo, the adopted daughter of the late movie king Fernando Poe Jr. and movie doyenne susan Roces, who like Mrs. Roxas, is also from Negros.

The other is someone from far-away Davao City, feisty and tough Rodrigo Duterte, mayor of what has been adjudged the “9th safest City in the World”, who was ignored by the pollsters until the first-quarter of this year, when his numbers zoomed to 12 percent, in a tie with popular Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada, once president himself. in the First Quarter Ulat ng Bayan of Pulse

Asia, Binay got 29 percent, Grace Poe, 14 and Duterte, along with Erap, 12 percent of the national vote. Meanwhile, Mar Roxas, Aquino’s seeming “anointed”, got only 4 percent of the survey vote.

Although both Grace Poe and Rody Duterte have not been categorical about their higher political ambitions, they have continued to titillate, nay, excite voters who seem to be looking for better alternatives to Binay and Roxas.

Duterte has renewed his membership in PDP-Laban, a political party founded by the Pimentels of Cagayan de Oro during the waning days of the Marcos rule.

Poe, on the other hand, remains an independent, and has openly stated that she prefers to run without a political party, the same line used by her confidante and political mentor, sen. Francis Escudero, who resigned from Danding Cojuangco’s Nationalist People’s Coalition before bowing out of the presidential race of 2010, and supporting an Aquino-Binay mixed tandem, better known as Noy-Bi. having flatly rejected Binay’s overtures to run as his VP, she is likewise playing coy about Aquino’s, and Mar’s public offer to be Roxas’ VP team-mate.

Duterte has also demurred from Binay’s public offer of the vice-presidency, and his handlers keep saying that for the Mindanao politician, “it’s the presidency or nothing”. his handlers released last Friday a 30-second TV infomercial labeled Tapang at Malasakit, where the mayor himself says that the “secret” to Davao’s progress and order is courage, determination, and compassion.

But seasoned political analysts have concluded that it will be a four-way battle for 2016, at the very least. There could be more, and the mix could be more interesting, as the public watches the moves of former President, now Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada, sen. Miriam santiago, and sen. Ferdinand “Bong-bong” Marcos, all of whom outrank the administration’s putative champion, Mar Roxas.

Abangan!

team have once again been caught flat-footed. if Roxas, after all, had been the first to denounce Poe for her alleged ineligibility, then he could have taken the moral high ground and declared her unfit to trod Aquino’s straight path, with or without him.

Now, if the Binay camp can make the charges against Poe stick, Roxas is once again relegated to the sidelines. And in all likelihood, he will not even benefit from what some now expect, this early, to be the spec-

tacular fall that lies in store for FPJ’s daughter.

Of course, this being the crazy season of politics, anything can still happen. Maybe Poe can mount a credible defense and her lawyers can successfully find a loophole that will not only allow her to run for a higher post next year but also save her current senate seat.

Maybe. But maybe, the hammering has only just begun.

Welcome to the big leagues, Grace.

SO I SEE LITO banayO

A11

Treason..From A9 Atienza also raised the issue of Malaysia acting as a third-party country, brokering the peace talks between the government peace panel; and the MiLF rebel group.

“Malaysia cannot be an honest broker since it’s actually a power broker because of its conf licted interest in the country’s claim to sabah,” said Atienza. he also asked how the MiLF can be trusted when it harbored fugitive terrorist Marwan and Basit Usman and claimed not knowing the duo was given safe haven in its territory. This was why the ill-fated police mission was sent into Mamasapano. Adding insult to the death of the police commandos, the MiLF submitted its report of the incident to Kuala Lumpur instead of the Manila government; The plot now grows thicker with a conspiracy element that could go all the way to the top. The standard’s banner story on Monday reported that the millions of pesos paid to fast track the BBL passage came from a crime lord, Chinese national Wang Bo. This could even be bigger than the Janet Lim Napoles pork barrel scam involving lawmakers. This latest scandal is not only about corruption but downright treason with the stench coming all the way from the Palace by the Pasig.

Almost-First Ladies, or the lucky ones

On the lighter side, GMA News came out with a list of “almost First Ladies, women President Benigno Aquino had been reported dating. some say (depending on which side of the political fence you’re on) they are the Lucky Ones who got away.

The list included former Valenzuela City councilor, shalani soledad now married to Pasig Congressman Roman Romulo, Fashion stylist Liz Uy, Fil-Korean talk show host Grace Lee, stockbroker Len Lopez, teacher Bunny Calica and most recently, Pia Wurtzbach, the Philippines’ candidate to the Miss Universe beauty pageant.

The almost-First Ladies were younger than the 55-year old bachelor President who cannot seem to make a go of despite being the most powerful man in the land. Either Noynoy is too busy with affairs of state to find time for affairs of the heart, or he has resigned himself to being a bachelor.

chong ardivilla

We dn e s day : J Un e 3 , 2 0 1 5

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Paras, pals take on world’s best KOBE Paras and Co. face rough sailing when the Philippines plunges into action tomorrow in the 2015 FIBA U18 3x3 World Championship in Debrecen, Hungary, located 231 kilometers east of the Budapest capital.

The quartet of Paras, Mike Nieto of Ateneo, Ricci Rivero of De La Salle-Greenhills and Richard Escoto of Far Eastern left for Hungary Monday with LSGH coach John Flores and Kobe’s father, Benjie, the PBA’s only MVP and Rookie of the Year winner in 1989.

Grouped in Pool A with host Hungary, Kazakhstan, Russia, Poland and Uruguay, the Philippines was seeded by FIBA to the world championship in recognition of the strides the country has made in the novel competition.

In Pool B are Andorra, Egypt, Germany, Guatemala, Lithuania

and Romania. Pool C has Brazil, Estonia, France, New Zealand, Turkey, Vietnam, and Pool D brings together Argentina, Georgia, Indonesia, Puerto Rico, Spain and the United States.

Side events include a shootout contest, women’s skills competition and a slam-dunk event, where the UCLA-bound Paras ruled the contest by soaring over a motorcycle and wowing the crowd with a between-thelegs jam in Jakarta, Indonesia two years ago, when the Philippines qualified to the FIBA U16 World Championship.

PArAs

The Filipino Fab Four takes on the Poles for its first game, followed

by Hungarians, Kazakhs, Russians and Uruguayans.

Meanwhile, leaving on Saturday to join the team is Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas legal consultant Atty. Edgar Francisco to attend the

FIBA 3x3 World Congress at the Kossuth Square.

Ongoing are the qualifying matches in 16 municipalities nationwide leading up to the SBPTalk ‘N Text U18 Tatluhan National Championship at Robinson’s Place in Ermita on June 21.

The winner here will gain a slot in the three-team Philippine delegation competing in the Asia Pacific World Masters in August also at Robinson’s Place. The two other teams will come from selections made up of players from the Philippine Basketball Association.

Last year, the Manila West team comprised of Terrence Romeo, Rey Guevarra, KG Canaleta and Aldrech Ramos made it all the way to the FIBA 3x3 World Masters in Sendai, Japan after ruling the Manila leg at SM Megamall.

Sports Vision Chairman Moying Martelino answers a query from sportswriters regarding their recent staging of the Shakey’s V-League during a guesting at the PSA Forum. He is joined here by Ateneo manager Tonyboy Liao and Sports Vision president Ricky Palou. EY ACASIO

PH volley team seeks bronze THE change in the volleyball tournament format of the 28th Southeast Asian Games gives the Philippine women’s team an even greater chance of winning a bronze medal in Singapore.

Long-time volleyball official Tony Boy Liao, commissioner of the Shakey’s V-League, one of the major stakeholders of the Larong Volleyball ng Pilipinas Inc., disclosed in Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate that under the new tournament rules imposed by the Singapore SEA Games Organizing Committee, a team is already assured of bagging the bronze medal by merely advancing to the semifinals.

The move falls right on target of the Filipina volleybelles’ goal of duplicating the same finish they had the last time the team competed in the biennial meet a decade ago held here in Manila.

“Malaking tsansa na magmedalya ang team natin dahil sa ginawa ng Singapore,” said Liao. “Binago talaga ng organizing committee ‘yung format.”

Cero, Repollo bloom in netfest SECOND seed Rucel Cero got back at Christian Lagat and took the boys’ premier crown while Lyra Mae Repollo dominated the girls’ 12-and-under play in the Bohol leg of the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age group presented by Technifibre at the Sto. Niño Tennis Club in Ubay, Bohol yesterday.

As No. 5 seed, Cero yielded the 16-U crown to Lagat in a tightly-fought duel in the full-packed 64-player field, 5-7, 5-7, but the rising 15-year-old find from Jagna, Bohol, playing as second seed, toppled his top-seeded rival from Dumaguete City in another back-and-forth contest, 7-6(5), 6-4, to capture the 18-U diadem in the Group 3 tournament sponsored by Palawan Pawnshop.

In contrast, Repollo, an upcoming 11-year-old from Naga City, Cebu, flashed top form in ruling her division that saw her drop just one game in four matches, including a 6-0, 6-0 rout of Hazel Coderos in the 12-U final of the four-day event hosted by Mayor Galicano Atup and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association headed by president and Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez.

Unranked Leonard Sab from Tagbilaran City shared the spotlight by winning the boys’ 14-U crown, outlasting second ranked Ibarra Ortega Jr., 6-3, 1-6, 11-9, while No. 3 John Earl Mendez, also from Jagna, wore down top seed Kenneth Tenepre, 7-5, 4-1(ret.) to snare the 12-U title.

“Cero and Lagat splitting the titles and Sab’s big win only showed that we have been drawing a level playing field in all our legs. And this continues to inspire us to put up more tournaments to discover more and more talents,” said Palawan Pawnshop COO Bobby Castro.

Philracom declares photo contest winners NEWS photographer Jonathan S. Jalbuna won the Philippine Racing Commission-Press Photographers of the Philippines’ photo contest held during the first leg of the Philracom Triple Crown race series.

“Horses of the Triple Crown” was the theme for the first part of the tripartite competition that began last May 17 at the Manila Jockey Club’s San Lazaro Leisure Park.

Jalbuna will receive P20,000 for his winning entry published in Abante Tonite, depicting the entries of the first leg of the Triple Crown, won by longshot Superv, racing down the homestretch.

Second place and P15,000 went to Romeo Homillada for his Inquirer Libre photograph of horses rounding the top of the home turn.

Third place and P10,000 were earned by Jose Mendoza, whose image of the entries pacing themselves in the early part of the race appeared in Philippine Star.

Their section editors will receive P5,000, P3,000, and P2,000 respectively.

The judges were Philracom Commissioners Bienvenido C. Niles Jr., Lyndon B. Guce, and lawyer Will de Ungria; MJC Racing Manager Jose Ramon C. Magboo; PPP’s Boy Cabrido; and The Standard racing columnist Jenny Ortuoste.

NBA to hold 4 games in Canada

First Gen president Francis Giles Puno (left) poses with Juntaphil chief Edward Puno after the country’s leading clean and renewable energy company backed another successful staging of the First Gen/Juntaphil Metro age group tennis championships at the Alabang Country Club.

TORONTO—The National Basketball Association will hold a series of exhibition games in four Canadian cities later this year with Vancouver hosting the first contest between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Toronto Raptors.

The Clippers will play all-star Kyle Lowry’s Raptors October 4 at Rogers Arena, followed six days later by the Chicago Bulls battle against the Minnesota Timberwolves at MTS Centre arena in Winnipeg.

The Timberwolves, who feature Toronto native Andrew Wiggins, will then face the Raptors on October 14 in Ottawa. The series wraps up October 23 when the Raptors play the Washington Wizards in Montreal’s Bell Centre arena. AFP

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Rafael Nadal (left) has defeated world number one Novak Djokovic six times out of six at Roland Garros, where the Spaniard boasts a record of 70 wins and just one loss.

Rafa: Pressure’s all on Djokovic PARIS—Rafael Nadal believes all the pressure will be on Novak Djokovic in Wednesday’s French Open quarter-final with the nine-time champion dismissing the headline-grabbing collision as “not vital”.

Nadal has defeated world number one Djokovic six times out of six at Roland Garros where the Spaniard boasts a record of 70 wins and just one loss.

Three of his victories against Djokovic have been in the last three years -- in the 2012 and 2014 finals and 2013 semi-finals.

In contrast to Nadal’s domination, Djokovic remains frustratingly just one French Open title short of a career Grand Slam, something already achieved by the Spaniard, fellow presentday rival Roger Federer and five other men.

“This is not vital,” said Nadal, who has not played Djokovic at such an early stage of any tournament for eight years.

“If it was a final, things would

be different. It’s a quarter-final and if you win you go to the semi-final. It’s not a matter of lifting the trophy.

“Last year I beat him in the final. This is not the match of the year. Matches of the year are finals and decisive matches. If I lose the quarter-final my life won’t change.”

Top seed Djokovic eased into the last eight on Monday with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 win over France’s Richard Gasquet while defending champion Nadal, seeking a 10th Roland Garros crown, saw off unseeded American Jack Sock, 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2.

It was Nadal’s 70th French Open win against just one defeat and his 39th in a row at a tournament he has dominated

for a decade.

As well as his Paris supremacy, Nadal also holds a career 23-20 edge in head-to-head meetings with Djokovic.

But Djokovic is the overwhelming favourite to break that stranglehold this year after claiming a 26th successive win on Monday.

The 28-year-old has lost just twice all year and has not been defeated since February.

Since the turn of the year, he has won a fifth Australian Open as well as Masters titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Rome.

Nadal, however, arrived in Paris on his lowest world ranking since 2005 and without a European claycourt title for the first time in a decade.

Against Gasquet, Djokovic was almost unplayable.

He carved out an astonishing 23 break points and was broken just once when his concentration wavered in the third set. AFP

FIFA acknowledges $10-m transfer; Pele backs ‘expert’ Blatter ZURICH—FIFA on Tuesday admitted that it had processed a $10 million payment from South Africa to football official Jack Warner but denied that the world body’s secretary general Jerome Valcke was involved.

A FIFA statement said that neither Valcke “nor any other member of FIFA’s senior management were involved in the initiation, approval and implementation” of the 2007 transfer from South Africa to Warner, then president of the North, Central America and Caribbean football confederation.

FIFA said it had acted as an intermediary between South Africa, which was preparing to host the 2010 World Cup, and a project to “support the African diaspora in Caribbean countries”.

Warner is one of 14 people facing charges of involvement in more than $150 million of bribes to soccer officials.

In Havana, Brazilian legend Pele backed Sepp Blatter’s re-election as FIFA president despite the corruption scandal embroiling world football’s governing body, saying it needed an “expert” chief.

“I was in favor,” Pele told journalists at Havana airport ahead of a

match between the Cuban national team and his former club the New York Cosmos. “We needed an expert guy.”

Pele, the only player to win three World Cup titles, closed out his career in the 1970s at the Cosmos, who will play Cuba on Tuesday in an exhibition match symbolic of the thawing ties between the United States and its former Cold War foe.

It is the first visit to Cuba for the 74-year-old former star, who has recently faced a series of health problems.

He appeared at a press conference in Havana on Monday but attempts to question him further concerning the turmoil gripping world football were snuffed out by a moderator.

Blatter, FIFA’s president since 1998, was re-elected Friday to a new four-year term.

The vote came two days after US officials indicted 14 people, including nine current and former FIFA executives on charges of fraud, money laundering and bribery.

Pele had long been a supporter of Blatter during his re-election bid, saying the beleaguered football supremo had helped develop the sport in Asia and Africa during his 17-year reign and deserved a further term.

Mendoza, Varron rule slalom invitational MICHAEL Mendoza of Cabanatuan Auto Club won both the overall and Front Wheel best time of the day by clocking 54.60 in the recent Race Motorsports Club Slalom Invitational Challenge held last May 31 at Robinsons Place Calasiao Pangasinan.

Second place was Jhon Guintu of Wholesome Concepts Baguio (55.34), followed by Marc Varron (56.24), Jeff Capiral (56.8) and Roy Agomba (60.16).

Meanwhile, Marc Varron bagged the novice best time of 56.30.

This event sponsored by

Shell Helix Motor Oils, Federal Tyres, Outlast Battery, Starbright Body Kits, medical team Aeromed, Robinsons Place Calasiao, media partners Stoplight TV and C! Magazine.

Different clubs, such as Corolla Auto Club Baguio, Speed Limits, Wholesome Concepts, Cabanatuan Auto Club, Team Kuneho, Baguio Makaluma, Greenlight La Union, MITTC and privateers from Dagupan and Pangasinan took part in the invitational event, the second of four tournaments for the year.

The third slalom invita-

tional will be held at the Robinsons Place Pangasinan on Aug. 16.

Overall winners received Shell Helix Motor Oils with Pureplus technology.

For details, contact Bing Bang Dulce at tel. nos.

928-6951, 0918-8119337, 0922816 5344, e-mail racemotorsportsclub@yahoo. com, and the RACE Motorsports Club facebook account.

Some of the official Results: Novice Modified A: 1st John Labrado 59.06; 2nd Adriel Pacis 61.46; 3rd BF Frondoso 66.24; 4th Justin

Candelario 75.38; 5th Arvin Espiritu 80.68; 6th Paolo Domingo 81.54 Novice Modified B: 1st Marc Varron 59.28; 2nd Nidas Tabula 68.74; 3rd Dennis Manatan 64.60; 4th Mark Anthony Ines 72.12 Novice Modified C: 1st Ervin Veloso 58.44; 2nd Rush Nandel 61.48; 3rd Ram Rafanan 70.60; 4th Ron de Guzman 75.38 PRO Stock A: 1st Jhon Guintu 56.04; 2nd Pekto Pakutkot 56.38; 3rd Jeff Capiral 57.30 Pro Stock B: 1st Marc Varron 56.92; 2nd Jhon Michael Mendoza of Cabanatuan Auto Club, the overall and front wheel chamGuintu 57.06 pion, makes his move.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Thai boxing.

Successful 12th Jockeys Day

Participants of the Philippine Thai Boxing Summer Tournament go at it against each other during the event’s final day at the Berlamino Sports Complex in Quezon City.

REVOLI CORTEZ

Parrenas’ mindset: Win WBO crown

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

WORLD Boxing Organization Oriental super flyweight champion Warlito “Cowboy” Parrenas, who is ranked No.1 in the world, is training hard for his for his interim title fight against No. 2-ranked Mexican David Carmona in Mexico City on June 20.

This was revealed by the Filipino in an overseas telephone conversation with The Standard/boxing mirror.com just before he was to begin another sparring session with former Oriental Pacific Boxing Federation super flyweight champion, 30-year-old Takuya Kogawa, who won the title with a sixth-round technical decision over Filipino Danilo “Pit Bull” Pena on Oct. 28, 2010 and currently sports a record of 23-4 with 13 knockouts.

Kogawa won his last fight, an eight-round

unanimous decision over Hiroyuki Hisataka last Oct. 10. Hisataka fought for the world title twice but lost. He also has a 10-round unanimous decision over former world champion Sonny Boy Jaro on April 7, 2013.

“Kogawa is very fast and throws a lot of punches, which is good for me to develop my stamina,” said Parrenas.

British trainer Warren Evison,who works alongside Filipino trainer Sammy Bernabe, said Parrenas has no weight problems and “is

Melindo blames referee for setback MILAN Melindo blamed American referee Gerard White for his poor decisions that eventually deprived him of victory in his International Boxing Federation light flyweight title bout against champion Javier Mendoza of Mexico last Sunday (Manila time).

In an overseas telephone conversation with the New Standard/boxingmirror.com from Los Angeles, Melindo claimed the cut on Mendoza’s left eye was caused by a legitimate punch and not by an accidental clash of heads and that referee White did not signal that the cut was caused by a head-butt when the fight was stopped on the advice of the ring doctor.

The officials made the mistake of going to the scorecards that enabled Mendoza to retain his title with a lopsided technical points’ decision when it should have been a sixth-round technical knockout in favor of Melindo.

The challenger explained his strategy which resulted in Mendoza winning in the first six rounds when he was the aggressor.

“I knew Mendoza was strong and I planned to be defensive in the first six rounds and ready to turn aggressor in the second half of the fight,” when his body shots began to hurt the fading champion.

Melindo said: “I knew his weakness was in absorbing body shots” and in the earlier rounds when he landed some solid body shots referee, White mistakenly ruled them as low blows allowing Mendoza to lean on the ropes and rest even as he admitted landing one low blow. Ronnie Nathanielsz

doing great and is very fast” in his daily training regimen at the United International Promotions boxing gym in Tokyo, as well in his running on the local track oval three times a week.

Parrenas indicated his mindset was that of a fighter “always ready to win. This is what I know.”

The team leaves for Mexico on June 20 and the training team is concentrating on developing his power and stamina, which is regarded as crucial because of the comparatively high altitude in Mexico.

“Parrenas is also going through vigorous training with altitude masks and does some hard work on the punch mitts,” said Evison. “We are concentrating on applying pressure on his opponent.”

Evison believes Parrenas “is at the pinnacle of his training and needs this win more than anything. To say he is motivated is an understatement.”

Ex-NBA player to call shots for UP Maroons

By Peter Atencio

THREE coaches will share the responsibility of calling the shots for the University of the Philippines Fighting Maroons beginning in Season 78 of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

Team manager Dan Palami said that members of the selection committee is studying the possibility of assigning interim coach Joe Ward as head coach, with Rensy Bajar and Allan Gregorio acting as co-coaches.

“He (Ward) is the de facto head coach. But it’s now about a tripartite agreement,” said Palami.

Bajar and Gregorio’s names cropped up two months after Ward, a retired National Basketball Association player, was tipped to become the next head coach of the

Fighting Maroons.

Palami said the the search committee is still reviewing its decision to find a fitting replacement for Rey Madrid.

Before Madrid was replaced, Ward was already involved with Fighting Maroons as its strength and conditioning coach.

He came aboard in August last year right after the second round of the season 77 cagefest.

Ward saw action for the Phoenix Suns in the NBA and Anejo Rum in the Philippine Basketball Association more than two decades ago.

The UP Maroons are currently seeing action in the a pre-UAAP cagefest, with Ward calling the shots.

The Maroons finished season 77 of the UAAP men’s basketball tournament with one win and 13 losses.

IT WAS the most fun anyone had at the races that anyone can recall, when the jockeys of the country raced on foot to raise funds for charity last Sunday (May 31) at the Metro Manila Turf Club racecourse in Malvar, Batangas.

The first-ever jockeys footrace, patterned after similar events in the United States, was held to raise money for the Disabled Jockeys Fund, which presently supports 12 riders who suffer total and partial paralysis and debilitating injuries incurred while racing and during workout.

The favorite, jockey Jonathan Flores, who was a track champ in high school, expectedly won the 100-meter race by a wide margin, clocking 13. 2 seconds. He received a Haojie motorcycle from sponsor Norkis-Yamaha, owned by Metroturf Chairman Dr. Norberto Quisumbing Jr., who gave his all-out support to the historical event, contributing greatly to its success.

The placers, in order, were Lester de Jesus, Dan L. Camañero, and AM Basilio. All 22 jockeys in the footrace each received a medal and P1,000 riding fee from racing fans group FHREN which they donated to the fund.

A fiesta atmosphere surrounded the footrace, with television crews, racing personalities, and fans crowding on the track; for many, it was their first time to step on the sand.

The jockeys were in high spirits as they ran out for the “parade” of entries, with Valentino R. Dilema providing comic relief by pretending to be a vicious horse, donning a blindfold and kicking his two “grooms,” jockeys RR Camañero and Kelvin Abobo. (See event photos and videos on my FB page, Gogirl Racing.)

According to New Philippine Jockeys Association Director Antonio B. Alcasid Jr., the proceeds of the weekend’s 12th Jockeys Day racing festival at Metroturf netted double the average annual amount for the disabled jockeys fund.

The footrace alone accounted for P167,000.

NPJA President Gilbert L. Francisco thanked the sponsors, including the Philippine Racing Commission under Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office through General Manager lawyer Jose Ferdinand M. Rojas II, the three racetracks that made an unprecedented show of cooperation and solidarity (Metroturf, Manila Jockey Club, and Philippine Racing Club), corporate sponsors (Nestle, Gran Matador, and GSM Blue), independent horseowners and members of the Tri-Org (MARHO, Philtobo, and Klub Don Juan de Manila), racing groups FRHEN and Manila Horsepower, and the Bayang Karerista of PCSO and fans all over the country who watched, cheered, and believed that the jockeys could make their dream of an outstanding event come true. ***** While the footrace dominated the fans’ attention last Sunday, it was also an excellent day of racing. One of the highlights was the 3rd leg of the Philracom Import-Local Challenge.

The lone local-bred, Messi guided by John Alvin Guce, crushed five imports, including first leg winner Strong Champion who settled for second (despite carrying the heaviest handicap weight at 58 kgs.), Crucis (third), and Security Model (fourth).

Messi (Ready’s Image x Salon Lumiere), owned by Jade Bros. Farm and trained by Googie Catajan, set a time of 1:53 for the 1,800-meter race.

Meanwhile, the first NPJA-PCSO race was won by Rolando Villardo’s Son of Thunder ridden by Jeff Zarate, and the second by Jeci A. Lapus’s Windy Hour, steered by Mark Alvarez.

There were also four NPJA-Philracom sponsored races. ***** Congratulations to Jonathan S. Jalbuna for winning the first part of Philippine Racing Commission-Press Photographers of the Philippines photo contest held during the first leg of the Philracom Triple Crown race series last May 17.

Romeo Homillada placed second and Jose Mendoza third. They will receive cash prizes and a plaque from Philracom at the awarding ceremony on June 7 at San Lazaro Leisure Park.

The second part of the contest for PPP members will take place during the second leg of the Triple Crown on June 14 at Santa Ana Park.. ***** Facebook: Gogirl Racing, Twitter: @gogirlracing, Blog: http://jennyo.net

W E D N E S D AY : J U N E 3 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Filipino fencers good for 2 to 3 SEAG golds SINGAPORE—Armed with two weeks of intensive training in Hong Kong and bolstered by two Filipino-Americans with impressive credentials, Filipino fencers aim to contribute two to three golds in the country’s 28th Singapore Southeast Asian Games campaign here.

“We could be good for two to three golds,” said coach Bennie Garcia on the eve of the fencing event that gets going at the OCBC Hall 2 on Wednesday.

Garcia bared that the Pinoy bets were in Hong Kong from May 5 to 20 “because the fencing standard there is already high and is less expensive to travel to since it is near our country.”

The Hong Kong swordsmen garnered eight bronze medals to finish fifth overall in last year’s

Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea.

The coach said reinforcing the national squad are Fil-Am foil specialists Wilfred Curioso and Brennan Louie, who are both making their SEA Games’ debuts.

A recent graduate of St. John’s, a Big East NCAA Division 1 team based in New York, Curioso was a member of the 2009 US Cadet world championship squad and topped the Paris International Cup as a

high school freshman in 2007.

On the other hand, Louie, is a mainstay of the foil team University of California at San Diego, also a NCAA Division 1 school, and was a member of the team that captured the men’s team foil title in the 2008 Pacific Coast Championships.

But Garcia said that he would tap seasoned campaigner Emerson Segui, a gold medalist in the 2007 Thailand Southeast Asian Games, and fellow veteran Nathaniel Perez as the individual entries in the foil event.

He added that the country is also strong in the women individual epee, with veteran Harlene Orendain, who captured a silver in the 2007 Thai Games, eyeing a gold this time as fencing returns to the sportsfest after being absent in the Myanmar meet two

years ago.

The coach cited Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia as the country’s main contenders in the four-day tournament.

“Singapore is strong in all weapons, and continues to recruit from the Chinese mainland,” Garcia bared. “Of course, Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia are just as good.”

Once one of the country’s top gold-medal producers for the country in the SEA Games, the Pinoy fencers could only muster a paltry haul of one gold courtesy of Walbert Mendoza, who ruled the men’s individual sabre event, at the 2011 Indonesia Games.

This was a far cry from the three gold, five silver and five bronze medals they took home from the Thailand sportsfest in 2007.

Midfielder Jamie Vicenzo Cheng tries to score against Singapore in Group A football action of the 28th Southeast Asian Games held last Monday night at the Jalan Besar Stadium. The Filipinos lost, 0-1, to the Singaporeans.

JRU Bombers enter semifinals THE Jose Rizal University Heavy Bombers turned back the National University Bulldogs, 64-60, Sunday, to earn a semifinal ticket in the 21st Fr. Martin Summer Cup basketball tournament at the St. Placid gymnasiumm in San Beda College-Manila.

Paolo Pontejos, Ervin Grospe and Abdul Potouochi carried the Heavy Bombers to their seventh straight win, and a sweep of their Group A assignment in the cagefest supported by Impakt Power Drink.

Pontejos, Grospe and Potouchi tallied 6, 11 and 10 points respectively as the Heavy Bombers joined early qualifier Arellano University

Chiefs.

The Chiefs, who finished with a 6-1 record, were the first to make it to the semis last week following an 87-54 crushing of Olivarez College, led by Julius Cadavis’ 13 points.

Potouochi struck hardest early in the third period, attacking thrice underneath to give JRU a 38-30 lead.

A triple from Pontejos with 3:09 left gave JRU a nine-point cushion, 59-50, enough room to survive NU’s late rally.

In other games, Far Eastern University drew 11 points from Axel Inigo and Norwegian-Filipino cager Axel Holmqvist in a 69-57

win over University of Santo Tomas-A. The UST-B Tigers, with Sheak Sheriff topscoring with 13 points and making the winning drive in the final minute, rallied back from 20 points down to to waylay the Enderun College Titans, 7572.

On Thursday last week, Brandon de la Cruz finished with 14 points as the National University Bulldogs trumped the RP Youth-16 squad, 8863.

Paul Varilla scored 17 points for the University of the East Warriors, who marched to their fifth straight triumph in Group B and a possible semis spot.

A15 LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-00 6/42 00-00-00-00-00-00 6 DIGITS 0-0-0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

P0.0 M+ P0.0 M+

PH booters bow to Singaporeans SINGAPORE—The Philippines failed to overcome a jittery start, but still narrowly lost to host Singapore, 0-1, in opening Group A football action in the 28th Singapore Southeast Asian Games at the Jalan Besar Stadium Monday night.

Not wanting to disappoint their hometown fans, the Young Lions were relentless from the get-go and were finally rewarded in the 44th minute when defender Sheikh Abdul Hadi Othman nodded in the match’s only goal from a free kick on the right flank by teammate Mohammad Faris Ramli.

Egged on by small but noisy Filipino gallery, the Under-23 Nationals settled down in the second half and showed better discipline but just could not crack the sturdy Singaporean defense, absorbing their first loss in the five-team bracket.

“The boys were very tight in the first half. We had ball possession but without purpose,” noted head coach Marlon Maro afterwards at the post-match briefing. “In the Southeast Asian Games we talk about winning a match and tonight we lost three points (for a victory).”

Despite the close shave, Singapore coach Aide Iskander stressed that the three points were more important, adding that “it is never easy to play against a team that defends most of the time, although they (the Filipinos) had fair chances as well.”

Among those who witnessed the match was Philippine Sports Commission chairman Richie Garcia, who arrived the same evening and went straight to the match after dropping off his belongings at the hotel.

“Medyo bilib ako sa depensa natin, magaling naman ‘yong mga bata,” said Garcia, who promised to watch the PH squad’s second game against Cambodia tomorrow (Tuesday). “It would have been a nice start of our country’s SEA Games campaign had they won.”

Azkals welcome newcomer

By Peter Atencio NINETEEN-YEAR-OLD Luke Woodland liked what he experienced when he finally joined his practice session with the Philippine Azkals national men’s football team.

“It was good. It’s a change of environment.

I enjoyed it,” said Woodland after the threehour, afternoon scrimmage last Monday at the Rizal Memorial Football Stadium.

Woodland, who was part of the British national youth team between 2010 and 2012, is set to see action with the Azkals when they see action in the Fifa World Cup qualifiers beginning June 11 against Bahrain at the Philippine Sports Stadium in Bulacan.

He is among five new players, who have been included in the roster, aside from Kevin Ingreso, Iain Ramsay and Stephen Palla.

The Azkals also practiced with Stephan Schrock and Javier Patino returning to the fold.

And they have all joined Manila-based mainstays led by Phil Younghusband, Patrick Reichelt and Misagh Bahadoran.

The 6’0”Woodland, who is a midfielder, played 11 games for three English national youth squads (u-16, u-17 and the u-18 teams).

“We have a strong squad. It’s a good mixture of players,” said Woodland, whose father is British and mother is a Filipina from Daet, Camarines Norte.

After knocking on the door of the Azkals over the last four years, Woodland finally got his chance to join the team when British club Oldham Athletic released him to the Azkals.

Meanwhile, Azkals’ coach Thomas Dooley said the team was able to get to know the new players better on their first day of practice.

“We just moved the ball a bit, got the ball going, and the players were able to get to know each other,’ said Dooley.

W E D N E S D AY : J U N E 3 , 2 0 1 5

A16

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

REUEL VIDAL A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

NLEX’s Asian import Mike Madanly splits the Alaska defense with this barreling attempt in a PBA Governors’ Cup game won by the Road Warriors, 113-102.

NLEX imports unstoppable

By Jeric Lopez

NLEX overhauled a 13-point deficit in the third period and showed poise in the payoff frame to notch a muchneeded victory, stunning Alaska, 113-102, in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup Tuesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.

The two imports showed the way for the Road Warriors, with Mike Madanly and Kwame Alexander both scoring a team-high of 28 points apiece, while adding nine and 11 rebounds, respectively, in a solid showing. Madanly scored 22 of his 28 points in the first half.

As a result, NLEX improved to 2-4 and earned a three-way tie for eighth place with Star Hotshots and

Barangay Ginebra, while Alaska, which could’ve earned a share of first place with a win, dropped to 4-2 to slide down to a third-place tie with GlobalPort. ‘’We’re happy we got this one.

Our defense in the endgame helped us win,’’ said a relieved NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez, who also credited aMadanly’s exploits. ‘’Madanly’s presence on

the floor energized the team.’’

With the game hanging in the balance heading into the final frame, NLEX muscled its way in the last 12 minutes of play and showed poise down the stretch to trip the powerhouse Aces.

Following a 91-all standoff, the Road Warriors banked on a key 10-5 run in the middle of the period to open up a vital 101-96 lead after Madanly’s two free throws with 3:36 remaining in the game.

After Romeo Travis missed on a lay-up that could’ve pulled Alaska to within just three, NLEX capitalized and closed the game out with a swift 6-0 run ended by Madanly’s jumper that made it a safe 107-96 spread for the Road Warriors with only 1:06 left.

Not to be outdone by their foreign teammates, Asi Taulava and Mac

Rafa: Pressure is on Novak TURN TO A13

Cardona stepped it up as well for NLEX. Taulava listed a doubledouble with 20 points and 13 rebounds, while Cardona added 15 markers off the bench.

Trailing 54-60 at the half, Alaska came out of the gates firing to start the second half as it connected on three triples right away, two from Jvee Casio, less than two minutes into the third to suddenly erect a 9-0 run and snatch the lead from NLEX, 63-60, with just over 10 minutes left in the quarter.

From there, the Aces started taking over, following up with a 12-2 spurt to swiftly grab a double-digit lead, 75-62, at the 6:32 mark of the third after Sonny Thoss’ basket.

Overall, it was a blistering 21-2 blast by Alaska to start the second half to take a grip of the contest.

But fefusing to be blown out, the

Road Warriors roared right back to dig themselves out trouble, finishing the third with their own 21-10 run to pull within just two, 83-85, heading into the payoff period to get themselves right back in the game.

It turned out, NLEX used that momentum to its full advantage and carried its surge in the fourth to claim the win.0 The scores: NLEX 113 - Alexander 28, Madanly 28, Taulava 20, Cardona 15, Canaleta 6, Villanueva E. 5, Wilson 4, Villanueva J. 4, Arboleda W. 3, Borboran 0, Ramos 0.

ALASKA 102 - Travis 31, Baguio 23, Banchero 14, Casio 12, Jazul 8, Abueva 6, Manuel 2, Thoss 2, Menk 2, Dela Cruz 2, Dela Rosa 0, Exciminiano 0, Hontiveros 0.

Quarters: 31-29, 60-54, 83-85, 113-102

Filipino booters bow to hosts TURN TO A15

WEDNESDAY: JUNE 3, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

Gaming license.

Bloomberry Resorts Corp., owner of Solaire Resort and Casino, received a gaming license from Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. after successfully completing its $1-billion investment.

Receiving the award from Pagcor chairman from Cristino Naguiat Jr. (left) is Bloomberry chairman and chief executive Enrique Razon Jr. The integrated resort-casino started operations in March 2013 and launched the new Sky Tower in November to exceed the $1-billion minimum investment requirement under its provisional gaming license with Pagcor.

PSe comPoSite

business@thestandardtoday.com.ph extrastory2000@gmail.com

BUSINESS

B1

index

Closing June 2, 2015

8500 8000 7500 7000 6500 6000

7,551.96 118.41

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing JUNE 2, 2015 46

P44.710

45

CLOSE

44 43 42

HIGH P44.600 LOW P44.710 AVERAGE P44.657 VOLUME 985.400M

P500.00-P650.00 LPG/11-kg tank P41.85-P47.20 Unleaded Gasoline P29.35-P32.70 Diesel

oPriceS il P today

P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene P23.70-P24.40 Auto LPG Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, June 2, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

44.5490

Japan

Yen

0.008012

0.3569

UK

Pound

1.520400

67.7323

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128921

5.7433

Switzerland

Franc

1.057306

47.1019

Canada

Dollar

0.798594

35.5766

Singapore

Dollar

0.737681

32.8630

Australia

Dollar

0.760514

33.8801

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652379

118.1608

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266652

11.8791

Brunei

Dollar

0.734970

32.7422

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000076

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.029735

1.3247

UAE

Dirham

0.272257

12.1288

Euro

Euro

1.092400

48.6653

Korea

Won

0.000897

0.0400

China

Yuan

0.161303

7.1859

India

Rupee

0.015723

0.7004

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.271665

12.1024

New Zealand

Dollar

0.709522

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032386

31.6085 1.4428 Source: PDS Bridge

Meralco, 11 others broke market rules

By Alena Mae S. Flores

AN INVESTIGATING unit of the Energy Regulatory Commission has filed complaints against 12 companies for anti-competitive behavior that led to price spikes during the shutdown of the Malampaya gas field in November to December 2013.

The companies include Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. (for Malaya and Casecnan plants); Therma Mobile Inc.; Manila Electric Co., 1590 Energy; CIP II Power Corp; Trans-Asia Power Generation Corp.; AP Renewables, Inc.; Udenna Management Resources Corp; Strategic Power Development; GN Power Mariveles and SEM-Calaca Power Corp.

“The ERC expects the filing

[Tuesday] of the corresponding complaints against those found by its investigatory unit to have committed acts constituting anticompetitive behavior or market abuse as stated in the report,” ERC spokesperson Francis Saturnino Juan told reporters.

The Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 prohibits anti-competitive behavior, including cross-subsidization, price or market manipulation, “or other

unfair trade practices detrimental to the encouragement and protection of contestable markets.”

Meralco, in a statement, said it had acted strictly in accordance with the decision of the ERC approving the power supply agreement... which took into account Meralco’s least cost obligation to its consumers.”

“The records will bear that Meralco complied with applicable market rules and did not engage in any anti-competitive behavior in its supply contract with TMO,” said Meralco legal counsel William Pamintuan.

“Respondents’ violations stem mainly from their acts that amounted to physical or economic withholding, which is considered as anti-competitive or a form of market abuse,” ERC’s Juan said.

“The range of imposable fines under EPIRA... is from P50,000

to P50 million. Cases will be filed with the ERC. Respondents will be accorded with due process after which, ERC will decide on the imposition of penalties, if warranted, and grant of other reliefs,” he said.

The companies said they had not received the complaint from ERC. Aboitiz Power chief executive Antonio Moraza said “until we get actual findings, it’s very difficult to comment.”

Philippine Electricity Market Corp. had earlier slapped penalties to PSALM, Aboitiz Power and Panasia Energy Inc. owned by Millennium Energy Inc. for failing to make an offer in November and December of 2013.

PEMC said in a January report the board denied the appeal of PSALM’s 140-megawatt Casecnan hydro power plant in Nueva Ecija and the 650-MW Malaya thermal power plant in Rizal.

WEDNESDAY: JUNE 3, 2015

B2

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

MST BuSineSS Daily STockS Review Tuesday, June 2, 2015

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

7.88 75.3 124.4 104 63 4.2 4 18.48 31.6 0.92 2.95 890 1.01 99.4 30.5 94.95 137 361.2 59 174.8 127.9 3.26

2.5 66 84.6 84.5 45.8 2.03 8.7 12.02 23.55 0.74 1.75 625 0.225 78 18.02 76.5 95 276 45 107.6 66 2.65

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

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank PB Bank Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Union Bank Vantage Equities

7 73 111.00 102.20 46.35 1.80 9.7 15.9 21.9 0.77 1.65 790.00 0.445 91 18.26 68.60 95.1 315 42.25 156 64.95 3.13

35.6 1.6 1.04 1.41 7.92 14.6 10.08 29.15

1.04 10.72 8.44 9.79 5.43 9.54 1.06 8.61 18.06 67.9 14 13.24 3.12 0.395 168 8.65 2.3 1.63 24.4 16.2 7.62 250.2 3.87 9 3.7 9.94 3.03 2.22 1 4.72 1.65 6 201.6 4.1 1.67 0.122 1.02 2.01 143.4 4.28 0.670 9.01 1.39

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Century Food Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia 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. Holcim Philippines Inc. Integ. Micro-Electronics Ionics Inc Jollibee Foods Corp.

Lafarge Rep LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ SPC Power Corp.

Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

43 1.56 1.04 2.15 10.6 18.98 27.5 55.75 1.6 1.68 12.22 19.320 10.04 7.95 9.35 1.8 12.98 26.75 88.9 14.10 14.70 5.85 0.570 200.00 10.2 2.38 3.49 24.8 25 6.6 282.60 4.3 9.88 3.82 11.60 3.84 2.20 2.06 4.31 1.87 6.6 183.2 4.5 1.64 0.153 1.14 2.25 198.9 4.3 0.74 22.50 1.28

0.7 59.2 31.85 2.16 7.39 3.4 3.35 800 11.06 84 5.14 0.66 1380 6.68 72.6 8.9 5.29 6.66 9.25 0.9 18.9 0.73 5.53 6.55 0.0670 2.31 0.84 87 934 2.2 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

0.45 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 1.4 1.6 600 7.390 14.18 4.25 0.144 818 5.3 46.6 4.96 3 3.52 4.43 0.59 12 0.580 4.22 4.5 0.036 1.23 0.450 66.7 709.5 1.13 85.2 0.200 0.173 0.310

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

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

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

LT Group Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Minerales Industrias Corp.

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

0.465 57.35 23.35 1.26 7.00 0.275 0.260 800 7.72 13.36 4.52 0.230 1380 6.39 69.00 3.72 5.05 5.1 7.51 0.71 13.9 0.63 4.43 5 0.0350 1.290 1.000 65.95 888.00 1.26 83.200 0.3550 0.2110 0.290

10.5 26.95 1.99 2.07

6.01 12 0.91 1.29

8990 HLDG 7.800 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 8.01 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.75 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.260

47 5 1.66 2.36 15.3 20.6 32 65.8 4.57 23.35 21.6 12.98 9.13 12.34 2.89 17 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 12.5 3.95 4 33.9 90 13.98 292.4 5.25 13.04 6.8 14.5 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.68 7.86 8.1 253 5.5 3.28 0.315 2.5 2.68 226.6 5.5 1.3 26 2.17

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 7 7 73.8 72.35 111.00 106.80 101.10 99.20 46.1 46 1.79 1.71 9.5 9.2 16 15.4 21.9 21 0.71 0.7 1.66 1.66 790.00 785.00 0.415 0.405 91.35 90.8 18.26 18.26 71.00 68.60 94 94 314.6 310 42.25 41 157.9 154.2 64.90 64.50 3.24 3.18 INDUSTRIAL 43.05 42.35 1.59 1.59 1.05 1.04 2.05 2 10.7 10.58 18.98 18.88 27.5 27 56.5 55.55 2.02 1.62 1.78 1.68 12.5 12.5 19.500 19.3 10.12 10.00 7.83 7.65 9.54 9.40 1.72 1.7 12.5 11.6 26.8 26.25 89.5 87.5 14.10 14.00 14.68 14.40 5.89 5.76 0.530 0.520 202.00 197.70 10.18 10.1 2.37 2.37 2.78 2.52 24.75 24.1 25.5 24.5 6.94 6.49 282.80 280.00 4.4 4.28 9.88 9.65 4 4 11.50 11.42 3.90 3.68 2.22 2.15 2.14 2.04 4.44 4.31 2 1.96 6.5 6 183.2 183 4.56 4.56 1.69 1.64 0.154 0.153 1.13 1.13 2.25 2.23 197.6 191.2 4.3 4.3 0.77 0.74 23.50 22.50 1.37 1.29 HOLDING FIRMS 0.465 0.465 57.20 55.95 23.30 22.50 1.32 1.32 6.90 6.85 0.270 0.265 0.260 0.260 789 777 7.72 7.54 13.36 13.10 4.50 4.50 0.226 0.201 1380 1340 6.47 6.43 68.45 67.00 4.19 4.19 5.05 5.01 5.1 5.1 7.5 7.39 0.72 0.7 14 13.8 0.65 0.62 4.41 4.2 5 5 0.0350 0.0350 1.280 1.280 1.020 0.990 65.95 64.60 880.00 871.00 1.25 1.24 83.200 82.500 0.3550 0.3500 0.2140 0.2000 0.310 0.300 PROPERTY 8.180 7.680 8.80 7.99 0.75 0.72 1.260 1.260

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

7 73 108.10 100.00 46.1 1.79 9.2 16 21 0.7 1.66 785.00 0.410 90.85 18.26 68.75 94 311 41 155 64.80 3.18

0.00 0.00 -2.61 -2.15 -0.54 -0.56 -5.15 0.63 -4.11 -9.09 0.61 -0.63 -7.87 -0.16 0.00 0.22 -1.16 -1.27 -2.96 -0.64 -0.23 1.60

400 40,730 3,078,050 1,626,050 12,500 103,000 2,500 158,100 169,600 20,000 10,000 270 540,000 1,967,730 300 201,270 100 7,490 269,500 435,310 20,580 102,000

43 1.59 1.05 2 10.58 18.88 27.5 55.55 2.02 1.69 12.5 19.400 10.02 7.65 9.44 1.7 11.64 26.4 87.65 14.00 14.68 5.85 0.520 198.30 10.14 2.37 2.78 24.3 24.55 6.5 280.00 4.32 9.80 4 11.44 3.80 2.18 2.1 4.37 2 6.25 183.2 4.56 1.68 0.154 1.13 2.25 191.9 4.3 0.77 23.50 1.34

0.00 1.92 0.96 -6.98 -0.19 -0.53 0.00 -0.36 26.25 0.60 2.29 0.41 -0.20 -3.77 0.96 -5.56 -10.32 -1.31 -1.41 -0.71 -0.14 0.00 -8.77 -0.85 -0.59 -0.42 -20.34 -2.02 -1.80 -1.52 -0.92 0.47 -0.81 4.71 -1.38 -1.04 -0.91 1.94 1.39 6.95 -5.30 0.00 1.33 2.44 0.65 -0.88 0.00 -3.52 0.00 4.05 4.44 4.69

1,508,400 8,000 299,000 5,357,000 2,800 212,600 129,200 3,730 31,052,000 17,000 6,900 1,700,900 544,200 18,222,800 7,544,500 40,000 167,600 1,909,200 111,220 9,000 1,500 461,700 50,000 1,005,230 283,800 1,000 8,000 922,300 18,900 163,800 196,050 699,000 246,300 1,000 7,500 160,000 471,000 162,000 33,839,000 74,000 18,100 7,890 119,000 88,000 260,000 30,000 1,241,000 3,059,990 77,000 1,582,000 7,200 153,000

0.465 57.05 22.50 1.32 6.85 0.265 0.260 780 7.57 13.14 4.50 0.226 1360 6.43 67.60 4.19 5.01 5.1 7.47 0.7 13.84 0.62 4.21 5 0.0350 1.280 1.000 65.00 880.00 1.25 82.550 0.3500 0.2140 0.300

0.00 -0.52 -3.64 4.76 -2.14 -3.64 0.00 -2.50 -1.94 -1.65 -0.44 -1.74 -1.45 0.63 -2.03 12.63 -0.79 0.00 -0.53 -1.41 -0.43 -1.59 -4.97 0.00 0.00 -0.78 0.00 -1.44 -0.90 -0.79 -0.78 -1.41 1.42 3.45

30,000 1,342,110 7,104,300 5,000 73,300 2,150,000 200,000 434,550 3,407,800 5,433,900 5 2,330,000 378,470 260,000 3,800,900 1,000 10,000 4,300 1,462,300 152,000 2,378,300 1,055,000 26,658,000 255,000 200,000 11,000 1,256,000 117,080 195,390 7,000 10,380 1,570,000 210,000 110,000

7.860 8.70 0.73 1.260

0.77 8.61 -2.67 0.00

879,200 2,300 115,000 3,000

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

0.375 40 6.15 5.4 1.54 0.201 0.98 1.09 0.305 2.25 1.87 1.8 6.34 4.88 0.180 0.470 0.72 27 8.54 31.8 2.29 20.6 1.02 7.56 1.96 8.59

0.192 29.1 4.1 4.96 0.89 0.083 0.445 0.85 0.188 1.4 1.42 1.19 2.8 2.75 0.090 0.325 0.39 23 2.57 21.35 1.64 15.08 0.69 3.38 1 5.69

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 12.46 15.82 0.1460 4.61 99.1 9 2090 8.41 1.97 119.5 7 12.5 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 2.85 2.2 5.9 1.97 15.2 0.62 22.8 6.41 14 3486 0.710 2.28 48.5 90.1 11.6 0.87 10.2 0.490 1.6

1.97 32.5 1 0.6 10 9.61 0.0770 2.95 46.55 5.88 1600 5.95 1.36 105 3.01 8.72 0.036 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.69 1.1 1.05 0.490 8.7 0.34 14.54 3 4.39 2726 0.380 0.32 31.45 60.55 7.59 0.63 6.45 0.305 1.04

0.0098 5.45 17.24 0.330 12.7 1.2 1.73 10.98 4.2 0.48 0.455 0.475 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 0.020 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 1.72 8.65 0.236 6.5 0.61 0.78 5.99 1.08 0.330 0.2130 0.2160 3.660 20.2 2.11 0.365 1.54 0.012 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 0.0100

70 553 525 120 515 8.21 12.28 111 1060

33 490 500 101.5 480 5.88 6.5 101 997

1047 76.9 78.95 84.8

1011 74.2 74.5 75

6.98 2.2

0.8900 0.74

-1,215,688.00 17,500.00

10.96 12.88

2.4 5.95

1,260.00

130.7

105.6

481,902.00 -181,766,111.00 -62,547,481.50

-1,648,675.00 157,250.00

Close

High

Low

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

Arthaland Corp.

0.255 Ayala Land `B’ 40.30 Belle Corp. `A’ 3.4 Cebu Holdings 5.2 Century Property 0.83 Crown Equities Inc. 0.140 Cyber Bay Corp.

0.430 Empire East Land 0.850 Ever Gotesco 0.179 Global-Estate 1.22 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.93 Interport `A’ 1.36 Keppel Properties 5.12 Megaworld Corp.

4.8 MRC Allied Ind. 0.115 Phil. Estates Corp.

0.3100 Phil. Realty `A’ 0.4600 Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 24.80 Primex Corp.

7.21 Robinson’s Land `B’ 29.60 Rockwell 1.73 SM Prime Holdings 19.40 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.73 Starmalls 7.15 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 0.880 Vista Land & Lifescapes 7.250

0.250 0.250 0.250 39.90 39.50 39.50 3.5 3.36 3.36 5.27 5.12 5.26 0.83 0.81 0.82 0.143 0.140 0.143 0.450 0.425 0.450 0.850 0.850 0.850 0.180 0.180 0.180 1.26 1.23 1.26 1.96 1.85 1.86 1.37 1.36 1.36 5.45 5.05 5.45 4.75 4.65 4.65 0.121 0.120 0.120 0.3200 0.3200 0.3200 0.4600 0.4600 0.4600 24.45 24.45 24.45 7.2 7.18 7.2 29.60 28.75 28.85 1.73 1.7 1.73 19.30 18.90 19.26 0.73 0.72 0.73 7.21 7.21 7.21 0.890 0.880 0.890 7.200 7.080 7.180 SERVICES 2GO Group’ 6.49 6.5 6.28 6.4 ABS-CBN 61.3 61.35 60.5 60.55 Acesite Hotel 1.09 1.11 1.11 1.11 APC Group, Inc. 0.670 0.680 0.660 0.670 Asian Terminals Inc. 13.8 13.5 13.5 13.5 Bloomberry 9.47 9.58 9.35 9.40 Boulevard Holdings 0.0950 0.1000 0.0940 0.0990 Calata Corp.

4.1 4.11 4.02 4.11 Cebu Air Inc. (5J) 86.3 86.35 85.9 86 DFNN Inc. 6.95 7.20 6.90 6.90 Globe Telecom 2606 2620 2552 2604 GMA Network Inc. 6.34 6.34 6.29 6.30 Harbor Star 1.30 1.38 1.28 1.29 I.C.T.S.I. 109 109.3 108 109 Imperial Res. `A’ 5.00 5.85 4.50 5.85 IPeople Inc. `A’ 11.66 12.18 12.18 12.18 Island Info 0.223 0.223 0.221 0.223 ISM Communications 1.2300 1.2500 1.2000 1.2400 Jackstones 2.24 2.2 2.2 2.2 Leisure & Resorts 9.55 9.65 9.37 9.62 Liberty Telecom 3.02 3.30 2.88 2.88 Lorenzo Shipping 1.3 1.36 1.36 1.36 Manila Broadcasting 46.00 59.95 45.00 55.00 Manila Bulletin 0.670 0.670 0.670 0.670 Melco Crown 8.15 8.07 7.88 7.88 MG Holdings 0.350 0.350 0.340 0.350 Pacific Online Sys. Corp. 18.18 18.08 18.08 18.08 PAL Holdings Inc. 4.48 4.51 4.45 4.51 Philweb.Com Inc. 20.20 20.50 19.78 20.50 PLDT Common 2786.00 2790.00 2748.00 2782.00 PremiereHorizon 0.670 0.680 0.670 0.670 Premium Leisure 1.500 1.490 1.420 1.420 Puregold 38.80 38.80 38.40 38.65 Robinsons RTL 75.40 75.40 73.00 73.05 SSI Group 9.89 9.83 9.69 9.71 STI Holdings 0.66 0.67 0.66 0.66 Travellers 5.92 5.92 5.82 5.9 Waterfront Phils.

0.320 0.330 0.330 0.330 Yehey 1.260 1.320 1.300 1.320 MINING & OIL Abra Mining 0.0048 0.0048 0.0048 0.0048 Apex `A’ 2.59 2.60 2.60 2.60 Atlas Cons. `A’ 6.61 6.65 6.58 6.58 Basic Energy Corp.

0.245 0.245 0.245 0.245 Benguet Corp `A’ 7.4200 8.3000 8.3000 8.3000 Century Peak Metals Hldgs 0.99 1.03 0.98 1 Coal Asia 0.8 0.81 0.79 0.81 Dizon 7.40 7.50 7.10 7.39 Ferronickel 1.43 1.61 1.36 1.55 Geograce Res. Phil. Inc. 0.330 0.335 0.330 0.330 Lepanto `A’ 0.235 0.236 0.233 0.235 Lepanto `B’ 0.238 0.242 0.238 0.240 Marcventures Hldgs., Inc. 3.61 3.5 3.4 3.41 Nickelasia 23.05 24.65 23.4 24.6 Nihao Mineral Resources 3.75 3.81 3.73 3.77 Omico 0.6800 0.6800 0.6800 0.6800 Oriental Peninsula Res. 2.040 2.150 2.040 2.050 Oriental Pet. `A’ 0.0120 0.0120 0.0110 0.0110 Petroenergy Res. Corp. 4.36 4.38 4.37 4.38 Philex `A’ 6.35 6.34 6.17 6.24 PhilexPetroleum 1.98 2.03 1.96 1.98 Philodrill Corp. `A’ 0.015 0.015 0.014 0.015 Semirara Corp.

152.40 152.40 150.60 152.00 TA Petroleum 12 12.8 12 12.22 United Paragon 0.0100 0.0110 0.0100 0.0100 PREFERRED ABS-CBN Holdings Corp. 61.5 6.75 60.5 60.5 Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ 524 524 524 524 Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ 526 526 526 526 First Gen G 120 120 120 120 GLOBE PREF P 520 525 525 525 GMA Holdings Inc. 6.11 6.11 6 6.08 Leisure and Resort 1.12 1.12 1.1 1.12 MWIDE PREF 111.5 111.5 111.5 111.5 PCOR-Preferred A 1124 1124 1124 1124 PCOR-Preferred B 1090 1091 1091 1091 PF Pref 2 1040 1041 1040 1040 SMC Preferred A 75.6 76 76 76 SMC Preferred B 82.2 82.5 82.5 82.5 SMC Preferred C 86.5 86.6 86.5 86.5 WARRANTS & BONDS LR Warrant 3.850 3.980 3.690 3.940 Megaworld Corp. Warrants2 3.54 3.52 3.52 3.52 SME Double Dragon 9.48 9.45 9.3 9.4 Xurpas 9.65 9.8 9.6 9.65 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS First Metro ETF 124.6 125 123 123.1

-1.96 -1.99 -1.18 1.15 -1.20 2.14 4.65 0.00 0.56 3.28 -3.63 0.00 6.45 -3.12 4.35 3.23 0.00 -1.41 -0.14 -2.53 0.00 -0.72 0.00 0.84 1.14 -0.97

70,000 14,622,400 2,584,000 841,000 5,091,000 1,060,000 3,010,000 592,000 50,000 782,000 16,397,000 170,000 1,600 21,957,000 110,000 10,000 10,000 800 21,000 795,700 421,000 9,529,600 252,000 8,000 73,000 18,817,700

-1.39 -1.22 1.83 0.00 -2.17 -0.74 4.21 0.24 -0.35 -0.72 -0.08 -0.63 -0.77 0.00 17.00 4.46 0.00 0.81 -1.79 0.73 -4.64 4.62 19.57 0.00 -3.31 0.00 -0.55 0.67 1.49 -0.14 0.00 -5.33 -0.39 -3.12 -1.82 0.00 -0.34 3.13 4.76

25,200 11,940 2,000 879,000 4,000 3,023,900 15,980,000 294,000 360,340 293,000 59,370 26,700 25,000 682,370 600 1,000 2,710,000 521,000 111,000 172,100 3,833,000 1,000 6,300 10,000 2,070,100 150,000 11,000 13,000 594,300 81,215 10,098,000 26,396,000 1,760,800 2,560,190 3,937,300 1,405,000 276,800 300,000 10,000

0.00 0.39 -0.45 0.00 11.86 1.01 1.25 -0.14 8.39 0.00 0.00 0.84 -5.54 6.72 0.53 0.00 0.49 -8.33 0.46 -1.73 0.00 0.00 -0.26 1.83 0.00

20,000,000 3,000 896,900 100,000 200 736,000 239,000 28,500 49,555,000 200,000 8,760,000 1,430,000 1,394,000 4,684,800 514,000 40,000 258,000 11,500,000 21,000 227,200 1,867,000 3,700,000 416,620 2,319,500 14,200,000

-1.63 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.96 -0.49 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.09 0.00 0.53 0.36 0.00

503,210 100 100 100 3,250 214,000 4,000 10 510 2,270

2.34 -0.56

1,186,000 5,000

-0.84 0.00

132,100 677,300

-260,843.00 2,281,519.00

-1.20

7,410

-137,972.00

-232,962,245.00 -1,731,190.00 -865,500.00 587,960.00

-218,770.00 -11,283,900.00 -53,606,000.00

MST

Trading Summary FINANCIAL INDUSTRIAL HOLDING FIRMS PROPERTY SERVICES MINING & OIL GRAND TOTAL

SHARES 12,224,058 121,131,423 65,173,854 106,879,681 80,611,828 123,156,130 509,993,784

-47,568,540.50

5,197,765.00

1,762,186.00 -8,011,365.00 -4,665,656.00 360,732.00

-36,013,805.00

-132,090.00 81,300.00

-2,921,382.00 161,095.00 185,010.00

-1,611,398.00 -2,072,356.00 -72,339,273.00 -7,022,836.00 -123,970.00 -42,900,370.00 -2,584,734.00 19,620.00

2,631,678.00

-55,794,510.00

-6,943,510.00

-677,792.00 -1,043,554.00 1,270,960.00 -95,899.00 3,760.00 168,520.00

-1,004,580.00

-9,000.00 633,282.00 -145,920.00 128,130.00

111,500.00 -310,661,985.00 326,800.00 -300,500.00 137,250.00

-56,436,609.50 -75,571,980.00

-194,000,190.00 -9,959,667.00 -43,325,850.00 22,500.00

-56,436,005.00 1,679,800.00 -182,356,885.50

-1,970,132.00

11,855,082.00

-4,261,310.00

-2,951,829.50 -39,061,335.00 2,480.00 -819,408.00

T op g ainerS VALUE 1,094,799,452.612 2,264,886,297.584 1,826,704,205.596 1,228,339,743.72 948,802,139.15 303,546,917.452 7,675,752,845.112

-15,615,025.00 -1,280.00

-10,119,828.00

884,980.00 -5,599,457.00 11,428,970.00

23,203,561.00

-385,640.00 -2,200.00 83,078.00 30,720.00

-3,489,981.00

3,220,942.00 -148,125,390.00 -9,003,910.00 -25,205,685.00 -14,992,065.00 -9,120,448.00

19,026.00

-3,934,780.00 -32,000.00

2,798,090.00

-587,290.00 -24,689,600.00

-25,440.00

-267,918.00 196,940.00 -13,500.00 -10,394,902.00 678,248.00 -5,724,367.50

-1,201,970.00

-84,300.00

20,000 5,000 31,210

T op L oSerS

STOCKS

FINANCIAL 1,736.71 (down) 25.65 INDUSTRIAL 11,624.79 (down) 208.62 HOLDING FIRMS 6,680.62 (down) 118.77 PROPERTY 3,087.05 (down) 52.91 SERVICES 2,093.38 (down) 9.87 MINING & OIL 14,283.51 (up) 137.47 PSEI 7,551.96 (down) 118.41 All Shares Index 4,347.86 (down) 49.51 Gainers: 68 Losers: 107; Unchanged: 46; Total: 221

-4,144,785.00 -193,760.00 -13,548,834.00

Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Crown Asia

2.02

26.25

Mabuhay Vinyl

2.78

-20.34

Manila Broadcasting

55.00

19.57

Federal Res. Inv. Group

11.64

-10.32

Imperial Res. `A'

5.85

17.00

First Abacus

0.7

-9.09

Jolliville Holdings

4.19

12.63

Ionics Inc

0.520

-8.77

Benguet Corp `A'

8.3000

11.86

Oriental Pet. `A'

0.0110

-8.33

Anchor Land Holdings Inc.

8.70

8.61

MEDCO Holdings

0.410

-7.87

Ferronickel

1.55

8.39

Alsons Cons.

2

-6.98

Roxas and Co.

2

6.95

Euro-Med Lab

1.7

-5.56

Nickelasia

24.6

6.72

Marcventures Hldgs., Inc.

3.41

-5.54

Keppel Properties

5.45

6.45

Premium Leisure

1.420

-5.33

WEDNESDAY: JUNE 3, 2015

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

B3

Toyota expects sales to double

By Ian Sayson and Cecilia Yap

TOYOTA Motor Corp.’s partner in the Philippines said the carmaker may more than double local sales by 2020 as personal incomes rise in the Southeast Asian nation.

Toyota’s deliveries in the country could grow by as much as 20 percent a year, Carmelo Bautista, 58, president at GT Capital Holdings Inc., said in an interview. GT Capital, the investment company founded by Philippine billionaire George Ty, owns 51 percent of Toyota Motor Philippines Corp., which boosted sales 40 percent last year to 106,110 vehicles.

“You have a growing middle class,” Bautista said on May 28 in Manila.

“Growth will taper off at some point, but sales will still climb.”

Philippine vehicle sales have been rising steadily since 2011 and hit a record 234,747 units last year, as low interest rates and a growing economy boosted purchasing power. President Benigno Aquino III approved an executive order that will offer tax breaks for six years to support three models in an effort to make the Philippines a regional car-making hub, the Trade Department said Monday.

Toyota is the most popular car brand in the Philippines with a 39.4 percent market share last year. Toyota Philippines plans to increase its dealerships to Toyota conference. Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. held its 2015 Toyota Supplier Conference 60 next year from 45 in 2014, Bautista said. He said the company may also and 15th Toyota Suppliers Club General Assembly at The Bellevue Manila in Muntinlupa City. TMP president Michinobu Sugata commended the excellent performance and important milestones achieved by add another production line.

“It would make sense to expand production here, because the local market Toyota suppliers and challenged them to further improve competitiveness in the areas of safety, quality and cost. is still growing, unlike in other parts of the region where either the market is shrinking or growth is slowing down,” he said.

Per-capita gross domestic product in the Philippines rose to $2,865 last year from $1,851 in 2009, and the International Monetary Fund has estimated it could reach $4,554 by 2020.

Experience from other markets shows that spending on cars picks up when per-capita GDP reaches $2,500 and “flattens” at $5,000, Bautista said.

Demand will also likely rise as political parties campaign for the national elections due in May next year, according to Bautista.

Shares of GT Capital have rallied 31 percent this year, the second-best performer in the Philippine Stock Exchange Index. President Benigno Aquino III approved the by: LHIO Tandag City-PRO Caraga Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy that will Living in this modern computer age with provide incentives to the local production of vehicles, the almost everything relatively interconnected Trade Department said Monday. With Bloomberg and just a click away, we all have to embrace changes and advances in technology and lifestyle to keep up with the race. PhilHealth has formidably taken on the challenge to continuously develop database systems that are at par with the latest. Its portal (www.philhealth.gov.ph) provides readily available and user-friendly online services to everyone’s delight.

PEERS from Private, Gov’t Sectors Laud EPRS

Stock market falls; Ayala, BDO tumble

THE stock market slumped Tuesday on risk aversion, with mixed data from the US and Greece affecting sentiment.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index sank 118.41 points, or 1.5 percent, to 7,551.96 on a value turnover of P4.6 billion.

Losers beat gainers, 95 to 61, with 41 issues unchanged.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. fell 2.5 percent to P780, while property unit Ayala Land Inc. dropped 2 percent to P39.50.

BDO Unibank Inc., the biggest lender in terms of assets, tumbled 2.7 percent to P108, while Universal Robina Corp., the largest snack food maker, tumbled 3.6 percent to P191.70.

The rest of Asian markets mostly fell Tuesday, with Tokyo declining after a 12-day rally, while in Europe Greece’s creditors held impromptu talks aimed at resolving the country’s monthslong debt crisis.

However, mainland Chinese shares had advanced more than one percent in the afternoon, adding to the previous day’s surge and almost erasing a near-seven percent slump over Thursday and Friday.

Tokyo eased 0.13 percent, or 26.68 points, to 20,543.19, ending the Nikkei’s best winning streak since a 13-day run in 1988 at the height of Japan’s stock market bubble.

In late trade Shanghai had gained 1.33 percent, adding to the near-five percent rise Monday.

But Hong Kong was down 0.48 percent in late trade, while Sydney plunged 1.73 percent, or 99.4 points, to close at 5,636.0 and Seoul fell 1.13 percent, or 23.73 points, to 2,078.64.

More upbeat US indicators added to expectations the Federal Reserve will begin raising interest rates soon, which in turn helped the dollar to 12-year highs against the yen.

Data showing US construction spending picked up strongly in April increased belief the US economy is rebounding after the winter stall, which saw it contract in the first three months of the year.

The Institute for Supply Management, meanwhile, said its measure of US manufacturing activity climbed last month from a near two-year low in April.

The Dow rose 0.16 percent Monday, the S&P 500 gained 0.21 percent and the Nasdaq advanced 0.25 percent. With AFP

Gone are the days when remittance reports of employers were filled out and submitted manually.

Preparing these reports was tedious and timeconsuming for the personnel in-charge. Gone too, are the days when updating and posting of employees’ contributions would take some time, when loads of remittance reports pile up for review, evaluation and manual encoding into the PMAIS. All that is history now, with the advent of the Electronic Premium Reporting System (EPRS). Indeed, the EPRS is one remarkable milestone in PhilHealth’s contributions processing.

To attest to these life-changing developments at work, we talked to our proactive PhilHealth Employer Engagement Representatives (PEERs) from both government and private sectors.

A surprise visit and chat with Gemma G. Sanico, the PEER of the Provincial Government of Surigao del Sur yielded positive results. According to Sanico, EPRS was a huge “before and after” transition.

Gemma Sanico, PEER of PDO - SDS The old method of preparing the remittance report took almost a month; now, it takes less than 20 to 30 minutes with the EPRS, and that work has never been this convenient and efficient, she added with a smile. The Provincial Government of Surigao del Sur is one of

the extra-large employers with almost a thousand employees, which means a long and lengthy desk work for its PEER. However, since adopting the very userfriendly EPRS, Sanico claimed that online posting of contributions became hassle-free.

Another active partner from the Private Sector who greeted us with a big warm smile upon our visit was Cristina C. Dumpa, the PEER of Villa Maria Luisa Hotel, Inc. She openly expressed her content and satisfaction Cristina Dumpa, PEER of VMLH with how EPRS made her job so convenient, easy and stress-free. Dumpa pointed out that even at the comfort of her home, she can manage to do her work with only a laptop computer and good Internet connection. “I could access the EPRS anytime, anywhere as it is very handy, portable and user-friendly,” she adds.

Apart from these two exemplary PEERS, a long list of equally notable PEERs from different agencies in our locality would gladly share their thoughts, good words and experiences about PhilHealth’s EPRS. Truly, EPRS has greatly touched the lives of our partners in the Formal Economy. Kudos to the hands and brains behind the success of EPRS. (END)

B4

BUSINESS

More foreign banks coming

By Julito G. Rada

THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects the number of foreign banks planning to expand in the Philippines to increase in the coming months as more have expressed their interest to locate here.

Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. confirmed the interest of foreign banks to do business in the Philippines, A number of foreign banks have expressed their intention to enter the domestic banking industry, although not formally submitting their applications to the bank regulator, “[As of now], two [applications] were submitted and under evaluation. Plus those who said they will apply but have not actually submitted an application

yet,” Espenilla said in a text message Tuesday.

The government further liberalized the domestic banking industry last year in a bid to lure more foreign direct investments and in preparation for the Asean economic integration next year.

Espenilla said these foreign financial institutions were mostly from Asia.

The Bangko Sentral last month approved the application of Industrial Bank of Korea to set up shop in the Philippines. It was

the fourth Asian bank whose applications to operate locally was approved only this year.

Industrial Bank of Korea, thus, became the second Korean bank to enter the local banking industry, after the previously-approved Shinhan Bank of Korea in February this year.

Industrial Bank of Korea--established in 1961--is owned by the government of the Republic of Korea and headquartered in Jung-gu, Seoul.

Industrial Bank of Korea provides various banking products and financial services to individuals, households, local governments, non-profit organizations, and small and medium sized enterprises in Korea.

As of Dec. 31, 2014, it operated through a network of 641 branches, including 53 depositary offices in Korea, 15 branches

in China, and six other overseas outlets, as well as representative offices in New Delhi and Yangon.

Prior to Industrial Bank of Korea, the central bank approved the applications of three Asian banks.

These were the Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., Shinhan Bank of Korea and the Taiwan-based Cathay United Bank.

Cathay United Bank is one of the largest commercial banks in Taiwan, with a capital value of TW$52 billion (approximately US$1.7 billion) and more than 160 branches in Taiwan.

Shinhan Bank is headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It was the first bank in Korea, established under the name Hanseong Bank in 1897. It was reestablished in 1982.

It is part of the Shinhan Financial Group, along with Jeju Bank. Shinhan Bank merged with Chohung Bank on April 1, 2006.

Entertainment City. Gardens and swimming pools are seen from one of the rooms in the Crowne Towers at the City of Dreams Manila

casino resort, operated by Melco Crown Philippines Resorts Corp., a unit of Melco Crown Entertainment Ltd., in Manila, Philippines. City of Dreams Manila, a venture between Melco Crown and Philippine billionaire Henry Sy, is the second of four integrated resorts planned for the 297-acre Entertainment City, a Las Vegas Strip-style casino hub the local government is hoping can compete with those in Macau and Singapore. BLOOMBERG

Robinsons Land still lukewarm on Clark Green City ROBINSONS Land Corp., the property arm of the Gokongwei family, is still lukewarm on the planned rebidding Clark Green City despite amendments made by state-owned Bases Conversion Development Authority to the bidding guidelines to lure more investors into the project.

“We will still look at it but the interest level is not that high,” Robinsons Land president Frederick Go in a chance interview said.

Go said one major reason that Robinsons Land remained lukewarm on the project was because the agreement provided only for a long term lease for the property and not actual sale of the

property.

Robinsons Land was one of the companies that previously expressed interest on the project during the first round of bidding. The property firm, however, it did not pursue its bid.

BCDA last month issued the amended terms of reference for rebidding of phase 1 of Clark Green City in a bid to attract more investors to the project.

Under the amended terms, BCDA has lowered the minimum bid for the property to P160 million from P500 million and increased the size of the property up for bidding to 288 hectares from 542 hectares.

BCDA also removed the P2.5

billion initial cash investment, which developers said was too restrictive.

The winning bidder will then enter into a 55:45 joint venture agreement BCDA. The joint venture agreement will have a period of 50 years and renewable for another 50 years BCDA president Arnel Casanova said the amendments to the bidding terms were made in consultation with property firms.

Bid documents for the project can be purchased between June 1, 2015 to July 1, 2015.

A pre-bidding conference has been set on June 10, 2015.

A number of property firms

earlier expressed interest to look into Clark Green City development, but only Megaworld Corp. and Filinvest Land Inc. actually purchased bid documents.

However no party submitted an offer during the bidding held last April.

With the revised terms, BCDA is hoping that the property will attack not only local real estate players but foreign companies as well.

Clark Green City is a master planned property within the Clark Special Economic Zone. It is envisioned to be the country’s first smart, green and disasterresilient metropolis.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Vista approves buyback of debt

By Jenniffer B. Austria House and lot builder Vista Land & LIfescapes Inc. said wholly owned offshore unit has offered to buyback $450 million worth of US dollardenominated notes ahead of maturity.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange, Vista Land said its board approved the offer of VLL International Inc. to holders of $350 million 7.45 percent guaranteed notes due 2019 and holders of $100 million 6.75 percent guaranteed notes due 2018 to tender any and all of notes to be purchased by the issuer.

VLL International appointed The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd. and DBS Bank Ltd. as joint dealer managers and joint lead managers.

HSBC was also named as sole structuring advisor while DF King Worldwide has likewise been appointed as information and tender agent.

No other details were provided regarding the notes buyback, including the timetable and offer terms.

Meanwhile, Vista Land said its board also approved the establishment by VLL International of a Medium Term Note Programme which the company may from time to time issue notes in such amount, with interest rate and under such other terms and conditions as the management of the company may subsequently approve or ratify.

Vista Land earlier reported that it plans to roll out P40 billion worth of real estate projects this year, up 48 percent from P27 billion worth of projects launched in 2014.

It will also accelerate capital expenditure spending for this year to P25.1 billion, of which P15.7 billion will be used to finance construction activities, P5.5 billion for land development and the remaining P3.9 billion will be for land acquisition.

During the first quarter of the year, Vista Land posted 10 percent growth in net income to P1.64 billion from P1.49 billion posted in the same while revenues also grew 10 percent to P6.06 billion versus a year ago level of P5.49 billion.

W E D N E S D AY : J U N E 3 , 2 0 1 5

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

MRT: Maddeningly rickety trains ONCE again, commuters had to endure the inconvenience and discomfort of waiting for those maddeningly rickety trains to arrive at the Metro Rail Transit stations, scrambling to squeeze in as the throng of riders became thicker by the hour (make that by the minute). That’s because only nine MRT trains were in any condition to run the tracks Tuesday, the situation aggravated by the nonexistent air-conditioning.

We’re not kidding when we say riding the MRT is bad for your health—if the heat and the humidity will not cause you to faint while waiting for the next train to arrive, the crowded, worse-than-sardines condition inside the coaches could induce respiratory illnesses.

During the opening of classes last Monday, only seven trains were working. What a way to start the school year. Imagine, students and teachers arrived late for classes, many of them looking like they went through a hurricane.

Whatever happened to the rest of the 73 trains that were “inherited” by the BS Aquino administration? Why are only a dozen or so trains in good working condition now, and how come management seems unable to prevent the situation from worsening, with commuters getting stranded now on a regular basis? Is the current government going to blame former President Gloria Arroyo again?

Beijing bans smoking Smokers must have furiously puffed on their last cigarette a day before the smoking ban took effect last Monday in China’s capital city of Beijing. Health officials have imposed a very tough “no smoking” rule practically everywhere in the city—from bars, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, hotels, nears hospitals, restaurants, offices, and even in public transportation. The ban in Beijing is a trial balloon with plans to impose the smoking ban in other cities and eventually, the whole country.

China is the world’s biggest tobacco consumer so tobacco and cigarette industry players must be crying at the thought of huge business losses because authorities are also restricting the sale of cigarettes from shops or stores located within 100 meters of elementary schools. According to reports, there are about 300 million people who smoke in China (4.2 million of them are from Beijing), with the number of second-hand smokers more than double the figure which makes respiratory and lung-related illnesses and cancer a major health issue. According to the World Health Organization, there are about one million deaths every year attributed to smoking.

Under the new law, smokers will be fined from $32 to as much as $1,600 for those who are bullheaded. As if to show that this time they mean business, authorities are also utilizing social media for a shame campaign where the names (photos if available) of people and companies who refuse to comply will be published. Health advocates who have been pushing for the imposition of the smoking ban are rejoicing, but of course they are still skeptical, saying “been there, done that.” It will be more successful if government will also impose higher taxes on tobacco companies and increase the cost of tobacco products, they said. Hmm… sounds familiar…

Anti-bullying in the workplace Businessmaker Academy will be conducting an anti-bullying and harassment in the workplace seminar this June 25 at Suite 1503A West Tower of the Philippine Stock Exchange Center in Ortigas.

According to the Businessmaker Academy—which describes itself as an education center for business, finance, livelihood and corporate skills development—a lot of workers experience different forms of harassment in the workplace.

Aside from bullying, there is humiliation, power tripping, sexual harassment or coercion that could lead to a negative and harmful work environment. The half-day session promises to help HR practitioners, managers and employees deal with harassment in the workplace. The session will last for four hours and topic highlights include effects of bullying and harassment in the workplace; different forms of harassment; legal advice on grievance forums and policies; and best practices in handling bullying and harassment issues in the workplace.

Those who want to know more may check out www.businessmakeracademy.com.

••• For comments, reactions, photos, stories and related concerns, readers may email to happyhourtoday2012@yahoo.com. You may also visit and like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ happyhourmanilastandard. We’d be very happy to hear from you.

Cheers!

B5

Aboitiz Group joins remittance business

By Jenniffer B. Austria and Darwin G. Amojelar

CONGLOMERATE Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. has joined remittance business with the acquisition of a 51 percent interest in PetNet Inc., the biggest agent unit of Western Union agent network in the Philippines.

Aboitiz Equity said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it bought 2.461 million shares in PetNet Inc. The company acquired 1.235 million shares equivalent to 25.6 percent from PetNet shareholders and 1.226 million shares equivalent to 25.4 percent representing subscription from the unissued capital stock of the remittance firm.

The existing shareholders of PetNet led by president Larry Ocampo will continue to own a

49 percent interest in the remittance firm.

“We are excited about this acquisition for several reasons.

PetNet has a large growth and development potential with the continued increase in remittances from OFWs [overseas Filipino workers][ and with a large opportunity to distribute complementary products through an extensive network of outlets. AEV, as new majority owner, can add significant value and boost this de-

velopment even further,” Aboitiz Equity president and chief executive Erramon Aboitiz said.

Aboitiz Equity said remittances constituted around eight percenbt of the Philippine gross domestic product last year and had grown by around seven per year in the past couple of years.

The inflow of money remittances also showed resilience to temporary market slowdowns.

“The market for money transfers is a very fragmented market and we see that AEV can add value in PetNet’s strategy to grow and potentially consolidate the market organically. We are also open to potential add-on acquisitions, should it fit strategically,” Aboitiz added.

With AEV’s 51 percent ownership interest, PetNet will operate as a stand-alone business within the Aboitiz Group.

Food expo. Trade Undersecretary Ponciano Manalo Jr. (second from left), along with (from left) Center

for International Trade Expositions and Missions executive director Rosario Virginia Gaetos, Senator Cynthia Villar and Agriculture Undersecretary Emerson Palad lead the ceremonial toast during the opening of the 10th International Food Exhibition Philippines on May 21, 2015 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. IFEX this year has 874 local and international food exhibitors, which include leading food brands from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies such as Australia, Brunei Darusalam, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, US and Vietnam.

Liberty Telecom wants to break even

By Darwin G. Amojelar LIBERTY Telecoms Holdings Inc. plans to break even after exiting corporate rehabilitation a year ahead of schedule.

“The management really wants to have a break even as soon as possible,” Bienvenido Bañas, Liberty Telecoms president and chief executive told reporters after the company’s stockholders’ meeting.

Liberty, the telecom unit of San Miguel Corp. had secured an approval from Makati regional trial court to terminate the rehabilitation proceedings involving the company and its subsidiaries.

It said the rehabilitation for Liberty and units wi-tribe Telecoms Inc. and Skyphone Logistics Inc. had been fully implemented.

The company was supposed to exit from rehabilitation proceedings next year.

“The management of the company is really trying to find new ways to generate new revenue and then find ways to maximize the existing telco assets of the company at the same time implement some cost efficiency with that way we can mitigate probably whatever loss that we have,” Bañas said.

He said the company plans to lease its base station towers to prospective telco operators.

“In fact in one of the towers we have, Globe or Bayantel is occupying our space,” Bañas said.

At present, Liberty Telecoms had 500 base stations in Metro Manila.

The company, a joint venture of

San Miguel and Qatar Telecom, reported a total comprehensive loss of P210.16 million in the first quarter of 2015, lower by 31.68 percent than the P307.59-million net loss recorded a year ago.

Revenue declined to P42.17 million in the January to March period from P78.38 million in the same period last year.

“The group’s revenues for the period reflect the decrease in subscribers of postpaid and prepaid Wimax broadband and increase in non-service revenue due to additional rental income from other telecommunication companies,” it said.

Liberty Telecoms had 50,000 subscribers.

Expenses declined to P280.94 million in the three-month period from P323.39 million last year.

WEDNESDAY: JUNE 3, 2015

B6

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

Davao Gulf tuna fishing prohibited

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales

The government has imposed a three-month ban on fishing tuna and other species in the Davao Gulf after the regional office of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources learned that the species actively spawn this time of the year.

A joint administrative order by the secretaries of the Agriculture and the Interior departments ordered a closed season in Davao Gulf from June 1 to August 31 every year.

The closed season for commercial fishing vessels aims to conserve marine resources, secure the spawning period of pelagic fishes in the gulf and implement measures to address illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

“Davao Gulf is an ideal and

potential spawning and breeding ground for tuna and tuna-like species,” BFAR 11 regional director Fatma Idris said.

Thirty of the the 49 municipalities in Davao are categorized as coastal areas.

Idris said the study confirmed that tuna spawns inside Davao Gulf where most of them can be found near its mouth.

She said special attention and strict enforcement should be giv-

en near the area and the eastern portion of the gulf, where high concentrations of tuna are found.

BFAR 11 is set to deploy six vessels to enforce the closed season, with two boats to patrol the Davao Oriental side of the gulf, another two along Samal Island, and two along Davao del Sur. Under the terms of the closed season, fisherfolk or fishing companies will not be allowed to catch pelagic fishes using ring net and bag net. The ban also applies to small-scale to large-scale commercial fishing with vessels from 3.1 gross tons to more than 150 GT. BFAR said based on the agency’s scientific studies, Davao Gulf was a key biodiversity area in the Philippines.

The area is listed as one of the 34 biodiversity hot spots in the world and is also the feeding ground for 11 species of ceta-

ceans, including sperm whales, killer whales and bottle-nose dolphins, and nursing ground for five endangered turtle species, including hawksbill, leatherback, and olive ridley.

Davao Gulf serves as the final catchment for all runoffs, erosion and effluents coming from several watersheds in the region.

The Department of Science and Technology reported in 2012 the decline of fish catch in the region from 2000 to 2010 due to water pollution, destroyed fishing habitat, diminishing sea grass, conversion of mangrove planting areas to recreational resorts and poor fishing practices.

BFAR 11’s National Stock Assessment Program indicated that small pelagic fish production has declined and has not been sufficient to meet the demand for fish in the region.

Coastal clean-up. Samsung Electronics Philippines Corp., through its corporate social responsibility arm, jump-started the year with a coastal clean-up and mangrove planting in Barangay Calayo, Nasugbu, ™Batangas. Some 60 SEPCO volunteers and their family members, along with 25 community members in the village, headed by Nasugbu’s municipal environmental natural resources officer Dolores Robles and the Barangay chairman Lerma Alegado, joined the activity, which is conducted in celebration of the Earth Day. The event is in line witgh Samsung’s Coastal Rehabilitation Volunteer Project with WWF Philippines, the world’s largest and most experienced conservation organization operating in over 100 countries.

Lower taxes on insurance pushed

By Gabrielle H. Binaday THE Philippine Insurers and Reinsurers Association on Tuesday urged lawmakers to pass House Bill 3235, which aims to lower taxes on non-life insurance premium.™ “We want to rush this because it is truly unfair and unjust for the non-life to shoulder these [highest] taxes,” said Insurance Commissioner Emmanuel Dooc in an insurance forum.

The government has imposed a 12 percent value added tax, 12.15 percent documentary stamp tax, 2 percent fire service tax and 0.5 percent to to 0.7 percent local government taxes on non-life insurance premium.

Allied Bankers Association president and PIRA Trustee Rebecca Dela Cruz said the 27.2 percent tax on non-life insurance premium in the Philippines was the highest among other Southeast Asian countries, like Singapore with only 7 percent, Thailand with 11.3 percent and Vietnam with 12 percent.

From the current 27.2 percent tax imposed on non-life insurances, the bill seeks to reduce level to a 5.5-percent low.

PIRA chairman Michael Rellosa, who also attended the forum along with other insurance industry leaders, said more people could be protected with lower taxes.

The insurance industry is pushing HB 3235, or an act rationalizing the taxes imposed on nonlife insurance policies, amending sections 108, 123, 184, and 185 of the national internal revenue code of 1997, authored by Davao City 1st District Rep. Karlo Alexei Norgales.

The bill aims to make non-life insurance affordable to entrepreneurs and ordinary Filipinos, relieve the government from the burden of rehabilitation, recovery, aid assistance, welfare costs whenever there are natural calamities, and make the Philippines more competitive with other Asean countries.

FPG Insurance chairman Ramon Dimacali added “government assets should be insured.”

Salceda to discuss Albay Green Economy program in NY summit LEGAZPI CITY--Albay Gov. Joey Salceda will present and discuss his Albay Green Economy program at the 6th World Cities Summit Mayors Forum in New York on June 8 to 10 where will share his province’s best practices in local governance.

Pioneered by the governor, and anchored on environment protection and enhancement, the program is now a globally acclaimed strategy for sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

WSCFM, a flagship event of

the biennial World Cities Summit, serves as a global platform for city leaders to discuss urban challenges and share best practices.

It was organized by Singapore in 2010 and since then had attracted more than 150 cities worldwide and gained support from business leaders, international organizations, foundations and the academic sector.

WSCMF 2015 chairman Lee Yi Shyan said in a letter to Salceda he looked forward to the governor’s “valuable contributions to the fo-

rum’s discussions, underscoring the priority given by city leaders to increasing opportunity and equity, and the pivotal role of city leadership in effective governance and influencing the sustainable pathways of the future.”

The Green Economy gains for Albay include zero casualty during disasters, increased forest cover by 88 percent in seven years and wider mangrove areas from 700 to 2,400 hectares.

Albay also noted an increase in rice production--despite weather

disturbances --from 147,291 metric tons in 2008 to 200,088 metric tons in 2013; 250 megawatts of geothermal power contribution from a 650-MW potential; investments in environment protection; and enhanced ecotourism which hiked foreign tourists inflow from 8,700 in 2006 to 339,000 in 2013.

The DILG has adjudged Albay as Best Province in Local Governance among the country’s 80 provinces under Salceda’s term.

Its disaster management body, the Albay Public Safety and Emergen-

cy Management Office, is a pioneer in Asia, which earned for the province its Galing Pook Award for Outstanding Governance Program on Disaster Preparedness, and the Gawad Kalasag Hall of Fame Award for Best Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council for three consecutive years.

French President Francois Holland during his Philippine visit in February cited the program, which he called a categorical success in local governance.

W e D n e s D aY : J u n e 3 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

cesar barrioquinto EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

Lion will be isolated after killing US tourist incident,” Lion Park operations manager Scott Simpson told AFP. “The individual lion will then be moved to a separate facility that is not open to the public just to be prudent.”

A second passenger, a local tour guide not affiliated to the park, was taken to hospital recovering from arm wounds after trying to free the victim from the lion’s jaws.

Police have opened an inquest into the attack.

The US embassy confirmed an American was killed, but withheld her identity.

“Out of respect for the wishes of the family, we are not providing any details,” em-

JOHANNESBURG— The lion that killed an American tourist at a privately-run game park outside Johannesburg will be moved to an isolated enclosure but the venue will remain open to the public, officials said Tuesday.

A 22-year-old American woman was killed on Monday when the lion leaped through her open car window and mauled her to death at the Lion Park, northwest of South Africa’s biggest city.

“The lion has been locked away in her night pen and we’ll be keeping the enclosure where it happened locked while we investigate the

bassy spokesman Jack Hillmeyer said.

Signs throughout Lion Park, which guarantees “super close-up animal views,” warn visitors to keep their car windows closed.

“If people realized they should just follow the rules, everything would be fine,” said Simpson.

“It’s unfortunate that it took an incident like this to make them realize that.”

It was the latest attack at the park, which is popular with both locals and foreigners.

In March, an Australian tourist was injured by a lion after driving through the park with his car windows open. AFP

Manila

Standard

TODAY

INVITATION TO PRE-QUALIFY AND TO BID

Busuanga Island Electric Cooperative, Inc. (BISELCO), located at Barangay 6, Coron, Palawan is in search of a New Power Provider (NPP) to supply the energy requirements of the island of Culion and Linapacan within its franchise area. BISELCO is conducting a Competitive Selection Process (CSP) for interested bidders at the following Terms of Reference (TOR) Project Type Plant Technology Type of Operation Capacity

: : : :

Tie line Arrangement

:

Cooperation Period

:

Build-Own-and-Operate (BOO) Open to all type of technology Full Service (Base load and Peaking) Culion Island – 2.5 MW, Linapacan Island – 0.54 MW With Black Start Capability The cost of construction as well as the operation and maintenance of the tie line facility shall be the obligation of the proponent.

15 Years

Bidding Schedule is as follows: No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Pose. Actor Mark Wahlberg attends the premiere of “Entourage” in Los Angeles on June 1. AFP

Obama weighs in for the Rohingya WA S H I N G T O N — President Barack Obama has urged Myanmar to end the discrimination against its ethnic Rohingya minority if it wants to succeed in its democratic transition from decades of junta rule.

The plight of the Muslim group, 1.3 million of whom live in western Myanmar but are mostly denied citizenship, has come under scrutiny as a migrant crisis unfurls in Southeast Asia.

Around 3,500 people, mainly Rohingya or economic migrants from Bangladesh, have reached land in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, while thousands more are feared trapped on boats adrift at sea.

Obama has thrown his political weight behind the complex transition in Myanmar, which was ruled by the military with an iron fist until reforms began in 2011.

Tens of thousands of Rohingya

have lived in displacement camps since 2012 when deadly communal violence tore through the western state of Rakhine.

“The Rohingya have been discriminated against significantly, and that’s part of the reason they’re fleeing,” Obama said Monday in Washington at an event with young leaders from Southeast Asia.

Addressing what is “required for Myanmar to succeed”, Obama said “one of the most important things is to put an end to discrimination against people because of what they look like or what their faith is.”

“I think if I were a Rohingya, I would want to stay where I was born. But I’d want to make sure that my government was protecting me and that people were treating me fairly,” he added.

“And that’s why it’s so important, I think, as part of the democratic transition, to take very seriously this issue of how the Rohingya are treated.”

Myanmar does not recognize the Rohingya as a separate ethnic minority, instead calling them “Bengalis.” It insists they are illegal immigrants from neighboring Bangladesh.

As a result, they face restrictions on movement and on access to jobs and services, prompting thousands each year to brave the dangerous sea journey south towards Malaysia and Indonesia.

Myanmar’s first census in three decades, held in 2014, did not include them in the tally after authorities refused to allow the group to identify themselves as “Rohingya”.

A powerful Buddhist nationalist campaign for tighter restrictions on all of Myanmar’s Muslim population has deepened hostility to the Rohingya—and has been met with a muted response from political leaders, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Her opposition party is set to contest the elections in November, which Obama has backed as a key stepping stone towards democracy.

But during his last visit to the nation in November last year, Obama warned that Myanmar’s reforms were by “no means complete or irreversible”, citing the cramping of freedom of expression, ongoing conflicts and the treatment of Myanmar’s minority groups—especially the Rohingya. AFP

1.

Activities Publication of Invitation to Bid Submission of Pre-qualification Requirements Announcement of Pre-Qualified Bidders Issuance of Information Memorandum / Bid Documents Pre-Bid Conference Start of Due Diligence of Proponent Last Day of due Diligence of Proponent Last day of Submission and Opening of Technical and Financial Bids Start of Evaluation of Technical and Financial Bids Post-Qualification Confirmation of BOD Announcement of Winning Bidder and Issuance of Notice to Proceed

Schedule June 3, 2015 12:00 noon, of July 3, 2015 July 7, 2015 July 8, 2015 July 20, 2015, 9:00 AM July 21, 2015 August 21, 2015 August 31, 2015, 9:00AM September 1, 2015 September 14-21, 2015 September 22, 2015 September 23, 2015

13

Deliberation and Finalization of PSA

September 28-October 28, 2015

14

Signing of PSA

November 9, 2015

15

Filing of Joint ERC Petition for the Approval of the PSA

November 16, 2015

16

Target Commercial Operation Date of Power Plant

November 9, 2016

Executive Summary

PRE-QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS (PQR)

Interested Bidders must provide a brief description of their history and capabilities in the construction, maintenance and operation of a power plant. In the event the interested Bidder is a Consortium, then an executive summary must be provided for each member of the Consortium. The executive summary shall also provide brief description of any existing or prior relationships among the Consortium members, if applicable.

2.

Organizational Structure Interested Bidders or each member of the Consortium must provide Basic Information including its Organizational Structure, its legal status and the Resume of Curriculum Vita (CV) of each Director and Officer of the organization. Consortium members shall be required to submit an Undertaking to Incorporate the Consortium should they be proclaimed the Selected NPP.

3.

Financial Information Interested Bidders or each member of the Consortium shall submit the following: a. b. c.

4.

Financial and Operating Background for the two (2) full financial years immediately preceding the present year demonstrating the Bidder’s financial viability; An Equity and Financing Planindicating, the program and source of funds with supporting documents, if any; and Any relevant information regarding its financial track record and capabilities that would assist the BBAC in Pre-Qualifying the interested Bidder.

Technical Information Capability Interested Bidders or each member of a Consortium (who has at least 30% participation in the Consortium) shall submit the following: a. b. c. d.

5.

List of projects undertaken over the last five (5) years that demonstrates the Bidder (or in the case of a consortium, any if its members with at least 30% participation),has meet the technical criteria established in the Terms of Reference.

List of Electricity Generation pants that the interested Bidders (or in case of a Consortium, any of its members with at least 30% participation) has operated for the last five (5)years, to demonstrate that the Bidder has meet the technical criteria established in the Terms of Reference.

Submit track records in operating the power plant Any other relevant information regarding its technical capabilities that it believes would assist the BBAC in PreQualifying the Interested Bidder.

Conflict of Interest The Bidder must disclose detailed information regarding any existing, potential, possible of future conflict of interest that a Bidder (and each member of a consortium) may have with the BISELCO Bids and Awards Committee, DOE, NPC, ERC and their advisors and consultants

6.

Confirmation of Eligibility Interested Bidder must submit a Confirmation of Eligibility Statement (COE) confirming its eligibility of all Consortium members, if applicable, as follows: a. b.

7.

That the Bidder or all Consortium Members of the Bidder are not disqualified from bidding for the transaction That the authorized signatory of the Bidder or in case of a Consortium, the Lead Bidder, must sign the COE on each and every page

Power of Attorney and other documents Each Bidder must submit the following a.

b. c.

Original of Certified true copies of all corporate/legal documents (e.g. Board Resolution, power of Attorney) evidencing grant authority invested in the individual submitting the Bid and making representation on behalf of the Bidder or, where the Bidder is a Consortium, each member thereof. In the event of a consortium, each Consortium member must also submit a Power of Attorney) and/or a copy of the board resolution evidencing grant of authority vested on the Lead Bidder of that Consortium to submit the Bid on behalf of the Consortium and represent irrevocably bind the Consortium in all matters connected to the transaction; Certification by the Bidder to the effect that the Bidder or, where the Bidder is a Consortium, each member of thereof is not prohibited or restricted in any manner under applicable law or any agreement or license from participating in the CSP. Sworn undertaking that the Bidder or its Consortium Members, if applicable, as well as their affiliates, assigns and successors-in-interest, shall abide by the decisions of the BBAC, shall hold BISELCO, its Board of Directors, officers and Management, and the BBAC free and harmless from any claim or cause arising from the conduct and award of the Project; and shall undertake not to institute of file any case or claim before any court of competent jurisdiction and administrative agency in relation to the conduct and award of the Project.

The selection of Pre-Qualified Bidder shall be in accordance with the above pre-Qualification Requirements. All Pre-Qualification Documents must be submitted to in a sealed envelope to: The Chairman, BISELCO Bids and Awards Committee, Barangay 6, Coron, Palawan no later than 12:00 noon of July 3, 2015, at which time and place, the Sealed pre-Qualification Documents shall be opened by the BISELCO Bids and Awards Committee in the presence of the prospective Bidders and/or their representatives.

BISELCO reserves the right to conduct the opening of pre-Qualification Documents and submitted bids in the presence of representatives from the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and Department of Energy (DOE).

BISELCO reserves the right to accept or reject any and all pre-Qualification Documents submitted by prospective bidders and annul the bidding process, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected prospective Bidder/s.

For further details, please contact BAC SECRETARY, during office hours at the following phone numbers +63 998 9548 494 (Signed) MR. ESTANISLAO RODRIGUEZ Board President

(TS-JUNE 3, 2015)

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B8 Shy town prepares to face its Waterloo WATERLOO—The little Belgian town of Waterloo is feverishly preparing to celebrate the 200th anniversary of one of history’s greatest battles, hoping it can reclaim its name from a London railway station and an ABBA song.

Two centuries after it became famous as the place where “Napoleon did surrender,” the former farming village has become a sleepy suburb 25 kilometers south of the capital Brussels, with a population of 30,000.

But now its shop windows are full of pictures of the French emperor’s famous two-horned hats and little Napoleons perched on white stallions, ahead of several days of huge celebrations later this month.

After years of relative obscurity there is a feeling that Waterloo is finally facing its fate as a historic tourism draw.

“I’ve lived in Waterloo for 50 years and I’ve always known the story of Napoleon,” retiree Antoine Delsemme told AFP in the small town center. “But all this will attract people, it will make the town better known and that will profit the inhabitants, especially shopowners. That’s very good.”

While the battle is commonly known as Waterloo, the town itself was only the headquarters of the Duke of Wellington, who led the allied British and Prussian forces.

Most of the actual fighting in fact took place in neighboring villages.

And it is there, several miles south of Waterloo on the plain of Mont-Saint-Jean, that the busiest preparations are under way for the commemorative events which are expected to draw around 200,000 people, a quarter of them foreigners.

A huge light-and-sound show called “Inferno” on June 18, and two days of battle re-enactments that follow on June 19 and 20, will take place in a huge bowl-shaped field full of tall grass.

For weeks workers have been setting up stands that will seat around 50,000 spectators per day—more than the capacity of Belgium’s national football stadium—with still more standing. AFP

cESAr bArrioqUiNto EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

world Coalition set to discuss ‘foreign-dominated’ IS PARIS—The US-led coalition members carrying out air raids against Islamic State jihadists held crunch talks in Paris Tuesday as Iraq’s leader pleaded for more support against what he said was now a foreign-dominated group.

Grief. Relatives of the passengers on board the Dongfangzhixing or “Eastern Star,” which sank en route from the eastern city of Nanjing to the southwestern city of Chongqing, react as they wait for information at a hotel in Nanjing, in east China’s Jiangsu province, on June 2. Divers racing to find survivors rescued a 65-year-old woman after the ship sank with more than 450 mainly elderly people in the storm-tossed Yangtze, raising hopes more people can be found alive. AFP

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the advance of IS jihadists represented a “failure” for the global community, upping the stakes ahead of the gathering of around 20 ministers from the coalition.

The talks were given added urgency by a suicide bomb against an Iraqi police base, which killed at least 37 and further slowed an operation to retake the city of Ramadi near Baghdad.

Iraq’s plan to recapture Ramadi will dominate the meeting, according to a senior US official, with Abadi set to outline how his government intends to retake it and what coalition partners can do to help.

“This is not a business-as-usual meeting,” said the senior official, speaking on condition of anonymity by teleconference.

“We’re coming to discuss with... Abadi his plan for liberating Ramadi and Anbar province.”

And just hours before the meeting, Abadi stressed that IS was not just a problem for Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic group has overrun large parts of territory, but the whole world.

“The flow of foreign fighters is more than before,” he told reporters in Paris before the meeting started.

“There is an international problem, it has to be solved.”

He said that up until recently, around six out of 10 fighters were Iraqi and the remainder foreign, whereas now the proportion was reversed.

“Daesh is creating a new generation of fighters, dedicated, ideologized. They are prepared to die but they are not suicide bombers,” said the prime minister, using an alternative name for IS. The international community has to explain “why so many terrorists are from Saudi Arabia, why so many from the Gulf, why so many from Egypt, why so many from Syria, and Turkey and from European countries?” AFP

Handbag sells for a record $222,912 HONG KONG—A fuchsia-colored crocodile-skin Hermes bag has broken the record for the most expensive handbag sold at auction, selling for US$222,912 at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong.

The shiny pink bag was sold to an Asian phone bidder in an auction that saw “fast-paced bidding from start to finish,” Christie’s said in a statement late Monday.

The final price realized at the Monday auction was around 15 percent more than the auction house’s estimate.

“With its 18k white gold and

diamond hardware, Hermès Shiny Fuchsia Porosus Crocodile Diamond Birkin 35 dazzled the crowds, achieving a HK$1.72million record,” Christie’s said in the statement.

The bag, part of the “Birkin” series named after actress and singer Jane Birkin, who was born in Britain and is based in France, features a gold and diamondencrusted clasp and padlock and is 35 centimeters in width and 25 centimeters in height.

At the same auction that saw some 300 designer handbags going under the hammer, a shiny black crocodile “Kelly” bag was

sold for US$145,000, breaking the record for the most expensive “Kelly” bag sold at auction.

The “Kelly” product line is named after the late Princess Grace of Monaco.

The auction house’s Handbags and Accessories sale achieved $5.99 million in sales.

Designer handbags are the latest craze for collectors, taking global auction houses by storm and fetching record prices.

The previous record was set at the sale of another Hermes Birkin by an American auction house valued at around $203,000 in 2011. AFP

Dress rehearsal. Israeli maestro Daniel Oron conducts as opera singers and actors perform during a full dress rehearsal of “Tosca” by Giacomo Puccini on a special stage set up against the backdrop of the ancient hilltop fortress of Masada in the Judean desert in southern Israel on June 1. Oron will conduct The Israel Symphony Orchestra Rishon LeZion and chorus with lead roles being sung by international singers. AFP

W E D N E S D AY : J U N E 0 3 : 2 0 1 5

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BAMBINA OLIVARES WISE EDITOR

BING PAREL A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

LIFE

DESIGN

TROPICAL SPLENDOR Vito Selma's got designs on YOO

F

orm meets function with naturally stunning results in the furniture that renowned Filipino designer Vito Selma has created for the residences at Aqua Boracay by YOO. Set to open in 2016, Aqua Boracay by YOO is a five-star residential resort development on Boracay Island in the Philippines – the only luxury branded residence on the island. Styled with exquisite wood pieces designed by Vito Selma, the contemporary residences at Aqua Boracay

by YOO are in perfect harmony with the beautiful outdoor environment.

Aqua Boracay by YOO is a boutique beachfront resort set on 16,000 square meters of lush tropical gardens with beachfront access to Bulabog beach. The resort, a modern take on luxury beachfront living, is designed by the London-based YOO Studio, founded by ubiquitous designer Philippe Starck and international property entrepreneur John Hitchcox. With stunning ocean views and lush tropical gardens as the backdrop, the residences and public spaces at Aqua Boracay by YOO were designed to maximize the idyllic beach views by letting the natural light and scenery take center stage.

Aqua Boracay by YOO offers 168 spacious one- and two-bedroom luxury apartments ranging in size from 50-sqm to 264-sqm.

The apartments are open plan and feature floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors and wrap around terraces, and a color scheme of natural whites and earth tones that complements the outdoors. YOO Studio tapped renowned Filipino designer Vito Selma to style the residences with his distinctive, artful furniture.

Just as nature forms the inspiration for Aqua Boracay by YOO, it is also the impetus for Selma’s pieces, each crafted from local Filipino woods and accented by other natural elements.

Already well underway with an opening in 2016, Aqua Boracay by YOO is a highly anticipated new resort that is already gaining international attention and prestige. The resort has just been named by Property Report as a 2015 Winner of Asia’s Best Resort Residences, noted as one of the most exemplary residential real estate properties in Asia. The five-star amenity residences are selling from USD $220,000 to USD $1,999,999. The residences will also be available for vacation rental for short or longterm stays. Rental yields are anticipated to range between 6 to 8 percent.

Potential buyers who wish to receive further sales information about Aqua Boracay by YOO or may call +639189859110 or email info@aquaboracay.com. To learn more about Aqua Boracay

by YOO, please visit www.aquaboracay.com

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LIFE g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

LUXURY

VENETIAN HANGOVER Prada's new look in Venice

P

rada celebrates the reopening of its recently expanded and renovated historic store in Piazza San Moisè, in the heart of downtown Venice.

The new space, conceived by Italian architect Roberto Baciocchi, revists the brand's signature architecture and adapts it to the unique features of the building.

The space covers a total area of approximately 850 square metres over two floors and houses the women's and men's ready-to-wear, leather goods, accessories and footwear collections.

The building's typical Venetian façade is characterised by two entrances and five display windows on the ground floor, while large windows on the first floor allow a glimpse of the interior.

The two entrances open on very different spaces, one dedicated to the women's collections and the other devoted to men.

The ground floor features three rooms connected by marble portals providing access to the spaces where the women's bags, accessories and footwear collections are displayed, as well as to the area housing the men's collections.

The space dedicated to women is characterised by black-and-white marble flooring and green fabric-clad walls with precious cut-in crystal and

polished steel display cases with black marble drawers. Display counters with coloured saffiano leather detailing and green velvet sofas complete the setting.

The men's area is also located on the ground floor and houses leather goods and footwear collections.

Here, the masculine character is expressed by slim Sain Laurent marble floorboards and by walls with orange encaustic painting, creating a highly contrasting yet modern effect.

From the area dedicated to women, an imposing black Marquinia marble staircase inserted into a green fabric-clad volume leads to the upper floor.

The space where the women's ready-to-wear collections are displayed is defined by a sequence of rooms where windows overlooking the square serve as a perfect backdrop. Green fabric-clad walls and green velvet sofas, contrasting with the perspex cases, skylights and display tables, create an elegant atmosphere.

A smaller, more intimate room entirely wrapped up in green velvet with polished steel display units is dedicated to Prada's most special guests.

The men's ready-to-wear collections are showcased in an area flaunting a sartorial atmosphere, defined by ebony floorboards and walls. Coloured ostrich leather sofas enrich the furnishing.

TIME IN A BARREL Hennessy sends a Message to the Future Conceived as an unprecedented, hybrid cultural event, The Hennessy 250 Tour is a major travelling exhibition dedicated to those who have made Hennessy what it is today, through an artistic and cultural approach.

As orchestrated by art curator Hervé Mikaeloff in collaboration with scenographer Nathalie Crinière and Hennessy heritage expert Raphaël Gérard, The Hennessy 250 Tour offers a 360° perspective on the legendary Cognac maker’s past, present and future through a trove of archival materials, portraits, and films recounting the Hennessy family’s rendezvous with important moments in History and its global adventure.

The Hennessy 250 Tour also features an array of artistic creations, which were specially created for this event and are displayed over more than 6,500 square feet (600 square metres) of gallery space.

In keeping with a creative heritage that is as much material as immaterial, The Hennessy 250 Tour showcases leading contemporary artists whose works and installations – both real and virtual ‐ evoke the Maison’s legacy and expertise. Among the featured works are pieces

by French artists Xavier Veilhan and Pierrick Sorin, French designer Constance Guisset, American artist Tony Oursler, Scottish artist

Charles Sandison and Dutch photographer and film director Anton Corbijn.

Every stop on The Hennessy 250 Tour showcases the ‘Here to There’ section with culture‐ specific installations featuring video artwork by five artists including Yang Yongliang (China), Olga Kisseleva (Russia), Daniel Arsham (USA), Dineo Seshee Bopape (South Africa), and Laurent Pernot (France). These events were created in order to illustrate Hennessy's philosophy of blending influences and cultures.

THE HENNESSY TIME BARREL

An important highlight of The Hennessy 250 Tour is The Time Barrel. This repository upholds the Hennessy legacy of transmission: just as the Maison preserves its eaux-de-vie for future generations, with this installation it invites visitors to leave a mark on the future by storing digital messages here and now for future generations. This 21st century time capsule will preserve messages written in 2015, at every stop of the Hennessy 250 Tour, inside a barrel stored in Hennessy historic cellars in Cognac. Messages for future generations will remain sealed in the Time Barrel until it is opened half a century from now, on the occasion of Hennessy’s next anniversary celebration in 2065.

LUXURY DECLINES IN BRAND VALUE

BY ED BIADO Insights firm Millward Brown recently released the 10th annual edition of BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands. The study reveals something that many people have been suspecting for some time: that it’s been a weak year for the luxury market.

“Of the 13 categories tracked in the BrandZ [research], luxury declined most in Brand Value, with a 6 percent drop compared with a 16 percent rise a year ago,” it says in the summary. Brand Value is defined as “the dollar amount a brand contributes to the overall value of a corporation,” while the luxury category is defined as including “brands that design, craft and market high-end clothing, leather goods, fragrances, accessories and watches.”

The top 10 brands in the category are worth a combined value of $104.6 billion for the duration of the tracking period. The most valuable of which is Louis Vuitton, which increased its value by 6 percent over the year to $27.45 billion.

Meanwhile, Hermes and Gucci, at second and third place respectively, are both in the red. The former lost 13 percent of its value to $18.94 billion and the latter declined by 14 percent to $13.8 billion.

Chanel gained 15 percent to $8.99 billion, securing the fourth spot; and rounding out the top five is Rolex with $8.53 billion (-6 percent).

The next three places feature brands with shrinking values: Cartier (-15 percent) with $7.61 billion, Prada (-35 percent) with $6.54 billion and Burberry (-4 percent) with $5.72 billion.

Newcomers Michael Kors and Tiffany are at the bottom end of the top 10 with $3.82 billion and $3.23 billion respectively.

Millward Brown attributes the slowdown in the luxury segment to less than favorable economic conditions in China, Brazil and Russia, as well as “[c]hanging values and attitudes about consumption.” It explains, “Some consumers, particularly millennials, viewed luxury products as expensive indulgences inconsistent with their desire to live in a modest and sustainable way.”

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LIFE g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

BARBARESCO: NEW VINTAGE PREVIEW Barbaresco is the other big bold Nebbiolo wine being produced in Piedmont.

Often relegated to second place behind the more sturdy Barolo by the outside wine community, Barbaresco among the Langhe area wine producers is just a different Nebbiolo wine made from its own proud “terroir.” Barbaresco was one of the earliest wine regions to get a DOC instatement in 1966, and got promoted to DOCG status in 1980. The demarcated Barbaresco wine areas include the villages of Barbaresco, Treiso and Neive, and parts of the Alba municipality.

Barbaresco at present contributes around 20 percent of the total Nebbiolo production. The 20 percent is roughly equivalent to 4.4 million bottles produced annually, and a-third of the production of their Barolo counterpart. Barbaresco is a wine I thoroughly enjoy but has not been drinking much of given its low availability in our country. The Barbarescos or even Barolos I have tried both here and outside of the Philippines only include the bigger brands like Gaja, Pio Cesare and Ceretto – and I have high positive recollections of all these wines. But it is entirely a different scenario if I have to rate these wines when tasted against several other similar wines, which I did via random blind tasting at the Nebbiolo Anteprima in Alba last month.

Once again like my first initiation to the Roero DOCG wines, I was extremely fortunate to have tasted 122 Barbaresco wines from 75 producers. These wines were composed of 102 Barbaresco 2012 vintage and 20 Barbaresco Riserva 2010 vintage.

Barbaresco has to be made from 100 percent Nebbiolo (unlike Roero DOCG that is allowed up to five percent of another grape varietal) and can only be released after 26 months in cellar aging, of which nine months should be in oak barrels. The Barbaresco Riserva on the other hand requires a longer cellaring period of up to 50 months before commercial release, of which the same nine months should be in oak

The Barbaresco blind tasting at the Nebbiolo Anteprima; 5 wines at every flight

barrels. While these are the cellaring/aging rules implemented by the local Conzortio (consortium), most Barbaresco producers exceed the minimum 9nine months oak aging requirements, and go a full year in the barrel for the Barbaresco and up to 24 months in barrel for the Barbaresco Riserva. This is no different from a Spanish Rioja region Crianza and Reserva classification law, with both Crianza and Reserva having the same minimum oak aging requirements (in Rioja the rule is 12 months in oak barrel), but the Reserva having to endure extra cellaring period prior to commercial release. Yet in both instances, the wineries will almost always age the Riserva (or in Spain, Reserva) longer in oak barrels than the required minimum aging for more distinctive and obvious differentiation.

GENERAL FEEDBACK

In my humble opinion, the Barbarescos at the Anteprima event were majority really good to excellent. Out of 102 Barbarescos from vintage 2012 tasted, I gave 30 of these wines very high ratings. And of the 20 Barbaresco Riservas from vintage 2010 tasted, I gave three wines excellent marks.

Barbaresco 2012 vintage: To me the range of wines are more consistent with fewer exceptions. On the nose this vintage shows a lot of freshness, with strawberries, red berries, to even more intense jam-like notes. The alcohol seems less noticeable and the acid and sugar are pretty balanced. Tannins are surprisingly not as rustic as expected. Several wines show good wood integration with nice bouquet ranging from vanilla, mocha to cinnamon. I enjoyed several of the Barbarescos immensely and shortlisted the following wines (that were all tasted and rated blind) as those I would highly recommend upon commercial release. In no particular order: 1.

Rattalino Barbaresco 2012 Quarantadue42, 2. Rivella Silvia Barbaresco 2012, 3. Maccagatta Barbaresco 2012 Bric Balin, 4. Boffa Carlo Barbaresco 2012 Paje, 5. Cascina Luisin Barbaresco 2012 Rabaja, 6. Castello di Neive Barbaresco 2012 Santo Stefano, 7. De Nicola Sorelle Barbaresco 2012 Bordini di Neive Vigna di Montesommo, 8.

Castello di Neive Barbaresco 2012 Gallina,

9. Lequio Ugo Barbaresco 2012 Gallina, 10.

Fontanabianca Barbaresco, 11. Voghera Luigi di Voghera Livio Barbaresco 2012, 12. Rabaja di Bruno Rocca Barbaresco 2012 Coparossa, 13. Icardi Cav. Pierino Barbaresco 2012 Montubert, 14. Bera Barbaresco 2012, 15.

Cascina Saria Barbaresco 2012 Colle del Gelso, 16. Montaribaldi di Taliano Luciano e Taliano Roberto Barbaresco 2012 Palazzina, 17. Pietro Rinaldi Barbaresco 2012 San Cristoforo, 18.

Pelissero Pasquale Barbaresco 2012 Bricco San Giuliano, 19. La Contea Barbaresco 2012 Serragrilli, 20. Pelissero Barbaresco 2012 Nubiola, 21. Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco 2012, 22. Ceretto Barbaresco 2012, 23. Cantina del Nebbiolo Barbaresco 2012, 24.

Nada Giuseppe Barbaresco 2012 Casot, 25.

Pertinace Barbaresco 2012 Castellizzano, 26.

Pertinace Barbaresco 2012 Marcarini, 27. San Biagio Barbaresco 2012 Montersino, 28. Vigin Barbaresco 2012 Montersino, 29. Pertinace Barbaresco 2012 Nervo, 30. La Ganghija di Rapalino Enzo Barbaresco 2012.

After rechecking my notes, I realized in my blind tastings I had selected multiple Barbarescos from Pertinace (three different wines from three different vineyards), and Castello di Neive (two different wines). Actually, Pertinace was named after a Roman Emperor who was born in the Barbaresco village in early AD times.

My pick of multiple wines from the same winery is a bit astounding given that over 100 Barbarescos were tasted randomly, and not many wineries fielded multiple Barbarescos in the tasting forum.

Barbaresco Riserva 2010 vintage: Note that unlike the Roero Riserva, which is a year older than its Roero wines, Barbaresco Riserva is cellared 24 months longer than its classic Barbaresco wines. It is because of this cellaring law that the Nebbiolo Anteprima featured the Barbaresco 2012 and the Barbaresco Riserva 2010. While as mentioned above, the Conzortio stated only minimum of nine months of oak aging for both classic and Riserva wines, all the Barbaresco wineries often oak-age their Riservas much longer. Also from what I gathered talking to wineries in Alba, not many Barbaresco producers go into making Riservas. Based on the smaller sample group of 20 wines tasted, I do like the

TWG TEA FASHIONS The World’s Most Luxurious Iced Teabag Collection

T

WG Tea recently launched the world’s most luxurious collection of teabags especially crafted for the preparation of iced teas. As a trendsetting purveyor of exquisite teas, TWG Tea continuously shapes the fashion of tea appreciation by taking the global tea industry by storm with this extraordinary collection. The iced tea collection comes in 15 varieties of whole tea leaves carefully proportioned and packaged for the expert preparation of delicious TWG iced teas.

For the finishing touch, TWG Tea presents the perfect accompaniment – an Iced Tea Carafe series available in eight vibrant colors.

Made of a very light Plexiglas, it is the perfect accessory to serve a refreshing glass of iced tea to delight and tantalize the senses of teadrinkers everywhere.

Carafes are retailed at P6295 which yields a liter of iced tea.

Owner Rapalino Enzo of La Ganghiya of Treiso; His Barbaresco was among those I selected in blind tasting

HOW TO SERVE TWG TEABAGS:

Preparation of 1 liter of iced tea For a rich, intense and flavorful beverage: 1. Place one teabag into a teapot.

2. Add 1/2 liter of pure, simmering water.

3. Steep for about five minutes.

4. Remove teabag and pour into glasses filled to the brim with large ice cubes.

For a more delicately infused beverage: 1. Place one teabag into a glass pitcher.

2. Add one liter of pure water at room temperature.

3. Refrigerate for about 12 hours.

4. Stir and remove the teabag before serving.

Enjoy this iced tea as it is or sweetened to taste with sugar syrup.

Experience the luxury of choice with the new TWG Iced Teabag Collection, available in TWG Tea Boutiques worldwide. Iced Teabags are retailed at P2595 per box of seven teabags each.

2010 Riservas. Most of the wines have more complex bouquet, good structured acids, wellbalanced mid-palate and long lingering finish.

There were at least two Riservas I found too tarty/acidic. The 2010 is a much ballyhooed vintage in the Langhe area, and I certainly tasted the reason why. My favorite wines from this batch are: 1. Negro Angelo E. Figli Barbaresco Riserva 2010 Basarin (incredible nose, relentless ripe berries and white chocolate, excellent acid balance), 2. Sarotto Roberto Barbaresco Riserva 2010 Curra (strawberry jam, juicy friendly tannins at the end), 3.Lequio Ugo Barbaresco Riserva 2010 Gallina (subtle nose, peppercorn, black currant, exceptional balance, very elegant all the way).

Of the three Riservas I handpicked as my favorites, Lequio Ugo also appeared as one of my selections from the classic Barbaresco 2012 vintage. This means that I must have really enjoyed the winemaking style of this winery. I checked on record from the list of wine entries of Barbarescos, Lequio Ugo entered only two wines, one for Barbaresco Riserva 2010 and one for Barbaresco 2012, and I chose both of them from 122 wines.

What are the odds?!?

I thought after all the Barbarescos I tried and tasted, I may already have a “Barbaresco-taste fatigue.” But on the contrary, writing this column and reviewing my notes made me recall the wines I enjoyed and would definitely love to drink again. I really hope other wine lovers can take note of these Barbaresco wines coming soon.

For wine importers, many of these brands I covered above are not yet in the Philippines and actually, not in most of Asia. Interested parties can Google the brand names and explore the import possibilities. We all need these good stuff to drink!

For next issue, I tackle the Barolo preview. The Barolos are the bulk of the wines I partook in my Alba trip.

For comments, inquiries, wine event coverage, wine consultancy and other wine related concerns, please e-mail me at protegeinc@ yahoo.com. I am a proud member of the Federation Internationale des Journalists et Ecrivains du Vin et des Spiritueux or FIJEV since 2010. You can also follow me on twitter at www.twitter.com/sherwinlao.

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LIFE g l w e e ke n d @ g m a i l . c o m

A LIFE IN DESIGN

Poliform unveils new advertising campaign

Italian luxury home and office furnishings brand Poliform offers design solutions that are more than just practical; they are stylish, functional and easy to live with.

Its latest advertising campaign "My Life Design Stories" has just been revealed, and it focuses on a new way of enjoying life at home.

W EDNES DAY : J UNE 3 : 2015

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

O

ne of the world’s most popular and well-loved cooking shows MasterChef comes to Asia this year with the inaugural season of MasterChef Asia on Lifetime. Fans of the culinary blockbuster, which has brought to life the dreams of many aspiring home cooks, are set to take delight as the Asiawide franchise of the show brings to the fore the rich and dazzling culinary heritage of the region.

Airing with 15 episodes later this year, MasterChef Asia will bring together the finest amateur cooks from the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam who will all go through the most grueling kitchen challenges and ultimately battle it out to become the first ever winner of the show.

With shooting set to commence early next month, Lifetime also announces the three culinary virtuosos who will act as mentors and judges on the show. They are Toronto-based chef and restaurateur Susur Lee, three-Michelin starred chef Bruno Ménard and former MasterChef Australia finalist Audra Morrice.

Hong Kong-born Chef Susur Lee is an institution on the Canadian restaurant scene. The chef ’s restaurants, which include LEE, Luckee, and Bent, are all esteemed establishments frequented for their distinct concepts and dishes that ooze with the goodness of Chinese and French cuisines. He also oversees the prestigious TungLok Heen in Singapore’s Hotel Michael and has won numerous awards including Food and Wine Magazine’s “Ten Chefs of the Millennium” and the five-Star Diamond Award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences.

Tokyo’s shopping hub Ginza Dis-

‘MASTERCHEF ASIA’ ON LIFETIME MasterChef Asia judges - Morrice, Lee, and Menard

Chef Bruno Menard

Chef Susur Lee

trict is home to some of the world’s most discerning shoppers and diners and Chef Bruno Ménard has been pleasing their palates for 10 years now with the restaurant

Michelle Yeo with Nepalese children

MICHELLE YEOH PROMOTES ‘AFTERSHOCK: DISASTER IN N EPAL’ Discovery Channel is producing Aftershock: Disaster In Nepal, a new documentary that will explore the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that shook Nepal on April 25and the subsequent 7.3-magnitude earthquake on May 12.

Chef Audra Morrice

L’Osier. The restaurant has been voted as one of the top French restaurants outside of France and has been awarded three Michelin stars – the highest honor – every

An image of destruction wrought upon Nepal by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake

The 60-minute special will air on Discovery Channel, 8 p.m. on June 14.

As part of the production, Discovery Channel will be partnering with Michelle Yeoh, who will be hosting program links and a special public service announcement to further highlight the disaster, its after-effects, and the plight of those affected. Discovery Channel has also produced a public service announcement featuring several of its personalities calling on viewers to support recovery efforts, which has been on air across Asia Pacific since the beginning of May. The devastating earthquake that struck Nepal on 25th April unleashed a shockwave equal to the force of 20 thermonuclear weapons on the region, amassing an overwhelming death toll of more than 8,000 people, including 19

year since 2007. He also boasts a 20-year experience in establishing some of Asia’s best restaurants and runs a top-tier culinary consulting firm in Singapore.

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Dubbed as the “Martha Stewart of Asia,” Audra Morrice completes the show’s judging panel. Born to a Chinese mother and Indian father and raised in multicultural Singapore, Audra brings her expertise as a cook and experience as a former contestant to the show. After her stint in MasterChef Australia, Audra has established a solid career in the food and catering business.

She also hosts pop-up restaurant events and conducts cooking classes. Soon she will be releasing her own cookbook and her own line of artisanal food products.

“We considered many chefs from around Asia and overseas to find the right combination of knowledge, passion, charisma and warmth,” said Michele Schofield, senior vice president, Programming & Production, A+E Networks Asia. “Susur brings stellar Asian food expertise and extensive technical knowledge, while Bruno has undisputed Michelin-rated credentials based in classic French cuisine. Audra’s cooking is rooted in South Asian cuisine as well as pastry; she has a unique relatability to the contestants and is testament to the opportunity that MasterChef offers home cooks.”

MasterChef Asia is being produced in Singapore and is presented by the Singapore Tourism Board and Knorr, in association with Panasonic, Changi Airport Group, and Carlton Hotel Singapore.

Based on an original format by Franc Roddam and represented internationally by Endemol Shine Group, MasterChef is the most travelled food format in the world having to 52 territories and counting.

LIFETIME™ is available on Cable Link Ch 223, Destiny Cable Ch 44 (Analogue) Ch 65 (Digital), Dream Satellite TV Ch 10, SKYCable SD Ch 65 and HD Ch 199, and other select provincial channels.

Destroyed houses and buildings in the Himalayas

climbers who were scaling Mount Everest at the time of the quake. Historic buildings in the centre of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, were reduced to rubble and generations-old family homes destroyed.

Aftershock: Disaster In Nepal will feature expert interviews and seismic demonstration to explain the science behind the earthquakes, footage of the rescue operations in Kathmandu, news reports from around the globe and exclusive glimpses of new technology and research being developed to help humanity better predict and cope with natural events such as earthquakes. The documentary will also feature a variety of compelling first-hand accounts from those who survived the natural disaster, from a hotelier in Kathmandu laying out breakfast service and two sisters opening up their bakery in the shadow of the Pashupatinath

Temple, to a group of tourists visiting Dubar Square and a newlywed couple at Everest’s Camp 1. In addition, the programme will supplement these first-hand accounts with user-generated content and social media.

Yeoh, known for her role in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and other action movies, was in Nepal at the time of the earthquake. She spends a lot of her personal time in Nepal and is a patron of Live to Love, a global humanitarian initiative that is heavily involved in providing relief and aid for the disaster. “Nepal and the incredible work that is being carried out by Live to Love are very close to my heart. More people need to be aware of what is happening – after not one, but two earthquakes – and to witness not just the destruction and pain, but also strength and our capacity for kindness and empathy,” she said.

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

DO YOU WANT TO BE A RUNWAY ROCK STAR? NICKIE WANG Fresh out of the Fashion Institute of the Philippines, Enzo Habulan joins a reality show for “the next big thing on the local fashion scene” armed with a keen eye for trends and fashion style.

He describes his designs as sleek and minimal infused with interesting details. At 21, he is eager to show his work in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity other young designers could only dream of.

Another young blood, also at 21, flew all the way from Eastern Samar to showcase and impress seasoned designers with his own visual idea of what a good wardrobe should look like. Joy Chicano experiments with shapes and patterns to make his design scream “avant-garde.” He is able to discover his own aesthetic sense and style by playing with patterns.

In last week’s launch of Project Runway Philippines Season 4, both Enzo and Joy displayed their creations.

They were introduced along with the other 13 aspiring designers who made the cut in the most popular fashion design contest on local TV. In this season, model and fashion icon Tweetie De Leon-Gonzalez returns to the runway as host and judge.

Also returning to the show is fashion luminary Jojie Lloren who will act as mentor to the designers. He will work closely with the contenders, “to find the best designer in the history of Project Runway Philippines,” he said.

“Tougher challenges yet unseen await fifteen up and coming designers from all over the country. We have a plenty of surprises for the viewers. And we will be doing things we haven’t done before like saving one designer from being eliminated,” said Tweetie during the media launch hosted by ETC. Joining Tweetie and Jojie are another fixture on the

show, designer Rajo Laurel. Beauty expert Apples Aberin returns to the judges’ seat with the aim to help produce a new breed of young designers.

Of course at this point, it’s anybody’s ballgame. But who between Enzo and Joy would be lucky and talented enough to emerge victorious in this fashionable battle? It could be either or neither of them as 13 other hopefuls also show a lot of potential harnessed by their years of experience.

Well, as they say, drama, fun, surprises and a lot of sewing will on unfold on June 14 as the show premieres on ETC. STILL NO BABY PLANS FOR IYA VILLANIA It’s baby boom in local showbiz. Recently married couples like Marian Rivera and Dingdong Dantes and Bianca Gonzalez and JC Intal are expecting their firstborns. Former Kapamilya teen actress Empress Schuck, who moved to Kapuso network, also has got a bun in the oven.

But for actress Iya Villania, who married Drew Arellano (her boyfriend for 10 years) in a private ceremony in Batangas in January last year, having a baby is not part of their plan, yet.

“Of course we do want to have children. Initially I wanted to have five children then I changed my mind. I just want to have, maybe three,” Iya told The Standard in an interview during the launch of her new endorsement, Claritin Reditabs.

The 28-year-old actress and television host said they both know that their priorities would change once they finally decide to have kids.

She also explained that living in the same house, yet they dated for a decade before they settled down, is still a new thing for both of them.

“Living in is a new thing for us. Before we just visited each other’s house but living together is an entirely different experience. Well, Drew, like any other guy, is very makalat. But we didn’t have any major adjustment

2. Jun Robles Lana, 7. Enzo Williams, Barber’s Tales Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo (APT Entertainment, Inc./ (Philippians Production) Octobertrain) 8. Remton Siega Zuasola, 3. Lav Diaz, Soap Opera Mula Sa Kung Ano ang Noon, (Colorado Film Production) (Sine Olivia Pilipinas) 9. Antoinette Jadaone, 4. Francis Xavier Pasion , That Thing Called Tadhana Bwaya (Cinemalaya, FrontRow (Cinema One Originals, International, Eight Films, Epic Media, Monoxide Works) (Continued from Source of Light Films) yesterday) 5. Giancarlo Abrahan V, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: BEST SCREENPLAY: Dagitab (Ten17P) 1. Alber Banzon & Gym Lumbera, 1. Kanakan-Balintagos, 6. Jason Paul Laxamana, Violator (Cinema One Originals) Esprit de Corps Magkakabaung 2. Mycko David, (Cinema One Originals) (ATD Entertainment) Children’s Show (Cornelsen Films)

38TH GAWAD URIAN NOMINEES

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 45 46 48 50 51 52 54 58 62 63 65 66 67 68

ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Overrun with 5 Maltreat 9 Animal fats 14 Home-products brand 15 Pointed arch 16 George who was a she 17 Ancient ointment 18 They cause riots 19 Sugarbush tree 20 Whole number

22 24 26 27 30 35 36 37 38 39 42 43

Ears, slangily Territories Bonn connector Silk or wool Napoleon, e.g.

Ms. Witherspoon Green Hornet’s valet Verne skipper Language suffix Orchid supplier Ceiling Meat substitute

69 70 71

Roach and Linden Hull’s bottom Surveillance craft (2 wds.)

Trunks Speak ill of, slangily Wind around Fiesta decor Narrow, as a road (hyph.)

Rock tumbler stone Flake Dries out, as wood Defiant reply — fixe Wee hours in Cannes Ringlet Geog. region Wynter or Andrews

DOWN 1 Hindu royalty 2 A Karamazov 3 Frontier outpost 4 Wins over 5 Shop equivalent (2 wds.)

6 Mall for Plato 7 Johnny — 8 Chicken wire 9 24-hour race site (2 wds.)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3, 2015

10 11 12 13 21 23 25 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 36 40 41 44 47 49 50 53 54 55 56 57 59 60 61 64

Genie summoner Splits open Mete out Proofer’s word Deep distress Latvian moola Bright red Guitar ridges Fable author Thickset Singer — Redding Honeycomb units Baja pal Twig junctures Zen riddle Dalai Lama’s city Steakhouse order (hyph.)

Makes current Hibernia, now Quarts, plus Fool with He comes to court Gasp Disney CEO Bob — Pew locale Mini-play Water, in Baja No, to Fraulein Como — usted?

Work by Keats

Fashion authorities Rajo Laurel, Apples Aberin, Tweetie de Leon and Jojie Loren

Project Runway Philippines hopeful Joy Chicano

Aspiring designer Enzo Habulan

because we’ve been very comfortable with each other for so long,” she related.

Since having a baby is not their top priority, Iya and Drew enjoy the great outdoors. For Iya, she also has her own activities. She visits the gym at least four times a week, does a mixture of

3. Arnel Barbarona, Alienasyon (Talent Factory, Inc., Skyweaver Productions, Office for Initiatives in Culture and the Arts, UPLB, Voyage Studios, PelikuLAB 4. Neil Daza, Bwaya (Cinemalaya, FrontRow International, Eight Films, Source of Light Films) 5. Mackie Galvez, Dementia (Octobertrain Films, The Idea First Company/Regal Films) 6. Carlo Mendoza, Bonifacio: Ang Unang Pangulo (Philippians Productions)

core kinesis, Plana Forma and Power Plate. She also trains regularly to prepare for a roster of challenging triathlon events this year.

“This active lifestyle is a choice I had to make. I decided to take charge of my health. I definitely feel better than I did before,” she ended.

7. Carlo Mendoza, Barber’s Tales (APT Entertainment, Inc./ Octobertrain) 8.Sasha Palomares, That Thing Called Tadhana (Cinema One Originals, Epic Media, Monoxide Works) 9. Rommel Sales, Dagitab (Ten17P) The 38th Gawad Urian will be held on June 16 and will be aired live on Cinema One. (To be continued tomorrow.)

W EDNES DAY : J UNE 3 : 2015

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

PIA GUANIO LEAVES ’24 ORAS’

I

didn’t know that Eat Bulaga cohost Pia Guanio, who also doubles up as the showbiz anchor in 24 Oras, had resigned from the newscast. Although I am no longer surprised to see different faces anchoring that segment when Guanio couldn’t report for work, this news somehow saddened me.

Guanio, apart from doing her part in Bulaga rather competently, has extraordinary skills that the network has discounted. Perhaps because she was involved seriously with the noontime show that she might have ignored her own talents, thinking she was merely good to be a sidekick in a multi-hosted variety show.

The GMA News and Public Affairs sent us this statement re Guanio’s departure from the evening newscast: After 11 years at the forefront of showbiz news, Pia Guanio has decided to say goodbye to Chika Minute on ‘24 Oras.’

Pia decided to let go of her an-

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choring duties on ‘24 Oras’ to prioritize family life and raising her daughter Scarlet with her husband Steve Mago.

GMA Network understands the importance of family and is fully behind Pia’s decision to move forward.

Pia has been with 24 Oras since it launched in 2004, carving a niche in entertainment news with her fun and classy news delivery.

With Pia’s help, Chika Minute has etched itself in the consciousness of Pinoy pop culture, with the trademark voice of Pia signaling the start of showbiz news.

Aside from showbiz news, Pia has also advocated healthy living and animal rights and produced stories and news features on these.

‘24 Oras’ is grateful for Pia’s contributions to make it the leading and most credible newscast in the country today.

HHHHH ONLY BROADCAST ORGANIZATION TO WIN GOLD GMA Network Inc. and its mar-

keting arm GMA Marketing and Productions, Inc. won key recognitions at the recently held Philippine Association for National Advertisers PANAta Marketing Effectiveness Awards in Makati.

GMA led the roster of winners from the broadcast industry after bringing home a Gold award in the Advocacy Marketing category (Single Medium) for its “Share the Love” campaign. This one-of-akind station ID documented the awarding of 49 out of 403 newly built homes in the GMA Kapuso Village to the typhoon victims of Yolanda in Tacloban.

GMA was the first to provide permanent housing for the survivors. Along with Kapuso personalities, GMA brought the Christmas spirit back through the inauguration event and the first ever Christmas party for the survivors since the disaster.

Winning a Silver in the same category is GMA News TV’s “May Pag-Asa” station ID. The campaign

From left, Digna Santos of PANA, GMA's BJ Camaya, Catherine Diaz, Aileen Young, Philippe Disini, Riza Garduque, Johanna Jacinto, Armie Herrera. ClearSight Media Solution', Jay Bautista

presented stories of hope by revealing little known tragedies and challenges behind the success of the channel’s different personalities.

The Del Monte Kitchenomics (DMK) App which is partnered with a cooking show produced

by GMA continues to gain notice as it won a Bronze in the Branded Integrated Program - Tactical (Promotions) category, adding to its string of local and international awards. The DMK Mobile App was further enhanced by introducing the Meal Planner to aid moms in planning and preparing their daily meals.

Kapuso Milyonaryo (KM), the longest-running promo campaign on TV, was an awardee in the Advocacy Marketing – Integrated Program category. KM has given hope and inspiration to viewers through the positive impact it has made in the lives of its winners. To date, KM has already turned 62 individuals into instant millionaires via raffle draws. KM

is now on its 7th season and will again give away millions worth of prizes. Its digital iteration, the KM Mobile App, also has its own set of prizes.

The Philippine Association for National Advertisers PANAta Marketing Effectiveness Awards honors the best communication tools in the country.

HHHHH PRES. QUIRINO’S 125TH BIRTH ANNIVERSARY. ABS-CBN News formalized a media partnership with the President Elpidio Quirino Foundation for the EQ125, a yearlong series of programs, projects, and activities that celebrate the life and times of President Elpidio Quirino to commemorate his 125th birth anniversary. The signing was held onMay 25 with ABS-CBN’s Ging Reyes, Elpidio Quirino Foundation President Aleli Angela Quirino, and Quirino’s granddaughters Cory Quirino and Ruby Quirino Gonzalez.

Cory Quirino, ABS-CBN Integrated News head Ging Reyes, Elpidio Quirino Foundation President Aleli Angela Quirino, and Ruby Quirino Gonzalez

GENIE IN AN APP

S

PINNR, the best mobile music app of the 20th Global Mobile Awards, remains faithful to its mission of bringing the ultimate music experience to everyone, online and offline.

The Smart Communications-powered app turns wishes into reality via Meet and Greet passes to the hottest concerts of local and international music superstars through its partnership with giant label MCA Music.

Jan Louise Perez, a certified Lovatics fan is among the lucky Spinnr users. “I have waited for two years to see my idol and finally this is it,” she shared before the much- awaited meeting with Demi Lovato. She has calculated how she would carefully spend her seconds with her idol, “I planned all the things that I will do and say once I am in front of her and I need to grab all the opportunity that I can get just to tell her how much I love her.”

Being swept in the moment is an understatement for 22-year old Keith Lagbao, another SPINNR subscriber who mingled with Lovato during the star’s recent Manila stint. Having secured her very first Android phone this year, she didn’t think twice about downloading Spinnr to satisfy her musical cravings, particularly eyeing Lovato’s hits. “Nag-hi siya. Sabi ko ‘Hi Demi, welcome to the Philippines.’ Nag ‘I

love you’ ako sa kanya and nag ‘I love you’ din siya,” she related of her Lovato moment.

“Sobrang thankful po ako kasi dream come true po talaga na ma-meet siya.”

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH ARIANA Part of this summer’s meet-and-greet stretch was sending a subscriber to L.A. to see the Ariana Grande concert and of course, a special fan moment with the 21-year old international pop star. “I’m very very thankful! I can’t even explain it,” raved 13-year old Fiona Uy, who enjoyed an all-expense paid trip to LA for the experience of a lifetime with Ariana Grande.

Back in Manila, long-time SPINNR user Paulina Guinto experienced the biggest “Prismatic” concert tour of Katy Perry with over 30,000 concertgoers at the Philippine Arena. But Guinto wasn’t just high with Perry’s music and visuals, she also witnessed Katy Perry’s beautiful heart during her meet-and-greet with the songstress before the start of the concert.

Get into the #SpinnrExperience and get the same unforgettable fan moments and tickets to hottest international and local concerts exclusively with Spinnr! Text LIVE to 4067 and join the latest promos of Spinnr! Visit @spinnrph on Twitter & IG for more updates.

Paulina Guinto with other fans during the meet-and-greet session with Katy Perry

Fiona Uyt with Arianna Grande and other fans

Jean Louise Perez with Demi Lovato

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

At the press conference for the airing of It Takes Gutz To Be A Gutierrez, one happy family?

Eddie Gutierrez, Annabelle Rama, Raymond, Ruffa, and Richard

SHOWBITZ

OVERSEAS FILIPINOS CAN NOW WATCH

‘IT TAKES GUTZ TO BE GUTIERREZ’ ISAH V. RED

Filipinos in other countries, apart from Southeast Asia, who have been asking why weren’t they able to watch It Takes Gutz To Be A Gutierrez, can now watch the show, from the first season and on to the second and the upcoming third as well.

Asia’s first reality family series on the famous Gutierrez family now airs worldwide.

After a successful, negotiation with the The Filipino Channel or just TFC, the show that aired exclusively on E! channel in Asia, the ABS-CBN subsidiary that operates cable channels in North America, Australia and New Zealand will air the show this month.

It Takes Gutz To Be A Gutierrez airs on The Filipino Channel (TFC) on June 6 and in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia on Lifestyle Network ton June 29.

Dubbed the Royal Family of Philippine show business, the Gutierrezes open their lives to the public in a no-holds-barred 30-minute reality TV show.

The Gutierrezes – couple Eddie Gutierrez, 1960’s matinee idol, and Anabelle Rama, talent handler and political aspirant, with their children (former beauty queen and fashion icon Ruffa, twins Richard, actor and businessman, and Raymond, a successful club owner, Rocky, Elvis and Ritchie Paul) and members of their extended family (Richard’s live-in partner Sarah Lahbati and their son Zion, sisterin-law Alex and Ruffa’s children Lorin and Venice) – have made

themselves Asia’s premier showbiz family with their colorful day-today lives and the controversies that make them the family everyone loves to talk about.

Richard says, “More than anything else we’re very happy that It Takes Gutz To Be A Gutierez will finally air on TFC. There’s no other platform, there’s no other network that will reach so many Filipinos around the world.”

The show follows the Gutierrezes’ crazy adventures from their daily household routines to their glamorous showbiz functions. It captures the members’ intimate moments from happy celebrations, sibling rivalries to revelries.

Highlights of the Gutierrezes’ life are the travels and travails spiced with the differences in opinions between mother Anabelle and only daughter Ruffa. Sometimes a battle between the siblings ensues as well. But at the end of the day, what the Gutierezes share is that family love is most important.

Ruffa says, “What they can really relate with is our family values.

As a family, we’re very Pinoy. We go through ups and downs and we go through a lot of trials and tribulations. But after all, isang pamilya talaga kami. Nagmamahalan kami in the end (After all, we’re one family and we love each other in the end). And I think what Pinoys, whether they are in the Philippines or wherever they are in the world, iyon iyong makarelate sila (Filipinos all over the world can relate with us).”

The reality show is directed by Australian Karren Appathurai Wiggins of the famed shows Australia’s Got Talent, Big Brother Australia and Real Housewives of Melbourne.

The Gutierrez siblings – Raymond, Ruffa, Richard

HHHHH JANNO GIBBS, ANGELIKA DE LA CRUZ AT CASINO FILIPINO If you’re looking for total entertainment this month, then Pagcor is the best place to be.

Angelika de la Cruz is the featured performer on June 12 at Casino Filipino Olongapo and June 19 at Casino Filipino Cebu.

Janno Gibbs returns to Pagcor stage on June 12 (Casino Filipino Angeles) and June 24 (Casino Filipino Pavilion).

Get ready to fall in love this June while watching acoustic singer Nyoy Volante s at the Mimosa Satellite on June 19.

Wally Bayola and Jose Manalo will be at Casino Filipino Tagaytay on June 20.

Experience Gloc 9’s rapping on June 24 at Casino Filipino Malate.

For inquiries, call the PAGCOR Entertainment Department at (02) 708-2046, 526-0337 loc 2401 or 2403. ➜ Continued on C7

Happy showbiz couple Eddie and Annabelle

The show follows the Gutierrezes’ crazy adventures from their daily household routines to their glamorous showbiz functions. It captures the members’ intimate moments from happy celebrations, sibling rivalries to revelries