The Standard - 2015 June 13 - Saturday

ROTARY CLUB OF MANILA NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR 2015 VOL. XXIX NO. 115 2 Sections 24 Pages P18 SATURDAY : JUNE 13, 2015 www.manilastandardtoday.com editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Binay: Not being endorsed is okay

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Still Mar, PNoy hints

By Sandy Araneta

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III praised Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II Friday, giving the presumptive presidential candidate for the Liberal Party a boost during ceremonies to mark the country’s 117th Independence Day.

“You know, Mar Roxas, a true son of Panay, advanced this initiative,” the President said, referring to the Negros Island Region, which combines two provinces under one regional group.

“Like in the past, we know that whenever we task Mar Roxas to lead a project or program, you can expect that initiative will succeed.”

Aquino said the initiative was the result of consultations with the leaders of local communities, governors and

...and no Jojo-Erap, either

By Macon Ramos-Araneta OUSTED President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said Friday he would not be a running mate for Vice President Jejomar Binay in the 2016 elections, while Estrada’s common-law-wife, San Juan Mayor Guia Gomez, promised to back Senator Grace Poe if she runs for President.

“She’s No. 1 in San Juan,” Gomez said when asked if she would support a Poe presidential bid.

“She is from San Juan. She is the god sister of my son (Senator JV Ejercito). We are very close.”

But if Poe does not run, she said, she would follow whoever Estrada endorses.

Estrada and Ejercito both belong to the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), a merger of

the former president’s Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino and Binay’s PDP-Laban.

Poe was the guest speaker in the 117th Independence Day celebration in San Juan where Gomez is the mayor.

Observers say if Poe runs, it will be a tough fight between her and Binay, who has been leading most opinion polls for the 2016 elections.

But Poe, who has topped all the vice presidential preference surveys, is closing in as well on Binay’s poll figures for the presidency.

In Luneta Park for his city’s Independence Day celebration, Estrada said he was not interested in running again for vice president, saying he’d “been there and was done with it.” Next page

representatives and even the local chambers of commerce.

“This is why, when Secretary Mar Roxas put forward this suggestion, and after all the necessary consultations were undertaken, we took action by signing the executive order,” Aquino said.

Aquino said the initiative would benefit both Negros Oriental and Negros Occidental.

“Recently, I signed an executive

order creating the Negros Island Region, which brings the two provinces under one regional grouping. Consider this: those two provinces, which belong to the same island, were in the past part of two different regions. This meant that while they were in one island, and shared the same set of concerns, they had to share resources with provinces from other regions to address those problems,” he said. Next page

Independence Day. Spectators catch a glimpse of the first-ever video mapping of the Aguinaldo Shrine in Kawit, Cavite. Below, President Benigno Aquino III and Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas lead the Independence Day celebrations in Iloilo City. Ey Acasio and Malacañang Photo Bureau

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A2 ...and no Jojo From A1...

“I was born here in Manila. I also became popular here as an actor. I have a big job for the people of Manila to pay a debt of gratitude to them,” said Estrada, who joined Binay in the f lag raising and wreath laying ceremonies at the monument of Dr. Jose Rizal.

Estrada ran with Binay in the 2010 elections, but he lost to President Benigno Aquino III. In 2013, he wrested the mayor’s seat from Mayor Alfredo Rim, who ran under the ruling Liberal Party.

Lim said earlier this week he planned to run for mayor again next year, setting up another electoral battle with Estrada.

Binay, Estrada and detained Senator Juan Ponce Enrile were the three major leaders of the UNA. Binay on Friday said he respected Estrada’s decision.

Ejercito on Friday said it would be a diffcult decision to endorse Poe, who is being recruited by the President.

In San Juan, Ejercito came in second to Poe in the 2013 senatorial race.

While they ran in the 2013 under different tickets, Ejercito said that he and Poe were very close.

Poe’s father, the late Fernando Poe Jr. was Estrada’s best friend.

“Our relationship is now stronger since we were together in the Senate. I have particularly seen how much she loves the country. We treat each other as siblings.

Because of this, political ambitions will not destroy our bond, unlike other politicians who will compromise their good relationships,” Ejercito said.

Still Mar

From A1...

He said with the one-island region, the allocation of funds by the government for this single region becomes more focused and bring about the faster implementation of projects.

“Indeed, I am confident that so long as we continue to tread the straight and righteous path, we will be able to continue the positive changes we experience at present. In this period of evolving technology and social media, we have the greater wherewithal, and the deeper responsibility to contribute in finding solutions to our shared problems. It is my hope that, in-

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Binay: No endorsement from Aquino is just fine VICE PRESIDENT Jejomar Binay shrugged off Friday President Benigno Aquino’s refusal to endorse him for the 2016 presidential elections, saying he is confident that the majority of voters, as shown by various opinion polls, would elect him to the highest post in the land.

“That’s done. The President has spoken. Let’s respect that,” Binay told reporters when asked if he would still try to persuade Aquino to change his mind.

Binay continues to hold the lead in several surveys of voter preferences for the 2016 presidential elections. Senator Grace Poe recently rose to the

number two spot in the same polls.

Earlier, Binay told a forum he was still seeking Aquino’s endorsement, saying this could translate to votes.

“Up to the last minute, I hope I will be considered, even if just considered,” Binay said in a news conference at the Luneta Hotel in Manila.

“I expect that. I am hoping that the time will come when he will

consider me,” Binay said.

But Aquino on Thursday doused cold water on the suggestion, saying the two of them had been on opposite sides of the political fence since 2010.

Binay has repeatedly said that he owed his political career to Aquino’s mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, who first appointed him officer-in-charge of Makati in 1986. – Vito Barcelo

In Quezon City. Acting Mayor Joy Belmonte leads the celebration of Independence Day at the Quezon City Hall grounds. LIno SantoS stead of being a burden to our fellowman, we would do our utmost, contribute what we could to the best of our abilities, so that we may collectively uplift our whole nation,” Aquino said. ““One hundred and seventeen years have passed since we declared independence. We have truly freed ourselves from the bonds of colonizers. On the other hand, we now face a new challenge: combating corruption and poverty in our country. It is clear: it is through unity that our heroes won our freedom, and it is also through unity that we will likewise overcome the challenges of today,” said Aquino.

Aquino again played up his administration’s conditional cash program, a massive dole program that gives monthly stipends to poor families in exchange for their keeping their children in school.

The President said over 4.4 million households benefited from the program, 904,725 of which are in the Visayas, and 94,190 of which are in Iloilo.

In his recent visit to Japan, Aquino said, his reforms drew praise.

“However, theirs was a recurring question: How will we ensure that the reforms we set in place will be continued? My response to them: It is up to the Filipino people; they will

continue the change, which they themselves started. They know what is right, from what is wrong. I am optimistic that they will choose the right leader, especially because they have seen what our agenda of good governance brings,” Aquino said.

Aquino’s praise Friday of Roxas came after he met twice with Senator Grace Poe about her plans for 2106, and the importance of continuing his reform program after he steps down from office next year.

Poe on Friday said she was hurt by a former congressman’s description of her as “ambitious.”

In an interview during the

Independence Day celebration at Pinaglabanan Shrine in San Juan, Poe said she was hurt by statements made Thursday by former congressman Jacinto Paras.

“It’s his right, but I am hurt by his comment that I am ambitious--as if one didn’t have the right to serve others” Poe said.

She added that she was not bothered by the controversy over her length of residency— a requirement for seeking the presidency—or questions about her citizenship.

“It’s my chance to defend myself,” she said. “I have nothing to hide, and I do respect the law.” – With John Paolo Bencito

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PH flags raised in disputed sea

By Francisco tuyay

PHILIPPINE flags were raised in two territories in the contested waters of the South China Sea in observation of the country’s 117th Independence Day and in defiance of China’s claim to the same islands.

Two separate flag raising ceremonies were held on the islet of Sierra Madre and Pagasa Island, both of which are within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone near the Palawan frontier, said Armed Forces Public Affairs Office chief Lt. Col. Harold Babunoc.

In Sierra Madre, Filipino troops manning the islet hoisted the flag, while local government officials led by Mayor Bitoonon led the ceremony on Pagasa Island.

“The raising of flags in both Philippine territories is a glaring display of the presence of our troops deployed in the area and to show ownership to both areas,” Cabunoc said.

He described the ceremony as a manifestation of nationalism of the troops despite the aggressive behavior of China in the South China Sea. “Our soldiers are prepared to defend these territories from any armed aggression,” Cabunoc said.

Philippine flags were also raised in all Navy detachments facing the South China Sea. China has claimed the entire disputed chain of islets, reefs and shoals believed to be rich in oil and gas deposits, and is extensively reclaiming land in these contested areas.

China had also enforced an air defense identification zone to prohibit any aircraft from hovering over the disputed areas.

China’s flexing of muscles in the South China Sea has promted the US government to send surveillance planes to the area to monitor Beijing’s activities.

Last week the G7 countries also chided China for its reclamation operations in the disputed territories.

In Calo o can. Chi e f Jus ti c e M ar ia

L ourd e s S er en o d eli ver s h er sp e e ch during th e 117 th In d ep en d en c e Day a t th e B o ni f aci o m o num en t in C al o o c an Ci t y. L I n o S A n to S

PNoy breaks tradition Aquino calls for respect of international law by holding Iloilo rites

By Sandy Araneta

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Friday broke tradition at the annual Vin d’Honneur in celebration of the Philippines’ 117th Independence Day, which is usually done in Malacañang, by holding it in Iloilo City.

He led the Vin d’Honneur, the traditional toast for independence, at the Casa Real de Iloilo with the foreign diplomats, government officials, business leaders, VIPs, the media and other people.

“These past five years we have broken with tradition in commemorating the proclamation of Philippine independence in significant sites throughout the country,” Aquino said.

“This year, we break with tradition again in hosting our Independence Day reception not in Malacañan Palace but here, in Iloilo City. In doing so, we pay tribute to the solidarity of the past and demonstrate our unity of purpose for the present and the future.”

Aquino made his statement even as the Apostolic Nuncio urged the renewal of the friendships among foreign nations.

“This occasion is especially favorable for renewing the friendship of our respective governments and of the international organizations to you, Mr. President, as well as to the Filipino people,” said Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, the Apostolic Nuncio and dean of the diplomatic corps.

Aquino said Independence Day commemorates the triumph of the Filipino people whose solidarity, courage and integrity have always allowed them to overcome any obstacle.

“Our country has faced no shortage of trials. For instance, the Philippines is an archipelago composed of roughly 7,100 islands. Our forebears had to contend with the challenge of transportation and communications between and among the many islands of our country. Separated though they may have been during the revolution, they were unified by the experience of suffering, which they knew to be unjust,” Aquino said.

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Friday indirectly criticized the Chinese government by telling the diplomats attending the traditional annual Vin d’Honneur in celebration of the Philippines’ 117th Independence Day in Iloilo City to respect international law.

With the Chinese am-

bassador in the audience, Aquino made his appeal in reference to its dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea, where China has been building islands despite the other countries’ claims in the area.

He made his statement even as China’s highestranking general told US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter the recent disagreements over island-

building in the South China Sea shouldn’t overshadow broader ties between the two countries.

General Fan Changlon second only to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the Central Military Commission said during a visit to the Pentagon on Thursday that the territorial spat represented “ just one episode in Sino-US relations,”

according to a statement posted on the Ministry of National Defense website.

“On this day 117 years ago, the Filipino people rose up as one community to break free from injustice. That time of colonization is long gone, yet the obstacles we face remain, and in fact, have taken on an evolved form,” Aquino said in Iloilo City.

At the Rizal Park. Vice

President Jejomar Binay and Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada lead the Independence Day celebration at the Rizal Park. DAnny PAtA

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AFP: Jihadists in Mindanao

By Francisco Tuyay

AFTER months of official denial, the military admitted on Friday that at least five Malaysian jihadists, believed to be affiliated with the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS), were seen accompanying Abu Sayyaf bandits in Mindanao.

Present this time. President Benigno S. Aquino III and acting Foreign Affairs Secretary Laura del Rosario welcome Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua, who snubbed an event marking diplomatic ties between Manila and Beijing, during the traditional Independence Day vin d’honneur at the Casa Real in Iloilo City. MALACAÑANG PHOTO BUREAU

SC scores disregard for Constitution

By Rey E. Requejo THE executive and legislative branches of government lacks appropriate regard for the Constitution in its undertakings and programs and that deeply concerns the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno said on Independence Day. “You know our deep concern is that, sometimes, our Constitution is not being considered very seriously in the discussions that are going on in other branches of government,” Sereno told reporters after leading the Independence Day rites at the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan City.

“So our duty is to ensure that everything that comes out is always in accordance with the Constitution. The challenge for the SC is always to look at the Constitution intently,” she said.

Sereno made the statement following attempts in Congress to amend economic

provisions in the Constitution and pass the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law which has been severely criticized for some unconstitutional provisions.

Nonetheless, the Chief Justice said that apart from performing its duty to review actions of co-equal branches, more transparency could be expected from the judiciary.

It was precisely “to demonstrate to our people especially in the judiciary that we (in the SC) can be trusted” that the high court decided to release for the first time the asset statements of the high court’s magistrates even without a formal request.

“We agreed we would show the people our net worth, our assets and liabilities so that they can already see whether at the start we can already be trusted,” she explained, adding that the release would be made annually starting this year.

The summary of SALNs released

last Thursday showed Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza as richest SC justice in 2014 with networth of P244,413,320.16 and Associate Justice Marvic Leonen as “poorest” with P2,098,780.57.

Sereno ranked 10th with net worth of P19,584,104.34.

Sereno said the high court is studying more measures to further enhance the transparency in the judiciary.

“The summary (of SALNs) alone is not the end of our desire to be transparent.

We have been looking at the processes in court that we can open more to our people. We shall be unrolling more of these as the days come,” she said.

She said they are considering requiring the justices and judges on lower courts to also release summaries of their SALNs. “I am already looking at setting up of a committee to review the SALNs of members of the judiciary,” she revealed.

Armed Forces of the Philippines Public Affairs Office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said the five Malaysians were seeon on two occasions in Tuburan, Basilan and Patikul, Sulu at the height of a military operation in the areas.

Cabunoc identified one of the five Malaysian jihadists as a certain Amin Bago who was with the ASG leader Isnilon Hapilon and Hatib Sawadjaan, another notorious bandit responsible for the killing of dozens of army soldiers in Sulu last year.

“We have monitored the presence of foreign jihadists in Basilan Island since last year,” Cabunoc said, reversing the military’s announced position last year that the ISIS did not have a presence in Mindanao.

One of the foreign jihadists is a a member of the Malaysian Special Forces who has gone absent without leave, similar to Malaysian terrorist Julkiflu Abdhir, who was slain in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last January.

Since 2013, Malaysian authorities have asked Philippine authorities to interdict the five terrorists linked to ISIS after they infiltrated the porous borders between Malaysia and the Philippines.

The five jihadists were identified by Malaysian Home Minister Ahmad Hamidi as University of Malaya lecturer Dr. Mahmud Ahmad, stationary shop owner Mohamad Najib Husen, former Selayang Municipal Council employee Muhammad Joraimee Awang Raimee, Darul Islan Sabah members Mohamad Amin Baco and Jeknal Adil.

Hamidi said the five militants are associated with Daulah Islamiyah Asia Tenggara (Southeast Asia Islamiya Network) which has links to ISIS. Last year, Hapilon and the late Basit Usman, the Filipino henchman of Malaysian terrorist Abdhir, pledged allegiance to ISIS in videos posted on YouTube, but Cabunoc claimed “their actual membership or affiliation is not establish as of today.”

Wang Bo: I’m no millionaire DETAINED Chinese national Wang Bo is only a simple technical assistant for a firm inside the Cagayan Economic Zone and is not a millionaire who can buy off immigration officials, his lawyer Dennis Manalo said on Friday.

Manalo also denied the claim of the Chinese Embassy that Wang runs an gambling syndicate worth P91 billion (13 billion yuan) and the proceeds of his supposed operation were brought to the Philippines to expand his illegal network.

The evidence prompted Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison to push for the reversal of the May 21 release order that would have freed Wang and restored his businessman status.

But Justice Secretary Leila de Lima dismissed the charge of bribery as a “fairy tale” although she ordered an investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation.

In Department Order No. 459, De Lima assigned five NBI agents to conduct the

probe: lawyers Peter Chan Lugay, Arnold Diaz, Catherine Camposano-Remigio and Glenn Anthony Quimio and Agent Cesar Reyes.

Covered by the probe are “all concerned Bureau of Immigration (BI) officials” who handled the case of Wang from his arrest at the airport last Feb. 10 to the issuance of the resolution of BI Board of Commissioners last May 26 granting temporary liberty to the fugitive.

De Lima also ordered the team to interview Wang himself and also “private individuals involved in the filing of a dubious criminal complaint against Wang with the Manila prosecutor’s office,” which she believed was a scheme to delay the deportation proceedings.

The Justice Secretary already confirmed earlier that Commissioner Siegfred Mison and Associate Commissioners Abdullah Mangotara and Gilbert Repizo would be covered by the investigation. Rey Requejo

Still touchy. Militant nationalists, led by the Bayan Alyansang Makabayan, stage a protest in front of the Chinese consular office in Makati City on Friday against what they see as an affront to Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity. DANNY PATA

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Stop fees for LTO car plates, Recto says

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Land Transportation Office should stop its ill-advised policy of directing all vehicle owners to replace their existing plates for no reason, Senate President ProTempore Ralph Recto demanded on Friday.

“That policy should be stopped,” he said. “The car plates have no problem, why they are insisting on replacing them? What gains would there be if they will make the public spend and suffer?”

Recto said the disputed policy must be stopped immediately and those who have already paid for new plates be reimbursed until the LTO can show the Senate and the public that something good can come out of it, “like making our vehicles less vulnerable to carnapping once these plates are installed.”

In the last Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearing chaired

by Sen. JV Ejercito, Recto asked officials of the LTO and the Department of Transportation and Communications how and why they bid out the P3.8-billion project to procure motor vehicle plates when DOTC in 2013 was only given a P180 million budget for it.

“To begin with, they had no authority to bid out that P3.8 billion project. What they did is illegal because there was no funding for that project in the 2013 budget,” Recto stressed.

“Normally, you can only bid out a project when there’s (a Special Allotment Release Order). In this case, there was no SARO. So it’s doubtful they were able to bid out this huge project,” said Recto.

He noted that the DOTC and the LTO should instead concentrate their efforts on easing the daily traffic jam that is plaguing the metropolis and in making sure that our mass transport like the MRT and LRT are working fine.

“They should attend to the monstrous traffic, the prolems in the MRT and LRT, and not replacing the car plates which have no problem,” he said.

Flash mob. A dance troupe of the Tanghalang Pilipino perform at the Ayala Museum in Makati City to mark the country’s 117th Independence Day.

TEDDY PELAEZ

PNoy open to Marcos’ substitute BBL draft

By Sandy Araneta

SENATOR Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. said on Friday the concerns the Palace and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front raised over his plans to draft a substitute Bangsamoro Basic Law are misplaced.

But President Benigno Aquino III himself reversed the position earlier taken by his aides and said the administration is open to the substitute BBL that Marcos is drafting.

Marcos, chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, explained that a substitute bill does not necessarily mean he would totally disregard the draft BBL and write an entirely new proposal, without considering the provisions in the original version. “Even what we call as the Palace version (of the BBL) given to the House of Representatives can be considered a substitute bill.

When I say substitute bill, it only means we have to do numerous

changes and not necessarily that we have to re-write the entire proposal,” Marcos explained in a radio interview.

“In many cases we won’t really have to revise or remove the provision entirely. We just have to clarify things because if you read the draft BBL it is not clear,” he added.

But Aquino said he preferred to remain silent until he has read the substitute BBL that Marcos is drafting.

“I don’t comment on things that I’ve never seen. He (Marcos) has not shown me anything with regards to this bill. Whatever my comment on that will be taken to mean bias against him. So I think I should keep my silence for now,” Aquino said during a

press briefing last Thursday in Iloilo City.

The President urged Marcos to present his alternative bill as soon as possible.

“If he did come up with a better bill, good. And if it’s really a better one, why not support it? But perhaps, we can set the process by showing it so it can be discussed, and then hasten the process of crafting the best bill possible,” Aquino added.

Marcos stressed that the substitute bill should provide such details as it is not only crucial for efficient and orderly functioning of the Bangsamoro government but also necessary to prevent possible conflicts arising between the regional government and the national government. Likewise, Marcos said that clear cut powers and functions would be essential in delineating responsibilities and determining accountability.

Of course, Marcos said they have to address the constitutional issues raised against the BBL, particularly those cited in the report of Sen. Miriam Defensor

Santiago, Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes.

Unless these issues are addressed properly Marcos said it only increases the likelihood the Supreme Court will later strike the approved law as unconstitutional, rendering the time, effort and resources devoted to crafting the BBL all for nothing.

Marcos also clarified that while there were suggestions from his fellow senators to just amend the organic law of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao as a means to avoid some of the constitutional issues, this matter has yet to be decided by the entire committee. Besides, Marcos said he has yet to start writing the substitute bill.

“There’s no substitute bill to speak of, so there’s really nothing to complain about,” Marcos said.

He said he would use the time Congress is in recess to write the substitute bill so that the committee can discuss it when they resume session on July 27.

Court urged to suspend guv

By Rio N. Araja GOVERNMENT prosecutors have asked the Sandiganbayan to place Marinduque Gov. Carmencita Reyes under preventive suspension over the corruption suits filed against her for alleged involvement in a P5-million fertilizer fund scam in 2004.

In a motion filed with the Second Division, government lawyers said the suspension must be mandatory under Section 13 of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. The prosecutors said the law provides that “any incumbent

public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under a valid information under this Act or under Title Seven Book II of the Revised Penal Code or for any offense involving fraud upon government or public funds or property whether as a simple or as complex offense and in whatever stage of execution and mode of participation, is pending in court shall be suspended from office.”

The prosecution cited the same provision of RA 3019 in suspending other government officials facing charges before the Sandiganbayan, including Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.

and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada in the P10-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.

“This court has repeatedly held that such preventive suspension is mandatory, and there are no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’ about it,” the prosecution’s motion read.

Reyes was indicted only last January after three years of investigation for involvement in questionable transactions with the private contractor LCV Design and Fabrication Corp. as a supplier for unsuitable fertilizer products without the conduct of a public bidding.

Make a legacy. Activist priest Robert Reyes (right) and former interior secretary Rafael Alunan explain their demand for President Benigno Aquino III to correct foreign policy and defend the country against foreign aggression. DANNY PATA

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A6 POEA junks license of manpower company

By Vito Barcelo THE Philippine Overseas Employment Administration has cancelled the license of a manpower agency for submitting fake and forged documents to the agency.

POEA chief Hans Leo Cacdac cancelled the license of Crystal Fallah-Ville International Manpower Services.

“The agency submitted documents for processing including a visa for a teacher that was found to have been altered. The visa was verified to have been originally issued to another sponsor for the position of a servant or a household service worker,” Cacdac said.

He said they never had a hand on the tampered visa and it was an “innocent mistake” by the agency for submitting the visa which was personally acquired by the applicant.

Cacdac also said the recruitment agency presented a forged request or endorsement for processing of employment documents to the POEA. “The liaison officer of Crystal Fallah-Ville delivered to the POEA, not knowing that one signature was falsified,” he said.

“Another case was about a visa written in Arabic that the agency submitted to the POEA for processing together with documents of a dressmaker bound for Saudi Arabia.

The official translator of Arabic visas at the POEA, however, disclosed that the skill category was not for a dressmaker but a domestic helper.

The agency representative declared that it was once again an “innocent mistake” due to clerical error, considering that the visa was in Arabic.

“They tried to rectify the alleged error by submitting a dressmaker visa, which the agency claimed was the true position of the worker.

However, a careful scrutiny of the two visas revealed that except for the skill category, they bore the same entries such as dates, validity and visa number,” he added.

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Govt eyes privatization of water utilities in Iloilo

By Sandy Araneta

THE government is eyeing the privatization of local water utilities in Iloilo because of lack of funding support lack of funding support for maintenance work, Senator Franklin Drilon said.

“The President has recognized that we have a water problem here in Iloilo and there are two issues. Basically one, is the distribution; and the other one is the supply. On the distribution, as the President said, nearly 50 percent are non-revenue water, which means that many of this water supplied are either lost or is not being paid for by the consumers,” said Drilon Thursday during

the inspection & inauguration of various infrastructure projects at the Iloilo Provincial Capitol.

“We have egged the board of the MIWD (Metro Iloilo Water District) to enter—in effect privatize.”

Drilon added that the private sector needs to be the one to run the utility. The MIWD needs billions of pesos in order to put the distribution system in order and

there are simply no funds available in the MIWD. The MIWD has undergone several evolutions since its establishment in 1926 until the 1970s, according to the MIWD website.

The system was managed and controlled by different administration, namely the Iloilo Metropolitan Waterworks (IMWW), the National Waterworks and Sewerage Authority (NAWASA), and the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) until it was placed under the control of Metro Iloilo Water District, the website said.

Drilon said on the matter of supply, right now there are two principal suppliers plus the supplier of MIWD. “The problem really

is the fact that a lot goes to waste.

So we have to solve the distribution problem and that is being solved by talking to the private sector and let them finance the repair of the distribution system,” said Drilon.

Drilon said that for the long term, the Jalaur River project will provide Iloilo over 85,000 cubic meters of surface water daily. “Environmentally, that is good because we do not—we stopped these deep wells from being operated, which is bad for environment,” the senator said.

“The President is very conscious of the need to solve this issue. He inherited this problem and there are concrete solutions to what we face in Iloilo on the water supply,” he said.

Injured pedestrian. Paramedics help a woman who was hit by a sedan along Roxas Boulevard on Friday. DANNY PATA

Road works affect long-weekend traffic

Scattered sacks. Workers pick up sacks of NFA rice after they fell from a 16-wheeler truck along Katipunan Avenue. LINO SANTOS

THE Department of Public Works and Highways is undertaking road repairs on four major thoroughfares in Metro Manila this weekend.

The road works, according to Metro Manila Development Authority assistant general manager Emerson Carlos, would affect the flow of traffic in Circumferential Road —5 (C-5 Road) and Monumento.

Carlos said the DPWH resumed the road reblocking operation after MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino gave a permit to conduct the road works from 10 p.m. of June 12 to 5 a.m. of June 15 on the following areas: • Northbound 1st lane of Payatas Road from Visayas Street to Zamora Street; 1st and 2nd outer most lane of C-5 Road from Petron Gasoline Station to Lanuza Street, and 5th and 3rd

lane of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue between Gen. Tirona Street and Gen. Tinio Street, Caloocan City.

• Southbound 4th lane of Eulogio Rodriguez Jr. Avenue / C-5 between Poseidon Street and Greenmeadows Avenue.

Noemi Recio, head of the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center, said Public Works • Metro Manila director Reynaldo Tagudando recommended those areas for the road works operation.

Recio advised motorists to avoid the affected areas and use alternate routes instead. She added all affected roads will be fully passable by 5 a.m. on Monday.

The road works are part of the road improvement project being implemented

by DPWH Metro Manila region office including concerned District Engineering Offices, in coordination with the MMDA.

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Casting nets. Fishermen in the Ilocos Region go about with their daily fishing activities. DAVID CHAN

Documentary to raise funds for earthquake victims in Nepal

By Dexter A. See BAGUIO City—A filmmaker from this city is showing his film to raise funds for Nepal whose capital, Kathmandu and its surrounding areas were hit by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake last April 25.

The quake left thousands dead and injured.

Ferdie Balanag’s Walking the Waking Journey is scheduled for a series of screenings in theaters in Japan this June and in July.

Proceeds from ticket sales will fund efforts of a Japanese relief and rescue team led by Seiji Yoshimura and Jun Amanto, in cooperation with Mariko Sorimachi of the Cordillera Green Network, who are scheduled to conduct relief operations in the remote villages of Nepal in July.

“We want to return the compliment to our Nepalese brothers and sisters because of the assistance they extended to us in the city when we were hit by the intensity 7.9 killer earthquake on July 16, 1990. We want the beautiful place to recover from the devastation that they experienced,” Balanag stressed.

In 2011, the film reaped awards like the Golden Ace Award in the Las Vegas International Film Festival, the Mount Hope Project Award for Social Activism at the International Film Festival Manhattan, New York, Best full length documentary and best South East Asian Director at the Silent River Film Festival, Irvine California, USA among others.

Cyclists pedal for freedom from slavery, trafficking A LOCAL non-government organization gathered cyclists for the “Stop. Look. Listen” campaign, supporting anti-human trafficking efforts in the country in Iloilo on Friday, Independence Day. The bike tour, organized by Dakila, in partnership with Centralian Cruisers Cycling Club (C4), went around Iloilo’s six district plazas.

“We believe that while it is important to celebrate our freedom from colonial rule, it is also important for us to realize that many Filipinos are still enslaved. We want to celebrate our 117th year of independence by continuing the fight for the freedom of others,” Allyn May Canja, spokesperson of Dakila-Iloilo said.

According to the United Nation’s

International Labour Organization (ILO), there are an estimated 21 million victims of modern slavery.

Asia accounts for half of these estimates because of the number of its population, working force and its poor labor conditions.

In the Philippines, hotspots for human trafficking include the NCR Region, Tarlac, Laguna, Batangas, Samar, Cebu, Maguindanao, Zamboanga and Iloilo.

“Human trafficking is a serious problem especially in our country because we offer cheap labor. A lot

of times we only see women being trafficked for sexual exploitation but in fact, human trafficking can happen to both men and women and for different reasons other than sexual exploitation, such as forced labor. There are even cases of professionals such as doctors who experienced being trafficked,” Canja added.

The Independence Day Freedom Ride, first held in Iloilo in 2013, also sought to promote Iloilo as a bikefriendly city that supports alternative forms of public transportation.

“We feel like we are using our own advocacy to promote another advocacy”, Biking advocate Daniella Caro said.

The 1956 UN supplementary convention defines slavery as “debt bondage, serfdom, forced marriage”

and as times change, new forms of slavery evolve and emerge; bonded and forced labor, descent-based and child slavery, early and forced marriage and human trafficking, which is in context is the “transport or trade of people from one area to another into conditions of slavery.”

Musician Nityalila Saulo of Dakila added, “Every year around 300,000 to 400,000 Filipinos fall prey to human trafficking in their own country and abroad. 117 years and we are still slaves, not from colonial rule, but from the everyday acts like sexual exploitation and forced labor; acts that deny freedom. The fight against modern slavery seems like a neverending battle, it is hidden in plain sight, but it happens every single day and it takes a lot of organized effort to put a stop to it.”

Pangasinan on alert versus dengue fever

By Johanne Margarette R. Macob LINGAYEN—The provincial health office is now on full alert against dengue fever, especially now that rainy season is approaching.

Provincial health officer, doctor Anna De Guzman, said they are alarmed by the two deaths due to dengue, in April and May this year, in the towns of Agno and Villasis.

Aside from the deaths recorded, the number of dengue cases in the province increased by 17 percent for the same comparative period in 2014, or

from 443 to 520 as of June 8, 2015.

Victims’ ages ranged from below one to 94 years old; most commonly affected were five- to nine-year-olds, accounting for 102 cases or 20 percent of the total number of cases. Majority of cases affected males—305 or 59 percent of the total cases.

Last year, no death was recorded caused by dengue, and the number of cases even dropped by 70 percent from the previous year.

“If there is a low number of cases, dengue ceases to be a priority,” de Guzman said, noting people tend to become complacent.

Waving flags. Children welcome President Aquino to Santa Barbara, Iloilo for the 117th anniversary of Philippine Independence. RYAN LIM

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

cYan MagenTa YelloW BlacK S AT u R D AY : J u N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 5

A8

opinion

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lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

poWeR poinT eliZaBeTH angSioco

The challenge of independence

[ EDI TORI A L ]

SucceSSion planning

PReSIdeNT Benigno Aquino III seems to enjoy these crucial days when he weighs his options on whom, finally, to endorse as his successor in the 2016 elections.

We know now that he is talking to Senator Grace Poe, who surprisingly topped the senatorial race when she ran as an independent candidate, but under the banner of the administration party – how that does not defy logic, we do not know. Just this week, he reportedly met with her a second time during which he told her to “be ready.”

The senator said they did not delve into what exactly she should be ready for.

Talk is rife that the Liberal Party is looking elsewhere because its putative candidate, Interior and Local Governments Secretary Manuel Roxas II, continues to lag behind in surveys. Roxas, whose desperation for the presidency is apparent, gave way to Aquino six years ago and lost the vice presidency anyway. Roxas, who has assumed Cabinet roles, has only managed to portray himself incapable of reaching out to the masses however hard he tried.

But just this week, during his speech at the Independence day celebration, President Aquino heaped praises on Roxas, saying he is still the best person to continue the reforms he has begun.

Going back a few weeks ago, Mr. Aquino said the Philippines could reach FirstWorld status if the reforms he had initiated could be continued.

These words would be credible if the so-called reforms were more visible, and if we did not know that the prime criteria for the endorsement of a candidate was winnability, first and foremost.

In other countries, successors are identified and groomed plenty of time before the turnover. The anointed candidate is chosen strictly from among the ranks of the party, assuming that the party is actually distinct from the next. There is none of the suspense that happens now.

What we are seeing instead is some sort of dance where the President gets to decide the fate of Roxas and Poe, both of whom know that it is so much more convenient to seek a post supported by the government machinery.

What we know, too, is that Mr. Aquino is choosing very carefully because he wants to make sure the next leader of the country would not put him to task for the many irregularities committed under this “tuwid na daan.”

We cannot buy the rhetoric that Mr. Aquino’s eventual choice will be informed only by the ability of his successor to continue treading the straight path. It’s loyalty, first and foremost.

And when we expect our leaders to stick to people instead of adhering to principles, and believe endorsements founded on nothing else but patronage, that’s really selling ourselves short.

The real OppOsiTiOn BacK cHannel aleJanDRo Del RoSaRio The people who will vote for president in 2016 are asking: Who’s the real Opposition?

Vice President Jejomar Binay who heads the Union of Nationalist Alliance masquerading as the opposition political party is still hoping that President Benigno Aquino III would support his presidential bid even if on

the sly.

“Pwede naman patalikod, kahit hindi officially,” (It’s OK if behind the back, even if not officially) said Binay at the Manila Bay breakfast news forum. I couldn’t believe the VP said that before print and TV media, but he did.

Compare Binay’s unabashed fawning to gain the President’s support with Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s opposition to the Aquino administration’s attempt to railroad the constitutionally

flawed Bangsamoro Basic law past the Senate. Marcos, who heads the Senate committee on local government reviewing the BBL, is doing the nation a great service to ensure an autonomous Muslim region would bring equitable and enduring peace to Mindanao.

Marcos in a privilege speech also piqued the Palace when he called on President Aquino to fire General Alan Purisima and charge him for sending 44 PNP Special Action Force commandos to

A9

Binay’s asking pnoy to support him behind Mar Roxas’ back gives us a look at the man who wants to lead this nation.

their deaths in the Mamasapano incident. Purisima was already suspended for six months by the Ombudsman for alleged graft in the questionable gun licensing contract and the missing AK-47 rifles in the PNP armory , still called the shots in the bungled PNP-SAF police operation to get international terrorists Marwan and Usman “President Aquino should not hold hostage the entire police force by leaving a leadership vacuum,” said Marcos citing the urgency of appointing a new PNP chief since Officer-in-Charge Gen.

Leonardo espina is retiring soon and Purisima also due to retire in November this year.

“Leave Purisima alone, he no longer has any role in the PNP,” said Palace spokesman edwin Lacierda to Marcos in defending the President’s inaction on Aquino’s loyal friend and shooting buddy.

Purisima resigned as PNP chief at the height of the Senate hearing on the Mamasapano incident. his sixmonth suspension by the Ombuds-

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.

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man ended last week and he opted to stay on. Although he no longer holds the title of PNP chief, he’s still the highest ranking police officer in the force and draws a P150,000 monthly salary.

Binay’s brand of politics Binay’s backroom and backstabbing brand of politics recalls how the Aquino sisters connived to back Binay in beating Roxas who had given way for their brother to become President. Asking PNoy to

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support him behind Mar Roxas’ back gives us a look at the man who wants to lead this nation. Binay is getting desperate, his political fortune falling in the wake of plunder and graft charges allegedly committed during his watch as Makati mayor. Senator Grace Poe is closing in on him in the poll surveys while tough-talking davao City Mayor Rodrigo duterte is gaining ground in Mindanao where Binay still polled strong.

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

TOdAy marks the 117th year of the declaration of Philippine Independence.

I am so lucky I am writing this while staring at memorabilia of the Philippine revolution, a signed portrait of then General dwight eisenhower, a gift to General emilio Aguinaldo; a 1933 issue of the newspaper La Vanguardia featuring the wax sculpture of Jose Rizal done by the great Guillermo Tolentino; the picture of the iconic bolo-wielding Bonifacio painting; an original flag of the Veteranos de la Revolucion, the organization put up by Aguinaldo after the revolution for the remaining Katipuneros and their families; the nine flags of the KKK; and lots of pictures of Katipuneros.

I am, after all, in the historic town of Taal, Batangas. The birthplace of many valiant revolutionaries. I walk the streets where heroes walked, go to homes where Katipunero leaders held secret meetings.

I enter the homes where our heroes lived.

By being here, I somehow feel the fire of the revolution. The revolution that gave us independence.

On June 12, 1898, our forces led by General emilio Aguinaldo y Famy declared Philippine independence from Spain through the reading and signing of “The Act of declaration of Philippine Independence” in then Cavite-Viejo, now, Kawit, Cavite.

The event also officially adopted and proudly unfurled the Philippine flag sewn by Marcela Agoncillo under instructions from General Aguinaldo.

Technically, it was the second time that the flag was hoisted as it was earlier used when Aguinaldo’s forces won the Battle of Alapan on 28 May 1898. This date is now marked as our Flag day.

June 12, 1898 was also the first time that Julian Felipe’s “Marcha Filipino Magdalo”, now known as our national anthem, “Lupang hinirang” was publicly played to the jubilant, proud sons and daughters of the Motherland.

The declaration of Independence gave birth to the revolutionary government led by the 28-year-old General Miong. his men were equally young or just a bit older than him including the great Apolinario Mabini. The country was at war against our colonizers and our leaders were the youth of that time. The declaration of Independence was a most valiant, defiant act by our young people -in the name of other Filipinos then and now, including us.

These idealistic, patriotic young Filipinos were after the establishment of a Philippine Republic—independent and free from the clutches and oppression of Spanish friars. despite all the odds of being at war with virtually no resources, 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

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

cYan MagenTa YelloW BlacK S AT u R D AY : J u N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 5

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA eDiToR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

poWeR poinT eliZaBeTH angSioco

The challenge of independence

[ EDI TORI A L ]

SucceSSion planning

PReSIdeNT Benigno Aquino III seems to enjoy these crucial days when he weighs his options on whom, finally, to endorse as his successor in the 2016 elections.

We know now that he is talking to Senator Grace Poe, who surprisingly topped the senatorial race when she ran as an independent candidate, but under the banner of the administration party – how that does not defy logic, we do not know. Just this week, he reportedly met with her a second time during which he told her to “be ready.”

The senator said they did not delve into what exactly she should be ready for.

Talk is rife that the Liberal Party is looking elsewhere because its putative candidate, Interior and Local Governments Secretary Manuel Roxas II, continues to lag behind in surveys. Roxas, whose desperation for the presidency is apparent, gave way to Aquino six years ago and lost the vice presidency anyway. Roxas, who has assumed Cabinet roles, has only managed to portray himself incapable of reaching out to the masses however hard he tried.

But just this week, during his speech at the Independence day celebration, President Aquino heaped praises on Roxas, saying he is still the best person to continue the reforms he has begun.

Going back a few weeks ago, Mr. Aquino said the Philippines could reach FirstWorld status if the reforms he had initiated could be continued.

These words would be credible if the so-called reforms were more visible, and if we did not know that the prime criteria for the endorsement of a candidate was winnability, first and foremost.

In other countries, successors are identified and groomed plenty of time before the turnover. The anointed candidate is chosen strictly from among the ranks of the party, assuming that the party is actually distinct from the next. There is none of the suspense that happens now.

What we are seeing instead is some sort of dance where the President gets to decide the fate of Roxas and Poe, both of whom know that it is so much more convenient to seek a post supported by the government machinery.

What we know, too, is that Mr. Aquino is choosing very carefully because he wants to make sure the next leader of the country would not put him to task for the many irregularities committed under this “tuwid na daan.”

We cannot buy the rhetoric that Mr. Aquino’s eventual choice will be informed only by the ability of his successor to continue treading the straight path. It’s loyalty, first and foremost.

And when we expect our leaders to stick to people instead of adhering to principles, and believe endorsements founded on nothing else but patronage, that’s really selling ourselves short.

The real OppOsiTiOn BacK cHannel aleJanDRo Del RoSaRio The people who will vote for president in 2016 are asking: Who’s the real Opposition?

Vice President Jejomar Binay who heads the Union of Nationalist Alliance masquerading as the opposition political party is still hoping that President Benigno Aquino III would support his presidential bid even if on

the sly.

“Pwede naman patalikod, kahit hindi officially,” (It’s OK if behind the back, even if not officially) said Binay at the Manila Bay breakfast news forum. I couldn’t believe the VP said that before print and TV media, but he did.

Compare Binay’s unabashed fawning to gain the President’s support with Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s opposition to the Aquino administration’s attempt to railroad the constitutionally

flawed Bangsamoro Basic law past the Senate. Marcos, who heads the Senate committee on local government reviewing the BBL, is doing the nation a great service to ensure an autonomous Muslim region would bring equitable and enduring peace to Mindanao.

Marcos in a privilege speech also piqued the Palace when he called on President Aquino to fire General Alan Purisima and charge him for sending 44 PNP Special Action Force commandos to

A9

Binay’s asking pnoy to support him behind Mar Roxas’ back gives us a look at the man who wants to lead this nation.

their deaths in the Mamasapano incident. Purisima was already suspended for six months by the Ombudsman for alleged graft in the questionable gun licensing contract and the missing AK-47 rifles in the PNP armory , still called the shots in the bungled PNP-SAF police operation to get international terrorists Marwan and Usman “President Aquino should not hold hostage the entire police force by leaving a leadership vacuum,” said Marcos citing the urgency of appointing a new PNP chief since Officer-in-Charge Gen.

Leonardo espina is retiring soon and Purisima also due to retire in November this year.

“Leave Purisima alone, he no longer has any role in the PNP,” said Palace spokesman edwin Lacierda to Marcos in defending the President’s inaction on Aquino’s loyal friend and shooting buddy.

Purisima resigned as PNP chief at the height of the Senate hearing on the Mamasapano incident. his sixmonth suspension by the Ombuds-

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-

man ended last week and he opted to stay on. Although he no longer holds the title of PNP chief, he’s still the highest ranking police officer in the force and draws a P150,000 monthly salary.

Binay’s brand of politics Binay’s backroom and backstabbing brand of politics recalls how the Aquino sisters connived to back Binay in beating Roxas who had given way for their brother to become President. Asking PNoy to

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

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support him behind Mar Roxas’ back gives us a look at the man who wants to lead this nation. Binay is getting desperate, his political fortune falling in the wake of plunder and graft charges allegedly committed during his watch as Makati mayor. Senator Grace Poe is closing in on him in the poll surveys while tough-talking davao City Mayor Rodrigo duterte is gaining ground in Mindanao where Binay still polled strong.

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

TOdAy marks the 117th year of the declaration of Philippine Independence.

I am so lucky I am writing this while staring at memorabilia of the Philippine revolution, a signed portrait of then General dwight eisenhower, a gift to General emilio Aguinaldo; a 1933 issue of the newspaper La Vanguardia featuring the wax sculpture of Jose Rizal done by the great Guillermo Tolentino; the picture of the iconic bolo-wielding Bonifacio painting; an original flag of the Veteranos de la Revolucion, the organization put up by Aguinaldo after the revolution for the remaining Katipuneros and their families; the nine flags of the KKK; and lots of pictures of Katipuneros.

I am, after all, in the historic town of Taal, Batangas. The birthplace of many valiant revolutionaries. I walk the streets where heroes walked, go to homes where Katipunero leaders held secret meetings.

I enter the homes where our heroes lived.

By being here, I somehow feel the fire of the revolution. The revolution that gave us independence.

On June 12, 1898, our forces led by General emilio Aguinaldo y Famy declared Philippine independence from Spain through the reading and signing of “The Act of declaration of Philippine Independence” in then Cavite-Viejo, now, Kawit, Cavite.

The event also officially adopted and proudly unfurled the Philippine flag sewn by Marcela Agoncillo under instructions from General Aguinaldo.

Technically, it was the second time that the flag was hoisted as it was earlier used when Aguinaldo’s forces won the Battle of Alapan on 28 May 1898. This date is now marked as our Flag day.

June 12, 1898 was also the first time that Julian Felipe’s “Marcha Filipino Magdalo”, now known as our national anthem, “Lupang hinirang” was publicly played to the jubilant, proud sons and daughters of the Motherland.

The declaration of Independence gave birth to the revolutionary government led by the 28-year-old General Miong. his men were equally young or just a bit older than him including the great Apolinario Mabini. The country was at war against our colonizers and our leaders were the youth of that time. The declaration of Independence was a most valiant, defiant act by our young people -in the name of other Filipinos then and now, including us.

These idealistic, patriotic young Filipinos were after the establishment of a Philippine Republic—independent and free from the clutches and oppression of Spanish friars. despite all the odds of being at war with virtually no resources, 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 THE LIBERAL PARTY WHEN President BACK­ Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Aquino BENCHER sounded out the posROD P. sibility he might run KAPUNAN again, as running mate of Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas, he spelled out the truth that the ruling Liberal Party is running out of credible presidentiables. Maybe the naïve idea is not motivated to keep himself in power but to save the party from an unexpected demise. Maybe PNoy is still hallucinating that he and he alone could save the party that earned the bad connotations about the real nature of politics in this country.

The idea sounds more like a joke but it is the only way to prop up Mar’s sagging candidacy. He is entertaining the delusion he alone can save Mar’s candidacy, so he could formalize in making Mar Roxas his heir-apparent.

Mar is equally hallucinating, that being the grandson of former President Manuel Roxas, he has the hereditary right to the presidency. There is in these two clowns the presumption that they are the only ones who know what is good for this country.

Admittedly, Mar Roxas’ popularity rating is not getting anywhere. Some are candid enough to admit that Mar simply does not have the charisma to be liked by the people. He is not the right kind of banana acceptable to what the LPs consider as hankering monkeys. He comes in with a negative image, no matter how he tries to entice people by doing what ordinary Filipinos do, thus earning him the moniker of “Boy Kargador,” “Boy Martilyo”, etc.

With PNoy offering to save his candidacy, he is thinking of hitting two birds with one stone. Making Mar win is like handing to him his ambition he has long been salivating for. PNoy hopes the fellow will be deeply indebted that he will do everything to save him from the gallows.

Maybe PNoy managed to pull one over us by winning in the 2010 presidential election. Admittedly before that, nobody took him seriously or worse, thought he would become our next president. Some even exposed his medical records as mentally unfit – an embarrassment to a country claiming to have plenty of impeccably intelligent people.

His saving grace was that he is the son of that “beatified” President who was given the title as “the restorer of our democracy and freedom,” nothing more. As a lawmaker, he accomplished nothing, until one day his popularity rating soared without us being aware that the elite, their Western brokers, and the opportunist clerics were already conditioning our mind that this clown would be our next president. There was no way ordinary man could question that because the mainstream media, owned and controlled by the elite such as the leading newspapers, television and radio; the highly paid public relations agencies; and the poll surveys being experts in manipulating the public mind, all told us that we are about to have a clown as our next president.

The problem is he has not gotten over his demagoguery. There is nothing PNoy can claim as his achievement for Mar to say that he was a party to it. Negatively, perhaps people will remember him as the architect of that traitorous Bangsamoro Basic Law that hangs as a looming possibility that this country will be dismembered. What he can refer to as his achievements are the concessions and privileges he lavished the oligarchy for them to rake in more profit with the rest of our starving people glued in what they see as the awesome “progress” of his administration.

It is for this why some say that allowing the clown to be Mar’s running mate is more of a liability than an asset to already conking political machinery.

Another tell-tale sign that the Liberal Party is withering or should we say is moving fast towards self-destruction is that it is saddled with ambitious but incompetent personalities. Corruption seems to be their way of life, and an allegiance to commit treason. Everybody knows that

It is saddled with ambitious but incompetent personalities.

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

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

HOW NOT TO CHANGE THE CONSTITUTION

I HAVE to say how relieved I am that the 1987 Constitution to identify if there are House of Representatives did not muschanges that are so critical for its growth EAGLE ter the numbers to approve proposed and development as a nation-state.

EYES amendments to the 1987 Constitution For the record, these are the changes I that would eventually led to the indiswant: first of all, a shift to a federal and a DEAN TONY criminate and uncritical removal of all bicameral parliamentary system, which, LA VIÑA the nationalist-based restrictions on consistent with federalism, would have foreign participation in our economy. a regional senate and would allow entiFor the record, I am not against amending or revising ties like the Bangsamoro to exist without constitutional the Constitution and neither am I against the lifting of all restraint. such restrictions. However, we should never have allowed I am also in favor of an expanded bill of rights that would the House of Representatives process to go to the point spell out the rights of OFWs and environmental rights of near approval without extensive public debate. Thank- (which should include enumerating the rights of displaced fully, Fr. Joel Tabora SJ, Bayan Muna legislators like Neri persons and disaster survivors, as well as a recognition of Colmenares and Carlos Zarate, and the Catholic Bish- the inherent rights of nature) and an expanded article also ops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) sounded the on social justice that would put the state squarely in favor alarm. Constitutional change is serious business and must of workers, farmers, fisher folk, indigenous peoples, urban be dealt with that way and not whimsically and arbitrarily, poor, and vulnerable women, youth, and children, includas if only the numbers mattered. ing sections that would outlaw specially labor-only conI endorse the views of retired Chief Justice Reynato tracting, land grabbing, and eviction of the poor.

Puno that “Constitutional change is a legitimate issue. It I am open to lifting some of the economic restrictions should be tackled head on.” I also support Puno’s proposal (e.g. allowing foreign professionals to work in the Philipto convene a constitutional convention to study changes pines subject of course to reciprocity) but will definitely in the Constitution simultaneous with the 2016 elections. advocate keeping the nationalistic restrictions on ownerThe former chief justice argues that both economic and ship and control of land and natural resources. For edupolitical provisions should be on the table and that among cation, media, public utilities, etc., I have no position for others, changing the Constitution is the appropriate way now and will continue listening to the policy debate. forward to enact a good Bangsamoro Basic Law. For better governance, I support provisions that would Like Puno, I concede that a constitutional convention be unmistakably clear about abolishing the pork barcan be “expensive, divisive, and raucous. But that’s exactly rel and unrestricted presidential discretion over public what it should be. According to the former Chief Justice: funds; sections that would enshrine the best practices of “The Constitution is the nation’s basic law. We cannot allow social accountability and inclusive development so a prosCongress to gift itself with the unilateral right to negotiate perous, just, and happy society is attained. I hoper we can – and yes, these will be very expensive negotiations with in- upgrade the Commission on Human Rights to an indeterest groups – on critical provisions that could change our pendent constitutional commission. Finally, I would like country’s socio-political and economic landscape.” practical clauses on petition, initiative and referendum In 2012, I co-wrote a book “The 1987 Constitution - To that would allow the people to directly participate in govChange or Not to Change”. My co-authors were Joy Acer- ernance without the current restraints that make it almost on, Edgar Bonto and Benedict Nisperos, with Dr. Dennis impossible to do successfully.

Gonzalez editing and Anvil publishing it. In that book, we So yes, I am for constitutional change. But definitely, it pointed out that a constitution is a living document that should not be done the way the House of Representatives did. is “intended to endure for ages to come and consequently, Given the innate mistrust of Filipinos towards tradito be adapted to the various crises of human affairs.” It has tional politicians, now too deeply ingrained in our nato adapt to and address the constantly changing social and tional psyche, a constituent assembly is not a good vehicle economic conditions which may have never been foreseen for constitutional change. It becomes less viable given the during its adoption. toxic political atmosphere that we are now in. This is not According to my constitutional law professor Justice to say that a constituent assembly is inherently inferior Vicente Mendoza, “the amendment or revision of the to constitutional convention. Under different conditions, Constitution exemplifies the creative element of law, en- it might just work. The better and safer way to go under abling it to serve as anchor while itself subject to change. prevailing conditions however is through constitutional For though law must be stable, it cannot stand still.” convention. One that is multi-sectoral in representation; The great constitutionalist Claro Mayo Recto also comprising of elected delegates not saddled with politionce said, “…the Constitution is not, and should not be, cal interests and credibility problems; not beholden to the an idol under strict taboos. It is not, and should not be, a executive and independent from outside influence and straitjacket for the growing and developing nation, which vested interests; and finally, a convention that is working it was made to serve. The Constitution itself outlines the in an atmosphere conducive to a judicious, careful and an procedure for its own amendment, and it thus expressly enlightened study of the current Constitution. devoted to the principle that it is neither inviolable nor The ultimate objective of constitutional change is not permanent, but a working instrument to secure the gen- to gratify the political ambitions of the few and perpetueral welfare of the people.” ate an oppressive system but to address and rectify once The 1987 Constitution is no different. It was a product and for all the structural problems of the society. The of the struggle against the Marcos dictatorship; hence, it goal is to bring about prosperity, sustainability, justice prescribes strict requirements for declaring martial law and happiness. and guarantees freedom and democracy. It emphasizes Should we change the Constitution? Yes, but as I said human rights and encourages participation of civil soci- in 2010 when there were last minute attempts to amend ety in governance. However, there are things it failed to the Constitution, we should do it the right way: And this consider such as globalization and there are drastic struc- time, definitely not before the 2016 elections and through tural changes that it probably couldn’t afford at that time a constitutional convention. due to the volatile political situation. More than 25 years after the adoption of the 1987 Constitution, it is worth the Email: Tonylavs@gmail.com Facebook: tlavina@yahoo. country’s time to look into the gaps and weaknesses of the com Twitter: tonylavs the country’s heated word war with China over the Spratly Islands is done to divert our attention away from the continued arms deal with the US and from the plan to balkanize this country in accordance to the wishes of Malaysia and of the imperialist countries.

The LP has become desperate that it is even considering a US citizen as their presidential candidate. Even if they choose Senator Grace Poe as their shoo-in candidate, she is not qualified even as senator as her stay in that post is in violation of the Constitution. The LP would be taking a great risk if the Supreme Court decides that she is not a natural- born Filipino. That is not difficult to analyze because she has not presented any document renouncing her US citizenship. Unless those men in robe allow them-

selves to be bribed like what happened when the nasty majority of the Senators voted to remove Renato Corona as Chief Justice on the basis of the P50 million or more grease money offered by this “tuwid na daan” dispensation.

It is not so much that if Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr runs and wins, he will bring back sanity to our leadership. PNoy and company just want to be reassured they can rein in the next man so that the outgoing administration would not force him to take a “dose of his own medicine.” It may appear vindictive for any succeeding government, but this hypocritical government committed serious crimes and violations of the Constitution that sending them to jail would already constitute a monumental achievement just as it would be a betrayal of the

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

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA IT LOOKS like the citizenship issue against incumbent Senator and possible presidential or vice presidential contender Grace Poe raises many other equally interesting concerns.

Under the 1987 Constitution, one cannot be elected president, vice president, or a member of Congress unless one is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines.

Therefore, if Poe’s critics are correct – that Poe is not a natural-born citizen of the Philippines – then Poe is not only disqualified from the presidential and vice presidential polls in May 2016; she will also be disqualified from remaining as senator.

Assuming for the sake of argument that Poe is disqualified from remaining in the Senate, she may still keep her seat unless she is ousted from it by way of an appropriate legal proceeding. This is where ex-Senator Gordon enters the picture. Gordon, who placed 13th in the May 2013 senatorial race, may opt to file a disqualification case against Poe. Should Gordon succeed in getting Poe unseated, he enters the winning circle of twelve, and shall serve the unexpired portion of Poe’s term, which is about four years reckoned from today.

Under the Constitution, the disqualification case will have to be lodged with the Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET), which has both a partisan and a judicial composition. How the SET will vote on the Poe case is anybody’s guess, and it may take the SET either a few months or an eternity to resolve it.

The challenge..From A9 inexperience in governance (after all, what did we know when we were their age?), and lack of models to look up to and pattern their actions after (it was the FIRST time after three hundred years that the country was to have a government), they did not lose sight of their goal of freedom for the country and its people.

Just a few months after, on September 15, 1898, Aguinaldo formally convened what is now known as the Malolos Congress whose first significant act was to ratify the June 12 Declaration of Philippine Independence. On this day, Aguinaldo is quoted as having said that, “... the Philippines is for the Filipinos” to the joyous acclamation of those gathered.

The Malolos Congress’ major task was to draft what would become as the first Philippine Constitution. On January 21, 1899 Aguinaldo promulgated the Malolos Constitution and two days after, on January 23, 1899, the Philippine Republic

CITIZENSHIP ISSUE AGAINST POE RAISES MANY OTHER CONCERNS In theory, the disqualification suit against Poe (as senator) may be filed anytime with the SET on the premise that natural-born Filipino citizenship is a continuing requirement for membership in the Senate. This means that a sitting senator must be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines every day of the six years of his or her term.

If Gordon wins the case against Poe and manages to become a senator, it is possible that he may be disqualified from re-election as senator in May 2019. This is because Gordon’s victory in the SET will mean a second consecutive term for Gordon in the Senate, and the Constitution prohibits a senator from holding office for more than two consecutive terms – consecutive because one theory has it that Poe never served as senator to begin with. Of course, the other theory is that Poe was a de facto senator and as such, her two-year stay in the Senate is enough to constitute an interruption of Gordon’s first term as senator.

On the other hand, Gordon may not want to look like a sore loser by filing a disqualification case against Poe. With the senatorial elections just a year away, Gordon may find it more practical to run for a full six-year term in May 2016 than settle for a four-year term as a senator who was not elected by the people but installed by the SET. Moreover, suing Poe this early may prompt anti-Binay forces to gang up on Gordon on the assumption that one who is anti-Poe is probably pro-Binay.

By the way, the Gordon option has a

was inaugurated with Emilio Aguinaldo as its first President. We declared ourselves a free and independent country.

From a revolutionary to a republican government in less than seven months is no mean feat. And all these took place while our forces were fighting a war.

If our young leaders, especially Emilio Aguinaldo only desired power, no matter how their difficulties at the time, they could have opted to remain being a revolutionary government. After all, the war was not yet over. The fact that they worked to formally transform the country into a republic is a testament to their adherence to the goal of independence.

We need to give credit where it is due. We owe our freedom to the young people who fought for what we now enjoy and many times, take for granted.

There are many views on the 1898 revolution. I have even come across pieces questioning whether what our heroes paid for with their lives was a real

people’s mandate not to prosecute them.

In fact, the filing of charges against them no longer needs further evidence to prove their guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

The declaration by the Supreme Court of the notorious Disbursement Acceleration Program and the Priority Development Assistant Fund as unconstitutional and illegal is more than enough to convict them for culpable violation of the constitution, plunder and malversation, that to reverse the decision would amount to admitting they too are stupid. The people are not

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precedent. In November 1967, Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr. placed second (out of eight possible winners) in the senatorial race. On election day, Aquino was a few days shy of 35, the minimum age for senators (he turned 35 by the time he was proclaimed a winner). Emilio Espinosa, Jr. of Masbate, who placed ninth in the senatorial race, filed a disqualification suit against Aquino before the SET, which eventually ruled in favor of Aquino. ****** Many people assume that as far as the law is concerned, an adopted child automatically obtains the citizenship of the adopting parents because the Family Code states that an adopted child is deemed to be a legitimate child of the adopting parents. Surprisingly, however, the Constitution and the Family Code do not say anything about how citizenship should be reckoned for children adopted

by Filipino parents.

Article IV of the Constitution governs citizenship. Its language puts great emphasis on birth, and this emphasis seems to suggest that, unless his or her citizenship at birth is clearly ascertainable, an adopted child cannot be a natural-born citizen because his or her birth, and not his or her adoption, is the fact which determines citizenship. This remark is not intended to discriminate against adopted children; rather, it is to highlight ambiguity in the law.

One sure thing about adoption in the Philippines is that an adoption is valid only if it is in accord with the substance

revolution because according to them, there was no agenda for social transformation.

To them, Aguinaldo et, al. were just after removing the colonial powers and replacing it with themselves. People also tend to pit our heroes against each other.

Rizal versus Bonifacio, Bonifacio versus Aguinaldo, etc.

I do not understand why we do this. Some say it is for historical accuracy. I say that there is no way to perfectly reconstruct our history. All those involved are gone now. We have incomplete records, and even the books that we read are informed by biases of their authors.

It is quite easy to be critical and raise all these questions within our present context. We have the benefit of advanced education, time to critically consider things within the comforts of our homes or offices using the technology we have now.

After all, we are not fighting a war. We are not scared that the enemy will come, get, even kill us. We do not worry that allies might be spying on us. We are not on the run.

even interested in how Janet Napoles managed to stash those funds to her personal account. They are more curious about how she obtained them using genuine documents and received checks signed and approved by those in charged in the government office under PNoy’s administration.

Despite the fact that the LP has so many card-carrying members all fattened by the largess that is oozing from Malacañang, none of them dare speak out to demand a convention to nominate their official candidate. Their leadership has been syndicat-

We can say what we want because we are free. And we are free because of our forefathers and mothers who paid with their blood so we are able to do as we please.

The least that we can do is to recognize their contributions to our independence, to our being free.

As we celebrate the 117th anniversary of the declaration of our independence, perhaps we should ask ourselves if we would have fought as hard if we were in the shoes of our Katipuneros, in the same context they were in.

Our revolutionaries operated within a most difficult context.

But they got what they were after-- our independence. We are in a different but much easier situation, rather than criticize the past, should we not learn from it so this independence is further enriched?

This is the challenge to us. bethangsioco@gmail.com @bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on FaceBook

ed and is operated by a select few chosen by the greedy oligarchy, the hypocritical Church and by their Western brokers. The lesser functionaries abide by their decision because their concern is to capture political power plus the bonus of being reassured of continued funding for their reelection bid.

Nobody complains because PNoy’s decision means the continuation of the bounties of what it takes to control the government they see as inhabited by heathens. rpkapunan@gmail.com

embodied in and the procedure specified

by Philippine law. Undocumented adoptions have no legal force and effect.

Since Senator Poe is an adopted child, her critics will definitely use this issue against her – but the sword cuts both ways. If Vice President Binay is also an adopted child, as he recently claimed, then his enemies will also raise this issue against him. ****** It was reported in the news media that Poe elected Philippine citizenship prior to her assumption of the chairmanship of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board. What is the possible consequence of that move?

Article IV of the Constitution states that as a rule, an individual who elects Philippine citizenship over another nationality is not a natural-born citizen unless he or she was born before January 17, 1973 (the date the 1973 Constitution took effect) to a Filipino mother, and the individual elected Philippine citizenship upon reaching the age of majority. Because this provision uses the term “born,” it applies only if the citizenship of the biological mother of the individual is ascertainable.

Thus, whether or not Poe elected Philippine citizenship at one time or another will be important only if the citizenship of her biological mother is ascertainable.

This observation is made on the assumption that Poe was born before January 17, 1973, proof of which may be difficult to obtain because Poe is supposed to be a foundling.

The real.. From A9 I feel flattered that after I suggested in a column Duterte should stop threatening to kill all the criminals and instead advocate a return to the death penalty, “The Punisher” is now talking of restoring capital punishment. At least the guy listens to public opinion.

Adding to Binay’s woes is the fact that he can’t find anyone who’s willing to be his running mate. In his latest attempt, he paid a surprise visit to former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada enjoining him to form BEST, a Binay-Estrada tandem. Conscious he has a bigger marquee name, Erap turned down a second billing as Binay’s vice president.

Businessman Manny Pangilinan, Pag-Ibig Fund Manager Darlene Berberabe and Grace Poe also declined Binay’s offer to be running mates. This would make Binay some sort of a serial spurned suitor.

The Vice President has not resigned as Presidential Assistant on Housing and Overseas Filipino Workers, a Cabinet position. He is therefore constrained from speaking out against the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law being pushed by Malacanang and criticizing Aquino for coddling Purisima.

Given there’s really no opposition in the present political scene, the people can expect Marcos to provide the leadership in opposing any administration policy inimical to public interest. The Nacionalista Party could, if it chooses to be the real opposition, support FMJ who is an NP member.

That is, if former Senator Manny Villar who heads the Nacionalista Party, is not thinking of making a second run at the presidency after losing in 2010 to Aquino and Estrada.

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Clay master Nadal wins grass-court game, barely STUTTGART—Rafael Nadal began the difficult annual transition from clay to grass on Thursday, taking more than two and a half hours to advance to the quarter-finals of the Stuttgart Open.

The top seed, whose ranking has fallen to 10th after a terrible clay season in which he failed to win a European title, overcame Marcos Baghdatis 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (4/7), 6-2.

Nadal managed to win the opening set as he began the pre-Wimbledon season at the venue where he claimed 2005 and 2007 titles on clay.

Nadal will next face fifth seed Bernard Tomic after the Australian overpowered Tommy Haas 7-6 (8/6), 6-2 to end the veteran’s comeback after a year on the sidelines following his fourth shoulder surgery.

Second seed Marin Cilic, the US Open champion, was making his start on grass later Thursday as he faced German Matthias Bachinger.

Nadal was pleased to escape an upset at the hands of Baghdatis just over a week after crashing out the French Open as a 39-match win streak at the venue was ended by Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

“I’m very happy to win this match, it’s good to be in the quarter-finals,” said the 29-yearold Spaniard.

“Marcos made it difficult, he’s a tough opponent on this surface.

“I need to play more aggressively if I’m to improve on the grass. This was an important victory for me, it’s good for the confidence.

“I have great memories of winning here when Stuttgart was clay, but I’m going to try my best to win it on grass now.”

Nadal won the opening set after more than an hour and saved two Baghdatis set points in the 10th game of the second before the 63rdranked challenger levelled at a set each by winning a tiebreaker.

Nadal gathered his powers in the third set, breaking for 3-1 to eventually run out the winner.

Tomic had to battle to close out victory, with former world number two Haas saving three match points in the penultimate game on the new grass of the Weissenhof club, which was changed from clay in time for this edition. AFP

RECOGNIZING the growing interest in chess among young Filipinos, particularly in the mid-teen age bracket, energy and gas technology leader Shell today announced that it is expanding its longest-running annual nationwide tilt as it is launches this year’s edition in Manila this June.

For the first time, the Shell National Youth Active Chess Championship will now have a three-category competition, with the kiddies’ division to feature players from 7 to 12 years old (born between 2003 and 2008) and the juniors’ section now open to 13 to 16 bets (born between 1999 and 2002).

The third division will feature senior players 17 to 20 years old (born between 1995 to 1998).

These changes make the staging of this year’s Shell Active Chess tournament a highly anticipated one in terms of participation, with maximum entries expected to mark each of the five qualifying stages leading to the national finals in September. Interested participants may opt to download registration forms at www.shell.com. ph/shell_chess. Outside Metro Manila, interested players can also contact their respective regional representatives: in Visayas, Odillon Badilles at (0933) 619-0210; in Northern Mindanao, Allan Cantonjos at (0936) 996-7949; in Southern Mindanao, Ronnie Tabudlong at (0943) 249-0821; and in Southern Luzon, Joselito Castro at (0906) 475-6327.

Thai recording artist leads triathlon cast

Spain’s Rafael Nadal has his eyes focused on the ball as he makes a backhand return during his Round-of-16 match against Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus at the ATP Mercedes Cup tennis tournament in Stuttgart, southern Germany. AFP

Blatter not quitting soon, but top ally resigns PARIS—FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Thursday ruled out a European Parliament demand for him to quit immediately, but one of his top lieutenants did resign from the embattled organisation.

Blatter resigned last week despite being reelected as head of football’s world governing body, which has been consumed by an everwidening corruption probe, but intends to continue in office until a successor is designated, probably by the end of the year.

“FIFA is perplexed by the European Parliament’s resolution,” a FIFA spokesman said.

“As is well known, following his re-election, the FIFA president already decided, owing to the special circumstances in which FIFA finds itself, to lay down his mandate at an extraordinary elective congress.”

The European Parliament had called on Blatter to step down immediately and allow for an interim leader to launch reforms in the organisation.

In a show of hands, lawmakers overwhelm-

Shell chess shoots for wider reach

ingly voted for the resolution in Strasbourg, France.

The FIFA spokesman added: “The president is focused on ensuring that at this congress, which he is demanding, imperative reforms are passed and a new president elected.”

The date for that congress will be set at an executive committee meeting in Zurich on July 20.

Meanwhile, FIFA director of communications and public affairs Walter De Gregorio resigned from his position with immediate effect.

His deputy has been named as an interim replacement.

De Gregorio, who FIFA said will continue to serve “on a consultancy basis” until the end of the year, had been in the position since 2011 and was present when Blatter announced his resignation on June 2.

“Walter has worked incredibly hard for the past four years and we are immensely grateful for all he has done. I am glad we will be able

to continue to draw on his expertise until the end of the year,” FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said in a statement.

Some media reports suggested that De Gregorio had fallen on his sword after making a joke about the FIFA crisis on Swiss TV. De Gregorio reportedly joked to an interviewer: “The FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, the director of communications and the general secretary are all sitting in a car -– who is driving? The police.”

Argentines at large Two Argentine businessmen wanted on US charges of bribing FIFA officials, meanwhile, refused to surrender and demanded they be allowed to remain free while they fight extradition.

Father and son marketing executives Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, who are currently in Argentina, have asked a federal court to allow them to remain free and will not hand themselves in unless they exhaust all legal options, their lawyers said. AFP

OPENING the year with a very successful Yellow Cab Challenge Philippine Subic-Bataan last February, the international triathlon event is introducing another race in the country on June 14—Challenge CamSur— where celebrities and multiawarded world champion are expected to compete.

Among the celebrity triathletes who are expected to strut their stuff at the inaugural Yellow Cab Challenge CamSur race is Thai recording superstar Nabin Yavapolkul who is coached by multi-awarded Pro women triathlete Carol Fuchs.

Meanwhile, the best of the bests in the world of triathlon are also expected to heat up the competition. Australian Mitch Robbins who finished third in the Subic-Bataan leg of Challenge Philippines last February will be seen in action again and will try to snatch another win in the men’s Pro field, while his fellow Australian Michael Murphy will also try to improve from his fifth place finish in the previous race.

Joining the star-studded lineup are Brad Kahlefeldt (AUS), Mike Philips (NZ), Mitchell Kibby (AUS), Matt Burton (AUS), and Marc Widmer (CH) who will surely ratchet up the competition.

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Kids want to be football stars

IMAGINE undergoing rigorous physical training four to five times a week under the scorching sun. Tough, right?

Now imagine 10-year-old kids doing this, fueled by the determination to put the country on the world football map.

It seems like too much work and pressure for people so young, but for the elite selection of kids of the Makati Football Club, the demanding regimen feels more like play than a chore.

“I can’t imagine not playing football,” said Umi Abelarde. “When I’m sick and can’t play outside, I just play football via online games.”

“I train hard because I don’t just want to be a professional football player someday. I want to be a super professional!” he added.

Abelarde is a member of the MFC team that emerged champion in the recent Rizal Football Association tourna-

ment, under-11 category.

The team is composed of kids aged nine to 11 who come from different schools in the Greater Manila Area.

The team, which was formed last year by coach Selu Lozano and is supported by mobile leader Smart Communications, Inc., won 11 games with only a single draw. The kids credit the victory to their rigorous training – four afternoon sessions a week in Taguig and Alabang, followed by games every weekend.

Some of the boys live as far as Quezon City, Marikina, and Laguna, but they manage to stay committed to the training schedule.

“We all want to be professional football players someday. We also want to represent the Philippines,” said Josh Meriño, who lives in Biñan.

“I want to be like Pele or Messi or Ronaldo,” said Marc Huber.

These kids undergo rigorous training in hopes of becoming their generation’s Pele or Ronaldo.

“It is our goal at MFC to develop elite football players, but the number one priority is still the development of the kids’ intelligence and character. They don’t just learn about technical aspects of the game; they also learn about re-

spect, humility, and perseverance,” said Lozano, who plays professionally for Stallion FC. Lozano’s father Tomas, a former football player in Spain and founder of the MFC, said it is important to start training players at

a young age, the way Europeans do it.

“In other countries, the government is very supportive when it comes to the development of young football players. You have a stadium in every town, and they support the kids’

training. This is why European kids get serious about football at an early age. We want to do the same thing here in the Philippines, and we’re happy to get the support of private companies in this endeavor,” he said.

Galas keeps hold on chess lead

By Arman Armero

SINGAPORE—Woman Fide Master Antonette San Diego stopped fellow Pinay and Woman International Master Bernadette Galas after a tightly contested draw to throw the standings in the girls’ 20-Under in disarray with only three rounds left in the 16th ASEAN+ Age-Group Chess Championships at the Nanyang University here.

Despite the draw, Galas, a student of De La Salle University, remained on top with 5.5 points, still a full point ahead of compatriot and WIM Janelle Mae Mendoza of Far Eastern University, who after a loss to Galas in the fourth round, has racked up two victories

for 4.5 points.

San Diego, meanwhile, improved to a four-way tie for third with four points.

In the girls’ Under18, Woman Fide Master Shania Mae Mendoza, FEU’s board 2 player, downed Uurtsaikh Uuriintuya of Mongo-

lia to improve into a tie for second to third places with four points, still 1.5 points behind solo leader WFM Sakshi Chtlange of India, who has 5 points.

Also still in contention for a medal in the girls’ side were Samantha Glo Revita in the girls’ Under 16 (5 points); Alaney Jia Doroy (5 points) and Jesca Docena (4 points) in the girls’ U-14 and Mhage Sebastian (4.5 points) and Jerlyn Mae San Diego (4.0) in the girls’ Under-10.

In the boys’ side, also fighting for a medal in the Under-20 category is IM Jan Emmanuel Garcia with 5 points as early favorite IM Paulo Bersamina could only manage a draw for three points.

Also still in contention in the

boys’ side are Rhenzie Kyle Sevillano in the Under-16 (4-way tie for third at 4 pts) and Stephen Rome Pangilinan, who despite suffering from a recurring flu, won his sixth-round match to figure in a 7-way tie for the lead in the boys’ Under 14.

Immediately after the sixth round, National Chess Federation of the Philippines Executive Director and PH head of delegation GM Jayson Gonzales rushed Pangilinan to a nearby clinic for treatment.

Senior players Edmundo Gatus, meanwhile, has three points, 1.5 points of the leader, while Senior B campaigner Alex Milagrosa shares the lead at 3.5 points with two other players.

Santos, Tangalin win titles

Neil Tangalin in action

ALEXIE Santos scored a golden double, while Niel Tangalin captured the boys’ 18-under singles’ crown in the 16th leg of Globe 17th HEAD Graphene XT Junior Tennis Satellite Circuit recently at the Athletic Bowl tennis courts in Baguio City.

Santos dominated Janelle Carmella Llavore, 6-2, 6-2, to bag the girls’ 18-under singles’ trophy and did the same effort to win over Gennifer Pagente (6-1 retired) to take home another title – the girls’ 16-under singles’ crown.

Tangalin, on the other hand, beat Joshua De Guzman, 6-2, 6-1, to take home the boys’ 18-under singles’ title of the annual satellite age-group tennis competition organized Dynamic Sports and sanctioned by the Philippine Tennis Association.

Cenon Gonzales bashed Jerry

Macias, 6-1, 6-3, to gain the boys’ 16-under crown, while Pagente rallied past Blanch Lagrisola, 2-6, 7-5, 6-2, to win the girls’ 14-under singles’ crown.

Jed Justin Labasano won over Cyr Martinez via walkover to gain the boys’ 14-under title.

The competition was sponsored by Globe Telecommunications, Chris Sports, Head ATP Tennis Balls, Graphene XT, Toalson, Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Tennis Association, along with Sports Radio 918AM, Home Radio 97.9FM Natural, Boracay Informer, Todo 88.5FM Aklan, Radyo Inquirer 990AM, Power Wheels Magazine, Motorcycle Magazine, Balikbayan The Asian Journal Magazine, Wazzup Pilipinas, Reach Magazine, Oishi and AMAX Inn Makati.

Balines is memory sport king GRANDMASTER of Memory Erwin Balines ruled the 2nd AVESCO-Philippine International Open Memory Championship held recently at the Far Eastern University Convention Center in Manila, but 13-yearold Jamyla Lambunao stole the limelight after breaking five national juniors records.

Balines netted an aggregate of 5,556 points in the 10 events to bring home the trophy for the overall champion.

He also broke his own national record when he memorized 1,060 number digits in 30 minutes. His previous mark was 980.

Lambunao, who earned an International Master of Memory title in the World Championships last year in China, finished in second place with 4,597 points and swept all 10 gold medals in the juniors’ division.

The Grade 9 student of St. Scholastica’s Academy Marikina also set five new juniors’ marks in the 30-Minute Binary Numbers with 1860 points, Speed Numbers (218), 30-Minute Playing Cards (7 decks), 30-Minute Numbers (672) and 15-Minute Names and Faces (91).

Lambunao’s world ranking also jumped from No. 66 to No. 54 and remains as the youngest player in the Elite Top 100 list of memory athletes, according to the World Memory Sports Council, the governing organization of memory sports activities in the world.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Win over Bahrain XI boosts PH confidence

By Peter Atencio

BULACAN—Misagh Bahadoran proved himself to be a worthy substitute to highly regarded starter Stephan Schrock.

Bahadoran entered the pitch in the 23rd minute of the first half and went on to score one of two big goals in the Philippine Azkals national men’s football team’s 2-1 upset of Bahrain.

The 28-year-old Fil-Iranian got an assist from Phil Younghusband and scored from up close in the 50th minute.

“There is no doubt about the outcome. It was fresh legs. They (Azkals) played professionally and did their jobs,” said Azkals coach Thomas Dooley. “This win boost

our confidence the rest of the way.”

This helped the Azkals score their first win in the second round of the Group H matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifications at the Philippine Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan.

“It was so exciting. I’m so happy coach put me in this big game after Schrocky got injured,”said Bahadoran.

Schrock, one of the key men in the Azkals’ offense that evening, left midway in the first half after he hurt his right knee. The Azkals made adjustments in trying to find

scoring chances in the first half.

They earlier made adjustments following the absence of Fil-British bet Luke Woodland, whose clearance to play has not been received by the Philippine Football Federation from his mother club Oldham Athletic.

Two scoring opportunities were not completed but Bahadoran finally converted after finding his opening in the second half.

“It was a fantastic pass coming from Phil. He saw my movement,” said Bahadoran.

New striker Javier Patino, who drew away a defender from Bahadoran during that sequence, added another goal by finding his mark in the 60th minute to hand the Azkals a 2-0 advantage.

Their first win give the Azkals three points in Group H and a

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF FORCE MAJEURE (FM) EVENT REGULATED FM PASS THROUGH FOR TYPHOON AGATON IN MINDANAO IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE RULES FOR SETTING TRANSMISSION WHEELING RATES, WITH PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY

Waleed Al Hayam (left) of Bahrain is tackled by Philippine players Stephan Schrock (17) and Martin Steuble (21) during their Asia Group H FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying football match at the Philippine sports arena in Marilao, Bulacan. The Philippines won, 2-1. AFP

share of the early lead with North Korea, which defeated Yemen, 1-0, in a simultaneous encounter held at the Suheim Bun Hamad Stadi-

um in Doha, Qatar.

The top two squads in each group move on to the third round of the qualifiers.

15.

Although the FME claim is not included in its 3rd Regulatory Reset Application, the same can be recovered during the 3rd Regulatory Period pursuant to Section 10.1.1 of the RTWR where it is allowed to recover the cost incurred for the restoration, repair and rehabilitation of damage sustained by its transmission assets and other related facilities as a result of the FME. Copy of the FME Claim Computation is attached to the application as Annex “F”;

16.

The FME Claim does not breach the Force Majeure Threshold Amount (FMTA). Copy of the FMTA Computation is attached to the application as Annex “G”;

17.

It considered the Net Fixed Asset Value of the transmission assets and other related facilities damaged by the FME Typhoon Agaton in the calculation of the FM PassThrough Amount given that it would have normally fully recovered the return of capital on said assets for the duration of its economic lives had these assets not been damaged or destroyed by the FME Typhoon Agaton; Allegation in Support of the Prayer for Provisional Approval

NATIONAL GRID CORPORATION OF THE PHILIPPINES, Applicant. x------------------ -----------x

ERC CASE NO. 2015-005RC

18.

It moves for the issuance of a provisional approval for the immediate recovery of the FME claim pursuant to Section 3, Rule 14 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure. It needs to immediately recover the actual expenses incurred for the rehabilitation of the damaged transmission assets and other related facilities. The occurrence of the aforementioned FME requires capital infusion, the recovery of which should be allowed to avoid putting financial strain in the transmission provider, and to allow it to continuously provide the necessary transmission service to the grid customers;

19.

The timely implementation of the pass-through amount will allow the equal or even spread of the increases or decreases in tariffs from the initial implementation of the recovery of the cost;

20.

A copy of the Judicial Affidavit of Agnes F. Dela Cruz, Head, Tariff Design and Billing Management Division, Revenue and Regulatory Affairs of NGCP in support thereof is attached to the application herewith as Annex “H”; and

21.

In compliance with Rule 6 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, the prefilling requirements of the instant application are attached herewith as Annex “I”;

22.

It prays that the Commission:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES: Notice is hereby given that on January 14, 2015, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) filed with the Commission an application for the approval of the force majeure event regulated FM pass through for Typhoon Agaton in Mindanao in accordance with the Rules for Setting Transmission Wheeling Rates (RTWR), with prayer for provisional authority.

In the said application, NGCP alleged, among others, the following: 1.

It is a corporation created and existing under the laws of the Philippines, with principal office address at NGCP Builiding, Quezon Avenue corner BIR Road, Diliman, Quezon City. It is the corporate vehicle of the consortium which was awarded the concession to assume the power transmission functions of the National Transmission Corporation (TRANSCO) pursuant to Republic Act No. 9136 (R.A. 9136), otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 or the EPIRA;

a. Issue, immediately upon filling of the application, a provisional authority to implement and bill the FM Pass-Through Amounts to Mindanao customers starting February 2015 billing month to December 2020 or until such time that the amount incurred is fully recovered;

2.

It was also granted a franchise under Republic Act 9511 (NGCP Franchise) to construct, install finance, manage, improve, expand, operate, maintain, rehabilitate, repair and refurbish the present nationwide transmission system of the Republic of the Philippines;

b.

Declare the Typhoon Agaton as force Majeure Event (FME);

3.

On January 15, 2009, it assumed transmission functions of TRANSCO including the operation, management and maintenance of the nationwide electric grid;

c.

4.

Pursuant to Section 10.1.1 of the RTWR, it is allowed to recover the cost incurred in the restoration, rehabilitation, repair of damage sustained by its transmission assets and other related facilities as a result of a force majeure event (FME), as defined in Article I of the RTWR;

Approve the CAPEX incurred for the repair, restoration, and rehabilitation of the damaged transmission assets and other related facilities due to typhoon Agaton in Mindanao as FME;

d.

Approve the proposed pass-through amount representing return on capital, return of capital and taxes associated with the emergency responses and the repair, restoration and rehabilitation of its transmission assets and other related facilities damaged by the FME Typhoon Agaton, as follows:

THE FORCE MAJEURE EVENT (TYPHOON AGATON) 5.

On January 17, 2014, Typhoon Agaton entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility with maximum winds of 35 kph and gustiness of 50 kph. Due to its intensity and heavy rainfall, its transmission assets and other related facilities in the Mindanao area were damaged.

Attached to the application as Annex “A” is a copy of the Certification dated April 1, 2014 issued by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA);

6.

It filed before the Commission a Notice of Force Majeure Event (Typhoon Agaton) on March 28, 2014, attached to the application as Annex “B”;

7.

The Commission issued a letter dated May 8, 2014 acknowledging receipt of its FME Notice regarding Typhoon Agaton;

8.

Immediately after the calamity, repair and restoration and rehabilitation of its damaged transmission assets and other related works were undertaken in order to continue serving its customers;

9.

The cost of additional Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) it incurred to complete the repair, restoration and rehabilitation of its transmission assets and other related facilities including the recoverable values of the assets destroyed amounted to PhP6,958,428.26;

10.

The Details of Activities of FME Typhoon Agaton in Mindanao is attached to the application as Annex “D”;

11.

The damaged transmission assets and other related facilities are not covered by TRANSCO and the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corporation’s (PSALM) Industrial All Risk (IAR) Insurance Policy with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) for the year 2014 and is therefore not compensable. Copy of the Certification in support of such allegation is attached to the application as Annex “E”;

12.

There is a need to realign its CAPEX projects to recover the cost incurred for the repair, restoration, and rehabilitation of the damaged transmission assets and other related facilities subject of this application; COMPUTATION OF FME EVENT PASS-THROUGH AMOUNT

13.

14.

It proposes the FM pass-through amount, P/kW-month, as additional network charges in Mindanao starting the billing period of February 2015 to December 2020, or until such time that the amount incurred is fully recovered, computed as follows:

Grid

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Mindanao

0.18

0.04

0.04

0.04

0.04

0.04

It proposes the FM pass-through amounts for the years 2016 to 2020 to allow the recovery of the CAPEX incurred relative to the FME Typhoon Agaton should there be a delay in the reset process for the Transmission Services for the Fourth (4th) Regulatory Period (RP);

Grid

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

Mindanao

0.18

0.04

0.04

0.04

0.04

0.04

e. Approve and allow the recovery of the Net Fixed Asset Value of the transmission assets and other related facilities damaged by Typhoon Agaton in Mindanao in the amount of One Million Six Hundred Eighty-One Thousand Fifty-Six and 18/100 Pesos (PhP1,681,056.18) as part of the FM Pass Through Amount given that the said amount would have been fully recovered by it if these transmission assets and other related facilities have not been damaged or destroyed by Typhoon Agaton as FME; and f.

Exclude the proposed Pass-Through Amount from the side constraint calculation.

The Commission has set the application for expository presentation, pre-trial conference and evidentiary hearing on July 1, 2015 (Wednesday) at nine o’clock in the morning (9:00A.M.) in the ERC, Mindanao Field Office, Mezzanine Floor, Mintrade Building, Monteverde corner Sales Sts., Davao City.

All persons who have an interest in the subject matter of the proceeding may become a party by filing, at least five (5) days prior to the hearing and subject to the requirements in the ERC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, a verified petition with the Commission giving the docket number and title of the proceeding and stating: (1) the petitioner’s name and address; (2) the nature of petitioner’s interest in the subject matter of the proceeding, and the way and manner in which such interest is affected by the issues involved in the proceeding; and (3) a statement of the relief desired.

All other persons who may want their views known to the Commission with respect to the subject matter of the proceeding may file their opposition to the application or comment thereon at any stage of the proceeding before the applicant concludes the presentation of its evidence.

No particular form of opposition or comment is required, but the document, letter or writing should contain the name and address of such person and a concise statement of the opposition or comment and the grounds relied upon.

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

WITNESS, the Honorable Chairperson, ZENAIDA G. CRUZ-DUCUT, and the Honorable Commissioners, ALFREDO J. NON, GLORIA VICTORIA C. YAP-TARUC, JOSEFINA PATRICIA A. MAGPALE-ASIRIT, and GERONIMO D. STA. ANA, Energy Regulatory Commission, this 1st day of June 11, 2015 at Pasig City.

(SGD.) ATTY. FRANCIS SATURNINO C. JUAN Executive Director III (TS-JUNE 13 & 20, 2015)

Softball teams get pat on back AMATEUR Softball Association of the Philippines President and Cebuana Lhuillier Sports Founder Jean Henri Lhuillier expressed elation on the twin gold medals of the national softball teams Blu boys and Blu Girls in the ongoing Southeast Asian Games.

“Im so proud of the performances of our softball teams and the way they fought every match. They showed so much class and character. These gold medals mean so much as it proves that with the right training programs and support, our athletes will bring glory to the country,” said Lhuillier.

The Blu Boys and RP Blu Girls successfully defended their titles by trouncing Indonesia and Thailand, respectively. Both teams are using these tournaments as tune-ups for bigger tournaments ahead such as the World Men’s Championships in Canada next month.

“This is just the beginning as our teams are eyeing bigger international successes beginning with the coming World Men’s Championship. Our boys showed their readiness and we have every reason to target a strong top 10 finish amongst the world’s best. We’ll take it from there as we seek to climb the upper echelon of softball. Cebuana Lhuillier Sports and I will be there to support our nationals teams,” added Lhuillier

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

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Vindicated PRESIDENT Ricky Vargas of the Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines or ABAP and his trusted executive director and RONNIE NATHANIELSZ our longtime friend Ed Picson, have been truly vindicated by their decision to allow Mark Anthony Barriga and Charly Suarez to continue competing in the Aiba pro boxing tournament, which gives the two boxers their best chance to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Brazil, where our country will continue its quest for a first Olympic gold.

You can understand and appreciate the decision of ABAP on two counts. The first is that after having been painfully denied twice before —in Tokyo when Anthony Villanueva lost a questionable decision to Stanislav Stepashkin of the Soviet Union and in 1996 when Onyok Velasco was beaten by his bigger Bulgarian opponent Daniel Petrov in another somewhat controversial decision, we needed another opportunity to right the perceived wrongs done to us in past Olympics and hope that under a fairer, more enlightened leadership of Dr. ChingKuo Wu, president if the international governing body for the sport, our chances to strike gold have immeasurably improved.

The other factor is that the ABAP has a wealth of talent in their national pool, perfectly capable of picking up the gauntlet and bringing the Philippines the gold medals we needed to help the overall cause and to give us the boxing championships, which we achieved in style with 5 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze medals, well ahead of perennial champions and our regular nemesis, Thailand.

Indeed, if anything, the results where our boxers overcame their vaunted Thai opponents in the earlier rounds of the competition in Singapore was a testament to the fairness of judging, especially now that executive director Ho Kim, who manifestly interfered in the judging in the last Asian Games in South Korea and where some of our boxers were victims of unmitigated robbery in the ring, has been fired by Dr. Wu. It demonstrates the courage and the leadership qualities of Dr. Wu, which should serve as an example to our own supposed leaders in sports.

We know that Philippine Sports Commission Chairman Richie Garcia, desperate to help Philippine Olympic Committee president Jose “Peping” Cojuango turn things around after one unmitigated disaster after another in previous SEA Games, where we were humiliated in the final medal tally and overall standings, wanted Barriga and Suarez whom he considered sure gold medal winners in the team. In fairness to Garcia, his stance was understandable even though he failed to appreciate the obviously better judgment of the coaching staff and Vargas and Picson, who knew what the situation was and had confidence in the abilities of our boxers to successfully carry the fight even without Barriga and Suarez.

Vargas and Picson, were proven right in handsome fashion because in our minds, as we did the telecast of the finals for TV5, we strongly believed that female boxer Nesthy Petecio, who dropped a split decision to Vietnam’s Thi Bang Le deserved to win but was denied a chance to increase our gold-medal tally by one, while Barriga’s replacement in the light flyweight division Rogen Ladon put on a gallant stand before ultimately losing, also by a split decision.

The winner, was Indonesia’s Kornelis Langu, who cried like a baby after the decision was announced, perhaps reflecting his joy as well as surprise that he had beaten Ladon in a close fight.

Quite honestly, we felt the Indonesian boxer connected with the cleaner punches and we had no problem accepting the judges’ decision.

To us, Vargas and Picson with the support of ABAP chairman Manny Pangilinan, the legendary supporter of Philippine sports, were well aware of what was at stake and had confidence as a team that our boxers would deliver.

If anything, this sends a timely message to PSC chairman Garcia and POC president Cojuangco as well as some of their underlings that it would be best to leave National Sports Associations known for their unsullied integrity and knowledge of their sport and their dedication and commitment alone and to concentrate on NSAs such as aquatics where our two divers were an absolute flop and for which they, and indeed the Philippines, were ridiculed no end around the world.

Mark Joseph, who heads the association, had the temerity to claim the result was a lack of support, including decent training facilities, which prompts us to ask, whatever happened to the P40 million illegally siphoned to Joseph by former PAGCOR head Ephraim Genuino, part of which, by all accounts, was returned to Genuino for the construction of the excellent Trace swimming facility in Laguna, where our swimmers and divers could have very well trained.

Joseph has been a protected species of Cojuangco and the sooner Cojuangco shows the leadership qualities of a POC president to get Joseph removed and is replaced by an individual who genuinely cares for the sport and whose integrity isn’t questioned, the better for Philippine sports, as well as for Cojuangco himself.

INSIDE SPORTS

Ulboc gives athletics’ th team its 5 gold medal SINGAPORE—Christopher Ulboc broke through for the Filipino bets with a sizzling come-from-behind win in retaining his men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase title as the 28th Southeast Asian Games trackfest concluded at the Singapore National Stadium here on Friday.

The last man standing in the country’s last bid for gold, Ulboc did not disappoint, storming past Vietnamese frontrunner Tien San Pham in the final 200 meters in securing the country’s fifth and last gold medal in athletics with a personal best of eight

minutes and 59.07 seconds Pham settled for silver in 8:59.90, while Indonesia’s Atjong Purwanto could not sustain the blistering pace he set in taking the early lead and got the bronze (9:06.41).

“Medyo kinabahan din po, pero doon sa last 200 meters

Cagebelles kiss hopes goodbye SINGAPORE—Indonesia shattered the national women’s basketball team’s golden dream by fashioning a comefrom-behind 61-56 triumph on Friday in the 28th Singapore Southeast Asian Games basketball tournament at the OCBC Arena here.

After a hot start, things just went downhill for the erratic Filiipina basketeers, who needed to beat the Indonesians and host Singapore on Monday to finally capture their first-ever gold

medal in the regional sportsfest.

With their second loss in four games, the Nationals are not even sure of going home with a medal of any kind, depending on how the rest of the matches play out the next two days.

Marlina Herawan proved to be the thorn on the Nationals’ side, sinking four clutch free throws in the last 30 seconds in rallying Indonesia to its third win in four outings in the six-team, single-round series.

Saturday, June 13, 2015

51 52 53 55 57 61 65 66 68 69 70 71 72 73 74

Pigeon cousin Raw metal Hard benches Reminds too often Booth site (2 wds.)

Recently Water, in Tijuana Drab color Prof’s place Depend Type of protest (hyph.)

NASDAQ rival Util. bill Pound on the door Comes unzipped

DOWN 1 Knock — — loop 2 African-born supermodel 3 Fast-talk 4 Inventory list 5 Performed, as one’s duties 6 Combat 7 Pantyhose hue 8 Shorthand pro 9 Bungle

10 11 14 15 20 22 24 26 27 28 30 32 33 34 37 40 42 45 47 50 54 56 57 58 59 60 62

A runnerup to Henry Dagmil in the Myanmar SEA Games two years ago, Thailand’s Supanara Ayudhaya clinched the gold medal (7.75) in the event, while Vietnam’s Van Lam Pham had the silver (7.52). Dagmil, who competed with an injured hamstring, placed sixth (7.28).

Edgar Alejan salvaged the bronze medal in the men’s 400-meters run with a time of 47.08 seconds with Thailand’s Kunnanon Sukaew (46.00) and Vietnam’s Cong Lich Quach (46.02) taking the gold and silver, respectively.

Gabriel Sophia of Indonesia (center) competes for the ball with Allana May Lim of the Philippines (right) during their women’s basketball match at the 28th SEA Games in Singapore. The PH cagebelles lost, 56-61. AFP

CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Coconut exporter 5 Meadow mamas 9 Gator Bowl site 12 Pass over 13 Craft knife (hyph.)

15 Messy person 16 Stellar review 17 Fouled up 18 Salt or smoke 19 Short on iron 21 Win the contract 23 Give a punch 25 Earthen pot 26 Violin knob 29 Thames school 31 Barked 35 Morn’s counterpart 36 Office copier 38 A bit creepy 39 Joker or ace 41 Advise against 43 Long story 44 Concede 46 Durable fabric 48 Berlin article 49 Tabloids’ “monster”

alam kong malalampasan ko ang Vietnamese,” said the 24-year-old pride of Pagadian City, Davao del Sur. “Ito ay para sa bayan sa araw ng ating kalayaan.”

It was small win, too, for the local talent after four of the earlier gold medals were won by Filipino-Americans Caleb Stuart (hammer throw), Kayla Richardson (women’s 100 meters) and Eric Cray (men’s 100 meters and 400-meter low hurdles).

Fil-Am Donovan Arriola made his SEA Games debut with a bronze in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.51 meters.

Petty of “Tank Girl” Under the covers In a curious way Misadventures Holly shrub Journalist — Ducommun Injured at Pamplona Thin-shelled nut Hem and haw Lysol target Observed Madrid art gallery Alpine peak in a movie “The Wreck of the Mary —” Inert gas Exhibit Equal to Wedding-cake part Hertz leader Furry Jedi allies Bwana, in India Attacked by a wasp Dainty pastry Ess molding Soothe It may be raw Gaelic pop star

63 Kiddie talk 64 Cousteau’s middle name 67 Folks

PREVIOUS PUZZLE SOLVED

6-13-15

© 2015 UFS, Dist. by Univ. Uclick for UFS

LOTTO RESULTS 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 4 DIGITS 00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

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

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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 Iguodala brings winning spark to Warriors

Andre Iguodala (left) of the Golden State Warriors celebrates in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers during Game Four of the 2015 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP

CLEVELAND—Golden State forward Andre Iguodala had been consigned to a reserve role for 100 games during the season and playoffs, but he made his first start a memorable one Thursday.

The 31-year-old playmaker scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds and played aggressive defense against Cleveland star LeBron James in a 103-82 triumph that pulled the Warriors level at 2-2 in the best-of-seven NBA Finals.

“He looks great out there,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “He has been our best player through four games. He guards LeBron pretty much every possession he’s out there and his offense has been terrific.”

Iguodala, whose willingness to sacrifice his starting role for key minutes coming off the bench set a tone for the Warriors season, replaced Andrew Bogut in the starting lineup so Golden State could try and create a fast early tempo after a series of slow starts.

Nadal struggles in grass court TURN TO A12

“He has been phenomenal for us,” said Golden State’s Draymond Green.

“He has been that steady force in every game in this series for us.

Inserting him into the starting lineup, he’s already being aggressive. He’s already confident but it brought pace to the game. He was knocking down shots. He was all over the floor, getting deflections, coming up with loose balls, with rebounds and pushing the tempo and that really helped us a lot.”

Iguodala had nine points in the first quarter and hit 8-of-15 shots for the game, including 4-of-9 3-point tries.

That even had four-time NBA Most Valuable Player James impressed.

“He’s one of the X-factors and he came to play,” James said. “He shot

the ball extremely well. He was in attack. He got a couple of dunks in transition early on which got him going and he was really good. To start him gave them that boost.”

Iguodala was determined to make matters more difficult on James all night and wear him down, something that happened at the end of the third quarter and allowed Golden State to start a decisive run while he rested.

“The thing that makes him dynamic is he’s probably one of the smartest and best passers out of all the scorers,” Iguodala said about James.

“But the foundation is the same —make him work as hard as possible, make him take tough shots. You look at his strengths, his weaknesses, which way he wants to go, which way he prefers to play, and you try to just take him out of his comfort zone.”

Warriors leader and NBA Most Valuable Player Steph Curry said that while he is always confident in

Azkals stun Bahrain, 2 to 1 TURN TO A14

his shot making, Iguodala’s defensive work was critical.

“We know his knack for just being impactful on the defensive end, whether it’s playing one-on-one defense, getting steals, rebounds, blocking shots, he does it all,” Curry said.

“It showed tonight and a huge reason why we’re 2-2 going home.”

Kerr lies to keep secret Kerr lied to reporters before the game, saying he was not changing his starting lineup, and made no apologies for it.

“If I tell the truth it’s the equivalent of me knocking on (Cleveland coach) Dave Blatt’s door and saying, ‘Hey, this is what we’re going to do,’” Kerr said.

“I could evade the question, which would start this Twitter phenomenon—who is going to start for the Warriors —or I could lie.

“So I lied. Sorry but I don’t think they hand you the trophy based on morality. They give it to you if you win.” AFP

Texters keep hopes alive

By Jeric Lopez AFTER erasing a 16-point firsthalf defiGames Saturday cit, Talk Araneta Coliseum) ‘N Text (Smart 3 p.m. • Alaska vs. gathered Barako Bull i t s e l f 5:15 p.m. • Rain or Shine vs. Star Hotshots to turn back Blackwater, 98-91, arresting a four-game slump.

The much-needed victory Friday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum kept TNT’s chances of advancing to the playoffs alive in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup. Matt Ganuelas-Rosser came off the bench to lead the way for Talk ‘N Text. He barely missed a double-double with a game-high 21 points, on a scorching 7-of-9 shooting to go with nine rebounds. Larry Fonacier also had a nice game of his own with 20 points. The two wingmen were key in the Texters’ triumph.

Trailing for the entirety of the first three periods, Talk ‘N Text flexed its championship muscle in the payoff period, opening up with a key 9-2 run in the first four minutes of the final frame to take the driver’s seat for the first time. They established a 79-73 advantage after Kelly Williams’ basket with 8:08 remaining.

There was no let up for the experienced Tropang Texters from then on as they took good care of their lead.

They held several eight-point leads along the way and beat back the challenge the Elite. Talk ‘N Text outscored Blackwater, 28-20, late in the game.

B1

SATURDAY: JUNE 13, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

MetroPac seeks Calax partner

By Darwin G. Amojelar

CONGLOMERATE Metro Pacific Investments Corp. may sell at least 20 percent of its equity in the new tollway unit that will operate the Cavite Laguna Expressway project.

“If anything, minimum, I suppose, is about 20 percent,” MPIC chairman Manuel Pangilinan said, when asked if the company was willing to share stake in the unit.

MPCala Holdings Inc., a unit of MPIC, which won the P35.4billion Calax project, was search-

ing for a partner to develop the four-lane, 47-kilometer closedsystem toll expressway connecting Manila-Cavite Expressway and South Luzon Expressway.

The Public Works Department on Monday awarded the Calax Expressway project to MPCala, which submitted the top offer

during the government’s second attempt to bid out the project.

MPCala submitted a premium bid of P27.3 billion for the 47-kilometer toll road, beating the P22.2-billion offer by San Miguel Corp.’s Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc. The Public Works Department said MPCala had until June 29 to comply with all the requirements in the notice of award. Contract signing is scheduled on June 29.

Construction period would cover July 2016 to July 2020, while operations and maintenance would be from July 2020 to July

2050.

The expressway will start from Cavitex in Kawit, Cavite and end at the SLEX-Mamplasan Interchange in Biñan, Laguna.

The Public Works Department set a P20.105-billion minimum premium for the project, the offer of OIDI during the first attempt to bid out the project.

President Benigno Aquino III ordered a rebidding of the project, after the department disqualified OIDI on technicality, despite submitting the highest bid.

Ayala Corp. and Aboitiz Group, which emerged as the second highest bidder in the first auction,

did not participate in the second bidding.

Other DPWH projects under PPP that had been awarded were the P15.5-billion NAIA Expressway and the P1.96-billion Daang Hari-SLEX Link.

The government is also bidding out the P122.8-billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project, which aims to provide a highstandard highway to speed up traffic between the southern part of Metro Manila and Laguna, as well as a dike that would mitigate flooding in the western coastal communities along Laguna Lake.

PSe comPoSite index Closing June 11, 2015

7800 7500 7200 6900 6600 6300

7,503.72 119.45

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing JUNE 11, 2015 47

P45.150

46

CLOSE

45 44 43

HIGH P44.970 LOW P45.150 AVERAGE P45.039 VOLUME 683.900M

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Apec in Bataan. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation senior finance officials meeting closes with a firmer Cebu Action Plan, on the back of broad-based support from economies across the region on the CAP’s 4 pillars: financial integration, fiscal transparency and reforms, financial resiliency, and infrastructure development and financing. Shown are the senior finance officials from across the Asia Pacific with the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar heritage resort in the background.

P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene P23.70-P24.40 Auto LPG

PSA says country’s rice stocks sufficient for 93 days

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Thursday, June 11, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

44.9660

Japan

Yen

0.008154

0.3667

UK

Pound

1.553300

69.8457

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128979

5.7997

Switzerland

Franc

1.073537

48.2727

Canada

Dollar

0.815528

36.6710

Singapore

Dollar

0.745490

33.5217

Australia

Dollar

0.775615

34.8763

Bahrain

Dinar

2.652309

119.2637

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266681

11.9916

Brunei

Dollar

0.742721

33.3972

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000075

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.029718

1.3363

UAE

Dirham

0.272257

12.2423

Euro

Euro

1.132900

50.9420

Korea

Won

0.000902

0.0406

China

Yuan

0.161132

7.2455

India

Rupee

0.015674

0.7048

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.267917

12.0472

New Zealand

Dollar

0.718804

Taiwan

Dollar

0.032411

32.3217 1.4574 Source: PDS Bridge

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales THE Philippines has sufficient rice stocks for three months, but the government authorized the importation of more rice from Asian countries to prepare for the lean season this year.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that as of May 1 this year, rice stocks reached 3.17 million metric tons, up by 25.7 percent from 2.52 million MT recorded in the same period last year.

PSA said of the total inventory, around 47 percent were with the households, 33.7 percent in commercial warehouses and 19.3 per-

cent in National Food Authority depositories.

Rice stocks in households increased 18.6 percent while those in commercial warehouses grew by 33 percent.

Rice stock in NFA depositories also increased by 25.9 percent.

PSA said stocks in the households would be sufficient for 44 days while stocks in commercial warehouses would be enough for 31 days. Stocks in NFA depositories would be sufficient for 18 days.

NFA earlier approved the importation of 250,000 MT of rice (25 percent brokens) under a government-to-government procurement mode.

The government failed to secure the whole volume during the auction, as Vietnam, the lowest bidder, only offered to supply 150,000 metric tons.

NFA said the 150,000 metric tons will arrive not later than July 15 this year.

“The NFA Council will decide if we will pursue another round of bidding whether it’s still government-to-government or international bidding. The 150,000 metric tons will arrive on July 15 while the remaining volume should arrive on Aug. 15,” said NFA deputy administrator for marketing operation and chairman of bids and awards commit-

tee Joseph Dela Cruz.

NFA said the Philippines would import another 250,000 MT if the El Niño weather phenomenon reduced rice production, depending on the recommendation of the food security committee to the NFA Council.

The food security committee is headed by the National Economic and Development Authority. The members are the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Finance, Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomic Services Administration, Philippine Statistics Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, National Irrigation Administration, Agriculture Department and the NFA.

SATURDAY: JUNE 13, 2015

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

BROMLEY

Philam appoints Bromley as CEO SM Savings awards. The SM Savings and Loan Association Inc. recently received the SLAI of the Year award in the Group A category (with

assets P300 million and above) during the 24th national convention of the Confederation of Non-Stock Savings and Loan Associations Inc. at the Taal Vista Hotel. Shown are (from left) Consla president Ricardo Nolasco Jr.; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas managing director Chuchi Fonacier; SM Retail executive vice president for controllership and Consla 2015 National Convention chairman Ricky Lim (right); SM Mart Inc. president Chelo Monasterio (fourth from left) and the SM SLA Team. The SM SLA also received an Award of Excellence in Asset Management, an Award of Excellence in Profitability and Growth, as well as an Award of Merit (second Runner Up) in Debt Utilization and Stability, all in the Group A category.

Inflation remains manageable—BSP

By Julito G. Rada

INFLATION will remain manageable in 2015 and 2016 despite the impact of the El Niño phenomenon, which is seen to linger for the rest of the year, monetary authorities said.

In the highlights of the meeting held on May 14 and released later this week, the policy-setting Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said inflation would continue to remain low despite the risks to consumer prices.

“The latest baseline inflation forecasts continued to indicate that inflation will likely settle in the lower half of the 2 to 4 percent target range for both 2015 and 2016,” the board said.

“The distribution of risks to the baseline inflation forecast continues to be broadly bal-

anced. Pending petitions for utility rate adjustments and the potential power shortages are seen to pose upside risks to the baseline inflation forecasts,” the board said.

Meanwhile, it said downside risks were linked mainly to possible slower-than-expected global economic activity, which could further drive international oil prices downward.

The inflation average forecasts for 2015 and 2016 were slightly increased due to the threat of lingering El Niño phenomenon until December this year.

The average inflation forecast for 2015 was changed to 2.3 percent from the 2.2 percent estimate made during the March board meeting. Likewise, the forecast for 2016 was increased to 2.6 percent from 2.5 percent.

Inflation in May this year further decelerated to 1.6 percent from 2.2 percent in April, the slowest in 20 years. It was also significantly slower than the 4.5 percent in May 2014.

This brought the average inflation in the first five months of the year to 2.2 percent, well within the target range of 2 percent to 4

Salceda cites gains, vows transformation of Albay LEGAZPI CITY--Albay has significantly liberated itself from helplessness and self-pity and freed itself from debilitating hopelessness, and resolved to march on with determination to progress.

“Through competitiveness and excellence, we are freed from mediocrity; through vision we become free from helplessness; and through social cohesion and community cooperation, we become free from loneliness in the globalizing yet impersonalistic world,” Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said, reporting on the gains of his administration during the June 12 Philippine Independence Day celebration here.

“These freedoms are in the same platform as freedom from ignorance, freedom from the debilitating threats of climate change, freedom from sickness and freedom from inequal-

ity,” the ills that stalled the province’s development in the past, Salceda said The gains were achieved under a new paradigm that underpins Albay’s transformation over the past eight years, the proofs of which include overwhelming gains in disaster risk reduction, early realization of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, most especially in agriculture, health, education and tourism.

Under Salceda, Albay received various national and international recognitions: three Gawad Kalasag Awards and a Hall of Fame niche from the National Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Council, two Galing Pook Awards, and a Gawad Pamana ng Lahi Award as best province for three consecutive years from the Department of Interior and Local Government.

percent this year.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said the Monetary Board would consider the development during its next meeting on June 25 to see if there was a need to adjust the stance of monetary policy.

During the Monetary Board’s meeting on May 14, the key policy rates of 4 percent for overnight borrowing and 6 percent for overnight lending were kept steady for the fifth time since October last year on the back of a manageable inflation environment.

The last time the board changed the policy rates was on Sept. 11 last year, when overnight borrowing was increased 25 basis points to 4 percent and overnight lending upped by 25 basis points to 6 percent.

The Bangko Sentral had set an inflation rate target of 2 percent to 4 percent for 2015 to 2018. These targets were lower than the 2014 goal of 3 percent to 5 percent.

Inflation last year averaged at 4.1 percent, slightly above the mid-point of the target range of 3 percent to 5 percent in 2014.

PHILIPPINE American Life and General Insurance Co., or Philam Life, announced the election of J. Axel Bromley as its new chief executive officer effective June 1, 2015, subject to regulatory approvals.

Bromley brings rich global experience to the role, after spending over 20 years of working in Eastern Europe, South and Central America, the Middle East and the Indian SubContinent. He also has more than 13 years of experience in the insurance industry, previously as general manager/ country manager in Nepal, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Ukraine.

Bromley was director of strategic initiatives at AIA Group, Philam Life’s parent company, which is the largest independent publicly listed panAsian life insurance group with presence in 18 markets in AsiaPacific.

AIA considers the Philippines as a high priority market, taking into consideration the country’s booming economy and investor confidence. High expectations are also placed on its local subsidiary, Philam Life, to take advantage of the huge potential of the booming market and continue its strong financial performance.

Philam Life’s total assets stood at P226.8 billion and net worth at P85.2 billion at the end of 2014.

Total revenues stood at P35.2 billion, including gross premiums of P18.6 billion and investment income of P12.5 billion.

Franchise Asia expo.

Philippine Seven Corp., the local licensee of world-leading convenience store chain brand 7-Eleven, will be offering its highly competitive franchise packages to would-be investors who want to join the growing community of successful franchisees at the Franchise Asia Philippines Expo 2015 at the SMX Convention Center on June 12-14. Offered in flexible options, potential partners can avail of new store franchise or lease offers (convert an established business or properties into a 7-Eleven store).

SATURDAY: JUNE 13, 2015

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

Import pre-inspection pushed

By Other V. Campos

THE Federation of the Philippine Industries has backed the proposal of of former Customs commissioner Titus Villanueva to implement the modified selectivity system and preshipment inspection of imports from the port of origin to reduce graft and corruption at the Bureau of Customs.

FPI chairman Jesus Aranza agrees with former Commissioner that the solution to rampant corruption and technical smuggling was to minimize human intervention.

Aranza said the selectivity system and the pre-shipment inspection of imports under the Comprehensive Import

Supervision Scheme would complement one another to minimize human intervention at Customs.

FPI suspected that the P200 billion in revenue losses due to smuggling operations could even be higher than as reported.

“Among the reforms already undertaken, the SS and CISS were

very effective in reducing graft and corruption but, for one reason or another, they did not last long; the SS because the accredited importers lost interest in the system and CISS because the system was costly,” Arranza said.

The selectivity scheme involves the classification of importers according to the channel where their shipments pass through.

Honest or green importers will have their importations pass through the green channel where physical examination of the cargoes and checks of import documents are no longer required.

The other importers or red importers whose shipments pass through the red channel are subject to all the Customs import requirements, such as physical

examination of the cargoes, rigid verification of import documents, Customs alerting system, preaudit of import entry declarations and other forms of safety check.

Green importers comprise 80 percent while red importers account for 20 percent of the total shippers in the Philippines.

Some importers lost interest in being accredited as green because their shipments still pass through the Customs personnel before the release, thus resulting in bribe or facilitation money.

Under the CISS now known as ISS, only shipments of red importers are subject to the scheme. The smaller import coverage will justify its revival because of lower cost Importations under ISS were graft-and-corrupt free as proven before.

Lafarge citation. The Lafarge Republic Group received the Gold Award in advocacy marketing from the Philippine Association of National Advertisers. The campaign ‘Building Back Better’ stood out in the Single Medium, Public Relations category for its innovative and comprehensive approach to post-disaster reconstruction. Shown during the awarding ceremony at the InterContinental Hotel Manila on May 29.are (from left) PANA director Digna Santos, Lafarge Cement Services Inc. vice president for communications Cirilo Pestaño, LCSPI VP for marketing Victor Janolino, LCSPI marketing manager Malou Yap, LCSPI communications manager Myle Macalam and Philippine Star VP for sales and marketing Lucien Dy Tioco.

PSALM offers to resolve Mindanao coal impasse

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Energy Department and Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. have come up with a compromise that will finally pave the way for the selection and appointment of an independent administrator of the 200-megawatt Mindanao coal fired power plant.

Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla told reporters PSALM made a counter offer after he called for a suspension of the bidding for the Mindanao coal contracts.

“In our discussion, they made a counter offer. They want to push through [with the privatization] but lock in [the price] for two to three years,” Petilla said.

Petilla wants to suspend or delay the privatization of the Mindanao coal contracts because it will push up power rates. The bidding is scheduled on September 23.

The Mindanao coal plant was constructed in 2006 with a 25year power purchase agreement under a build-operate-transfer scheme that ends in 2031. Steag State Power Inc. operates the coal plant.

Petilla said there was no other supplier aside from Steag.

Cooperatives, thus, will be forced to accept the price of the winning independent power producer administrator.

“The rates will be the existing contracts with Steag. The rates will not go up under the lock in period,” Petilla said.

“What I’m saying is hold the privatization so that consumers will not be burdened until such time that at least the power plants of Aboitiz and Alsons are up and running,” he said earlier.

Petilla earlier wanted the Mindanao coal plant contracts to be privatized by 2016, or when the power projects of Aboitiz Power Corp., Alsons Power Corp. and San Miguel Corp. are completed.

Petilla said he understood the position of PSALM, which merely wants to generate privatization proceeds to settle its debts.

PSALM manages the assets and liabilities of National Power Corp.

PSALM officer-in-charge Lourdes Alzona confirmed the agency submitted the proposal for the two- to three-year lock in

period with the department.

“We will still present the additional terms to our board.

Then we will inform all bidders through supplemental bid bulletin,” Alzona said.

PSALM said 12 prospective bidders had expressed interest on the Mindanao coal administrator contracts These are Conal Holdings Corp., FDC Davao Del Norte Power Corp., FirstGen Northern Power Corp., GDF Suez Energy Philippines Inc., Masinloc Power Partners Co. Ltd., Meralco Powergen Corp., Nexif Pte Ltd., SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., SPC Power Corp., Team (Philippines) Energy Corp., Therma Southern Mindanao Inc. and Vivant Energy Corp.

2 more firms get warning from SEC

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Securities and Exchange Commission has cautioned the public from investing and dealing in two companies that are not authorized to sell and solicit investments from the public.

The corporate regulator in separate advisories posted on its Web site warned the public against investing in Goldxtreme Trading Co. and J79 Galore Online Marketing.

The SEC said it received reports Goldxtreme was soliciting funds from the public in the form of investments in the amount of P5,000 per slot with a promise return of P24,450 each.

Goldxtreme is registered with the corporate regulator to engage in the sale of products like gold jewelry and other products such as fashion accessories, cellphone loads, prepaid-cards, scents and other products.

The company, however, is not authorized to solicit investments from the public.

“In view thereof, the public is hereby advised to exercise self restraint from investing their money to such high-yield risk investment scheme and to take necessary precautions in dealing with Goldxtreme and its representatives,” the SEC said.

It said it also received reports that certain individuals were recruiting people to invest in J79 Galore, where an investment of P3,000 can turn into P15,000 by merely recruiting people.

The SEC said J79 was not registered with the corporate regulator as a corporation or as a partnership.

“There being no primary license, it is likewise not authorized to solicit investments which require a secondary license as provided under Section 8.1 of the Securities Regulation Code,” the SEC said.

Meanwhile, the SEC reiterated the cease and desist order it issued against MetisEtrade Inc. in May remained valid.

The SEC said it received information that MetisEtrade was still selling unregistered securities in the form of foreign currency trading and commodities future contracts.

MetisEtrade has claimed to be the only online foreign exchange company in the Philippines that is regulated and accredited by the SEC and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

MetisEtrade said its business activities were within the bounds of its primary and secondary purposes of acting as a foreign exchange dealer or money changer, as well engaging in the business of online foreign currency and spot precious metals trading to the public.

SATURDAY: JUNE 13, 2015

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

Resorts World award.

Resorts World Manila was recently recognized by the Rotary Club of Manila for its contribution to Philippine tourism as a worldclass integrated hotel and gaming resort, as well as a venue for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions. The award was accepted by RWM president and chief executive Kingson Sian (second from left) during the 11th RCM Tourism Awards held at the New World Hotel in Makati City.

Handing the award are (from left) RCM president Frank Evaristo, Rotary Tourism awards chairman Robert Joseph and former president Rodolfo Bediones.

IN BRIEF

Hyundai cuts output HYUNDAI Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Motors Corp. are reducing production after sales fell at the two Korean carmakers.

Hyundai cut output at its Asan plant in South Korea by 25 percent on May 28 and 29, while Kia reduced working hours at its China business this month, the companies said in a joint e-mail on Friday. They didn’t provide further specifics on Kia’s reduction.

The Seoul-based automakers have posted declining vehicle sales as unfavorable currency-exchange rates undermine their ability to compete against the likes of Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. Earlier this week, Hyundai and Kia said they were making efforts to cut costs after first-quarter operating profit declined.

“The production cuts are to flexibly adjust the plants’ production to market demand,” the companies said.

Hyundai fell 1.5 percent to 136,000 won at the close in Seoul trading. Kia was unchanged, while South Korea’s benchmark Kospi index declined 0.2 percent. Hyundai shares have dropped 20 percent this year, in contrast to the 7.1 percent gain in the Kospi.

A stronger won and a weaker yen have given Hyundai’s Japanese rivals a competitive edge in overseas markets. Last week, the Korean carmaker said domestic and overseas sales declined for a second consecutive month in May. Bloomberg

Greece needs deal GREECE needs to clinch a deal with its EUIMF creditors at a eurozone meeting on June 18 to prevent it from defaulting on its debt, two ministers said on Friday, a day after the IMF pulled its team out of the negotiations.

Defence Minister Panos Kammenos said in an interview with Mega channel that a deal “will come about by June 18 or never”.

Minister of State Alekos Flambouraris, a close associate of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, told state television ERT: “I hope (an agreement) comes very soon, on June 18, when the Eurogroup convenes.”

Athens stocks slumped four percent at open as optimism a day earlier for an imminent deal evaporated.

Greece needs to find 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) to repay to the International Monetary Fund by the end of the month.

It therefore needs to clinch a deal to unlock 7.2 billion euros in bailout funds by the end of June before its current EU-IMF rescue programme expires, leaving the cash-strapped country with no means of support against a looming default.

Kammenos—whose populist Independent Greeks party is the junior government coalition partner and is not involved in the talks—said Friday the IMF payment would not be made if the talks founder.

“If a solution is not found by the end of the month, we will not pay the IMF,” he said. AFP

Samsung defied THE manager of the world’s secondlargest pension fund is siding with billionaire shareholder activist Paul Elliott Singer in his fight against Samsung Group.

Builder Samsung C&T Corp. burned a bridge with investors when it agreed this week to sell treasury shares to an ally to win support for a $9-billion merger, said Park YooKyung, a director at APG Groep NV. Though APG owns only 0.3 percent of C&T, it has influence given it manages more than 432 billion euros ($485 billion) of assets.

Treasury stock is “not to be used as ammunition to protect controlling shareholders’ control in the upcoming succession,” Park, director of sustainability and governance at APG’s Asian asset management arm in Hong Kong, said in a Thursday interview. “Are they listening to shareholders’ concerns? They burned the bridge.”

Park said APG will vote against the offer from Samsung’s de facto holding company, joining Singer’s Elliott Associates LP in defying the controlling Lee family. The Lees have much riding on the deal as they seek to solidify control over South Korea’s largest conglomerate amid a once-in-a-generation leadership transition. Bloomberg

Small Asian firms tapping online tools BUSINESSES from Vietnam to the Philippines are turning small budgets and traffic jams to their advantage by harnessing employees’ familiarity with online platforms to exploit the latest and cheapest technologies to boost productivity.

A Microsoft-backed survey found small and medium firms in emerging economies in the Asia Pacific embracing tools such as Skype, Dropbox and Whatsapp more readily than their peers in advanced nations.

Vietnam and the Philippines topped the region in using four or five such online tools, including e-mail, social networking, file sharing, document collaboration and virtual meetings, according to the survey of 10 coun-

tries excluding China and India.

Of the 2,000 respondents from small and medium-sized businesses, about 80 percent from Vietnam and the Philippines said they used four or five of these tools, compared with 35 percent in Australia and 40 percent in Taiwan.

A company in Vietnam may use Skype for video conferences because it’s cheaper and because their employees are already comfortable using it with their

families, while a firm in Taiwan may stick to conventional calls because it’s invested in a conference bridge or has security policies against using open networks, it said.

Another reason could be the traffic gridlocks in cities such as Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok, which makes it imperative for employees to be able to work more easily on the go.

“It could be that it’s the state of development of the country, it could be that certain countries have more norms for certain types of meetings than others,’’ said James Eyring, chief operating officer of Singapore-based Organisation Solutions, which collaborated with Microsoft on the study.

“They’re much more flex-

ible, and much more willing” to try and use new technologies in emerging economies, he said.

The survey was part of the New World of Work Index created by Microsoft this year, which surveys how much respondents feel their employers enable them to be productive, collaborative and innovative, while still ensuring their personal well-being. Indonesia and the Philippines topped the list, with Taiwan coming in last.

Simply being able to work on the go more easily doesn’t mean productivity is automatically boosted as a result. Vietnam ranked 68 out of 144 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index for 2014-15, while Singapore placed second and Taiwan was 14th. Bloomberg

Asian currencies drop on stock outflows, MERS risk ASIAN currencies dropped, led by the Philippine peso, as funds pulled money from emerging markets on signs the US is moving closer to raising interest rates.

Overseas investors sold a net $1.5 billion of stocks in Taiwan, South Korea and India since June 5, exchange data show.

The Federal Reserve reviews borrowing costs next week as data suggests the world’s largest economy is emerging from a first- quarter slowdown. The Bank of Korea said the spread of Middle East respiratory syndrome posed a threat to con-

sumption as it cut its benchmark rate to a record low on Thursday.

“Expectations for a US rate hike are weighing on the region and we’re seeing outflows,” said Stella Lee, president of Success Wealth Management Ltd. in Hong Kong. “The MERS outbreak could also hurt economic growth in Asia.”

The peso fell 0.6 percent this week through Thursday, with local markets shut Friday for a public holiday, prices from the Bankers Association of the Philippines show.

Malaysia’s ringgit weakened 0.5 percent as of 10:33 a.m. in

Kuala Lumpur and Indonesia’s rupiah fell 0.4 percent.

The Philippine currency closed at the weakest level since March 2014 on Thursday as data from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas showed there were $569 million of net portfolio outflows last month, compared with $31 million in April. The peso is market- determined and the monetary authority is comfortable with that, Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in an interview in Manila on Wednesday.

The won rose 0.1 percent from June 5, after dropping 2.3

percent over the previous three weeks. The MERS outbreak has killed 10 South Koreans and put more than 3,000 in quarantine in more than three weeks.

MERS is now the biggest variable to Korea’s economic outlook, BOK Governor Lee Ju Yeol said Thursday, as he flagged the chance of a reduction in the country’s 2015 economic growth forecast of 3.1 percent.

The BOK is “watching the data in a wait-and-see mood and will respond to the situation as necessary,” said Sim Moh Siong, a currency strategist at Bank of Singapore Ltd. Bloomberg

S At u r d Ay : J u N E 1 3 , 2 0 1 5

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cESAr bArrioquiNto EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

world

Jazz artist Ornette Coleman dies at 85 NEW YORK—Groundbreaking jazz artist Ornette Coleman, who brushed aside convention with his prophetically titled 1959 album “The Shape of Jazz to Come,” died Thursday aged 85.

The saxophonist and composer, who so polarized early audiences that many would walk out from his performances, died of cardiac arrest in his adopted home of New York, his publicist Ken Weinstein said.

Coleman, along with John Coltrane, was one of the original forces behind so-called “free jazz” that broke down traditional structures of harmony and allowed a more free-flowing form of expression.

Best known as an alto saxophonist, Coleman cast away traditional notions that a musician needed to stay within chord progressions and instead pursued solos that detractors considered chaotic but gradually became commonplace in jazz and rock.

Coleman said that jazz needed to “express more feelings than it has up to now,” adding that chord structures were confining and unnatural.

Instead, the self-taught musician said jazz should be a form of human communication.

“The idea is that two or three people can have a conversation with sounds, without trying to dominate it or lead it,” Coleman said in a 1997 interview with the French philosopher Jacques Derrida.

“What I mean is that you have to be intelligent,” he said.

“I think the musicians are trying to reassemble an emotional or intellectual puzzle, in any case a puzzle in which the instruments give the tone.”

“The Shape of Jazz to Come” stunned the jazz world, with leading artists including Miles Davis among the critics.

Not only did Coleman defy the concepts of harmony with his saxophone playing, the album lacked any piano or guitar, so often used to keep the songs together through chords. AFP

A tourist in Cairo. A tourist visits the Egyptian Museum in the capital Cairo on June 3, 2015. The foiled attack on the ancient Karnak temple in the southern town of Luxor on June 11 is a blow to the efforts by Egypt to woo back tourists and revive an industry that has been badly hit by four years of unrest and militants attacks on security forces. AFP

Debt deal without IMF seen as ‘unimaginable’ THE HAGUE—Eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem said Friday that a bailout deal for cash-strapped Greece without the IMF’s involvement would be “unimaginable”.

Without the International Monetary Fund, a deal is “unimaginable because it needs to have proper content and if it has proper content, the IMF will also participate,” Dijsselbloem told journalists in The Hague, a day after the Fund pulled its team out of talks with Athens.

The IMF on Thursday withdrew from eleventh-hour talks in Brussels, saying an agreement re-

mained far-off after a five-month stalemate with Greece’s anti-austerity government, which faces being unable to pay huge debts at the end of the month.

“There are still major differences between us in most key areas,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice later told reporters in Washington, adding no progress in narrowing difference has been made.

“Thus we are well away from an agreement,” he said.

But Dijsselbloem said: “If the IMF walks out – which they won’t I’m sure, then part of the program’s financing will be gone and then we no longer have a base.”

“The IMF’s involvement is indispensable,” said Dijsselbloem, who is also the Dutch finance minister.

The IMF has said the “ball is very much in Greece’s court right now” while adding that it “never leaves the table and remains engaged.”

It said the key disagreements were on pensions, taxes and financing.

The Greek government, for its part, said Thursday it would “intensify” efforts to resolve differences with its creditors, “including in the next 24 hours”.

The IMF is the most hardline of Greece’s three bailout monitors -- the others being the European Commission and European Central Bank -- who have demanded tough reforms in exchange for unlocking the remaining 7.2 billion euros ($8.1 billion) of its 240-billion-euro rescue package.

Without fresh external funding when the bailout expires on June 30, cash-strapped Greece is set to default on its debts, meaning it could crash out of the eurozone despite benefiting from two international bailouts since 2010.

The crisis is now set to go to the wire with a Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers in Luxembourg on June 18 seen as the last chance to seal a deal in time to get it through national parliaments by the end of the month.

Dijsselbloem said the meeting “is set, whether we’ll be able to talk about a concept agreement or not.”

“I do think it’s in Greece’s interest to get an agreement, but currently it’s not hurrying along,” he said. AFP

South Korea reports 11th MERS death

Joint exercise. Dutch soldiers of the Air Brigade depart for Poland

from Eindhoven Airport on June 12 for the first joint exercise of the Very High Readiness Task Force of the NATO. Some 2,100 soldiers from nine countries will take part in the exercise. AFP

SEOUL—South Korea Friday reported its 11th death from Middle East Respiratory Syndrome or MERS, but health officials urged people to go about their day-to-day lives as normal, saying the rate of new cases was slowing.

In what has become the largest outbreak of the virus outside Saudi Arabia, a 72-year-old woman died Friday after being infected by a MERS patient at a hospital, the health ministry said.

The number of new cases, however, fell to four, down from 14 the previous day and 13 on Wednesday, bringing to 126 the

total number of people in South Korea diagnosed with the virus.

Currently, 3,680 people are under quarantine, down from 3,805 the previous day. A total of 1,249 people have been released from quarantine, including 294 on Friday.

“The number of newly confirmed cases has fallen sharply and there are little risks of the virus spreading through airborne transmissions or to communities outside hospital settings”, the ministry said in a statement.

“Therefore, we ask the people to conquer their fear and engage

in day-to-day business”, it said.

On Thursday, the outbreak forced the central Bank of Korea to cut its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points as the spread of the virus dampened already weak consumer sentiment.

Businesses including shopping malls, restaurants and cinemas have reported a sharp drop in sales as people shun public venues with large crowds.

More than 54,000 foreign travelers have canceled planned trips to South Korea so far this month, according to the Korea Tourism Board. AFP

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

WORLD

cesar barrioquinto EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Fighting IS propaganda online SYDNEY—In a small room close by the Sydney Opera House, 60 people representing a vast range of communities and industries are working feverishly to come up with ways to combat the Islamic State group’s online propaganda machine.

The extremists’ ideology and use of social media has struck a chord with thousands of youngsters across the world, drawing them to fight in Iraq and Syria or show support from their home countries.

The United States and its allies have struggled to counter the digitally savvy group, but a pair of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs are leading a grassroots-charge to take on IS in cyberspace, travelling around the world to host hackathon challenges.

The latest hackathon competition the fourth in the past five months is being held alongside a two-day countering violent extremism conference in

Australia’s biggest city, attended by high-level officials and experts and opened by Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

The anti-extremism meeting is taking an in-depth look at how IS which controls large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria reaches out to youths, with technology giants Facebook, Twitter and Google joining the more than 30 participating countries in hashing out solutions.

Almost 25,000 foreign fighters from over 100 countries were involved in jihadi conflicts worldwide, a recent United Nations report said, with many headed for Iraq and Syria. Some of those

making the journey include teenage boys and girls.

The hackathon is designed to take an additional approach to countering IS. “We marry innovation and the national security sector, with Silicon Valley ethos and start-up models to try and create very new, fast-paced, highenergy (projects),” said hackathon organizer Quintan Wiktorowicz, who was US President Barack Obama’s senior adviser for countering violent extremism from 2011 to 2013.

“No single prototype is a silver bullet to stop ISIS radicalization.

But it’s the ecosystem that we’re building by running these (hackathons) globally and connecting the networks all the time,” he told AFP, using another term for IS. “Over five years, it can be a game changer, it can have strategy impact.”

The projects being developed do not have to address radicalization head on, but are meant to focus on the root causes of why young people choose to leave home, such as feeling disconnected from local communities.

Hackathon competitors are drawn from across industries and communities that may not normally interact with each other, with a goal to go beyond the talking shop labels usually slapped on conferences and come up with concrete programs that can turn a profit.

At a three-day “Haqqathon” a variation on the word hackathon using the Arabic word “haqq”, which means truth in Abu Dhabi in April, the people’s choice award went to “Marhubba”, an app which helps young Muslims tap into Islamic scholarship to answer questions about sex and intimacy. AFP

The queen in Milan. Queen Mathilde of Belgium visits the Universal

Exhibition 2015 (Expo Milano 2015 or World Exposition 2015) in Milan on June 12. The exhibition runs from May 1st, 2015 to October 31, 2015 on the theme Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life. AFP

Felipe VI Vladimir the Great causes an outcry in Moscow strips his sister of her title MADRID—Spain’s King Felipe VI has issued a decree stripping his sister Princess Cristina of her title as Duchess of Palma, the palace announced Thursday, as the royal sibling faces tax evasion charges in a scandal that has embarrassed the monarchy.

“The Official Journal of the state will tomorrow (Friday) publish a royal decree by which His Majesty the King will revoke the use of the title of Duchess of Palma de Mallorca

by Her Royal Highness the Infanta Cristina,” the palace said in a statement.

Cristina, 49, stands accused of taking part in tax evasion by her husband, the former Olympic handball player Inaki Urdangarin.

A judge ruled in December that she must stand trial on two counts of accessory to tax fraud, making her the first member of the Spanish royal family to be sent to the dock. No date has been set for her trial.

Both Cristina and Urdangarin have suffered a dramatic fall from grace since they married in 1997 in a lavish ceremony in Barcelona and were bestowed the titles of Duke and Duchess of Palma by Felipe’s father, king Juan Carlos, who unexpectedly abdicated last year. AFP

MOSCOW—Scaffolding surrounds the vast clay sculpture-in-progress inside a warehouse on Moscow’s outskirts, yet already the statue of Vladimir the Great has caused an outcry as big as the monument itself.

The 78-foot high likeness of the man who brought Christianity to Kievan Rus the forerunner of modern Russia and Ukraine is set to tower over the capital, the latest potent symbol in a surge of patriotism taking hold in Russia.

Prince Vladimir is revered as

a saint by the Russian Orthodox Church and a hero by others, including the noted sculptor of the work, Salavat Shcherbakov. But not all Moscow agrees. ”Vladimir is our founding father,” Shcherbakov told AFP, comparing the 10th-century leader to America’s George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. ”He’s a figure whom the people, the country, can rely on. And he is important right now,” he said, working on the ornate robes as Vladimir

looms above, right hand raised high ready to hold a cross.

The final, cast bronze is scheduled for installation in September on a prime spot called Sparrow Hills, overlooking all of Moscow and where all of Moscow will see Vladimir.

But the choice has proved so divisive it may be changed.

In a flurry of public anger, more than 59,000 people joined an online petition against the planned location, one of the city’s best-loved viewpoints high above Moscow’s center.

Several thousand students and staff at the nearby Moscow State University also signed an open letter to President Vladimir Putin opposing the statue.

Even some of the leather clad bikers who roar up to Sparrow Hills each evening are not happy.

“Who is this statue for? I think it’s totally inappropriate here,” said Sergei Govinov, two gold crosses dangling on his tanned chest. “Where are we going to meet now?” AFP

Waiting game. Syrian refugees wait near the Turkish border in Akcakale in the Sanliurfa province not far from the Syrian border town of Tal Abyad

on June 12. Turkey said it was taking measures to limit the flow of Syrian refugees onto its territory after an influx of thousands more over the last days due to the fighting between Kurds and jihadists. Under an “open-door” policy, Turkey has taken in 1.8 million Syrian refugees since the conflict in Syria erupted in 2011. AFP

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PROPERTY jdlacsamana@gmail.com

JOEL D. L ACSAMANA EDITOR

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THE “JOY” BRIGADE.

Employees of Mondelez Philippines recently took part at Brigada Eskwela events at Paulina Manalo Elementary School in Pateros; Bayanan Main Elementary School in Muntinlupa; and General Vicente Lim Elementary School in Tondo, part of their company’s annual partnership to ensure that public school facilities were ready for the opening of classes. The fiveyear “Joy Brigade” of employees trooped to their adopted Joy Schools bringing Kraft Foods products, e.g. Tang, Eden Cheese, Cheez Whiz, Oreo cookies, Tiger energy biscuits, and Toblerone and Cadbury dairy milk chocolates They also teamed up with various communities to whip up fire preparedness posters, improve gardens and spruce up school rooms. “It was refreshing to see our peers and bosses roll up their sleeves and get dirty,” recounted Mic Guiterrez, a “Joy” force leader.

“We may have brought “Joy” to the schools, but I think the schools brought more joy to us.”

CAN’T ARGUE WITH SUCCESS. Here’s one weighty tome which could double as a conversation piece and handy research tool on Philippine construction for any coffee table. DATEM Incorporated recently launched a commemorative book to highlight it’s 30 years in the construction industry at The Mind Museum in Bonifacio Global City. “Storeys of Success” creatively wings through Datem’s success story, history, core values, projects, and people who contributed to it’s gravitas as one of the country’s leading construction firms, with a portfolio of projects that range from lowrise institutional buildings, to high-rise offices and condominiums, to industrial parks. At the book launch were (from left to right) : Levy Espiritu, president of DATEM Inc., Morris Agoncillo, vice president for engineering and Arnold de Asis, vice president for operations.

PROPERTY STAKEHOLDERS, REGULATORS TO HOLD JULY SUMMIT

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he Organization of Property Stakeholders Inc. (TOPS), in partnership with the Land Registration Authority (LRA), will hold its 2nd TOPS-LRA Summit on July 28 2015 at the Fairmont Hotel in Makati City.

Players and regulators alike in the local property scene will take stock of gains made last year, and come up with solutions to meet future challenges. With the theme of “Measuring Our Gains and Meeting the Challenges Ahead”, the Summit aims to address common concerns in the real estate industry.

To be discussed will be Uniform Loan and Mortgage Agreement and the Movable Collateral Registry, eTitling, the Housing Industry Roadmap and the Multiplier Effect, the Impact of Climate Change and Natural disasters on the Property Sector, and Prospects and Challenges in the Real Estate Industry, among others.

Keynote speakers include Secretary Arsenio Balisacan of the Socio-Economic and Planning Department and NEDA Executive Director and BSP Deputy Governor

Nestor Espenilla. Other Speakers will be Dr. Mahar Lagmay of Project Noah, Dr. Renato Solidum, Jr. of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, bankers, brokers, subdivision and housing Developers. LRA Administrator Hon. Eulalio C. Diaz III, other LRA officials and TOPS officials headed by president, Michael Jansen T. Abella, and Summit Chairman, Atty. Rodolfo B. Fernandez, will also join in the discussions..

TOPS counts among its members and officials real estate developers and brokers, banks and other financial institutions, and government agencies involved in the multi-billion peso property sector. It seeks to develop cooperation among its member organizations and the government for improvement in property registration processes and other matters involving real estate, chattel and other property transactions.

Interested participants may register for a slot via topsinc.ph. Alternatively, contact Ms. Pauline Nepomuceno at 09369516038 or email topsinc@yahoo.com.

REBUILDING FOR THE FUTURE. Fiber cement technology purveyor James Hardie recently partnered with De La Salle Philippines (DLSP) to help rebuild schools in the Yolanda-hit areas of Leyte and Samar. The partnership involved setting up safe, more weather-resistant classrooms for students in schools adopted by DLSP. James Hardie and DLSP also conducted a basic carpentry workshop where survivors learned how to rebuild classrooms as well as their own homes destroyed by Yolanda, and in the process, make a living out of their newly acquired skills. HardieFlex® ceilings and walls were used at the workshop, and participants were given valuable pointers how to use these

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JOEL D. L ACSAMANA EDITOR jdlacsamana@gmail.com

PROPERTY

“WE CAN FEEL IT!” STRONG OFFICE DEMAND IN QC KICKS IN; BPOs LEAD CHARGE

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ou’ve got to love BPOs. In Quezon City at least, new office projects taken over by BPOs accounted for 24 per cent of office supply take-up and pre-commitments in 2014. Quezon City took up a bigger share of the pie compared to the more prominent business districts of Bonifacio Global City (BGC) at 22 per cent, and Makati at 18 per cent, according to a study by the property services firm JLL. Considered by BPOs as the largest source of talent in Metro Manila, Quezon City likewise benefited with four out of the 10 largest BPO transactions in 2014, a distinction shared with BGC. Take the Panorama Technocenter along EDSA in Quezon City. Its marketing agency recently expressed confidence to The Standard that the18-storey office tower, with gross leasable area of 32,857 sqm., will be taken up quickly a year before it’s mid-2016 completion date.

KISS OF DEATH

Just a decade ago, its proximity to Munoz Market and its transport hubs was considered a “kiss of death” by prospective office lessors. But lo and behold : in the current market environment dominated by BPOs, now competing for talent and unmindful of daytime traffic, the building’s accessibility to a convergence center, transport lines and well-populated mid-income neighbourhoods, has become its key strength.

BY JOEL LACSAMANA

Said Sheila Lobien, JLL project leasing head : “The site selection and take-up by BPOs for office space is largely driven by locations that are most accessible to their employees. In recent years, this has really changed the office leasing landscape.”

Lobien observed that developers with property in Quezon City “cannot seem to build projects fast enough for the market.”

She pointed to JLL studies that illustrate high demand for offices in Quezon City which has driven rental rates up by as much as 30 per cent in 2014, “yet still more affordable than BGC and Makati City.”

Buildings constructed with the technical requirements of BPOs, as well as large floor plates and which enable the efficient ingress and egress of employees, are the most prized. Panorama Technocenter, for example, offers a typical floor plate of over 2,400 sqm. and will have 10 high-speed elevators that can ferry hundreds of BPO employees from the ground floor to their offices, and from their work area to the main exit in minutes.

The complex is likewise considered a green building, featuring double-glazed glass windows, which insulate heat from outside, and LED lighting. Both features contribute to higher energy efficiency and cost savings. These are on top of its access to quality talent pools via LRT line 1 Roosevelt station, and an MRT station just 100 meters away.

Build it, and they will come. “Hello, Mumbai? Eat your heart out.”

BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT OFFICES GETTING INTO THE ACT

Panorama Technocenter broke ground on the project last February 2015, targeting a mid-2016 completion date when few other Quezon City office projects will be coming on-stream. Lobien said that BPO demand for office space across the metropolis is projected to remain strong in the mid-term.

“For a decade now, supply has consistently been taken up by office occupiers, with rents remaining relatively stable over-all.”

BPOs aren’t the only drivers for this of-

fice space boom in Quezon City. Many traditional businesses and government offices that have expanded along with the economy, are also seeking to upgrade their office space. Lobien said Panorama Technocenter hopes to attract the manufacturing industry in nearby Novaliches to set up their headquarters in the building as well.

Demand for efficient office space in strategic Quezon City locations has never reached this level in the last two decades, and is likely to further strengthen in the mid-term, she said.

ALI SHELLS OUT P40 B FOR A ‘CITY IN SYNC’

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he gameplan to transform the country’s former “bagsakan,” otherwise known as the Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) complex, into a business district similar to that of Makati’s Central Business District (CBD) and Taguig’s Bonifacio Global City (BGC), is on track.

Ayala Land, Inc. has so far sunk in about P40 billion for the horizontal development of ARCA South. The 74-hectare project, which is expected to be home to some 60,000 residents and 400,000 office workers in the coming years, is on schedule for completion of the P80-billion first phase, dubbed the “city in sync”, which will turn this mixed-use development into a gateway connecting key cities in the metro, as well as growth centers in the North and South.

In a press briefing this week, ALI project development manager Stephen Comia said the phase one development which includes roadwork, utilities and other infrastructure, is now 70 percent complete and will be fully built by the end of the year.

“Commercial land appreciated by 39% in less than year since

we launched them in 2013.” said Comia. “The new business and lifestyle district is within a 7-km. radius of the Makati Central Business District, Bonifacio Global City and the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Its close proximity to these sites will be further improved by upcoming government transport projects such as the Intermodal Transport System (ITS) and the Skyway C5-C6 road connector project.”

Forty percent of ARCA South’s total area will be dedicated to open spaces including roads, green spaces and bike lanes.

Green spaces in ARCA South will be a sizable 50 meters wide.

With integrated basement parking across the estate, pedestrian areas will be maximized.

Estate management for this development will be powered by an integrated operation system that will be complete with a control center for traffic management, estate security and monitoring, smart streetlights and a transport management system with real-time updates on bus locations and departure and arrival schedules.

First movers. ARCA South will have a 50-50 commercial and residential mix. Commercial lots with an average of 2,500 sqm cut have been sold out across the estate.

Phoenix rising at a former “bagsakan.” Where sun-baked parking lots, container vans, delivery trucks and sprawling warehouses used to rule, mixed-use developments like Avida Towers One Union Place will be in place.

“Estate services will also provide residents, locators and visitors information about the development in real time; provide tools for reporting city problems, provide feedback and

let them express estate concerns.

These systems can be in the form of digital signages, mobile and phone and web apps, and emergency/panic buttons,” said Comia.

WHAT TO EXPECT AT ARCA SOUTH? Arbor Lanes from Ayala Land Premier will be a sprawling garden community comprised of five blocks of 13 to 15 storey condominiums. The community will feature landscaped courtyards, pocket gardens, tree wells, outdoor seating and more green features. The first two blocks with units ranging in size from 62 to 294 sq. m. have already been launched.

The Veranda from Alveo will feature a proprietary design that maximizes air circulation and natural light dispersion. It will have an atrium and central landscaped garden with lifestyle retail rows on the ground floors. Two towers of the Veranda have been launched, with units 30 to 119 sq. m. in size.

The Avida Towers One Union Place will offer three types of residential units ranging in size from 22 to 62 sq. m. Located at the southeast residential area of ARCA South, Avida Towers One Union Place will also feature a clubhouse, swimming pool, indoor gym, game room, play area and retail units.