The Standard - 2015 September 17 - Thursday

VOL. XXIX  NO. 217  3 Sections 32 Pages P18  THURSDAY : SEPTEMBER 17, 2015  www.thestandard.com.ph  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Aquino’s alternative draws more flak

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‘I OFFER MYSELF AS PRESIDENT’

She’s running. Senator Grace Poe waves to her supporters at the UP-Diliman on Wednesday, when she announced her candidacy for the presidency. LINO SANTOS

Jittery Comelec decides to junk Chinese PCOS

By Maricel V. Cruz and Sara Susanne D. Fabunan THE Commission on Elections has moved the manufacturing of precinct count optical scan machines from Suzhou, China, to Taiwan, after receiving “intelligence reports” that China would sabotage the 2016 national elections.

At a hearing of the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms, Comelec Commissioner Christian Robert Lim told lawmakers the “biggest threat to the 2016 elections is China.”

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By Macon R. Araneta, Rio N. Araja and Sandy Araneta

SENATOR Grace Poe announced Wednesday night she would run for President in 2016, ending months of speculation and becoming the third politician to declare a bid for the highest office in the land.

“I, Grace Poe, a Filipino, a daughter and a wife, and with the help of God, am offering myself for higher service as your president,” said Poe shortly after 7 p.m. in front of enthusiastic supporters who gathered at the Bahay ng Alumni in UP Diliman, Quezon City.

Poe’s mother, actress Susan Roces, and the senator’s husband Neil Llamanzares and their children, and celebrities from the entertainment industry were among those who witnessed Poe’s announcement.

In her speech, Poe recalled that

when her father, the late Fernando Poe Jr., ran for President in 2004, he was belittled because he has no experience.

She said her father’s citizenship was also questioned in the same way hers was being challenged now by her detractors.

But Poe insisted she is a Filipino citizen and said she had the documents to substantiate her status.

Poe said her father fearlessly faced the challenge and did not turn away from the opportunity to help improve the lives of Filipinos.

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A2 Jittery From A1...

“We want to emphasize that the move to Taiwan was a product of the contract negotiations because we have received intelligence reports that there may be an attempt to sabotage the elections by China,” Lim told lawmakers as Comelec officials briefed Congress on the poll body’s preparations for 2016 elections.

Lim said “a Comelec commissioner with military contacts” relayed this information to the Comelec en banc.

A spokesperson from the Chinese Embassy dismissed the allegation as “groundless and a sheer fabrication.”

“China has always adhered to the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs,” said Li Lingxiao, and embassy spokesperson. “The deal on vote-counting machines is between Comelec and Smartmatic.”

In the House, Lim said the Comelec was also concerned about the ongoing arbitration case between China and the Philippines.

He said the transfer of manufacturing to Taiwan was non-negotiable and would be done at its service provider’s expense.

In August, the Comelec announced that the voting machines would be made in Suzhou, China.

The Philippines expects the United Nations Arbitral Tribunal at The Hague, Netherlands to rule on territorial dispute over the West Philippine Sea before the 2016 elections.

The poll body has already signed the P1.7-billion contract with technology provider Smartmatic-TIM for the lease of 23,000 PCOS. Under the contract, the SmartmaticTIM must deliver five machines by September, 200 by October, and 6,000 in both November and December. The remaining machines must be delivered by January.

Reacting to Lim’s remarks, former Comelec commissioner Gus Lagman said fears of electoral sabotage were a good reason not to use PCOS machines.

In a text message, Lagman said insiders can easily tamper with PCOs machines and manipulate their result.

Citizen for Clean and Credible Elections co-convenor Melchor Magdamo said that in 2009, the PCOS factory was originally located in Jarltech Taiwan.

But when Smartmatic-Total Information Management won the bid, they transferred the manufacturing of the machines to China to cut manufacturing costs.

“The Chinese factory has no ISO [International Standards Organization] certification… Jarltech in Taiwan has ISO,” he said in a separate interview.

“Some of the court cases versus Smartmatic cite the failure to manufacture under ISO quality. Comelec must go back to a factory with ISO certification. Most of them are in Taiwan,” he said.

Magdamo said he does not believe there are plans from China to sabotage the election process next year. Instead, the transfer is being done to appease critics who sued Smartmatic for violation of the obligation to comply with ISO certification.

“The transfer is a simple face-saving move with no connection to the Chinese bullying in the West Philippine Sea. China can sabotage the Philippines by doing nothing,” Magdamo said.

Smartmatic president Cesar Flores confirmed that the Comelec received a formal request from Comelec to transfer the manufacturing of the machines from China to Taiwan.

Flores said they have agreed to the Comelec’s request despite the higher cost, but said both factories were certified to manufacture according to international standards.

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Cousin Sheryl against Poe’s presidential bid Not all members of the Sonora showbiz family to which Senator Grace Poe belongs are in favor of her quest for the presidency in 2016.

Actress Sheryl Cruz, a daughter of Rosemarie Sonora and a cousin of Poe, on Wednesday said that Poe is not yet prepared for the highest post in the land.

“She’s not yet ready for the task, for the big responsibil-

ity. Everybody in your family is special to you [but] you don’t want to see somebody having a hard time most especially running the country,” Cruz said.

“I know her because we grew up together. There are

in an alliance with the Liberal Party.

Drilon said Poe’s presidenFrom A1... tial bid was no more of a threat She said her father’s loyalty, than other candidates.

“We will face them all becourage and generosity incause we will run under a spired and guided her.

“And my mother told me: In clean, and straight path. That’s all the political noise, don’t get our platform. I don’t know what path they are going to lost.”

After spelling out some 20 take. That’s their problem,” he programs of government she said.

With Poe out of the picture, intended to pursue, the neophyte senator assured her sup- Roxas is now talking to other porters that under her leader- prospective vice presidents, ship, everybody’s lives would including Camarines Sur Rep. improve, and that nobody Leni Robredo and Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Caywould be left behind.

She recalled that her father etano.

“They are talking. Maybe we always told her that a person’s rise from poverty was in his will know before the end of the own hands, but there should month who will be the runalso be another hand pulling ning mate of Secretary Mar,” Drilon said. him up.

Senate President Pro TemVowing to continue the government’s fight against corrup- pore Ralph Recto said the tion, she took a dig at the Lib- more candidates there are, the eral Party candidate Manuel better.

“The bigger the field, the Roxas II, who said Tuesday that Poe could not run on her more choices for us. Better own and claim to follow the to have a surplus of aspirants than a shortage,” he said. straight path.

“It is within this context—of “No one group or person has a monopoly on the right path,” how pluralism in politics will she said. “We should continue do us good—that I welcome and boost the war against cor- Senator Grace’s courageous ruption. I will hold liable all move to submit her applicawho are corrupt, friends or en- tion letter for the highest office in the land,” Recto said. emies,” she said.

He added that her preShe also vowed to pass a Freedom of Information law to sentation of her platform of ensure government transpar- government could be a cue that the run-up to the 2016 ency.

Among her goals as presi- elections will be marked by dent would be to lower tax a serious disussion of issues rates and the cost of electricity “away from the pettiness of and to address the problems of gutter politics.”

Recto’s wife, Batangas Gov. mass transportation and traffic Vilma Santos-Recto, has been congestion, she said.

She also said she would work cool to invitations to run as to improve Internet service in Roxas’ vice president.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos the country and boost the capability of the Coast Guard Jr. also wished Poe the best of and the Armed Forces to pro- luck.

“I suppose it’s not a surprise. tect Philippine territory from But what it does for the rest foreign encroachment.

Senate President Franklin of us is that it clarifies a little Drilon, vice chairman of the bit the political situation for ruling Liberal Party, said Poe’s 2016,” said Marcos, who denied rumors that he would anannouncement was expected.

“I told you so, she will run,” nounce his candidacy on Sept.

20 at the Philippine Arena Drilon said.

President Benigno Aquino where people would be paid III and Roxas had tried but P4,500 to attend.

“This is not true and will failed several times to recruit Poe to run for vice president never happen. To set the re-

I offer

actually things that you have to actually wait for,” Cruz said in an interview.

Cruz, who campaigned for and sometimes represented Poe on the campaign trail before the 2013 senatorial elections, said that while she acknowledges Poe’s capabilities, she believes that the neophyte senator still needs more time to prove her worth as a public servant.

“My cousin’s a neophyte. Yes, it’s nice to have fresh faces in cord straight, I have never instructed, ordered, encouraged, or allowed any individual or group to invite people to the supposed activity. Neither have members of my family, relatives, close friends, and staff done so,” Marcos said.

“I believe that this false advisory is intentional and is meant to destroy me,” he added.

“I am calling on people not to entertain, much less believe, this lie propagated by unscrupulous groups out to put my name in a bad light.

The truth about my plans in 2016 will only come from me and no one else. No one is authorized to speak on my behalf regarding my plans,” he added.

Poe’s family arrived ahead of the senator at the Bahay ng Alumni Wednesday afternoon, where movies of her father were being shown.

Among those who came to support Poe were fans of her late father belonging to the Filipino for Peace, Justice and Progress Movement that backed the actor’s presidential bid in 2004.

Tarpaulins and posters of “Grace Poe 2016,” Sama-sama Poe,” Tuloy na Poe, “Eto na Poe,” “Maasahan Poe, “Matapang Poe,” Tapat na Poe,” “Ampunin Natin PO,” and “All4GP” were strewn all over the venue.

Ex-Parañaque City representative Roilo Golez, former executive secretary Ronaldo Zamora, ex-Partido ng Manggagawang Pilipino representative Renato Magtubo, and ex-An Waray representative Bem Noel were also at the event.

Roces told reporters that she supported whatever her daughter’s decision would be.

“I know she knows what she is doing... May God guide her in what He thinks would be best for the nation,” she said.

“I cannot give her any [political] advice on what she would plan to do. My responsibility is to be a mother to her and a grandmother to her children.

Beyond that, I cannot interfere,” she added.

A day after Poe’s announcement, her presumptive run-

our political arena, but it’s best to hone what you have [first],” she said.

Cruz said that she would like to entrust the presidency to candidates who are “more experienced” than Poe, like Vice President Jejomar Binay or Liberal Party standard-bearer Mar Roxas.

“Given time, I know she’ll be very good in what she’s doing, but just not right now. Probably in 2022,” she said. JPB ning mate, Senator Francis Escudero, will announce his plans for 2016.

A media advisory released by his office said Escudero would make the announcement Sept. 17 at 10 a.m. at the Kalayaan Hall of Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan.

Poe and Escudero are expected to run as independents, with the support of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, the second largest political party.

In the Palace, a presidential spokesman said Poe’s slogan “Bagong Umaga” (new morning) is clearly different from the Aquino administration’s battle cry of “Daang Matuwid” (straight path) for the 2016 elections.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the Liberal Party would run on platforms, not on personalities, then suggested that Poe is no longer advocating the principles of the straight path.

“She’s talking about change.

We’re running on a platform of continuity,” Lacierda said.

“For every country, if you look at the Asian countries that have prospered, it’s because the good economic policies have continued. We have done more than promoting good economic policies. We have also increased our poverty alleviation program,” Lacierda added.

With or without Poe, people will vote to continue the straight path reforms of President Aquino by voting for Roxas, he added.

Lacierda also dismissed as speculation reports that some Cabinet members will support Poe. “We have not received any news of that sort, so I can’t comment on speculation,” Lacierda said.

Lacierda said Aquino will campaign for Roxas, including on trips the President makes in the provinces.

“The President will campaign for his candidate. Yes, he will play a front and center role in the campaign because after all, this is a referendum on daang matuwid,” he added.

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Binay gets jeered at UP Los Baños VICE President Jejomar Binay was jeered after dodging questions from students of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños during an open forum Tuesday night.

Situation desperate. Hundreds of commuters line up to board the LRT 1 train in Monumento around 9 a.m. on Wednesday.

Andrew rAbulAn

Aquino’s ‘alternative truth’ draws more flak

by Christine F. Herrera PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III’s version of the “alternative truth” is self-serving and an attempt to cover up his role in the Mamasapano debacle that claimed the lives of 44 Special Action Force commandos, an official said Wednesday.

The President’s version of the truth was also an attempt to shield the United States’ big role in the botched police operation, Bayan Muna Rep. Isagani Carlos Zarate said.

“There is only one truth and the rest will be lies. President Aquino has previously displayed his propensity for lying about the Mamasapano debacle,” Zarate said.

“He lied about the big role played by his friend General Allan Purisima; he lied when he claimed that the intelligence information on the presence of Marwan in the country came solely from the PNP. “Later, the twisted

lies of the President were unraveled to cover up his big culpability and the US participation in the bungled operation.

The US, which invested heavily in the capture of Marwan, had obviously played a key role in Oplan Exodus from planning to execution.”

Zarate made his statement even as Malacañang slammed Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for allegedly politicizing the Mamasapano tragedy.

“What is Bongbong Marcos doing? He is politicizing an issue that shouldn’t be politicized,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda told reporters.

“There are already a lot of politicians who have politicized the Mamasapano issue.

They say there is an alternative version, and that is being validated. Let us not politicize this issue. Let’s wait for the validation that is forthcoming.”

Meanwhile, Marcos on Tuesday rejected the proposals to reopen the Senate’s investigation

of the Mamasapano debacle following the “alternative version” being floated by Aquino.

He said he would only agree to any reopening of the Senate probe on the basis of new information.

“I haven’t seen any report indicating there is new information,” Marcos said.

Zarate said that, in his bid to shield the big US role in the Mamasapano debacle, President Aquino’s “alternative truth” would sink him in a quicksand of lies.

“President Aquino’s attempt to create his self-serving alternative truth has happened before,” Zarate said.

“Even prior to the creation of a credible and independent investigating body, Aquino had already jumped the gun, making his own investigation on the bloody Mamasapano operations. This ‘alternative truth’ of Malacañang is another attempt at whitewashing and removing the account-

abilities of President Aquino and the US in this debacle.

“Justice for the SAF 44, the civilians and MILF combatants killed in this suicide mission will not be achieved until President Aquino and the US are made accountable for Oplan Exodus.”

Zarate said the truth had been obvious to the Filipino people for a long time.

“The truth is, President Aquino was willing to sacrifice the lives of 400 of his own troops, not to mention the other people caught in the crossfire, just to kowtow to the so-called US war on terror,” Zarate said referring to the 392 SAF troopers who were deployed to carry out the mission.

“He gave the go-signal for a plan that was doomed from the beginning. The casualties in the Mamasapano bloodbath were sacrificial lambs to President Aquino’s servility to the United States’ war on terror.” with Sandy Araneta and macon ramos-Araneta

JPE contracts dengue, is rushed to hospital

Pre-trial. Jeane, daughter of alleged pork-barrel queen Janet LimNapoles, covers her face as she arrives at the Court of Tax Appeals for the pre-trial of her P17.6-million tax evasion case. JAnSen romero

SENATE Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile is being treated for dengue at the Makati Medical Center, her daughter Katrina confirmed on Wednesday.

She told reporters her father was brought to the hospital Tuesday night after having fever in the last few days. ”He was brought to the hospital late last night and he was positive for dengue,” Katrina said.

She said the 91-year-old senator was now in stable condition but still needed close monitoring.

Enrile had been absent at the Senate plenary hall for the past few days.

Last month, the Supreme Court granted his petition to post bail on the plunder charges filed against him in connection with the pork barrel scam. PnA

He got into a heated exchange with the students during the question-and-answer portion of the event called “Forum on Governance, Transparency and Social Transformation”.

Earlier in his speech, Binay first criticized the leadership-style of President Benigno Aquino III and blamed the lack of decentralization for the slow decisionmaking process in the government.

He made his speech even as Malacañang on Wednesday said he should answer the corruption allegations against him in reaction to his speech in Los Baños.

Binay is running for President next year and on Wednesday his camp said Senator Ferdinand Marcos was among those being considered to be his vice presidential running mate.

But a highly placed source said Senators Panfilo Lacson and Gringo Honasan were the two other possible candidates being considered by his search committee.

Binay in Los Baños also slammed his potential rivals in the presidential race for their supposed lack of experience,

incompetence and indifference.

But Binay found himself in the hot seat when the students started asking him why he was blaming the Aquino administration’s incompetence when he was part of it.

Binay was a member of Aquino’s Cabinet for five years until he resigned in June to launch his presidential bid.

A student cited his role at the UP Los Baños where he was vice chairman of the university’s student council and was active in his post.

“I hope you too become active. To say you cannot do anything or you don’t have control—what does that say about our government?” the student said.

Binay was stunned when agriculture student Lucky Patrick Lopez asked him why there were many squatters in Makati, the country’s financial district, when he claimed there was none.

Binay was likewise criticized for being accused of earning kickbacks from overpriced buildings, bid rigging and programs with ghost beneficiaries.

Vito barcelo, Sandy Araneta and John Paolo bencito

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS ANNOUNCEMENT President Benigno S. Aquino III has submitted to the Commission on Appointments (C.A.) for confirmation the ad interim appointments of the following ranking officers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines: Michael G. Samson, PA, Miguel W. Hortelano, PA (Reserve) and Jose C. Clet, PA (Reserve) – Colonel The public may submit any information, written report or sworn complaints or oppositions in forty (40) copies on the above appointments to the CA Secretariat, 6th Floor, PNB Financial Center, DiosdadoMacapagal Blvd., Pasay City, Metro Manila.

For the schedule of the public hearings, the CA Secretariat can be reached through telephone numbers 551-7532, 831-0893, 831-1824, 834-2706, 831-1566 and 834-2713.

16 September 2015.

ARTURO L. TIU Secretary (TS-SEPT. 17, 2015)

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Zarate hits Catamco ‘rescue’

BAYAN Muna Rep. Isagani Carlos Zarate accused Cotabato Rep. Nancy Catamco of conspiring with the military to harass him for denouncing the militarization and subsequent killings of indigenous people in Mindanao.

Police line. Manila policemen hold their line in front of the United States Embassy in Manila as student activists hold a protest on Roxas Boulevard on Wednesday. DANNY PATA

Palace stays course on Spratlys

By Sandy Araneta THE Palace reiterated on Wednesday that the government will abide by its policy of arbitration and diplomacy in dealing with issues involving the South China Sea even as a United States thinktank said Beijing may be building its third airstrip on artificial islands in disputed waters.

“The situation there primarily deals with, again, our approach to the situation in the West Philippine Sea, that is to go through the arbitration track, and to go through the diplomatic track,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

“Because that will resolve a number of issues besetting us in the West Philippine Sea, and so that’s the best track that we will continue to use—the arbitration track and also the diplomatic track,” he added.

Lacierda made the remark after the Washington-based Center for Strategic

and International Studies claimed on Sept. 8 that China is building another air strip on Mischief Reef, one of several artificial islands China has created in the Spratly archipelago.

“Clearly, what we have seen is going to be a 3,000-meter airstrip and we have seen some more work on what is clearly going to be some port facilities for ships,” he said.

China claims almost the whole of the sea and over the past year has asserted its stance with rapid conversion of tiny reefs into islands for facilities with military uses.

Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei all have rival claims to the waters, which incorporate strategically crucial shipping lanes and could harbor oil and gas deposits.

The Pentagon has warned that Beijing’s activities are changing the regional status quo, and has weighed sending warships and surveillance aircraft within 12 nautical miles—the normal terri-

torial zone around natural land—of the new artificial islands.

Work began last year on a 3,000-meter (9,842 feet) runway on Fiery Cross reef in the Spratly islands, around 1,000 kilometers from China’s island province of Hainan.

It is now “well advanced” and has reached the painting stage, said the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies on Tuesday.

Satellite photos of another reef, Subi, where nearly four million square meters (988 acers) of land have been reclaimed, show grading work and possible runway construction is being carried out, it said.

And satellite photos taken last week show that a retaining wall has been built on Mischief Reef, creating a 3,000-meter rectangular area, and a cement plant set up, CSIS said, “suggesting another runway could be in the works”. With AFP

In a privilege speech, Zarate demanded that Catamco explain her role in the military operation that resulted in the supposed rape of a 14-year-old girl and the flight of about 700 Manobo tribesmen who sought refuge at the UCCP Haran compound in Davao City.

Zarate delivered the privilege speech almost a month after he was charged with child abuse and illegal detention by the rape victim after she was forcibly “rescued” from the Haran compound by Catamco.

He said the reason the teenager, her mother and 700 others were forced to seek sanctuary at the UCCP Haran compound in Davao City was because of the rape that had taken place when the military soldiers stormed the tribe, locally called lumad.

Zarate said the military and paramilitary group Alamara filed charges of serious illegal detention and child abuse against him and six other militant leaders of various non-government organizations.

He said the teenager and her mother stood as main complainants against him and the six others, whom he did not name.

“This teenager, including her mother, who were supposedly rescued from UCCP Haran by the group of Rep. Nancy Catamco at the height of the violent raid on their community on July 23. This mother and daughter are also the primary complainants against me and my colleagues,” Zarate said.

Zarate said the “trumped up charges” were based on the supposed detention of 700 evacuees at the UCCP Haran.

Zarate said he only had two occasions where he went to visit the lumad sanctuary at Haran and only spoke with the tribesfolk when he joined a fact-finding mission organized by the Save Our Schools network.

“I also wasn’t in Davao on the day the police and military raided the compound in the company of Catamco. I was here in Manila with my staff,” he said.

Catamco is chairman of the House committee on indigenous people. She held a hearing at the Haran compound where she told the lumads to go home because “you stink already.”

Zarate took Catamco to task and urged her to explain why after her purported rescue of the lumad teenager and her mother that no charges of rape were filed against the military soldiers.

DTI chief to stay until Dec. 31

By Othel V. Campos HEEDING an earlier call from President Benigno Aquino III, Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo has agreed to stay in the Cabinet until Dec. 31 despite his eagerness to move on and return to the private sector.

Domingo said he reached the decision after speaking with Aquino last Tuesday, a day after he announced that he submitted his resignation because he wants to return to the private sector.

“Yes, we talked and I agreed to stay until year-end,” Domingo told reporters, explaining that he and his department have already completed their task for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings.

On Monday, Aquino said Domingo had long informed him that he wanted to return to the private sector.

“We would like to thank Secretary Domingo for all of the work that he has done on behalf of the country,” noting that for-

eign direct grew six-fold under Domingo’s watch.

Domingo explained that he submitted his resignation and wanted it to be effective by October because he wants the get the clock running on his one year prohibition to move on to other areas of interest.

“I still have one year prohibition on areas that I run. So even if I stop now I cannot work until October next year. I’ve been with this department long enough,” he said.

Aside from Domingo, Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Secretary Francis Pangilinan has also resigned, effective Sept. 30, ahead of the October deadline for the submission of certificates of candidacies in next year’s elections.

But the Palace said Pangilinan’s resignation would not affect the country’s food security program beause they have already put up a Food Security Council to address that concern.

New boat. Officials of the Metro Manila Development Authority launched a new boat for the Pasig River ferry system in Makati City on Wednesday. DANNY PATA

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Public Works earmarks P351b for flood control

By Maricel V. Cruz The Department of Public Works and highways will continue to implement its 15-year master plan for flood management in Metro Manila and surrounding areas, with a total cost of P351.71 billion, and for 2016 alone, the agency will need P54.6 billion for flood management services.

During the budget hearing conducted by the House committee on appropriations chaired by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson expounded on the agency’s flood management master plan as it defended the DPWH’s proposed P391.17billion total budget for 2016.

The P54.6-billion flood management services budget shall fund 1,135 DPWH projects involving construction and maintenance of flood mitigation structures and drainage system, and the construction and reha-

bilitation of flood mitigation structures along major river basins and principal rivers.

Since the Aquino’s term, the DPWH managed to implement 9,479 flood control and drainage projects from July 2010 to March 2015. These projects include dikes, revetment and river walls, waterways, drainage mains, and mini dams.

Singson said effective flood control program is among the six key strategic policies and programs of the DPWH, the others are: good governance reform and anti-corruption; better qual-

ity and safer national roads and bridges program; strategic convergence program; public private partnership program; and resiliency program.

Singson said the DPWH is using a holistic approach in addressing the flood problem in Metro Manila and surrounding places, and it involves long-term solutions.

“This is the approach that we are doing, and it involves our major rivers nationwide. Long term ang solution kaya lang medyo naiinip ang mga kababayan natin gusto nila overnight solution. Unfortunately, this does not happen that way. The interventions both structural and non-structural take a few years to implement. But what is important is that we have a master plan that guides us in addressing our water resources,” Singson told lawmakers.

Singson said it took them in the DPWH some time to complete the master plan for flood management in Metro Manila and surrounding areas, and

they managed to focus on 19 major rivers nationwide which cover more than 50 provinces.

“We have avoided the use of political boundaries in planning flood management. We felt the only way we can effectively plan is to use a river basin approach. So we adopted two key major policies in terms of our flood control program,” said Singson.

The first policy is the integrated water resource principle according to Singson. “Which means we want to conserve water from upstream and by doing so, we were able to maximize its use for irrigation, domestic use and hydropower, in the process minimizing flooding downstream. We believe you have to address a river basin, the solution cannot be by political boundaries. It’s a matter of addressing the flood problem in a holistic manner through an integrated water resource management,” he said.

Places to see. Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao views the Rizal Shrine in Manila during the launching of Google Maps. DANNY PATA

Chiz snipes at Iloilo solon over pork barrel releases

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

SENATOR Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Tuesday took to task Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr. for defying a Supreme Court decision prohibiting “post-enactment intervention” in the budget when he took part in the distribution of the Emergency Shelter Assistance to victims of Typhoon “Yolanda’’ in his district.

Escudero reminded Tupas about the SC decision declaring lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund or the so-called pork barrel illegal. The magistrates defined “pork barrel as post-enactment intervention of a legislator.”

A major program of the national government administered by the Department of Social Wel-

fare and Development, ESA provides cash assistance of P30,000 and P10,000 to Yolanda survivors whose houses were partially or totally damaged, respectively. The money is used for the purchase of construction materials to repair and reconstruct their homes.

Escudero, former chairman of the Senate committee on finance, said ESA funds came from the P13-billion National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund under the 2015 General Appropriations Act. As of June 30, about P130.9 billion had been released by the Department of Budget and Management to the DSWD for the implementation of ESA. The amount represented the assistance given to 3,874 families and 18,433 families with totally and partially damaged houses, respectively.

“Obviously, ESA was funded by the national budget which was approved by Congress before it was signed into law by the President,” Escudero said. The veteran lawmaker said the implementation of the national budget “is not the concern of legislators, but of government line agencies like in the case of ESA, the DSWD.” Tupas, a member of the ruling Liberal Party and chairman of House Committee on Justice, was earlier spotted during the distribution of ESA grants in towns under the fifth district of Iloilo, which he represents in Congress.

This did not sit well with DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman, who complained to the administration party about Tupas’ alleged interference in ESA distribution.

Romualdez backs live broadcast of House sessions

Romualdez

HOUSE Independent Bloc leader Rep. Martin Romualdez of Leyte assured the people of transparency in government as a proposed measure seeking for a live media coverage of Congress proceedings was approved by the House Committee on Public Information.

Romualdez is pushing for the enactment into law of House Bill 4049 as it passes the committee level and will be submitted to the plenary for debate and approval by the majority.

“This reform will help promote transparency and accountability in government.

Our constituents deserved to be informed for we owe them why we are here,” said Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association.

HB 4049 aims to allow the live broadcast of all proceedings in both houses in Congress proceedings in the stateowned PTV Channel 4. The bill’s principal author is Buhay Hayaang Yumabong party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, who is a member of the Romualdez-led House Independent Minority bloc.

Filed on March 2014, HB 4049 seeks to amend Section 9 of Republic Act No. 7306—the law that formally established PTV-4 “defining its powers and functions, providing for its sources of funding and for other purposes.”

“The public must witness how members of the House are performing and responding to the call of their legislative duties such as attending sessions to pass laws and attend congressional hearings in aid of legislation,” Romualdez said.

Under HB 4049, all proceedings of the sessions and committee hearings of the Senate and House of Representatives from gavel to gavel will be shown live without editing nor commentary over PTV-4.

t h u r s d ay : s e p t e m b e r 17, 2 0 1 5

A6

news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

MMDA’s quick fix: Steel flyovers

By Joel E. Zurbano

Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman Francis tolentino has proposed a project to build four quick-steel flyovers to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila, especially along epifanio de los Santos Avenue.

Tolentino, who came under fire over the worsening traffic problem in Metro Manila, said on Wednesday he asked the Department of Public Works and Highways to consider building quick flyovers in Santolan, P. Tuazon, Katipunan and Vito Cruz, areas covered by the six major chokepoints on Edsa.

He said the flyovers, each spanning 400 meters, are made of steel similar to what Thailand built to solve the traffic problem in Bangkok.

“Once the project completed, it will ease traffic. This [flyover] is just temporarily but it can be permanent. That was what they made in Bangkok,”

said Tolentino.

He added: “Bangkok has 139 square kilometers as against Metro Manila with 636 square kilometers. The Edsa equivalent of Bangkok is Middle Ring Road, which is 42 km but here we have 23 km [Edsa]. Pag nagawa, luluwag tayo.”

Tolentino, however, said motorists and commuters will experience traffic on both southbound and northbound lanes in the areas affected by the construction of flyovers.

Tolentino also asked the government to start implementing the planned subway system from Cavite to Bulacan, which is one of the long-term solutions to

the traffic problem in the metropolis.

The MMDA chief said he was hoping that the construction of the 51-km subway from Dasmariñas in Cavite to San Jose del Monte in Bulacan would start before President Benigno Aquino III finishes his term of office in June 2016.

The project forms part of the more than P2-trillion transportation plan presented to the Philippine government by Japan International Cooperation Agency in its “Roadmap for Transport Infrastructure Development for Metro Manila and Its Surrounding Areas”.

“If they start 2017, maybe

they would finish it by 2020,” said Tolentino.

MMDA planning chief Mico Gizon said the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Transportation and Communications planned to construct a 51-km subway or the Mass Transit System Loop traversing the major business districts of Metro Manila.

Based on Numbeo study, Philippines ranked No. 4 among Asian countries and placed 9th in the world’s worst traffic.

Numbeo’s collated data on the traffic situation of 88 countries for its 2015 Traffic Index, showing that the Philippines obtained a “traf-

fic index” of 202.31.

It stated that traffic index refers to the “composite index of time consumed in traffic due to job commute, estimation of time consumption dissatisfaction, carbon dioxide consumption estimation in traffic and overall inefficiencies in the traffic system.”

The Philippines ranked fourth in having the worst traffic situation in Asia, trailing after Bangladesh, Jordan and Iran.

Also as part of the efforts to ease traffic, the MMDA and local government units vowed to intensify a campaign removing all illegally parked vehicles along major roads.

Transfer coco levy funds to treasury —De Lima

Trade fair. Handicrafts made of native materials, organic plants, woven clothing materials, and other offerings from Negros provinces are exhibited at the 30th Negros Trade Fair in Glorietta, Makati City. The trade fair runs until Sept. 19. Diana B. nochE

Trial court junks Zaldy Ampatuan’s bail bid

By Rey E. Requejo

Ampatuan

THE Quezon City regional trial court handling the Maguindanao massacre case has junked the motion for bail of former Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima disclosed this on Wednesday after the Department of Justice received the order of Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 dated Sept. 15, 2015 denying the petition for bail of one of the principal accused in the multiple murder case.

De Lima lauded the prosecution team led by Taguig City Prosecutor Archimedes Manabat for the development.

“I have never doubted for a single

moment the strength of the evidence of the State against the principal accused in the Maguindanao massacre case. The denial of the bail petition of Zaldy Ampatuan only shows that the focus of the DoJ prosecution team on this case is unwavering,” De Lima said.

The Justice secretary pointed out that the lower court ruling only proved that the “prosecution’s evidence is strong.”

Because of this, Ampatuan would remain in detention throughout the duration of the trial until conviction and sentencing, she said The prosecution’s evidence opposing Ampatuan’s bail bid include 300 pieces of exhibits and testimonies.

Other pieces of evidence admitted by the court include sworn statements of various witnesses,

as well as the medico-legal reports, autopsy pictures, anatomical sketches of the cadavers done based on the description of the witnesses, and records from telecommunications companies.

Likewise accepted as prosecution evidence were the testimonies of Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, former Ampatuan vice mayor Rasul Sangki, accusedturned-state witnesses Sukarno Badal and Esmael Canapia, and eyewitnesses Noh Akil, Lakmodin Saliao and Esmail Amil Enog.

Ampatuan is among the 197 suspects charged for the massacre.

Other members of the clan including its patriarch Andal Sr. were charged with 58 counts of murder.

Fifty-eight people, including 32 media practitioners, died in the massacre.

THE multi-billion-peso coconut levy funds including the shares in the San Miguel Corp. and their proceeds, should now be transferred without further delay to the national treasury.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima made the suggestion after the Supreme Court dismissed what she described as another “legal machination” to set aside a previous decisions awarding a block of shares in SMC registered in the names of Coconut Industry Investment Fund and its holding companies to the government for being part of the ill-gotten wealth.

De Lima also branded as “backdoor legal maneuver” the petition for declaratory relief filed by UCPB and Cocolife before the Regional Trial Court of Makati City seeking to assert their right and ownership over CIIF’s shares in SMC. De Lima admitted that another petition filed by Confederation of Coconut Farmers Organization of the Philippines remains a stumbling block in the government’s bid to get hold of and utilize the coco levy funds.

“We must see these cases for what they are, as last ditch feeble attempts by powerful interest groups to once again rob our coconut farmers of what has already been duly declared to be theirs by the SC,” she said.

It was the court that granted the plea of CCFOP for the issuance of a temporary restraining order enjoining the implementation of Executive Order Nos. 179 and 180 issued by President Aquino that require the privatization, reconveyance of coconut levy funds amounting to at least P73.4 billion to the government and its utilization. Rey E. Requejo

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17, 2 0 1 5

A7

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Baler mayor, councilors cry political harassment

By Ferdie G. Domingo BALER, Aurora—This town’s mayor and nine municipal councilors who are among 12 municipal officials facing graft charges before the Office of the Ombudsman said the charges against them had no basis and smacked of political harassment.

In a joint counter-affidavit filed before the Ombudsman, Mayor Nelianto Bihasa, Councilors Pedro Valenzuela, Danilo M. Ong, Gina T. Ritual, Reynaldo E. Mapindan, Gina Z. Agapito, Ramir D. Duaso, Meinrado C. Tropicales, Noel P. Go and Felipe M. Friginal, municipal human resource officer Curie S. Bernardino and municipal budget officer Francisco Reopta denied the allegations of Vice Mayor Karen Angara-Ularan.

Angara-Ularan had accused the 12 of malversation of public funds among other offenses before the Office of the Ombudsman for Luzon. She said they misappropriated funds belonging to the Sangguniang Bayan and diverted them to pay the salaries of job-order employees.

She accused them of being criminally liable for malversation and fraud and administratively liable for dishonesty, neglect of duty, gross misconduct, inefficiency, conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service and incompetence for violations of Republic Act 3019, otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, RA 6713 or the Code of Ethical Conduct for Public Officials and Employees, RA 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act, the Civil Service Law and the Revised Penal Code.

She also sought their preventive suspension so as not to unduly influence witnesses and tamper documentary evidence.

But Bihasa and the other respondents said the charges were filed solely “to intimidate, harass and humiliate us before the eyes of our constituents in the light of the coming elections.”

None of that here. Authorities uproot P5 million of seedlings of and fully-grown marijuana plants at Barangay Licungan, Sugpon, Ilocos Sur.

CHRISTINE JUNIO

Armed men massacre family of five in Samar

By Florante S. Solmerin

A FAMILY of five was massacred in broad daylight Tuesday by seven armed men in fatigue uniform and bonnets in Barangay Victory, Calbayog City, Police Chief Superintendent Ernesto Salvador Tejada said Wednesday.

The victims were identified as Sonny Regulacion, 38; his wife Adelia, 42; and their children

Princess Christine Joy, 5; Angel Mae, 2; and Cristina, an infant.

Sonny was reported to be a known

leader of city Mayor Ronald Aquino.

Two neighbors, 38-year-old Marlene Natayangga and a seven-year-old girl, were also hit by stray bullets. They have been declared out of danger and are now recuperating at the Saint Camillus Hospital, Tejada said.

Investigators said Sonny and his family were in the house of his brother Teban when the incident happened.

“Accordingly, Sonny was outside the house and in a hammock while his family was inside the house when the armed men arrived there and without a word started to shoot at them,” Tejada said, quoting from the investigation report.

Tejada said investigators were still trying to identify the suspects who fled to the mountains after they shot the victims.

La Union whiz kids grab 18 medals in intl math contests

By Dexter A. See

This is how you... Officials of the Department of Education-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the Philippine Army teach proper handwashing to school children.

OMAR MANGORSI

SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union—Mayor Pablo Ortega honored yesterday the team of 19 students from La Union who hauled 18 medals in various international mathematics competitions held recently in Hong Kong, China and Singapore.

Jan Vincent Simbol, a Grade 8 student of the Brain and Heart of a Christian Educational Institution, took the only gold medal in the Singapore and Asian Math Schools Olympiad.

His schoolmate, sixth-grader Brylle Jaden Louise Ordoño, earned a silver.

The Bronze medalists were Joven Augustus Costales (Grade 2); Mary Alyenne Jo-

sephine Azarcon (Grade 5); Lovely Anne Nullar (Grade 9); and Paul Jeremiah Naraval, a fourth year student, in the Singapore-based IMC Union-organized correspondence competition.

The members of Team Philippines also underwent a summer training program.

Simbol, who was chosen among the nine-member team in the 2015 World Junior Sudoku Championship held in Beijing, China last July, won a bronze medal in the 18-under category, together with eight other Filipino Sudoku players.

He was also among the 200 students who set an official Guinness World Record for the largest multi-Sudoku puzzle which consists of 200 standard grids.

To date, 216 medals have been earned by BHC students to put the Philippine Team as the overall winner in the 11th International Mathematics Competition in Singapore.

Other countries that participated in the contests were India, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore and Iran.

School principal Loreta Cepriaso said that they will not stop competing in standard international tilts as they continue to work in excellence. She called her students “mathletes,” wards of the Mathematics Trainers Guild Phils., the private organization that promotes excellence in mathematics education in the country.

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17, 2 0 1 5

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

VIEW FROM MALCOM ATTY. HARRY ROQUE JR.

BINAY AT UPLB

[ EDI TORI A L ]

JUST GET TO WORK A EUROPEAN court has ruled that time spent traveling to and from work should be counted as part of actual work done, and that companies should pay employees for time spent on the road, as well.

The case originated in Spain, where a company that installs security systems decided to shut down its regional offices in 2011. As a result, employees of the company had to travel greater distances from their houses to their work appointments.

The European Court of Justice ruled that the workers’ journeys stemmed directly from the employer’s move to abolish the regional offices, not from their own decision. “Requiring them to bear the burden of their employer’s choice would be contrary to protecting the safety and health of workers.”

A European Union directive says no workers should work beyond 48 hours a week and guarantees a minimum rest period.

It is tempting to say we wish the same applied to the Philippines, or at least in Metro Manila where the traffic has reached crisis proportions of late.

But the circumstances are just too different beyond the surface. There is no single private employer that decided to close a conveniently located office and forced its workers to travel further just to get to their place of work.

There is no demand, too, that employers here pay for the hours spent by their workers on the road. Some of them live near the premises, some of them don’t. It is expected they put in their usual hours regardless of where they live.

What there is, is a government that is supposed to make traveling to and from work, or schools, at least a bearable daily experience, but is failing spectacularly at it.

The people using the roads and public transportation are neither the poor that local politicians coddle during elections, nor the rich who fund their campaigns.

The workers who struggle every day are those who eke out a living from their fixed wages—taxed, by the way, at the same rate as the earnings of the handful of billionaires in this country.

These are the people who find themselves in the limbo between being with their loved ones and getting some real work done at their workplaces. They get angry, they rant, they take to social media, but they do it all again the following day— because they need their jobs, and because their government gives them no choice.

As the candidates declare their intentions to seek the high posts in government, let them be reminded of—bombarded by—images of how ordinary workers are punished by flooding, by traffic, and by the inefficiency of public transportation.

We just want to work—contribute a bit to society, create something out of nothing, earn a decent living and envision a more comfortable life for our children.

Our time and energy are finite, and we do not want to see them go to waste because of your apathy or ineptitude.

A plea: just allow us to work better—by getting to work, yourself.

HUMDINGER LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES NOW that Senator Grace Poe has declared for the presidency, the battle for the highest post in the land has been joined. Assuming that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte makes good on his vow not to run for president, the race for Malacañang promises to be a humdinger, a threecornered fight that looks to go down the wire.

Poe, President Noynoy Aquino’s candidate Mar Roxas

and Vice President Jejomar Binay all have different strengths that they are expected to exploit to the hilt and weaknesses that they will seek to downplay in the run-up to the May elections.

Poe has her gaudy survey numbers, Mar has the money and the massive resources of the Aquino administration and the party in power and Binay has his vaunted local network and organization. All three factors —popularity, resources and organization—are necessary to win it all next year; the declared candidates appear to excel in one attribute and to be weak in

the other two.

And this narrative of mutually exclusive strengths is what makes the presidential race so compelling. The rivals seem to be almost evenly matched, offering what, in a more lopsided contest, would be the monopoly of one, dominant candidate.

To illustrate, Joseph Estrada, when he ran for president in 1998, had a virtual monopoly of the strengths that Poe, Roxas and Binay have separately now. That is why Estrada was such a juggernaut; he had the mass-based popularity that generated even more bandwagon

A9

The narrative of mutually exclusive strengths is what makes the presidential race so compelling.

popularity, the money that attracted more money as befits a wire-to-wire leader and the local and nationwide organization that united all the opportunistic politicians who wanted to be in the good graces of an impending winner.

I can’t remember a presidential contest as tight as this since Ferdinand Marcos challenged Cory Aquino in a snap election in 1986. And since the advent of the current multiparty system, this is probably the closest to a one-on-one fight that we shall get to witness, with three major candidates contesting the biggest prize of them all.

It certainly looks like a battle for the ages. Let’s get it on.

*** By now, everybody and his barangay chairman knows that Congress can no longer gather enough members to constitute a quorum or perhaps to even fill a regular-sized jeepney. And we’ve been told that our lawmakers, in the House of Representatives particularly, are now busy setting up their campaigns in their districts.

I seem to recall that it was the British ambassador, of all people, who declared recently that he could not understand why Congress could not get enough

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-

members to attend its sessions, not even those belonging to the administration Liberal Party who have been directed

by President Noynoy Aquino to pass the draft laws that he wants passed, like the Bangsamoro Basic Law. Surely, there must be a bigger reason for the wanton and wholesale absenteeism that is afflicting Congress, especially among the members of the LP majority.

A source in the House has offered what appears to be the most likely explanation: the LP members are afraid of candidates that may be fielded by

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

their own party against them.

The source cited the case of an incumbent, palace-allied congressman in Central Luzon who was told by the LP’s bosses to step aside because the party wanted to field someone else.

The congressman was told that he could choose to run anyway, but that he should not expect any support from the party in power.

Now, if there’s anything a congressman or any other local official, for that matter, will not allow, 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. Isabel “Gina” P. Verzosa Head, Advertising Solutions Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

I WAS at UP Los Baños on Tuesday and I want to set the record straight about reports that Vice President Jejomar Binay was booed during his appearance.

Yes, there were some students outside the lecture room who gave the VP the thumbs down when he entered the venue.

Yes, the students asked tough questions about political dynasties, human rights and political ads.

But while the response of the students indicated that they were not in accord with the VP’s answers, it was hardly what one would call “jeering.”

I too disagree with the VP on the issue of political dynasties. His belief though is that in a democracy, the electorate should be given a choice. The problem, he said, is bad governance and not dynasties. To me, the matter appears moot since much as we want an anti-dynasty law, the fact is that an overwhelming number of legislators are from political dynasties. This makes the matter of legislating against dynasties a political impossibility.

I might run for Congress precisely to improve the odds of passing one. For now, with the Aquino dynasty entrenched in power, it would be an impossible task.

Note though that despite his views on the matter, the VP conceded that he has no choice but to follow the law if one against dynasties is in fact passed.

The VP easily answered the matter of the killing of Lumad and others. He simply repeated a fact: that is, of all the presidential hopefuls, it was only he who is a recognized human rights defender being the founder of the lawyers group MABINI. The students though attempted to pin him down on what he has done to promote human rights as part of this administration. Binay replied with a constitutional reality: as VP elected from the opposition party, he was not technically part of the administration. The truth too, according to him, is that while he was given the housing portfolio, he could not address violations of political and civil rights under this portfolio. Besides, he opined that the only function of the Vice President is really that of spare tire. This appears to be the harsh reality of constitutional powers.

Anent corruption, again, given his limited constitutional powers, all that he could do was to ensure that the housing agencies under him: NHA, Pag-IBIG, and the HUDCC—were not hubs of corruption. With the likes of lawyer Darlene Berberabe in these offices, not one of the students could question the VP’s submission.

Perhaps the best that happened at UPLB was that contrary to Malacañang trolls’ predictions that the VP would be a no-show, he did go. Moreover, the trolls predicted he would not answer questions; he did so from 2:30 to 6 p.m., an hour longer than the organizers reserved the theater for.

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17, 2 0 1 5

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

VIEW FROM MALCOM ATTY. HARRY ROQUE JR.

BINAY AT UPLB

[ EDI TORI A L ]

JUST GET TO WORK A EUROPEAN court has ruled that time spent traveling to and from work should be counted as part of actual work done, and that companies should pay employees for time spent on the road, as well.

The case originated in Spain, where a company that installs security systems decided to shut down its regional offices in 2011. As a result, employees of the company had to travel greater distances from their houses to their work appointments.

The European Court of Justice ruled that the workers’ journeys stemmed directly from the employer’s move to abolish the regional offices, not from their own decision. “Requiring them to bear the burden of their employer’s choice would be contrary to protecting the safety and health of workers.”

A European Union directive says no workers should work beyond 48 hours a week and guarantees a minimum rest period.

It is tempting to say we wish the same applied to the Philippines, or at least in Metro Manila where the traffic has reached crisis proportions of late.

But the circumstances are just too different beyond the surface. There is no single private employer that decided to close a conveniently located office and forced its workers to travel further just to get to their place of work.

There is no demand, too, that employers here pay for the hours spent by their workers on the road. Some of them live near the premises, some of them don’t. It is expected they put in their usual hours regardless of where they live.

What there is, is a government that is supposed to make traveling to and from work, or schools, at least a bearable daily experience, but is failing spectacularly at it.

The people using the roads and public transportation are neither the poor that local politicians coddle during elections, nor the rich who fund their campaigns.

The workers who struggle every day are those who eke out a living from their fixed wages—taxed, by the way, at the same rate as the earnings of the handful of billionaires in this country.

These are the people who find themselves in the limbo between being with their loved ones and getting some real work done at their workplaces. They get angry, they rant, they take to social media, but they do it all again the following day— because they need their jobs, and because their government gives them no choice.

As the candidates declare their intentions to seek the high posts in government, let them be reminded of—bombarded by—images of how ordinary workers are punished by flooding, by traffic, and by the inefficiency of public transportation.

We just want to work—contribute a bit to society, create something out of nothing, earn a decent living and envision a more comfortable life for our children.

Our time and energy are finite, and we do not want to see them go to waste because of your apathy or ineptitude.

A plea: just allow us to work better—by getting to work, yourself.

HUMDINGER LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES NOW that Senator Grace Poe has declared for the presidency, the battle for the highest post in the land has been joined. Assuming that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte makes good on his vow not to run for president, the race for Malacañang promises to be a humdinger, a threecornered fight that looks to go down the wire.

Poe, President Noynoy Aquino’s candidate Mar Roxas

and Vice President Jejomar Binay all have different strengths that they are expected to exploit to the hilt and weaknesses that they will seek to downplay in the run-up to the May elections.

Poe has her gaudy survey numbers, Mar has the money and the massive resources of the Aquino administration and the party in power and Binay has his vaunted local network and organization. All three factors —popularity, resources and organization—are necessary to win it all next year; the declared candidates appear to excel in one attribute and to be weak in

the other two.

And this narrative of mutually exclusive strengths is what makes the presidential race so compelling. The rivals seem to be almost evenly matched, offering what, in a more lopsided contest, would be the monopoly of one, dominant candidate.

To illustrate, Joseph Estrada, when he ran for president in 1998, had a virtual monopoly of the strengths that Poe, Roxas and Binay have separately now. That is why Estrada was such a juggernaut; he had the mass-based popularity that generated even more bandwagon

A9

The narrative of mutually exclusive strengths is what makes the presidential race so compelling.

popularity, the money that attracted more money as befits a wire-to-wire leader and the local and nationwide organization that united all the opportunistic politicians who wanted to be in the good graces of an impending winner.

I can’t remember a presidential contest as tight as this since Ferdinand Marcos challenged Cory Aquino in a snap election in 1986. And since the advent of the current multiparty system, this is probably the closest to a one-on-one fight that we shall get to witness, with three major candidates contesting the biggest prize of them all.

It certainly looks like a battle for the ages. Let’s get it on.

*** By now, everybody and his barangay chairman knows that Congress can no longer gather enough members to constitute a quorum or perhaps to even fill a regular-sized jeepney. And we’ve been told that our lawmakers, in the House of Representatives particularly, are now busy setting up their campaigns in their districts.

I seem to recall that it was the British ambassador, of all people, who declared recently that he could not understand why Congress could not get enough

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-

members to attend its sessions, not even those belonging to the administration Liberal Party who have been directed

by President Noynoy Aquino to pass the draft laws that he wants passed, like the Bangsamoro Basic Law. Surely, there must be a bigger reason for the wanton and wholesale absenteeism that is afflicting Congress, especially among the members of the LP majority.

A source in the House has offered what appears to be the most likely explanation: the LP members are afraid of candidates that may be fielded by

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

their own party against them.

The source cited the case of an incumbent, palace-allied congressman in Central Luzon who was told by the LP’s bosses to step aside because the party wanted to field someone else.

The congressman was told that he could choose to run anyway, but that he should not expect any support from the party in power.

Now, if there’s anything a congressman or any other local official, for that matter, will not allow, 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. Isabel “Gina” P. Verzosa Head, Advertising Solutions Anita F. Grefal Treasury Manager Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

I WAS at UP Los Baños on Tuesday and I want to set the record straight about reports that Vice President Jejomar Binay was booed during his appearance.

Yes, there were some students outside the lecture room who gave the VP the thumbs down when he entered the venue.

Yes, the students asked tough questions about political dynasties, human rights and political ads.

But while the response of the students indicated that they were not in accord with the VP’s answers, it was hardly what one would call “jeering.”

I too disagree with the VP on the issue of political dynasties. His belief though is that in a democracy, the electorate should be given a choice. The problem, he said, is bad governance and not dynasties. To me, the matter appears moot since much as we want an anti-dynasty law, the fact is that an overwhelming number of legislators are from political dynasties. This makes the matter of legislating against dynasties a political impossibility.

I might run for Congress precisely to improve the odds of passing one. For now, with the Aquino dynasty entrenched in power, it would be an impossible task.

Note though that despite his views on the matter, the VP conceded that he has no choice but to follow the law if one against dynasties is in fact passed.

The VP easily answered the matter of the killing of Lumad and others. He simply repeated a fact: that is, of all the presidential hopefuls, it was only he who is a recognized human rights defender being the founder of the lawyers group MABINI. The students though attempted to pin him down on what he has done to promote human rights as part of this administration. Binay replied with a constitutional reality: as VP elected from the opposition party, he was not technically part of the administration. The truth too, according to him, is that while he was given the housing portfolio, he could not address violations of political and civil rights under this portfolio. Besides, he opined that the only function of the Vice President is really that of spare tire. This appears to be the harsh reality of constitutional powers.

Anent corruption, again, given his limited constitutional powers, all that he could do was to ensure that the housing agencies under him: NHA, Pag-IBIG, and the HUDCC—were not hubs of corruption. With the likes of lawyer Darlene Berberabe in these offices, not one of the students could question the VP’s submission.

Perhaps the best that happened at UPLB was that contrary to Malacañang trolls’ predictions that the VP would be a no-show, he did go. Moreover, the trolls predicted he would not answer questions; he did so from 2:30 to 6 p.m., an hour longer than the organizers reserved the theater for.

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17, 2 0 1 5

A10

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

WHY AQUINO IS WORRIED TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

MY sources tell me that the handlers of Mar Roxas, the administration’s candidate for President, told him never to be seen in public with Korina Sanchez, his wife.

They said that many people do not like Korina, a known ABS-CBN broadcaster. She reportedly says the wrong things at the wrong time.

I am beginning to believe this. Korina has not been seen with Mar in public for a while. *** President Aquino’s utmost concern at the moment is not how to assure victory in 2016 for his anointed, Mar Roxas.

Instead, Palace sources say that the President is actually worried about the many criminal and civil cases he is bound to face the moment he steps down from office on June 30, 2016.

BS Aquino III is aware that a group of lawyers, former judges and even justices have been meeting regularly somewhere in Global City to fine-tune cases to be filed against him once he loses his immunity from suit.

Among these cases being prepared against the President is bribery. He allegedly bribed lawmakers to have former Supreme Court Justice Renato Corona impeached, convicted and ousted. Santa Banana, I am told that some congressmen and senators have volunteered to become whistle-blowers!

Another case, my sources told me, is a suit against President Aquino and his cohort Budget Secretary Butch Abad for plunder in concocting that mongrel called Disbursement Acceleration Program ostensibly aimed at enhancing economic growth. This was misused and abused to further the Aquino administration’s political agenda.

Both the PDAF and the DAP have been ruled by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

My gulay, the case that could be the last nail in the coffin of President Aquino was his “ultimate accountability and responsibility” for that slaughter of 44 police commandos in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

He had his friend, thensuspended and now-dismissed Police Chief Alan Purisima take charge of “Oplan Exodus.”

Former Interior Secre-

tary Mar Roxas and thenacting Police Chief Leonardo Espina were kept out of the loop.

To me, that was a clear example of what a President should not be. Mr. Aquino never apologized for it!

Obviously, in an attempt to escape accountability and ultimate responsibility being the PNP C ommander-in-C hief, President Aquino is now talking of an “alternate version” of mamasapano.

For this, I think he can be impeached.

As I have always said, there’s such a thing as “karma”—whatever goes around comes around. *** I’m writing this column before Senator Grace Poe makes her long-awaited announcement to run for the presidency in 2016.

I knew this was coming, with the way Grace swaggers among the crowds that surround her wher-

He knows he will face many cases when he steps down.

ever she goes, and the way she walks, raising her hands, as if to accept the adulation.

I really don’t know what she stands for. She makes a big thing out of the fact that she is an adopted daughter of the late movie icon Fernando Poe Jr.. Perhaps she thinks this is a sure ticket to the presidency.

Sure, she is honest so far (I say this since honesty include integrity, probity, and dedication to one’s profession). There’s also a thing called mental dishonesty.

She is also popular, being a fresh face in politics, but, is that all there’s to it to become President?

She has reportedly been promised funding by the usual and well-known political contributors who donate to every candidate just to get an assurance that their investment will not come to naught.

Grace, my gulay, seems unaware that election funders also wait for payback time. These people don’t just part with their money just because they

NO ALTERNATE TRUTH DUTY CALLS FLORENCIO FIANZA IT ALL started in a small media forum in Iloilo where President Aquino said that he wanted further investigation conducted to determine what actually transpired during the Mamasapano encounter on that fateful day of January 25.

According to the President, there is an emerging development that is pointing to what he would term as the alternate truth. As if on cue, a major broadsheet came out with an article quoting the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces that he too would like to follow up some leads that might change the accepted Mamasapano narrative.

Another AFP officer in that same article also blasted the so-called incompetent handling of the operation by the Philippine National Police, opening the wounds that were supposed to have been healed by those unity marches of AFP and PNP personnel at the height of Mamasapano inquiries.

Now, this so-called search for the alternate truth has become another full-blown controversy.

Instead of focusing on important problems affecting the lives of millions of citizens, like the traffic problem and inefficient public transportation, Malacañang wants to revisit Mamasapano.

To muddle the issue some more, this same broadsheet released a picture purportedly to be of a dead American who was like someone’s face!

Grace is really a political neophyte, unaware that popularity is not all there’s to it in winning the presidency. Does Grace have grassroots following and a political machinery to ensure that her votes will be counted on Election Day? She should be aware that FPJ, popular as he was, lost in 2004 because his funding during the last two weeks dried up.

Despite the ranting of Susan Roces that FPJ was cheated, the fact is that the Iglesia did not vote for FPJ but for Gloria since Iglesia surveys found that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was winning.

Aside from this, Grace Poe’s presidential bid is a boost for oppositionist Vice President Binay.

Why? Because logic tells us

part of those present at the SAF command post located far from the encounter. The picture, by the way, does not at all show that the deceased person was actually Caucasian. The United States embassy has repeatedly denied that any US government personnel, either military or civilian, died in that encounter. In the exhaustive Senate, PNP and House inquires, nothing was also mentioned about a dead American.

The President says that he only wants to know the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But he does know the whole truth because he was in it from the very beginning, from the planning to the jump off.

He even provided some advice to the senior commanders. In addition, the President is the repository of all intelligence reports in this country. If there is anyone who knows the whole story, it is him.

There must be another reason why he wants to revisit the tragedy of Mamasapano which has become one of the worst demonstrations of presidential leadership in our country’s history.

Although the public has grown accustomed to Mr. Aquino’s often-complicated behavior, his handling of the Mamasapano issue really showed his complex personality. The big question is why does he even want to reopen the wound which is beginning to heal at this late stage of his presidency.

Not only that. He is in the process of trying to convince people to vote for his anointed successor to continue his so-called that there will be those in the Liberal Party coalition who will swing in favor of Grace.

But, Santa Banana, more importantly, Grace should not forget her disqualification case at the Senate Electoral Tribunal hanging over her pretty head.

The case could continue to hound her until the end of the year. Consider all the documents and proof that she is not natural born. My gulay, people may believe that a vote for Grace is a vote for an American. Can we afford to have an alien as president? *** Dante Arevalo Ang, whom I first met and knew when the late Roberto S. Benedicto had full control of television channels 2, GTV 4, the government station, Channels 9 and 13

legacy.

It is hard to fathom what goes on in the head of this person. Eventually, in the not-too-distant future, the public will find out the reasons for such a move. But right now, we can only have an educated guess. It might be that he wants a clean slate when he leaves office. The PNP and Senate reports squarely laid the blame on him. The findings of these two investigations were never contradicted by any of the government agencies that investigated the incident. The Office of the Ombudsman has charged both Alan Purisima and Getulio Napeñas. Napeñas, because of the case brought against him, was not able to collect all his retirement benefits except for his accrued leave and now has to work to support his family. The DOJ has never completed its so-called investigation and with this new twist, Secretary De Lima was quoted as saying that the DOJ would consider this alternate version.

Since only the Senate and PNP reports have indicted the President, it stands to reason that he does not want this blemish hovering over his head in what he believes is his sterling record. With a new investigation, these two damning conclusions could be wiped out clean.

This is wishful thinking. Nothing will erase what the people already know. No amount of alternate versions would change the people’s mind.

Besides, does the President expect the people to embrace the version of the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front which seems to be what he prefers? We must remember that unlike the Senate and PNP inquiries which were exhaustive, transparent and open to the public, the MILF report was done by them alone.

The new issues being raised by the broadsheet reporter about the body position of Marwan and the bullets that entered the hut where Marwan was sleeping are only meant to raise doubts to what has already been investigated.

How for instance could the reporter have counted how many bullets entered or went out of a hut made of sawali? It would have been almost impossible to determine that.

One outcome of this search for the alternate truth is that the morale of the PNP which was slowly improving has again taken a hit. It seems that the President cannot let the issue to rest and is showing his partiality to the AFP which is not good in a Commander in Chief.

The President should remember that the PNP, or the then-Philippine Constabulary/Integrated National Police has stood by his family through thick and thin since the 1986 Edsa revolt and the many succeeding coup attempts to topple his mother’s administration.

Maybe he should pause for one moment and reflect on that.

As we often say as Filipinos, he who does not know how to appreciate a debt of gratitude is going to be damned forever.

The Palace should just let Mamasapano rest.

under the management of Kanlaon Broadcasting System, as a sales director, is my kind of entrepreneur and achiever.

Not so many people know that Dante, who is chairman emeritus of the Manila Times Publishing Group, has put up The Manila Times College both in Manila and in Subic, with the Manila Campus offering Humanities and Social Sciences and the Subic Campus offering Science, Technology, Engineering, Math and Accounting, Business, Management.

Aside from the two campuses, Dante’s Subic campus, also offers journalism classes for mass communications students to finetune their career. Would you believe that there are also foreign students taking courses in both campuses?

Dante also has another school, the Dewey School, with its own campus. Aside from all these, he operates a wellness and spa studio in Subic, and soon will build a village for retirement, also in Subic, together with a foreign partner. *** With both Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos-Recto and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo turning down the Liberal Party’s offer as the vice presidential running mate of Mar, the Liberal Party may just settle for Nacionalista Party Senator Alan Peter Cayetano.

If NP Senator Bongbong Marcos runs for the presidency, who knows, he may get Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as his running mate?

In the world of politics, anything is possible.

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A11

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

RA 10654

MINORITY REPORT DANILO SUAREZ OUR country is one of the world’s largest archipelagos, stretching 2,000 kilometers from north to south. It consists of 7,107 islands with an estimated 17,460 km of coastline, underscoring the maritime culture of our people.

Consequently, fishing is a very important industry in the Philippines. In 2012, we ranked 7th among the top fish producing countries in the world. The industry also accounted for 15.4 percent (P199.3 billion) and 18.5 percent (P131 billion) of the Gross Value Added in Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing Group. It also employed a total of 1,614,368 fishing operators nationwide (NSO 2002 Census for Fisheries).

Similarly, due to our maritime culture, the Philippines also has one of the highest per capita fish consumption in the world at 36 kg per year of fish and fishery products.

On Feb. 27 this year, RA 10654 or “An act to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, amending the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998” lapsed into law. Accordingly, the amendments to the Fisheries Code are all aimed at giv-

ing the local fishing industry a better chance of rebuilding fish stocks and allowing for a more rational approach to fish catch production. Although we are optimistic with these reforms, it is crucial that our laws are not only properly implemented but, more importantly, made responsive to the realities of our people so that we can ensure food security in the long term.

One particular provision— Section 7 of the law—amended Sec. 14 of the existing Fishery Code on “monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing in all Philippine waters and Philippineflagged distant water fishing vessels” has been decried by the Southern Philippines Deep Sea Fishing Association Inc. For one, SOPHIL president Leonardo Y. Tan complained, under this provision, the government will deploy observers to check whether fishers are in legal waters. However, it will be the fishing sector who will shoulder the allowances and the insurance of these personnel. Moreover, although the government will buy the tracking equipment, fishers will have to pay monthly fees to support this.

SOPHIL has also decried the monetary penalties for illegal and unregulated commercial fishing which they alleged are too high compared to fees im-

posed on other industries. Another complaint expressed by the fishing industry was that the government held no consultations with them or any other commercial fishing groups in the country before the law was drafted.

Dr. Mario Pascual, a fish trader based in Navotas City, said his group and other medium-scale commercial fishing operators had been campaigning across the country against the punitive provisions of the law. He stressed the fact that during their campaign tours, they learned that majority of our fisher folks in the commercial and municipal levels were ignorant of RA 10654. This confirmed that there was no public consultation on the creation of RA 10654.

Moreover, small fisher folk they represented also contest the imposition of a 3-kilos-aday catch limit being implemented by the BFAR in connection with the provisions in the law which puts as fishing prohibition “beyond 15 kilometers [of the bay] from the shoreline,” the prohibition of the use of nets and other “active gear” in fishing, and the delimitation of the amount of fish to be caught in allowable areas.

Clearly, this law lacked the proper consultation with stake-

Binay... From A9 holders since it is not based on experience. For a country where the staple after rice is fish, limiting the catch to 3 kilos a day smacks of economic genocide. The drafters did not take into account the realities of small and commercial fishers, who most often than not, need to borrow money on a daily basis for their foray into the sea.

Imposing a limit on their catch effectively equates to killing them slowly. Moreover to limit fish catch would also mean putting our impoverished brethren of their main source of vitamins and proteins. Surely, majority of us cannot afford meat, hence fish is our main source of protein and other essential nutrients. Strikingly significant as well is the question as to why did the President failed to sign it and Malacañang just merely allowed it to lapse into law?

RA 10654 only came to public knowledge when a copy of it was published in newspapers early last March.

POP GOES THE WORLD JENNY ORTUOSTE Ms. Ortuoste’s column will resume next week.

DID CHARLIE HEBDO MOCK THE DEAD REFUGEE BOY?

By Leonid Bershidsky THE French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo has become obsessed with Aylan Kurdi, the drowned Syrian toddler who became a symbol of Europe’s refugee crisis. It came as a shock to many people who supported the publication after it was attacked by terrorists this year, and the social networks are filled with indignation. It’s still the same Charlie, though, and it’s doing a great job.

In the Sept. 2 issue of the magazine, I counted 10 cartoons depicting or referring to the dead boy. In the tradition of last January, when media outlets would describe Charlie Hebdo’s cartoons of Prophet Muhammad but not actually publish them, I’ll attempt to put some of these disturbing visuals into words.

Two overweight tourists standing on a Turkish beach, one eating an ice cream, with just the head of the drowned boy visible behind them. A voice comes from outside the frame: “If you could perhaps move a little bit.”

Xenophobic French politician Jean-Marie Le Pen standing over the body of Aylan Kurdi, pointing out that the boy’s clothes are in France’s national colors—blue, white and red.

A glamorous blonde relaxing with a cocktail in the patio of her villa is told to give shelter to a refugee child. “So he drowns in the pool? No thanks,” she replies.

And then, of course, there are the two discarded cover ideas (the magazine traditionally publishes these on its last page). “So close to the goal,” declares one depicting dead Aylan on the beach with a McDonald’s poster towering over him, offering “Two kiddie meals for the price of one.” If you’re crying “enough,” I know what you mean. Looking at just a few of these pictures prompted Peter Herbert, head of the U.K.’s Society of Black Lawyers to tweet: “Charlie Hebdo is a purely racist, xenophobic and ideologically bankrupt publication that represents the moral decay of France.” He even threatened to report the weekly to the International Criminal Court for inciting hate speech.

The #jesuischarlie Twitter hashtag is now home to countless tweets expressing outrage with the magazine’s “mockery” of Aylan Kurdi.

Dissenting voices were heard, too, but they were drowned in the chorus of condemnation.

Charlie Hebdo is finally back where it was before January’s attack, in which the brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi killed 11 people at the magazine’s offices, decimating its staff, and wounded 11 more. It offends again, instead of drawing sympathy. I’m sure it feels like home to the editors and artists.

In January, the cartoonist Renald Luzier, known as Luz, who drew the cover of Char-

lie’s first issue after the shooting, explained that the magazine’s mission had always been “destroying symbols, breaking down taboos, bursting bubbles of fantasy.” He added that the “symbolic weight” put on the surviving staffers’ shoulders was difficult for him to bear.

“It’s wonderful that people are giving us their support, but it’s going against Charlie’s cartoons,” Luz said.

If the people who now wax indignant about the Aylan Kurdi cartoons supported Charlie Hebdo last winter and joined demonstrations carrying “Je suis Charlie” signs, they clearly did it for the wrong reasons. The magazine was attacked for putting potent symbols through the grinder. It’s done that again with the now-iconic photograph of the dead boy. As usual with Charlie, the message is transparent: Don’t dare use this photograph to advertise shallow, ineffectual charity; don’t be secretly dismissive because it was not your child and not a European child; don’t trivialize Aylan Kurdi’s death by turning it into a political cliche. “If you can look at the original photograph without averting your eyes but you can’t look at these cartoons, there’s something wrong with you,” the artists tell their audience.

Charlie Hebdo is still resolutely leftist and pro-immigrant.

The editorial in the latest issue praises Germany for agreeing to accept 800,000 refugees, though

it points out the Germans might not be entirely altruistic, given their shrinking workforce and their need to clean up their reputation after “the little thing that happened between 1939 and 1945.” But it has no kind words for France: “The French have been told and told that immigration is ‘a chance,’ but they don’t really believe it and they secretly think it would have been much simpler if there were fewer people who wanted to come live ‘with us.’

The French are generous, humanist, open-hearted, but only up to a point. The only question is where that point is located.”

It went on to recall how French xenophobes treated Jewish refugees in the early 1940s.

And it waxed sarcastic about the Aylan Kurdi photograph’s ability to bring about a miraculous change of heart. “This image is spoken of as a relic endowed with enormous powers, an icon that will bring back our faith and open our hearts,” the editorial said. “It must be so, Christian Europe. A Europe that still believes in miracles.”

As a father, I flinch at caricatures of dead children. But Charlie Hebdo’s way is to pull no punches, and it’s an honest way to tell the story of Europe’s response to the growing influx of refugees. Modern-day icons lose their potency quickly. When they come back as harsh satire, they regain some of their healing qualities. Bloomberg

This proves what the VP has been saying all along: that he would answer the proper questions in the proper forum. In this instance, it was before the Iskolar ng Bayan in the UP system and not in the venomous premises of the Senate where our Senatongs lord it over. *** I did notice though that the Maoist Reaffirmists (RAs) among the student body appeared to prefer Grace Poe to Binay. This, I cannot understand. It seems to me that the barest minimum of all qualifications for the post of president is loyalty and patriotism to this country. How can our leftist young people support one who had previously renounced her Filipino citizenship and took an oath of allegiance to colonial America?

I am reminded of Aguinaldo, Paterno and Buencamino who during the Philippine-American war were only too eager to be assimilated into America’s bosom.

What has happened to our young revolutionaries? How can they go for America’s anointed one under any circumstance?

I do not know who ultimately will be chosen by our people to lead in 2016. In my book, Poe is the least deserving because she took an oath that she “will absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to the Philippines” and has opted instead to “support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic”. Worse, she swore even “to bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law” and that she undertook this obligation “freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion”.

At the very least, if she professes loyalty anew to this country, she certainly can no longer be trusted.

So to the student revolutionaries of UPLB: how can you?

Humdinger... From A9 it’s anyone telling them that they cannot run for office. And the source told me that the Central Luzon lawmaker’s case is not an isolated one.

All over the country, especially in vote-rich towns, cities and provinces, the Liberals have decided that they will directly meddle in local politics. And if that means disregarding the old “equity of the incumbent” principle, then so be it.

This strange new policy is apparently not only intended to improve the chances of Mar Roxas, the LP’s presidential candidate, in May but also to ensure the viability of the party beyond 2016. And because of the threat of massive support only for candidates that the party, not necessarily the incumbents, congressmen are understandably panicking.

So I guess this means that there really is no hope for any of the administration bills on Aquino’s shopping list. A congressman’s home court must be defended— especially if the threat is from the congressman’s party itself.

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T HURS DAY : S E P T E M B E R 1 7 , 2 0 1 5

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Fight ban urged in Australia Members of the De La Salle Greenhills-A celebrate with their parents and supporters, including GlobalPort owner Mikee Romero, following their huge 42-26 win over Xavier School to clinch the Small Basketeers Philippines crown in the Milosponsored twin basketball tournament and organized by BEST Center at the Xavier School gym.

La Salle, Adamson shine in cagefest DE LA Salle Greenhills—A had a cruise in clinching the Small Basketeers Philippines crown, but Adamson University frustrated Ateneo-A from claiming the Passerelle title over the weekend at the end of the twin basketball tournaments for youth organized by the Best Center and sponsored by Milo at the Xavier School gym.

Victorino Torres was the only player to score in double figures with 10 points, which were enough to inspire the greenies to pounce on Xavier School-A’s weaknesses for a

42-26 triumph that gave them the SBP crown.

Adamson, however, fought Ateneo-A almost on equal terms, but their persistence gave them a 76-63 triumph for the Passerelle trophy.

Gerry Austin Abadiano scored 13 points and Jeffy Mailim had 11 to negate Ateneo shooters Miguel Luigi Santos’ and Sean Dave Ildefonso’s combined 23 points as the rest of the young Falcons worked hard to beat whatever the Eaglets could produce.

Ateneo-A also settled for third place in the SBP with a 51-31 rout of Chiang Kai Shek College.

La Salle Greenhills-A, meanwhile, crushed Nazareth School of National University, 54-31, for third place in the Passerelle Division.

Meanwhile, Best Center founder and president Nic Jorge announced the last day of enrollment for the basketball clinics at Xavier School will end on Sept. 26.

Courses offered are for preparatory Levels 1 and 3. Clinics will be held on Saturdays.

Spanish bullfighter gored in belly MADRID—A Spanish bullfighter was seriously hurt Tuesday when a bull gored him in the belly and tossed him in the air, doctors said.

Television pictures showed the huge black bull tossing Miguel Angel Perera over the fence at the edge

of the bullring in the central city of Salamanca. Men carried the bullfighter inside with a look of pain on his face.

Doctors anaesthetized and operated on the 31-year-old Perera at the bullring for the horn wounds that

pierced his abdomen and caused intense bleeding, according to a medical report released by his press spokeswoman.

“The prognosis is very serious,” the report said. “The next 72 hours will be key to assessing his progress.” AFP

SYDNEY—The Australian Medical Association called for a ban on boxing on Tuesday following the death of a 28-year-old fighter after he was knocked unconscious in the ring.

Davey Browne Jr died early on Tuesday from his injuries from an IBF superfeatherweight regional title fight four days previously, after his family authorised his life-support to be turned off in a Sydney hospital.

The father-of-two was knocked out 30 seconds from the end of the super featherweight 12-round contest against Carlo Magali of the Philippines, and collapsed on his stool before being hospitalised in critical condition with brain injuries.

AMA vice-president Dr Stephen Parnis said it was time to ban boxing.

“One punch can kill -whether you are outside a pub on a Friday night or in a boxing ring -- and this is the thing that causes young lives to be ended so traumatically,” he said, according to Australian broadcaster ABC’s website.

“It’s a terrible tragedy for a young man with a young

family, but the fact that it was entirely avoidable just leaves a real sense of bitterness.

“The way that boxing is designed there will be these times inevitably where someone will get bleeding or irreversible damage to the brain and they will either lose their life or end up with brain damage.

“That is why the AMA thinks that we cannot continue with it (boxing).”

New South Wales sports minister Stuart Ayres said the Combat Sports Authority, a state government agency, will cooperate fully with police in their investigation.

“My thoughts are with David’s family and friends during this tragic time,” Ayres said in a statement.

In March, Braydon Smith died two days after losing a fight in his home town in Toowoomba, Queensland. He had collapsed 90 minutes after the bout. AFP

Tierro begins PCA title defense, is wary of Alcantara LAST year’s winner Patrick John Tierro starts his title-retention campaign in when they represent our country in international competitions such as Davis Cup, the 34th Philippine Columbian Association Open-Cebuana Lhuillier Wild- SEAGames and Asian Games,” he added. card Event today in the recently renovated PCA Open clay courts in Paco, The two finalists in the men’s singles class will earn their ticket in the main draw, Manila. while the players who make it into the quarterfinals and semifinals will have a The 30-year-old Tierro expects tough competition in the men’s singles division chance to compete in the qualifying stage when the ITF event unfurls on Oct. 2 in as he goes up against eight-time titlist Johnny Arcilla and former Australian Open the PCA courts in Paco, Manila. juniors’ champ Francis Casey Alcantara, who are both raring to brush past him in In the doubles’ division, only the winning duo will be given a slot in the 16-pair the tournament supported by Cebuana Lhuillier, Puma, Dunlop, Philippine Star, main draw of the event also backed by Whilpool/Fujidenzo, Broadway Motor Sales Head, Babolat, Compass/IMOSTI and Saranggani Rep. Manny Pacquiao.

Corp. Coca-Cola Fesma Philippines, Tyrecorp Incorporated, Pearl Garden Hotel While Arcilla remains a threat as he tries to reclaim his crown, Tierro still keeps and Metro Global Holdings Corporation. a wary eye on the younger Alcantara, who thwarted his title bid in the Olivarez Cup Veteran players Alberto Lim Jr. Elbert Anasta, Kyle Joshua Dandan, Marc finals last month.

Reyes, Jurence Mendoza and With automatic slots in the Jeson Patrombon will also 2015 Manila International Tenshowcase their remarkable nis Federation Men’s Futures skill set for the available spots Leg 2 at stake, the upcoming in the ITF Men’s Futures Leg 2. battles in the men’s division In the ladies’ side, it will be a are predicted to be one for the free-for-all. books.

Without four-time champion “We at Cebuana Lhuillier are Marian Jade Capadocia to deexcited to renew our commitfend her title, the Patrimonio sisment to support PCA Open esters – Anna Christine and Anna pecially with this year’s edition Clarice – will have the opportubeing an international laden nity to finally seize the crown tournament. This will provide that has eluded them for years. our top players the chance to test Equally-impressive Khim Igtheir mettle against some of the lupas, Roxanne Resma, Edilyn world’s best players and improve Balanga, Marinel Rudas, Mae their world rankings,” said CeSiso, Hannah Espinosa, Maia buana Lhuillier President/CEO Philippine Columbian Association Chairman Eduardo Caniza, Cebuana Lhuillier President/CEO Jean Henri Balce and Erika Manduriao will Jean Henri Lhuillier. also pit their skills in the ladies’ Lhuillier, PCA President Philip Ycasiano and PCA Open Organizing Committe Chairman Raul Diaz are “Their experience here shown with (standing from left) Philta Vice President Randy Villanueva, PCA General Manager Punch Dee, singles division when it starts will serve them in good stead and PCA Open Organizing Committee members Elena Durar and Aniceto Estanislao. on Sept 22.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Hamilton favored in smoky Singapore SINGA POR E—Lewi s Hamilton may have to fight through choking smog on his way to a third world title as the Singapore Grand Prix battles thick smoke from Southeast Asian forest fires.

Warriors demolish Wildcats, 83-70

By Mikey Izumi CEBU City—Top seed University of San Carlos Warriors leaned on their prolific firepower to demolish the Cebu Institute of Technology-University Wildcats, 83-70 and retain the top spot in the second round of eliminations in the 15th Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation, Inc. Basketball tournament last Tuesday at the Cebu Coliseum.

The game had to be stopped at the 4:28 mark of the first quarter as heavy rain poured into the court and stopped play, resuming only after 15 minutes.

The brief lull seemed to have energized the Warriors, who raced to a 44-31 halftime lead and padded it to the largest in the game at 69-47 at the end of the third quarter.

Four USC players scored in double figures, led by Ian Jefferson Tagapan with 13 points. But it was Charles Pepito, who stole the show as he was the named the Best Player of the Game by the by Viva Sports TV panelists Rico Navarro and Sandi Grumo with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and a steal.

Cameroonian import Shooster Olago added 12 points, while Nico Magat chipped in 11.

Allan Dimco and Joshua Dela Cerna combined for 30 points and Steven Bucao scored 14 for the Wildcats, who dropped into 6th place with a 4-7 card and put their final four chances in peril.

Lights illuminate the street circuit to be used for the Singapore Formula One as it is shrouded with haze.

Helicopters water-bombed raging forest fires that have cloaked parts of Indonesia in thick haze and pushed air quality to unhealthy levels in neighbouring Singapore and Malaysia. AFP

Run at Ondoy’s ground zero THE mayor of Marikina invites families and individuals to a fundraising fun run along the banks of the Marikina River.

“We all have heard about Ondoy and how it devastated Marikina. But have you ever been to Ondoy’s ground zero – the Marikina River? What about Provident Village? Experience for yourselves how it feels like to be in the place where flood waters rose to 23 meters above sea level,” said Mayor Del R. De Guzman.

Joining the Takbo para sa Marikina Watershed fun run on Sept. 20, at 6 a.m. enables people to learn interesting trivia and experiences from Ondoy. The fun run will start and end at the Youth Camp of the Marikina River Park’s west bank.

It features exhibits along the route of photos taken during the inundation and in the aftermath of Ondoy.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that must be in every Filipino’s bucket list,” said De Guzman.

Participants also have the option to make a commitment to take care of the environment by getting symbolic pieces of leaves from a piece of wood and attaching them to a lifeless tree.

Written in those leaves are promises such as “I will not litter”, “I will segregate”, “I will recycle” and “I will plant a tree.”

Runners can get these symbolic leaves and put them on an old and lifeless tree to symbolize life and hope.

Organized by the city government of Marikina in partnership with Rotary Club of District 3800, the proceeds will go to the tree planting and watershed protection programs under the Marikina Watershed Green Foundation, Inc.

It is supported by BDO Foundation, Armscor, Philippine Business for Social Progress, PDRF, Coats Manila Bay, Smart, Manila Water, San Miguel Beer, Ortigas & Co., One Meralco Foundation, Mr. Danny Chua of Rotary Club of Marikina West, Rapid City Realty and Development Corporation, PLDT, and Mr. Roger Py. Those who would like to join the advocacy run may register at the Marikina Sports Center and Marikina City Hall (Community Relations Office and Office of the Mayor). They can also sign up at registration booths located at SM Marikina, SM San Mateo, SM Masinag, CMP Mall, and Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall starting Sept. 1.

Takbo Para sa Marikina Watershed has 3K, 5K and 10K categories. Registration fee is P600.

The Briton enjoys a strong lead in the Formula One standings and would miss out on a chance to draw further ahead if organisers take the extreme, and so far unlikely, action of cancelling Sunday’s race.

But visibility could be a serious concern at the night grand prix, held under floodlights on a narrow and bumpy street circuit which snakes past the iconic landmarks of downtown Singapore.

The sight of fans in surgical face masks, and fog shrouding Singapore’s glitzy skyline, would also be far from ideal for the wealthy citystate in front of a global TV audience.

Organizers stressed there were no plans to change the race programme but warned in a statement: “The haze situation is highly changeable not only from day to day, but from hour to hour.

“Therefore, it is currently not possible to reliably predict what the PSI (pollutant standards index) level might be over the race weekend.”

PSI levels will be shown on the circuit’s big screens and surgical face masks will be sold at cost price, while medical posts will be on standby for breathing and eye problems.

Hamilton tweeted a picture of himself smiling as he arrived, but it has not been a happy week for Singapore’s 5.4 million residents as pollution soared to unhealthy levels accompanied by the acrid smell of wood smoke.

In just one of many activities affected by the annual haze problem, a race simulator event involving McLaren’s Jenson Button on Wednesday was moved indoors “due to the current hazy conditions”, organisers said.

- Unpredictable With downpours arriving on Tuesday and Wednesday and more storms forecast, rain may help improve the air quality -- but it would also provide an extra obstacle if it strikes during qualifying or the race. AFP

Spieth raring to go after missed cut woe

Slam-dunk. France’s shooting guard Nicolas Batum (left) soars to the basket for a dunk during the round of 8 basketball match between France and Latvia at the EuroBasket 2015 in Lille, northern France. AFP

LAKE FOREST—Jordan Spieth is relishing the prospect of locking horns with golf’s young guns once more as he prepares to bounce back from the disappointment of consecutive missed cuts at the BMW Championship this week.

The 22-year-old Masters and US Open champion said Tuesday he is nonplussed by his failure to progress to the third round in his two most recent forays and believes his game is in good order.

“Everything feels normal.

Everything is on point. My game is in a solid state right now,” Spieth told reporters.

“It’s in a state where I can certainly shoot into double digits

under par, and I believe that.

“It’s just a matter of getting it rolling, get into a groove and starting to see some putts go in and get an under-par round started so that I can settle in a little easier,” Spieth said, denying he had suffered a letdown after his stunning performances in Majors this season.

“You guys asked me the same thing after the Masters: How do you avoid a letdown? You guys asked me the same thing after the US Open: How are you going to avoid a letdown?” he said.

“There wasn’t a letdown this year. I just had two bad weeks.

Just leave it at that.”

Spieth joked he was relieved that this week’s tournament will

guarantee him a spot in the final round -- there is no cut at the BMW Championship, the third leg of the PGA Tour’s fourtournament playoff series.

“I’m happy to be checking into my hotel, and when they ask what day I’m checking out, I can say, ‘I’m checking out on Sunday.’ It’s nice,” Spieth said.

Spieth will tee off at Conway Farms Golf Club on Thursday in a threesome that underscores the exciting, youthful new era of men’s golf, playing alongside Australia’s Jason Day, who leads the playoff points standings, and Rickie Fowler, fresh from a win at the Deutsche Bank Championship earlier this month. AFP

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17, 2 0 1 5

A14

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Eagles...

From A16

Ravena, who at that point had been missing his outside shots all game long (0 of 6 from 3-point distance), drilled a step back triple to send the game into overtime at 57-all.

The Bulldogs erected a big lead early in the third. Kyle Neypes drilled a jumper; Alfred Aroga drove in strong to score on a lefthanded layup; and Mohammad Al-Yusouf Salim stole the ball then soared in for a layup to push NU to a five-point, 41-36 lead with 1:40 to go in the third period.

But the Blue Eagles battled right back. John Apacible tipped in the basketball as time expired to cut the NU lead to just one point, 43-42, after three quarters.

Meanwhile, rookie Bonbon Batiller, newly transferred from General Santos City, scattered a game-high 23 points to power the University of the East Red Warriors past the Adamson University Soaring Falcons, 89-78.

UE (2 wins, 1 loss) posted its second consecutive victory in the UAAP Season 78 men’s basketball tournament after dropping its initial game to wheel back into contention.

Manager: Viloria win is best birthday gift to me

All together now. Dancers perform between quarter times during the round of 8 basketball match between France and Latvia at the EuroBasket 2015 in Lille, northern France. AFP

Budapest, Hamburg, Rome, LA, Paris bid for 2024 games

LAUSANNE—The International Olympic

By Ronnie Nathanielsz Committee on Wednesday named Budapest, Hamburg in Germany, Los Angeles, Paris THE manager of former two-division world cham- and Rome as the final candidates for the pion Brian Viloria told The 2024 Olympics.

Standard/boxingmirror. com that the best birthday gift will be a victory by the Filipino over undefeated No. 2-ranked pound-for-pound World Boxing Council flyweight champion Roman Gonzalez of Nicaragua.

Gittelsohn, who was greeted by the World Boxing Council on its internet site on Wednesday, said Viloria was like a son to him.

“Brian and his wife Erika are a wonderful couple and I feel privileged that they are part of my life,” Gittelsohn said.

Referring to Viloria’s training at the Wild Card Gym of Freddie Roach, Gittelsohn said: “It’s going terrifically and that Brian looks motivated, is fast and is doing really well in the gym. Viloria will pick up the sparring a little more, but even now has a bit of spring in his legs because he is the challenger.”

Gittelsohn confirmed that ALA Gym trainer Edito “Ala” Villamor had spoken to longtime friend and parttime trainer of Viloria, Ruben Jimenez, and that they had worked out a schedule for sparring between Viloria and World Boxing Organization light flyweight champion Donnie Nietes when he arrives in Los Angeles in mid-September.

IOC president Thomas Bach said there were five “outstanding cities” in the race for the Games which will be decided in two years.

“What we see are five really highly qualified candidate cities,” Bach

told reporters. He added that the contest for 2024 would be “strong and fascinating.”

The announcement of the five cities was made hours after the midnight Tuesday deadline for bids.

Toronto and the Azer-

baijan capital of Baku had considered entering but finally decided against, leaving Los Angeles and Paris as the two early frontrunners.

Toronto’s mayor announced only on Tuesday that the Canadian city would not bid because of the financial uncertainties.

Bach said that Baku could return and try for the 2028 Games.

The contest will be the first completely run under the IOC’s Agenda 2020 re-

forms aimed at making bid contests less expensive and bureaucratic.

The IOC wants to make Olympic Games more sustainable through the use of existing venues. But it also imposes new conditions with hosts having to guarantee there will be no sexual discrimination.

“The whole procedure is much more transparent from the very beginning of the invitation phase,” Bach said of the new bid rules.

“What we wanted to to achieve there in Olympic Agenda 2020 is more diversity and more creativity in the competition,” he added.

With some potential cities, notably Boston in the United States, put off by the costs, the IOC will contribute $1.7 billion to staging the event.

Bach said the IOC is also giving $1.5 billion to Rio de Janeiro which is hosting the Games next year. AFP

Inter-school taekwondo slated

Julian Martin Sabino (right) hits Charmaine Ara with a roundhouse kick in a recent event.

TWO vital national inter-school taekwondo championships – free sparring supported by the SMART/MVP Sports Foundation and poomsae (forms) backed

by PLDT Home Ultera will be held on September 19-20 at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Around 1,000 taekwondo practitioners are expected to compete for schools affiliated with the Philippine Taekwondo Association, according to Organizing Committee Chairman Sung Chon Hong in the two-day event.

Among these schools are Dela Salle University-Taft, Zobel, Lipa and Dasmarinas, College of St. Benilde, University of the Philippines, San Beda College-Alabang, Mendiola and Taytay, Letran College, Don Bosco School of Makati and Mandaluyong, Diliman Preparatory School, University of Santo Tomas, University of the East, Arellano University, University of Baguio, University of Batangas and School of St. Anthony.

The competition will be categorized into Novice and Advance players with eight divisions under each category – senior, junior, cadet and gradeschool for male and female. It also includes poomsae (forms) which is open only to blackbelt students for the following events: Individual, Pair and Team.

Poomsae is performed by following a systematic time of movement in a consecutive sequence against an imaginary opponent or multiple rivals.

It consists of movements using hands and feet and interconnected techniques like blocking, punching, striking, thrusting and kicking.

Constant training of poomsae will help improve flexibility and control in breathing, balance, power, eye focus and mental discipline.

The two-day event sponsored by PLDT, Meralco, Philippine Sports Commission and MILO starts at 9 a.m. Martial arts enthusiasts, especially children interested to learn the sport, are invited to watch.

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17, 2 0 1 5

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Gilas needs to be at its best to beat China, says Baldwin

By Jeric Lopez

WITH only a few days left before it plunges into action in the FIBA-Asia Championship, the Gilas Pilipinas national team is cramming to transform itself into one cohesive unit.

Smart Gilas Pilipinas coach Tab Baldwin continues to emphasize that the nationals need to play cohesive and fluid basketball if they want to achieve their goal in winning the title and represent the country in the Rio Olympics.

“We’re still continuing to work on our fluidity as a team both on and off the

court. I’d like our maturity to transform further for us to be able to play to the best of our abilities and avoid silly mistakes,’’ said the KiwiAmerican Baldwin. “We’re trying to be as efficient we can be.’’

The nationals placed second in the 37th Jones Cup and topped the MVP Cup last week, but Baldwin said

the team still has a lot of improvement to do before they can declare themselves ready for the FIBA, tournament which starts Sept. 23.

“This is a very young and new team, not because of age and experience, but in terms of time and jelling together since we haven’t been playing together for a long time.

That’s what we’re continuing to work on, our chemistry and familiarity with the system we’re running,’’ he said.

The Baldwin stressed that Smart Gilas need to be at its absolute best against the opposition, especially against title favorites Iran and China.

“Some of our biggest con-

cerns are the turnovers and the careless mistakes that we tend to make on the defensive side. We cannot commit silly mistakes on both sides of the floor against those other strong teams in the FIBA-Asia. We need to fix those things going to China to have a really good shot.

It’s a continuing learning curve for us,’’ Baldwin said.

The nationals are in the middle of a five-day training camp at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu, where they continue to finetune their system leading into the tournament.

They fly back to Manila tomorrow and rest for the

weekend before flying to Changsa, China on Monday.

The Philippines, who is bracketed in Group B, will face Palestine on Sept. 23, meets Hong Kong on the 24th and takes on Kuwait on the 25th in the preliminary round of the FIBA-Asia.

In a report from Sports5, the only media outlet allowed in Smart Gilas’ closeddoor training in Cebu for this week, Baldwin told his players that they are all in it to win and the only goal is to win the FIBA-Asia tilt and earn the lone ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics and anything other than that will end up in disappointment.

9 Filipinos make 9-ball Round of 32

By Ronnie Nathanielsz NINE Filipinos stormed into the Round of 32 in the World 9-ball Championships at the Al Ahari Sports Club in Doha, Qatar.

While the Philippines leads the way with 9 players, Taiwan has eight making the grade, while China brings six of its players to the knockout stage and four Japanese qualified.

Poland has looked very strong and has three players in the Final 64. And the USA, the ancestral home of this game, has, for the first time in many years, three players in the knockout round.

WPA press officer Ted Lerner reported that the surprise results kept coming throughout the day.

When it was over, the last 64 standing represented what is one of the most diverse and wide open fields pool has seen in years. New names and new countries, combined with plenty of familiar faces promises to make the run for pool’s biggest prize over the next three days not only dramatic, but fascinating as well.

The Philippines’ Johan Chua finally got on track with a gritty win over the always strong Chang Jung Lin of Taiwan.

Veterans Warren Kiamco and Lee Vann Corteza played well and made it to the business end of the tournament.

Kiamco beat Canada’s Shannon Ducharme, 9-6, while Coteza bested another Canadian, Tom Teriault.

All matches will now be Race to 11, alternate break, single elimination through to the semifinals. The final will be a Race to 13.

LOTTO RESULTS

6/55 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M+ 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0 M 4 DIGITS 0-0-0-0 3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

Fiery windup ties Ababa with Tabuena, Gialon. Title-hungry Jhonnel Ababa went on a

birdie spree coming home at the front, shooting a solid five-under 67 and forcing a three-way tie at the helm with fancied Miguel Tabuena and Zanieboy Gialon at the start of the Central Azucarera de Tarlac Open at the Luisita Golf and Country Club yesterday.

Lions try to catch up with Knights Games today (San Juan Arena) 10 a.m.- San Sebastian vs EAC (jrs) 12 nn.- San Beda vs Lyceum (jrs) 2 p.m.- San Sebastian vs EAC (srs) 4 p.m.- San Beda vs Lyceum (srs)

THE San Beda Red Lions will play catch-up with the Letran Knights for the lead when they play a slumping Lyceum Pirates side in the main game today in the 91st NCAA basketball tournament at the San Juan Arena.

Carrying an 11-3 (win-loss) slate, the Red Lions will tie the Knights anew at 11-3 with a win over the Pirates in their 4 p.m. encounter and keep their sights of the top two spots in the Final Four.

The Red Lions dropped out of a share of the lead with the Knights last Friday following an 86-88 loss to the University of Perpetual Help Altas.

"We have another chance to do what we couldn't do the last game and hopefully we could execute this time," said San Beda coach Jamike Jarin.

The Red Lions will again rely on the fearsome trio of veterans Ola Adeogun, Arthur dela Cruz and Baser Amer, who are expected to run rings around the Pirates' porous defense.

But the Mendiola-based dribblers will play minus Michole Sorela, who was suspended for a game along with Jose Rizal University Gio Lasquety and Mapua's Denniel Aguirre for unsportsmanlike fouls committed in their previous games.

In their previous game, 6-8 Adeogun tallied 26 points and eight rebounds but was shackled by foul trouble and played for just 22 minutes.

Adeogun will be up against Lyceum's fearsome frontcourt of Cameroonian Jean Victor Nguidjol and Joseph Gabayni.

Peter Atencio

Developments on the cheating report SYLVIA LOPEZ ALEJANDRO

BEFORE I write on this controversy, which has enveloped the whole bridge community, allow me to give the highlights of my bridge game last week in honor of Madame Chris Tweddell, wife of Australian Ambassador Bill Tweddell. Ms. Angelina Cockrell and I wanted to demonstrate in hosting the event our friendship with Chris, forged through our passion for the game of bridge. I quote from Paulo Coelho from the Warrior of the Light: “But a Warrior never loses sight of things that last or of the strong bonds forged over time. A Warrior can distinguish between the transient and enduring.” Madame Chris expressed her profuse thanks for the surprise event in her honor.

In Chris’ very own words:

“In Manila, I have two families - my immediate family and my bridge family! And I feel loved and nurtured by both.”

I arrived in Manila in January, 2012 and six months later, was fortunate to find someone who put me in contact with a few bridge players.

I’ve enjoyed my tournament bridge games-Monday —the Philippines Tournament Bridge Association game at the Elks Club; Tuesday—the Alejandro franchise game at the Forbes Park Pavilion; Wednesday - the game held at the Manila Peninsula Hotel; Thursday—the game held at my home in North Forbes Park and Friday—the game at the Manila Golf Club.

My husband, Bill, describes himself as a bridge widower, and you can see why he says that!

I want to thank Manila’s wonderful bridge community for welcoming me in their bridge family. I would especially like to thank my regu-

lar partners—Ellie Esteban, Mencie de Vera, Harumi Ieda and Ching Holley.

I would also like to thank the game directors—Monday—Justo Manlongat and before that, Phil and Suena Manalang, Tuesday—Sylvia Alejandro, Wednesday—Joseph Maliwat and before that, Marie Fabie; Thursday—Julie Guthrie who was the director until October 2014 and Friday—Remy Romeo Salas.

I have lots of fantastic memories of our bridge tournaments. I will miss you all when I leave Manila in January next year.”

-oOoThe withdrawal of the Israel team from the Bermuda Bowl in Chennai, the World Bridge Federation announced following the withdrawal of Israel that Sweden would the place of Israel.

On Aug. 31, 2015, the Norwegian Bridge Federation sent to Europe a formal request to view the status of

the Israel pair Lotan Fischer and Ron Schwartz. On Sept.

4, 2014, the Nordic Bridge sent an official letter asking the EBL “for information as to what action EBL has taken or intends to take this matter.” On Sept, 7, 2015, it issued Press Release No. 4 saying they have published a dedicated Facebook page under the name “Fisher & Schwartz- The true story.”

Earlier through their lawyers, they demanded an apology and payment for damages suffered by them.

Allegations of cheating in international competition by 2 European players have recently appeared on the internet and on social media. This has been noted by the EBL and following the request of several NBOs, members of the EBL, the EBL has started a process to investigate incidents reported as occurring at EBL Championships.

[Updating] Separately, allegations of cheating in in-

ternational competition by a further 2 European players have been made public on the internet. Requests to investigate these allegations at the EBL Championships have been received and an additional investigation has commenced.

The two Europeans referred to that under an investigation is against Fantoni and Nunes. Bridge Winners has posted the following with their video evidence against Fantoni & Nunes.

Bridge winners had received overwhelming evidence alleging improper communication between the world’s #1 and #2 ranked bridge players, Fulvio Fantoni and Claudio Nunes, during the 2014 European Championships. The pair was on the Monaco team that placed second in this event, earning Monaco a spot in the upcoming Bermuda Bowl.”

Comments to: sylvia.alejandro@yahoo

A16

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17, 2 0 1 5

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

Eagles edge pesky Bulldogs

By Reuel Vidal

THE Ateneo De Manila University needed two overtimes, but had enough gas left to beat defending champion National University Bulldogs, 74-70, in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines Season 78 men’s basketball tournament at the Smart Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.

Kiefer Ravena forced two overtimes and then relied on Chibueze Ikeh, who dominated

the boards and scored six marginal free throws to power Ateneo to the scrambling victory.

Ravena split two charities, then scored the final points on a breakaway layup to finalize the count.

Gelo Alolino broke down the Ateneo defense to score on a layup to grab back the lead for NU, 61-60, with 55 seconds to play in overtime.

Ateneo could not score and Ralph Tansingco drilled a free throw to push NU ahead by two, 62-60.

Ravena then drove inside to tie the game at 62-all with just 5.7 seconds left to play to force the second overtime.

The Bulldogs seemed headed to victory late in the fourth period after Kyle Neypes hit a triple, followed by an outside shot

by Alolino, which pushed NU to a six-point, 54-48, lead with 3:10 to go in the game.

But Ravena just would not give up. He scored back-to-back baskets, the second when he recovered his own miss then drove in to score his 10th point to cut the gap to just three points, 55-52, for NU. Jerie Pingoy then converted two free throws to peg the count,

55-54, for NU. The Ateneo Blue Eagles, with the option to foul the worst free throw shooter of the Bulldogs, fouled NU’s best free throw shooter Alolino instead. Alolino drilled both free throws to hike the NU lead to three points, 5754, with just 16.7 seconds to play.

Ateneo’s Von Pessumal couldn’t inbound and was called for a five second violation. But Alolino lost control of the ball giving Ateneo possession.

Continued to A14

Ateneo seals title duel with National U

Ateneo’s Alyssa Valdez (2) and Bea de Leon (14) celebrate after scoring a hit against UST’s Pam Lastimosa (6) and Sarah Verutiao in their sudden death for the second finals berth in the Shakey’s V-League Season 12-Collegiate Conference.

Game Saturday

12:45 p.m. • UST vs FEU (best-of-three for third)

Game Sunday

12:45 p.m. • NU vs Ateneo (best-of-three for crown)

La Salle, Adamson shine in cagefest TURN TO A12

Hamilton picked in smokey Singapore TURN TO A13

BRACING for a sudden death skirmish, Ateneo cruised to a lopsided win instead as it pounced on a listless University of Santo Tomas side, 25-18, 25-18, 25-19, yesterday to seal a showdown with National U for the Shakey’s V-League Season 12-Collegiate Conference at The Arena in San Juan City yesterday.

Stung by their four-set loss to the Tigresses in Game Two last Sunday that snapped their amazing 10-game run, the Lady Eagles put on a near-impeccable all-around game anchored on solid blocking, outclassing the España-based squad all throughout the 78-minute match and winning their bestof-three series, 2-1.

Ateneo, which took the opener, 27-25, 25-16, 25-17, and NU, which swept FEU in their side of the Final Four, kick off their best-of-three title series on Sunday starting at 12:45 p.m. to be aired live on GMA News TV Channel 11, according to the organizing Sports Vision.

FEU and UST start their own playoff for third on Saturday, also at 12:45 p.m.

Handily taking the first two frames via the same scores, Ateneo pulled away from a 11-8 count in the third by rattling off eight straight hits spiked by five blocks that completely broke the backs of the stunned Tigresses, who hobbled all game with top hitter Ennajie Laure struggling and skipper Pam Lastimosa checked by Ateneo net defenders.

The league six-time champions did save five match points from 1424 as Ateneo relaxed toward the end but the Lady Eagles clinched the victory just the same on a UST service error.

B1

THURSDAY: SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

SMC to build $600-m coal plant

By Alena Mae S. Flores

SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., the energy arm of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., on Tuesday disclosed a plan to construct a 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Panay at a cost of $600 million.

SMC Global Power chairman Ramon Ang told reporters a new power plant would reduce the cost of electricity in Panay, which is suffering from high power rates of P6 to P8 per kilowatt-hour.

“We want to put up a power plant in Panay because we want to supply electricity in Iloilo because power prices are high there,” Ang said. Panay island consists of the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz and Iloilo.

He said SMC Global Power could put up the 300-MW circulating fluidized bed or clean coal facility in two and half to three years, at a cost of $2 million per megawatt.

“Can you imagine if we can sell power at P3.20 or P3.30 per kWh,” Ang said. He said power from Panay could be exported to Cebu and make cheaper power available to Visayas consumers.

Data from the Energy

Department showed that power demand in the Visayas would increase 7 percent in 2015 and 8 percent, annually from 2016 to 2020.

Ang said SMC Global Power would also put up a 300-MW power plant in Cebu.

He said the two power plants may be jointly offered to contractors for engineering, procurement and construction.

He said the 300-MW Malita coal plant in Davao and the 300MW Limay coal project in Bataan were on track for completion next year.

“We can expand Malita to 600 MW. Limay, the first 300-MW will be completed in 2016,” Ang said.

SMC Global earlier received an approval to conduct a grid impact study for its coal projects,

including the 600-MW coal plant in Malabuyoc, Cebu; 600-MW coal plant in Batangas City; and 600-MW coal plant in Mariveles, Bataan.

Strategic Power Development Corp., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SMC Global Power, is also pursuing at least three pumped storage hydro projects.

Strategic Power currently trades the capacity of the 345MW San Roque multipurpose hydroelectric power plant in Batangas.

Strategic Power won the bidding as the independent power producer administrator of San Roque in 2009 with an offer of $450 million.

San Miguel also trades the capacities of the Sual coal plant in Pangasinan and the Ilijan natural gas power facility in Batangas.

PSe comPoSite index Closing September 16, 2015

8000 7700 7400 7100 6800 6500

7,093.92 4.91

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing SEPTEMBER 16, 2015 43.50 44.60 45.40

P46.650

46.20

CLOSE

47.00

HIGH P46.645 LOW P46.745 AVERAGE P46.700 VOLUME 417.000M

P435.00-P640.00 LPG/11-kg tank P36.00-P43.95 Unleaded Gasoline P25.05-P28.40 Diesel

oPriceS il P today

P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene P20.75-P21.75 Auto LPG Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Wednesday, September 16, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate

Vice President Jejomar Binay (second from left) and Chamber of Mines of the Philippines president Benjamin Philip Romualdez (left) view mining equipment exhibited at the Mining Philippines 2015 Convention, shortly after addressing delegates and members of diplomatic corps at Solaire Resort’s grand ballroom in Parañaque City. EY ACASIO

Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

46.7430

Japan

Yen

0.008305

0.3882

UK

Pound

1.534400

71.7225

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129034

6.0314

Switzerland

Franc

1.026905

48.0006

Canada

Dollar

0.755629

35.3204

Singapore

Dollar

0.713572

33.3545

Australia

Dollar

0.709723

33.1746

Bahrain

Dinar

2.654632

124.0855

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266724

12.4675

Brunei

Dollar

0.711035

33.2359

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000069

0.0032

Thailand

Baht

0.027796

1.2993

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

12.7282

Euro

Euro

1.127000

52.6794

Korea

Won

0.000849

0.0397

China

Yuan

0.156986

7.3380

India

Rupee

0.015066

0.7042

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.232310

10.8589

New Zealand

Dollar

0.631512

29.5188

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030817

1.4405 Source: PDS Bridge

Binay agrees to support responsible mining if elected president

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales VICE President Jejomar Binay on Tuesday expressed support for the mining industry, which he said could be the biggest contributor to the Philippine economy.

“I am for promoting environmentally and socially responsible mining, adopting the constitutional principle of balancing the interest over the long-term. In this regard, a Binay presidency shall support mining as long as it is done responsibly,” Binay said in his keynote speech during the Mining Philippines 2015 Con-

ference & Exhibition at Solaire Resort in Parañaque City.

Binay said the mineral potential of the Philippines were among the largest in the world, with about 14.5 billion metric tons of metallic minerals and about 67.66 billion metric tons of non-metallic minerals valued at $1.4 trillion.

“The mining industry could be the biggest contributor to the Philippine economy and could be the key driver towards industrialization and jobs creation and the development of the countryside,” Binay said.

Binay said the mining indus-

try could improve the communities where the projects are located through the strict implementation and enforcement of mining and environmental laws.

“As the Chamber of Mines declared, mining and biodiversity conservation can co-exist. Yet, despite this, mining industry has been subjected to catch and go policies,” Binay said.

Binay said under the current regime and based on the industry’s own assessments, the industry was still in limbo.

President Benoigno Aquino III issued Executive Order 79 in

2012, which forbid the signing of new mineral agreements until a new mining revenue sharing scheme was legislated.

The Mining Industry Coordinating Council approved last year a higher tax on the mineral industry, representing 10 percent of the gross sales or a 55-percent share in net revenues.

The new revenue sharing scheme, however, remains pending at the House committee on ways and means. “ In previous administrations, the mining industry has been accorded due attention during their term. We must ensure that min-

ing taxes that we implement are not already higher than they already are but fair and consistent with international best practices,” Binay said.

Binay also expressed concern over the government’s proposal to increase the tax rate on mining, saying this might affect the competitiveness of the local mining industry.

“The government’s push to increase revenues through the imposition of even higher taxes on mining is a concern particularly for the long-term these may have on the industry’s competitiveness,” Binay said.

THURSDAY: SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Wednesday, september 16, 2015

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 17 30.45 10.4 2.6 890 1.01 100 30.5 75 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 124

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 12.02 19.6 6.12 1.02 625 0.225 78 17.8 58 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 59

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

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

2.79 69.2 98.50 84.30 42.5 15.5 20.15 7.27 1.63 700.00 0.440 86 17.20 27.05 55.80 95 297 32.2 142.3 53.40

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 20.6 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 17 31.8 109 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 3.95 4 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 5 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.86 238 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 2.17

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 15.32 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 8.61 20.2 71.5 13.24 5.34 0.395 173 2.3 1.63 33 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.37 3.87 8.45 10.04 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 1.65 161 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 1.2

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group Century Food Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Federal Res. Inv. Group First Gen Corp.

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

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

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

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

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

43.3 1.5 0.91 1.6 9.5 17 26.05 42 2.59 1.21 10.1 11.000 8.00 5.70 7.58 14 23.7 67 13.78 5.7 0.970 187.80 1.86 2.17 47.00 22 21.75 5.7 293.00 3.94 4.05 7.18 11.40 3.25 2.01 2.3 4.06 2.5 140 1.96 0.137 0.90 1.79 194.5 4.6 0.65 1.05

0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 0.66 1455 76 6.5 9.25 0.85 17.3 0.71 5.53 6.55 0.0670 2.31 1.61 2.99 84.9 974 1.66 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

0.44 48.1 20.85 1.6 6.62 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.6 2.26 0.152 837 49.55 3.43 4.84 0.59 12 0.580 4.2 4.5 0.030 1.23 0.550 2.26 59.3 751 1.13 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

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

Forum Pacific GT Capital JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

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

Minerales Industrias Corp.

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

0.430 57.5500 20.25 1.19 6.70 0.220 749 6.75 13.10 3.35 4.08 0.190 1268 70.95 3.5 6.37 0.55 12.5 0.54 5.08 7.95 0.0360 1.170 1.790 2.61 45.20 885.50 1.15 67.150 0.2700 0.1900 0.210

10.5 1.99 1.75 0.375

6.74 0.65 1.2 0.192

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

6.700 0.58 1.140 0.200

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

SHARES 9,617,085 139,921,833 227,147,980 164,208,423 101,296,872 824,768,039 1,469,131,094

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 2.99 2.79 69.3 68 100.50 99.40 85.15 83.05 43 42.5 15.5 15.14 20.15 19.9 7.29 7.29 1.63 1.63 700.00 700.00 0.450 0.425 86.1 84.8 17.40 16.88 25.10 25.10 57.80 55.40 96 95 297 296.8 32.5 32.3 144.5 142.2 54.00 53.00 INDUSTRIAL 43.4 42.65 1.5 1.4 0.92 0.92 1.63 1.57 9.9 9.5 17 16.96 26.2 25.8 43.7 41.25 2.62 2.5 1.21 1.19 10.2 10.08 11.260 11 8.17 7.89 5.95 5.83 7.90 7.65 14 13.7 24 23.4 68.85 67.1 13.80 13.72 5.84 5.6 1.450 0.970 190.00 187.00 1.85 1.83 2.4 2.02 46.00 44.20 22.8 22.1 22 21.7 5.7 5.5 299.60 294.00 3.90 3.90 4.1 4.04 7.29 7.15 11.30 11.30 3.30 3.25 2.07 2.01 2.3 2.24 4.06 4.03 2.6 2.3 138 129.5 2 1.93 0.140 0.138 0.90 0.86 1.82 1.79 196.1 190 4.62 4.6 0.65 0.63 1.05 1.05 HOLDING FIRMS 0.430 0.400 58.4500 58.0000 20.45 20.00 1.19 1.19 6.90 6.56 0.240 0.220 767 752 6.99 6.74 13.10 12.70 3.1 3.1 4.20 4.10 0.194 0.182 1280 1265 73.50 70.95 3.69 3.69 6.38 6.27 0.6 0.54 12.84 12.58 0.53 0.53 5.16 5.02 8.02 7.95 0.0380 0.0360 1.090 1.090 1.820 1.750 2.61 2.61 46.80 45.15 895.00 886.00 1.18 1.16 67.100 66.000 0.2750 0.2600 0.1910 0.1900 0.221 0.200 PROPERTY 6.750 6.600 0.65 0.60 1.140 1.110 0.220 0.220

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.83 68.7 99.85 83.15 42.6 15.34 19.9 7.29 1.63 700.00 0.450 84.85 17.26 25.10 55.40 95.5 296.8 32.3 142.6 53.60

1.43 -0.72 1.37 -1.36 0.24 -1.03 -1.24 0.28 0.00 0.00 2.27 -1.34 0.35 -7.21 -0.72 0.53 -0.07 0.31 0.21 0.37

137,000 11,560 2,502,090 2,032,400 44,200 338,500 157,600 700 1,000 630 1,270,000 2,107,590 145,400 300 43,760 2,920 390 151,800 652,330 14,040

43.2 1.5 0.92 1.59 9.52 17 26.15 42 2.61 1.19 10.1 11.100 7.89 5.90 7.81 14 23.5 67.1 13.80 5.8 1.450 187.70 1.83 2.06 45.90 22.65 22 5.6 298.80 3.90 4.06 7.15 11.30 3.30 2.02 2.26 4.04 2.5 130 1.98 0.139 0.86 1.79 190 4.62 0.65 1.05

-0.23 0.00 1.10 -0.63 0.21 0.00 0.38 0.00 0.77 -1.65 0.00 0.91 -1.38 3.51 3.03 0.00 -0.84 0.15 0.15 1.75 49.48 -0.05 -1.61 -5.07 -2.34 2.95 1.15 -1.75 1.98 -1.02 0.25 -0.42 -0.88 1.54 0.50 -1.74 -0.49 0.00 -7.14 1.02 1.46 -4.44 0.00 -2.31 0.43 0.00 0.00

1,749,100 7,000 51,000 245,000 3,100 174,700 388,100 1,400,800 2,306,000 260,000 23,100 2,333,700 524,300 19,946,500 331,900 3,200 2,753,600 767,010 41,500 121,300 86,544,000 153,000 12,000 72,000 2,300 862,900 79,800 7,580,800 1,121,270 4,000 122,000 1,481,000 1,000 59,000 113,000 618,000 178,000 430,000 1,740,350 279,000 820,000 35,000 433,000 2,528,730 40,000 131,000 105,000

0.430 58.0000 20.15 1.19 6.90 0.239 761 6.9 13.00 3.1 4.20 0.182 1273 71.75 3.69 6.32 0.57 12.62 0.53 5.07 8 0.0370 1.090 1.790 2.61 45.15 891.00 1.18 66.000 0.2750 0.1910 0.221

0.00 0.78 -0.49 0.00 2.99 8.64 1.60 2.22 -0.76 -7.46 2.94 -4.21 0.39 1.13 5.43 -0.78 3.64 0.96 -1.85 -0.20 0.63 2.78 -6.84 0.00 0.00 -0.11 0.62 2.61 -1.71 1.85 0.53 5.24

200,000 2,249,340 16,340,406.50 6,643,300 5,533,440.00 50,000 7,317,700 -48,240.00 620,000 570,610 155,865,850.00 2,201,700 8,027,425.00 5,122,000 -12,416,774.00 167,000 14,000 70,000 186,830 -77,506,485.00 4,025,140 130,286,955.50 4,000 2,273,600 -3,762,794.00 439,000 1,471,900 3,693,310.00 592,000 17,437,400 -31,061,238.00 2,566,100 39,850.00 164,600,000 34,400.00 1,000 2,330,000 3,000 318,000 -10,614,380.00 261,030 13,231,720.00 22,000 36,720 -2,399,972.50 2,010,000 560,000 2,710,000

6.680 0.64 1.110 0.220

-0.30 10.34 -2.63 10.00

104,800 1,128,000 172,000 10,000

470,807.00 106,906,923 -78,397,409.50 -77,400.00 1,117,200.00

-65,500.00 -828,945.50 971,942.00 -2,026,966.00 -2,243,720 21,853,226.00 -223,470.00 -19,472,155.00 -16,000.00 829,374.00 26,270,245 -73,400.00 38,362.00 9,769,752.00 684,701.00 1,176,912.00 -2,200,504.00 -4,214,130.00 -35,048,364.50 6,860.00 57,593.00 -642,450.00 -872,776.00

5,213,775.00 -43,500.00 41,315,450.00 174,359,696.00 123,000.00 1,199,859.00

-182,200.00 10,079,498.00 21,330.00

-190,245,596.00 69,300.00

-40,425.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44 1.97 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 0.470 8.54 31.8 2.29 21.35 1.06 1.62 8.59

30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79 1.1 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.090 0.290 2.69 22.15 1.6 15.08 0.69 0.83 5.73

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 2.6 7.67 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 12.28 3.32 3.2 95.5 1 2.46 15.2 0.62 1.040 6.41 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 1.6 4.8 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 0.011 0.041 1.200 6.5 1.91 1.95 3.1 0.650 1.8 6 0.335 0.37 3 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

STOCKS

Close

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

Double Dragon Empire East Land Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport `A’ Megaworld MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

Primex Corp.

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

11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9

2GO Group’ ABS-CBN Acesite Hotel APC Group, Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp.

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Discovery World DFNN Inc. Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Macroasia Corp.

Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown MG Holdings NOW Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

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

7.59 SSI Group 0.63 STI Holdings 5 Travellers 0.315 Waterfront Phils.

1.14 Yehey

0.0098 5.45 17.24 0.330 12.7 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 3.06 0.020 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 1.72 6.47 0.236 6.5 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 0.365 1.54 0.012 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 0.0100

Abra Mining Apex `A’ Atlas Cons. `A’ Basic Energy Corp.

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

70 553 8.21 12.28

33 490 5.88 6.5

1047 78.95 84.8

1011 74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

15 12.88

3.5 5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Makati Fin. Corp.

Xurpas

High

VALUE 715,905,291.12 1,705,195,176.75 1,763,240,520.18 1,568,022,460.70 1,156,916,189.63 133,808,657.51 7,068,895,279.85

FINANCIAL 1,560.79 (down) 4.31 INDUSTRIAL 10,805.96 (down) 19.07 HOLDING FIRMS 6,628.39 (up) 43.82 PROPERTY 2,897.62 (down) 22.37 SERVICES 1,800.40 (up) 10.78 MINING & OIL 11,234.15 (down) 2.53 PSEI 7,093.92 (up) 4.91 All Shares Index 4,046.26 (up) 5.64 Gainers: 101 Losers: 63; Unchanged: 39; Total: 203

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

35.90 3.02 4.8 0.64 0.97 0.102 0.410 16.96 0.760 1.02 1.79 1.43 4.42 0.078 0.2450 7.58 28.60 1.6 20.05 0.7 0.690 5.450

36.50 34.90 35.20 3.08 3.03 3.06 4.8 4.78 4.78 0.66 0.64 0.65 1.03 1.02 1.02 0.105 0.098 0.104 0.410 0.410 0.410 18.4 17 18.4 0.810 0.760 0.780 1.05 1.02 1.03 1.87 1.75 1.75 1.42 1.41 1.41 4.56 4.47 4.49 0.083 0.079 0.080 0.2600 0.2600 0.2600 7.76 7.5 7.75 29.00 28.20 28.40 1.6 1.56 1.57 20.65 20.05 20.10 0.7 0.68 0.7 0.690 0.690 0.690 5.430 5.360 5.550 SERVICES 8.28 8.4 7.9 7.9 60 60.4 59.65 60 1.08 1.1 1.1 1.1 0.520 0.530 0.520 0.530 6.59 6.86 6.55 6.60 0.0640 0.0650 0.0630 0.0650 3.62 3.74 3.58 3.62 90.15 90.8 89.1 89.1 1.7 1.76 1.61 1.61 5.00 5.00 4.71 5.00 2574 2574 2542 2546 6.29 6.35 6.25 6.30 1.22 1.25 1.20 1.20 87.8 89.8 88.2 88.25 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.164 0.164 0.160 0.164 1.4100 1.4700 1.4000 1.4400 8.50 8.69 8.50 8.69 2.60 2.70 2.58 2.60 2.12 2.15 2.08 2.14 35.00 38.00 38.00 38.00 0.600 0.600 0.580 0.580 2 2.05 2 2.05 5.01 5.25 5.01 5.02 0.300 0.305 0.300 0.300 0.420 0.475 0.410 0.475 4.50 4.46 4.45 4.45 107.00 107.00 107.00 107.00 18.54 18.60 18.30 18.60 2344.00 2374.00 2350.00 2374.00 0.600 0.600 0.580 0.600 1.120 1.170 1.120 1.130 31.95 32.50 32.00 32.15 68.55 69.35 68.55 69.30 5.61 6.12 5.66 6.00 6.66 6.74 6.55 6.55 0.50 0.53 0.50 0.53 3.53 3.75 3.53 3.54 0.330 0.340 0.335 0.340 2.690 2.680 2.580 2.590 MINING & OIL 0.0057 0.0057 0.0055 0.0056 2.40 2.50 2.40 2.40 5.04 5.10 4.95 5.00 0.190 0.190 0.190 0.190 6.2000 6.0000 6.0000 6.0000 0.7 0.74 0.7 0.74 0.64 0.67 0.64 0.66 5.88 6.00 5.84 5.90 1.09 1.12 1.09 1.12 0.285 0.295 0.285 0.285 0.184 0.185 0.182 0.183 0.011 0.011 0.010 0.010 0.011 0.011 0.010 0.011 2 2.07 2 2 7.41 7.7 7.44 7.5 3.01 3.1 3.01 3.02 0.5100 0.5200 0.5200 0.5200 1.2800 1.3000 1.2700 1.2700 0.0090 0.0092 0.0091 0.0092 3.78 3.80 3.78 3.78 4.98 5.090 4.920 5.05 1.36 1.37 1.390 1.360 0.0100 0.0120 0.0100 0.0110 137.50 138.50 132.70 136.20 2.34 2.43 2.34 2.36 0.0072 0.0073 0.0073 0.0073 PREFERRED 59.95 62 59.9 60 530 531 530 531 6.25 6.24 6.24 6.24 1.07 1.07 1.07 1.07 1100 1100 1090 1090 1018 1025 1025 1025 80 80 80 80 81.25 81.25 81 81.25 WARRANTS & BONDS 3.400 3.410 3.350 3.410 SME 3.41 3.38 3.38 3.38 11 11.88 11.28 11.52 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 116 116.7 116 116

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

-1.95 1.32 -0.42 1.56 5.15 1.96 0.00 8.49 2.63 0.98 -2.23 -1.40 1.58 2.56 6.12 2.24 -0.70 -1.88 0.25 0.00 0.00 -0.37

16,607,100 1,377,000 286,000 2,945,000 5,000 4,950,000 200,000 4,509,600 2,072,000 1,647,000 36,423,000 163,000 40,206,000 1,230,000 70,000 396,300 1,530,800 5,000 15,371,400 662,000 6,000 19,266,500

-199,431,500.00 -464,180.00 -1,281,080.00 -627,670.00

-4.59 0.00 1.85 1.92 0.15 1.56 0.00 -1.16 -5.29 0.00 -1.09 0.16 -1.64 0.51 0.00 0.00 2.13 2.24 0.00 0.94 8.57 -3.33 2.50 0.20 0.00 13.10 -1.11 0.00 0.32 1.28 0.00 0.89 0.63 1.09 6.95 -1.65 6.00 0.28 3.03 -3.72

553,600 17,480 1,000 35,000 3,589,400 17,000,000 381,000 484,680 3,000 10,300 82,550 784,400 25,000 1,098,990 1,000,000 1,890,000 605,000 787,400 88,000 83,000 100 31,000 6,000 9,664,900 14,000 350,000 7,000 21,670 42,600 167,565 121,000 4,544,000 520,300 393,050 31,603,800 2,855,200 7,991,000 13,446,000 230,000 489,000

-1.75 0.00 -0.79 0.00 -3.23 5.71 3.13 0.34 2.75 0.00 -0.54 -9.09 0.00 0.00 1.21 0.33 1.96 -0.78 2.22 0.00 1.41 -0.73 10.00 -0.95 0.85 1.39

303,000,000 53,000 -87,500.00 575,800 75,510.00 130,000 1,900 647,000 -70,000.00 397,000 30,900 -58,700.00 6,469,000 -42,710.00 340,000 2,720,000 -36,400.00 221,200,000 126,300,000 -544,100.00 227,000 5,089,700 -8,339,178.00 4,471,000 -30,100.00 50,000 83,000 21,000,000 113,000 948,000 -253,890.00 1,148,000 -176,550.00 124,700,000 -22,000.00 406,200 -12,174,687.00 298,000 4,000,000

0.08 0.19 -0.16 0.00 -0.91 0.69 0.00 0.00

22,610 520 50,000 6,000 500 35 7,570 34,990

0.29

71,000

-0.88 4.73

1,000 2,162,400

0.00

7,460

82,000.00 -4,857,172.00 450,440.00 -154,320.00 840,100.00 -17,944,470.00 -4,595.00 16,391,245.00 -9,661,370.00 -74,460,916.00 4,040.00

2,042,374.00 -43,340.00 5,736,473.50 -93,059,010.00 -15,411,943.00 2,880.00 -572,076.00

-21,371,890.00 2,150.00 -2,140.00 -84,556.00 -59,847,030.00 28,750.00 -941,825.00 305,916.00 -444,704.00 4,757,961.00 -3,306,640.00 -12,052,520.00

50,845.50

13,968.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Ionics Inc

1.450

49.48

Manila Mining `A'

0.010

-9.09

NOW Corp.

0.475

13.10

Phil Bank of Comm

25.10

-7.21

A. Brown Co., Inc.

0.64

10.34

San Miguel'Pure Foods `B'

130

-7.14

Arthaland Corp.

0.220

10.00

Prime Media Hldg

1.090

-6.84

Philodrill Corp. `A'

0.0110

10.00

Discovery World

1.61

-5.29

ATN Holdings A

0.239

8.64

Mabuhay Vinyl

2.06

-5.07

Manila Broadcasting

38.00

8.57

2GO Group'

7.9

-4.59

Double Dragon

18.4

8.49

TKC Steel Corp.

0.86

-4.44

SBS Phil. Corp.

6.00

6.95

Forum Pacific

0.182

-4.21

Phil. Estates Corp.

0.2600

6.12

Yehey

2.590

-3.72

THURSDAY: SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

B3

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

Xurpas completes Yondu buy

By Darwin G. Amojelar

CONSUMER technology provider Xurpas Inc. has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Yondu Inc., a wholly-owned unit of Globe Telecom Inc. Xurpas paid P900 million in cash for the original subscription and purchase of Yondu shares owned by Globe totaling 22,950 shares, or 51 percent, at a valuation of P39,215 per share after signing the subscription agreement and deed of absolute sale.

“The investment solidifies the

Globe and Xurpas partnership in the mobile Internet and digital space and will transform Yondu into a regional arm for digital content distribution and other technology-driven services,” Xurpas said.

Yondu in 2014 reported standalone revenues and net income of

P854 million and P251 million, respectively.

Xurpas, which conducted a highly successful initial public offering in 2014, expanded regionally, acquiring and investing in various content and distribution companies to increase its digital footprint across Southeast Asia.

The acquisition of Yondu spurred Xurpas’ expansion beyond the Philippines.

“Globe has been our strongest partner in the Philippines and the investment into Yondu strengthens our joint capabilities to bring world class digital products to the global audience” Xurpas chief ex-

ecutive Nix Nolledo earlier said.

Globe built Yondu into a strategic platform for media and content innovation and. Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu earlier said “it is time to bring our aspirations regional.”

“In keeping with our partnership model, we have chosen to work with Xurpas to make this happen. Their track record in building businesses centered on consumer content will round out the technical and innovative capabilities of Yondu,” he said.

Xurpas, which was listed in the Philippine Stock Exchange in December 2014, made four strategic

acquisitions with a combined investment of $6.7 million.

These include a 21.78-percent interest in Singapore IT company Altitude Games PTE Ltd.; 49 percent of PT Sembilan Digital Investama, owner of the Indonesian mobile content company PT Ninelives Interactive; 51 percent of Storm Flex Systems Inc.; and most recently a 31.52-percent stake in MatchMe Pte. Ltd., a Singapore-based mobile and Web tournament games platform.

Xurpas said it would continue to invest in mobile content service segment as the key driver of the business.

Market advances; PLDT leads gainers THE stock market rose the fourth straight day Wednesday ahead of the rate decision by the US Federal Reserve, with several blue chips extending their gains.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 4.91 points, or 0.07 percent, to 7,093.92 on a value turnover of P7.07 billion. Gainers beat losers, 101 to 63, with 39 issues unchanged.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. increased 1.6 percent to P761, while unit Ayala Land Inc. fell 2 percent to P35.20.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the biggest telecommunications firm, climbed 1.3 percent to P2,374, while Manila Electric Co., the largest power retailer, advanced 2 percent to P298.80.

Energy Development Corp., the biggest steam energy producer, rose 3.5 percent to P5.90, while Universal Robina Corp., the largest snack food maker, dropped 2.3 percent to P190.

The rest of Asian markets Wednesday extended a global equities rebound after recent losses while riskier assets and oil prices also ticked up, but dealers remained cautious before the US interest rate decision.

Following steep losses in the previous two sessions, Shanghai again saw volatile trading--swinging from negative to positive early on before surging almost five percent in the final hour.

Thursday’s rate decision by the Federal Reserve will be closely watched as Fed policymakers weigh a healthy US recovery against a slowdown across most of the world and recent turmoil unleashed by fears of an economic crisis in China.

Latest indicators out of Washington offer no further clues and the Fed’s decision remains complicated, which has in turn kept investors on edge.

“Uncertainty will continue until we get the news from the Fed,” James Lindsay at Nikko Asset Management NZ in Auckland told Bloomberg News. With AFP

RGM&Co. tax experts. R.G. Manabat & Co. tax principal Herminigildo Murakami (right) and tax director Mary Karen Quizon-Sakkam

are recognized as two of the leading tax controversy leaders in the Philippines by the International Tax Review through the Tax Controversy Leaders 2015 (5th edition). Tax Controversy Leaders is an international guide to the leading tax dispute resolution lawyers and advisers in the world to help multinational companies seeking the best controversy advice available. The comprehensive global tax disputes guide in the past three years received excellent feedback as a useful tool in finding the right disputes advice.

ABS-CBN expects 2015 income to exceed P2.4b ABS-CBN Corp., the biggest broadcasting company, said net income in 2015 will likely exceed P2.4 billion, driven by consumer and airtime businesses.

“We are on track to hit [our profit guidance] or slightly better than P2.4 billion,” ABSCBN Group chief financial officer Ron Valdueza told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s launching of Stellar, a celebrity social media marketing agency.

Valdueza said the net income in 2015 would be driven by its consumer and airtime businesses.

He said the company expects to book over P700 million in revenues from political advocacy.

Valdueza sees a “much better” net income in the third quarter

compared from last year’s.

“The ratings are okay and of course other businesses like movies, global and consumer business,” Valdueza said.

Valdueza expects revenues from consumer business to be higher than the airtime business in the next two to three years.

Consumer business contributes 45 percent of the total revenue of ABS-CBN. “We are aiming closer to 50 percent in the next two to three years,” Valdueza said.

“In our view we don’t expect an exponential growth on the airtime revenues given the state of our economy. The exponential growth will come from the retail business than the advertising,” he said. “If you look at the advertis-

ing business the growth was flattish 3 to 4 percent, but retail its always double digit.”

ABS-CBN’s net income amounted to P1.2 billion in the January-to-June period from P995 million year-on-year.

Revenues rose 8 percent to P17.7 billion in the first semester from P16.38 billion on-year.

Valdueza also said launching Stellar was part of ABS-CBN’s digital initiatives to create additional revenues other than advertising.

Stellar as ABS-CBN’s own celebrity social media marketing agency will help brands amplify the company’s online presence and engage with their target audiences by leveraging on celebrities’ online personas through social

media.

Stellar, the first of its kind in the country, will empower social media campaigns for products and services through Star Magic’s more than 230 artists and their Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

“As a leader in the digital space, we would like to set up the industry standard on how brands and influencers mutually benefit as they work together in engaging their audiences. We offer a standard measurement and pricing model so we give credit where credit is due, and ensure all stakeholders in the social media ecosystem are taken care of in this entire process,” ABS-CBN chief digital officer Donald Lim said.

Darwin G. Amojelar

B4

Agri cooperation. Agriculture Secretary and Asean Ministers for Agriculture and Forestry chairman Proceso Alcala and other agriculture ministers renew cooperation towards a competitive, inclusive, resilient and sustainable food, agriculture and forestry sectors. Alcala along with other agricultural leaders from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, and VietNam met last week to discuss various agreements for the development of the Asean region’s food sector.

PAL increases Sydney flights

By Darwin G. Amojelar

PHILIPPINE Airlines said Wednesday it will increase flights between Manila and Sydney in Australia to seven times a week from the current five weekly frequencies, starting Oct. 25.

“A daily frequency with a choice of departure and arrival times provides our passengers the flexibility to seamlessly connect to many cities on PAL’s domestic and international network,” PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista said.

The flag carrier said beginning Oct. 25, flights to Manila from Sydney depart of 6:10 in the morning (Australian time) every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday via PR 214, arriving in Manila at

11:25 in the morning.

For the rest of the week Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday - flights from Sydney depart at 11:15 in the morning via PR 212, arriving Manila at 4:30 in the afternoon.

The airline said passengers would continue to experience the trademark service of the national flag carrier –marked by warmth, charm and Filipino hospitality.

The in-flight menu is designed to offer a variety of Continental

ING set to double Manila manpower

By Gabrielle H. Binaday ING Bank of the Netherlands plans to double its manpower in the Philippines next year, a top executive said Wednesday.

William Connelly, global head of ING Commercial Banking, told reporters in a press briefing in Makati City the company would double its global services and operations manpower in Manila from 215 personnel to about 500 in 2016.

“The people we hire and the activities we do here are of higher value added than what many of our competitors do here. So the level of people and job fulfilment we can offer them is very encouraging,” Connelly said.

“So in the Philippines, we have a high-quality franchise in banking and we are very excited about what else we can do here through the GSO,” he said.

ING’s GSO was set up in the country in 2013 to perform inhouse processing for ING’s commercial banking business in Asia and Europe.

Connelly said the bank marked its 25th year in the Philippines in 2015. “We are clear as to what our strategy is, and it’s very much focused on pure banking,” he said.

The ING focused on setting sustainable lending to three major sectors, involving toll road financing, shipping financing for offshore rig and utility financing.

and Filipino cuisine and beverage offerings geared to make the travel experience memorable and relaxing, it said.

PAL Holdings Inc., the parent company of PAL earlier reported consolidated total comprehensive income of P5.94 billion in the January-June period, up 1,500 percent from just P362.4 million year-on-year.

Comprehensive income in the second quarter grew 49 percent to P2.16 billion from P1.45 billion a year ago.

Total revenues in the first half rose 14 percent to P55.95 billion from P48.95 billion a year earlier.

Revenues in the second quarter reached P28.09 billion, up 2.9 percent from P27.23 billion.

PAL Holdings said the 37-percent increase in the number of passengers for the Americas, Australia, Japan and Middle East routes, coupled by the effect of interlining arrangement with PAL Express in the domestic sectors, contributed to the favorable revenue performance during the period.

Ayala to start Cebu project in 4th quarter

By Jenniffer B. Austria PROPERTY developer Ayala Land Inc. plans to start developing the 26-hectare reclaimed lot in Cebu City, which it won with joint venture partner SM Prime Holdings Inc., by the fourth quarter this year.

Ayala Land chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael said the company hired an international group that would master plan and design the whole property.

“We hope to launch this before the end of the year of early first quarter next year,” Ysamel said.

This will be the first project of Ayala Land in the reclaimed area of Cebu, as most of the company’s existing projects are in the inner part of the city.

Ayala Land and SM Prime formed a joint venture in June to bid for the 26-hectare Lot No. 8-B-1 at South Road Properties, which was awarded by the local city government of Cebu.

The joint venture partners won the bidding with a bid of P10 billion. Ayala Land and SM agreed to do separate projects within the property.

Ysmael earlier said while equitable division of the 26-hectare SRP was still being finalized, SM Prime would likely get the portion near the soon-to-be-completed SM Seaside Mall and Ayala Land would have the other side of the property.

3 firms pursuing IPO plans in November THREE companies will pursue their plans to list with the Philippine Stock Exchange and hold initial public offerings in November despite volatile market conditions.

Datem Inc., DM Wenceslao & Associates Inc. and Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. kept the original timetable for their respective IPOs, based on the amended registration statements they filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

All three companies also maintained the size of their offerings and offer price for shares.

BPI Securities chief executive and managing director Michaelangelo Oyson earlier said there were opportunities for companies planning to conduct an IPO this year as the market was expected to recover in

the latter part of the year.

Oyson, however, said companies might not be able to get high valuation for their shares because of current market conditions.

Under the plan, DM Wencesalo, the holding company of the Wenceslao family, will raise as much as P21.7 billion from the sale of up to 493.54 million shares priced at P44 per share.

Offer period will be from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6 while listing date was tentatively set Nov. 12.

Another construction firm, Datem Inc. expects to raise P4.65 billion from the sale of up to 329.046 million shares at P14.15 per share.

Datem’s share sale will run on Nov. 16 to 24. The shares will be listed on the main board of the PSE on Nov. 27.

Metro Retail of the Gaisano group expects to generate P6.17 billion in proceeds from the sale of 1.012 billion common shares at P6.10 per share.

Offer period is on Nov. 2 to 6 while listing would be on Nov. 12.

Only two companies, Crown Asia Chemicals Corp. and SBS Philippines Corp., have listed with the PSE so far this year.

The PSE earlier said it expected to have 10 IPOs including backdoor listings in 2015.

Three applications for bite-size IPOs are also also pending with corporate regulators, including Italpinas Development Corp. (P242 million), Gweilo Corp. (P95 million) and Philstocks Financial Inc. (P186 million). Jenniffer B. Austria

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17, 2 0 1 5

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

B5

MWSS antics expose regulatory risks in PH THE Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System is not listening to its superiors. Nor has it grasped the implications of its decision to mock an arbitration order by the Singapore court of the International Chamber of Commerce.

MWSS officials adopted a populist stance with little regard to an international arbitration court ruling. The tribunal of the ICC, the foremost international arbitral institution for global trade, ruled in favor of Maynilad Water Services Inc. on Dec. 29 and ordered MWSS to grant the west zone concessionaire a rate increase equivalent to P3.06 per cubic meter.

But the water regulator put off the rate increase in defiance of the ICC order that was supposed to be final and executory in keeping with the 1997 concession agreements. Worse, MWSS wants to further reduce contract-allowed corporate expenses passed on to consumers, based on a subsequent ICC ruling on a separate arbitration case.

The Finance Department, which oversees the operations of the MWSS as a government-owned and–controlled corporation, or GOCC, has rebuked the water regulator for postponing the long-due adjustments in Metro Manila’s water rates. Finance said the MWSS stance was baseless and too costly for the agency in the first place.

The position of Finance—contained in two confidential memorandums to President Benigno Aquino III that were leaked last week to the media by left-leaning allies of MWSS regulators posing as consumerism activists—virtually undermined the position of party-list group Bayan Muna that the national government should not honor its letters of undertaking or commitment of sovereign guarantee to pay for MWSS’ contract breaches.

Finance warned that the MWSS reversal would compel the national government to cough up and pay Maynilad Water over P5 billion in corporate losses since the regular rate-rebasing process began in January 2013, plus P208 million for every month since the ICC court handed out its verdict on Dec. 29, 2014. The payment serves as sovereign guarantee to compensate the concessionaire for whatever financial losses that arise from MWSS’ breach of the original concession agreement that both parties signed in 1997.

The department said the MWSS action would hurt the Philippine government’s credibility before the international community, and ultimately erode the confidence in President Aquino’s privatization thrusts and investment-generation programs, like his centerpiece public-private partnership scheme.

Business community watching The private sector has weighed in. Indicative of the business community’s low regard for MWSS in the aftermath of the arbitration controversy, the GOCC made its debut in the latest Executive Outlook Survey of the Makati Business Club as one of the worst performers among 64 government agencies and state-run firms in the country.

MWSS ended up at No. 58 of 64 agencies at the bottom rung with the worst negative satisfaction ratings in the Second Semester 2015 survey.

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has told President Aquino that MWSS should have granted the adjustments sought by the two concessionaires in their 2013 rate-hike petitions because the payment of compensation for damages would be “credit negative” and would impact adversely on Malacañang’s privatization and PPP programs.

“A call on the undertaking letter may also result in a drop in our credit rating as ratings agencies increase the assumed probabilities of our contingent liabilities being called,” said Purisima of the sovereign guarantee that the national government would have to assume because of MWSS’ inaction on the rate-adjustment petition.

“We need to protect the credibility of the government,” Purisima said in his memorandum to Aquino.

“When the contract was entered into, there were terms. The reading of the DoF of the terms of the contract between the Republic and these concessionaires was that it was allowed, and in fact several administrations of the MWSS respected that contract from 1997 to 2013... There’s been precedent already and then suddenly, there’s been a change of administration in the MWSS and then we changed.”

MWSS’ breach of Maynilad Water’s 1997 concession agreement and its eventual defiance of the ICC’s arbitral ruling are the kind of regulatory risks that foreign and local businessmen have been bitching about as the reason why most investors continue to overlook the Philippines, despite its impressive 22 credit ratings upgrade since 2010 that propelled it into the region’s fastest-growing and Asia’s newest economic star.

“When a Philippine GOCC does not honor its contract even after an arbitration decision rules against its position, the investment climate of the country is harmed. This case is being watched closely as it affects investor confidence,” adds John Forbes, a senior advisor at the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or business@thestandard.com.ph or extrastory2000@gmail.com

PhilJets new helicopter. PhilJets Group has placed an order with Airbus Helicopters Southeast Asia for the acquisition of one brand new Airbus Helicopters H130 scheduled for delivery in early 2016. The helicopter will be operated by PhilJets Aero Charter Corp, the group air transport subsidiary, in order to sustain its activities growth. Shown signing the agreement are Jussi Hoikka, Airbus Helicopters Philippines Inc.head of commercial department and Thierry Tea, founder and chief executive of PhilJets Group.

San Miguel’s claim speculative—PSALM

By Alena Mae S. Flores

POWER Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp. described as “purely speculative” the claim of San Miguel Corp. that power rates will go up with the termination of the independent power producer administrator contract for the 1,200-megawatt Ilijan combined-cycle power plant.

“The assumption on increase in the electricity price is just a play on public opinion and is very speculative, given that prices at the WESM [wholesale electricity spot market] are driven by market forces and competition. Likewise, government has in place a price cap and a secondary price cap at WESM to address unnecessary spikes and protect power consumers,” PSALM president and chief executive Lourdes Alzona said.

Alzona said almost all output of the Ilijan plant was under a power supply agreement between South Premiere Power Corp., a unit of SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. and distributor Manila

Electric Co. at a rate approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission.

“With the Ilijan IPPA contract termination and consistent with its mandate to manage its remaining assets, PSALM is willing to supply Meralco’s requirements to ensure that power consumers are protected against price volatilities in the WESM, subject to necessary approvals since PSALM is not a party to the PSA,” Alzona said.

Alzona was reacting to the statement of San Miguel that the Ilijan IPPA agreement termination was illegal. She said PSALM had faithfully adhered to the pro-

visions of the agreement, which eventually led to the contract termination due to failure of South Premiere to settle its unpaid obligations for the period Dec. 26, 2012 to April 25, 2015.

PSALM said it sent letters to South Premiere as early as Sept.

10, 2013 and Oct. 20, 2014, demanding that the company immediately settle its unpaid obligations. PSALM said these were never settled and remained uncontested by South Premiere.

She said as PSALM had strictly followed the computations based on the IPPA agreement and its rightful claims were valid and not erroneous.

“On the contrary, it is SPPC’s computation of payments that is erroneous, as SPPC unilaterally and erroneously applied prices which were inconsistent with the Ilijan IPPA AA,” Alzona said.

Alzona said South Premiere’s underpayment of its total unpaid obligations was even the subject of an independent audit conducted by the Commission on Audit, as contained in COA’s Audit Observation Memorandum dated March 23, 2015.

Pitkin loses stake in Palawan oil field

THE Energy Department has terminated the contract of Pitkin Petroleum Plc. of the United Kingdom over the West Linapacan oil bloc northwest off Palawan and assigned its interest to other joint venture partners.

The agency said it reassigned the participating interests over service contract 14 c2, after Pitkin failed to comply with the conditions of the farm-in agreement.

“Subsequent to the review and evaluation of the submitted documents as required under Section 2. of Department Circular No. DC2007-04-003, the DoE finds the JV partners legally, financially and technically qualified and we hereby grant the approval for the reassignment of the participating interests

from Pitkin,” Energy Department officer-in-charge Zenaida Monsada said in a letter to The Philodrill Corp.

The Philodrill disclosed the department’s approval of the reassignment of Pitkin’s interest to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

With the termination of Pitkin’s interest, Oriental Petroleum & Minerals Resources Corp. now owns 30.288 percent of SC 14 C2, The Philodrill with 28.070 percent, Nido Petroleum with 22.279 percent, Forum Energy Philippines Corp. with 9.103 percent, Alcorn Petroleum & Minerals Resources with 6.123 percent and PetroEnergy Resources Corp. with 4.137 percent.

“The SC14 C2 work commitment

consists of two horizontal development wells, which is the initial step for the rehabilitation and redevelopment of West Linapacan field,” Monsada said in the letter.

The SC 14C2 joint venture partners earlier decided to terminate its its farm-on agreement with Pitkin for its failure to comply with the conditions of the farm-in agreement.

The farm-in agreement required Pitkin to comply with the conditions, among them the phase two work program, which included drilling of one well, reserves certification, front end engineering design, final investment decision and other related work within 18 months after Pitkin received government approvals.

Alena Mae S. Flores

THURSDAY: SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

B6

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

Asean billionaires feel devaluation pain TWO of Southeast Asia’s richest businessmen are experiencing the weight of dollar strength after loading their business empires up with cheap US currency debt.

First Pacific’s main source of income is dividends from subsidiary companies in Indonesia and the Philippines. Salim, 66, is chairman and ultimately controls 45.1 percent.

First Pacific’s operating comAnthoni Salim, who controls the “Without prudent foreign ex- panies “have been proactively arFirst Pacific Co. conglomerate, and change risk management, a com- ranging local currency loan fundT. Ananda Krishnan, a major share- pany would have increasing inter- ing,” Sara Cheung, an investor holder of Malaysian mobile phone est payments in local currency, a relations official in Hong Kong at operator Maxis Bhd., are feeling the deteriorating credit profile and ris- First Pacific, said. Its Philippines pinch as the rupiah and the ringgit ing hedging costs,” said Mark Yu, a phone company, PLDT, had reveslump to the lowest since the 1998 money manager at Atlanta-based nues that were either denominatAsian financial crisis.

Invesco Advisers Inc., without re- ed in, or linked to, dollars of more The duo’s companies have ferring to any specific Asean bor- than $700 million last year. Indoamong the most foreign-currency rower. Pressure won’t let up in the food also derived $400 million in debt in their respective countries, near term, considering “the Fed is export sales in 2014, she said. with dollar liabilities totaling at going to hike rates, global emerging E-mails and telephone calls to least $3.8 billion for Salim and market economic growth is slow- Salim’s personal assistant based in some $2.3 billion for Krishnan, ing” and a more flexible yuan fix- Jakarta went unanswered. Salim data compiled by Bloomberg ing will increase regional currency is Indonesia’s fifth- richest pershow. volatility, he said. son. Eu Jin Song, a Kuala LumWhile the lessons of the 1998 Since China devalued the yuan pur-based spokesman for Bumi meltdown have prompted both in August, Malaysia’s ringgit has Armada Bhd., one of T. Ananda tycoons to take out currency weakened 7.6 percent, making it Krishnan’s companies, said Buhedges and seek to balance cash the worst-performing currency in mi’s dollar debt is used for projflows and liabilities, concern over Asia ahead of Indonesia’s rupiah, ects secured against long- term their foreign debts is weighing on which is down 6.1 percent. The contracts that generate US dollar the two groups’ shares and bonds. peso has weakened 4.3 percent revenue. Unlike Salim’s compaAlthough Hong Kong-listed this year, 2 percent of that since nies, Krishnan’s foreign debts are First Pacific stock is down 38 per- the depreciation. bank loans. cent this year its bonds are still Hong Kong-headquartered Companies that have strong extrading above par. The pain may First Pacific, with interests rang- port earnings may be less affected, be about to get worse as traders ing from noodle maker PT Indo- according to Shamaila Khan, an price in a 62-percent chance the food Sukses Makmur to Philip- emerging market money manager Federal Reserve will raise interest pine Long Distance Telephone at AllianceBernstein Holding LP, rates by December, with 32 per- Co., had $1.8 billion of dollar-de- which oversees about $485 bilcent saying a rise could come as nominated borrowings as of June lion. early as this week.

30, its interim report shows.

“Our view has been for the past three years that we’re going to experience a strong dollar, University of the Philippines Manila The Health Sciences Center so what I’ve been picking are exporters, companies that are BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE 3 solid exporters banking on 2nd Floor, BAC Conference Roon, Damian Hall University of the Philippines Manila the fact global growth is not P.Faura St. corner Ma. Orosa St., Manila going to be fantastic but it’s Telefax # 525-43-22 / 526-22-76 going to be stable,” Khan said, INVITATION TO BID declining to talk about the 1. The University of the Philippines Manila through its Bids and Awards Committee III (BAC 3), two tycoons specifically. invites suppliers/manufacturer/distributors/contractors to apply for eligibility and to bid for the hereunder projects: First Pacific’s $400 million of 2019 bonds have fallName of Project: Supply of Various Laboratory Supply of Various Equipment Laboratory Equipment en from a high this year of Requesting Unit/ NIH - Institute of Molecular NIH – Philippine Eye 108.057 cents on the dollar Location: Biology & Biotechnology Research Institure in April to 105.506 cents curApproved Budget for Php 14,290,000.00 Php 12,280,000.00 the Contract: rently, Bloomberg-compiled Bid Documents Php 5,000.00 & 10,000.00 Php 5,000.00 prices show. They were sold Contract Duration: 120 Days 120 Days to investors at par, or 100 PR No.: NIH-IMBB-15-01 to 03 NIH-PERI-15-02 to 05 cents on the dollar, in June Source of Fund: LRTE 2015 LRTE 2015 2012. Bloomberg 2. Prospective bidders should have experience in undertaking a similar project within the last two (2) years with an amount of at least 50% of the proposed project for bidding. The Eligibility Check/Screening as well as the Preliminary Examination of bids shall use nondiscretionary “pass/fail” criteria. Post-qualification of the lowest calculated responsive bid shall be conducted.

3.

All particulars relative to Eligibility Statement and Screening, Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-Bidding Conference(s), Evaluation of Bids, Post-Qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by the pertinent provisions of R.A. 9184 and its Implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR).

4. The complete schedule of activities is listed, as follows:

Activities

Schedule

1

Issuance of Bid Documents

Starting – Sept. 17, 2015

2

Pre-bid Conference

Sept. 22, 2015 – 1:30 pm

3

Opening of Bids

October 6,, 2015 – 1:30 pm

4

Bid Evaluation

Within two (2) weeks after the opening

5

Post-qualification

Within one (1) week after the bid evaluation

6

Issuance of Notice of Award

Seven (7) days after Post-qualification

5.

Bid Documents will be made available only to eligible bidders upon payment of a nonrefundable amount stated above for each project to the U.P. Manila Cashier’s Office.

6.

UP Manila assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify bidders for any expenses incurred in the preparation of the bid.

7.

The University of the Philippines Manila reserves the right to reject any or all bids, to waive any formality or defects therein, or to accept such as may be considered most advantageous to UP Manila.

8.

All inquiries shall be directed to the BAC III Secretariat at tel. no. 525-4322 / 526-2275. This is also posted at the UP Manila Official Web: http://www.upm.edu.ph/procurement.

(SGD) DR. TRISTAN NATHANIEL C. RAMOS Chair, BAC 3

(SGD) ARLENE A. SAMANIEGO, MD Vice Chancellor for Administration

TS-SEPT. 17, 2015)

( T S - S E P T. 17/ 2 4 , O C T. 1, 2 015 )

Changing structure of the Philippine audit industry UNTIL not so long ago Sycip Gorres Velayo & Co. was far and away the leader of this country’s audit industry and the managers of the largest Philippine business establishments almost instinctively thought of SGV when they looked for an external auditor for their businesses. Indeed, SGV was virtually synonymous with Philippine auditing.

That has ceased to be the case. SGV is no longer synonymous with Philippine auditing. The structure of this country’s auditing industry has been changing in recent years. There are several explanations for this.

One explanation has to be the series of breakaways of senior SGV personnel from the firm that Washington Sycip, Ramon Gorres and Alfredo Velayo founded in 1946. A partner or two breaking away from a firm on an occasional basis is something that happens even to the best of institutions. But the simultaneous departure of several, or a group of, partners from a firm recurrently is not a sign of cohesion and harmony within an organization. And breakaways have been taking place at SGV. The first to break away, many years ago, was senior partner Benjamin Punongbayan who joined Jose Araullo, former president of Philippine Savings Bank, to set up an auditing practice.

Punongbayan and Araullo has gone on to become the external auditor of many major Philippine business establishments.

Punongbayan was subsequently joined by other senior partners who wanted to find out if there was life after SGV. They apparently all found out that there was.

The most recent breakaways from The Firm were Roman Felipe Reyes and Protacio Tacandong, who left with a large number of other senior SGV folk to form the auditing firm that bears their name. Reyes Tacandong & Co., which recently moved into two floors of a pricey Ayala-area building, say that they now have twenty-two principals and partners and a staff of around 500 individuals. That surely is not bad after only a few years away from The Firm.

Another explanation for the change in the structure of the Philippine auditing industry is the stronger presence in this country of some of the major players in the world auditing industry. The foreign firm with the highest profile in the Philippines today is undoubtedly KPMG, the successor to the renowned firm Peat Marwick. Other major foreign auditing firms have come in KPMG’s wake but have chosen to maintain low profiles.

The talk used to be that SGV had anywhere up to eighty percent of the Philippine external-audit market. What that share is today, after the entry of the KPMGs and the Reyes Tacondongs, it is difficult to say with any degree of certainty.

Is the Philippine audit industry’s structure likely to change further with the coming into force next year of the Asean Economic Community, which will make possible the operation in this country of regional auditing firms? That development is virtually certain. But it should be remembered in this connection that SGV once had the largest network of affiliate firms in the whole of East Asia.

A third explanation, it must be said, for the Philippine audit industry’s structural shift away from SGV dominance is the departure from The Firm, through death and retirement, of practically all the partners that trained under, and had the longest direct association with, Wash Sycip and Fred Velayo.

The Roberto Ongpins, the Rodolfo Jacobs, the Rizalino Navarros and their contemporaries – they are all gone.

Despite the change that has taken place in the Philippine audit industry structure, one thing is beyond doubt. SGV remains the industry leader and is likely to stay in that position for some time to come. Unless there are more partner hemorrhages of the Reyes Tacandong kind.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

t H u r s D aY : s e P t e M b e r 17, 2 0 1 5

WORLD

cesar barrioquinto EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

Markets await Fed’s decision WA S H I N G T O N — Financial markets that have been buffeted by the prospect of the first US interest rate hike in almost a decade are buckling up as the Federal Reserve begins meeting Wednesday to weigh its decision.

An uncommon debate has raged over whether the US central bank should go ahead with a quarterpoint increase to the federal funds rate that would nevertheless mark a crucial break with the Fed’s crisis stance since 2008.

By most assessments the US economy, with unemployment at 5.1 percent and moderate growth, is strong enough now that holding the rate at zero percent is no longer

warranted.

The initial increase would likely begin a series of increases toward more “normal” levels around 3.0 percent over the next couple of years.

But to many economists, the slowdown of global economic activity, particularly in China, now poses a risk to US growth and an interest rate hike could set the economy back.

And many others say it could cause new problems in nervous global markets at just the wrong time.

The World Bank warned in a report Tuesday of a “perfect storm” of dangers, including a freeze in capital flows, for developing countries as the Fed tightens monetary policy.

“Given the substantial risks involved, they would do well to buckle their seatbelts in case the ride gets bumpy,” said Carlos Arteta,

lead economist in the Bank’s Development Prospects Group.

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee, led by Fed Chair Janet Yellen, will meet on the issue Wednesday and Thursday, announcing their decision at 1800 GMT Thursday.

Then Yellen will undertake the delicate challenge of explaining the decision in a press conference, with whatever she says as crucial to markets as the decision itself.

The Fed has been signalling the coming rate rise since 2013 and Yellen has repeatedly said in recent months that it would probably come by year-end.

But the depth of China’s problems—underscored by the August 11 devaluation of the yuan and the plunge in Chinese stocks—introduced new risks not only to other emerging economies but also, potentially, to the United States.

Furor over security bills. Police officers try to hold back demonstrators attempting to stop a vehicle transporting members of the parliament’s Upper House security bills committee during protests outside the venue of a public hearing on the controversial security bills in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo, on Sept.

16, 2015. Japan is set to enact controversial security bills that opponents say will undermine 70 years of pacifism and could see Japanese troops fighting abroad for the first time since World War II. AFP

‘Noise may shorten sparrows’ lives PARIS—The noise of cars honking and zooming through the streets may shorten the lifespan of sparrows growing up near the clamor, scientists said Wednesday.

Researchers from France’s National Center for Scientific Research or CNRS noticed that the chicks conceived and raised in the din of city traffic have shorter caps on their chromosomes than those reared in a quieter place.

Often likened to shoelace tips, these protective ends dubbed telomeres can predict how cells age. Numerous studies have shown a link between longer telomeres and a longer life.

“Our results provide the first experimental evidence that noise alone can affect a wild (animal’s) early-life telomere length,” said the study published in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters.

For the experiment, researchers blasted pre-recorded traffic noise six hours a day, seven days a week, at the chicks’ parents and then the 21 baby birds themselves.

Another 16 chicks were born and raised in the relative quiet of the French countryside.

When the chicks in both groups were just nine days old, scientists gave the baby birds a full physical exam, which included harvesting their telomeres.

They found that chicks reared near the racket had “significantly shorter telomeres”.

The team was not sure why noise hurts telomeres, but speculate it may disrupt the chicks’ sleep and cause them stress.

They could not actually measure whether birds in the quiet group lived longer.

“We tracked the chicks only up to their first flight. It would

be interesting to follow them longer to see how long it takes for the shorter telomeres to have an impact on the birds’ lives,” said study co-author Alizee Meillere.

The effect on bird telomeres adds to the list of negative impacts of noise pollution on wild creatures.

“Noise interferes with acoustic communication, which is very important, especially for birds,” Meillere said.

“In a noisy place, they are unable to find a good partner, they can’t hear their chicks and feed them when needed,” she added.

Scientists believe that as telomeres wear down, so does the protection they give to chromosomes, impairing DNA replication and boosting the risk of cellular malfunction and diseases, including cancer. AFP

“The change in the circumstances which began with the Chinese devaluation is relatively new and we are still watching how it unfolds,” Fed Deputy Chair Stanley Fischer said at the end of August.

Last week Andrew Levin, a Dartmouth economics professor who worked at the Fed for 20 years, argued that the US economy still harbors weaknesses that undermine the argument to increase interest rates.

Tightening policy at this point “would be a serious policy error,” he said.

On the other hand, tired by all the talk while interest rates have already jumped and their currencies have fallen, some of the world’s biggest emerging economies are pleading to end their agony and take the big step.

“It’s preferable to have a move early on and advertised, a slow move

up rather than the Fed be forced to tighten more significantly down the line,” Indian central bank governor Raghuram Rajan said last month.

Even if the FOMC demurs this week, Yellen’s forecast could still hold: they have two more meetings left in 2015, one at the end of October and one in mid-December.

Charles Collyns, chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, said that market volatility will persist in any case, because the US and British economies and central banks are moving in the opposite direction of much of the rest of the world.

“This divergence, together with growing divergence in economic growth between mature and emerging markets, will generate market uncertainty and volatility in the period ahead whatever the Fed decides on Thursday,” Collyns said. AFP

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17, 2 0 1 5

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cESAR BARRioqUinTo EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

world

Migrants head toward Croatia SID, Serbia—Migrants began to cross from Serbia into Croatia on Wednesday, desperate to find a new way into the European Union after Hungary sealed its border fence and a string of EU countries tightened frontier controls in the face of an unprecedented human influx.

Pressure is building for a special EU summit to come up with solutions to the crisis, with the bloc bitterly split and free movement across borders—a pillar of the European project—in grave jeopardy.

A small group of mostly women and children entered EUmember Croatia near Tovarnik early Wednesday, the first in what could be a new surge of migrants attempting to reach the bloc by circumventing a razor-wire fence erected

by Hungary.

Others were heading towards the frontier, with a group of 30 to 40 mostly Syrian and Afghan migrants turning up in buses at the Serbian border town of Sid. “We heard that Hungary was closed so the police told us we should come this way,” Amadou, 35, from Mauritania in western Africa, told AFP. Hundreds more desperate people were trapped Tuesday behind the fence hastily erected by Hungary along its border with Serbia in an attempt to block the migrant flow through the Balkans.

Hungary’s conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced plans for a similar barrier on its frontier with Romania, prompting outrage Tight watch. Austrian police officers stand by a truck during border controls on the Highway A4 near Nickelsdorf, at the Austrianfrom its southern Hungarian border, in the early hours of Sept. 16, 2015. Austrian and Slovakian authorities followed Germany’s lead in reimposing border controls as the EU’s border agency said more than half a million migrants had been counted at the bloc’s borders so far this year. AFP neighbor. AFP

Denmark sticks to hard line COPENHAGEN— Denmark’s government, which depends on an anti-immigration party to pass legislation, is sticking to a hard-line stance on refugees despite growing public support for a more open approach.

“Denmark has become the Hungary of the Nordic region, a transit country to a place that will welcome a refugee,” the liberal Politiken daily wrote recently.

Known for their egalitarian policies, the Danes have been named the world’s happiest people in numerous surveys and enjoy one of

the world’s highest standards of living.

But as Europe’s refugee crisis spread to Scandinavia, many were shocked to wake up to pictures of refugees running from police and walking on motorways just to reach the Swedish border.

“Denmark is not a good country for us,” Abdulrahman Alshehagi, a 26-year-old Syrian lorry driver, told AFP after walking on the country’s roads and then taking the train across a bridge to the southern Swedish city of Malmo.

For Copenhagen politicians, the sight of refugees avoiding Denmark at all costs may initially have seemed like something that would appeal to voters, especially the one-in-five who in a June general election backed the anti-im-

migration Danish People’s Party (DPP).

The minority right-wing coalition that took power in June campaigned on tougher asylum rules and halving benefits for newly arrived immigrants to make the country less attractive to refugees.

To ensure that they got the message, it placed adverts in several Lebanese newspapers on Sept. 7 warning that “Denmark has decided to tighten the regulations concerning refugees.”

Published just days after images of drowned Syrian toddler Aylan Kurdi shook Europe and the world, the adverts drew widespread criticism and helped galvanize those who oppose the government’s immigration policies.

Within days, a Facebook group for Danes helping asylum seekers with their everyday lives attracted thousands of new members and became a forum for people willing to drive refugees to Sweden, which has more generous asylum rules.

Nynne, a 44-year-old woman from an affluent part of Copenhagen, said that although she had never considered herself an activist, she got into her car and drove to Lolland, a rural part of Denmark where many refugees arrive on ferries, because she “wanted to do something.”

After unsuccessfully scouring the pitch dark roads, postings to the Facebook group eventually guided her to three Iraqi Kurds who wanted to go north of the border.

To avoid unwanted attention, the three spent the night in her apartment until the border crossing was busier.

After briefly suspending rail links between Denmark and Germany to prevent refugees from entering, Danish police last week said they would allow people to pass through the country without registering if they were not planning to seek asylum.

On Sunday they said 5,000 migrants had entered the country since September 6, of whom only 900 had applied for asylum.

In another sign that public support for Denmark’s ever-tighter asylum rules may be waning, some 30,000 people joined a Copenhagen rally on Saturday in favor of taking in more refugees. AFP

Asia’s millionaires to be richest

Waiting for Francis. Chinese faithful wave flags during the weekly general audience of Pope Francis at St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sept.

16, 2015. AFP

SINGAPORE—Asia-Pacific millionaires are set to become the world’s richest next year, a report said Wednesday, driven largely by wealthy individuals in India and China.

The combined wealth of AsiaPacific’s super rich will surpass its 2014 total of $15.8 trillion and overtake that of their North American counterparts—currently the world’s richest group with a shared wealth of $16.2 trillion last year, the study said.

The research by computer services consultancy Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management said the Asia-Pacific region already had the largest number of high net worth individuals or HNWIs, with 4.69 million in 2014 against

4.68 million in North America.

HNWIs are those with investible money of at least $1.0 million apart from the value of their homes and other collectibles.

“Looking further ahead, HNWI wealth is expected to expand more in Asia Pacific than in any other region of the world with much of the new wealth expected to come from the emerging economies of China, India, Indonesia and Thailand,” the firms’ Asia-Pacific Wealth Report 2015 said.

“China and India, in particular, have propelled Asia-Pacific HNWI wealth growth in recent years and are expected to continue to act as key drivers both in the region and globally.”

The report said China and India

represent nearly 10 percent of global HNWI wealth, and accounted for 17 percent of the worldwide increase in new wealth since 2006.

China had 890,000 millionaires with a total wealth of $4.5 trillion in 2014, up 17.5 percent and 19.3 percent, respectively, from a year earlier.

Globally, India recorded the fastest pace of growth in the number of millionaires—26.3 percent to 198,000—while the total wealth surged 28.2 percent to $785 billion, the report added.

The “Asia-Pacific continues its tremendous run in wealth creation and doesn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon,” said Barend Janssens, Asia head at RBC Wealth Management. AFP

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17 : 2 0 1 5

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TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

W EL L BEING

LIFE

OIL PULLING: FINE FETTLE

BY BUBBLES PARAISO

Not as gross as it sounds

M

orning rituals vary from person to person. While others would check their phones first, some would drink a liter of water, and a few would swish oil around their mouths for 20 minutes or so. Yes, you read the last part right. Since our mouths are home to millions of bacteria, viruses, and other toxins – they are embedded deeply in the crevices of our teeth and gums – the oil acts like a cleanser, taking out all the nasty stuff before it spreads throughout our bodies. Since most toxins in your mouth are oil-soluble, no amount of water-based mouthwash will kill or pull it.

This process is called oil pulling, an ancient Ayurvedic ritual dating back to 3,000 years.

It is also known as “kavala” or “gundusha” and it involves swishing a tablespoon of oil in your mouth right when you wake up (you must have an empty stomach upon doing it) for around five to 20 minutes before spitting it out. Be careful not to swallow the oil as it will mean swallowing the toxins that you are trying to pull out; and don’t spit into the sink as it will block your pipes – it is important to spit it out in the trash can.

Some popular oils used in oil pulling are coconut, sunflower, sesame and olive – coconut being the most popular because of its strong antibacterial properties. I remember passing by a store in Rockwell that was selling coconut oil and the salesperson mentioned that their coconut oils are perfect for oil pulling. I’ve tried doing it using this oil, but unfortunately it didn’t last more than a week as it was too strong for me and made me feel like gagging. My friend who has been oil pulling regularly the past year advised me

• Increase in energy – when our immune

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to use sunflower oil as she does. Honestly, I have yet to try it as I haven’t found the oil just yet. Since I only tried oil pulling for a week, I must admit I didn’t really notice any change or benefit in my health or body. But then again, these things take time, and you can’t expect changes in a week, right?

Marvy Schuman, from Eugene, Oregon, told me that when she started oil pulling more than a year ago, she noticed changes after three months of doing it; the most obvious being the absence of plaque (or an obvious lesser presence) in her teeth when she had her dental appointment. Others say this habit also strengthens gums and

whitens teeth, aside from the aforementioned elimination of plaque.

Aside from its dental benefits, here are more reasons why you should try oil pulling: • Reduces headaches – since headaches and migraines usually occur when the body is under toxic stress, eliminating some bacteria from the body by oil pulling may help you avoid feeling malaise.

• Helps clear the skin – no toxins in your bloodstream (that came from your body) means clearer, glowing skin. People with rashes and skin issues claim that their skin problems have dramatically improved after oil pulling.

system is no longer working hard trying to fend off toxins from our bodies because we have removed it from the get go, the amount of work our bodies have to do to function is lowered and makes us feel more energized for other things.

Best way to detoxify the body – since we are killing the germs that cause disease and illness right at the source (the mouth, which is the gateway of these toxins), they no longer have the chance to spread and therefore helps detoxify!

Balances hormones – hormones are sometimes thrown off balance when having to compete with foreign substances. Without having toxins to deal with, our hormones can function better without being thrown off balance.

For your oral hygiene (not just dental) – tooth cavities and bacteria cause bad breath, so oil pulling will be greatly beneficial for those suffering from halitosis.

If and when you do try oil pulling, remember to be gentle as you swish it around your mouth and not be aggressive with it. Remember that since you are doing it for five to 20 minutes, the oil will multiply its size as it draws in not just the toxins, but saliva as well. Make sure not to swallow anything and spit the oil out into the trash when you’re done. After which, you may gargle with some warm salt water; brush and floss your teeth and carry on with the rest of your day, feeling fresher and cleaner each day.

Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @bubblesparaiso

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T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17 : 2 0 1 5

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

STOP COUNTING CALORIES; FOCUS ON NUTRITONAL VALUE INSTEAD “Do you know that bu rge r has 950 calories? ” That would be me, p o i n t ing THE GIST out the

BY ED BIADO obvious and ruining my friend’s appetite in the process. I’m the type of person to count calories – not for health reasons, but just out of curiosity.

On a recent sweets binge-fest, I mentally recorded 780 calories. No, I didn’t adjust my food intake for the remainder of the day to not go over the recommended 2,500 calories a day. I don’t care if I eat 500 or 5,000 calories. It simply amuses me to know roughly how much I›m consuming.

But some people are very conscious about their calories. My friend, the one who devoured the 950-calorie burger, probably skipped breakfast the following morning to “compensate” for the sin that was the previous night’s dinner. That’s really not the healthiest thing to do.

In fact, experts now say that we should stop counting calories altogether and instead direct our focus on the actual health

benefits of the food items we eat. This is the gist of an editorial penned by doctors Aseem Malhotra and James DiNicolantonio and professor Simon Capewell for the online journal Open Heart.

“Shifting the focus away from calories and emphasizing a dietary pattern that focuses on food quality rather than quantity will help to rapidly reduce obesity,

related diseases, and cardiovascular risk,” the researchers say, believing that this dietary change can improve health at the population level. “But clinicians have failed to act for far too long, amid an excessive focus on the calorific content of food by the food and weight loss industries, despite mounting evidence that it’s the nutritional content that matters.”

For example, processed foods with low calorie counts have negative effects on the body while natural foods with high calorie counts are quite beneficial to the health, showing that calorie counting without considering nutritional value is counterproductive.

“Daily consumption of a sugary drink (150 calories) is associated with a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes whereas daily consumption of a handful of nuts (30 g of walnuts, 15 g of almonds and 15 g hazelnuts) or four tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (around 500 calories) is associated with a significantly reduced risk of heart attack and stroke,” the statement reads.

“It is time to stop counting calories, and time to instead promote good nutrition and dietary changes that can rapidly and substantially reduce cardiovascular mortality. The evidence indeed supports the mantra that ‘food can be the most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison.’ Recommending a high fat Mediterranean type diet and lifestyle to our patients, friends and families might be a good place to start,” they conclude.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @EdBiado

Hi-Precision opens its Advanced Lab Solutions Clinic in Centuria Medical Makati

T

he Philippines is slowly progressing in terms of availability of diagnostic tests. Tests for early detection of hereditary cancer and pre-natal gender are just among the many advanced diagnostic tests available for us today.

Centuria Medical Makati, a medical IT outpatient center located in Century City, Kalayaan Avenue in Makati, recently opened Advanced Lab Solutions, a new clinic brand under Hi-Precision Diagnostics. It offers advanced tests such as the Myriad myRisk Hereditary Cancer test and the Panorama Non-Invasive Pre-Natal Screening.

With hereditary cancer testing, the early detection of cancer can prepare a person in understanding risks and decisions about his health. On the other hand, the Panorama Non-Invasive Pre-Natal Screening can leave new parents at ease especially those with

high risk pregnancies, couples who are over 35 years old, and parents with a history of genetic defect.

The hereditary cancer test aids in detecting gene mutations associated with different forms of cancers such as breast, ovarian, colorectal, pancreatic, melanoma, prostate and endometrial while the Panorama test not only detects a baby’s gender but also genetic abnormalities such as Down Syndrome, Edwards Syndrome, Patau Syndrome, Triploidy, and certain sex chromosome abnormalities.

Hi-Precision Diagnostics is the country’s largest network of medical diagnostic facilities. It offers high quality medical services, including tests that are not readily available to most Filipinos through its international laboratory affiliates. It is also the first diagnostics clinic in the country to offer an online portal where patients can log in to get their results. Its clients can also access their lab result history and records by downloading a Hi-Precision Diagnostics special app through their smartphones. Advanced Lab Solutions clinic at Centuria will give patients access to this technology.

Centuria Medical Makati will house more than 650 clinics as well as commercial spaces such as cafes, restaurants and pharmacy outlets in the near future. Other facilities include a Day Surgery Center, Radiology Center, Exclusive Recovery Suites, and an Ambulance Transfer Service. The Asia Breast Center is also locating in Centuria this year.

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17 : 2 0 1 5

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Filipina teens need to be provided with the right information and tools that will equip them with courage to show their Johnson & Johnson Philippines will visit 500 schools nationwide through the Camp Courage school tours. Camp Courage ambassador Liza Soberano (fourth from left) is joined by Associate Director for Marketing Lovenna Cadano, real selves, discover new experiences and make their move.

Camp Courage senior scouts, teen blogger Isabel Garcia, teen expert Mary Clare Pineda and Group Brand Manager for Women’s Health and Beauty Karen Co.

SEIZE THE MOMENT:

J&J Philippines inspires 400,000 Filipina teens nationwide

E

Liza Soberano for Camp Courage

veryone knows the teenage years can be very awkward and difficult, with many challenges and situations that make life difficult for every teener.

But teen ladies, fear no more, because Johnson & Johnson Philippines launched Camp Courage – a movement that seeks to inform Filipina teens on how they can build their confidence in seizing every moment to reach their full potential.

A study conducted by Civic Science for Johnson & Johnson: Clean & Clear, 2014 on the behavior of teens nowadays showed that 75 percent of girls aged 1317 want to feel accepted yet are afraid of being judged. Among Filipinas, this translates to dyahe, hiya, and kaba (which could mean shyness, embarrassment and apprehension) – amplified by the many changes they go through physically, emotionally and socially.

The findings prompted J&J Philippines to jumpstart Camp Courage. “Knowing and understanding the needs of young Filipinas is the very foundation of the advocacy we are doing at J&J Philippines,” shared Karen Co, Group Brand Manager for Women’s Health & Beauty of J&J

Philippines. “It is during the teenage years when girls start to feel new emotions that translate into their perception about themselves and how they relate to others.

Madalas nandyan yung ‘dyahe’, ‘hiya’, at ‘kaba’ especially when they start to get affected by the many changes that are happening around them, which also include the bodily changes resulting in discomfort,” she continued, adding that Camp Courage aims to empower Filipina teens by building up their confidence to seize every moment with the right tools and information, leading up to realizing their full potential.

Camp Courage will go around the Philippines to reach out to about 400,000 Filipina teens in 500 schools nationwide.

It will conduct workshops and activities that will help girls understand their bodies even better, know the right things to do in any situation, and find opportunities where they can enhance their talents and skills even more. More importantly, the Camp Courage School Program will encourage teens to face challenges head on, inspiring them to believe in themselves and their abilities.

Camp Courage lead advocate Liza Soberano flanked

by J&J Philippines’ Associate Director for Marketing Lovenna Cadano and Group Brand Manager for Women’s Health and Beauty Karen Co.

Local celebs join fight against nerve damage

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ctress-singer Zsa Zsa Padilla and international director and producer Paul Soriano have teamed up with Neurobion®, a leading B-Vitamins brand, to raise awareness on neuropathy or nerve damage. The two brand ambassadors will help reach a wider audience for the brand’s Neuropathy Awareness Movement and encourage Filipinos to take care of their nerves early to prevent future serious nerve damage. To spread the word, information on nerve health will be released in print and

The advocacy will also run online at www.ourcampcourage.ph where teens can share inspiring stories, talk about their thoughts and feelings as well as encourage and support each as they go through the challenges of teenage life.

Supporting this campaign are brands such as Clean & Clear to help girls show their real self with the confidence of clean and clear skin; Carefree, which allows them to discover and fully enjoy new experiences with a well-maintained fresh confidence; and Modess, which gives them the confidence to enjoy an active lifestyle with unrestrained confidence.

digital outlets, while consumers can avail of free nerve screenings in select clinics and hospitals.

Neurobion® is trusted by doctors for over 40 years. With its optimum balanced formula of Vitamins B1, B6 and B12, Neurobion® is clinically proven to nourish and regenerate the nerves. For more information on Neurobion® and the Neuropathy Awareness Movement, visit www.facebook.com/ NeurobionPhilippines

Award-winning director Paul Soriano and divine diva Zsa Zsa Padilla raise awareness on neuropathy.

Join the conversations and encourage other girls online by visiting www.ourcampcourage.ph and by using the hashtag #CampCouragePH.

T H U R S D AY : S E P T E M B E R 17 : 2 0 1 5

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Max the Mighty Mushroom

@LIFEatStandard

GOODNESS GANG SUPER FOOD STARS ARE BACK!

H Pippa the Playful Pepper

Patrick the Powerful Pea

Billy the Brillian Blueberry

ere’s great news for all super food fans out there – Rustan’s Supermarket’s popular Goodness Gang is back! What’s more, the gang has recruited new members of the Superfoodz Edition – and these heroes of healthy eating and good nutrition are hitting the shelves.

The success of the first Goodness Gang release – which featured favorite fruits and vegetables in the form of soft plush toys to remind you to love your body by adhering to the 5-a-day rule (five pieces of fruits and/ or vegetables to be consumed each day), is boosted with the eight new Superfoodz stars that are powerhouses of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

Known for fighting off chronic diseases, heart and bone problems, obesity, and simple illnesses, this year’s gang will lead you on the path to eating well and right while keeping you in tiptop shape. Here’s the lowdown on the new gang members: Max the Mighty Mushroom is the only fruit and vegetable with the “sunshine vitamin” – Vitamin D that grows bones and strengthens muscles; Pippa the Playful Pepper is packed with Vitamins C and B to fight diseases and keep skin and hair healthy; Alex the Action Apple is filled with fiber to stop high levels of bad cholesterol while his B-Complex vitamins protect the red blood cells and nervous system; Billy the Brilliant Blueberry may be small, but he sure is a mighty defender against infections and diseases, with more antioxidants than most other bigger fruits and vegetables; while Patrick the Powerful Pea is another hero to

Rustan’s Supermarket’s popular Goodness Gang is making a comeback with brand new members of the Superfoodz Edition.

watch out for as he saves the joints, lungs, heart, and bones from painful conditions; Then there’s Thomas the Trusted Tomato, whose choice weapon is lycopene, and nourishes cell membranes to remove the junk out of cells and keep the good nutrients in; Olivia the Outgoing Orange derives super strength from Vitamin C that helps repair skin damage due to the sun and pollution while also defeating nasty colds and flu; and rounding up the gang is Fiona the Fantastic Fig, who combats the negative effects of processed food, salt, and fat with potassium and fiber.

Get your hands on these eight colorful, adorable Goodness Gang plush toys that can be redeemed through stickers gained from shopping in Rustan’s Supermarket and purchasing sponsors’ products until November 30. Each plush toy is FREE with 50 stickers earned or may be purchased for only P299 with 25 stickers earned.

Customers earn one sticker for every P300 spent while an extra sticker is earned for every P100 on sponsored items. Get yourself, your family and friends in the bandwagon of health and good nutrition by bringing home the Goodness Gang from Rustan’s Supermarket.

Rustan’s Supermarkets are located at Makati Area: Glorietta, Greenbelt 1, Paseo de Magallanes, Alphaland Makati Place, Paseo Center, Century City Mall, San Antonio Plaza. North Area: Shangri-La Plaza, Gateway Mall, Katipunan, Tomas Morato, P.Guevarra, Corinthian Hills, Village Center Antipolo.

South Area: Ayala Alabang Village, Evia Lifestyle Center. Cebu: Oakridge Business Park, Ayala Center, Arcenas Estate. CDO: Ayala Centrio Mall. Also visit Marketplace by Rustan’s at Rockwell Powerplant Mall and Central Square Bonifacio High Street. For more info, visit www.rustansfresh.com

The Halal Seal of Quality

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alal prepared food has become a booming trade in the food industry.

Halal, meaning lawful or permitted, is a way of food preparation that abides

by Islamic requirements. Islam is the religion of approximately 4.5 million Filipinos (as per the 2014 Philippine Demographic Profile), but for those looking for fresh food, you don’t need to be a follower of Islam to make halal a grocery list priority.

Products with halal symbols have been proliferating in the market. You can see these in the back labels of products from biscuits to savory food. For halal meat produce, the quality of meat is deemed one of the best in the market, with the meat carefully prepared from breeding to slaughtering. The animal’s life and death must be humane and as comfortable as possible, especially during its life in the farm, where living conditions

must be comfortable and the animal must be fed very well. During slaughter, the animal is blessed by the butcher and killed by hand. Because of the humane slaughter there is very little lactic acid and stress hormones, in turn providing perfect taste and texture to the meat.

Vitarich Corporation is quick to respond to the growing halal market and is already supplying affordable halal-certified poultry in Luzon and soon in Mindanao, in the form of Cook’s Dressed Chicken (also available frozen). The chickens are treated well and raised in local farms, adhering to halal principles. Vitarich makes sure that the meat produce is clean, fresh and absolutely safe from contaminants.

Next time you head to the grocery, make sure you ask for Cook’s Dressed Chicken. It may be the best option for those who want to eat only the best value poultry.

Vitarich’s poultry plant in Bulacan is halal-compliant from the living conditions to the slaughtering process.

Cook’s dressed chickens ready for packaging and shipping to supermarkets nationwide.

T HUR S DAY : S EPT EMBER 17 : 2015

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

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First ApplEbEE’s Grill & bAr® in pH

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pplebee’s Grill & Bar®, the quintessential American restaurant since it first opened in 1980 outside Atlanta, Georgia and which has since grown to be the largest casual dining brand in the world, is opening its first location in the Philippines, it was announced today by Daniel del Olmo, president of International, DineEquity, Inc. The new Applebee’s, which represents another step forward in the international growth strategy of parent company DineEquity, Inc., is located at the Ground Floor of the W Global Center, 30th Street corner 9th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig.

It also represents an expansion of the DineEquity relationship with its franchise partner for its other leading brand, IHOP® restaurants, Global Restaurant Concepts. Global Restaurant Concepts currently operates seven IHOP restaurants in the Philippines.

The opening of Applebee’s Grill & Bar, will bring the brand’s 35 years of experience serving the best in ribs, steaks, burgers, appetizers and a range of drink choices to guests in the Philippines, and is the first of three Applebee’s locations expected to open in the Philippines over the next several years.

The new Applebee’s restaurant will embody Applebee’s new 360 degree brand evolution, which sees the philosophy—“There’s always a reason to celebrate”, whether it’s a birthday, anniversary or just simply finding your car keys—reflected in every aspect of the guest experience, from design and décor to promotion to menu innovation to service and hospitality.

“We are delighted to bring the classic American grill and bar ex-

perience to guests in the Philippines, which has long been a goal for all of us at DineEquity,” said del Olmo. “Our largest ever consumer research study identified the Philippines as a market with great growth opportunity for Applebee’s.”

“But key to our plan was to find a franchise partner who would bring the same level of commitment, quality and guest satisfaction that we experienced with our IHOP franchise partner Archie Rodriguez and Global Restaurant Concepts, who, in their first year of operations, won our IHOP International Franchisee of the Year Award,” del Olmo continued. “Once they expressed interest in bringing Applebee’s to the market, we knew we had found the perfect partner and the perfect opportunity.”

“We are happy with the partnership we have with DineEquity as we are aligned in many ways with our vision and mission of providing a memorable dining experience. The rest of the team and I are excited to celebrate everything with our guests at Applebee’s as we serve classic American grill and bar flavors. As with the success of IHOP, we are sure Filipinos will love the whole concept of Applebee’s – from its menu, service, and overall ambiance - with their friends and family,” says Archie Rodriguez, President and CEO of Global Restaurant Concepts.

“Global Restaurant Concepts has grown IHOP in the Philippines rapidly over the past few years, and their work has caused local guests to truly love the brand,” del Olmo added. “I believe we will see very similar results with the Applebee’s brand from our committed and experienced partner.”

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1 Wonton Taco 2 Shakes 3 Churros S’ mores 4 Cowboy Burger 5 Quesadilla Burger 6 Butter Pecan Blondie 7 Pork Ribs 8 Boneless Chicken Bites 9 Pot Stickers

Diane Von Furstenberg on e!

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unwraps the inner workings of the glamorous world of fashion as seven determined young women enter the house that icon Diane Von Furstenberg built during season two of House of DVF. In a fierce competition to become DVF’s next Global Brand Ambassador, these aspiring fashionistas will be put to the ultimate test – from styling exacting celebrity clients, to spearheading new designs, to jet setting for fabulous

assignments and more – to see if they have what it takes to represent the legendary brand. House of DVF premieres on E! 9 p.m. tonight.

“The second season of House of DVF is not only entertaining and informative, but also allows viewers inside my fashion world,” says Diane von Furstenberg. “I will also continue to provide empowering messages to a generation of millennial women in order to guide them to becoming the women they want to be.”

With exclusive access to the

world of Diane von Furstenberg, including runway shows, high profile events across the globe, and revealing looks at the inner workings of this singular brand, House of DVF is like no other show on television. Eight high-stakes episodes take viewers on an adventurous and sometimes emotional ride, as this group of driven young women who are each dedicated to their own personal brands, experience the challenges and triumph while being tested for the job of a lifetime.

Along with Diane, season one

winner and current DVF Global Brand Ambassador Brittany Hampton returns to help find experienced hopefuls, knowing all too well what the demanding yet fun position entails. Jessica Joffe (DVF’s Style Editor) and Stefani Greenfield (DVF’s Creative Brand Director) also return to offer their professional guidance and insight.

DVF and her team will inspire and empower the women to fulfill their potential, chase their dreams and embrace independence.

The new contenders are put

through their paces as they dive into a number of high-stakes challenges across DVF’s stylish empire, including individual and team assignments in design, marketing and public relations. However, it’s not all work and no play for the acolytes. As the young women vie for the chance to become Diane’s next protégé, they spend time together in New York City where friendships form, foes emerge and drama ensues as the pursuit of excellence buoys some, and takes a toll on others.

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

First 360-degree video in PH

The monster in Attack on Titan 2 Shikishima and Armin try to escape the destruction brought about by the monstrous Titan

‘ATTACk On TiTAn 2: EnD Of ThE WORLD’ in ThEATERS

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he first Attack on Titan movie left the world hanging for a concluding movie that will put an end to the flesh-eating giants that devoured most of mankind.

After the movie’s extremely successful box-office bow, the second installment immediately follows, entitled Attack on Titan 2: End of the World and will unfold in local cinemas on Sept. 23.

From Studio Toho and acclaimed Japanese director Shinji Higuchi and written by Yusuke Watanabe, the second movie adaptation brings the movie’s heroes in a much larger than life intense challenge on their counterattack against the Titans in order to survive.

Attack on Titan 2: End of the World picks up where the first movie left off

where the newly trained group of soldiers has learned to use the “Maneuver Gear” to fight against the Titans and where Eren mysteriously survived after being eaten by a Titan. Eren and the others set out on a mission to restore the Wall that had been destroyed by a colossal Titan, but they’re suddenly faced with a quagmire when they’re attacked by a horde of Titans.

Shikishima, the Titan-slaying captain of the Scout Regiment, arrives to save the day, but the Titans show no sign of letting up. During the battle, Eren is badly injured, and in the process of saving his friend Armin, he’s swallowed whole by a Titan. Just as all hope seems to be lost, a mysterious Titan with black hair suddenly appears and begins annihilating the other Titans. If this mission fails, it will spell

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ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Fast-food chain 4 Get fresh 8 Advice columnist 12 Belt holder 13 Sloth’s hangout 14 Brief flash 16 Hence 17 Fully mature 18 Theater part 19 Microscopic 20 Great for me (3 wds.)

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Move the puck Hawaiian strings Topsy-turvy Best medicine?

Actor — Parker Japanese honorific Atlas dot Slippery Pertaining to all of North America Ply the oars Nash of humorous poems Unmannered one Nosecone covering Trouser feature Linger Mach 2 fliers Small whirlpool Mars, in ancient Greece Codgers’ queries

DOWN 1 Asian country 2 Stick-in-the-mud 3 Navy noncom 4 Plays banjo 5 Pop up 6 Fall mo.

7 Come off as 8 Graf’s hubby 9 Subs, on sonar

the end of humanity. Why did the Titans appear? Why do people continue to fight?

The last counterattack to save human civilization is about to begin.

The Manga’s success created by Hajime Isayama has sold over 50 million volumes with critics praising its frenetic, apocalyptic exciting plot. The second installment further sees the naked smiling-stoned giants continuously attacking and devouring people while the heroes wait desperately on the perfect time to attack them.

Fight and challenge mankind’s doomed destiny in Attack on Titan 2: End of the World when it opens in cinemas on Sept. 23 from Pioneer Films.

Trailer link: https://youtu.be/ k6HoplRBayY

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2015

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Implores Ivy League member X-rated Avg. size Backus and Carrey Rumormonger Scholarly volumes Flute cousins Onetime Shea team What snobs put on “— Dick” Sobbed Whitish gem Anulled, as a law Puffin cousins Pizzeria musts Type of bee Claw badly Hard Puts on the agenda Stand in good — Chopin opus Kind of potato Battery units Lambs’ parents Badge wearer Eye amorously Place of exile Roulette color Mao — -tung

Google Philippines, together with five well known bands and musicians, released “Miss Ko Na” featuring crowd-sourced lyrics from Filipinos here and abroad.

Sponge Cola, ItchyWorms and Kjwan, along with vocalist Ebe Dancel, and YouTube star Mikey Bustos worked together to put melody and structure to the answers to Google’s question, Anong namimiss mo sa Pilipinas? (What do you miss most in the Philippines?”)

Google asked for submissions from OFWs using Google Forms and on their social media accounts using the hashtag #GoogleMissKoNa, which were then used as lyrics to the song.

The “Miss Ko Na” music video is also the first 360-degree YouTube video in the Philippines, which viewers on Chrome browser can tap on and drag to see different perspectives of the video.

Viewers on Android phones using the YouTube App can simply move their phones to watch the video from different angles. The video found on https://youtu.be/gD8RPX3NoQs can also be saved on the YouTube Offline playlist for viewing within 48-hours without an Internet connection.

“The submissions of our kababayans were very inspiring and made it easy for us to come up with a song that speaks of their longing for home. “Miss Ko Na” is not only about the story of OFWs; it is also a story about sacrifice and selfless love that Filipinos are known for,” shares Kelley Mangahas of Kjwan.

The song captures famous Filipino traditions such as celebrating noche buena with family, going to fiestas with friends, playing basketball with relatives, and eating with bare hands, among others. It also showcased Filipino food that OFWs crave for such as halo-halo and tapsilog.

“It’s a simple catchy song that captures the Filipino spirit. It reflects how we celebrate the good and we pummel through the bad with a smile and a positive outlook,” adds Yael Yuzon of Sponge Cola.

“We are very thankful for the participation of our kababayans to this initiative. To show our gratitude, Google and the collaborators donated a peso for every submission we got, and the overwhelming replies from Pinoys allowed us to donate P1 million to the Blas Ople Policy Center & Training Institute. This will be used to build halfway houses for overseas Filipinos in need,” says Ryan Morales Google Philippines country marketing manager.

Filipinos can sing-along using the YouTube Karaoke version at http://youtu.be/71ozeiT7Kq8.

The song is exclusively available on YouTube.

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

Documentarian and GMA News TV anchor Howie Severino (third from right) with (from left t) GMA AVP for Corporate Affairs Teresa L. Pacis, Probe Media Foundation, Inc. Executive Director Yasmin Mapua-Tang, Metrobank Foundation, Inc. President Aniceto M. Sobrepeña, and GMA Chairman and CEO Atty. Felipe L. Gozon.

howie seveRino is JouRnalisT of The YeaR

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etrobank Foundation, Inc. named documentarian and GMA News TV anchor Howie Severino one of the winners of the 2015 Search for Journalists of the Year (JOY).

The award, given every two years, honors Filipino journalists that have contributed to nation building and set an example for the profession.

Severino was an award-sinning reporter on the print medium prior to moving to television in 1997.

He was editor-in-chief of GMA News Online from 2009 to 2014.

He did a series of documentaries on Jose Rizal shown in schools and inspired Ilustrado, a bio-drama series on GMA Network on the life and times of Rizal.

“I am so honored by this award because it recognizes my entire 27-year career in journalism. But I am also very humbled because I know that TV journalism more than any other kind of journalism is a team enterprise,” says Severino. “Anything I have ever achieved in TV is also the product of the talented and committed professionals I am lucky enough to work with.”

During the formal award ceremony on Oct. 22, the three winners will each receive a cash prize and the Pamukaw medallion designed

by Jun Vicaldo, a winner of the Metrobank Foundation Prize for Achievement in Sculpture (MPAS).

They will also be conferred the title “Metrobank Foundation Fel-

Christian Bautista opened Stages Sessions last Sunday

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lows in Journalism” and will be given the opportunity to share their expertise and experience through lectures in Metro Manila and other regions of the country.

The winners were chosen through a process conducted by the Probe Media Foundation. Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales chaired the panel of judges composed of members Commission on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista; Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) Chairman Dr. Patricia Licuanan; Ateneo de Manila University President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin; and Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation President Carmencita Abella.

Severino also serves as GMA Network’s vice president for Professional Development, one of those responsible for developing journalism standards and policies for the network. Fellow GMA Network journalists Jiggy Manicad and Malou Mangahas were awardees in the first edition of the Search for Journalists of the Year in 2013. Mangahas heads the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism.

HHHHH MTRCB Chief inspiRes DMi MeMBeRs Atty. Eugenio “Toto” Villareal, Chairman of the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), recently spoke at a mini-Matalinong Panonood seminar with members of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate

MTRCB Chairman Toto Villareal (seated, 2nd from right) with members of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate St. Paul of the Cross Circle

International (DMI). The event was held at the Liezl Martinez Hall of the MTRCB building on Sept. 7.

Atty. Villareal enjoined the association of Catholic women to wear the so-called “parent’s hat” and promote audience sensitivity, particularly in regard to the vulnerable sectors such as children, women, elders, and persons with disabilities.

Meanwhile, fueled by its mandate to “empower and protect the welfare of its stakeholders towards media literacy,” the MTRCB continues to mount “Matalinong Panonood” activities for every Juan and Juana.

On the heels of the successful “Values Formation Family Day” opening at Amoranto Multi-purpose Theatre on Sept. 12, the MTRCB will conduct two more seminars on Sept. 24 and 26, all through the initiative and support of the Quezon City government.

The MTRCB will also continue to walk its talk at Amber Business Center Ortigas on Sept.19, and at the St. Therese of the Child Jesus Diocesan Shrine and Parish in Antipolo City on Oct. 29.

“We have been going by groups to various provinces, schools, dioceses, and other organizations on a nationwide information campaign. We believe that the ratings and classification system, anchored on age-appropriateness of particular content, will serve no purpose if it is not understood and effectively used by the audience,” Villareal said.

Ryan Christopher is one of the featured artists in Stages Sessions

IntImate and authentIC PerformanCes

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ig venue concerts are a great experience for both its audience and the performers. It’s a chance to see your favorite artists live as they challenge themselves by giving all they’ve got in the hopes of putting on a show we won’t soon forget.

But, the bright lights and spectacular production value of these events can also create a barrier and limit the interaction between artists and their fans. Eager to bridge the gap and catch the vibe of local gigs or lounge performances, Stages is putting up a 10-show acoustic concert series featuring their pool of talent that they are simply calling, Stages Sessions.

Stages Sessions will be held at the 26th St Bistro by The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf at the ground floor of the Net Lima building in Bonifacio Global City. The venue may be scaled down, but it makes for the perfect place to create engaging interaction between artists and audience that make for an intimate afternoon of music. Given complete freedom for their

hour to 2-hour long show, each of the artists scheduled to appear can give authentic insight to the songs they’ve chosen in set lists and interact with the audience to achieve a level of closeness that wouldn’t be possible in larger venues.

Followers, fans, friends, and family who are unable to attend these events will also be pleased to hear that these shows will also be taken digitally and posted on YouTube and SoundCloud to be shared to others who might want to see or hear their favorite artists in a different light.

The first of the Stages Sessions was held on Sept.13 at 5 p.m. and featured one of Stages’ biggest stars, Christian Bautista.

Stages Sessions happens twice a month until the Jan. 24 2016.

Other artists lined up for their own shows include: Ryan Sy, Aicelle Santos, Bullet Dumas, Sheila Valderrama, Morisette Amon, and Hayden Kho. For more information about Stages Sessions, head to their Facebook Page and follow them on Twitter and Instagram @stagessessions.

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ Is JerIcho rosales the “J” In Kuya J? ISAH V. RED Last Monday, the usual lunchtime crowd at SM Megamall was surprised that their favorite Filipino restaurant at the basement of the mall was closed. Not permanently, though because the dining facility was merely having a press do to introduce “Ang Blockbuster Bida ni Kuya J.” The private event might have driven diners away only on that day but there were others who chose to take a peek at the Kuya J’s “blockbuster bida.”

And when Kapuso star Iya Villania came out from a curtained off corner to introduce, first Kuya J’s president, Winglip K. Chan who talked about the success of the Cebu-based restaurant, Jericho Rosales, people crowded the doorway of the restaurant for a glimpse of the Kapamily actor.

Rosales is the official brand ambassador of the chain.

Chan, before Rosales was introduced to the members of the press, spoke on what makes a restaurant a blockbuster hit.

He said, “Well, for one, it has to have mouthwatering food that you’ll love even at first bite. Two, the staff should be very welcoming to the extent that you’ll feel like you’re family. Three, the ambiance of the restaurant is warm and cozy, as if it were your second home. And four, it has to have a star that can captivate the hearts of every Filipino. Just like Kuya J Restaurant.”

Kuya J, one of the fastest rising Filipino restaurants in the Philippines that offer delicious Filipino food in a homey atmosphere, Chan said, has its “bidang” endorser, Jericho Rosales.

Without a doubt, Jericho or Echo, as he is fondly called, is one of the best actors in the country.

He was, and still is, responsible for making many Filipinos shed tears while watching his shows on TV screens or movies with him as a lead actor in theaters. He is a versatile actor and can can paly any role.

In fact, he still wants to portray a lot of characters outside of his comfort

zone. This just goes to show how passionate Echo is with his craft.

But aside from his celebrity persona, Echo also wears a lot of hats.

When he wants to chill and ride the waves, he paddles his way as a cool surfer. When he wants to share the sound of his heart, he straps on his guitar and plays as a singer-songwriter. When he wants to toy around with his vintage cars and bikes, he puts on his collector snap-back. And when he wants to sharpen people’s style in his barbershop, he trims his way into a sleek entrepreneur.

Now, coming from his recently concluded teleserye, Bridges of Love, in which he played the role of a brother, Echo still continues to be the “Kuya”. But this time, it’s not only for one, but also for everyone.

Come to think of it, Echo very much echoes a Kuya. He’s the type whom you’d love to spend time with because he likes to have fun and always gives off good vibes.

Plus, every time you’re with him, there’s not a single dull moment because his wholesomeness and wittiness is very entertaining.

On top of that, if there’s one thing that is very Kuya about Echo, it’s his trait of always putting his heart into everything that he does.

And that’s because he wants to reach out, inspire, and touch as many people’s lives as he can through his exceptional talents.

It’s really no wonder that Echo is the perfect Kuya for the brand.

So, how will Kuya J Restaurant be a smashing hit? Well, let’s just say, like Jericho, it has all the makings of a superstar. And we all can’t wait to try its blockbuster dishes.

Jericho Rosales Crispy Pata

Mango Pandan

Lumpia Presko

Kare Kare

➜ continued on c7 Winglip Chang, president of Kuya J Restaurant chain

If there’s one thing that is very Kuya about Echo, it’s his trait of always putting his heart into everything that he does Chef Sheena Koseki with Iya Villainia and Jericho Rosales