The Standard - 2015 November 16 - Monday

VOL. XXIX NO. 277 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 MONday : NOVEMBER 16, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

New ‘bala’ scandal: Howitzer ammo

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us to cHalleNge cHiNa at summit US PreSident Barack Obama is set to challenge China when Asia-Pacific leaders gather in Manila this week, speaking out on a territorial row and lobbying to set pro-American trade rules.

Chinese President Xi Jinping will also be in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, an annual event that is meant to forge unity on free trade within the region.

But this year’s meeting risks becoming entangled in various USChina power struggles, including over the South China Sea where Chinese island building in disputed waters has caused alarm in the United States and with its Asian allies.

The global menace of terrorism will also be an unwanted talking point after gunmen massacred more than 120 people in a series of coordinated attacks in Paris on Friday.

Philippine authorities had already undertaken their biggest security operation for the summit, which will gather leaders from 21 Pacific Rim economies on Wednesday and Thursday, but they vowed after the French carnage to do even more.

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Security measures in place for Apec

Delegate from Chile. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet arrives in Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings to be held in the Philippine capital this week. ERIC APOLONIO

FOLLOWING last week’s terrorist attacks in Paris, the spokesman for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit assured the public that adequate security measures are in place to safeguard the 17 heads of state and other top leaders arriving in Manila this week.

“Our security officials are monitoring and assessing the situation and we are taking all necessary precautions to ensure the safety and security of all delegates in the Apec Leaders’ Meeting, especially the economic leaders,” said Charles Jose of the Department of Foreign Affairs, who is the spokesman for the Apec summit.

The Philippines is expecting some 17 leaders and representatives sent by the leaders of Russia, Indonesia and Chinese Next page Taipei.

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Howitzer shells: The new ‘bala’ US...

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While China said it wanted the summit to focus only on trade, the French attacks and US attention on the South China Sea showed this was unrealistic, said Curtis S. Chin, a former US ambassador to the Manila-based Asian Development Bank.

“One cannot separate the economic and the non-economic in today’s interconnected world,” said Chin, now an Asia fellow of the Milken Institute, a non-partisan think-tank.

“That’s as true in the battle against ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) as in the search for a peaceful resolution to the many territorial disputes with China that haunt development in the South China Sea.” China insists it has sovereign rights to nearly all of the sea, even waters approaching the coasts of its Asian neighbors.

The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have overlapping claims to some of the waters, which are home to some of the world’s most important shipping trade routes.

China’s island building in the Spratlys archipelago, which is close to the Philippines, prompted the US military to recently deploy a missile destroyer and B-52 bomber planes to the area.

China had insisted repeatedly in the lead-up to the summit that the South China Sea dispute was not relevant to the trade talks.

But US National Security Advisor Susan Rice said the dispute would be a “central issue” during Obama’s three-day trip to the Philippines starting on Tuesday, and a subsequent visit to Malaysia for another regional summit.

Security...

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Military and police officials said they remained upbeat about the internal security situation, with no terrorist threats on their radar.

The Paris attacks prompted the military and the Philippine National Police to declare a red alert and order a more visible security presence in key meeting areas of the Apec.

The heightened security preparations also include increasing police visibility in commercial areas and other public places.

“We have increased visibility in all areas particularly in Apec venue,” said Armed Forces spokesman Col. Restituto Padilla.

“We’re looking forward to a safe, security and peaceful and successful conduct of the summit,” Padilla said.

The government has already deployed at least 24,000 police personnel in strategic approaches to the Apec venue and 16 hotels where foreign delegates will be billeted during the summit to ensure the safety of attendees.

“Per [our] monitoring there seems to be no real threat for the conduct of Apec,” Padilla said.

Additional security measures were also put in place at the Ninoy Aquino International Air-

Rice also emphasized Obama would raise the issues of “maritime security” and “freedom of navigation,” terms commonly used when referring to the dispute.

The Philippines, which has challenged Chinese territorial claims before a United Nations tribunal, initially promised to respect that demand.

But in his first press conference as official Apec spokesperson on Friday, Philippine foreign ministry spokesman Charles Jose talked at length about China’s “aggressive” actions in the sea.

Jose also said that, while the issue was not on the official agenda, leaders may discuss it at their retreat, one of the summit’s key events where the delegates speak less formally.

Obama will also use both legs of his Asian trip to promote the Trans-Pacific Partnership mega-trade deal, which was signed last month by 12 Apec economies but excludes China.

On the sidelines of Apec, the leaders of the TPP nations will meet for the first time since the signing.

“TPP is central to our vision of the region’s future and our place in it,” Rice said. “[It] is a critical step towards a high-standard free trade area in Asia and the Pacific, and our goal of revitalizing the open rules-based economic system that the US has led since World War II.” China has said it will push on with its own effort to steer regional economic rules with a planned Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific.

“We need to actively work for the establishment of FTAAP,” Chinese vice commerce minister Wang Shouwen told a briefing in Beijing.

China sought to champion

the FTAAP at last year’s Apec summit, which it hosted, and Wang promised a report would be released in Manila on its progress.

Apec members account for 57 percent of the global economy and 40 percent of the world’s population, with the diverse grouping including Papua New Guinea, Peru, Japan and Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indonesia’s Joko Widodo are the only major leaders of Apec nations who have said they will not attend.

In his briefing, Jose said the territorial dispute in the South China Sea should be resolved in a peaceful and rules-based way so as not to hurt trade and investments in the Asia-Pacific region.

“South China Sea is a very important trade route. [About] 40 to 60 percent of the global trade passes through the South China Sea… It is a very complex issue that the Apec can address,” Jose added.

Jose said the current tension in the South China Sea was undermining peace and stability in the region.

“For the past maybe two decades, all the countries in the region have benefited from the peaceful environment and stable environment. So, in our view, what is happening now in the South China Sea is causing instability and undermining peace and stability which could have an impact on the economic development and the economic prosperity of the countries in the region,” he said.

Jose said many East Asia Summit countries, many of them also part of the Apec, have already expressed concern over developments in the South China Sea, particularly their impact on the peace and stability in the region.

“Many countries have expressed support to our ap-

proach of using peaceful means of trying to resolve the dispute and also our approach of upholding the primacy of the rule of law and many countries have gone to the extent of expressing support for the arbitration case that we filed before the Arbitral Tribunal of UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea),” he added.

Jose said the arbitration was a universally recognized disputes settlement mechanism under international law including UNCLOS. “It is a peaceful way, rulesbased way to find an enduring solution to the overlapping maritime claims in the South China Sea,” he said.

While Apec has been recognized as an economic forum and South China Sea is not included in the agenda, Jose said the Philippines had no control over what the other economic leaders would be raising during the Apec Economic Leaders Retreat.

The Philippines is hosting the year-long Apec meetings, which will culminate with the Apec Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Nov. 18 to 19.

Jose added that during the recent visit in the country of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, there was no indication from the Chinese side that it would like to have a bilateral meeting with the Philippines during the Leaders’ meet.

The Philippines earlier filed an arbitration case in The Hague against China’s claim to almost the entire South China Sea which is also being claimed

by Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Brunei.

China has insisted on settling the dispute bilaterally but the court in The Netherlands has ruled that it has jurisdiction to hear some territorial claims in the contested waters. AFP, PNA

port, where the police Aviation Security Group deployed several V-150 armored personnel carriers equipped with machine guns to the four terminals.

Bomb sniffing dogs were also dispatched in sensitive areas of the airport and foot patrols of the perimeter have been increased.

Chief Supt. Pablo Francisco Balagtas of the Avsegroup said his force has been doubled to ensure they are 100 percent ready for the Apec.

Even trucks supplying aviation fuel will have to deal with heavy security.

On the eve of the summit, former President Fidel V. Ramos ruled out any foreign-based terrorist attack during the Apec summit, but said police and the military needed to intensify their intelligence gathering against the Abu Sayyaf Group.

In an interview on radio dzMM, Ramos said the Abu Sayyaf has proven its capability of launching a major terrorist attack.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on the other hand, said he was confident the intensified security procedures of the police would ensure the safety of all the heads of state who will be in Manila for the summit.

Marcos said that before the Paris attacks, his sources in the police had assured him that they have done everything possible to secure the safety of the

delegates to the Apec summit.

“Perhaps, after what happened in Paris, they will again inspect all buildings where Apec events will be held as part of their preparations,” Marcos said.

So far, he added, there are no intelligence reports indicating any serious threat to the Apec delegates.

“What is reassuring is that the Philippine National Police does not shoulder the entire burden of ensuring the security of the Apec delegates alone, the respective security details of the visiting heads of state are working with the PNP and exchanging information to ensure all the security measures are in place for the smooth conduct of the Apec summit here in Manila,” Marcos added.

Militant groups, meanwhile, called on the government not to use the Paris terror attacks as a pretext to prevent them from airing their grievances during the Apec summit.

“We are one with the world in condemning the terrorist attacks in Paris and in other places where innocent civilians are being targeted,” said Bagong Alyansang Makabayan spokesman Teddy Casiño. “However, we believe that the prevention of such atrocities should not be at the expense of the rights of people to assemble and air their legitimate grievances.”

Casiño said the pronouncement of PNP officials that they

will be heightening their security measures in the wake of the Paris incident should not lead to a ban on protests near or around the venue of the Apec summit.

Senator Gregorio Honasan, who is running for vice president, said it was imperative for world leaders to discuss the threat of terrorism in the aftermath of the deadly Paris attacks.

“If the series of terror attacks on Paris is not yet in the Apec formal agenda as a fundamental basis for economic cooperation not only in the Asia-Pacific but among all free democracies, then it should be,” Honasan said.

The Philippines must be willing and able to take the lead politically, morally, and globally by example, setting aside partisan squabbles and uniting against common enemies of humanity, he added.

Senator Loren Legarda underscored the importance of cooperation among nations in the global fight against terrorism.

Legarda said as the Philippine government hosts the Apec Leaders’ Meeting this week, the country should strengthen intelligence efforts and continue to work with the rest of the global community by sharing information, and mutually reinforcing each other’s capacities against terrorism. Francisco Tuyay, Christine F. Herrera, Macon Ramos-Araneta, PNA

By Christine F. Herrera

AMID efforts to contain a widening scandal over a bullet-planting extortion racket at the airport, the government now faces problems with ammunition of a different sort—howitzer shells.

Documents from the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines show that the military illegally imported 4,500 rounds of 105 mm Howitzer worth P165 million from Ankara, Turkey, and 1,000 units of “fuze” for the Howitzer from the United States.

The ammunition arrived in Subic Bay port on Nov. 3 and 4 without an authority to import from the PNP. The documents show the PNP had denied the AFP’s request for an authority to import on Nov. 2, or a day before the shipment arrived.

Even without proper documents, the AFP was able to slip through the Bureau of Customs and transported the contraband to Sangley Point in Cavite for the Navy and Camp Aquino in Tarlac for the Army.

In a letter to Brig. Gen. Job Yucoco, AFP deputy chief of staff for logistics, PNP Director for Civil Security Group Elmer Soria said the request for cancellation of the authority to import was made by Roferma Enterprises and was approved by PNP Chief Ricardo Marquez.

Soria said the basis for the cancellation was the appointment of a local agent issued by the Mechanical and Chemical Industries, which cancelled the authority given to Roferma.

Soria said MKEK, represented by Gulderen Baglacer and Hasan Sahan, both of Ankara, replaced Roferma on April 1, 2015 with System Nomics Inc. headed by Allan Mendoza.

It was Roferma, then representing MKEK, that won the P165-million contract to supply the AFP with the 4,500 rounds of 105 mm Howitzer during a public bidding last year.

“Based on our records, System Nomics Inc. was not yet a licensed indentor [importer] at that time,” Soria told Yucoco.

“The authority to import is non-transferable. As such, should System Nomics Inc. opt to engage in the sale, distribution, importation of firearms, ammunition firearm parts and accessories for sale to the AFP, PNP or other government agencies, it should secure its own license and authority to import from the PNP,” said Soria, in a separate letter to Marquez.

Soria identified the “endusers” of the contraband delivered by the MKEK as the Army and the Navy.

A check with the Bureau of Customs showed no broker allowed the entry of the shipment but other documents show an “authority to transport” from the ports to the Army and Navy was issued by Senior Supt. Elmo Francis Sarona, acting chief of the PNP Firearms and Explosives Office.

Sarona’s permit to transport was used as basis by Yucoco to retrieve the goods from Subic.

While Sarona issued the permit to transport, documents also show that it was Sarona who approved Soria’s recommendation to Marquez to approve Roferma’s request to cancel the authority to import.

“In this regard, we regret to inform you that your request for re-issuance of the authority to import could not be favorably considered either through Caballo Negro Industriya Corporation or System Nomics Inc.,” Soria told Yucoco.

“Moreover, in the letter of Baglacer and Sahan of Ankara, Turkey, dated Oct. 12, 2015, it certifies that Mr. Eduard del Mundo of Caballo has been appointed only to assist Mr. Alan Mendoza of System Nomics Inc. In this regard, assuming that legal remedies could cure such defects in this transaction, Caballo Negro Industriya Corporation still could not apply for import authority or re-issuance of such authorities as the authority given to the said local company by MKEK is limited only to assist System Nomics Inc.,’’ Soria said.

Should the AFP pursue the re-issuance of authority to import, the PNP recommended that the MKEK clarify the issued authority given to System Nomics Inc. and Caballo Negro in relation to the AFP’s request that both are authorized representatives.

“If both of them are authorized local representatives of MKEK, a separate contract agreement, Notice of Award and Notice to Proceed should be issued separately in favor of each company specifically for this transaction considering there are two different end-users [Philippine Army and Philippine Navy],” said Soria, emphasizing that all contracts and documents were awarded to Roferma.

As of Sunday, the PNP leadership was in a bind as to whether to seize the shipment, which it now considers illegal.

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Binay promises help to small businesses

Manila-bound. More than 800 policemen from Ilocos prepare for their deployment in Manila for the coming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting this week. Christine Junio

Workers need better protection, says Poe SENATOR Grace Poe on Sunday called on the government to reinforce its commitment and capacity to protect Filipino workers before they leave the country and while they are abroad.

She made the statement amid the bullet-planting scam and other extortion rackets at the airport targeting Filipino workers and other passengers.

Corrupt airport personnel are accused of putting bullets inside the luggage of a traveler and then forces him or her to cough up money to avoid going to jail.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr., meanwhile, questioned the deployment of government prosecutors to the airport, saying

it’s the wrong solution to the bulletplanting or “tanim-bala” scam.

Instead, he recommended the sending of defense lawyers from the Public Attorney’s Office “since it is the victims of the scam that need free defense counsels.”

The Department of Justice started deploying prosecutors to the airport early this month following the discovery of the bullet-planting scam allegedly being run by a syndicate and involves corrupt airport personnel, although Marcos believes the scam has been happening for years.

“It’s better if we put up a PAO office or representative of PAO to defend those being accused and who are incapable of paying a lawyer,” Marcos said.

Poe said migrant Filipino workers should in no way feel abandoned, neglected or harmed by the very government that they are sacrificing for.

“During the tanim-bala hearing at the Senate, it was clear that our airport officials do not have compassion

for our [migrant workers],” Poe said.

“They were finger-pointing the whole time. No one seems to be in control and no one wants to take responsibility. So when these things happen, our [workers] are left to fend for themselves.”

Poe urged airport officials to give more protection to migrant workers by providing help desks and going after corrupt officials and personnel.

Poe, the frontrunner in the presidential preference surveys for 2016, is also proposing the creation of a central system to respond to worker concerns fast.

“The usual response to our [workers] is to tell them to file a complaint, and we know how tired that response is,” Poe said.

“We should look into setting up a highly integrated and responsive system and be pro-active in addressing these concerns. Let’s not subject our [workers] to red tape.”

Macon ramos-araneta

VICE President Jejomar Binay on Sunday said the last five years had seen micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs miss opportunities to grow and create more jobs in the country.

He said the MSMEs were concentrated in only five regions: Metro Manila, Calabarzon, Central Luzon, Western Visayas and Central Visayas.

“We need to expand this to the entire country through active government intervention and support,” Binay said.

He said his presidency would foster a businessfriendly environment that would allow MSMEs to grow and be profitable.

He said MSMEs needed a political and regulatory environment and a government that would help them solve their problems instead of being part of the problem.

“MSMEs need access to capital and credit as they grow. They need access to markets,” Binay said.

“They need a supply of skilled manpower and they need to learn not only operations and technical skills but core management competencies as well.’’

To speed up the es-

tablishment of more MSMEs, Binay said, he would also push for bills designed to expand micro-financing assistance to small businesses.

“If the government just gives 10 percent of the attention it spends in pursuing the BBL [Bangsamoro Basic Law] or 10 percent of the budget of CCT [Conditional Cash Transfer program or dole to the poor], then our MSMEs can be at par with their counterparts in the Apec or Asean,” Binay said.

He said he would push for the allocation of at least 5 percent of the country’s gross domestic product to an integrated countrywide infrastructure development program.

“We will build new roads, bridges, ports and airports and upgrade old ones,” Binay said.

“These will provide MSMEs with greater access to markets and extend the benefits of economic growth to the rural areas.”

Binay said his administration would also provide incentives to foreign investors to build key infrastructure and provide alternative sources of energy. Macon ramosaraneta

Escudero urges Canada to take back trash CANADA should take back the trash it has been shipping to the Philippines since 2013 because the Philippines itself is having problems disposing of its own, Senator Francis Escudero said Sunday.

Escudero, who heads the Senate committee on environment and natural resources, supported a petition by environmentalists, academicians, lawmakers and other concerned Filipinos asking Canada to remove the trash it has sent here.

“We can hardly dispose

of our own garbage properly, and now we have this mountain of garbage to deal with. We have to keep trying to get this out of our backyard,” Escudero said.

“Who will pay for this disinfection? The Philippine government has no resources to keep or treat 103 container vans of trash while we await a more decisive action on the matter.”

Escudero urged Philippine officials to bring up with the Canadian leaders attending the Apec meetings the return of tons of garbage that were exported to the Philippines

by a Canadian company, and which now sit rotting in the Port of Manila.

“While we aim to be gracious hosts, the Philippines must also be able to use the summit as a venue to discuss very important matters affecting our constituents,” Escudero said.

He said the garbage rotting in Manila and leaking what could possibly be toxic juices was an environmental problem and a public health hazard.

He expressed hope that newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Justin Tru-

deau would be more open to resolving the garbage issue than his predecessor, who ignored a note from the Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs seeking assistance in the “expeditious return of the containers to the port of origin at no cost to the government.”

Trudeau has confirmed his attendance to the Apec summit and is set to have bilateral talks with some countries, although it has not yet been confirmed if those include the Philippines. Macon ramosaraneta

Landmark. The tallest Christmas Tree in Manila has been

lighting up Tutuban in Divisoria, a traditional shopping area.

Manny PaLMero

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‘Cops keeping lumad in church’

By Rio N. Araja and Florante Somerin

THE militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan on Sunday accused the Philippine National Police of allegedly violating the rights of lumad protesters camping out at the Baclaran Church in Parañaque City.

“PNP trucks and personnel have prevented the lumad from leaving the church compound, in clear violation of their rights,” Renato Reyes, Bayan secretary-general, said.

On Nov. 13, the lumad protesters staging the Manilakbayan 2015 left Liwasang Bonifacio in Manila and moved to a new campsite at the Baclaran church.

Since then, hundreds of policemen have held the Manilakbayan marchers in virtual detention at the church com-

pound, forming a barricade to prevent them from transferring to another site.

“These fascist impositions are the real embarrassment to the Philippines. The Martial Law tactics shames our country,” Reyes said.

Meanwhile, an Army official has denied the allegation of journalist Inday Espina Varona that the military burned a teacher’s cottage at an award-winning Lumad school in Sibagat, Agusan de Sur last Nov. 12.

“The only persons who can give

this information are the perpetrators,” Col. Alexander Macario, commander of 401st Infantry Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division was quoted as saying in an official statement released by 4ID public affairs chief Capt. Joe Patrick Martinez.

Varona, who has also been accused by the military of supporting the communist New People’s Army, could not be reached for comment.

The burned cottage is owned by the Alternative Learning Center for Agricultural and Livelihood Development in Barangay Padiay, a branch of the award-winning school in Hanayan, Lianga, Surigao del Sur whose administrator, Emerito Samarca, was murdered last Sept. 1, together with Manobo leaders Dionel Campos and Datu Bello Sinzo.

“The NPA and their allied militant organizations are the ones who great-

ly benefit from this incident by using it as propaganda against the military.

Hence, there is no doubt that they are behind it. They have tried it in Barangay White Kulaman, Kitaotao, Bukidnon when they burned houses and tried to blame it on the military but [this] was belied by residents led

by Barangay Captain Felipe Cabugnason,” Macario said.

According to Martinez, citing the military’s own witnesses, “the school was already abandoned. This contradicts the statement of Inday Espina Varona that there are 24 students and 10 teachers in the school.”

Meanwhile, Col. Isidro Purisima, the commander of military’s 402nd Brigade, on Sunday accused NPA rebels of instigating a string of attacks against residents in the area, denying claims by human rights groups that the armed forces are to be blamed for them.

Quick crossing. A group of women hurries to cross the street near a new welcoming marker put up outside the Cultural Center of the Philippines for the delegates of 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. DANNY PATA

Fariñas son dies in accident A SON and namesake of Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas died after the motorcycle he was riding crashed along the national highway in Bacarra town Sunday.

Senior Insp. Jeffrey Taccad, Bacarra police chief, said Rodolfo Fariñas Jr., 20, was killed after his BMW bike hit a concrete barrier at 5:30 a.m.

Witnesses said the victim tried to avoid a truck on the highway but lost control of his motorbike, which burst into flames after hitting the barrier.

One witness said Fariñas was traveling at more than 100 kph when the accident occurred.

Fariñas, a son of the late former actress Maria Teresa Carlson, was brought to the Laoag City Provincial Hospital, where was declared dead on arrival.

Fariñas was traveling to Laoag City after attending a birthday party when the accident occurred.

CCTV footage showed at least three dump trucks going in the direction of Bangui, Ilocos Norte at the time of the accident.

“We are still verifying the license plates of the dump trucks which could have been involved in the accident,” Taccad said.

Fariñas was a former president of the Sangguniang Kabataan of Ilocos Norte. Francisco Tuyay

Bachelet first Apec leader in Manila CHILEAN President Michelle Bachelet arrived Sunday afternoon, the first head of state to make it to Manila for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Summit and her first state visit to the Philippines.

Bachelet, who is also Chile’s first woman president, arrived on a 767 military aircraft at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 2 at 1:24 p.m.

She was welcomed by Vice President Jejomar Binay, Philippine Ambassador to Chile Consuelo Puyat Reyes, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman and foreign affairs chief protocol officer Maria Aileen Bugarin.

Bachelet and Aquino will discuss bilateral issues, which include trade and investments, and are expected to sign a framework agreement leading to negotiations for a free trade agreement between the two countries.

Besides Chile and the Philippines, other Apec members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Singapore, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Thailand, United States and Vietnam.

Meanwhile, Peruvian President Ollanta Humala and President Benigno Aquino III are set to meet Tuesday to partly discuss Peru’s bid to forge stronger bilateral relations with the Philippines.

Peruvian ambassador to the Philippines Felix Denegri said that Peru is actively seeking a bilateral agreement possibly involving free trade with the Philippines. PNA, Othel Campos

Lumad backers.

Leaders of lumad groups and the Catholic Church hold hands to protest security measures which have blockaded protesting tribespeople inside Baclaran Church in Parañaque City.

DANNY PATA

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On education. Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez (left) and vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. exchange views on the issue of Philippine education system during the Abakada party-list and Rizal Multi-Sectoral Leaders Assembly at the auditorium of Lyceum of the Philippines in Manila. Ver NOVeNO

Solons buck lifting of bank secrecy law Belmonte, Romualdez : Go after tax cheats, smugglers

By Christine F. Herrera

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and House Independent Minority Bloc leader rep. Ferdinand Martin romualdez on Sunday rejected Malacañang’s proposal to lift the bank secrecy law for tax purposes, fearing this could be used to persecute members of the political opposition and may even scare away local and foreign businessmen.

Belmonte and Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association, made separate statements after the Speaker disclosed that he rejected the measure during a recent meeting in Malacañang with President Benigno Aquino III and his economic team led by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim henares.

Belmonte and Romualdez, a senatorial bet, stressed that the

government should instead run after big-time tax evaders, smugglers and money launderers.

Belmonte said that the Palaceproposed measure will not gain support from Congress and will not be approved before the President ends his term.

Romualdez, also a banker, said lifting the Bank Secrecy Law under a state that abuses its power to demolish its critics was dangerous as the law would be prone to abuse if government would be given

easy access to bank accounts.

“The Speaker was right to reject the proposed measure and I am with him that the government should run after bigtime smugglers, money launderers and tax evaders,” Romualdez said. henares wanted Congress to ease the restriction on bank accounts for “tax purposes” before President Aquino steps down from power on June 30, 2016.

She noted that the Philippines is one of the three countries in the world that still has restrictive banking laws.

Belmonte said he told the finance officials of his opposition during a meeting last week with President Aquino because the measure will not pass scrutiny in Congress primarily because it would scare away local and foreign investments when the government would be granted access at any time to their bank accounts.

No Pinoy in terror attacks The Philippine government on Sunday said it was ready to give assistance if there were Filipinos hurt or killed in the terror attacks in Paris Friday.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs continues to coordinate with Philippine embassy in Paris, with Ambassador Maria Theresa Lazaro.

They are the ones monitoring the situation there,” said Communications Secretary herminio Coloma Jr., during an interview over state-run radio station dzRB. The DFA said no Filipino casualty has so far been reported in Friday’s coordinated terrorist attacks in Paris.

The government in Paris also called upon the people there to heed the advise of local authorities, he said.

“So far there are no reports of Filipinos affected by the incident in Paris. Our embassy continues to monitor closely the situation and stands ready to extend assistance to Filipinos who may need it,” DFA spokesman Charles Jose said on Saturday.

There are around 48,000 Filipinos in France, according to a 2013 data by the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, while more than 10 mil-

lion are scattered across the globe, making them vulnerable to security threats, calamities and domestic conflicts in their host countries.

France President Francois hollande declared a state of emergency following the unprecedented terrorist attack that was staged days before France was to host a global climate conference.

France expressed gratitude to the Philippines for its expression of sympathy following last Friday’s deadly attacks that left more than 100 people killed in Paris.

“We are deeply touched by the heartfelt expressions of support in the Philippines extended by President Benigno S. Aquino III, the national and local authorities, the people of the Philippines,” the French embassy said in a statement.

“France will always fight against extremism and stand for the values of democracy and human rights enshrined in our national motto ‘Liberte, egalite, Fraternite’ which was coined in Paris centuries ago,” it said. “Today we are all Parisians.” hollande is set to address parliament on Monday and declared three days of national mourning, the embassy said. Sandy Araneta

House OKs Millawave cable TV By rio N. Araja CONGReSS has approved on second reading a measure renewing the franchise of the Millawave Systems Corp. to construct, install, maintain and operate radio and television broadcast stations in the country.

Zamboanga del Norte’s District 2 Rep. Rosendo Labadlabad said the house of Representatives has passed on second reading house Bill 6073 authorizing Millawave to continue to provide efficient and effective public service through

broadcasting for another 25 years.

Marikina City’s District 1 Rep. Marcelino Teodoro, chairman of house committee on legislative franchises, said Millawave is mandated to provide the government adequate public service time to enable it to reach the population on important public issues and assist in the functions of public information and education.

Under the measure, the President of the Philippines has the right to temporarily take over and operate the stations or fa-

cilities of the grantee, to temporarily suspend the operation of any station or facility in the interest of public safety, security and public welfare, or to authorize the temporary use and operation thereof by any agency of the government in times of war, rebellion, public peril, calamity, emergency, disaster or disturbance of peace and order.

The measure also prohibits the grantee from leasing, transferring, selling nor assigning the franchise or the controlling interest without congressional approval.

PCSO aid. Officials of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office led by its vice chairman and general manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas II (center) turn over the 1st of two tranches check for P20 million to Sinforoso Pagunsan (second from left) general manager of the National Housing Authority as financial assistance to the 400 families in Bato, Camarines Sur devastated by Typhoon ‘Juaning’ in July 2011. From left: PCSO’s director Francisco Joaquin III, Rubin Magno Charity Assistance department manager and Dindo Jose De Viterbo of Special Projects Division. JOSePH MUeGO

M O N D AY : N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

3 legal eagles bolster Binay case

By Rey E. Requejo Three legal eagles are one in saying that Makati City Mayor Jejomar erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. is not yet barred from invoking the condonation doctrine in questioning his dismissal by the Office of the Ombudsman because the Supreme Court decision abandoning the doctrine is prospective and would apply only in future cases.

Street décors. Maintenance man prepares to install lanterns in Caloocan City as part of preparations to welcome Christmas.

ANDREW RABULAN

Kapunan weighs in on INC suits SEnaTOrial aspirant and respected litigator lorna Kapunan on Sunday expressed confidence that the department of Justice under its new chief, Secretary alfredo Benjamin Caguioa would rule the iglesia ni Cristo cases based “on the merits” given Caguioa’s reputation as a fair “straight-shooter” known for his integrity.

“The Samson complaint has attracted a lot of attention, and i’m sure whatever decision the doJ arrives at will elicit strong reactions either way,” said Kapunan.

“Given this, it’s important that the issues raised in the complaint are carefully threshed out, and Caguioa is known to be a very meticulous, thoughtful litigator; he can be trusted to rule in accordance with the law,” Kapunan stressed.

Caguioa obtained his degree in Economics (Honors Program) from the

College of arts and Sciences of ateneo de Manila University in 1981 (Honorable Mention), and graduated with honors from its College of law in 1985 ranking 15th in his class. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1986 after placing 15th in the 1985 Bar examinations. in January 2013, President Benigno Simeon C. aquino iii appointed Caguioa Chief Presidential legal Counsel after almost three decades in private practice.

The seasoned lawyer added that apolitical, low key Caguioa gives the doJ added credibility, “since it is obvious he does not have a political agenda.”

“He has no reason to curry favor with any of the parties involved, and probably does not care if he is criticized or praised after the doJ rules; that should reassure both parties in the case,” explained Kapunan.

Maynilad resumes water service cutoff

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales Maynilad Water Services inc. said over the weekend that it resumed the off-peak (9 p.m. to 4 a.m.) water service interruptions affecting 56 percent of its customers.

“We are constrained to resume the daily service interruptions in the West Zone immediately to help manage the low volume of water reaching our treatment plants,” Maynilad said in a statement.

Maynilad said that since the raw water allocation from angat dam for Metro Manila has been steadily reduced due to El niño—it is at 38 cubic meters per second this month, the company has been relying on rains over the ipo watershed to augment the deficiency. “ Unfortunately, rain stopped in these areas, and there are no more runoffs to help maintain water elevation at ipo dam,” Maynilad said. as of yesterday, angat dam’s water level was at 207.69 meters while ipo dam’s water level was at 100.61 meters.

Maynilad said the daily off-peak service interruptions will affect the same customers currently experiencing reduced water pressure or those located in elevated areas or those farthest from our pumping stations.

Coping. A ‘Yolanda’

survivor from Tacloban City now residing in Rosario, Cavite ekes out a living by making dried fish.

DANNY PATA

Kapunan also cautioned the lawyers involved from “forum-shopping to the media” if the ruling does not favor their clients. “it’s very easy and tempting to create all sorts of conspiracy theories which the media and public is all too willing to feast on. We don’t need that. What we need is for us to educate the public about how the law really works,” explained the lawyer, graduated from the UP College of law and was Commercial law Bar Examiner in the 1988 Bar Exams. it was every lawyer’s duty to respect and uphold the rule of law,” Kapunan noted. “leave all the non-legal media and online hype to someone else.”

Ex-inC minister isaias Samson has accused inC officials of harassing and detaining him and his family members. Samson alleged that he was being punished on suspicions of exposing corruption within the inC.

Former integrated Bar of the Philippines president Vicente Joyas, former University of the East law dean amado Valdez and former University of the Philippines law dean Pacifico agabin on Sunday said that Binay may still question the dismissal order of the Ombudsman last month and take back the mayoralty post by invoking the doctrine, which condones administrative liability of reelected officials for acts committed in previous term.

“He can still invoke the doctrine if the decision of his dismissal is premised on the non-application of the doctrine and Junjun invoked it in that case,” Joyas stressed.

Concurring with the opinion of Joyas, Valdez said the importance of pointing out the “prospective” nature of the recent SC decision abandoning the condonation doctrine, as opposed to being “retroactive.” according to the law dean, the alleged illegal acts against Binay supposedly happened before the doctrine was struck down by the high court. “[Being prospective only] means it will only apply on cases committed after the decision. So Binay can still invoke the doctrine,” Valdez said. agabin shared Valdez’s view, saying “yes, he can still invoke the doctrine.”

The legal experts’ statements disputed the opinion of SC spokesman Theodore Te, who believed that Binay could no longer invoke the doctrine against his dismissal, which stemmed from the same charges related to the Makati parking building.

The SC official said that abandonment of the doctrine, as stated in the ruling, would apply in future cases, including possible actions of Binay in questioning his dismissal from government service.

The Ombudsman earlier issued preventive suspension orders against Binay over alleged overpricing in the construction of the Makati City Hall Building ii and the Makati City Science High School. insisting he could not be administratively charged, Binay invoked the condonation doctrine, which clears a public official of any administrative liability in the past if he or she is reelected. Binay served as mayor in 2010 and was reelected in 2013.

Just the same, the Ombudsman ended up dismissing Binay last month over the Makati City Hall Building ii case.

Binay has already filed a motion for reconsideration before the anti-graft body.

But Joyas remained confident that “the dismissal decision may still be reversed” because of the condonation doctrine.

“The Ombudsman should make an inventory of cases in which it disregarded the doctrine and make a deeper look especially when motions for reconsideration are pending in the light of the recent SC decision,” he said.

“They will be doing justice to the officials who were dismissed or suspended in disregard of the doctrine,” he added.

Valdez went as far as to question the Ombudsman’s authority in imposing the penalty of perpetual disqualification. “i think the more important legal question is whether the Ombudsman can impose it on elective officials,” said Valdez.

M O N D AY : N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

City council: CA ruling on Moreno moot

By Froilan Gallardo

Into the sunset. Mother and son walk on a bamboo bridge in San Narciso, Zambales. SONNY ESPIRITU

‘PhilRice should help build farmers’ climate resilience’

By Ferdie G. Domingo SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ, Nueva Ecija—A former director of the Philippine Rice Research Institute said those in the agency must think out of the box as it pursues a climate-resilient agriculture for Filipino farmers.

Calixto Protacio, former executive director, said this as the agency observed its 30th anniversary this weekend.

The anniversary is marked by 70 rice varieties bred, 24 rice machines developed, 23 patents applied for, and several other achievements in rice research and development.

Protacio led the two-day celebration at PhilRice’s central experiment station here along

with officials and various stakeholders, including farmers.

“We are eager to do more so our research outputs will reach more farmers, particularly the resource-poor farmer,” Protacio said in his anniversary message.

PhilRice, which has been leading rice R & D efforts since its founding in 1985, has provided cost-reducing and yield-enhancing technologies on rice.

Muñoz Mayor Nestor Alvarez

said with PhilRice, Muñoz is now heralded as among the major rice seeds hub in the country.

“Muñoz is privileged to host PhilRice. Along the national highway, one cannot help but notice the proliferation of rice seed centers, making the Science City a major rice seeds hub in the Philippines,” he said.

This certainly creates a domino effect in terms of livelihood creation from people manning the rice fields, sales agents, to the many of input dealers in the city.

Eduardo Jimmy P. Quilang, PhilRice deputy executive director for development, noted that the institute has become visible through the Be RICEponsible campaign, a nationwide initiative to convince local governments to

issue ordinances on half-cup serving of rice on major food establishments to arrest the issue on rice wastage.

Quilang said the campaign has yielded encouraging results. “We are all united to help reduce rice wastage in the Philippines,” he said.

Eden Gagelonia of the PhilRice’s rice engineering and mechanization division said the institute is also leading efforts to mechanize the rice industry. “A number of machines has been developed to help reduce work load in farming and make them useful even for women farmers.’’

Meanwhile, former executive director Leocadio S. Sebastian advised PhilRice to “properly position itself” amid climate change and other threats to rice food production.

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY— The opposition-dominated City Council said on Sunday they consider as moot and academic the Court of Appeals decision to grant a 60-day reprieve to Mayor Oscar Moreno who had been dismissed by the Ombudsman.

Councilor Ramon Tabor of the Padayon Party said the Court of Appeals granted a temporary restraining order to Moreno last Friday evening, not a status quo ante as earlier reported by news organizations.

“By any stretch of imagination, the TRO came in late. The DILG had already sworn Moreno’s replacement last Thursday evening. The Ombudsman’s order had already been carried out,” Tabor said.

The DILG in Region 10 swore in Vice Mayor Ian Acenas took his oath as the mayor of Cagayan de Oro and Councilor Candy Darimbang, who topped the electoral race in the 16-member City Council, as vice mayor Thursday evening.

The Court of Appeals issued the TRO Friday after Moreno and his co-accused, Glenn Bañez, officerin-charge of the City Treasurer’s Office, filed a certiorari assailing the Office of the Ombudsman decision to dismiss them for grave misconduct last Aug. 14, 2015.

The DILG carried out the order last Nov. 15 after Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales signed the dismissal order last Nov. 5.

In their motion for reconsideration, Moreno and Banez said the Office of the Ombudsman decided their case without taking into consideration their counter-affidavits which had been missed by its investigators.

“The Supreme Court in a recent ruling gave the Court of Appeals the power to review cases decided by the Ombudsman and grant ancillary reliefs,’’ said Justice Henri Jean Paul Inteng of the CA 22nd Division.

Inteng directed the DILG and all concerned agencies not to implement the Ombudsman decision on Aug. 14 for 60 days pending the resolution of the motion of reconsiderations filed by Moreno and Bañez.

Health Department gives out protective nets in Mimaropa

By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Department of Health has distributed 685 rolls of olyset nets to 43 elementary schools in the Mimaropa (Oriental/Occidental Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) region as part of its anti-dengue campaign.

Health director for Region IV-B Eduardo C. Janairo said they have concentrated efforts in areas in the province where dengue cases are high. The nets, he said, are embedded with permethrin that would protect students from mosquitoes and other insects for five years.

The distribution of olyset nets is accompanied with the regular anti-dengue misting and cleanup operations in barangays and municipalities in the region with high incidence of dengue.

“Majority of dengue cases this year were

from the 5-14 age group that is why the antidengue prevention campaign of DoH has been intensified and focused on students, teachers and schools nationwide,” said Janairo.

As of Nov. 3 this year,1,188 classrooms had been furnished with olyset nets, 38,021 students and 1,126 teachers in 17 municipalities and 2 cities had been given anti-dengue orientation.

According to the DOH-MIMAROPA Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit (RESU), there have been a total of 2,722 dengue cases from Jan. 1–Nov. 1, 2015. Most affected age groups are from 1-10 years old (with 928 cases) and 11-20 years old (862 cases), 21-30 (378 cases), 31-40 (191 cases), 41-50 (104 cases) and 50 and above (172). No were 13 deaths reported (Palawan-5, Occidental Mindoro-5, Oriental Mindoro-1 and Marinduque-2).

Yield booster. Scientists from the National Crop Protection Center conduct a research on ordinary seaweed and found it could boost rice yield by more than 65 percent.

MANNY PALMERO

M O N D AY : N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

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opinion

ADELLE chuA eDiTor

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

CleanIng up the metro

[ EDI TORI A L ]

PLumbLine

Lesson from Paris

PasTor aPoLLo quiboLoy

THE question “Is Paris burning?” has been attributed to a madman, who, faced with impending defeat in war, demanded of his general to leave no Parisian churches or historical monuments standing.

The madman was Adolf Hitler, and by some accounts, Paris survived World War II because the German military governor of the city believed him insane and disobeyed his orders.

On Friday last week, a different set of madmen launched a series of coordinated attacks on the French capital, killing at least 129 people in a paroxysm of violence that inflicted shock, grief and anger on France and the rest of the civilized world. This time, there was no voice of reason to hold back the destruction.

Authorities say three teams of suicide bombers linked to the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were responsible for the hail of bullets and flurry of bomb blasts that rocked Paris. With the goal to kill as many people as possible, the terrorists targeted concert-goers at a theater, diners at a string of cafés and soccer fans at the national stadium.

A statement issued by ISIS later claimed responsibility for the cowardly attacks on helpless civilians, saying they were retaliation for French military operations against the group in Syria and Iraq.

Friday’s attacks came less than a year after January’s barbaric attack on the editorial offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in which 12 people were slaughtered. This was a disturbing reminder that not even the tightened security measures put in place in the aftermath of Charlie Hebdo were enough to stop Friday’s carnage.

Writing in UN News & World Report, James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation said the attacks in France last week now seem inevitable, given the aim of ISIS to be the leader a global Islamist insurgency, and how Paris presents such an irresistible, highprofile target for terrorists, much like New York, Washington and London.

The attacks, he added, represent a weapon of mass disruption, where violence is used as a way “to cripple and punish errant societies by slaughtering large numbers of innocents and laying waste to infrastructure.”

“What’s really scary is that this is exactly the kind of threat the French and the rest of us have been anticipating and guarding against,” Carafano wrote. Normally, he added, a complex operation such as last week’s Paris attacks would emit signals that law enforcement and intelligence agencies could detect and act upon. For authorities to miss these signals means either that the terrorists were very, very good or that the countermeasures went very, very wrong.

Figuring out what went wrong is critical, he concluded. “When terrorists find success, the Terrorist Handbook says: ‘Try that again.’”

Here in Manila, the government says it is confident that no terrorist threat can disrupt this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. With so many heads of state converging on one location and so much security in place, this is probably true. But the lesson in the Paris attacks, if there is one, is that the targets of terrorists need not be prominent or important. They just need to be many. From this perspective, vigilance might be even more important after the world leaders have left.

Is It relIgIon that Is the problem?

Pensées fr. ranhiLio caLLangan aquino CNN’s Christiane Amanpour called the cordoning off of Paris in the wake of the explosions that ripped the French joie de vivre to smithereens as the “first in contemporary history.”

Never mind the problem of periodizing, the point is painfully clear: France, and

all of Europe, is terrified like it never has been in recent times.

Almost immediately—and not without reason—fingers pointed at ISIS or a group that has splintered from it. ISIS has unabashedly, defiantly even, proclaimed its allegiance to that brand of Islam that is intolerant of what it perceives to be “pollution.” Its version of Shariah is harsh; the literal enforcement of the precepts of the clerics who maintain it, unyielding. Once more, then, religion stands at the bar of

scrutiny. The Beatles blamed it a long time ago: “Imagine,” they crooned, “nothing to kill or die for, no religion, too.” Cloyingly inane, they forgot to mention that in such a world there would be nothing to live for, either!

There is an inherent tension when life-worlds are shot through and through with pluralism, secularism very much a part of the forces ripping the seamlessness of unquestioned beliefs, world-views, categories and norms that made for social coherence, and the claims

A9

The problem will not be solved by making society even more secular.

of religion. Religion is, by definition, both comprehensive and ultimate. For the believer there is nothing higher than the order of the Sacred, nothing more comprehensive than the explanation of faith.

The absolute claims of faith are at loggerheads with that thoroughgoing pluralism that

allows for hardly anything more than the tentative. This is the precarious place of religion in the 21st century.

The problem will not be solved by making society even more secular. While the choice against religion and against any credal allegiance must be safeguarded as a necessary

element of democracy, it will not do for the State to adopt secularism as its own ideology and, as a consequence, marginalize religion. Recently, Yahoo News reported that a Tennessee county forbade the distribution by the Gideon Society of free bibles to whomsoever was willing to receive them. This, together with offensive legislation like forbidding the public display of religious symbols, exacerbates the tension. It solves nothing. The State is supposed to be neutral, and when it opts to be secular, it has taken sides!

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-

What the State can and should do is to keep the public space the agora—the open space that it should be—where believers and unbelievers alike are at liberty to exhibit the symbols of their belief or unbelief, unhindered in their attempts to convince others by peaceful, non-invasive rhetoric!

Following the Charlie Hebdo incident, I wrote that what that regrettable episode should have made exceedingly clear is that for some— in fact, many—people, religion is not something they will allow to

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

made sport off, and that it remains a persuasion of the most crucial significance. What such a position calls for is respect, not a cavalier dismissal or worse, an obdurate enforcement of secularism. This is also the reason that the Court of Appeals was correct, to my mind, about its judgment in the Celdran case. His freedom to speak and to express himself, no matter how offensive to the religious sentiments of some, was never an issue because he was free to unfurl his streamer and hurl

Continued on A11

Continued on A10

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

ASk any town fiesta host what’s hard to find in the run-up to the big day, and the answer is always carpenters. There will be chefs galore and the parade of livestock to the abattoir may not cease. But collaring someone to do an emergency house makeover is the real challenge.

The drill in staging the yearly mass feeding is that the house must be presentable too as guests will not only feast on the spread but also on the residence of the host. It is not enough that desserts come in appealing colors, the house; must be one big eye candy, too. Thus the need to hire pastry-makers and painters with equal urgency.

So that after the last plate used by the last guest has been washed, what is left is a spruced-up house which the owners would survey in awe as they mentally calculate the bills they racked up in between contented burps from a banquet that was.

A friend calls this the residual benefit of a splurge which not only households but towns and nations enjoy after a hosting a party.

True, because post-fiesta, a town hall sports a fresh coat of paint and the roads patched-up with balls of asphalt. Street lamps glow with such incandescence never seen before, courtesy of new bulbs.

A city hosting a Palaro Pambansa will spend months prettifying the city. Before the games’ flame is lit, the city burns the midnight oil to make itself presentable.

Before the first crack of a starting gun is heard, it is the sound of jackhammers in a city in a building spree which first reverberates.

What drives these frenzied activities is pride—and the fear that botched-up preparations would permanently scar the hometown’s image.

That dread is shared by the residents for such an undertaking is never seen as an exclusive government production but one that involves all. Everyone pitches in, like painting the wall of one’s house even if it’s far from the parade route. Civic pride is marshalled that it becomes a truly communal affair.

On a larger scale, countries which host Olympics are left with facilities for public use after the flag has been hoisted down. The dividends can be in the form of a new subway line, an Olympic village repurposed into affordable housing, or a spanking-new airport terminal.

It is these residual benefits which residents of Metro Manila are looking for as the country hosts its second Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in 18 years.

Perhaps their curiosity is tickled by the price tag of the event, bandied about at P12 billion. At this cost, one can reasonably expect new underpass lights and scrubbed walls once darkened by diesel soot.

And at that cost, the people know too

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

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

M O N D AY : N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA eDiTor

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

CleanIng up the metro

[ EDI TORI A L ]

PLumbLine

Lesson from Paris

PasTor aPoLLo quiboLoy

THE question “Is Paris burning?” has been attributed to a madman, who, faced with impending defeat in war, demanded of his general to leave no Parisian churches or historical monuments standing.

The madman was Adolf Hitler, and by some accounts, Paris survived World War II because the German military governor of the city believed him insane and disobeyed his orders.

On Friday last week, a different set of madmen launched a series of coordinated attacks on the French capital, killing at least 129 people in a paroxysm of violence that inflicted shock, grief and anger on France and the rest of the civilized world. This time, there was no voice of reason to hold back the destruction.

Authorities say three teams of suicide bombers linked to the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) were responsible for the hail of bullets and flurry of bomb blasts that rocked Paris. With the goal to kill as many people as possible, the terrorists targeted concert-goers at a theater, diners at a string of cafés and soccer fans at the national stadium.

A statement issued by ISIS later claimed responsibility for the cowardly attacks on helpless civilians, saying they were retaliation for French military operations against the group in Syria and Iraq.

Friday’s attacks came less than a year after January’s barbaric attack on the editorial offices of the Charlie Hebdo magazine in which 12 people were slaughtered. This was a disturbing reminder that not even the tightened security measures put in place in the aftermath of Charlie Hebdo were enough to stop Friday’s carnage.

Writing in UN News & World Report, James Jay Carafano of the Heritage Foundation said the attacks in France last week now seem inevitable, given the aim of ISIS to be the leader a global Islamist insurgency, and how Paris presents such an irresistible, highprofile target for terrorists, much like New York, Washington and London.

The attacks, he added, represent a weapon of mass disruption, where violence is used as a way “to cripple and punish errant societies by slaughtering large numbers of innocents and laying waste to infrastructure.”

“What’s really scary is that this is exactly the kind of threat the French and the rest of us have been anticipating and guarding against,” Carafano wrote. Normally, he added, a complex operation such as last week’s Paris attacks would emit signals that law enforcement and intelligence agencies could detect and act upon. For authorities to miss these signals means either that the terrorists were very, very good or that the countermeasures went very, very wrong.

Figuring out what went wrong is critical, he concluded. “When terrorists find success, the Terrorist Handbook says: ‘Try that again.’”

Here in Manila, the government says it is confident that no terrorist threat can disrupt this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. With so many heads of state converging on one location and so much security in place, this is probably true. But the lesson in the Paris attacks, if there is one, is that the targets of terrorists need not be prominent or important. They just need to be many. From this perspective, vigilance might be even more important after the world leaders have left.

Is It relIgIon that Is the problem?

Pensées fr. ranhiLio caLLangan aquino CNN’s Christiane Amanpour called the cordoning off of Paris in the wake of the explosions that ripped the French joie de vivre to smithereens as the “first in contemporary history.”

Never mind the problem of periodizing, the point is painfully clear: France, and

all of Europe, is terrified like it never has been in recent times.

Almost immediately—and not without reason—fingers pointed at ISIS or a group that has splintered from it. ISIS has unabashedly, defiantly even, proclaimed its allegiance to that brand of Islam that is intolerant of what it perceives to be “pollution.” Its version of Shariah is harsh; the literal enforcement of the precepts of the clerics who maintain it, unyielding. Once more, then, religion stands at the bar of

scrutiny. The Beatles blamed it a long time ago: “Imagine,” they crooned, “nothing to kill or die for, no religion, too.” Cloyingly inane, they forgot to mention that in such a world there would be nothing to live for, either!

There is an inherent tension when life-worlds are shot through and through with pluralism, secularism very much a part of the forces ripping the seamlessness of unquestioned beliefs, world-views, categories and norms that made for social coherence, and the claims

A9

The problem will not be solved by making society even more secular.

of religion. Religion is, by definition, both comprehensive and ultimate. For the believer there is nothing higher than the order of the Sacred, nothing more comprehensive than the explanation of faith.

The absolute claims of faith are at loggerheads with that thoroughgoing pluralism that

allows for hardly anything more than the tentative. This is the precarious place of religion in the 21st century.

The problem will not be solved by making society even more secular. While the choice against religion and against any credal allegiance must be safeguarded as a necessary

element of democracy, it will not do for the State to adopt secularism as its own ideology and, as a consequence, marginalize religion. Recently, Yahoo News reported that a Tennessee county forbade the distribution by the Gideon Society of free bibles to whomsoever was willing to receive them. This, together with offensive legislation like forbidding the public display of religious symbols, exacerbates the tension. It solves nothing. The State is supposed to be neutral, and when it opts to be secular, it has taken sides!

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-

What the State can and should do is to keep the public space the agora—the open space that it should be—where believers and unbelievers alike are at liberty to exhibit the symbols of their belief or unbelief, unhindered in their attempts to convince others by peaceful, non-invasive rhetoric!

Following the Charlie Hebdo incident, I wrote that what that regrettable episode should have made exceedingly clear is that for some— in fact, many—people, religion is not something they will allow to

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

made sport off, and that it remains a persuasion of the most crucial significance. What such a position calls for is respect, not a cavalier dismissal or worse, an obdurate enforcement of secularism. This is also the reason that the Court of Appeals was correct, to my mind, about its judgment in the Celdran case. His freedom to speak and to express himself, no matter how offensive to the religious sentiments of some, was never an issue because he was free to unfurl his streamer and hurl

Continued on A11

Continued on A10

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

ASk any town fiesta host what’s hard to find in the run-up to the big day, and the answer is always carpenters. There will be chefs galore and the parade of livestock to the abattoir may not cease. But collaring someone to do an emergency house makeover is the real challenge.

The drill in staging the yearly mass feeding is that the house must be presentable too as guests will not only feast on the spread but also on the residence of the host. It is not enough that desserts come in appealing colors, the house; must be one big eye candy, too. Thus the need to hire pastry-makers and painters with equal urgency.

So that after the last plate used by the last guest has been washed, what is left is a spruced-up house which the owners would survey in awe as they mentally calculate the bills they racked up in between contented burps from a banquet that was.

A friend calls this the residual benefit of a splurge which not only households but towns and nations enjoy after a hosting a party.

True, because post-fiesta, a town hall sports a fresh coat of paint and the roads patched-up with balls of asphalt. Street lamps glow with such incandescence never seen before, courtesy of new bulbs.

A city hosting a Palaro Pambansa will spend months prettifying the city. Before the games’ flame is lit, the city burns the midnight oil to make itself presentable.

Before the first crack of a starting gun is heard, it is the sound of jackhammers in a city in a building spree which first reverberates.

What drives these frenzied activities is pride—and the fear that botched-up preparations would permanently scar the hometown’s image.

That dread is shared by the residents for such an undertaking is never seen as an exclusive government production but one that involves all. Everyone pitches in, like painting the wall of one’s house even if it’s far from the parade route. Civic pride is marshalled that it becomes a truly communal affair.

On a larger scale, countries which host Olympics are left with facilities for public use after the flag has been hoisted down. The dividends can be in the form of a new subway line, an Olympic village repurposed into affordable housing, or a spanking-new airport terminal.

It is these residual benefits which residents of Metro Manila are looking for as the country hosts its second Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in 18 years.

Perhaps their curiosity is tickled by the price tag of the event, bandied about at P12 billion. At this cost, one can reasonably expect new underpass lights and scrubbed walls once darkened by diesel soot.

And at that cost, the people know too

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

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

A10 The condonaTion docTrine abandoned LAST week, the Supreme Court demonstrated that riTa linda legal doctrines are v. Jimeno not cast in stone but, in fact, move with the times to respond to current realities. In ruling on the case involving Makati Mayor Junjun Binay whose suspension from office as mayor by the Ombudsman was restrained by the Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court said the Appeals Court did not commit grave abuse of discretion.

The Supreme Court said that the Court of Appeals cannot be faulted for applying the condonation doctrine in Binay’s case as it remained in effect as a good case law until abandoned by the Supreme Court. To explain, the condonation doctrine has been in effect as far back as the mid-fifties and reiterated by the Supreme Court in several more cases, the most notable of which was that of Aguinaldo vs. Santos in 1992—the reason why it is often referred to as the Aguinaldo doctrine. The doctrine says that a reelected public official cannot be removed for misconduct committed during a prior or previous term. As the word condonation suggests, an elective The ruling in the official’s reelection Junjun Binay case is a operates as a forgiveness of the positive development officer’s misconduct in jurisprudence as it during a previous shows the dynamism of term. Reelection is the Supreme Court. the manifestation of the people’s will.

The rationale for this condonation doctrine originated from American authorities, specifically the 1887 case of Conant v Brogan.

The Supreme Court in the Aguinaldo case explained that a public officer should never be removed for acts done prior to his present term of office. “To do otherwise would be to deprive the people of their right to elect their officers. When the people have elected a man to office, it must be assumed that they did this with the knowledge of his life and character, and that they disregarded or forgave his fault or misconduct, if he had been guilty of any. It is not for the court, by reason of such fault or misconduct, to practically overrule the will of the people.” However, the electorate’s power to condone the misdeeds of an elected official doctrine in his previous term is limited only to administrative misconduct, not to criminal acts committed by a reelected official during his previous term. Thus, the pendency of a criminal case may be the legal basis for the suspension or removal from office in a subsequent term if an elective official gets reelected.

Essentially, the doctrine says that if a public official is not removed for his misconduct during his term of office, he can no longer be removed if he is thereafter reelected for another term. In other words, removal cannot extend beyond the term during which the alleged misconduct was committed.

In the case of Junjun Binay, while the Supreme Court was left with no choice but to apply the doctrine to him, it declared that the doctrine abandoned and can no longer be invoked by public officials in the future. In the same case, the Supreme Court also ruled that the second paragraph of Section 14, Republic Act 6770 or The Ombudsman Act of 1989 is deemed unconstitutional. The paragraph reads: “No court shall hear any appeal or application for remedy against the decision or findings of the Ombudsman,

ouT of The Box

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OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

Terror IN A terrorist attack not seen since 911, when Al Qaida slammed two hijacked US jetliners into the twin towers of New York’s Trade Center, and the bombing of London’s underground trains and buses, civilization has been under horrific siege again.

I’m flying to New York today for the traditional family Thanksgiving.

I was also planning to see a couple of Broadway shows in the city but will now try to avoid crowded places.

The most number of casualties in the Paris carnage were in a crowded concert hall where an American rock band was performing.

More than 129 people were killed in the simultaneous ISIS terrorist attack at six sites in the heart of Paris.

The number of casualties could rise as many of the 350 victims rushed to hospitals were in serious condition.

Six of the terrorist suicide bombers blew themselves up while two others were killed in gun battle with French police. It is not known how many of the terrorists were still at large. The City of Lights is gloomy and in a lockdown mode.

Leading the global condemnation, US President Barack Obama said the Paris attack is “an attack against all of humanity.”

“This is an act of war,” said an outraged French President Francois Hollande as he declared a state of emergency and mourning.

An act of war it is and France should have seen it coming. The French after all had joined the US-led coalition, bombing ISIS strongholds in Syria and Iraq. An investigation concluded that the fatal crash in Egypt of a chartered

BaCK Channel aleJandro del roSario plane carrying 224 Russian soldiers was caused by a bomb planted on board. Russia, acting outside the coalition, was also carrying out air strikes against ISIS to protect long time ally, the beleaguered Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

ISIS stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that Muslim fundamentalist have carved out of the two civil-war stricken countries in the Middle East. The extremist group known for beheading captives has claimed responsibility for the synchronized siege in Paris.

In the wake of the Paris attack, security was tightened at the Philippine International Convention Center, the venue of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Manila this week and at several hotels where heads of states, including US President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, will be staying. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indonesian President Joko Widodo cancelled because of pressing problems at home.

The siege in the French capital will surely have repercussions in other European countries which are being swept by a wave of migrants fleeing the fighting between ISIS and the unstable governments of Syria and Iraq. The mostly Muslim refugees numbering in the millions have been given asylum

by Germany, Austria, France and the UK. They will now be looked

conflicting pressures of pluralism, tolerance, inclusion on the one hand his invectives in public space. But a and the absolute demands of faith on church is not public space (although the other! it is space where the public gathers), Even granting that some memneither is a gathering of church- bers of ISIS are sincere in their members! What Celdran seems to beliefs (sincerely devout Muslims be claiming is the implausible right of the kind of Islam they profess), to disrupt religious worship and there is also no doubt that religion sectarian assemblies in the name of provides a convenient pretext for free speech! human cruelty! The Biblical noNo, this is not a defense of ISIS. Its tion of the “ban” is exactly this: crimes cry to heaven for justice, and The holiness of God, went the the blood of its hapless victims calls pretext, demanded that nothing from the desert sands and dunes unholy that pertained to the enon which they were slaughtered for emy, human or otherwise, could humankind to unite in common be spared. All had to be put to the cause against what is unconscionable. sword. We are a species capable If there is any caboodle that should of so much cruelty and the debe haled before the International mand of absolute allegiance that Criminal Court, it is this dastardly faith makes provides a convengroup. But firepower and military ient channel for intolerance and strategy will not solve the problem vengeance against foes—among because it is a manifestation of whom can so easily be those who human society that heaves and hoes do not pray as we do! Clearly, reas it calibrates its response to the ligion has a dark side to it—which

iS iT... From A9

except the Supreme Court, on pure question of law.”

The Court said that by limiting the power of all other courts over any investigation by the Ombudsman, Congress has eliminated a provisional remedy included in the Rules of Court, effectively violating the doctrine of separation of powers by the three branches of government.

To lawyers and students of law, the ruling in the Junjun Binay case is a positive development in jurisprudence as it shows the dynamism of the Supreme Court. After all, our electoral system is so flawed that a candidate running for reelection may

at with suspicion as potential terrorists although most of them came with their families who fled a brutal war. Through television cameras and newspaper photos, the world followed the perilous journey of these poor migrants crossing the Mediterranean on rickety boats, trekking with children on their backs and clawing at barbed wires along borders to get through barriers for the final frontier to a better life.

The tragedy of it all is that the countries that gave them sanctuary, are now also under siege from the very forces these migrants had fled.

Expect the Paris outrage to be followed by an outcry to stop granting asylum to the migrants.

Europeans cannot really be blamed for fearing a threat to their way of civilized life. Citizens of any country certainly won’t want to host foreigners who might be potential terrorists in their midst. Too often, some of these migrants, after being granted citizenship by their host countries, go back to their country of origin. Radicalized by Al Qaida and ISIS, they return to commit mayhem in the countries that have given them refuge.

For sure, there will be a backlash led by the National Front, the ultraconservative French political party of Marine Le Pen who opposed the influx of migrants from former French colonies in Africa and the Middle East. Already the third largest political party in France, Le Pen’s National Front could gain more followers to erode the support of Socialist President Hollande, who was in Manila on a state visit earlier this year. makes the systematic and rational examination of its claims and its demands all the more imperative. And the high-level theology that takes place in universities, faculties of theology and higher institutions of learning must percolate to all the levels of the faithful. And one of the first myths that must go is that what violates the most fundamental principles of reason must be consented to in faith. What is repugnantly unreasonable is not worthy of the human being. If it is to be paid respectful heed in contemporary society, religion must be reflexive and self-critical. Often, what we take to be the voice of God may be hardly anything other than the suppressed barbarism, savagery and ruthlessness in both our individual and collective unconscious! rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

get reelected without the greater number of people ever knowing that he has committed misconduct for which he should be made accountable. Unless his misconduct immediately gets public attention, his getting reelected cannot be a gauge of forgiveness or condonation by the people. The picture would have been quite different had there been a Freedom of Information Law in effect to give people access to information about the goings-on in government.

Email: ritalindaj@gmail.com Visit: www.jimenolaw.com.ph

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

Bewildered that is sure to catch your attention because of the simplicity of the message and the sparseness of the production, tells the viewer … “may nagawa.”

The battle of the political ads amuses. For guys like this writer, the immediate question in the mind is “sino gumawa”? For the average televiewer, “may dating o wala”? Totoo o hindi? Does it evoke strong positive emotions, create the right impressions?

Vamos a ver. It’s still a long way till May.

AFTER our regular Thursday lunch, some friends listened to the televised proceedings of the “tanim-bala” investigation by the Senate Blue Ribbon committee.

In the small group (the others having left after lunch), were a congressman, a former governor, four businessmen, an advertising guru, two political tacticians, and myself.

One would be hard put to describe our common reactions to the theater of the absurd that was playing before us on a giant TV monitor. The victims of the Naia racket were clearly telling the truth about their horrible experiences at the once “worst” airport in the world, now a few notches above worst, but still in the realm of the worse. With “tanim-bala,” it is likely to be adjudged the worst once again. Their answers were forthright; there was hardly any put-on, any exaggeration. Your heart would pour out for these victims. And your mind would find the cruelty they experienced as simply incomprehensible. As we write this, news reports say Nanay Gloria Ortinez’s contract job as a domestic helper in Hong Kong will no longer be renewed by her employer.

The kindest word to describe the other “resource persons,” the government officials “in-charge,” was that they were “bewildered.”

They “honestly” believed they had done nothing wrong. In their minds, they were the “victims” of Senate “bullying.”

The PIs exclaimed by almost everybody in our small group after every contorted excuse wrung from the airport manager’s lips by the senators would put Rodrigo

Duterte’s use of the Filipinos’ favorite expletive bland by comparison.

TG Guingona was uncharacteristically kind to his resource persons. Maybe his handlers advised him to be less pugnacious in his committee investigations. Grace Poe was so engrossed with the small things, like whether the detained OFWs were served meals by Naia personnel during their detention.

Bongbong Marcos was clever, and made the government officials look like fools. Alan Cayetano came prepared, and zeroed in on the airport manager’s clear inability to define his job, and the Office for Transportation Security for being “extra cautious” about bullets and amulets while letting 2.5 kilos of prohibited substances slip through the international airport, only to be caught in Hong Kong.

Columnist Jarius Bondoc, writing in another paper, correctly asked how come no Filipino OFWs were caught with live bullets when they got to their destinations. Surely the X-ray machines of other countries were at par, if not more sophisticated than those at our brokedown airports?

But will the gross embarrassment, to government and the nation, cause the concerned officials to resign their posts? He, he, he… perish the thought. Morir antes de dimitir. *** I watched an interview by teen movie idol Daniel Padilla of my friend Mar Roxas. Padilla, as the Liberal Party stalwarts around Mar enthused, has become their

presidential candidate’s “brand endorser.”

A well-informed movie scribe said the endorsement cost some P50 million. Whatever the price, what is certain is that Padilla did not come cheap.

The segment I saw was about Daniel asking Mar on how to solve the traffic problem that has gotten every resident of the metropolis crazy and angry.

Mar responded by taking first a long view: infrastructure. Tama siya doon. And then he showed how “daang matuwid” and its Public Private Partnerships has begun the SLEX to NLEX connector road, which should be finished in another two years.

(Mar, if the stars align for him, will be the one to inaugurate this.)

But the second response got me flustered. Mar observed, and correctly so, that ours is the only metropolis in the world where there is a multitude of privatelyrun buses traversing major thoroughfares. There should be one single bus system. Tama ka na naman dyan!

But Mar forgets he was Transportation and Communications secretary, and the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board which issues the franchises was under his supervision and policy direction.

His successor, that descendant of Emilio Aguinaldo (ilustrado tambien, eh?), is now on top of

But the guy who his opponents derisively call “nognog,” “pandak,” in a striking black-and-white TVC

Yet suddenly, all too sadly, the Friday night attacks by terrorists in Paris leaves us speechless.

The horror is beyond words to describe.

What is this world coming to?

cleaning... From A9

Convention Center, site of this week’s Apec powwow. As folks who discoed in the age of bellbottoms would recall, nearby Folk Arts Theater was a Miss Universe pageant venue.

Knowing that their government struggles with road reblocking and treats the installation of LRT escalators as a Herculean task, it is no wonder why people have lowered their Apec expectations to something cosmetic—not new roads but old ones rid of potholes; not new walls but grime washed off ancient ones; not fragrant esteros but for those that have become

sewers to be liberated of trash for once.

But even on this devalued yardstick, government seems to be having a hard time complying.

A week ago, the walls near the Metro Manila Development Authority office were still crawled with graffiti. The underpasses along Edsa were still in their natural color: 50 shades of grey. A week ago, too, that mausoleum that was once a film center was crying for dab of paint. Baclaran was still in its riotous element.

Hopefully, the junkyard near the Government Service Insurance

System building would have been cleaned up by now.

I was expecting corporations to roll up their garish tarpaulins to reduce visual pollution but it seems Apec did not ignite the national esprit de corps that would have ignited such an act. For why would they when politicos did not even bother to bring down their epal tarps?

I know that my friends would pillory me for using a simplistic metric in gauging the country’s benefits from hosting this Apec

And I expect them to meeting. rattle off data showing gazillions of pesos from trade deals which

came to fruition as a result of our Apec membership.

I would just tell them to allow me to use a pedestrian barometer because sometimes street views yield the same perspective as the one gleaned from an ivory tower.

And the view from the street is crystal clear: Metro Manila needs a major clean-up, a real clean-and-green-drive, where trash is collected, sidewalks are clean, littering is fined, greenery is nurtured, visual pollution is abated, and postno-bill signs are heeded.

It is time to bring cleanliness in the governance scorecard.

well not to expect magnificent new edifices. Just a general cleanup of Manila would do, or in dermatological terms, nothing of the surgical kind—a facial would be fine.

Not that the metropolis is alien to the concept of architectural windfalls from its past hosting of global events. Scan its landscape and you find their concrete souvenirs.

Many hotels today were built in time for the 1976 World BankIMF meeting which was held at Philippine International

#failocracy

So i See lito banayo

the beleaguered and bewildered DOTC, whose Land Transportation Office could not release car plates and drivers licenses on time, and whose LTFRB issues and renews those transport franchises.

So the listener of that paid interview is left asking a nobrainer: So bakit ‘di ninyo ginawa, all these years? Alam mo pala ang solusyon…so what?

Haaay naku…as Maria Montelibano would exclaim.

Sabagay, marami namang perang itatapon. *** Meanwhile, still on “infomercials” or paid media, Grace Poe complains about the daily grind of the poor “pasensyosong” Filipino, as he lines up for an MRT ride and gets squeezed once he finally gets inside, and declares that “together we should solve it.” And she rolls up her immaculately white sleeves.

Cute.

But Leni Robredo, Mar’s chosen veep, repeats her oft-stated “moral question” on Poe’s presidential ambitions. “You’re running for President, and yet at one point in your life, itinakwil mo kami—you turned your back on us.”

Devastating. And if Poe’s myriad handlers who so far have mouthed non-sequiturs and lame obfuscations, don’t see how Leni’s “moral issue” will hound her candidacy regardless of what the SET and Comelec decide, then they are not worth the pay a supertycoon is underwriting.

***

***

Meanwhile, Alan Cayetano continues to titillate the public mind with a Duterte run.

“Matapang na Solusyon, Mabilis na Aksyon,” the tandem proclaims, after shocking images of “Martilyo Gang” and criminality riding roughshod, and in another version, of endless traffic jams and long MRT lines.

Frankly, I thought the Duterte phenomenon would cool off after Oct. 16, when the Davao mayor’s no show at the Comelec was the story that eclipsed all the presidential candidacies filed during that historic week.

Apparently, it’s still alive—ayaw mamatay-matay.

But ask anyone whether Duterte would run—even Alan, and likely you will get “ewan” for an answer.

It’s 40 days before Christmas, but it’s 25 days before Dec. 10.

Abangan.

***

chong ardivilla

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Warriors off to franchise best start LOS ANGELES—The Golden State Warriors’ best start in franchise history is now a family affair as Stephen Curry scored 34 points in a 107-99 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

Curry has had the hot hand this year on the league’s most dominant team and while he didn’t have to carry the load against the Nets Saturday he did hit five three pointers to pass his father, Dell, on the NBA all-time list for threes.

The reigning league MVP now has 1,248 three pointers, three more than Dell Curry, who ranks 43rd on the all-time list.

Andre Iguodala drained a gametying three pointer with six seconds left in regulation as the defending league champion Warriors stretched their season opening win streak to 11-0.

Golden State appears to be even

better than during their 67 win title run last season as they keep finding new ways to win.

They are the 11th team in NBA history to start a season 11-0. If you include the latter part of the 201415 regular season, Golden State has won 15 consecutive games.

The record for the best start to a season is 15 straight held by the 1948-49 Washington Capitols and the 1993-94 Houston Rockets.

Reserve swingman Andre Iguodala sent Saturday’s game to overtime with a game-tying threepointer with six seconds left in regulation.

Power forward Draymond Green

scored a basket and chipped in two assists in the game-winning burst.

It wouldn’t have gone into overtime without Iguodala’s clutch shot, which produced a tie at 97-97 after Nets power forward Thaddeus Young had given his team a three-point lead with 10 seconds left.

Brooklyn, which fell to 1-3 on its road trip and 1-9 overall, had two subsequent shots at a win, but point guard Jarrett Jack misfired on an 18-footer and center Brook Lopez failed to convert a lob in close as time expired.

Curry shot a modest 13-of-31, attempting 16 shots from beyond the arc.

Green recorded his second career triple-double with 16 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds for Golden State. Center Andrew Bogut, of Australia, chipped in a 10-point, 18-rebound double-double.

Jack led the Nets with 28 points, while Young had 26 points and 10 rebounds.

Before the opening tip off, a moment of silence was observed along with the playing of the French national anthem in memory of those who lost their lives in the terror attacks in France on Friday.

The outside of Golden State’s Oracle Arena was also lit in red, white and blue as part of the tribute to the victims.

The Milwaukee Bucks snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers eight-game win streak with a 108-105 double overtime win behind a 16 point and 17 rebound performance from Greg Monroe.

Michael Carter-Williams scored 17 points for Milwaukee in his return from an ankle injury. Jerryd Bayless also had 17 points and Giannis Antetokounmpo added 16 points and 11 rebounds. AFP

Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors glides to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 14 at Oracle Arena, California. AFP

Cignal advances Pinoy boxer loses to heavier Mexican to championship By Ronnie Nathanielsz CIGNAL HD struck back from a stinging four-set setback with a dominating stint in the decider, hacking out a 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 11-25, 15-8 decision over PLDT Home Ultera to clinch the first finals berth in the Spikers’ Turf Season 1 Reinforced Conference at The Arena in San Juan City.

Lorenzo Capate Jr. outduelled Mark Gil Alfafara in a duel of the league’s top hitters, taking charge and delivering the big spikes in the decider to power the twice-to-beat HD Spikers to the best-ofthree finals of the season-ending conference of the pioneering men’s volley league presented by PLDT Home Ultera.

Alfafara actually outhit Capate, 28-26, but the latter punched in the biggest hits in the end as the second-seeded HD Spikers foiled the No. 3 Ultra Fast Hitters’ bid to force a sudden death.

FILIPINO Raymond Tabugon proved no match for the heavier and more experienced Mexican Juan Hernandez losing by a 6th round TKO in San Luis Potosi, Mexico on Sunday.

There was some controversy at the official weigh-in.

Tubugon came in at a mere 113.036 pounds, which was well under the contracted weight of 115. Hernandez tipped the scales at 118.36 pounds. When the issue was raised with the local commission the promoter claimed there was no violation and that it was okay to go over the stipulated weight limit because it was a non-title fight.

Promoter Oswaldo Kuchle later claimed in a message to the New Standard/boxingmirror.com that Juan Hernandez weighed only 116.2 pounds which was allowable.

Sanman Promotions adviser Chad Canares told The Standard that Hernandez controlled the tempo of the fight from the opening bell and used the ring expertly to confuse Tubugon as he switched from orthodox to southpaw which the young Filipino couldn’t handle.

Juan Hernandez

Petron meets Philips Gold in PSL action LEADERS Petron and Philips Gold dispute the top spot in the semifinals when the double-round eliminations of the 2015 Philippine Superliga Grand Prix formally comes to a close today at The Arena in San Juan.

Game time is at 4 pm followed by the equally-crucial clash between Cignal and Meralco in the 6 pm offering of this prestigious women’s inter-club tourney presented

by Asics and backed by Milo with Senoh, Mikasa and Mueller as technical sponsors and TV5 as official broadcaster.

Fresh from a straight-set demolition of rival Foton over the weekend, the Blaze Spikers are tagged as the hottest team after blazing their way to five straight victories to occupy the cieling with a 7-2 win-loss mark.

But the reigning champion is not alone at the top as Philips Gold is also smoking hot after booking a pair of straight-set wins over Meralco and Cignal recently, making their encounter not only entertaining for being the duel between two of the league’s best teams, but also highly-crucial as it determines who will assume the top spot in the do-or-die semifinals next week.

“This is going to be a very important game for both teams,” said Petron coach George Pascua. “Although it doesn’t really matter who will be the no. 1 or no. 2 in the semis, both of us want to win to gain enough momentum for the semis. This game should serve as our springboard for tough battles ahead.”

Azkals teach football basics to children FOOTBALL for a Better Life 2015, the grassroots football development program supported by Pru Life UK, concluded its tour for the year at the Army Support Command (ASCOM) Football field recently.

One hundred twenty kids and eight community teams from Gawad Kalinga villages in Metro Manila took part in the football clinic where the children were taught by no less than members of the Philippine Azkals Men’s Football Team. Team captain Rob Gier and his teammates Daisuke Sato, Dennis Villanueva, Misagh Bahadoran, Simone Rota and former Azkals goal keeper Ref Cuaresma complemented the training given by former Azkals skipper Chieffy Caligdong and Pru Life UK Grassroots Football Director.

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

American Holly Holm (R) lands a kick flush on the chin to knock out Ronda Rousey and win their UFC title fight in Melbourne on Nov. 15. AFP

Unbeaten Holm flattens Rousey MELBOURNE - American Holly Holm tamed the world’s most feared female prizefighter Ronda Rousey with a stunning knockout victory for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) bantamweight title in Australia on Sunday.

Holm, 34, made a blistering start to the title fight at Melbourne’s Etihad Stadium, becoming the first fighter to win a round against her fellow American, a former judo champion.

Rousey’s past three fights had lasted just 64 seconds in total but Holm delivered a head kick 59 seconds into the second round of the bout to send Rousey crashing to the canvas.

Holm, the underdog, clearly took points in the first round as her overhand lefts landed flush on Rousey’s face.

She had Rousey staggering in the second round with some crunching left hooks, before finishing her off with a left-foot kick that landed flush under the champion’s jaw.

It appeared Rousey was close to

unconsciousness as she dropped.

Holm followed up with a few strikes before the referee stopped the fight, with Rousey looking worse for wear.

It was Rousey’s first defeat in 13 bouts and left Holm unconquered in the mixed martial arts sport with a 10-0 record.

“I had so much love and support -- I thought how could I not do this,” Holm said in the ring.

“There was lots of blood, sweat and tears, but it sure was worth it.

“I’m trying to take this in, but this is crazy.”

Holm, who had claimed eight of her previous MMA victories by knockout and had gone the distance in her two UFC fights, said head kicks to Rousey were the plan.

“I didn’t want to kick her in the

body and have her trap my leg... I went high and got it,” she said.

She added: “Everything that we worked on presented itself in the fight.

“Every kind of grab that she tried to get... I have not spent this much time in the gym before any fight in my life... Everything we worked on happened tonight.”

Rousey was unable to utilize her trademark armbar when she went for it two minutes into the fight.

The judoka took Holm to the canvas but she fought out of the predicament, quickly rising to her feet.

Rousey went into the bout with a series of dynamic knockout victories that earned her comparisons with Mike Tyson’s rise in heavyweight boxing during the 1980s.

The pair had initially been due to fight in Las Vegas on January 2 but the contest was brought forward two months and moved to Australia in a bid to spread Rousey’s appeal to another corner of the globe. AFP

Europe’s golfers bow in silence for Paris terror attack victims SHANGHAI—Europe’s top golfers halted their final rounds in the BMW Masters in Shanghai at midday Sunday to observe a minute’s silence in tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks.

As airhorns sounded to mark noon, all 78 players, caddies, officials and thousands of Chinese spectators at the flagship European Tour event stood in silence to honour the memory of the more than 120 victims of Friday’s multiple attacks.

Players and caddies to a man wore black ribbons for the second day in succession.

Among the seven French golfers at the tournament, Benjamin Hebert displayed his own tribute with “Pray for Paris” written boldly on

his white cap in black marker pen.

A few sponsors’ signboards dotted around the Lake Malaren Golf Club fairways had been sprayed by spectators with the “Peace for Paris” symbol combining the Eiffel Tower with the peace sign.

On the sixth tee, overnight leader Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand removed his cap and bowed his head as silence enveloped the course, as did playing partners Sergio Garcia of Spain and An Byeong-Hun of Korea.

The world number seven Henrik Stenson of Sweden, who was dressed entirely in black, took off his headgear and closed his eyes in silent contemplation on the nearby seventh green. AFP

Suarez leads PH beats in Phinma tennis JUSTIN Suarez subdued Indonesian Enrique Garcia, 6-2, 6-2, to lead three other local bets in the second round of the two-day qualifier for the PSC-Phinma International Juniors Tennis Championships at the Manila Polo Club in Makati City yesterday.

Vince Salas eased out compatriot Jacob Martin, 6-0, 6-4, while Manuel Balce III trounced Joaquin de Venecia, 6-0, 6-1, in the boys’ side while Mikaela Vicencio scored a walkover win over Samantha Um of the US in the girls’ division of the Grade 4 ITF tournament backed by major sponsors Phinma Group of Companies and the Philippine Sports Commission.

But Vicencio will have her hands full as she goes for the one of the four spots in the main draw staked in the elims as she faces second seed Mananchaya Sawa-

ngkaew of Thai today even as compatriot Maria So tangles with No. 1 Tiffany Nguyen of the US. Meanwhile, Arthur Craig Pantino, Michael Francis Eala II, Cenon Gonzales and Joel Atienza gained wild cards in the tournament proper firing off tomorrow (Tuesday), also at the MPC, while Shaira Hope Rivera, Rafaella Jean Villanueva, Frances Santiago and Jacqueline Tan Ho also earned wild card spots in the girls’ side.

Other local bets gunning for spots in the boys’ main draw of the ITF (International Tennis Federation) 18-Under category tournament are Stefan Suarez, Chris Prulla, Franco Tambunting, Noel Damian, Stephan Lhuillier, Marco Ayala and Diego Dalisay.

A peace symbol featuring the Eiffel Tower is seen on the course to commemorate the victims of the Paris attacks during the BMW Shanghai Masters golf tournament on Nov. 15. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Ukrainian GM stuns top seed, wins title

Fund-raising golf. Members of the Rotary Club of Paranaque East, city councilors and Paranaque Mayor Edwin Olivarez pose after hitting the ceremonial drive kicking off the 3rd Olivarez Golf Cup held at the Midland Golf Course in Tagaytay, over the weekend. The one-day tournament, which drew 165 players, is a fund-raiser aimed at supporting the cleanliness, beautification and sanitation of Parañaque City. The annual event was presented by Premium Leisure Corp. and Belle Corp and backed by Eva Air, Mizuno, Nissan, Globe Telecommunication, Aseana City, Suzuki and First Balfour.

Familiar faces dominate Cebuana netfest FAMILIAR names emerged double winners at the recent Cebuana Lhuillier AgeGroup Tennis Championship series leg in Cabadbaran, Agusan del Norte that attracted more than a hundred entries from all over Mindanao and even Cebu.

The series is a year-round and nationwide grassroots tennis developmental program of Cebuana Lhuillier, and supported by Asia Traders Corp. that provides the official ball, Dunlop. The leg was hosted by Cabadbaran, under Mayor Dale Corvera and by the Cabadbaran City Tennis Association.

For a long time, the series has been providing opportunities to provincial-based young players to play competitive tennis in different places to hone their talents. “ I am very elated of the interest shown

by our young players and their parents.

I am positive that from the ranks of these youngsters will rise future national champions, who will bring glory to our country,” said Cebuana Lhuillier President and CEO Jean Henri Lhuillier, himself a competitive tennis player, manytime team manager of the Philippine Davis Cup Team and presently Philippine Tennis Association Chairman.

And from the way some of these young players have been consistently winning, including the double winners in the last leg, it will not be surprising to see the likes of Cagayan de Oro native Gennifer Lysandra Pagente, who won the 14-under and 16-under girls’ titles; Marc Nicole Suson from Cebu, who ruled the same age groups in the boys’

side; Mary Aubrey Calma, also from Cagayan de Oro, who took the 18-under crown and added the 18-under doubles’ title, where she partnered with Pagente; and the youngest winner, Nash Agustines from Oroquieta City, who won the 10-under finals against Kurt Gervan Bandolis from Tubod, before teaming up with his losing opponent to win the 10-under unisex doubles’ title, becoming champions of the future.

Pagente posted a straight-set victory, 6-1, 6-1 over Misamis Oriental bet and girls’ 12-under champion Farrah Kris Emata and followed it up with another two-set win, 6-4, 6-4, over Calma, who in turn took the 18-under girls’ title at the expense of Angelyn Esguerra from Surigao, 6-0, 6-2.

Faldo Series’ PH qualifying at Beverly Place TOP junior players will travel north to the Beverly Place Golf and Country Club in New Mexico, Pampanga for the Faldo Philippine Qualifying slated on Nov. 17 to 19.

Already confirmed are 70 participants, including national players Rupert Zaragosa, Carl Corpus and Jolo Magcalayo, with 40 of them taking part in the eliminations for 13-under 16-under 18-under and 21-under and another 30 as non-qualifying participants.

The top winners in each division of the tourney organized by the Junior Golf Foundation of the Philippines will play in regional finals on March 2016 at Mission Hills, hoping to emulate the career paths of Faldo Series past winners like Major Champions Rory McIlroy and Yani Tseng and Tour winners Nick Dougherty, Oliver Fisher, Marc Warren, John Parry, Rashid Khan, Melissa Reid, Florentyna Parker and Carly Booth.

Dela Rosas...

From A16

“Given the opportunity, I want to compete in international races,” said Richmon, a Culinary Arts student, whose immediate plan is to train for a higher level, the GT 300 for next season.

“We want to develop our skills further, focus on driving and avail of international competition to improve. If we can do this, maybe we can become international drivers, who could make history in motorsports and do our country proud.”

Patrichk, on the other hand, is more specific in his goal.

“I want to be an international race car driver, and even drive a Ferrari race car,” he said. “To be able to do this, our team always tells me to work hard and practice more to improve my skills. They also tell me to drive consistently, because consistency is the key to success and victory.”

And who knows? They have all the talent to become successful on the track, what with a supportive father fully behind them.

“As a dad, my goal is to give full support in their next journey of racing,” said Bogs.

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Many of golf’s young superstars have launched their careers through the Faldo Series created by Sir Nick Faldo in 1996 to give opportunity to young people through golf and to help identify and nurture the next generation of champions.

Supported by golf’s governing bodies, 40 annual tournaments now take place in 30 countries worldwide, spanning Europe, the Middle East, North and South America, and Asia.

Final Standings (Open Division) – Sivuk (UKR) 7.0 points, Demchenko, (RUS) Shomoev (RUS) Savchenko (RUS) Gupta (IND) Deepan (IND) , Sunilduth Lyna (IND) Lu (CHI) 6.5, Lin (CHI), Smirnov (RUS) 6.0, Zubov (UKR), Nolte (PHI) Mozharov (RUS), Docena (PHI), 5.5, Belous (RUS), Nguyen (VIE), Laylo (PHI), Antonio (PHI), Torre (PHI), Bitoon (PHI), Bersamina (PHI), Kotanjian (ARM) 5.0, Puranik (IND), Rohan (IND) 4.5, Ranola (PHI), Abelgas (PHI), Dimakiling (PHI), Frayna (PHI) Gotel (PHI), Pascua (PHI) 4.0, Sean (INA) 3.5, Secopito (PHI) 3,0, Pedersen (DEN), Mariano III (PHI) 2.5.

GRANDMASTER Vitaly Sivuk of Ukraine racked up his third straight win – and his biggest in the tournament – to emerge as the undisputed champion in the 2015 Philippine International Chess Championship after the 10th and final round yesterday at the Subic Bay Peninsular Hotel, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority in Olongapo City.

Sivuk, the no. 11 seed, stunned top seed and erstwhile solo leader GM Abijheet Gupta of India after 42 moves of a Gruenfeld Defense to bring his total to seven points and take home the top prize of $5,000.

In all, the 23-year-old Ukranian tallied seven points on five wins, four draws and a loss, which came against GM Anton Demchenko of Russia in the 6th round.

Four other players – Demchenko, fellow GM Anton Shomoev, Chinese GM and 5th seed Shanglei Lu of China and GM Chakkravarthy Deepan of India had a chance to forge a tie for the overall lead but their games all ended in draw, with Lu splitting the point with Demchenko and Deepan settleing for a draw with Shomoev.

The four dropped into a seven-way tie with Gupta and final-round winners GM Narayanan Sinulduth Lyna of India and Russian GM Boris Savchenko with 6.5 points each.

Sinulduth Lyna, who had 5.5 points going into the final round, turned back Filipino GM Joey Antonio in 31 moves of an Anti-Nimzo Indian, while Savchenko defeated International Master Chen Lin of China after 36 moves of a Mieses Variation of the Scandinavian.

Lin and no. 3 seed GM Pavel Smirnov of Russia, who beat compatriot GM Vladimir Belous in 34 moves of a Benko Gambit Accepted, dropped into a two-way tie with six points each.

PAL Interclub in Luzon. THE Philippine

Airlines Interclub golf tournament will be held in Luzon for the first time in its 69-year history.

Hosting the annual event from Feb. 23 to March 5 will be the Mimosa Golf and Country Club and FA Korean Country Club in Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga. Photo shows (from left) Henry Arebalo, tournament director; Bong Velasquez, PAL SAVP-International Sales; Dina May Flores, PAL VP Revenue Management; Jefferson Tan, golf manager of Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks; and Eric Gozo, general manager of Mimosa Leisure Estate. With the theme “Power on the Greens,” a total of 192 teams will take part in the regular and senior tournaments.

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Outside sniping keys Barako win

By Jeric Lopez

OUTSIDE shooting became Barako Bull’s primary weapon as it buried crucial perimeter baskets down the stretch to hold off pesky Meralco, 108106, and even its record in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup yesterday at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Games Tuesday (Alonte Sports Complex, Binan, Laguna): 4:15 p.m. - Barako Bull vs. Mahindra 7 p.m. - Barangay Ginebra vs. Meralco

Josh Urbiztondo came off the bench to have his best game in a long while, scoring a teamhigh 24 points, including 4-of8 shooting from downtown, to spearhead the Energy’s attack, while RR Garcia helped out with 18 points.

Barako Bull was able to overcome Gary David’s explosion as the Meralco star poured in a season-high 40 points.

The victory pushed the Energy to 2-2 in the standings to remain in the middle of the pack, while the hard luck Bolts are left as the only team without a win, dropping to 0-4 at the cellar. ‘’Our players showed character and stayed focused in the

crucial moments,’’ said Barako Bull coach Koy Banal. ‘’We really wanted to win this game.

The players deserve this win. I give credit to them.’’

Down, 82-84, heading into the final eight minutes, the Energy suddenly waxed hot from the outside to turn the game in their favor.

Five straight Mac Baracael points –all from jumpers-followed by a triple by Urbiztondo highlighted a decisive 12-0 blast that turned that slim deficit into a double-digit lead, 94-84, with 7:17 remaining.

Meralco remained within striking distance and even threatened in the final minute, but Barako Bull answered every time with timely baskets and a key stop to end the game.

A 6-0 run that concluded with less than a minute left after a triple from David with 32 seconds left inched the Bolts to within just two, 106-108.

Meralco had the ball in the fi-

nal seconds and had the chance to either send the game to overtime or snatch the win, but Reynel Hugnatan’s hook shot was swatted by Willie Wilson in the dying ticks to allow Barako Bull to escape with the win.

Wilson himself had a nice outing as he finished with 17 points for Barako Bull.

While Barako Bull wasn’t able to score in the final minute, its lead was too much of a leverage for Meralco to overcome.

The scores: BARAKO 108 - Urbiztondo 24, Garcia 18, Wilson 17, Monfort 12, Intal 9, Cruz 8, Pennisi 6, Baracael 5, Lanete 3, Caperal 2, Miranda 2, Sorongon 2, Fortuna 0.

MERALCO 106 - David 40, Newsome 12, Hugnatan 10, Amer 9, Alapag 7, Nabong 7, Caram 6, Dillinger 5, Al-Hussaini 4, Faundo 4, Sedurifa 2, Ferriols 0, Hodge 0.

Quarters: 32-23, 56-52, 79-82, 108-106

Bill granting bigger incentives to national athletes now a law SENATOR Sonny Angara has lauded the enactment of a law that would raise the amount and broaden the coverage of incentives, as well as improve the benefits, granted to national athletes, coaches and trainers.

Republic Act 10699, which repeals RA 9064 or the National Athletes, Coaches and Trainers Benefits and Incentives Act of 2001, aims to increase the amount of cash incentives given to winning athletes, coaches and trainers, and to include athletes with disabilities in the grant of benefits and incentives.

“It’s high time we recognized our outstanding athletes with disabilities, which is why we included them among the national athletes deserving of incentives should they win in international competitions. Likewise, we wanted to recognize and

give justice to our winning national athletes by increasing the amount of prizes and benefits for them to receive,” said Angara, Chairman of the Committee on Games, Amusement and Sports, and the sponsor and one of the authors of the recently enacted law.

For the Olympic Games, the gold medalist will be granted P10 million, while the silver medalist gets P5 million, and the bronze medalist pocketing P2 million. In the Asian Games, the gold medalist will be entitled to a P2-million cash incentive, while the silver medalist gets P1 million and the bronze medalist receives P400,000.

In the SEA Games, the gold, silver, and bronze medalists will get P300,000, P150,000 and P60,000, respectively.

For team events with five or

more participants, each member will get 25 percent of the cash incentives provided for the individual medal winners.

Apart from regular major competitions, medalists of world-levelchampionships held every two years or with at least 45 countries participating and of Asian-level competitions held every two years or with at least 25 countries participating will also receive cash incentives.

“Filipinos love sports so it is but proper for our government to amply recognize and reward the achievements of our athletes.

Winning medals and competitions at the international level is usually the result of years of hard training by both athletes and coaches, and they fully deserve any reward under our new law,” the lawmaker said.

JC Intal of Barako Bull scores on a floater against Meralco in a PBA Philippine Cup game won by the Energy, 108-106.

Lady Bulldogs make finals; UE nails semis NATIONAL University overcame its biggest challenge of the UAAP Season 78 women’s basketball tournament, hacking out a 81-74 win over a gritty De La Salle side to gain an outright Finals slot yesterday at the Blue Eagle Gym. In another dominant eliminationround showing, the Lady Bulldogs extended their unbeaten run to 30 games dating back to last season and will hold the thrice-to-beat edge in the title round.

Despite the accomplishment, NU coach Pat Aquino, knows that there is still unfinished business left and that is to make another run at the crown.

“We have that hunger to do it again and hopefully, we can win the championship,” said Aquino.

The Lady Archers kept the game close in the payoff period, but Shelley Gupilan and Andrea Tongco delivered the key baskets down the stretch to help the Lady Bulldogs preserve the victory.

“La Salle played really hard, they really wanted to win. But I also give credit to the girls, who played harder, even without our key player Afril Bernardino” said Aquino.

Bernardino, the reigning MVP, was benched for disciplinary reasons, but NU drew big games from Risa Paig, who paced the defending champions with 18 points.

Kristine Abriam added 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Gupilan and Tongco

Junior Archers, Baby Tamaraws, Tigers Cubs score THE La Salle-Zobel Junior Archers, the Far Eastern University Baby Tamaraws and the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs joined National University in posting big wins Saturday at the start of the 78th University Athletic Association of the Philippines’ junior basketball tournament at the Blue Eagle gym.

Veteran cager Aljun Melecio

came up with a season-high 42 points, including seven treys, as the Junior Archers toppled reigning champion Ateneo, 84-71.

Rookie Jun Gabane scored the winning shot before he went down on cramps in the last 13.5 seconds, helping carry FEU to a 58-52 triumph over University of the Philippines Integrated School.

Clark Ballada struck with 22 points for the UST Tigers Cubs as they turned back University of the East, 77-73.

John Lloyd Clemente hit 18 points as NU waylaid Adamson, 61-55, and opened their bid to return to the finals on a bright note.

Melecio unloaded three triples in the third period, enabling La Salle-Zobel to move

away, 67-58, in the last 2:02.

Jollo Mendoza had 16 points for Ateneo, which last threatened, 56-59, off Shaun Ildeonso’s charity.

Xyrus Torres made 10 points for the Baby Tams, who got a scare from UPIS when national youth player Juan Gomez de Liano tipped in a follow-up shot for a 52-55 count with 1:22 to go.

tossed in 12 points apiece for the Lady Bulldogs.

The Lady Archers, who were led by Ara Abaca’s 18 points and 14 rebounds, finished second with a 12-2 record and will have the twice-to-beat bonus in the step-ladder semifinals.

University of the East, behind Ruthlaine Tacula’s 20 markers, nailed the third semis berth with a 68-53 dismantling of University of Santo Tomas.

The Lady Warriors, the league’s surprise package, ended the elims with a 7-7 card for their first-ever semifinals appearance since the Final Four was instituted in 1994.

Claire Aseron had 11 points, while Danica Jose and Jolina Go added 10 markers apiece as Ateneo routed Adamson, 55-41, to force a playoff for the last semifinals berth.

The Lady Eagles tied the Tigresses in fourth place at 6-8 and the two teams will face off on Wednesday to determine the last semis qualifier. The winner will take on UE in the first step-ladder semifinals match.

Claire Castro had 16 points as Far Eastern University nipped University of the Philippines, 54-52, in a no-bearing match.

The Lady Falcons and the Lady Maroons wound up in joint sixth at 4-10, while the Lady Tamaraws, last season’s runner-up, ended up in last place with three wins against 11 losses.

LOTTO RESULTS

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3 DIGITS 0-0-0 2 EZ2 0-0

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK m o n day : n o v e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

A16

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

Reuel vidal A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R

sports@thestandard.com.ph

sports Champions both. Richmon

dela Rosa (in red car, left) and Patrichk (in white car, above) are shown in action in the 2015 PTCC/PGTC. Their father Bogs (center, lower left panel) joined Richmon (left) and Patrichk after their titular feats.

Below are members of Team Matonetics, headed by ace tuner Mato Tan, after winning three major classes.

Dela Rosas dominate race series Text and photos by Ramon D. Boado

TO win in the fiercely competitive 2015 Philippine Touring Car Championship/Philippine GT Championship Series, where champion drivers, budding racers and veterans pit guts and skills against each other, is a feat in itself.

But when it happens to siblings, it definitely makes for a fine story worth telling.

Dela Rosa brothers Richmon and Patrichk recently made history as the first sibling duo in many years to emerge champions separately in the car-circuit series, joining the likes of Kookiee and Miguel Ramirez, and Milo and Estefano Rivera in a fine list of examples of brothers rocking the racetrack with

their innate driving skills.

The Dela Rosa brothers recently emerged victorious in their respective classes and fortified their status as among the best young drivers in the horizon.

The 19-year-old Richmon became the overall champion in the PTCC/PGTC and emerged as 2015 Automobile Association of the Philippines Driver of The Year, Division 2 champion and a 2015

Golden Wheel Awardee.

“It was overwhelming, I was surprised. But you know, it takes a lot of hard work and patience to really achieve what I have right now,” said Richmon, who is a freshman at San Beda Alabang and was last year’s GT150 champion and Rookie of the Year. “It took a lot of time and effort, especially for my friends and family, who supported me along the way. I can quite say that I had a difficult path in my rise to my victory because I endured the pain and effort. I studied my techniques well, so maybe, it was all worth it.”

Richmon’s younger brother, 16-year-old Patrichk, on the other hand, emerged as the Sprint Race and GT150 race champion (255 points), where he beat the likes

ronda rousey unbeaten no more turn to A13

of more seasoned drivers such as Allen Macaraig, NR Joaquin and Dindo de Jesus.

“It was very challenging for me because two of my opponents had faster times than me before. All I could do was to trust God and give my best on the grid,” said Patrichk, a fourthyear high school in the same school.

With his son’s feats, their father Bogs, a businessman/race enthusiast just fulfilled his lifelong dream of a Dela Rosa winning racing tournaments.

“I am very proud of them. And as a father, it’s my achievement too and part of my success in life, having two young very young champions race-car drivers,” said Bogs, whose passion for cars and racing, he rubbed off to his sons right

when they were young.

Of course, Bogs had the biggest influence on why his kids turned out to become racing champions because it was he who went all out in finding the best teachers and tuners for his sons. For Richmon, he had former champion Bong Perez teaching his son the ropes, while for Patrichk, multi-titled Edgen Dy Liacco was the mentor.

The Dela Rosa’s potential on the racetrack has prompted Danny Tan of Exelligent Ads, Tong Ching of MetroWaste, Jaime Dichavez of Quantum, Sonny de Torres of Group N and Ton Ramos of Toncars to lend their full support to the brothers, who dream of one day becoming international racers, and champions, too.

Turn to A14

outside sniping keys Barako bull win turn to A15

MONDAY: NOVEMBER 16, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

B1

Ayala officially wins bus hub

By Darwin G Amojelar

THE Transportation Department has awarded the P4-billion transport terminal project in Taguig City to property developer Ayala Land Inc., after more than two months of delay.

The agency’s pre-qualificaton, bids and awards committee, in a letter dated Nov. 13, said it found the bid of Ayala Land for the South Integrated Transport System Project as the “best bid.”

The Transportation Department approved the recommendation of the committee and issued a notice of award to Ayala Land as the winning bidder.

South Integrated Terminal System is the second bus hub to be awarded under the public-private partnership program, after the P3.27-billion Southwest Integrated Terminal in Parañaque City was bagged by MWM Terminals, the consortium of Megawide Construction Corp. and WM Property Management Inc.

Ayala Land was given 20 days to sign the notice of award, a proof that the concessionaire meets the financial capability and qualification requirements including letters from banks expressing their willingness to provide credit.

The property developer will also submit P150 million in construction performance security and $775,100.79 as reimbursement for the the transaction advisory services for the project.

Ayala Land topped the auction in August for the P4-bil-

Globe on track to hit sales goal GLOBE Telecom Inc. said it is on track to achieve its P100-billion revenue target this year.

“We are growing across the board. Postpaid is growing, prepaid is growing, data is growing. Only thing that’s soft is international which is something that has been a trend in the whole industry. But aside from that, everything is growing,” Globe Telecom chief commercial officer Alberto de Larazabal told reporters.

Globe Telecom’s service revenues amounted to P81.96 billion in the first nine months of the year, excluding the earnings of Bayan Telecommunications Inc. Including Bayan’s revenue, Globe reported a consolidated earnings of P83.4 billion in the first nine months, up 15 percent from P72.7 billion year-on-year.

“If you look at our third-quarter results, we separate it from Bayan. We believe we can start all synergies with Bayan. We’re cross-selling already.

We’re studying how to modernize underlying infra together,” de Larrazabal said.

He said the company earmarked about $800 million this year to expand the network of Globe Telecom and Bayan.

“I think more than half of it [capex] will be data.

We still continue to invest in our core voice, SMS, additional capacities so that we can ensure the quality continues to stay good given the increase in usage in the existing areas,” de Larrazabal said.

Globe Telecom allotted $850 million in capex this year, including a carryover of $200 million from 2014.

Globe Telecom as of end September spent P22.9 billion in capex to support the growing subscriber base and demand for data.

The mobile business posted a 9 percent year-onyear growth in revenues to P63 billion in the ninemonth period from the P57.6 billion on year due to the strong contributions of all three mobile brands.

Globe Telecom’s postpaid revenues rose 7 percent year-on-year, while those of prepaid sector grew 8 percent. Darwin G Amojelar

lion project. Ayala Land offered a lower annual grantor payment of P277.88 million, compared with the P1 billion offered by Filinvest Land Inc. The annual grantor payment is a fee to be paid by the government to the concessionaire.

The site of the ITS South Project is right next to Arca South in Taguig, where Ayala Land is developing an integrated mixeduse estate. About 4,000 buses and 160,000 passengers are expected to feed into the ITS South from the South Luzon Expressway every day.

Construction will begin by May 2016 and is expected to be completed and ready for operation by October 2017.

The winning bidder will take care of the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the terminal for a concession period of 35 years.

The project covers the construction of a terminal within a 4.7-hectare lot along the FTI Compound in Taguig City. It will connect passengers coming from the south, specifically Batangas and Laguna provinces, to other public utility vehicles that are serving inner Metro Manila.

The project also covers the construction of arrival and departure bays, public information systems, ticketing and baggage facilities and park-ride facilities.

The Transportation Depart-

ment earlier awarded the P3.27billion transport terminal in Parañaque City, to MWM Terminals of the Megawide group.

The Megawide group offered the lowest annual grantor payment of P100 million for the ITS Project southwest terminal. The project has a 35-year cooperation period.

The terminal, set to be built along the Manila-Cavite Expressway in Parañaque City, is designed to provide seamless transfers between different modes of transportation.

The government also plans to bid out the ITS North project, located near the Veterans Memorial Hospital in Quezon City.

MONDAY: NOVEMBER 16, 2015

B2

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

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

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

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

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

7.040 0.81 1.180 0.203 33.400 3.35 5.1 5.85 0.57 0.92 1.00 0.139 0.470 22.75 0.850 0.164 1.12 1.68 1.20 4.37

Value

FINANCIAL 480,860.00 82,142,670.00 1,221,712,871 649,433,409.50 7,797,660.00 49,720.00 1,005,780.00 324,694.00 6,631,894.00 24,238 246,480.00 1,151,780.00 2,299,855.00 598,955,996.50 253,770.00 10,087,722.00 1,081,615.00 21,895,553.00 181,995.00 1,657,400.00 13,891,575 141,008,177.00 248,875.00 1,364,285.00 19,583,578.50 912,000.00 INDUSTRIAL 13,973,600 571,152,775.00 1,733,000 3,615,190.00 763,000 648,600.00 1,378,000 2,159,260.00 3,900 41,850.00 40 3,800.00 5,798,500 102,932,858 30,650,700 664,640,945.00 126,500 5,520,930 5,194,000 12,648,580.00 6,010,000 9,361,610.00 75,700 758,856.00 37,582,500 343,152,044.00 28,193,400 251,631,575.00 87,779,300 535,739,218.00 8,880,100 52,176,548.00 20,000 35,140.00 7,693,300 179,290,220.00 1,262,560 86,985,402.50 300 3,530.00 341,300 4,894,084.00 4,375,500 26,908,633.00 79,573,000 175,989,610.00 3,880,400 794,126,452.00 174,500 2,142,434.00 5,700 244,800.00 61,000 121,170.00 111,600 365,310.00 5,200 208,435.00 11,457,400 274,957,415.00 3,106,400 72,766,460.00 39,800 246,654.00 7,784,180 2,439,439,618.00 21,846,000 90,436,660.00 7,264,500 57,827,770.00 88,000 321,810.00 38,500 458,240.00 574,000 2,071,830.00 2,631,000 5,241,680.00 1,076,000 2,570,440.00 1,770,000 7,317,540.00 118,750 15,866,589.00 231,000 852,420.00 9,405,000 22,158,510.00 33,350,000 5,035,590.00 417,000 449,060.00 4,691,000 9,763,220.00 8,495,720 1,712,551,320.00 22,000 100,240.00 3,250,000 2,162,680.00 2,200 49,600.00 3,175,000 3,860,160.00 HOLDING FIRMS 2,780,000 1,082,950.00 7,008,470 396,111,512.50 15,887,800 284,776,516.00 179,000 191,230.00 94,600 603,290.00 11,650,000 3,019,590.00 720,000 183,460.00 1,219,640 919,300,110.00 9,488,600 70,507,777.00 18,326,000 241,134,308.00 357,000 1,787,450.00 14,000 71,670.00 194,000 718,700.00 640,000 153,450.00 534,065 707,241,240.00 562,800 3,166,469.00 7,259,150 520,616,745.00 2,000 7,600.00 15,094,500 110,335,453.00 1,325,000 976,100.00 114,205,400 1,581,828,054.00 1,478,000 762,750.00 90,880,400 478,985,611.00 8,143,400 77,279,779.00 3,000 9,030.00 2,580,300,000 95,987,500.00 398,000 552,720.00 7,960,000 15,002,100.00 99,000 258,600.00 1,732,300 82,580,440.00 75,000 201,700.00 1,285,150 1,098,787,035.00 540,000 637,180.00 678,000 521,380.00 170 27,270.00 58,220 4,539,713.00 4,100,000 1,332,850.00 1,920,000 417,680.00 2,490,000 670,250.00 PROPERTY 8,913,800 60,503,376.00 32,073,000 28,761,620.00 165,000 184,840.00 250,000 50,750.00 51,517,600 1,276,471,235.00 3,004,000 9,636,570.00 32,923,300 167,906,815.00 20,000 117,000.00 20,492,000 11,933,290.00 111,000 102,050.00 65,000 65,320.00 128,330,000 17,758,310.00 11,200,000 5,328,950.00 12,847,300 281,382,120.00 1,067,000 938,540.00 420,000 68,480.00 13,987,000 16,107,800.00 94,163,000 159,733,430.00 3,553,000 4,337,100.00 99,040,000 443,034,660.00 184,000 1,713,200 12,159,070 7,684,100 195,000 20,000 605,000 20,900 344,200 3,200 149,000 1,510 4,413,000 7,288,760 267,000 560,800 46,000 413,530 1,800 5,520 434,100 1,020,400 160 880 344,080 303,000

NOVEMBER 2-6, 2015 Close Volume Value 2.79 49.4 102.00 84.80 40 2.51 1.77 15.5 19.5 7.63 1.70

280,000 95,100 19,004,150 19,136,260 847,500 145,000 5,458,000 64,900 322,900 600 134,000

755,090.00 4,635,415.00 1,921,681,698 1,602,645,394.00 33,917,450.00 359,960.00 10,103,240.00 1,003,628.00 6,348,020.00 4,578 228,820.00

0.560 86.5

5,547,000 7,698,970

3,216,450.00 653,069,609.50

18.24 23.60 53.50 105 301 31.6 141.9

1,500,400 79,100 465,650 3,870 2,260 152,000 1,146,830

27,129,132.00 1,898,360.00 24,978,752.50 398,930.00 674,892.00 4,832,510 162,977,744.00

1525.00 57.00 3.01

745 271,200 4,000

1,145,625.00 15,453,619.00 12,340.00

41.3 1.88 0.88 1.57 11

6,647,000 355,000 682,000 4,215,000 18,800

277,266,090.00 642,610.00 590,530.00 6,690,090.00 205,210.00

17.9 21.5 45.8 2.45 1.64 10.06 9.430 8.90 6.44 6.60 1.66 24.2 69.6 11.70 13.32 6.23 2.350 207.40 11.72 37.90 2.01 3.79 39.95 24.25 23.95 6.25 326.00 4.2 8.35 3.8 11.94 3.70 2.05 2.42 4.13 134.5 4 2.25 0.150 1.20 2.17 206 4.72 0.69 22.60 1.28

3,111,900 1,872,900 616,500 2,670,000 6,533,000 32,500 33,048,900 24,929,300 54,808,300 9,414,000 38,000 9,934,000 1,294,040 38,000 59,300 5,645,300 66,588,000 2,721,700 56,100 7,100 10,000 56,000 1,200 10,469,500 500,600 5,182,700 2,022,500 11,177,000 13,972,900 132,000 27,200 388,000 3,711,000 1,823,000 1,352,000 61,540 95,000 1,650,000 38,530,000 460,000 5,224,000 7,603,980 39,000 9,661,000 1,100 31,934,000

55,165,560 42,471,020.00 28,776,915 6,555,780.00 10,983,670.00 343,406.00 316,831,502.00 216,431,812.00 355,912,435.00 66,910,224.00 63,160.00 248,788,980.00 91,564,806.50 450,320.00 835,758.00 35,754,852.00 173,039,920.00 563,378,362.00 668,300.00 267,980.00 20,800.00 206,970.00 46,990.00 244,136,670.00 12,001,900.00 35,194,885.00 658,514,900.00 47,423,450.00 115,509,401.00 544,130.00 320,768.00 1,403,190.00 7,730,250.00 4,519,160.00 5,602,700.00 8,368,230.00 373,000.00 3,707,140.00 5,941,890.00 545,690.00 11,334,160.00 1,566,348,996.00 181,950.00 6,816,080.00 24,940.00 45,533,040.00

0.400 56.1500 18.52 1.20 6.36 0.255 0.250 786.5 7.65 13.10 4.22 4.5 3.80 0.250 1360 5.75 73.50 3.8 7.65 0.78 12.2 0.53 5.3 9.64 3.01 0.0300 1.490 1.960 2.83 49.80

2,880,000 4,597,270 18,837,800 227,000 97,900 3,200,000 320,000 1,164,330 7,278,200 23,971,700 161,000 13,000 379,000 1,010,000 743,550 447,100 7,481,850 3,000 35,805,000 1,524,000 14,349,400 1,279,000 143,458,700 13,895,700 3,000 292,600,000 4,023,000 3,503,000 127,000 1,720,180

1,146,550.00 260,252,060.50 349,301,600.00 277,060.00 626,260.00 804,810.00 80,900.00 914,458,340.00 55,282,375.00 306,994,546.00 714,910.00 58,460.00 1,452,270.00 250,000.00 1,009,581,685.00 2,583,220.00 553,876,937.50 11,400.00 262,914,208.00 1,169,840.00 177,848,972.00 672,580.00 775,745,207.00 132,544,330.00 9,030.00 9,443,700.00 5,835,580.00 6,854,820.00 356,640.00 86,106,438.00

869.00 1.20 0.84 188.00 79.500 0.3300 0.2330 0.300

192,379,175 606,000 4,823,000 1,230 207,850 7,390,000 1,890,000 1,870,000

692,544,380.00 723,840.00 4,259,680.00 226,460.00 18,519,063.00 2,422,700.00 419,290.00 586,300.00

6.540 0.98 1.150

1,116,600 294,362,000 23,000

7,175,197.00 295,670,450.00 26,610.00

36.650 3.44 5.1 5.83 0.6 0.95 1.04 0.127 0.480 20.7 0.890 0.164 1.23 1.75 1.28 4.65

42,797,900 2,812,000 41,215,400 1,600 8,333,000 62,000 5,000 1,680,000 40,972,000 2,172,700 2,227,000 2,000,000 67,026,000 109,087,000 390,000 101,347,000

1,516,998,745.00 9,873,500.00 210,198,197.00 9,583.00 5,005,990.00 58,460.00 5,170.00 210,950.00 20,120,570.00 44,824,305.00 1,997,090.00 325,060.00 84,701,490.00 191,352,700.00 501,610.00 480,069,740.00

STOCKS

NOVEMBER 9-13, 2015 Close Volume

MRC Allied Ind. Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’ Primex Corp.

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

0.085 0.2550 0.4050 8.49 30.50 1.47 3.15 21.10 0.74 3.89 0.900 5.370

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

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

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

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

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Paxys Inc. Phil. Seven Corp.

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Transpacific Broadcast Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

7.2 63.55 1.12 0.550 11.12 25.5 5.10 0.0520 3.69 84.9 9.92 1.66 5.85 2.83 960 2096 7.12 1.25 68.25 3.80 11.42 0.011 0.172 1.3700 2.07 8.77 4.46 1.15 2.30 30.00 0.600 2 3.47 0.270 0.670 18 4.65 2.99 105.00 20.20 1970.00 0.540 1.000 31.25 69.00 5.84 3.91 0.435 1.5 3.85 0.330 4.110

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

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0050 2.19 4.93 11.78 0.211 5.7000 0.68 0.64 7.75 0.81 0.295 0.190 0.201 0.0110 0.012 2.59 6.96 2.89 0.5800 1.4000 0.0110 0.0100 3.99 5.03 1.42 0.0130 136.50 2.33 0.0077

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

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

MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F Swift Pref

64.8 519.5 525 116.2 500 519 7.24 1.12 109.5 1065 1129 1030 81 82 79.2 79.25 80.35 2.8

Leisure & Resort Warr.

2.690

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Ripple E-Business Intl Xurpas

4 2.84 86 16.7

First Metro ETF

112.8

NOVEMBER 2-6, 2015 Close Volume Value

Value

11,220,000 20,000 2,440,000 576,900 43,414,700 1,158,000 20,000 64,805,100 5,275,000 143,500 4,594,000 20,751,900

897,350.00 5,100.00 987,050.00 4,844,098.00 1,301,986,285.00 1,710,680.00 60,940.00 1,386,039,825.00 3,850,750.00 1,134,965.00 4,259,040.00 116,595,845.00 SERVICES 1,953,700 15,112,965.00 134,710 8,727,757.00 132,000 146,680.00 4,132,000 2,297,380.00 88,300 997,762.00 800 20,500 34,960,300 187,682,351.00 224,560,000 11,900,380.00 13,977,000 50,791,760.00 2,222,210 190,085,717.00 3,100 29,522.00 23,000 41,160 2,783,000 16,417,266.00 1,000 2,830.00 1,020 978,200.00 297,750 624,968,340 1,081,700 7,874,156.00 291,000 358,520.00 7,709,110 532,503,228.50 1,000 3,800 55,600 634,952.00 37,000,000 373,700.00 9,230,000 1,614,800.00 4,820,000 6,740,020.00 77,000 162,990.00 767,900 6,841,777.00 23,833,000 107,977,810.00 30,000 34,500.00 122,000 267,200.00 3,600 106,305.00 171,000 99,320.00 91,000 181,840.00 32,839,000 120,604,100.00 2,039,600 510,100.00 59,506,000 43,686,540.00 53,100 292,246.00 104,000 486,170 9,000 26,910.00 56,650 6,160,673.00 1,059,000 21,173,725.00 599,820 1,193,503,480.00 1,687,000 923,610.00 37,099,000 38,604,890.00 6,658,500 221,473,955.00 3,028,710 212,596,069.00 16,280,300 99,169,999.00 92,941,200 409,599,112.00 29,920,000 13,569,350.00 27,000 40,730.00 8,255,000 34,802,820.00 5,620,000 1,745,950.00 1,476,000 6,103,940.00 MINING & OIL 1,764,000,000 8,803,000.00 291,000 610,590.00 1,692,800 8,795,922.00 400 4,712.00 140,000 30,140.00 1,300 7,828.00 4,506,000 3,154,560.00 2,250,000 1,456,770.00 64,900 532,533.00 34,526,000 28,162,570.00 1,990,000 593,900.00 7,181,000 1,425,330.00 1,840,000 369,850.00 45,900,000 480,400.00 1,100,000 12,600.00 1,467,000 3,916,780.00 15,465,100 113,432,963.00 667,000 1,956,200.00 199,000 116,390.00 154,000 216,670.00 104,600,000 1,127,500.00 2,000,000 20,000.00 99,000 378,410.00 1,510,600 7,673,711.00 2,390,000 3,420,240.00 118,000,000 1,515,700.00 1,188,310 161,106,992.00 603,000 1,385,560.00 4,000,000 31,200.00 PREFERRED 651,150 42,305,649.00 2,530 1,314,210.00 50,000 26,250,000 11,870 1,381,872.00 2,000 1,000,000.00 8,110 4,211,990.00 190,900 1,366,600.00 333,000 373,230 26,900 2,940,650.00 14,725 15,449,600.00 885 965,195.00 5,995 6,200,725.00 15,810 1,259,460.00 175,500 14,442,113.00 136,840 10,830,676.00 101,250 8,011,185.00 342,220 27,411,086.00 1,000 2,800.00 WARRANTS & BONDS 523,000 1,440,450.00 SME 755,000 3,620,220.00 65,000 177,290.00 216,570 18,294,363.50 19,088,000 324,122,024.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 87,410 9,926,355.00

0.084 0.2450 0.4900 8.4 29.90 1.5 3.09 21.80 0.73 8.18 1.000 5.790

13,740,000 6,630,000 7,808,000 133,500 24,062,600 1,541,000 805,000 38,548,500 8,360,000 1,916,000 9,492,000 51,717,300

1,182,730.00 1,699,800.00 4,200,875.00 1,122,999.00 730,312,390.00 2,317,240.00 2,451,060.00 845,224,515.00 6,217,280.00 15,672,689.00 9,626,680.00 298,902,306.00

8.45 67.1 1.09 0.580 11.2 27 5.79 0.0560 3.5 88.95 9.94 1.66 5.95 3.86 955 2158 7.42 1.19 71.2 4.72 11.42 0.011 0.177 1.4500 2.2 9.02 4.20 1.15 2.30 30.00 0.630 2 3.57 0.280 0.830 18.14 4.55 2.8 100.50 20.25 2026.00 0.560 1.080 35.15 74.45 6.40 5.05 0.49 1.5 4.35 0.335 3.900

2,251,900 189,820 537,000 26,547,000 14,200 1,400 48,984,500 125,430,000 1,298,000 2,180,380 1,400 51,000 3,587,900 71,000 50 330,400 2,506,100 86,000 8,255,520 3,300 5,300 199,500,000 12,470,000 23,946,000 196,000 1,469,300 37,904,000 20,000 128,000 4,700 62,000 183,000 34,089,000 4,130,000 39,983,000 9,500 33,000 10,000 1,470 595,600 791,815 4,683,000 57,943,000 11,668,600 2,943,320 7,112,000 36,098,200 79,792,000 78,000 16,174,000 2,510,000 796,000

19,506,325.00 12,786,268.50 605,870.00 16,170,650.00 159,310.00 37,220 297,351,441.00 7,121,990.00 4,570,060.00 195,689,082.00 13,949.00 84,480 21,079,462.00 251,610.00 47,750.00 736,707,600 18,818,066.00 103,610.00 614,430,936.00 15,820 60,526.00 2,015,000.00 2,248,210.00 38,197,370.00 417,470.00 13,212,771.00 169,716,850.00 23,160.00 292,510.00 124,900.00 37,370.00 362,450.00 121,101,450.00 1,137,700.00 33,654,360.00 172,614.00 153,250 28,000.00 148,434.00 11,712,811.00 1,684,972,070.00 2,640,480.00 64,407,810.00 418,392,970.00 222,260,218.00 45,018,589.00 183,505,765.00 39,100,335.00 117,320.00 72,438,900.00 836,750.00 3,174,640.00

0.0048 2.15 5.85 11.68 0.212 5.7 0.74 0.67 8.80 0.83 0.305 0.190 0.205 0.0110 0.012 2.83 7.78 3.1 0.6100 1.4400 0.0100 0.0100 4.00 5.15 1.50 0.0140 137.00 2.32 0.0080

2,050,000,000 1,314,000 519,900 800 1,090,000 11,000 14,183,000 2,812,000 143,800 229,856,000 2,080,000 19,850,000 1,500,000 25,200,000 45,300,000 6,847,000 20,877,200 3,079,000 1,984,000 1,738,000 152,100,000 9,400,000 106,000 2,370,100 11,009,000 149,600,000 1,185,790 2,116,000 4,000,000

9,869,100.00 2,903,700.00 2,949,571.00 9,344.00 243,210.00 63,513.00 11,841,090.00 1,912,470.00 1,267,019.00 197,689,150.00 635,200.00 3,790,730.00 307,500.00 253,700.00 543,000.00 20,594,550.00 165,229,654.00 9,570,560.00 1,229,380.00 2,516,530.00 1,591,600.00 94,700.00 410,710.00 12,460,643.00 17,763,860.00 1,959,700.00 161,375,779.00 4,949,540.00 35,000.00

67.5 525 525 120

289,120 48,310 4,300 28,090

19,567,835.50 24,854,550.00 2,258,300 3,316,210.00

520 7.15 1.14

10,600 487,800 563,000

5,584,800.00 3,542,858.00 636,820

1065 1065 1035 78.7 83 79.1 79.5 80 2.7

2,655 3,920 910 37,370 233,620 168,410 73,020 664,210 4,000

2,827,825.00 4,172,000.00 939,370.00 2,953,794.00 19,327,317.50 13,331,322.00 5,779,990.00 53,143,448.50 9,620.00

2.950

972,000

3,002,030.00

2.78 57.6 16.78

559,000 69,270 11,820,300

1,567,430.00 3,734,265.50 194,360,754.00

116.4

24,820

2,921,019.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Pacifica `A’ Abra Mining Boulevard Holdings Crown Equities Inc. Philodrill Corp. `A’ Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

Oriental Pet. `A’ Megaworld Prop.

Filinvest Land,Inc. SSI Group

VOLUME 2,580,300,000 1,764,000,000 224,560,000 128,330,000 118,000,000 114,205,400 104,600,000 99,040,000 94,163,000 92,941,200

STOCKS Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Universal Robina Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

SM Prime Holdings Robinson’s Land `B’ Ayala Land `B’ Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. PLDT Common SM Investments Inc. Ayala Corp `A’

VALUE 2,439,439,618.00 1,712,551,320.00 1,581,828,054.00 1,386,039,825.00 1,301,986,285.00 1,276,471,235.00 1,221,712,871 1,193,503,480.00 1,098,787,035.00 919,300,110.00

MONDAY: NOVEMBER 16, 2015

B3

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

SEC seeks access to bank records

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

Metro Pacific readies 2 arbitration cases MST Chatter last month wrote about the arbitration case Metro Pacific Investments Corp. was contemplating against the government for non-implementation of tariff adjustments on its two toll roads—the North Luzon Expressway and the Cavite Expressway.

The latest to this story is that Metro Pacific, as of Nov. 14, could now file an arbitration case against the government for the delay in the tariff rate adjustment in Cavitex, as provided for under the supplemental toll operation agreement.

Under the agreement, the company is allowed to seek arbitration 60 days after sending its demand letter to the Toll Regulatory Board in September.

However, the TRB asked the conglomerate to delay any plan to file for arbitration by another 60 days.

Metro Pacific said it was amenable to this, provided that if nothing happened within the next 60 days, the company could proceed with the filing of arbitration case not only for Cavitex but also for the delayed tariff adjustment at NLEx. “We are only amendable to 30 days extension on the condition TRB will be willing to waive the 90-day conciliatory period for NLEx so that we could synchronize the filing of the cases,” Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president Ramoncito Fernandez said.

If Metro Pacific decides to proceed with the arbitration case, it will file the Cavitex case in Geneva, Switzerland and the NLEx case in New York.

Metro Pacific already has an ongoing arbitration case with the government for the non-implementation of water rate adjustments of unit Maynilad Water Services Inc. Jenniffer B. Austria

THE Securities and Exchange Commission is pushing for amendments in the Securities Regulation Code that will allow it to gain access to bank records, its top official said over the weekend.

SEC chairman Teresita Herbosa said despite the provisions in the Securities Regulation Code, or Republic Act 8799, that helped it investigate securities fraud, the agency needed access to bank records to officially join the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation multilateral agreement called Asia Fund Regional Passport. “[We need] amendment for our Securities Regulation Code, because right now if you look at our Securities Regulation Code, there are already provisions there that would aid us to investigate securities fraud and you’ve seen that also in our handling of matters involving investment scams.

But in order to really fully make it

more expeditious, we really have to have access bank records,” Herbosa said.

Republic Act No. 1405 and Presidential Decree No. 1792 consider bank deposits as confidential in nature and can only be looked into once authorized by Bangko Sentral’s Monetary Board based on suspicion of fraud.

One of SEC’s proposals was to enable it to subpoena banks to give the records or give it access to bank documents in the course of conducting investigations.

“This time we really might need legislation and that would consist of lifting the Bank Secrecy Law in the aspect of securities violations, so when we investigate the securities fraud, we must be able to ac-

cess bank records,” she said.

The meeting will be a part of the country’s preparation before presenting the reapplication with the International Organization of Securities Exchange Commission.

IOSCO’s accreditation is one of the requirements to implement the ARFP initiative.

ARFP eases regulatory requirements for operators of investment schemes, so they could easily offer products in another territory outside of their host country.

The Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding for the ARFP during the Apec finance ministerial meetings in Cebu in September together with six other member economies.

Herbosa said the SEC already drafted a number of proposals to secure the nod of IOSCO. “We’ll have to see to it that internationally, that would already be sufficient help for SEC here in the Philippines to be able to make use of bank records in terms of information sharing,” she said.

Swiss challenge for Cebu bridge up

Speaking of Metro Pacific, it appears that the Swiss challenge for the company’s unsolicited proposal for a third toll bridge in Mactan Cebu will come first, before the much-delayed Swiss challenge for the connector road linking North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway.

Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. president Ramoncito Fernandez said the Swiss challenge for the Cebu toll bridge might be held before the end of the year, after the company finalized talks with the local governments of Cebu City and Cordova town.

Construction of the new toll bridge will now cost P27 billion, higher than the original estimate of P17 billion, because the project would have two exits, one going to Cordova and another going to South Reclamation Project.

The new design takes into consideration the expected increase in traffic going to SRP, which is rapidly being developed as a mixed-use development with various residential, commercial and office projects undertaken

by Ayala Land Inc., SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Filinvest Land Inc. In the meantime, Metro Pacific is waiting for the Swiss challenge for the NLEx-SLEx connector project. It is hoping the government will be able to set a schedule early next year, before the May elections. Jenniffer B. Austria

Starmobile lures Apple executive

A former executive of Apple and Nokia in the Indochina region has been recently appointed as the new chief operating officer of local phone manufacturer Starmobile.

Starmobile president Ulysses Lao said the appointment of Jerry Manus as the company’s new chief operating officer would lead Starmobile to a bigger and brighter future.

In his most recent role, Manus pioneered and established the presence of iOS in Indochina, leading the company’s dominance in the market. Prior to Apple, Manus was the country manager of Nokia Cambodia and Laos where he was instrumental in leading the company to sustain market leadership.

Under his mentorship, the Finnish brand’s presence in the region was recognized by global management as a top performing market.

Before venturing abroad, Manus was a key executive of Nokia Philippines where he led distribution and retail operations. The practices and procedures he introduced helped shape the industry to what it is today.

“I am more than thrilled to be part of a homegrown brand,” said Manus.

“This will be a great opportunity for Starmobile to further prove that a Filipino company can stand toe-to-toe with the best of the world.”

Apart from his experience in telco, Manus was also a part of fast-moving consumer goods companies such as Mead Johnson, Colgate Palmolive, Reckitt Benckiser and Nestle Philippines.

Starmobile last week launched Knight Spectra, its most advanced cameraphone, which has unique dual rear sensors. Darwin G. Amojelar.

Meralco eyes stake in Alsons’ projects

Two companies have expressed interest to take a stake in the power projects of Alsons Consolidated Resources Inc. of the Alcantara Group. “The two possible interested investors are MGen [Meralco PowerGen Corp., the power generation arm of Manila Electric Co.] and Malakoff of Malaysia,” a source said.

Meralco PowerGen is pursuing up to 3,000 megawatts of power projects while Malakoff Corp. Berhad is a subsidiary of MMC Corp. Berhad, an independent power producer in Malaysia.

An Alsons official confirmed a report by Bloomberg last week that the company was in talks with possible investors.

Alsons is building several coal-fired power facilities to help provide a stable source of baseload power for Mindanao and ensure long-term power security for the island.

These facilities are the 105-MW San Ramon Power Inc.’s plant in Zamboanga City and the 210-MW Sarangani Energy Corp.’s plant in Maasim, Sarangani. Alsons is also developing a 15-MW run-of-river hydroelectric plant along the Siguil river in Maasim, Sarangani. Alena Mae S. Flores

PLDT leadership.

PLDT Home, a unit of leading telco and digital services provider Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., fortifies its leadership in fixed broadband, commanding a market share of over 70 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2015, with record breaking subscriber gains that are three times more than its nearest competitor. Fixed-line subscriber base reached 2.3 million, 54 percent of whom have fixed broadband subscriptions. Shown is PLDT vice president and Home marketing director Gary Dujali talking about the new age of PLDT’s connected home vision with the launch of Fibr’s 1Gbps broadband.

Market index seen testing 6,600 level

By Jenniffer B. Austria STOCKS are expected to move sideways this week, with a downward bias as investors will likely stay on the sidelines in the absence of positive catalysts to boost the market.

BPI Asset Management said in its weekly outlook the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index could test the 6,600 support level during the shortened trading week.

Markets will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday, as the country will host the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders summit.

“Markets will likely continue to fall and may test support level of 6,600 especially with the lack of local catalysts, as only OFW

remittances figures will be released,” BPI Asset Management said.

The release of US inflation figure this week may also affect sentiments.

BDO Unibank Inc. chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said a break below the 6,800 level would signal a further weakness toward the 6,500 to 6,600 levels.

“Chartwise, the week’s close below the 7,000 level signals that the bears are in control. This implies further tests toward the 6,800 level in the near term,” Ravelas said.

The PSEi fell 3.1 percent last week to close at 6,897.77 on Friday, as corporate earnings and increased confidence in a December rate liftoff in the US dampened investor sentiment and sent equity

prices downward last week.

The broader all-share index also dropped 3.1 percent to 3,978.30.

All major sub-indices ended in the red led by property (-5.49 percent), services (-4.67 percent), mining and oil (-3.45 percent), industrial (-3.31 percent), financials (-2.39 percent) and holding firms (-1.79 percent).

Foreign investors were net sellers last week by P3.1 billion, as total foreign selling reached P18.69 billion, while foreign buying amounted to P15.59 billion.

Top gainers last week were Alterra Capital Partners Inc. (formally known as iRipple Inc.), which jumped 39 percent to P4; LT Group Inc., which climbed 13.7 percent to P13.88; and DoubleDragon Properties Corp., which advanced 9 percent to P22.75.

B4 SM Prime sells P20b worth of bond issue SM Prime Holdings Inc., the largest integrated property developer in the Philippines, has successfully raised P20 billion from a recently-completed bond offering.

SM Prime senior vice president Jeffrey Lim said in a text message the company raised the entire P20 billion, which included P5 billion for the over-allotment option, during the fifth day of the offering period.

“We reached P20 billion last Tuesday and closed order taking.

Offer period should have been up to last Friday [Nov. 13],” Lim said.

The bonds with tenors of 5.25 and 10 years carry an interest rate of 4.5095 percent and 4.7990 percent yearly, respectively.

SM Prime plans to issue the offering to the bondholders on November 25, 2015. The company plans to use most of the proceeds of the retail bonds to fund mall expansions and refinance loans.

SM Prime by the end of 2015 will increase its number of malls to 55 in the Philippines with an equivalent footprint of 7.3 million square meters in terms of gross floor area.

SM Prime next year will open six new malls and expand two existing stores. The additional mall space has combined area of 571,631 square meters.

The series of bonds due 2021 and 2025 are SM Prime’s second offering of peso-denominated retail bonds to the public, following its successful maiden issue of P20 billion in 5.5-, 7- and 10-year bonds in 2014.

Similar to the previous bond issue, the SM Prime retail bonds have been rated PRS Aaa by Philippine Rating Services Corp., the highest rating assigned by PhilRatings.

A rating of PRS Aaa is assigned to long-term debt securities with the smallest degree of investment risk, and denotes that SM Prime’s repayment capacity is extremely strong.

The bonds’ joint issue managers and joint book-runners are BDO Capital & Investment Corp., China Banking Corp. and First Metro Investment Corp.

Jenniffer B. Austria

Ayala Land bullish, to spend P90b in ’16

By Jenniffer B. Austria

AYALA Land Inc., the second-biggest property developer, said it plans to spend between P85 billion and P90 billion next year, heavily investing across all business lines.

Ayala Land chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael said the company’s spending plan would be consistent with its positive outlook on the domestic retail market.

Ayala Land invested P60 billion in capital expenditures in the first nine months of the year, but said full-year capital spending would likely be below the original target of P100 billion.

Ayala Land president and chief executive Bernard Vincent Dy also expects the domestic real estate market to remain robust based on current economic indicators.

“If you look at various indicators it reman supportive of our various business lines,” Dy said.

“The GDP [gross domestic product] continuous to be quite healthy and [migrant workers’] remittances, although there has been a slo down, continue to grow.

Business process outsourcing is still growing, tourism continues to be strong interest rates remain at historic lows. Overall, those indicators bode well for our different business lines,” he added.

Ayala Land’s net income in the first nine months of the year increased 19 percent to P12.8 bil-

lion from P10.79 billion year-onyear, as the company accelerated growth through acquisitions and new project launches.

Consolidated revenues in the nine-month period reached P75.1 billion, up 10 percent from P68.3 billion posted in the same period a year ago.

Ayala Land in the first the first three quarters of the year launched three estates, namely Cloverleaf in Quezon City, Capitol Central in Bacolod City, and the 700-hectare Vermosa in Cavite province.

Property developer Ayala Land Inc. said Wednesday it will invest P70 billion to develop Vermosa, a 700-hectare master planned integrated community in the cities of Imus and Dasmariñas in Cavite province.

The huge Cavite property, which the company acquired from an unlisted property firm

three years ago, would be its fourth biggest estate development after Nuvali in Alabang, Alviera in Pampanga and Makati central business district.

Vermosa is a mixed-use project that will be developed over the next 12 to 15 years that will include a 124-hectare central business district housing various office and commercial developments, hotels and entertainment complex.

It will also offer institutional developments, such as schools and residential projects to be built

by Ayala’s three residential units including Avida, Alveo and Ayala Land Premier.

Ayala Land in August won the government’s contract to build and operate the Integrated Transport System South Terminal project adjacent to its fast-rising residential and business district, Arca South.

Meralco sub-station. Manila Electric Co. inaugurates its Pagcor-1 Entertainment City sub-station, the company’s largest integrated and fully-automated gas insulated sub-station facility. At the inauguration ceremony are (from left) Meralco senior vice president and head of customer retail services and corporate communications Alfredo Panlilio, Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan, Energy Undersecretary Loreta Ayson, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chairman and chief executive Cristino Naguiat Jr., Parañaque City Mayor Edwin Olivarez, Meralco first VP and head of networks Ronnie Aperocho and Meralco VP and head of sub-transmission services Antonio Abuel Jr. Pagcor-1 is a fully underground sub-transmission and distribution system.

Robinsons Retail hiked income 27% to P2.97b in 9 months

By Alena Mae S. Flores ROBINSONS Retail Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei Group registered a net income attributable to equity holders of the parent company of P2.97 billion in the first nine months of 2015, up 27 percent from P2.35 billion year-on-year, on higher operating income and interest on bond investments.

Core net earnings, or net income excluding interest income, from the 40 percent stake in Robinsons Bank and unrealized forex gains/losses, meanwhile, grew 9 percent to P2.22 billion during the period.

“We foresee the retail environment to continue to experience intense competition with the consolidation of industry players. We will continue to take advantage of opportunities to participate in the industry’s consolidation, similar to our acquisition of 90 percent of Saver’s Appliance Depot, one of the top 10 consumer electronics and home appliances players in the country,” said Robinsons Retail president and chief operating officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe. Net income attributable to the equity holders of the parent company climbed 13 percent

to P1.109 billion in the third quarter.

Consolidated net sales increased 14.2 percent to P21.94 billion from P19.2 billion on year, arising from the sales contribution of new stores and the strong same outlet sales growth of 5.6 percent, way above the target range of between 2 percent and 3 percent for the year.

Supermarkets increased 4.1 percent, while department stores rose 7.9 percent. Do-It-Yourself climbed 5.5 percent, Convenience Stores gained 6.7 percent, Drugstores rose 5.4 percent and Specialty Stores increased 10.6 percent.

Consolidated net sales during the nine-month period advanced 12.7 percent to P63.29 billion from P56.18 billion on year, following the contribution of new stores, the strong same stores sale growth of 3.8 percent and the ninemonth sales contribution from newly acquired businesses A.M. Builders’ Depot and Chavez Pharmacy, as well as the one month sales contribution of Saver’s Appliance Depot.

“We continue to be optimistic in the country’s retail environment as the growing economy would translate into more Filipinos having higher disposable

incomes and thus increasing discretionary spending,” Gokongwei-Pe said.

Robinsons Retail added 208 stores from October 2014 to end-September, to end the quarter with 1,466 stores, translating into a 10.7 percent year-on-year increase in gross floor area to approximately 939,000 square meters.

The lower number of store additions of 208 against 276 in the same period last year and smaller floor area growth from 19.9 percent last year were a result of the rationalization of some brands this year and the closure of nonperforming outlets.

M O N D AY : N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

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

B5

GoNegosyo Presidentiables Series with Mar Roxas IN his element.

That was what Liberal Party standard bearer, former Senator and DILG Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, was when he faced a huge gathering of businessmen and entrepreneurs at the second round of GoNegosyo’s Meet the Presidentiables Series at the Manila Polo Club last Monday, November 9.

Citi Prestige. Citi is setting a new standard for rewarding cardholders with the national launch of Citi Prestige, its first global credit card designed to offer uniform global benefits to affluent clients. Citi Prestige is available in 10 countries—Australia, Colombia, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, India, Korea, Thailand, the United States and Mexico. At the launching rites are (from left) Citi credit cards head David Stoughton, consumer banking head Bea Tan and Citi Philippines chief executive Aftab Ahmed. Citi plans offer Citi Prestige to customers in additional markets by the end of the year.

DMCI clinches P31-b contracts

LP presidential candidate, former senator and DILG secretary Mar Roxas II

I was fortunate once again to be part of the panel as Spokesperson of the Manila Overseas Press Club and The Standard columnist together with MOPC President and Stargate Media Corporation President and CEO Babe Romualdez, Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE)—Go Negosyo Executive Director Mon Lopez, Pamora Farms Inc. General Manager Tina Morados-Papillon, Distileria Limtuaco

and Co. President and CEO Olivia LimpeAw, and Dra. Vicki Belo.

The series is produced in partnership with PLDT-SMART SME Nation, TV5, Sta. Elena Construction and Development Corporation, and RFM Corporation. The forum was moderated

by TV5 Head of News and Information Luchi Cruz-Valdez and was taped for airing on TV5 the next day.

Secretary Roxas seemed comfortable with the crowd, a good number of which he had occasion to deal with as Trade Secretary during the Arroyo Administration. Questions asked of him ranged from Charter Change to his prospective Cabinet composition, and from lowering of income tax rates to addressing Metro Manila traffic congestion.

Certainly, we should have more of these “meet the presidentiables” forum to help Filipino voters decide on their choice of leader for the May 2016 elections.

By Alena Mae S. Flores

D.M. Consunji Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of DMCI Holdings Inc., clinched power and water project contracts worth P2.9 billion in the third quarter, bringing the company’s total order book to over P31 billion in the first nine months of 2015.

DMCI vice president Rebecca Civil told reporters that bulk of the order booked in the third quarter period came from The Imperium, a premier residential development of Ortigas & Company Ltd. Partnership located at Capitol Commons, with an order of P1.3 billion.

DMCI is set to begin the 42-month structural and basic architectural works for the 67-story residential high-rise by December.

The building will feature trapezoidal canted windows and unobstructed views of the Ortigas skyline and Antipolo hills. It is due for completion by 2019.

Civil said the company also begun constructing the Areté, the creative hyub of the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, costing P700 million. The target completion for the hub is set on February 2017.

She said the project included three separate structures: a three-story theater building that houses the main theater; block box theater and a museum; a four-storey in-

novation/learning building; and the utility center building.

All structures will be connected by a bridgeway to facilitate foot traffic. Areté is envisioned to be the “Museum of Modern Art” of the Philippines.

Another building project is the second phase of the office expansion of TV5 Network Inc., which involves the construction of a nine-story building with a combined floor area of 20,031 square meters The Consunji-owned construction company will also build two diesel power plants in Palawan and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

Once completed, the facilities will have a combined capacity of 13.59 megawatts.

DMCI also won the contract to build award the Tirona Pumping Station and Reservoir project in Kawit, Cavite. The facility will be used to temporarily store and distribute 35 millimiter of potable water to Barangay Gahak residents.

Smart, Sun increase revenues

By Darwin G Amojelar THE mobile units of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. said postpaid revenues rose 11 percent in the first nine months of the year, driven by content and app-based digital services and promo offerings.

Postpaid revenues of Smart and Sun Cellular amounted to P17.6 billion in the January-to-September period compared with P15.9 billion a year ago. Postpaid revenues now account for 24 percent of total wireless sales from just 21 percent in the same period last year.

Smart and Sun’s mobile postpaid revenues in the third quarter also registered a 9.5-percent growth, enabling the PLDT Group to continue gaining market share in

terms of mobile postpaid revenues.

PLDT attributed the increase in postpaid cellular revenues to a larger subscriber base, which increased double digits, or about 264,000 year-on-year, to over 2.9 million at the end of the period.

Sun, the wireless brand of Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc., and Smart combined continued to outpace the competition in the segment to end the first nine months of the year with 1.74 million and 1.18 million postpaid subscribers, respectively.

“Strategic brand positioning, and affordable data volume plans bundled with relevant content such as iflix, Fox, MCA and Sony Music pushed demand for data services on top of voice and SMS,” PLDT executive vice president and group head of consumer business Ariel Fermin said.

With Mrs. Connie Toledo and LP standard bearer Mar Roxas

TV5 president and CEO Emmanuel Lorenzana, Joey Concepcion, Johnlu Kua, and presidential candidate Mar Roxas

Mar Roxas with moderator Luchi CruzValdez, head of TV5 News and Current Affairs

Seated with Mar Roxas are from left: Go Negosyo’s Joey Concepcion; Eric Alberto, EVPPLDT Global Corp.; Alice Eduardo of Sta. Elena Corporation; Lance Gokongwei of JG Summit Holdings Johnlu Koa of French Baker, Luchi Cruz-Valdez, Go Negosyo’s Joey Concepcion, this columnist, LP presidential candidate Mar Roxas, Go Negosyo executive director Mon Lopez, Manila Overseas Press Club president Babe Romualdez

MONDAY: NOVEMBER 16, 2015

B6

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

Republic of the Philippines OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Section I. Invitation to Bid FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF SECURITY SERVICES FOR THE CHED – HEDC 1.

The Commission on Higher Education, through the General Appropriations Act (GAA) intends to apply the sum of “Seven Million Six Hundred Sixty One Thousand Six Hundred Forty One Pesos and 98/100 only (P7, 661,641.98) being the Approved Budget for the (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Procurement of Security Services for the CHED - HEDC. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at Bid Opening.

2.

The Commission on Higher Education now invites bids for the Procurement of Security Services for the CHED - HEDC. Bidders should have completed, within 3 years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/ fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

4.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

5.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Commission on Higher Education, BAC Secretariat and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours between 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.

6.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on November 17- December 10, 2015 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Seven Thousand Pesos (PhP 7,000.00).

7.

It may also be downloaded from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that Bidders shall pay the nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

8.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before 9:00 AM of December 7, 2015. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause Error!

Reference source not found..

9.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend on 10:00 AM of December 7, 2015 at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

10. The Commission on Higher Education reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

11. For further information, please refer to: Bids and Awards Committee Secretariat, Ms. Violeta B. Galo Commission on Higher Education, Ground Floor CHED – Higher Education Development Center (HEDC), C.P. Garcia Avenue, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City Telephone number: 441 - 1171 ATTY. JULITO D. VITRIOLO, CESO III BAC Chairman (TS-NOV. 16, 2015)

BPI sees economy growing 6.3% in Q3

By Julito G. Rada

AN economist of Bank of the Philippine Islands said the economy likely grew 6.3 percent in the third quarter, faster than the 5.3-percent expansion a year ago.

BPI lead economist Emilio Neri Jr. said full-year growth would also settle at 6 percent, amid robust domestic demand.

“In the third quarter, the Philippines is set to post a 6.3-percent year-on-year expansion, distinguishing itself from the rest of the Asean pack, as it looks to affirm its ‘cut above the rest’ story,” Neri said.

“Third quarter growth will rebound from its current sub-6 print with the national government ramping up spending in the stretch run of the current administration, in stark contrast to the contraction [of 5.3 percent] posted in the third quarter 2014 at the height of the DAP [Disbursement Acceleration Program] debacle,” Neri said.

He said robust domestic de-

mand and still low borrowing costs would help drive household consumption and investments. He said the services sector was a stable source of economic growth as several corporations reported decent third-quarter earnings.

He also said the industrial sector might continue to be a positive influence on the overall GDP numbers with construction and manufacturing posting modest gains.

Neri said the expected stronger print in the third quarter might be the highlight for the year as the fourth-quarter growth this year would need to hurdle a strong fourth-quarter print last year of 6.9 percent, which was later revised to 6.6 percent.

“Nonetheless, we are not counting out the possibility of

the Philippines posting a 6 percent full‐year GDP growth print given the potential of a stronger contribution of the second half to the overall growth number as the 2016 presidential elections come closer,” Neri said.

Neri said the trade sector was badly affected by the slowing global demand as exports contracted by 6.9 percent yearto-date and the July-August trade balance posted a deficit of $1.842 billion. He said the negative impact to growth might come from the exports sector.

GDP grew 5 percent in the first quarter, before rebounding to 5.6 percent in the second quarter. This brought the first half average to 5.3 percent, below the government’s official projection of 7 percent to 8 percent this year.

Economists earlier blamed the government’s anemic fiscal spending, which actually began in the third quarter last year, as the main culprit for the sluggish performance in the first half. The Supreme Court earlier ruled DAP as unconstitutional.

However, the high tribunal reversed the ruling later.

Mentoring or coaching?

IN understanding the meaning of a word, one of my mentors always asks me what the meaning of the word is first. By definition by Merriam-Webster, a mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person while a coach is a person who teaches and trains an athlete or performer in achieving a specific personal or professional goal.

Which one would you prefer to have in your life? A mentor or a coach?

Mentoring For me, I have many mentors in life. I have a mentor in my work, in my business, in my teaching, in my family life and in my spiritual life. Who says you can only have one mentor?

Mentoring is an experienced person guiding a less experienced person. By sharing one’s life or expertise in that particular field that he or she is, I am learning which can be applicable to improving my mindset and how I am getting better as a person with different roles in life.

Coaching On the other hand, I also have had coaches in different parts of my life. I had a coach for the sports I played such as taekwondo (when I was in college), tennis (during my first few years of working) and recently golf. I also had a coach in my business and my work that drives me to achieve a certain goal. Coaching in my experience is a more tangible and specific method in teaching and unleashing the potential of a person to achieve his or her goals. For sports, it is to win the game. In work, it is about achieving financial results, expanding one’s network or creating value for customers with a deadline.

Which one is better?

According to an article in Forbes by Pradeep Chakravarthy, “Both mentoring and coaching have their use in the leadership interventions of organizations, but leaders need to be clear about what they are doing, what the other person needs and what the situation needs.”

For me both are better. Who says one can only be achieved by being one or the other? I say we can be both and more. A wise and experienced educator for 35 years that I had the

JEREMIAH T. PAMPOLINA

GREEN LIGHT privilege of knowing, would even go to boldly state that useless is one without the other. We look for our mentors and coaches in life as they will not be looking for us. This is our life.

Also, when we do find our mentors and coaches, let us cherish and value their time by being prepared when we meet them as their time is precious. Finally, let us pay it forward by being mentors and coaches to the next generation as well. One of my international mentors and coaches used to say, “Focus out.”

Focus Out What does this mean? It means the moment we start helping, guiding, growing, coaching, mentoring and leading others… the more we get back in return, the more we expand, the more we grow ourselves and our country. For those looking for mentors or coaches, keep looking and keep asking. For fellow mentors and coaches, let us keep expanding and engaging. Life is more than just about achieving our own goals for our families and ourselves but it is about helping others and other families achieve their goals as well.

Jeremiah T. Pampolina is a part-time faculty at the Management and Organization Department of the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University, where he teaches Strategic Management. He is also a Vice President of Strategic Planning and Investor Relations of a real estate company and a business development consultant.

The views expressed above are her own and does not necessarily reflect the official position of De La Salle University, its administration, and faculty.

M O N D AY : N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Republic of the Philippines OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION

Collectors from Asia boosting global art GENEVA—They are not in the room rubbing shoulders with traditional wealthy buyers, instead choosing to remain in the shadows, making their multi-million bids by telephone.

Asian millionaires and billionaires have this week discretely stolen the show at a range of auctions, dishing out record sums for works of art and precious gemstones put on the block.

Auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s say the spectacular sales are part of a wider trend in which their business is increasingly turning towards Asia.

Christie’s Asia chief Francois Curiel told AFP that the auction house had quadrupled its Asia-based staff since 2010 to 220 to keep up with the demand.

“When I arrived in Hong Kong in 2010, our Asian clients represented five percent of our sales on a global scale. In 2014, they represented 31 percent,” he said.

The same is true of competing auction house Sotheby’s, where Asian clients today account for about a third of global high-end jewelery sales, Asian director Patti Wong told AFP. “Asian participants make up a hugely important

part of our global client base,” she said, adding that over the past decade “we’ve seen tremendous growth” from Asia.

This past week, Asian clients have certainly taken center-stage.

The first spectacular hammer blow fell Tuesday evening at a Christie’s art auction in New York, when a former Chinese taxi driver turned billionaire financier, Liu Yiqian, bought a famed Modigliani nude for more than $170 million.

The 51-year-old tycoon, who made his fortune in real estate and finance in the 1990s, has made a string of purchases for his two museums in China’s commercial hub Shanghai.

The same day, Hong Kong property tycoon Joseph Lau dished out $28.5 million for a huge 16.08-carat pink diamond at a Christie’s jewel auction in Geneva, and immediately renamed it “Sweet Josephine”, after his seven-year-old daughter.

According to the auction house, that marks a world record for a pink diamond in the highest color category, “fancy vivid”.

Lau, 64, was not satisfied though.

On Wednesday, he struck again, snapping up a 12.03-carat blue diamond dubbed “Blue Moon” for a record $48.4 million, this time at Sotheby’s in Geneva. AFP

Section I. Invitation to Bid FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF JANITORIAL SERVICES FOR THE CHED – HEDC 1.

The Commission on Higher Education, through the General Appropriations Act (GAA) intends to apply the sum of “Four Million Two Hundred Three Thousand Four Hundred Ninety Six Pesos and 92/100 only (P4,203,496.92) being the Approved Budget for the (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Procurement of Janitorial Services for the CHED - HEDC. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at Bid Opening.

2.

The Commission on Higher Education now invites bids for the Procurement of Janitorial Services for the CHED - HEDC. Bidders should have completed, within 3 years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project.

The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

3.

Bidding will be conducted through open competitive bidding procedures using a non-discretionary “pass/ fail” criterion as specified in the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, otherwise known as the “Government Procurement Reform Act”.

4.

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines, and to citizens or organizations of a country the laws or regulations of which grant similar rights or privileges to Filipino citizens, pursuant to RA 5183 and subject to Commonwealth Act 138.

5.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Commission on Higher Education, BAC Secretariat and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours between 8:00 am – 5:00 pm.

6.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on November 17- December 10, 2015 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Four Thousand Pesos (PhP 4,000.00).

7.

It may also be downloaded from the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the website of the Procuring Entity, provided that Bidders shall pay the nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents not later than the submission of their bids.

8.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before 9:00 AM of December 7, 2015. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.

9.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend on 10:00 AM of December 7, 2015 at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

10.

The Commission on Higher Education reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul the bidding process, and to reject all bids at any time prior to contract award, without thereby incurring any liability to the affected bidder or bidders.

11.

For further information, please refer to:

In attendance. Lauren Jauregui , left, and Ally Brooke of Fifth Harmony attend the 2015 Halo Awards at Pier 36 on November 14, 2015, in New York City. AFP

Thein Sein to hand power to Suu Kyi YA N G O N — M y a n m a r ’s President Thein Sein on Sunday said the historic polls won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyi’s party were the consequence of his government’s reforms and vowed a smooth transition of power.

The former junta general, who shed his uniform to lead the country’s quasi-civilian regime five years ago, said the November 8 polls were testament to the political and economic changes that have swept the former pariah state since the end of junta rule.

“The election is the result of our reform process and as we promised, we were able to hold it very successfully,” he told a meeting of political parties in Yangon,

in his first public appearance since the polls.

“We will hand this process [of reform] on to a new government,” he said, adding “don’t worry about the transition” in comments aimed at calming nerves in the country’s first attempt at a democratic-style transition for decades.

Addressing representatives of nearly 90 political parties, many of which were trounced

by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, the Myanmar leader said elections are the “duty” of a democratic nation.

He appeared sanguine about the resounding defeat of his army-backed Union Solidarity

and Development Party, which will slip into opposition in the next parliament—due to sit from February—with some ten percent of the elected seats in the national parliament, compared to the NLD’s 80 percent.

“The winning party is responsible for carrying out its duty and other opposition parties should provide checks and balances.

That is called democracy,” he said.

Thein Sein, a slight bespectacled 70-year-old, has steered the country’s dramatic opening up after years of isolation, freeing political prisoners, unleashing a long-muzzled press and welcoming foreign investment. AFP

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Bids and Awards Committee Secretariat, Ms. Violeta B. Galo Commission on Higher Education, Ground Floor CHED – Higher Education Development Center (HEDC), C.P. Garcia Avenue, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City Telephone number: 441 - 1171

(TS-NOV. 16, 2015)

ATTY. JULITO D. VITRIOLO, CESO III BAC Chairman

M O N D AY : N O V E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 1 5

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cEsAR BARRiOquiNtO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

world

Memorial site. Police officers walk past flowers, notes and candles on November 15, 2015, at a memorial site outside the Carillon bar, in the 10th district of Paris, for the victims of the November 13 terrorist attacks in Paris. Islamic State jihadists claimed a series of coordinated attacks by gunmen and suicide bombers in Paris that killed at least 128 people in scenes of carnage at a concert hall, restaurants and the national stadium. AFP

World sings for wounded France Petty criminal becomes a cold-blooded jihadist COURCOURONNES, France— Omar Ismail Mostefai was known to police as nothing more than a petty criminal before he became the first gunman identified from Friday’s attacks in Paris, which left at least 129 dead.

Identified by his finger, which was found among the rubble of the Bataclan concert hall, the 29-year-old was one of three men who blew himself up killing 89 people in the bloodiest scene of the carnage.

Born on November 21 1985, in the poor Paris suburb of Courcouronnes, Mostefai’s criminal record shows eight convictions for petty crimes between 2004 and 2010, but no jail time.

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Mostefai had been

singled out as a high-priority target for radicalization in 2010 but, before Friday, he had “never been implicated in a terrorist network or plot”.

Investigators are now probing whether he took a trip to Syria last year, according to police sources.

Friday’s attacks, which killed 129 people and wounded 352, including 99 critically, were the worst in Paris’s history.

The killer’s father and 34-yearold brother were placed in custody on Saturday evening and their homes were searched.

“It’s a crazy thing, it’s madness,” his brother told AFP, his voice trembling, before he was taken into custody.

“Yesterday I was in Paris and I saw what a mess it was.” AFP

PARIS—Stirring renditions of “La Marseillaise” rang out Saturday from Dublin to New York as global landmarks were bathed in the French colors and thousands marched in solidarity with Paris after the attacks that left at least 129 dead.

Monuments from the Sydney Opera House in Australia to One World Trade Center in New York were adorned with France’s red, white and blue, while the “Peace for Paris” symbol combining the city’s iconic Eiffel Tower with the peace sign of the 1960s went viral online.

New York’s Metropolitan Opera, led by star tenor Placido Domingo, mourned the victims of France’s worst-ever such attacks with an unscheduled performance of the distinctive French national anthem.

Outside, some 2,000 gathered in Manhattan to sing their own version in Washington Park Square, while in the US capital, French expatriates came together in Lafayette Square, named after a famous Frenchman from the US war of independence, to mourn.

“France is not a race, France is not a religion, France is not an ethnic group, France is a will to live together,” French Ambassador Gerard Araud told the crowd.

Singer Madonna paid a tearful tribute to the victims on stage by singing the classic French song “La vie en rose,” accompanied only by a guitar, during a concert in Stockholm.

Many of the 6,000 participants in a march in the Irish capital were draped in the French blue, white and red flag, while others also sang the national anthem.

London paid homage to the victims as some 2,000 people gathered at an evening vigil in the British capital’s Trafalgar Square, where fountains and the grand portico of the National Gallery opposite were lit to resemble the Tricolor.

Across the French capital, Parisians placed lit candles in their windows in memory of the dead but the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of the so-called city of light, was shrouded in darkness and would remain closed “until further notice”, a spokeswoman told AFP. Bouquets, candles and messages of condolence were laid at French embassies worldwide.

“Montrealers, we are all Parisians,” said Anie Samson, who led around 1,000 people at the consulate in French-speaking Montreal in Canada.

A Twitter campaign has begun encouraging notoriously tribal England football fans to join with French traveling supporters in singing “La Marsellaise” before the kick-off in Tuesday’s friendly match between both countries.

The European Union called for a minute’s silence to be held Monday for the victims of the attacks. AFP

Clinton calls for war on Islamic State DES MOINES—White House hopeful Hillary Clinton called for global unity to crush the Islamic State group, as the carnage in Paris took center stage at Saturday’s Democratic presidential debate.

The three candidates began their debate with a moment of silence for the victims in France, bringing Friday’s horrific attacks an ocean away to the forefront of the 2016 race as they dominated the first half hour of the political showdown.

Clinton, liberal US Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley united in calling for the

destruction of the jihadists accused of massacring at least 129 people in the French capital.

“We are not at war with Islam,” said the former secretary of state, choosing her words with care as she warned ordinary Muslims should not be viewed as a threat.

“We are at war with violent extremism.”

“Our prayers are with the people of France tonight, but that is not enough,” she said, calling for global resolve to defeat ISIS, “a barbaric, ruthless, violent jihadist terrorist group.”

The Islamic State group claimed

responsibility for the coordinated attacks on a Paris concert hall, restaurants and bars, and outside France’s national stadium—calling it retribution for French air strikes in Syria.

“It cannot be contained, it must be defeated,” Clinton said of the group which has overrun swathes of Syria and Iraq.

With all the talk of battling the jihadist wave, the Democrats on stage refused to use the term “radical Islam,” which moderators used Saturday—and Republicans in the presidential race have used throughout the campaign―to de-

Grief. Members of the French community attend a church service in

Sydney on November 15, 2015, to remember the victims of the Paris attacks. Australians expressed their solidarity with France after a series of bloody attacks, with the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House lit in red, white and blue along with the Sydney Town Hall and the French flag flying over the Sydney Harbor Bridge. AFP

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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

E AT, DRINK , T R AV EL

LIFE Prawn Scampi Linguini

Almond Crusted Salmon

Nicoise Salad

A GASTRONOMIC FEAST AMID THE PINES TEXT AND PHOTOS BY TATUM ANCHETA

I

t’s been a while since I have been in Baguio, and the landscape has changed so much from the past – more houses, more sunken mountains, more life and a lot of modern fare.

It was my first time to stay in Le Monet Hotel, a three-year-old 70-room hotel in Ordonio Drive at Camp John Hay, surrounded by a lush greenery of pine trees. It opened last 2012 and it has been a favorite spot for families, foodies and travellers who enjoy the hotel’s popular buffet spreads and delectable menu.

The breeze in Baguio brushing against my skin was a reminder that I am no longer in the heated and hazy Manila. The lobby of Le Monet greeted us literally in sparkles, as their lobby is draped in crystals that illuminate wonderfully at night – a treat for tired eyes. It was already past lunch when we arrived and there were rows of Filipino dish on the buffet area and we feasted on the congee, the palabok, and the putong puti we called the “appetizer” (a carbo load appetizer, lol!) because our main dish was carefully prepared in the kitchen – kare-kare and sinigang na salmon head.

We toured the facility and the heated swimming pool was an exciting zone to dip in. The rooms were generous in size and the balcony opens up to the picturesque lines of pines and the sight of the horses in Kabadjo Handler’s Horse-back ranch adds to the interesting view. The room amenities were surprisingly modern, from the TV in both

Le Monet façade

Eggs Benedict with Hollandaise sauce

Twice-cooked Pork Knuckles

Grilled Cheese

the bedroom and the comfort room, to the electronic bowl in the CR which is still not available in some luxury hotels.

I was still on detox that time, and there were certain things that were code red for me, but the new menu is what we came for and it tested my discipline. The menu is the brainchild of ArtStream Hospitality Management Group,.

Inc. (AHMGI) Consultant Chef, Marie Jo Camarista, or Chef MJ as they call her.

She also created the culinary offerings in sister hotel Manila-Hotel Rembrandt. The seven new dishes were made for guests with discriminating palates, and so mine was tested. They started with the Fried Calamari, coated with spices, fried golden brown and served with lemony tartare. Then another huge plate arrived containing Baked Brie.

Yes, cheese! I died. The soft buttery cheese is topped with candied nuts and preserved fruits and surrounded by toasted bread for tasting. By the third offering I already forgot all my code reds and just went with the flow.

The food was too delicious to ignore.

The Nicoise Salad came next and it was my favorite dish from the menu; I was told that it’s becoming a favorite of healthconscious guests and the older set as it is a full meal in green, olives, alfalfa, and seared tuna served with Double Poached Egg

(that just means two eggs poached with rosemary and basil) that was so aromatic.

Then came the Grilled Cheese Sandwich made with four kinds of cheddar, butter, Parmesan, and Mozzarella – crunchy on the outside and gooey cheesy on the inside. The platter comes with fried potato wedge, rustic tomato soup, fresh fruits, and chilled gazpacho for cleansing the palate.

Make sure to order this with two to three people in tow, because it is big enough for sharing. By the time the last three dishes arrived, I was ready to get up and run a few kilometers outdoors. What detox were we talking about again? The last two were spicy Prawn Scampi Linguini, Almond Crusted Salmon, and Twice-cooked Pork Knuckles. Hungry yet?

The Dinelli Gourmet buffet station holds one of the best breakfast and dinner spreads in Camp John Hay. During breakfast, you can feast on Filipino to international fares, from pancakes to French toast, to a delectable Eggs Benedict that looks so good you just end up taking photos before eating. Best time for dinner is usually every Friday for their Japanese cuisine offering which only costs P650 per person, and your dinner is free if you are a birthday celebrant! All you need to do is get three

Baked Brie

Fried Calamari

paying adults and your identification to prove it’s your special day.

Le Monet was designed after the great French painter Claude Monet, and if you dine outdoors by the garden area you would understand why – the pine trees, the greenery make for a very Instagramworthy dining, you’d feel like you’re inside a Monet artwork.

Baguio offers a lot of dining gems but Le Monet would always be one for the books; it’s so good to eat there that all you can think about your entire trip is, “is it mealtime already?”

For inquiries and reservation contact (+6374) 661 0202 to 07 or visit www.lemonethotel.ph for updates on their news and promos.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Rajo Laurel recreates The Bakeshop Funky Monkey, by giving a fresh new look on this well-loved classic

@LIFEatStandard

The Funky Monkey x Rajo Laurel collection displayed at the hotel lobby for the month of November

PHOTOS COURTESY OF EDSA SHANGRI-LA

Rajo Laurel Dresses the Funky Monkey

BY WEIZEL GULFAN PHOTOS BY ANDREW CO

I

t’s always a joy to receive a box of chocolates for Christmas, and it’s also a nice gift idea to send to your friends or loved ones specially those with a sweet tooth. During the holidays, a lot of establishments will have their own take on Christmas chocolate gift sets, but the best ones would be the artisanal creations. Recently, Edsa Shangri-La, Manila’s Bakeshop partnered with fashion designer Rajo Laurel to design the covers for their holiday chocolate creation and give its all-time bestselling

The original Funky Monkey cover design

Rajo Laurel holding the Beatriz pattern of Funky Monkey, a design inspired by his grandmother

Funky Monkey Christmas gift set

chocolate bar, The Funky Monkey, a whole new look.

The Funky Monkey has always been the most coveted choice of indulgence at the Bakeshop in Edsa Shangri-La, Manila. The chocolate is made by hand using only the freshest ingredients of Belgian chocolate, milk, rice crispies, and marshmallows – this chocolate bar gives one the euphoria of childhood memories with every crunchy bite.

For the holidays, the hotel decided to re-launch this

Hand crafting the Funky Monkey

secret recipe, which has not been tweaked since 2007. Now wrapped in four stylish limited edition wrappers – the Duchess, Beatriz, Ming, and Hermosa – designed in brocade fabrics with rich colors, floral patterns and intricate details that complement the resort feel of the hotel.

“This is the first time after eight years that we are giving Funky Monkey a new and exciting look to delight guests, and we wanted it to be memorable and worthwhile.

We trust this reinvention will be perfectly executed by a visionary designer who can breathe life to our brand of chocolates,” says Edsa Shangri-La, Manila’s general manager Amit Oberoi.

The Funky Monkey x Rajo Laurel collection will be displayed at the hotel lobby for the month of November. The collection is available at the Bakeshop for P355 with Christmas box options for corporate giveaways.

The Bakeshop also offers other chocolate variants such as B-52, Singapore Sling, Mojito, La Dolce Vita and Halo-Halo. So tick your gift list and head to the Bakeshop to get your boxes ready for your gift giving.

The Bakeshop dressed in white Christmas for the holiday season

For inquiries and orders, contact Edsa Shangri-La, Manila’s Information Center at (63 2) 633 8888 Ext. 2840 or email esl@shangri-la.com.

Visit www.shangri-la.com/manila/ edsashangrila and follow them on social media at Edsa Shangri La on Facebook, and @edsashangrila on Twitter and Instagram.

LIMA PARK HOTEL LAUNCHES ‘LADY OF THE LAKE’ TOURS

T

ourists will now have an opportunity to travel around the pristine waters of Taal Lake with the launch of the “Lady of the Lake,” a 30-ft.

Catamaran cruiser from Lima Park Hotel, a prime business and leisure hotel located at the Lima Technology Center in Batangas.

Taal Lake happens to be a favorite spot located just 60 kilometers from Manila.

The 60-minute sightseeing tour which will start from Balete, Batangas includes stopovers at the islands of Napayong, PiraPiraso, Bubuin, Binintiang Malaki, and Binintiang Munti that serves as a sanctuary for migratory herons and egrets.

The first establishment to offer a lake tour, Lima Park Hotel remains true to its vision to make the area a top tourist destination in the country. The cruise around the 30-seater boat serves as the new addition to the hotel’s offerings for the “Bisita Batangas” campaign initiated by the hotel in 2013 in collaboration with the local government of Batangas.

The 'Lady of the Lake' 30-ft. Catamaran cruiser

Aside from organizing various tours that promote the recreational, religious, and cultural sites of Batangas, the hotel also offers a spiritual tour where guests and devotees can visit the different churches in Lipa City, which has been able to retain its deep religious traditions. Known as the

“Little Rome of the Philippines,” Lipa is the seat of the Archdiocese of Batangas and is home to a number of notable Catholic chapels and churches.

Batangas is also recognized for preserving its ancestral houses like Casa de Segunda, considered a Heritage House by the

National Historical Institute and was named after Segunda Solis Catigbac, the grand matriarch of the old rich Katigbak family.

Segunda was also romantically linked to Jose Rizal before she married Manuel Luz, another prominent name in the area. Built in the 1880s, the house’s arrangement, solidity, and history have made it one of the must-see repositories in Batangas.

Nestled in a highly industrialized zone, the Lima Park Hotel – which has a four-star rating from the Department of Tourism – is widely recognized for its excellent customer service and has made a name for itself in the hospitality industry with its top-notch facilities, world-class menu, and accommodating staff. The hotel is also noted for providing DOT-approved PWD (persons with disability)accommodations.

For room reservations and cruise schedules, you may call (043) 981-1555 or (0917) 504-2385. Visit www.limaparkhotel.com for more information.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

Armagnac brandy – a low-key relative of Cognac

TIPPLE TALES

BY ICY MARIÑAS

@LIFEatStandard

Château Laubade VSOP is the brand's entry level Armagnac

What’s The Fuss With Armagnac?

T

here’s a lot to be said about Armagnac, the low-key relative of Cognac.

While it’s common knowledge that Filipinos love to drink Cognac or brandy in general (sort of associated with your fathers’ and uncles’ drink of choice during reunions/wakes, or something to sip after a long, hard day), not a lot of people know about Armagnac. Manila is starting to come around and paying attention to this previously overlooked member of the brandy family. Let me give you a bit of a primer on it.

It’s often described in relation to Cognac, and since Filipinos already have a firmer grasp on what Cognac is, let’s start by comparing the two. Both Armagnac and Cognac come from grapes in France (Cognac from the northern part of Bordeaux, Armagnac from the southwest region in Gascony).

The differences in weather and soil varieties come into play in differentiating one from the other. Cognac is made with one primary grape variety, while Armagnac has four primary grape varieties. Cognac is usually distilled twice while Armagnac is distilled once – which gives Armagnac a more robust flavor profile and body, and is why it is aged longer than Cognac, so the flavors can have time to combine and have whatever remaining impurities removed. This also means longer time in the oak for Armagnac; the extra patience required rewards a brandy with more finesse and roundness.

The production volume of Cognac is significantly greater than that of Armagnac.

This is why the world consumes more Cognac (produced more for export), as Armagnac is usually consumed locally.

Although when Armagnac finds its way into a restaurant’s menu, it lends a certain level of connoisseur air that Cognac doesn’t (or can’t) do. While Cognac is better known and has a larger consumer base, Armagnac production predates Cognac making by around 150 years! I heard somewhere that Cognac is like tequila, and Armagnac is like mezcal.

Another amazing fact about Armagnac is that it is a lot cheaper than Cognac.

We also made cocktails with the Armagnac – French Royalty made up of 40ml Armagnac, 20ml lemon, 20ml Cassis 20ml honey served in coupettes, Sazerac served in glen cairn

Château de Laubade conducted a private Armagnac tasting event recently that I was pleased to be a part of. The estate was built way back in 1870 and has grown to be one of the premier Armagnac companies in the world (and they have a multitude of awards to back up that claim).

The regional brand ambassador Mr. Aymeric Dehont of the Château de Laubade conducted the class. He was knowledgeable and approachable, something that was a welcome surprise. For a brand of this stature, I was expecting someone in his fifties, who commanded serious attention, instead a young (boyish looks, I would approve my younger sister to date) very pleasant, passionate man, shared his love for Armagnac. Armagnac is not easily available in Manila, but thank God for companies like AWC that are helping us Filipinos drink better by bringing in high quality spirits and wines. Manila really is catching up! I thank them for introducing Château de Laubade to my world; my drinking has never been the same. Their

brands made such an impact on me that for the next month, single malt will not be cutting it for me, like I have been converted!

I’m definitely getting my hands on more Armagnac brands.

AWC, like other Armagnac houses, produce their own grapes, so they have full control over the quality of their product from start to finish. Unlike the massproduced Cognac, Armagnac making remains in the hands of small producers.

(I am amazed that they are left untouched by big corporations despite having been around for hundreds of years. Bravo! I hope it remains that way.)

Armagnac can be divided into two main categories: vintage and non-vintage.

Vintage ones are distilled from grapes grown in a single year (with the year displayed on the bottle). For non-vintage Armagnacs, the age statements refer to the youngest blend it contains (like blended whiskies): VS (minimum two years), VSOP (at least four years), XO (more than six years, and Hors d’Age (10 years plus). They

make it like perfume, mixed to find that defining taste for each of the types.

I’ve gone on and on giving a background on Armagnac and differentiating it from Cognac. The most distinctive thing about Armagnac is the way it tastes.

Appreciating the bouquet is the first step towards entering the captivating world of Armagnac. Smooth, velvety, fruity (think dried fruits… apricots, prunes), vanilla, chocolate, toffee, nougat, pepper on the nose. (Don’t stick your nose in right away as you will only inhale alcohol esters!

Instead, approach with patience and finesse.) Then you take a sip. It is a joy to the senses: the golden or amber hue of the liquid is clear and inviting, the aroma pleasant and intoxicating, the mouth-feel is well balanced, elegant, persistent. A long finish. Your eyes will close… You’ll hear yourself moan a little bit once you’ve taken a sip and rolled it in around your mouth. I also found that my eyes rolled in delight.

A thought bubble with the word “mindblowing!” We also mixed up a few amazing cocktails with it, courtesy of my amazing bartender Jay (also an expert on Armagnac which just happens to be his favorite drink).

I’ve found a new love!

In many ways, Armagnac is a boutique spirit: obscure, small batch, artisanal. It hasn’t been in a hit show (*cough* Mad Men *cough*) that generated an interest in a classic spirit. It sounds like a hipster’s drink of choice; though I sincerely hope that it doesn’t become the go-to drink of “trying hard to be trendy millennials” discovering something non-mainstream – because that would do the Armagnac a great disservice. It is an exceptional spirit; rooted in tradition, elegance, quality, and excellence that we, as imbibers, should be able to recognize and appreciate.

So dear imbibers, if you have the opportunity to get your hands on an Armagnac, take it. You won’t regret it. Cheers!

Add me on IG @sanvicentegirl or drop me a line at tippletales@gmail.com or visit me at my bar for a drink or two.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Façade

WHERE THE MOUNTAINS MEET THE SKY MERCURY RISING

BY BOB ZOZOBRADO

Every time I plan a trip to Tagaytay, I always have to think twice about where I’m going to stay. The choices have always been narrowed down to two. One is that of the membership club of which I am not a member, so it would mean my having to sweet talk friends who are members to sponsor my weekend “getaway” then I pay them back for all the charges I incur during my stay. Quite a bother! The other is the age-old icon which has become the “melting pot” of Metro Manila residents, and the weekend “getaway” no longer becomes one because the entire metropolis is there, crisscrossing every single space of the hotel.

Then, as if in answer to my search for a perfect getaway, Hotel

Temperature-controlled lap pool

Via Grand Ballroom

Lobby

Monticello, a very nice boutique hotel in this relaxing stress-free destination, just opened its doors to the public and what it is fits perfectly what I’m looking for in a hotel – luxurious, comfortable and affordable accommodations and meals, away from the madding crowd, with facilities and services that cater to my specific needs.

Just like me, workaholics and career-driven individuals

who are always looking for a soothing sanctuary where they can retreat to when they need recharging can now rejoice.

Hotel Monticello, right in the heart of Tagaytay City, is an idyllic hideaway from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis.

Located along General Emilio Aguinaldo Highway (past Km. 60), the 41-room boutique hotel has all the luxurious facilities of bigger de luxe hotels in the metropolis, but with rates that are easy on the pocket.

I noticed right away its spacious guest rooms and penthouses which feature dark wood motifs and are fitted with contemporary furnishings. The rooms have

that homey feel which ensures a relaxing and comfortable stay, ideal for those like me who, after weeks of hard work, look forward to a serene and calm environment wrapped with the scent of cool, invigorating fresh air.

I also like the 40-inch flatscreen TV and the strong Wi-Fi Internet access, not to mention the electronic keycard system for added security.

Of course, the culinary offerings at the Café Mercedes and the Trattoria Maria can satisfy big appetites like mine, as they’re courtesy of a Filipino chef who has raked in various awards and recognitions. I must have enjoyed the food so much I even gathered

enough guts to sing some of my favorite songs at the Roma Piano Bar. Well, I was there to enjoy the good life, so why not?

Those who are mindful of a healthy physique can try several laps at the temperature-controlled swimming pool, or lift some weights at the gym, or delight in an exhilarating body massage at the spa, my personal preference.

Of course, the corporate arena can easily be transported to this up-in-the-sky sanctuary through the Via Grand Ballroom, or the multipurpose lounge, or any of the soundproof function rooms which are ideal for business meetings and receptions. A business center is also available to handle secretarial chores for the hardworking business executive.

What makes this hotel even more appealing is its proximity to the shopping malls, popular dining venues, and tourist attractions in the city.

I’m so glad I no longer have to break my head about where to stay in Tagaytay. This brand new Hotel Monticello has the perfect blend of luxury and affordability, certainly redefining the boutique hotel experience, in a serene, calming and invigorating setting, where the mountains meet the sky.

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE: A wife got so mad at her husband, she packed his bags and told him to get out.

As he walked to the door she yelled, “I hope you die a long, slow, painful death!”

He turned around and said, “So, you want me to stay?”

Roma Piano Bar

M ONDAY : NOV EMBER 16, 2015

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

C5

The Women of LUX: Kelsey Merritt, Solenn Heusaff, and Belle Daza

Belle DAzA prefers To BAThe wiTh perfume

A

ctress, model, and athlete Belle Daza is anything but your typical girly-girl. Best known for being one of Metro Manila’s IT girls, Belle’s Instagram account (@ isabelledaza) has collected over a million followers, what with her new TV shows and ever expanding list of endorsements. Fans who click over to her IG account enjoy browsing through carefully curated photos of her everyday life, ranging from food, fashion, and her active lifestyle.

Belle’s ability to balance a multi-faceted life while still looking good is probably the reason

Unilever picked her as one of the main faces of the LUX Perfumed Bath Collection, one of their biggest brands, which recently launched this 2015.

“I’m always on the go. I juggle photo shoots, tapings, and appearances on a daily basis. It’s very rare that I take a minute in the morning to do the full ceremony many other girls get to do,” she explains.

“When LUX got in touch with me, I immediately said yes. Aside from the fact that my mom (Gloria Diaz) was a LUX girl before, I also love the smell. I love that it lingers on my skin for a really

Belle Daza

long time,” says Belle.

Belle mentions that with everything she has to do, she sometimes forgets to take the time to spray cologne or perfume before stepping out the door, making LUX her go-to choice for her morning showers. She also explains that Nicole Mancini of Givaudan had designed the line’s main variant, Magical Spell. “In fact, all of Lux’s variants were crafted by master perfumers from New York, London, and Paris.”

“The smell of Lux is so sophisticated and elegant. It’s not the typical soapy smell you get from any regular body wash. When I’m out

and my friends get a whiff of it, they think its perfume. I get asked about it a lot and it’s awesome,” she continues.

Givaudan is one of the world’s top authorities on fragrance, having designed scents for Calvin Klein, Christian Dior and many others.

This explains the sophisticated Black Orchid scent used in Magical Spell. The brand’s main variant also features the fragrances of fresh juniper berries, amber, dark woods, and vanilla, all of which are ingredients normally seen in high-end perfumes out in the market. She also explains that these specific notes evoke feelings of bold femininity

and confidence in her.

“I like the fact that it was really created like a perfume, with the levels of notes and everything.

Now, I can say that Lux has really changed how I feel about my morning baths. To me, it’s so much more than just cleaning my skin, more than something that I feel like I have to do everyday. With Lux, I actually look forward to my morning baths, knowing that I’m coming out smelling great.”

We are sure that everybody enjoys smelling good, and with the new Lux Perfumed Bath Collection out in the market, Filipinas can now bathe with perfume everyday.

‘The hunger games’ mosT Compelling ConClusion

T

he blockbuster Hunger Games franchise has taken audiences by storm around the world, grossing more than $2.3 billion at the global box office.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 now brings the franchise to its powerful final chapter in which Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) realizes the stakes are no longer just for survival – they are for the future.

With the nation of Panem in a full scale war, Katniss confronts President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in the final showdown.

Teamed with a group of her closest friends – including Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin) and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) – Katniss goes off on a mission with the unit from District 13 as

they risk their lives to liberate the citizens of Panem, and stage an assassination attempt on President Snow who has become increasingly obsessed with destroying her. The mortal traps, enemies, and moral choices that await Katniss will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 is directed by Francis Lawrence from a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong.

It picks up with Katniss back in the bunkers of District 13, still unable to emotionally reach a brainwashed Peeta as she watches the nation of Panem sliding into full-scale apocalyptic war. Though Katniss has warily accepted her role as the Mockingjay symbol of the rebellion, she can see that it is going take more than symbolism

to turn the tide against the Capitol. Truly on fire now, she resolves to take action. Joining with Gale, an unpredictable Peeta, Finnick and the so-called “Squad 451,” she sets out for the once-glittering Capitol – transformed into a city of mayhem under attack by both rebels and peacekeepers – with a covert mission to assassinate President Snow. Snow still believes he’s playing an obsessive game to outwit and destroy Katniss, but Katniss is no longer anyone’s pawn, and to her, this is no contest. It is a battle for everything she has come to believe in and the people she loves. It is a battle for the final hope of a life of peace.

Join the revolution on Nov. 18 when The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 invades cinemas nationwide, from Pioneer Films.

Josh Hutcherson, Natalie Dormer, and Jennifer Lawrence

Jennifer Lawrence and Liam Hemsworth in The Hunger Games MockingJay Part 2

M ONDAY : NOV EMBER 16, 2015

C6

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

ViLma SantOS baCkS angEL LOCSin’S DECiSiOn JOSEPh PEtER gOnZaLES Batangas Governor Vilma Santos-Recto supports Angel Locsin’s decision not to do the latest big screen installation of Darna “The biggest factor there is her health,” she avers. “As everyone knows, we’re doing a film together and before we flew to Europe to shoot some of the integral scenes, she had an attack on her spine.

Luis (Manzano) informed me about it a day before my departure. He told me Angel couldn’t stand up.

“An ambulance was called and she was rushed to the hospital. Yes, that’s how serious it was then. Even after we returned to the country and resumed our shoot, her legs still hurt. We always talk about her condition during lull breaks and this is where she expressed her disappointment and frustration of passing on the Darna movie she was supposed to do un-

der Star Cinema.”

For the superstar-politician, Angel should prioritize her health among other things.

“That’s number one on the list. She asked for advice and I told her not to force herself or be under pressure to go on with the project given her condition. She’s truly sad because she loves the Darna part and it’s her signature role but she can’t risk her health either. As the superheroine, there are flying scenes that would require her to be hung on cranes plus action routines which are dangerous considering her present physical state.”

Vilma, who also played the iconic Filipina super hero on screen for four times believes that Angel will always be known as Darna no matter what.

“Of course!” she states. “She will always be in the illustrious list of actresses who have successfully portrayed Darna over the years. She need not prove anything. Besides, not being able to do the remake is not the be-all and end-all of her acting career, right?”

The Star for all Seasons points out that Angel can

instead do more meaningful projects.

“I mean, with her age and maturity she can top-bill more timely and relevant offerings. For one, she’s a very good actress. Although I understand her disappointment since she really prepared for Darna. Apart from the physical preparation like dieting, the project was really conceptualized for her.”

Vilma’s concern is not only career-wise but has something to do as well with Angel’s future with Luis.

“I want them to have a baby right away once they get married that’s why I told her to be careful with her health, to which she agreed.

I treat Angel as family so her welfare is essential to me.”

Speaking of a grandchild, is she really prepared to be a grandmother in the near future?

“Oh yes! And I want to be called Momsie!” ends Ate Vi. HHHHH Superstar Nora Aunor and Bembol Roco are together in the new GMA prime time show Little Nanay. Some quarters wonder if there was

Auditions for ‘Jersey Boys’

Bobby Garcia, who will be directing both shows, says, “We are extremely honored to be producing the first international production of Fun Home. It is a ground breaking and heart tugging musiAtlantis Theatrical Entertainment cal that we believe in with all our Group (ATEG) will be bringing heart and we are thrilled Manila two Tony Award winning Best audiences will get to experience it.

Musicals to Manila in 2016 –. ATEG thanks Jeanine Tesori and Tony Award winning musical Fun Lisa Kron for believing in us and Home, and the 2006 Tony Award we can’t wait to have them both winning musical Jersey Boys. as our guests on Opening Night.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 40 42 43 44 45 48 49 50 52 57 58 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Junk email 5 Kind of agent 8 They hold the mayo 12 Where Lhasa is 14 Yoko’s son 15 Footnote abbr.

(2 wds.)

16 Close by, in verse 17 Juno, in Athens 18 Put cargo aboard 19 More than enough

21 23 24 25 26 30 32 33 37 38 39

White-faced — Lanka Quick turn — Lobos, of “La Bamba” Beethoven opus Olympics locale Ph.D. exams “Cogito ergo sum” man Late-night Jay — sense Pakistan language

Thingamajig Vied with 007 Hibachi residue Conductors’ needs PC button Dawn goddess Tempe inst.

Boom box sound Well-mannered Triangle part Pharaoh’s river — nous Joie de vivre Green-egg layers Ravi’s forte Geek 45 or 78 Painted tinware

DOWN 1 Wild guess 2 Needle dropper 3 Cain’s brother 4 More than a snack 5 Intuit 6 Cakelike cookie 7 If you have to (3 wds.)

8 Firm up 9 — — costs 10 Music source 11 They run on runners 13 Rendezvous

We are also excited to be staging Jersey Boys, an electric night at the theatre. Jersey Boys just celebrated its 10th Anniversary on Broadway and continues to be a worldwide phenomenon. We hope to see you all at these two fantastic musicals next year.”

ATEG producers Tony Tuviera and Bobby Barreiro say, “We are proud to be premiering Fun Home and Jersey Boys in Manila. These are two acclaimed

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2015

14 20 22 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 33 34 35 36 38 41 42 44 45 46 47 49 51 52 53 54 55 56 59

a point when they got romantically linked in the past.

“There’s nothing like that between me and Guy. We worked together in unforgettable classics like Tatlong Taong Walang Diyos, ‘Merika, Minsan, May Isang Ina and Thy Womb. Never in those times, especially during our younger years, when a romantic angle sparked between us. We treat each other as siblings. Period!” he says.

According to the highly competent actor, he is always Nora’s shoulder-to-cry-on.

“That’s right! Whenever she’s got a problem, she will turn to me for advice then.

It’s like that because we really started out as friends. I’m like his older brother who’s always ready to comfort her during difficult times.”

How do they take it whenever they are being teased or linked to each other?

“Nothing, we just laugh it off.

We know the truth and it never crossed our minds to exceed the boundaries of our friendship. Until now, I’m her older brother and I’m just happy to be working with her again here in Little Nanay,” Bembol states.

Feng — Monk’s title Water, in Baja Tangy Marketed Hydrox rival Billionth, in combos Luau welcome Provokes Emulate Etna Levees Duet plus one Churchill successor Foam Tall beer glass Um-hmm (2 wds.)

Pesto and marinara Youth org.

German steel town Fence crossover Hot-tub wood “Iliad” deity Tear Unhappy Monogram unit Conductor — Klemperer Europe-Asia range Withered Mischief-maker

Vilma Santos

Nora Aunor and Kris Bernal

and award winning Broadway musicals we know will capture the hearts of Manila audiences.

2016 will be a very exciting year for theatre in the Philippines.”

Open call Auditions for both shows is on Nov. 26 at Opera Haus, 3657 Bautista Street (near the corner of Buendia), Makati City. Sign up begins at 10 a.m. with final sign up at 2 p.m.

Those who will audition should prepare 16 bars of a musi-

Bembol Roco

cal theatre song and 16 bars of an up tempo song from the 1950s/1960s with music sheet.

An accompanist will be provided. Also bring a current resume and photo.

A special Fun Home audition for kids aged 8 - 13 will be held on Nov. 21 from 1 – 4 p.m. at Opera Haus. They should be prepared to sing a musical theatre song of thier choice. An accompanist will be provided.

M ONDAY : NOV EMBER 16, 2015

C7

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

CMMA reCognizes ‘nAthAniel’

A

Nathaniel

From C8

BS-CBN’s values-laden series Nathaniel was cited at the recently held 37th Catholic Mass Media Awards (CMMA) for promoting good values and teaching viewers, especially the youth, essential life lessons.

The cast of the hit primetime teleserye led by Marco Masa, Gerald Anderson, Pokwang, and Yesha Camile personally received the Best Children and Youth Program award and Special Award for Promoting Good Christian Values and Strong Faith in the Lord.

The show consistently topped the nationwide TV ratings ranking since it started airing in April.

Viewers were glued to the program until its finale to witness Nathaniel defeat the forces of evil and continue to spread goodness and the teachings of the Lord. Nathaniel also reminded everyone to always believe in God and that He will always be there whenever one needs help and guidance.

ABS-CBN Corporation went home with 11 recognitions from the television categories that included Best News Program for ANC’s The World Tonight, Best Public Service Program for Mission Possible, Best TV Ad–Public Service category for ABS-CBN Creative Communications Management’s “Thank You sa Malasakit, Pope Francis” campaign tied with ABS-CBN Cebu’s “Panguma” campaign about farming.

Special Citations were also given to TV Patrol Visayas of ABSCBN Cebu for the News Program category, while Docucentral’s ‘Ang Mabuting Pastol: Pope Francis sa Pilipinas,” “Thank You sa Malasakit: Pope Francis sa Pilipinas,” and “Mukha: Pagsisikap” were cited for the Special Coverage and News Magazine categories. Ryan Ryan Musikahan: Home for Christmas of

Jeepney TV and Docucentral: Ako at ang Papa, meanwhile, were cited for the TV Special category.

ABS-CBN’s flagship AM station DZMM also brought home honors headlined by Failon Ngayon sa DZMM for Best News Commentary, DZMM Lenten Drama Special for Best Drama Program, Salitang Buhay for Best Counseling Program, and Dr. Love Always and Forever for Best Entertainment Program while DZMM Red Alert received a Special Citation for the Educational Program category.

The Kapamilya Network was also recognized in the music category through Jamie Rivera’s “We Are All God’s Children” that won the Best Music Video and Best Inspirational Song awards as well as two Special Citations for the Inspirational Album and Secular Song categories. Produced by Star Music, the song paid tribute to the visit of Pope Francis inJanuary.

Gary Valenciano’s (featuring son Gab Valenciano) “Ipagpatuloy Mo Galing ng Pilipino,” also produced by Star Music, won the Best Secular Song.

Meanwhile, Star Cinema, in partnership with Paul Soriano’s TEN17 Productions, bagged the Students’ Choice for Best Film award for their epic story of Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao’s childhood, Kid Kulafu.

Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo

Kathniel dominates Push awards

The people behind Nathaniel

Lynda Jumilla recieves the award for ANC

Ted Failon recieve the award for Best News Commentary for Failon Ngayon on DZMM

Marco Masa and Yesha Camile

albert reunited with Yen Albert Martinez (Manuel) is reunited with Kapamilya actress Yen Santos (Lena), his leading lady in the top-rating Kapamilya afternoon teleserye All of Me. In his highly anticipated reunion with Yen and the rest of the cast of the teleserye, Albert says he is glad to be back in the series.

“It’s a happy set and I’m glad to be back because I like the people I work with. I truly believed in the project since day one because it’s not all the time that I see a material as good as this.”

Albert’s return and the challenges he will encounter in the succeeding episodes are the plot twists and exciting scenes viewers should expect in the show.

Albert was seen again in the teleserye on

Albert Martinez and Yen Santos in All of Me

Nov. 2 after Edong (JM de Guzman) was transformed back into his 50-year-old self (Manuel) by the tagapagbantay (MJ Lastimosa) for breaking his vow. Manuel’s son Ivan (Dentrix Ponce) was also supposed to die as a painful consequence to his deal with the tagapagbantay, but he begged to sacrifice his own life for the sake of his son.

Now, Manuel has to face the big challenge of spending his last moments with his wife Lena and son Ivan for a limited time.

Manuel’s brave move to sacrifice his life touched the hearts of netizens, making the teleserye’s hashtag #AllOfMeKwintas a trending topic nationwide on Twitter.

Albert also shared that Manuel’s selfless love for his family is something he can relate to as a family man.

“I really started from scratch when I got married and I devoted my time to focus on my family. I made my own personal sacrifices to make sure my family will have a better life and at least live comfortably, so that sacrifice is very similar to Manuel.”

Albert also revealed that the latest chapter is all about falling in love again. He remarked, “The story started with Manuel’s wife dying and now he’s given a second chance to fall in love again. In my personal situation, it’s somewhat too close for comfort. It’s like I’m telling my story in a teleserye.”

What will be Lena’s reaction when she sees Manuel in their much-awaited reunion?

Will they have a second shot at love?

Philippine showbiz’s Teen Queen and King Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla led all the winners at the first-ever Push Awards held on Nov. 10 at Resorts World Manila, where the most influential stars online were recognized by ABS-CBN entertainment website PUSH.com.ph.

The Pangako Sa ‘Yo stars swept all the awards as a tandem across all the fan-voted Digital Media Awards categories, including the PushLike Most Liked Group/Tandem, PushTweet Favorite Group/ Tandem, PushGram Most Loved Group/Tandem, PushPlay Best Group/Tandem, as well as the Push Elite Group/ Tandem of the Year.

The two stars also garnered the highest number of votes in individual categories, including PushTweet Favorite Female Celebrity, PushGram Most Loved Female Celebrity, and Awesome Selfie Queen for Kathryn, and Push Elite Male Celebrity of the Year and PushPlay Best Male Celebrity for Daniel.

Their fans, called Kathniels, also bagged the Ultimate Fan Award for posting the highest number of tweets during the voting period of almost two months. The category, joined by different celebrity fan groups, amassed over 180 million tweets.

Among the major winners were Yeng Constantino, who was named the PushTweet Favorite Music Artist, PushGram Most Loved Music Artist, and PushPlay Best Music Artist, and Maine Mendoza, who won the Awesome Lip Sync Performance, PushPlay Best Newcomer, and Push Elite Newcomer of the Year.

PUSH Awards is the firstof-its-kind award-giving body in Philippine digital media that honors the best among the past year’s certified online hits and entertainment newsmakers based on their online reach and influence, popular votes, and excellence.

It honors celebrities regardless of network affiliation.

M ONDAY : NOV EMBER 16, 2015

C8

ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

Little Nanay cast (from left) Eddie Garcia, Sunshine Dizon, Kris Bernal, Chlaui Malayao, Bembol Rocco, Nora Aunor, Juancho Trivino and Mark Herras

SHOWBITZ

Happy Lang! in ‘LittLe nanay’ ISAH V. RED When it comes to family, no one should be left behind. As long as the family is together, a simple life can make everything all right.

Adding color to the happiest family-oriented drama series Little Nanay are the Batongbuhay, San Pedro, and Vallejo clans.

Tonight GMA Network opens the inspiring story of Little Nanay that will surely bring a new flavor to the primetime habit of the viewers as it aims to promote compassion and love for all.

The Batongbuhay family is made more fun with Lolay Annie (Nora Aunor), a cool and hip lola who is still active in the band scene. She is married to Loloy Berto (Bembol Roco), a retired Major who stays home to care for his family. The eldest grandson Peter Parker (Mark Herras) harbors a practical personality, while Bruce Wayne (Juancho Triviño) dreams to become a celebrity one

day. Their youngest sister is Tinay (Kris Bernal). Tinay has intellectual disability.

Living next to them is the San Pedro Family.

Edgar San Pedro (Keempee de Leon) and his wife Vivian (Gladys Reyes) dedicate their time in spoiling their only son Archie (Hiro Peralta). Archie is Tinay’s childhood best friend and personal superhero.

As they grow up, Archie takes the role of being one of her older brothers. But one day when a slur of confused emotions got the best of him, something happened between Archie and Tinay. As a result, Lolay Annie wants to file a rape case against Archie. Vivian and Edgar convinced Lola Annie and Lolo Berto to allow Archie to marry Tinay. Unfortunately after the wedding, Vivian and Edgar will take Archie to the States where he will meet Beatrice (Winwyn Marquez).

Tinay will give birth to a beautiful girl, and she will name her Chiechie (Chlaui Malayao). Unlike her mom, Chiechie will seem mature for her age. She is smart. This motivates the entire Batongbuhay

family to keep on guiding Tinay in being a mother to Chiechie.

Unknown to all of them, another part of their family struggles to find Tinay. Tinay’s maternal grandfather, Don Miguel Vallejo (Eddie Garcia) is a wealthy man, and has been looking for her. However, his daughter Helga (Sunshine Dizon) will try to impede Don Migz’ efforts to find Tinay.

This is the story of Tinay and Chiechie, Lolay Annie, Lolo Berto, Peter Parker, Bruce Wayne, Archie, Edgar at Vi, Beatrice, Atty. Gerald, Stanley, Helga, and Don Miguel.

This is the story of Little Nanay.

This light drama series is topbilled by the one and only Superstar Ms. Nora Aunor; with Mr. Bembol Roco, Mark Herras, Juancho Triviño, Chlaui Malayao, and Kris Bernal. Also joining them are Keempee de Leon, Gladys Reyes, Winwyn Marquez, Hiro Peralta, Rafa-Siguion-Reyna, and Jinri Park.

Completing the stellar cast are Sunshine Dizon, Paolo Contis, Renz Fernandez, and the only Manoy of Philippine cinema— award-winning actor, Eddie Garcia. ➜ Continued on C7

Renz Fernandez, Gladys Reyes and Keempee de Leon

Hero Peralta, Chlaui Malayao and Kris Bernal