The Standard - 2015 November 24 - Tuesday

VOL. XXIX NO. 285 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 TUESday : NOVEMBER 24, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Palace, military disagree on terror

A2

‘NO BACKING OUT’ Let lawyers find out if I can run, Duterte declares

By John Paolo Bencito and Macon Ramos-Araneta

THERE’S no turning back for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who said Monday he will definitely run for President in 2016 with Senator Alan Peter Cayetano as his running mate.

“There’s nothing that would change my mind. I have already crossed the rubicon,” Duterte told reporters Monday after a press conference in Greenhills, San Juan.

“Whether the [Commission on Elections] would accept it or not, I don’t worry.

I don’t know how my lawyers would fix the problem but my lawyers will soon sort it out.

There should be a proper step on that.”

Duterte again said his disappointment over the Senate Electoral Tribunal decision to dismiss the disqualification case against Senator

Grace Poe prompted him to run.

“As a matter of principle, I can’t accept that. I don’t want a person who’s half-American, half-Filipino [to be the next President],” he said, refusing to acknowledge that Poe, who was a foundling, can be considered a natural-born Filipino citizen, a requirement for being senator or President.

Election lawyer Romulo Macalintal on Wednesday said Duterte’s eventual move to become the substitute presidential candidate of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-

Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) would face legal challenges.

First, he said, the PDP-Laban candidate, Martin Diño, made an error in his certificate of candidacy, which stated he was running for mayor of Pasay City.

Second, he said, was the Comelec law department’s plan to consider Diño a nuisance candidate.

“Even if he’s saying that he has withdrawn his candidacy, the Comelec has to resolve Next page

Announcement. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Alan Peter Cayetano announced in Greenhills, San Juan, on Monday that they will run for President and vice president, respectively, in next year’s elections. John PAolo Bencito

Anti-Poe petitioner asks SET for review

A3

PNoy: ‘Tanim-bala’ was sensationalized

By Sandy Araneta PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III insisted Sunday that the scandal over a racket that plants bullets in luggage to extort money from travelers passing through the Ninoy Aquino International Airport has been blown out of proportion, as only a handful of 34 million passengers have complained about the scam.

At a “Coffee Meeting with the Media” at the Hotel Inter-Continental in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Aquino said the alleged victims of the scam were only a small segment of the millions who go through the country’s main gateway.

“For every 10 persons who entered the airport, how many were victimized? Two or three? I don’t think so.

This was just sensationalized and there

are those benefitted from this being sensationalized,” Aquino said.

Among the 34 million passengers passing through Naia every year, only about 1,200 have been apprehended for carrying bullets, Aquino said.

Among these, only three of the passengers have complained that airport officials asked them for money to avoid detention and charges, he added.

Next page

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

A2

news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

PNoy: ...

From A1

Gridlock. Traffic was hardly moving on Edsa and Kamuning in Quezon City early Monday morning. Ey AcAsio

“Can we say that the probability is high? Three out of 34 million?” Aquino said.

Aquino said the public should await the results of investigation before hastily concluding that the alleged scam is indeed rampant at the Naia.

“We must first find proof, one way or the other, prove what is right. And once it is proven, isn’t it whoever is guilty, the person should be punished?

If there are innocent people, the stigma must be removed [from them],” Aquino said.

Aquino also reiterated the need for thorough baggage inspection at airports, citing cases were prohibited items were confiscated, including guns, grenades, knives and brass knuckles.

The National Bureau of Investigation has until this week to complete its report on the alleged extortion racket.

The Justice Department earlier designated at least one public prosecutor at the Naia to handle bulletrelated complaints.

On Monday, a Catholic bishop joined the growing number of people calling for the ouster of Manila International Airport Au-

thority general manager Jose Angel Honrado, a close associate of the President, over the bullet-planting scandal.

“People that are incompetent need to be replaced. There are many reasons why the Naia has been judged as the world’s worst airport. Now, isn’t that enough proof of incompetence?” said Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo in a message posted in the official website of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.

On Friday, the bishop also signed a petition on the global online platform Change.org calling on the President to fire Honrado and put an end to the “tanim-bala” scam.

The petition by Filipino migrants’ rights watchdog Migrante International blasted Honrado’s failure to resolve the scam which has victimized many travelers, including tourists and overseas Filipino workers.

The group added that airport chief’s dismal performance also resulted in the poor maintenance of airport facilities, clogged runways, and the lack of surveillance equipment.

To date, the three-weekold petition has already gathered around 11,870 signatories. With sara susanne Fabunan

Palace, AFP differ on ISIS threat ‘No...

From A1

if Diño is a nuisance candidate’’ Macalintal said.

If he is declared a nuisance candidate, his certificate of candidacy would be considered null and void, and Duterte would not be able to step in as his substitute, the lawyer added. ‘’The existing jurisprudence of Supreme Court says that if the COC would be cancelled or denied due course, the person who denied his COC cannot be replaced,” he said.

Duterte confirmed that Cayetano would be his running mate. Even before the Davao mayor had declared his intention to run, Cayetano supporters had been putting up posters of the two.

“I would campaign for Duterte whatever happens. It’s only a bonus if he wants to work with me.

The bigger the sacrifice, the bigger the reward is,” Cayetano said.

He added that he was grateful that Duterte chose him, because this would boost his campaign to be vice president.

PDP-Laban president Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said Duterte would certainly be his party’s candidate for President.

“From what I’ve heard, it’s 100 percent that he will run. As far as I’m concerned, he will not backtrack,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel added that PDPLaban has already signed a new

certificate of nomination for Duterte, which he will file with the Comelec to substitute the mayor for Diño.

The Comelec allows the substitution of candidates until Dec. 10.

Pimentel also dismissed the error in Diño’s COC as a clerical error, noting that the Comelec has listed him as a presidential candidate.

“There was an effort in the [Comelec] legal department to declare him [Diño] a nuisance candidate for president, [but] that has been overcome. That minor clerical error has been overcome by the Comelec’s own actions,” Pimentel said.

He added there is no problem in Duterte’s choosing Cayetano as his running mate.

Cayetano, who filed his candidacy for vice president as an independent candidate, has been trying to convince Duterte to run for President.

Poe said she was not surprised

by Duterte’s entry into the presidential race, saying she believed he had intended to run all along.

Regarding Duterte’s impact on the race, she added: “Anybody entering the race is a game changer.”

Asked if she had ill feeling toward Duterte for attacking her citizenship, Poe said that was personal.

“I think a leader, particularly one who is running should focus on what he can do for the country. Whatever our opinion,

we should keep it to ourselves for now. What’s important to me is that I am truthful. My parents told me to help others and respect my elders,” Poe said.

Poe also denied Duterte’s claim that she offered to be his vice president during a meeting with him at her Corinthian Garden residence in Quezon City earlier this year.

“That’s not true. That never happened,” Poe said.

She said they talked about the last election, when Duterte helped her with her senatorial campaign, and some personal matters.

Poe’s running mate, Senator Francis Escudero said Poe was hurt by the criticism aimed at her, but would be able to face all of these issues because the truth and the law are on her side.

Also on Monday, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. said he wished Duterte “good luck.”

“The message of Mayor Duterte is law and order, running after the guilty, and that certainly resonates with a lot of people, including myself. I wish him luck,” Belmonte told reporters, adding that Duterte’s joining the presidential race will have “some effect on the playing field.”

“I don’t like to use the word game changer, but definitely he will have some effect,” said Belmonte, who is campaign manager of the Liberal Party’s standard-bearer Manuel Roxas II.

By Francisco Tuyay

THE Palace advice to stay away from crowded places is a sign of an increased security threat, an intelligence source said Monday after revealing that at least two known jihadists were in Metro Manila recruiting for the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

The military, however, played down the threat, saying they did not receive any information that terrorist groups, including ISIS, were planning to launch attacks in the country.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda on Sunday urged the public to avoid malls and other areas where large crowds gather and to report any suspicious activities to the authorities. The statement was issued after President Benigno Aquino III ordered the military to intensify operations against the Abu Sayyaf and other terror cells in the wake of the beheading of a Malaysian national in Mindanao and the terrorist attacks in Paris.

An intelligence source said at least two jihadists left Sulu last Oct. 29 for Manila at the height of the intensive security preparations for the conduct of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting.

The source also disclosed the mysterious entry of three Syrians in the country who were spotted in Cararao complex in Lanao province in recent weeks.

But the chief of the Public Affairs Office of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Col. Noel Detoyato, said they have no validated reports of an impending terrorist threat.

“We have not received any report

pertaining to the presence of ISIS elements or sympathizers in the country.

There is no authentic link or relationship between the ISIS and the ASG in Mindanao,” he said.

But he supported Lacierda’s call for the public to be vigilant and watchful against terror attacks.

“We enjoin the people to cooperate with us in preventing any untoward incident related to terrorism by reporting to authorities suspicious situations or behaviors by persons they believe to be out of the ordinary,” he said.

World leaders condemned the Paris attacks in two separate international summits—the Apec and the recently concluded Asean Summit in Kualu Lumpur.

In the Asean Summit, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the beheading of his compatriot electrical engineer Bernard Then, abducted by ASG in Sabah last May 15 and taken to Jolo, Sulu.

US President Barack Obama also vowed to hunt down leaders of ISIS and cut off the group’s financing.

“We will destroy them. We will take back land they are currently in, take out their financing, hunt down leadership, dismantle their networks, supply lines and we will destroy them,” the US president said.

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

A3

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Anti-Poe petitioner seeks review A LOSING senatorial candidate in the 2013 elections has asked the Senate Electoral Tribunal to reconsider its decision dismissing the disqualification case he had filed against Senator Grace Poe. Rizalito David appealed to the nine-member tribunal to overturn its decision last week dumping his petition seeking to declare Poe as ineligible for her Senate post for not being a natural-born Filipino.

He claimed that the five senators in the majority ruling—Vicente Sotto III, Loren Legarda, Pia Cayetano, Cynthia Villar and Bam Aquino—committed a grave abuse of discretion in dismissing his petition.

David made his appeal even as other petitioners on Monday expressed confidence that their respective cases against presidential aspirant Grace Poe would not be affected by the dismissal of David’s petition against Poe. De La Salle University professor Antonio Contreras, former University of the East Law Dean Amado Valdez, and former Senator Francisco Tatad said in a separate interviews that the SET ruling would not affect their respective cases against Poe. Valdez said his case against Poe was about her qualification to run as President and not for senator in 2013.

“It [the SET decision] should not [affect my case],” Valdez said.

“That refers only to her qualifications as a senator, particularly on the ground of residency.’’

David accused the senators of violating the rule on the primacy of the Constitution over international laws, saying their votes to dismiss his petition was a “political decision.”

“Petitioner scored the majority for violating the Constitution with its legally infirm decision as well as political votes case to accommodate Respondent Poe,” David’s lawyer Manuelito Luna told reporters.

“The five senator-judges failed to uphold judicial integrity in interpreting the Constitution and international laws.”

David asked the tribunal to adopt the dissenting opinions of the three Supreme Court justices in the tribunal.

Voting 5-4 on Nov. 17, the SET members declared Poe, the front runner in next year’s presidential race, as a naturalborn citizen who was eligible to be elected senator.

The five senators ruled that Poe should be considered a natural-born Filipino despite being a foundling based on customary international laws. Rey E. Requejo and Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

Budget hearing. Senator Loren Legarda debates with Senator Juan Ponce Enrile during the hearing on the budget of the Office of the President on Monday. Lino SantoS

JPE wants PNoy intel budget slashed SENATE Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile on Monday sought the removal of the P250-million intelligence fund from the P2.82billion proposed budget of the Office of the President for 2016, an election year.

Enrile, in Monday’s deliberations on the P3.002-trillion budget, said the P250-million fund of the Anti-Crime Commission, which is led by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, should be deleted from the OP’s budget.

He said “intelligence gathering” was not a job of the Office of the President.

Enrile also objected to the P66-million allocation for the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law pending approval by the Senate and the House of Representa-

tives.

He also voiced concern over the block grant that was provided under the BBL, describing it as a “separate financial burden” on the national budget.

Senator Francis Escudero, former finance committee chairman, said the budget for the block grant was pegged at P10 billion, which was much lower than the P28.4-billion budget for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Senator Loren Legarda, who took over the chairmanship of the finance committee, said the 2016 capital outlay had provided very specific line items that were responsive to the needs of the fishermen in the coastal communities, farmers, rural folks and

indigenous communities.

She said they had introduced amendments that would support municipalities and villages in the country.

She said next year’s budget also deleted all the provisions referring to the budget priorities framework that authorizes department heads to reallocate funding “because only Congress has the power to approve fund allocations for government programs.”

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said that for 2016 Aquino’s last budget, if approved, would be 103 percent bigger than the last budget of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Macon Ramos-araneta

Aquino arrives from Malaysian meeting

Fire. A fireman trains his hose on a burning warehouse holding plastic products in Roosevelt, Quezon City, on Monday. Ey acaSio

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III arrived early Monday after joining the Asean meetings in Kuala Lumpur and reported such achievements as the signing of the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on the establishment of the Asean Community and the Asean Vision 2025.

“Because of this, our interaction in terms of functional cooperation will be strengthened and will be broad—meaning the actions on Asean issues will be tackled more swiftly and will be more focused,” Aquino said.

He said he stressed the importance of peace and stability in the region during the conference.

“It is the responsibility of each country to help out in attaining stability instead of contributing to the tension in our region,” Aquino said in obvious reference to China, which is reclaiming land and building structures in the disputed areas in the South China Sea. “The majority had agreed to a fair, peaceful and just resolution based on global laws,” Aquino said.

He said the Philippines had come far since it first participated in any Asean meeting.

“Before, there were only a few who contributed to airing their side, but now many have supported our call,” Aquino said.

“Even those we first have asked for support now say there must be a Code of Conduct.”

Aquino said his administration’s commitment to good governance had borne fruit and gained the trust of the neighboring countries and the rest of the world.

Aquino said that as he attended his last Asean meetings, he took the opportunity to bid goodbye to his fellow Southeast Asian leaders and thank them for their support and cooperation during his presidency.

“Last week, the country hosted the successful Apec in Manila and now we were met warmly by the Asean Summit in Malaysia,” Aquino said. Sandy araneta

T U E S D AY : n o v E m b E r 24 , 2 0 1 5

A4

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

‘Still no justice after 6 years’

By Rio N. Araja RELATIVES, friends and colleagues of the 58 people, including 32 journalists, who died in the Maguindanao massacre assailed the Aquino administration for its lack of concern for justice on the sixth anniversary of what has been called “the single deadliest event for journalists in history.”

Accompanied by relatives of the deceased, the National Press Club of the Philippines, National Union of Journalists of the Philippines and other media organizations separately lashed at the Aquino administration’s supposed failure to deliver on its promises of justice.

The NPC picketed the Department of Justice and later proceeded to Mendiola Street, in the area of Malacañang Palace, to demand justice for the victims and dramatize their disappointment over the snail-paced action on the 58 counts of murder filed against the crime’s alleged perpetrators.

NPC president Joel Sy Egco led members in burning an effigy of the President and branding Aquino as “Pnoy-cchio” because of his supposed lies when he vowed to seek justice for the 58 victims when he was still campaigning for President.

The NUJP, also marched to Mendiola Street in San Miguel, Manila, lamented that several, if not all, of “the victims’ families even campaigned for him, so much did they believe in his promise of justice.”

“But here we are six years later, and Aquino also on the eve of winding up his own six years, with no justice, no good governance, no FOI, in probably worse straits than when we started,” NUJP president Alwyn Alburo said.

The NUJP criticized that “the trial of the accused is still barely out of the starting gates, with the clan patriarch now beyond the reach of earthly justice, one of his sons out on bail and running for mayor because the prosecution incredulously failed to prove his participation despite his presence at the meeting where the slaughter was decided and planned, and close to half of the suspects still free.”

“It is not encouraging at all, not by any standard. Indeed, the Ampatuan Massacre may well be the symbol of Noynoy Aquino’s term: a rutted, crooked path strewn with broken promises and a trail of blood,” Alburo said.

“Not because of what he has done but, even worse, because he has done nothing for the simple reason that he simply does not care,” he added.

But Malacañang said it continues to look for closure on the case, but its hands are practically tied with the trial ongoing before the judicial branch.

“It’s already with the judicial branch of government. So what can you expect from us? In the normal course of things, the executive branch is like the ordinary citizen also waiting the outcome of the trial,” said Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda.

Tears in heaven. Maguindanao Gov. Ismael Toto Mangudadatu (in cap looking up) releases balloons after he prayed at the site of the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre at Ampatuan, Maguindanao where he lost his wife and sister. MARK NAVALES

Dinky only ‘reached out’ to the homeless SOCIAL Welfare and Development Secretary Corazon Soliman disputed the claim of a human rights group that hundreds of homeless families were taken off the streets ahead of the arrival of foreign dignitaries during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.

But Manila mayor and former President Joseph Estrada said the solution to homelessness in Metro Manila should be addressed by the mayors of the metropolis, who are members of the Metro Manila Council.

“We have to sit down together to work out

and implement a permanent solution to the issue of street dwelling families. We have had enough of the band-aid solution to the problem,” Estrada said after he was criticized for fighting the poor instead of combatting poverty.

Soliman, on the other hand, said in a statement that the Manila Department of Social Welfare only “reached out” to 77 families so they can be “interviewed and assessed for the provision of appropriate services.”

“What the media saw during the visit at the Boystown were regular residents of the

center who have been reached out much earlier than the city wide reach-out operation,” Soliman said after television footage showed people complaining that they were being forcibly detained at the facility.

The families admitted that they were homeless people living on the streets of Manila and they were forcibly taken by city hall authorities to the Boystown, a facility in Marikina City owned by the City of Manila.

During the assessment, 12 families were assessed to be potential beneficiaries of the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer

Families for Homeless Families and two were qualified under the regular Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, Soliman said.

She said families were provided a complete package of assistance, including responsive shelter program, access to social services, and economic opportunities for the improvement of their living conditions.

She said they were also given up to P4,000 per month to help them pay for rental payments, which is paid directly to the lessor and not the families, for six months to one year.

Another magistrate assassinated

By Rey E. Requejo

Person of interest. Mugshot shows Arnel Janoras, suspected assassin of Bulacan Regional Trial Court Judge Wilfredo Nieves, after he was arrested for illegal possession of firearms last Nov. 21. Janoras was later shot dead by jail guards after he supposedly tried to grab a firearm while he was on his way to court for an inquest.

ONLY two weeks after Bulacan Judge Wilfredo Nieves was assassinated last Nov. 11, another judge was killed in an ambush in Northern Samar on Sunday.

The authorities said Municipal Trial Court Judge Reynaldo Espinar of Laoang, Northern Samar was shot dead by a lone assassin outside a cockpit arena at the nearby Pambujan town.

Espinar died on the spot while the still unidentified killer was also shot dead by his bodyguards.

Espinar already survived an ambush attempt inside his court office last May by three men disguised as applicants for court

clearances. He had reportedly been receiving death threats since last year.

Investigators were still determining the motive of the killing, but initial investigation indicated that the suspect was a member of the New People’s Army.

Meanwhile, Arnel Janoras, the principal suspect in the killing of Nieves, was shot dead by police yesterday.

Bulacan provincial director Senior Supt. Ferdinand Divina said Janoras was killed while he was being transported from Malolos City to San Jose Del Monte City at 9:20 a.m. Monday.

Janoras, who was being brought to the prosecutor’s office for an inquest on another

case, allegedly tried to grab the firearm of one of his escorts inside the police vehicle.

“A scuffle ensued which led to the death of the suspect when his escort was forced to shoot him,” said the report, which called the incident a “shootout.”

Nieves had just left his courtroom at the Capitol Compound and was on board his vehicle, headed home at 5 p.m. last Nov. 11 when still unidentified suspects onboard a silver Toyota Innova and a motorcycle disembarked from their vehicles and started firing on his vehicle.

Nieves died on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds in different parts of his body.

T U E S D AY : n o v E m b E r 24 , 2 0 1 5

A5

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Customs electronic system tracks transfer of goods

By Vito Barcelo The Bureau of Customs has simplified the process of duty-free goods being transferred to sites authorized by the Philippine economic Zone Authority, to make sure that the shipments would not be diverted into the domestic market.

“It will guarantee that only duly approved goods are withdrawn/transferred; goods that may have diverted from the intended destination can be identified; and intended transfer is successfully delivered at the approved destination,” BoC officials said.

Memorandum order (CMO) 40-2015, signed by Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina, specified Customs’ role to ensure the goods being transferred are adequately secured.

“To simplify the process

of goods transfer between ecozone Logistics Service enterprise Facilities and Partner Peza Locators using the electronic Zone Transfer System, the bureau defined its personnel’s specific role in the proc ess,” Lina said.

Deputy Commissioner Agaton Uvero said that the implementation of the eZTS last July have promoted transparency and facilitated transactions among Peza locators and will reduce the cost of doing business for the exporters.

“The eZTS will also allow both Customs and Peza authorities to monitor, real- time, the transfer and movement of tax-andduty free goods among the ecozones, thereby reducing the possibility of illegal transfers and withdrawals of goods into the domestic market,” Uvero said.

Up in arms. Senatorial candidates lend a hand to Ariel P. Lim (center), president of the National Confederation of Tricycle

Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines, in filing a court petition before the Pasig RTC against the LTO’s new order.

From left : Princess Jacel Kiram, Sandra Cam, Red Cross chairman Richard Gordon, and former Interior Secretary Rafael Alunan III. ANDreW rABULAN

New LTO order draws flak NBI, police clearances mean extra burden, say critics

By Maricel Cruz and John Paolo Bencito TransporT operators and lawmakers are up in arms against an order issued by the Land Transportation office imposing additional requirements on the renewal of professional driver’s license.

The controversial LTO administrative order AVT2015-029 was signed on Sept. 22, 2015 by Transportation Secretary Joseph emilio Abaya and his deputy Alfonso Tan Jr. as chief of the Land Transportation Office.

LTO’s September order

prompted a group of tricycle operators to ask the Pasig City Regional Trial Court for a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injuction nullifying the AbayaTan impost.

In a 14-page petition, Ariel Lim of the National

Confederation of Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines questioned before the court the implementation of the LTO order requiring at least two million drivers applying for renewal of professional driver’s permits and conductor’s permit to submit additional requirements such as an NBI and police clearances.

Senatorial candidates Richard Gordon, honey Jacel Kiram, Sandra Cam and Rafael Alunan accompanied Lim in the filing of the case.

In the house of Rep-

resentatives, a Palace ally demanded that LTO should suspend its new order requiring a driver to obtain NBI and polices clearances as a prerequisite for the renewal of licenses.

Instead of requiring NBI and police clearances, the LTO should reinstate their previous drug testing requirement, Iloilo City Rep. Gerry Trenas said at least for those who are applying for professional license, to ensure that public utility drivers are drug-free.

Trenas said that requiring NBI and police clearance from renewing license

holders and new applicants would only entail unnecessary cost for applicants, most of whom barely has enough money to pay for their license fees.

This would also cause unnecessary hassle for applicants who would have to waste at least a week of their productive days just to be able to get an NBI and police clearance even before they can even start queuing to apply for their actual driver’s license.

What is only required for one to be able to get a driver’s license is to be physically and mentally capable

to drive a vehicle and properly observe traffic rules and therefore, requiring an NBI and police clearance is completely ill-advised and unreasonable.

Trenas said that what is needed instead is to reinstate the drug test procedure which was part of the medical tests being administered as pre-licensing requirement.

This is to avoid issuing licenses to drivers who are drug addicts who can pose real danger to their fellow motorists, passengers, pedestrians and other people who are on the road.

Romualdez vows full support for govt’s salary hike proposal

Pep talk. Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez delivers his inspirational message during the luncheon meeting with Camarines Sur District 4 Municipal Official and Youth Leaders at Brgy. Abo, Municipality of Tigaon. Ver NoVeNo

SeNATORIAL candidate and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Monday lauded the passage of a bill at a committee level that will increase the salary of government workers.

The house committee on appropriations approved the pproposed Salary Standardization Law of 2015 for the benefit of some 1.5-million government employees, which include public school teachers, soldiers and policemen.

The SSL of 2015 or house Bill No. 6268 proposed a P226-million fund for the new round of salary increase for government personnel. The bill, drafted by the Department of Budget and Management, will be implemented over a period of fours years beginning 2016.

The Leyte lawmaker said the passage of the SSL shows compassion to ordinary Filipino workers. “Yan ang tunay na malasakit

sa ordinaryong pilipino, selfless workers who should have long been rewarded,” he said.

Aside from the increase in salary, Romualdez pushed for the passage of proposed measures that aim to reduce personal and corporate income taxes even as Malacañang has rejected such proposals.

“As lawmakers, we should not stop finding ways on how to help the plight of the workers to show our compassion to them,” said Romualdez, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association.

Another lawmaker sought the reduction of the income tax on individuals based on the consumer price index.

Rep. Raneo Abu proposed the inflationlinked tax cut under house Bill 6258, saying that the tax relief will enable taxpayers to cope with rising prices of basic commodities.

Maricel Cruz

t u e s d ay : n o v e m b e r 24 , 2 0 1 5

A6 Inventors wanting in perks, Marcos laments

news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

MMDA to resume drive vs distracting billboards

By Joel E. Zurbano

By Macon Araneta SENATOR Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. expressed his frustrations over the government’s lack of support for Filipino inventors citing for instance the case of the maker of the internationally-acclaimed salt-powered lamp.

Marcos said Filipino inventors have been complaining in the past that they experience difficulty in trying to avail of incentives they are entitled to receive under the law. This drives them to find support outside the country, he said.

“We should be the first ones to benefit from the innovative creations of our inventors. Unless we give them adequate support we will always lose out from investors abroad who are always on the lookout for promising new products,” he said.

He called on the government to help the group of Filipina inventor Aisa Mijeno to realize her goal of mass producing the salt-water powered LED lamp.

“It is sad that the government has yet to provide support for Mijeno’s invention when both US President Barack Obama and Chinese billionaire Jack Ma of Alibaba had recognized the potential of the invention,” Marcos said.

Mijeno, CEO of SALt (Sustainable Alternative Lighting) shared the stage with Obama and Ma at the Apec CEO Summit where Obama moderated a session after his speech on climate change. She said her group needed funding to produce the lamp on a commercial scale.

“SALt’s invention has gained international attention and earned various awards and it is puzzling why we have not seen any effort from the government to help bring this product of Filipino ingenuity to the market,” Marcos lamented.

The LED lamp can provide 8 hours of light powered only by a solution of water and two tablespoons of salt or plain seawater.

The senator noted that SALt’s invention which will provide a cheap and dependable source of light in many rural areas of the country where there is still no electricity will also give employment if mass produced here in the country.

The Metro Manila Development Authority will resume its campaign against billboards and other outdoor commercial displays that pose undue distractions to motorists and may lead to accidents.

Sister Act. Mayeth and her sister Mercy assemble Christmas lanterns on Sunday, Nov. 22, 2015 to meet the growing demand in Davao City. Lanterns cost from P30 to P500 apiece, depending on the size.

OMAR MANGORSI

“Yes, we are ready at anytime to resume our campaign. But we must wait first for the final decision on the case,” said MMDA chairman Emerson Carlos.

The Court of Appeals earlier overturned the decision of a Makati City trial court which stopped the MMDA from regulating the use of billboards and advertising signs along major and secondary thoroughfares in the metropolis.

“This is a welcome development on the part of the MMDA, which is tasked also to clear ads signs and gigantic billboards which not only distract motorists and serve as eyesores in the Metro Manila skylines but also give subliminal messages,” Carlos said.

The MMDA, during the watch of chairman Francis Tolentino, drew flak from certain groups when it opened the way “to regulate the billboard industry which fortuitously resisted change in any form whatsoever.”

“If in the process of revamping the industry and entrenched interests bite back, the MMDA will still do what is best for the common good,” Carlos said. “Our campaign is more on public safety.”

Carlos said the agency will meet members of the Metro Manila Council, the policy-making body of the MMDA, to discuss the resumption of anti-billboard campaign in the National Capital Region, especially along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.

Carlos expressed confidence that the CA ruling would set a precedent in the other cases lodged by private companies against the MMDA, questioning the authority of the agency in issuing permits for billboards and advertising signs.

We hope that the ruling will also be a precedent in cases against the MMDA, with the courts deciding in favor of the agency,” he said.

In a 21-page decision, the CA dismissed the petition for declaratory relief filed by the three advertising firms—Summit Publishing Co. Inc., Bigboard Advertising Corp. and Sygoo Enterprises—against the MMDA, ruling that the Makati court committed a grave abuse of discretion.

Banker testifies vs ex-lawmaker in pork barrel scam

By Rio N. Araja A PROSECUTION witness on Monday maintained before the Sandiganbayan that former congressman Edgar Valdez of the Association of Philippine Electric Cooperatives received money from businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, alleged mastermind in the P10-billion pork barrel fund scam.

AMLC bank investigator Joeshias Tambago told the antigraft court’s Fifth Division that 60 percent to 70 percent of Valdez’s

transactions were related to his Priority Development Assistance Fund.

“The bank transactions mostly involved deposits of money from various non-government organizations allegedly owned by Napoles,” Tambago said during the bail plea hearing of Valdez.

He took into consideration on the dates of entry in the summary of rebates of whistleblower Benhur Luy and the dates when the money were deposited by the Napoles-linked foundations to Valdez’s bank accounts.

Another entry in Luy’s summary of rebates showed P1 million was given to Valdez as rebate on Oct. 10, 2006, Tambago said.

Three days later, P100,000 was deposited to Valdez through his Allied Bank’s savings account, he added.

Luy’s entry also showed P1 million was given to Valdez on March 27, 2008, while a day later, P500,000 was deposited to his account at Allied Bank.

At least four foundations deposited P270 million to the bank accounts of Napoles’ JLN Corp. and

Jo Chris Trading that also deposited to Valdez’s bank accounts on several occasions, he said.

In a previous testimony, Tambago told the Sandiganbayan that Valdez’s five bank accounts received P51.9 million from some foundations owned by Napoles.

The former representative was charged with plunder, a no bail offense, before the anti-graft court for allegedly receiving Valdez P57.78 million in kickbacks from his pork barrel fund siphoned to the Napoles-linked foundations in 2004 until 2010.

t u e s d ay : n o v e m b e r 24 , 2 0 1 5

A7

news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Intel agency: Govt offices should boost their security

By Mel Caspe TACLOBAN CITY—The National Intelligence Coordinating Agency has reminded government offices to step up security measures in state-owned facilities.

Speaking to government officials on the sidelines of Regional Development Council’s Development Administration Committee on Monday, NICA assistant regional director Eustacio Bacabac noted that most government agencies have no “organic security guards.”

“Most government agencies don’t have security program and no security officer responsible for the security of the office. Some agencies rely on blue guards for the security needs and requirement,” Bacabac said.

Blue guards, according to NICA official, are not organic and they have limited access to offices.

“They don’t have the right mindset to secure our office since most of them don’t receive just compensation,” Bacabac added.

The meeting included an hour-long orientation on the basic concepts on security and Executive Order 608, mandating the establishment of a national security clearance system for government personnel with access to classified matters.

NICA also warned government officials against some groups and individuals trying to access documents to be their source of intelligence and other relevant information, in order “to accomplish their unlawful objectives.”

NICA urged agencies to launch a good security program, taking into consideration the personnel, document, communication and physical securities.

Big fish. A man carries fresh tuna from the waters of Sarangani Bay. MARCONI NAVALES

Miners cut costs to survive drop in global metal prices

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY—Metallic mining companies are now constrained to implement stringent cost-cutting measures for them to survive the serious negative impact of the continuous decline of global metal prices while non-metallic companies are reaping the fruits of the government’s heavy spending on infrastructure development in the countryside, an official of the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association said here recently.

Louie Sarmiento, PMSEA president, said metallic mining companies had been cutting expenses over the past several months to lower the cost of operations

so they could survive the effects of the sudden drop in the world metal prices.

Mining experts predict that the drop in world metal prices will continue

until 2018 and that the temporary slump in the mineral industry will be over by the middle of 2019 or even later.

“The best thing for mining industry stakeholders is reduce unnecessary expenditures to be able to reduce their production cost while being able to cope with the projected continuous drop in the world metal prices.

The mining industry still remains vibrant amidst the projection of the worstcase scenario,” Sarmiento stressed.

However, the PMSEA official pointed out the nonmetallic companies are in a different situation because they are now the ones gen-

erating income from the government’s heavy spending on infrastructure development in the countryside.

He added the existence of more development projects in the countryside will definitely sustain the gains of the non-metallic mining companies which are banking on the country’s rich source of raw materials to be able to produce quality infrastructure products used in the lucrative construction industry.

Sarmiento admitted that for the past several years,the non-metallic mining industry had not been enjoying a robust growth as what it has been enjoying lately. As a result, most companies have

been posting record-breaking income following fullblast construction activities.

He commended concerned government agencies and local governments for being able to bankroll the implementation of multibillion infrastructure projects that will significantly contribute in increasing economic activities in the countryside because of good roads and generate employment opportunities for the people as well as uplift their living condition due to the existence of sustainable sources of income.

Sarmiento is optimistic that the metallic mining industry will be able to recover from the slump soon.

54% of Cordillerans aware of region’s autonomy bid

Sad day. Members of the Tacloban National Press Club commemorate the sixth anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre where 58 people, including 32 media workers, were killed. MEL CASPE

BANAUE, Ifugao—Fifty-four percent of Cordillerans are now aware of the renewed pursuit for regional autonomy being spearheaded by the Regional Development Council.

Meanwhile, 46 percent of them remain unaware of it, according to the results of the latest pulse survey geared towards getting the pulse of the people on the clamor for selfgovernance.

Milagros A. Rimando, regional director of the Cordillera office of the National Economic and Development Authority and RDC-CAR vice chairperson, said the latest pulse survey had a total respondents of 5,558

with 32.9 percent of them coming from rural areas near town centers, 30.8 percent coming from urban and poblacion centers, 18.9 percent coming from rural far-flung areas and 17.5 percent coming from highly urbanized areas.

Based on the 2014 survey recently released by the agency, the number of people who are now aware of the autonomy issue grew by 13 percent from the 41 percent generated during the 2013 similar survey. The yes votes in the 2014 survey, however, dropped to 26 percent from the 28 percent yes votes in 2013.

Fifty-nine percent of the

respondents in urban and poblacion centers claimed they we aware of the renewed pursuit for regional autonomy while 41 percent of them claimed there were not aware of such efforts. In rural areas near town centers, 54 percent were aware while 46 percent were not aware of the clamor for regional autonomy.

In highly urbanized areas, there was a 50-50 split on those who were and were not aware of the autonomy campaign while in the rural far-flung areas, 53 percent were not aware of the autonomy campaign while only 47 percent claimed they knew about the autonomy movement.

Dexter A. See

A8

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

OPINION [ EDI TORI A L ]

IMPUNITY A BULACAN Regional Trial Court judge was driving home from work November 11 when assassins shot at his vehicle. Judge Wilfredo Nieves died instantly. Police say they are looking into the cases Nieves was handling at the time of his death. There were reports he had been receiving threats to his life prior to his slaying.

On September 1, a trial court judge was also killed in Baler, Aurora. Judge Erwin Alaba was on his way to a hearing when his killer shot him six times. Alaba’s wife, who was with him in the car, was injured: a bullet grazed her arm.

These slayings of members of the Judiciary had been condemned by the Supreme Court, by authorities, by lawyers, and by the general public. Nieves and Alaba were supposed to be part of the group sworn to interpret the law. Their role as judges was to see to it that justice was served.

Their killers and their masterminds, however, had other ideas: make a mockery of justice by silencing those sworn to uphold the law.

This insult rings true when we think back to six years ago. In Ampatuan town in Maguindanao, 58 people—some part of the convoy that was filing a certificate of candidacy at a Comelec office, some media workers covering the event and some who just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time—were killed.

Some arrests have been made and a judge had been assigned to hear all cases related to the masLOWDOWN sacre exclusively. Until now, however, the cases JOJO A. have hardly moved, bogged down by technicaliROBLES ties and obvious attempts at delay. A lawyer estimated that because of the complex nature of the AS A former prosecutor, cases, resolution could take at least 25 years—an The Punisher of Davao entire generation.

City must be aware of CiAlready, the prime suspect, the patriarch of cero’s story about a wise the Ampatuan clan, had died of sickness this Roman judge who was in year. Who else knows what could still happen the habit of asking who and how those responsible could elude the constands to benefit from sequences of what they have done in the many anything that takes place. years that lie ahead?

Asking “Cui bono?”, the Every day that the guilty are not made to pay judge believed, was a for their crime is a day too long. We seek to at surefire way of discoverleast have appearances of order. There are aring who was motivated rests and incarcerations. There are hearings. Inenough to cause somevestigations. Manhunts and rewards. In the end, thing to happen beyond what would stop these acts of impunity is the the obvious suspects, certainty that when you do something wrong, who may, in fact, be mere you will be made accountable for it—swiftly. A scapegoats. weak system where the powerful and the cunFor now, let’s assume ning know they get away with their deeds does that Davao City Mayor not inspire confidence in our law enforcers and Rodrigo Duterte is back in security in our daily routines. the presidential race and For this administration, down to its last few that he will not flake out months, this is not a priority. It did not create this anymore.

As assumptions problem, we can imagine its spokesmen saying. go, given Duterte’s record The massacre took place during the previous reof shilly-shallying, that’s gime. What it would not admit is the fact that the not a small one to make. number of extra judicial killings even rose during Even my friend Manny President Aquino’s term. It even went so far as Pinol, one of the biggest playing down the killings or blaming those killed. boosters of Duterte, acWith leadership like this, small wonder that cepts that there is already impunity has worsened. Criminals have become a lot of ground that has bolder and fiercer—with a contempt for the law been lost in between the that is matched only by this administration’s inmayor’s no-show at the sensitivity to the dangers that this impunity brings.

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-

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

WHO BENEFITS? Commission on Elections at the filing deadline and this weekend, when he once again declared—after a fashion—that he is indeed seeking the presidency. Of course, Pinol insists that those who have lost faith in Duterte will return to the fold— but that is by no means a sure thing this late in the day.

But for me, the question of whether Duterte can still gain traction and win is not as important as two others. And these are: Who stands to benefit from a Duterte candidacy from among those who are already running? In addition, which candidate would suffer the most if Duterte runs?

In answer to the first question, I think it stands to reason that all of the other candidates would take hits when Duterte runs, for different reasons. As for the second, my guess is the candidate or candidates planning on buying or cheating their way to victory in Mindanao will be hurt the most.

It’s pretty obvious that

If Duterte wins back those who have abandoned him because of his willy-nilly presidential quest, he could just pull it off.

a Duterte candidacy is going to cause all the four current candidates—Senator Grace Poe, Vice President Jejomar Binay, exSecretary Mar Roxas and Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago—to shed votes.

But I also think that more than Binay or Roxas, who have pretty much identified their political bases, it is Poe and Santiago who will lose more votes to Duterte.

Duterte, after all, is expected to get a fair share

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

Chairman President & Chief Executive Officer Board Member & Chief Legal Adviser Director of Operations Finance Officer Edgar M. Valmorida Circulation Manager

of the so-called “reform” and “non-traditional” votes, which currently belong to the two women senators. And while Binay does have a following in many of same places where Duterte has a strong survey showing, as well, the Vice President already has his own solid vote base and would not lose as much to Duterte as either Poe or Santiago.

It helps to remember that Duterte has used as his reason for changing his mind his outrage at the recent ruling of the Senate Electoral Tribunal on the citizenship of Poe. To me, this only means that Duterte himself has identified Poe, the consistent leader in all credible political surveys, as his main opponent—and the most likely source of his own votes. *** As for who will suffer the most because of a Duterte run, my guess is it will be those candidates who are planning to pull a fast one in the traditional hotbeds of election Continued on A11

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

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

Emil P. Jurado Chairman Emeritus, Editiorial Board

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

A10

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

DUTERTE DECIDES TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO

THE entry of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte into the 2016 presidential race is no doubt a game changer. It could affect the chances of administration candidate Mar Roxas and survey frontrunner Grace Poe Llamanzares.

Analysts and political observers agree on two things: First, that the Mindanao and Visayan votes that could otherwise go for Mar Roxas will now be split between him and Duterte. Still, as far as dislodging Mar Roxas from his ranking as

Whatever the outcome, the entry of Duterte into the presidential race makes the 2016 polls more interesting.

third place in poll surveys, this is a matter of speculation. Despite the Davao mayor’s tough stance against crime and corruption, trafficking of illegal drugs and other syndicated crimes, there are also those who are afraid where he can lead the country to.

Duterte’s dislike for Mrs. Llamanzares could also affect the latter’s popularity. He can go on campaigning against “an American President” in the wake of at least five disqualification cases filed against Poe as senator and for President.

Nonetheless, it’s now

a five-way race for the presidency in 2016 between Poe, Vice President Jejomar Binay, Roxas, Senator Miriam Santiago and Duterte.

Mrs. Llamanzares may now be the most popular presidentiable candidate, according to poll surveys, but we have seen in past presidential elections that popularity is not all there is to it in winning elections. And we cannot discount the grassroots machineries and all the resources of the administration.

Miriam has the misfortune of being weighed down by cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome. These prevent her from conducting a real nationwide campaign. That is why I am wondering: what prompted her to run for the most backbreaking campaign of any election?

Duterte also has baggage to carry; he is identified with the Davao Death Squad responsible for many extra-judicial killings in Davao.

Whatever the outcome, the entry of Duterte into the presidential race makes the 2016 polls more interesting. *** Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad has promised us that there will be an audit of the P10 billion or so expenses of the government for the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit held in Manila.

I hope it will be an honest accounting. This is the people’s money.

This is no joke.

Almost immediately, the loss of productive hours cannot be quantified right away. Imagine, there was almost a week of lockdown of schools, public offices and private companies in Metro Manila.

The lockdown and ensuing traffic gridlock must have caused the country billions of pesos. Recall how people walked to their desti-

CLIMATE CHANGE AND OUR SEAS LAST week, while the Leaders’ Summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation was meeting in Manila, another important regional meeting was going on in Danang City, Vietnam. This was the East Asian Seas Congress 2015, a triennial conference convened by the Partnerships in the Environmental Management of the Seas of East Asia, a Manila based international organization. This year’s co-hosts were the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam, Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, and the People’s Committee of Danang City. As always, the EAS Congress this year, with a theme of Global Targets, Local Benefits: Setting the Sustainable Development Agenda for the Seas of East Asia beyond 2015, was supported by the Global Environmental Facility and the United Nations Development Programme.

Indeed, 2015 is a milestone year for the 11 member-countries of Pemsea as it serves as the target year for the commitments set by the East Asian Seas region in line with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy-Seas of East Asia which it adopted in 2003. Among others, the EAS Congress included the Ministerial Forum which adopted an updated SDS-SEA with new targets and schedule that is aligned and more responsive to the emerging needs/concerns of the region while staying comnations and waited for hours for a ride.

The bilateral agreements entered into by the President are all speculative.

As for the pluses— well at least the Philippines was on the map again for its hosting of the summit.

I still cannot grasp the logic of holding the Apec meetings in Metro Manila considering the multi-faceted hassles of everyday life here.

The summit could have been done in Subic as it was in 1996.

Santa Banana, if anything, what the Apec summit showed is the utter incompetence and ineptitude of the Aquino administration. Mr. Aquino would not hesitate to do anything just to show off.

But did he really believe he could hide the fact that the streets of Metro Manila are home to street dwellers? Did

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA mitted to its vision of establishing a sustainable East Asian Seas. Recognizing the value of balancing social, environmental and economic aspects to achieve sustainable development, the Fifth Ministerial Forum served as a platform for the Ministers to discuss with key corporate groups and donors in support of the scaling up of SDS-SEA implementation.

As my colleague Ryan Whisnant and I wrote in an online article, the seas of East Asia are important for the region. It reaches out to an area of seven million km2 and spans 235,000 km of coastline. One can find in the East Asian seas over one third of all coral reefs and mangroves and the highest levels of biodiversity for coral reef fish, mollusks, mangroves and seagrass species. Its coastal areas are very densely populated, with nine of the world’s megacities (with population of more than 10 million), along with another dozen cities of more than five million residents found in the region. Economically, marine and coastal industries including fishing, ports and shipping and coastal tourism comprise 15 to 20 percent of the GDP in some East Asian countries.

he think the Apec delegates had not heard of the awful traffic situation here? BS Aquino III only succeeded in fooling himself. *** The four senators— Loren Legarda, Pia Cayetano, Cynthia Villar and Bam Aquino— who voted as members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal against the disqualification of Senator Grace Poe as a duly-elected senator can now go down in history as having disowned the very Constitution they have vowed to protect when they took their oath.

I am particularly disappointed at Pia Cayetano, a lawyer, who should know her law that Mrs. Llamanzares failed to prove before the SET that she is natural-born.

Pia knew, as the other pro-Poe senators also knew, that international or customary laws can-

Unfortunately, as Whisnant and I pointed out, our current use of coastal and marine resources is outstripping their ability to sustainably support our needs, and we’re seeing an overall decline in ocean health at alarming rates.

Add to this threat global climate change and we have a potential for disaster. That is why the updated SDS-SEA has proposed the adoption of a new strategy, mandating the East Asian countries to undertake steps to improve their capability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and other man-made and natural hazards, particularly on ocean and coastal systems and coastal communities.

The new ADAPT strategy are anchored on the following considerations and principles: First: “Climate change adaptation is a key area of concern in the Seas of East Asia region due to its peculiar vulnerability to climate change, the impacts of which cut across various areas and issues.”

Second: “States shall prioritize climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management to ensure the achievement of sustainable development.”

Third: “The integrated coastal management approach is an essential mechanism in the sustainable development of coastal and marine areas, as well as in preparing for, adapting, and Continued on A11

not prevail against the Constitution.

Pia voted anyway for Poe for sentimental and personal reasons. But not as a lawyer. Her late father, Senator Rene Cayetano, must now be turning in his grave.

Rene was my good friend and I know he would have voted to defend the Constitution.

I am also disappointed at my friend Loren Legarda, who should have been more circumspect and independentminded instead of going with the majority. As for Tito Sotto, oh, well, what can you expect from him since we knew all along how he would vote to protect one of his kind in the entertainment industry?

As for Bam Aquino, what can you expect from a puerile mind?

Cynthia Villar, for her part, has always said that she would vote for what the people want.

In other words, damn the Constitution so long as the people are given what they want.

So do these senators still expect to be called lawmakers? In my book, the five have lost all their moral ascendancy in trying to go after wrongdoing in government. They have committed the worse crime of disowning the Constitution.

In declaring that Poe is not natural-born, Supreme Court Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Arturo Brion and Teresita Leonardo de Castro are unanimous in their dissenting opinions that “there is no Philippine law that automatically confers Philippine citizenship to a foundling at birth.

Even if there were, some would only result in the foundling being a naturalized Filipino citizen, not a natural-born Filipino citizen.”

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

A11

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA

A CLOSER LOOK AT THE SET RULING

LAST week, the Senate Electoral Tribunal ruled that Senator Grace Poe is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, and dismissed the petition filed against her by election crusader Rizalito David. The SET is composed of nine individuals—three justices of the Supreme Court, and six senators, with the most senior justice as its chairman.

Poe won by a slim 5-4 vote. Senators Paolo Benigno Aquino IV, Pia Cayetano, Loren Legarda, Vicente Sotto III, and Cynthia Villar sided with Poe. Justices Antonio Carpio, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, and Arturo Brion, and Senator Nancy Binay, ruled against her.

As expected, Poe was happy with the outcome. Although Poe supporters branded the ruling as a victory for all foundlings in the country, everyone knows that her 5-4 victory stands on thin ice.

David correctly observed that the SET decision was a moral victory for him and for everybody who want to uphold the mandate of the Constitution that only natural-born citizens of the Philippines may be elected President. He has good reason for making that statement—all three learned justices of the SET, arguably among the best legal minds in the country, held that Poe is not a natural-

born citizen of the Philippines. Their collective view is anchored on the Constitution, which reckons naturalborn citizenship from birth, and not from any other basis.

Moreover, the Constitution defines a natural-born citizen of the Philippines as one who has not performed any act to acquire or perfect his Philippine citizenship. Since Poe renounced her American citizenship years ago so she can claim to be a Filipino again, Poe obviously fails to comply with the definition provided in the Constitution.

The majority opinion, however, pales in comparison to the pronouncement of the justices. For the majority, it is unfair to disqualify a foundling from running for high public office, and that under international law, a foundling is considered a natural-born citizen of the country where the foundling is discovered.

Although the five senators relied heavily on international law, it appears that their appreciation of the nature of international conventions is incorrect. In fact, the majority opinion is devoid of any legal argument which can validly impeach the rationale underlying the pronouncement of the three justices.

For one, the premise of the majority opinion—foundlings should not be discriminated against—sounds nice because

it is a motherhood statement.

That premise, however, is not supported by the majority’s subsequent references to international law. The main international covenant cited by the majority has no legal value to the SET case because the Philippines is not a signatory to it. Other international covenants ratified by the Philippines may seem favorable for Poe, but these covenants are likewise bereft of legal value to the SET case because they contravene the Constitution, or because the enabling law, required by the covenant, has yet to be enacted by Congress.

Evidently, the majority ruling is legally untenable, and becomes patently worthless visa-vis the legal opinion of the three justices.

Resolving an issue involving the citizenship of an individual, particularly as to whether or not the individual concerned is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, requires specialized skills in Constitutional Law and Public International Law—which not all lawyers have. Four of the five senators who voted for Poe are not lawyers, much less experts in either or both fields.

This remark should not be taken as an indictment of non-lawyers. Rather, it is an assertion that when nonlawyers venture into a sensitive realm where specialized

legal expertise is very vital, if Poe in order to court the votes not absolutely indispensable, of foundlings and naturalized their opinions must have sub- Filipinos who have identified stantial legal justification, es- themselves with the senator. pecially when such opinions It is also possible that since differ from the views of the the losing party is sure to eltop magistrates of the land. evate the ruling of the SET to Senator Cayetano is the the Supreme Court anyway, only lawyer among the sena- they decided to get on the tors sitting in the SET. Ob- good side of Poe, which may servers say Cayetano sided prove very useful to them in with her four colleagues pos- the future if Poe wins as Pressibly because she is involved ident. Any of that qualifies as in proposed legislation calling crass opportunism, but that’s for the improvement in the politics. lot of foundlings. AccordAlthough the five pro-Poe ingly, Cayetano could not be senators in the SET are enexpected to rule against Poe titled to vote in the way they under such circumstances. see fit in the case, whatever The absence of any sub- discretion they may have in stantial legal justification in the adjudication process is the majority ruling by the necessarily circumscribed by five pro-Poe politicians in the Constitution and the apthe SET, as well as the major- plicable jurisprudence. Since ity ruling’s marked contrast each senator has taken an to the pronouncement of the oath to support and defend three justices, is explained by the Constitution, their vote the fact that politicians and in the SET cannot impugn or justices are not alike. Justices disregard the dictates of the are expected to render judg- fundamental law of the land. ment judiciously, and on the Inasmuch as the majorbases of applicable law and ity ruling cannot be justified jurisrprudence. On the other in terms of law and jurispruhand, almost all politicians dence, it is undoubtedly atresolve issues using populist tended with grave abuse of standards and partisan in- discretion. Being so, David terests, and with almost no is authorized by the Constiregard for constitutionalism tution to bring his case to the and the rule of law.

Supreme Court where, fortuPerhaps the majority ruled nately, political considerations for Poe because she had be- are expected to take a back come a friend in the three seat to what the Constitution years she has been in the Sen- says and, more importantly, ate. Maybe they voted for what the Constitution means.

Who... From A8

It also makes sense that, because Roxas is definitely lagging behind in Metro Manila, Luzon and the Visayas, he will pay special attention to Mindanao, especially if there is no strong Mindanaoan candidate like Duterte to contest the presidency. And because the LP has the biggest war chest of all the candidates, Roxas certainly has the motivation and the wherewithal to try to win by sewing up the South.

Of course, it’s perfectly possible that Duterte could pull off a victory because of his solid Mindanao base, where not even Poe can touch his lead. But I think the true value of a Duterte candidacy is that it will make the Mindanaoans themselves jealously guard their votes, in order to secure them for their hometown hero, the mayor of Davao City.

For the first time, because Mindanao has a strong home-

grown presidential bet, voters there will be in a perfect position to discard their reputation as the playground of national election cheats. If Mindanao goes Duterte, it will prove that it is no longer the corrupt and violent St. Jude of national politicians, where cash and the barrel of the gun can snatch victory from the jaws of certain defeat on Election Day. If only for that, I think

Duterte should run. If he wins— and there are still many who are rooting for him—that will just be a bonus.

If Duterte wins back the supporters who have abandoned him because they have grown tired of his willy-nilly presidential quest, he could just pull it off. And then maybe, just maybe, it will be the whole country that will benefit from a national election this time.

The new strategy also has several objectives: First, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management will be incorporated into development policies, plans, and programs at national and local levels. These include strengthening national and local mechanisms to oversee and guide the implementation of programs focused on sustainable development, climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction and management and preventing the creation of new risks, reduce existing risks, and strengthen resilience through

various measures.

Second, to strengthen capacity of national and local governments, communities, and other stakeholders to adapt to the impacts of climate change and respond to natural and manmade hazards, which include: promoting regional cooperation among countries in education and training activities related to ICM and climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management; Strengthening national and local capacity building programs on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and manage-

ment; and, fostering networks and partnerships to plan, coordinate and implement climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction and management initiatives at different levels and across different sectors.

Finally, the updated SDS-SEA also aims at having risk-sensitive public and private investments supported by innovative sustainable financing mechanisms. This means financial and fiscal instruments, including for development projects, must be strengthened. Non-monetary incentives and mechanisms that motivate environment-friendly

and sustainable investments affecting oceans, coastal resources and communities would also need to be developed.

Last week, the leaders of Apec came together in Manila, this week the Asean leaders with some of their global colleagues will meet in Kuala Lumpur before gathering again in Paris next week for climate change. It is my hope that one of the issues they will prioritize for the future is making sure we are doing right by our seas.

cheating all over Mindanao.

And because Roxas and his Liberal Party have invested so heavily in Mindanao through the legalized vote-buying scheme that the Aquino administration calls the Conditional Cash Transfer program, I’d like to think that the LP and its candidate is banking on Mindanao for the continuation of daang matuwid.

Climate... From A10 responding to the impacts of climate change.”

Fourth: “Local governments should carry out inclusive coastal adaptation measures that take into account the general wellbeing of communities and, at the same time, allow adequate space for changes to their activities and lifestyle.”

Fifth: “States should institutionalize and strengthen disaster preparedness and response, as well as use post-disaster reconstruction and recovery to reduce future disaster risks.”

Facebook: Dean Tony La Vina Twitter: tonylavs

T UE S DAY : N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 5

A12

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Rigondeaux is a runner—Francisco

By Ronnie Nathanielsz IN ONE of the most boring fights in recent years where the fans at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, boxing fans booed during the bout and raised it a few decibels when the ten round bout between undefeated two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Guillermo Rigondeaux and one-time world title challenger Drian Francisco, appeared to justify the World Boxing Organization decision to strip Rigondeaux of his super bantamweight title for inactivity.

Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico ( (left0 absorbs a hard right from Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez of Mexico (right ) during their middleweight championship boxing match on November 21, 2015 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Alvarez captured the vacant World Boxing Council middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Cotto. AFP

FIFA ethics probe requests sanctions against Blatter GENEVA—The FIFA ethics committee probing allegations of corruption against suspended president Sepp Blatter and his would-be successor, Michel Platini, requested Saturday that sanctions be levelled against both men.

Citing privacy and the presumption of innocence, the committee said it would not disclose the nature of the punishments requested against the two men who for years were the most powerful figures in world football.

However, the announcement sparked an angry response from Platini’s lawyer, who said that FIFA had “lost all credibility”.

The committee, known as the investigatory chamber of FIFA’s independent ethics watchdog, said it had submitted its final report to the body’s judgement arm, which will weigh up the recommendations.

The fallout from the report

could prove far-reaching for the future of world football’s governing body, including the possibility of permanently derailing Platini’s candidacy to lead FIFA. Final decision looming The investigatory chamber said in a statement that its final report contained “requests for sanctions against Joseph Blatter and Michel Platini.”

A separate statement from the adjudicatory chamber confirmed that it had received the reports and will study the findings “carefully”.

The judgement chamber said it would “decide in due course about whether to institute formal adjudicatory proceedings against Joseph S. Blatter and Michel Platini.”

The adjudicatory body has in the past recommended suspensions of several years, or even life, but there was no indication as to the severity of the punishments re-

quested against Blatter and Platini.

“It is a troubling coincidence!”

Thibaud d’Ales, representing Platini, told AFP on Saturday.

“The day after our appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against Michel Platini’s provisional suspension, the internal FIFA investigation is suddenly finished for Michel Platini and Sepp Blatter, even though the latter has been accused of more things.

“It’s farcical. It would be laughable if we were not talking about the future of the biggest non-governmental institution in the world.

“FIFA has lost all credibility.

A decision taken by judges who don’t respect their own rules has no value.”

Both Blatter and Platini were provisionally suspended by the ethics committee in October for 90 days.

The moves came after Swiss

PH sports forum Set in Cebu THE Philippine Sports Commission is holding a National Sports Stakeholders’ Forum on at the Crown Regency Hotel in Cebu.

This forum is expected to gather around 300 sports stakeholders from local government units across the country and representatives from the Department of Education.

“The idea came directly from our partners in different regions.” PSC Chairman Ricardo Garcia said. “There was a clamor from different client groups to hold discussions on the present programs of the Commission

Garcia

available for LGUs and the academe to adapt or incorporate into their own sports programs.”

The PSC board of commissioners shall be welcoming guests from the Philippine Olympic Committee, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department

of Education, and the 300-strong participants from different regions, provinces & municipalities. The host city shall be represented by its Mayor Michael Rama.

“The response has been encouraging. We hope that this forum would serve as a good stage to institutionalize some very worthy systems to unify our national efforts for sports development,’ Garcia enthused.

The forum was originally slated last Nov. 16 and 17 but was rescheduled to give way to the preparations and arrangements for the APEC meetings.

prosecutors opened an investigation into possible criminal mismanagement at FIFA during Blatter’s tenure, including evidence of a murky $2 million payment made to Platini in 2011, reportedly for work he did a decade earlier.

Aside from the Swiss probe, the United States justice department has charged 14 ex-FIFA officials and sports marketing executives with more than $150 million of bribery and corruption dating back decades.

Those indictments, unsealed in May, uncorked the scandal that has shaken world football and grown seemingly wider each week.

Appeals by both Blatter and Platini against their 90-day suspensions were rejected this week, and Platini has taken his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with a decision expected by the end of the month. AFP

In a post fight interview Rigondeaux said “I feel terrific after the fight. He (Francisco) threw heavy shots but his style was nothing on mine.

My style outmatched his.”

He said “I definitely wanted to give the fans a better fight so I need to get back into the gym, get more active to give a better performance . I promise with the tools I have now after signing with Roc Nation that next time I’ll be explosive.”

A disappointed Francisco put it best when he criticized Rigondeaux referring to him as “a runner not a fighter. He is afraid of getting hurt and doesn’t want to fight. I felt pressured into being the aggressor during this fight because he wasn’t fighting, he was running away. He is not a power puncher and won by points. I trained really hard for this fight and I feel like it was a waste of time because I didn’t encounter a fighter tonight.”

Certainly, the condemnation of his inactivity was also clearly evident in the bout against Francisco, someone who was a last minute choice after Roc Nation signed up Rigondeaux for some $10 million which raises the question of whether it was a good investment considering Rigondeaux’s inability to excite fans and to draw half-decent attendance at his fights.

Rigondeaux faced Francisco after the Cuban had an almost eleven month period of inactivity and although he was fairly sharp using his jab and moving around well, but his tendency to clinch also took something away from his marketability.

In fact, we felt that referee Kenny Bayless should have cautioned Rigondeaux to “get it on”since fight fans paid good money to watch the fights at the Mandalay Bay Events Center where even the main event between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, the newly crowned WBC middleweight and Ring Magazine champion overpowered an ageing Miguel Cotto was a relative disappointment and failed to live up to the pre-fight hype but was, in fairness to both boxers, competitive and a test of power versus ring savvy.

Record cast in PBA D-League A RECORD 215 aspirants including 26 Fil-foreign players with aspirations of making it to the big stage, have made themselves available for the 2015 PBA D-League Rookie Draft.

Fil-American Avery Scharer, an unrestricted NBA free agent, who led the ASEAN Basketball League in assists and steals last season, leads the list of Fil-foreign players hoping be picked in the Draft scheduled on Dec. 1 (2 p.m.) at the PBA Café in Ortigas, Pasig City.

“Wow! This is a huge pool. Certainly, this is an encouraging development for the league and basketball in general,” said PBA Commissioner Chito Narvasa, visibly surprised by number of candidates joining this year’s Draft.

“With a pool this big, I’m sure there’s a lot of talent out there. And who knows, maybe this batch could

lead to new discoveries for future Gilas pools?” Narvasa added.

The PBA D-League opens its sixth season in January 2016 with seven teams competing in the Aspirants’ Cup. These are Café France, Tanduay Light, AMA University, Racal/ Keramix Mixers, Wangs Basketball, UP-QRS/Jam Liner and Mindanao Aguilas.

“With a lot of new faces, this will be another exciting season for the D-League,” said Narvasa, who raised the eligibility age limit to 30 years old.

Racal/Keramix, which placed ninth in the Aspirants’ Cup and eighth in the Foundation Cup, owns the No.1 pick in the draft. The second pick belongs to AMA University, followed by Tanduay Light, Café France and Wangs Basketball.

UP-QRS/Jam Liner and Mindanao Aguilas will determine the sixth and

seventh spot in the drafting order via lottery.

Playing a full season in the PBA D-League is a requirement for players who intend to join next year’s PBA Draft.

The 29-year-old Scharer out of Shoreline Community College in Washington, played for Westports Malaysia Dragons in the Malaysian National Basketball League (MNBL) and the ABL. He joined but went undrafted in the 2010 NBA Draft.

“I want to go back and play in the mother land,” Scharer said during an interview with the Asian Journal, a community paper. His mother hails from Bauang, La Union.

In another interview with Sports editor Ben Goldstein of the Ebb Tide, Scharer said: “My goal in life has always been to make the NBA and playing professionally in the Philippines is just one step closer.”

T UE S DAY : N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 5

A13

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Lee siblings complete ONE cast ONE Championship has announced the complete fight card for ONE: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS, which takes place at the Mall of Asia Arena on Dec. 11, headlined by a spectacular showdown between Brandon “The Truth” Vera and Chi Lewis “Chopper” Parry for the inaugural Heavyweight World Championship.

In addition to the main event, five exciting new bouts featuring local and international MMA athletes have also been announced.

These bouts will include the Lee siblings from Singapore, Angela Lee, with her younger brother, Christian Lee making his professional MMA debut.

Angela will face Lena Tkhorevska from Poland while Christian meets Australia’s David Meak. Filipino fighters Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio and Eugene Toquero are also on the card and will face Yang Jian Bing and Wu Ze respectively.

Bruno Pucci returns to the ONE cage to battle Indonesia-based Dutch fighter, Anthony Engelen.

“Manila has always been one of our favorite cities because the support for ONE Championship and MMA is tremendous. We have prepared an amazing lineup of fights for our passionate Filipino fans who are eager to witness our unique brand of world-class MMA. These five additional bouts are guaranteed to satisfy fans hungry for action as we hold nothing back in our spectacular return to the heart of the Philippines,” said ONE Championship Chief Executive Officer Victor Cui. Tickets for ONE: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS are available now at www.smtickets.com.

MMA darling Angela “Unstoppable” Lee was victorious in her last fight, executing a rare Twister submission on her opponent at the recently concluded ONE: PRIDE OF LIONS show in Singapore. The win established Lee as the queen of submissions in ONE Championship.

Known for being a sweetheart who transforms into a formidable contender in the cage, Angela ends her fights fast, with her first three bouts ending by first round submission.

Angela looks to keep the streak alive when she meets her next opponent, Polish fighter, Lena Tkhorevska.

Execs told: Implement stricter MMA measures THE worldwide noise created by Holly Holm’s second-round knockout of formerly undefeated Rounda Rousey in their main Ultimate Fighting Championship 193 match several days ago is proof of mixed martial arts’ growing popularity.

And for this reason, Senator Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero wants the Philippine Sports Commission and the Games and Amusements Board to conduct stricter monitoring and implement tight regulations on both amateur and professional MMA fights to ensure the safety of athletes now competing in the sport fast emerging as among the most popular sporting events.

Escudero noted that while the

Realtors grab cage lead STA. LUCIA Land Inc. Quick Print Advertising, broke into the top slot of Mall Tile Experts CorpoGroup B after trampling the ration, Jay Marcelo Tires, Philippine National Police- Polar Glass and Aluminum Quick Print, 100-64, Sunday Supply, and Mr. and Mrs. night in the 5th DELeague Dot Escalona.

John Sta. Cruz, meanwhile, Basketball Tournament at the Marikina Sports Center, came up with 23 points, 13 rebounds for Marikina City.

P N P- Q u i ck Francis Game on Tuesday (Nov. 24) Marikina Sports Center Print who conMunsayac topMetro PacificToll Corporation tinues to fall of a scored Sta. Lu- 7vsp.m.

Our Lady of Fatima University victory. cia Land Inc. On the other with 18 points, four rebounds, and six as- hand, Far Eastern Universitysists followed by teammate NRMF dominated Mindanao and former league Most Agilas, 82-70, while Power Valuable Player Francis Innovation beat Macway “Kiko” Adriano, who con- Travel, 99-87, as the games tributed 17 points for the continued over the weekend.

DELeague returns on TuesRealtors (3-1) in the league supported by PSBank, Accel day with Metro Pacific Toll Sportswear, PCA-Marival- Corporation taking on Our ley, Angel’s Burger, Mckie’s Lady of Fatima University.

Tickets are available at Construction Equipment Sales and Rentals, Luyong P10 each.

Visit www.sports29.com Panciteria, Azucar Boulangerie and Patisserie, JAJ for game results.

number of underground MMA fights has decreased over the years as local promoters have gone mainstream, the youthful senator said he is alarmed by reports of the increasing number of so-called amateur fights being held in gyms and other public sporting venues.

“Mixed martial arts is no joke.

Even MMA practitioners will tell you that,” Escudero said. “It is brutal, even with the safety precautions

being observed during fights. But we cannot say that all promoters could adhere to the safety requirements of the sport if they are not properly monitored and regulated.”

The PSC is the government agency in charge of funding and the promotion of amateur sports. The GAB, meanwhile, looks after the professional leagues, including the Philippine Basketball Association, the professional boxing matches and lately, the MMA fights that attract thousands of spectators nowadays.

“In many countries, MMA has become even more popular than the sport of boxing. There are very few names now that our youth would mention as their boxing

idols, but ask them about their favorite MMA fighters and they can churn out a few, if not more names, some of whom have even fought here during events held in high-star hotels,” Escudero said.

“The problem, however, is that we do not have a national sport association which properly promotes MMA, yet. Most amateur fights being held are not regulated and monitored. And the organizers of these fights could circumvent rules by claiming these are amateur matches and do not fall under the regulatory functions of the GAB. Let’s not wait for an accident to happen, or for an athlete to die before we take action to ensure the safety of MMA athletes,” Escudero said.

Serbia’s Novak Djokovic holds up the ATP trophy after winning the men’s singles final match against Switzerlandís Roger Federer on day eight of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament. Inset shows Switzerland’s Roger Federer holding up the runner-up silver salver. AFP

Djokovic’s pace will be hard to repeat LONDON—Roger Federer has warned Novak Djokovic he will find it hard to repeat his incredible 2015 campaign.

Federer was Djokovic’s last victim of the year as the Serb romped to a 6-3, 6-4 victory in the final of the ATP Tour Finals on Sunday.

It was 28-year-old Djokovic’s 11th title of a golden year that saw the world number one win 82 of his 88 matches, reach all four Grand Slam finals and win Wimbledon, the Australian Open and the US Open.

But 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer knows just how difficult it will be for Djokovic to emulate his triumphs in 2016.

“It’s hard to play at this pace all the time. You are talking about narrow mar-

gins; a break point here and there can change the whole outcome,” Federer said.

“You can’t always be on the winning side. Margins are very small at the top.

“That is why this year of Novak’s is amazing. I’ve been there, Rafa (Nadal) has been there. We both know how hard it is to back it up year after year.

“It’s not the first good year for Novak. Certainly he’s going into next year with massive confidence. He’s playing great.

“It’s going to be hard for him to have a bad year, but you can’t just repeat a year like this.

“It takes a lot of effort.

You’ve got to be in shape physically with no injuries whatsoever. Mentally you have to be at your peak at all times. It’s not as easy as it

seems sometimes.”

Federer remains one of the few players capable of troubling Djokovic, as he showed when he ended the Serb’s 23-match winning run with a straight sets victory in the group stage of this year’s Tour Finals.

While he was unable to repeat that performance in the final, and also lost the Wimbledon and US Open finals to Djokovic, the 34-year-old is adamant he doesn’t need to change much in his game to wrestle the major trophies away from the world number one.

Asked if he needed to alter hs style of play in a bid to subdue Djokovic, Federer said: “Not really because I feel I need to work on my overall game [and] that is going to have an impact against

most players.

“For me Rafa is the unique player in the field. I used to work more precisely against him.

“With Novak it’s more straightforward. If you don’t play very well you are going to have a hard time. If you play better I know I have my chances with my game.”

Federer will now head off to recharge his batteries and plan a fresh assault on Djokovic in 2016.

As ever, winning another Wimbledon title is high on his list of priorities and he will also target a gold medal at the Rio Olympics.

“Wimbledon is a big one.

Rio as well but it’s not my number one priority. It starts with the Australian Open which is just around the corner,” he said.AFP

T UE S DAY : N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 5

A14

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

S’woods grabs lead in Seniors golf tilt BAGUIO CITY—Underdog Manila Southwoods turned the table on its more fancied rivals to take a three shot lead in the Seniors Fil-Championship today, Nov. 23, in the 66th Fil-Am Golf Invitational Championship.

Edmund Yee churned in the best performance at the short and tricky Baguio Country Club course when he assembled a two over 63 for 34 points as the Carmona, Cavite team amassed 110 points for a two day total of 214. Southwoods now have a three shot lead on the resurgent defending champion Pugo Adventure as games shift to the longer Camp John

Hay course on Wednesday.

In his finer games so far at the difficult BCC course, Yee turned in two birdies at the 4th and 6th holes against four bogeys and no pick up to lead the charge of Southwoods which lost two points on day one to penalty that saw them fall to second spot behind overnight leader Camp John Hay which fell to third spot.

“We are the underdogs but we were challenged by that,” said Yee, who got 27 from Bong Sison, 25 from Herminio Maravilla and 24 from Cipriano Abdon.

Yee is referring to Eddie Bagtas of the San Miguel team which, however, was mired at fourth spot with 205 after a 103.

“We got all the good breaks and the team, the members, are pretty consistent. Nobody scored in the extreme,” add-

ed Yee as they now gear for the longer CJH course.

A resurgent Pugo submitted the day’s best total of 111 that saw the defending champion climb to second spot from fifth and last.

Physician Ed Montenegro came in with 30 points to pace the 2014 champion which got 29 from Douglas Puckett, a second 28 from Goodie Ignacio and eight time individual champion Fred Puckett struggling with 24. Romel Gomez did not count for the team with his second 20.

Day one leader CJH fell to third spot after a 100 with Jeung Sek Jun leadingwith 28 points after failing to count in the first day. Bong Mandapat had 26, Baguio mayor Mauricio Domogan made 24 and Clyde Cabreros chipped in 22 to count for the former trepeat champion.

ERRORS & OMISSIONS

ERRATUM There was an omitted paragraph in the ad placement of Municipality of Remedios T. Romualdez, Province of Agusan Del Norte, dated November 11, 2015

In Classified Ads section must be brought to our attention the very day the advertisement is published. We will not be responsible for any incorrect ads not reported to us immediately.

The omitted paragraph should have read as follows: f. The bidder must have at least sixteen (16) years of experience of track record in the supply, delivery and servicing of brand new heavy equipment or a similar equipment and the proof of which shall be submitted together with the eligibility requirements.

(TS-NOV. 24, 2015)

Republic of the Philippines DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES

National Capital Region DENR-NCR Building, National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City

INVITATION TO BID The DENR-NCR, through the GAA-CY 2016 1 intends to apply the following sum for : CONTRACT DESCRIPTION

ABC

Contract of Security Services (16 guards) for CY 2016

P5,412,184.80

Contract of Janitorial Services (6 Janitors) for CY 2016

1,470,062.80

Contract of Service of Repair and Maintenance of Vehicles for CY 2016

P880,000.00

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Russian Grandmaster Boris Savchenko acknowledges the cheers of the crowd after receiing his trophy for ruling the 2015 PSC/Puregold international Chess Challenge held at Subic Bay Peninsular Hotel in Subic. Also in are international Arbiter Gene Poliarco (left0 and National Chess Federation of the Phils’ Red Dumuk.

The DENR-NCR now invites bids for the above-stated contracts .Delivery of the Goods is required from January to December 2016. Bidders should have completed, within five (5) 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.

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

Interested bidders must submit their Letter of Intent from November 25 to December 17, 2015 and may obtain further information from and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8 :00 -5:00 P.M.

BIDS AND AWARDS COMMITTEE – HEAD OFFICE INVITATION TO BID 1.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on November 25 to December 17, 2015 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Five Thousand Pesos (Php5,000.00).

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), through its Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), invites bidders to apply for eligibility and to bid for the hereunder requirement: Name of Requirement/Brief Description

Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC), VAT inclusive

One (1) Lot Supply of Services through Outsourcing of Ten (10) Data Analysts, as per BSP Terms of Reference

It may also be downloaded free of charge 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.

Php2,934,927.60

Contract Duration: One (1) Year to commence on the date stipulated in the Notice to Deploy (NTD) to be issued by the International Operations Department (IOD)

The DENR-NCR will hold a Pre-Bid Conference on December 2, 2015 at the Conference Room, 4thFlr., DENR-NCR Bldg., National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City which shall beopen to all interested parties.

2. Bidders should have completed from Y2010 to present a contract similar to the requirement. The Eligibility Check/Screening and Preliminary Examination of Bids shall use non-discretionary “pass/fail” criteria.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before of 8:30 a.m. of December 18, 2015. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in the Bidding Documents.

3. Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships, or organizations with at least sixty percent (60%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

Office of the Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee 2nd Floor, DENR-NCR Building National Ecology Center East Avenue, Quezon City

4. All particulars and activities relative to Eligibility of Bidders, Bid Security, Performance Security, Pre-bid Conference(s), Evaluation of Bids, Post-qualification and Award of Contract shall be governed by Republic Act No. 9184 and its revised Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR).

Bid opening shall be at 9 a.m. on December 18, 2015 at the Conference Room, 4thFlr., DENR-NCR Bldg., National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

Conference Room, 4thFlr., DENR-NCR Bldg., National Ecology Center, East Avenue, Quezon City The DENR-NCR 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.

4.

For further information, please refer to: ASST. REG. DIR. SOFIO B. QUINTANA, PhD, CESO IV Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee 2nd Floor, DENR-NCR Building National Ecology Center East Avenue, Quezon City BAC Secretariat Procurement Section, 3rdFlr, DENR-NCR Bldg.

National Ecology Center East Avenue, Quezon City Tel. 3740091

ASST. REG. DIR. SOFIO B. QUINTANA, PhD, CESO IV Chairperson Bids and Awards Committee ______________________ 1

In the case of National Government Agencies, the General Appropriations Act and/or continuing appropriations; in the case of GOCCs, GFIs, and SUCs, the Corporate Budget for the contract approved by the governing Boards; in the case of (LGUs, the Budget for the contract approved by the respective Sanggunian. (Section 5(a), R.A. 9184) (TS-NOV. 24, 2015)

Activity

Schedule

Venue

Procurement Office, a. Issuance of Bid Documents Starting 24 November 2015 (from 9:00 A.M. to 2:00 P.M. only) Room 212, 2/F, 5-Storey Bldg., BSP Main Complex, Malate, Manila Tel./ Fax Nos. 306-2832; 708-7115 b. Pre-bid conference

2 December 2015, 11:30 A.M.

c. Opening of Bids

14 December 2015, 2:00 P.M.

MR2A Conference Room, 2nd Floor, 5-Storey Bldg., BSP Main Complex, Malate Manila

5. The bidding documents are posted at the website of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS) and the BSP Website (www.bsp.gov. ph). Prospective bidders may download the bidding documents from any of these websites; provided that bidders shall pay a non-refundable fee in the amount of Php5,000.00 at the address above prior to, or upon submission of their bids.

6. The pre-bid conference shall be open to interested parties. However, only those who have purchased the bidding documents shall be allowed to participate in the pre-bid conference and raise or submit written queries or clarifications. To ensure completeness and compliance of bids, bidders are advised to send not more than two (2) technical and/ or administrative representatives who will prepare the bidding documents.

7.

The BSP assumes no responsibility whatsoever to compensate or indemnify any bidder for expenses incurred in the preparation of bid.

8. The BSP reserves the right to reject any bid, declare a failure of bidding, not award the contract, annul the bidding process and reject all bids at any time prior to award of contract, without thereby incurring any liability to affected bidders. Further, the BSP reserves the right to waive any minor defects or formality and to accept the proposal most advantageous to the agency.

( T S - N O V. 2 4 , 2 015 )

(SGD) SILVINA Q. MAMARIL-ROXAS Chairperson

Ringia, Velez dominate PPS-PEPP netfest JANUS Ringia and Patricia Velez lived up to the hype and swept the two premier crowns in their respective sides in the Palawan Pawnshop-Palawan Express Pera Padala regional age group tennis tournament at the Isulan Capitol Tennis Club in Sultan Kudarat yesterday.

The top seeded Ringia, one of the top players from Koronadal City, held off local bet Vince EJ Tugade, 6-2 6-4, to claim the boys’ 16-U plum then as third seed upended No. 2 Lordrenz Pacheco, 6-1, 6-1, in the semis before scoring a 1-0 (ret.) win over Tugade in the 18-U finals of the event presented

by Technifibre.

As No. 4 Velez upended top seed Carlyn Guarde, 6-3, 6-4, to snare the girls’ 16-U crown then as No. 3, the Davao ace wore down top seed Mary Calma, 7-6(3), 7-6(10) in a thrilling back-and-forth 18-U final that took three hours and 15 minutes to finish.

T UE S DAY : N O V E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 1 5

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Aces aim for piece of lead vs Hotshots

By Jeric Lopez

ONCE again, Alaska is looking to keep its smooth campaign intact when it shoots for a piece of tournament lead in the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup as it plunges back to the hardwood.

Completely in sync and playing with a lot Games Tuesday of efficiency, the Aces (4-1), who are cur(Smart Araneta Coliseum): rently tied for second, will be tested once 4:15 p.m. - NLEX vs. Meralco 7 p.m. - Star vs. Alaska more, this time by the Star Hotshots (2-4), who have yet to find their groove, at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

In the curtain-raiser, NLEX (3-2) aims to keep its climb going when it figures in a sibling clash with rejuvenated Meralco (1-5) at 4:15 p.m.

A fifth win for Alaska will get it right back on top with San Miguel Beer (5-1) as they will once again share the tournament lead.

After tasting their first loss two weeks ago, the Aces didn’t waste any time bouncing back in a big way.

In its last outing, Alaska turned what was supposed to be a highlycontested game into a decisive beatdown, giving GlobalPort a reality check by handing a dominant 123-104 rout last Friday.

Alaska coach Alex Compton was very impressed with his wards, saying he was quite satisfied with how they were able to respond well to the challenges they faced. ‘’Wala akong masabi sa mga players. Ginagawa talaga nila lahat so far for us to win,’’ said Compton. ‘’We’re really moving the ball well and we’re playing as a team. We’d like to sustain this.’’

While last year’s runner-up is continuing to have success this conference, the same can’t be said of the Star Hotshots.

With new coach Jason Webb calling the shots, Star is still adjusting and its inconsistent ways are showing.

Last Saturday, the Hotshots suffered an upset defeat at the hands of the Bolts, 87-83, unable to shackle their foes down the stretch.

Following its 2-0 start, NLEX dropped two straight and fell to the middle of the pack. But in their last game, the Road Warriors showed that they are a legitimate dangerous team.

NLEX stunned powerhouse Talk ‘N Text, 107-101, behind the game of Sean Anthony, who scored a career-high 32 points.

NLEX coach Boyet Fernandez is happy that his team is back on track now after the skid it encountered. ‘’It’s nice for us to get back on the winning track. I give my players credit for that. Our character was tested and we’re stepping up,’’ he said.

Lifter Diaz stays on track for Rio FILIPINO lifter Hidilyn Diaz won three bronze medals in the 2015 International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) World Weightlifting Championship over the weekend in Houston, Texas to stay in contention for a slot to the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Diaz picked up the bronze medals in the snatch, clean and jerk, and total category of the women’s 53kg division, according to results in the tournament’s official website.

The 24-year old Diaz scored a 96 in the snatch, 117 in the clean and jerk for a total of 213 to finish behind Chinese Taipei’s Hu Shu Chin and China’s Chen Xiaoting, who both totaled 221.

Diaz, who had jonied the 2012 London Olympics as a wild card entry, thus became the first-ever Filipina to win a medal in the history of the competition.

Diaz had earlier joined in the 2012 London Olympics as a wild card entry.

Alaska’s Calvin Abueva, shown here eluding two Talk N’ Text defenders, will be a marked man again when the Aces take on inconsistent Star Tuesday in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

‘Turo’ is to teach THERE is no such thing Pacquiao and presias a free lunch, but thank dential candidate ARMAN God, there are things that and Vice President D. ARMERO one can enjoy FOC (free Jojo Binay and his STEP BACK hoping that the of charge), like the air you breathe, the beautitwo would respond ful sunset at the Manila Bay, a child's positively and immediately.

But while he continues to innocent smile, and countless others which God blesses us mortals every wait for any response from the two politicos, coach Turo continues to single day.

There is also the free basketball give back by sharing his knowledge clinic and camp organized by former and skills of the game that made him Olympian and champion coach Ar- what he is now.

“Anong malay natin, maka-discover turo “Turo” Valenzona.

For three weekends now, coach tayo dito sa lugar natin ng isang future Turo and his staff, composed mainly PBA player o national player. Sa of his former players, fellow coaches, akin, malaking bagay na 'yun,” said former neighbors and friends, have Valenzona. *** been teaching basketball basics to The Golden Warriors just made kids as young as nine years old in a covered court inside the “Paraiso Ng history by he Golden State Warriors Batang Maynila” park in Malate, Ma- by matching the best start to a season, 15-8, in NBA history following nila.

It is no accident that coach Turo is their 118-115 victory over the Denconducting his clinic right in the area ver Nuggets.

The record was last held by the where he grew up, learned how to play basketball and other sports and Houston Rockets in 1993-1994 and before that, by Washington in 1993later even served as a city councilor.

Coach Turo, bless his heart, is not 94.

The scary thing about the Warriors' charging a single centavo from the kids' parents, and even digs deep from 15th straight win was that Curry finhis pocket to buy bottled water for the ished with “only” 19 points. Four other nearly 100 young players after each Warriors, however, scored in double session. He said that's all he can afford digits—Klay Thompson led with 21 points. Harrison Barnes added 17, right now.

Needless to say, coach Turo needs Draymond Green scored 13 and Andre all the help he can get to sustain his Iguodala chipped in 12 off the bench.

It was a total team effort, which advocacy.

The former San Sebastian Col- makes them very dangerous to play lege coach, who gave the Stags five since this means that every player on straight championships in the late 90s the Warriors' floor is a scoring threat.

"To get to 15-0 and tie a record that (the record was tied by the San Beda College Red Lions last year, but was has been standing for a long time is a never broken as the Letran Knights huge accomplishment," said Curry, the stopped them from posting its sixth reigning NBA Most Valuable Player.

The Warriors will try to break the straight crown recently), is appealing to would-be sponsors and donors record when they host the lackluster to help him defray the cost of run- Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday. ning the camp every weekend. He has already asked help from boxing For reactioins, e-mail me at armeicon and senatorial aspirant Manny ro_23@yahoo.com

Republic of the Philippines National Food Authority OFFICE OF THE REGIONAL MANAGER Gov. Ramos Ave., Zamboanga City

INVITATION TO BID

The National Food Authority (NFA) intends to apply the sum total of Php 4,327,781.94 being the Total Approved Budget (ABC) to payment the contracts under Lot # 1, 2 and Lot # 3 respectively. Bidding will be on per lot basis and bids received in excess of the ABC of the lot being bid out shall be automatically rejected at bid opening. The NFA now invites bids for the following contracts:

1.

Lot #

NAME OF CONTRACT /LOCATION

Bidding Fee (Php)

APPROVED BUDGET (ABC)

1.

RE-ROOFING & REPAIR OF 50TCC WAREHOUSE INCLUDING PROVISION OF WS II OFFICE AND PARTIAL RECONCRETING OF DAMAGED ROADWAY at NFA Compound, Brgy. Taway, Ipil, ZSP

5,000.00

Php 3,700,000.00

2.

CONSTRUCTION OF RETAINING WALL BEHIND STORAGE ROOM BUILDING at NFA, Dipolog City

500.00

Php 416,482.94

3.

TOTAL REPLACEMENT OF LABOR SCREEN INCLUDING REPAINTING OF 50TCC WHSE AT NFA, ZAMBOANGA CITY

500.00

Php 211,299.00

TOTAL ABC

Php 4,327,781.94

2.

Bidders should have completed a single contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II, Instruction to Bidders.

3.

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

Bidding is restricted to Filipino citizens/sole proprietorships, partnerships or organizations with at least seventy five percent (75%) interest or outstanding capital stock belonging to citizens of the Philippines.

4.

Contractors/applicants who are interested in the subject contracts may submit their respective letter of intent together with their application for eligibility and latest Class “A” documents, to the BAC on or before the deadline specified in the Bidding Documents at NFA Compound, Regional Office, Gov. Ramos Ave., Zamboanga City from 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M. Any application for eligibility or updates submitted after the deadline for the submission of the letter of intent shall not be considered for the bidding. All submitted eligibility/Class “A” Documents are subject to further postqualification.

5.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the NFA Regional Office IX, Gov. Ramos Ave., Zamboanga City and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below starting November 23, 2015 from 8:00 A.M. – 5:00 P.M.

6.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders at NFA Regional Office IX, Gov. Ramos Ave., Zamboanga City upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents on per lot basis.

7.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before December 14, 2015 at 10:00 A.M. at NFA Regional Office IX, Gov. Ramos Ave., Zamboanga City. All bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause 18.1 for the Bidding Documents.

Bids will be opened in the presence of the bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

8.

For further information, please refer to: GAUDENCIO S. NUEGA, JR. BAC-Chairperson/Asst. Regional Director Telephone Number (062) 991-18-28 Fax Number (062) 991-13-39

9.

The National Food Authority Region IX Office, Gov. Ramos Ave., Zamboanga City reserves the right to accept or reject any bid, to annul 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.

Standard – Nov. 24, 2015

(Sgd.) GAUDENCIO S. NUEGA, JR. Asst. Regional Director BAC Chairman

A16

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Andre Iguodala (9) of the Golden State Warriors collects a loose ball away from Will Barton of the Denver Nuggets at Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. The Warriors defeated the Nuggets, 118-105, to start the season 15-0. AFP

Warriors match best start in NBA

LOS ANGELES—The Golden State Warriors defeated the host Denver Nuggets 118-105 to equal the best start to a season in NBA history with their 15th win of 2015.

The Warriors can tie the record for best start ever on Sunday SB Nation The reigning NBA champion Warriors matched the record 15-0 opening achieved by Washington in 1948-49 and by the Houston Rockets in 1993-94.

They will try to break the record when they host the lackluster Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday.

“To get to 15-0 and tie a record that has been standing for a long time is a huge accomplishment,” said reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry.

“We want to take it to the next level Tuesday back at home,” Curry said. “But to come here

Alaska aims for piece of lead TURN TO A15

and get this win, with what it all meant, was a huge accomplishment for us.”

The Warriors’ wins have run the gamut—from a 119-69 blowout of the Memphis Grizzlies on November 2 to a rally from a 23-point first-half deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers 124-117 on Thursday.

Sunday’s win was their 10th double-digit victory of the season, despite the fact that Curry, who came into the contest averaging 33.6 points per game, delivered fewer than 20 points for the first time this season.

Curry—who took a season-low 16 shots—finished with 19 points

—10 of them in a decisive third quarter in which the Warriors stretched their lead to 91-79.

They led by as many as 21 in the fourth.

Klay Thompson led the Warriors with 21 points. Harrison Barnes added 17, Draymond Green scored 13 and Andre Iguodala chipped in 12 off the bench.

“I told the guys it was a great team win tonight,” said Golden State’s interim head coach Luke Walton—who has guided the team all season in place of ailing Steve Kerr.

“Everyone that played scored while they were in and we had 35 assists,” Walton said. “We still had too many turnovers, but just an all-around great team win.”

Curry was on the bench when the game ended, lifting both fists as the clock wound down.

But Walton said the early-season

victory wouldn’t spark a celebration, but more “acknowledgement of how special what these guys are doing is”.

“These guys, they deserve it,” Walton said. “They play the right way. They’re unselfish. They’ve had fun—you see the joy that they have when they play basketball.”

The Warriors’ phenomenal start has already sparked suggestions they could surpass the 72 regularseason wins of Michael Jordan’s 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

Whether that comes to pass or not, the Warriors are no doubt aware that the two other teams to start 15-0 both reached the NBA Finals.

Washington fell in six games to the then-Minneapolis Lakers, while the Rockets of Hakeem Olajuwon won their first NBA title, beating the New York Knicks in seven games.

Djokovic’s pace will be hard to repeat TURN TO A13

Clippers in free fall As the Warriors go from strength to strength, one of the teams expected to challenge them in the West—the Los Angeles Clippers, endured their third straight defeat on Sunday, falling 91-80 to Toronto to fall to 6-7 for the season.

“Pretty frustrating dropping three in a row,” said the Clippers’ Blake Griffin, who was one of three Los Angeles starters who failed to score in the first quarter.

“I think that’s pretty normal to be frustrated, but we can’t let that frustration affect us negatively going forward.”

The Dallas Mavericks, third in the West behind Golden State and the San Antonio Spurs, saw their six-game winning streak end with a 117-114 loss to Oklahoma City.

Russell Westbrook scored 31 points to lead six Thunder players in double figures. AFP

TUESDAY: NOVEMBER 24, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

B1

PLDT spending record P43b PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. will keep capital spending at a record level next year as the nation’s biggest carrier tries to fend off an aggressive domestic rival and prepares for the potential entry of Telstra Corp.

PLDT will allocate P43 billion ($915 million) to expand and improve its network after allotting that amount this year, chairman Manuel Pangilinan said in an interview in Manila. PLDT, heading for a third year of declining profit, may announce more changes in coming weeks after losing almost 3 million mobile-phone subscribers this year.

The company may appoint a chief executive for its digital operations and is reviewing whether

to eliminate one of three mobile brands. PLDT started an overhaul in May, adding a chief strategy officer and chief technology adviser, after revenue fell for the first time in 13 quarters.

“To some degree, we fell into that trap of complacency because we were the incumbent,” Pangilinan said in the Nov. 18 interview. “So it’s a lesson for us.”

Pangilinan blamed himself for PLDT’s slow response to apps that allow free calls over the Internet.

“I don’t pretend to be a digital native,” he said.

Globe Telecom Inc., a venture of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. and Ayala Corp., was quicker to exploit that shift by bundling traditional services with free Facebook access in October 2013. It took more than a year for PLDT to counter with free mobile Internet access.

Adding to PLDT’s woes is Telstra, which is in talks with San Miguel Corp. for a Philippine venture, Telstra Chief Executive Officer Andy Penn said last month. Pangilinan said the recent challenges were his toughest since a 1998 takeover of the nation’s biggest phone company.

“The nature of the industry is changing and as we shift to digital from legacy, the margins are

lower and the cost is higher,” Pangilinan said. “It’s a more complicated landscape.”

PLDT’s nine-month profit fell about 9 percent from a year earlier, while Globe’s jumped 34 percent. PLDT’s mobile-phone users as of Sept. 30 fell by 2 million from a year earlier to 67 million. Globe added 7.3 million in the same period for 50.1 million total.

PLDT wants to add more apps, including in finance and personal loans, while boosting content through products like iFlix, a video-streaming service.

PLDT handles about a third of the estimated 300 billion- peso domestic remittance business and is the largest enabler of the government’s 16 billion-peso conditional cash transfers to the poor,

Pangilinan said. Its mobile-lending venture has extended 6 billion pesos in loans.

The carrier plans to trim expenses, contain debt at current levels and refinance part of its maturing obligations, Pangilinan said.

PLDT has almost P60 billion of debt due from 2016 through 2018, according to data compiled

by Bloomberg. Its dividend payment, which in 2014 dropped to 90 percent of profit from 100 percent in 2007 to 2013, may further decline amid the challenges, he said.

“Sometimes it’s better to be the underdog, better to be the barbarians knocking at the gate, rather than being the gatekeepers themselves,” Pangilinan said.

Bloomberg

PSe comPoSite index Closing November 23, 2015

8000 7700 7400 7100 6800 6500

6,996.19 63.38

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing NOVEMBER 23, 2015 43.50 44.60 45.40

P47.220

46.20

CLOSE

47.00

HIGH P47.220 LOW P47.000 AVERAGE P47.147 VOLUME 748.000M

P487.00-P682.00 LPG/11-kg tank P35.15-P42.40 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

Top ranking. Ayala Land Inc. is one of the top three publicly-listed companies in the country, and one of the top 50 in Southeast Asia, according to the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard. The ranking is an initiative of the Asean Capital Markets Forum, which has been supported by the Asian Development Bank since its inception in 2011. ALI president and chief executive Bernard Vincent Dy (center) and ALI chief finance officer Jaime Ysmael (right) receive the recognition during the inaugural Asean Corporate Conference Awards held in Manila on November 14.

P25.03-P28.48 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monday, November 23, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

47.1960

Japan

Yen

0.008137

0.3840

UK

Pound

1.519600

71.7190

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.129037

6.0900

Switzerland

Franc

0.982125

46.3524

Canada

Dollar

0.748895

35.3448

Singapore

Dollar

0.707965

33.4131

Australia

Dollar

0.723223

34.1332

Bahrain

Dinar

2.655478

125.3279

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266667

12.5856

Brunei

Dollar

0.705467

33.2952

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000073

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.028003

1.3216

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

12.8515

Euro

Euro

1.065000

50.2637

Korea

Won

0.000869

0.0410

China

Yuan

0.156617

7.3917

India

Rupee

0.015140

0.7145

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.233481

11.0194

New Zealand

Dollar

0.655609

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030782

30.9421 1.4528 Source: PDS Bridge

Final CARS regulations forwarded to Domingo

By Othel V. Campos THE Board of Investments has come up with the final draft of the implementing rules and regulations of the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program up for signing by Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo.

BoI executive director Corazon Halili-Dichosa said the IRR was submitted to Domingo a week before the culminating week of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in the Philippines.

“But there were holidays and the secretary went to Kuala Lumpur and now he’s back. We have no confirmation if the IRR was actually signed,” she said.

She said though that she was not aware of a final joint administrative order “If it is done just like the IRR, it will have to undergo legal scrubbing. It needs to pass the legal department to guide the secretary if the final copy is okay with him,” she said.

Meanwhile, Halili-Dichosa was still waiting for instructions

whether the IRR her group drafted needed further refinement.

She said she could not reveal yet the important features of the IRR until the copy was presented to the industry.

Car companies like Toyota Motor Philippines Corp., Mitsubishi Motor Philippines and Isuzu Philippines Corp. are eagerly awaiting the release of the guidelines in the hope that their expectations will be met.

The CARS program will give three car manufacturers the proper set of incentives to help

increase vehicle production in the country. Each company will be required to produce at least 200,000 units within six years.

However, an automotive company can avail of the fiscal incentives once it reaches its 101,000th unit.

The program offers P27 billion worth of limited and performance-based fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to support new investments in new parts making operations and encourage large scale vehicle assembly.

TUESDAY: NOVEMBER 24, 2015

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Monday, noveMber 23, 2015

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 4.2 17 30.45 2.6 890 1.01 100 1.46 30.5 91.5 361.2 57 180 124

2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.68 12.02 19.6 1.02 625 0.225 78 0.9 17.8 62 276 41 118.2 59

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

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil. National Bank PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Union Bank

2.55 49.2 99.25 86.75 39.4 1.57 15.6 18.92 1.60 750.00 0.490 81.1 0.97 18.00 51.90 296 33 136 56.90

47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 20.6 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 31.8 109 15.3 9.4 0.98 241

35.9 1.11 1.01 1.86 7.92 15.32 10.08 29.15 1.5 1.5 10.72 9.55 9.04 6.02 8.86 1.06 20.2 71.5 13.24 5.34 0.395 173

3.95 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 5.25 12.98 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.34 238 5.5 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 2.17

2.3 33 23.35 17.3 5.88 250.2 3.87 8.45 3.03 1.95 1 4.02 5.9 161 4.1 1.55 0.138 1.02 2.09 152 4.28 0.640 1.2

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

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

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

LBC Express LMG Chemicals Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

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

Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

42 3.41 0.84 1.54 10.98 17.6 20.75 41 2.4 1.47 9.94 9.500 9.10 5.85 5.53 1.71 22.2 68.8 14.62 5.88 2.370 200.00 12.66 2.03 41.00 24 22.8 6.3 297.80 3.96 7.77 3.69 1.83 2.35 4.28 6 134 3.5 2.3 0.148 1.17 2.10 198 4.7 0.66 1.16

0.59 59.2 30.05 7.39 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 3.68 4.92 0.66 1455 76 9.25 0.85 17.3 5.53 6.55 0.0670 2.31 1.61 2.99 84.9 974 1.66 1.39 156 0.710 0.435 0.510

0.44 48.1 20.85 6.62 0.23 0.23 634.5 7.390 12.8 2.6 1.15 2.26 0.152 837 49.55 4.84 0.59 12 4.2 4.5 0.030 1.23 0.550 2.26 59.3 751 1.13 0.93 80 0.211 0.179 0.310

Abacus Cons. `A’ Aboitiz Equity Alliance Global Inc. 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.

Forum Pacific GT Capital JG Summit Holdings Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

LT Group Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Minerales Industrias Corp.

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

0.405 57.8500 17.90 6.33 0.245 0.246 756 7.59 13.00 5.6 5.24 4.26 0.260 1286 69.90 7.74 0.73 13.98 5.3 9.72 0.0310 1.460 1.790 2.5 48.00 862.00 1.22 0.75 76.400 0.3200 0.2180 0.300

10.5 1.99 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44

6.74 0.65 0.192 30.05 3.36 4.96 0.79

8990 HLDG A. Brown Co., Inc. Arthaland Corp.

Ayala Land `B’ Belle Corp. `A’ Cebu Holdings Century Property

7.330 0.84 0.209 35.200 3.2 5.08 0.58

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

SHARES 10,354,632 53,528,346 96,099,076 140,753,549 85,730,912 218,698,263 606,440,387

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 2.78 2.55 49.2 48.5 99.90 99.20 86.75 85.90 39.5 39.3 1.59 1.41 15.6 15.5 19 18.92 1.81 1.60 750.00 735.00 0.510 0.470 81.25 80.55 0.95 0.93 17.80 17.70 52.10 51.50 296 295 33 32.25 137 135.6 57.00 56.15 INDUSTRIAL 42.1 41 3.5 3.18 0.88 0.84 1.57 1.53 10.98 10.5 17.54 17.46 20.75 20.5 43.95 41.5 2.39 2.33 1.5 1.44 10.2 10 9.540 9.27 9.11 9.00 6.16 5.95 5.65 5.54 1.67 1.67 23.4 22.55 69.95 68.8 14.80 14.64 5.9 5.79 2.370 2.210 203.00 199.40 12.8 12.5 2 2 40.90 37.20 24.4 24 23.6 22.5 6.48 6.1 305.00 297.80 4 3.93 7.94 7.69 3.70 3.70 1.90 1.82 2.41 2.3 4.28 4.18 5 5 134 133 3.5 3.41 2.35 2.24 0.150 0.148 1.16 1.05 2.15 2.10 201.4 198 4.55 4.54 0.66 0.65 1.18 1.15 HOLDING FIRMS 0.405 0.390 57.8500 57.0000 18.20 17.50 6.39 6.33 0.255 0.238 0.246 0.246 766 751 7.63 7.43 13.24 13.00 7.7 5.8 7.6 5.79 4.54 4.21 0.240 0.224 1295 1285 72.25 69.00 7.85 7.65 0.73 0.72 14.2 13.94 5.34 5.2 9.77 9.7 0.0320 0.0310 1.290 1.450 1.830 1.800 2.51 2.5 48.30 47.55 870.00 854.50 1.20 1.19 0.72 0.71 76.500 76.000 0.3150 0.3150 0.2250 0.2160 0.300 0.260 PROPERTY 7.410 7.330 0.88 0.82 0.210 0.210 35.250 34.800 3.28 3.2 5.05 5.05 0.58 0.57

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.78 49.2 99.30 86.05 39.3 1.48 15.6 18.96 1.77 750.00 0.470 81 0.93 17.70 51.50 296 33 135.6 57.00

9.02 0.00 0.05 -0.81 -0.25 -5.73 0.00 0.21 10.63 0.00 -4.08 -0.12 -4.12 -1.67 -0.77 0.00 0.00 -0.29 0.18

8,000 37,600 2,785,480 986,750 15,200 371,000 12,700 40,500 32,000 800 810,000 3,137,160 175,000 40,000 27,670 740 6,800 535,610 224,180

42.1 3.44 0.85 1.53 10.98 17.52 20.7 41.5 2.36 1.45 10 9.510 9.10 6.12 5.60 1.67 23.2 69.2 14.80 5.8 2.220 202.00 12.5 2 40.90 24.15 22.5 6.1 303.80 3.93 7.69 3.70 1.84 2.3 4.21 5 134 3.45 2.24 0.148 1.06 2.11 201 4.54 0.66 1.15

0.24 0.88 1.19 -0.65 0.00 -0.45 -0.24 1.22 -1.67 -1.36 0.60 0.11 0.00 4.62 1.27 -2.34 4.50 0.58 1.23 -1.36 -6.33 1.00 -1.26 -1.48 -0.24 0.62 -1.32 -3.17 2.01 -0.76 -1.03 0.27 0.55 -2.13 -1.64 -16.67 0.00 -1.43 -2.61 0.00 -9.40 0.48 1.52 -3.40 0.00 -0.86

2,016,700 1,313,000 28,000 357,000 300 67,000 637,300 265,700 382,000 308,000 7,500 11,289,300 8,311,400 10,899,400 3,888,000 7,000 2,183,000 125,790 129,600 544,500 2,828,000 243,680 11,000 20,000 1,100 945,000 1,252,900 219,100 624,480 1,183,000 762,600 10,000 573,000 200,000 1,063,000 1,000 31,790 16,000 283,000 1,380,000 143,000 767,000 1,058,950 20,000 216,000 205,000

0.395 57.8500 17.90 6.33 0.245 0.246 765 7.43 13.20 6.5 6.57 4.25 0.240 1291 72.00 7.82 0.73 14.2 5.34 9.77 0.0310 1.440 1.800 2.51 47.55 870.00 1.20 0.72 76.200 0.3150 0.2250 0.260

-2.47 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.19 -2.11 1.54 16.07 25.38 -0.23 -7.69 0.39 3.00 1.03 0.00 1.57 0.75 0.51 0.00 -1.37 0.56 0.40 -0.94 0.93 -1.64 -4.00 -0.26 -1.56 3.21 -13.33

130,000 1,068,360 2,013,900 7,000 1,980,000 30,000 267,100 2,458,500 3,736,800 2,563,700 236,800 159,000 220,000 110,270 1,217,250 5,333,000 4,000 3,057,000 23,243,000 2,724,600 41,300,000 69,000 497,000 4,000 109,300 223,060 37,000 56,000 3,960 1,190,000 250,000 960,000

7.370 0.84 0.210 35.100 3.24 5.05 0.57

0.55 0.00 0.48 -0.28 1.25 -0.59 -1.72

499,300 1,749,000 60,000 4,175,400 168,000 5,600 6,877,000

99,040.00 -7,170,642 -34,324,326.00

-62,384.00 -7,000.00 73,750.00 -15,550.00 -59,013,000.47 266,090.00 98,230 -18,981,052.00 16,766,480.00 -3,100.00 408,666.00 6,180,865.00 750,650 8,700.00 14,612,619.00 -5,394,815.00 318,834.00 -796,660.00 56,755.00 -551,828.00 1,405,126.00 1,921,485.00 -80,300.00 24,810,656.00

-804,125.00 15,581,320.00 Err:522 -919,950.00 -1,546,787.00 -90,620.00 1,360,880.00 -4,045,444.00 -17,500.00

522,900.00 60,272,182.00 81,720.00

4,484,695.00 -9,700,826.00

-81,038,345.00 4,665,210.00 12,615,226.00 -29,500.00 509,880.00 -114,941,115.00 5,602,802.50 1,057,834.00 6,890,074.00 -70,685,873.00

-997,020.00 -92,523,810.00 -288,713.50

516,450.00 -33,717,650.00 330,250.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 1.48 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 2.22 2.1 1.8 8.4 5.94 0.180 0.470 0.72 27 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

0.97 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 1.15 1.42 1.27 3.1 4.13 0.090 0.290 0.39 23 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 4 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 7 12.5 0.8200 2.2800 12.28 3.32 95.5 1 2.46 15.2 0.62 1.040 6.41 18 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 1.6 4.8 2.58 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 3.01 8.72 0.041 1.200 6.5 1.91 3.1 0.650 1.8 6 0.335 0.37 3 8.8 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

STOCKS

Close

High

FINANCIAL 1,541.07 (DOWN) 4.53 INDUSTRIAL 11,173.15 (UP) 145.00 HOLDING FIRMS 6,627.12 (UP) 67.37 PROPERTY 2,986.86 (UP) 30.19 SERVICES 1,5569.74 (UP) 13.93 MINING & OIL 10,817.79 (DOWN) 45.79 PSEI 6,996.19 (UP) 63.38 All Shares Index 4,033.34 (UP) 32.12 Gainers: 77; Losers: 86; Unchanged: 43; Total: 206

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9 0.0098 5.45 17.24 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.022 8.2 49.2 4.27 3.06 0.020 0.021 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

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

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

70 553 515 8.21 12.28

33 490 480 5.88 6.5

78.95

74.5

1.34

1

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort PCOR-Preferred B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred E Swift Pref

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Alterra Capital Xurpas

1.05 1.05 1.05 0.138 0.131 0.133 0.465 0.460 0.465 23.85 23 23.55 0.860 0.850 0.850 1.10 1.08 1.09 1.86 1.76 1.86 1.22 1.21 1.22 4.50 4.50 4.50 4.68 4.48 4.61 0.081 0.081 0.081 0.2600 0.2550 0.2600 0.4750 0.4500 0.4500 19.50 19.50 19.50 8.63 8.4 8.59 31.25 30.40 30.80 1.5 1.45 1.45 3.24 3.2 3.24 21.70 20.60 21.40 0.74 0.72 0.74 7.89 7.25 7.5 0.940 1.040 0.900 5.600 5.330 5.400 SERVICES 7.29 7.4 7.3 7.3 64 65 64 64 1.12 1.25 1.15 1.15 0.550 0.550 0.540 0.550 5.11 5.50 5.19 5.49 0.0490 0.0500 0.0470 0.0470 3.55 3.62 3.5 3.5 84.4 85.5 83 85.5 9.92 9.92 9.92 9.92 1.66 1.66 1.66 1.66 5.90 5.90 5.60 5.90 2.95 3.49 3.49 3.49 2000 2020 1993 1999 7.39 7.39 7.30 7.39 1.26 1.36 1.25 1.25 71 73.7 70 72.85 3.80 4.21 4.21 4.21 11.4 11.4 11.4 11.4 0.174 0.172 0.170 0.171 1.4100 1.4000 1.3600 1.4000 8.98 9.00 8.80 8.98 4.32 4.35 4.15 4.23 24.00 26.00 22.50 24.00 0.590 0.590 0.580 0.580 2 2.02 2 2.02 3.65 3.77 3.68 3.68 0.260 0.260 0.250 0.255 0.680 0.730 0.670 0.680 4.52 4.74 4.52 4.74 9.47 9.01 9.01 9.01 100.00 108.00 107.90 107.90 20.00 20.05 19.70 20.05 2000.00 2014.00 1999.00 2000.00 0.540 0.510 0.500 0.500 1.000 1.020 0.980 0.990 32.55 34.50 32.75 34.05 69.95 70.40 70.00 70.10 5.54 5.55 5.55 5.55 3.76 3.95 3.80 3.88 0.430 0.43 0.415 0.415 4 4 3.9 3.9 0.325 0.345 0.330 0.330 4.130 4.540 4.250 4.390 MINING & OIL 0.0050 0.0049 0.0048 0.0048 2.20 2.22 2.22 2.22 4.78 5.00 4.79 4.80 0.65 0.68 0.64 0.68 0.64 0.64 0.61 0.64 8.04 8.08 8.00 8.00 0.79 0.79 0.76 0.76 0.295 0.305 0.290 0.295 0.188 0.190 0.188 0.188 0.0100 0.0110 0.0110 0.0110 2.36 2.31 2.17 2.17 6.73 6.72 6.64 6.69 3 3 2.91 3 1.4400 1.4100 1.3800 1.4000 0.0110 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 3.60 3.60 3.60 3.60 5.00 5.160 4.980 5.00 1.44 1.470 1.420 1.42 0.0120 0.0130 0.0110 0.0110 134.80 136.80 134.00 134.80 2.33 2.38 2.3 2.3 0.0077 0.0083 0.0073 0.0073 PREFERRED 64 65.8 63.95 63.95 515 530 528.5 530 520 519 519 519 7.25 7.24 7.24 7.24 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.13 1129 1072 1072 1072 85 78.7 78.7 78.7 79.9 79.95 79.9 79.95 2.79 2.8 2 2.7 WARRANTS & BONDS 2.650 2.690 2.640 2.640 SME 3.61 3.55 3.06 3.2 16.5 16.78 16.3 16.4 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 113.2 114.4 113.2 114.4

T op g ainerS VALUE 801,936,430.377 1,005,308,429.35 1,141,850,113.6125 1,029,324,959.03 1,184,280,699.873 116,852,938.33 5,299,633,885.5725

Close

Cityland Dev. `A’ 1.05 Crown Equities Inc. 0.138 Cyber Bay Corp.

0.465 Double Dragon 23 Empire East Land 0.850 Global-Estate 1.09 Filinvest Land,Inc. 1.77 Interport `A’ 1.22 Keppel Properties 4.50 Megaworld 4.49 MRC Allied Ind. 0.082 Phil. Estates Corp.

0.2700 Phil. Realty `A’ 0.4050 Phil. Tob. Flue Cur & Redry 19.12 Primex Corp.

8.45 Robinson’s Land `B’ 30.60 Rockwell 1.47 Shang Properties Inc. 3.2 SM Prime Holdings 20.90 Sta. Lucia Land Inc. 0.74 Starmalls 7.89 Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. 0.900 Vista Land & Lifescapes 5.390

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

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

Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `A’ IPeople Inc. `A’ Island Info ISM Communications Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Manila Broadcasting Manila Bulletin Manila Jockey Melco Crown MG Holdings NOW Corp.

PAL Holdings Inc. Phil. Racing Club Phil. Seven Corp.

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

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

1.14 Yehey

STOCKS

Low

0.00 -3.62 0.00 2.39 0.00 0.00 5.08 0.00 0.00 2.67 -1.22 -3.70 11.11 1.99 1.66 0.65 -1.36 1.25 2.39 0.00 -4.94 4.44 0.19

25,000 10,380,000 630,000 2,896,300 204,000 1,291,000 49,031,000 80,000 1,000 30,530,000 320,000 180,000 60,000 300 375,700 7,456,100 167,000 10,000 14,483,900 39,000 33,600 5,083,000 3,922,200

0.14 0.00 2.68 0.00 7.44 -4.08 -1.41 1.30 0.00 0.00 0.00 18.31 -0.05 0.00 -0.79 2.61 10.79 0.00 -1.72 -0.71 0.00 -2.08 0.00 -1.69 1.00 0.82 -1.92 0.00 4.87 -4.86 7.90 0.25 0.00 -7.41 -1.00 4.61 0.21 0.18 3.19 -3.49 -2.50 1.54 6.30

200,100 8,490 184,000 522,000 5,308,800 21,400,000 482,000 407,820 1,000 5,000 17,800 3,000 80,055 89,700 912,000 1,540,590 1,000 300 460,000 74,000 193,000 1,051,000 4,700 10,000 13,000 1,470,000 400,000 5,757,000 12,000 2,400 350 43,400 146,035 1,288,000 9,021,000 4,569,300 522,800 1,675,800 18,281,000 6,450,000 1,255,000 110,000 929,000

-4.00 0.91 0.42 4.62 0.00 -0.50 -3.80 0.00 0.00 10.00 -8.05 -0.59 0.00 -2.78 -9.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.39 -8.33 0.00 -1.29 -5.19

72,000,000 7,000 151,000 -712,800.00 246,000 75,000 300 9,351,000 2,339,190.00 120,000 1,990,000 100,000 1,211,000 213,850.00 5,053,700 -17,326,893.00 9,000 48,000 900,000 100,000 6,000 118,400 -35,650.00 226,000 106,300,000 510,460 -5,849,740.00 44,000 20,000,000

-0.08 2.91 -0.19 -0.14 0.89 -5.05 -7.41 0.06 -3.23

36,230 3,180 100 600 35,000 10 1,500 32,470 9,000

-0.38

21,000

-11.36 -0.61

122,000 1,146,200

1.06

6,150

-46,500.00 40,415,270.00 -348,950.00 5,870,330.00 -28,073,460.00

570,837.00 -96,248,755.00 30,660.00 -89,765,745.00 3,945.00 3,250.00 -2,280,531.00 36,530.00

-8,124,747.00 47,000.00 -9,833,997.00 2,925.00 -49,050,235.00 16,975,699.00

-269,670.00 -42,100.00

-2,277,280.00 24,000.00 32,388.00 107,794.00 -156,195,525.00 -11,730.00 -127,100.00 66,216,640.00 -1,642,151.50 16,500.00 -6,028,330.00 -2,118,300.00 -3,204,400.00

1,959,428.00

-120,582.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

F&J Prince 'B'

6.57

25.38

Roxas Holdings

5

-16.67

Easy Call "Common"

3.49

18.31

Zeus Holdings

0.260

-13.33

F&J Prince 'A'

6.5

16.07

Alterra Capital

3.2

-11.36

Phil. Realty `A'

0.4500

11.11

TKC Steel Corp.

1.06

-9.40

Imperial Res. `A'

4.21

10.79

Oriental Pet. `A'

0.0100

-9.09

I-Remit Inc.

1.77

10.63

Philodrill Corp. `A'

0.0110

-8.33

Manila Mining `A'

0.0110

10.00

Marcventures Hldgs., Inc.

2.17

-8.05

AG Finance

2.78

9.02

Forum Pacific

0.240

-7.69

Phil. Seven Corp.

107.90

7.90

SMC Preferred B

78.7

-7.41

Bloomberry

5.49

7.44

PremiereHorizon

0.500

-7.41

TUESDAY: NOVEMBER 24, 2015

B3

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

Market advances; Puregold, ALI rise

CDC-Robinsons partnership. CDC Holdings, one of the leading property development companies, joins forces with Robinsons Supermarket to make it the resident grocery store for its River Green Residences project in Sta. Ana, Manila. Shown sealing the partnership agreement are (from left) Finasia Land & Realty Corp. managing director Manuel Pangilinan, Robinsons Supermarket chief business development adviser Ronnie Ong, Robinsons Retail Holdings president and chief operating officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe, CDC Holdings president and chief executive Elsie Chua and CDC Holdings chief operating officer Charlene Chua.

Globe taps Cherry to challenge PLDT

By Ian Sayson and Cecilia Yap

GLOBE Telecom Inc. is taking aim at bigger rival Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. in the prepaid wireless market by teaming up with Cherry Mobile to boost smartphone usage among consumers that can least afford one.

The alliance with Cherry Mobile, the leading smartphone brand in the Philippines, will help the phone company grab more customers in the market’s largest segment, Globe Telecom president Ernest Cu, 55, said in an interview.

“Cherry with Globe produces great proposition for the mass market, a market that can’t afford a smartphone,” Cu said. “Cherry is the strongest phone brand for the mass market and our goal is to help speed the adoption of data. “ Cherry Mobile this month started a prepaid wireless service powered by Globe’s network, targeting the almost 96 percent of 117.11 million mobile phone users in the country that access services on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Cu expects the Cherry service to have two million subscribers in as little as two years as it will appeal to those on modest monthly incomes.

“These are those who earn between 8,000 to 10,000 pesos a month: the sales-ladies, security guards who don’t have a smartphone yet,” he said.

Around a third of mobile phone subscribers in the Philippines have smartphones and that ratio could rise to 90 percent in five years as handset costs go down, according to Cu. Cherry Mobile, which according to International Data Corp.

had a 22 percent share of the Philippines smartphone market last year versus Samsung Electronics Co.’s 13 percent, is already selling the cheapest handsets on the market with phones packaged with Globe services priced at P399 ($8.50) to P1,699 each.

Globe will probably spend a record $850 million in capital expenditure next year as “data growth has been tremendous and we need to keep on building,” Cu said.

As at end-September, Globe had 47.75 million prepaid subscribers, trailing dominant Philippine Long Distance’s 64.08 million. But the gap had narrowed from 35.66 million in September 2013 with Cu moving to exploit the rising popularity of social network and communications apps that were cutting into calls and text services.

Globe offered users free access to Facebook in 2013, and in 2015 added messaging service Viber to counter Philippine Long Distance’s move to give free Internet access in the previous year. These moves helped boost the company’s share of mobile data revenue to 65 percent and increase its share of wireless revenue to 47 percent, Cu said.

Though Philippine Long Distance, also known as PLDT, has 1.5 times the sales of Globe, the smaller company has grown at

a faster clip. Globe’s revenue grew 62 percent in the five years through 2014 while PLDT posted a 16 percent rise in the same

period. Globe’s nine-month profit this year jumped 34 percent while PLDT’s net income slid 9.5 percent. Bloomberg

STOCKS rose for the third day, ahead of the release of thirdquarter economic data and as investors digested growing signs the Federal Reserve thinks the world’s top economy is strong enough to handle a rate rise next month.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, picked up 63 points, or 0.9 percent, to close at 6,996.19 on Monday. The gauge, however, was still down 3.2 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, rose 32 points, or 0.8 percent, to settle at 4,033.34, on a value turnover of P5.3 billion.

Fifteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by property developer Ayala Land Inc., which climbed 5.1 percent to P1.86. Retailer Puregold Price Club Inc. rose 4.6 percent to P34.05, while conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. of tycoon John Gokongwei advanced 3 percent to P72.

Property developer Megaworld Corp. gained 2.7 percent to P4.61, while port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. rose 2.6 percent to P72.85.

Meanwhile, growing confidence that the US will raise interest rates next month boosted the dollar in Asia on Monday, where shares took heart from a rally on Wall Street. With AFP

B4 D&L opts to close 1 Chemrez factory

By Jenniffer B. Austria LISTED chemical producer D&L Industries Inc. said Monday it shut down one of the manufacturing plants being operated by unit Chemrez Inc. because of the fumes coming out from the facility.

D&L said in a disclosure to the stock exchange that at about 1:48 p.m. Sunday, vapor generated by the polymerization process at the polystyrene plant of Chemrez in Bagumbayan, Quezon City resulted in an unpleasant odor spreading out of the plant site to the surrounding areas.

It said the fumes were put under control in the immediate vicinity as of 6 a.m. Nov. 23.

D&L said the company continued to spray water over the tank to dilute vapor and dissipate the odor.

“In light of recent events, operations at this plant [one of the six plants of D&L Industries] are currently suspended, which may likely be extended for two to three days,” D&L said.

“The suspension will affect 35 percent of Chemrez’s production or about 10 percent of D&L Industries’ total production. Impact on sales is likely negligible,” it said.

Chemrez is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chemrez Technologies, which is one of the whollyowned subsidiaries of D&L Industries.

Chemrez Technologies contributed 33 percent and 32 percent to D&L revenues and net income, respectively, in the first nine months.

Share price of D&L on Monday closed lower by 0.11 percent to P9.51.

D&L is primarily engaged in product customization and specialization for the food, plastics and aerosol industries.

Ayala donation. WeatherPhilippines Foundation teams up with Ayala Corp. to encourage Filipinos to optimize weather knowledge for socio-economic growth. Ayala committed to become a platinum sponsor by donating P25 million over a 10-year period to WeatherPhilippines.

Shown signing the agreement are (from left) WeatherPhilippines president Susan Valdez, chairman Endika Aboitiz and Ayala Corp. head of corporate services John Philip Orbeta.

Jollibee prepares for 2 acquisitions

By Jenniffer B. Austria

JOLLIBEE Foods Corp. said Monday it plans to make one or two major acquisitions to become one of the five largest quick service restaurant operators in the world.

Jollibee chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said in an interview at the sidelines of a special stockholders’ meeting the acquisitions could be similar or bigger in size than the recent $99-million purchase of US-based burger chain Smashburger.

Jollibee is currently the ninth biggest quick service restaurant operator in the world, a list that is led by McDonalds Corp., Starbucks and Yum Brands, which operates the licensed

brands Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut. Tan Caktiong said aside from acquiring bigger brands, the company was also looking at buying start-up restaurant brands. “A startup can be the winning brand in the future,” he said.

Jollibee chief finance officer Ysmael Baysa said the company would also need to raise its net income and system-wide sales growth to become among the top five food chains worldwide.

Jollibee registered a compounded annual growth rate of 16 percent in terms of net income and 15 percent in terms of system-wide sales, over the 2004-2014 period.

“If we want to be number 5, we have to make more acquisitions, and we also need to increase our growth rate,” Baysa said.

Baysa said there was a good chance for Jollibee to improve its current ranking and

become top 7 fast-food chain worldwide by 2020.

Jollibee earlier said it would spend P10.4 billion in capital expenditures for 2016 primarily to roll out more stores both here and abroad.

The company said of the P10.4-billion programmed spending for 2016, at least P7.5 billion would be used for new store investments and existing store renovations and the rest would be for the commissary expansion.

Jollibee is expanding its global footprint by bringing its flagship brand Jollibee in five new markets next year, including the United Kingdom, Italy, Canada, Malaysia and Oman.

It also plans to open Jollibee stores in new new markets in 2017, including Australia and Japan.

Share price of Jollibee rose 1 percent to close at P202 on Monday.

Meralco seeking partners for renewable energy projects

By Alena Mae S. Flores POWER retailer Manila Electric Co. said Monday it is looking for local and international partners to build renewable energy projects.

“Given the global developments on RE and especially solar, Meralco is itself interested in exploring partnerships with local and global players. We think that the RE space will grow, and we want to be part of that growth,” Meralco senior vice president for customer retail services and corporate communications Al Panlilio said.

Panlilio said Meralco wanted to go into solar projects, but the company was also focused on ensuring safe and reliable operation of the distribution grid.

“We need to understand that the solar installation in a house or business can affect the stability and safety of the distribution grid and may place other nearby customers at risk. We also recognize that solar photovoltaic installations that are synchronized with the grid are dependent upon the quality of power delivered by the distribution utility,” Panlilio said.

Anne Reodica, Meralco pro-

gram manager for renewables, said there was a need to put in place standards for solar contractors to ensure safety.

“Although there are solar PV installation standards mandated by the government, there are unfortunately no standards on the accreditation of solar contractors, and equipment standards are still being developed to date,” Reodica said.

Panlilio said the company’s efforts to support solar energy were driven by Meralco chairman Manuel Pangilinan’s vision to embrace change and innovation.

“He believes that Meralco should stay ahead of the curve on solar and renewable energy and on point with customers abreast with technology,” he said.

Pangilinan earlier announced plans to venture into renewable energy, noting that “the infrastructure cost of renewables, particularly solar and wind, have been decreasing.”

“We are mindful of technological developments capable of disrupting Meralco’s business model. In that light we are looking to participate in the renewable energy space, particularly

solar and wind,” Pangilinan said.

“We are looking at solar. Particularly, not just utility grade solar but we will start probably with rooftops so for that business, we need to have a separate subsidiary and separate management,” he said.

Meralco PowerGen is presently developing three coalfired power plants, including the 1,200-megawatt Atimonan coal plant in Quezon, 45- MW Mauban coal project also in Quezon and RP Energy’s 300MW to 600-MW coal plant in Subic.

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

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

Codegirl “FEWER large companies are run by women than by men named John.”

The quote from economist Justin Wolfers begins the new documentary “Codegirl,” which follows contestants competing in the Technovation Challenge, a global technology and entrepreneurship competition for girls.

This year, more than 5,000 high school girls from 60 countries entered the competition.

Working in teams, contestants have three months to develop a mobile app that solves a real problem in their community. They learn to code, write a business plan, analyze their competition, produce a prototype and make a pitch video.

In the high school division, some 300 teams managed to complete all these tasks. Of these, only 44 made it to the semi-finals, and only six were chosen for Global Pitch Night in San Francisco, and the chance to win the first prize and $10,000 in funding and support.

The film by Lesley Chilcott, known for her work on “An Inconvenient Truth,” follows a handful of teams from such diverse locations as Brazil, India, Mexico, Moldova, Nigeria and the United States.

While Technovation seeks to address the yawning gender gap in the technology industry, Chilcott doesn’t beat you on the head with it, but lets the girls and their mentors tell their stories.

Toward the end of documentary on Awards Day, we hear from Tara Chklovski, chief executive of Iridescent, the non-profit group behind the Technovation Challenge.

“Only 7 percent of tech startups are led by women and the number of women who are mobile app developers, [is] only 4 in every 100,” she said. “Technovation is changing these numbers in a very real way.

We have the world’s largest pool of young women who know how to launch a tech startup.”

Elsewhere in the film, some of the contestants talk about what it’s like to be in a field dominated by boys.

“Part of being a female programmer is that you feel really lonely,” says Moe Sunami, a member of Team Woco (short for Women who Code), which developed PraisePop, a social app aimed at spreading positivity. “It’s really difficult to want to be what you can’t see because everywhere you look, you don’t really see a lot of girls who get real excited about it in front of other people because they don’t share the same interests.”

She adds that even when there are articles or seminars about girls in technology, these tend to focus on the “cute” factor.

“So every time they would have extraneous elements that detracted from coding or the ability of girls to code,” she says. “It really reinforced idea that, hey, girls are getting the coding but they’re going to bring cookies into the mix or bring yoga into the mix—sort of like ‘pinkefied’ coding.”

In Mexico, the mentor for Team Tech Voca, Blanca, relates how even some teachers were unwilling to let them talk to the girls about Technovation because they believed that “technology is not for women.”

“When we went to the schools, they didn’t give us even the opportunity to just speak with the girls,” Blanca says. “They say no, because the girls are for cooking, for [fashion designing], and other kinds of roles—for women.”

Earlier this month, YouTube streamed the entire documentary for free for a limited time (Nov. 1-5) before it hit the theaters as a way of promoting the film and changing the perceptions of women and technology.

“The problem of getting girls more interested in tech has many sources, but according to Google’s own research, one of them is optics,” says Susan Wojcicki, YouTube CEO in the official Google blog. “Girls don’t see positive role models of other girls and women in popular culture. In a study of popular films in 11 countries, fewer than 20 percent of computer science or tech roles were held by women.”

Another gap that Codegirl only hints at is the digital divide among income classes. Of the six teams in the finals, three are from the United States, while the three other teams come from Brazil, India and Nigeria. Among the American teams, all the members are affluent white or Asian-American girls.

The girls themselves are aware of this divide. One member from Team Ameka, which developed an app to safeguard against impaired driving, says: “It’s so hard to compete with countries that have real, real big problems.”

A First World problem like drunk or impaired driving, she adds, would pale in comparison with a Third World problem such as finding clean water.

“If you have a Third World problem that is more severe or urgent, then that [prize] money should be directed there more than at people here who have their basic necessities,” she notes.

Still, regardless of where the girls came from, their enthusiasm for the challenge and their ability and willingness to do the work was remarkable. As I watched the film, I felt sorry that among the 5,000 girls and 300 teams that joined the Technovation Challenge, not a single one came from the Philippines.

Column archives and blog at: http://www.chinwong.com

B5

GDP seen rising 6% annually until 2020

By Julito G. Rada

THE Philippine economy is poised to grow by 6 percent annually over the next five years, below the government’s target of 7 percent to 8 percent, DBS Bank of Singapore said Monday.

“The government seems a little overly optimistic to target GDP growth back at 7 percent in the near-term. At this juncture, we reckon that average GDP growth for the next 3 to 5 years may be circa 6 percent instead,” the bank said.

“How effective the next government in continuing Aquino’s infrastructure overhaul will be the key factor that could propel the economy stronger beyond 2016,” it said.

DBS said growth in public construction moderated to 4.3-percent year-on-year in the first half, after recording a stellar 9.1 percent last year.

“Ahead of next year’s elec-

tions, there are concerns that the pace of project completion may slow down. While this remains to be seen, it is therefore important to see the robust growth in private sector being sustained into next year,” it said.

DBS said GDP growth likely improved to 6.2 percent in the third quarter. It said while some base effects might have played a part, GDP growth momentum remained pretty strong going into 2016.

It said export growth was disappointing in the third quarter, but the main support for the economy would still come from the domestic front.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, for its part, said government spending grew 19 percent in the third quarter and was poised to accelerate further. It said the proposed 2016 budget implied strong growth and might resume as a GDP growth driver going forward.

“The main reason for the slower spending pace may be that the government implemented reforms, particularly in the area of procurement. The government stresses the need for transparency, competitiveness and accountability when undertaking public works projects or contracting services,” it said. “[The] 19 percent spending growth in the third quarter of 2015 signals an acceleration,” the bank said.

GDP grew 5 percent in the first quarter, dragged down by the government’s anemic fiscal expenditures.

Second-quarter GDP grew 5.6 percent, bringing the first-half average to 5.3 percent.

AlkanSSSya units. Six informal sector groups covered by the Social Security System’s Cubao branch

with a combined membership of nearly 200 workers receive their own AlkanSSSya units during the 2nd Grand Launching of AlkanSSSya Program on at the Quezon City Memorial Circle Basketball Court. Shown are SSS president and chief executive Emilio de Quiros Jr. (10th from right) and Quezon City Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte (ninth from right), along with other SSS officials.

Uratex penetrates Australian market

By Alena Mae S. Flores URATEX, the Philippines’ leading manufacturer of high-quality mattresses, is going global as it teamed up with Palmerston Furniture & Bedding, one of Australia’s furniture companies.

Uratex said in a statement the partnership began when Palmerston Furniture owner Bernie Kelly saw the potential to tap the market of the growing Filipino community in Darwin, Australia.

As Uratex is a household name among Filipinos, Kelly explored opportunity to bring Filipinos a taste of home in Australia.

Kelly said it was important for the right partners to provide

comfortable mattresses that promote healthy sleep. “Uratex has been recognized for its quality and service,” he said.

Kelly was impressed with the product quality and professionalism of Uratex when he came to visit the Philippines.

“Not only are their products durable but they also adapt the latest technologies in sleep. There is definitely high-value for money in each Uratex product,” he said.

Certified by Certi-Pur, Uratex uses environment-friendly materials in producing mattresses that are safe for consumers.

Each product undergoes through a rigorous process to ensure the product is of high- quality.

Through the collaboration, Palmerston now offers a wide array of mattresses tailored fit for comfort.

“Majority of our customers purchase our high-end mattresses with sleep innovations. The Uratex Sofabeds are also very popular for its dual function feature,” Kelly said.

Kelly plans to branch out and expand in other areas of Australia as well as explore opportunities in Guam.

Located at Yarrawonga in Australia, Palmerston Furniture features quality modern furniture pieces of best value while Uratex is owned by RGC Foam Group founded by businessman Robert Cheng.

TUESDAY: NOVEMBER 24, 2015

B6

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

Metrobank lends P7.1b to Globe

By Julito G. Rada

METROPOLITAN Bank & Trust Co., the country’s second largest lender, said Monday it extended P7.1 billion worth of loans to help finance the capital expenditures of Globe Telecom Inc. Metrobank said it recently signed a P5-billion, 10-year loan and a $45-million funding agreement with a seven-year maturity with Globe, the country’s second largest telecommunications provider.

“These respective 10-year and 7-year term loan facilities are meant to finance Globe’s capital expenditures for additional network capacity, which would handle the growing data traffic from Globe’s customers’ shift to a digital lifestyle,” Metrobank said.

“Metrobank sees the partnership as the bank’s way to support the development of infrastructure that will support the growing need for connectivity in the country to facilitate communica-

tion and exchange of information among Filipinos,” the bank said.

Commercial business is one of Metrobank’s fastest-growing segments and a leading driver of its strong performance.

Earlier this month, Metrobank signed a P5-billion, 10-year loan facility agreement with Smart Communications to partially finance Smart’s capital expenditures for service improvement and expansion program as well as to refinance existing debt.

Metrobank also signed in October a P7.5-billion loan agreement with Therma Visayas Inc., a jointventure between Aboitiz Power Corp. and Vivant Corp., for the construction of a new thermal power plant in Toledo City in

Cebu.

Metrobank was the biggest lender among the 10 banks who were part of the deal, as it contributed P7.5 billion to the P31.97billion term loan facility. First Metro Investment Corp., Metrobank’s investment banking arm, was the transaction’s lead arranger and sole bookrunner.

The amount pooled together with other lender-banks will be used to fund the construction of the 300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Barangay Bato, Toledo City, some 49 kilometers west of Cebu City. The plant is expected to be completed and fully operational by the first quarter of 2018.

The thermal power plant is expected to answer the increasing power demand in the Cebu and Visayas grid. Of the plant’s expected 300-megawatt output, 150 MW will be utilized by Visayan Electric Co., 30 MW by the Balamban and Mactan Enerzone, and the rest by various industrial and commercial customers in the region.

Metrobank also sealed a P5-

Butler training. The Asian School of Hospitality Arts teams up with Magnums Butlers International headed by the world’s leading butler-training specialist Josephine Ive (center) in holding a one-day introductory course on seven-star butler service on Nov. 24, 2015 at C3 Events Place on 8 Missouri St., Northeast Greenhills, San Juan City. Ive is shown demonstrating the world-class butler service to students.

Mighty cited as ‘corporation of the year’ THE Philippine Council of Management Research Institute on Monday officially notified Mighty Corp., the wholly-owned Filipino multi-billion company operating for the past 70 years, that it won the coveted Outstanding Corporation of the Year Award 20152016.

PCMRI is a federation of professional and technological societies, management developments, institutions, academe, business enterprises and professional managers dedicated to the development of management and improvement of its practices in all aspects of the Philippine society.

According to its letter sent to MC president Edilberto Adan, PCMRI through the chairman of the board of judges Pedrito Salvador chose

Mighty from eight other nominees in recognition of its outstanding achievements in the fields of economics, finance, agriculture, business and industry; e-commerce and IT; strategic management and economy of scales; leadership and governance; adherence to nationalism and anti-monopolism; and social, cultural and religious activities that impacted on the country and the society.

The company continuously inspires the lives of about 293,000 families and employees, business and trade partners in the adherence to its mission, vision and core values.

In 1945, Wong Chu King and his partners Ong Lowa, Baa Dy, and Ong Pay set up La Campana Fab-

rica de Tabacos Inc., which had it first factory in Tayabas St., Manila.

The second factory was then built in 1948 in Pasong Tamo, Makati, and in 1951, it acquired the present site of its head office.

In 1963, Wong Chu King founded the Tobacco Industries of the Philippines in a nine-hectare property in Barrio Tikay, Malolos, Bulacan which became the future site of their manufacturing operations.

The succeeding years became difficult for the company but the ingenious Wong Chu King together with the unwavering support of his family and employees reestablished the company in 1985 to become what is Mighty Corp., which is now one of the country’s largest taxpayers and known for its strong sense of ethics.

billion 10-year loan agreement with Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. to partially finance PLDT’s capital expenditures for service improvement and expansion program as well as to refinance its existing loan obligations.

Metrobank was recently named the strongest bank in the Philip-

pines by The Asian Banker. Metrobank ranked ninth overall in Asia, marking the first time that a Philippine bank made it to the top ten list.

Metrobank garnered the highest score in terms of risk profile, which included among other criteria, a bank’s capital adequacy ratio.

It’s the Philippines’ tax effort, stupid IN RECENT weeks there has been a great deal of activity in Congress, the business community and the media regarding this country’s tax system. The proposals and opinions have been classified as reformist and have been said to have been offered in the interest of making the Philippine tax system more equitable and competitive with the tax systems of countries in East Asia, particularly Southeast Asia.

The proposed changes differ in objective and approach, but they have one thing in common. They will have the effect of reducing government revenues from the now-taxable activities of Filipinos, whether institutional or individual. Thus, some of the businessdirected corporations and the proposals pertaining to individuals would have Congress amend the National Internal Revenue Code so as to lower income tax and value-added tax rates and entirely exempt some incomes from taxes.

The allegedly reformist proposals proceed from two conceptual sources. One, based on equity, suggests that certain individuals who are currently taxable should be made to pay less taxes or should pay no taxes at all. The other conceptual source, which is economicsbased, suggests that the government will derive more tax revenues if business establishments – especially corporations – were made to pay reduced taxes or were given tax exemptions.

Undoubtedly, theoretical and empirical bases exist for some–but definitely not all–of the proposals. Will Filipinos whose incomes are currently taxable pay greater magnitudes of taxes? Possibly, there is no certainty of that. With a regionally more competitive tax regime, will Filipino corporations perform better and generate more corporate income tax payments than they now do? They well might, but, again, there is no guarantee of that happening.

The one certainty that exists is a a country’s tax effort. At any given time, every country has a tax-effort score. The Philippines is no exception. And how is a country’s tax effort computed? The method is really very simple. A government’s tax revenue is divided by its gross domestic product. For 2014 the Philippines’ tax effort was computed to be around 14 percent of GDP. The figure is an improvement on the past, when this country’s tax effort seemed to be stuck at 12 percent of GDP. To whom is knowledge of a country’s tax-effort level important?

It should be important, first and foremost, to that country’s government. Surely, the Aquino administration, with its Daang Matuwid orientation, should want to know how good a job the Department of Finance is doing. The knowledge of how much of a country’s GDP its tax establishment is collecting for the government is likewise important to that country’s creditors – the multilateral creditors, like the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, as well as the bilateral (governments) and commercial creditors. Potential investors, too, will be keen to know how fiscally efficient – and, therefore, economically stable – that country is.

The rationale underlying the desire to know the ratio between a country’s GDP and its government’s revenues is this. A country that is able to generate most of its development financing requirements from internally generated sources has less need to borrow from foreign creditors and will thereby be more financially stable. In this regard comparisons – especially with other regional countries – is inevitable. The World Bank, ADB and other credit sources are aware that countries like Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia enjoy tax-effort levels of 20 percent and above.

Which brings us back to the current discussions on so-called reform of the Philippine tax system.

If the management of a country’s tax system were likened to a ball game, the advice that would have to be given to the proponents of, and commentators on, the tax proposals now before Congress is, keep your eye on the ball. That ball is this country’s tax effort. Or, if one were to put it in Bill Clintonesque language, it’s the tax effort, stupid.

E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Myanmar landslide toll now over 100 YANGON—Rescuers were searching for victims of a mine landslide in northern Myanmar Monday as the toll topped 100 in a disaster highlighting the perils of the country’s secretive billiondollar jade trade.

Authorities in the remote town of Hpakant, the epicenter of the world’s production of highly valuable jade, have pulled scores of bodies from the earth since a huge mountain of debris collapsed onto dozens of flimsy shacks early on Saturday morning.

Those killed are thought to be mainly itinerant workers, who scratch a living picking through the piles of waste left by large-scale industrial mining firms in the hope of stumbling across a previously missed hunk of jade that will deliver them from poverty.

The landslide is thought to be the deadliest in recent memory in the hard to reach and impoverished area of northern Kachin state bordering China, with the official toll reaching 104 according to the Global New Light of Myanmar.

The state-backed newspaper said “many more people are still missing” after the accident, although authorities have said they did not know precisely how many people had been living in the area.

“The rescue operation is ongoing today and we are still collecting bodies. We have found more than a hundred,” Dashi Naw Lawn, secretary of the Kachin Network Development Foundation, a community group involved in the rescue operation, told AFP. Myanmar is the source of virtually all of the world’s finest jadeite, a near-translucent green stone that is enormously prized in neighboring China, where it is known as the “stone of heaven”.

But while the mining firms—many linked to the junta-era military elite—are thought to be raking in huge sums, local people complain they are shut out from the bounty, instead facing abuses and frequent accidents. AFP

B7

Mali, neighbors mourn as clues found in hotel BAMAKO—Mali Monday started three days of national mourning for the victims of the jihadist siege at a luxury hotel that left 19 people dead in the capital Bamako, with neighboring Senegal, Mauritania and Guinea joining in a show of solidarity.

In attendance. Jennifer Lopez poses in the Press Room at the 2015 American Music Awards in Los Angeles on November 22, 2015. AFP

The investigation was “following several lines” with no certainty about the number and nationality of the perpetrators of the attacks, which have been claimed by two separate jihadist groups.

Gunmen went on the rampage at the Radisson Blu hotel from early morning on Friday, shooting in the corridors and taking 170 guests and staff hostage.

The assault, which ended when Malian and international troops stormed the building, left 19 people dead, including 14 foreigners, as well as two attackers, according to a “definitive” report by the government.

The victims included six Russians, three Chinese, two Belgians, an American, an Israeli, a Senegalese and a member of the Malian special forces.

The UN peacekeeping force in Mali, MINUSMA, however spoke of 22 fatalities, including two attackers.

Senegal’s President Macky Sall visited Bamako Sunday to show national solidarity and the support of the West African regional bloc ECOWAS which he chairs.

“Mali will never be alone in this fight, we are all committed because we are all involved,” he said, announcing that Mali’s neighbours Senegal, Mauritania and Guinea would also observe three days of mourning.

Al-Murabitoun group, an Al-Qaeda affiliate led by the notorious one-eyed Algerian militant Mokhtar Belmokhtar, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group said Sunday there were only two attackers and suggested they were Malian.

In a recording broadcast by Al-Jazeera, a spokesman identified them as Abdelhakim alAnsari and Moez al-Ansari, with the term “alAnsari” indicating they were indigenous jihadists.

A jihadist group from central Mali, the Macina Liberation Front, however claimed the attack in a statement sent to AFP Sunday, saying it was carried out by a squad of five, including “three who came out safe and sound”.

A Malian security source told AFP that the authorities were “actively pursuing” at least three people over the attack in the former French colony.

Another informed source spoke of “three or four accomplices” believed to have aided the “foreign” gunmen who attacked the hotel frequented by businessmen, diplomats and other expatriates. AFP

Republic of the Philippines Province of Bataan MUNCIPALITY OF LIMAY Purchase of Groceries GOODS 100-15-11-033 1.

The Local Government of Dinalupihan, through the General Funds intends to apply the sum of Six Million Pesos (Php6,000,000.00) being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the Purchase of Groceries. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

The Local Government of Dinalupihan now invites bids for the Purchase of Groceries. Delivery of the Goods is required upon receipt of Notice to Proceed.

Bidders should have completed, within two (2) from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project equivalent to at least fifty percent (50%) of the ABC. 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, partnerships, or 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.

INVITATION TO BID The Bids and Awards Committee of the Municipality of Limay will be accepting bids for the procurement of the ff; Name of Project/Contract 1.

Supply and Delivery of Drugs and Medicines for Limay HealthCenter

Location

Source of FUNDS

Duration

Approved Budget Cost(ABC)

Cost of Bid Doc’s.

Limay, Bataan

GEN FUND

15 Days

3,677,560.00

5,000.00

Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

Delivery of Goods shall not exceed thirty (30) calendar days upon winning bidder’s receipt of the Notice to Proceed.

The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II. Instructions to Bidders.

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.”

5.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from the Bids and Awards Committee and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during office hours at 8:00 am to 5:00pm.

6.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders on November 18 to 25, 2015 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of Ten Thousand Pesos (Php10,000.00).

The Bidding Documents is available at the Procurement Office, Ground Floor, Limay Municipal Building, National Road, Barangay Townsite, Limay, Bataan and may be acquired by interested bidders through payment of nonrefundable fee for the bidding documents.

7.

A Pre-bid Conference will be on November 24, 2015 at 2:00 in the afternoon at BAC Office 2nd Floor Municipal Building, Municipality of Dinalupihan, Dinalupihan, Bataan.

The schedule of activities is listed, as follows:

8.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before November 27, 2015 at 2:00 in the afternoon. 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.

Bid opening shall be on November 27, 2015 at 2:00 in the afternoon at BAC Office 2nd Floor Municipal Building, Municipality of Dinalupihan, Dinalupihan, Bataan. Bids will be opened in the presence of the Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at the address below. Late bids shall not be accepted.

10.

ACTIVITIES Issuance of the Bidding Documents Building

SCHEDULE November 20 December 04, 2015

VENUE Procurement Office, G/F Limay Municipal

Pre-Bid Conference

November 26, 2015, 2:00 P.M.

Multi-Purpose Room G/F Limay Municipal Building

The LGU of Dinalupihan 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.

Submission/Opening of Bids

December 04, 2015, 2:00 P.M.

Multi-Purpose Room G/F Limay Municipal Building

For further information, please refer to:

The Pre-Bid Conference shall be open only to all interested parties who have purchased the Bidding Documents.

AMELITA E. PEÑAFLOR BAC Chairman LGU Dinalupihan Dinalupihan, Bataan Telephone No. (047) 636-0060

The BAC of the Municipality of Limay 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.

(SGD)ARCELI M. SAMSON BAC Secretariat LGU Dinalupihan Dinalupihan, Bataan Telephone No. (047) 612-2099

(TS-NOV. 24, 2015)

For further information, please contact: MS. RAQUEL A. LEONGSON PROCUREMENT OFFICE Ground Floor, Limay Municipal Building, National Road, Brgy. Townsite, Limay, Bataan Telephone No. 613-8026

(TS-NOV. 24, 2015)

(Sgd.) ROMARIO C. PANANGUI Chairman, Bids and Awards Committee

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

B8

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD

Lockdown. Belgian troops patrol a street in Brussels on November 23, 2015, as the Belgian capital remains on the highest possible alert level. AFP

Paris attacks fleeing suspect Dion leads music world in mourning the dead LOS ANGELES—Celine Dion on Sunday led the music industry in an emotional tribute to the victims of the Paris attacks, as the American Music Awards heard appeals for a peaceful world.

The Canadian singer sang Edith Piaf ’s classic “Hymne a l’Amour” (“Hymn to Love”) in French at the star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles, which went ahead barely a week after the assault on a concert hall and other civilian targets across Paris.

In front of a screen flashing images of Paris that culminated with the Eiffel Tower in the French flag’s tricolor, Dion sang the song of lost love as some members of the audience were seen in tears.

Dion was introduced by the actor and musician Jared Leto, who recalled playing with his band Thirty Seconds to Mars earlier this year at the historic Bataclan theater that saw the heaviest death toll in the November 13 attacks.

Some 130 people died but “another seven billion will forever be scarred by this horrific and senseless tragedy,” Leto said.

“France matters, Russia matters, Syria matters, Mali matters, the Middle East matters, the United States matters—the entire world matters. And peace is possible,” he said to applause.

Leto also took aim at antiforeigner sentiment that has emerged in the wake of the Paris attacks, which was claimed by the Islamic State group. AFP

BRUSSELS—Brussels began a third consecutive day in lockdown under a maximum terror alert Monday after Belgian police staged a series of raids but failed to find key Paris attacks suspect Salah Abdeslam.

In an unprecedented security operation for the European capital, schools, universities and the metro were shut in the face of what Prime Minister Charles Michel called a “serious and imminent” threat of attacks similar to those that killed 130 people in France.

In Paris, Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron accompanied French President Francois Hollande in a visit to the Bataclan concert hall, where 90 people died in by far the bloodiest of the string of attacks claimed by the Islamic State group.

Cameron said on his Twitter account he stood “shoulder to shoulder” with Hollande at the venue, where a British man was among the dead on November 13.

Belgian police on Sunday carried out 19 raids in Brussels and three

in the industrial town of Charleroi, detaining 16 people, prosecutors said.

The driver of a car was injured after police fired two shots when the vehicle drove at officers.

“Salah Abdeslam was not caught during the raids,” federal prosecutor spokesman Eric Van Der Sypt told reporters just after midnight, meaning Europe’s most wanted man remains at large.

Abdeslam’s elder brother Brahim blew himself up outside a Paris bar in the November 13 attacks and the 26-year-old is suspected of playing a key role in the massacre.

Armed officers and troops patrolled the near-deserted streets of the tense Belgian capital all weekend after the government raised the terror alert to the highest level of four in the city.

Early Monday morning, traffic was relatively light in the center of the city and many people opted to cycle to work although most buses were running.

The Brussels-based European Union and NATO both said they would bolster security and urged non-essential staff to work from home on Monday.

Michel said the Brussels metro system would remain shut and schools and universities would be closed over concerns that jihadists were plotting a repeat of the Paris gun and suicide bombing attacks on November 13.

“What we fear are similar attacks, with several individuals in several places,” Michel told reporters.

“The threat is considered serious and imminent,” he said, adding that the rest of the country, including Brussels airport, would remain on security alert level three, meaning an attack is considered possible and the threat credible.

Officials will review the situation again later Monday. AFP

At least 12 in Aussie terror watchlist SYDNEY—Australian officials said Monday they were aware of 12 men or boys in the community who they believe could commit an act of terror, as Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull convened a national security meeting.

Canberra has become increasingly concerned about the prospect of lone-wolf attacks by individuals inspired by groups such as Islamic State, and a tightening of counterterrorism laws is under way.

Six attacks in Australia have been foiled over the past year, according to the government. But several have not, including a police employee shot dead in Sydney last month by a 15-year-old reportedly shouting reli-

gious slogans.

The Australian Federal Police’s counter-terrorism chief Neil Gaughan told ABC television that a group of 12 men or boys capable of committing an act of terror were being closely watched.

“I think there can be no doubt that there’s a small group in Sydney that are engaged in activity which wants to upset the Australian way of life,” he said.

The national broadcaster said the 12 were part of a larger group of 19, seven of whom were in prison.

Some of those under surveillance were subject to orders controlling their movements and communications because police believed there

was an “unacceptable, high risk they will commit a terrorist attack”, Gaughan added.

“Our first point of call in relation to these investigations is where there’s been a criminal offense committed we arrest, charge and prosecute,” he said. “If we don’t meet that threshold, the next step we look at is a control order.”

The revelations came as Turnbull met in Canberra with his national security committee to discuss further ways to deal with violent extremism.

He had returned from several overseas summits dominated by terror concerns following the Paris attacks that left 130 dead. AFP

Press conference. French Finance Minister Michel Sapin addresses a press conference on the fight against the financing of terrorism on November 23, 2015, in Paris. AFP

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

C1

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

A RTS, CU LT U RE & T ECH

LIFE

Buzzed And Floods My Senses, Acrylic on Canvas, 48 x 60

KELLI MAESHIRO: ‘I Wonder How You Are’

S

taring at Kelli Maeshiro’s contemporary art feels very nostalgic; a closer look at the titles and you’ll feel a pang of regret and sadness – “How Did You Keep Yourself Going,” “I Never Took The Time To Get To Know You,” “Next Time... You’ll Be A Completely Different Person,” “The Only Thing I Miss.”

Completing the collection of “I Wonder How You Are” are snippets and juxtaposed images of women the artist met across multiple cities in different parts of the globe.

A Japanese-American born in Japan and raised in Hawaii, the 26-year-old Kelli Maeshiro earned

her Bachelor of Arts degree in Studio Art at Willamette University in Oregon and has worked in Tokyo, Boston, and Portland. Her previous experiences in design, photography, and magazine work had a big influence on how she renders her art.

Her works in “I Wonder How You Are,” which is her first solo exhibit in Manila (after participating in group exhibits – Art in the Park, Blanc Gallery, Manila; The Love Show, Gallery Big, Manila; Continuum, Ayala Museum ArtistSpace), are colorful, pop but very sentimental – and very much sold out.

Like many artists, the basis of Kelli’s work relies on her personal experiences, relationships, and

Next Time... You'll Be A Completely Different Person, Acrylic on Canvas 36x36

reflections on what could have been and “what ifs.” Each piece contains an unsent letter at the back, dedicated to the person to whom she based each canvas.

“I am constantly on the move, time and distance widened the proximity to the people I knew,” explained Kelli about her art. “I missed my relationships with the friends I met. My work is about recollections of people I’ve met along my travels. In everyday moments away from home, I found myself writing imaginary letters to the memories of people I once knew. In those letters, I discovered the most honest side of myself. The letters became a

The Only Thing I Miss, Acrylic on Canvas 36x36

How Did You Keep Yourself Going, Acrylic on Canvas 36x36

space of reflection where I could reminisce about the mistakes, regrets, and uncertainties in my relationships with people.”

Art gratifies an interested viewer/ buyer in terms of desire and Kelli’s works do just that, drawing you in, reeling you in, and making you feel a certain familiarity with the faces and people in her life. “I find myself sentimental about the things or time I miss, and my paintings address that as sentimental selfreflections,” says Kelli. “They are soft and hazy, like distant memories. We recreate memories as we remember them in the present. In our memories, we forget parts of what really happened, and stories become fragmented and then pieced back together with truth and a small dose of fiction.”

I Never Took The Time To Get To Know You, Acrylic on Canvas 14x11

The “I Wonder How You Are” collection is available for viewing in Vinyl on Vinyl gallery located at Chino Roces Ave, Makati until December 8.

TUESDAY : NOVEM B ER 24, 2015

C2

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

ARTS AND CULTURE ROUNDUP What’s on in theaters and galleries this week

EXHIBITS Table Drawings Art Alley, LRI Design Plaza, Makati City Ongoing until November 30

Sketches of The Spirit Dragon Gallery, Yuchengco Museum, Makati City Ongoing until December 5

Following his trip to the scenic Langkawi, Malaysia for the 2014 Langkawi Art Biennale, visual artist Rick Hernandez returned teeming with inspiration and drive to go back to the basics of drawing. In his fourth solo show he exhibits a collection of gouache drawings not made on an easel but on a table.

The series, according to Hernandez, was made late at night and early in the morning during the past 10 months since he returned from Malaysia. To broaden the folio and not restrict it to simply drawing, some of the works are grouped and arranged in random to create a collage type of an expedition journal. The artist also experimented with the velum paper surface and gouache in order to give the drawings a looseness and accidental quality, while retaining the photographic reference and expanding pictorial conventions.

The CeFaM Alumni Association, Inc. stages a fundraising exhibit at an alternative exhibition space featuring the works of more than 20 artists. The group show aims to raise proceeds that will benefit the upcoming projects of CAAI and the Ruben M. Tanseco-Center for Family Ministries.

Currently exhibited and available to be viewed by the public are the works of National Artists for Visual Arts Benedicto “BenCab” Cabrera, Arturo Luz and J. Elizalde Navarro, along with other featured artists including Nunelucio Alvarado, Renz Baluyot, Hans Brumann, Benjie Cabangis, Alfredo Esquillo, Alee Garibay, Manny Garibay, Vivian Go, Pete Jimenez, Lei Lopez, Richard Montero, Jonathan Olazo, Grace Olores, Evangeline Pascual, Edu Perreras, Jemina Reyes, Frederick Sausa, Alan SyCip, Edwin Wilwayco and Armi Yam.

Catch the final week of this exhibit.

For details and inquiries, call (02) 836-8799 or 0917-8887921, or email one_workshop@yahoo.com

Email dragongallery@yuchengcomuseum. org for more information on this ongoing exhibit.

REBUILDING BLOCKS: Jose Santos III The Big Room, Artinformal, Mandaluyong City November 25 to December 28

MYTHAMPORPHOSIS: Raena Abella The Inner Room, Artinformal, Mandaluyong City November 25 to December 28

In his latest exhibit, Jose Santos III gives life to often unnoticed objects for them to be worthy of someone’s second look. Heaps of rubble are transformed through the process of casting into objects that show the material in all its rawness. This change in perception results in a suspension of judgment, conclusion and recall.

The piece was part of Santos’ solo show, 2hide back in 2014. For this exhibit he decided to present the work in a different configuration, a move that suggests that each composition need not be seen in only one way and that there are no fixed meanings. The idea of highlighting a cycle of change in an everyday object is the very essence of the whole process of “rebuilding” that the show emulates.

A meditation on mythology, nostalgia and transformation, Raena Abella’s current series illustrates the depth of the psyche on a fragile glass. Using the wet plate collodion process, portraits and images of the surreal and self waft on darkened plates showcasing the artist’s vision and narratives.

Wet plate collodion is an alternative and intensive 19th century development technique that requires the photographic material to be coated, sensitized, exposed and developed within the span of 15 minutes. Through this quick and intricate technique, the photographs developed feature an ethereal feel.

For more information about this exhibit, visit www.artinformal.com

Visit www.artinformal.com to know more about this upcoming exhibit.

RAY OF LIGHT: A Lighting Exhibit Linea Furniture, A. Arnaiz Avenue, Makati City November 25, 5:30 p.m.

Local fashion accessories and home decor company Nix Designs mounts a lighting exhibition featuring collections of intricate handmade light fixtures made of local materials. Made by designer Nica Eustaquio, each piece is put together in a way that combines traditional and contemporary design.

To further add life and light to the exhibit are performances by Kat Aggarado of Sinosikat and Mister Marcus +Stefan Lowenstein of Tribomanila.

The event will be hosted by Chris Everingham of the Philippine Volcanoes.

To know more about the lighting exhibit launch, visit Nix Designs Manila on Facebook.

TUESDAY : NOVEM B ER 24, 2015

C3

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Guests of Race the Spectre get to ride a chauffeur driven Aston Martin and Jaguar from 6pm to 11pm in Hooch.

RACE THE SPECTRE

F

ollowing the many Spectre 007 premieres, Hooch, a steam-punk speakeasy bar in Salcedo held its post Spectre party celebration together with Aston Martin – the company that made James Bond’s new Spectre car. The November 21 event, aptly named Race the Spectre, was a fun filled night with overflowing cocktails courtesy of Belvedere Vodka. Special Spectre cocktails lined up the bar – DB5, Double O, Mini Moke, Rasp Spect, XKR and Spectre Martini.

Guests got to ride a special chauffeur driven yellow Aston Martin and a hot red Jaguar all through out the night. At the bar, imbibers where treated to a non-stop film showing of James Bond movies. Over 120 guests had a taste of how it was to be Mr. Bond or a Bond girl for a night.

Hooch is located at G/F 125 V Corporate Center, L.P. Leviste Street, Salcedo Village, Makati. For updates and news on the different events held at the bar, call +63927 375 9467 or follow them at Hooch Ph on Facebook and @HoochPH on Instagram.

UP Vargas Museum to be first exhibit venue in 2016 of the Philippine Pavilion at Venice Biennale

T

he Philippines’ participation at the recently concluded 56th Art Venice Biennale 2015 (Biennale d’Arte di Venezia) exhibition marked a milestone as it was the first time the country participated in the major event after an absence of 50 years. As noted by National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Chairperson Felipe de Leon, Jr., we’ve made it back and this is just the beginning, as the Philippines will be joining the 2017 La Biennale Arte.

The Philippine Pavilion featured curator Patrick Flores’ exhibit “Tie A String Around The World” which recevied accolades from international art critics and writers. The exhibit will be mounted in several venues in

the country, starting with the Jorge Vargas Museum at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City in 2016 following the shipment of the artworks back to the Philippines from Venice.

During the finissage in Italy, the project’s leader, Senator Loren Legarda, remarked that the exhibit is a source of pride to overseas Filipino communities, expressing hope that the Filipinos’ artistry and talent will become globally known.

The concept for the Philippine Pavilion curated by Flores brilliantly links the artworks of four Filipino artists – Manuel Conde and Carlos Francisco for “Genghis Khan,” Manny Montelibano for “A Dashed State,” and Jose Tence Ruiz for “Shoal” – raising the issue

of the disputed West Philippine Sea/South China Sea. Flores however clarified that the exhibit is not limited to this explosive political issue but instead aims to encourage conversation on “what makes a common sea and where lie frontier and edge, melancholy and migration.”

Montelibano’s “A Dashed State,” which is a 20-minute, three-channel video with sound installation, tackles the different levels of bodies, the physical body which is the source of history, the body of land, air and sea, a body of people – and the incursion of other elements that affects our beliefs and traditions, culture, and our world in the making.

Ruiz’s “Shoal,” an impressive installation made of pre-fabricated steel and marsala

red velvet, is an interpretation of BRP Sierra Madre, the vessel where a small detachment of Filipino troops stationed at Ayungin Shoal in the Spratlys are struggling to survive extreme mental and physical desolation.

“The National Pavilion is a global platform, but it should also make sense locally,” Flores said. Explaining that he tried to organize a pavilion that was relevant in the Philippine context as it was responsive to the global conversation. “Tie A String Around the World should not be a singular spectacle in Venice. It should mutate beyond the Venice Biennale; otherwise it becomes export art that merely caters to the expectations of the international audience,” he stated.

T U E S D AY : N O V E M B E R 24 , 2 0 1 5

C4

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

SKYSHADE 2015 Thread on canvas Diptych 44 x 116 in

TRUE LOVE RAINS 2015 Diptych 48 x 116 in

SEWN AND HEARD:

Raffy Napay’s ‘See and Silence’

F

resh from his success at the Florence Biennale, artist Raffy Napay is set to impress again with See and Silence, an exhibit at ArtistSpace of the Ayala Museum in Makati featuring his large scale works that bring the viewer to “a stark confrontation with the sea and the human heart.”

In his trademark use of threads and employing the act of sewing the acclaimed visual artist further masters his chosen material by imbuing it with a transformative presence. In his latest work, perception has no solid ground on which it can spread its roots but is instead swept and tossed by the waves brushed with the moon’s

benevolent light, which for the artist represents an ennobling spirit.

Napay, who studied Fine Arts at the Eulogio Amang Rodriguez of Science and Technology (EARIST), has been making waves with his works both here and abroad, winning the Grand Prize in the prestigious Ateneo Art Awards in 2013 and receiving a grant for art residencies at the Artesan Gallery in Singapore and the Liverpool Hope University in the United Kingdom. Earlier this year, he joined the Florence Biennale in Italy and bagged 2nd Premio Lorenzo il Magnifico (2nd Prize Lorenzo the Magnificent). His recent exhibit,

“Sanctuary” where barren twigs and a bird’s nest made of colorful thread take center stage, drew inspiration from his time in Liverpool and is symbolic of the search for home while in transit.

See and Silence runs until December 3 at ArtistSpace, located at the Ground Level, Ayala Museum Annex, Makati Avenue corner De La Rosa Street, Greenbelt Park, Makati City. For more information on ArtistSpace, contact Lorraine Datuin, gallery coordinator at (02) 759-8288 or email artistspace@ayalafoundation. org. You may also contact Art Verité at (02) 915-1982 for further details.

HIDDEN LIGHT, SEA AT NIGHT 2015 Thread on canvas 70 x 240 in

BREAKING BARRIERS ARMM marks 26 years

D Anak-Mindanao party list Congresswoman Sitti Djalia Hataman in Tausug attire

ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman in a Yakan attire

A Yakan weaver. A competition in exotic weaving will be held at the ORG Compound

espite the modest celebrations, the 26th anniversary of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was marked by colorful pageantry that showcased the richness and diversity of the Bangsamoro culture – as undercored by the series of events revolving around the campaign theme “Breaking Barriers: Journey through Bangsamoro Culture and History towards Peace and Development” which bats for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

For several centuries, Mindanao has been a separate region, which allowed it to establish its own culture and identity. This territory Mindanao has been the homeland of Muslims ever since Arab trader Karim ul’ Makhdum arrived in the Sulu archipelago in the 14th century. Sultanates were established and maintained their independence even during the Spanish period of colonization. For centuries, Mindanao has been a separate region, which accounts for the enduring culture and identity of the Muslims who resisted colonizers and continued to fight for their independence from the Philippine Republic. In 1989, the ARMM was established by a law that mandated an independent region in Muslim Mindanao. On November 8, 1990, the ARMM was in Cotabato City which served as the provisional capital.

Festivities for the 26th anniversary started as early as November 6 with a pilgrimage to the Sheikh Makhdum Mosque, the cradle of Islam in the Philippines located in Simunul, Tawi-Tawi.

A feast of traditional cuisine was laid out outside the mosque after the prayers.

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY AYUNAN G. GUNTING

hands performed by the Badjaos and Tausug.

“Asik,” a slave dance of Maguindanao, features women dancing with their janggay or metal nails. This is the precursor to the iconic “singkil,” the Maranao dance to clapping bamboos. The Yakans on the other hand are known for their “baila,” the fisherman’s dance, and “pangsak,” the courtship dance. “Pagapir” on the other hand is a popular dance of the Maranaos that feature dancers walking gracefully as they twirl The Yakans of Basilan colorful fans. For the men, “sagayan” is well A culinary contest – the Master Chieftain known as it is the Maguindanao warrior dance.

Competition –among the ARMM tribes, namely On November 29, the Peace Parade and Badjao, Tausug, Yakan, Maranao, Maguindanao, Mindanao Week of Peace (MWOP) will have Sama, Iranun and Teduray was also held at the volunteers, peace advocates and various groups Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex. Inspired by supporting non-violent means to end conflicts in the reality show “Master Chef,” the competition Mindanao. The Bike for Peace on Nov. 30 enjoins engaged tribal chieftains and sous chefs from the cyclists to travel from Cotabato City and Midsayap tribes to present their indigenous cuisine, ranging in North Cotabato to Datu Piyang and Datu from appetizer to main course and dessert.

Saudi in Maguindanao. ARMM’s ethnolinguistic Native delicacies such as Maguindanaoan groups will also take center stage in a competition pastil, boiled rice topped with chicken slivers of exotic weaving at the Org Compound. and sinina or slices of goat meat drenched in One of Governor Hataman’s agenda is coconut cream, burnt coconut shavings, ginger to raise people’s awareness on peace as an and pepper and the Tausug pyutu, a grated individual and collective responsibility. cassava cake, were presented in innovative ways. Hataman’s administration has been addressing In the heart of the celebrations were the the concerns of all sectors through various free medical and dental services extended programs that include agrarian reform, by regional health officials to children from scholarships and education opportunities for several orphanages, while farming tools and the poor, improving livelihood cooperatives and implements were distributed to peasants by providing better opportunities for women.

Governor Mujiv Hataman.

High-risk communities are also educated on The various ethnic groups in ARMM are also disaster preparedness, while medical missions distinguished by their traditional dances, like are conducted to control tropical diseases along the pangalay, the dance of graceful arms and with injury-prevention programs.

T UES DAY : NOV EMBER 24, 2015

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

C5

‘The Goodbye Girl’ TeAches how To move on

T

by seymour bArros sAnchez

V writer and book author Noreen Capili, known for her best-selling books, Parang Kayo Pero Hindi and Buti Pa ang Roma May Bagong Papa, is back with her latest book, The Goodbye Girl.

She wrote the screenplay for No Boyfriend Since Birth or NBSB for Regal Films starring Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez. The film reunited her with Joey Reyes who directed the film whom she met at ad workshop conducted by the director. This later opened doors for her to write for a TV sitcom then for soap operas.

While her first two books were the result of years of hard work as a blogger, a contributor to a university-based online community, a love advice columnist for a lifestyle magazine, a similar job for a maritime company, and a writer for a local television network, Capili, also known as Noringai, has to come up with fresh material for her new book, the title of which she got from the hit song “Goodbye Girl” by David Gates of Bread.

Capili explained how different her latest book is from the previous ones, “In the first book, there’s a feeling that ‘Parang Kayo Pero Hindi’ stage is okay than not having any relationship at all. Don’t settle for anything less. In the second, if you’re tired of waiting, still don’t settle. You’ll never know what you might get.” In her third book, she stressed it was time for a more mature outlook. “Time heals everything. Just give time to heal…time to move on,” she revealed.

“All of those I have written in my books are based on real experiences. I neither invented nor imagined them. If they are not my experiences, they are experiences of my friends. Maybe that’s why many people can relate to them because they really happen. The stories were not fabricated. Some came from my blog,” Capili shared on why her books became popular.

A BA Creative Writing graduate at the University of the Philippines – Diliman, she wrote This Side UP a column in Peyups.com, the now-defunct online UP community, under her pseudonym Noringai. It gained a cult following so Karl and Mimi de Leon, the website’s husband-and-wife administrators, compiled her articles into a book. However, the plan did not materialize. “When I submitted my book to Anvil, I still asked permission from them. They gave their approval. I still own the rights to my articles but I felt I needed to seek their permission,” Capili said.

Anvil used Noringai, her username for blogs and Peyups.com, to give some sense of anonymity. Capili sensed that her publisher initially wanted a female version of Bob Ong, whose identity has still been kept secret to this day. However, her appearances in TV shows to promote her book slowly made her recognizable to her readers. She also had talks and book signing events at the annual Philippine Literary Festival, at the recent Manila International Book

Noreen Capili being interviewed by Kris Aquino

Noreen Capili receiving book award

Fair, other events organized by National Book Store, and even school-initiated ones.

When Capili appeared on TV to promote her book, Kris Aquino called her a “love guru.” She has been reluctant to take on the role. “I feel that I am not qualified. Before this, those who sent me messages on Facebook only inquired about how to become actors or how to make it to It’s Showtime or Pinoy Big Brother. Now, they share stories about their love life. My high school classmates also ask me who the unnamed people I wrote about in my books were or if ever they were part of them,” she said. She also shared a funny incident when a date she had asked her if she would include him in her next book.

Capili advises young writers not to give up easily.

“I was rejected many times when I was just starting out. It’s not easy being a writer. It’s not mechanical.

You should read a lot. You need to be curious of what is happening around you. You can get a lot of stories from what you hear. You need to be observant.”

The thirty-something writer, who also went through the same heartaches like her readers, shared this to those who are still heartbroken, “No matter how many times you listen to “Breakeven” by The Script or “Someone Like You,” spend all your money shopping, munch on a lot of cake, pizza, or any comfort food, or drown yourself with alcohol or anti-depressants, it still hurts. And no matter how many times you were hurt, whether you’re 16 or 31, you never get immune to pain. But you always have a choice how to confront heartache and pain. We can’t stop ourselves from experiencing pain but it’s what we do with the pain that makes the difference. Being hurt is something we can’t stop from happening but being miserable is always our choice,” she said.

Most innovative network Darla Sauler receives the award for Kris Aquino

Ariel Ureta receives the award for Umagang Kay Ganda

Noreen Capili at book signing event

A

BS-CBN Corporation was recognized as the Most Innovative Network in the inaugural Global City Innovative College (GCIC) awards held recently.

ABS-CBN programs, stars, and personalities won a total of 11 awards during the ceremonies including Most Innovative Television series for On The Wings Of Love and Most Innovative Sunday Noontime Show for ASAP 20.

Jodi Sta. Maria won the Most Innovative Actress award for her portrayal of Amor Powers in Pangako Sa ‘Yo, and Paulo Avelino the Most Innovative Actor for his role as Carlos Antonio in Bridges of Love.

Citations were also given to Kapamilya personalities Karen Davila as Most Innovative Female Newscaster, Boy Abunda, the Most Innovative Male Television Host, and Kris Aquino, Most Innovative Female Television Host.

News and Current Affairs programs TV Patrol, Matanglawin, and Umagang Kay Ganda were named Most Innovative News Program, Most Innovative Educational Program, and Most Innovative Morning Program respectively.

Organized by Global City Innovative College, the GCIC is awarded to media products in television that are deemed innovators in the industry.

T UES DAY : NOV EMBER 24, 2015

C6

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

CNN’S ‘ON ChiNa’ fOCUSES ON DiNOSaUR DiSCOvERy

C

hina has shaken the world of paleontology to its very foundation. Over the past few decades, more dinosaurs have been discovered there than anywhere else on earth. Chinese paleontologists have also proven a direct connection between dinosaurs and birds, rewriting what we know about evolution.

From left, Kristie Lu Stout, Zhou Zhonghe, Richard Stone and Xu Xing

This month’s On China, CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout is at the Paleozoological Museum of China with the country’s top dinosaur hunters and the International Editor of Science Magazine to explore the world of dinosaur expedition in China, and the unique challenges confronting paleontologists today in this country on

the fast track to urbanization.

Guests include Xu Xing, and Zhou Zhonghe, paleontologists at Chinese Academy of Science, and Richard Stone, International News Editor, Science Magazine.

On China airs 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 26 and 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 27, 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 19 and 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 20.

‘DanCe KiDs’ reCorDs high ratings Viewers nationwide tuned in to the premiere of Dance Kids with the first batch of dance artists on stage and tried to impress the program’s Dance Masters Georcelle Dapat-Sy, Andy Alviz, and Vhong Navarro.

Based on data from Kantar Media, Philippine TV’s first-ever dance competition for kids hit a national TV rating of 32.4 percent on Nov. 14 versus GMA’s Pepito Manaloto’s 24.7. The show also won in the ratings game on the following day when it recorded a national TV rating of 28.4 percent, or ten points higher than GMA’s 24 Oras Weekend.

The first episodes saw the passion and brilliance of the dance artists who went through the try outs, the first stage of the competition where they were screened by the Dance Masters.

Making it to the next level of competition were trio Higher Level Kids, dance sport duo Step Kids, Tahitian group Aloha Girls, young heartthrobs Maximum Groovers, taekwondo duo Richlie and Daniel, and solo dance artists Matt and Joren, who were all given a unanimous decision or three “stomps” by the Dance Masters.

Georcelle, Andy, and Vhong opened the program by showing off their signature moves in an opening number that gave tribute to Filipino street games.

Dance Kids airs every Saturday, 6:15 p.m., and 6 p.m. every Sunday.

Dance Kids Dance Masters Georcelle, Vhong, and Andy

Dance Kids Dance Masters Georcelle, Vhong, and Andy during their opening number

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 41 42 43 45 46 47 48 51 53 56

ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Larger than large 6 Hot soak 10 Invitation ltrs.

14 In the least (2 wds.)

15 Gen. Robert — — 16 Footnote abbr.

(2 wds.)

17 Tattered 18 Release (2 wds.)

20 That ship 21 Marlins’ city

23 24 25 26 29 34 35 36 37 38 39 40

Raised the stakes Med. staffers Exist Round Table knight Taken care of Impromptu (2 wds.)

Ripe, as a pear Swing off-course Favoritism Hierarchy levels Strongly advise Donne’s “done”

58 60 61 62 63 64 65

Blazers Wry Thugs Whole lot Wabash loc.

City near Phoenix Heavy rainfall — Davis of “The Fly” Frat letter Eats in a hurry (2 wds.)

Clutches Pakistan’s language Be a party to Marquis’s inferiors Sit-down occasion Leaning tower town Prevent

DOWN 1 Jostles 2 Idaho neighbor 3 Other sock 4 Short lunch?

5 Apollo’s games 6 Test versions 7 Ex-senior 8 Ms. Garr of film 9 Egg producer 10 End a shutdown 11 Pause 12 Flower holder

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2015

13 19 22 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 35 38 39 41 42 44 45 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 57 59

Implored Virginia caverns Motor lodge Far East land Orbit segments Eva or Zsa Zsa Farewell Quay Women with nieces Fixes the fight Greek fast food Aerie builder Live San — Capistrano Line on a map Bear in the sky Movies Harmed Off and on Knock-knock joke Rumormonger Crawled, perhaps Study hard “M*A*S*H” lead Asian desert Farm animals Lemony-tasting Skilled Gorby’s realm Skip stones — Dawn Chong

Dance kids hosts Robi and Alex

T UES DAY : NOV EMBER 24, 2015

C7

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

Richard Gomez and Dawn Zulueta

Piolo Pascual

Sam Milby with Jolina Magdangal and another Kapamilya Mateo Guidicelli with a kid

aBs-cBn’s christMas station id

K

apamilya stars expressed their gratitude to Filipinos whose stories inspire them in their work and in their personal lives in ABS-CBN’s Christmas Station ID “Thank You for the Love,” which premiered on Nov. 12 in TV Patrol.

Sung by today’s hottest love teams James Reid and Nadine Lustre, Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil, and Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla, together with Bamboo and The Voice Kids Season 2 grand champion Elha Nympha, the “Thank You for the Love” theme highlights how Filipinos never forget genuine and unconditional acts of love and generosity and how Filipinos never cease to give back even in simple ways.

Ang Probinsyano star Coco Martin, together with the cast of the top-rating series, gave soldiers from Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal new sets of combat boots and enjoyed a boodle fight feast afterwards.

The Pasion De Amor cast, on the other hand, packed goods at Sangley Point of the Philippine

from c8

Navy in Cavite for soldiers who serve as inspirations of strength in Ayungin Shoal.

Gerald Anderson with ABSCBN Cebu personalities led the surprise homecoming tribute for Pinoy Pride boxers and sports heroes Donnie Nietes, Mark Magsayo, and brothers Jason and Albert Pagara, while Piolo Pascual provided new uniforms to the inspiring kids of Bayanijuan Futbol Club in Calauan, Laguna.

Meanwhile, Angel Locsin, Matteo Guidicelli, Jessy Mendiola, JC De Vera, and Paulo Avelino spent an afternoon with orphans from Meritxell Children’s World Foundation in Marikina City.

A roving Christmas Noche Buena table also went to different places to gather more families together. Be My Lady stars Erich Gonzales and Daniel Matsunaga dined with the farmers in Pampanga; Doble Kara star Julia Montes with the health and birthing station volunteers in Batangas; You’re My Home stars Richard Gomez and Dawn Zulueta with

avid fans in Quezon City, and Kim Chiu and Xian Lim with random people on the streets.

HHHHH Julia Montes’ grandMa waKes up froM coMa More surprises come Kara’s (Julia Montes) way as Barbara (Alicia Alonzo) wakes up from coma in the hit afternoon teleserye Doble Kara.

Barbara recovers from coma and undergoes therapy to fully recuperate. However, as she wakes up, she blames Kara for intentionally pushing her leading to her accident. But Yaya Anita (Gloria Sevilla) defends Kara and says that she is with Kara as the accident happens. Laura also reveals that it is Sara, not Kara, who is with Barbara before the accident happens.

Is Sara the one who pushed Barbara? Now that Barbara recovers from coma, how will Kara put her family back together?

Don’t miss the thrilling scenes in Doble Kara, Monday to Friday, after It’s Showtime on ABS-CBN Kapamilya Gold.

For more information about

Julia Montes

the program, visit the official social networking site of Dreamscape Entertainment Television at Facebook.com/DreamscapePH, Twitter.com/DreamscapePH, and Instagram.com/DreamscapePH. HHHHH Mother, son in politics Alma Moreno, Vanessa Lacsmana in real life, has successfully reinvented herself as a politician. When she was still married to Joey Marquez who was mayor of Parañaque from 1995 to 2004, Moreno was an active first lady of sorts.

In 2004, she ran for mayor after her husband’s last term, but she had

TFC makes reunion possible among Filipinos

t

he Filipino Channel (TFC), the network for Filipinos outside the Philippines, will bring together overseas Filipinos (OFs) and their kapamilya in a virtual get-together via its Christmas offering – Kapamilya Reunion.

Inspired by its mission to serve as the link between Filipinos overseas and their loved ones back in the Philippines, TFC unveiled its gift of Kapamilya Reunion.

Fiulipinos can enjoy a virtual Christmas get-together with their loved ones in the Philippines by just by addressing the line - “I-kuwento ang iyong most memorable Paskong ‘Pinas with your family? (What is your most memorable Christmas in the Philippines with your family?).

All OFs who are legal residents of or contracted workers in the U.S.A., Canada, UAE, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, and Taiwan can join the promo and send their answers to TFC Facebook pages in these countries.

After registering and entering their stories, five winners from the qualified participants will be chosen for each of these countries based on the uniqueness of the story (50 percent) and the over-all impact of the entry (50 percent).

Winning participants will then get the chance to bring two family members to designated areas in their respective countries and chat with their loved ones back home on Dec.6 at the Restaurant 9501 in Quezon City, Philippines.

Their loved ones in the Philippines will be joined by executives of TFC in Manila as well by several Kapamilya Stars from widely watched ABS-CBN programs. Like a true reunion, both overseas Filipinos and their Kapamilyas in the Philippines will also receive exchange gifts via balikbayan boxes from TFC and participating sponsors.

Through Kapamilya Reunion, TFC will bring the cheer of the holiday season and the company of loved ones for Filipinos who can’t be home for Christmas. Share your “Most Memorable Christmas in the Philippines with your family” and visit www.facebook.com/TFCUSOfficial, CanadaOfficial, TFCMiddleEast, TFCEurope, TFCAustralia, TFCJapan, TFCHongKong, TFCSingapore and TFCTaiwan1.

The TFC Kapamilya logo

no luck. She lost. Three years later, she run for councilor and was elected, and re-elected twice, in 2010 and 2013. She even became the National Chairperson of the Philippine Councilors League until today.

In October this year, she declared her intentions to run for Senator, which was once aborted in 2012, the first time she announced her plans to run for the position but eventually withdrew citing health reasons.

This time she is aligned with the party of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Recently, she became the butt of the joke among netizens when she appeared on TV for an interview with Karen Davila of ABS-CBN. Meanwhile, son Vandolph Quizon (by the late comedian Dolphy) is also gearing up for a chance to be in public service. He will run for councilor for the spot his mother will vacate in 2016.

Should he win, he would be the third in Alma Moreno’s family to be in politics, that is counting Joey and his mother.

T UES DAY : NOV EMBER 24, 2015

C8

ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Cinema One Original's Best Film - Carl Joseph Papa for Manang Biring

Carl Joseph Papa accepts the Jury prize for best film Manang Biring together with Erlinda Villalobos who plays the titular role

Champion Bughaw AwardCarl Joseph Papa's Manang Biring

lOne animated film entry wins Best film ISAH V. RED Director Carl Joseph Papa’s touching animated drama film Manang Biring, the only animated entry in this year’s Cinema One Originals, won Best Film at the 2015 Cinema One Originals.

It also won in two other categories – Best Music and the Champion Bughaw Award.

Papa’s animated film revolves around Manang Biring, a terminally ill old lady diagnosed with stage four breast cancer who gets an unexpected letter from a dear loved one who wants to reunite with her for Christmas.

“I just entered Manang Biring in Cinema One Originals because I wanted to fulfill our team’s dream to make a fulllength animated film,” Papa said.

He elaborated, “I am thankful to Cinema One Originals for giving us a chance to make our project. I hope our film will be screened in more cinemas in the Philippines.”

Meanwhile, director Ralston Jover’s Hamog, a story on the lives of four street children who suddenly get caught in a web of consecutive and unforeseen tragedies, reaped four recognitions including Best Editing, Best Sup-

porting Actor, Best Actress, and the coveted Jury Award.

Young stars Therese Malvar and Bor Lentejas also caught the crowd’s attention at the awards night when won Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor of the festival, outshining seasoned actors in their respective categories.

The two newcomers from Hamog were speechless. Therese, 15, who cried onstage as she accepted her second best actress award in her career, credited Jover for her award-winning performance.

“My role in Hamog is serious.

I’m very thankful to direk Ralston for his help and mentorship for me to do well,” Malvar said and added, “I did not expect this at all. I did not even prepare a good speech.

I’m just thankful to my management, my parents, and to God.” The awards night also paid tribute to Rox Lee, Joey Agbayani, Mike and Johnny Alcazaren, Nick Deocampo, and Raymond Red, considered pillars of Philippine alternative cinema.

Cinema One Originals is an annual film festival that allows talented Filipino storytellers to showcase their stories through film, specifically in the new format – video. It has been going on in the last 11 years.

It is a local independent film festival of Cinema One, one of the cable channels of Creative Programs, Inc., a subsidiary of ABS-CBN. HHHHH

2015 Cinema One Originals festival winners Jury Prize winner: Hamog, Ralston Jover Best Film: Manang Biring, Carl Joseph Papa Best Actress: Therese Malvar, Hamog Best Actor: Dino Patrano, Baka Siguro Yata Best Supporting Actress: Chai Fonacier, Miss Bulalacao Best Supporting Actor: Bor Lentejas, Hamog Best Director: Dayang Asu, Bor Ocampo Best Screenplay: Miss Bulalacao, Ara Chawdhury Best Cinematography: Dayang Asu (Albert Banzon) Audience Choice: Baka Siguro Yata, Joel Ferrer Best Sound: Bukod Kang Pinagpala (Jess Carlos) Best Music: Manang Biring (Dinno Christopher Parafina) Best Editing: Hamog (Charliebebs Gohetia) Best Production Design: Bukod Kang Pinagpala (Harley Alcasid) Champion Bughaw Award: Manang Biring ➜ Continued on C7

Two-Time Best actress winner 15-year-old Therese Malvar cries on stage as she accepts her award

Best actor winner Dino Pastrano from Joel Ferrer's Baka Siguro Yata

Best Supporting Actor- child star Bor Lentejas from Hamog

Ara Chawdhury accepts the best supporting actress award on behalf of Chai Fonacier from her Cinema One Originals entry Miss Bulalacao