The Standard - 2015 December 23 - Wednesday

VOL. XXIX NO. 314 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 WEDNESDay : DECEMBER 23, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Binay bounces back in survey

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By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

THE Commission on Elections en banc on Tuesday disqualified Senator Grace Poe from running for president in 2016 on the grounds that she is not a natural-born citizen and that she did not meet the 10-year residency requirement for the post.

Ruling on a motion for reconsideration filed

by Poe, the commissioners voted Tuesday night to uphold the decisions of the First Division 5-2, and Second Division 5-1 to disqualify the senator, a source said.

A spokesman for Poe said they would appeal the decision before the Supreme Court.

Poe faced four disqualification cases, with the Second Division ruling on the complaint filed by lawyer Estrella Elamparo, and the First Division on the petitions filed by former senator Francisco Tatad, Dela Salle University professor Antonio Contreras, and University of the East Law Dean Amado Valdez.

In a phone interview, Comelec Chairman Andres Bautista said some commissioners had leaked the decision, which was supposed to be announced Wednesday, but acknowledged the decision was “likely” to deny Poe’s motions for reconsideration.

“Some of the commissioners have leaked the decision. It’s true there was a vote, but the decision has not been promulgated,” Bautista said in Filipino.

Asked if it was correct to say that the Comelec denied Poe’s motion, Bautista said: “That was the vote a while ago.”

He said he would answer all questions about the decision when he announced it Wednesday.

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Only four new faces make it in Senate poll

By Joyce Pangco Pañares ONLY four new faces—boxing icon Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, former Justice secretary Leila de Lima, former Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel, and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez—made it to the top 12 senatorial bets for the 2016 polls, the latest survey commissioned by The Standard shows.

The Standard Poll of 1,500 respondents from Dec. 4 to 12, showed reelectionist Senator Vicente Sotto III at the top spot with 57 percent.

Former Senator Francis Pangilinan placed second at 48 percent, followed by Senate President Franklin Drilon (47 percent), former Senator Panfilo Lacson (46 percent) and former Senator Ralph Recto (44 percent).

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Pacquiao and De Lima were tied with 40 percent each, followed by former Senator Miguel Zubiri (39 percent), Senator Sergio Osmeña III (37 percent), former Senator Richard Gordon (33 percent), and Hontiveros-Baraquel and Romualdez, both with 28 percent.

Respondents also listed the top issues that a senatorial bet should focus on, including creating more jobs (75 percent), addressing sectoral needs (36 percent), standardizing salaries (36 percent), implementing the K-12 educational program (33 percent) and preventing and responding to disasters (27 percent).

They also identified problems that would cause them not to vote for a candidate—involvement in corruption (61 percent), probability that he will cheat in the elections (58 percent), has no word of honor or does not fulfill promises (36 percent), selective in helping (35 percent), and use of illegal drugs (29 percent).

Rounding up the next 12 were Senator Teofisto Guingona III (26 percent); Valenzuela Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian (25 percent); Manila Vice Mayor Isko Moreno (20 percent); former Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority director general Mark Lapid (19 percent); former Technical Education and Skills Development Authority chief Joel Villanueva (17 percent); actor Edu Manzano (13 percent); former Metro Manila Development Authority chief Francis Tolentino and Parañaque councilor Alma Moreno at 12 percent each; former Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares (7 percent); and labor advocate Susan Ople and Melchor Chavez at 6 percent each; and Allan Montaño, broadcaster Rey Langit, and Alexander Ali at 5 percent each.

Across geographic areas, Sotto was the frontrunner in Metro Manila (69 percent), North/Central Luzon (58 percent), South Luzon/Bicol (60 percent) and Visayas (59 percent). Pacquiao, however, was the top choice of respondents from Mindanao at 61 percent, followed by De Lima at 59 percent.

A majority of respondents from urban (68 percent) and rural (53 percent) areas also said they will vote for Sotto if the elections were held today.

Sotto was also the top choice across all economic classes, with 49 percent from those belonging to upper and middle classes ABC, and 59 percent and 56 percent, respectively, from those belonging to the poorer DE classes.

He also got a majority of votes from both male (58 percent) and female (57 percent) respondents, and across all age group—53 percent from those aged 18-34; 60 percent from those aged 35-55; and 58 percent from those aged 56 and above.

Across religious affiliations, Sotto was the top choice of Catholics (58 percent) and Iglesia Ni Cristo members (61 percent). Pangilinan was the frontrunner among Born Again members (59 percent) while De Lima was the top choice of Muslim respondents (74 percent).

Sotto led among Tagalog respondents (67 percent), Cebuanos (53 percent), Ilocanos (46 percent), Bicolanos (49 percent) and Warays (71 percent), while Drilon was the top choice of Ilonggos (63 percent) and Pacquiao took the lead among Muslim groups (76 percent).

The Standard Poll is the only survey that has 1,500 respondents from 76 provinces across the country and the 17 cities in the National Capital Region.

It also has the longest coverage period from Dec. 4 to 12.

It has a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percent nationwide and +/-6 percent each for Metro Manila, North/Central Luzon, South Luzon/Bicol, Visayas and Mindanao.

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In a separate interview, Commissioner Rowena Guanzon said whoever lost the case could now take it to the Supreme Court.

“So this is good, the parties can now go to the Supreme Court very soon. As we said, the SC is the final arbiter,” Guanzon said.

She also noted that Poe and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte might not be included in the official ballot if the vote goes against them and the Supreme Court does not issue a temporary retraining order in their favor within five days of the promulga-

Binay bounces back in Pulse Asia survey

By Sandy Araneta

VICE President Jejomar Binay has regained the lead in Pulse Asia’s survey of voter preferences for the 2016 presidential elections, getting the nod from 33 percent of the respondents, the polling company said Tuesday.

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Grace Poe were statistically tied for second place, with 23 percent and 21 percent, respectively.

In third place was Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II, with 17 percent.

Pulse Asia Research’s Ulat ng Bayan Survey for December 2015 was conducted from Dec. 4 to 11, with 1,800 respondents nationwide.

The survey has a margin of error of ± 2 percent on the national level, ± 6 percent for Metro Manila, ±3 percent for the rest of Luzon and ±5 percent for each of Visayas and Mindanao.

Other presidential candidates, including Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, garnered at most 4 percent.

Pulse Asia said only 1 percent of registered voters were either or inclined to support any of the candidates included in the survey or did not know who they would vote for as president in May 2016.

In terms of geographic areas, Duterte had a clear lead over the other candidates in Mindanao, with a strong 43 percent.

In Metro Manila, Binay (30 percent), Duterte (27 percent), and Poe (21 percent) shared the top spot.

In the rest of Luzon, Binay (34 percent) and Poe (29 percent) were the leading bets.

In the Visayas, the top choices were Binay (34 percent) and Roxas (27 percent).

Binay also led among poorer voters, garnering 30 percent from Class D and 42 percent from Class E respondents.

The top candidates in Class A, B and C were Duterte (28 percent), Roxas (22 percent), Binay (20 percent) and Poe (19 percent).

The top candidate for vice president was Senator Francis Escudero (29 percent), with Senator Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. landing in second place (23 percent).

Pulse Asia said only two other vice presidential bets scored dou-

tion of the Comelec decision.

Guanzon declined, however, to comment on how Tuesday’s vote went.

Poe’s spokesman, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, said they would exhaust all legal remedies if the new reports were true.

“We will appeal to the wisdom of the Supreme Court. We know that our arguments are based on laws,” said Gatchalian, who said they are yet to receive a copy of the Comelec decision.

He reiterated that Poe is a natural-born Filipino citizen and has met the residency requirement.

He also said they were optimistic that the Supreme Court justices would see the merits of their

ble-digit voter preferences.

Sharing third place were Senator Alan Peter Cayetano (18 percent) and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni G. Robredo (14 percent).

Only 1 percent of registered voters said they do not support any of the vice presidential candidates or did not know who they would vote for next year.

Metro Manilans and those in the rest of Luzon were most supportive of Escudero (30 percent and 33 percent, respectively) and Marcos (28 percent and 26 percent, respectively).

In the Visayas, the leading vice presidential candidates were Escudero (27 percent), Robredo (21 percent), and Cayetano (18 percent).

Those in Mindanao were most inclined to elect Cayetano (27 percent), Escudero (21 percent), and Marcos (19 percent) as the country’s next vice president.

In Class AB and C, the top choices for vice president were Escudero (26 percent), Marcos (20 percent), Robredo (18 percent), Cayetano (17 percent), and Senator Gregorio B. Honasan II (11 percent).

Those in Class D are most likely to vote for Escudero (29 percent) while those in Class E are most supportive of the vice presidential bids of Escudero and Marcos (29 percent and 20 percent, respectively).

Filipinos are naming an average of nine of their preferred candidates for senator, with most of them already having a complete slate for the Senate (55 percent).

Only 13 of the 89 senatorial candidates in the survey have a statistical chance of winning in the May 2016 elections, Pulse Asia said.

With about five months to go before the next national elections, registered voters are identifying a mean of nine and a median of 12 (out of a maximum of 12) of their favored candidates for senator.

Overall, 55 percent of registered voters already have a complete slate for the senatorial race.

Practically all of the probable

position.

At this point, he said the process has not taken its full course. Because of this, Poe is still running for the presidency and should be kept in the oficial list of candidates for president.

On Dec. 1, the Comelec Second Division voted unanimously to disqualify Poe, based on the complaint filed by Estrella Elamparo.

Ten days later, on Dec. 11, the Comelec First Division voted 2-1 against Poe, saying she committed material misrepresentation in claiming to be a natural-born citizen and a Philippine resident for more than 10 years after separate petitions were filed by Tatad, Valdez and Contreras.

winners were either current or former members of Congress, with former Justice secretary Leila M. de Lima being the only exception.

Enjoying solo first place was Senator Vicente C. Sotto III, who had an overall voter preference of 67.9 percent.

Five bets shared second place—Senator Ralph G. Recto (58.9 percent), former senator Panfilo M. Lacson (58.5 percent), former senator Richard J. Gordon (57.0 percent), former senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri (55.9 percent), and Senate President Franklin M. Drilon (55.1 percent).

Completing the list of probable winners were former senator Francis N. Pangilinan (54.5 percent, 2nd to 8th places), Senator Sergio D. Osmeña III (49.8 percent, 7th to 9th places), De Lima (46.8 percent, 8th to 9th places), Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquaio (40.0 percent, 10th to 13th places), Senator Teofisto D. Guingona III (38.6 percent, 10th to 13th places), Valenzuela City Representative Sherwin T. Gatchalian (36.0 percent, 10th to 13th places), and former Akbayan Party-List Representative Risa N. Hontiveros (35.7 percent, 10th to 13th places).

Only 1.1 percent of Filipino registered voters were not inclined to vote for any of the candidates included in this senatorial electoral probe while less than 1 percent either do not know whom to vote for as senator (0.9 percent) or refuse to identify their preferred senatorial candidates (0.3 percent).

Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., in a text message to Palace reporters, said, “Public opinion surveys serve to heighten the citizens’ awareness of the candidates that would hopefully lead to greater interest beyond personalities and into platforms of governance.”

Binay said he was thankful for the latest findings of the Pulse Asia survey.

“Surveys, as I often tell my supporters, are snapshots of

Poe filed motions for reconsideration before the Comelec en banc on Dec. 7 and 16.

Also on Tuesday, a poll official said the Comelec would not release an initial list of candidates on Wednesday as originally scheduled, but said they will be able to release the final list of candidates

by Jan. 8, 2016.

There are 130 candidates for president who filed their Certificates of Candidacy and so far there are 29 aspirants who have been declared as nuisance candidate.

Earlier, Bautista and Comelec spokesman James Jimenez admitted that as long as the disqualification cases against Poe and Duterte were pending, their names would

our people’s sentiment at a given time,” Binay said. “The true survey is on Election Day.” His spokesman, Joey Salgado, said the survey results encouraged Binay to double his efforts to inform the people of his plans to improve their lives and to solve poverty, unemployment and other social ills.

Poe, on the other hand, attributed the drop in her ranking to the disqualification cases filed against her, which she said has created confusion among voters.

Poe said she remained confident that she would hurdle the cases against her and prove that she is qualified to run for president.

“I respect the results of the most recent Pulse Asia survey. I will continue to use the surveys as guide to work harder, reach out to more people, and get across my platform of governance, where no one is left behind,” Poe said.

Her running mate, Escudero, agreed that the disqualification cases had taken a toll on her standing, but said she would recover once the Supreme Court rules in her favor.

“It cannot be denied that the two disqualificafion orders from the Comelec First and Comelec Second Division have affected the results,” said Escudero.

Regardless of the survey results, Escudero vowed that he and Poe would continue going around the country to bring their message to the people—their plaform and dreams for the Philippines.

Poe spokesman Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian said the survey would serve as a roadmap to their next moves.

“Clearly, we have to amplify our message that Senator Poe is still a candidate in the running for the presidency,” he said.

In addition to this, Gatchalian said they have to focus in their message of inclusive growth, improving competitiveness and good governance. With Vito Barcelo, Macon Ramos-Araneta and John Paolo Bencito

be included in the official ballot.

The Comelec on Tuesday received yet another disqualification case filed against Duterte, this time by the chairman of the University of the Philippines student council, John Paulo delas Nieves.

In his petition, Nieves asked the Comelec to declare the CoC of former PDP-Laban standard bearer Martin Diño as null and void, and to disallow Duterte from substituting for him.

He also asked the Comelec to delete Duterte from the list of candidates for president and that he be excluded from the official ballot.

Delas Nieves is the third petitioner who filed against Duterte.

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Palace denies jihadist camps

By Sandy Araneta, Florante Solmerin and Francisco Tuyay

EVEN after the military overran a jihadist training camp in Basilan last week and the London tabloid Daily Mail showed a propaganda video of extremists training, Malacañang insisted on Tuesday that there are no jihadist training camps in Mindanao. “[The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria] has no training camps in the Philippines,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told Palace reporters.

“What ISIS-linked personalities have done is to try to link-up with local jihadist/terrorist groups,” Coloma said. “Some of these ISIS-linked personalities, who are really few in number, have also sought refuge in the base areas of these local terrorist groups.”

The Palace issued the denial after the Daily Mail published pictures from a propaganda video boasting of a training camp, purportedly in the Philippines, showing masked men training under the black flag similar to that of ISIS. But the military said it is not dismissing any information that pertains to terrorism in the Philippines, although Armed Forces spokesman Colonel Restituto Padilla said Tuesday they have no solid confirmation

that the bases were indeed in the Philippines or elsewhere.

“We take all video materials that have come out in the Internet seriously,” Padilla said. “Not one of them has been put aside and all of them are serious things that bear on our security. That’s why we need to validate and authenticate them very carefully.”

“The video material has been brought to our attention and we already had a copy of it and submitted this for validation and authentication to cyber forensics,” Padilla said.

Padilla admitted that such images are no lonegr new to the military since they have been receiving such information for several months already.

Padilla said the likely motive of the video is to entice recruits through the social media. “You know, social media now is the easiest way by Islamic terror-

ists to inspire and recruit,” he said.

But a counter-terrorism expert urged authorities to strengthen its defenses against possible terrorist threats, especially after the military killed an Indonesian and a Malaysian who are known to be jihadists who have been hiding out with local extremists.

The security expert, who asked not to be identified, said the killing of Indonesian bomb maker Sucipto Ibrahim Ali in Sultan Kudarat last November and Malaysian extremist Mohammad Hussien, alias Abu Anas, in Basilan last week is proof of jihadists’ growing presence in the country.

Sucipto and Abu Anas are believed to be part of a group of 10 foreign jihadists with links to the Islamic State who are in the country for still unknown reasons.

Election year budget. President Benigno Aquino III is surrounded by congressional leaders, including Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and Senate President Franklin Drilon, as he signs into law Republic Act No. 10717, or the P3-trillion General Appropriations Act of 2016. MALACAÑANG PHOTO

Another relief truck attacked in Samar

By Mel Caspe and Ronald Reyes TACLOBAN CITY— Hours before the effectivity of Christmas truce between security forces and the communist rebels, the New People’s Army attacked another military truck carrying soldiers and disaster equipment in Northern Samar, the military reported Tuesday.

Capt. Isagani Viernes, spokesman of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division based in Catbalogan City, Samar, said one soldier was killed while three others were wounded in the attack that occurred at the farming town of Las Navas around dawn Tuesday.

“Since the aftermath of Typhoon “Nona,” we don’t have military offensive since our focus is on disaster response. Rebels are taking advantage of our operation,” Viernes said, noting that the attack came only four days after communist rebels attacked another military disaster rescuers in Pinabacdao, Samar.

The attack also came hours before the start of a 12-day ceasefire that the NPA said will start at 12:01 a.m. of Dec. 23 until 11:59 p.m. of Jan. 3, 2016.

“We will be on defensive mode even if there’s [suspension of military operations] because rebels traditionally mark their anniversary with atrocities,” Viernes added, noting that the NPA wanted to show strength of force ahead of the Communist Party of the Philippines anniversary on Dec. 26.

Just a ‘Cubao leader,’ Duterte twits Roxas

By John Paolo Bencito DAVAO City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte again slammed Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II for demanding that the mayor face him in a debate because he was just a “Cubao leader” and did not qualify as a “world-class leader” as suggested by former President Fidel V. Ramos.

“I’m already a global leader. Mar is just a Cubao leader. Who is he to demand a debate?” Duterte told reporters in Davao City on Tuesday.

“I would like to tell everybody that when you become a candidate for president, you must stop fooling around because that won’t do any good before other nations, diplomats and foreign leaders,” Duterte said.

Duterte was apparently referring to the earlier advice of Ramos that the two presidential aspirants, who have been publicly lashing at each other over the past few days, to act as “world-class leaders” instead of street thugs.

Roxas had earlier said in Baybay City there won’t be a Christmas truce between him and Duterte if the Davao mayor keeps on insisting that Roxas was not a real alumni of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

Roxas is a scion of the powerful Araneta clan, which owns the 35-hectare commercial complex Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City.

Also on Tuesday, Duterte thanked world champion boxer Nonito Donaire for supporting his bid for the presidency.

“At least I already have a boxer. The other one is with the other camp,” Duterte said, referring to eight-division boxing champ and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao, who is also running for the Senate under the slate of Vice President Jejomar Binay.

Duterte said he continues to support Pacquiao even if he aligned himself with Binay. “I’ve known him long time. Our friendship will transcend political lines and I will still support him,” Duterte said.

Christmas week mishap. Workers of the Metro Manila Development Authority study how to extricate a cargo truck that fell into the Dario Creek along Araneta Avenue in Quezon City after the driver supposedly lost control of his vehicle. Luckily, no one was killed in the accident. LINO SANTOS

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Aquino signs P3.002-t budget PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday signed next year’s P3.002-trillion budget, the same day he asked where the government funds had gone when he took over from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2010.

“If you will recall, when I was elected President the national budget was already being used in 2010, and we just inherited the proposed budget of 2011,” Aquino said.

He said they were able to correct the 2011 national budget, and that from the original total national budget of P1.54 trillion for 2010, only P100 billion or 6.5 percent was left in spite of the still remaining six months in the year.

“My question is: Where did the money go?” Aquino said.

He said Arroyo usually approved a reenacted budget, although in some allocations the budget for a certain project had already been used.

Meanwhile, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said the administration was able to double the budget for 2016 as compared to when the Aquino administration was just starting out in 2010.

“With this budget we have doubled the national budget since 2010 and we are providing the largest sectoral allocation to social services. This budget also caps the administration’s record of enacting the budget in time for a perfect six straight times,” Abad said.

He said the 2016 budget, which is higher by P396 billion or 15.2 percent than the P2.606-trillion 2014 budget, would continue the administration’s commitment of focusing on social services that directly benefit individual citizens, with education and health getting P436.5 billion and P128.5 billion, respectively.

Social services, which also cover housing, livelihood and community-driven projects, account for P1.106 trillion or

36.8 percent of the budget, while economic services, which cover infrastructure, agriculture, transport and communications, account for P829.6 billion or 27.6 percent.

General public services will take in P517.9 billion or 17.3 percent, while defense and security will receive P129.1 billion.

Abad said the defense allocation reflects an increase of 11.5 percent from 2015 to address the budgetary needs of AFP modernization in light of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Only 14 percent of the budget will go to debt interest payment, the lowest-ever debt payment allocation that the government has set in 10 years, further underscoring how the budget favors poverty alleviation through people empowerment, Abad said.

“For six straight years, the administration consistently focused the budget on programs that have a great impact on the needs of the poorest communities, while being aware of the need to ensure that the allocations for services also function as longterm investments towards lasting inclusive growth,” Abad said.

“A case in point would have to be education, taking on the largest sectoral allocation and marking a growth rate increase of 16 percent.

“It can be gleaned that for every P100 of the 2016 budget, around P64 will be spent on social and economic services. This clearly shows how the government is wisely investing on its people, with the foresight of supporting services that will keep serving their needs long into the future.” Sandy Araneta

Casualty. This is one of the six soldiers killed when they were ambushed by men believed to be communist guerrillas in Las Navas, Northern Samar, around 5 a.m. on Tuesday. MEL CASPE

Agency denies report on its vehicle rentals THE Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process on Tuesday denied a report saying the Commission on Audit had questioned its use of P45.3 million to rent vehicles in 2014 without authorization and with dubious supporting documents.

“Actually, it is misleading,” said Luisito Montalbo, the office’s executive director.

“What is important is the recommendation of the resident auditor at the end of the [CoA] report, which is to secure the approval of

the Department of Budget and Management for the vehicle rentals. This we have complied with and received DBM approval on September 15, 2015.”

Montalbo said the commission did not disallow the rentals as it even confirmed the office’s compliance with an executive order that required “ad hoc agencies with specific tasks to perform” to merely rent and not purchase vehicles.

“The report was intended to strengthen and tighten procedures,” Montalbo said.

He said his office operates on a national scale but has no regional offices or facilities to address operational needs.

Montalbo cited as the legal basis for his office’s vehicle rentals the Administrative Code of 1987 that, he says, allows those expenditures because those are “more economical, expedient and convenient than outright purchase.”

He said his office is an ad hoc body created under Executive Order 125, series of 1993, as amended by Executive Order 3, series of

2001.

“It is really per transaction, per need, that we rent vehicles,” Montalbo said.

“We have to deploy staff for site visits, community consultations etcetera, so for those purposes we do not have a choice but to rent vehicles. “[The office] also needs to rent motor vehicles for the use of the peace bodies under the Mindanao peace process, including the International Monitoring Team and other ceasefire monitoring mechanisms.”

Sandy Araneta

High court aspirants to face JBC

Down and out. A delivery van lies on its side on the northbound lane of North Luzon

Expressway in Valenzuela City on Tuesday, when the traffic was heavy, as usual. AnDrEw rAbuLAn

THE Judicial and Bar Council said Tuesday it will next month begin interviewing the 16 aspirants to a coming vacancy in the Supreme Court to be created by the early retirement of Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr. Villarama is supposed to retire on April 14 next year when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 70, but he has opted to step down on Jan. 16 of the same year due to his failing health.

The council said it had scheduled the aspirants’ public interviews on Jan. 7 and 8 next year.

Eight of the nominees will be interviewed on Jan. 7, and they are Court of Appeals Associate Justices

Apolinario Bruselas, Rosmari Carandang and Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo; Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Maria Cristina Cornejo, Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon Gerard Mosquera, Party-list Rep. Cinchona Cruz-Gonzales and lawyer Joe-Santos Bisquera.

Those to be interviewed the next day are CA Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr., Associate Justices Jose Reyes Jr. and Stephen Cruz, Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Amparo Cabotaje-Tang, Associate Justice Alex Quiroz, Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, former Commission on Audit chairwoman Maria Gracia Pulido-Tan, and

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 90 presiding judge Reynaldo Daway.

The council will then come up with a shortlist in February after the interviews.

The seven-member JBC is the constitutional body tasked to accept nominations to and applications for the vacancies in the judiciary and the Office of the Ombudsman.

The Constitution requires a justice of the high court to be natural-born citizen, at least 40 years old and with at least 15 years experience as a judge in a lower court. The aspiring justice “must [also] be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity and independence.” rey E. requejo

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Fake drugs seized across 13 nations INTERPOL seized counterfeit drugs worth $7 million in September in an operation encompassing 13 Asian countries, the international police organization said Monday.

Medication including antibiotics, antihypertension pills and even rabies vaccines were taken from hundreds of pharmacies and markets, including dozens of online pharmacies, as Interpol attempts to curb the widespread sale of fake drugs being produced in the region.

Interpol said in a statement they had arrested 87 individuals in the course of the crackdown, which “brought together law enforcement and drug regulatory agencies to target the organized criminal networks behind pharmaceutical crime in Asia”.

“Operation Storm VI demonstrated the sophistication and determination of criminal groups engaged in pharmaceutical crime, creating dangers to public health and the safety of the population,” said Aline Plancon, Head of Interpol’s Global Health and Safety unit.

Participating countries included Afghanistan, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The World Health Organization has said the traffic of fake medication mostly affects Asia, Latin America and especially Africa, where “systems of pharmaceutical regulation and of checks on their application are the weakest.” AFP

10 fiscals to zero in on environment laws

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Department of Justice has designated 10 special prosecutors whose task is to speed up the resolution of complaints involving violations of environmental laws and regulations in environment-critical areas of the country.

Named special prosecutors were Gimarie Fe Pacamara, Liezel Aquiatan, Tofel Austria, Alejandro Daguiso, Katheryn May PenacoRojas, Ferdinand Fernandez, Karla Cabel, Charlie Guhit, Monica Liwag and Ma. Richell Oliva.

The appointment of prosecutors came after Oceana, an international organization devoted solely on

Protest meal. Saying they were overtaxed but underserved, public school teachers belonging to the Alliance of

Concerned Teachers from Metro Manila hold a protest meal with dried fish to dramatize their plight during a protest in Mendiola, Manila on Tuesday Dec. 22 against the Salary Standardization Law of 2015. DANNY PATA

ocean conservation, appealed to the DoJ last July to create a special prosecutor’s office for protected areas in the country.

In requesting the creation of such office, Oceana cited Section 19 of Republic Act 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act of 1992, which “provides that the Department of Justice shall designate special prosecutors to prosecute violations of laws, rules and regulations in protected areas.”

The Nipas Act defines protected areas as “remarkable areas and biologically important public lands that are habitats of rare and endangered species of plants and animals, biogeographic zones and related ecosystems, whether terrestrial, wetland or marine.”

The DoJ said the special prosecutors would also provide assistance to park rangers and other law enforcers deployed to protected areas especially in the filing of cases and gathering of evidence.

In a statement, Oceana Philippines vice president, lawyer Gloria Estenzo Ramos said the special prosecutors will strengthen compliance with relevant laws in protected areas.

“Oceana is looking forward to forging partnerships with the Department of Justice, our environment and fisheries agencies, and other stakeholders in promoting awareness and understanding of the urgent need to protect our vulnerable ecosystems and threatened habitats of various species of flora and fauna, which will help in the handling of environmental cases,” Ramos said.

As of last year, there are 240 protected areas in the country while there are also areas designated as World Heritage Sites such as the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park and Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park, Ramsar Sites Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary, Agusan Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary, Naujan Lake National Park, Transboundary Protected Areas (Turtle Islands Wildlife Sanctuary) and the Asean Heritage Parks of Mt. Apo Natural Park, Mt. IglitBaco National Park, and Mt. Kitanglad Range Natural Park.

Estrada sets out to prevent chaos in Manila streets

By Joel E. Zurbano

THE city government of Manila on Tuesday formed a special team tasked to discipline vendors, motorists and pedestrians as part of its renewed campaign to restore peace and order.

The team dubbed as Discipline Zones Team will be composed of personnel from the city’s Traffic and Parking Bureau, Manila Police District, Barangay Bureau and Special Weapons and Tactics.

“Mayor Joseph Estrada is out to retake pe-

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

rennially chaotic roads from illegal vendors and undisciplined motorists and pedestrians who have ruled over them for years. The many years of neglect by previous administrations on traffic and order concerns have brought about this major problem that had thus bred a seeming anarchy in some areas in Manila,” said Ver Eustaquio, director of the Manila Barangay Bureau.

The MBB chief said the main forces of the team will be the current 450-man traffic and parking bureau, and more than 2,000 barangay volunteers who will be adequately

trained for the task.

“These main forces will closely coordinate with the MPD and the SWAT in their implementation of Mayor Estrada’s directive,” said Eustaquio.

Eustaquio said Estrada wants the new traffic enforcement team to start restoring order along the stretch of Recto Avenue going to Divisoria, which is also known as the “Pambansang Pelengke.”

He said the project will primarily ensure smooth flow of traffic for motorists, pedestrians and products in the Divisoria area,

one of their declared 10 “hotspots” which are priority areas for the project’s implementation including: the Blumenttrit, Reina Regente, Soler, Abad Santos, Antonio Rivera, Juan Luna, Narra, Plaza Ruiz and Sta. Elena areas.

“Illegal vendors; unauthorized terminals of jeepneys, tricycles and pedicabs; mountains of garbage here and there; illegally parked vehicles…these are the many road obstructions…and these are the main challenges for the team to respond to and resolve,” said Eustaquio.

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

19 more OFWs escape from Syria

By Vito Barcelo

AT LEAST 19 Filipinos, including two children, were repatriated from Syria, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.

The repatriation was part of the government’s mandatory repatriation program for Filipinos in Syria and being facilitated through the joint effort of the Philippine Embassy in Damascus, Syria and Beirut, Lebanon with the support of the International Organization for Migration.

“IOM-Damascus shouldered the airfare costs of the returning Filipinos,” the DFA said in a statement.

The Filipinos traveled by land

from Damascus, Syria to the Lebanese Masna’a border where a team from the Philippine Embassy in Beirut facilitated their transit from the Masna’a border to Beirut’s Rafik Hariri International Airport.

The Philippine Embassy in Damascus said it continued to coordinate with the Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates for the issuance of exit visas for OFWs who are currently sheltered at the Embassy’s Halfway Quarters.

As in the past, the issuance of the exit visas to the 19 Filipinos, and payment of other fees and related exit requirements and penalties were facilitated and waived by the Syrian government.

The new batch of repatriates brings the total number of Filipinos repatriated from Syria to 5,942 since the unrest started in 2011. Of this figure, 2,715 were repatriated through Lebanon, with the cooperation of the Philippine Embassy in Beirut.

With the MRP still in place, the Philippine Embassy in Damascus urged the next-of-kin of Filipino workers who remain in Syria to provide information on their family member’s whereabouts so that immediate assistance can be extended to them.

Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe has one more grown-up Christmas wish, apart from peace and prosperity: free WiFi in every municipality across the country.

“There should be a Wi-Fi zone for every family of our OFWs and for those needing it,” said Poe during her recent speech before migrant workers.

Poe stressed that Wi-Fi is the only connection between Filipino families and their loved ones abroad.

“So I want every municipality to have Wi-Fi,” stressed Poe as she bewailed the slow and costly Internet services.

Poe said she understands the plight of the more than 10 million overseas Filipino workers

who have to battle loneliness abroad, especially during the Christmas season, as she has also lived abroad for years.

The independent presidential candidate who has been pushing for faster and greater Internet access, reiterated that Wi-Fi access will not only connect migrant families but also opens doors of opportunities for the unemployed and those in rural areas.

The Internet has also been crucial in communications during disasters.

She pointed out that access to broadband has been declared a human right by the United Nations as early as 2011, citing it as instrumental to freedom of expression and quality education.

With Macon Araneta

Apec Schools all set for expansion

Senatorial candidate Martin Romualdez (center) poses with leading members of the showbiz media (second from left) Ricky Lo of Philippine Star, Isah Red of The Standard and Gerard Ramos of Business Mirror. At left is Rolando G. Estabillo, The Standard’s publisher.

Romualdez: Showbiz plays special role in society LEYTE Rep. Martin Romualdez on Tuesday underscored the invaluable role of the entertainment industry in Philippine society.

Speaking before a gathering with showbiz media, the lawmaker said that “in a country that is constantly plagued with numerous disasters and the perennial problem of poverty, people look to the entertainment industry for relief, to uplift their spirits, to escape from the harsh realities of life.”

Romualdez said that while the entertainment industry provides a respite from the day-today struggles of ordinary folk, “it contributes to the strength and

resiliency of Filipinos as a people and as a nation.”

The lawmaker also congratulated Ms. Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach for winning the Miss Universe crown.

“Ms. Wurtzbach’s composure, strength, dedication and sincere malasakit for causes that affect the youth and our country is a source of inspiration for us Filipinos to strive for greatness and to remember to pay it forward to others. Be the voice for the weak and the disadvantaged. And serve as an instrument of positive change,” Romualdez said.

The lawmaker, a lawyer and president of the Philippine Constitution Association, empha-

sized that even as the showbiz media focuses mainly on celebrities, “they also enjoy the protection of the freedoms and rights afforded to other media practitioners assured under our Constitution and our laws.”

“The showbiz media like other media practitioners is entitled to and should be covered by the freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Basta may katotohanan, walang dapat panagutan,” the lawmaker said.

Romualdez also cited the important role of showbiz media in protecting the rights of the entire LGBT community.

“In day and age, there should be no gender or sexual discrimi-

nation. Even our beloved head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has called for acceptance and recognition that the members of LGBT community are also humans deserving of the same respect, opportunities and protection,” he said.

“Our laws have to show malasakit for the plight of the LGBT community and afford them the same protection as any other human being,” he added.

Romualdez is running for senator as a guest candidate of the United Nationalist Alliance. He has also been endorsed by presidential bet Rodrigo Duterte and the coalition of party-list groups in Congress.

AFFORDABLE Private Education Center Inc. recently reaffirmed its commitment to provide quality private education through its network of schools, which charges lower tuition fees over the majority of other private schools in Mega Manila.

Apec Schools has been operating for three years and has a total student body of over 3,000 high school enrollees. Using its innovative teaching and learning methodologies, the chain of high schools aims to equip its students with the competence, skills, and values they need to be productive members of society.

Beth G. Lui, chief executive officer of APEC Schools, said, “From our facilities and the employment of competent, qualified, and motivated teachers, to our unique curriculum, APEC Schools strikes the right balance between financial and educational considerations.

This is made possible by using a variety of DepEd-approved measures to keep tuition costs affordable without compromising students’ development and training.”

“APEC Schools operates with full approval from the DepEd, is fully K-12 compliant, and offers a focus on knowledge, skills, and values formation in order to allow students from middle and lower-income families the chance to graduate from both the Junior and Senior High School programs. This in turn becomes a rich opportunity for graduates to find gainful professional employment, and also gives them a chance to fund their college studies if desired,” Lui added.

Effective next year, APEC Schools will offer the SHS Program in at least 16 of its 24 branches across NCR and Region IVA. It states that it intends to open seven more schools.

Grade 10 graduates from public schools who choose to enroll at APEC branches in NCR may do so at an all-in price of P22,500 or the full value equivalent of DepEd vouchers in this region. Those who will opt for APEC branches located in Region 4A, on the other hand, may enroll for only P17,500 or the equivalent of a full voucher value in this cluster. Both rates are exclusive of uniform fee which ranges from 400 to 600 per set.

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Muslim Mindanao enacts regional public works law

By A. Perez Rimando

Big ball. Local tourists are dwarfed by this giant Christmas ball in front of the Kidapawan Doctors Hospital in Kidapawan City. GEONARRI SOLMERANO

COTABATO CITY, Maguindanao— The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao enacted into law last Thursday the Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 325 or the Regional Public Works Act of 2016, Gov. Mujiv Hataman said.

Hataman and Regional Legislative Assembly Speaker Datu Roonie Sinsuat signed the decree which appropriated P10.1-billion budget for the next Fiscal Year for the region’s Department of Public Works and Highways.

The Act stipulates that the DPWH budget “shall be used to construct, develop, upgrade, and operate or maintain roads, highways, bridges, water supplies, flood controls, sea ports, airports and other infrastructure projects except buildings.”

Hataman has tasked the Regional

Project Monitoring Committee to validate the status of project implementation, based on approved programs of work, project specifications and time frame even as the body also allowed a 15 percent mobilization fund for a project implemented by contract and 50 percent for a project enforced by administration.

DPWH regional secretary Don Mustapha Loong said the projects, designed to improve the people’s life, are “in support of peace and development of the Hataman administration,” stressing that the region’s massive infrastructure program is expected to generate a significant number of jobs for qualified workers in Sulu, Maguindanao, Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Tawi-Tawi.

Loong said the infrastructure projects, if necessary, may be decentralized to different district engineering offices in the ARMM’s five provinces to hasten their completion.

STRANGLED BY SUCCESS

PH boomtown expands into sea

By Karl Lester M. Yap

IN THE shadow of the Philippines’ highest volcano, Davao City’s reputation as one of the safest, most vibrant and best-run cities in the country is drawing migrants and business people in their thousands.

But there’s nowhere to put them.

Encompassed by hills to the north, the Celebes Sea to the southeast and the looming presence of Mt. Apo to the west, Davao has become a victim of its own success, and an archetype of modern urbanization in developing countries, where inward migration is outstripping governments’ ability to supply infrastructure and services.

The economy of Davao region, which includes the city, expanded 9.4 percent in 2014, the fastest in the country, and is expected to top 9 percent again this year. Its success has helped add nearly a million people since 2000, almost doubling the population.

Like Brazil’s favelas, a dense sprawl of illegal or unplanned housing and shantytowns has sprouted among and around the original town and harbor. Davao needs a new port, a new business district, condos and housing. But everywhere it could build, there are already people’s homes.

Evicting all the settlers who illegally occupy state land is politically and practically difficult. There are tens of thousands of them and some have been there for generations. So Davao has come up with a solution more in keeping with the advanced economies of Japan, Singapore, or the Netherlands: Make some new land in the sea.

Four islands The plan is to build four islands, just off the coast in the Gulf of Davao. The cost: $825 million.

“We really need to have some kind of rationalization of urban development,” said Ivan Cortez, head of the Davao City Investment Promotion Center, in an interview in the city. “The reclamation will answer that question.”

Originally designed for a 50,000

population in 1937, Davao is a microcosm of the urbanization sweeping Asia as the region speeds through the transition from agrarian society to an urbanized economy in less than half a century. By 2025, 21 out of 37 of the world’s megacities—those with 10 million or more people—will be in the Asia and Pacific region, the Asian Development Bank predicts.

Each of Davao’s new islands would be about 50 hectares (124 acres) and together they would provide land for a new port, government offices, a business district, high-end shopping malls and ritzy condos, all under the plan of Mega Harbour Development Corp.

The city would own about 20 percent of the reclaimed land, including roads and parks, Cortez said.

A new port on one of the islands would have 2.5 kilometers of berthing, more than double the wharves of the city’s main port, he said. Mega Harbour, currently the sole bidder, has taken part in reclamation projects in Manila, Cortez said.

Cardboard houses While the city can avoid clearing most of the slums by conjuring land from the sea, it will still need to relocate about 3,000 illegal households to build access roads and other connections.

That’s bad news for Joselito Ferrarin, a resident for almost 30 years in the shantytown of Isla Verde, a labyrinth of narrow streets and passageways, between houses of brick and shacks made of wood, cardboard, plastic sheets and scraps of iron.

“This is my home, this is where my kids grew up,” said Ferrarin, while a group of boys played basketball in the narrow street near the shore. He does irregular jobs at construction sites and lives with his

wife, eight children and pet cat in a one-room house with no electricity.

“There’s a lot more job opportunities here.”

While the reclamation plan offers a longer-term solution for the overcrowding, the city is also trying to improve the onshore area.

The national government is taking bids for a contract to upgrade the existing port to cut unloading times to three hours from three days, while the city is seeking national government approval to build its first mass transit system, a 13.6-kilometer rail line.

Fighting crime Among those drawn to Davao is Mykael Louie Melendrez, who came just over a year ago to look for a job after working in the tourism office in Mati, about 360 kilometers away.

“I took a chance on Davao,” said Melendrez, 31, who has also lived in Manila, Cavite and Cebu, where he provided escort services for foreigners. In Davao, he got a job within a day at a call center, helping North American clients wire money via Western Union Co. “I don’t want to leave. It’s a nice city to live in, unlike

in Manila or Cebu where everybody is running against time.”

Part of the reason for Davao’s success is a relentless war against crime waged by Rodrigo Duterte, the mayor.

During the time of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Davao had a reputation for crime and was known as the nation’s murder capital. Duterte built his reputation over two decades leading the city, insisting that law and order had to be achieved at all costs. He is now running for president in next year’s elections.

“I believe that my policies on peace and order and my stand on keeping the city safe from crime and criminality have played a big role in what we have achieved,” he said in a written response.

Luring migrants That was one of the major draws for Melendrez, a flamboyant crossdresser, who felt more threatened in the capital. “There is no crime,” he said. “I can use my iPad, my phone in public. Every street corner has a CCTV.” The order Duterte fostered has

helped businesses flourish, said Imelda Lu, who returned to the Philippines in 2001 from Taiwan, where she worked in a computer factory. Lu started with a gas station in Davao, then an Internet café and then opened an interior design shop.

“I’ll probably be here for good,” said Lu, 53, who comes from the landlocked province of Cotabato, the other side of Mt. Apo. “It’s very diversified. There are a lot of migrants.”

With wealth, population and investment rising, bigger companies are also moving in, including SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Ayala Land Inc., which have both opened shopping malls in the city.

“With urbanization proceeding at a break-neck pace in many developing economies, planning officials increasingly have to devise creative solutions,” said Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economic research at HSBC Holdings Plc in Hong Kong.

“With Asian economies expanding rapidly, no doubt we will see many cities increasingly stretched to their limits.” Bloomberg

CDO plans homecoming for Wurtzbach

By Froilan Gallardo CAGAYAN DE ORO—The local government here is planning to hold a big homecoming event for newly crowned Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach if pageant organizers would permit her to visit her second hometown.

Maricel Casino Rivera, chief of the Cagayan de Oro Information Office, said the planned homecoming is dependent on the approval of the Miss Universe pageant organizers who sets the schedule of the beauty queen.

“We are in gratitude that Pia considers Cagayan de Oro as her second home. This is why we want to honor her,” Rivera said.

Mayor Oscar Moreno said Cagayan de Oro is deeply honored that Pia considers the city as her

home, next to Manila.

“Just like the homecoming we had for her when she won the Binibining Pilipinas title, we are looking forward on holding another one to our Miss Universe,” Moreno said.

Wurtzbach attended kindergarten classes at Kong Hua High School and later at Corpus Christi High school for her primary education. She stayed at Corpus Christi until Grade 4 when her mother, Cheryl Alonzo, separated from her German father, Uwe Wurtzbach. She was 11 when her mother brought her to Pasig City.

Wurtzbach grew up at the Golden Village Subdivision here and would frequently to nearby Iligan City where her father sold tasty buko bar ice cream.

In her interview with the local

media during her homecoming early this year, Wurtzbach said she considers Cagayan de Oro her second home even if their family have no relatives in the city.

She said she was frequently teased by her classmates because of her height and that bothered her so much that she became an introvert preferring to be alone rather than mingle.

“At school, I was the wall flower.

I was always the last person in the flag ceremony because I was the tallest. It was difficult to have a crush because you are too tall for the boys,” she narrated.

She said she had fond memories of her mischief during her childhood days.

Pia was born on Sept. 24, 1989 in Stuttgart, Baden-wurttemberg, Germany.

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OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

[ EDI TORI A L ]

PROMISES, PROMISES WITH less than six months until the local and national elections in 2016, promises are the currency of the day.

Politicians promise. That is what they do. The ones that are worth voting for are the ones that keep those promises. The rest we should consign to the trash bin.

In a visit to Baybay City in Leyte, Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II said his presidency would bring improvement even to the grassroots.

In particular, Roxas promised local government officials in Baybay an allotment of P1,000 worth of “development credits” for every person in their jurisdiction. This would calibrate the needs of local government units according to their population. The higher the population of an area, the higher its allocation in development credits.

Calling the allotment the “Walang Iwanan” (Nobody Left Behind) Fund, Roxas said residents and their local government units would determine the needs of the area and where the funds should be used.

Setting aside for the moment that such a mechanism would be rife with opportunities for corruption and encourage local governments to pad their population count with large squatter colonies, Roxas’ proposal is just another promise made on the cusp of an election campaign.

The key consideration is the track record of Roxas and his patron, President Benigno Aquino III, in keeping their promises.

Sadly, their record is dismal, if we go by a 2009 document entitled “A Social Contract with the Filipino People” that Aquino and Roxas both stood behind when they were campaigning to be president and vice president, respectively.

Here are some of the promises—directly taken from the Social Contract—that were clearly and indisputably broken by Mr. Aquino and his trusted lieutenants such as Roxas.

“Commitment to transformational leadership: “1. From a President who tolerates corruption to a President who is the nation’s first and most determined fighter of corruption.”

We have already seen many examples of the selective nature of Mr. Aquino’s anti-corruption efforts that target his political enemies and spare his friends and allies.

“Economy: “8. From government anti-poverty programs that instill a dole-out mentality to well-considered programs that build capacity and create opportunity among the poor and the marginalized in the country.”

President Aquino took the previous administration’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program from a P10-billion budget in 2010 to P64 billion for 2016, effectively increasing a straight dole to the poor by six times.

“Government Service: “11. From Presidential appointees chosen mainly out of political accommodation to discerning selection based on integrity, competence and performance in serving the public good.”

Much has been said of Mr. Aquino’s penchant for placing loyalty and friendship above competence, honesty and public service. We have only three words to add to this: Joseph Emilio Abaya. That he remains in office despite his many failures and the anomalies under his watch as Transportation and Communications secretary is living proof of yet another broken promise.

In fact, in a fit of braggadocio, the President promised high school students in Cavite in 2013 that he and Secretary Abaya would allow themselves to be run over by a train if the extension of the LRT from Baclaran to Bacoor were not completed by the end of 2015. With the deadline just eight days away, we can write this off as yet another broken promise.

The sad truth for candidate Roxas is that his patron, his party, and by association, he himself have zero credibility in keeping their promises.

His promise of grassroots growth? File that under “G” for “garbage.”

BINAY BOUNCES BACK LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES MAR Roxas must be getting that sinking 2010 feeling again. That’s because Jojo Binay is once more making his presence felt.

The latest Pulse Asia presidential survey, which showed Vice President Binay leading the field, has confirmed the results of our own The Standard Poll, though it may

not appear that way at first glance. Binay, who has always been hovering between second and third place in nationwide voter preference surveys, seems to be reaping the benefits, this early, of the troubles besetting the erstwhile frontrunner, Senator Grace Poe. It was this newspaper’s survey, conducted by inhouse pollster Junie Laylo at roughly the same period of the Pulse poll, that saw the fall-off in Poe’s fortunes because of the two deci-

sions of the Commission on Elections disqualifying her from the presidential race.

That was the main reason why Poe’s lead shrank to within spitting distance of her rivals, Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and even Roxas, the perennial tail-ender among the major candidates.

In the “drop one” portion of the Laylo survey, The Standard Poll found that if Poe was removed from the race, Binay would be the direct beneficiary. And that ap-

A9

It appears that the people who still choose Binay will no longer desert him, regardless of whatever else his rivals throw at the vice president.

pears to be the indisputable finding of the Pulse study, which saw Binay (33 percent) leading Duterte (23), Poe (21) and Roxas (17).

What seems also apparent is the relative instability of the polling numbers of both Duterte and Poe. At this point, it seems clear that next year’s presidential race will depend largely on these two major candidates firming up their voter base, because both Binay and Roxas seem to have defined and held on to their respective groups of adherents.

It is no coincidence that both the senator and the

mayor are facing legal troubles that could directly impact on their numbers. Duterte’s added handicap, of course, is his penchant for letting loose verbal fusillades, like the one he unleashed again on Roxas yesterday concerning the former secretary’s being a mere “Cubao leader.”

The refusal of Roxas’ numbers to go up, of course, is cause for concern for his own campaign. And while President Noynoy Aquino’s candidate seems stuck for good in

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the ratings cellar, Binay’s lack of volatility remains impressive. *** Despite the intense, year-long smear campaign mounted against Binay, voter support for him in the surveys continues to hold. That’s particularly true for his core voting base of about a quarter of the electorate.

It is noteworthy that not even Duterte’s dramatic entry into the race has diminished Binay’s core

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support. And it appears that the people who still choose Binay will no longer desert him, regardless of whatever else his rivals throw at the vice president.

At this point, Binay’s clear advantage over his rivals seems to be his ability to dictate the tempo of his own campaign, through his tireless efforts to reach out directly to virtually every voter. Binay always appears to be in complete control of Continued on A11

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

A NEWS story in The Standard on Feb.5, 2015 revealing that then-Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas demanded that President Aquino fire Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa would show Roxas missing a great opportunity to be his own man. Mar has since denied the Standard report but the story has refused to die down. It would have been a defining moment for Mar. By denying the story, Mar looked like he was willing to be a doormat as long as he gets Aquino’s anointment to be the ruling Liberal Party standard-bearer.

What else could you be? You’re the DILG secretary directly in charge of the police yet you and PNP acting Director General Leonardo Espina were kept out of the loop in the Mamasapano police operation.

Mar, it was said, kept his peace although he was seething inside. The story reported that Roxas went to see the President and warned him that protecting the two officials would lead to his downfall. Roxas told Aquino that letting suspended PNP chief Purisima handle the ill-fated police operation which cost the lives of 44 PNP Special Action Force commandos was a mistake.

Roxas fumed that Ochoa played a key role even if he was not part of the chain of command.

The President, according to the same sources, rebuffed Roxas, prompting him to leave in a huff and even banging the door behind him. On hindsight, it was also a lost opportunity for the President to clean up his Cabinet of erring friends and close associates. But because he is either beholden to them or they know too much about Palace secrets, the President could not fire them. This is the reality the President is not that powerful when he makes backroom deals and becomes hostage to the power brokers.

What went on between the explosive episode and the time when PNoy heaped praises on Roxas to finally anoint him LP presidential candidate must have taken a lot of appeasement, promises and bargaining behind the scenes.

Well, as everybody knows, Aquino’s anointment isn’t doing Mar any good and in fact proving to be the anvil dragging him down in the poll surveys.

What if Roxas had resigned before his anointment? He could have earned a lot of respect and his political stock could have risen. He would have been the hero at least of the widows, orphans and relatives of the Fallen 44. He could have parlayed the nation’s outpouring of grief for the victims of the MILFBIFF massacre and the backlash against PNoy. But that’s a lot of coulda, woulda and shoulda. Presidential payback would have been swift against Mar with Aquino turning instead to Senator Grace Poe as 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

W E D N E S D AY: D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

BACK CHANNEL ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO

A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

[ EDI TORI A L ]

PROMISES, PROMISES WITH less than six months until the local and national elections in 2016, promises are the currency of the day.

Politicians promise. That is what they do. The ones that are worth voting for are the ones that keep those promises. The rest we should consign to the trash bin.

In a visit to Baybay City in Leyte, Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II said his presidency would bring improvement even to the grassroots.

In particular, Roxas promised local government officials in Baybay an allotment of P1,000 worth of “development credits” for every person in their jurisdiction. This would calibrate the needs of local government units according to their population. The higher the population of an area, the higher its allocation in development credits.

Calling the allotment the “Walang Iwanan” (Nobody Left Behind) Fund, Roxas said residents and their local government units would determine the needs of the area and where the funds should be used.

Setting aside for the moment that such a mechanism would be rife with opportunities for corruption and encourage local governments to pad their population count with large squatter colonies, Roxas’ proposal is just another promise made on the cusp of an election campaign.

The key consideration is the track record of Roxas and his patron, President Benigno Aquino III, in keeping their promises.

Sadly, their record is dismal, if we go by a 2009 document entitled “A Social Contract with the Filipino People” that Aquino and Roxas both stood behind when they were campaigning to be president and vice president, respectively.

Here are some of the promises—directly taken from the Social Contract—that were clearly and indisputably broken by Mr. Aquino and his trusted lieutenants such as Roxas.

“Commitment to transformational leadership: “1. From a President who tolerates corruption to a President who is the nation’s first and most determined fighter of corruption.”

We have already seen many examples of the selective nature of Mr. Aquino’s anti-corruption efforts that target his political enemies and spare his friends and allies.

“Economy: “8. From government anti-poverty programs that instill a dole-out mentality to well-considered programs that build capacity and create opportunity among the poor and the marginalized in the country.”

President Aquino took the previous administration’s conditional cash transfer (CCT) program from a P10-billion budget in 2010 to P64 billion for 2016, effectively increasing a straight dole to the poor by six times.

“Government Service: “11. From Presidential appointees chosen mainly out of political accommodation to discerning selection based on integrity, competence and performance in serving the public good.”

Much has been said of Mr. Aquino’s penchant for placing loyalty and friendship above competence, honesty and public service. We have only three words to add to this: Joseph Emilio Abaya. That he remains in office despite his many failures and the anomalies under his watch as Transportation and Communications secretary is living proof of yet another broken promise.

In fact, in a fit of braggadocio, the President promised high school students in Cavite in 2013 that he and Secretary Abaya would allow themselves to be run over by a train if the extension of the LRT from Baclaran to Bacoor were not completed by the end of 2015. With the deadline just eight days away, we can write this off as yet another broken promise.

The sad truth for candidate Roxas is that his patron, his party, and by association, he himself have zero credibility in keeping their promises.

His promise of grassroots growth? File that under “G” for “garbage.”

BINAY BOUNCES BACK LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES MAR Roxas must be getting that sinking 2010 feeling again. That’s because Jojo Binay is once more making his presence felt.

The latest Pulse Asia presidential survey, which showed Vice President Binay leading the field, has confirmed the results of our own The Standard Poll, though it may

not appear that way at first glance. Binay, who has always been hovering between second and third place in nationwide voter preference surveys, seems to be reaping the benefits, this early, of the troubles besetting the erstwhile frontrunner, Senator Grace Poe. It was this newspaper’s survey, conducted by inhouse pollster Junie Laylo at roughly the same period of the Pulse poll, that saw the fall-off in Poe’s fortunes because of the two deci-

sions of the Commission on Elections disqualifying her from the presidential race.

That was the main reason why Poe’s lead shrank to within spitting distance of her rivals, Binay, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and even Roxas, the perennial tail-ender among the major candidates.

In the “drop one” portion of the Laylo survey, The Standard Poll found that if Poe was removed from the race, Binay would be the direct beneficiary. And that ap-

A9

It appears that the people who still choose Binay will no longer desert him, regardless of whatever else his rivals throw at the vice president.

pears to be the indisputable finding of the Pulse study, which saw Binay (33 percent) leading Duterte (23), Poe (21) and Roxas (17).

What seems also apparent is the relative instability of the polling numbers of both Duterte and Poe. At this point, it seems clear that next year’s presidential race will depend largely on these two major candidates firming up their voter base, because both Binay and Roxas seem to have defined and held on to their respective groups of adherents.

It is no coincidence that both the senator and the

mayor are facing legal troubles that could directly impact on their numbers. Duterte’s added handicap, of course, is his penchant for letting loose verbal fusillades, like the one he unleashed again on Roxas yesterday concerning the former secretary’s being a mere “Cubao leader.”

The refusal of Roxas’ numbers to go up, of course, is cause for concern for his own campaign. And while President Noynoy Aquino’s candidate seems stuck for good in

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the ratings cellar, Binay’s lack of volatility remains impressive. *** Despite the intense, year-long smear campaign mounted against Binay, voter support for him in the surveys continues to hold. That’s particularly true for his core voting base of about a quarter of the electorate.

It is noteworthy that not even Duterte’s dramatic entry into the race has diminished Binay’s core

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support. And it appears that the people who still choose Binay will no longer desert him, regardless of whatever else his rivals throw at the vice president.

At this point, Binay’s clear advantage over his rivals seems to be his ability to dictate the tempo of his own campaign, through his tireless efforts to reach out directly to virtually every voter. Binay always appears to be in complete control of Continued on A11

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A NEWS story in The Standard on Feb.5, 2015 revealing that then-Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas demanded that President Aquino fire Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa would show Roxas missing a great opportunity to be his own man. Mar has since denied the Standard report but the story has refused to die down. It would have been a defining moment for Mar. By denying the story, Mar looked like he was willing to be a doormat as long as he gets Aquino’s anointment to be the ruling Liberal Party standard-bearer.

What else could you be? You’re the DILG secretary directly in charge of the police yet you and PNP acting Director General Leonardo Espina were kept out of the loop in the Mamasapano police operation.

Mar, it was said, kept his peace although he was seething inside. The story reported that Roxas went to see the President and warned him that protecting the two officials would lead to his downfall. Roxas told Aquino that letting suspended PNP chief Purisima handle the ill-fated police operation which cost the lives of 44 PNP Special Action Force commandos was a mistake.

Roxas fumed that Ochoa played a key role even if he was not part of the chain of command.

The President, according to the same sources, rebuffed Roxas, prompting him to leave in a huff and even banging the door behind him. On hindsight, it was also a lost opportunity for the President to clean up his Cabinet of erring friends and close associates. But because he is either beholden to them or they know too much about Palace secrets, the President could not fire them. This is the reality the President is not that powerful when he makes backroom deals and becomes hostage to the power brokers.

What went on between the explosive episode and the time when PNoy heaped praises on Roxas to finally anoint him LP presidential candidate must have taken a lot of appeasement, promises and bargaining behind the scenes.

Well, as everybody knows, Aquino’s anointment isn’t doing Mar any good and in fact proving to be the anvil dragging him down in the poll surveys.

What if Roxas had resigned before his anointment? He could have earned a lot of respect and his political stock could have risen. He would have been the hero at least of the widows, orphans and relatives of the Fallen 44. He could have parlayed the nation’s outpouring of grief for the victims of the MILFBIFF massacre and the backlash against PNoy. But that’s a lot of coulda, woulda and shoulda. Presidential payback would have been swift against Mar with Aquino turning instead to Senator Grace Poe as 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

W E D N E S D AY: D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

A10

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

THE CONSTITUTION AS ‘VOX POPULI’ TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO THE Standard’s survey of 1,500 respondents (voters with biometrics) showed that Senator Grace Poe is still leading the presidential race with Vice President Jojo Binay and administration candidate Mar Roxas coming in as No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, and with Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte as No. 4. This was not at all surprising.

The only significant thing that The Standard survey indicated was that an earlier Social Weather Stations poll showing Duterte in the lead was a bogus poll survey. It was a Chinese businessman from Davao, closely associated with Duterte, who commissioned it. Just why Mahar Mangahas, president of the SWS, allowed it to happen cannot be explained. It shattered the credibility of SWS.

Those who believe otherwise advocate mob rule.

As all candidates know, poll surveys can only indicate the people’s sentiment at the time the polls were taken. They can still change their minds; elections are five months away. Surveys are just road maps that can change depending on events and circumstances.

Those ahead must keep their lead. Those lagging behind can catch up if they work harder.

I know for a fact that in the end, it’s the funding that counts, especially for the masa. Seasoned politicians would know that all elections are local. *** In the wake of the many petitions filed against Mrs. Mary Grace Natividad Kelly Poe and Davao City Rodrigo “Du-dirty” at the Comelec and the Supreme Court, we often hear pronouncements that “the people should be made to decide,” not a body of a few lawyers as it is at the

Comelec and at the Supreme Court since the “voice of the people is the voice of God and supreme law (vox populi suprema ex.)”

What these people actually mean is that in the final analysis, it’s still the “voice of the people” that rules, meaning that it is not the Comelec and even the Supreme Court that must decide the outcome of the 2016 elections.

It’s clear there’s misunderstanding of what “vox populi” or the “voice of the people” really is.

Let’s first understand what the Constitution is and what it entails. Read the preamble of the 1987 Constitution which says: “We the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”

Note carefully that the Constitution itself is the sovereign will of the Filipino people and ratified by the people to make it effective. In other words, the Constitution is the “voice of the people” or “vox populi” as we know it the Constitution is thus the supreme law.

Note also that the Bill of Rights as contained in Article III of the Constitution is for the protection of the people as against abuses of the State.

Thus, to say that the fate of all candidates should be decided by the people, not by the Comelec, much less by the Supreme Court, is a misunderstanding what the charter is for.

Santa Banana, when the Constitution provides that a candidate for president must be a naturalborn Filipino citizen and must have resided in the Philippines for 10 years at the date of the election, it means just that. This is the same requirement for vice president and senators.

When a candidate fails to meet these requirements, there are bodies like the Senate Electoral Tribunal, and Comelec and with finality the Supreme Court mandated by law to interpret the Constitution.

Those saying otherwise are advocating mob rule.

VIRTUAL REALITY TONY LOPEZ

TYCOONS, TAIPANS AND TAXES

THIS December, the Bureau of Internal Revenue released online the 2014 Top 500 Individual Taxpayers— ranked in amount of taxes paid and in alphabetical order. So it is easy to find who is who and who paid how much.

Death and taxes have one thing in common.

You cannot escape both.

That’s their only commonality. In death, a person’s social standing or income easily shows. A rich man gets a king’s burial while a poor man gets the last rites fit for a pauper.

In taxes, however, in the Philippines, the person who pays the most taxes is not necessarily the richest.

Jacinto “Jack” Ng is the Philippines’ biggest taxpayer in 2014. He paid a whopping P280.1 million in personal income tax, 33 percent higher than the P210.3 million paid by No.2, eight-division boxing champion Emmanuel “Manny” Pacquiao. The “Pambansang Kamao” was the No. 1 taxpayer in 2013, with taxes paid totaling P163.84 million, 64 percent more than the 2013 No. 2 paid, P99.6 million by a certain Juanito Pornuevo Alcantara.

Economic growth in 2014 was 5.8 percent, lower than the robust 8.1 percent in 2013 and the lowest in three years. Yet, the country’s major taxpayers paid 14 percent more taxes in 2014 on average than they did in 2013. That may be a tribute to the vicious and vigorous tax campaign of the hugely unpopular BIR chief Kim Henares. Despite her ban against Christmas-time visits by BIR on taxpayers, my office kept receiving

texts and inquiries from the San Juan RDO whose chief I was told wants to make a departure statement.

Biscuits taipan Jack Ng is the surprise No. 1 taxpayer. He was not even in the BIR’s Top 500 Taxpayers in 2013. He is only the 36th richest Filipino, according to Forbes maga-

zine, with wealth of $275 million, and that is even an overestimate. I estimate Jack’s wealth at $160 million based on Rebisco’s profits of P576 million in 2014. The stock market values stocks at 18 times their current profits.

Ng paid nearly ten times more taxes than the richest Filipino, the legendary retailing, banking and property taipan Henry Sy Sr. Tatang Henry ranks only 53rd in taxes paid, P25.656 million in 2014.

Early in 2015, Sy Sr. was listed by Forbes magazine as the country’s richest individual with an estimated wealth of $14.4 billion, corrected later to $12.3 billion or P581.79 billion at the peso-dollar rate of P47.30 to $1. I es-

turn which the BIR uses in making the ranking.

That may change, however. Kim Henares has a memo requiring all taxpayers to reflect in their returns all income received during the tax period—salaries, bonuses, cash and stock dividends, gifts and other perks.

Implementation of the memo has twice been postponed.

Because they receive compensation not as cash dividends nor stock dividends, actors, entertainers, and broadcasters get paid in pure salary which is readily subjected to a 32-percent tax if it exceeds P1 million. These people are also very easy to shame or intimidate.

Thus, on a per capita ba-

sis, actors and broadcasters pay more taxes than do tycoons, taipans, and CEOs. Of the 20 top taxpayers, five are actors or entertainers, or 25 percent of 20, a disproportionate ratio.

The highest-paid actors ranked in taxes paid are: Piolo Pascual P42.53 million, 14th; John Lloyd Cruz P41.97 million, 15th; Kris Aquino P40.48 million, 16th; Sharon Cuneta P39 million, 18th; and Willie Revillame P38.3 million, 20th.

These five each paid more taxes than Union Bank president Justo Ortiz (P37.22 million, 21st); Aboitiz conglomerate CEO Erramon Aboitiz (P35.8 million, 22nd); BDO CEO Nestor Tan (P33.5 million, 23rd); Ayala Corp. CEO Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala (P32.22 million, 26th); PLDT/Smart/Metro Pacific Chair Manuel V. Pangilinan (P31.6 million, 27th); Ayala Land Chair Fernando Zobel de Ayala (P29.69 million, 32nd); First Holdings and ABS-CBN top honcho Oscar Lopez (P28.54 million, 34th); Metrobank and Toyota Group owner George SK Ty (P26.28 million, 40th); Smart Communications president Napoleon Nazareno (P24.34 million, 43rd); and ports magnate Enrique Razon Jr. (P22.87 million, 50th).

In fact, Piolo, John Lloyd, Kris, Sharon, and Wowowie individually paid far more taxes than 99 percent of the country’s richest and CEOs. Now, that’s not entertaining.

Meanwhile, 50 other taxpayers, astronomically poorer than taipan Sy, paid more taxes than Tatang Henry paid.

Continued on A11

*** There is one presidential candidate, Senator Miriam Santiago, and another one for vice president, Antonio Trillanes, who should already withdraw from the race if only to save face and stop wasting good money.

In the case of Santiago, while she may be the “president of school campuses” as shown in mock elections and other surveys, she has no chance of winning as shown by credible poll surveys. Besides, she is incapable of mounting a nationwide presidential campaign because of health reasons, due to her fatigue syndrome and Stage 4 cancer.

Likewise, in the case of Trillanes, doesn’t he real-

ize he has no chance of winning?

It’s really pathetic that Trillanes tried to make capital of his demolition job against Vice President Jojo Binay and members of his family. He should just be consoled by the fact that after the May polls, he’s still a senator.

Personally, I believe that at the end of the day, the vice presidency will be a close fight between Senator Chiz Escudero, who is now leading in the race, and Senator Bongbong Marcos. Both of them are my friends. *** Speaking of poll surveys, there’s one poll survey that I believe is credible. It’s the house-to-house survey of all Iglesia Ni Kristo

ministers or “deakones” two weeks before election time. This will be submitted in a “samba” three days before Election Day to get its final imprimatur by all the INC ministers and the INC “sanggunian” or Council.

This comes out a day before election day.

Candidates eagerly await this.

I was told about this Iglesia practice by my very good friend, the late ka Imon Cuevas, who was close to the late INC Supremo, Ka Erdie Manalo. Before that, the practice was just to rely on the word of the Iglesia Supremo and the Council.

The INC got its hands burned when the Supremo went for businessman

and Nationalist People’s Coalition “godfather.”

Since then, they have adopted the house-to-house poll survey.

In the 2004 elections, a day before Election Day, I was told by Ka Imon that the INC went for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo per their own survey.

Before election day, I had wanted The Standard to headline a GMA win, but Gloria pleaded with me not to come out with the news against movie icon Fernando Poe Jr. GMA’s victory at the polls was because of the support of the Iglesia and Cebuano votes after FPJ ran out of funds two weeks before Election Day. The rest is history, as they say.

timate Henry’s wealth at $9.6 billion.

Tycoons and taipans have the habit of drawing compensation from their companies in the form of dividends—cash and stock. Being subject to final tax, cash and stock dividends need not be reflected in a taxpayer’s individual income tax re-

How the wealthiest rank as taxpayers Name

Family Wealth (Million $)

Henry Sy, Sr. John Gokongwei Jr. Lucio Tan Erramon Aboitiz Iñigo Zobel George SK Ty Tony Tan Caktiong Enrique Razon Jr. Andrew Tan Lucio Co Ramon Ang Roberto Ongpin Jocelyn Campos Hess Oscar Lopez Andrew Gotianun Sr. Alfonso Yuchengco Manuel Villar Jr. Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala Fernando Zobel de Ayala

9,600 5,670 4,250 3,600 2,986 2,758 2,719 2,396 2,183 1,404 1,000 800 732 700 632 603 551 362 362

Wealth Taxes Paid Rank (P Million)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 18

Rank as Taxpayer 2014

25.67

53rd 14.30

158th 16.21

129th 39.31

20th not listed in BIR 8.50

369th 12.04

210th 24.26

57th 29.77

36th 18.80

100th 51.05

9th 12.46

203rd 20.00

91st 30.67

33rd not listed in BIR 8.97

341st not listed in BIR 37.46

23rd 34.72

25th

Source: PSE, BIR, BNA Research

W E D N E S D AY: D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

A11

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

IS IT CHRISTMAS?

SO I SEE LITO BANAYO IT’S TWO days before Christmas. Under normal circumstances, Filipinos would be bringing their kids to public and private parks where holiday season displays would be enjoyed, a visual feast exclusive to the season of joy and merriment.

In Luneta where ordinary folks still enjoy, there would be a giant parol from San Fernando, commissioned by the Department of Tourism. The dancing lights and intricate patterns showcase our native ingenuity and artistry, a celebration of Filipino culture and the religiosity beneath the same.

At the Araneta Center in Cubao, there would be a giant Christmas tree, and in the now defunct Manila C.O.D. department store, removed from its origins in the now-decrepit Avenida Rizal to the then bustling Araneta commercial center, there would be a huge display of moving papier mache characters depicting various holiday stories, from the Nativity scene to the more outré. And the island décor at Ayala Avenue was always something to look forward to.

In plazas all over the country, the local government units in tandem with Rotary or Lions or Jaycees or some such civic organization would come together to produce a colorful Christmas display, be it the famous Belenisimo in Tarlac, or the parols of Pampanga, even the beautiful and very traditional Las Piñas Church which plays host to the bamboo organ.

Why do I get the feeling that this particular Christmas season isn’t as joyful, isn’t as merry?

Is it because humongous traffic prevents many of us from even venturing out into the streets?

Why drive a car for four hours just to get from point North to point South, or east to west in the metropolis of 14 million daytime occupants?

Correction: define daytime population as 5 a.m. to 12 midnight, because the average worker is already on the streets by 5 and won’t be back home until midnight.

Is it because of the political noise? Instead of saying “merry Christmas” to each other, candidates are barking, yapping, howling against each other up until the season of grace. Even the Comelec is a day-in, day-out drama of who gets into the offi-

A missed...From A9 the LP’s presidential bet. But the public won’t take kindly to someone condoning Aquino’s culpability in the Mamasapano incident. Grace may not really be able to transform a presidential nod into a plus.

Meanwhile, Roxas has challenged Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to a debate. But the evasive one rejected the challenge, claiming he does not want to debate with someone trailing at No. 4 in the poll surveys. (Roxas is actually ahead of Duterte with 22 percent to the Davao mayor’s 19 percent in a survey commissioned by The Standard).

But so what if Roxas is No. 4 in the rankings? If the Davao mayor took time in threatening to slap Roxas and later challenging him to a gun duel, why not the more civilized way of a debate? A discourse of national issues and platform of government by presidential aspirants would enlighten the electorate. In fact, it should not be limited to just Roxas and Duterte but should include Senators Grace Poe, Miriam Defensor Santiago and Vice President Jejomar Binay as the Commission on Elections had proposed.

Binay...From A9 his quest for the presidency, unlike all the others whose campaigns look like they are run by committee and dependent on the shifting fortunes of the other candidates.

The depth and breadth of Binay’s network of contacts has amazed even longtime political strategists like Senator Serge Osmeña. It was Osmeña who

cial ballot, and whose name gets delisted, up until past the holiday season.

And we’re still awaiting the surveys taken in the first or second weeks of December, one from Pulse, the other from SWS. This paper bannered Junie Laylo’s numbers-crunching done Dec. 4 to 12 last Monday, which shows a tight four-way race. Looks like it’s anybody’s game among the top four presidential aspirants, as close to the 1992 cliffhanger unless one or two are knocked off by the Comelec and the Supreme Court. What end-year verdicts will the other major pollsters tell us?

It wasn’t like this in 2010, the first time the country used computerized counting machines. The candidate lists were finalized, and the only bar to the holiday spirit was a surfeit of advertisements in the airwaves.

Recall Manny Villar’s catchy musical treat with happy children’s faces, and on the other extreme, Noynoy’s annoying “aswangchase” with celebrities holding torches, marching in some dark forest.

The year-end of 2009 showed Noynoy comfortably perched at Numero Uno, with Manny Villar a distant second and

A national debate among the six vice presidential candidates— Senators Francis Escudero, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Alan Peter Cayetano, Gregorio Honasan, Antonio Trillanes and Congresswoman Leni Robredo— in fact should follow. With Poe and Duterte facing disqualification and Santiago’s health a big question mark—the vice presidential race in 2016 is equally important as the contest for the presidency.

In the United States, debates among Republican presidential aspirants are held separately from the Democratic Party’s prior to the debate of the chosen candidates of the two major parties. This is how American voters are given more than a glimpse of the candidates’ qualifications.

Business tycoon Donald Trump is currently leading the race for the GOP nomination over Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, Mark Rubio and Jeb Bush while former first lady, New York senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, is the frontrunner for the Democrats to succeed President Barack Obama.

The issues in the US presidential campaign are centered on national security and terrorism, Islamism, and immigration which are interlocking

pointed out that he was impressed by the quick response of Binay to the death of a local leader in faraway Toledo City, Cebu, where his cousin Sonny Osmeña is mayor.

As the campaign wears on, the strengths and weaknesses of all the contenders will be exposed.

But if none of the other candidates can develop the steady election infrastructure that Binay has built over the years, it’s perfectly

Erap a distant fourth. By yearstart 2010, the numbers showed Manny V catching up with PNoy, his 34 statistically tied to the frontrunner’s 36. And by mid-April, it was clear Numero Dos would be the formerly distant Erap, and only the INC decision could yet tilt up against a certain PNoy win.

In 2010 as well, the season was dry and nippy. Now it’s still muggy, if not raining. Parts of the Central plains are still flooded. Blame that on climate change and generations of wanton destruction of forest and topsoil.

Climate change also brought us an unseasonal typhoon that laid to waste the homes of hundreds of thousands in Northern Samar, Mindoro and other parts.

There is misery in what ought to be a season of joy and mirth. But then again, Northern Mindanao had that with Sendong in 2011, Southeastern Mindanao with Pablo in 2012, and Warays had Yolanda in 2013.

Christmas has always been special to our family. Not only because it is the Philippines’ happiest season. A daughter’s birthday coincides with the start of the Simbang Gabi, a son-in-law’s birthday is Christmas Eve, and mine is Christmas Day.

concerns for the American people.

Congratulations, Pia Congratulations to Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach who ended the country’s 42- year drought in the premier beauty pageant when she was crowned this year’s Miss Universe.

It was a bizarre ending in the 64year history of the Miss Universe contest when the pageant emcee, Steve Harvey, made a mistake and initially announced Ariadna Gutierrez (Miss Colombia) as the winner. After some awkward moments, Harvey apologized and corrected himself to declare Miss Philippines as the new Miss Universe. Pia was still hesitant to come forward, not believing her ears. Poor Miss Colombia—she was already crowned and they had to take the tiara off her head. But she was gracious enough to take it all in stride. But not the Colombians in the Las Vegas crowd who felt the incident was humiliating for Miss Colombia.

Pia Wurtzbach exuded confidence even before the pageant when she posted in her Facebook: “Kalma lang, guys. Ako bahala. Babawi tayo sa Miss Universe,” a reference to the disappointing loss of Manny Pacquiao to Floyd Mayweather. True to her words, she did us proud.

possible that the vice president is going to be the most formidable campaign of them all.

And that’s certainly not good news for Roxas, who saw his once-humongous survey lead before the 2010 vice presidential race vanish under the determined assault of the former Makati mayor. Roxas already underestimated Binay once, choosing to focus his attention on his perceived closest rival,

When everyone was yet here, we had the usual Christmas Eve reunion in the house, whether here in Manila or up in Tagaytay, and the period between the 25th and the 31st was always in Baguio. My reunion obligation was always to prepare the chicken galantina, the callos, and the fruit salad. In the latter years of my mom’s life, we trooped to Butuan for Christmas Eve. Then there were times when we were out of country because some kids had chosen a second home, a “white” Christmas. This time we will go to the beach somewhere down South because the grandchildren demand so. And at my age, whatever the apos say, the apos get.

As times roll, we always reminisce about a Christmas season that was better, more “in-spirit” when we were younger. Even if the Christmas trees were not as grandiose with tinsel and expensive accoutrements, and the Belens were never stylized, and the parol was a predictable fivepointed star.

Well, that’s life.

A Blessed Christmas to all our readers, and to the staff of The Standard, and may the New Year bring us all new hope, new beginnings.

Tycoons...From A10 They include Jack Ng, followed by No. 2 Manny Pacquiao with P210.305 million taxes, down from No. 1 in 2013 with P163.84 million in taxes (he is not even in Forbes’ list of 50 richest Filipinos); No. 3 Mercury Drug retailing tycoon and 22nd richest Filipino (per Forbes) Vivian Que Azcona P153.55 million, up from No. 8 with P51.6 million in taxes in 2013; No. 4 automotive tycoon and Palawan Governor Jose “Pepito” Alvarez P73 million, up from No. 7 with P55.62 million in 2013; No. 5 Jack’s son property tycoon Jacinto Jr. P66.86 million; No. 7 Ronaldo Romero Soliman P53.82 million; No. 8 William Shultz P51.32 million; No. 9 San Miguel Corp. vice chair and president, Ramon S. Ang P51 billion; and No. 10 banker Lauro Baja III, P50.74 million.

Ang ranked 12th in tax payments in 2013 with P46.47 million. Baja was 13th in 2013 with P45.19 million.

RSA is closely followed by No. 11, SMC Chair Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. who paid P50.48 million in taxes for 2014 apparently after unloading some of his San Miguel holdings. In 2013, ECJ was not among the Top 500 individual taxpayers.

No. 12 is Wharton MBA George Tiu Chua with P49.22 million in taxes paid in 2014; No. 13 Sharon Cuneta P49.11 million; No. 14 Jonathan Ng P45.74 million; and No. 15 Union Bank CEO Justo Ortiz P45.16 million. biznewsasia@gmail.com

Senator Loren Legada; Mar paid dearly for that miscalculation.

And now that Binay seems to be reestablishing himself as the frontrunner, Roxas can only wonder why he can’t even come close to being the vice president’s strongest rival, despite his vast resources.

If it’s true, as Binay, Poe and Duterte have alleged, that Roxas is behind the demolition jobs staged against them

in the Senate and the courts, then it must be doubly hard for Aquino’s anointed to take that it is these three and not him who benefit from the misfortune of the others. So much for the power of negative campaigning.

It does seem that Binay has already hit bottom while still retaining his solid voter base. If he continues to go up, that can only be bad news for all of his opponents.

We dn e s day : de ce m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

A12

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Blatter, Platini slapped 8-year bans ZURICH—Leading figures in football hit out at the disgraced Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini after they were handed eight-year bans from the sport on Monday.

FIFA president Blatter and UEFA president Platini have been banned from all footballing activities after the association’s ethics tribunal said they had abused their positions over a suspect $2-million payment (1.8-million-euro).

Dutch FA (KNVB) chief Michael van Praag, a UEFA vice-president, admitted the verdict on Platini was extremely damaging for the governing body of the European game.

“It is extremely scandalous for football as a whole and for its administrators in particular,” Van Praag said in a statement published on the KNVB website.

“It is a new low point in the activities and the perception of FIFA in particular, but also UEFA, because of Platini’s personal involvement,” he said.

Van Praag, who had been a candidate to stand against Blatter in the FIFA presidential elections back in May before withdrawing, added that the ruling was nevertheless proof of the “growing capacity” of FIFA to

clean itself up.

Both Blatter and Platini have said they will appeal, but English Football Association chairman Greg Dyke described Blatter’s reaction to his ban as “rather sad”.

“He just doesn’t separate himself from FIFA. He thinks he is the same thing, and that’s rather sad.

I don’t think he will recover from this,” said Dyke.

Dyke had initially backed Platini to replace Blatter at the head of football’s world governing body in February’s elections and admitted his “disappointment” at subsequent developments.

“We took an early decision to support Mr Platini. We thought he had done a very good job with UEFA and we were clearly all very disappointed when all this came out. We didn’t know.

“I presume that he will now... appeal as well, but I would think it is the end for both him and Blatter.”

Former UEFA president Lennart Johansson described the ruling as

Battered Brazil vows Olympics will be spectacular Suspended FIFA president Sepp Blatter is surrounded by journalists upon his arrival to a press conference in Zurich. An ethics tribunal of scandal-plagued FIFA today banned Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini for eight years saying they had abused their positions over a 2 million Swiss francs payment made to Platini. AFP

“punishment enough” and said the eight-year suspensions could effectively be seen as life bans.

“I think this is punishment enough, because it means they can never come back,” Johansson, who was in charge of UEFA for 17 years before Platini took over in 2007, told the Swedish daily Expressen.

Johansson had previously stood as a candidate and lost against both Blatter and Platini in elections, and he said he felt he had finally been proven right.

“I feel no sense of victory, but I think I have been proven right in hindsight. All I remarked on,

all I fought for, I have not done in vain. The truth will always come out eventually—and it has done so now. Otherwise, I feel no satisfaction,” Johansson told the newspaper.

Former Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general secretary Peter Velappan, who occupied that position when Asia hosted its first ever World Cup in South Korea and Japan in 2002, said the length of the bans was like a “death sentence”.

“This is very harsh, especially for Blatter because he dedicated his life to football and FIFA,” said Velappan. AFP

Two pupils practice with a small red cape or muleta and bull’s horns during an open air class at Marcial Lalanda bullfighting academy in Madrid’s Casa de Campo park. Students wave their capes and practice their moves with live animals, learning to use a dress cape, or capote, and other bullfighting equipment, all hoping to make it one day into the rarefied, ritualized ranks of the world’s top matadors. AFP

Bullfighting in Spain: Is the allure fading?

MADRID—Aspiring young matador Angel Tellez pays little mind to Spain’s animal rights activists driving a move to abolish the country’s legendary bullfights, lauded by aficionados as an “art” form loftier than sport.

The 17-year-old Tellez is so passionate about his dream he makes a 70-kilometre (43 -mile) train journey most days from his home in Toledo to the oldest of Spain’s 52 bullfighting academies, the Marcial Lalanda in Madrid.

“I grew up in the world of bullfighting. I have an uncle who was a ‘banderillero’ (an assistant who sticks the banderilla rods into the bull). He was the one who encouraged me to attend this school,” said Tellez.

He and 40-odd classmates, including two girls, are unfazed by the scorn animal rights advocates cast on what they call a blood sport that brutalises

the beast and attracts only a minority of Spaniards.

“My role model is Jose Tomas,” Tellez told AFP confidently, naming one of Spain’s top matadors, now 40, famous for his daring style particularly close to the bull.

The students all hope one day to make it into this rarefied, ritualised circle. Some come from as far as Mexico and Colombia, said teacher and retired matador Rafael de Julia, watching as students, wearing fake horns, charge classmates practicing moves with their capes.

They spend 20 hours a week at the school, which opened in 1976 in the Casa de Campo, the huge woods known as the “lungs” of the Spanish capital, on the site called “La Venta del Batan” where bulls destined for Madrid’s main bullring used to be held in the past. Along with the school, it includes holding pens for bulls and a small bullring.

Their coursework includes the anatomy of bulls and the history of bullfighting along with the training -- some with live bulls which they are taught to respect as brave and noble adversaries.

The “live” exercises known as “tentaderos, also give the breeders a chance to test the courage of their bull calves,” said De Julia.

The students “all want to be stars ... but out of every 100, only one shines and even then they might not make it to the top,” said former matador Jose Luis Bote, one of three directors at the establishment that counted 200 students in its heyday in the 1990s.

The matador, the highest rank, is the one who actually deals the fatal blow to his opponent in the ring. In 2014, of 10,194 bullfighting professionals, only 801 were actually matadors, according to official figures. AFP

RIO DE JANEIRO—Brazil may not know who its president will be in eight months’ time, and Olympic athletes won’t have TVs in their rooms because of the country’s recession, but Rio de Janeiro is still promising a “spectacular” 2016 Games.

With its budget in tatters because of the economic crisis and the nation shamed by not cleaning pathogenic sewage from Guanabara Bay — the Rio venue for Olympic regattas—criticism has been rife.

Organizers have preferred to stress that the work to host the August 5-21 Olympic Games and 10,000 athletes from 206 countries has been without delays, and improvements to Rio’s public transport network will be a lasting legacy.

“Rio today is 80 percent ready, in April it will be 100 percent, and during the Games it will be 120 percent,” boasted the communications director for the Rio-2016 organizing committee, Mario Andrada, in an interview with AFP. “The Olympics are going to be spectacular,” he pledged.

Unsaid is the organizers’ hope that the political chaos in South America’s biggest country, wrought by the threat of impeachment for deeply unpopular President Dilma Rousseff over allegedly fiddled public accounts, will be settled by then.

Or that at least anti-government discontent won’t spill out into the streets as it did in 2013, a year before Brazil hosted the football World Cup. Faced with its worst recession in decades, double-digit inflation, swelling unemployment, and a corruption scandal sinking the state oil company Petrobras, the Rio 2016 committee has pledged to spend only “the money we have,” Andrada said.

That means slashing five to 20 percent from the $5-billion budget, for example by not installing televisions in athletes’ rooms, getting by with fewer computer printers, and offering Brazilian meat-beans-and-rice dishes to invited VIPs instead of fancy meals.

“The country is going through an enormous crisis.

We can’t be sending out a different message, (or) leaving debts to be paid by the government or, worse, by society,” Andrada said. AFP

we dn e s day : de ce m b e r 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

A13

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Messi spat at by River Plate backer

Brook Lopez of the Brooklyn Nets passes under pressure from Pau Gasol #16 of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on in Chicago, Illinois. AFP

Gasol calls out Bulls after loss CHICAGO—Chicago Bulls forward Pau Gasol called out his teammates for a lack of urgency Monday after a 105-102 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in which Joakim Noah was injured.

The Nets, a woeful 8-20 on the season, snapped an eight-game road losing streak while the Bulls lost their third in a row and fell to 15-11.

Spanish star Gasol said the Bulls struggled at times to match Brooklyn’s intensity.

“We were missing a lot of parts of the game,” Gasol said. “A sense of urgency. We cruise for most of the game. Then when we have our back against the wall, we turn it up and try to give ourselves a chance.

“But sometimes it’s just too late.

It’s something we need to address and need to correct and improve upon. We just need change.”

But be careful what you wish for as the change could be a re-

placement for star center Noah.

Noah had four points, eight rebounds and eight assists when he left the game with a left shoulder sprain in the last minute of the third quarter and did not return. He will be re-examined on Tuesday.

With the game deadlocked at 60-60, the Nets went on a 21-9 run and never trailed again.

“We came out right from the start with a lot of fight and a lot of purpose,” said Nets coach Lionel Hollins. “We took the fight to them. We were very focused for the whole game and that was good to see.”

Brook Lopez had 21 points and 12 rebounds to spark Brooklyn while Jimmy Butler

had 24 points and Gasol contributed 20 points, nine rebounds and two blocked shots.

Elsewhere, Atlanta reserve guard Dennis Schroder had 18 points to lead Hawks in double figures as the hosts ripped Portland 106-97 and improved to 18-12 with a fourth consecutive win.

But Schroder lost a tooth in the tussle. While falling to the floor, Schroder hit his face on an opponent’s knee and lost a tooth.

He picked it up off the court and tucked it into his sock.

At Washington, Wizards guard John Wall passed out a careerhigh 19 assists and Marcin Gortat scored a season-best 27 points in a 113-99 victory over Sacramento.

At New York, Orlando center Nikola Vucevic matched his season high with 26 points and the Magic beat the Knicks 107-99, snapping New York’s four-game win streak. AFP

IAAF delayed naming Russian drug cheats LONDON—IAAF officials plotted to delay revealing the names of Russian doping cheats ahead of the 2013 World Championships, according to a BBC report on Monday.

The report on the BBC’s website claims to have discovered an email from IAAF deputy general secretary Nick Davies that discusses the plan to keep Russian athletes using drugs out of the spotlight until after the event was over.

Davies reportedly sent the email to Papa Massata Diack, who worked as an IAAF marketing consultant at the time and is the son of former IAAF president Lamine Diack.

Lamine Diack resigned from

his position on the International Olympic Committee in November after being charged with corruption, money laundering and conspiracy.

In the email, which was sent just weeks before Russian city Moscow staged the 2013 World Championships, Davies wrote he needed to sit down with the antidoping team to discuss “Russian skeletons in the cupboard”.

Davies stressed in the email that any Russians already caught cheating “should NOT” be in the Russian team in Moscow and that this should be made clear to Valentin Balakhnichev, then president of the Russian athletics federation and IAAF treasurer.

“If the guilty ones are not

competing, then we might as well wait until the event is over to announce them,” Davies said according to the report.

“Or, we announce one or two BUT AT SAME TIME as athletes from other countries.

“Also, we can prepare a special dossier on IAAF testing which will show that one of reasons why these Russian athletes come up positive is that they get tested a lot!!!”

Russia’s suitability to host such a prestigious event was already in question after a growing list of doping allegations.

The IAAF announced sanctions against 16 Russian athletes in the four months following the event. AFP

BARCELONA—Barcelona star Lionel Messi was spat at by a River Plate fan during an ugly airport altercation following his side’s 3-0 victory in the Club World Cup final in Japan, Spanish media reported on Monday.

Messi, who scored the opening goal in Sunday’s final, reportedly retaliated with a punch after being subjected to a series of insults from fans of the Argentine club as he was preparing to board a flight home from Tokyo’s Narita airport.

“An ugly incident occurred at Narita international airport. When Barcelona players were getting ready to go through passport control and security, several River fans insulted Messi and the issue escalated to the point that one of them spat at Messi,”

Spanish sports daily AS reported.

According to several reports, an irate Messi responded by “punching” the fan who spat at him, before Barca coach Luis Enrique and team-mates Javier Mascherano and Luis Suarez stepped in to defuse the situation.

However, Catalan daily Mundo Deportivo explained that shortly after the incident Messi was seen to be “smiling” and relaxed, “playing down the significance of the event”.

Madrid-based daily Marca added that the group of supporters were also heckling ex-River player Mascherano, criticising him for “forgetting” his roots, with Mascherano having come through the youth ranks at the Buenos Aires club before making his professional debut with them in 2003.

Kobe: Olympic finish would be beautiful WASHINGTON (AFP)--Kobe Bryant says he’s not pushing to play on the US Olympic team in Rio, but the retiring Los Angeles Lakers guard said Monday it would make a “beautiful” ending to his 20-year career.

The 37-year-old American guard, a five-time NBA champion and gold medal winner at the 2008 Beijing and 2012 London Olympics, announced last month this would be his final NBA campaign after a historic career.

After battling nagging injuries for years, Bryant is fit but the Lakers are in a rebuilding mode and at 4-23 have the secondworst record in the NBA. Missing the playoffs could leave Bryant rested and in form to become the first man in Olympic history to win three basketball gold medals, should he earn a spot on the two-time defending champion American squad.

“It’s not something I’m absolutely pressing for but being part of the Olympic experience is a beautiful thing,” Bryant said.

“It would be a beautiful thing

to finish my career playing internationally. But that being said we will see how it goes.”

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Deron Williams would also have the chance for an unprecedented men’s Olympic hat-trick at Rio, but for Bryant it would be a golden farewell.

“I try to look at my legacy as much as how do I impact the future, not where do I rank among the best players all time,” Bryant said when asked where he fell among NBA icons.

“It’s a moot point and for me it’s pretty much of a shallow argument. It’s how do I impact the generation of players coming in by what I have done. I think it has impacted the generation coiming in a big way and they will pass that along to the next generation to come.”

Bryant, a 17-time NBA AllStar, was speaking ahead of his record-setting 16th career appearance in a Christmas NBA matchup, his Lakers hosting the rival Los Angeles Clippers on December 25. He is the all-time

Caption head. Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers autographs a ball during the holiday party for kids at Toyota Sports Center in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Republic of the Philippines ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION San Miguel Avenue, Pasig City IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF THE POWER SALES AGREEMENT BETWEEN DAVAO LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY, INC. AND WESTERN MINDANAO POWER CORPORATION, WITH PRAYER FOR PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY AND CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF INFORMATION

4.

Actual Fuel Cost (AFC) The Actual Fuel Cost (AFC) is the fee paid to the Seller as payment for the procurement and delivery of the fuel oil (Bunker C) used in the operation of the WMPC Power Station. The Actual Fuel Cost shall be computed as follows: AFC = FC x EC x ED Where: FC

=

Fuel Cost ; The average MOPS price of Bunker C Fuel Oil/Heavy Fuel Oil (HFO) deliveries during the period of price determination in Peso/liter

EC

=

Efficiency Cap;

ED

=

Energy Delivered, kwh

JOINT APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF POWER SALES AGREEMENT WITH MOTION FOR CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT OF INFORMATION Applicants DAVAO LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY, INC.(DLPC) and WESTERN MINDANAO POWER CORPORATION(WMPC), by their respective counsels, respectfully state: Applicants 1.

DLPC is a domestic corporation duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines with office address at C. Bangoy St., Davao City. It is a grantee of a legislative franchise under Republic Act No. 8960 to maintain and operate an electric light and power system for the purpose of distributing electric light, heat and power, in the Cities of Davao and Panabo, and the Municipalities of Carmen, Sto. Tomas and Braulio Dujali, all in the Province of Davao del Norte.

2.

WMPC is a generation company duly organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, with principal office address at the 4th Floor, Alphaland Southgate Tower, EDSA corner Chino Roces Extension, Makati City.

3.

Applicants may be served with notices, orders and other processes of the Honorable Commission through their respective undersigned counsels.

Statement of Facts 4.

On 25 December 2015, DLPC’s Contract for Supply of Electric Energy (“CSEE”) with the National Power Corporation (“NPC”)/Power Sector Assets & Liabilities Management Corporation (“PSALM”) is set to expire. DLPC had requested a renewal of the CSEE, but has not received a renewal to date. Copies of the letters of DLPC to PSALM requesting renewal of the CSEE are attached hereto as Annexes “A” and “B.” 5.

Thus, to augment its supply requirements due to the uncertainty of the capacity to be supplied under the CSEE, DLPC sought competitive offers from prospective suppliers. However, only one bid was received for each of the two competitive biddings conducted by DLPC, resulting in a failed bid. Thus, DLPC entered into direct negotiations with WMPC. 6.

Accordingly, on DLPC and WMPC entered into a Power Sales Agreement (PSA) for the supply of eighteen megawatts (18 MW)from the Effective Date as defined in the PSA until April 28, 2016.

Overview of the 100 MW1 WMPC Power Station 7.

The Generation Facilities. WMPC shall supply power under the PSA from its 100 MW bunker C-fired diesel power generating plant located in Barangay Sangali, Zamboanga City (the “Power Station”).

A brief description of the technical characteristics of the Power Station is attached hereto as Annex “K.” 8.

The specific fuel oil consumption (“SFOC”) of the Power Station shall not be greater than 0.2464 kg/kWh at site condition of 32 deg. C ambient temperature. The SFOC is based on a bunker C fuel oil density of 0.9855 kilogram/liter.

A copy of a certification on the Power Station’s specific fuel oil consumption rate is attached hereto as Annex “L.” 9.

Project Cost and Operating Expenses. A summary of the costs of the project is attached as Annex “P.” A detailed breakdown of the projected operating expenses is attached hereto as Annex “Q.” 10. Fuel Supply. In order to ensure the supply of fuel for the operations of the Power Station, WMPC is making arrangements with the present bunker C fuel supplier of an affiliate generation company in Mindanao. The said affiliate previously selected the supplier by soliciting offers from reputable fuel suppliers, and contracting with the one that offered the best terms for fuel supply.

10.1 It must be stressed that, in accordance with the relevant policy of this Honorable Commission, WMPC shall derive no revenue whatsoever from the fuel supply.

11. Environmental Compliance Certificate. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has issued the necessary Environmental Compliance Certificates (“ECC”) covering the Power Station.

A copy of the ECC is attached hereto as Annex “M.” 12. DOE Accreditation. The Department of Energy has accredited the Power Station as a Block Power Production Facility under the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Executive Order No. 215.

A copy of the pertinent certificate of accreditation is attached hereto as Annex “N.” 13. Certificate of Compliance. This Honorable Commission has issued the necessary Certificate of Compliance for the Plant.

A copy of the said certification is attached hereto as Annex “O.” Salient Terms and Conditions of the PSA 14. Salient Terms and Conditions. The PSA contains the following salient features and conditions: 14.1 Term.The Agreement shall be effective from the Effective Date until April 28, 2016. 2 14.2 Contracted Capacity.The Contracted Capacity is eighteen megawatts (18 MW) as may be increased or reduced in accordance with the PSA.3 14.3 Adjustments to Contracted Capacity and Dispatchable Energy. At any time during the Term of thePSA, the Parties may agree to permanently increase or decrease the Contracted Capacity and Dispatchable Energy. Any additional Contracted Capacity and Dispatchable Energy agreed by the Parties shall be paid for by the Buyer at the same rates specified in Schedule B (Payments to the Seller).4 14.4 Allowed Outages. The PSA provides for an Allowed Outage not exceeding 1,314 hours in the relevant Contract Year, or the proportionate number of hours if a Contract Year is less than 12 months.5 14.5 Replacement Capacity and Energy. During any period of Outage within the Allowed Outage and subject to the availability of Replacement Capacity and Energy from the System, the Seller shall use its best efforts to deliver Replacement Capacity and Energy to the Buyer. If Replacement Capacity and Energy is requested by the Buyer, the Replacement Capacity and Energy Cost of the Replacement Capacity and Energy delivered by the Seller to the Buyer shall be a full pass-through cost to the Buyer.The cost of transmission line losses and congestion from the Receiving Point, or Alternative Receiving Point in the case of Replacement Capacity and Energy, to the Buyer’s substation shall be for the account of the Buyer.6 14.6 Backup Capacity and Energy. During any Forced Outage7, the Seller shall have the obligation to deliver Backup Capacity and Backup Energy to the Buyer. 8 14.7 Monthly Payments.9 Commencing on the Commencement Date and continuing throughout the Term, the Buyer shall pay to the Seller an amount (the “Monthly Payment”) calculated in accordance with the formula set out in Schedule B (Payments to the Seller), plus value-added taxes and any other applicable taxes, fees and charges. Subject to Section 6.3 (Settlement), billings shall be based on the Contracted Capacity and monthly energy delivered to the Buyer at the Receiving Point or Alternative Receiving Point and in accordance with the provisions of Schedule F (Measurement and Recording of Electricity).

All Ancillary Service charges, taxes, fees, imposts and other similar charges shall also be included in the monthly billing.

The Monthly Payment in respect of a Billing Month shall include Replacement Capacity and Energy Costs and Backup Capacity Costs and Backup Energy Costs to the extent applicable.

The Monthly Payment shall be subject to further adjustments if there are new taxes, fees, imposts and similar charges, or any increase in existing taxes, fees, imposts and charges.

14.8 Schedule B (Payments to the Seller) of the PSA is reproduced below:

5.

Start-Up Costs (SC) The Buyer, on a pro rata basis of the capacity of the Power Station allocated to the Buyer, shall pay the Seller Start-Up Costs for the cost of starting up the WMPC Power Station, or any portion thereof, after a period of shutdown due to any reason attributable to the Buyer. The Start-Up Costs shall be computed based on the prevailing price of diesel fuel at the time of the Start Up and paid in accordance with the following: Type of Start-Up Cold Start-up (more than 10 hours of shutdown) Warm Start-up (less than 10 hours of shutdown)

1.1

Capital Recovery Fee (CRF) CRF shall be computed as follows:

Where: CRFR CC F

= = =

Capital Recovery Fee Rate of PHP 250.18/kw/month Contracted Capacity Outage Factor as derived using the following formula to be used.

Where: Where: TMED=

F=

Theoretical Maximum Energy Delivered being the Contracted Capacity multiplied by the hours in the relevant month, less any adjustments made for Allowed Outage, limitation due to dispatch order, Force Majeure affecting either Party, and allowable start-up time due to period of non-generation due to a Buyer dispatch order or an Allowed Outage, and any other hours as a consequence of Buyer’s failure to perform any of its obligations 1 if the foregoing formula results in F being greater than 1 A summation of the ED & TMED for a given Contract Year shall be made to determine true F during the Contract Year. Such yearly F factor shall be basis for adjustment of the CRF for the Contract Year. The adjustment shall be guided by the following conditions: If If

2.

Fixed Operation & Maintenance Fee (FOMF) The Fixed Operation and Maintenance Fee (FOMF) covers the operating and maintenance costs of the Power Station. It shall be computed according to the following formula:

Where: FOMR CPIn

= =

CPIo

=

WPCn

=

WPCo

=

EUn

=

EUo

=

FPPIn

=

FPPIo

=

F

=

Fixed O&M Fee Rate of PHP 219.00/kw/month Consumer Price Index for Metropolitan Manila Area (National Capital Region), all items published by NEDA/NSO for the period of price determination Consumer Price Index for Metropolitan Manila Area (National Capital Region), all items published by NEDA/NSO as of December 31, 2013.

Wholesale Price Index for Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials for the Philippines as published by NEDA/NSO for the period of price determination Wholesale Price Index for Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials for the Philippines as published by NEDA/NSO for as of December 31, 2013.

Euro-Peso Exchange Rate for the period of price determination as published by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Euro-Peso Exchange Rate as of December 31, 2013 as published by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Finland Producers’ Price Index for Manufacturing for the period of price determination as published in the International Financial Statistics of IMF Finland Producers’ Price Index for Manufacturing as of December 31, 2013 as published in the International Financial Statistics of IMF Monthly Actual Energy Delivered / TMED

TMED=

F=

Liters of Diesel Fuel per Unit 600 300

6.

Replacement Capacity and Energy Cost Fee (if applicable) The Buyer shall pay the Seller Replacement Capacity and Energy Cost in accordance with the invoice provided by the supplier of Replacement Capacity and Energy Cost.

7.

Backup Capacity and Backup Energy Costs Fee (if applicable) The Buyer shall pay the Seller Backup Capacity and Energy Cost equivalent to the Monthly Payment had there been no Forced Outage.

8.

Value Added Tax The relative Value Added Taxes (“VAT”) of the above fee payments 12% shall be computed as follows: 14.9 Overdue Charges. Any amounts not paid on or after the Payment Due Date shall earn interest at the 91-day T-Bill Rate plus three percent (3%) per annum, from the day after the Payment Due Date until the date upon which such amount was received by the Seller.

14.10 Payment Made Prior to Due Date. The Buyer shall be given a one and a half percent (1.5%) prompt payment discount on the payment in full of the applicable Capital Recovery Fees twenty (20) days prior to the relevant Payment Due Date.

15. Basis for PSA Tariff. An explanation on the derivation and basis for the tariff under the PSA (“Tariff Explanation”) is attached as Annex “V” hereof. As discussed hereunder, the Tariff Explanation and its attached supporting financial models (“Financial Models”)are subject of a motion for confidential treatment.

16. Rate Implication. An analysis was conducted to determine the impact of the implementation of the PSA on DLPC’s generation costs, a copy of which is attached as Annex “S” hereof. The following table shows the indicative rate impact:

Without WMPC

With MWPC

Impact

4.2185

4.3313

0.1128

Total (Php/kWh)

17. In support of the instant application, the following documents are attached as annexes hereof: Annex

Document

A

Letter of DLPC to PSALM dated September 10, 2015

B

Letter of DLPC to PSALM dated October 29, 2015

C

1st Invitation to Submit Proposal

D

2 Invitation to Submit Proposal

E

Offer of Alsons Power Group

nd

F

DLPC BAC Evaluation Reports and Letter Request to Negotiate a PSA

G

Secretary’s Certificate re Board Resolution on DLPC BAC Evaluation Reports

H

Power Sales Agreement

I and series

WMPC’s Certificate of Incorporation, Amended Articles of Incorporation and Amended By-Laws

J

General Information Sheet of WMPC for the Year 2015

K

Brief description of the technical characteristics of the Power Station

L

Specific Fuel Oil Consumption Certificate of the Power Station

M

Environmental Compliance Certificate issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

N

Certificate of Accreditation issued by the Department of Energy

O

Certificate of Compliance issued by the Energy Regulatory Commission

P

Project Cost

Q

Detailed breakdown of the projected operating expenses

R

Computation of the Monthly Payments

S

DLPC Distribution Development Plan

T

Rate Impact Analysis

U

DLPC’s Supply/Demand Scenario and Load Curve

V

Explanation on the WMPC Tariff

W

WMPC 2014 Audited Financial Statements

Allegations in Support of the Motion for Confidential Treatment 18. As mentioned above, the Tariff Explanation and the Financial Models are hereby submitted under a motion to treat information confidential (“Motion”).

19. The Tariff Explanation discusses the basis for the tariff under the PSA. This includes WMPC’s commercial and financial strategies in setting up its tariff.On the other hand, the Financial Models include all the formulas and calculations as well as the assumptions and values considered therein.

20. In accordance with Section 1, Rule 4 of this Honorable Commission’s Rules of Pratice and Procuedure (“ERC Rules”), Applicant WMPC respectfully moves that the Tariff Explanation and the Financial Models be treated as confidential information for the following reasons:

Mindanao Power Crisis. Due to the continuing power shortage in Mindanao, the area served by DLPC continues to suffer power outages. Currently, DLPC is compelled to implement rotational brownouts from one to three hours as a result of the tight supply. This was further heightened by the expiry on December 13, 2015 of the WMPC contract with NPC/PSALM, which resulted in the reduction of NPC’s allocation of supply to DLPC. This will be further aggravated by the expiration of the CSEE. Hence, the PSA with WMPC will greatly aid in narrowing the power supply gap that DLPC requires in order to minimize the power outages in its franchise area. b. Continuing demand growth. As illustrated in its DDP, DLPC is expecting a growth in the total demand of its end-users. This, coupled with the lack of supply in Mindanao and the expiration of the CSEE, will result in a widening of the supply gap, which DLPC may not immediately attend to. This will greatly disadvantage the end-users of DLPC who will then be forced to suffer frequent and prolonged outages.

27. The immediate approval of the PSA will allow DLPC to immediately draw power from an available plant in order to serve the power needs of its customers. Thus, the immediate approval of the PSA will ultimately redound to the benefit of the customers of DLPC in terms of continuous, reliable, efficient and affordable power supply.Attached as Annex “X” of this Application is the Judicial Affidavit of Mr. Rodger S. Velasco, DLPC’s VP-Engineering Group, in support of the request for Provisional Authority.

PRAYER WHEREFORE, in view of all the foregoing, it is most respectfully prayed that this Honorable Commission: 1. ISSUES an Order declaring the Tariff Explanation and the Financial Models (Annex “V” hereof) as confidential information within the purview of Rule 4 of the ERC Rules, as well as directing that the Tariff Explanation and the Financial Models be treated with confidentiality and be protected from public disclosure; 2. ISSUES the corresponding Protective Order in accordance with Sections 2 and 4 of the said Rule 4; 3. Pending trial on the merits PROVISIONALLY APPROVES, the PSA, including all the rates, fees, charges and tariff adjustment mechanisms set out therein; and 4. After trial on the merits, APPROVES with FINALITY the PSA, including all the rates, fees, charges and tariff adjustment mechanisms set out therein.

Other reliefs just and equitable are likewise prayed for.

Pasig City and Taguig City for Pasig City, 22December 2015.

DAVAO LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY, INC. By: (SGD) KATRINA M. PLATON PTR No. 2377825 / January 13, 2015 / Taguig City IBP Lifetime No. 706864 / Makati City MCLE Compliance No. IV-0011085/January 3, 2013 Roll No. 38338 (SGD) PAUL B. SORIÑO PTR No. 642393 / March 26, 2015 / Pasig City IBP No. 995505 / February 5, 2015 / RSM MCLE Compliance No. V-0002591 / June 9, 2014 Roll No. 55895 (SGD) LEW CARLO C. LOPEZ IBP No. 947394 / January 2, 2014/RSM MCLE Compliance No. IV-0015795 / March 8, 2013 Roll No. 59128

If If

16th Floor, NAC Tower 32nd St., Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City Telephone No. 886-2348/Fax No. 886-2405

3.

Variable Operation & Maintenance Fee (VOMF) The Variable Operation and Maintenance Fee (VOMF) covers the cost of the use of, among other items, chemicals, lubricants and spare parts, that are directly related to the generation of the Power Station. It shall be computed according to the following formula:

WESTERN MINDANAO POWER CORPORATION

CPIo

=

EUn

=

EUo

=

FPPIn

=

FPPIo

=

WPCn

=

WPCo

=

FILIPINO paddlers recently ruled the 16-nation Thailand International Swanboat Race at Chao Rhraya River in Bangkok.

They took home the top purse of 600,000 baht (roughly P655,000) after the paddlers from the Philippine Canoe and Kayak Federation won the 500-meter small boat event.

The paddlers, who are coached by Len Escollante, clocked 2 minutes and 11.55 seconds, upsetting host Thailand by almost one second.

The Singapore National Dragon Boat team and the Korean Canoe Federation were 3rd and 4th, respectively.

The PCKF paddlers earlier ranked third in the eliminations (repechage).

They then picked up the pace in the quarterfinals and semifinals by finishing second in both.

Southeast Asian Games bronze medalists and 2020 Olympic hopefuls Hermie Macaranas and OJ Fuentes led the Philippine team to victory.

Escollante said they did not expect to beat the strong Thailand squad, which was unbeaten in previous races.

This is the second time for the Philippines to post a win over Thailand after the November Asian Championships in Palembang, Indonesia.

a.

Theoretical Maximum Energy Delivered being the Contracted Capacity multiplied by the hours in the relevant month, less any adjustments made for Allowed Outage, limitation due to dispatch order, Force Majeure affecting either Party, and allowable start-up time due to period of non-generation due to a Buyer dispatch order or an Allowed Outage, and any other hours as a consequence of Buyer’s failure to perform any of its obligations

Variable O&M Fee, in Pesos Variable O&M Fee Rate of Php 0.18/kWh kWh delivered during the billing period Consumer Price Index for Metropolitan Manila Area (National Capital Region), all items published by NEDA/NSO for the period of price determination Consumer Price Index for Metropolitan Manila Area (National Capital Region), all items published by NEDA/NSO as of December 31, 2013.

Euro-Peso Exchange Rate for the period of price determination as published

by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Euro-Peso Exchange Rate as of December 31, 2013 as published by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Finland Producers’ Price Index for Manufacturing for the period of price determination as published in the International Financial Statistics of IMF Finland Producers’ Price Index for Manufacturing as of December 31, 2013 as published in the International Financial Statistics of IMF Wholesale Price Index for Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials for the Philippines as published by NEDA/NSO for the period of price determination Wholesale Price Index for Mineral Fuels, Lubricants and Related Materials for the Philippines as published by NEDA/NSO as of December 31, 2013.

By Peter Atencio

21. Also, the Financial Modelswere prepared and developed for the exclusive use of WMPC, and is designed for the specific use of the company in its power generation business.

Consequently, should the Financial Models be disclosed to the public, it could easily be copied or used by WMPC’s competitors or other entities engaged in the power business for their own benefit, and to the prejudice of WMPC. Thus, the commercial value of the said models will be diminished significantly.

22. Given the foregoing, the Tariff Explanation and the Financial Models qualify as “confidential information” as defined under Section 2, Rule 4 of the ERC Rules.

23. In accordance with Section 1 (b), Rule 4 of the ERC Rules, one copy of the Tariff Explanation is placed in a sealed envelope, with the envelope and each page of the document stamped with the word “Confidential.” Also, an electronic copy of the Financial Models is contained in one compact disc and submitted in a sealed envelope stamped with the word “Confidential.”

24. Further, all parties furnished copies of the present Application are not furnished copies of the documents subject the present motion.

25. In accordance with Sections 3 and 4, Rule 4 of the ERC Rules, Applicant WMPC reserves the right to use the Financial Model and its contents as evidence, and respectfully moves for the issuance of a Protective Order.

Allegations in Support of the Prayer for Provisional Authority 26. The Applicants move for the issuance of the a provisional approval of the PSA pending trial on the merits for the following reasons:

A summation of the ED & TMED for a given Contract Year shall be made to determine true F during the Contract Year. Such yearly F factor shall be basis for adjustment of the CRF for the Contract Year. The adjustment shall be guided by the following conditions:

= = = =

PH paddlers win boat race in Bangkok

20.1 The Tariff Explanation and the Financial Models included therein qualify as “trade secrets” as contemplated under existing jurisprudence.

20.2 In the case “Air Philippines Corporation vs. Pennswell Inc,”10 the Supreme Court defined “trade secret” as follows: “A trade secret is defined as a plan or process, tool, mechanism or compound known only to its owner and those of his employees to whom it is necessary to confide it. The definition also extends to a secret formula or process not patented, but known only to certain individuals using it in compounding some article of trade having commercial value. A trade secret may consist of any formula, pattern, device, or compilation of information that (1) is used in one’s business; and (2) gives the employer an opportunity to obtain advantage over competitors who do not possess the information. Generally, a trade secret is a process or device intended for continuous operation of the business, for example, a machine or formula, but can be a price list or catalogue or specialized customer list. It is indubitable that trade secrets constitute proprietary rights.” (Emphasis supplied)

1 if the foregoing formula results in F being greater than 1

Where : VOMF VOMFR ED CPIn

sports@thestandard.com.ph

Generation Charge

PAYMENTS TO THE SELLER The Buyer shall make the following payments to the Seller in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement: 1.

Monthly Payments The Monthly Payments shall be paid to the Seller on a monthly basis in accordance with the following formula: Monthly Payments = CRF + FOMF + VOMF + AFC + SC + RCEC + BCEC + Taxes where: CRF = Capital Recovery Fees FOMF = Fixed Operation and Maintenance Fee VOMF = Variable Operation and Maintenance Fee AFC = Actual Fuel Cost SC = Start-Up Costs RCEC = Replacement Capacity and Energy Costs BCEC = Back-up Capacity and Energy Costs Taxes = Value-Added Tax and other applicable taxes, if any

SPORTS

0.2464 kg/kwh 0.9855 kg/liter

ERC CASE NO.2015-_____ RC DAVAO LIGHT AND POWER COMPANY, INC. AND WESTERN MINDANAO POWER CORPORATION Applicants. x-----------------------------------------------------------x

A14

W E D N E S D AY : D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

By: (SGD) Sundy Lorence C. Lachica PTR No. 0350696; 1/6/15; Pasig City IBP No. 0981225; 1/5/15; Makati City MCLE Compliance No. IV-0007955; 9/18/12 Roll No. 51017 (SGD) Abigail T. Madanlo PTR No. 5949439; 6/1/15; Davao City IBP No. 979843; 1/7/15; Davao City MCLE Compliance No. V-0003240; 08/12/12 Roll No. 60026 _____________________________________________________________

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10

Net Dependable Capacity Section 3.2, PSA. Section 1.1 (Definitions), PSA. Par. 3, Section 4.1, PSA. See Definitions, Section 1.1 of the PSA. See Section 6.6, PSA. “Forced Outage” means, after the Commencement Date, any Outage in excess of the Allowed Outage, whether due to unplanned partial or total plant shutdown, for reasons other than Force Majeure.

Par. 1, Section 6.7, PSA. Article 7 of the PSA. ( TS - D EC. 23, 2015) G. R. No. 172835, 13 December 2007.

Champion paddlers. The victorious Team Dragonboat Philippines, led by paddlers Alex Generalo, John Paul Selencio, Fernan Dungan, Hermie Macaranas, Reymart Nevado, Jordan de Guia, Jonathan Ruiz, Ojay Fuentes, Mark John Frias and Marvin Amposta are shown after winning the gold medal in the 2015 Swan Boat Race held in Bangkok, Thailand. The PH paddlers, who bested 15 others, including national teams from Thailand, Singapore and powerhouse Korea, are mentored by national coach Len Escollante and headed by PCKF President Johnne Go.

Pacman lauds Ms. Universe FILIPINO ring icon Manny Pacquiao paid tribute to compatriot, newly crowned Ms. Universe Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach, saying that she showed what kind of people Filipinos are.

“Courage, composure, poise, humility.

These are the traits and character that made us Filipinos known to other people throughout the world. And these, Pia displayed during her coronation especially amidst confusion and tumult that marked the last day of the Miss Universe con-

test,” Pacquiao said in an interview Monday shortly after news of Wurtzbach’s victory was shown on television.

What makes Wurtzbach more admirable, Pacquiao said, is her love for country and people as well as her confidence, when she vowed to avenge the Filipino icon’s loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. with the tweet “Kalma lang guys. Babawi tayo.”

“Which she did,” the Fighter of the Decade awardee of the Boxing Writers Association of America said. “That

is why ngayon ay ako naman ang mangangako sa kaniya at sa ating mga kababayan that I will use those traits that she showed as my inspiration and added motivation in my coming fight early next year.”

“Ipinangangako ko, gaya nang ipinangako niya noon, na gagawin ko ang lahat ng aking makakaya para ipanalo ang susunod kong laban para din sa bayan,” Pacquiao, also the only man in the history of boxing to capture lineal titles in four divisions, vowed.

Eddie Alinea

W E D N E S D AY : D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

LOTTO RESULTS

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

P0.0 M+ P0.0 M+

Tabuena vows to work harder MIGUEL Tabuena’s maiden victory in the Asian Tour, which came in last week’s 98th Philippine Open, opened new doors for the 21-year-old Filipino golfer.

Tabuena said the victory doesn’t mean he can now rest on his laurels.

“I have to work harder,” said Tabuena, who graced Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate, accompanied by his father, Luigi, also the Philippine Golf Tour manager.

Tabuena listed down the events he wants to join next year, kicking off with the Singapore Open on Jan. 28, then the $3-million Malaysian Open in February.

“I will join more tournaments next year. Now, I know I can do it,” said Tabuena in the sports forum presented

by San Miguel Corp., Shakey’s, Accel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Tabuena can’t wait to go back to the course, especially in the coming Singapore Open which will be headlined by current world No. 1 Jordan Spieth of the United States.

From Malaysia, Tabuena will vie in a Philippine Golf Tour leg in Anvaya, then the Thai Golf Classic and another one in India.

On top of it all, Tabuena, who booked his biggest career win at Luisita in Tarlac, is looking at the great opportunity of vying in the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Tabuena moved up to No. 48 in the International Golf Federation Olympic rankings, and if he holds on to a top 60 spot until July or a month before the Olympics, he can make it to the Rio De Janeiro Summer Games.

“I hope I can make it. I’m joining bigger tournaments next year so I can earn more points,” said Tabuena.

Two-time and reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo of defending champion San Miguel Beer, shown here making his move against Rain or Shine defenders, is the leading candidate for the Best Player of the Conference plum.

Fajardo, Slaughter 1-2 in PBA Best Player race

By Jeric Lopez

AS EXPECTED, a familiar name leads the race for the Best Player of the Conference award, but a fierce rival is not far behind after the elimination round of the 2015-16 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. Two-time and reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo of defending champion San Miguel Beer continues to reign supreme as he is the leading candidate for the Best Player of the Conference plum, while his longtime rival big man Greg Slaughter of Barangay Ginebra is close on his tail.

The Beermen superstar tallied a league-best 45.6 average statistical points (SPs) at the end of the 11-

game eliminations. That average was just a shade above Slaughter’s as the Gin Kings’ go-to guy has compiled 45.3 SPs. While Fajardo leads in statistical points, Slaughter is the league leader in both points and rebounds per game.

Slaughter averaged 23.5 points and 15 rebounds per game to lead all players, while Fajardo, in those categories, are just a shade below with his 23.1 points and 14.4 re-

bounds per game average as the their statistics are like a mirror of one another’s.

These two dominant inside forces, who are rivals since their college days in Cebu, are now in a neck-to-neck battle for the award the rest of the way with the others on the outside looking in.

A distant third is the emerging Sean Anthony from NLEX. He compiled 37.4 SPs while rising star Stanley Pringle of GlobalPort is very close at No. 4 at 37.3.

Rounding out the top five players for the elimination round is the ageless Asi Taulava of the Road Warriors with his 35.9 average.

Should Fajardo go all the way once again, another BPC award will be his fourth overall in his career and second straight.

As for the Rookie of the Year chase, second pick Troy Rosario continues to prove his worth and as he leads all newcomers.

The lanky forward of Talk ‘N Text leads all rookies with an average 28.0 SPs while his teammate and top overall pick Mo Tautuaa is right behind him at second with a 23.5 average.

At third is Rain or Shine rookie Maverick Ahanmisi, who continues to do a fine job in filling the void left by injured painters star Paul Lee with a 21.5 average.

Also in the top five are Blackwater forward Arthur Dela Cruz at fourth with his 19.7 average, while Meralco’s athletic spitfire Chris Newsome and surprising Mahindra big man Bradwyn Guinto are tied at No. 5 with a similar 19.6 average.

Philracom and PCSO 2016 racing calendars PHILIPPINE Racing Commission Chairman Andrew A. Sanchez has approved an actionpacked 2016 racing calendar, with the first major stakes race, the Commissioner’s Cup, set for Jan. 17 at Metroturf.

It will be followed by a stakes race for 4YO and older on Jan. 31 at Santa Ana Park.

This is a new type of stakes race, and just one of the many innovations introduced by the present Commission.

There are 38 stakes races for 2016, including two for the Mayor Ramon D. Bagatsing racing festival in August. Not included here are the Philra-

com-sponsored stakes races for horseowners’ organizations MARHO, Philtobo, and Klub Don Juan, as well as charity races that may be held for worthy beneficiaries.

Philracom’s last major stakes race for the year is the 2,000-meter Grand Derby on Sunday, Dec. 27, also at Metroturf.

Dec. 25, Christmas Day; Dec. 30, Rizal Day; and Jan. 1, New Year’s Day, are all no-race days.

The first racing day of 2016 is Jan. 2 at SLLP. *** The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office will be holding 14 races in 2016.

Three are maiden races to be held at each of the three racetracks. In addition, Metroturf will host the Freedom

Cup (Feb. 28), National Grand Derby (Aug. 14), and Anniversary Race (Oct. 16); Santa Ana Park the Silver Cup (June 26); and San Lazaro Leisure Park the Presidential Gold Cup (Dec. 4).

PCSO’s first race, a 3YO open maiden, will be held on Jan. 16 at Metroturf. *** The results of Philtobo’s Grand Championship Day, Dec. 7, at Santa Ana Park: Philtobo Juvenile Championship: 1st, Wilbert Tan’s Subterranean River, 2nd Herminio Esguerra’s Dewey Boulevard, 3rd Tan’s Homonhon Island, 4th George Raquidan’s Real Flames.

Philracom-Philtobo Juvenile Fillies: 1st Mark Anthony Calixto’s Most Trusted, 2nd SC Stockfarm’s Sippin Beauty, 3rd

Accu-Rate Ballistics’ Contessa, 4th Tan’s Luneta Park.

PRCI-Philtobo 3YO Colts: Honorato Neri’s Court of Honor, Narciso O. Morales’s Icon, SC Stockfarm’s Cat’s Dream, Esguerra’s Super Spicy.

PCSO-Philtobo Classic: Esguerra’s Manalig Ka, Morales’s Mabsoy, Neri’s Sky Dragon, and Jose Y. Quiros’s Morning Time.

Congratulations to Philtobo’s officers and members on yet another successful event! *** Christmas is just around the corner, and to give thanks to THW readers for their support over the nearly eight years this column has been running, I am holding the 1st Gogirl Racing Christmas raffle.

To join, please like my “Gogirl Racing” Facebook page and

on the Christmas post pinned to the top, comment your answer to this: how did you get started in PH racing? The comments section will be closed on 12 noon of Dec. 27.

Why “Gogirl”? It was my username for the first online racing groups back in the early 2000s, and it’s how I am still known to some racing fans who watched me present the races on the live race broadcast of Santa Ana Park and San Lazaro Leisure Park from 2002 to 2010.

Thank you to the generous sponsors who donated raffle items: jockeys Jonathan B. Hernandez, Kelvin B. Abobo, John Alvin Guce, Jesse B. Guce, Rodeo G. Fernandez, Jeffril T. Zarate, Patricio Dilema, and Mark A. Alvarez; trainer Ruben

S. Tupas; head groom Melvin Villegas; and jockeys’ assistant Angelito Cameña.

Much gratitude also to our institutional sponsors: Philippine Racing Club, Inc. (through Resident Director Eric Salido), Manila Jockey Club, Inc. (through Racing Manager Jose Ramon C. Magboo), and Metro Manila Turf Club, Inc. (through Chairman Norberto Quisumbing Jr).

This raffle would not have been possible without the help of jockey Antonio B. Alcasid Jr., who rallied the jockeys to contribute items to this raffle.

A joyful and peaceful Christmas to all! *** Facebook: Gogirl Racing, Twitter: @gogirlracing, Instagram: @jensdecember

B1

WEDNESDAY: DECEMBER 23, 2015

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

PDIC village. Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. president Cristina Que Orbeta (second from left) and Vice Mayor Raul Gade (fifth from right) lead the turnover ceremony of houses to the PDIC-GK Village beneficiaries on November 28, 2015 in Sitio Malmangan, Lawaan, Eastern Samar. The PDIC-GK Village is part of PDIC’s corporate social responsibility, which advocates the protection of the environment and balanced development of communities. The PDIC-GK Village provides disaster-resilient shelter homes for survivor-families, whose houses were destroyed during the onslaught of super typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

Meralco spending P18b in 2016

By Alena Mae S. Flores

MANILA Electric Co., the country’s biggest power retailer, will spend P17.5 billion to P18 billion next year to maintain and upgrade its distribution network, an official said.

Meralco president Oscar Reyes told reporters the amount would be purely for distribution network and exclude investments in power generation being undertaken by Meralco PowerGen Corp. and other spending in renewable projects.

Reyes said with power demand projected to continue to grow in the next five years, Meralco was preparing the robustness of its network to handle the rising demand.

“Our investment in power distribution will be in the amount of P90 billion from 2016 to 2020,” Reyes said.

“The demand will continue

to grow. Basically, demand will probably grow in Luzon by about 250 to 300 MW peak demand per year,” he said.

Meralco earlier disclosed a plan to invest around P154 billon in the next five years, or until 2020, to expand its distribution and generation business and address the fast-changing needs of customers.

Meralco first vice president and group treasurer Rafael Andrada said the investments in the distribution sector alone was estimated to reach P91 billion between 2016 and 2020.

“Over the last six years, we’ve spent about P63 billion in our

distribution and in order to meet the ever increasing demand for higher quality and more reliable quality service. Meralco will invest nearly P91 billion in the next five years, again primarily for distribution,” Andrada said.

He said the company would also invest around P68 billion in the generation business during the period.

Meralco, through unit Meralco PowerGen Corp., is developing several power projects, including the 1,200-megawatt coal-fired plant in Atimonan, Quezon province through Atimonan One Energy Inc. Meralco Power Gen is also a shareholder of San Buenaventura Power Ltd., which is building a 455-MW coal-fired power plant in Mauban, Quezon.

Another Meralco PowerGenled project is the 600-MW coal fired plant of Redondo Peninsula Energy in Subic.

Meralco PowerGen owns a

stake in the 800-MW liquefied natural gas plant in Singapore, the 82-MW coal station in Cebu and a 150-MW power plant in Panay owned by Global Business Power Corp.

The entire portfolio of power generation projects has a total project cost of P440 billion.

Meralco, meanwhile, invested P63 billion in distribution and P20 billion in generation from 2010 to 2015.

Andrada said the company was making “heavy capital expenditures in power distribution infrastructure and technologies and investments in highly efficient and reliable power generation.”

“For 2016 alone, we are earmarking P25.7 billion, 47 percent is allocated for customer and load growth. Customers require higher efficiencies and higher service levels therefore the need also to address reliability and quality parameters in our distribution network,” Andarada said.

Cebu Pacific granted additional flights to UAE, Russia

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE Civil Aeronautics Board granted additional entitlements to Cebu Pacific from Manila to United Arab Emirates and Russia, as well as from various points in the Philippines to Taiwan.

The budget airline owned by industrialist tycoon received the right to operate additional seven flights weekly from Manila to the UAE, which would allow the airline to launch flights to any point in the UAE. Cebu Pacific currently is fully utilizing its entitlements with daily flights between Manila and Dubai.

The airline’s request for rights to operate direct flights to Taipei from Caticlan, Clark, Davao,

Puerto Princesa and Tagbilaran, as well as direct flights to Kaohshiung from Caticlan and Cebu, was also granted.

The airline is presently operating 10 times weekly flights between Manila and Taipei, and thrice weekly flights between Cebu and Taipei.

Cebu Pacific was also designated an official Philippine carrier to Russia, and granted thrice weekly flights each from Manila to Moscow and Vladivostok.

In addition, the government approved Cebu Pacific’s request to be designated as an official carrier under the Asean Multilateral Agreement on Air Services.

As soon as the Philippines completes the ratification of the relevant protocols of the MAAS,

the airline will be able to operate unlimited flights between capital cities within Southeast Asia.

“We sincerely thank and commend the members of the Civil Aeronautics Board for enabling Philippine carriers such as Cebu Pacific to expand operations to key international destinations,” Cebu Pacific’s vice president for corporate affairs JR Mantaring said.

“We’ve always maintained that traffic rights are valuable resources that must be rationally allocated to carriers that are willing and able to utilize and operate flights.

We look forward to mounting additional flights to meet the growing travel demand in communities we serve, and opening new routes to stimulate travel in emerging markets,” Mantaring

said.

Cebu Pacific offers flights to a network of over 90 routes on 60 destinations, spanning Sydney, Dubai, Doha, Bali and Tokyo (Narita).

On December 17, 2015, the airline launched three new routes: Manila-Fukuoka, Cebu-Taipei, and Davao--Singapore.

It is slated to launch direct flights from Manila to Guam, its first US destination, on March 15, 2016.

The airline’s 55-strong fleet is comprised of 8 Airbus A319, 33 Airbus A320, 6 Airbus A330 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft.

Between 2016 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of five more brand-new Airbus A320, 30 Airbus A321neo and 16 ATR 72600 aircraft.

PSe comPoSite index Closing December 22, 2015

8000 7700 7400 7100 6800 6500

6,966.18 55.84

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing DECEMBER 22, 2015 43.50 44.60 45.40

P47.335

46.20

CLOSE

47.00

HIGH P47.250 LOW P47.355 AVERAGE P47.298 VOLUME 394.300M

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

oPriceS il P today

P25.03-P28.48 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, December 22, 2015

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

47.3020

Japan

Yen

0.008254

0.3904

UK

Pound

1.488600

70.4138

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128999

6.1019

Switzerland

Franc

1.007861

47.6738

Canada

Dollar

0.716076

33.8718

Singapore

Dollar

0.710530

33.6095

Australia

Dollar

0.717515

33.9399

Bahrain

Dinar

2.657666

125.7129

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266510

12.6065

Brunei

Dollar

0.708015

33.4905

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000073

0.0035

Thailand

Baht

0.027689

1.3097

UAE

Dirham

0.272316

12.8811

Euro

Euro

1.092100

51.6585

Korea

Won

0.000852

0.0403

China

Yuan

0.154302

7.2988

India

Rupee

0.015108

0.7146

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.232721

11.0082

New Zealand

Dollar

0.676498

31.9997

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030414

1.4386 Source: PDS Bridge

WEDNESDAY: DECEMBER 23, 2015

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Tuesday, december 22, 2015

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 4.2 17 30.45 10.4 2.6 1.01 100 30.5 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 124 3.26 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 31.8 109 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 79 4 33.9 90 13.26 293 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.86 7.34 238 5.5 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 2.17 0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 3.4 3.35 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 3.68 0.66 1455 76 9.25 0.85 17.3 5.53 0.0670 1.61 84.9 974 1.39 156 0.710 0.435 0.510 10.5 1.99 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44

STOCKS

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 3.19 2.9 46.05 46 104.80 103.20 85.75 83.05 37.75 37.1 1.25 1.25 15 15 18.88 18.5 7.02 7.00 1.79 1.7 0.540 0.500 80.4 79 16.70 16.70 51.40 49.60 100 100 285 282 31.85 31.6 138.5 137.5 57.00 56.95 3.15 3.1 INDUSTRIAL 35.9 Aboitiz Power Corp.

39.75 40.5 39.75 1.11 Agrinurture Inc. 4.63 4.85 4.62 1.01 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.72 0.72 0.7 1.86 Alsons Cons.

1.37 1.34 1.33 7.92 Asiabest Group 10.28 10.32 10.06 15.32 Century Food 16.5 16.6 16.28 10.08 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 20.35 20.95 20.2 29.15 Concepcion 41.55 41.65 41.3 1.5 Crown Asia 2.29 2.34 2.26 1.5 Da Vinci Capital 1.6 1.65 1.59 10.72 Del Monte 12.84 13.7 12.92 9.55 DNL Industries Inc. 9.270 9.270 9.190 9.04 Emperador 9.00 9.00 8.80 6.02 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 6.12 6.20 6.05 8.86 EEI 5.23 5.29 5.22 20.2 First Gen Corp.

22.8 22.95 22.25 71.5 First Holdings ‘A’ 65.9 66 65.5 13.24 Holcim Philippines Inc. 14.26 14.24 14.24 5.34 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.8 5.81 5.79 0.395 Ionics Inc 3.050 3.150 2.500 173 Jollibee Foods Corp.

220.00 219.00 213.80 LBC Express 12.1 12.1 12.02 34.1 Liberty Flour 27.00 26.50 26.00 1.63 Mabuhay Vinyl 3.17 3.05 3.04 23.35 Manila Water Co. Inc. 24.05 24.85 24 17.3 Maxs Group 19.94 20.95 19.94 5.88 Megawide 5.98 5.99 5.8 250.2 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 317.00 317.40 314.20 3.87 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.95 3.95 3.85 8.45 Petron Corporation 6.98 7.12 6.94 10.04 Phinma Corporation 11.70 11.70 11.20 3.03 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 3.82 3.85 3.65 1.95 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.52 1.51 1.45 1 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.26 2.3 2.2 4.02 RFM Corporation 3.96 3.98 3.91 1.65 Roxas and Co. 2.5 2.3 2.3 5.9 Roxas Holdings 4.55 4.54 4.54 161 San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 122 125 120 4.1 SPC Power Corp.

3.78 4.18 3.78 1.55 Splash Corporation 2.45 2.56 2.45 0.138 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.142 0.146 0.142 1.02 TKC Steel Corp.

1.02 1.05 1.01 2.09 Trans-Asia Oil 2.16 2.18 2.15 152 Universal Robina 185.2 186.3 184.9 4.28 Victorias Milling 4.72 4.7 4.53 0.640 Vitarich Corp.

0.64 0.63 0.6 1.2 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.10 1.13 1.13 HOLDING FIRMS 0.44 Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.365 0.375 0.360 48.1 Aboitiz Equity 56.5000 58.0000 56.9000 20.85 Alliance Global Inc. 16.26 16.62 16.22 1.6 Anglo Holdings A 1.17 1.10 1.00 0.23 ATN Holdings A 0.211 0.211 0.210 0.23 ATN Holdings B 0.215 0.215 0.208 634.5 Ayala Corp `A’ 741.5 763.5 743.5 7.390 Cosco Capital 7.9 8.06 7.94 12.8 DMCI Holdings 13.80 13.90 13.60 2.6 F&J Prince ‘A’ 5.87 6.05 5.88 1.15 F&J Prince ‘B’ 5.53 6.04 6.03 0.152 Forum Pacific 0.230 0.230 0.210 837 GT Capital 1285 1335 1260 IPM Holdings 9.65 9.88 9.48 49.55 JG Summit Holdings 72.50 73.40 72.00 4.84 Lopez Holdings Corp.

6.61 6.77 6.58 0.59 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.7 0.7 0.68 12 LT Group 14.4 14.62 14.4 4.2 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.25 5.25 5.2 0.030 Pacifica `A’ 0.0300 0.0310 0.0300 0.550 Prime Orion 1.840 1.890 1.830 59.3 San Miguel Corp `A’ 46.70 47.10 46.50 751 SM Investments Inc. 855.00 856.00 841.00 0.93 South China Res. Inc. 0.70 0.75 0.75 80 Top Frontier 69.800 69.850 39.700 0.211 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.2800 0.2850 0.2800 0.179 Wellex Industries 0.1950 0.2100 0.1950 0.310 Zeus Holdings 0.240 0.240 0.240 PROPERTY 6.74 8990 HLDG 7.050 7.350 7.000 0.65 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.84 0.83 0.74 0.192 Arthaland Corp.

0.208 0.208 0.208 30.05 Ayala Land `B’ 35.600 35.900 35.050 3.36 Belle Corp. `A’ 2.82 2.87 2.64 4.96 Cebu Holdings 5.11 5.06 4.65 0.79 Century Property 0.55 0.56 0.55 2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.68 12.02 19.6 6.12 1.02 0.225 78 17.8 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 59 2.65

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank Bright Kindle Resources COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. I-Remit Inc. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank PB Bank Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Union Bank Vantage Equities

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

SHARES 4,681,524 82,399,189 47,439,281 7,178,570,256 170,598,682 323,302,882 7,808,540,544

3.05 45.9 103.50 83.50 37.75 1.25 15 18.16 7.02 1.79 0.500 80.25 16.70 49.60 101 285 31.6 137.5 56.95 3.1

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.9 46.05 104.80 85.75 37.5 1.25 15 18.5 7.00 1.79 0.510 79 16.70 51.40 100 282 31.7 138 57.00 3.1

-4.92 0.33 1.26 2.69 -0.66 0.00 0.00 1.87 -0.28 0.00 2.00 -1.56 0.00 3.63 -0.99 -1.05 0.32 0.36 0.09 0.00

369,000 8,500 1,467,510 870,380 380,100 82,000 2,600 10,100 27,600 5,000 173,000 663,500 20,000 24,800 10 1,770 49,800 294,870 178,000 52,000

40.5 4.73 0.7 1.33 10.26 16.32 20.2 41.55 2.34 1.59 13.04 9.210 8.80 6.05 5.24 22.25 65.5 14.24 5.79 2.570 219.00 12.1 26.05 3.04 24.75 20 5.99 315.80 3.85 6.94 11.20 3.85 1.48 2.27 3.91 2.3 4.54 125 4.18 2.47 0.146 1.01 2.16 185.2 4.7 0.6 1.13

1.89 2.16 -2.78 -2.92 -0.19 -1.09 -0.74 0.00 2.18 -0.63 1.56 -0.65 -2.22 -1.14 0.19 -2.41 -0.61 -0.14 -0.17 -15.74 -0.45 0.00 -3.52 -4.10 2.91 0.30 0.17 -0.38 -2.53 -0.57 -4.27 0.79 -2.63 0.44 -1.26 -8.00 -0.22 2.46 10.58 0.82 2.82 -0.98 0.00 0.00 -0.42 -6.25 2.73

2,088,900 359,000 9,000 463,000 3,300 165,000 2,459,000 234,300 602,000 301,000 674,300 8,635,500 1,423,800 4,546,400 274,600 1,614,000 142,690 30,000 13,600 44,106,000 920,960 72,400 1,800 200 1,092,300 2,519,400 82,800 95,220 720,000 1,185,500 25,000 81,000 238,000 304,000 1,470,000 1,000 1,000 204,610 4,000 159,000 2,550,000 98,000 753,000 1,055,050 18,000 449,000 100,000

0.365 57.9500 16.52 1.10 0.210 0.208 757 8.03 13.86 5.89 6.04 0.210 1330 9.68 73.00 6.59 0.69 14.6 5.24 0.0300 1.860 46.50 853.50 0.75 69.700 0.2800 0.2100 0.240

0.00 2.57 1.60 -5.98 -0.47 -3.26 2.09 1.65 0.43 0.34 9.22 -8.70 3.50 0.31 0.69 -0.30 -1.43 1.39 -0.19 0.00 1.09 -0.43 -0.18 7.14 -0.14 0.00 7.69 0.00

330,000 2,460,810 3,318,200 251,000 1,810,000 310,000 175,700 1,099,700 2,567,900 120,000 1,700 50,000 146,110 818,500 1,422,360 3,446,900 4,000 2,774,600 11,285,400 10,300,000 417,000 171,200 114,210 1,000 860 940,000 700,000 150,000

7.290 0.79 0.208 35.800 2.7 4.65 0.55

3.40 -5.95 0.00 0.56 -4.26 -9.00 0.00

1,167,300 4,797,000 70,000 5,096,900 9,106,000 64,600 633,000

-4,600.00 73,735,494 19,366,842.00 12,228,905.00 -31,500.00 51,838.00

-15,484,647.00 821,400.00 -273,600.00 -1,167,400 37,140,747.00 -3,287,560.00 -29,817,065.00 -28,620.00 -3,500.00 1,551,576.00 -2,002,975.00 -7,366,965 -180,180.00 62,010.00 -68,400.00 23,490,337.00 -9,427,654.00 -6,536,248.00 743,142.00 -2,413,035.00 -2,862,893.50 427,200.00 -233,120.00 31,260,686.00

-1,552,910.00 20,100.00 202,750.00 -23,141,300.00 53,400.00 224,806.00 30,980.00 38,960.00 -1,882,160.00 -23,629,679.00 -73,800.00 -163,360.00 -546,500.00 -5,563,089.00 77,010.00

24,729,449.50 28,344,672.00 -252,080.00 71,045,715.00 1,959,585.00 -2,703,462.00

85,942,450.00 58,201,877.50 -773,324.00 17,212,638.00 -3,236,778.00 15,500.00 715,755.00 -29,559,635.00 -48,835.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

Close

1.97 0.201 0.69 10.96 0.97 2.22 2.1 5.94 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

1.1 0.083 0.415 2.4 0.83 1.15 1.42 4.13 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

City & Land Dev. Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

Double Dragon Empire East Land Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Megaworld Robinson’s Land `B’ Rockwell Shang Properties Inc. SM Prime Holdings Sta. Lucia Land Inc. Starmalls Suntrust Home Dev. Inc. Vista Land & Lifescapes

10.5 66 1.44 28.5 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 2.6 7.67 1700 2720 8.41 119.5 5.8 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 3.2 95.5 1 2.46 15.2

1.97 35.2 1 18.2 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 1.6 4.8 830 1600 5.95 102.6 4 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.95 3.1 0.650 1.8 6

0.62 1.040 22.8 6.41 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 14.54 3 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 10 0.490 1.9

7.59 0.63 5 0.315 1.14

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

Cebu Air Inc. (5J) Discovery World DFNN Inc. FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. I.C.T.S.I. Imperial Res. `B’ IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Macroasia Corp.

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

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

0.0098 5.45 17.24 0.330 12.8 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 1.030 0.020 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9

0.0043 1.72 6.47 0.236 5.11 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 0.365 0.012 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67

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

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

TA Petroleum

70 515 8.21 111 1060 1047

33 480 5.88 101 997 1011

84.8

75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F

7,924,172.00 -9,100.00

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

-22,356,755.00 -9,961,140.00 -267,840.00 3,300.00

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

High

VALUE 350,418,595.45 1,012,065,945.61 1,082,271,852.45 31,476,555,292.71 734,752,043.245 104,320,442.2112 34,771,147,873.68

FINANCIAL 1,547.59 (UP) 12.37 INDUSTRIAL 10,930.58 (DOWN) 20.85 HOLDING FIRMS 6,584.67 (UP) 73.57 PROPERTY 2,988.77 (UP) 25.69 SERVICES 1,513.77 (UP) 8.32 MINING & OIL 10,199.94 (DOWN) 34.13 PSEI 6,966.18 (UP) 55.84 All Shares Index 3,970.47 (UP) 18.15 Gainers: 67; Losers: 92; Unchanged: 44; Total: 203

Close

0.97 0.122 0.440 23.95 0.820 1.02 1.82 4.35 27.50 1.38 3.21 21.85 0.74 6.8 0.860 5.030

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

0.97 0.97 0.97 0.122 0.120 0.120 0.440 0.440 0.440 24.9 23.8 23.8 0.820 0.810 0.810 1.03 1.01 1.01 1.83 1.81 1.81 4.36 4.27 4.29 27.50 26.60 26.80 1.38 1.38 1.38 3.14 3.13 3.14 22.50 21.85 22.50 0.75 0.73 0.74 6 6 6 0.860 0.830 0.830 5.090 5.000 5.080 SERVICES 7 7 6.97 7 63.9 63.85 63.5 63.5 1.13 1.15 1.15 1.15 24.75 26 26 26 4.35 4.36 4.20 4.20 0.0410 0.0410 0.0400 0.0400 3.26 3.37 3.26 3.37 80 80.9 79.7 79.7 1.7 1.7 1.48 1.7 5.05 5.40 4.91 5.09 956 960 960 960 1880 1900 1880 1900 6.80 7.00 6.80 6.80 69 69.35 68.5 69.35 35 28 28 28 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.156 0.159 0.148 0.148 1.4100 1.4000 1.3700 1.4000 2.13 2.16 2.01 2.01 7.83 7.82 7.63 7.63 4.39 4.39 4.30 4.39 2.35 2.35 2.33 2.35 28.00 24.00 21.50 24.00 0.510 0.520 0.510 0.510 1.98 1.97 1.97 1.97 2.14 2.14 1.86 1.9 3.70 3.70 3.66 3.69 0.260 0.265 0.255 0.255 0.840 0.870 0.790 0.790 18.46 18 18 18 4.50 4.50 4.31 4.50 21.15 21.20 21.15 21.20 2022.00 2080.00 2018.00 2052.00 0.475 0.475 0.475 0.475 0.640 0.640 0.560 0.570 34.30 34.35 34.00 34.30 61.80 64.00 62.80 63.00 5.99 6.35 5.98 6.20 3.37 3.49 3.31 3.44 0.435 0.435 0.430 0.430 3.49 3.49 3.3 3.3 0.335 0.340 0.335 0.335 4.290 4.290 4.030 4.290 MINING & OIL 0.0049 0.0050 0.0048 0.0049 1.83 1.80 1.80 1.80 4.02 4.08 4.02 4.04 0.210 0.210 0.200 0.210 5.5000 6.5 6.4900 6.5000 0.6 0.6 0.59 0.59 0.57 0.57 0.55 0.56 7.16 7.55 7.12 7.20 0.67 0.71 0.68 0.7 0.275 0.280 0.275 0.280 0.171 0.175 0.171 0.175 0.186 0.191 0.186 0.186 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.010 0.011 0.011 0.011 2.03 2.1 1.99 1.99 6.22 6.29 6.15 6.16 2.8 2.81 2.78 2.79 0.5400 0.5400 0.5400 0.5400 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 4.48 4.51 4.40 4.40 1.29 1.32 1.29 1.30 0.0120 0.0120 0.0110 0.0120 133.60 134.70 132.40 132.40 2.13 2.13 2.09 2.09 PREFERRED 64.5 65 64 64.2 519 520 520 520 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.4 107.5 107.5 107.5 107.5 1060 1060 1060 1060 1016 1019 1019 1019 104 103.5 103 103.5 106.8 106.8 106 106.8 81 83 83 83 78.3 78.3 78 78.3 78.5 78 78 78 78.8 78.8 78.7 78.8 WARRANTS & BONDS 2.500 2.500 2.500 2.500 SME 3.17 3.3 3.11 3.11 2.78 2.79 2.77 2.78 2.97 2.97 2.84 2.84 15.48 15.48 15.22 15.26 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 112.7 112.8 112.3 112.8

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

0.00 -1.64 0.00 -0.63 -1.22 -0.98 -0.55 -1.38 -2.55 0.00 -2.18 2.97 0.00 -11.76 -3.49 0.99

9,000 2,010,000 150,000 666,800 1,132,000 427,000 9,436,000 17,310,000 1,734,700 58,000 11,000 27,449,100 402,357,000 300 636,000 1,313,300

0.00 -0.63 1.77 5.05 -3.45 -2.44 3.37 -0.37 0.00 0.79 0.42 1.06 0.00 0.51 -20.00 1.01 -5.13 -0.71 -5.63 -2.55 0.00 0.00 -14.29 0.00 -0.51 -11.21 -0.27 -1.92 -5.95 -2.49 0.00 0.24 1.48 0.00 -10.94 0.00 1.94 3.51 2.08 -1.15 -5.44 0.00 0.00

43,200 2,090 20,000 500 5,188,000 2,400,000 1,581,000 386,240 108,000 103,200 10 25,120 47,400 780,870 200 1,000,000 740,000 21,000 148,000 2,884,100 77,000 10,000 400 203,000 10,000 27,984,000 6,272,000 860,000 13,821,000 1,600 3,000 10,800 116,345 10,000 90,887,000 886,200 1,412,320 2,106,800 7,020,000 1,660,000 559,000 210,000 23,000

0.00 -1.64 0.50 0.00 18.18 -1.67 -1.75 0.56 4.48 1.82 2.34 0.00 0.00 10.00 -1.97 -0.96 -0.36 0.00 0.00 -1.79 0.78 0.00 -0.90 -1.88

55,000,000 110,000 20,000 -76,780.00 250,000 5,000 195,000 29,500.00 119,000 34,000 83,584,000 -52,700.00 130,000 1,680,000 270,000 101,900,000 71,700,000 -24,200.00 389,000 3,865,900 -207,394.00 4,000 11,000 3,000,000 332,000 -97,600.00 47,000 -11,700.00 300,000 135,480 -1,763,969.00 44,000

-0.47 0.19 -1.54 0.00 0.00 0.30 -0.48 0.00 2.47 0.00 -0.64 0.00

50,760 1,500 59,000 50 4,680 500 35,500 6,500 3,610 1,511,350 546,000 157,810

0.00

40,000

-1.89 0.00 -4.38 -1.42

57,000 27,000 1,113,000 331,800

0.09

19,950

4,790.00 1,568,530.00 -13,354,710.00 -4,783,520.00 50,304,545.00 8,300.00 1,044,518.00

165,640.00 -9,161,940.00 24,000.00 14,095,695.00 -23,782,560.00

1,400.00 64,400.00 8,780.00

-15,091,130.00 -963,490.00 72,650.00

56,169,340.00 -1,574,390.00 28,363,635.00 24,113,692.50 -5,154,360.00 -11,430.00

159,897.00 -381,443.00

-51,500.00

3,120,000.00

337,228.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Benguet Corp `B'

6.5000

18.18

Imperial Res. `B'

28

-20.00

SPC Power Corp.

4.18

10.58

Ionics Inc

2.570

-15.74

Manila Mining `B'

0.011

10.00

Manila Broadcasting

24.00

-14.29

F&J Prince 'B'

6.04

9.22

Starmalls

6

-11.76

Wellex Industries

0.2100

7.69

Melco Crown

1.9

-11.21

South China Res. Inc.

0.75

7.14

Premium Leisure

0.570

-10.94

Berjaya Phils. Inc.

26

5.05

Cebu Holdings

4.65

-9.00

Ferronickel

0.7

4.48

Forum Pacific

0.210

-8.70

Phil. National Bank

51.40

3.63

Roxas and Co.

2.3

-8.00

SBS Phil. Corp.

6.20

3.51

Vitarich Corp.

0.6

-6.25

WEDNESDAY: DECEMBER 23, 2015

B3

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

Allianz buying 51% of PNB Life

By Julito G. Rada

Allianz, a European financial services company based in Munich, Germany, is acquiring 51 percent and management control of PNB Life Insurance Inc., the life insurance unit of Philippine National Bank.

PNB said in a statement it also signed an agreement with Allianz for a 15-year exclusive distribution partnership. The joint

venture company will operate under the name Allianz PNB Life Insurance Inc. “An important part of the joint veanture between Allianz and PNB is a 15-year bancassurance agreement, which will provide Allianz exclusive access to more than 660 branches located nationwide, and 4 million customers,” PNB said.

Under the terms of the agreed transaction, Allianz will acquire 51 percent and management control of PNB Life. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval.

“The Philippines is a very fast-growing insurance market supported by a healthy economic outlook and a large, young population of over 100 million people,” Allianz Asia-Pacific chief executive George Sar-

torel said in a statement.

“The transaction with PNB is a unique opportunity to enter into the market with an established distribution network, and it is part of building our strategic business platforms,” Sartorel said.

PNB president Reynaldo Maclang said Allianz would bring in a lot of experience, technology and new ideas that would benefit PNB’s customers and the local market.

“This venture will allow us to offer worldclass protection products and services that cater to the diverse needs of our customers,” Maclang said.

PNB is the country’s fourth-largest private local commercial bank in terms of assets and deposits.

It is a universal bank providing a full range of banking and other financial services to large corporate, middle market, small and medium enterprises and retail customers.

Unit PNB Life Insurance is the 10th largest life insurance company in the Philippines, with new business premiums of P3.745 billion (72 million euros) in 2014.

PNB has 662 branches and 923 ATMs strategically located nationwide. It has the most extensive international presence among Philippine banks with 75 overseas branches, representative offices, remittance centers and subsidiaries in key cities in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Market advances; GT leads gainers STOCKS rose for a second day, after China signaled it will take more steps to support growth, lifting equities in emerging markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 55 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 3,966.18 on Tuesday, the highest in two weeks.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also advanced 18 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 3,970.47, on a value turnover of P34.8 billion.

Twelve of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led

by GT Capital Holdings Inc., the investment company of tycoon George Ty, which went up by 3.5 percent to P1,330. SM Prime Holdings Inc., the real estate arm of tycoon Henry Sy, gained 3 percent to P22.50, while Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third largest lender, rose 2.7 percent to P85.75.

Meanwhile, most Asian stock markets extended the previous day’s gains. After a secretive policy meeting that ended Monday, China’s economic planners said they would combat local government debt and push on with changes in the housing sector to try to shore up growth.

They also said they would “strengthen structural reforms” and monetary policy should be more flexible, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The announcement is the latest from Beijing after it promised last year to let the market play a bigger role in the world’s number two economy and implement reforms of bloated state-owned enterprises.

It also follows other moves to kickstart slowing growth, including six interest rate cuts since November last year.

“We’ve had easing on multiple fronts in China and we are starting to see the green shoots of recovery there,” Nader Naeimi, Sydney-based head of dynamic markets at AMP Capital Investors, told Bloomberg News.

With AFP, Bloomberg

Top importer. Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. receives the highest revenue contributing importer award and the exporter with the second

highest value of export award from the Manila International Container Port during its 37th anniversary celebration. The awards recognize TMP’s support and significant contribution to MICP and the Bureau of Customs. Shown receiving the awards is TMP vice president for import and export department Gerald Amoranto (center). With him are (from left) MICP district collector of customs Elmir Dela Cruz, TMP import section group head Edsel Bryan Claro, Customs commissioner Alberto Lina and MICP chief for export division Joji Rondina.

TransCo asks ERC to approve feed-in tariff collection

By Alena Mae S. Flores NATIONAL Transmission Corp., operator of the power grid, is seeking approval from the Energy Regulatory Commission to collect a feed-in tariff allowance or FIT-All of P0.1025 per kilowatthour from consumers in 2016.

TransCo asked the regulator to approve a provisional authority to collect the feed-in tariff allowance starting January. The feed-in tariff allowance is a uniform charge billed to all on-grid consumers who are supplied with electricity through the distribution or transmission network.

The rate is to be set by ERC on an annual basis, taking into account the forecast annual required revenue of the eligible re-

newable energy plants, previous year’s under or over recoveries, administration costs and forecasted annual electricity sales.

TransCo asked ERC to approve an FIT-All rate of P0.1025 per kWh in 2016, computed for RE projects with at least nomination from the Energy Department for eligibility under the FIT system.

The agency said it sought a lower feed-in tariff allowance from the computed level of P0.1470 per kWh in view of the ERC’s decision limiting the forecast renewable energy generation included in the computation to those renewable energy plants with certificates of endorsement.

“The computed 2016 FIT-All rate covering RE projects with

at least 80 percent electromechanical completion, thus are almost sure to operate within the period under consideration, if not already operating to date,” it said.

TransCo also included in the 2016 computation the underrecoveries for 2015 estimated at P0.0268 per kWh. The passage of the Renewable Energy Law of 2008 which provided for the feed-in tariff regime led to the growth of renewable energy industry.

TransCo said based on its application, the 2016 feed-in tariff allowance would be used to pay renewable energy projects amounting to P6.925 billion, of which bulk would be for wind projects at P2.788 billion, solar at

P2.591 billion, biomass at P1.263 billion and hydro at P282.516 million.

TransCo projected that for 2016, wind projects will be able to generate 977,205 megawatt-hours followed by biomass at 682,407 mWh, solar at 632,686 mWh and hydro at 187,342 mWh. The government has allowed the installation of 500 MW of solar power projects, 400 MW of wind power projects, 250 MW for hydro and 250 MW for biomass projects.

ERC approved a feed-in tariff rate of P6.63 per kWh for biomass, P5.90 per kWh for hydro, P9.68 per kWh for solar 1, P8.69 for solar 2, P8.53 per kWh for wind 1 and P7.40 per KWh for wind 2.

B4 Tetangco welcomes China’s stimulus

By Julito G. Rada BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said China’s plan to implement additional measures to prop up its economy will be good for other economies in the region.

“To the extent the stimulus measures will ensure that a significant Chinese economic slowdown is forestalled, we see these as positive for the region, given the key role China plays in regional trade,” Tetangco said in a text message Tuesday.

Tetangco said financial markets would likely wait for more specifics, especially on the liquidity operations of the People’s Bank of China and if there would be further moves to depreciate the renminbi.

On Aug. 12, PBoC devalued the yuan by roughly 2 percent, dragging the rest of regional currencies, including the peso. The following day, China reduced the value of yuan, causing the peso to breach the 46-a-dollar level to close at 46.26 versus the greenback.

“Trading is relatively thin ahead of the holidays, so it may take some time for markets to digest the full implication of the new measures,” Tetangco said.

On Monday, Chinese leaders said they would take further steps to boost the economy, including widening the fiscal deficit and stimulating the housing sector.

Reports said Chinese officials “pledged assistance for rural residents seeking to buy homes in urban areas and encouraged cheaper residential prices, which would help shrink a glut of unsold properties.”

London-based debt watcher Fitch Ratings said last week it might upgrade the credit rating of the Philippines next year, after it revised the country’s outlook to positive from stable.

Fitch gave the Philippines a credit rating of BBB- or minimum investment grade with a stable outlook in March 2013 and revised the outlook to positive in September this year.

LBC’s multiple awards. LBC Express Inc. vice president for supply chain Charlie Villaseñor (left) receives the Priority Integration SectorLogistics award at the Asean Business Awards in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. LBC Express, the country’s leading payments, remittance, courier products, mail, parcels, and cargo logistics provider, is recognized by both local and international award giving bodies For serving the Filipino community worldwide for over six decades. LBC Express won a total six awards.

PH on track to meet tourism goal of 5.2m

By Darwin G. Amojelar

THE Tourism Department said Tuesday the Philippines will likely meet its 5.2 million foreign tourist arrivals target this year after the number of visitors grew by double digits in the first 10 months.

“We are on track with the 5.2 million target by end of 2015,” Tourism Undersecretary Benito Bengzon Jr. said in a statement.

Bengzon said the government was aiming for six million foreign tourists in 2016, lower than the original target of 10 million visitors.

The Philippines recorded total inbound foreign visitors of 4.39 million in the Januaryto-October period, up 11.3 percent from 3.96 million year-on-year.

Arrivals from Korea posted another record as the market reached 1.1 million, up 14.70 percent on year.

The north Asian nation was followed by the United States with 636,658 visitors, higher by 7.51 percent from last year’s 592,204.

Japan ranked third with 417,147 visitors and China placed fourth with 415,868 visitors.

Rounding up for the top 10 visitor markets were Australia, 188,971; Taiwan, 150,531; Singapore, 150,405; Malaysia, 129,120; United Kingdom, 123,414; and Canada, 120,903.

Other high growth markets include Spain with 19,208; New Zealand, 15,724; France, 37,135; Saudi Arabia, 44,339; Netherlands, 22,620; Hong Kong, 104,075.

Revenues generated from tourism activities from January to October rose 8.24 percent to P186.89 billion from P172.66 billion last year.

The average daily expenditure of international visitors from the month of October was estimated at P5,200.30, while average length of stay was 9.66 nights.

Korea is still the top visitor generating market with P4.57 billion.

It was followed by USA which provided P3.99 billion; Canada, P1.05 billion; Japan, P970 million; and Australia, P950 million.

The Aquino administration aims to attract high-yield tourist markets to achieve its revenue goal by 2016.

Bengzon said the agency was focusing on the revenue goal as the tourist arrival target was unlikely to be achieved next year.

“Realistically, we are looking at six million tourists, that would be a more realistic figure,” Bengzon said. The government earlier targeted 10 million tourist arrivals by 2016.

Bengzon said the agency was putting more emphasis on going after the high-yield tourist markets, which include Middle East, Russia and Europe and Southeast Asia and Japan.

These markets were spending about $1,000 per visit in the Philippines, Bengzon added.

He said the government was looking at a total revenue of $6 billion to $8 billion next year.

Foreign direct investments to increase to $6.3b in 2016, says BSP THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects net inflows of foreign direct investments in 2016 to increase to $6.3 billion from $6 billion this year on the back of improving global economic conditions and a robust domestic economy.

“We expect that FDI will continue to grow. This is very important in sustaining economic momentum in the Philippines,” Bangko Sentral Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said in a press briefing.

Guinigundo said the implementation of various private-public

partnership projects, especially in infrastructure, would give a strong signal to investors, boosting their confidence to invest in the country.

“These PPP projects are fundamental to addressing our infra gaps..., including power and telecommunications,” Guinigundo said.

The potential FDIs are seen to be channeled to different sectors, such as manufacturing, electronics and motor parts, utilities like renewable energy and water works, as well as real estate and entertainment.

Bangko Sentral retained its

previous forecast of $6 billion for 2015, which the same level that it initially projected in May. Guinigundo said the retention of the target was in line with the positive developments in the domestic economy and some improvement in the global economic conditions, as well as the implementation of PPP projects that were awarded earlier in 2014 and 2015.

Net inflow of foreign direct investments in the first nine months of 2015 declined 5.5 percent to $4.5 billion from $4.8 billion a

year ago, despite a record-high net inflow in September of $1.5 billion from $680 million on year.

Bangko Sentral said the surge in FDI inflows in September reflected investor confidence in the country’s strong macroeconomic fundamentals.

Equity capital investments during the month increased more than threefold to $600 million, as gross placements of $1.2 billion more than offset withdrawals of $553 million.

The bulk of equity capital placements came from the United

Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan, the United States, and Germany.

By economic activity, equity capital investments were channeled mainly to manufacturing; financial and insurance; construction; wholesale and retail trade; and real estate activities.

Moreover, investments in debt instruments increased 90 percent to $869 million from $458 million due to significant inter-company borrowings, especially in the transportation and storage, and construction industries.

Julito G. Rada

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

MNTC reviews terms of road link

Private bond issues fall 44% to P107.4b

By Darwin G. Amojelar

By Jenniffer B. Austria

MANILA North Tollways Corp. said it is studying the new terms of the long-delayed expressway connecting the north and south of Metro Manila.

“We have to see the full terms of the approval. The change in the rate or return and opening toll rate will affect several aspects of the project like traffic volume and debt payment profile,” MNTC president and chief executive Rodrigo Franco said.

Franco said the company had not yet been officially notified of the approval and conditions for the North Luzon ExpresswaySouth Luzon Expressway Connector Road Project.

The board of the National Economic and Development Authority last week approved the Swiss Challenge after negotiations between the Department of Public Works and Highway and MNTC, the original proponent of the NLEX-SLEX Connector Road Project.

The approval, however, was conditional to the proponent to agreeing to the lower project internal rate of return of 10.87 percent, instead of 12.09 percent, by lowering the opening tariff from P100 to P87.

The project involves the construction of an eight-kilometer, four-lane toll road that will link the NLEX and SLEX, passing through Metro Manila and using the existing Philippine National Railway alignment as its route.

The DPWH will implement the project, which has a total estimated cost of P23.2 billion and has a concession period of 35 years.

Citra Metro Manila Tollways Corp., which is separately constructing the P26.7-billion Skyway Stage 3 Project, will build the five-kilometer common alignment from Polytechnic University of the Philippines in Sta. Mesa, Manila to Buendia in Makati City of the NLEx-SLEx project.

The Neda board earlier approved the NLEx-SLEx Connector Project under the unsolicited mode, subject to a Swiss Challenge.

The government decided to subject the project to a Swiss challenge after the Justice Department issued a legal opinion, saying the Neda board’s decision to implement the project as a joint venture was “without factual basis or jurisdiction.”

The joint-venture route aims to do away with the Swiss challenge, which was required of the project when it was still being pursued as an unsolicited venture.

MNTC earlier reported a net income of P2.22 billon in the January-September period, up 22 percent from P1.82 billion a year ago, mainly due to high traffic growth and toll revenues generated during the period.

FUND-RAISING activities at Philippine Dealing & Exchange Corp., the operator of the country’s fixed-income exchange, has reached P107.4 billion this year, down 44 percent from the record P190 billion registered in 2014.

PDEX chairman and chief executive Cesar Crisol said the exchange expects companies to continue to tap the bond market in 2016 despite the slowdown this year.

“I’m always hopeful. At least we hit over a P100 billion this year because there was really a slowdown, although 2014 was really a record year at P190 billion,” Crisol said in an interview at the sidelines of the P4-billion

bond listing ceremony of Sta Lucia Land Inc., the last bond listing in 2015. “[For 2016], we are hoping to at least equal of this year,” he said.

PDEX is counting on companies building infrastructure projects under the PublicPrivate Participation program of the Aquino administration as well as conglomerates and real estate companies to raise fund through the fixed-income exchange next year.

Companies with maturing financial obligations may also opt to refinance their debt through bond issuances.

Ayala Land Inc. last month indicated plans to raise P50 billion in fresh capital through the issuance of corporate bonds and commercial papers.

Crisol said companies might conduct planned fund raising activities in the second half of 2016 given the recent hike in US interest rates.

“People will be assessing the situation.

Companies may have firmer plans about their

fund raising activities in the second half of the year as they would still have to adjust to the Fed,” Crisol said.

The Federal Reserve last week raised interest rates for the first time in almost a decade. The increase is expected to be followed by “gradual” tightening as officials watch for signs of continued US economic recovery.

Eleven companies raised fund through PDEX this year, namely SM Prime Holdings Inc., P20 billion; Land Bank of the Philippines, P6 billion; Filinvest Land Inc., P8 billion; Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc., P24 billion; 8990 Holdings Inc., P9 billion; South Luzon Tollways Corp., P7.3 billion; Ayala Land Inc., P7 billion; Phoenix Petroleum Corp., P1.49 billion; Robinsons Land Corp., P12 billion; BDO Unibank Inc., P7.5 billion; and Sta. Lucia Land, P4 billion.

The new listing in 2015 brought outstanding listed corporate securities volume with the PDEX at P539.5 billion issued by 35 companies.

Thailand expo. ‘Thailand Extra Exhibition,’ a roadshow to promote Thailand’s businesses potential, and provide networking opportunities for Filipino businessmen with Thailand’s exhibition organizers in automotive and logistics, food and agriculture, energy, and health and wellness, is launched in the Philippines. Gracing the launch are Jaruwan Suwannasat (fourth from right), director of Thailand Convention Exhibition Bureau, former tourism secretary Mina Gabor (fifth from left), and Consul Jose Luis Yulo Jr., president of the Chamber of Commerce of the Philippine Islands (sixth from left).

TVI Pacific postpones unit’s P1.5-b initial offering TVI Pacific Inc. of Canada has deferred the planned P1.51-billion initial public offering of local unit TVI Resource Development (Philippines) Inc. on the Philippine Stock Exchange to February 2016, subject to market conditions and regulatory approvals.

“Subject to market conditions, approval by the SEC [Securities and Exchange Commission] and listing and approval by the PSE, the IPO and listing of the TVIRD shares on the main board of the PSE is now tentatively scheduled for completion on February 29, 2016,” TVI said in a statement posted on its Web site.

TVIRD earlier scheduled to hold a maiden share offering this

month.

TVI chairman and chief executive Clifford James said the IPO was postponed to early next year partly because of the delay in securing regulatory approvals. It cited government offices and businesses were closed for a week in mid-November in connection with the Apec summit meetings.

“While we had hoped to see TVIRD’s IPO take place before the end of 2015, TVI remains optimistic about the prospects for the IPO in early 2016 given TVIRD’s diverse pipeline of projects and the strong support of its majority shareholder, Prime Resource Holdings Inc.,” James said.

“We believe the establishment of a public market for TVIRD shares will allow North American investors to better evaluate the value of TVI’s 30.66 percent indirect interest and provide us with a potential source of nondilutive funding,” he added.

An updated IPO prospectus filed with the SEC showed that TVIRD planned to sell 408 million shares consisting of 272.02 million primary shares and 136 million secondary shares at a a maximum offering price of P3.71 apiece.

Subject to securing all pre-requisite regulatory approvals, the final offer price of the IPO is now expected to be set on February 15, 2016.

It will be followed by an offering period expected to start on February 16 and end on February 22, 2016.

The shares are targeted to be listed on the main board of the PSE on February 29, 2016.

Following the IPO, and assuming the primary offer is fully subscribed, TVIRD will have approximately 2.72 billion common shares outstanding, excluding 616.25 million treasury shares.

The company plans to use proceeds from the fund-raising activity to finance certain capital expenditures for the construction, development and operation of TVIRD’s Balabag Gold-Silver Project in Zamboanga del Sur province. Jenniffer B. Austria

WEDNESDAY: DECEMBER 23, 2015

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

PH, Europe to start free trade talks in ’16

By Othel V. Campos

TRADE officials of the Philippines and the European Union on Tuesday agreed to start negotiations for a free trade agreement in the first half of 2016.

Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo said he and EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström reached an agreement to launch the first round of negotiations for the Philippines-EU free trade agreement next year.

Domingo said a free trade agreement with EU would expand the trade privileges enjoyed by the country under the current Generalized System of Preferences Plus.

“EU is one of the country’s largest trading partner and invest-

ment source. We would like to lock in the duty-free market access we obtained through the EU GSP-Plus last year and expand this preferential access to substantially all the traded products to EU,” he said.

“As with our recent experience with GSP-Plus, we are optimistic that investments will start to come in with improvements in market access,” Domingo said.

Domingo said the FTA would help improve market access and

greater opportunity for investments and contribute to the country’s objective of creating decent jobs.

The first round of negotiations is expected to take place in the first half of 2016 in the Philippines, he said.

Both sides share the ambition to conclude an agreement that covers a broad range of issues, including elimination of customs duties and other barriers to trade, services and investment, access to public procurement markets as well as additional disciplines in the area of competition and protection of intellectual property rights.

The prospective agreement will also include a comprehensive chapter that will ensure that closer economic relations between the

Philippines and the EU go hand in hand with environmental protection and social development.

The Philippines is the second largest market in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. It is the fifth country in Asean to start negotiations for a bilateral free trade agreement with the EU. Asean as a group ranks as the 8th largest economy in the world and the EU’s third largest trading partner outside Europe, after the United States and China. Bilateral trade in goods and services between the EU and Asean reached P13 trillion in 2013.

Negotiations for a regionto-region FTA with Asean was launched in 2007 but was halted in 2009 to give way to a bilateral format of negotiation.

Order of the Rising Sun.

Japanese Ambassador Kazuhide Ishikawa (center) confers on former trade secretary and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Monetary Board member Peter Favila (second from left) the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star. The award is given in recognition of Favila’s significant contribution towards the strengthening of bilateral trade relations between Japan and the Philippines. Shown with them are (from left) Alice Favila, Paul Favila and Rizalino Favila Jr.

Otto eyes two-year respite in oil search

By Alena Mae S. Flores OTTO Energy Investments Ltd. of Australia, operator of service contract 55 located southwest off Palawan, has asked the Energy Department for a two-year moratorium in oil and gas exploration in the area.

Trans-Asia Petroleum Corp., a part of the SC 55 consortium, said in a disclosure to the stock exchange Otto fulfilled its work obligation under the current exploration sub-phase by drilling the Hawkeye-1 exploratory well in August.

“Although the well did not encounter gas in commercial quantities, it proved the presence of an active petroleum system in the contract area which hosts Cinco and several other prospects and leads,” the company said. Palawan55 Exploration & Production Corp., a subsidiary of TransAsia Petroleum Corp., holds a 6.82-percent participating interest in SC 55.

Otto Energy plugged and abandoned the Hawkeye-1 exploration well under SC 55 in August as results proved that the hydrocarbon size discovered in the area was economically unviable to develop.

Otto said the Hawkeye-1 exploration well was drilled to the planned total depth of 2,920 meters and the well showed presence of hydrocarbons.

The company said the drilling program was executed smoothly, ahead of schedule and ahead of budget. Otto was fully carried on the cost of drilling Hawkeye-1.

Otto will now incorporate the results from the Hawkeye well to understand other prospects, including Cinco, in the license area which potentially share the same charge source.

SC 55 involves the exploration, development and exploitation of petroleum resources in the offshore area of southwestern Palawan covering about 9,880 square kilometers.

Otto earlier said SC 55 had the opportunity for multiple petroleum systems, with any success at Hawkeye-1 to enhance the prospectivity of surrounding leads in the deepwater block.

The Hawkeye prospect was identified on a 2D seismic study in 2007 followed by 3D seismic acquisition in 2009.

Govt subsidies to GOCCs fell 2% to P63.6b in 10 months

By Gabrielle H. Binaday STATE subsidies extended to government-owned and -controlled corporations slightly dropped in the first 10 months of 2015, data from the Bureau of Treasury show.

The Treasury said the government infused P62.3 billion worth of subsidies to GOCCs in the January-October period, down from P63.6 billion granted to them in

the same period last year.

It said bulk of the amount, or P32.6 billion, went to the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. in the 10-month period.

The National Housing Authority received P4.4.41 billion; National Food Authority, P4.25 billion; and National Irrigation Administration, P3.79 billion.

Treasury data showed that in October alone, states subsidies increased nearly five times to P6.48

billion from P1.430 billion a year ago.

NIA was the biggest recipient of the government subsidies in October with P2.549 billion, as the agency battled a prolonged effect of the El Niño dry spell.

Other major beneficiaries in October were the National Electrification Administration with P1.69 billion and Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. with P831 million.

The Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations earlier said it planned to trim down the number of GOCCs to 85 within the next five years.

GCG Chairman Cesar Villanueva said the agency wanted to rationalize the number of GOCCs to 85 by 2020 from 98 at present.

“So far, based on the studies of GCG every year, based on how it evaluates the performance of

the GOCCs and their respective mandates, it’s been reducing the sector. And the goal based on those remaining is to bring it down to about 85 by 2020,” Villanueva said.

“But for those who remained, the GCG will look at their performance and also how they serve their stakeholders,” he said.

Villanueva said 14 GOCCs were currently under the evaluation.

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WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

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From village ditty to global hit SALZBURG—When “Silent Night” was born in Austria almost 200 years ago, those present had little idea that the Christmas carol would one day be sung the world over, including this year by Miley Cyrus and some Swedish goats.

Such was the destiny of “Stille Nacht”, premiered to a modest church congregation of ship laborers and their families in this small town in Austria on Christmas Eve, 1818.

The words, since translated into more than 300 languages and dialects—including Japanese, Welsh and Farsi—had been written as a poem by a priest, Joseph Mohr, in 1816, a time of great suffering in the wake of Europe’s Napoleonic wars.

Two years later, Mohr asked his friend stationed in a nearby village, the organist, choir-

master and schoolteacher Franz Xaver Gruber, to compose a tune.

When Gruber duly obliged on December 24, the two men decided to sing it together that very evening at mass in Oberndorf church.

The organ was broken, according to legend because of nibbling mice, so Mohr played guitar.

Many years later in his 1854 “Authentic Account of the Origin of the Christmas Carol, ‘Silent Night, Holy Night!’,” Gruber recalled there was “general approval by all”.

This approval would snowball, although it is a bit of a mystery how exactly the song then spread.

It is thought that a key role was played by one Carl Mauracher, a master organ builder and repair man, who took the song back home to the Zillertal valley in the Tyrol region.

There it was adopted by two traveling singing groups, the Rainer Singers and the Strasser Siblings, who performed around Europe and beyond—including in the Rainers’ case in the United States. AFP

MIDMAC MANPOWER SERVICES & PLACEMENT CORPORATION Suite 410, Ermita Center Building 1350 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila To: AIl Stockholders: PRE-EMPTIVE RIGHTS OFFERING Please be informed that on 25 November 2015, the Board of Directors of MIDMAC MANPOWER SERVICES & PLACEMENT CORPORATION approved a resolution for the issuance of remaining 18,000 shares of stock with a par value of One Hundred Pesos (P 100.00) per share.

All stockholders of record may exercise their pre-emptive rights and subscribe to the new shares of the corporation at the price of One Hundred Pesos (P100.00) per share in proportion 10 their shareholdings on or before the 7th working day from the date of this publication under the following rules: 1.

Subscribing stockholders must submit on or before said deadline to the undersigned at the principal office of the corporation at Suite 410, Ermita Center Building, 1350 Roxas Boulevard, Ermita, Manila, a duly-executed and notarized Subscription Agreement, a form which will be provided upon request.

2.

Subscribing stockholders shall pay the full amount of their subscription; otherwise, said subscription shall not be accepted and shall not be binding against the Corporation.

3.

Stockholders who do not exercise their pre-emptive rights or who exercise said rights only partially shall be considered to have waived any right to subscribe to any remaining shares not covered by any subscription to any other person or entity at the price of one Hundred Pesos (P100.00) per share and under the same terms.

Please be guided accordingly.

(SGD) SAHARA D. ABDULSALAM Corporate Secretary

( T S - D E C . 2 3 , 2 015 )

An t i - Mone y La unde r i ng Counc i l B a n g ko S e n t r a l n g P i l i p i n a s C o m p l ex Manila, Philippines

INVITATION TO BID FOR I LOT STORAGE AREA NETWORK (SAN) 1.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council, through the e-Government Fund, intends to apply the sum of PhP4,000,000.00 being the Approved Budget for the Contract (ABC) to payments under the contract for the 1 Lot Storage Area Network. Bids received in excess of the ABC shall be automatically rejected at bid opening.

2.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council now invites bids for the 1 Lot Storage Area Networkproject. Completion of the project is required 45 calendar days after issuance of Notice to Proceed. Bidders should have completed, within two years from the date of submission and receipt of bids, a contract similar to the Project. The description of an eligible bidder is contained in the Bidding Documents, particularly, in Section II: Instructions to Bidders.

3.

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

Pose. Filmmaker and Director Quentin Tarantino and actor Samuel L. Jackson pose at the Hollywood Walk of Fame on December 21, 2015, in Hollywood, California. AFP

Migrants face death in murder case BANGKOK—Two Myanmar migrant workers could face the death penalty if convicted this week of murdering a pair of British backpackers on a Thai island, in a grim case that stained the kingdom’s reputation as a tourist haven.

Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Tun have pleaded not guilty to killing David Miller, 24, and the rape and murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, on the diving paradise of Koh Tao in southern Thailand, with the defendants insisting they are scapegoats for a bungled inquiry.

The British pair were found bludgeoned to death on a beach on September 15, 2014—a grisly discovery that has troubled the country’s vital tourism trade and raised questions over the Thai justice system.

Three judges on the nearby island of Koh Samui are expected to deliver their verdict on Christmas Eve after a trial that has dragged on for several months.

The court has heard harrowing testimony of the murders, while defense lawyers have accused the police of bungling their investigation and using the Myanmar pair as scapegoats.

Rights groups say low-paid migrant workers from neighboring countries, including Myanmar, are often blamed for crimes in Thailand where the justice system is skewed towards those with money and influence.

Miller was struck by a single blow and left to drown in shallow surf while Witheridge had been raped and then brutally beaten to death with a garden hoe.

Prosecutors insist their case against the men is watertight.

Their case pivots on DNA found on Witheridge’s body and around the crime scene as well as the discovery of Miller’s mobile phone and sunglasses with one of the suspects.

But the defense has disputed the forensic evidence as flawed and accused the police of tor-

turing their clients into signing confessions, which they later retracted.

“The prosecution case is marked by an absence of significant evidence needed to prove the guilt of the accused for the crimes they are charged with,” the defense team said in a statement released ahead of the verdict.

In the days and weeks after the murders, Thai police came under intense pressure to solve the case.

Junta chief Prayut Chan-OCha ordered them to make swift arrests and publicly aired his own opinions about a case that garnered global media attention.

Investigators have also struggled to shrug off accusations of incompetence.

Those were first voiced hours after the bodies were discovered when the crime scene was not sealed off properly and gruesome pictures of the victims’ bodies emerged online. AFP

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.

4.

Interested bidders may obtain further information from Atty. Eileen S. Guerrero-Lapuz at telephone no. 302-3975 and inspect the Bidding Documents at the address given below during 8:00AM to 4:30PM Monday to Friday.

5.

A complete set of Bidding Documents may be purchased by interested Bidders starting 23 December 2015 from the address below and upon payment of a nonrefundable fee for the Bidding Documents in the amount of PhP5,000.00.

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.

6.

A Pre-Bid Conference is set on 5 January 2016, 9:30AM at the AMLC Conference Room, Room 612, 6/F, EDPC Building, BSP Complex, Malate, Manila. Attendance of the bidders shall not be mandatory. 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.

7.

Bids must be delivered to the address below on or before 18 January 201610:00AM. All Bids must be accompanied by a bid security in any of the acceptable forms and in the amount stated in ITB Clause Error! Reference source not found..

Bid opening shall be on 18 January 2016, 10:01AM at the AMLC Conference Room, Room 612, 6/F, EDPC Building, BSP Complex, Malate, Manila. 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.

The Anti-Money Laundering Council 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. The AMLC also reserves the right to waive any required formality in the responses to the eligibility requirements and to this invitation.

9.

For further information, please refer to: Atty. Eileen S. Guerrero-Lapuz or Guerrero-LapuzES@bsp.gov.ph BAC Secretariat - AMLC Room 507, 5/F, EDPC Building, BSP Complex, Malate, Manila Telephone Number: +632 302-3975 Fax Number: +632 708-7909 www.amlc.gov.ph

( T S - D E C . 2 3 , 2 015 )

(SGD) VENCENT L. SALIDO AMLC BAC Chairman

W E D N E S D AY : D E C E M B E R 2 3 , 2 0 1 5

B8 Syrians pin hope on Russian bombing LATAKIA, Syria—Taiseer Hamash cradled his two-month old daughter Noor Sham in his arms as he stood by the entrance of the tarpaulin tent his family has called home in war-wracked Syria for over a year.

“She has never seen our old house,” said the former factory worker, 29, who fled the fierce fighting in his home region of Aleppo.

“One day I hope she will be able to grow up in the same streets I did,” he told AFP as his two young sons Hussein and Mohammed stood coughing nearby.

Hamash and his family are among around 5,000 people who fled the fighting in their home regions and now live in what was once the main sports complex in the government stronghold of Latakia, the coastal heartland of the clan of President Bashar al-Assad.

The displaced—all fierce supporters of Assad’s regime—have taken over basketball courts and a football stadium as they try to eke out an existence in a city that has managed to escape most of the violence.

Now, as the conflict in their homeland grinds on towards a fifth year, they say they have one reason to hope that their desperate situation might change and they may one day head home -- Russia’s military intervention on the side of Assad.

“I say to President Bashar alAssad and to President Putin: thank you to the Russian people for the help offered by their military,” said former truck driver Ali Ahmed Edrees, 41, during a stop in a tightly regimented press tour to Syria organized by the Russian defense ministry.

“Thank you, Putin, we hope that with the help of God you will rid us of terrorism.”

Russia launched its bombing campaign in Syria at the end of September at the request of its long-time ally Assad and says it is targeting the Islamic State jihadist group and other “terrorist” organizations in the war-torn nation.

Moscow argues that backing regime forces is the best hope of ending the war. AFP

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD

Rights lawyer given suspended sentence BEIJING—One of China’s most celebrated human rights lawyers was given a three-year suspended prison term on Tuesday in the latest clampdown on critics of the ruling Communist Party.

In attendance. Indian Bollywood actress Huma Qureshi poses at the Stardust Awards 2015 ceremony in Mumbai on December 21, 2015. AFP

Police and plainclothes security officials were out in force to try to stop supporters and journalists reaching the court where Pu Zhiqiang was sentenced for “inciting ethnic hatred” and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble”.

The verdict is the latest in a widening crackdown on civil society under President Xi Jinping, with more than 200 lawyers and activists detained or called in for questioning since the summer.

Amnesty International called it a “gross injustice”.

Pu, who has represented labor camp victims and dissident artist Ai Weiwei, was arrested a year-and-a-half ago over posts on social media between 2011 and 2014.

His secretive trial at Beijing’s No. 2 Intermediate People’s Court ended Tuesday with a widely-anticipated guilty verdict, but with the sentence suspended for three years.

The ruling means Pu may be sent to jail if he repeats his criticism or runs afoul of police-imposed rules.

“Pu will not have to immediately go to prison, but he is still not a free man,” his lawyer Mo Shaoping told AFP. “We are not satisfied with the verdict because we maintain Pu is innocent.”

There were angry scenes around the courthouse, where police set up a cordon to hold back activists and reporters.

“Pu Zhiqiang is a good man! So speaking for the common people is a crime?” yelled one tearful woman as she was roughly shoved into a police van by uniformed officers and plain-clothed officials.

“Stop putting on a play, stop acting, there are foreign journalists here,” the officer told her.

Another woman stood alone at the center of a ring of dozens of officers and plainclothes men and shouted “I just won’t go! Pu Zhiqiang is innocent!” before being forcibly escorted away.

“China’s judicial authorities have been dealing with these cases according to law and the person involved accepted the verdict of the court,” Hong Lei, a foreign ministry spokesman, said at a regular briefing.

“Our judicial sovereignty and the decision of the court will not be affected by foreign forces.”

For the next three years Pu will be subject to police monitoring and will need permission to leave Beijing.

If he breaks the law or any conditions of his release, he will be sent to prison. AFP

Victims of espionage case get millions SEOUL—A South Korean court has awarded millions of dollars in compensation to the victims of a fabricated espionage case that took place four decades ago, a court spokesman said Tuesday.

The Seoul South District Court last week ordered the government to pay a total of 12.55 billion won ($10.7 million) to 72 complainants who are due to receive between four million and one billion won each in connection with the 1974 Ulleungdo spy case.

At that time, a total of 47 people were arrested across the country, many of them residents from the eastern remote island of Ulleungdo.

Under torture, they were forced to make false confessions that they had formed an underground ring with the intention of starting a popular uprising to topple the government on orders from archenemy North Korea.

Thirty-two of the 47 were later indicted and three were executed, four were sentenced to life and the rest sentenced to between one and 15 years in prison.

The events took place when then authoritarian president Park Chung-Hee, father of the current president Park Geun-Hye, was tightening his iron rule over the country.

The arrests, which were made by the feared Korean CIA, helped attract public attention away from the waves of pro-democracy protests that were sweeping across the country.

Park Chung-Hee ruled for 18 years until he was assassinated in 1979 by then KCIA chief Kim Jae-Kyu. The retrial of the case was decided in 2010, four years after the Truth and Reconciliation Commission accepted an appeal from the victims and their relations, and the Supreme Court in December last year acquitted most of the 32 indicted of their charges, paving the way for a lawsuit. AFP

Harvest time. This picture taken on December 17, 2015, shows ethnic Hmong hill tribe minority women and their children harvesting buckwheat on a field in a valley in Dong Van district in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang. The Hmong live mainly in mountainous areas in China, Vietnam and Laos. AFP

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TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

H OME & L I V ING

PERFECT PRESENTS FOR THE HOME FROM JOHN LEWIS’ EMMA BRIDGEWATER

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hose who are looking for perfect home presents this Christmas may just find it at the John Lewis department in select SM Home stores. The top British retail brand that supplies a wide range of home products including bed, bath, tableware, and home accessories has recently brought the Emma Bridgewater Water Lily Range in the Philippines, exclusive to John Lewis.

How Emma Bridgewater started is an endearing story. It all began in 1985 when Emma became frustrated at finding the right birthday present for her mum. “I was looking for a really special cup and saucer, but everything was either too formal or too clunky. That was my eureka moment. I realized there was a gap in the market for pottery that was beautiful and practical – pottery for a relaxed, colorful, mismatched life,” she narrated.

The philosophy behind Emma Bridgewater is simple: the company likes to “make things that make everyday life a little bit nicer – things that are beautiful to look at but also a pleasure to use, like a lovely mug that cheers you up when you have your first cup of tea in the morning, or a bowl with a playful message that makes you smile when you use it.”

Emma Bridgewater is a family business which contributes to Staffordshire’s heritage. Every piece of pottery is designed by Emma and her husband, Matthew Rice, who derive inspiration from their

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home, their children and even their chickens! All their pottery is made by hand in a Victorian factory in Stoke-on-Trent, keeping the area’s traditional skills alive and ensuring that each piece has real integrity.

Every mug, bowl, plate and jug has its own, very English, personality- full of charm and cheerfulness.

Emma and Matthew adhere to the simple guideline of designing things that they love and want to use at home themselves – giving each item a uniquely warm pattern that makes them instantly recognizable.

The Water Lily Range for instance is inspired by the water gardens on Leckford Estate, wherein a working farm that produces milk, apples, pears, apple juice, cider, mushrooms, and wheat for their sister company Waitrose is located.

The seclusion of the Leckford Water Garden attracts a wide variety of different wild life, turning the garden into a perfect environment for a wide variety of native British wildflowers from the purple loosestrife to the southern marsh orchid. This Emma Bridgewater collection of tableware is made from earthenware and finished with bold exotic floral prints and a dragonfly to encapsulate the serenity emblazoned across different pieces of the range.

The Emma Bridgewater Water Lily Collection by John Lewis is available at SM Home Section in SM Store branches in SM Makati, SM Aura Premier, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, SM North EDSA and at the newly opened SM Seaside Cebu.

Defining quirky British style, Emma Bridgewater range is a quaint and delightful addition to your kitchen cupboard

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Destined to be collectors’ pieces, items from this Emma Bridgewater Water Lily range are constructed in a classic shape, and highlighted by distinctive colors and an aquatic plant-inspired motif

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

PET PULSE

MAKE YOUR PETS FEEL THE LOVE WITH GIFTS FROM BOW & WOW

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hristmas season is a time of giving for family and loved ones – and this also includes our furry friends and fourlegged companions who make life more interesting and perk up family celebrations with their endearing presence. Instead of just dressing them up, make them enjoy the festivities by giving them healthy and safety treats from Bow & Wow, the Philippines’ first and only all-natural and high quality pet products store.

You can take your pick among a variety of treats that are also convenient for training dogs and cats. The Cloud Star product line includes Wag More Bark Less treats formulated with a few simple, allnatural ingredients that are ovenbaked, soft-baked. These soft and chewy treats are available in a pleasing array of options including grain-free. Feline friends will enjoy the Cloud Star Grain Free Buddy Biscuits made of the finest premium ingredients like real meat and wholesome vegetables that have no grains or artificial flavors, making them superb holiday presents.

In addition to a wide assortment of nutritionally balanced meals suited to specific pet stages Bow & Wow also offers natural grooming products, toys and accessories. Plus, there are quality paraphernalia for hassle-free dog training and care, like the Four Paws Wee-Wee Patch indoor potty pads that provide worry-free training and a suitable alternative to outdoor relief for your pet dog. The product can protect floors, too.

Another option is a box that has all-natural pet treats, toys and accessories that can engage, challenge and encourage active play from your pet. Among the most recommended products is the Rogs Grinz Treat Ball, a bounce and fetch toy that is soft enough not to hurt your pup’s teeth, yet firm enough to bounce.

Heap some extra special attention to your deserving four-legged home companions this Christmas. Take your pick from the all-natural pet product finds at Bow & Wow, and tote them in Bow & Wow’s exclusive reusable shopping bag available at Bow & Wow at a budget-friendly price.

Check out the product finds at Bow & Wow, with stores located at the 6th Level of Shangri-La Plaza Mall; lower ground level of Greenbelt 5; 2nd level, Alfresco, of Robinsons Magnolia; ground level of Excelsior, Eastwood City; and at the 2nd Level of Ayala Center Cebu.

Assorted treats from Bow & Wow for man's best friend

Make your pets feel the love this Christmas

Your feline friends will purr with pleasure at these toys and goodies

MAKE THE HOLIDAYS MORE DELICIOUS WITH BASKIN-ROBBINS’ SANTA PIÑATA DOME ICE CREAM CAKE

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hill out from all that Christmas rushing and last minute shopping with Baskin-Robbins’ Santa Piñata Dome Ice Cream Cake especially created as the flavor of the month this December.

The world’s most beloved ice cream brand decadently melds the red velvet cake flavoured ice cream with cream cheese frosting ribbon – a dome-shaped treat with a chewy and chocolatey brownie base and a sweet surprise inside.

Get ready with a delightful burst of colorful candies when you slice the cake up. Whether as a festive gift, a party centerpiece

or a Christmas treat for the whole family, Baskin-Robbins’ Santa Piñata Dome Ice Cream Cake will definitely stand out.

What’s more, the cake can even be customized with ice cream flavors of your choice. Just make sure to place your order at least a day in advance.

The Santa Piñata Dome Ice Cream Cake is available at BaskinRobbins shops at Bonifacio Global City, Greenbelt 5, and Glorietta 5 in Makati. For more details, visit www.baskinrobbins.ph or check out facebook.com/baskinrobbinsph, Twitter and Instagram @baskinrobbinsph accounts.

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COME HOME EARLY TO YOUR FAMILY

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hen was the last time you went home early to spend quality time with the family?

For those employed in Metro Manila, being able to come home early after a day’s work has become a luxury. What with rush hour, unpredictable traffic and an unreliable transport system – commuters are robbed of energy and time that should have been spent with loved ones.

And come holiday season, the horrendous road situation gets even worse.

Being a staunch advocate of making people go come home early to partake of a meal with the family, leading canned pineapple and processed food manufacturer Del Monte Philippines recently launched an initiative dubbed #ComeHomeBGC. Through the campaign, Del Monte provided three buses to bring Taguig business district commuters home early for free.

The #ComeHomeBGC free bus ride is a part of Del Monte’s Come Home to Family "Wednesdates" initiative, a company policy wherein all operations at its BGC office stops, and employees are

encouraged to leave work early every Wednesday so they can have ample time to go home and be with their families.

With busy schedules taking away precious family time, this company-wide policy embodies and promotes the traditional Filipino practice of spending dinner at home with loved ones.

“The advocacy may have started as a Del Monte Tomato Sauce campaign (in 2012), but we at Del Monte Philippines are very

deliberate about walking our talk,” said Del Monte’s Marketing team head Eileen Manuel Asuncion.

“Soon after, we implemented the 6:00 p.m. lights out (policy) at the Del Monte Manila offices.

By 6:00 p.m. every Wednesday, everyone has to be out of the office so they can get home in time to be with their families,” she shared.

HOME AT LAST The three buses provided by Del Monte Philippines were quickly

filled with commuters, from young professionals to mothers, all eager to get home and have dinner with their families.

One of the commuters who was able to ride on a Del Monte #ComeHomeBGC bus was Beth Bugayong, a 58-year-old mother who regularly conducts sales calls in the area. With three children who are all young professionals, Beth is only able to eat dinner with her family during the weekends.

“I always cook for them so that

when they get home, they have something to eat after a hard day at work,” she said. “They really love menudo so I always cook it for them. I think Del Monte’s initiative is a great idea because it’s very important for families to sit down and eat together since that’s when they talk and bond.”

College student John Alfonso Manalang related that he rarely ate with his family because of his schedule in school, and when he did, it was always only with his mom who was also tired by nighttime.

But that day was different.

“Today, I’ll be able to come home early and spend a bit more time with my mom. It’s really good to know that when I get home, I won’t be too tired to spend time with her,” he thought at the time.

For Grash Acogido, a 23-year-old graphic artist for an e-commerce website, the free ride was a huge help for her to escape the rush hour traffic. “It would make a huge difference if the company I work for also does it because I’d be able to do other things. The extra time would help. I would love to spend more time with my family. I really miss bonding with them.”

HOW TO RAISE AN INNOVATIVE CHILD

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he first thing a parent wants is for her child to be healthy. The second thing she aspires for is to see her young one’s full potential unleashed. While these aspirations may vary from one parent to another, these particular desires make businesses pioneering in nutrition science flourish.

For the past 100 years, Wyeth Nutrition has been committed to producing science-proven milk formulations that address the nutritional needs during the early stages of a child’s life. In the past century, many children have benefited from Wyeth products and many parents have slept soundly knowing they have one more partner in raising their kids.

Believing that taking milk is just one step in unleashing a child’s potential, Wyeth Nutrition, in celebration of its 100th anniversary, hosted a parent talk focused on “Sparking the Wonder and Awe in Children.”

“We believe in every child’s potential and that it is upon the collective hands of parents, the society and the environment to develop kids, to allow them, and to support them to realize their full potential,” says Wyeth Philippines communications head Michelle Pador.

Child expert Vicky Cantada and parents whose children have won international awards in

science and innovation shared valuable tips on how to support growing children who will soon become, hopefully, the world’s greatest innovators.

ENCOURAGE CHILDREN TO ASK QUESTIONS A child who asks many questions is a child eager to learn, so when your kid asks anything, Cong.

Sitti Hataman advises not to brush off these queries away.

“We encourage our children to ask questions. My husband and I try our best to answer even the silliest and out of this world questions,” she shares. “But for questions we really don’t know the answer to, we’d say, ‘We should research and ask other people.’ If you’re in a hurry or if you’re doing something, you can say ‘Can we go back to that later?’, but really not tell them off.”

SET A STRUCTURED SCHEDULE ON STUDYING According to Vicky Cantada, it’s vital to set a structure in their schedule and study habits while they’re young, for this will be their foundation as they grow older.

When it comes to her child’s studying, Belinda Derecho was very much involved. “I really focused on my child when he was in elementary,” she says in the vernacular.

“After school, I helped him review his assignments in all subjects. Aside from getting

information from the books, we researched further, especially at times when I didn’t know the lessons. When he graduated as the class valedictorian, that was when I let him go, because I believed we already built a solid foundation,” relates Derecho.

Cantada supports this belief, maintaining that as the child gets older, parents should ask him what he wants to do next.

“Ask more questions such as ‘What would happen if you spent too much time here?’

‘What would happen if you don’t do your assignment?’ Scientific questioning is all about being creative and having ideas rather than telling them what to do. It is also how we build ways of being imaginative and innovative.

They can come up with their own ideas and at the same time, balance their time.”

Marife Tamayo, for her part, always reminds her

eldest daughter to balance her activities. “Aside from studying hard, she should enjoy her life as a teenager.”

MAKE TIME FOR BONDING While they are still young, Cantada emphasizes that parents should not be obsessed with their child’s studies, but instead strive for balance. “It is also important for parents to structure bonding time like going out together for meals and traveling.”

Danilo Tamayo and his wife make their children’s activities a bonding time for them – sort of hitting two birds with one stone – by “accompanying and guiding them during their activities.”

DON’T FOCUS ON FAILURES No one is perfect, and the best experiences are learned from mistakes, that’s why Cantada reiterates that parents need to develop a sense of optimism in

their children. She recommends asking questions like “What can you do differently,” so instead of focusing on failures, the children can focus on the solution.

“It is the role of the parent to encourage them, to assure them ‘okay lang ‘yan,’ and to affirm them,” opines Jaime dela Cruz.

GIVE A REWARD WHEN IT IS DUE When children do something good, parents are encouraged to give them something that shows affirmation. But this is not to say rewards should only be of the tangible kind.

“When they are young, give them external rewards to motivate them (toys, food, travel, etc.). But as they grow older, you also want them to create internal rewards (tell them they did well and encourage them to go further) to make them feel good about themselves,” suggests Cantada.

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

FEEL THE FORCE WITH POTTERY BARN KIDS STAR WARS™ COLLECTION 2015 C

Star Wars™ Millennium Falcon Quilted Bedding and Shams

elebrate the return of the Force with the Pottery Barn Kids the Star Wars™ Collection of items that are inspired by the iconic elements of the well-loved franchise. From bedsheets to duvet covers to pillows, backpacks and other decorative accessories featuring characters such as Chewbacca™, R2-D2™ and Lord Darth Vader™ or the classic Millennium Falcon that kids will definitely love to have.

So what are you waiting for? Check out Pottery Barn Kids and feel the Force!

In the Philippines, Pottery Barn Kids is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., a member of SSI Group, Inc.,, and is located at Central Square and Estancia, Capitol Commons. Follow Pottery Barn Kids on Facebook or Instagram @ potterybarnkidsPH, and visit www.ssilife.com. ph for more information.

Star Wars™ Darth Vader Wall Shelf

Star Wars™ Darth Vader Bath Wrap

Star Wars™ bed

Star Wars™ Darth Vader Quilt

Star Wars™ Backpack with sound (R2D2, Chewbacca & Darth Vader)

A FEST OF FLAVORS WITH RUSTAN’S SUPERMARKET’S HOLIDAY GIFT BASKETS

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etting desperate hunting for gifts this season? Get a head start with the wonderful array of premium Christmas gift baskets from the country’s leading supermarket.

Says Joyeux Noël with an extensive line-up of French-themed packages that include the Merci Bien basket which offers gourmet delights from Casino plus a bottle of fine Bordeaux, or the Bon Jour! and the Flavors of France bundles that are brimming with the goodness of delectable French delicacies.

Not to be outdone is Britain with cooking essentials and different kinds of tea, biscuits and jam from the English Tea Party and From the Duchess’ Pantry sets with best-selling items from Waitrose, a well-known British brand.

For all-year round good health, there is the Wholesome Goodness package filled with tasty and organic

Flavors of France (NXPowerLite)

food items. You may also choose from Christmas-themed baskets with delicious treats for everyone in the family. Choices include Royal Holiday, Bountiful Tidings, The Perfect Christmas Crate, Yuletide Favorites, and Holiday Bliss with everything from sweet chocolates and tasty snacks to desserts and condiments, coffee, wines and spirits. Other fun options include Mrs. Santa’s Special, St. Nick’s Snackbox, and Christmas Carol.

The supermarket’s amazing array of options also includes fresh fruit, wine selection, and assorted snacks baskets with prices starting at P489.

If you prefer to make your own gift basket, Rustan’s Supermarket provides the option to select, mix and match items for a truly personalized present.

So no more scurrying from one place to the next to find your perfect

picks; just visit the nearest Rustan’s Supermarket’s to get topnotch items and all the essentials you need – or want – for the holidays.

Rustan’s Supermarkets are located at Makati Area: Glorietta, Greenbelt 1, Paseo de Magallanes, Alphaland Makati Place, Paseo Center, Century City Mall, San Antonio Plaza. North Area: Shangri-La Plaza, Gateway Mall, Katipunan, Tomas Morato, P.Guevarra, Corinthian Hills, Village Center Antipolo. South Area: Ayala Alabang Village, Evia Lifestyle Center. Cebu: Oakridge Business Park, Ayala Center, Arcenas Estate.

CDO: Ayala Centrio Mall. Also visit Marketplace by Rustan’s at Rockwell Powerplant Mall and Central Square Bonifacio High Street.

For more info, visit www.rustansfresh.com.

St. Nick's Snackbox (NXPowerLite)

The Perfect Christmas Crate (NXPowerLite)

Wholesome Goodness (NXPowerLite)

W EDNES DAY : DECEMBER 2 3, 2015

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

A life-size exhibit of the Star Wars sequel, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is available for viewing at the Mall of Asia

ExpEriEncE Star WarS: thE ForcE aWakEnS at Moa

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tar Wars fanatics, the force is with you: A galactic Christmas awaits all fans at the Mall of Asia, as the premier shopping destination celebrates the biggest movie of the year with a life-size exhibit of the Star Wars sequel, Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

In promotion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a life-sized Resistance X-wing lands right at the middle of the Mall of Asia Atrium.

The modern incarnation of a classic design, the Incom T-70 X-wing starfighter will have a cockpit that fans may climb into and take pictures in through the view deck.

The galactic exhibit in the middle of the enormous mall will also feature the immersive Battlefront game that recreates the massive, battle-scarred landscape of Jakku, shown in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

With the whole MOA celebrating the continuation of the highly renowned space film, found at the Cyberzone of Mall of Asia is the “Choose Your Destiny” photo wall with the iconic red and blue light

The exhibit is available for viewing up until Jan. 3

Most affordable MusiC streaMing experienCe

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potify users can now avail of Spotify Premium for as low as P5 for a day’s access and P99 for a 30-day access As part of its commitment to enable the Filipino digital lifestyle, Globe Telecom is bringing music streaming to more users as it makes access to Spotify more affordable over the holiday season.

Users can avail of Spotify Premium for only P5 valid for one day or P99 valid for 30 days.

With Spotify Premium, users can listen to songs offline, play songs on demand, enjoy adfree listening, listen to amazing sound quality, and play songs on home speakers.

“Spotify remains the preferred music streaming app of Filipinos

sabers. There is also an interactive digital wall that showcases the latest successions’ augmented reality by featuring the new breed of Stormtroopers and the BB-8 droid.

SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc., has joined hands with Disney across all theatrical content, and has dressed the Mall of Asia in gigantic Star Wars themed displays

A life-size Resistance X-wing, Stormtroopers figurines, and the iconic light sabers are proudly displayed at the Mall of Asia from Dec. 7 to Jan. 3 in promotion of the much-awaited “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”

and we are happy to make access to Spotify Premium even more affordable. This price markdown for the Christmas season will allow Filipinos to enjoy their Christmas songs and playlists on Spotify since music makes the celebration more fun, festive, and wonderful,” says Griselda Go, vice president for Content at Globe Telecom.

Globe offers the Spotify 5 and

in eager anticipation of the epic saga’s latest edition, Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The movie takes place 30 years after defeating the Galactic Empire, highlighting Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his allies who face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and his army of Stormtroopers.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiered on Dec. 17, in all SM Cinemas nationwide. During the Metro Manila Film Festival, the movie will continue to be shown in all IMAX theatres and cinemas in large screen format while the showing in regular theatres will resume on Jan. 8.

The life-size display has parked its wings in the Mall of Asia Atrium until Jan. 3. The exhibit is absolutely free for all fans and mall-goers.

Fans are welcome to take pictures and post them online using the hashtags #TheForceAwakensPH and #SMCinema.

Have a galactic Christmas with SM Cinema and Star Wars. Watch Star Wars: The Force Awakens in all SM Cinemas.

Spotify 99 (30 days) Premium promos for a limited time only.

To register, Globe prepaid, postpaid, and TM customers can text SP5 for 1-day Premium access or SP9930D 30-day access to 8888. Spotify can also be enjoyed for free with any of Globe Telecom’s GoSURF data plans, starting at GoSURF10 for Spotify Basic.

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

a year iN searCh

ALDUb ROCkS OnLInE WORLD nICkIE WAnG A Google Philippines official said that the trending search terms of 2015 are a good reflection of the Filipinos’ increasing involvement and interest in the things that are happening around them.

So, the big question is: Where did Filipino netizens channel their energies using the leading search engine to get involved?

Let’s put Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza in the picture to give you a pretty fair idea on how people used Google in 2015.

AlDub’s astronomic rise from merely an overnight sensation to a phenomenal television loveteam puts Richards and Mendoza on the 2015 list of top trending searches on Google Philippines. Mind you, the portmanteau of Alden and

Alden Richards and Maine Mendoza during the Tamang Panahon show at the Philippine Arena in October

global record for the most number of tweets within 24 hours).

The AlDub fame also spawned another top trending topic, this time in music. According to the same list from Google, “God Gave Me You,” the default theme song of the onscreen couple, sits on the list of top trending songs at number 9. This made people believe that the singer/composer of the song suddenly had a resurrected career because of the AlDub fame.

He even visited the country for a concert, which of course featured the screen couple.

Yaya Dub did not reach the public’s consciousness until July 16 when people started talking about them and when Eat Bulaga’s viewership started to surge (at 300 percent increase at its peak).

The term AlDub alone had the Filipino netizens searching Google for answers more than any other topics this year with Maine Mendoza also coming at number 3. The 20-yearold Culinary Arts graduate from Bulacan is also the most searched female celebrity in the country (now don’t wonder why she’s got 15 product endorsements to her name).

Meanwhile, Alden Richards ranks number 6 on the top trending topics. On the most searched male celebrities list, the bedimpled Kapuso star places second to Pope Francis, whose visit to the country early this year broke Twitter records, which of course AlDub shattered on Oct. 24 when the hashtag #ALDubEBTamangPanahon reached over 41 million tweets within 24 hours (which is now the

OthER SEARCh tERmS Some of the defining news and events were APEC Summit, the Papal Visit, the FIBA Asia tournament, the tragic Paris attack and the annual Miss Universe pageant.

But a good chunk of information people looked for online revolved around the entertainment world including the increasing use of other online platforms like social apps.

The onscreen couple as AlDub in Eat Bulaga's Kalyeserye

And if we wanted to know how Filipino netizens behaved online to satisfy their need to be entertained, we should revisit the films Fifty Shades of Grey, Minions and Fast and the Furious 7 because these are the most popular movies among Filipinos. It’s also good to note that local cinemagoers are giving film producers a hint that they want more movies like Heneral Luna, which comes out as this year’s most popular local films to people who turned to Google search.

The Google top trending list also surprises us with an interesting twist. Just when we thought everyone only talked about AlDub, there’s a TV Show that made us remember that there are other stars on the other side of the fence.

For some reason, amid AlDubs heavyweight status Eat Bulaga did not get the top spot in the most searched TV Shows list, rather it’s the drama series Pangako Sa ‘Yo that features Daniel Padilla and Kathryn Bernardo. Also, their

Heneral Luna, the historical biopic is the most popular local film according to Google top trending list

Romantic series Pangako Sa 'Yo dominated nationwide ratings during its debut, now it ends the year as a trending TV Show online

movie Crazy Beautiful You that was released in March, which by the way registered an estimated gross of P326 million, is second to Heneral Luna as the most popular local film on Google. It goes to show that KathNiel does not need any validation since it is still one of the forces to reckon with.

New CirCus D’Ballet proDuCtioN iN star City

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nspired by the original Circus D’Ballet production Belen that opened in Star Theater in 2001 and enjoyed a run of almost 400 performances over a twoyear period, Joy! brings together a company of 30 dancers from Ballet Manila and 30 circus artists including five aerialists trained by Ruby and Luca of the Ruby Karen Project, Orange County Aerial Arts in a spectacular new circus and ballet performance.

Directed and choreographed

by Osias Barroso with additional choreography by Gerardo

Francisco, Jonathan Janolo, Michael Divinagracia and Rudy De Dios – Joy! recreates with dancers and circus performers Ballet Manila’s Pasko Na Naman Muli with acrobats, contortionists, a unicyclist, jugglers, clowns, a very young magician and aerialists.

For the first time, Circus D’Ballet will feature several acts with the use of tissu.

The show is based on an original concept by Star Parks chairman Fred J. Elizalde. The storyline features two mime artists and a magician meeting and taking the

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 49 50 51 52 53 57 59 60 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Old Cannes cash 6 Between Tex. and Kans.

10 Casanova type 14 High-tech beam 15 Lurch 16 Endangered trees 17 Biscotto flavoring 18 Without the ice 19 Kind of belt 20 Prepares for the present moment?

(2 wds.)

22 23 24 26 29 31 32 33 34 38 40 42 43 46

Shocking Yul’s film realm Copy Sea dog No, to Ivan Quit stalling Sourdough’s strike It may be spliced Parched feeling Turf warriors Just a little Ms. Foch First in line Not right

Young wolf Decimal base Hurl forth Tummy muscles Stuffy scholars Thailand neighbor Big occasion Reality (2 wds.)

Bagpiper’s wear Man-goat deity Energy He gave us a lift Bull-market result Elk cousin No sweat!

Signs a contract — salts

DOWN 1 Banner 2 Rajah’s spouse 3 Yeah, right!

(2 wds.)

4 Twig-and-mud homes 5 Manning 6 Angel, perhaps 7 Hang on to 8 Car-dealer’s option 9 Mi. above sea level 10 Lead to (2 wds.)

11 Prince Val’s wife 12 Target rival 13 Helena rival

audience on a musical journey using popular Christmas songs “Joy To the World,” “Pasko Na Naman,” “Pasko Na Sinta Ko,” “Hele,” and “Kumukutikutitap” as they encounter three angels that lead them to the nativity scene.

Joy! is the latest one-of-a-kind show that merges ballet dancers with circus acts, following the other successful productions Belentines, Belen 2, Can-Can, Princess of the Moon, Lahi, and Munting Anghel.

The shows are FREE for all Star City patrons and will run with 17 shows until Jan. 3.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23, 2015

21 22 25 26 27 28 30 35 36 37 39 41 44 45 47 48 53 54 55 56 58 61 62 63 64 66

Martha of dental ads Ow! Get tangled Disco dancer (hyph.)

Ph.D. exam Relax, as rules Wild ducks Costa — Cold shoulder Boxtop pieces Fidget (2 wds.)

Ends a flight On its way Explosive letters Tour de force Date Black tea Musical set in Argentina Reuben purveyors Beau Pounce on prey Peanut shell RN employers Lhasa — The people over there Wk. day

The Joy ensemble cast is composed of talented ballet dancers and circus artists

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

‘ICe Age: CollIsIon Course’ trAIler lAunChed

Indie rock band Never Shout Never headlines this year’s Bazooka Rocks 2015

InTernaTIonal acTs In ‘Bazooka rocks 2015’

T

he Philippines once again proves to be a growing international entertainment hub as international bands electrified the Samsung Hall of SM Aura with their youthful sound during the Bazooka Rocks Festival 2015.

Supported by the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB), Bazooka Rocks is an annual indoor music festival that brings together local and foreign bands from different music genres, including rock, pop punk, alternative, post-hardcore, and metalcore.

Headlining the event was American indie rock band Never Shout Never that amplified the fans’ cheers with their hit songs, like “Black Cat” and “California.”

Also rocking the stage was French pop punk band Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!

that performed in the country for the first time, and American pop rock band This Century that made the crowd emotional as the group sang its greatest hits amid rumors of looming disbandment.

Our very own music bands also came to bring the house down.

Leading the pack was Urbandub, encouraging the fans to support the new generation of musicians as their sounds will mold the future music scene. Joining Urbandub were up and coming homegrown acts Absolute Play, Sirens, Faintlight, and Fastpitch.

Aside from singing and head banging, scores of other fun activities made the event memorable, including a Guitar Hero challenge with a chosen band

member, hotdog-eating challenge and a private dinner. There were also lots of time to have selfies with band members, chitchat and signing of autographs, and making faces on photo booth.

“Bazooka Rocks showcases the vibrant music scene here in the Philippines.

It’s an avenue for music lovers to jam together and explore different musical styles. But of course, it’s just one of the many music festivals and concerts we have all year round. We have international artists visiting the country for gigs and concerts all the time, giving travelers lots of opportunities to explore the local entertainment scene and have fun,” says TPB Chief Operating Officer Domingo Ramon Enerio III.

The biggest bang from the worldwide blockbuster franchise in the Ice Age series has just exploded with the latest trailer reveal of the franchise’s latest and fifth installment Ice Age: Collision Course.

Check trailer here: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=biCcvgiyUD0 From Blue Sky Studios and directed by Mike Thurmeier, Ice Age: Collision Course brings us to the ever hilarious and loveable Scrat in his epic pursuit of the elusive acorn that catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.

Ice Age: Collision Course features the returning voice cast of Ray Romano, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Josh Peck, Simon Pegg, Keke Palmer, Wanda Sykes, Jennifer Lopez with new voice cast Stephanie Beatriz, Adam Devine, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Max Greenfield, Jessie J and Nick Offerman, Melissa Rauch, Michael Strahan and Neil de Grasse Tyson.

The latest cosmic, out-of-this-world adventure awaits entire families when Ice Age: Collision Course opens in Philippine cinemas on July 6 from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

ChrIstMAs lIghtIng ushers In deCeMber MAll ACtIvItIes

gIgAntIC toon MAChIne CoMes to MAnIlA

hristmas came alive at Greenhills Promenade and Theater Mall with the official Christmas Lighting ceremony on Nov. 26 when hot young stars Ken Chan of GMA’s Destiny Rose, Jake Vargas, Prince Villanueva and Sanya Lopez joined Music Museum Group President Precy M. Florentino and other MMGI officials in switching on hundreds of Philippine Christmas lanterns.

German Moreno, Walang Tulugan co-hosts Jon Knight and Sharmaine Santiago, Music Museum Group Vice Presidents Paolo F. Mendoza and Rosalina F. Mendoza joined them.

The Christmas lighting ceremony is an annual tradition in this part of Greenhills that is enlivened by the presence of stars and entertainment personalities. The dining, shopping and entertainment enclave is best known among leisure lovers for its favorite performance venues, the Music Museum and Teatrino, its glam Greenhills Cinemas, the first movie theaters in the country to show movies in state of the art sound technology, Dolby Atmos and its lively mix of shops and restaurants.

The lighting ceremony also touched off a series of engaging Christmas activities at the Promenade and Theater Mall. The Teatrino Film Series, a Philippine independent movie festival put together by Heneral Luna director Jerrold Tarog in September, continued to regale moviegoers with weekend movie

Get ready for a supersized Christmas this year as Cartoon Network brings the gigantic Toon Machine to Manila for the first time today at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall.

The Toon Machine is an indoor gigantic structure that puts a modern twist to the classic claw crane arcade game. Cartoon Network fans can control the machine with their parents serving as the claw, giving them the chance to grab everything they can in 10 seconds.

Following the success of the Cartoon Network Toon Machine in Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, the gigantic crane arrives in the Philippines just in time for Christmas, the best time of the year to grab-all-you-can toys and surprises.

Perfect for kids and the kids-at-heart, the event also has fun games and face-painting booths, all available for free! Aside from the toys inside the machine, Cartoon Network and its partners will also be giving away telpads, gift packs and other limited edition items.

To get a chance to try out the Cartoon Network Toon Machine, sign up and join the draw at the event area. Every hour, from 10am to 7pm, lucky winners with their parents will have the chance to get as much as they can inside the machine.

The Cartoon Network Toon Machine is presented to you by Bratz, PLDT Home Telpad and Alaska Choco, in cooperation with Jack n’ Jill Wiggles and special thanks to Sunkist, marketing partner Toy Kingdom and exclusive media partner Cignal.

c

treats at the Teatrino up to Dec. 19.

Jerrold Tarog’s film, Senior Year; Sleepless

by Prime Cruz and Alagwa by Ian Lorenos were first to screen on Dec. 12.

On Dec. 19, Alvin Yapan’s Ang Sayaw ng Dalawang Paa starring Rocco Nacino and Paulo Avelino was also screened so was Mihk Vergara’s Patintero : Ang Alamat ni Meng Patalo and Jason Paul Laxamana’s Magkakabaung starring Allen Dizon and Gladys Reyes the closing film. Tarog’s Sana Dati, Sigrid Andrea Bernardo’s Lorna, Pepe Diokno’s highly acclaimed Above the Clouds was screened in late November.

On Dec. 19 a Star Wars exhibit featuring rare Star Wars toys and memorabilia was held at the new Promenade Hall. Shoppers joined the X-Wing Game Tournament and witnessed the launch of the Darth Vader Annual #1 at the venue. Renowned Filipino comic book artist Leinil Francis Yu of Marvel Comics held an autograph signing session for comic book fans. A Cosplay Contest excited shoppers on the same day and exhibit goers got free movie tickets for special screenings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, plus other freebies.

On Dec. 21 and 22, the music of Hanyang SM Wind Band livened up afternoon Christmas shopping and leisure activities as the Korean group performed for holiday shoppers and passers by at the Greenhills Promenade and the Theatre Mall at 5:30pm.

German Moreno (fourth from left) is joined by Ken Chan, Jake Vargas, Prince Villanueva and Sanya Lopez

Host Jon Knight (fourth from left) welcomes the guests at the Christmas lighting in Greenhills

The promenade Christmas lighting is an annual tradition

The stars join together to light up the biggest Christmas tree in the area

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ PETA PAys TribuTE To FrAncis M in nEw rAP MusicAl by sEyMour bArros sAnchEz

F

ollowing the restaging of Noli at Fili Dekada Dos Mil, a modern retelling of Jose Rizal’s novels Noli Me Tangere and El Filibusterismo, the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA) will next feature the music of Filipino rap legend Francis Magalona. PETA looks into a dystopian future in the musical 3 Stars and a Sun to close its 48th season.

Set in the year 2166 inside a fallout shelter created to protect the country Pinasland from extreme weather and the threat of global warfare, 3 Stars and a Sun attempts to duplicate the success of the musical Rak of Aegis by making use of the songs and tunes of FrancisM. Compared to the Aegis-inspired musical, the new futuristic story, which is written by young playwright Mixcaela Villalon and veteran writer Rody Vera, is premised on a situation when the country’s problems are left unresolved.

The cautionary tale, which also serves as a challenge to today’s youth to unite and act swiftly before time runs out, happens inside a giant steel dome created by the government to cover the entire archipelago. The shelter, which is called The Stormdome, is equipped with millions of hidden cameras designed to monitor the citizens in an attempt to maintain peace and order.

Two groups – kids coming from the glossy and developed Lumino city led by smug slacker Chino (Paolo Valenciano alternating with Gio Gahol) and those from the rough streets of Diliman city led by fiery troublemaker Sol (alternately played by Nicco Manalo and Gold Villar), clash given their varied lives. Despite these differences, the Lumino and Diliman kids must realize that there are problems in Pinasland far larger than their petty gang issues.

After enjoying a breakout 2015 characterized by recordsetting comebacks and a reimagining of literary classics, PETA now takes a leap into the future but still providing a social commentary on Philippine politics and culture as what the theatre company has been known for. Although the futuristic new world is something PETA hasn’t done before, expect another exciting show in a fresh context as the group looks forward to its golden year celebration.

3 Stars and a Sun is directed by Nor Domingo, with the music of the late visionary and master rapper arranged by Myke Salomon, who was awarded Outstanding Musical Direction in 2015 for his work in Rak of Aegis. Also providing support to the original Filipino musical are production designer Gino Gonzales, lighting designers Shoko Matsumoto and Ian Torqueza, sound designer Teresa Barrozo, and choreographer Delphine Buencamino.

Apart from Valenciano, Gahol, Manalo, and Villar, the talented cast also includes Che Ramos-Cosio and Carla Guevara-Laforteza as Congresswoman Inky, Bodjie Pascua as Mang Okik, Giannina Ocampo and Justine Peña as Dianne, Anna Luna and Jet Barrun as Nazty, John Moran and Nar Cabico as Poy, Lee Villoria and EJ Pepito as Kat, Anj Heruela and Gab Pangilinan as Chelsea, and Jef Flores and Norbs Portales as Winston. Rounding off the cast is a versatile ensemble made up of Jason Barcial, Raflesia Bravo, Yesh Burce, Lance Busa, Roi Calilong, Nica Santiago, Ian Segarra, and Kakki Teodoro.

3 Stars and a Sun runs from Feb. 4 to Mar. 6, Tuesdays to Sundays (Tuesday – Friday 8 p.m., Saturday – Sunday, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.) at the PETA Theater Center.

PETA is located at No. 5 Eymard Drive, New Manila, Quezon City. For tickets and inquiries you may call 725-6244 or visit petatheater.com and ticketworld.com.ph. ➜ continued on c7

3 Stars and a Sun is a dystopian look of what our future can come to if the problems of the present are left unresolved

The cast of the socially relevant production includes Paolo Valenciano, Gio Gahol, Nicco Manalo and Gold Villar.