The Standard - 2016 January 13 - Wednesday

VOL. XXIX NO. 335 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 wedNeSday : JaNUaRy 13, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Comelec officials settle squabble

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‘IT’S DEPLORABLE’

Abaya told to explain CoA report on toilet program

By Maricel V. Cruz

The independent minority bloc of the house of Representatives said Tuesday that Transportation Secretary Joseph emilio Abaya must explain why his department failed to build comfort rooms in train stations, ports and airports under its P351-million “Kayo ang Boss Ko” toilet improvement project.

Abakada party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz, a member of the bloc, said the group led by Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez would file a resolution Wednesday asking the appropriate House committes to subject Abaya to a Question Hour to explain his department’s failure—as documented by a Commission on Audit report.

“This is not only anomalous, but also deplorable,” De la Cruz told The Standard.

“We can’t have funding for basic services and yet this government has poured in a lot of money for such a huge project. We want to know where did the money go,” De la Cruz added.

De la Cruz said the CoA report showed yet

another case of Aquino administration’s lack of malasakit or compassion for the people, the President’s avowed “bosses.”

In light of the CoA findings, De la Cruz said Abaya should resign.

The Jan. 7 CoA report said the Department of Transportation and Communications under Abaya failed to build comfort rooms for all of its attached agencies under the toilet facilities improvement project, despite the availability of funds since 2012.

KBK, a foreign-assisted project, was named after a favorite motto used by President Aquino to suggest that the people are his ultimate boss.

The Jan. 7 audit report said the construction of new restrooms and the rehabilitation of old ones have been delayed, suspended or terminated or declared failed bids because of complicated contract details.

Because of this failure, women shared the same facilities with men in several train stations and Land Transportation Office branches, and persons with disabilities were left with no option but to use regular restrooms, the CoA said.

Also as a result, the transacting public had to bear the inconvenience of long toilet queues at the DoTC agencies, including the LTO, the Land Transportation Franchising Next page

The deal is constitutional. Activists protest in front of the Supreme Court in Manila on Tuesday after the high court declared that the Philippines’ military agreement with the United States was constitutional. AFP

SC affirms order to keep Poe in running

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US-PH pact legal, Supreme Court finds

By Rey E. Requejo and Sandy Araneta THE Supreme Court affirmed Tuesday the constitutionality of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement that the Palace signed with the US government in April 2014.

Voting 10-4, with one magistrate abstaining, the justices said the agreement

was not unconstitutional as petitioners against it had said, on the ground that the Constitution allows the President to enter into an executive agreement on foreign military bases, troops or facilities, as long as it merely intends to implement an existing law or treaty, such as the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement.

The Palace hailed the Supreme

Court decision, saying it strengthens the strategic partnership between the Philippines and the United States.

“This ruling boosts the ongoing Armed Forces of the Philippines modernization program and paves the way for upgrading our military equipment and capability for national defense as well as for humanitarian assistance

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US sends fast-attack sub to Subic US-PH...

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and disaster response,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. The 10-year agreement, signed in 2014 but not implemented due to legal challenges, will see more US troops rotate through the Philippines for war games and help their hosts build military facilities.

Contrary to the arguments of the petitioners, the Supreme Court said Edca is an executive agreement that does not require the concurrence of the Senate.

The justices said the President’s power to enter into executive agreements, which are different from treaties, has long been recognized and upheld by the Court.

“The Court ruled that the Edca is not the instrument that allows US ‘troops or facilities’ to enter as the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) already has done that… The Edca provides for arrangements to implement existing treaties allowing entry of foreign military troops of facilities under the VFA and MDT, and thus may be in the form of an executive agreement solely within the powers of the President and not requiring Senate concurrence under Article XVIII, Section 25,” the decision written by Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno said.

Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro, Arturo Brion, Marvic Leonen, and Estela Perlas Bernabe dissented from the majority ruling, while Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza took no part in the deliberations.

The justices also said the government succeeded in showing that Edca merely carried out the provisions of the VFA. “The President’s choice of an executive agreement to contain the Edca places the burden on respondents to show that it is mere implementation of existing laws and treaties concurred in by the Senate. On this, the Court found that the burden had been discharged by the respondents,” the decision said.

The Court also denied the two petitions filed by former senators Rene Saguisag and Wigberto Tañada and militant party-list lawmakers led by Bayan Muna Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate questioning the legality of Edca.

The petitioners had argued that the government committed a grave abuse of discretion when they entered into the Edca as it constitutes a derogation of the country’s dignity and an unconscionable sellout of sovereignty and that it contravenes the country’s national interests as it is “primarily motivated by the US strategic rebalancing towards Asia and is therefore in the service of US security and economic interests.”

Contrary to the claim of the respondents, they said, the Edca is “not in im-

plementation or furtherance of the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty between the two countries and the Visiting Forces Agreement and that the country might once again become a staging ground for the deployment of US ships, aircrafts and even missile systems overseas because of the pre-positioning and the deployment of material allowed under the Edca.

The petitioners also said that the respondents yielded to the US forces the operational control of agreed location for construction activities and the operational control and defense of these agreed locations.

The government, on the other hand, insisted that the agreement is a valid executive agreement that could stand even without the concurrence of the Senate.

Under the Edca, the US will be allowed to build structures, store as well as preposition weapons, defense supplies and materiel, station troops, civilian personnel and defense contractors, transit and station vehicles, vessels, and aircraft for a period of 10 years.

“This is a good development and this confirms the policies of the government regarding the strengthening of national defense in partnership with the country’s ally, the United States,” Coloma said.

The agreement, which was signed on April 28, 2014 before US President Barack Obama arrived for a two-day state visit to the Philippines, gives US forces access to the Philippine military facilities in the country.

Obama pushed hard for Edca as part of his so-called strategic “pivot” to Asia that has involved expanding American military presence in the region. The agreement, he said, would give US forces “greater access to Filipino facilities, airfields and ports, which would remain under the control of the Philippines.”

However, the agreement faced immediate legal challenges from groups opposed to US military involvement in the Philippines.

The country was home to two of the largest overseas US military bases until 1992, when the Senate voted to end their leases.

The Philippines and the United States are already bound by a Mutual Defense Treaty signed in 1951 and the Visiting Forces Agreement signed in 1998.

The first accord commits the United States to come to the aid of the Philippines in case of external aggression, while the second paved the way for US troops to engage in exercises in the Philippines.

The new pact, which was only intended to be in place for 10 years from 2014, does not authorize a return of US bases.

But in recent years the tensions with China have seen Aquino’s government seek much greater US military and diplomatic support.

TUCP founder Mendoza dies at age 92

By Maricel V. Cruz DEMOCRITO T. Mendoza, founding president of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, passed away Tuesday night due to lingering illness.

TUCP party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza confirmed that his 92-year-old father died in his sleep.

The late labor leader and former lawmaker has fought against contractualization policies.

China claims almost all of the South China Sea, despite conflicting claims from the Philippines as well as Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

In April 2012, after a tense stand-off with Philippine ships, Chinese vessels took control of a shoal just 220 kilometers off the main island of Luzon.

The Philippines has since become the most vocal critic of China’s efforts to claim South China Sea territory, including its strategy of turning islets in those waters into artificial islands that can host military facilities.

In a short statement immediately after the Supreme Court’s announcement, the US embassy in Manila welcomed the verdict.

“Edca is a mutually beneficial agreement that will enhance our ability to provide rapid humanitarian assistance and help build capacity for the Armed Forces of the Philippines,” the statement said.

In Camp Aguinaldo, Armed Forces chief Lt. Gen. Hernando Irriberi would boost efforts to modernize the military.

“This decision bodes well for deepening our defense cooperation with a key ally,” he said in a statement after the Edca ruling was announced.

“As part of our shared goals with the US under this agreement, we look forward to further enhancing interoperability, addressing short-term capability gaps, promoting long-term modernization of our forces, helping maintain maritime security and maritime domain awareness, and developing HADR [humanitarian assistance and disaster relief] capabilities. These will redound to improving our capacity to perform our mandate to protect our people and secure the state,” he added.

The Court decision came as Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario met with their counterparts in Washington.

Gazmin said an item on their agenda was defense cooperation between the two countries in response to China’s aggression in the West Philippine Sea— Manila’s name for portions of the South China Sea that the Philippines claims.

Various militant groups on Tuesday criticized the Supreme Court ruling.

Renato Reyes, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) chairperson, said the petitioners and intervenors—Bayan, Bayan Muna Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate, Gabriela Women’s Reps. Luzviminda Ilagana and Emmi de Jesus, Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Anakpawis Rep. Fernando Hicap, Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon, National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, film and television director Joel Lamangan and anti-bases activist Renato Constantino Jr., among others—would file a motion for reconsideration, questioning the Supreme Court’s decision.

“This is another sad day for Philippine sovereignty as the Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Edca. We shall immediately consult with our lawyers regarding a possible motion for reconsideration,” Reyes’ statement read.

The petitioners said Edca was “outrightly lopsided in favor of the United States.”

Despite the SC ruling, Reyes said they would continue to “expose and oppose” the intervention of the US military in the Philippines.

“We maintain that the Edca is not the solution to the problem of China’s incursions, not when the EDCA also violates Philippine sovereignty. The Filipino people must now resolutely oppose the return of US bases and all the social ills associated with these bases,” he added.

With Florante S. Solmerin, Maricel V. Cruz, Rio N. Araja and Agence FrancePresse

THE US military has sent another fast-attack submarine to Subic Bay for a port call amid tensions over a territorial dispute between the Philippines and China over parts of the South China Sea. In a statement emailed by the US Embassy in Manila, the US said the arrival of the Los Angeles-class USS Topeka (SSN 754) was part of its routine Indo-AsiaPacific deployment.

The submarine has 160 sailors including some FilipinoAmericans aboard led by Commander David P. Lammers.

“Topeka will conduct a multitude of missions and maintain proficiency of the latest capabilities of the submarine fleet,” Lammers said.

The US Embassy said the Topeka is capable of operating at depths greater than 800 feet at speeds of up to 25 nautical miles an hour.

Measuring more than 300 feet long and weighing more than 6,000 tons, Topeka is one of the stealthiest submarines in the world. This submarine is capable of supporting a multitude of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike, surveillance and reconnaissance.

On Jan. 5, the Virginia-class fast-attack submarine USS Texas (SSN 775) with 135 crew members docked in Subic.

Florante S. Solmerin

‘It’s...

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and Regulatory Board, Manila International Airport Authority, Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority, Metro Rail Transit Line 3, Philippine Ports Authority, Cebu Ports Authority, Philippine National Railways and Light Rail Transit Authority.

“The government may be left with an unfinished or uncompleted toilet project as a result of terminated contracts which could not be used by the intended beneficiaries and ultimately caused wastage of government funds,” the audit report read.

The audit agency noted that the funds for the KBK project were originally earmarked for the improvement of airport facilities.

The P351.86-million toilet project ran into problems because of a DoTC policy to save money by favoring bulk orders, the CoA said.

The DoTC should have invited local contractors and suppliers to build toilets for regional or provincial offices, instead of choosing only one construction firm per region, it said.

“Most of the contracts for the civil works and goods should have been completed or delivered before end Dec. 31, 2014. However, the contracts for civil works were far behind target. Majority of the contractors for the civil works requested for a suspension or [had] already suspended [work] due to delays in the delivery of phenolic boards and granite counter tops,” CoA said.

CoA said the KBK budget should be remitted to the Bureau of Treasury, and contracts that were terminated will need to wait for another budget allocation because the original budget has already expired or been forfeited.

“Since the toilet project is a basic necessity of the riding and transacting public, the department should have considered the most practical and easy procurement scheme to avoid delays,” the audit agency said.

The Palace said Abaya should be given an opportunity to explain what happened to the toilet improvement project before action is taken against him.

“CoA allows concerned agencies to submit comments or explanations pertaining to audit findings, then assesses whether such response is satisfactory or adequate,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr., in a text message to The Standard, in reaction to its story.

Abaya said Monday he will stay on the job despite mounting calls that he be fired, and the latest audit report about the KBK project.

Lawmakers and various groups have pressed Abaya to resign over his failure to improve deteriorating commuter train services and his approval of questionable maintenance contracts that critics said made matters worse.

“The DoTC is trying to show that we are slowly rectifying sins of the past. Consumers have the right to demand better services,” Abaya said, admitting that only 36 to 45 of the 73 MRT coaches are operational.

Despite public anger at the poor train and other public transport services, President Aquino last week said he would not fire Abaya, the president of his ruling Liberal Party.

The Abakada party-list group said the audit report showed that it was time Abaya accounted for all the funds that his department gets.

“The successive questionable transactions of the DoTC must no longer be ignored,” the group said in a statement. With Sandy Araneta

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Teachers compelled to go to Roxas rally THE teachers in Marawi City failed to hold classes on Tuesday after the provincial governor threatened to deduct an amount from their salaries if they failed to attend the provincial sortie of Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II, a Division Superintendent said.

“The provincial governor, Mamintal “Bombit” Adiong, on Sunday told the other OIC Superintendent of Marawi City, Pharida

Sansarona, that the teachers need to attend [the visit of Secretary Mar Roxas] in the Provincial Capitol Gymnasium because if they failed to attend, they would be marked absent,” Mona Macatanong, Marawi City’s Schools Division Superintendent, told The Standard in a phone interview.

“We were mad. We teachers should be non-partisan but they forced us to go here,” Macatanong said.

She said that, with all the teachers in Marawi City compelled by the provincial government to attend Roxas’ sortie in the province, “more or less, we had more than 10 big schools in the provincial capitol that were closed yesterday.”

“No students was able to attend classes in the morning,” Macatanong said.

Roxas, who visited the Muslimdominated province on Tuesday, had a series of meetings and con-

sultations and was bestowed the Medal of Honor and the title of Datu by the Federation of the Royal Sultanate of Lanao del Sur in an enthronement ceremony.

He was also made an adopted son of Lanao del Sur. After the ceremony, Roxas met with village officials and sectoral leaders and residents of Lanao del Sur in the jampacked capitol gymnasium in Marawi. Over 4,000 people from the province’s 39 munici-

palities attended the event.

Macatanong, who was replaced

by Marawi Assistant Schools Division Supt. Pharina Sansarona last Sunday, said “more than 500 teachers in Marawi City were not able to receive their salaries from January to March of 2015.”

She said their Performance Based Bonus for last year were being held by the DepEd’s regional office for ARMM. John Paolo Bencito

Court affirms its decision protecting Poe THE Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed the temporary restraining orders issued by Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno stopping the Commission on Elections from implementing its decision canceling the Certificate of Candidacy of Senator Grace Poe for the May 9 presidential race.

Voting 12-3, the Court affirmed the Dec. 28, 2015 TROs stopping the Comelec from excluding Poe from the list of presidential candidates.

Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro and Arturo Brion, all members of the Senate Electoral Tribunal who voted for Poe’s disqualification, dissented.

“The Court, 12-3, voted to confirm the temporary restraining orders issued by the Chief Justice on 28 December 2015 in these two cases,” high court spokesman Theodore Te told reporters.

Poe on Tuesday said the high court’s decision was good for her supporters and the country’s democracy. She said it bolstered her stance that she is qualified to run for president in the May elections.

Poe’s spokesman, Valenzuela City Mayor Rex Gatchalian, said they were very thankful to “the Honorable Supreme Court for upholding the issu-

ances of the TROs last month.”

He said the TROs prevented an injustice from taking place.

The two TROs issued by Sereno stopped the Comelec from implementing the Comelec’s en banc decisions that upheld the resolution of its First and Second Divisions.

The First Division canceled Poe’s CoC as a result of the questions on her citizenship and residency raised by former Senator Francisco Tatad, Amado Valdez and Antonio Contreras.

The Comelec’s Second Division canceled Poe’s CoC based on the petition filed by lawyer Estrella Elamparo claiming she failed to meet the constitutional requirement of a 10-year residency for presidential candidates.

Sereno issued the restraining order based on the recommendation of the justice-in-charge pursuant to the Supreme Court’s Internal Rules.

The high court also confirmed the setting of Poe’s petitions for oral arguments at 2 p.m. on Jan. 19.

However, the oral arguments on the petition of Rizalito David assailing the decision of the Senate Electoral Tribunal declaring Poe a natural-born Filipino has been rescheduled for another date that the Court will soon announce.

In a petition on Dec. 28 last year, Poe asked the high court to reverse the decision of the Comelec canceling her Certificate of Candidacy and allow her to run for president in the May national elections.

Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-araneta

Zero Waste Month. Volunteers clean up the Baseco compound in Tondo, Manila, on Tuesday in celebration of the Zero Waste Month in January. Lino SantoS

Rally. Rep. Roberto Mascarina leads a rally in front of the Commission on Elections’ main office in Manila on Tuesday asking it to act to fill up the party-list vacancy at the House of Representatives. Danny Pata

Binay promises to attend to problems of disabled VICE President Jejomar Binay on Tuesday vowed to turn his attention to the millions of people with disability who, he said, were being neglected by the government.

Binay has just left for the United Arab Emirates to meet the Filipino communities in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to listen to their concerns and to see how his office could help them.

He said it had been six years since the government ratified and implemented the United Nations Convention on the Rights of People with Disability, but nothing seemed to have changed.

“Many of our physical structures, private or public, require more thoughtful design in order to accommodate the needs of PWDs,” Binay said.

“Some of the classic examples are the restrooms with proper access and ramps for people on wheelchairs.

Still, a lot of work needs to be done.”

Binay said there were problems that still needed to be solved to make PWDs live more normal lives, problems like discrimination and aversion from people who knew little about their condition.

“They face an unsolicited and even a misguided sense of pity from strangers as if their conditions were a fatal sentence,” Binay said.

He said many employers were shunning PWDs because they wanted to avoid spending money to make their facilities access-friendly to them.

“These walls shut out PWDs from their right to pursue a dignified and productive life,” Binay said.

“As a democracy and as a Godfearing nation, we cannot permit such obstacles to continue to exclude the differently abled.” Vito Barcelo

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Comelec execs settle dispute

By Rey E. Requejo

COMMISSION on Elections Chairman Andres Bautista and Commissioner Rowena Guanzon set aside their differences with the seven-member poll body agreeing to ratify the pleading Guanzon submitted to the Supreme Court without the deliberation and approval of the commission as a whole.

“All is well that ends well,” the poll body’s designated spokesman Commissioner Arthur Lim said at a news briefing at the Comelec headquarters in Intramuros, Manila on Tuesday.

“Your Commission is firmly in good hands. We are united and focused to do the mandate that the Constitution has given to us,” Lim said, adding that both Bautista and Guanzon agreed to set aside their differences so that the poll body can

concentrate on their mandate and responsibilities.

“We would like to give a firm assurance to our people that the Comelec is firmly committed to the holding of a clean, honest, orderly, peaceful, and credible elections in 2016 and we shall not be sidetracked by any other issues,” Lim said.

The commissioner said such misunderstandings cannot be avoided because they are a collegial body

composed of seven different individuals.

“That is to be expected in any collegial body. The important thing is that we are able to address the issues and we have ourselves now decided to move forward and to leave all these controversy behind us,” Lim stressed.

The acrimonious verbal exchange between the two stemmed from Guanzon’s move to file a pleading to the high court without presenting her arguments for the approval of the entire commission.

But the commission later determined that the arguments Guanzon presented reflected the sense of the commission that Senator Grace Poe should be disqualified from running for president in the May 9 election.

But while Guanzon’s tiff with Bautista appeared to have ended, the camp of presidential candidate

Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte asked Guanzon to inhibit herself from deliberations on the disqualification cases against him because of her alleged bias.

“All the foregoing considered and to prevent respondent Duterte from harboring in the back of his mind any thought that the scale of justice has been filed against him, respondent Duterte is left with no other recourse but to ask that Commissioner Guanzon inhibits or disqualifies herself from the pending petitions,” Duterte said in his motion.

Duterte is facing four disqualification cases filed by broadcaster Ruben Castor, nuisance presidential candidate Rizalito David, University of the Philippines Student Council Chairman John Paulo delas Nieves, and lawyer Eli Pamatong. The case filed by Delas Nieves was dismissed Monday.

The congested path. Vehicular traffic along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue remained congested for most of Tuesday as government official struggled to find temporary solutions to Metro Manila’s latest pet peeve. JANSEN ROMERO

Workers hit Palace for RH budget cut

By Vito Barcelo and Sandy Araneta A GROUP of female workers on Tuesday slammed the Aquino administration for slashing the allocation for contraceptives in the 2016 General Appropriations Act and vowed to initiate vigorous campaign against those who engineered the fund’s removal if it is not restored.

“The hard-won victory of the [Reproductive Health] RH Law is now is being killed softly by legislative maneuvering of anti-women solons,” said Judy Ann Miranda, secretary general of the Partido Manggagawa women’s group.

The group singled Senators Tito Sotto and Loren Legarda for allegedly engineering the cut in the funds for family planning commodities, such as condoms, pills and intra-uterine devices, for poor and indigent families.

The labor group criticized Sotto for his anti-RH position and baseless arguments, like claiming condoms and pills are abortifacients, that have already been resolved during the long deliberations over the RH bills.

The group said the House’s contingent to the Bicameral Conference Committee were equally responsible for this budget loss to women.

But Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. explained that the budget cut of more than P860 million pertains to procurement of contraceptive implants, called “Implanon,” because it was specifically stopped by the Supreme Court.

Citation eyed for Filipina entrepreneur

By Maricel V. Cruz

RUIz

A LAWMAKER has sought a congressional commendation for successful young businesswoman Therese ‘Reese’ Fernandez-Ruiz for being chosen by Forbes Asia magazine among Asia’s top social entrepreneurs under 30 for 2015.

Fernandez-Ruiz’s company, Rags2Riches, booked a “consistent” 100-percent annual growth rate over its first five years in operation and continues to open opportunities for poor women, said Parañaque City Rep. Eric Olivarez.

In filing House Resolution 2180, Olivarez said Forbes Asia magazine listed down over 100 young social entrepreneurs all over the world and reduced them to only 30 after an elimination process conducted by jury members.

He said Fernandez-Ruiz co-founded Rags2Riches as a social enterprise in 2007.

Social Enterprises are businesses that are patterned after traditional capitalism models but dedicated to the finding of ways to reduce poverty.

Olivarez, vice chair of the

Big guns. Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez chats with an animated Enrique Ra-

zon Jr., owner of the Solaire Resorts and Casino in Parañaque City, during the opening of first for-members-only firing range, called Sky Range, at his entertainment complex at the reclamation area. SONNY ESPIRITU

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SC rules: Velasco in, Reyes out

By Rey E. Requejo

THE Supreme Court has directed House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. to recognize Rep. Lord Allan Velasco and administer his oath as duly elected member of the House of Representatives representing the lone district of Marinduque.

Voting 8-1-6, the SC also ordered House secretary-general Emilia Barua-Yap to delete the name of Velasco’s rival Regina Ongsiako-Reyes from the roll of House members.

“In so ruling, the court found that petitioner Velasco was entitled to the writ of mandamus under Rule 65, Sec. 3 because the finality of the Court’s ruling . . . left no issue as to who is the rightful Representative of the Lone District of the Province of Marinduque. For this reason, the administration of the Oath to Velasco by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the registration of his name in the Rolls of the House by the Secretary-General were ministerial duties compellable by mandamus,” the SC declared.

Velasco, son of Supreme Court Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco, was prompted to file a petition for mandamus seeking to compel the House leadership to recognize him after the SC disqualified Reyes due to her citizenship.

Reyes, who won in the 2013 elections for the lone district of Marinduque and was recognized by the House of Representatives, questioned the high court’s ruling to unseat her, saying that it was the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal should have ruled over her case.

In filing his mandamus petition, Velasco argued that he has “clear legal right and basis” to warrant the grant of the writ of mandamus.

Velasco noted that on March 27, 2013, the Comelec First Division issued a resolution cancelling the Certificate of Candidacy of Reyes on the ground that he is not a natural-born Filipino citizen, thus, ineligible under Section 6, Article VI of the Constitution.

On May 14, 2013, the Comelec en banc affirmed the March 27, 2013 resolution of the Comelec First Division, upholding the cancellation of the CoC of Reyes.

Enrile questions Noy role in Mamasapano

By Macon Araneta

REJECTING Palace insinuations that the revival of the Senate probe of Mamasapano was politically motivated, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile on Tuesday stressed he is not “an errand boy” of anybody and does not hold grudge against President Aquino.

“That’s foolishness! There is no grandstanding here. They are the ones politicking, insinuating that we have ill motive. If we have such motive, they should prove it. They should answer my questions. I will challenge them to answer the questions,” Enrile told reporters in a phone patch interview.

Interviewed on Monday at the Sandiganbayan during the deferment of his pre-trial hearing, Enrile said he did not include the President among the list of resource persons whom he wanted to attend the Jan. 25 hearing.

But he said he wanted to know Aquino’s actual role in the Mamasapano debacle, which resulted in the death of 44 members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force.

“My line of questioning will focus on the participation of the President because that is not clear.

They said he is ultimately responsible. Why? The question is why,” said Enrile. “if he wants to answer my questions, I will welcome him. In fact, I would encourage him to attend to answer them,” said Enrile who

is facing before the Sandiganbayan Third Division graft and plunder charges over the multi-billion pork barrel scam.

The senate inquiry will be led anew by Senator Grace Poe’s public order committee that earlier found Aquino “ultimately liable” for the death of the police commandos.

Liberal Party standard bearer Manuel Roxas II, who was then the secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, which has jurisdictionn over the PNP, was one of the resource persons Enrile requested from Poe’s committee.

But he assured Roxas of a fair treatment when he appears again in the hearing.

“I will not tell you the questions I am going to ask. I hope you understand my position. I’m not trying anybody in public. I’m going to ask them questions,” said Enrile in yesterday’s interview.

Enrile also said it does not matter to him if Roxas is a candidafe because he is not going to deal with his candidacy.

“I’m going to ask about performance of duty while you’re in office,” said Enrile.

Roxas said he was kept in the dark and out of the loop in the covert police operations in Mamasapano that aimed to get Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hid alias “Marwan” and his henchman, Basit Usman.

Roxas earlier said the reopening of the probe intended to put him in bad light, but this was dismissed by Poe. Prodded if Roxas can expect a non-partisan conduct of the Mamasapano investigation, Enrile said he is not interested in politics.

“If he wins, well and good. I will not include those things. I am telling you, I am no longer a politician.

I’m only serving the country, I’m not the errand boy of anybody,” he added.

VP in Emirates. Vice President Jejomar C. Binay discusses the issues faced by Overseas Filipino Workers in United Arab Emirates with Philippine

Ambassador to UAE Constancio Vingno Jr. (left) and Consul General of the Consulate of Dubai Paul Raymund Cortez at the arrival lounge of the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Pia, Loren clash over P1-b cut in family planning budget

By Macon Araneta THIS time, two female senators are at loggerheads over the controversial P1-billion reduction in the 2016 budget intended for condoms and other methods of birth control/family planning.

Senator Pia Cayetano on Tueday took a snipe at Senate Finance committee chairman Senator Loren Legarda for allegedly deceiving the other senators over the “unethical and unacceptable” budget cut after Senator Vicente Sotto found himself the target of criticism for the P1-billion slash.

In a statement, Cayetano insisted there was no mention of any cuts in the line item budget for family planning.

Cayetano said that in the final version now reflected in the 2016 General Appropriations Act, there was a line item for family planning that had

a P1-billion reduction.

“This was never reported to us,” pointed out Cayetano, a staunch advocate of Reproductive Health.

Cayetano said that Legarda’s claims that senators were informed of the amendments prior to their vote on the bicameral conference committee report on Dec. 14, 2015 had no basis.

“After looking into relevant documents, our office confirms the P1-billion cut in the DoH’s procurement of commodities under family health and responsible parenting,” she said.

“What was reflected in the bicam report that we approved was a P1-billion cut in the special provision on ‘purchase and allocation of drugs, medicines and vaccines.’

She said the details of the P1-billion cut were only made known following President Aquino’s signing of the General Appropriations Act on De-

cember 28, 2015,” Cayetano said.

“This was after the DoH discovered the reduction and exposed it,” she added.

Legarda earlier said all information about the 2016 national budget was available to both houses of Congress before it was enacted into law.

“All senators were given a copy of the bicameral conference committee report before they voted to ratify. The first page of the report shows both the increases and the decreases in the budget of all agencies including the Department of Health,” she said.

In the process of reconciliation of the differences between the General Appropriations Bill and the Senate proposal, she said the Bicameral Conference Committee had identified agencies that need to be provided additional funds and had also identified the sources to fund the proposed increases.

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NEWS editorial@thestandard.com.ph

NAIA taxis to undergo random tests

By Joel Zurbano THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board will start today the random inspection of taxicabs plying the Ninoy Aquino International Airport amid charges these are using dollar rate cards.

The presence of the LTFRB will augment surveillance efforts of airport security in going after illegal activities related to transportation.

The move came following a meeting betweem Manila International Airport Authority and LTFRB officials wherein transport concessionaires were confronted to enforce their own policing measures to prevent drivers from committing prohibited acts against passengers.

Overcharging of fares and presenting fake rates are considered as grave offenses under the MIAA’s circular on traffic management.

MIAA has not approved any dollar rate card for its accredited taxis. All fares are charged in Philippine peso.

Airport taxi drivers at fault are penalized P2,000 to P5,000 aside from the confiscation and cancellation of their access passes.

Operations of a concessionaire are suspended after accumulating 20 serious violations in a year. A concessionaire’s contract is terminated after 10 more grave violations in the succeeding year.

On Monday, three drivers were apprehended for carrying dollar rate cards in their units while, in 2015, a total of 35 cases of overcharging were recorded and resolved.

MIAA general manager Jose Angel Honrado promised to put an end to illegal activities at the airport hounding passengers.

“The MIAA will not allow the airport to be a breeding ground of illegal activities. I will see to it that offenders are removed from the airport. More than anything, the welfare of passengers should always be the priority,” Honrado said.

Meanwhile, it was also agreed during the meeting with transport concessionaires that there will only be one assigned dispatcher for all transport companies at the terminal curbside.

Muslims’ bet. In support of Rep. Amado S. Bagatsing’s program for Manila and constituents, members of Muslim group Alyansang Aakbay sa Makabagong Tagumpay (Alamat) raise the hands of the three-term lawmaker during simple ceremonies launching the group’s official endorsement of his mayoralty bid.

Mines greenlights $2-b Comval mining project THE Mines bureau has given the Nationwide Development Corp. the go-ahead to work on a $2-billion mining project in Compostela Valley, Mindanao.

“We can now proceed with developing, constructing and operating the country’s gold mining project,” Nadecor chairman Jose Ricafort declared on the heels of the Mines bureau’s approval of the mining firm’s feasibility study before year-end.

MGB approved last December 29th Nadecor’s “Declaration of Mining Project Feasibility” for the King-King Gold Mine Project located in Compostela Valley.

For his part, Jose P. de Jesus, Nadecor president, said: “With the recent issuance of the environmental compliance certificate, this MGB approval paves the way for the development, construction and operation of the project.

The project is covered by a mineral production sharing agreement between the government and Nadecor, whose minesite has an estimated value of $2 billion, by far the country’s biggest gold mineral resources.

Nadecor chairman Ricafort clarified that MGB’s order of approval was officially sent to Nadecor, “and such order does not mention at all any connection between St. Augustine and the KingKing Project.”

Ricafort explained that Nadecor terminated its business relationship with St. Augustine as early as March 26, 2012. “In fact, St. Augustine, invoking an arbitration clause, sent a notice of dispute with Nadecor regarding such rescission and subsequently reiterated the same,” Ricafort added.

Ricafort declared: “St. Augustine is no longer a partner of Nadecor in developing the King-

King Project.”

Nadecor currently figures in an intra-corporate dispute now pending before the Supreme Court between two contending shareholder blocs, one led by Jose Ricafort and the other by Conrado Calalang. Both Ricafort and Calalang are erstwhile friends.

In a complex twist of events, the Calalang bloc claimed that it had forged a joint venture with St. Augustine Gold and Copper Limited over the objections of the Ricafort-De Jesus bloc, “precisely because the RicafortDe Jesus Board terminated its agreement with St. Augustine as early as 2012.”

Narcs seize P185-m shabu

By Francisco Tuyay

INC project. Around 20,000 indigent residents of Taguig City received goodie packs and availed of the free medical and dental services from INC Lingap sa Mamamayan outreach program on Jan. 9, 2016.

ANTI-DRUG policemen seized P185 million worth of shabu following the arrest of two Filipino-Chinese suspects in Valenzuela City and collared three suspects for illegal drug possession in Malabon City, Metro Manila.

Senior Supt. Antonio Gardiola Jr., director of the Philippine National Police AntiIllegal Drugs Group, identified the arrested suspects as Sonny Ang, 67 and Tiuseco Benito, 47, who were held during an operation in front of the Flying V Station along Narciso Street, Barangay Lawang Bato, Valenzuela at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Gardiola said a total of 37 kilos of shabu were recovered from the two suspects, including those con-

cealed into 12 heavy-duty turret drilling machines in follow-up operations at a warehouse along East Service Road, Barangay Lawang Bato, Valenzuela City.

He said the drilling machines originated from China, stressing that the raid at the warehouse was covered by a search warrant.

“The operations was part of the PNP-AIDG’s campaign against high value targets and international drug syndicates tagged in the importation of illegal drugs.

In Malabon, three men allegedly carrying firearms and illegal drugs were arrested in Malabon last Monday.

In a report to Senior Supt.

Severino Abad Jr., city police chief, those arrested were identified as Noel Canlas, alias “Wewe,” Nandro Canlas, 44, alias “Kandong,” and

Ryan Rosagaran, 29, all residents of Tondo, Manila.

They were arrested in front of the SSS building in Barangay Tonsuya at about 10:30 p.m.

Acting on an informant, operatives of PCP-8 Malabon police station proceeded to the SSS building along C-4 Road, Barangay Tonsuya where they accosted the three.

The trio allegedly tried to escape but they were accosted by the policemen who recovered from them, a .45 cal pistol, one .38 cal revolver and one .22 cal, all firearms were allegedly loaded with ammunition, police said.

One of the operatives recovered shabu from the suspects’ pockets, police said.

The three are now detained pending the filing of charges against them, police said. With Jun David

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NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Indigents’ culture, art on display in Pagadian

By A. Perez Rimando PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur—The National Commission for Culture and the Arts opened last week its “Schools for the Living Tradition Gallery” at San Francisco district here.

A city official said this was to preserve the arts and culture of increasing number of Indigenous Peoples in Zamboanga del Sur and its adjacent provinces of Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga Sibugay.

City Councilor Bienvenido Culve said the gallery serves as the craft center where the artworks and hand-woven crafts—baskets, mats, hats, textile and the like—“are displayed to popularize the arts and culture of local IPs or lumad who include Subanen, Maguindanaon, Samal and Bangingi who reside in mountain and coastal villages of Zamboanga Peninsula.”

Culve stressed the building, constructed by the NCCA, through the assistance of City Mayor Romeo Pulmones, seeks “to showcase the unique arts and crafts of the IPs in the region” even as he noted that “Art is not a form of propaganda but an embodiment of truth.”

National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Region 9 Director Margarita Baya urged local lumad, especially the young ones, to help conserve and propagate their rich culture “by learning and using their dialects, folk dances, native songs, customs and practices,” asking that “if we don’t do this, where will we be several years from now?”

At the same time, Roservirico Tan, chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Regional Public Affairs Office, pledged his agency’s help in processing of the IPs’ ancestral domain claims and other related efforts and in promoting the National Greening Program among the lumad in Zamboanga Peninsula.

Gunmen kill council bet in Surigao town

By Francisco Tuyay

A CANDIDATE for councilor was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen in Placer town in Surigao del Norte Monday.

Belated reports reaching Camp Crame said Danrevel Tuldanes Etac, 62, who is running for a seat in the Sangguniang Bayan of Taganaan town, was shot several times by assailants at about 8:15 a.m. along the

national highway in Barangay San Isidro, Placer town.

“Initial investigation disclosed that the victim was traversing the national highway on board his motorcycle from Placer town going to his house

when the assailants riding on a motorcycle tailed and allegedly shot him using a caliber .45 pistol,” said Supt. Daniel Peusca, information officer of Caraga regional police.

Peusca said the victim sustained wounds on different parts of his body and was rushed to Surigao del Norte Provincial Hospital. He died minutes later.

He said responding policemen from Placer Municipal

Station rushed to the scene of incident and subsequently launched pursuit operations.

The suspects fled towards Sison town.

Police probers have yet to determine the motive behind the killing that occurred a day into the election period.

The Commission on Elections has implemented a nationwide gun ban in an attempt to keep the May polls peace and orderly.

Made of ivory. Angeline dela Merced shows a one-inch tall statue of Sto. Niño de Natividad surrounded with diamonds at an exhibit at a mall in Bulacan. DANNY PATA

Crimes vs persons, property drop 14 percent in Region 1

By Dexter A. See

Starting him young. A boy helps his parents plant sugar cane in farm in Quezon, Bukidnon. LANCE BACONGUIS

CAMP FLORENDO, San Fernando City, La Union—Region 1 Police Director Chief Superintendent Ericson T. Velasquez lauded his police personnel in Police Regional Office 1 for a 14-percent drop in index crimes from January to December 2015 compared to the same period in 2014, even as non-index crimes increased by 25 percent.

Index crimes are those committed against persons such as murder, homicide, physical injury and rape, and crimes against property such as robbery, theft, carnapping and cattle rustling.

PCSupt. Velasquez, PRO1’s acting regional director, said

there were 9,426 index crimes recorded in 2015, down 1,559 or 14 percent lower than the 10,985 recorded in 2014.

The number of crimes against persons dropped by 309 while those against property dropped by 1,250.

The police official insisted this was still a good development despite the increase in non-index crimes, which include reckless imprudence resulting in homicide, physical injuries and damage to property; and violation of Special Laws such as illegal drugs, illegal logging, loose firearms, illegal fishing and local ordinances.

Non-index crimes increased to 9,002 in 2015 from 4,395 in 2014.

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ADELLE CHUA EDITOR W E D N E S D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION [ EDI TORI A L ]

BETRAYAL IN THE SENATE “THE RH [reproductive health] bill offers a small measure of support to make sure that access to information and services is made less difficult for the poor...

“Mr. President, this is a vote for Filipino women. I am in favor of RH.” With these words, Senator Loren Legarda cast her vote in December 2012 to pass the RH bill into law, a landmark victory for those in society who believe that rational thought and free will should come into play when Filipinos plan their families.

Three years on, Legarda had an opportunity to prove that she stayed true to her convictions— and did the exact opposite, by defending a P1billion cut in the allocation for contraceptives in the 2016 national budget.

As chairman of the Senate committee on finance, Legarda said the P1-billion allocation for the government’s Family Health and Responsible Parenting program was cut and redirected to the purchase of military aircraft and to increase the budgets of state colleges and universities.

Another portion of the amount, she said, would stay within the Health Department to provide for health facilities and medical assistance to indigent patients.

Legarda added that even after the P1-billion cut, the FHRP still had a budget of P1.67 billion for the procurement of family planning supplies.

“A cut in the budget does not mean less support for a program,” she insisted, defying both logic and common sense. After all, where scarce and limited resources need to be allocated to competing needs, it is the most important ones that get the biggest share of those resources—or by definition, budgetary support. By the same token, a cut in the budget most assuredly indicates a reduction in support.

Regardless of how Legarda tries to sugarcoat the P1-billion cut, no amount of sophistry can hide what the budget reduction really is: a betrayal of the Senate’s obligation to fund the Reproductive Health Law. Trotting out a list of projects where the money was redirected does nothing to correct or justify this betrayal. Rather, it suggests that carrying out the RH Law isn’t all that important after all, compared to these other needs.

Nor is it particularly relevant for Legarda to point out that the Health Department has historically been unable to use all of the allocated funds for the program. This situation highlights the need to improve the department’s mobilization of funds; it should not be used as an excuse to cut its budget.

Three years ago, Legarda said she used her own experience as a woman and as a mother—and the experiences of mothers she met while serving as a senator—to reach her decision to support the reproductive health bill.

Clearly, none of these experiences colored her decision this month to defend the RH-related budget cuts.

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THE BAKER QUESTION LOWDOWN JOJO A. ROBLES

IT WAS US Senator Howard Henry Baker, during the now-famous Watergate hearings that eventually forced the resignation of President Richard Nixon, who asked the iconic question: What did the President know and when did he know it?

This is the same question, I think, that Senator Juan Ponce Enrile seeks an answer to in reopening the Senate investigation of the Mamasapano Massacre that happened a year ago. And whether or not President Noynoy Aquino agrees, personally or through his various flunkies, to answer the Baker Question is of supreme importance, if we are ever to get to the bottom of the killing of 44 Special Action Force troopers on a Maguindanao cornfield last Jan. 25.

It was never established, after all, who green-lighted the wholesale butchering of the SAF 44. What

we’ve been told, in earlier congressional investigations, is that this was done either by refusing to send air or artillery support to the beleaguered members of the commando team or by agreeing to a one-sided ceasefire with the elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Aquino administration’s “peace partners,” or both.

But we never really got to know who gave the order or orders. What we know, as well, is that Aquino and his top security officials were encamped in Zamboanga City that fateful day, closely monitoring the operation to get Malaysian bomb-maker Marwan, which directly led to the massacre.

It’s also true that the earlier investigation by the Senate ended up in a report which found Aquino “ultimately responsible.”

What that means, as far as actually giving orders that went down the chain of command, is unclear.

As far as the Aquino administration is concerned, of course, we’ve been told

The secrets of Mamasapano are too important to be brought by Aquino with him to his grave.

to move on, secure in the knowledge that the President will bring this sorry incident with him to the grave. But what Aquino’s actual involvement in “Oplan Exodus,” as the action to extract Marwan was called, was never explained.

“The people have a right to know,” Enrile explained, and I fully agree. “If [the Aquino administration] has nothing to hide, why

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

would they hesitate to allow the investigation?”

The secrets of the Mamasapano massacre are too important to be brought by Aquino with him to his grave, after all.

If justice is to be served and closure really to be had, then Aquino must come clean. *** Here I must take issue with the defenders of Aquino, both in and out of the presidential palace, who seem to believe that nothing new will come out of the resumption of the Senate investigation. These are the same people who think that it’s really important to find out what motivates the elderly senator.

Personally, I think any speculation on Enrile’s motivation is irrelevant. If some Aquino lapdog like Senate President Franklin Drilon, for instance, called for the reopening of the SAF 44 investigation, I would still applaud it—although I, too, would have some doubts about Drilon’s motives.

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: J A N U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 1 6

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OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

SIX LOST YEARS TO THE POINT EMIL P. JURADO THE Japanese government is said to be keeping one train station running for one regular passenger—a teenage high school girl.

On the island of Hokkaido, the girl waits for her train at the Kyu-Shirataki station so she could get to and from school. The train stops at that station only a few times a day. I saw this in Facebook, through my daughter Nina’s account.

President Aquino and every presidential candidate should take this story to heart if they really want to know what good governance is.

Mr. Aquino and some of his supporters have done enough damage to the country already.

This sounds like a Hollywood movie. Japan has kept the underused station for years—for good reason. It is located at a remote area on Hokkaido island, and passengers and freight service have thinned out. Still, students depend on the train and parents have asked the company to keep the station open for their children.

When this tale of the lone teenage passenger went viral on Facebook, people tipped their hats to the Japanese government for keeping education as a top priority. One commentator wrote, “Why should I not want to die for a country like this when the government is ready to go on an extra mile just for me?”

He adds: “this is the meaning of good governance penetrating the grassroots.

Every citizen matters. No child is left behind.” *** From Day One of the BS Aquino III administration, the President who vowed to lead us to the Promised Land for the next six years has always had a strange sense of values, priorities and loyalties.

I am no longer surprised why he coddles and defends members of his Cabinet who bungle their jobs because of their ineptitude, lack of empathy and insensitivity. This has resulted in

criminal negligence of the people they have sworn to serve, the same people who pay their taxes and other perks.

Recall that botched hostage operation in August 2010. A dismissed policeman held hostage a bus and killed eight Hong Kong tourists. Despite this, President Aquino tried to play down the incident, this angering Hong Kong and Beijing.

And when then-Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who is now running for the Senate under the administration’s ticket, submitted an incident report to the President, BS Aquino III thumbed it down because he did not want his friends and supporters criminally and administratively indicted.

Recall, too, that when the President went to look at the bus where the killing took place, he was smiling from ear to ear.

I had expected De Lima to resign out of self-respect and delicadeza. She did not.

Now, she’s running for the Senate under the administration’s ticket. Should we vote for De Lima, who clearly had no self-respect when her incident report was struck down?

Then came other incidents. Recall that time when the President’s political adviser Ronald Llamas was caught buying pirated CDs and DVDs. Well, he is still there and handling the leftist allies of BS Aquino. In fact, one of them is also in the administration’s Senate slot. She just can’t learn her lesson, having failed twice in a row.

Then, there was the late LTO administrator Virginia Torres, a shooting buddy of BS Aquino III. She had always been involved in controversies.

It was only after she was caught on camera playing the slot machines at a casino that she resigned. Still, BS Aquino III defended her to high heavens.

BS Aquino’s character was also revealed when many of his friends and allies in Congress go involved in the Priority Development Assistance Fund and Disbursement Acceleration Program, which the Supreme Court called illegal and unconstitutional. But they were not charged. Among them are Budget Secretary Butch Abad, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority chief Joel Villanueva, who is now running for the Senate, also under the Liberal Party ticket.

The President’s defining moment came with “Oplan

STOCK MARKET COLLAPSE? ON JAN. 4, this year, the Philippine Stock Exchange was cited as the Best Stock Exchange in Asia for 2015. It got the Marquee Award for its corporate governance programs, its rapid shift to a better trading engine, and for hitting its highest ever index, past 8,000 points in April 2015.

The PSE was selected by Alpha Southeast Asia as winner of the Marquee Awards through a survey of issuers and investors in the Southeast Asian region.

The award-giving body noted that, “PSE spent a large part of the year continuously pushing the boundaries and is now striving to encourage world-class standards of disclosure and corporate governance among its listed companies in the Philippines.”

A week later, on Jan. 11, 2016, the Philippine bourse suffered one of the worst stock market slumps in the region. The index hit 6,288 points, down 9.57 percent in just one week.

The index has hit its lowest in a year and collapsed nearly 23 percent from its 8,136.97 high on April 7, 2015. The total loss in value in just nine months —P2.93 trillion or $62.3 billion.

One company marvelously defied the downtrend. San Miguel Corp. was singular with its rising share price, from P49.80 on Dec. 29, 2015 to P52 on Jan. 11, 2016, up 4.4 percent. Ironically, stock market investors have shunned SMC for much of the past year, without looking at its intrinsic fundamentals.

For nearly all companies, however, their loss in values is massive, deep and broad, cutting a wide swath across-the-board and punishing many companies, from manufacturing, to banking, retail, real estate, and to tourism and gambling. A number of listed companies saw their prices skidding to their lowest in 52 weeks.

If you invested P100 a week ago, you are now probably losing P10 of every P100 of your money. If you invested P100 in April 2015, you have lost about a quarter of that by today.

Don’t worry. You are in good company. The country’s richest and top billionaires are also hurting. The tycoons and taipans are losing between 2.1 percent of their net worth, as in the case of banking and automotive taipan George SK Ty of GT Capital, Exodus” when the President made his best friend, then suspended Police Chief Alan Purisima handle the botched operation. Fortyfour police commandos got slaughtered by a combined force of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and other villagers. That incident pointed to the President as having the ultimate responsibility.

Mr. Aquino never apologized for what happened, not even after the survivors and relatives of the Fallen 44 cried out for justice. This despite the fact that the National Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department had already identified who among the Moro rebels were responsible.

And now that Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile is seeking a reopening of the Mamasapano massacre

er holding company, has shed 9.3 percent of his wealth equivalent to P8.6 VIRTUAL billion. His Megaworld property comREALITY pany lost in one week P23.5 billion of its market cap, from P113.48 billion to TONY P137 billion.

LOPEZ Vista Land and Lifescapes of tycoon-statesmen Manny Villar in one and 23 percent as in the case of port week lost 10.8 percent or P7 billion of and gambling tycoon Enrique Razon its market cap. Manny owns 51.790 of Bloombery Resorts Corp. and his percent of the company, so his loss is port monopoly ICTSI. Razon owns equivalent to P7 billion, in one week.

71 percent of listed casino and hotel Back to PSE’s award. company Bloomberry whose market According to a fund manager cap is down 23 percent or P11.34 bil- quoted by PSE and who is part of lion, of which P8 billion is Ricky’s loss. the panel of the in-house Marquee He owns 55.9 percent of ICTSI which Awards at Alpha Southeast Asia, is down 17.5 percent or P25 billion of “The performance of the equity marwhich P14 billion is his loss. Thus, in ket irrefutably underscores how the just a week, Ricky has lost P33 billion Philippines’ equity market has been ($702 million) of net worth. That is partially insulated from global volajust for one week. Look back one year tility as it is dominated not only by and Ricky’s loss in net worth has been local investors and a large domestic astronomical. pension fund system but also foreign Compared to its 52-week high of investors who now strongly believe P13.46 per share in January 2015, in the investment fundamentals of Bloomberry’s market value is actu- the Philippines. One of many reaally down by a massive 74 percent, sons why foreign investors have refrom P148.26 billion in January 2015 mained comfortable investing in the to P38.66 billion on Jan. 11, a loss of Philippines is due to its pro-discloP109.6 billion or $2.33 billion. Of the sure stance from the ground up.” $2.33 billion, nearly $1.8 billion bePSE’s Marquee Awards also noted longed to Ricky Razon. that, “Investors acknowledge the upThe Philippines’ richest, banking, side for PSE remains high as it has property, hotel, and retailing tycoon the strongest potential for growth Henry Sy Sr. is 11 percent poorer as in 2016 given the solid economic the market capitalization of his hold- fundamentals of the country as the ing company, SM Investments Corp. global economic outlook improves dipped 11 percent at P617.9 billion and investors return to what is intoday, down by P75.8 billion ($1.6 creasingly known as the safest haven billion) from P693.7 billion on Dec. in Asia with improving investment 29, 2015. Tatang Henry owns 67 per- prospects for foreign and institutioncent of SMIC so his share of the loss is al investors.” $1.05 billion. Some people will go The PSEi closed lower by 3.85 pernuts losing a billion of their net worth cent in 2015 amidst global market in just a week. Not the Sys. They just volatilities, but was still the secondsmile all the way to their bank, the best performing index in the Asean. biggest, BDO Unibank, which has lost “As we start another year, we will use a manageable 9.4 percent of its market this recognition to motivate us to convalue the past week. tinue to give our best in everything we The Zobel-Ayalas in Ayala Corp. do,” says PSE president Hans Sicat. are also 12 percent poorer with their In 2013, the PSE also received the holding company Ayala Corp. down Best Stock Exchange in Southeast 12 percent at P412 billion. The fam- Asia award from Alpha Southeast Asia ily and siblings of Oscar Lopez in magazine. their family holding company Lopez Alpha Southeast Asia is an instituHoldings also lost 12 percent of their tional investment magazine dedicated wealth in a week. to covering the Southeast Asian region.

Andrew Tan of Alliance Global

Group, his property, liquor and burgbiznewsasia@gmail.com

probe—he says he has new evidence and would like to ask more questions—BS Aquino III cries the reopening is “politically motivated.” Santa Banana, BS Aquino III must be hiding something we, the people, don’t know. Well, come Jan. 25, we will soon know. *** There are no less than three friends and supporters of BS Aquino III who should have been fired long time ago.

They are, in this order: Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio “Jun” Abaya, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, Alcala and Naia general manger Jose Angel Honrado, a relative of the President who also once served Mr. Aquino’s mother.

Abaya is perhaps the biggest albatross around the head of the President for his inexcusable mishandling of the MRT, amounting to graft and corruption.

MAIL MATTERS NO RECORD OF ONIONS FROM TAIWAN IN PORT IRENE THE Cagayan Economic Zone Authority would like to correct the photo caption published on page A7 of The Standard on Monday, 11 January.

The photo mentioned Port irene as a shipment point of “bigger, cheaper onions from Taiwan.”

CEZA oversees the operations of Port Irene and our record shows no entry of any shipment coming from Taiwan or containing onions.

JOYCE U. JAYME-CALIMAG Public Relations Chief Cagayan Economic Zone Authority People want Abaya to resign, but the President continues to defend him.

Santa Banana, Abaya must have something on BS Aquino III. Social Welfare Secretary Soliman is another. Her incompetence and lack of empathy with survivors of calamities, to the point of having re-

lief goods rot in DSWD warehouses, constitute criminal negligence.

Thank heavens these people now only have five more months. They have inflicted enough damage on the country already.

I can safely say that BS Aquino III’s reign was a period of six lost years in Philippine history.

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

BACK CHANNEL

GIVING BACK

ALEJANDRO DEL ROSARIO WITH the end of the Christmas season, it is noteworthy to cite those who have been selflessly giving gifts and performing acts of charity the whole year round.

The Wong Chu King cigarette manufacturer is one such company imbued with a sense of corporate responsibility. For sure, there are other corporations doing the same thing. The business landscape is replete with stories of a company that started small to become a huge success. But the story of one such company with a big heart is worth retelling.

The Wong Chu King Foundation is into several aspects of charitable work that includes scholarship for deserving but indigent students, the repair and construction of schools,

SO I SEE LITO BANAYO THIS time last year, all we heard in Manila about the possible presidential run of Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte was the faint “clamor” of groups in Davao and parts of Mindanao.

But on Jan. 22, in Butuan City, the feisty mayor began what he called “Listening Tours,” advocating federalism as an alternative to the BBL impasse and as a long-term solution to the perennial complaint of the neglected countryside against the over-centralized unitary system of government.

It was my first time to listen to the mayor of Davao speak in public. The “listening” encounter was held in our family-owned events place right beside the Sto. Niño Cathedral in the capital of Caraga. He had no prepared speech, did not have any notes even. Everything was extemporaneous.

Duterte started with history, about how Magellan came to the Philippines and planted Christianity while most of Mindanao had for a century before converted to Islam. From there he segued to why the Spanish put up a centralized government in Manila, unmindful of the ethno-linguistic tribes that comprised our 7,107 islands. And how the Americans, again for imperial control, foisted a unitary system despite the fact that theirs was a federal system. And thereafter, the same was adopted by succeeding Philippine republics, heightened during martial law, and continued to this date.

But during the open forum, someone asked a pointed question: “We here in Caraga agree with you on the merits of federalism, but you are the only leader of note advocating it. You want to push for it, you have to be President first” (I translate loosely from Bisaya).

The question got Duterte momentarily groping for the right answer. Then he declared, “If God so wills.”

Then Mamasapano happened three days later. He did not join the chorus of anger and condemnation from mostly non-Mind-

classrooms and churches destroyed by typhoons. Some of these projects undertaken by the WCKF are in Cagayan and other tobacco-producing provinces where Mighty sources its material. This has always been the underlying principle of the company’s policy—to give back part of the profit it reaps from the hard work of Filipino tobacco farmers.

Remember the Virginia Slims cigarette ads “you’ve come a long way, baby” whose target market were new women smokers?

Well, the now popular Mighty brand has come a long way from its humble pre-war beginnings.

Started by an immigrant from Amoy, China, the enterprising Wong Chu King sold his slim, black cigarettes, peddling them

“lako-lako” in the narrow streets of Divisoria. After American soldiers ended the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, the patriarch of the King family established the La Campana Fabrica de Tobacos which was to become the forerunner and mother company of the Mighty brand.

The company is now run by King family members with a competent Filipino staff holding key positions. That the Mighty brand has gained a sizable chunk of the market is a testament to the business savvy of the King children who have taken over the company’s dayto-day operations.

One of the noteworthy WCKFfunded projects is the construction and completion of the

Sacred Heart Chapel of Xavier School which provides Jesuit education for the Filipino-Chinese children in San Juan City.

Underwriting scholarships for deserving students has been on going for several years. Funding projects to construct, repair churches and schools and classrooms is a WCKF priority such as the renovation of the ceiling and roofing of the 65-year-old Rosa de Lima parish church in Tuguegarao and the marble floor re-polishing of the Saints Peter and Paul Metropolitan Church, also in Cagayan.

Charity also begins at home.

In Malolos, Bulacan the site of its cigarette factory, the company donated a brand-new patrol car for use of the local police.

“Humility, charity, love of God

THE DUTERTE CHALLENGE anao leaders, and instead pleaded for sobriety. A traditional politician, if he was so obsessed with the presidency, would have recounted that he, the President and Mar Roxas were serendipitously together in Zamboanga City the day Mamasapano happened. For Duterte was to address a scheduled “listening tour” that Saturday in “la ciudad hermosa,” and on Sunday at Pagadian City. He was invited to a security situation conference

by Mar who accompanied the President, in the wake of a minor bombing incident in the city days before. Unknown to Duterte at the time, something was transpiring in Maguindanao, which was why the President kept going in and out of the conference, busy with cellphone calls handed by his aide.

Yet he kept his peace, and calmly told everyone to hold their peace, for the security of his people was at stake.

In any case, the “listening tours” proceeded—Puerto Princesa, Cebu, Cabanatuan, San Jose del Monte, San Pablo, Lucena, Baguio, Angeles, Tanauan, Dumaguete, Bacolod, Iloilo, even relatively remote Masbate and Calapan. In all these places, the question of whether he would go for the presidency was asked.

In the middle of February, in the City of Dagupan, before an assembly in the Northwestern Lyceum University, a former Central Pangasinan congressman challenged him to declare a presidential run, “to save the country.”

National media began to take attention. The pollsters included his name in the “tambiolo” of socalled presidentiables. The rest is current history.

The numbers started at 12, then 15-16, next 18, and then when the Social Weather Stations took a privately commissioned poll on Nov. 27, after he had finally declared, and after all that tenterhook suspense on whether or not he was running at all in Oct. 16, the numbers zoomed to an awesome 38 and Numero Uno all of a sudden.

But an unfortunate incident

happened in the afternoon of Nov. 30. In a long speech before the PDP-Laban, under whose aegis he is running, Duterte was approached by his faithful Bong Go, who whispered that they were running a very tight schedule that evening. Winding up his remarks, Duterte excused himself by saying that because of the traffic in the metropolis, he had to say goodbye, and then recounted what happened when he was on the way to the airport during a dry-run for the papal visit, when Roxas Boulevard (the mayor still calls it Dewey) and other major roads were closed. And that unfortunate cuss came out of his mouth, on live television, repeated that night and the next on prime time news.

The next round of surveys, done in the second week of December, showed a steep decline, a major, major correction. One survey placed him at a tie with Poe in numero dos, another even-steven with Roxas at numero tres.

His numbers were gravely affected in NCR and very Catholic Central Visayas, dipped in Northern and Western Mindanao, and remained static in the rest, which means high enough in Central and Southern Mindanao, but quite low in Balance Luzon and East and Western Visayas.

Good thing for Digong, this happened in late 2015. If it happened in March 2016, recovery might be dangerously impossible.

I have maintained in previous articles that the 2016 race is going to be close. Could be anybody’s game.

If Poe gets ultimately disqualified, her present numbers indicate a migration towards Binay and Duterte more than to Roxas.

But there are 116 days to go, and it will depend on how the three capture the voters’ imagination.

The matter of when the Supreme Court disqualifies is also of strategic impact to the three. And whether the Court disqualifies or approves of Poe early enough or late in the campaign would even more heavily impact on her numbers. As it is,

a heavy toll has been exacted by the saga of her citizenship and residency woes. Will there be ample time to reverse a downhill trend? And will a favorable ruling suddenly reverse everything in her favor? Depends on a lot of “events,” both from her and from the competition.

Digong has both geography and an engaging narrative in his favor. There is the potential solid Mindanao vote. That’s 12-13 million, of whom 10 will likely troop to the polls. There is a Cebuano vote outside Mindanao. Digong is certifiably Bis-dak: born in Maasin upon Leyte, of a father from Cebu and a mother from Northern Mindanao. That’s another 5 million of whom 4 will actually vote. Ten plus four is 14, and if he captures even 40 percent of NCR’s 5 million, he is a cinch in a five-way contest.

But whether it is getting solid support in his bailiwicks, hungry for a Bisaya president denied them in the last six decades, even hungrier for the first Mindanaoan president ever, still depends on his messaging and campaign strategy. What may be the lovably “bugoy” to his fellow Davaoenos could be a misunderstood “sobra naman” to the rest of the country.

NCR is anybody’s territory, up to the last month of the campaign. Right now, the favorites are Duterte and Binay, but that may still change. The Lingayento-Lucena corridor is heavily influenced by the sentiments of NCR, and the Tagalog vote which predominates in Central Luzon and Calabarzon as well as Mimaropa, is not an ethno-linguistic bailiwick of anybody. In recent political history, only Erap in 1998 solidified this area to the max.

The road map for Duterte’s challenge is pretty easy to configure. It really is all up to the candidate from Mindanao with the Bisaya ethos to watch the landmines and be more gingerly, without losing his strongest suit in the course of his messaging— moral courage and the political will to straighten things out.

and country” form the basic tenet of the King family foundation. Giving back to the less fortunate and underprivileged also has its blessings as the company continues to thrive in a highly competitive market.

There is a news report the Bureau of Internal Revenue is poised to raise taxes on the socalled “sin products” of alcohol and tobacco. This does not faze the makers of the Mighty brand who are confident consumers will stay with their low cost, high quality product so that the King Foundation will be able to continue its charitable work.

The company is also cognizant that helping raise government tax revenues is the civic duty of every member of the business community.

The Baker..From A8 Having impure objectives never stopped the Senate from conducting its various probes, after all. For instance, if senators were asked to pass a test of non-partisanship before they were allowed to investigate anything, the year-long Senate farce to smear Vice President Jejomar Binay would never have even started.

(It does help, I think, to be free of the Malacañang reality distortion field to conduct a halfway-credible Senate investigation. To get back to the example of Drilon, if the Senate president were to reopen the massacre probe, it could only mean that the Palace wanted that done—or that Drilon has once again made one of those political U-turns for which he is justly notorious.)

As far as Enrile is concerned, I admit that I’m not even a fan of his. Whatever admiration I had for the man was lost when he cast his vote to convict—unjustly, I still maintain—Chief Justice Renato Corona, just because Aquino wanted that done.

I am aware, of course, that Enrile just might do to the reopened probe what he did when he presided over the Corona impeachment trial— which is to portray himself as the very soul of fair play and the defender the palace-oppressed, only to do the President’s bidding in the end. And I also know that all that Enrile got for this was to get jailed when Aquino needed some pork abusers imprisoned and could not touch his allies.

But what is critical to me is that Enrile, as he explains it, just wants to find out what Aquino knew and when he knew it. This is why Enrile announced that he will probably not call in the families of the slain commandos anymore, something that a senator who simply needs to elicit cheap sympathy—someone like Alan Peter Cayetano, for instance— would do.

I hope Enrile gets on with the probe and pursues it to the bitter end. At this point in his life, he should do nothing less.

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Korean star signs with Cardinals Kerber joins casualty list ahead of Open

South Korean pitcher oh Seunghwan has signed for the St Louis Cardinals on a one-year contract, the Major League Baseball club announced on Monday.

Angelique Kerber of Germany hits a return against Elina Svitolina of Ukraine during their women’s singles first round match at the Sydney International tennis tournament in Sydney. AFP

German world number seven Angelique Kerber withdrew from the Sydney International on Tuesday, adding to a lengthy list of ailing women stars ahead of next week’s Australian Open.

The fourth seed, who won her first round match against Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina in fierce heat over three sets on Monday, pulled out of the tournament citing a gastrointestinal illness.

Her withdrawal follows defending champion Petra Kvitova, who also had gastrointestinal problems, and second seed Agnieszka Radwanska who dropped out with a leg injury.

Kerber, who lost to Victoria Azarenka in Saturday’s Brisbane International final, said she experienced problems overnight after Monday’s victory.

“I’m very sorry I can’t go on court today but I’m not feeling 100 percent,” Kerber said.

“I started to feel unwell yesterday and today my stomach is not right. I don’t want to risk my health before Melbourne.”

The trio’s withdrawals came after injury problems at other Australian tournaments for the world’s top-ranked stars including Serena Williams (knee), Garbine Muguruza (foot) and Maria Sharapova (forearm).

Russian Ekaterina Makarova received a walkover into the Sydney quarter-finals following Kerber’s withdrawal.

The Australian Open starts in Melbourne on Monday. AFP

Aussie Rules players banned for doping THIRTy-four Australian Football League (AFL) players were Tuesday slapped with lengthy bans for doping offences in a case officials called “the most devastating selfinflicted injury by a sporting club in Australian history”.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a World Anti-Doping Agency appeal against an AFL tribunal ruling last March that cleared past and present players from the Melbourne-based Essendon club of using the banned

substance thymosin beta-4.

The tribunal followed an indepth probe by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) that examined the club’s player supplements and sports science programme which sent shockwaves through the game.

The AFL had hit the top Australian side with the biggest fine in the sport’s history—Aus$2 million (US$1.6 million)—and banned coach James Hird for 12 months for bringing the game

into disrepute.

However, Montreal-based WADA took the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland.

The court ruled it was “comfortable” that the AFL doping code had been violated “and found by a majority that all players were significantly at fault”.

“Regrettably we can confirm the Court of Arbitration for Sport has found 34 past and present players guilty of committing an

anti-doping rule violation,” Essendon chairman Lindsay Tanner said in a statement.

“As a result, the players—including 12 currently listed with Essendon—have been suspended for the 2016 season. The club is currently digesting the decision.”

The AFL season begins in March.

Twelve of the players banned are still on Essendon’s books, including captain Jobe Watson. Other players are now at rival clubs while some have retired. AFP

The 33-year-old righthander joins the Cardinals from the Hanshin Tigers professional team in Japan.

Terms of Oh’s deal have not been revealed although the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported the contract, which has a club option for 2017, was potentially worth $5 million.

“The addition of Seung Hwan to our bullpen is significant for a number of reasons,” Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said in a statement. “First and foremost, Oh has been a proven performer on some of the biggest international stages and his talent and experience should significantly enhance our bullpen. We are also excited to have expanded our reach into the Asian markets with the addition of one of the premier relievers in Asian baseball history.”

Oh will complement a Cardinals bullpen that already consists of closer Trevor Rosenthal, Jonathan Broxton, Jordan Walden, Seth Maness and Kevin Siegrist.

Oh has 357 career saves during his time playing in South Korea and Japan.

Pistorius to appeal murder conviction in S. Africa court PARALyMPIC champion Oscar Pistorius on Monday made a last-ditch attempt with South Africa’s top court to overturn his murder conviction for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

He has been on bail awaiting a new sentence since December, when judges found him guilty of murder, overturning his earlier conviction on the lesser charge of culpable homicide.

The double-amputee killed Steenkamp, a model and law graduate, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, saying he mistook her for an intruder when he shot four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.

Under the new conviction for murder, Pistorius, 29, faces a minimum 15-year jail term that may be reduced due to time already spent in jail and the fact that he is a first-time offender.

“We have lodged an application for leave to appeal to the Constitutional Court,” Andrew Fawcett, a lawyer on Pistorius’s legal team, told AFP. Pistorius was released from jail in October to live under house arrest at his uncle’s property in Pretoria after serving one year of his five-year prison sentence for culpable homicide -- the equivalent of manslaughter. AFP

Wrestling moves. This photo shows mixed martial arts fighter Aung La N Sang (right) ) teaching others on the sidelines of his training session at a gym in Yangon. Aung La N Sang, known to fans as the “Burmese Python”, returned to his native Myanmar for the first time in over a decade after moving to the US as a teenager as he prepares for a comeback fight in Yangon in March. AFP

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IAAF, Russia hold talks on reforms AN IAAF inspection team, in Russia to verify the reforms made by the country’s athletics federation, enjoyed “frank and open” talks with Russian officials on Monday.

“Discussions at today’s meeting have been frank and open and we look forward to continuing them with the Interim Coordination Commitee (ICC) tomorrow (Tuesday),” commission chairman Rune Andersen, a renowned antidoping expert, was quoted by the IAAF as saying.

Local press reports said that the IAAF commission had been working behind closed doors studying documents related to federation reforms undertaken with the aim of gaining reacceptance by world track and field’s governing body.

The reports also stated that the first visit of the fiveperson inspection team to Russia had an introductory character.

The IAAF hit Russia with an indefinite suspension in November after a bombshell report by the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA) independent commission that revealed Russia’s antidoping agency had “routinely” violated global testing standards.

As a result of the sanction, Russian athletes are not at the moment eligible to compete at the 2016 Olympic Games and IAAF president Sebastian Coe said that would only change if certain strict conditions were met.

On Tuesday the IAAF inspection team and Russia’s Olympic Committee ICC will again hold a full day of meetings, following which a further statement is expected to be issued.

FC Barcelona and Argentina’s forward Lionel Messi waves as he holdis his trophy after receiving the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or award for player of the year during the 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or award ceremony at the Kongresshaus in Zurich. AFP

Football ace Messi wins record fifth Ballon d’Or Barcelona star Lionel Messi won a record fifth FIFA Ballon d’Or award for the world’s best player at a ceremony in Zurich on Monday.

The Argentine dethroned three-time winner Cristiano Ronaldo in adding to his four consecutive awards from 2009 to 2012.

Brazil star Neymar, who also plays for Barca, came third in the vote by national team coaches and captains, and journalists.

“It’s a very special moment to come back, to get a Ballon d’Or again after the two years in which Cristiano Ronaldo won each time,” said the 28-year-old Messi.

“It is incredible that it’s my fifth. This Ballon d’Or means more than I could have ever dreamed of as a child.”

Messi, who voted for his Barca teammate Luis Suarez, had 41 percent of the vote, Ronaldo getting 28 percent and Neymar 8.0 percent.

His victory continued the duopoly of the

award he enjoys with Ronaldo that has lasted since Brazilian Kaka claimed top honours in 2007.

“We have always had a good relationship,” said Messi about his rivalry with Ronaldo.

“We share a profession, we have our dayto-day battles because we are playing for different teams, but it is more in the press that they compare us for one reason or another.

“On our part, there has always been admiration and respect.”

Messi was the star player as Barcelona won the treble of Champions League, La Liga and Spanish Cup last season, before also adding the Club World Cup last month.

Although he became the first ever player to win the award five times, Messi had said earlier that he would swap all those individual accolades for a World Cup success.

“Team awards are more important than individual ones,” he said, before adding that the World Cup “is every player’s objective, it’s really the pinnacle”.

Messi and his Argentina teammates came close to winning the World Cup in Brazil in

2014 but were beaten 1-0 by Germany in the final. AFP His Barcelona boss Luis Enrique won the coach of the year award while Jill Ellis took the women’s trophy.

She had guided the US to women’s World Cup glory in Canada last summer, beating Japan 5-2 in the final.

Carli Lloyd scored a hat-trick in that match and that was enough to help her land the FIFA women’s player of the year gong.

She had also previously scored the winning goals for the US in the Olympic Games finals of 2008 and 2012.

Enrique edged out Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola and Chile coach Jorge Sampaoli.

Brazilian Wendell Lira won the Puskas award for goal of the year for his spectacular overhead bicycle kick for Goianesia in a regional league match, edging out Messi’s own mazy dribble against Athletic Bilbao in last season’s Copa del Rey final.

Barca and Real dominated the team of the year as well with four players each, including Messi, Neymar and Ronaldo.

PCU Dolphins take steps for return to NCAA FORMER NCAA champion Philippine Christian University is taking another big step in preparation for its muchawaited return to big-time collegiate basketball scene.

To be handled by coach Elvis Tolentino and his father Loreto “Ato” Tolentino, PCU will see action in the 2016 MBL Open basketball championship scheduled at the Rizal Coliseum later this month.

The multi-titled father and son tandem is trying to bring back the glory days of the Dolphins, who made history by winning their first and only NCAA title in 2004.

The team is currently applying for readmission to the NCAA.

Supporting the team’s campaign are the PCU community, headed by school president Junifen Gauuan and athletic director Putli Ijranm and Naughty Needlez and Lilac Experience Resto Lounge.

The notable members of the team are Jon Von Tambeling, Mike Ayonayon, Yves Sazon, Fidel Castro, Brett Pallatao, Julius Leron, Dexter Mescallaelo, Reyl Charl Vasquez, Maoi Marcelino, Andro Catipay, Vonn Tapiz, , Jerico Santos and Alec Abrigo.

“We have a young but talented team ready to compete against the more-experienced commercial and club teams in the country,” said Tolentino, one of the vital cogs in College of St. Benilde’s successful NCAA champion team back in 2000 .

“We will always play the game the best way we can ,” added the younger Tolentino, who attended the IMPACT coaching clinic in Las Vegas under coach Joe Abunasar, Bobby Knight’s former associate, to jumpstart his career as a full-time coach.

Tolentino said former PCU players now playing in the PBA -- Jayson Castro of Talk and Text, Gabby Espinas of San Miguel Beer and Beau Belga pf Rain or Shine are supporting the team’s campaign in the MBL. The three players (Castro, Espinas and Belga) led the Dolphins to their first and only NCAA crown in 2004 , along with Ramon Retaga, Robert Sanz, Liztian Amparado and Ian Garrido.

The other teams expected to compete are defending champion Gerry’s GrillDiliman College of Jerome Ngo and coach Rensy Bajar; Macway Travel Club of businessman-sportsman Erick Kirong and wife Cathy Kirong and coach Braulio Lim; Wang’s Ballclub of MBL chairman Alex Wang; New San Jose Builders of sports patron Jomar Acuzar and coach Jinino Manansala; and Ironcon Builders-UST of Jimi Lim and coach Bong de la Cruz.

Also invited to participate are Franzie Cologne, Arellano University, Lyceum of the Philippines, EARIST, Rizal Technological University , St. Clare College-Caloocan, AMA University and De Ocampo Memorial Colleges.

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Bigger basketball training center set

Eric Altamirano (second from left), NBTC national program director, bares the center’s plans during Tuesday’s PSA Forum at Shakey’s Malate. He is joined by (from left) SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. sports development program head CJ Suarez, multi-titled coach Ato Badolato and collegiate standout Mike Tolomia. LINO SANTOS

THE National Basketball Training Center is entering its eighth year with bigger plans and programs aimed at benefiting not only the young players, but coaches nationwide.

Eric Altamirano, NBTC national program director, bared their plans during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum at Shakey’s Malate, together with multi-titled coach Ato Badolato, collegiate standout Mike Tolomia, and SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. sports development program head CJ Suarez.

“Our main objective is to develop skills, build character, and raise leaders among the players, and educate the coaches on the proper way of teaching and coaching their players or even how to deal with the referees,” said Altamirano, head coach of the NU Bulldogs in the UAAP. “The NBTC represents

Donaire aims to better his glory days of 2012

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

FORMER five-division world champion Nonito “The Filipino Flash” wants to exceed his 2012 performance, when he was named “Fighter of the Year” with four smashing victories against top-notch opponents such as Fernando Montiel, Jorge Arce, Jeffrey Mathebula and Toshiaki Nishioka and was No. 5 on the Ring Magazine poundfor-pound roster.

“I want to go beyond the glory days of 2012. I feel great and am grateful for the opportunity to have a

second chance, a second opportunity to better myself,” Donaire told The Standard/ boxingmirror.com.

Donaire is likely to defend his newly won WBO super bantamweight title against No. 4-ranked former Hungarian Olympian Zsolt Bedak on April 23 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

“I am not going to waste time, not training and waiting for my opponents to comply or waiting for the contract,” said Donaire.

“In the past, I waited for a contract but now I am training, keep learning and keep getting better. I’ll be ready for whomever they

put in front of me.”

With Bedak looking as the likely challenger, Donaire said: “I want to have an impressive victory again. Go out there and let people see I am getting better and better each time.”

Donaire, who is 33 years old, emphasized that “age makes no difference. I’ll just stay healthy and train harder than before.”

He said he didn’t know anything about Bedak yet and said he would study tapes of his fights with his trainer/father Dodong

Donaire when he begins training in Las Vegas after the Philippine Sportswriters Association annual awards night on Feb. 13 where he, the longestreigning Filipino champion Donnie “Ahas” Nietes, the WBO light flyweight king, and young golfer Miguel Tabuena will receive the “Athlete of the Year’ awards.

“I am very honored and very thankful for the award.

I accept the award with pride. They will see more of me in the years ahead,” Donaire said.

7-Eleven riders join PH, Malaysian tours

By Peter Atencio FEBRUARY will be a busy time for 7-Eleven RoadBike Philippines Team Director Ric Rodriguez said this as the team prepares to join and seeks podium finishes in the 2016 Le Tour de Filipinas and the 2016 Le Tour de Langkawi.

Rodriguez said that as soon as the Philippine races are over, they will be ready to go to Malaysia and formalize their return to the region’s grandest UCI race, the Le Tour de Langkawi.

“We are joining both races.

Since February and March are the best season to have such a race, the Langkawi organizers decided to give way to the

races in the Philippines by a few days,” said Rodriguez.

The Le Tour de Filipinas is from Feb 18 to 21, while the Langkawi competitions are from Feb. 24 to March 2.

Rodriguez said the country’s lone Continental team will go up against 11 worldclass European teams and 10 Asian squads come the UCI Hors Category LTDL, which will be held in the West Coast of the Malaysian peninsula.

It will be 10 years since a Philippine squad has gone to to Langkawi.

Rodriguez said they are targeting podium finishes and the distinction of earning the honor of Asia’s best team championship.

Net winners. Tracy Llamas (second from right) and Al Francis Andrade (second from left) hold their trophies as they pose with PPS-PEPP area manager Lyn Nuevo (left) and Atty.

Rudy Alba, president of Vistec Tennis Club, after romping off with two victories each in the PPS-PEPP age-grouper in Roxas City, Capiz.

a nationwide grassroots program for male high school players. We also hold workshops, conduct high-level tournaments and coaches’ convention.

We mentor the coaches,” added Altamirano, also a champion coach in the PBA. In February, the NBTC will hold the regional championships among teams from the different clusters in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

The top 24 teams will advance to the National Championship.

Badolato said the national event will take place March 13 to 17 at the Mall of Asia Arena. In last year’s final, Sacred Heart of Cebu stunned San Beda.

An All-Star game among the country’s top high school players is also in the drawing board, and Badolato, who steered San Beda to countless titles in the NCAA high school division, in charge of the selection.

2 title tiffs to open X-treme Combat season TWO exciting title fights open the 2016 season of the Pacific X-treme Combat, including the highly anticipated showdown between Crisanto Pitpitunge and Jenel Lausa this Saturday at its new home at the Solaire Resort and Casino.

Pitpitunge and Lausa will meet for the vacant flyweight title in the main match of the nine-fight card making up the 51st edition of the premiere Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) tournament in Asia.

The showdown marks the first all-Filipino title meet in the PXC since the late Ale Cali beat Erwin Tagle for the flyweight championship.

The other title match features reigning bantamweight king Kyle Aguon of Guam staking his crown against Kwan Ko Kwak of South Korea.

“It’s gonna be an exciting nine-fight card which the PXC prepared for fight fans this coming Saturday,” said PXC director for fight operations Robert San Diego in the Philippine Sportswriters Association Forum which held its first session for the year on Tuesday at Shakey’s Malate.

Also on hand during the public sports program presented by San Miguel Corp., Shakey’s, Accel, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. were fighters Rex De Lara and Wesley Machado, who are seeing action as part of the undercard.

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Beermen, Painters shoot for key semis series edge

By Jeric Lopez

WHO will take the important upperhand?

A vital series edge is on the line for San Miguel Beer and Rain or Shine in the continuation of their physical and hotly contested best-of-seven semifinal affair in the 2015-16 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup. With the series knotted at 2-2, the all-important Game 5, slated tonight at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, will be much coveted by both teams as a 3-2 edge will bring the victor closer to the finals.

Continuing to fully impose his strength and will inside, reigning Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo towed the Beermen to a huge 105-92 victory in Game 4 Monday night as SMB avoided a huge hole and levelled the series.

The Cebuano behemoth unleashed game-highs of 33 points and 15 rebounds in Game 4 and he, along with his supporting cast, proved to be too much for the Elasto Painters to handle the last time out.

San Miguel coach Leo Austria wants his defending champion Beermen to repeat what they did in Game 4.

“Sana ma-duplicate namin ‘yung nagawa namin nung Game 4,’’ said Austria.

But the two-time champion resulting in Rain or Shine’s fall. coach said he expects a lot more “We did not run as much as from Rain or Shine. we wanted in that game. We “Marami pang would have wanted baraha si Coach Yeng to run more but Game Today (Guiao). We need to (Game 5, Semifinals - Smart we missed Jericho Araneta Coliseum): be smart especially (Cruz) there and 7 p.m. - San Miguel vs. sa end game,’’ added we’re missing RayRain or Shine Austria. mund (Almazan) in Adjustments will be the name the rebounding department as of the game for Rain or Shine well,’’ admitted Guiao. now.

While Almazan was already “It’s a best-of-three now. We ruled out of the series because of will make the adjustments,’’ his ankle injury, the good news said Painters coach Yeng Guiao, for Rain or Shine is that Cruz who expressed confidence in might return and play in Game his team’s chances as well. “We 5 should his banged-up knee feel know we can beat them (San better. He will be a game-time Miguel).” decision.

The Elasto Painters are miss“He (Cruz) just hyper-exing two key players in Raymund tended his knee and there’s no Almazan and Jericho Cruz, who serious damage. I will use him were both out due to injuries, if his doctor will recommend and the void of those two cag- him to play. We will need him,’’ ers wasn’t filled out in Game 4, added Guiao.

SMB behemoth JuneMar Fajardo towers for a shot over everyone else in a PBA Philippine Cup semifinal game won by the Beermen over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 105-92.

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+

Weiss targets Xterra Albay triathlon repeat DEFENDING champion Bradley Weiss seeks to dish out another explosive performance around majestic Mayon Volcano as he banners a stellar field in the XTERRA Albay 2016 on Feb. 7 in the Province of Albay.

Weiss struck gold last year when the prestigious off-road triathlon race had its maiden run in Albay with the South African ace determined to set another coronation for himself with the world’s most perfect cone as backdrop.

Out to foil Weiss bid are 2015 male pro third-placer Ben Allen of Australia, 2015 fourth placer Brodie Gardner also of Australia, Charlie Epperson of Guam, Joseph Miller of the Philippines and Michal Bucek of Slovakia, who are all returning to Albay.

The women’s pro crown, meanwhile, is up for grabs are 2015 winner Flora Duffy, the world titlist from Bermuda, has opted to skip this year’s event to concentrate on her campaign in the Rio Olympics.

Australians Jacqui Slack, the runnerup last year, and third placer Dimity Lee Duke head the contenders in the distaff side along with Mieko Carey of Guam, who placed fourth last time.

Pros Lizzie Orchard, Taylor Charlton, Cameron Paul, Cameron O’Neal, and Jon Slaney are making their debut in the 2016 edition of the event organized and produced by Sunrise Events, Inc. and backed by Cetaphil, Columbia, Finisher Pix, Shotz Sports Nutrition, Timex, David’s Salon and official courier and logistics partner 2Go Express.

The race tests the participants in challenging environs in courses around Mayon.

The 1.5K swim starts in the shores of Lidong in Mayon Rivera, where the water is calm and deep and the sands are black.

The 35K bike course features wide and open trails and provides breathtaking view of Mayon. It is a single loop point to point race passing through fire roads, grass roads, sands and rocky trails.

The 10K run follows the ATV route in Mayon passing through rocky and sandy areas, river bed, and grasslands with the finish line set at the famous Cagsawa Ruins.

Philracom: Metroturf weekend races to proceed THE HOARSE WHISPERER JENNY ORTUOSTE

METRO Manila Turf Club, Inc., owner and operator of Metroturf Racecourse, was able to successfully deploy enough betting terminals last Monday to meet Philippine Racing Commission conditions regarding their operations this weekend.

In a resolution dated 12 Jan., Philracom cleared MMTCI to hold races on Jan. 16 and 17, after allowing them to hold makeup races on Jan. 11 on condition of compliance with betting network requirements.

This situation stemmed from incidents on Jan. 5, when sales fell well below average because of the reduced number of betting machines available for MMTCI’s use, and Jan. 6, when races were cancelled for the same reason.

In order to make up losses, MMTCI requested the Commission, on Jan. 6 via its racing manager Wilbert Adriano, for permission to hold races on Jan. 11.

Philracom allowed them to “resume racing operations on Jan. 11 on the condition that [MMTCI] would have installed on the said date at least 300 working and operational betting terminals.”

Otherwise, the Philracom warned, MMTC’s operations

“including the races on Jan. 16 and 17, 2016, shall be suspended indefinitely until MMTCI can comply with this requirement.”

According to a Philracom official, betting system provider Global Versatech, Inc. had advised Metroturf at least two months before of the cessation of their operations at the beginning of 2016.

GVI had also been the service provider of Philippine Racing Club, Inc., owner and operator of Santa Ana Park, which opted to establish their own system beginning this year.

The insider said that Metroturf had assumed that they would be carried on PRCI’s network during the time they were

establishing their own; however, the arrangement for such was with GVI, not with PRCI. According to Adriano, Metroturf was able to install 310 terminals by Jan. 11, although insiders say not all were operational.

Sales for the night, however, were healthy; the Winner-Take-All, one of the indicators of sales conditions, hit around P3 million.

The night’s gross was over P14 million, a little below the average of around P17 million, but enough to show MMTCI’s compliance with the Philracom requirement on its pari-mutuel system.

The clearance for Metroturf to operate comes just in time, given that the first stakes races of the year, one each backed by

Philracom and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, are scheduled there this weekend.

On Saturday, the PCSO Special Maiden race will feature six entries.

The trial race held Jan. 6 was won

by Kid Benjie under DH Borbe, finishing three lengths ahead of second placer Lucky Ray, with Mark Alvarez aboard.

Other finishers were, in order: Enduring, Lady Pio, Ungkaw, and Tiger Helen last. The total time for the 1,400-meter trial was 1:26.4 (13.4-22.6-23.8-26.6).

The race, a 3YO Open, is expected to be among the preparatory events for the runners who might vie for the elite 3YO championships this summer, notably the Philracom Triple Crown.

On Sunday, the Philracom Commissioner’s Cup for 4YO and older local-bred horses will be held over 1,800 meters and boasts a total purse of P1.2 million. ***** Congratulations to the newly-elected directors of the New Philippine Jockeys Association: president RR de Leon, vice-president GL Francisco, secretary RR Camañero, treasurer AB Alcasid Jr., auditor KeM Malapira, and directors VR Dilema, DG Vacal, SG Vacal, KB Abobo, IL Aguila, and Dan Camañero. *** Facebook: Gogirl Racing, Twitter: @gogirlracing, Instagram: @jensdecember

A16

W E D N E S DAY : J A N U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 16 RIERA U. MALL ARI EDITOR

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

sports@thestandard.com.ph

SPORTS

Tony Parker (9) of the San Antonio Spurs drives to the basket against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Spurs won, 106-79. AFP

‘Arum failed to give back to PH boxing’

By Ronnie Nathanielsz STRENGTH and conditioning guru Alex Ariza, who steered eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao through his amazing run against top-class fighters, has lamented the fact that despite the tremendous talent in the country, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who made lots of money off the Filipino ring icon, hasn’t given anything back to Philippine boxing.

In a wide-ranging interview on Viva Sports weekly boxing show “The Main Event” on Pinoy Box Office over Sky Cable last weekend, Ariza said: “I’ve been to a lot of gyms here and I see such tremendous talent, it’s so sad that after all the money made off Pacquiao, they can’t give a little back .”

Ariza said he felt the need “for something structured, something organized and they (Filipino fighters) can make the transition and be seen over in the United States. There is a wealth of raw talent waiting for somebody to give direction.”

Ariza believes that Filipino fighters need to be given the exposure that Floyd Mayweather Jr. gives his fighters in the US. The strength and conditioning coach said he doesn’t have the resources to pay for such a program, but committed “I will definitely give my time and whatever expertise and advice absolutely free.”

Spurs equal best start in NBA franchise history NEW YORK—Forward LaMarcus Aldridge tallied 25 points and 11 rebounds as San Antonio matched the best start in franchise history with a 106-79 rout of Brooklyn on Monday.

The Spurs improved to 33-6, matching the team’s best 39-game start, a mark set during the 201011 season. San Antonio also posted its league-leading 14th win by at least 20 points while stretching its winning streak to eight games.

Aldridge shot 12-for-17 from the field and posted his 12th doubledouble. He had his 10th game with at least 20 points and was the Spurs’ leading scorer for the 11th time.

Forward Kawhi Leonard scored 17 points and rookie center Boban Marjanovic scored 13 for the Spurs, who won despite little scor-

Messi wins record 5th straight Ballon d’Or TURN TO A13

ing from all-star guard Tony Parker and center Tim Duncan. Parker scored six points, while Duncan finished with eight.

“I like him,” San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said of Marjanovic. “He’s really an intelligent player. He’s hard-working and just learning. So every minute he gets really helps him develop.”

Interim coach Tony Brown was making his debut with the Nets, one day after the sacking of coach Lionel Hollins.

Brooklyn missed 10-of-12 three-point attempts and had 19

turnovers, leading to 30 San Antonio points.

Center Brook Lopez led Brooklyn with 18 points and forward Joe Johnson added 16 for the Nets, who lost their 10th consecutive home game.

The Spurs led 77-56 at the end of the third quarter. The Nets scored the first six points of the fourth to get within 77-62. Two minutes later, San Antonio stretched the lead to 87-62 as Leonard sandwiched a pair of three-pointers around a jump shot by Aldridge.

San Antonio led by double digits over the final 18 minutes.

Elsewhere, the Washington Wizards had no trouble beating the Chicago Bulls 114-100, despite missing several players due to injuries.

The Wizards won their second straight game by getting points

Painters, Beermen shoot for key semis series edge TURN TO A15

from 10 players, including seven who finished in double figures.

Point guard John Wall paced the attack with 17 points, 10 assists and three steals, while guard Garrett Temple, forward Otto Porter and center Nene all scored 14 points in the win.

Ramon Sessions had 16 points, Gary Neal added 11 points and Drew Gooden finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds, all off the bench.

Washington’s reserves outscored Chicago’s 47-32.

Chicago was led by Derrick Rose’s 23 points, while shooting guard Jimmy Butler added 19 points and center Pau Gasol had 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Bulls lost consecutive games for the first time since a three-game losing streak in December. AFP

WEDNESDAY: JANUARY 13, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS

B1

2015 vehicle sales climbed 23%

By Julito G. Rada

VEHICLE sales jumped 23 percent in 2015 to reach a record 288,609 units from 234,747 units sold in 2014 amid strong demand, two industry groups said Tuesday.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association said in a joint report the 2015 sales also surpassed the target of 272,000 units.

“The year 2015 is yet another milestone year. The industry was

able to maintain the growth momentum of previous years,” Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said.

The figures excluded the sales performance of industry group Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors Inc. The whole

industry expected total sales in 2015 to reach 310,000.

Gutierrez said with the remarkable performance in 2015, the industry was aiming for another 21-percent growth in 2016, which would bring total sales to over 350,000.

“The growth drivers this year would be the country’s strong economy that could be translated to robust sales, sustained overseas Filipino remittances, coupled with the approaching national elections that could boost spending,” he said.

Data showed that Campi and TMA members sold 116,381 pas-

senger cars or sedans in 2015, up by 29 percent from 90,287 units sold in 2014.

Sales of commercial vehicles also grew 19 percent to 172,228 from 144,460 units a year ago.

Commercial vehicles accounted for 60 percent of total sales, while passenger cars represented the remaining 40 percent.

Among commercial vehicles, orders for Asian utility vehicles increased by 15 percent to 50,977 from 44,196; light commercial vehicles by 20 percent to 112,545 from 93,589; and light trucks by 26 percent to 5,066 from 4,029 units.

Sales of trucks and buses (category four) also rose 12 percent to 2,394 from 2,137 units a year ago.

Gutierrez said in December alone, vehicle sales increased 25.1 percent to 26,679 units from 21,320 units in the same month in 2014.

“As a usual trend for 2015, most categories performed well. Passenger cars increased to 10,461 units, an increase of 33.3 percent from 7,850 units sold last December 2014. This category finished off with a strong record of 116,381 units, a growth of 28.9 percent from 2014’s 90,287 units sold,” Gutierrez said.

PSe comPoSite index Closing January 12, 2016

8000 8340 7880 7420 6960 6500

6,330.55 42.29

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing JANUARY 12, 2016 48.00 46.00 45.00

P47.440

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P47.195 LOW P47.450 AVERAGE P47.325 VOLUME 988.000M

P417.00-P627.00 LPG/11-kg tank P33.30-P40.75 Unleaded Gasoline

oPriceS il P today

Beleaguered cartel. United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohamed al-Mazroui, speaks during the 7th Gulf Intelligence UAE

Energy Forum meeting in Abu Dhabi, on January 12, 2016. Opec president Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said that he expects an extraordinary meeting of the oil cartel in ‘early March’ to address nosediving crude prices. West Texas Intermediate oil dropped 1.7 percent to $30.87 a barrel. Contracts on Brent crude fell 1.5 percent to $31.09 in London. AFP

P20.40-P23.80 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene

PH exports down 1.1% in November to $5.1b

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Tuesday, January 12, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

47.2710

Japan

Yen

0.008496

0.4016

UK

Pound

1.453900

68.7273

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128838

6.0903

Switzerland

Franc

0.998104

47.1814

Canada

Dollar

0.703185

33.2403

Singapore

Dollar

0.697010

32.9484

Australia

Dollar

0.698812

33.0335

Bahrain

Dinar

2.657454

125.6205

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266418

12.5938

Brunei

Dollar

0.694589

32.8339

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000072

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.027571

1.3033

UAE

Dirham

0.272279

12.8709

Euro

Euro

1.085900

51.3316

Korea

Won

0.000829

0.0392

China

Yuan

0.152219

7.1955

India

Rupee

0.014976

0.7079

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.228311

10.7925

New Zealand

Dollar

0.655093

30.9669

Taiwan

Dollar

0.029975

1.4169 Source: PDS Bridge

By Gabrielle H. Binaday MERCHANDISE exports fell 1.1 percent in November last year to $5.1 billion from $5.17 billion year-on-year following weak global demand, the Philippine Statistic Authority said Tuesday.

Exports decreased for the eighth consecutive month in 2015. Export shipments dropped the steepest in May when it contracted 17.4 percent compared with year-ago figures.

“Meeting our export targets has been very challenging as the global economy remains weak, which translates into weak demand for the country’s export products,” said Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

“Given the performance of the export sector in the first 11 months of 2015, the full-year target is unlikely to have been met,” he added.

The government earlier project exports to reach $65 billion in 2015.

Data showed exports in the January-to-November period declined 5.8 percent to $54 billion from $57.3 billion on year.

“In order to achieve the fullyear target for 2015, merchandise exports in December 2015 would have to register a total of $11 billion, equivalent to a growth of 129 percent,” Balisacan said.

The Philippines recorded the least export decline among the

monitored economies in East and Southeast Asia for November 2015. Except for Vietnam, most economies in the region posted lower merchandise exports.

The National Economic and Development Authority said the slowdown in exports followed the rebound of electronic products, which accounted for 54 percent of the total exports bill for the month.

Manufactured goods, which accounted for 90.4 percent of total export receipts, grew 3.6 percent to $4.627 billion in November from $4.465 billion registered in the same month in 2014.

Shipments of electronic products rose 9.3 percent to $2.774 billion in November 2015 from

$2.539 billion in the same month in 2014.

“The country’s positive performance in the sales of semiconductors bucked the international trend as worldwide sales were down in November 2015. Thus, the modest growth in exports of goods from the electronics and semiconductors segment is expected to continue propping up total merchandise exports,” said Balisacan.

Total export receipts from agrobased products fell 23 percent to $240.6 million in November 2015 on account of lower revenues, recorded mostly from fruits and vegetables, as well as as fish, unmanufactured tobacco and natural rubber.

WEDNESDAY: JANUARY 13, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Tuesday, January 12, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 4.2 17 30.45 10.4 890 100 1.46 30.5 75 91.5 137 361.2 57 180 1700 124 3.26 47 5 1.46 2.36 15.3 148 20.6 36 65.8 2.97 4.14 21.5 21.6 11.96 9.13 11.8 2.89 31.8 109 20.75 15.3 9.4 0.98 241 79 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 5.25 12.98 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.34 238 5.5 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 26 2.17 0.59 59.2 30.05 2.16 7.39 3.4 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 0.66 1455 7.5 76 6.66 9.25 0.85 17.3 5.53 0.0670 2.31 1.61 84.9 974 1.66 156 0.710 0.435 0.510 10.5 26.95 1.99 1.75 0.375 41.4 5.6 5.59 1.44

STOCKS

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 2.2 2.17 45.9 45 98.40 95.05 83.80 81.20 36.6 36.4 1.14 1.12 14.88 14 17.32 17.12 7.00 7.00 630.00 630.00 71.3 69.3 0.92 0.9 15.82 15.80 22.00 22.00 50.50 50.00 98.95 96 278.6 275 32.5 31.9 138 133.8 1325.00 1325.00 56.90 56.50 1.6 1.55 INDUSTRIAL 35.9 Aboitiz Power Corp.

39.4 40.2 39.5 1.11 Agrinurture Inc. 4 4.16 3.92 1.01 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.72 0.8 0.74 1.86 Alsons Cons.

1.29 1.3 1.24 7.92 Asiabest Group 10.18 10.36 10.08 32 C. Azuc De Tarlac 99.00 95.00 95.00 15.32 Century Food 15.48 15.52 14.98 10.08 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 17.8 18.2 17.5 29.15 Concepcion 42 42 41 1.5 Crown Asia 2.1 2.25 2.1 1.5 Da Vinci Capital 1.8 1.87 1.8 10.72 Del Monte 11 12 11 9.55 DNL Industries Inc. 7.310 7.780 7.040 9.04 Emperador 8.42 8.50 8.27 6.02 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.54 5.70 5.52 8.86 EEI 5.29 5.36 5.22 1.06 Euro-Med Lab 1.66 1.66 1.66 20.2 First Gen Corp.

20.4 20.8 20.1 71.5 First Holdings ‘A’ 61.25 63 59.7 13.86 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 11.50 11.80 11.80 13.24 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.80 13.90 13.90 5.34 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.3 5.1 5.32 0.395 Ionics Inc 2.140 2.300 2.150 173 Jollibee Foods Corp.

194.00 202.20 194.20 LBC Express 10.34 10.5 7.5 34.1 Liberty Flour 26.90 26.90 26.90 33 Macay Holdings 38.95 38.50 38.45 23.35 Manila Water Co. Inc. 24 24.65 23.95 17.3 Maxs Group 16.76 17.02 16.48 5.88 Megawide 5.5 5.51 5.49 250.2 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 301.00 306.80 301.20 3.87 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.24 3.4 3.19 8.45 Petron Corporation 5.85 6.00 5.69 3.03 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 3.73 3.79 3.55 1.95 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.39 1.50 1.37 1 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.2 2.2 2.16 4.02 RFM Corporation 3.90 3.90 3.87 5.9 Roxas Holdings 4.4 4.4 4.4 161 San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 116 120.5 119 4.1 SPC Power Corp.

4.17 4.15 4.15 1.55 Splash Corporation 2.5 2.5 2.46 0.138 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.135 0.139 0.136 1.02 TKC Steel Corp.

0.92 1.02 0.92 2.09 Trans-Asia Oil 2.02 2.08 2.00 152 Universal Robina 173.6 178.9 175 4.28 Victorias Milling 4.55 4.55 4.55 0.640 Vitarich Corp.

0.56 0.61 0.56 10.02 Vivant Corp.

22.50 22.50 22.50 1.2 Vulcan Ind’l.

1.01 1.02 0.98 HOLDING FIRMS 0.44 Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.300 0.330 0.305 48.1 Aboitiz Equity 54.5000 55.6500 55.0000 20.85 Alliance Global Inc. 14.60 15.34 14.62 1.6 Anglo Holdings A 0.90 1.08 0.99 6.62 Anscor `A’ 6.20 6.25 6.20 0.23 ATN Holdings A 0.210 0.206 0.205 634.5 Ayala Corp `A’ 665 693 660 7.390 Cosco Capital 7.62 7.63 7.55 12.8 DMCI Holdings 11.72 12.20 11.72 2.6 F&J Prince ‘A’ 5.6 5.6 5.2 2.26 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

4.20 4.20 4.14 0.152 Forum Pacific 0.198 0.200 0.200 837 GT Capital 1292 1325 1287 5.3 House of Inv. 5.18 5.40 5.40 IPM Holdings 9.80 9.82 9.77 49.55 JG Summit Holdings 65.50 66.45 64.15 3.52 Keppel Holdings `B’ 4.99 4.99 4.99 4.84 Lopez Holdings Corp.

5.8 6.09 5.8 0.59 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.6 0.64 0.6 12 LT Group 13.74 14 13.7 4.2 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.06 5.19 5.06 0.030 Pacifica `A’ 0.0290 0.0290 0.0280 1.23 Prime Media Hldg 1.020 1.030 1.030 0.550 Prime Orion 1.710 1.750 1.700 59.3 San Miguel Corp `A’ 52.00 52.00 51.50 751 SM Investments Inc. 769.50 789.00 770.00 1.13 Solid Group Inc. 1.10 1.10 1.09 80 Top Frontier 63.800 67.450 62.900 0.211 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.2500 0.2600 0.2550 0.179 Wellex Industries 0.1860 0.1860 0.1800 0.310 Zeus Holdings 0.231 0.235 0.235 PROPERTY 6.74 8990 HLDG 6.850 6.900 6.710 12 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 6.00 7.28 6.00 0.65 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.61 0.65 0.61 1.2 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.120 1.120 1.120 0.192 Arthaland Corp.

0.200 0.201 0.200 30.05 Ayala Land `B’ 30.000 31.200 30.000 3.36 Belle Corp. `A’ 2.47 2.54 2.46 4.96 Cebu Holdings 4.75 4.8 4.75 0.79 Century Property 0.48 0.5 0.48 2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.68 12.02 19.6 6.12 625 78 0.9 17.8 58 62 88.35 276 41 118.2 1200 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. Manulife Fin. Corp.

Metrobank Natl. Reinsurance Corp.

PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank PSE Inc. RCBC `A’ Security Bank Sun Life Financial Union Bank Vantage Equities

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

SHARES 12,143,605 68,742,060 71,274,623 151,513,962 95,644,124 798,347,669 1,198,874,373

2.3 45.8 95.00 81.25 36.5 1.15 14.2 17.2 6.82 630.00 69 0.92 16.00 22.00 50.00 95 275 31.9 133 1340.00 56.55 1.55

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.2 45.9 95.90 83.10 36.4 1.12 14.84 17.16 7.00 630.00 69.95 0.9 15.80 22.00 50.00 98.9 275 32.1 134 1325.00 56.60 1.6

-4.35 0.22 0.95 2.28 -0.27 -2.61 4.51 -0.23 2.64 0.00 1.38 -2.17 -1.25 0.00 0.00 4.11 0.00 0.63 0.75 -1.12 0.09 3.23

55,000 15,900 728,080 2,506,170 50,800 75,000 11,700 75,500 20,300 20 3,107,150 835,000 2,720,600 983,200 10,800 210 2,260 234,700 690,440 135 12,870 7,000

39.95 3.92 0.74 1.25 10.08 95.00 15 17.78 41.95 2.2 1.8 11.92 7.040 8.36 5.55 5.35 1.66 20.15 60.3 11.80 13.90 5.1 2.200 199.00 8.7 26.90 38.50 24 16.6 5.5 304.80 3.19 5.85 3.68 1.45 2.19 3.87 4.4 120 4.15 2.5 0.137 1.00 2.00 175.1 4.55 0.6 22.50 0.98

1.40 -2.00 2.78 -3.10 -0.98 -4.04 -3.10 -0.11 -0.12 4.76 0.00 8.36 -3.69 -0.71 0.18 1.13 0.00 -1.23 -1.55 2.61 0.72 -3.77 2.80 2.58 -15.86 0.00 -1.16 0.00 -0.95 0.00 1.26 -1.54 0.00 -1.34 4.32 -0.45 -0.77 0.00 3.45 -0.48 0.00 1.48 8.70 -0.99 0.86 0.00 7.14 0.00 -2.97

1,483,200 227,000 39,000 3,665,000 300 100 619,000 358,100 130,400 6,540,000 2,228,000 33,900 15,108,500 938,500 8,703,900 4,524,900 2,000 3,266,700 662,740 100 100,000 182,700 3,175,000 331,720 265,300 200 3,000 3,280,500 305,600 1,691,000 213,640 2,392,000 2,998,100 134,000 319,000 131,000 421,000 3,000 80,810 1,000 639,000 870,000 59,000 574,000 617,930 58,000 38,000 500 1,142,000

0.320 55.0000 14.78 1.08 6.20 0.205 660 7.59 11.74 5.2 4.20 0.200 1287 5.40 9.82 64.15 4.99 5.8 0.62 13.72 5.14 0.0290 1.030 1.710 52.00 775.00 1.10 62.900 0.2550 0.1800 0.235

6.67 0.92 1.23 20.00 0.00 -2.38 -0.75 -0.39 0.17 -7.14 0.00 1.01 -0.39 4.25 0.20 -2.06 0.00 0.00 3.33 -0.15 1.58 0.00 0.98 0.00 0.00 0.71 0.00 -1.41 2.00 -3.23 1.73

4,690,000 1,513,960 6,929,700 14,000 500,800 420,000 400,510 9,007,200 3,743,500 87,500 346,000 40,000 58,535 100 1,700,000 1,652,160 5,000 1,637,400 28,000 2,462,100 14,662,200 17,900,000 60,000 156,000 599,200 194,280 16,000 54,990 330,000 1,810,000 100,000

6.900 6.25 0.62 1.120 0.200 30.000 2.49 4.76 0.48

0.73 4.17 1.64 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.81 0.21 -1.04

100,500 6,400 522,000 3,000 1,480,000 14,117,500 2,147,000 47,000 4,110,000

285,475.00 3,089,316 101,599,603.00 -10,920.00 -188,900.00 -12,600.00 8,759,454.50 35,200.00 0.00 -151,250.00 7,011,085 45,987,522.00 -178,875.00 -4,650.00 20,420,125.00 -20,800.00

-189,788.00 9,010.00 -410,005 13,746,000.00 507,820.00 230,874.00 -18,291,569.00 5,543,007.00 2,722,112.00 7,477,092.00 -5,310,730.00 -10,857,514.00 1,390,000.00 6,600.00 13,173,589.00 -296,580.00 -19,922,550.00 719,914.00 -159,334.00 20,881,104.00 -278,820.00 2,258,947.00

1,459,680.00 -8,090,054.00

-6,930.00 400,000.00 11,908,073.00 236,600.00 11,250.00

-6,705,541.00 11,866,684.00

11,399,250.00 557,044.00 1,941,508.00 1,304,820.00 -24,992,250.00 -27,493,291.50 -1,681,364.00 6,257,332.00 24,368,578.00

-10,230,367.00 31,282,240.00 -2,526,255.50

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

1.48 0.201 10.96 0.97 0.305 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.470 0.72 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 1.62 8.59

0.97 0.083 2.4 0.83 0.188 1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.290 0.39 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 0.83 5.73

Cityland Dev. `A’ Crown Equities Inc. Double Dragon Empire East Land Ever Gotesco Global-Estate Filinvest Land,Inc. Interport `A’ Megaworld Phil. Estates Corp.

Phil. Realty `A’ Primex Corp.

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

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 14.88 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 4 1700 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 3.2 1 2.46 15.2

1.97 35.2 1 0.63 10.5 8.6 0.0770 2.95 56.1 10.14 1.6 4.8 2.58 830 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.95 0.650 1.8 6

0.62 1.040 6.41 4 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 3 2.28 79 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 APC Group, Inc. Asian Terminals Inc. Bloomberry Boulevard Holdings Calata Corp.

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

Discovery World DFNN Inc. Easy Call “Common” FEUI Globe Telecom GMA Network Inc. Harbor Star I.C.T.S.I. IP E-Game Ventures Inc. Island Info ISM Communications Jackstones Leisure & Resorts Liberty Telecom Macroasia Corp.

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

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

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

0.0098 17.24 1.19 1.62 9.5 4.2 0.48 0.420 0.440 0.022 0.023 8.2 49.2 4.27 3.06 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9

0.0043 6.47 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 1.54 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67

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

TA Petroleum

70 553 525 118 120 515 8.21 12.28 111 1047

33 490 500 101 101.5 480 5.88 6.5 101 1011

78.95 84.8

74.5 75

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref `B1’ Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen F First Gen G GLOBE PREF P GMA Holdings Inc. Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred F

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

75,600.00 496,218.00 18,797.00

32,679,800.00 792,760.00 -191,380.00 -98,000.00

Close

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

High

VALUE 6,68,036,351.02 815,450,283.03 1,095,592,738.20 1,285,584,504.97 762,693,370.23 52,750,358.7049 4,699,459,048.15

FINANCIAL 1,453.43 (up) 17.14 INDUSTRIAL 10,190.28 (up) 64.29 HOLDING FIRMS 6,012.61 (down) 0.16 PROPERTY 2,573.92 (up) 28.40 SERVICES 1,390.66 (up) 6.98 MINING & OIL 9,189.98 (down) 59.44 PSEI 6,330.55 (up) 42.29 All Shares Index 3,645.46 (up) 17.49 Gainers: 96; Losers: 77; Unchanged: 45; Total: 218

Close

0.96 0.110 20.3 0.670 0.139 0.90 1.56 1.12 3.52 0.2400 0.385 8.47 23.50 1.35 3.18 19.20 0.74 0.740 4.620

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

0.960 0.96 0.96 0.116 0.110 0.112 21.55 20.3 21.15 0.690 0.670 0.680 0.137 0.137 0.137 0.97 0.88 0.88 1.63 1.56 1.58 1.13 1.10 1.13 3.68 3.57 3.58 0.2410 0.2210 0.2210 0.39 0.385 0.385 8.48 8.45 8.45 24.90 23.30 23.45 1.39 1.3 1.39 3.15 3.15 3.15 20.10 19.62 19.82 0.75 0.74 0.74 0.770 0.700 0.760 4.720 4.520 4.550 SERVICES 6.12 6.7 6.08 6.5 59.9 60.75 59.8 60 1.12 1.13 1.12 1.12 0.410 0.410 0.400 0.410 10.98 10.98 10.98 10.98 3.51 3.61 3.44 3.44 0.0370 0.0400 0.0370 0.0400 3.15 3.15 3.1 3.15 76 78.85 75.9 76.5 9.57 9.56 9.5 9.5 1.75 1.53 1.5 1.5 5.61 5.89 5.51 5.85 3.78 3.20 2.86 3.20 955 955 955 955 1686 1748 1681 1681 6.46 6.55 6.45 6.47 1.14 1.15 1.14 1.14 58 60 58.1 58.8 0.0084 0.0085 0.0081 0.0085 0.122 0.130 0.125 0.125 1.3400 1.3400 1.3000 1.3100 2 1.92 1.92 1.92 6.81 7.00 6.78 6.80 4.48 4.59 4.30 4.42 2.33 2.24 1.90 2.24 0.480 0.490 0.490 0.490 1.98 1.98 1.98 1.98 1.59 1.67 1.55 1.55 3.60 3.62 3.54 3.60 0.255 0.290 0.280 0.290 0.630 0.660 0.640 0.640 4.40 4.39 4.38 4.38 2.5 2.75 2.65 2.65 100.00 101.00 101.00 101.00 20.85 20.95 19.96 20.00 1920.00 1971.00 1921.00 1930.00 0.440 0.465 0.400 0.430 0.445 0.465 0.445 0.445 30.50 32.00 30.50 30.75 63.10 66.20 63.10 65.00 4.60 5.15 4.59 4.74 2.59 2.91 2.41 2.44 0.395 0.400 0.390 0.400 3.55 3.6 3.51 3.52 0.310 0.320 0.305 0.315 3.590 3.650 3.500 3.500 MINING & OIL 0.0041 0.0044 0.0041 0.0043 3.90 3.93 3.90 3.93 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.55 0.49 0.5 0.49 0.5 5.92 6.08 5.92 5.92 0.48 0.5 0.46 0.5 0.265 0.265 0.260 0.260 0.163 0.165 0.159 0.159 0.186 0.180 0.180 0.180 0.0100 0.0100 0.0099 0.0100 0.011 0.011 0.010 0.010 1.59 1.59 1.57 1.58 4.46 4.61 4.3 4.38 2.37 2.75 2.4 2.4 1.0700 1.2000 1.0500 1.0600 4.30 4.30 4.13 4.15 1.22 1.27 1.20 1.21 0.0100 0.0110 0.0100 0.0100 125.50 130.00 124.30 125.60 1.93 1.95 1.93 1.95 PREFERRED 60 62 59 59 516 525 525 525 515 530 530 530 103 104.9 104.9 104.9 108 109 109 109 528 534 534 534 6.4 6.5 6.39 6.4 1.1 1.07 1.07 1.07 109 109 109 109 1020 1024 1024 1024 103.7 104 104 104 106.8 106.8 106.8 106.8 80 80.9 80.9 80.9 82.5 83 82.5 82.55 78.25 78.2 78.2 78.2 79.7 79.7 79.15 79.6 WARRANTS & BONDS 1.810 1.850 1.680 1.680 SME 3.14 3.19 3.1 3.15 2.54 2.54 2.54 2.54 2.59 2.85 2.56 2.63 13.2 13.9 13.2 13.42 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 102.9 105.1 102.7 103.5

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

0.00 1.82 4.19 1.49 -1.44 -2.22 1.28 0.89 1.70 -7.92 0.00 -0.24 -0.21 2.96 -0.94 3.23 0.00 2.70 -1.52

4,000,000 4,250,000 1,576,600 2,145,000 40,000 3,286,000 23,392,000 15,000 59,604,000 520,000 10,000 1,900 3,820,200 289,000 2,000 17,659,300 422,000 543,000 4,378,000

6.21 0.17 0.00 0.00 0.00 -1.99 8.11 0.00 0.66 -0.73 -14.29 4.28 -15.34 0.00 -0.30 0.15 0.00 1.38 1.19 2.46 -2.24 -4.00 -0.15 -1.34 -3.86 2.08 0.00 -2.52 0.00 13.73 1.59 -0.45 6.00 1.00 -4.08 0.52 -2.27 0.00 0.82 3.01 3.04 -5.79 1.27 -0.85 1.61 -2.51

22,900 18,010 31,000 260,000 100 6,261,000 17,600,000 21,000 528,710 3,600 334,000 362,200 8,000 530 85,180 42,900 100,000 2,444,930 3,000,000 550,000 722,000 2,000 1,353,300 676,000 58,000 10,000 5,000 5,283,000 2,541,000 320,000 1,857,000 8,000 24,000 80 29,500 70,920 2,850,000 26,840,000 1,929,200 1,723,110 1,657,000 11,682,000 840,000 485,000 530,000 131,000

4.88 0.77 0.00 2.04 0.00 4.17 -1.89 -2.45 -3.23 0.00 -9.09 -0.63 -1.79 1.27 -0.93 -3.49 -0.82 0.00 0.08 1.04

625,000,000 4,300.00 385,000 -7,850.00 500,000 20,000 500,200 5,280,000 -327,700.00 700,000 5,060,000 10,000 68,200,000 74,200,000 406,000 -182,850.00 4,866,000 -2,590,440.00 9,000 804,000 646,000 -416,910.00 620,000 10,900,000 109,500 -6,479,200.00 10,000

-1.67 1.74 2.91 1.84 0.93 1.14 0.00 -2.73 0.00 0.39 0.29 0.00 1.13 0.06 -0.06 -0.13

71,100 7,000 200 120 100 50 1,214,800 1,000 44,830 45 5,410 60 3,080 32,600 3,850 100,500

-7.18

176,000

0.32 0.00 1.54 1.67

95,000 5,000 183,000 858,600

0.58

66,730

5,290,700.00 1,406,800.00 -11,291,720.00 23,791,700.00 -62,660.00 -11,651,805.00 -107,159,188.00 -3,000.00 -6,043,050.00

4,889,390.00 3,015,405.00

-70,898,195.00 57,300.00 -16,173,973.50 -25,190.00 -491,737.00 -92,160.00

-2,736,610.00 182,620.00

-21,600.00 -171,596.00 -43,955,950.00 -526,850.00 29,506,410.00 -19,189,478.00 987,400.00 -1,404,610.00 59,800.00 -420,070.00 -148,050.00

-1,212,410.00

-462,286.00

-520,000.00

2,389,284.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Anglo Holdings A

1.08

20.00

LBC Express

8.7

-15.86

MG Holdings

0.290

13.73

Easy Call "Common"

3.20

-15.34

TKC Steel Corp.

1.00

8.70

Discovery World

1.5

-14.29

Del Monte

11.92

8.36

Manila Mining `B'

0.010

-9.09

Boulevard Holdings

0.0400

8.11

Phil. Estates Corp.

0.2210

-7.92

Vitarich Corp.

0.6

7.14

LR Warrant

1.680

-7.18

Abacus Cons. `A'

0.320

6.67

F&J Prince 'A'

5.2

-7.14

2GO Group'

6.5

6.21

SSI Group

2.44

-5.79

Paxys Inc.

2.65

6.00

AG Finance

2.2

-4.35

Abra Mining

0.0043

4.88

Philweb.Com Inc.

20.00

-4.08

WEDNESDAY: JANUARY 13, 2016

B3

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

Stocks rise, end 4-day slump Globe pushes open access

By Darwin G. Amojelar GLOBE Telecom Inc. is pushing for an open access law for telecom industry to expedite the deployment of broadband infrastructure and improve Internet speed in the country.

Globe president and chief executive Ernest Cu said the government could expedite legislation to mitigate bureaucratic red tape and other political hurdles that stand in the way of the deployment of telecommunication and broadband infrastructure.

An open access law for the telco industry would expedite the issuance of all relevant permits for all telecommunications facilities at the local government level.

Cu said telecom companies were required to secure several permits, with Globe alone having 500 cell sites waiting to be built at any given time.

“Prioritizing the open access law for the telco industry would help fast track fiber builds that will increase Internet access and speeds in the country,” Cu said.

Cu was also pushing for the immediate harmonization and equitable distribution of the 700-megahertz of frequency to sufficiently provide for rapidly increasing data traffic amid growing smartphone use in the country.

He said the use of the 700 MHz would help improve Internet speed in the country.

The proposed harmonization is supported by ITU, which said the utilization of the frequency would help bridge the digital divide worldwide.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the parent company of Smart, earlier said the 700 Mhz band was a “very powerful” frequency, because its coverage was wider and the capital spending requirement would be less.

The spectrum was previously used for analog television broadcasting.

PLDT and Globe asked the National Telecommunications Commission for their fair share in the 700-Mhz band.

The 700-MHz band, located above the TV broadcast channels, penetrates buildings and walls and covers larger areas.

Mobile wireless service providers in other countries have been using the spectrum to offer mobile broadband services.

San Miguel Corp, which owns majority of the 700 Mhz spectrum, earlier rejected the request of PLDT and Globe to share some of its frequency.

STOCKS rose Tuesday to end a four-day slump, as investors picked up bargains after the market index fell to a two-year low.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, gained 42 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 6,330.55.

The index was still down 8.9 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also rose 17 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 3,645.46, on a value turnover of P4.7 billion.

Twelve of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by SM Prime Holdings Inc., which climbed 3.2 percent to P19.82.

Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. advanced 3 percent to P65, while Bank of the Philippine Islands added 2.3 percent to close at P83.10. Megaworld Corp. rose 1.7 percent to P3.58.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks rose outside of Japan as China kept its yuan fixing little changed, while oil extended declines to a seventh day.

Australian equities rose for

the first time this year, while the Shanghai Composite Index swung between gains and losses following a $1.4 trillion rout.

Japanese shares fell as they traded for the first time this week.

Concern that turmoil in China’s financial markets will spread to the economy has helped spur a selloff in global equities and commodities this year, with crude tumbling 15 percent.

Shanghai stocks swung sharply in early trade Tuesday fuelled by ongoing worries about China’s economy while most other Asian markets enjoyed a small bounce a day after suffering another painful sell off.

Having sunk more than 5 percent Monday—taking its losses this year to 15 percent already— Shanghai rallied in the first few minutes before quickly slipping into the red then bouncing back.

The swift movements have become common on the vola-

tile index, which has been hammered by a string of weak economic data out of China, while authorities’ bungling of last week’s rout has also sowed doubt.

Beijing’s weakening of its yuan currency—raising questions about the opaqueness of its exchange rate policy—also played a key role in the equities downturn.

That has in turn led to massive losses around the world, with several major bourses suffering their worst start to a year on record.

“Worries about China persist,” Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy in Sydney at AMP Capital Investors, told Bloomberg News.

And he warned: “It’s too early to say that we’ve found the bottom until we see more stability in the Chinese currency and until we see more confidence regarding global growth.”

Shanghai was up 0.2 percent in mid-morning trade, while Hong Kong, which also tumbled Monday, was up 0.6 percent.

Tokyo, which was closed Monday for a holiday, slipped 2.12 percent by lunch as dealers there played catch-up with the rest of the region and the yen strengthened against the dollar.

The Japanese unit has risen more than two percent on the greenback so far this year.

Sydney added 0.3 percent and Seoul was 0.4 percent higher.

US markets provided some positivity, with the Dow and S&P 500 moving higher. However, investors remain on edge over China, while oil prices head towards $31 a barrel, hit by a supply glut, anaemic demand and a weak global economy.

Crude slipped below $32 for the first time in 12 years on signs key producer Iran could be allowed to export the commodity within weeks as the West prepares to lift embargoes after a deal over its nuclear program.

On Tuesday morning US benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down 0.7 percent and Brent lost 0.6 percent.

With AFP, Bloomberg

Irrigation contracts. The National Irrigation Administration signs three contracts under the National Irrigation Sector Rehabilitation and Improvement Project to rehabilitate and improve irrigation system and construct association support facilities in the area. Shown signing the contracts are (seated, from left) NISRIP manager Pedro De Guzman, deputy administrator for administrative and finance Estrella Icasiano, administrator Florencio Padernal, Tribu Design and Construction general manager Mathew Liis and Tribu Design operations manager Ceferino Rod Guillermo.

Republic Cement to delist shares from local bourse

By Jenniffer B. Austria REPUBLIC Cement & Building Materials Inc., formerly Lafarge Republic Inc., said Tuesday it plans to delist its shares from the Philippine Stock Exchange on March 15.

Republic Cement said in a public announcement its board of directors approved and authorized the voluntary delisting of shares from the PSE in accordance with the exchange’s rules on delisting and other applicable rules and regulations.

“The company will be submitting a petition for voluntary delisting with the PSE in due course.

The proposed delisting is estimated to take place on March 15, 2016,” the company said.

The company earlier expressed plans to delist its shares after its public float fell below the 10-percent minimum requirement of the exchange.

AEV-CRH Holdings Inc., a 60:40 joint venture between conglomerate Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. and Irish cement maker CRH International, acquired a 99.09-percent stake in Lafarge Republic in September.

AEV-CRH conducted a tender offer after it earlier acquired 88.54 percent interest in the cement firm for roughly P53.1 bil-

lion from the major shareholders of Lafarge Republic.

The PSE suspended the trading of the company’s shares on Sept.

15, after the latter’s public float fell below the 10-percent minimum public ownership requirement.

AEV earlier said that it planned to invest P24 billion to fund its cement venture.

It also signed a $400-million loan agreement with The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. to partially finance the cement venture.

AEV said its move to invest in the cement business would support the group’s thrust to develop

infrastructure as one of its core businesses and create a more diversified income source for the conglomerate.

Republic Cement currently operates four cement plants in Norzagaray, Bulacan; Teresa, Rizal; and Taysan, Batangas; one grinding station in Danao, Cebu; a cement plant in Iligan City through subsidiary Lafarge Iligan Inc.; and aggregates quarry in Angono, Rizal through subsidiary Lafarge Republic Aggregates Inc. CRH, which has operations in 34 countries, is a manufacturer, supplier and distributor of building materials with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland.

B4 Treasury bond rates increase in 1st auction THE government partially sold P22.5 billion worth of re-issued 10-year bonds in Tuesday’s auction after investors sought higher rates in the first auction of the year held Tuesday.

Rates on the treasury bonds stood at an average of 4.218 percent, an increase of 96.8 basis points from the previous rate of 3.039 percent.

“I think it turned out quite well although we partially rejected, but I think the bids were serious bids. The reference was really market direction, as well as the demand side,” National Treasurer Roberto Tan said after the auction.

Tenders for the government’s P25-billion bond offer were oversubscribed at P28.08 billion.

The newly-issued bond has a remaining life of nine years and seven months and will mature on September 9, 2025.

Tan also said the investors were seeking higher rates due to the recent rate increase by the US Federal reserve in December.

“Definitely, first of all the Fed decision of increasing, and then some anticipation of future Fed hikes, as communicated by the Fed. Then of course China’s effect on the capital markets is really creating some uncertainty. So this is quite reflective of market concerns and price,” Tan said.

Meanwhile, Tan said that despite securing approval from Malacañang on the planned $2-billion bond issuance, the Philippines had not obtained the approval of the US Securities Exchange Commission for shelf registration.

“Definitely these times are not the right time,” Tan said referring to the SEC registration.

“So it’s probably something that we think they should monitor more closely, when we’re already prepared for a launch in the future. Definitely we will go to the market when we think the conditions are advantageous and conducive,” he added.

A maximum of $750 million of the total $2-billion bond issuance will represent new money and the rest is for liability management. Gabrielle H. Binaday

Century feeding program. The Century Pacific Group-RSPo Foundation Inc. is expanding its flagship feeding program, KAIN Po, to

Mindanao. KAIN Po, which stands for Kalusugan at Isipan Naalagaan, will focus first on Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, home to the indigenous T’bolis, Tirurays, Ubos and Manobos. Signing the agreement between CPG and the Education Department’s provincial division are (from left) DepEd schools division superintendent representative Bert Labuaya, Century Pacific Food Inc. vice president for human resources and corporate affairs Emerson Villarante and Lake Sebu Mayor Antonio Fungan.

Factory production growth slows down

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

FACTORY production rose at a slower pace of 7.5 percent in November last year on weak global demand, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority show Tuesday.

The PSA said in its Monthly Integrated Survey of Selected Industries that the growth in the volume of production index, which represented the output of 20 biggest manufacturing sectors, decelerated from 9.1 percent posed in November 2014.

The expansion recorded in November, however, was faster than the revised 1.7 percent growth recorded in October last year.

“The increased growth in manufacturing despite the continued weak global demand shows the resiliency of our domestic economy. This could also potentially support stronger fourth-quarter 2015 growth of the industry,” said Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan.

He added the sector was expected to grow further until December 2015 on the back of robust domestic demand, increased inflow of remittances, stable inflation and low fuel prices.

“We must aggressively pursue efforts to encourage innovation to help the manufacturing sector realize its potential as driver of economic growth. We have to explore and invest in new technology to enhance existing product base to maintain competitiveness in the regional and global market,” said Balisacan.

Factory output growth in No-

vember was pushed by doubledigit expansion registered by seven major sectors. Tobacco production rose 53 percent; machinery except electrical, 29.6 percent; basic metals, 25 percent; leather products, 24 percent; electrical machinery, 20 percent; petroleum products, 12.5 percent; and footwear and wearing apparel, 12 percent.

The growth in the value of production index, meanwhile, slowed to 1 percent in November from a 6.9-percent expoansion in November 2014. The rise, however, was a reversal of the seven months of consecutive contraction in the VaPi since April 2015.

Tobacco maintained its robust growth in November 2015, posting a 52.7- and 54.1-percent growth rate in volume and value of production, respectively, despite the slowdown from its three-digit expansion in the pre-

vious month.

The food subsector continued to decline in both production volume and value, registering a contraction of 10 percent in volume and 9.8 percent in value.

The drop was traced to the low demand for tuna products, low supply of agar, and inadequate supply of raw materials for the production of vegetable and animal oils.

Leather goods posted a double-digit growth of 23.7 and 24.9 percent in volume and value of production, while basic metals increased 25 percent and 11 percent, respectively, sustaining the robust growth from the previous month and offsetting the negative performance since May. The transport sector also grew 9.5 percent in volume and 8.7 percent in value due to the sustained strong sales in passenger and commercial vehicles.

Transportation issues penalty guidelines on regional airport projects

By Darwin G. Amojelar THE Transportation Department issued compensation guidelines for the P108.2-billon regional airports project under the government’s public private partnership program once a party failed to comply with the conditions under the contract.

Transportation said in a bid bulletin the liquidated damages for concessionaire’s failure to comply with the conditions precedent to the operation and main-

tenance start date for the Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod, Laguindingan and New Bohol (Panglao) airports would be P250,000 per day to be paid to grantors by concessionaire.

The liquidated damages for failure to comply with conditions precedent to the construction of the Iloilo, Davao, Bacolod and Laguindingan airports would also be P250,000 a day to be paid to grantors by concessionaire.

The damages for New Bohol

(Panglao) is not applicable because the airport will be constructed by the Japanese joint venture of Chiyoda Corp. and Mitsubishi Corp.

The agency also set a cap on development costs, which grantors will compensate concessionaire with, as part of the termination payment in event prior to the operation and maintenance and construction start date.

The cap value for Iloilo airport was P100 million; Davao airport, P147 million; Bacolod, P90 mil-

lion; Laguindingan, P57 million and New Bohol (Panglao) airport, P75 million.

The Transport Department earlier qualified Maya Consortium led by Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Philippine Airports Consortium of Metro Pacific Investments Corp., San Miguel Holdings Corp.-IIAC Airport Consortium, GMR-Megawide Consortium and Filinvest-JATCO-Sojitz Consortium for the five regional airports project.

Union Equities-ACSA Consor-

tium was disqualified to participate in the auction for the regional airport projects.

Aboitiz Equity teamed up with Vinci Airports of France to form the Maya Consortium, while San Miguel Holdings Corp. tapped Incheon International Airport Corp. to create SMHC-IIAC Airport Corp.

Metro Pacific teamed up with Aeroports de Paris Management SA, while Filinvest tapped Japan Airport Terminal Corp. and Sojitz Corp.

W E D N E S D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 1 6

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

Sabotage

IF THERE’S one thing you can admire about the government of President BS Aquino, it’s the talent of his men to come up with alibis, excuses, justifications and rationalizations no matter how improbable, irrational incredible and implausible.

Take the case of the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 that conked out again, twice, last Friday—prompting MRT general manager Roman Buenafe and Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya to sing a duet to the tune of “sabotage,” insinuating that outgoing (or was it “unceremoniously booted out”?) maintenance provider Schunk Bahn-Und Industrietechnik GmbH and Comm Builders & Technology (SBI-CBT) was the one behind the malfunction.

Buenafe saw the timing of the breakdown as suspicious coming, as it is on the day that the new maintenance provider, Busan consortium (whose contract with the DoTC is being questioned because there was no public bidding) took over. Abaya echoed Buenafe, also hinting that sabotage may have been the cause of the “glitch” that interrupted services for several hours. SBI-CBT—which has filed a graft complaint before the Ombudsman against Buenafe and several officials—denied the insinuations, insisting that they were caught unawares when the Korean-Filipino joint venture engaged in a hostile takeover late Friday.

Our buddies were howling after hearing Buenafe’s and Abaya’s “sabotage” theory, saying that the MRT trains are in such poor condition that it’s a wonder they function at all. As usual, Abaya managed to put in the “blame them” game again, saying the train’s signaling system is obsolete and that the system replacement as something that was already on the plate before President Aquino’s term. He had the temerity to say that “the DoTC is trying to show that we are slowly rectifying sins of the past. Consumers have the right to demand better services” but whatever happened to improvements that were supposed to happen after the fare hike in January last year?

Despite insistent public demand for Abaya’s ouster, Aquino has remained deaf to the clamor of his so-called “bosses,” allowing the DoTC chief to cling to his post. In an interview with ANC, Abaya said he was at the D-TC not to be applauded but to solve problems—but how can he do that when he seems to be the problem, with his arbitrary decisions (the MRT-LRT common station for example) that keeps getting the government entangled in legal problems.

He says he serves at the pleasure of the president, but he is (deliberately) oblivious of the fact that his president’s “bosses” do not want him to serve and do not find pleasure in his continued stay with the DoTC. He said he wants to help President BS though—and he’s doing a good job at that—helping Aquino become even more unpopular with the people who find the rest of this administration’s days in office passing so agonizingly slow.

Slow Internet hurting people, businesses Have you been experiencing frustratingly slow levels with your Internet speed –staring at your computer screen waiting while the cursor keeps blinking until you feel like you’re being hypnotized to sleep?

Then congratulations! You are a certified citizen of this third world country where slow Internet speed is the norm, with signals (even LTE) fluctuating to such low levels especially when you are in transit or are passing through certain points in EDSA (like Guadalupe).

More than personal inconveniences, what’s worse is that businesses are also suffering a hit (even newspapers, with columns and articles not sent on time if you’re out of town because of poor signal or happen to be in a dead spot). No wonder Globe Telecom is urging government to prioritize Internet infrastructure to enable businesses to build on their capabilities and support domestic economic growth amid robust digitization of various industries.

Aside from improving access to education, government services, entertainment and social media, a robust Internet infrastructure provides tremendous opportunities for business and greatly impacts economic growth, said Globe president and CEO Ernest Cu, adding that the government can do something about this by “providing the right regulatory environment as we build an Internet infrastructure that would develop ICT capabilities of local industries for stronger economic growth and wonderful Philippines.”

According to Cu, the government can expedite legislation to mitigate bureaucratic red tape and other political hurdles that stand in the way in the deployment of telecommunication and broadband infrastructure, such as cell sites.

Cu pointed out that an Open Access Law for the telco industry would expedite the issuance of all the relevant permits for all telecommunications facilities at the local government level. Telecommunication companies are required to secure several permits, said the telco executive, adding that Globe has about 500 cell sites waiting to be built at any given time. “Prioritizing the Open Access law for the telco industry would help fast track fiber builds that will increase internet access and speeds in the country,” stressed Cu. ••• For comments, reactions, photos, stories and related concerns, readers may email to happyhourtoday2012@yahoo.com. You may also visit and like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ happyhourmanilastandard. We’d be very happy to hear from you.

Cheers!

B5

Solar power glut feared in Negros

By Alena Mae S. Flores

ABOITIZ Power Corp. has expressed concern over the stability of the Visayas grid in the wake of the strong concentration of solar power projects in the area, an official said.

Aboitiz Power chief executive Erramon Aboitiz told reporters that as much as 300 megawatts of solar power capacity was being built in Negros Occidental compared with the demand of only about 200 MW in the entire area.

“This is a concern. Too much of a good thing ends up to be a bad thing. That’s what’s happening in Negros today. I believe it’s about 300 MW of solar capacity when the demand of whole of Negros is 200 MW,” Aboitiz said.

He said the power generated from the plants must be transmitted to where it is needed.

“When all the generation is there, where will the power go?

We have constraints to remit power to Cebu, other parts of the Visayas,” he said.

“When the plant cannot produce because there is no transmission line, it loses money.”

Aboitiz also said authorities should also look at the impact of the intermittent nature of solar to the power grid.

“When it starts raining, all of the sudden the production go down. So how will Negros get the power it needs. All of these things have to be taken into consideration and that’s why... we should have a mix. We should not be over dependent on one thing,” he said.

Aboitiz Power and partner SunEdison are set to complete the 59-MW San Carlos Sun (SaCaSun) solar farm in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental by March, which will become one of the biggest solar power plants in the country.

“What adds complexity to these power projects is not just building power plants, you have to combine it with transmission lines and too many other things.

This is where all the stakeholders in the industry should be collaborating and working together to make sure we coordinate efforts,” Aboitiz said.

Aside from Aboitiz Power, several companies have lined up solar power projects in Negros.

Negros Island Solar Power Inc., or islaSol, is building a 40.7-MW solar power plant in Manapla, Negros Occidental, while a 45MW solar power facility owned

by San Carlos Solar Energy in San Carlos City, Negros Occidental is operating.

PSE Bull Run. The Philippine Stock Exchange Inc. holds the 12th PSE Bull Run on January 10 at the

Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. Shown (from left) are Crown Asia marketing head Joseph Palabrica, second placer for the 21K Challenge Women’s Division April Rose Diaz, PSE chief operating officer Roel Refran, first placer for the 21K Challenge Women’s Division Cinderella Lorenzo, PSE president and chief executive Hans Sicat, and BPI trade managing director and chief executive Michaelangelo Oyson.

Batangas gas pipeline facing new delay

By Alena Mae S. Flores THE bidding for the 100-kilometer Batangas-Manila (Bat-Man 1) gas pipeline will likely be delayed further pending a revised proposal from the Energy Department.

Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balicasan told reporters at the sidelines of a conference that Energy Secretary Zenaida Monsada had raised certain issues on the Bat-Man 1 bidding.

“There are certain issues raised

by DoE. We are waiting for their submission of that,” Balicasan, who is also the secretary-general of the National Economic and Development Authority, said.

The pipeline is one of the critical natural gas infrastructure projects of the government. It is

estimated to cost between $100 million and $150 million.

Balicasan said the Neda board’s approval “would depend on how quickly DoE can address these issues and priorities they are putting in.”

“We are aiming it as a PPP project but DoE wanted to revisit other options. It’s up to DoE and the proponent. Neda is facilitating the process to make sure it meets all the requirements,” he said.

Balicasan said Monsada wrote Neda expressing an opportunity to present her side on the BatMan 1 project.

“It just has to do more with the assumptions of the project. They wanted to show a different case, other options and we would have to study a way and cost benefit,

whether if it is more advantageous from the point of view of the economy, the government, public sector, consumers. We have to look at those angles when we decide whether it’s PPP, GAA or loans,” the official said.

Monsada earlier said while the Bat-Man 1 was approved by Neda Investment Coordinating Council, “we don’t want the project to become a white elephant.”

She said the project could be elevated for approval to the Cabinet once the questions raised by Neda, the Finance Department and Energy had been addressed.

“In principle, this is a government project. We don’t want it to be delayed but we want to be sure that once it’s tackled by the board, everything will go smoothly,” she said.

WEDNESDAY: JANUARY 13, 2016

B6

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

PLDT, Hong Kong firm seal partnership

By Darwin G. Amojelar

PHILIPPINE Long Distance Telephone Co. said Tuesday it teamed up with HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications company, to improve voice and data connectivity between the two markets.

The Internet protocol exchange multiservice interconnection agreement enables PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT and PLDT to expand their relationship in new market segments, while improving their existing portfolios mutually benefiting their fixed, mobile and international customers.

Mobile operators connected to PCCW Global IPX can now enjoy access to its MobileXchange service suite, which includes

VoIPX, VoLTE, LTE roaming, GRX, SCCP and cloud-based applications such as unified communication as a service and security as a service, OTT solutions,.

“With PCCW Global’s proven expertise in delivering advanced and quality services, we believe that this agreement will enable us to deliver a broader range of digital services to our customers, especially to our overseas Filipinos in Hong Kong and their families back home,” PLDT chairman Manuel Pangilinan said.

PCCW Global chief executive Marc Halbfinger said PLDT was a major partner in many of our projects, and the IPX interconnection was a natural step for the company.

“We are looking forward to bringing innovative solutions to international services which could directly benefit the Philippine market,” he said.

The recent expansion of PCCW Global IPX’s reach reflects the value that PCCW

Global brought to the market and establishes the company as a global provider for mobile operators.

Spanning over five continents and with customers in more than 3,000 cities and some 140 countries, the PCCW Global network is one of the largest in the world, supporting GSMA standardized services and Cloud-based applications, enabling new revenue streams for connected operators.

PLDT earlier reported a net income of P25.3 billion in the January to September period, down by 9 percent from P28 billion last year.

Excluding foreign exchange transactions and other non-recurring items, core profit fell 5 percent to P27.08 billion from P28.86 billion.

Consolidated revenue was flat at P127.87 billion in the first nine months of 2015. Wireless service revenues fell 3 percent to P83.23 billion in the January to September period from P86.12 billion last year.

Wanda’s US acquisition. A hostess checks tickets at the Wanda cinema next to the Wanda Group building in Beijing. Chinese

conglomerate Wanda Group is buying US film studio Legendary Entertainment, the maker of blockbusters Jurassic World and Godzilla, for $3.5 billion, it said in a statement on Jan. 12. AFP

BSP cuts net loss to P3.77b

By Julito G. Rada BANGKO Sentral ng Pilipinas incurred a net loss of P3.77 billion in the first 11 months of 2015, lower than the P7.19-billion loss it registered a year ago.

Data showed the bank regulator posted an interest income of P35.48 billion in January to November, higher than P30.27 billion a year earlier. Miscellaneous income also improved to P16.54 billion from P16.04 billion during the period.

Interest expenses increased to P44.72 billion in the 11-month period from P42.28 billion a year ago. Net loss on foreign exchange rate fluctuations fell to P13.70 billion from P16.94 billion.

Bangko Sentral has incurred losses since 2010, mainly due to a stronger peso, which pulled down the peso value of its foreign currency-denominated reserves.

It posted a net loss of P59.04 billion in 2010, P33.69 billion in 2011, P95.38 billion in 2012, P17.51 billion in 2013 and P10.11 billion in 2014.

Bangko Sentral said in an earlier report that it registered a net loss of P856 million in the third quarter last year, a reversal of the P1.041-billion net profit a quarter ago, due mainly to lower miscellaneous income.

The preliminary and unaudited statement of financial condition of Bangko Sentral showed that as of end-September 2015, the bank’s total assets reached P4.296 trillion, up by 5.8 percent or P234.3 billion from a year ago.

Bangko Sentral’s liabilities increased by 6 percent to P240.6 billion to P4.253 trillion as of endSeptember 2015.

Bangko Sentral’s net worth decreased to P42.5 billion as of endSeptember.

Bangko Sentral is currently pushing for the passage into law of a bill seeking additional P150billion capitalization. The government released in January 2014 an equity assistance of P10 billion to Bangko Sentral that completed its P50-billion capitalization, 20 years since its creation in 1993.

Bangko Sentral is seeking an additional capitalization of P150 billion payable in three years, on top of the existing P50 billion, in a bid to accomplish its functions effectively.

Napocor’s diesel-run facility restores power in Rizal, Palawan

By Alena Mae S. Flores STATE-RUN National Power Corp. said households in Rizal town, Palawan will now enjoy 24 hours of power supply after the expansion of a diesel power facility.

Napocor said in a statement it expanded by another 300 kilowatts the capacity of the Rizal diesel power plant. Napocor is mandated to provide electricity to missionary or remote areas.

Napocor president Ma. Gladys Cruz-Sta. Rita said the high net

reserves of Rizal diesel power plant was the main reason for the extension of service hours.

The state firm said before the additional genset was installed, the Rizal power plant had a dependable capacity of 570 kW and a demand of 337 kW. “With the new genset, we have put the reserve power at 480 kW, enough to operate at 24 hours,” Sta. Rita said.

The new genset was hauled from Napocor’s warehouse in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan to Palawan.

The municipality of Rizal is becoming popular among local and international tourists.

Watersports and trekking are particularly popular in the area aside from swimming in its clear beaches.

The town is also the entrance to the Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape, the highest peak in Palawan.

“An improved tourism industry and local commerce can be expected now that Rizal has 24-hour power supply,” Sta. Rita said.

Napocor also extended 24-hour

operations to El Nido, Taytay, San Vicente, Culion in Palawan; Caluya in Antique; and Siasi in Sulu.

Napocor earlier said it was eyeing renewable energy hybrid systems in its missionary electrification program to lower the subsidy rates of the 290 SPUG power plants across the country.

Napocor’s renewable energy program aims to install some 2.7-MW peak of solar projects to hybrid with existing diesel plants in SPUG areas with sizes ranging from 16 kilowatts to 152 kilo-

watts.

Napocor, the government agency tapped to pursue electrification in far-flung communities and islands in the country under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act, vowed to continue adding power capacity to existing SPUGs and new areas.

It targets to complete 116 MW of additional capacity in the next five years to meet the continuously growing demand, increase operating hours of existing plants and ensure sufficient reserve capacity.

W E D N E S D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

Trucks enter starving Syria town MADAYA, Syria—The first trucks of aid entered the besieged Syrian town of Madaya on Monday, where more than two dozen people have reportedly starved to death, as the UN called for hundreds to be evacuated for medical treatment.

Remembering Natalie. Singer-songwriter Lionel Richie speaks at a Celebration Of Natalie Cole’s Life at the West Angeles Church of God in Christ on January 11, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. AFP

The Syrian Arab Red Crescent said 44 trucks loaded with food and other aid entered the rebel-held town late afternoon, while 21 other trucks went to the government-controlled towns of Fuaa and Kafraya.

Tearful women and children, bundled up against the cold, waited in the dark for the trucks bringing vital supplies after six months encircled by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces.

“Our children are starving, our bodies are trembling,” Ghaitha Assad, a 27-year-old resident, told AFP. “We have no food—even bread.

There is no water, no electricity, no heating. Our children cry all night, we are unable to find anything to feed them.”

The UN World Food Program said the supplies could feed more than 40,000 people for one month, and the ICRC said it was taking enough medicine for three months.

“I saw a young man killing cats and presenting the meat to members of his family as rabbit,” Hiba Abdel Rahman, 17, told AFP. “Some people went through

garbage bins, others ate grass. We sought food from the fighters but they refused to give it to us.”

Some 28 people have died of starvation in the city since December 1, including five on Sunday alone, according to Doctors Without Borders, known by its French acronym MSF. The United Nations said it has asked the Syrian regime and opposition to allow 400 people, many starved and malnourished, to be airlifted out of Madaya for urgent medical attention.

“Around 400 are in need of being evacuated for life-saving medical attention,” UN aid chief Stephen O’Brien told reporters after a Security Council meeting.

“They are in grave peril of losing their lives.”

The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross’s Syria delegation said the operation would likely last a few days.

Spokesman Pawel Krzysiek, who reached Madaya with the trucks, said the “first impression is really heartbreaking”.

“We see a lot of people on the streets. Some are smiling and waving at us but many are just simply too weak, with a very bleak expression, too tired,” he said in an audio message.

Assad gave permission for the deliveries on Thursday after an outpouring of international condemnation, as footage of emaciated children in Madaya emerged on social media.

But Syria’s envoy to the UN dismissed reports of civilians dying as fabrications, accusing “terrorists” inside the town of stealing supplies. AFP

Borrowing rate for yuan in Hong Kong hits record HONG KONG—The rate at which banks charge each other to borrow yuan in Hong Kong surged to a record high Tuesday, with China’s central bank thought to be buying huge amounts of the unit to fend off speculators.

The overnight Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate for the offshore yuan jumped 53 percentage points to almost 67 percent owing to tight liquidity. The one-week rate also surged to 33.8 percent from 11.2 percent.

But analysts say the move could backfire and further damage confidence in the Chinese economy, a key driver of global growth.

The surge comes as traders

around the world grow increasingly worried about China’s economy as it suffers a painful slowdown that has convulsed markets.

Beijing’s decision last week to lower the value of the yuan against the dollar to a five-year low added to concerns, with the leadership’s handling of the crisis being called into question.

This in turn has caused heavy selling of the Chinese unit, leading the People’s Bank of China to step in to buy yuan and sell dollars, tightening liquidity.

Albert Leung, a Hong Kongbased rates strategist at Nomura Holdings said: “The PBoC’s suspected intervention in the offshore

currency market further tightened the liquidity. Yuan interest rates are expected to remain highly volatile in the next couple of days.”

But economist Chong TaiLeung, executive director of the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s institute of global economics and finance, told AFP the intervention was a bad idea.

“I don’t think it’s a good method because you hurt your own economy, he said. “Rising interest rates may or may not curb speculation, but it will hurt investment.”

Chong said the move could prompt a further sell-off in the country’s stock markets, which have already fallen about 15 per-

cent so far this year.

“The government is running out of tools. People will lose confidence and think the government may not have any more methods to control the stock market... in that case they will sell off,” he said.

The rate rise lifted the yuan’s value in Hong Kong, where it is more freely traded than on the mainland. Last week it was almost three percent below its rate in Shanghai.

“It’s a conscious effort to make funding costs high for speculators,” Andy Ji, a Singapore-based foreign-exchange strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, told Bloomberg News.

Putin: Premature to speak of asylum for Assad MO S C OW— Russ i an President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday it was premature to say whether Moscow would grant asylum to embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, who had made “many mistakes.”

“You know I believe that it is premature to discuss this,” Putin said in the second half of a two-part interview with the German mass circulation daily Bild.

“We gave asylum to Mr. Snowden; it was more difficult than giving it to Assad,”

he said, referring to fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who was granted asylum in Russia in 2013.

“First, one needs to give the Syrian people an opportunity to have their say,” Putin said, according to a Russianlanguage transcript of the interview published by the Kremlin.

“And I assure you that if this is done in a democratic way, then maybe he won’t have to go anywhere. And it does not matter whether he is president

or not.”

Global powers are seeking to push the Syrian regime and opposition to the negotiating table in a bid to end the nearly five-year war that has killed 260,000 people.

A UN-backed plan foresees talks between the different sides starting on January 25, the establishment of a transitional government within six months and elections within 18 months.

Putin—who launched a bombing campaign in the wartorn country on September

30—appeared to defend Assad, although he acknowledged the Syrian president had made “many mistakes” since the conflict broke out in 2011.

The unrest would not have escalated so quickly “if from the very beginning it had not been fueled from abroad— with a huge amount of money, weapons and fighters,” Putin said.

“Assad is not seeking to annihilate his own population.

He’s fighting those who have come to him with arms,” Putin added. AFP

“The Hong Kong Monetary Authority is notably absent from the market. They’re trying to help the PBoC achieve its objective of converging the yuan spot rates.”

The PBoC’s decision in August to devalue the yuan by about five percent sparked a global rout that wiped trillions off valuations and shattered traders’ nerves.

Last month the International Monetary Fund welcomed the yuan into its elite reserve currency basket, recognizing the ascendance of the Asian power in the global economy and boosting Beijing’s dream of internationalizing the currency. AFP

NOTICE OF LOSS OF SHARES CERTIFICATE Notice is hereby given that the following shares certificates have been reported as misplaced / lost/ stolen and the registered holders thereof / claimants thereof have applied to the Company for issuances of duplicate share certificates.

Stockholder Certificate Name Number Mabuhay Vinyl Jose T. Valencia 2382 Corporation Issuer

Empire East Jose T. Valencia Land Holdings, Inc.

13277

No. of Shares 25,000 1,000

Any person(s) who has/have any claim in respect of these share certificates should write to the address given below within 15 days from the date of publication of this Notice. In case where no objection is received, the Company will proceed to issue duplicate share certificates.

Any information with respect to said certificate should be communicated to BDO Unibank,Inc. at 7899 Makati Avenue, Makati City.

( T S - J A N .13 , 2 0 , & 2 7, 2 016)

W E D N E S D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 1 6

B8

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Taiwan, China ties face test as vote looms TAIPEI—Taiwan’s fraught relationship with China will be center stage this weekend as frustrated voters head to the polls to elect a new Beijing-skeptic leader.

The vote comes after eight years of rapprochement between the two bitterly opposed sides, separated since the end of a civil war in 1949, culminating in a historic summit and handshake beamed around the world.

But the landmark meeting between Taiwan’s president Ma Ying-jeou and Chinese leader Xi Jinping in November only exacerbated growing fears over Beijing’s influence in Taiwan, and voters are pushing back.

Tsai Ing-wen of the traditionally pro-independence main opposition Democratic Progressive Party is well ahead in the polls, poised to unseat Ma’s Beijing-friendly Kuomintang.

She has pledged to maintain the current “status quo” with China.

But analysts agree a deterioration of ties is inevitable.

“Relations will cool,” says Steve Tsang, professor of contemporary Chinese studies at the University of Nottingham.

“Tsai is unlikely to take actions or say things to provoke Beijing— but Beijing does not trust her.”

The thaw under Ma is unprecedented after decades of hostility following Taiwan’s split from the mainland at the end of the civil war.

Taiwan has evolved into a boisterous self-ruling democracy, but Beijing still sees the island as a renegade province to be reunited, by force if necessary.

Ma argues his Beijing-friendly strategy has brought stability and peace.

However, there is widespread public wariness over the warming relations and anger that the resulting trade deals have benefited big business, not ordinary voters.

Ties with China were strained under previous DPP president Chen Shui-bian from 2000-2008 due to his staunch pro-independence stance.

Tsai has radically toned down the party’s traditionally pro-independence platform. AFP

WORLD Hopes for change vanish 5 years after Arab Spring TUNIS—On January 14, 2011, Tunisians packed the streets of their capital and shocked the world by overthrowing longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

Remembering Bowie. David Bowie is remembered on The Hollywood Walk of Fame on January 11, 2016 in Hollywood, California. AFP

The revolution shook the Middle East, setting off the hopeful uprisings that came to be known as the Arab Spring.

But five years later, the countries that followed Tunisia’s example could hardly be worse off, the hopes of their people dashed by new autocrats, strife, civil war and the rise of the virulent jihadism exemplified by the Islamic State group.

“Those were exciting days. The democracy fever spread,” Hafez Ghanem, the vice president of the World Bank, wrote in a recent book to mark the start of the Arab Spring.

“But can a country with no democratic tradition and with weak institutions become a well-functioning democracy and improve the lives of its citizens overnight? The answer is obviously no.”

Only weeks before Ben Ali stepped down after 23 years in power, few could have expected the wave of change to come.

A month earlier, a street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi had set himself on fire in the

town of Sidi Bouzid, triggering the mass protests that eventually brought Ben Ali down.

Tunisia was not only the first Arab Spring country but also its only partial success story.

There has been a rise in jihadist violence since Ben Ali’s overthrow, most dramatically in the attacks on the Bardo museum and on a Mediterranean resort that killed 60 people, most of them foreign tourists.

But the country has elected a new government and its National Dialogue Quartet—a group of four civil society organizations—was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year for helping to save its transition to democracy.

Elsewhere in the region, popular uprisings were less the beginnings of a new spring than preludes of harsh winters.

In Egypt, the ouster of Hosni Mubarak was followed by turbulent unrest and eventually a military overthrow of his Islamist successor Mohamed Morsi, the country’s first civilian—and freely elected—president. AFP

Ferry mishap survivors graduate SEOUL—The survivors of South Korea’s Sewol ferry mishap, carrying 250 roses representing their friends who died, graduated from their high school on Tuesday at an emotional, low-key ceremony.

The Sewol was carrying 476 people when it sank off the southwestern island of Jindo in April 2014, with the loss of 304 lives.

Of those who died, 250 were students from the same Dawon High School in Ansan, some 30 kilometers south of Seoul.

The 75 survivors who graduated on Tuesday wore yellow ribbons of remembrance on their lapels or pinned to their bags, and kept their heads lowered for much of the ceremony—diplomas and roses in their hands.

“Because of the Sewol accident, all of us had to undergo a severe trial. But this ordeal was not wasted on us,” one of the survivors said in a graduation speech.

“We’ve learned how to get over whatever may come to us”, he was quoted as saying by the Yonhap news agency.

The ferry tragedy shocked and enraged the country as it became clear that it was almost entirely man-made— the result of an illegal redesign, an overloaded cargo bay, an inexperienced crew and an unhealthy nexus between operators and state regulators.

Following the ceremony, some of the students visited a nearby memorial and laid their diplomas in front of framed portraits of the victims.

A number of victims’ parents attended the event. AFP

Memorial. A woman sits in a classroom, which has become a memorial for the victims of South Korea’s Sewol ferry disaster, at Danwon high school in Ansan, south of Seoul.

The survivors of South Korea’s Sewol ferry mishap, carrying 250 roses representing their friends who died, graduated from their high school on January 12. AFP

W E D N E S D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 3 , 2 0 1 6

C1

TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

H OME & L I V ING

LIFE

HAPPY NEW CLOSET!

EASY TIPS ON HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR WARDROBE

CALEIDOSCOPE WORLD

BY CAL TAVERA

L

et me begin by greeting everyone, Happy New Year! It feels wonderful to be back! I hope everyone had a wonderful vacation, whether it was spending the holidays with loved ones or traveling to some remote island for some peace and quiet. One of the things I love about the New Year is that most people start it optimistic about changing things for the better, setting personal goals for themselves or their environment.

Something that gets ME excited is the detoxing process in my own home, to help create a clutter-free, more zen environment.

I do it a few times a year but majority of my decluttering process happens in December or January. I sell or donate items thereafter to people who will appreciate them more.

Not many people know this but I finally got my closet after six months of having no permanent space for my wardrobe. The termites got to it in June, and it took forever for me to order and have it installed. When I received it last month, it gave me the opportunity to start fresh and carefully select the items that would go into it. For my new bedroom closet, I am ONLY placing things I really need and I have some suggestions for 2016 on how to organize one’s closet.

1. DECLUTTER Yes, we have all heard it before but this is important. Before organizing things, take a few minutes to determine whether you still need those pants you did not fit into since college 15 years ago. I know we tend to be sentimental about things so this can be difficult. Confused on which items to discard? I once interviewed someone who explained her wardrobe method. She would hang clothes on hangers all facing one direction. Every time she wore something, she would return it to the closet on a hanger facing the opposite direction after having it laundered. At the end of the year, if there are any pieces that are still facing the original

direction, she would get rid of those items and donate. That is one way. Try to find a system that works for you.

2. SMART STORING SOLUTIONS I live in a condominium so space is an issue, always! I try to maximize my closet as much as I can. To lessen the stress from all the items I squeeze into the area, I place them in strategic levels. I compartmentalize my items into three spaces. For pieces that I use often, I hang them at eye level. These would include dresses, blazers I wear for work and tops that wrinkle easily.

For pieces that I sometimes use, I utilize the drawers below. These are also for items that can be folded without the hassle of ironing them often. These would be my jeans, shorts and undergarments. As mentioned, I have limited space so sometimes I have to store other items aside from my clothes.

Some people change their bags constantly so these have to be placed somewhere they can be easily reached. I don’t. I can use the same bag for a whole month or two so I place the bags on the top level. Determine which compartment your things belong to depending on your lifestyle.

3. COORDINATE For a cleaner, sleeker look, I use one type of hanger for all my clothes. When I open my closet doors, my eyes just zone in on the clothes because there is less distraction from the hangers. My personal preference would either be the clear or wood hangers.

The clear ones blend in more but the wood ones make the space homey.

4. LET THERE BE LIGHT One thing I regret not incorporating into my closet is light. My closet is set in a dark area of my bedroom. In the daytime, it is fine. At night though, it is a bit difficult, making it less time efficient to pick out an outfit. The measurement of a standard closet is 60cm deep so if you have things folded at the back, they will get lost. If you have the chance to add some lighting, do so.

Follow me on Instagram @cal_tavera

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LEARNING THE ART OF LETTING GO (A Mom’s Letter to Her Son Leaving to Study Abroad)

LIV.E SIMPLY

BY LIV E.

H

odding Carter said, “There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One of these is roots, the other wings.”

Today, my son spread out his wings and flew halfway around the world.

It has never been more apparent to me than it is now, just how difficult it is to cut apron strings. But I am learning that the art of letting go of my child is just as much the art of keeping him close in my heart.

When that heart is full to the brim, it is often my pen that handles the spillover. And that is how this letter, proof of my struggle to learn the art of letting go, has found its way into ink and paper:

My dearest son,

This is probably the hardest letter I’ve ever had to write to you, but it’s one that’s demanding to burst forth from the seams of my heart. These past weeks I’ve joked that I’m in denial about your leaving, but the truth is I really have been, hoping that if I keep myself extremely busy and don’t think about it, I can put The Day off. But that day has come, and you’re leaving in a few hours, and here I am, still struggling to pretend your bags are packed for just a weekend and you’re not flying away from us for more than half a year. I’m still half-expecting you to walk back into my room after a couple of days to say, “I’m home, Mama.”

I’ll probably sit down and bawl my heart out once you’re up in the air, headed a whole continent away. But for now, I’m holding it all in and trying to be, you know, “adult” about your leaving home. Thank God Pop will be with you to help get you settled over there; otherwise I’d be a train wreck right now.

Your younger brothers have been repeating a constant refrain: “I can’t believe he’s leaving.

How can he be leaving, Mama? It’s going to be so different without him.” And – well, you know how kids speak nothing but the truth – they’re right, of course. It really is hard to imagine life without you. These past months have been filled with sudden thought bubbles that pop up unbidden in the most ordinary moments. We do errands in the mall and you take the bags from Pop so you can carry them; or you and Pop fiddle over Wifi connections and Spotify playlists, and I think, gosh, Pop is surely going to miss you. You discuss the latest movie with your older brother, laughing together, and I think, our eldest boy is going to have to adjust to the absence of his samegen bro. You watch Peanuts with the kids, all of you munching on chips, and I think, well there go the fun moments with their movieexpert older brother.

And then there’s you and me and all the time we spend together. You sit at the piano playing while I smoke my après-dinner ciggie, and I’m suddenly assaulted by the thought that nights after dinner are going to be empty without the company of music and smoke. I think about all our snickering sessions and I wonder, who’s going to get my jokes when you’re gone and who’s going to get yours? When I turn to give you that rolling-eyes look, I realize now we’re going to have to be on Facetime or you won’t see.

When things don’t go well and something

frustrates you, how am I going to hear you say, “Mamaaaaa! Help!” and how am I going to come sit with you and talk you through it when it’s 4:00 a.m. here while it’s the middle of the day for you there? Who’s going to be my pig-out mate, my shopping companion, my hangout kiddo, my staunch defender, my column test-reader, my funny man, and everything else that you uniquely are, while you’re gone?

Darn. It’s going to be really lonely without you, my 20-year-old sidekick son.

But make no mistake. I might have tears in my eyes, but I’ll also be sporting a bigger smile. Because I’m happy for you, and excited for you, and I’m not just your mom, I’m also your cheerleader number one. I’m going to miss you like hell, but I’m not going to think about it. Or maybe I will, because our family is so tight that we’re all so much a part of each other’s life, and the silence in your absence will be deafening. But when your absence glares at me, I will bravely stare it down, armed with the comfort of knowing that you’re my boy and always will be, no matter how old you get or how far away from home you roam.

I’m tempted to give you a Mommychecklist of things to remember while you’re gone: Please pray every morning and every night. Always walk and talk with your

guardian angel, and ask our Blessed Mother to hug you for me and keep you safe in her arms. Don’t miss Sunday mass for any reason at all. Try to go to Confession once a month.

Be alert and safe on the roads. Call home every week just so Pop and I know you’re happy and learning much and having fun through it all. No matter what time or day, call if you need us (or even when you don’t); we’re always here for you. When things don’t go as planned, or you’re upset, or you lose something: pray first, then sit and think it through (You’ll find a way, I’m sure). Before you do anything, before you make any decision, always ask yourself: Is this what God wants me to do? There’s no way you can go wrong if you make that one question your deciding factor.

Make lots of friends, just make sure they’re good ones.

Have fun, explore, sail across uncharted seas, but never do anything that will risk your future, your health, or your safety. Pray, pray, pray.

I can go on and on, but I know there’s really no need for a checklist, because you’ll do just fine. You’re wonderful and you’re incredibly smart and if you carry your map, you won’t get lost. And even if you do, you’ll find your way back. I’m sure of that.

I’m suddenly reminded now of the day I turned 21: My dad asked me to hold out

Your younger brothers have been repeating a constant refrain: ‘I can’t believe he’s leaving. How can he be leaving, Mama? It's going to be so different without him.’

my hand for his gift, and in my outstretched palm, he laid the key to our front door. He looked me in the eye and told me, “I’ve spent the first 21 years of your life bringing you up with all the right values and principles.

With this key I give you your freedom along with the trust that you’ll use it responsibly, and the chance to prove that I’ve taught you successfully how to live a good life.”

It was a turning point in my life.

Now you’re at a turning point in your life, too. You’re going to be living alone, taking yourself to places you’ve never been without us beside you, exploring, discovering, learning. It’s a wonderful world out there, and I’m glad that you have this chance to grow more. Things will be different when you’re away from the safety and security of home.

You’ll have to set your own boundaries and your own fences and your own safety nets.

And just like my dad did when I was 21, I now entrust to you a key, but a different one.

It’s the key that opens not the gate of our home but my mommy-heart. Take it with you and keep it close to your heart, too. At the end of the day, all the oceans and miles between us make no difference. When you carry Pop’s and my heart, you carry home with you. And we’ll both carry you with us here, too, every day, till the day you fly home for real.

And while you’re gone, know that you will always be not just in my heart but in my mind and in my prayers, too, day and night, 24/7. I love you forever, more than you’ll ever know. Take care, my dearest boy. And may God and all his angels watch over you while you are away from home.

Follow me on Twitter @ LivE_LiveSimply Like my page, follow all my articles, and send me feedback @ Facebook/liv.esimplywithLiv

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The exterior of the hotel is inspired by the stalactites in Palawan’s famous subterranean river

@LIFEatStandard

The walls paint a story of the sights and sceneries of Palawan

INSPIRING ADVENTURES IN PUERTO PRINCESA, PALAWAN M ore and more hospitality spaces are catering to an adventurous, young and creative market.

Instead of posh luxury hotels, young travelers often opt for more intimate quirky boutique spaces that allow them to be themselves and at the same time enjoy their vacation.

One such place is located at the heart of Puerto Princesa in Palawan Canvas Boutique Hotel, a 49-room boutique hotel. And as the name suggests, the place is a canvas for artistic expression. The design with white amidst the greens gives the hotel a very hip and modern look. A closer inspection would show that the design is reminiscent of the stalactites in Palawan’s famous subterranean river.

Going inside the hotel is like walking into a museum, with intricate details of Palawan weaving through the painted walls of the hallways up to the rooms.

Painted by Electrolychee Studio’s Marcushiro Nada and Bru Sim the hotel boasts that if these walls could talk, they would tell the story of “Palawan culture, life forms and mythology onto colorful, vibrant reverbs of the island’s most celebrated cultural traits.” Each floor carries the

guest to a journey through the Underworld, Under The Sea, Land, Sky and Mountain – each floor aptly labeled and telling the story through the design – which gets the guests excitedly anticipating the actual sights and sceneries awaiting them during their stay in Palawan.

With the intricate exterior and interior, Canvas makes you feel like you’ve gone through a Palawan adventure even if you’ve just reached the hotel.

The lively wall art is paired with hanging sculptures, contemporary furniture and fixture all around the hotel.

This boutique hotel is perfect for young couples, professionals and adventurous millennials as it is fun and vibrant at the same time located near the tourist zones. One of the world’s New Seven Wonders the spectacular Puerto Princesa Subterranean River is just one of the places you can visit that is within striking distance of the hotel.

Other nearby places to visit are numerous beaches and the mountainside. You can go from trekking to firefly watching or whale shark watching in Honda Bay. For booking and more information visit www.canvasboutiquehotel.com or call 0917 807 1360.

The Canvas Boutique Hotel walls are painted by graphic artists Marcushiro Nada and Bru Sim of Electrolychee Studio’s

Premier room

Superior room

Lobby

PH participates in the largest international gift show in Japan

T

he Philippines will be participating in the 81st Tokyo International Gift Show Spring Edition (TIGS), the largest international trade show in Japan slated this February 3 to 5 at the Tokyo International Exhibition Center.

The Philippine delegation will be led by the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM), the export marketing arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

CITEM will bring together numerous Philippine exporters to the Japanese market, whose work will showcase ingenuous handmade products made from unique bone china, acacia tree, and cast resin.

Participating brands are CSM Philippines, Inc. featuring handmade fine bone china

table top accessories, giftware, and other novelty items; Tixxi & Co. whose bags are made from Suede fabric, high-quality woods like acacia, carved by local artisans and embellished with fine leathers, crystals, shells, and gemstones. Another participant, Mary Kel Co., Inc., will highlight the crafted and hand-painted cast resin shoe collection that was exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York.

The collection is inspired from actual shoe designs from different eras up to the contemporary period.

The Japanese are big on gift giving, be it personal or professional. The gift show will be a perfect opportunity for Filipino companies to penetrate Japan’s gift market.

In 2014, Japan’s gift market recorded sales of

¥ 9,740 billion, exceeding the preceding year by over 100 percent. “Like the gift show’s theme, ‘Success through GlobalizationModel Manufacturing,’ participants in the event will not just showcase Philippine artisanship to the world but will help our local exporters consider adding value to their crafts such as new lifestyle solutions and novel designs,” said CITEM executive director Rosvi Gaetos.

During the three-day gift show, buyers and visitors can choose from a wide variety of personal gifts, consumer goods, handicrafts, home décor, textiles, fashion, and other design driven goods. The Philippine exhibitors are among the 2,500 anticipated companies from around the world that will cater to 200,000 estimated

influential international and local buyers of TIGS. Participating companies will join business-matching meetings with overseas and Japanese influential buyers and will be featured in the TIGS merchandise information site.

The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions is the export promotion arm of the DTI. CITEM is committed to developing, nurturing, and promoting globally-competitive small and medium enterprises, exporters, designers, and manufacturers by implementing an integrated approach to export marketing in partnership with other government and private entities.

To know more about CITEM, please visit www.citem.gov.ph.

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The Empire lamps are made of capiz with Art Deco geometric patterns

M&O Asia turns the spotlight on a Filipino talent

T

he third edition of interior design and lifestyle trade show in the Asia Pacific Maison&Objet Asia is featuring Filipino industrial designer Stanley Ruiz along with five other designers in the region.

M&O Asia is a curated platform that features high-end and innovative interior design concepts and solutions to property developers, hoteliers, restaurateurs, interior designers and architects.

For 2016, the trade show returns to Singapore at the Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Center on March 8 to 11.

Ruiz was chosen as one of this year’s six Rising Asian Talents in

Stanley Ruiz (photo by Buboy Cañafranca)

the region. He is joined by designers from Australia, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

Currently based in Manila, Ruiz is the principal and creative director of Estudio Ruiz Design Consultancy – a design studio he founded after working in Java and Bali, Indonesia and New York City, USA. His design aesthetic is raw and modern, wherein he fuses natural with industrial elements to come up with strange yet familiar contemporary furniture and home accessories.

With his traditional craft techniques, Ruiz is able to preserve the material’s inherent look and quality but injected with clever and innovative reinterpretation.

Each piece he designs brings about new meaning to familiar object archetypes. For example is his Whisk hanging lamp that is made of copper wires sculpted into shapes reminiscent of a regular kitchen whisk.

Being a supporter of sociallyresponsible crafts, Ruiz makes it a point to use Philippine indigenous fibers like abaca, buri and rattan, aside from wood, metal and leather, in creating home furniture and

accessories – most of which have appeared and are sold abroad.

His works have been exhibited at the Museum of Arts and Design and at the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York.

Fans of his finished products can purchase them at Habitat, Takashimaya, Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie and other boutiques and galleries worldwide.

Ruiz is a familiar name in the Philippine design scene, with several book, magazine and newspaper features under his belt. Outside of the country, he was named as one of the Avant Guardians of 2010 by New York-based Surface magazine.

His talent and hard work have been continuously recognized since his early days of designing, attested to by the Bronze Award he received at the A’ Design Awards in Italy in 2013, and the Outstanding Asia Talents awards at the Bangkok International Gift Fair in 2014.

For the upcoming M&O Asia trade fair, Ruiz, together with his contemporaries, will showcase new products and projects that were exclusively conceived for the Asia Pacific markets.

Wall clock and mirrors exhibited at the 2014 edition of Manila FAME

Labyrinth floor lamps

Pandora Branch Lamp setting

Armoires exhibited at Manila FAME 2014

Branch table lamp

Symbiosis II - Paper Speakers

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SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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French actress Marion Cotillard dremt of portraying Lady Mactbeth on screen

Marion Cotillard is lady MaCbeth

A

cademy Award winner Marion Cotillard stars as Lady Macbeth opposite Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender in this year’s thrilling interpretation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The movie wherein Fassbender plays the title role is the story of a fearless warrior and inspiring leader brought low by ambition and desire.

Set in war torn Scottish landscape, following a fierce battle in which Macbeth (Fassbender), Thane of Glamis and loyal general of King Duncan’s (David Thewlis) forces, has finally killed Macdonwald, a traitor and leader of rebel forces, he and fellow soldier Banquo (Paddy Considine) encounter three women scavenging among the fallen soldiers, who foretell that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland, while Banquo will be the father of future kings. Both men are unnerved by the prophecies but for the moment appear not to believe them.

At Inverness, a letter from Macbeth arrives, informing Lady Macbeth of the prophecy.

Lady Macbeth (Cotillard), who has not seen her husband over the long years of war and is grieving the loss of their only child, feels

Fassbender and Cotillard as a couple in the reimagining of what wartime must have been like for one of Shakespeare’s most popular works

the seed of an idea grow in her mind. She plans for her husband to kill King Duncan so that they can assume the throne. Macbeth is at first reluctant to do harm to Duncan, but Lady Macbeth’s persuasion and Duncan’s announcement that his callow son Malcolm will succeed him spur him to act. After feasting and drinking liberally, Duncan retires to bed, unaware that Lady Macbeth has drugged his guards.

Macbeth, taking advantage of the confusion and grief caused by Duncan’s death, and marshaling his popularity

Scenes from the film featuring Marion Cotillard and Michael Fassbender

amongst the people, is crowned King of Scotland. Banquo, however, has suspicions of his own based on their encounter with the prophetic women. Unable to trust anyone, and increasingly drawn down the path of tyranny, Macbeth begins to kill any who he fears might oppose him.

Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, has been slowly driven mad by her guilt in the wake of killing Duncan and the realization that she has lost her husband forever to darkness, just like she once lost a child.

Unable to escape her grief, and unable to

make any connection with the husband she loves so much, she returns to Inverness and dies consumed by visions of her dead child.

Marion Cotillard signed up to play the crucial role of Lady Macbeth, despite English being a second language. “I knew that one day I would play Lady Macbeth,” says Cotillard, noting the special connection she’s always felt to Scotland and this particular play. Acclaimed director Justin Kurzel says Cotillard worked hard to learn the Shakespearian language despite the language barrier. “It was huge for her in terms of how foreign the verse was,” he notes.

“I couldn’t miss this opportunity to play this character in English,” she concurs. “We all worked with Neil Swain on the language, who is much more than a dialogue coach, he’s a Shakespeare expert. Our work with him was about going deep into Shakespeare’s world, and it was about more than just finding the right accent, rhythm and energy.”

“I think in the end you’ll have great empathy for both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth,” notes producer Laura Hastings-Smith. “Obviously they do terrible things, which can happen even to good people, but I think you come to understand the tragedy of that in a very human sense with this film.”

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REmEmbERing thE maStER ShOWman

by EtOn b. COnCEPCiOn

The nation mourns the passing of German ”Kuya Germs” Moreno, one of the last remaining veteran comedians of Philippines movies, who died of cardiac arrest on Jan. 8 at the age of 82.

Kuya Germs, a TV host, talent manager and star builder, had been responsible for discovering talents for the movies, television and recording industry, usually developed and trained in the intricacies of the acting profession, first in Moreno’s long-running Germs’ Special, GMA Supershow and the youth-oriented That’s Entertainment in the 80s, 90s and later in GMA-7 Master Showman late night, early morning (Walang Tulugan) show.

Moreno, the son a Spanish Filipino Jose Moreno y Calvo and Aurora Molina, entered the entertainment world when he worked as a janitor and telonero (curtain raiser) in 1957 at Clover Theater, one of the most famous stage theaters in Manila during the good old days.

He landed the role of Jesus Christ when the life and times of the Crucified Christ was staged at the Manila Grand Opera House. That was his first big break, which led to a career as a comedian of the bodabil (vaudeville) stage and later in post-war movies.

Moreno landed roles in Sampaguita Pictures such as DanceO-Rama, Mga Batang Iskwater, Class Reunion and Mga Batang Bakasyunista, which starred 60s big stars Susan Roces, Gloria Romero, Dolphy and Panchito. He also worked on radio with Eddie Ilarde, Helen Vela, Ben David, Ike Lozada and Inday Badiday in the early 70s.

In the late 1970s, Moreno hosted GMA Supershow, a high rating Sunday noontime variety show, and was taken in as co-host

Kuya Germs and Nora Aunor weeks before his death

of Nora Aunor’s unforgettable Superstar, a Sunday musical-variety show on RPN-9. That began his long, long friendship, partnership and mutual admiration with the greatest actress of local cinema.

While Aunor received her first best actress acting award in the 1976 Famas Awards, Moreno would achieved his in 2009 as Famas best supporting actor for the film Paupahan (Crossroads).

Moreno marked his 50th anniversary in Philippine entertainment industry with a tribute special entitled 50 Years with The Master Showman held at Resorts World Manila in April 2013, which was attended by most of his colleagues and discoveries in the business.

In Master Showman’s (Walang Tulugan) episode covered direct from the Mount Carmel Shrine Quezon City where his remains are laid, tears and laughter accompanied the memories and remembrances shared by everyone who had crossed paths with the well-loved Master Showman.

Dulce opened the late night

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 46 48 50 51 52 54 58 62 63 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Shelley selections 5 Force 9 Sextant updated 14 One-and-only 15 Pennsylvania port 16 Sidestep 17 Good dirt 18 Overall fronts 19 Leans toward 20 Transportation for all?

22 Globetrotter

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“A Hard Day’s —” CD preceders Grinding teeth Licorice-flavored liqueur Trophy 554, in old Rome Of an epoch Cagey Close to flood stage Feel crummy Iodine source Dots in “la mer”

Minneapolis exurb Takes by surprise Big occasions Belly dance instrument Surcharges Drudged along Jogs without togs Up in the air Costa — Wishes undone Jurors, e.g.

Rust component Volcano fissure Trap Fiberglass bundle Son of Aphrodite

DOWN 1 Fjord port 2 Ensure failure 3 Joie de vivre 4 Graduate course 5 Troubleshoots 6 Coffee or stew 7 Robin’s beak 8 Aptitude — 9 Pauses 10 Manage 11 Rajah’s consort 12 Mixes in 13 Snug retreat

show with a heart-rending rendition of the “Prayer” in a duet with her son tenor David Ezra while Asia’s Queen of Songs, Pilita Corrales sang the classic “Saan Ka Man Naroon” which she said was difficult to sing in such very sad occasion. Others who sang were Moreno’s young favorites Mark Mabasa, Michael Pangilinan and Jake Vargas.

Asunta de Rossi, Tina Paner, Sheryl Cruz, Ara Mina, Robert Ortega, Bimbo Bautista, JP de Guzman, Monching Gutierrez, Jojo Abellana and Nathaniel Rivera, all part of Moreno’s iconic That’s Entertainment, perhaps for the last time, have gathered together in one show to pay their last respect to a great mentor, friend and father.

Other personalities who Moreno had plucked from obscurity and thrust into the national spotlight include Judy Ann Santos, Billy Crawford, Isko Moreno, Herbert Bautista, Glydel Mercado, Ken Chan and Lea Salonga.

Moreno was known to be a friend and supporter of Imelda Marcos and would likely accord visit during his wake until today.

He is survived by adopted son Federico, grand children including archer Luis Moreno, and nephew John Nite, a cohost on Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman PhOtOS by bEnSOn Lim

Kuya Germs and superstar Nora Aunor on the set of 1986 film Payaso

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2016

21 23 25 27 28 29 31 32 33 34 36 40 41 44 47 49 50 53 54 55 56 57 59 60 61 64

Fledglings Popeye’s girl Like Everest Raccoon faces Young screecher Eric Clapton classic Guitarist — Lofgren Bullet — Pollute Fitzgerald and Raines Give out sparingly Dorian Gray’s creator When pigs fly Text checker Earn Harmless reptile Not extinct Cravat cousin Drinks like Rover Hawkeye portrayer — fide Small amount Violinist Leopold — Casino game Former JFK arrivals Rollover subj.

Kuya Germs with singer Dulce, Imelda Marcos and Bongbong Marcos at the Batasan Complex

BongBong MarCos on Kuya gerM’s departure Vice-presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. expressed deepest sadness when he learned German “Kuya Germs” Moreno passed away on Jan. 8. Moreno was a staunch supporter of the Marcoses.

The senator dispatched immediately a statement to members of the media, which reads: My family and I are deeply saddened by the passing of a true icon, German Moreno or Kuya Germs.

He is a big loss to the movie industry which he helped build and shape through his countless movies, television shows and the numerous talents he nurtured every step of the way.

Kuya Germs was a Father to many aspiring Actors and Actresses whom he transformed into Big Stars.

He is especially loved because he championed the many causes related to the movie industry including rallying for better pay and treatment for those working behind the scenes.

For my family, Kuya Germs had been and will always be a

The Senator with the Master Showman during the the first’s proclamation rally in Intramuros

true friend whose support never wavered despite all the challenges.

We very much appreciate how he stuck with us through thick and thin and was proud of it.

Truly a great man with a big heart and with conviction.

Kuya Germs was at Senator Bongbong Marcos’ Proclamation Rally for Vice President in Puerta Real Gardens on Oct. 10, 2015, to express his full support for his candidacy.

At the Senate Session Hall, Kuya Germs thanked Senator Bongbong Marcos for his support for the movie industry.

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apl.de. ap tells cHIldreN to dream BIg NIcKIe waNg What do apl.de. ap, Madonna, Will Smith and Pharrell Williams have in common apart from being successful musicians? They all have a children’s book, and not just a simple juvenile literature, their books aim to tell an inspiring story.

Filipino-American musician apl. de.ap may have a number of charttopping songs and Grammy awards to his name as a member of hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, but life hasn’t always been easy for him. In fact, he grew up poor in a humble barrio in Pampanga, had bad eyesight that made studying and sports a challenge, and he never knew his biological father.

At the back of the cover of What’s Ap?: The Life Story of apl.de.ap it says “Hey______dream big.” The blank is the space where a kid writes his name.

And such powerful tool to start of what the book really wants to convey.

What’s Ap? is a children’s book published by Summit Books’ Dream Big Books imprint that traces the journey of the musician from his humble beginnings in Angeles, Pampanga to fame and success on an international scale with the hip hop group that has sold an estimated 75 million records worldwide.

Fil-Am music artist and producer apl.de.ap

Written by Yvette Fernandez, illustrated by Ray Sunga, and developed with Allan Pineda Lindo (apl.de.ap’s real name), the book shows children that perseverance, gratitude, and never forgetting one’s roots can go a long way.

“This is a story about a kid from humble beginnings that was given an opportunity. He cherished that opportunity and now he has a good life and he wants to give back. That’s the gist of the book,” the 41-year-old musician told The Standard during the book’s launch last month before Christmas.

He furthered that he wanted to share his story because there are a lot of kids like him who might be going through the same obstacles.

“I want them to follow their dreams, listen to their parents, and study hard. With a good education, you can be anything,” he said.

While his book encourages children to be inspired and to pursue their dreams, apl.de.ap has always been supportive to those young ones who have expressed their intention to have a successful life but didn’t have the means or access to proper education. Hence, Apl.de.ap Foundation, which provide the tools to individuals, who are passionate and driven to make a difference in their lives and in the lives of others, was born.

The foundation’s main goal is to help build classrooms, send children to school, as well as provide medical help to children with eye problems.

When he was young, apl.de.ap was diagnosed with nystagmus, or

the involuntary, rapid, and repetitive movement of the eye or eyes. That’s why “the legally blind” hip hop artist is very passionate with this project.

To date, his foundation has successfully built 34 classrooms in the Philippines, established a computer laboratory and a recording and music studio in Angeles City, Pampanga, sponsored 14 scholars who are in the top ten percentile of their university and are involved in leadership community activities. It is currently rebuilding 20 classrooms in Zamboanga.

“Ten thousand kids will be going to that school so I’m very happy about that. We had 14 scholars, they’re top of the class and now they all have jobs. I’m so proud of them. I’m just happy to see other kids succeed, who had the same humble beginnings as me,” apl shared.

All proceeds from What’s Ap?: The Life Story of apl.de.ap will be given to the Apl.de.ap Foundation.

The cover of apl.de.ap's children's book

Heart on Her first CHristmas as CHiz’s wife The cast of comedy series Silicon Valley

Julia Louis-Dreyfus as politician Selina Meyer in Veep

New seasoNs of popular serIes oN HBo

“I

am happiest!” exclaims actress/artist Heart Evangelista on her first Christmas as wife of Vice presidential candidate Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

The couple believes that 2016 will be a good year for them because they were with their respective families during the holidays.

“Masaya. Sa bahay lang kami nag-Pasko at first time naming mag-celebrate ni Heart bilang mag-asawa. Nagkasama rin sa unang pagkakataon ang pamilya Escudero at Ongpauco para ipagdiwang ang holiday season,” Chiz said in an interview.

Heart and Chiz were with the Ongpaucos on Christmas and New Year’s eve.

When the couple returned

from a short vacation in Japan with Chiz’s twins, Chesi and Quino, Chiz cooked for Heart’s family for a gathering at Cam Ongpauco’s house on Dec. 31.

Heart is very happy with how things are with their families, especially after that little misunderstanding between her family and her husband.

“I am the happiest. God you are so amazing. I knew it!! #happynewyear2016,” Heart posted a photo on Instagarm with her daddy, Rey Ongpauco, and her husband both giving her a peck on the cheeks.

After their New Year celebration with the Ongpaucos, the couple went to her husband’s family with Congressman Evie Escudero, her children and nephews.

HBO has confirmed that the new seasons of Game Of Thrones, Silicon Valley and Veep will debut back-toback same time as the US, on April 25, from 9 a.m., with a same day primetime encore at 9 p.m.. All three titles will be available on HBO GO. Game Of Thrones begins its 10-episode sixth season same time as the US, April 25 at 9 a.m. on HBO, with a same day primetime encore at 9 p.m..

Based on the popular book series A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R.R. Martin, this hit Emmy®winning fantasy series chronicles an epic struggle for power in a vast and violent kingdom.

The ensemble cast for the fifth season included Emmy® and Golden Globe winner Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Aidan Gillen, Kit Harington, Diana Rigg, Natalie Dormer, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner. Executive producers are David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, Carolyn Strauss, Frank Doelger, Bernadette Caulfield; while coexecutive producers are Guymon Casady, Vince Gerardis, George R.R. Martin.

Silicon Valley returns for its 10-episode third season same time as the US, April 25 at 10 a.m. on HBO, with a same day primetime encore at 10 p.m..

The Emmy®-winning and Golden Globe-nominated series takes a comic look at the modern-day epicenter of the high-tech gold rush, where the people most qualified to succeed are the least capable of handling success.

Collaborating are Mike Judge and Alec Berg for the series that stars Thomas Middleditch, T.J. Miller, Zach Woods, Kumail Nanjiani, Martin Starr, Josh Brener, Amanda Crew, Matt Ross, Suzanne Cryer and Jimmy O. Yang. Mike Judge, Alec Berg, Michael Rotenberg and Tom Lassally executive produce. Mike Judge & John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky created the series.

Veep launches its 10-episode fifth season also on April 25 at 10:30 a.m. on HBO, with a same day primetime encore at 10:30 p.m..

This Emmy®-nominated series stars Emmy® winner Julia Louis-Dreyfus as former Vice President Selina Meyer, who became president after her predecessor stepped down. The cast also includes Emmy® winner Tony Hale, Anna Chlumsky, Reid Scott, Matt Walsh, Timothy C. Simons, Sufe Bradshaw, Kevin Dunn, Gary Cole, Sam Richardson and Hugh Laurie. Dave Mandel, Frank Rich, Chris Godsick, Julia LouisDreyfus and Lew Morton executive produce.

W EDNES DAY : JA NUA RY 13, 2016

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ AwArdwinning isrAeli Film At AyAlA cinemAs

F

rom emerging Israeli directors, brothers Yoav and Doron Paz comes an acclaimed award-winning film Jeruzalem, winner of the Audience Award and Best Editing at the recent 32nd Jerusalem International Film Festival.

Jeruzalem follows two American girls on vacation who meet an attractive student studying anthropology during their trip to Jerusalem. A trip planned to be their best vacation ever, the girls, Sarah (Danielle Jadelyn) and Rachel (Yael Grobglas, Israel’s budding scream queen) do the rounds of the tour with newfound friend Kevin in tow and partying hard in Jerusalem’s ancient sites. The trio unexpectedly find themselves in the midst of a religious conflict followed by a series of horrifying biblical apocalypse.

Inspired by a line from the Talmud that states “There are three gates to hell: one in the desert, one in the ocean and one in Jerusalem,” the movie unleashes a chain of demonic events that brought about terror as the three try to escape between ancient walls of the holy city.

“We wanted to give the audience a chance to feel and experience this dark, mystical and religious city through the eyes of our characters.

To see up close what the resurrection may actually look like, in the most reasonable place on earth to start the apocalypse,” says Yoav and Doron on introducing the film.

The Paz Bros. are the sons of Israeli filmmaker Jonathan Paz (Waiting for Surkin) and grew up in Netanya.

Their filmmaking careers began when they were around 10 or 11 years old. Filmed in found footage style through a smart digital glass, “Jeruzalem gives the audience a rich detail of the city’s culture and history as read from the Bible.

“We see it more of a POV (point of view) instead of found footage, we wanted it so all the other actors are talking to the camera, and when she

Israeli actress Yael Grobglas

crawls in the dark people the audience see how it feels to crawl in the dark.

Like a sort of virtual reality. But we didn’t know what to do about it. Then a few years ago everyone started talking about Google glass with verbal technology and this gave us our window. This also gave us another layer, a technological layer, where we could present more information. You don’t see it in the trailer, but the entire film is through a smart glass – not Google. So there’s verbal technology and augmented reality. This means we could use social media in it too as another form of storytelling. It’s the oldest story with new technology.

We don’t like to call it found footage because, while it’s obviously a found footage technique, we think this takes it to the next level,” shares Yoav and Doron of their filmmaking style.

Yoav and Doron Paz first gained acclaim with their arthouse film Phobidilia, an official selection at TIFF and the Berlin International Film Festival. Their latest film, Jeruzalem marks a radical new turn as they submerge themselves full-on into hyper-visceral horror storytelling.

“For years we thought to ourselves ‘how come nobody did an apocalypse movie about Jerusalem’ , when it’s the perfect set up for it. You’ve seen movies about the apocalypse in cities all around the world: Bostin, then you have REC – everywhere, but nobody’s been dealing with Jerusalem itself. Though the bible, and its scriptures are set there, so Jeruzalem opens in theatres nationwide on Jan. 20 from Pioneer Films.

Check out the film’s trailer here https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=xNZcLIhn5lg

Jeruzalem, which provides a nice twist to the exhausted found-footage genre, is biblical horror film that centers on the holy city's religious landmarks and architecture