The Standard - 2016 January 16 - Saturday

VOL. XXIX  NO. 338  3 Sections 32 Pages P18  SATURDAY : JANUARY 16, 2016  www.thestandard.com.ph  editorial@thestandard.com.ph

SHOW MRT CONTRACT, TRANSPORT CHIEF TOLD

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AQUINO, SSS BRASS HIT ON PENSION HIKE VETO

By John Paolo Bencito, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III and top officials of the Social Security System came under withering fire Friday after the President vetoed a bill that would have raised pensions across-theboard for retirees by P2,000.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano called on legislators to end the executive branch’s legacy of vetoing important laws by overriding Aquino’s veto.

“It is time for Congress to stand up for our millions of pensioners and give them the pension that they need,” Cayetano said.

“We must stand up against the executive’s awesome powers and ensure the passage of important laws that will help alleviate the lives of our people and show that we are the people’s voice and not just a rubber stamp of Malacañang,” he added.

Cayetano said social security is meant to help pensioners after their retirement cope with the costs of living without their regular salaries. “But what good is social security if what they get is so low that it cannot even meet their barest needs?” he said.

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Binay tops latest SWS opinion poll

By Sandy Araneta, Vito Barcelo, John Bencito and Macon Araneta VICE President Jejomar Binay has overcome a barrage of graft allegations to re-emerge as front-runner to become the nation’s next leader, the latest Social Weather Stations poll said Friday.

The 73-year-old had long been the favorite but his poll numbers tanked last year when allegations emerged that he and his son, both former mayors of Makati City, had taken huge kickbacks in the construction of a city-owned car park building.

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Measly pension. Social Security System member Rogie Bendol shows the official notice that he can now start collecting his monthly pension of P471.10 starting next month. Bendol joined other pensioners and activist organizations outside the main SSS office in Quezon City to protest President Benigno Aquino III’s veto of a bill increasing SSS pensions. JANSEN ROMERO

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Edca not a threat to others—Aquino

By Sandy Araneta

THE Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the Philippines and the United States is not a threat to other countries, President Benigno Aquino III said Friday, even as tensions between Manila and Beijing remained high over a territorial dispute in the South China Sea. “The Philippines has a long-standing Mutual Defense Treaty with the US. We have the Visiting Forces Agreement as an adjunct of that. Under the Mutual Defense Treaty, we are obliged to come to the defense of one another, and assist each other in times of need. My question here is: How do we do that if we are not familiar with each other’s resources, equipment, doctrines, and limitations?” said Aquino, in a speech at the East-West Center Association International Confer-

ence at the Manila Hotel.

“The basic logic behind Edca is interoperability, and anybody who is reasonable will see that this agreement is an enhancement of both our countries’ abilities, rather than a threat to anyone else,” Aquino said.

“To my mind, Edca has a very practical purpose for developing our own armed forces: All the modern hardware carries a significant price tag; yet with Edca, we have a chance to try the cutting-edge

equipment and see just how suitable they are to our needs, without having to buy them first,” he said.

Aquino said, if the Philippines get to train with the US, a far more advanced force, the country can learn from them.

On the other hand, the US gets to learn how to make do with fewer resources, which in a conflict situation is always a high probability, he said.

“As highly regarded experts in your respective fields, I trust that you will see just how beneficial such a relationship can be for my countrymen and the people of the United States, as well as for our partners; it is, after all, a relationship borne of consensus and a recognition of differences, of shared principles and aspirations, and of a unified vision in building a safer, more productive environment for our peoples,” Aquino said.

Heading home. Vice President Jejomar Binay meets with five Filipino workers whom he will be bringing home from

the Dubai International Airport. Binay has been in the United Arab Emirates since Tuesday, holding dialogs with Filipino workers and UAE officials on investments, job opportunities and workers’ welfare.

Binay...

From A1 Social Weather Stations said the vice president had regained a clear lead with 31 percent preferring him in its Jan. 8-10 nationwide survey of 1,200 registered voters.

With a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, Senator Grace Poe (24 percent), Roxas (21 percent), and anticrime advocate Rodrigo Duterte (20 percent) are in a statistical deadlock.

Poe’s showing was two points down from her previous 26 percent while Roxas lost one point from 22 percent in December.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago had 3 percent, one point lower than her December showing.

Binay, who leads the main opposition alliance, denies the corruption allegations against him and members of his family. A spokesman said he was humbled by the people’s trust in his capability to lead the country.

“The Vice President… will continue to emphasize that our country needs an experienced and competent leader to work for inclusive growth that would ultimately benefit the poor who comprise majority of our country,” said spokesman Rico Quicho.

President Benigno Aquino III played down the SWS survey showing Binay on top, saying it was merely a snapshot of current public opinion.

“The campaign has not really started. Maybe some respondents didn’t remember any negative issues at the present, which cannot be avoided come election time,” he said in Filipino, apparently referring to the graft and plunder charges filed against Binay.

The Roxas camp hammered away at the allegations of graft.

“When Binay became the vice president, he was already campaigning to be president. Just last month, he spent around P700 million for ads, and until now, he can’t explain where it came from,” Roxas spokesman Rep. Barry Gutierrez said in a statement.

“Did that came from a parking lot, a school, the Boy Scouts or a hospital?” Gutierrez said, referring to projects in which Binay has been

Aquino...

From A1 Cayetano, who is running for vice president, also noted that Aquino had blocked social legislation such as the Magna Carta for the poor and the lowering of income tax rates for working Filipinos.

Cayetano vowed to lead the charge in mobilizing the legislature, which need a two-thirds vote in the House and the Senate, to override the veto.

“For the sake of our struggling people, I will do everything in my power to counter this veto. It is an uphill battle but a fight that must be waged nonetheless. We owe it to the people, especially the vulnerable such as the elderly, the sick and the unemployed,” Cayetano said.

In his veto message, Aquino said the stability of the entire benefit system would be “seriously compromised” if the proposed pension hike were implemented.

But Cayetano said Aquino’s fear was based on the wrong assumptions, and that the SSS should have institutionalized long overdue reforms such as increasing its rate of contribution collection and expanding its investment reserves.

The leftist Bagong Alyansang Makabayan tore into officials of the SSS for insulting its members and pensioners by receiving “fat paychecks and bonuses” after insisting to President Aquino that the pension funds would be depleted by the proposed P2,000 increase.

The group added that the government needed its inefficiency in collecting contributions for the pension system.

“The Aquino government keeps saying that the SSS does not have enough funds to finance the pension hike, yet for the longest time, the problem of collection efficiency has not been addressed,” Renato Reyes, Bayan secretary general, said in a statement.

“Despite the apparently low collection efficiency rate, SSS officials have previously received fat bonuses from government. To SSS members and pensioners, this is a big insult,” he added.

The 2014 report by state auditors showed SSS officials are among the top paid government employees in the country.

SSS president and chief executive Emilio de Quiros earned P6.84 million from the SSS. This included a P2.25 million bonus. In 2013, De Quiros received a total of P7.1 million, which included a P1.9 million bonus and P3.4 million in allowances. Other officials got millions in bonuses also for that same year.

The SSS also paid millions to two executive vice presidents, seven senior vice presidents, 16 vice presidents and eight members of the board of directors.

“If SSS is in such a bad shape, why does the Aquino administration continue to reward its officials with huge salaries, allowances and bonuses? Why reward inefficiency then cite the same inefficiency to deny pensioners a raise?”

Reyes asked. With Gabrielle Marie Consuelo H. Binaday

accused of getting kickbacks.

But Ramon Casiple of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform said this might not matter to some voters.

“Some people are cynical, reasoning out that all politicians are corrupt anyway,” he said.

In the vice presidential race, Senator Francis Joseph Escudero lost two points from December but maintained his lead at 28 percent in January.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. posted a sixpoint gain from December to come in second at 25 percent.

Administration bet Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo got 17 percent (down from 19 percent in December) while Senator Alan Peter Cayetano had 14 percent (down from 17 percent).

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Poe: Produce MRT-3 contract

By Macon Araneta INDEPENDENT presidential candidate Grace Poe has asked Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya to produce the negotiated contract between the government and the KoreanFilipino consortium that will maintain the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 for three years.

Senator Poe, the head of the Senate subcommittee on public services that is looking into the issues surrounding the MRT, wants to review the P3.8-billion contract with the consortium following Abaya’s pronouncement that Busan Transportation Corp., which operates Busan Metro in South Korea, would no longer be backing out.

“Maganda naman na hindi sila umatras kung sila lang talaga ‘yung may technical know-how, kaya lang nga po eh tingnan natin yung kontrata. Ito po ay negotiated contract and wala man lang tayong kaalam-alam kung ano ang mga probisyon ng kontrata na ‘yan,” Poe said in a radio interview.

“Sabi ko nga hanggang ngayon, hinihingi pa rin namin ‘yung kopya ng kontrata na iyan. Marami nagsasabi na, ‘yan ba ‘yung original na contract o na-revise ba iyan to make exceptions para hindi umatras ang mga Koreano?”

Busan Transportation Corp. was earlier reported to be withdrawing from the contract with the Department of Transportation and Communications because it feared facing lawsuits due to the controversial 11th-hour awarding of the contract to a consortium that includes Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., TMICorp Inc. and Castan Corp.

Of the four firms in the joint venture, only the Korean company has the technical know-how in railway maintenance. The consortium took over the maintenance work on the MRT-3’s rolling stock and signaling system on Jan. 5.

Poe said that in the previous hearings on the woeful MRT-3 operations last year, the Senate sub-committee on public services had already asked for documents from the DoTC but had not received the pertinent contracts from its officials.

She said the difficulty in securing documents such as government contracts underscored the need for the Freedom of Information Act, which the senator has been pushing for since she was elected in 2013.

International Foundling Day. Supporters of presidential aspirant Senator Grace Poe, a foundling, mass outside the Supreme Court along Padre Faura in Manila as they commemorate International Foundling Day. DANNY PATA

Aquino again heaps praises on ‘Straight Path’ PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III on Friday again expressed confidence that the Liberal Party’s standard bearer Manuel Roxas II would win in this year’s presidential election.

“I am more confident than ever before that the Philippines is indeed in good hands—that even as I step down from office, this nation will choose to tread the Straight Path,” Aquino said in a speech at the opening of the third Global Society Business Summit and Gawad Kalinga’s 13th anniversary at the Gawad Kalinga Enchanted Farm in Bulacan.

Aquino never mentioned Roxas’ name, but he said he was confident that the Filipino voters would still choose the “Straight Path.”

“Will we continue the Straight Path or

will we go back to our old situation? We have seen the results of the crooked policies and selfish ways,” Aquino said during the signing of a contract for the Bulacan Bulk Water Supply Project at the Provincial Capitol in Malolos, Bulacan.

“The Filipino knows the right direction which the nation must pursue. The Filipinos will still carry our collective vision for a more developed and more prosperous Philippines.

“As father of the nation, I have a duty to pursue the best interest of the majority. We must focus on...addressing the needs our countrymen not only today but also on the next generations.”

Aquino said the Gawad Kalinga had

reached many Filipinos in need, building 2,500 communities in the Philippines and most of them in the areas that were most vulnerable to calamity and conflict.

He also cited the Conditional Cash Transfer program or dole to the poor.

“We have increased the budget of this program more than six-fold, and its coverage has skyrocketed from around 786,000 in June 2010 to around 4.4 million households today,” Aquino said.

“The goal now is to reach 4.6 million households for this year. One would expect that the results of such a program would only be seen in the long term, but the early results are promising.” Sandy Araneta

SSS bill veto to affect LP bets

At the book launching. Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and VACC former

chairman Dante Jimenez exchange pleasantries at the sidelines of a book launching in Manila on Friday. JOHN PAOLO BENCITO

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

CAMARINES Sur Rep. Leni Robredo said Friday the administration candidates had the most to lose after President Benigno Aquino III rejected the P2,000 across-the-board pension increase for the pensioners of the Social Security System.

“It’s true that those who will suffer are the administration candidates because the backlash will probably be ours,” Robredo, the ruling Liberal Party’s candidate for vice president, told reporters in Albay province.

But she was quick to defend Aquino’s decision, saying he must have “done the right thing” to strengthen the SSS. “If the claim of the SSS leadership is true, it’s really the obligation of the President to protect us all,” Robredo said.

“I think that will be good for us all. If it’s true [that] in seven [years] the [pension fund] will go bankrupt, we really

need to think about it.”

Aquino III on Thursday vetoed the SSS pension bill that Congress approved last month, saying the viability of the SSS, which has 31 million members from the private sector, would be seriously compromised.

“The stability of the entire SSS benefit system...will be seriously compromised in favor of two million pensioners and their dependents,” Aquino said.

He said the pension increase, if approved, would result in an annual payout of P56 billion, or far higher than the SSS’s annual investment income of P30 billion to P40 billion.

Senator Cynthia Villar, the lead proponent of the SSS pension bill in the Senate, said Aquino’s decision to reject the bill could take its toll on the candidates he had been endorsing for the May 9 national and local elections. John Paolo Bencito

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Defense delays ordnance bidding

By Florante S. Solmerin A BIDS and awards committee of the Department of National Defense suspended the pre-bid conference for the purchase of P94 million worth of ammunition after army officials could not answer questions from participating bidders.

The BAC chairman, Assistant Defense Secretary Ernesto Boac, suspended the meet after members of an army technical working group in charge of the procurement of caliber 25mm and 105mm high explosive ammunition failed to answer questions about the project’s specifications.

Boac was irked by the inability of the army officials to answer questions about the project, particularly about the export license of the United States State Department for the fuses of the 105mm ordnance.

The DND official scolded the army TWG and ordered army officials to do their homework, especially the technical specifications of the contract, before presenting the procurement for public bidding.

Boac also asked the two bidders present—Expal System of Spain and US-based ATK Corp.

—to put all their comments and clarifications in writing so that the committee could answer their questions properly.

ATK has been a long-time player in defense contracts while this is the first time Expal will be participating in the military’s modernization program. Expal is the leader in the ammunition and explosives sector in Spain.

Expal is among the first Spanish companies to express interest in the country’s modernization program after the Spanish government expressed its support to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and its willingness to provide equipment to boost the military’s capabilities.

Team BBM Aklan. Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. meets with top Aklan officials, includng former Aklan Gov. Carlito Marquez, town mayors and political leaders, during his visit to the province Friday. Marcos discussed his initiatives to strengthen local government units all over the country. ‘

‘Enough funds for RH’

By Sandy Araneta and Macon Ramos-Araneta

THERE are enough funds to meet the budgetary requirements of the Reproductive Health Law in 2016 even if almost P1 billion was slashed from the allocations for the Department of Health, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said on Friday.

“At the very least, the Department of Health can draw P900 million from a number of fund sources to procure Family Planning Commodities in 2016,” Abad said amid criticism that the cut would diminish benefits that were meant to boost women’s reproductive health.

First, Abad said there is a “carryover” amount of P337.5 million from the 2015 budget for the health department’s Family

Health and Responsible Parenting Program, as mentioned by Health Secretary Janette Garin.

Second, the DoH can also supplement the needed funding for Family Planning Commodities by realigning P300 million from one of the components of the FHRP, Abad said.

Third, the DoH has historically managed to generate savings amounting to 16-17 percent of their budget every year and the agency can source the last P300 million that would complete the P900 million.

“We, at the DBM, are always working to ensure there is enough budgetary support for our agencies to properly implement our laws, especially one as important as the RH Law,” said Abad.

The P1-billion budget cut for contraceptives in the Department of Health’s budget for 2016 is “improvident” and “tragic,” said former Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, lead author of the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Law. Lagman said the budget cut impairs the task of the DoH to procure and distribute family planning supplies in accordance with Section 10 of the RPRH Law. Lagman also described the remaining

P157-million budget for contraceptives as “grossly inadequate.”

“These statutory authorizations were rejected, defied, and eroded by the Congress, more particularly the Senate when the P1-billion cut was accorded congressional approval.

The Congress has violated the very law it has enacted,” Lagman said.

“I place the onus of culpability for this unforgivable cut on Senator Tito Sotto, as the principal proponent of the gross reduction, and Senator Loren Legarda, as chair of the Senate Bicameral Panel who until now vainly justifies [the budget cut].”

But Legarda said gthe whole budgetary process was done in the most transparent and inclusive manner.”

She said the bicameral conference committee proposed changes which were contained in the bicameral report that the Senate ratified as a body and thus carried in the General Appropriations Act. “The Department of Health FHRP program has an allocation of P2.2 billion in 2016 and more than P1.2 billion in the last quarter of 2015 to be implemented in 2016. There are also projected savings of P8.8 billion which can be used,” Legarda said.

Recto eyes CCT law

Rizal mission. The Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. and FFCCCII Foundation Inc. hold a medical relief mission in Binangonan, Rizal in cooperation with 116th Squadron of the Coast Guard Auxiliary District National Capital Region-Central. The mission was lead by FFCCCII Board Member Antonio Cosing and other chamber officers.

SENATE President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto underscored on Friday the need for President Benigno Aquino III to push for a law for the Conditional Cash Transfer program in order to protect it from “any shift in political winds.”

He said the CCT “must have a charter” so it can continue despite scheduled changes in the national leadership.

“We are witnesses on how good programs in the past were jettisoned when the new order came along. What we can’t predict is that those who are swept to power will not immediately sweep away good programs,” he said.

“In the case of the CCT, two tendencies must be avoided,”

Recto said. “The first is to emasculate it that it becomes ineffective. The other is to expand it tremendously that it becomes financially unsustainable.”

While he supports the CCT, Recto said the program can stand some reforms and improvements.

“We have to bring more homeless, the lumad, into the fold of the program. More persons with disabilities must join, too. A certain percentage of beneficiaries must be kept in reserve for victims of typhoons,” he said.

“There should also be a mechanism in which poor people needing protracted medical care, like diabetics sustained by dialysis, can become beneficiaries,” he also said.

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Justice vacates SC seat

Pit Señor. A vendor

arranges images of the Holy Child Jesus in Tondo, Manila ahead of the Catholic feast day on Sunday that has been a highlight of Tondo life for centuries. ANDREW RABULAN

By Rey E. Requejo

THE early retirement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Martin Villarama Jr. took effect on Friday as the Judicial and Bar Council announced it will meet on Jan. 18 to finalize a shortlist of possible successor to the retiring magistrate.

The Supreme Court also announced the appointment of a new deputy clerk of court for the en banc in the person of lawyer Anna-Li R. Papa-Gombio, whose appointment was announced through the high court’s Memorandum Order No. 04-2016.

The order was signed by Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Aranal-Sereno, Senior Justices Antonio Carpio and Presbitero Velasco Jr. who respective chair the high court’s first, second and third divisions.

Gombio graduated from the Ateneo Law School and has been in the Office of the SC en banc Clerk of Court for more than 20 years.

The Deputy Clerk of Court has the authority to promulgate resolutions and decisions of the SC en banc in the absence of the Clerk of Court.

Gombio was given the opportunity for the position after it was left vacant last July 14, 2015 following the promotion of Atty. Felipa Anama as Clerk of Court of the Court fs en banc. Anama succeeded lawyer Enriqueta Vidal who retired last year.

This came after the SC accorded Villarama retirement rites at the Manila Hotel on Friday after he availed of early retirement due to “deteriorating health condition” following his double-knee replacement in 2013 and his cataract operation in 2014.

Villarama started his career in the SC in 1970 as a technical assistant. He rose from the ranks to become a regional trial court judge in 1986, and then a Court of Appeals associate justice in 1998 before his appointment as SC justice in 2009.

The magistrate was supposed to originally retire from the SC upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70 on April 14, a period covered by the ban on appointments during the election period.

The position of the chief justice and justices of the SC are exempt from the ban per the high court’s 2010 ruling for the vacancy in the retirement of then Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

President Benigno Aquino III questioned the said ruling, and his position was supposed to be tested by the vacancy to be left by Villarama’s retirement in April.

With the vacancy now outside the period for midnight appointment ban, the Chief Executive may now name his sixth appointee to the SC without any issue.

Of the 15 current justices of the high court, five were appointed by Aquino—Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Associate Justices Bienvenido Reyes, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, Marvic Leonen and Francis Jardeleza.

Aquino: No threat of terror in PH

By Sandy Araneta AFTER attacks in Jakarta, Indonesia on Thursday, President Benigno Aquino III reiterated on Friday that these is no credible and imminent threat of terror attacks in the Philippines.

“There is a general threat, yes. We are not immune to problems on extremism but all our agencies in law enforcement, in intel, are now focused on this problem and we are trying to thwart all potential problems,” Aquino said.

“Of course we have to be prudent and coordinate with the intelligence agency. And they

have to guard the communities if there is a threat,” he added.

But while there are Filipinos on social media who have identified themselves as members of the terror group Islamic State (ISIS), these people never lived in the country, Aquino said.

“One was in Saudi Arabia and another in Lebanon but they have never lived in the Philippines,” Aquino said, during an interview with reporters in Malolos, Bulacan.

Shortly after the attacks in Jakarta on Thursday, Armed Forces spokesperson Brig.

Gen. Restituto Padilla said the military “is now elevating alert levels to heightened alert

in all areas to ensure a state of readiness should there be a need for it in case of certain contingencies.”

On the other hand, Philippine National Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor said they are now on “full alert” after a series of explosions and gunfire tore through a Starbucks cafe in Jakarta and shook an embassy district.

Padilla said police and military forces continue to monitor the “usual threats from local terrorist groups, such as the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the Abu Sayyaf Group.”

More hotspots named

Contraband ordnance. A policeman shows the stun grenade that members of the Manila Police Explosive Ordinance Division seized from motorcycle riders at a checkpoint in Tondo, Manila on Friday. DANNY PATA

THE Commissions on Elections has identified this trading hub of about 260,000 registered voters as one of the cities and towns under its “watchlist” in Northern Mindanao.

Police Supt. Ronnie Francis Cariaga, the regional police chief of operations, said that the 21 towns and cities are now being closely monitored for “intense political rivalry.”

He said that the candidates in Cagayan De Oro City are locked in a fierce three-cornered rivalry among Mayor Oscar S. Moreno, who is running for re-election, former Mayor Vicente Y. Emano, head of the popular opposition group, and Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez, who is serving his last term in Congress.

Cariaga said that although the three contenders are civil in their pre-campaign sorties, there are fears that supporters of either of the candidates would erupt into

violence, thus the PNP is focused on monitoring poll-related circumstances here.

It is in Cagayan de Oro City that Moreno was dismissed by the Ombudsman last November only to hurriedly get a preliminary injunction from the Court of Appeals, thus preventing Vice Mayor Caesar Ian E. Acenas, a known Emano ally, from taking over.

Next on the watchlist is the neighboring City of Iligan where the rivalry between detained City Mayor Celso G. Regencia and Vice Mayor Ruderic C. Marzo for the mayoral post becomes intense.

Cariaga said that Regencia, who is running for re-election, is jailed on frustrated murder charges filed by Rep. Vicente F. Belmonte Jr. who was ambushed and wounded in a daring 2014 assassination attempt. Marzo is Belmonte’s ally. PNA

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Youth groups slam CHED over unliquidated funds

By John Paolo Bencito

By Rey E. Requejo A youth group on Friday slammed RAIDS in the New Bilibid Prison will continue to completely weed out the national penitentiary of contraband and other prohibited items, according to the Department of Justice.

Justice Undersecretary and DoJ spokesman emmanuel Caparas said that members of the Bureau of Correction would conduct weekly “Oplan Galugad” operations until the NBP is cleared of contraband goods.

“For as long as they find contrabands, the raids will continue,” Caparas said.

Caparas said BuCor Director Ricardo Cruz is preparing a report on the inmates who yielded prohibited items that would subsequently be submitted to Justice Secretary Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.

“There is a report being prepared to share with the Secretary,” the DoJ official added.

On Wednesday, Bureau of Correction personnel confiscated various items ranging from drug paraphernalia to gadgets to pornographic materials and P119,000 in cash at the NBP’s maximum security compound.

Meanwhile, NBP Superintendent Richard Schwarzkopf Jr. said additional security measures would also be installed in the national penitentiary. he, however, admitted that one of the factors aggravating the situation is overcrowding. The maximum security compound was built for 6,000 inmates but now houses more than 15,000.

The national penitentiary was opened in 1940 and originally meant to house 8,400 inmates. Current inmate population is 22,800.

There are 500 prison guards.

the Commission on higher Education for still-unliquidated funds amounting to P3.13 billion it had received under the Disbursement Acceleration Program and the P1.23 billion in uncollected funds appropriated for college scholarships in 2014.

“While students and their parents suffer from

the yearly unabated tuition and other school fees in-

creases, the CheD officials seem to enjoy raking profit out of people’s money,” Charisse Bañez, chairperson of the League of Filipino students, said.

“Clearly, Aquino and his alter-ego [Secretary Patricia Licuanan] on higher education have been exploiting their positions to turn education as a lucrative business,” she said.

On Thursday, Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon called for a congressional inquiry to look into the

manner in which the Commission on higher education handled its student financial assistance program, following the release of a Commission on Audit report that shows that P1.23 billion appropriated for college scholarships in 2014 were not spent due to lapses on the part of the higher education body.

In its 2014 annual audit report released this week, CoA noted that out of the P5.2 billion appropriated in 2014 for college schol-

arships, grants-in-aid and study-now, pay-later loans, about P1.23 billion remained unspent due to the commission’s low absorptive capacity.

“Congress needs to see whether there has been gross negligence committed by CheD officials that resulted to this deplorable situation. This is important, as the Stufap remains to be one of the highly-funded programs of the said commission,” Kabataan Partylist Rep. Terry Ridon said.

Sea of humanity. Jail and anti-drug authorities conduct a surprise inspection at the Quezon City Jail in Kamuning. JANSEN ROMERO

Road repairs in Pasig, Quezon City resume this weekend

By Joel E. Zurbano Putting out the fire.

Firemen train their hoses on a burning garments factory in Barangay Potrero, Malabon City.

ANDREW RABULAN

The Metro Manila Development Authority on Friday announced the resumption of road reblocking and other repairs along major thoroughfares in Pasig City and Quezon City this weekend.

MMDA chairman emerson Carlos said the Department of Public Works and highways will undertake road reblocking and repairs starting 11 p.m. Friday until Jan. 18, at the following areas: • First southbound lane of Service Road between Aurora Boulevard and P. Tuazon Street in Quezon City.

• Second northbound outermost lane of Circumferential Road–5 (C-5 Road) in front of SM Warehouse Gate

2 in Pasig City, and • First northbound lane of epifanio de los Santos Avenue in front of the DPWh–Second engineering District Office, also in Quezon City.

Carlos gave the permission to continue the road works after DPWh-National Capital Region director Melvin Navarro asked the MMDA a go signal for maintenance purposes. he added motorists are advised to avoid the affected areas and use alternate routes instead.

“All affected roads will be fully passable by 5 a.m. on Monday,” he said.

Last week, the DPWh also conducted road repairs along the first southbound lane of edsa between Mother Ignacia Street and eugenio Lopez; northbound

outermost lane of C-5 Road from Shell Gas Station to SM Warehouse Gate 2, and second northbound lane of edsa fronting the DPWh-SeD Office.

Carlos urged the DPWh to monitor contractors who reportedly work beyond their approved schedules, stressing that delays cause inconvenience to the public.

Last month, the MMDA imposed a two-week moratorium on road diggings and excavations in the metropolis in anticipation of the heavy vehicular and pedestrian traffic during the holiday travel rush.

The temporary stoppage of road works, totaling 146 all around Metro Manila, was implemented from Dec. 14, 2015 up to midnight of Jan. 3.

s at u r D aY : j a n u a r Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

A7

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Panagbenga organizers to showcase landscapers

By Dexter A. See

Learning from the master. Bernal Banagbanag, the 90-year-old chieftain of the Mamanwa people in Barangay Kagbana, Burauen, Leyte, shows his basket-making skills to elementary school children. RONALD O. REYES

Fiber devt agency targets expansion of abaca farms

By A. Perez Rimando IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay—The Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority in Zamboanga Peninsula has pushed for expansion of abaca farms to increase abaca fiber production in the region to meet the market demand, a local PFIDA official said.

Deogracias V. Maranga, Region 9 PFIDA assistant director, told media that the agency’s central office “has given us a target of 100 hectares for our regional abaca

farm expansion program this year.”

He stressed, though, that aside from the national target assigned to the region, “We also aim for

1,000 hectares throughout our area for farm expansion under the SME abaca industry champion product development.”

Maranga added: “PHILFIDA is now also conducting grading and classification to ensure quality abaca fiber produced in Zamboanga Peninsula,” claiming that New Tech Pulp Inc., the country’s biggest market and pulp processor, “is demanding producers to have good quality of abaca pulp,

since the company wants to produce quality papers as one of its by-products.”

Implementing Abaca Disease Management Program is now also a part of the agency’s farm development as the industry recently took a blow from infestation, Maranga said.

He said the region recently phased out some abaca farms in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay to avoid infestation of nearby abaca farms which caused reduced fiber production last

year to 529.66 metric tons from 644.86 metric tons in 2014 or a decline by 17.86 percent.

He, however, expressed optimism that with necessary initiatives now put in place, “We can bounce back from last year’s loss, saying the region’s abaca industry is currently in the right direction,” noting that the Philippines continues to be the world’s biggest abaca fiber producer with as much as 80 percent coming from the country.

BAGUIO CITY—Organizers of the 21st edition of the Panagbenga agreed to reduce the number of stalls during the 35-day Baguio Blooms exposition from Feb. 1 to March 6, 2016 to pave the way for works by local and visiting landscapers.

Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan, chairman of the Baguio Flower Festival Foundation Inc., said that from the previous 300 stalls dedicated for food, clothing and other artifacts, only 100 will occupy one side of the market encounter area along Jose Abad Santos Drive and Juan Luna Drive.

One side of the exhibit area will be used for the display of creations of local and visiting landscapers in order to sustain the promotion of quality landscaping works.

“We have to continue promoting that the Baguio and Benguet areas are the source of quality flowers used for the various activities of the flower festival,” he said.

Domogan said those who will be chosen to display their various products will be given stalls of 4 meters by 4 meters.

Local landscapers in the city expressed their gratitude to the organizers of the flower festival and the city government for increasing the number of spaces to be occupied by their works, saying that it will serve as an opportunity for them to showcase their craft.

Local landscapers are being commissioned by various multinational companies joining the grand float parade.

Small and medium floats cost between P200,000 and P350,000 each. Large floats cost between P500,000 and P1 million.

Lawmakers want Lanao Norte falls named tourism development site

By Maricel V. Cruz

Pursuing inclusive growth. ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman (second from left) leads the signing of the memorandum of agreement with the local chief executives of the ARMM-Bangsamoro Regional Inclusive Development for Growth and Empowerment in Cotabato City. OMAR MANGORSI

TWO lawmakers have filed a measure in Congress that seeks to declare Samiorang Falls in Barangay Samiorang, Municipality of Magsaysay, Province of Lanao del Norte as a tourism development site.

Lanao del Norte Reps. Imelda Quibranza Dimaporo and Abdullah Dimaporo, both members of the House majority bloc, filed House Bill 5994 in a bid to ensure the full development of the place as a viable tourism destination in line with the national government’s thrust of enhancing the country’s

tourism sector as a pillar of national development.

“With proper development, the Samiorang Falls has the potential to become a prime tourist destination.

It can be marketed in conjunction with the other tourism sites in Lanao del Norte,” Rep. Abdullah said.

Rep. Imelda Dimaporo said the Samiorang Falls has its unique characteristics that complement the attractions of other tourism sites in Lanao del Norte.

Hence, the national government should step in to introduce new and appropriate developments in the site

to further enhance its beauty and promote it properly as an attractive tourist destination in the national and international levels without compromising its sustainability as an ecologicallysensitive natural site.

“Despite its vast potentials as a viable tourism destination, the Magsaysay Samiorang Falls are still too far away from its maximum potential. Accessibility is a big concern for tourists, save for the adventurous type. Facilities are yet to be built to add value to its natural beauty and entice more tourists to come,” she said.

S AT U R D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA

TROUBLE AHEAD IN 2016

[ EDI TORI A L ]

SOCIAL INSECURITY

THE President’s critics can turn this matter around and claim that at least Mr. Aquino does not base his decisions on populist considerations.

But that would not hold.

The increase of the monthly pension of Social Security System cannot be dismissed as a populist issue. It is one of legitimate need, timeliness, and most of all, compassion.

The President this week vetoed House Bill 5842 which would have given a P2,000 across-the-board increase in retired members’ monthly pension, and which would have raised the minimum pension to P3,200 from the current P1,200.

In vetoing the measure, Mr. Aquino said that an increase would deplete the SSS’ funds in 13 years.

Administration spokesman Barry Gutierrez had the gall to say that the President rejected the bill, set to favor two million pensioners and their dependents, for the sake of the 31 million members of the SSS who are contributing to the fund.

The message is that the President has chosen the long-term viability of the fund over the short-term needs of the men and women who toiled in their productive years for some measure of security in their retirement.

“The government would be irresponsible if it allowed the depletion of the funds,” another spokesman, Secretary Herminio Coloma, said.

But what is irresponsible is not being able to address the immediate need of the pensioners who have to sustain their needs, amid increasing costs and urgency, with their meager pension.

The veto is also seen as ignominious given the extraordinarily high salaries and bonuses of the SSS’ executives. If they were truly excelling at their jobs for which they are paid so much, they would have come up with ways to prolong the fund’s actuarial life without sacrificing the short-term needs of the pensioners.

Then again, why should the President care when he knows family money will take care of him in his old age?

MOCKING THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, STABBING POOR WOMEN’S BACKS POWER POINT ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO

BY NOW, Senators Loren Legarda and Tito Sotto should already know that reproductive health advocates will not take moves to make the RH law useless sitting down.

Their underhanded action to cut the Malacañang-proposed P1.157-billion peso budget for the procurement of contraceptives and other modern family

planning supplies from the 2016 General Appropriations Act has been met with strong public consternation and criticism. Perhaps they thought that the issue would not be this big.

To be fair, Sotto and Legarda did not take away everything.

Of the P1.157 billion, they very kindly retained the loose change of P157 million to meet the needs of at least five million women who are dependent on government for their contraceptives, and a few more millions who have unmet need for family planning. Just to be clear, those with unmet need are the women who want to plan

their pregnancies but are unable to do so.

Thus, realistically, around 8 million Filipino women wanting or needing FP are supposed to be served for the entire year using P157 million. Each woman, therefore, is budgeted an insulting P19.60 for the whole of 2016, P1.64 per month, or P0.05 per day.

Yet, both Sotto and Legarda claim to be pro-women and pro-RH. They stabbed the back of poor women and made a mockery out of the entire legislative process.

How the cut was done remains a mystery despite the fact that a lot has already been said on the

A9

Stop Legarda, stop Sotto!

issue. This only proves that Legarda and Sotto are being secretive about this.

Reports are conflicting. Earlier news had it that the budget was cut within the process of the Bicameral Conference Committee tasked to reconcile the House and Senate-approved bills. Then there were reports saying that the budget was no longer in the bill approved by the Senate, which, prompted the HOR panel in the bicam to negotiate for its inclusion. However, Legarda was supposed to have said that she would not be able to get the approval of her senators if the contraceptive budget was to be restored.

Former Representative Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the RH bill in the House, for his part said that the bicam did not really have a process. According

to him, there was virtually no deliberation as a committee, and what happened was horse-trading through one-on-one meetings between Legarda and whoever.

And this is the reason why one will not find any proceedings of this bicam.

If Lagman’s statement is true, it is interesting to know if such “process,” or the absence of one, is in accordance with the rules on how Bicameral Conference Committees are supposed to function.

It should be remembered that Congress operates based on rules. It has rules for everything so there should be those that guide the bicam.

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial), 832-5546, (Advertising), 832-

Senator Pia Cayetano, the main RH proponent in the Senate, has issued strong statements against Legarda’s handling of the problem. Cayetano has made this a trust issue and labeled Legarda’s actions as unethical and unacceptable. This is the first time in the many years that I have followed her work that she has ever used such strong words, especially, on a colleague. Cayetano must really be pissed.

Up to this point, Legarda, as the Senate Finance Committee and bicam chair, has not said anything about the events leading to the removal of the budget for contraceptives from the GAA. Her state-

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

ments have only repeatedly claimed that the bicam process has been transparent.

If indeed this is the case, and to disprove Lagman’s and Cayetano’s statements, Legarda should make public the proceedings of the bicam.

The people have the right to know how the country’s budget was decided on by this powerful third House. The bicam’s ultimate accountability is to the people.

Otherwise, if Legarda is unable to prove transparency and account for how the committee worked, could she have indeed made a mockery of the legislative process?

Continued on A11

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

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

THERE may be trouble ahead in 2016.

North Korea recently admitted having exploded a hydrogen bomb near its border with Communist China. As expected, the United Nations, particularly the United States, Great Britain, South Korea, and Japan denounced the test. Evidently, North Korea is determined to become a nuclear-capable country.

The problem with a nuclear-capable North Korea lies in its irresponsible and saber-rattling leadership. Since its establishment as a Soviet Russian and Red Chinese satellite state in 1945, North Korea has wanted to conquer South Korea. Pyongyang tried to do so in 1950, when troops from the north crossed the border at the 38th parallel and attacked the south. A multinational military force under the command of General Douglas MacArthur fought back, and after three years, and with no side assured of victory, a ceasefire was negotiated. There being no peace treaty signed, the two Koreas remain in a state of war.

Pyongyang has a policy of self-reliance, and remains a virtual outcast in the world community. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, Communist China is North Korea’s only ally today. This friendship notwithstanding, Pyongyang tested its nuclear bomb right beside Chinese soil, almost as if it were provoking Beijing.

North Korea’s leadership is passed on by inheritance. Its founder, Kim Il Sung, ran the slave state as an absolute ruler.

Upon his death, his son Kim Jong Il continued the tyranny. When the son died, grandson Kim Jong Un took over.

Not only did the grandson continue the family tradition of absolute rule; he made innovations in state-sponsored oppression. He ordered the execution of his own relatives, and he remains unconcerned about the famine and malnutrition plaguing his people since the 1980s. Under his watch, North Korea kidnaps Englishlanguage teachers from South Korea and Japan and compels them, under pain of death or torture, to teach selected North Koreans how to read and speak English.

In fact, whenever Pyongyang needs scientists, North Korean agents are ordered to kidnap them from other countries.

The recent hydrogen bomb test is an indication that this whimsical communist despot will soon have a nuclear weapon at his disposal. Without any nukes, North Korea is already a troublemaker. A North Korea with nuclearweapons capability under a capricious dictator is beyond description.

Over in the Middle East, there is friction between Saudi Arabia and its allies on one side, and Iran. After Riyadh announced that it executed a notorious Iranian cleric in its custody, demonstrators in Tehran attacked the Saudi Arabian embassy and ransacked it—in violation of International Law. Thereafter, Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran. Kuwait and two other Gulf allies followed Riyadh’s lead. 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

S AT U R D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

A8

OPINION

ADELLE CHUA EDITOR

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

OPINION

HAIL TO THE CHAIR VICTOR AVECILLA

TROUBLE AHEAD IN 2016

[ EDI TORI A L ]

SOCIAL INSECURITY

THE President’s critics can turn this matter around and claim that at least Mr. Aquino does not base his decisions on populist considerations.

But that would not hold.

The increase of the monthly pension of Social Security System cannot be dismissed as a populist issue. It is one of legitimate need, timeliness, and most of all, compassion.

The President this week vetoed House Bill 5842 which would have given a P2,000 across-the-board increase in retired members’ monthly pension, and which would have raised the minimum pension to P3,200 from the current P1,200.

In vetoing the measure, Mr. Aquino said that an increase would deplete the SSS’ funds in 13 years.

Administration spokesman Barry Gutierrez had the gall to say that the President rejected the bill, set to favor two million pensioners and their dependents, for the sake of the 31 million members of the SSS who are contributing to the fund.

The message is that the President has chosen the long-term viability of the fund over the short-term needs of the men and women who toiled in their productive years for some measure of security in their retirement.

“The government would be irresponsible if it allowed the depletion of the funds,” another spokesman, Secretary Herminio Coloma, said.

But what is irresponsible is not being able to address the immediate need of the pensioners who have to sustain their needs, amid increasing costs and urgency, with their meager pension.

The veto is also seen as ignominious given the extraordinarily high salaries and bonuses of the SSS’ executives. If they were truly excelling at their jobs for which they are paid so much, they would have come up with ways to prolong the fund’s actuarial life without sacrificing the short-term needs of the pensioners.

Then again, why should the President care when he knows family money will take care of him in his old age?

MOCKING THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS, STABBING POOR WOMEN’S BACKS POWER POINT ELIZABETH ANGSIOCO

BY NOW, Senators Loren Legarda and Tito Sotto should already know that reproductive health advocates will not take moves to make the RH law useless sitting down.

Their underhanded action to cut the Malacañang-proposed P1.157-billion peso budget for the procurement of contraceptives and other modern family

planning supplies from the 2016 General Appropriations Act has been met with strong public consternation and criticism. Perhaps they thought that the issue would not be this big.

To be fair, Sotto and Legarda did not take away everything.

Of the P1.157 billion, they very kindly retained the loose change of P157 million to meet the needs of at least five million women who are dependent on government for their contraceptives, and a few more millions who have unmet need for family planning. Just to be clear, those with unmet need are the women who want to plan

their pregnancies but are unable to do so.

Thus, realistically, around 8 million Filipino women wanting or needing FP are supposed to be served for the entire year using P157 million. Each woman, therefore, is budgeted an insulting P19.60 for the whole of 2016, P1.64 per month, or P0.05 per day.

Yet, both Sotto and Legarda claim to be pro-women and pro-RH. They stabbed the back of poor women and made a mockery out of the entire legislative process.

How the cut was done remains a mystery despite the fact that a lot has already been said on the

A9

Stop Legarda, stop Sotto!

issue. This only proves that Legarda and Sotto are being secretive about this.

Reports are conflicting. Earlier news had it that the budget was cut within the process of the Bicameral Conference Committee tasked to reconcile the House and Senate-approved bills. Then there were reports saying that the budget was no longer in the bill approved by the Senate, which, prompted the HOR panel in the bicam to negotiate for its inclusion. However, Legarda was supposed to have said that she would not be able to get the approval of her senators if the contraceptive budget was to be restored.

Former Representative Edcel Lagman, the principal author of the RH bill in the House, for his part said that the bicam did not really have a process. According

to him, there was virtually no deliberation as a committee, and what happened was horse-trading through one-on-one meetings between Legarda and whoever.

And this is the reason why one will not find any proceedings of this bicam.

If Lagman’s statement is true, it is interesting to know if such “process,” or the absence of one, is in accordance with the rules on how Bicameral Conference Committees are supposed to function.

It should be remembered that Congress operates based on rules. It has rules for everything so there should be those that guide the bicam.

Published Monday to Sunday by Philippine Manila Standard Publishing Inc. at 6/F Universal Re Building, 106 Paseo de Roxas, corner Perea St., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Telephone numbers 832-5554, 832-5556, 832-5558 (connecting all departments), (Editorial), 832-5546, (Advertising), 832-

Senator Pia Cayetano, the main RH proponent in the Senate, has issued strong statements against Legarda’s handling of the problem. Cayetano has made this a trust issue and labeled Legarda’s actions as unethical and unacceptable. This is the first time in the many years that I have followed her work that she has ever used such strong words, especially, on a colleague. Cayetano must really be pissed.

Up to this point, Legarda, as the Senate Finance Committee and bicam chair, has not said anything about the events leading to the removal of the budget for contraceptives from the GAA. Her state-

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

MST ONLINE

can be accessed at: www.manilastandardtoday.com

MEMBER

PPI

Philippine Press Institute The National Association of Philippine Newspapers

ments have only repeatedly claimed that the bicam process has been transparent.

If indeed this is the case, and to disprove Lagman’s and Cayetano’s statements, Legarda should make public the proceedings of the bicam.

The people have the right to know how the country’s budget was decided on by this powerful third House. The bicam’s ultimate accountability is to the people.

Otherwise, if Legarda is unable to prove transparency and account for how the committee worked, could she have indeed made a mockery of the legislative process?

Continued on A11

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

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

THERE may be trouble ahead in 2016.

North Korea recently admitted having exploded a hydrogen bomb near its border with Communist China. As expected, the United Nations, particularly the United States, Great Britain, South Korea, and Japan denounced the test. Evidently, North Korea is determined to become a nuclear-capable country.

The problem with a nuclear-capable North Korea lies in its irresponsible and saber-rattling leadership. Since its establishment as a Soviet Russian and Red Chinese satellite state in 1945, North Korea has wanted to conquer South Korea. Pyongyang tried to do so in 1950, when troops from the north crossed the border at the 38th parallel and attacked the south. A multinational military force under the command of General Douglas MacArthur fought back, and after three years, and with no side assured of victory, a ceasefire was negotiated. There being no peace treaty signed, the two Koreas remain in a state of war.

Pyongyang has a policy of self-reliance, and remains a virtual outcast in the world community. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, Communist China is North Korea’s only ally today. This friendship notwithstanding, Pyongyang tested its nuclear bomb right beside Chinese soil, almost as if it were provoking Beijing.

North Korea’s leadership is passed on by inheritance. Its founder, Kim Il Sung, ran the slave state as an absolute ruler.

Upon his death, his son Kim Jong Il continued the tyranny. When the son died, grandson Kim Jong Un took over.

Not only did the grandson continue the family tradition of absolute rule; he made innovations in state-sponsored oppression. He ordered the execution of his own relatives, and he remains unconcerned about the famine and malnutrition plaguing his people since the 1980s. Under his watch, North Korea kidnaps Englishlanguage teachers from South Korea and Japan and compels them, under pain of death or torture, to teach selected North Koreans how to read and speak English.

In fact, whenever Pyongyang needs scientists, North Korean agents are ordered to kidnap them from other countries.

The recent hydrogen bomb test is an indication that this whimsical communist despot will soon have a nuclear weapon at his disposal. Without any nukes, North Korea is already a troublemaker. A North Korea with nuclearweapons capability under a capricious dictator is beyond description.

Over in the Middle East, there is friction between Saudi Arabia and its allies on one side, and Iran. After Riyadh announced that it executed a notorious Iranian cleric in its custody, demonstrators in Tehran attacked the Saudi Arabian embassy and ransacked it—in violation of International Law. Thereafter, Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran. Kuwait and two other Gulf allies followed Riyadh’s lead. 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

S AT U R D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

A10

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

SETTING THE RULES FOR ASIA-PACIFIC BACK­ BENCHER ROD P. KAPUNAN WHEN US President Barack Obama, in his final State of the Union Address, declared that “the United States, not China, should set the rules in the Asia-Pacific region,” he in effect spelled out the reason why this country must, at all costs, approve the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement.

Whether it would violate our Constitution, the message is clear that it is not for our Supreme Court or for Congress to decide, but for us to accept the unilateral imposition that the US military is here to stay.

We cannot have our cake and eat it, too.

While the declaration is addressed to China, in reality it is addressed more to countries like the Philippines. China cannot be affected by whatever rules the US might set out unless such is purposely meant to provoke war. For as long as China continues to adhere to the policy of peaceful diplomacy, act according to international law and to the laws of the sea, and abide by the rules of trade which incidentally were all conceived by the West, China would at most interpret Obama’s declaration as rhetoric.

In a deeper sense, it is a self-reassuring reminder to Congress that the US is still a formidable force in this part of the globe.

Our final acceptance of the return of the US military bases alongside its attempt to marshal the countries in Asia-Pacific in order to rally behind it is mainly intended to give teeth to its pivot-toAsia policy. The receding economic and military dominance is the strategic concern of the US. The heightened tension in the South China Sea is only a plus factor to justify its presence. The increased purchase of arms somehow contributed to impede the unprecedented slide in the US economy for which its status as a global power is determined. How China would inevitably emerge as the dominant economic

powerhouse in the region could definitely alter the course of events in the region.

The declaration capsulizes the anxiety about the future role of the US, whether its presence would remain relevant.

Hard pressed by that reality, the US is frantically seeking to contain China. But unlike the containment in the 50s where countries almost blindly rallied behind the US demarcated ideological lines in defense of the so-called “Free World,” today, the countries of AsiaPacific are the ones being corralled to rally behind Obama’s declaration wondering whether that policy would serve to advance their national interest.

Asian countries have already come of age that they could not recklessly sacrifice their prosperity by co-mingling their national interest with national interest of countries not geographically located in the region. History has given them enough lessons from their own traumatic pasts.

While the US can curve out its own peaceful role in the region, none of them except the Philippines is willing to march to the call of the Pied Piper.

The stakes that have been built by the countries in Asia with China through various trade agreements are so enormous to be discarded just to accommodate the wishes of one determined to set out it own rules. Neither can the US fill that vacuum in exchange for the counties’ complete obeisance to US interest in this part of the globe.

The US’ pivot-to-Asia policy is complicated, for it singly focuses in asserting its military might. It added a new dimension by pressing for an even tighter policy that would shore up its economic and trade advantage in the region by pressing counties to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. Some say it is the economic and trade version of the US pivot for the fact that China was not invited to join that “partnership.” The TPP is lopsided in favor of the US, and inversely inimical to the interests of the participating countries much that it is designed to supersede all other collective and multilateral trade agreements signed by them, all under the terms of the US. Others reject it as a partnership agreement much there is no new trade package in terns of enhanced and increased value of

EAGLE EYES DEAN TONY LA VIÑA

COAL AND THE PHILIPPINES’ FUTURE

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III recently attended the inauguration of the 300-megawatt coal power plant of Therma South Inc. in Davao City, Mindanao.

He said that the coal power plant, once it becomes operational, “can be tapped into anytime, rain or shine, with very minor fluctuations.” Aquino said that the plant, which was developed by a subsidiary of Aboitiz Power Corp., will fill in the energy gap created by the reported failure of hydroelectric plants to produce electricity especially during the dry season.

For those statements and for attending the Davao event, the President has been strongly criticized by environmental activists.

Some have called him a “climate hypocrite” for being a champion of climate justice in Paris, France last December while not walking the talk in his own backyard.

The Therma South Plant, as well as a few other coal power plants, was approved long before the Paris meeting and certainly before we committed to reduce our business as usual emissions by 70 percent in 2030.

Personally though, I wish the President tempered his remarks in Davao with a commitment that, moving forward, we will now have to take into account our Paris commitments in making energy decisions.

The phrase “rain or shine” is also unfortunate and condescending; someone should advise the President that renewables like geothermal, solar, and wind are just as reliable as coal in supplying electricity.

While it makes sense for the government to provide an immediate solution to the problem of availability and affordability of en-

ergy supply in Mindanao and the country, it has to also go the extra mile and create solutions that will benefit the country in the long term. The decisionmaking process for providing energy must not be done in a vacuum and all aspects must be carefully considered and weighed so as to truly have a vision for energy security that complements the country’s aspirations of sustainable development.

The Ateneo School of Government has come up with a policy brief that looks at different and interrelated perspectives exploring the role of coal-fired power plants in the Philippines’ energy roadmap. In “Striking a balance: Coal-fired power plants in the Philippines’ Energy Future,” we look at the viability of CFPPs from economic, environmental, social and policy perspectives. It is our hope that our findings, using this approach, can expand and invigorate an already dynamic discourse on the use of coal in meeting the country’s energy demand.

The Department of Energy has said that we would need 13,167 megawatts of new power capacity by 2030. Of this, 11,400 will be open for private-sector investments. Out of this 11,400 MW, 8,400 MW will be open for private-sector investments particularly for baseload power plants.

Here in the Philippines, our baseload power plants utilize natural gas, geothermal, coal and baseload hydro technologies. In Mindanao, baseload hydro constitutes 33 percent of the installed capacities, while CFPPs have a 31 percent share of the region’s baseload capacity. For the whole country, however, coal and

geothermal are the major sources of baseload capacity. But between the two, coal comprises the chunk or the bulk of investment flows—as of July 2015, 23 new coal plants are set to be established by 2020.

This is one of the serious consequences of a procoal policy. We have sidelined indigenous renewable sources like geothermal energy. We have compromised our energy security.

Coal is poised to capture the baseload needs and pouring more money to it could lock in the economy to a specific energy source.

Now, do we really want that? Superficially, coal appears to be the least costly technology but if we measure the costs of coal through the common global reference Levelised Cost of Electricity, this would be arguable. Moreover, according to the 2011 study “The Social Cost of Coal: Implications for the World Bank”

by Samuel Grausz, if the external costs of coal or if its impact on health and the environment are to be measured, CFPPs will be “one of the most expensive forms of electricity generation.” I will write about these external costs in another column.

As a matter of urgency, the government should now to cap the role of CFPPs in our energy mix in consideration of the baseload requirement by 2030 and aggressively seek, develop and invest on alternative sources of energy.

“Close alternatives to coal as a baseload solution should be actively explored and supported. This is particularly the case for natural gas, which to date, is the closest alternative the country has towards supplying the baseload. Ultimately, a serious dialogue

now needs to take place to understand, anticipate, and leverage the implications of capping coal-fired power plants to the baseload and positioning other energy sources for mid-merit and peaking demand.” We point this out especially as coal is not viable beyond baseload power generation and will actually entail more costs and losses when it is used to meet mid-merit and peaking requirements.

Even as the government argues for the necessity of CFPPs to address immediate power capacity needs, it must also recognize the impact of CFPPs to the country’s environment and also carefully study their consequences on the health of Filipino citizens. At the same time, while the incumbent leadership also calls for investments on coal, it must also provide the private sector and the public a credible analysis of the economic, social, health and environmental benefits of corresponding alternatives such as renewable energy.

We cannot afford to have a one-track assessment of our options for achieving energy security. It will be dangerous; it will send a wrong signal to investors.

It is only proper that the government conveys to us what its plans are for the long term and how and when it intends to transition to an energy track that will lead us to sustainable development.

Policy changes are necessary and the government must have the political will to do them. If the current policy is the problem, then the sensible thing to do is to reform it and not just impose piecemeal solutions.

their exports, but more of guidelines for participating countries to observe, like allowing the US to impose stricter enforcement of its patent and copyright laws and higher penalties for violators. It is a two-pronged approach that compels them to share the burden in isolating China, while seeking to dismantle what they achieved that made Asia Pacific the most progressive continent in the world.

Maybe they can accept the US military presence, but it is doubtful whether they would be equally receptive when it comes to their own economic interest. Surely, none of them are prepared to writ off China in their economic ledger considering they all need China more than China needs them. Neither can the US fill in the vacuum that will be cre-

ated by the rules to be set out by Obama.

The era of copyright imperialism could change that mode, for instead of investment to manufacture products, the US would just demand higher royalties and strict enforcement of the patent and copyright laws. The US need not even invest in those countries to strategically position itself, but simply collect the huge royalty fees it could collect in perpetuity.

This is the premise why the TPP was conceived, and the reason why China was not invited. The experience of Japanese and Korean companies paying heavy penalties for alleged violation of US patent and copyright laws already serve as advance warning of things to come.

Yes, the US can continue to increase its military

presence in the region, but would encounter difficulties in curtailing their existing economic relations with China.

Many countries have already defied this implied rule. China has now reached that level of economic development that began as a big labor–only contractor for international companies, to exporter of cheap products, then as manufacturer of worldclass quality products, and now a top capital exporter.

This new economic policy now threatens to cut the aorta of imperialist exploitation represented by the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank. The creation of the Asian Investment Infrastructure Bank (AIIB) by China has a far reaching impact than to the perceived threat of military

modernization.

Practically all countries, including its Western partners like Germany, France and Great Britain heed the call of China to join. The Philippines, after initially backing out, embarrassingly changed its mind to beat the deadline for the signing as foundingmember. Maybe President Aquino and finance secretary Purisima realized that our military alliance alone with the US would not bring about economic progress and prosperity to our people. But then, our membership with AIIB is likely to compromise our pending application with TPP for which we might be forced to give up some of the benefits we enjoy as member of the AIIB. That now reminds us that we cannot have our cake and eat it, too.

Facebook Page: Dean Tony La Viña Twitter: tonylavs

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OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

WHY CAN’T ECONOMISTS BE TRUSTED? ASK AN ECONOMIST or strongly disagreed with the

By Victoria Bateman statement that “in general, inTHE market volatility at the terdisciplinary knowledge is start of 2016 raises a question better than knowledge obtained that has lingered since the glob- from a single discipline,” comal financial crisis: Can econo- pared with under a third of promists be trusted? Ever since fessors in history, finance, psy2008, economists have come chology, politics and sociology.

It is vital that economists look under attack for being out of touch, including by Her Maj- beyond economics, at the inesty the Queen, who wondered fluence of society, politics and how they could have been so religion. Not only should economists engage with other discimistaken.

Eight years on, there is still plines; from real world experino profession more in need of ence in finance or business to a few changes. So here is my working with charities, there is own five-point plan for how we a lot to be learned from life outeconomists can bring about a side of the ivory towers if ecorevitalized, more relevant, pro- nomics is to become more real.

2) Look beyond the West: fession.

1) Get interdisciplinary: Just last week, the new chief In the time of Smith, Ricardo, economist of the International Maury Marx and Malthus, economists Monetary Fund, suggested that saw it as their vocation to Obstfeld, consider the interplay between economists need to stop seeing economy, society and politics. the world through what is Nowadays you would be lucky an almost purely advancedto find an economist who had economy lens. The figures speak opened the cover of one of for themselves. In the 1980s, 36 the great works, never mind percent of global GDP and 43 one who is friends with a percent of global GDP growth was accounted for by emerging sociologist.

Economics has cut itself off and developing economies. In through the imperialist ten- the last five years, these numbers dency to see itself as the king of have increased to 56 percent social sciences. While economic and 79 percent, respectively.

Obstfeld identifies precisely concepts and ideas have penetrated other disciplines, econo- the kind of topics that need to mists have been much less keen be on any core economic syllato embrace other disciplines bus these days: classic issues related to the balin their own work. As Marion Fourcade, Etienne Ollion and ance of payments—capital flows Yann Algan have recently and their management, foreign shown, articles in the most re- exchange intervention, vulnerspected political journals cite abilities in external balance the top economic journals six sheets, and the determinants of times as often as the other way current account balances, trade around, and the difference is patterns, and trade volumes.

A detailed coverage of these even starker for sociology. Just as worrying, in a survey of areas should be the bread and American professors, over half butter of economics courses.

3) Promote a sexual revoluof economists either disagreed

tion: In Britain and the US, there are around three times as many boys studying economics at degree level as there are girls. This is not only a problem for girls, locking them out of potentially lucrative job opportunities that could help to close the gender wage gap, it is also a problem for the discipline itself.

It is only by incorporating gender that economists can reach a fuller understanding of the causes of poverty, slow growth and inequality.

As we eagerly await the publication of “Progress and Confusion: The state of macroeconomic policy” in May 2016, edited by four leading experts—and for which only three of the 28 contributors are female, we are left wondering just how much further and faster economics and the world economy could be progressing if only more women studied economics.

4) Focus on data: Of all the skills that students acquire, probably the ones that have the most use for them later on are the quantitative tools they develop. In developing such tools, however, the current emphasis is on mathematical proofs rather than on how to actually apply techniques to real-world data.

A rebalancing is required.

Along the way, it would also be helpful if students were properly introduced to the wealth of data available these days, and to the basics of both how to “clean it up” and how to think about causality in the context of real world scenarios. As Economist Barry Eichengreen recently pointed out, thanks to “Big Data” and the fresh appeal of economic history, economic research is already undergoing

a quiet evidence-based revolution, one which should significantly improve policy advice in the future. If teaching is to keep up with the skills required, the classroom will need to dedicate more time to the practical as opposed to theoretical side of data analysis.

5) Get in touch with our human side: Our economy is not ruled and operated by robots but by real people with quirks and imperfections—or, as a behavioral economist such as Richard Thaler would put it, we suffer from “cognitive biases.”

Whilst some economists see the departures from the rational behavior assumed by their models as nothing more than trifling, others of us believe that it is only by accepting that humans are human that we can explain the real fundamentals of economics: the causes of boom and bust, the drivers of entrepreneurship and growth, and how people can become locked into poverty. Psychology is even more important when seen in the context of risk and uncertainty. It is one thing to assume that we can all behave rationally when the future is known, but quite another when we face up to the fact that economic agents operate in the context of a completely unknowable future.

While we can’t predict everything that 2016 has in store, we can at least hope that economists will do a better job in the future than they have in the recent past. That will only happen if universities change the way they prepare students, both for jobs in the private sector and for academic research. Only then will economics truly redeem itself. Bloomberg

Mocking... From A9

should know the real Sotto, not the comedian, but the enemy of the Filipino women who has clashed with women’s rights advocates for many years on the matter of reproductive health and rights.

He has blocked, still blocks, and will continue to block the full implementation of the RH law, the law that took more than a decade and a half to pass. With Sotto’s continued presence in the Senate, this problem of poor women being denied their rights to plan their pregnancy can happen every year. It is time to stop this.

People should know that Sotto is one reason why high-risk pregnancies cannot be prevented, why

our maternal mortality rates will remain among the highest in the world, why we will continue to have the most number of girls getting pregnant in Asia, and why our country now has the highest rates of HIV infection in the world. These are because Sotto does not want the RH law fully implemented.

We say, stop Legarda, stop Sotto!

Never should we allow the legislative process to be again mocked.

Never should the poor Filipino women be again stabbed in the back.

She was part of the Congress that passed the RH law but she is first to violate the law they passed.

The other party, Sotto, seems to be very quiet these days. He who in the past, has made several threats to cut budgets for contraceptives, has succeeded through this bicam process (or non-process). I wonder why Sotto is letting Legarda take all the heat when it was he who first confirmed that they slashed the budget in question?

Is his silence because he does not want to rock the boat of his candidacy?

Former Department of Health

Secretary and now convenor of the National Implementation Team for the RH law, Esperanza Cabral, holds Legarda and Sotto accountable for the hardship that millions of poor Filipino families will experience by depriving them of access to RH services.

Cabral exhorts women to take matters into their own hands through the power of their votes.

The former Health chief urges people not to vote for jerks and bigots.

Legarda has three more years as a senator, but Sotto is running for reelection. He tops the surveys most probably because of his almost daily television exposure. People

#FAILOCRACY

bethangsioco@gmail.com @bethangsioco on Twitter Elizabeth Angsioco on Facebook

Trouble... From A9 Repairing the ties between both sides in this conflict will not be an easy task. The people from Saudi Arabia and its regional allies are Arabs; the Iranians are not. Iranians are modern-day Persians—the ancient enemies of the Arabs in the Middle East.

Also, Arabs and Iranians belong to opposing factions of Islam in a rivalry that has been around since time immemorial.

Moreover, Iranians have limited patience for diplomacy. After the Iranian Revolution overthrew the Shah of Iran in 1979 and installed an Islamic Republic under the Ayatollah Khomeini, Iranian activists were allowed by their government to attack the American embassy in Tehran and make hostages of its consular personnel. The hostages were released only a year later.

If unresolved, the conflict between the Arabs and the Iranians will escalate. So far, the ISIS terrorist group is already creating pocket wars in the Middle East. These terrorists may find it very tempting to exploit this latest conflict. At any rate, an escalation of the conflict will destabilize the Middle East and increase the price of oil. Right now, a world petroleum glut is the only thing preventing a surge in gasoline pump prices.

Speaking of ISIS, its international terror campaign has made life unsettling in many countries in Europe—France and Germany in particular. In the past, these countries were relatively passive in the international war against terrorism. Today, they have taken a stronger stand against the violence spreading in the continent. This translates to more restrictions on suspected terrorists, and this, in turn, will trigger animosity between Europe and the Middle East. Likewise, the Syrian refugee crisis facing Hungary and its neighboring states has reached its saturation point, and ISIS terrorist cells are exploiting the situation in their Internet propaganda.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the existence of the United States is a threat to Russian security. This means Russia intends to revive the cold war—a period in the previous century when a substantial percentage of the financial resources of the world was spent on proxy wars and nuclear arms development. So far, Moscow’s expansionist attitude towards the Ukraine, and its bullying behavior in the Middle East, suggest that the Kremlin longs for a return to the bad old days of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Closer to home, the conflict in the West Philippine Sea has virtually escalated overnight. Communist China now has airbases in disputed territory, in manifest violation of International Law. Because Beijing realizes that it has the military might to intimidate its maritime neighbors, it refuses to resort to international arbitration. Two-faced Beijing professes a desire for peace and regional stability in its international propaganda (this is seen in wholepage advertisements the Red Chinese embassy regularly publishes in another newspaper) but it engages in unmitigated conquest in one of the most important waterways in the world.

Although the Philippines has no military muscle to engage Communist China, there is the Vietnamese threat to consider. Hanoi has not forgotten that years ago, Beijing seized the Paracel islands from Vietnam. While both countries have communist governments, the Chinese and the Vietnamese have been traditional enemies in centuries past. Red Chinese soldiers have been spoiled by their government with modern amenities. Vietnamese soldiers remain comfortable fighting under protracted, spartan conditions.

CHONG ARDIVILLA

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

‘Ban Russians from Rio Olympics’ Former no. 1 Singh fires a 63, shares lead

HONOLULU -- Vijay Singh of Fiji plays his shot from the 15th tee during the first round of the Sony Open In Hawaii at Waialae Country Club on January 14, 2016 in Honolulu, Hawaii. AFP

FIJI’S former world number one Vijay Singh fired a bogeyfree seven-under-par 63 on Thursday to seize a share of the first-round lead at the US PGA Tour’s Sony Open in Hawaii.

The 52-year-old veteran turned back the clock with seven birdies on the par-70 Waialae Country Club course to share the lead in the first full-field event of the year with Americans Ricky Barnes, Morgan Hoffmann, Kevin Kisner and Brandt Snedeker.

Singh, seeking his first US Tour title since the Deutsche Bank Championship in 2008, is bidding to become the oldest PGA Tour winner.

If he holds on he would narrowly eclipse the record held by Sam Snead, who was 52 years, 10 months and eight days old when he won the 1965 Greater Greensboro Open.

“I was feeling good about my body, my swing, my mind,” Singh told the Golf Channel. “I scrambled very well.

“Early on, I didn’t hit too many fairways but I got it around the greens, chipped in once and my putter was working really well,” added Singh, who rolled in a 50-footer for birdie at 12—his third hole of the day, and also had birdie putts of 20 and 30 feet.

Singh teed off on the 10th and closed his round with backto-back birdies at eight and nine—missing a nine-foot eagle putt at his final hole.

Although he hasn’t found the winner’s circle in some time, Singh said he doesn’t feel it’s out of reach.

“I feel like I can come out and win any tournament if I play well,” he said. “It has been the same way for the last five, six years.

“I just haven’t produced the scores that I want to produce, but I’m always optimistic about my next day, my next round, my next tournament.”

Of the five co-leaders, Snedeker and Kisner were the only afternoon starters. Snedeker seemed to lose the momentum of an eagle at the 10th with his lone bogey of the day at 14.

But he followed that with back-to-back birdies.

Kisner grabbed his share of the lead with a birdie at 18.

The leading group was one stroke in front of a trio of players on a tightly bunched leaderboard, with British Open champion Zach Johnson, American Charles Howell and South Korean Kim Si-Woo tied on 64. AFP

Two titles at stake in heavyweight fight

UNDEFEATED American Deontay Wilder defends his share of the world heavyweight boxing throne Saturday while two more unbeatens seek another crown and rival champion Tyson Fury watches at ringside.

The path to an undisputed heavyweight champion, something not seen since Britain’s Lennox Lewis in 2000, takes shape in New York when Wilder (35-0 with 34 knockouts) faces Poland’s Artur Szpilka

(20-1 with 15 knockouts) and US southpaw Charles Martin (22-0 with one drawn and 20 knockouts) meets Ukraine’s Vyacheslav Glazkov (21-0 with 13 knockouts).

“There are four great heavyweights that I’m excited to see,” Lewis said.

“The heavyweight division is wide open right now. Now it’s time for the guys who were standing by the wayside to show they want to be the next undisputed champion.”

Wilder makes the third defense of his World Boxing Council crown while Glazkov and Martin meet for the International Boxing Federation title that Britain’s Fury dropped after defeating Wladimir Klitschko for his share of the throne.

Fury holds the World Boxing Association title and will fight a lucrative rematch with Klitschko rather than having kept the IBF crown to fight its mandatory op-

ponent, Glazkov.

The year could see Saturday’s winners meet in a few months as Fury and Klitschko figure to do, and the winners of those bouts meet in an undisputed showdown late in 2016.

Wilder hopes to become the first American heavyweight with an undisputed reign since Riddick Bowe in 1992 and join a list that includes legends Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Mike Tyson. AFP

Pele undergoes hip surgery in US BRAZILIAN football legend Pele had hip surgery in the United States last month and is still there undergoing physiotherapy, a newspaper reported on Thursday.

The Folha de Sao Paulo said surgeons in New York City operated on the 75-year-old to fix a loose hip implant he received in 2012.

Winner of three World Cups with Brazil, the exstriker is widely regarded as the best footballer of all time. He scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 matches.

The newspaper quoted his doctor Roberto Dantas Queiroz as saying doctors also treated Pele for fibrosis in the hip area.

Pele was expected to stay in the United States until February.

The newspaper said he spent Christmas with his daughter Kelly and his grandchildren, who live in New York.

On Christmas Day he published a photograph on Twitter of himself standing up smiling with his family. AFP

Ski thrill. France’s Alexis Pinturault competes in the downhill race of the Alpine skiing FIS World Cup men’s combined event. AFP

The head of the United States AntiDoping Agency (USADA) believes Russian track and field athletes should be barred from competing in the Olympics, saying there was not enough time to rebuild the country’s tarnished drugtesting regime, the New York Times reported Thursday.

USADA chief executive Travis Tygart said Russia had taken no meaningful steps to put its house in order after being accused of running a state-sponsored doping program in a bombshell World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report last year.

Tygart accused Russian authorities of continuing to target whistleblowers and said it was too late to guarantee that dope cheats who had benefited from the program would be clean in time for August’s games in Rio de Janeiro.

“They’re still attacking the brave and courageous whistle-blowers,” Tygart was quoted by the Times as saying. “There is no lab. There’s no testing agency.

“We’re a few months before the Games and it’s too late, even if they hold all of those who are responsible accountable.

It’s too late to assure that those in the state-supported doping program are clean.”

Tygart’s comments came as a second WADA report released in Munich on Thursday claimed corruption was “embedded” at track and field’s global governing body, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

The IAAF suspended Russian athletes from all competition in the wake of last year’s WADA report but left the door open for a possible return in time for Rio. Tygart’s remarks echoed calls made by US Olympic legend Edwin Moses at a WADA meeting in Colorado Springs in November.

“The only sanction is that enough is enough. It is to state loudly and clearly that the Russian athletics team cannot go to Rio,” Moses said.

“Athletes are very concerned—they want to see the right thing done in this case,” Moses said. AFP

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sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Tokyo dismisses talks money influenced 2020 bid THe Tokyo 2020 Olympics organising committee on Friday dismissed a footnote in a World Anti-Doping Agency report that suggested a payment of sponsorship money influenced its winning bid for the summer games.

A report compiled by an independent commission of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) released on Thursday described corruption as “embedded” within the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

It followed an initial report released in November that detailed evidence of a “state-sponsored” doping system in Russia, which sent shockwaves through the world sporting community.

But it was a footnote in the latest report that rattled the organisers of the Tokyo 2020 games.

The buried note, on page 34 of the 89page report, referred to a transcript of “various discussions” between Turkish individuals and Khalil Diack, son of the disgraced former IAAF president Lamine Diack, in relation to the 2020 Olympic bidding.

“It is stated that Turkey lost LD’s support because they did not pay sponsorship moneys of $ 4 to 5 million either to the Diamond League or IAAF. According (to) the transcript the Japanese did pay,” the footnote read.

The report used the abbreviation LD to refer to Lamine Diack. The Diamond League is track and field’s top tier invitational circuit.

Istanbul in 2013 lost to Tokyo in the final vote to host the 2020 Olympics. Tokyo garnered 60 votes to the Turkish city’s 36.

Hikariko Ono, spokeswoman for the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, said in an e-mail: “The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee considers that the note in the report is beyond our understanding.”

“The Games were awarded to Tokyo because the city presented the best bid,” Ono added.

Daichi Suzuki, chief of Japan’s government sports agency, said he did not think Japan had paid sponsorship money to the IAAF, according to Jiji Press.

“We made clean campaign activities,” he said.

The WADA report added in the same footnote that it “did not investigate this matter further for it was not within our remit”. AFP

Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia holds the trophy after her victory over Monica Puig of Puerto Rico 6-0, 6-2 in the women’s final match at the Sydney International tennis tournament in Sydney on January 15, 2016. AFP

Kuznetsova pockets Sydney Int’l diadem Veteran russian Svetlana Kuznetsova breezed past Monica Puig to win her 16th career title with a straight sets victory in the final of the Sydney International on Friday.

The 25th-ranked Kuznetsova took just 55 minutes to claim a 6-0, 6-2 victory over the 94th-ranked Puerto Rican in a one-sided final at Ken Rosewall Arena.

The 30-year-old, who was making her 11th appearance at the Sydney tournament, served at a high 69 percent with eight aces and broke Puig’s serve five times.

It capped a memorable tournament for Kuznetsova, who upset world number two Simona Halep in a raininterrupted semi-final earlier Friday 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3 in two hours 44 minutes.

It was a great tonic for

the experienced Russian ahead of next week’s Australian Open in Melbourne where she will face Daniela Hantuchova in the opening round.

“It was not the easy schedule for me with doubles matches, with rain delays, with tough match with Simona this morning and last night,” Kuznetsova said.

“I’m really happy. I want to keep focused for Australian Open.

“I don’t remember all my 16 finals right now, but I went out there and I felt like it was not even necessary to hit the ball that

hard, because even if I put a ball back she wouldn’t get to the winner.”

Puig had an easy ride into only her second WTA final when Swiss eighth seed Belinda Bencic retired with an illness after losing the opening set 6-0.

Bencic was ill overnight and battled the match just to make it to the court and conceded as soon as Puig romped away with the first set.

“I retired today because I was throwing up all morning and feeling sick,” the Swiss player tweeted.

“In respect to Monica I wanted to go on court and at least try, but I really couldn’t finish the match.”

Bencic is the third player to withdraw from Sydney because of illness. Defending champion Petra Kvitova pulled out with a gastrointestinal illness before even hitting a ball and An-

gelique Kerber withdrew after winning her first round match also with a stomach bug.

Rain seriously disrupted the tournament’s programme on Thursday and the two women’s semi-finals were held over until Friday with Halep leading 5-4 when play was suspended.

Puig resumed on Friday leading 4-0 over Bencic in the first set and only played two more games to take the set before her opponent pulled out of the match citing a stomach illness.

It was Puig’s first final in two years.

“There wasn’t really too much I could do,” Puig said. “I definitely ran around the court and tried to get every single ball I could back.

“Overall a very good week and I’m very happy. Really not going to get disheartened about this final. She played unbelievable.” AFP

Thousands cheer on Nepal bullfighting spectacle THOuSANDS of Nepalis gathered at an open ground in the Himalayan foothills on Friday to watch a bullfighting festival that heralds the end of winter, according to the Hindu calendar. unlike its Spanish counterpart, bullfighting in Nepal requires no matadors as the bulls -- usually buffalo -- fight each other in a competition to mark the Maghe Sankranti festival.

Around 5,000 people turned up at

the dusty village of Taruka, 35 kilometres (22 miles) northwest of the capital Kathmandu, to watch 14 pairs of bulls butt heads, with the winner of each bout taking home 2,000 rupees ($20) in prize money.

The festival, whose popularity dates back to the 19th Century, attracts many repeat visitors, who cherish the traditional entertainment.

“I always enjoy watching this festival

-- it takes me back to my childhood,” said 72-year-old Chiranjibi Adhikari, who lost his home in April’s massive earthquake that killed nearly 8,900 people.

“When I see the bulls, it brings a smile to my face. everything was destroyed in the quake, but when I come here I am able to forget my problems for a little while,” Adhikari told AFP. Crowds packed the makeshift arena, sitting on surrounding hillsides and ap-

plauding every time the bulls made contact, each attempting to dominate the other. unlike european bullfighting, bloodshed is a rare sight as local tradition dictates that the bout ends once an animal tires of fighting.

Nevertheless, animal rights activists have attacked the festival, arguing that it causes injuries including broken bones, and have sought to have it banned. AFP

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Altas make NCAA ‘volley’ final

By Peter Atencio

REY Taneo Jr. unloaded 21 points, and led a big scoring run in the fifth and final set to power the University of Perpetual Help Altas to a 33-31, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 15-9 victory in their Final Four semifinals showdown yesterday at the Arena in San Juan.

The win put the Altas in a finals showdown with the defending champion Emilio Aguinaldo College Generals in the 91st National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men’s volleyball tournament.

With Taneo on the firing end had the Altas taking charge in the deciding game with a 6-3 advantage, which they preserved en route to the win after 2 hours and 11-minutes.

The Altas never let go of the lead and stayed in front, 12-8, off drop shots from Manuel Doliente nd Relan Taneo.

“Sa deciding set, kung sino mauna, mananalo.

Puso rin ito. Kung sino mas me gusto nito, mananalo,” said Altas coach Sammy Acaylar.

The Generals, meanwhile, drew 30 points from Howard Mojica as they held off the San Beda Red Spikers in the fifth set for a 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 2225, 15-9 victory.

Mojica had 27 points off attacks during their one hour and 43 minutelong confrontation.

“Kailangan pa ring paghandaan ang Finals. Nandoon ang hunger factor kasi kailangang paghirapan pa rin namin,” said Generals coach Rod Palmero.

Israel Encina and Kerth Melliza backed up Mojica with 13 and 10 points, and this helped give the Generals an opportunity to seek their second straight crown.

In the junior side, defending champion Perpetual Help overcame a feisty San Sebastian to eke out a 25-23, 24-26, 14-25, 25-23, 15-10 victory booked a return trip to the finals.

Darwin John Salopaso fired a team-best 17 hits while Ryuji Condrad Etorma, team captain Jody Margaux Severo and Ivan Encila scattered 13, 12 and 10, respectively.

This shoved the Junior Altas in a best-of-three championships showdown EAC-ICA, which clinched the other spot by trouncing Arellano U, 2523, 25-20, 25-21.

“It’s a good feeling making it back to the finals and getting that chance to winning another championship,” said Perpetual Help coach Sandy Rieta.

In the women’s side, Jeannette Panaga scored on a drop shot that sealed the win for the College of St. Benilde Lady Blazers over the Arellano University Lady Chiefs, 25-20, 25-20, 25-23, in the women’s playoff for the second finals berth.

Ryuji Etorma (no, 8) of the Junior Altas receives an excellent toss from teammate EJ Casana (no. 5) for a quick hammer over Carl Berdal (7) of SSCR Staglets. The Junior Altas, who are eyeing back to back titles, topped the SSCR Staglets in fucw sets (25-23, 24-26, 14-25, 25-23, 15-10) to clinch the 1st final berth in Season 91 of NCAA Juniors indoor Volleyball Championship.

(UPH Media Bureau)

Fil-Am rider sizzles in Argentine bike fest FIL-AMERICAN rider Coryn Rivera gave United Healthcare’s women’s team a great start in their 2016 season, as she sprinted to victory in the opening stage of the Tour Femenino de San Luis in Argentina held last Sunday.

UnitedHealthcare won the overall title in last year in this UCI 2.1 category, six-day race,

which started in El Durazno.

According to the tournament’s official website, it was during the stage 1’s 110.3km race the Rivera won the bunch sprint.

Rivera’s teammate, Katie Hall earned enough points to take the lead of the mountain competition, as she did last year, but it was Rivera who emerged on top

of the overall classification, followed by Ale Cipollini’s Marta Tagliaferro and Lares Waowdeals’ Kelly Markus.

Aside from Rivera, the other members of theThe UnitedHealthcare in Argentina includes Hall and Abby Mickey, Iris Slappendel, Diana Penuela and Annie Ewart.

Meanwhile, Ale Cipol-

lini’s Malgorzata Jasinska took her first win of the 2016 season in Argentina at the one-day Grand Prix San Luis Femenino on Saturday in El Volcan.

The Polish rider won a 28-rider bunch sprint ahead of Rivera (UnitedHealthcare), while her teammate Ana Trevisi placed third.

Peter atencio

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner presented with ‘Messi15’ boot

Bike ride. Participants climb their bikes during a first-ever triathlon event dubbed as Leyte 515 held recently in Tabango, Leyte (Region 8). The event features a 1-km race, a 40-km bike and a 10-km run. MEL CASPE

AFTER winning a record fifth Ballon d’Or, Leo Messi has cemented his place as the greatest player in the history of football. adidas Football marked the moment with the launch of their new campaign “I’m here to create”, a celebration not of Messi’s records, but of his most jaw-dropping moments in football. Today, the sports giant has continued to honour the greatest player of all time by presenting Messi with a new platinum boot for the ultimate creator, containing real platinum elements, never seen before on a football boot.

Creators are athletes who seize every opportunity to redefine their sport. They create for their squad, for their country, for the millions of fans who then try to recreate a never before seen piece of skill. It is their

sense of self-belief which drives them to win, and to create the new. Messi is the ultimate creator, and the platinum Messi 15 marks his other worldly achievements in football. Gold is for winners, platinum is for the greatest.

The platinum boot design is based on the current in-line Messi15 model and uses pearlescent Argentinian premium leather, enhanced with pure metallic platinum elements.

The Messi logo and the adidas logo are both made out of real platinum, and the back of the boot is embossed with four gold and one platinum embellished dots to commemorate Messi’s record haul of Ballon d’Or titles. The Spanish phrase found on the insole of the boot “el más grande de todos los tiempos” means “the greatest of all time”.

The signature Messi15 boot, the first unique boot made for a player by adidas, is designed for Messi’s iconic playing style which has seen him create some of the most celebrated moments in football history.

The Messi 15 is not for the goal scoring records, the trophies, or the praise. It’s designed for the close dribbling style that has seen Messi change the game forever. To create the moments that made fans gasp and defenders blush.

Winning football’s most coveted individual prize for an unparalleled fifth time has firmly established Messi’s position as the ultimate creator. But in the new campaign launched recently, titled “I’m here to create”, adidas declared that Messi is not here for the records, or for the praise. He is here to create.

S AT U R DAY : J A N U A R Y 16 , 2 0 16

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SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

LOTTO RESULTS 6/45 00-00-00-00-00-00 P0.0 M+ 4 DIGITS 00-00-00-00 3 DIGITS 00-00-00 2 EZ2 00-00

Malaysian pair hold ground in EurAsia Cup SHAH Alam, Malaysia—Malaysian duo Danny Chia and Nicholas Fung earned the praise of Team Asia’s captain Jeev Milkha Singh for fighting tooth-andnail for a vital half point against Victor Dubuisson and Soren Kjeldsen in the Fourball session at the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM on Friday.

The local heroes dug deep in their match at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club, with Fung responding magnificently with a chip-in birdie on 17 after Kjeldsen had done likewise to keep the match all square before Chia got up-and-down for a nerve-jangling par to earn Team Asia a morale-boosting halve as Europe ended the session leading 4 ½ to 1 ½.

The third match of the opening day proved to be the most exciting and was the only one from six matches which went all the way down the 18th hole.

Chia, a two-time Asian Tour winner, said: “It’s very important, it’s very vital because it could come down to just one single point, winning or losing. Nicholas and I just tried our best not to lose any point. If we got a halfpoint, it’s great. We didn’t hit it that great.”

After partner Fung missed the green on the last, Chia conceded he made a mental error by attacking the pin with the European duo scrambling for a par as well.

“I realised I played the wrong shot. I took the wrong club. You know, when I walked to the ball and I saw my ball position next to the green, I almost wanted to kill myself!

“Honestly it’s the wrong shot to play. I was so focused on the shot that I wanted to play, I totally forgot how tight that pin location was. And Nicholas had already missed the green on the left and with that pin, you can’t miss left, you can’t miss right.”

Roger Federer of Switzerland serves during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on Jan. 15, 2016. AFP

Djokovic seeded to face Federer in Open semis FIVE-TIME Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic could face record Grand Slam winner Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the season’s opening Grand Slam following Friday’s draw in Melbourne.

The 10-time Grand Slam champion from Serbia is projected to face Japan’s seventh seed Kei Nishikori in the quarters, while Switzerland’s 17-time major winner Federer is set to meet Czech Tomas Berdych in the second quarter-final of the top half of the men’s draw.

Top seed Djokovic, who wore down Andy Murray to win last year’s final at Melbourne Park,

won three Grand Slam titles among 11 tournament victories in a stellar 2015 season, and a win-loss record of 82-6.

He will play South Korean Hyeon Chung in the opening round.

Federer, who lost to Djokovic in the Wimbledon and US Open finals last year, will play Georgia’s Nikoloz Basilashvili to get his campaign underway.

Explosive young Australian Nick Kyrgios, seeded 29, could face Berdych in the third round.

British second seed Murray, who has lost in four Australian Open finals, is drawn to meet Spanish terrier David Ferrer in the quarter-finals in the bottom half of the men’s draw.

The Scot will take on Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the opening round, while eighth seed Ferrer could face Lleyton Hewitt in the second round in the Australian great’s 20th consecutive and farewell home Grand Slam before his retirement.

Murray could have a showdown with top-ranked

Australian youngster Bernard Tomic in the fourth round.

Rafael Nadal faces a potential rematch of his losing 2014 final against Swiss fourth seed Stan Wawrinka in the other quarter-final in the bottom half of the draw.

Wawrinka is projected to face bigserving Canadian Milos Raonic in the fourth round, while Nadal, who won the Australian title only once in 2009, could take on South African Kevin Anderson in the last 16.

Wawrinka, who upset Djokovic in last year’s French Open final for his second major win, opens against Russia’s Dmitry Tursunov, while Nadal meets Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco.

Ferdie Munsayac’s deep sense of Filipino heritage INSIDE SPORTS RONNIE NATHANIELSZ

WE HAVEN’T been a particular fan of Mixed Martial Arts and the various forms it has taken in recent years with a proliferation of organizations and competition formats.

That’s until we met with Ferdie Munsayac, USB MMA founder and president and fight promoter who was introduced to us

by Floyd Mayweather’s strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza who also works with some MMA fighters.

What struck us about Ferdie Munsayac was his unbridled passion for

what he does.

But to us the more significant aspect of his involvement in promoting events – something like 18 in the past two years –is the underlying care and concern for the Filipino fighters who are only now getting the attention they deserve and the opportunities to progress and to earn so they could improve the quality of their lives.

A retired US Navy chief, Ferdinand Abadilla Munsayac says his primary goal is “to help the young, poverty-stricken but skilled boxers/Muay Thai/ Jiu Jitsu and MMA fighters develop their craft so that they would be able to provide a brighter future anchored on the advocacy – “Beating Up Poverty” which in itself is a

commendable goal.

Slogans in sports events are generally fashioned to attract the attention of fans similar to the Ali-Frazier “Thrilla in Manila” or the Ali-Foreman “Rumble in the Jungle” or more recently the May 2, 2015 “Fight of the Century” between unbeaten, pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr and eight division world champion.

Manny Pacquiao.

There are times sports promoters deliver on their slogans while at times they don’t, not necessarily through their fault.

What struck us about Ferdie Magsayoc was his deep sense of his Filipino heritage which he has reflected alongside his fundamental mission, not just to

grow the UGB MMA Brand but to reinforce his commitment to the Filipino fighters most of whom, like Pacquiao in boxing, come from the fringes of poverty-stricken family backgrounds.

Ferdie talks with measured tones and a deep sense of commitment which underline such slogans as “Para sa FIGHTERS, dahil sa FIGHTERS” and “Ang Gym ng MAHIRAP na may PANGARAP!” Viva Sports which is best known for its weekly, toprating boxing show “The Main Event” which is telecast on Pinoy Box Office over Sky Cable at 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays with a replay on Sundays at 10:30 a.m. will venture into its first coverage of the January 22 Underground Battle MMA

“Foreign Invasion” headlined by the middleweight battle between Brad Robinson of the United States and Mark Palomar of the Philippines and two supporting main events in which Rodian Menchavez of the Philippines faces Ahmed Mujtaba of Pakistan in a featherweight clash while another Pakistani Uloomi Karim faces off with hometown boy Michael Mondragon and nine other supporting bouts which are expected to thrill the rapidly growing MMA fan-base.

The obvious success achieved by Ferdinand Munsayac in his efforts are reflected in the recent signing of a strategic agreement between World Series of Fighting Global Championships and UGB

Mixed Martial Arts.

WSOF-GC president Shawn Wright described the breakthrough agreement as “the first step down an exciting road for us.”

As comparative newcomers to the sport, we ourselves and Viva Sports hope it will be just as exciting for us and will provide us with the opportunity to capture and convey the excitement of the first event scheduled at the Makati Coliseum at 7:00 p.m. on January 22.

As we know MMA attracts a huge audience among young men and women. The fact that Ferdinand Munsayac was able to excite a fundamental purist like us at 80 years of age tells you something about the passion with which Ferdinand infected us.

S AT U R DAY : J A N U A R Y 16 , 2 0 16

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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

SAN ANTONIO, Texas—Tony Parker #9 of the San Antonio Spurs shoots the ball against the Cleveland Cavaliers on January 14, 2016 at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. AFP

Spurs, Warriors prevail, remain perfect at home THE San Antonio Spurs wore down the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-95 in an NBA heavyweight showdown on Thursday and remained unbeaten at home—as did the reigning champion Golden State Warriors.

One night after enduring just their third defeat of the season, at Denver, the Warriors bounced back on their home floor in Oakland with a 116-98 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.

Stephen Curry poured in eight three-pointers en route to 26 points, but it was aging Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant who drew the spotlight in his likely last appearance at Oracle Arena.

Bryant, battling a sore Achilles tendon, scored just eight points but departed to a standing ovation

Singh scores a 63, shares lead TURN TO A12

from Oakland spectators who don’t expect to see him again before he retires at the end of the season.

They had the luxury of enjoying this stop of his farewell tour, since Bryant’s Lakers never seriously threatened to halt Golden State’s home winning streak, which now includes 19 games this season and 37 overall dating back to last year.

San Antonio’s streak of dominance at home is almost as impressive. They improved to 23-0 at home in this campaign and have won 32 straight at the AT&T

Center dating back to March 12 last year -- when they fell in overtime to the Cavaliers.

Point guard Tony Parker scored 18 of his 24 points in the first half, helping the Spurs stay afloat in the face of a strong Cleveland start.

Kawhi Leonard took over after the interval, scoring 16 of his 20 points in the second half and also holding Cleveland superstar LeBron James to seven points after halftime.

“Kawhi made LeBron work for everything he had,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “It was a heck of a win because we gave away the first quarter.”

Cleveland, who fell to 27-10, saw their eight-game winning streak snapped despite having all five starters score in double figures.

That started with 23 points from James, with center Tristan Thompson adding a season-high 18 points and 13 rebounds.

Cleveland opened the game with a 10-2 scoring run and led 32-20 after the first quarter.

They were up 50-44 at halftime, with the Spurs finally taking the lead for the first time, 57-55, with 7:50 left in the third when Leonard capped an 11-0 run with a three-pointer.

From there it was a back-andforth battle until the Spurs seized the lead for good less than two minutes into the final period.

“We stopped moving the ball, but their defense had a lot to do with that,” Cavaliers coach David Blatt said.

Meanwhile, Chicago’s Jimmy But-

Djokovic, Federer seeded to face in Open semis TURN TO A15

ler scored a career-high 53 points to spearhead the Bulls’ 115-111 comefrom-behind overtime triumph over the 76ers in Philadelphia.

Butler connected on 15 of 30 shots from the floor and 21 of 25 from the free-throw line. He also pulled down 10 rebounds and handed out six assists for a Chicago team without center Pau Gasol and guard Derrick Rose.

The Bulls, who trailed by 24 points in the second quarter, snapped a three-game losing streak and denied the woeful 76ers a rare victory.

Butler is the fourth player in Bulls history to score more than 50 points in a game, after the legendary Michael Jordan, Jamal Crawford and Chet Walker. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK SATURDAY: JANUARY 16, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

FPIP-Osaka agreement.

Economic zone operator First Philippine Industrial Park, a unit of Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings Corp., signs a memorandum of understanding with the prefecture of Osaka, Japan, to enhance efforts in promoting the entry of more investments from Osaka in FPIP. The prefecture of Osaka will recommend FPIP and its subsidiaries or affiliates as suitable locations, especially for Osaka-based small- and medium-sized enterprises.

FPIP committed to provide suitable facilities, including the possibility of a dedicated SME Park, for Osaka-based SMEs. FPH and FPIP officials, led by FPH chairman and chief executive Federico Lopez (left), welcome Osaka Prefecture Vice Governor Hiroshi Ueda (right) during a signing ceremony on Jan. 13, 2016 at the FPIP main office in Pasig City. With them are FPIP senior vice president Shigeo Fukuda (second from left) and FPIP senior adviser Henry Co.

BUSINESS

B1

PSe comPoSite index Closing January 15, 2016

8000 8340 7880 7420 6960 6500

6,449.50 40.74

PeSo-dollar rate

Closing JANUARY 15, 2016 48.00

MPIC, Ayala allot P10b for LRT rehab

By Darwin G. Amojelar

46.00 45.00

P47.740

44.00

CLOSE

43.00

HIGH P47.600 LOW P47.780AVERAGE P47.722 VOLUME 440.300M

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

oPriceS il P today

P20.40-P23.80 Diesel P34.55-P39.15 Kerosene Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Friday, January 15, 2016

F oreign e xchange r ate Currency

Unit

US Dollar

Peso

United States

Dollar

1.000000

47.4570

Japan

Yen

0.008501

0.4034

UK

Pound

1.442200

68.4425

Hong Kong

Dollar

0.128874

6.1160

Switzerland

Franc

0.994135

47.1787

Canada

Dollar

0.696040

33.0320

Singapore

Dollar

0.696185

33.0389

Australia

Dollar

0.699986

33.2192

Bahrain

Dinar

2.661486

126.3061

Saudi Arabia

Rial

0.266418

12.6434

Brunei

Dollar

0.693770

32.9242

Indonesia

Rupiah

0.000072

0.0034

Thailand

Baht

0.027594

1.3095

UAE

Dirham

0.272301

12.9226

Euro

Euro

1.088900

51.6759

Korea

Won

0.000831

0.0394

China

Yuan

0.152107

7.2185

India

Rupee

0.014984

0.7111

Malaysia

Ringgit

0.228571

10.8473

New Zealand

Dollar

0.655910

31.1275

Taiwan

Dollar

0.030042

1.4257 Source: PDS Bridge

LIGHT Rail Manila Corp., a joint venture of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp., has allotted $200 million over the next two years for the rehabilitation of the oldest metro system in Southeast Asia.

AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. president and chief executive Eric Francia told reporters his company would spend $150 million to $200 million, or P10 billion, to rehabilitate and upgrade the rolling stocks, railway stocks, train stations and signaling system of the LRT Line 1.

“Our primary purpose is to serve the public and to get reasonable returns because we are answerable to our shareholders also,” Francia said.

LRMC plans to increase the ca-

pacity of LRT Line 1 by 30 percent within the next 12 months.

Francia also said the company was in talks with the Department of Transportation and Communications on the compensation for the proposed rehabilitation of the system.

LRMC took over the operation and maintain of LRT Line 1 on September 12. It currently accommodates a daily average of 400,000 commuters from Baclaran in Pasay City to Roosevelt in Quezon City.

Francia added the consortium

expects to sign financing package for the P65-billion Light Rail Transit Line 1 Cavite extension project and upgrade of the existing LRT Line 1 system in the first quarter of the year.

The project cost is almost over P40 billion, which includes the rehab of the LRT Line 1and the extension of the system to Cavite.

When asked how much is the financing requirements of the company, Francia said “we are still finalizing it.”

“The typical project finance [or] equity ratio range would be 60 to 70 percent debt,” he said.

Under the concession agreement signed by LRMC with the Light Rail Transit Authority, the consortium is allowed to finance 70 percent of the project cost through borrowings and loans and the 30 percent through equity infusion by the members of the

consortium.

LRMC is a responsible for the construction of the 11.7-kilometer extension from the present end point in Baclaran to the Niog area in Bacoor, Cavite.

The extended rail line is expected to help increase the capacity of LRT 1 from 500,000 to 800,000 passengers daily and benefit more than four million residents in the southern part of Metro Manila and of Cavite.

LRMC won the P65-billion LRT Line 1 extension project, with a premium bid of P9.35 billion in September 2014.

Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. controls 55 percent of the consortium while AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. has 35 percent.

Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) Pte Ltd. owns 10 percent.

San Miguel set to sell P80-b preferred shares

By Jenniffer B. Austria CONGLOMERATE San Miguel Corp. said Friday it plans to raise as much as P80 billion in fresh capital through the issuance of preferred shares.

San Miguel said in a disclosure to the stock exchange its board of directors approved the shelf registration of up to P80 billion worth of Series “2” preferred shares, involving 1.066 billion shares at an offer price of P75 apiece.

The preferred shares will be issued over a period of three years, it said. Preferred shares refer to

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

capital stocks, representing an ownership stake in a company, with features of common stocks and debt. They are preferred or prioritized in terms of receiving dividend and their price is influenced by interest rate, and not by company earnings.

San Miguel said initially, it would offer up to P30 billion worth of preferred shares, involving 400 million shares.

San Miguel said it would file an appropriate registration statement and prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

It will also file an application

with the Philippine Stock Exchange for the listing of new subseries under Series “2” preferred shares.

“For these purposes, the board has authorized the engagement of the services of underwriters, advisors, legal counsel, stock and transfer agent, receiving agent and other agents as may be necessary, proper or desirable to effect the offering,” San Miguel corporate information officer Ferdinand Constantino said.

San Miguel raised P33.5 billion last year from the issuance of preferred shares. Proceeds from

the offering were used to partially fund the early redemption of the company’s outstanding sub series 2-A amounting to P54.08 billion.

San Miguel is one of the largest conglomerates in the Philippines by revenues and total assets, with sales of about 6.2 percent of the Philippine gross domestic product in 2014.

The conglomerate is broadly exposed to the economy through its diverse range of businesses spanning the beverage, food, packaging, fuel and oil, energy, infrastructure, telecommunication, property and banking industries.

SATURDAY: JANUARY 16, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS daily STockS review Friday, January 15, 2016

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low 7.88 75.3 124.4 107 56.5 2.49 4.2 17 30.45 10.4 1.01 100 30.5 75 91.5 137 80 361.2 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 3.95 74 33.9 90 13.26 293 5 5.25 12.98 15 7.03 3.4 4.5 6.3 7.34 238 3.28 0.315 2.18 2.65 234 5.28 1.3 2.17 0.59 59.2 30.05 7.39 3.4 823.5 10.2 84 3.35 4.92 1455 7.5 76 5.29 9.25 0.85 17.3 5.53 0.0670 2.31 1.61 2.99 84.9 974 1.66 1.39 390 156 0.710 0.510 10.5 26.95 1.99 1.75 41.4 5.6

STOCKS

Close

High

Low

FINANCIAL 2.1 2 45.9 45.1 98.30 97.80 85.25 84.55 35.6 35 2.44 2.40 1.19 1.19 14.76 14.16 17.1 17 6.45 6.45 0.430 0.400 72.9 71.15 15.60 15.50 22.00 22.00 50.20 48.50 98.75 95 120 120 268 259 32.15 32 147.6 139.5 1315.00 1315.00 56.80 56.00 1.55 1.52 INDUSTRIAL 35.9 Aboitiz Power Corp.

40.45 40.65 39.95 1.11 Agrinurture Inc. 4.24 4.45 4.27 1.01 Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. 0.73 0.75 0.75 1.86 Alsons Cons.

1.21 1.27 1.2 7.92 Asiabest Group 9.8 10 9.58 32 C. Azuc De Tarlac 100.00 100.00 100.00 15.32 Century Food 14.84 15.14 14.84 10.08 Cirtek Holdings (Chips) 17.46 17.64 17.5 29.15 Concepcion 42 42 41.5 1.5 Crown Asia 2.1 2.18 2.02 1.5 Da Vinci Capital 1.92 2.13 1.98 10.72 Del Monte 11.8 12 11.62 9.55 DNL Industries Inc. 7.400 7.650 7.250 9.04 Emperador 8.38 8.37 8.10 6.02 Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) 5.64 5.75 5.58 8.86 EEI 5.31 5.35 5.30 1.06 Euro-Med Lab 1.6 1.6 1.6 20.2 First Gen Corp.

20 20.8 19.36 71.5 First Holdings ‘A’ 58 59.5 56.5 13.86 Ginebra San Miguel Inc. 11.60 11.80 11.74 13.24 Holcim Philippines Inc. 13.30 14.28 13.50 5.34 Integ. Micro-Electronics 5.17 5.2 5.17 0.395 Ionics Inc 2.180 2.220 2.150 173 Jollibee Foods Corp.

201.80 205.80 202.20 LBC Express 8.5 8.5 7.55 2.3 LMG Chemicals 1.74 1.73 1.73 33 Macay Holdings 38.95 38.95 35.70 23.35 Manila Water Co. Inc. 24.05 24.85 24 17.3 Maxs Group 16.12 16.16 15.1 5.88 Megawide 5.8 5.8 5.78 250.2 Mla. Elect. Co `A’ 310.20 316.00 310.40 3.37 Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp. 3.90 3.90 3.90 3.87 Pepsi-Cola Products Phil. 3.16 3.17 3.15 8.45 Petron Corporation 5.85 5.93 5.72 10.04 Phinma Corporation 11.58 11.50 11.02 3.03 Phoenix Petroleum Phils. 3.75 3.70 3.65 1.95 Phoenix Semiconductor 1.35 1.43 1.35 1 Pryce Corp. `A’ 2.19 2.25 2.19 4.02 RFM Corporation 3.80 3.90 3.80 5.9 Roxas Holdings 4.8 5.9 5.9 161 San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ 120 121 120 1.55 Splash Corporation 2.48 2.59 2.46 0.138 Swift Foods, Inc. 0.135 0.137 0.136 1.02 TKC Steel Corp.

0.88 1.04 1.02 2.09 Trans-Asia Oil 2.00 2.05 2.00 152 Universal Robina 183 188.6 186 4.28 Victorias Milling 4.55 4.55 4.55 0.640 Vitarich Corp.

0.58 0.58 0.58 1.2 Vulcan Ind’l.

0.99 1.00 1.00 HOLDING FIRMS 0.44 Abacus Cons. `A’ 0.315 0.310 0.310 48.1 Aboitiz Equity 56.4500 56.6000 56.3500 20.85 Alliance Global Inc. 14.60 14.82 14.56 6.62 Anscor `A’ 6.05 6.12 6.12 0.23 ATN Holdings A 0.200 0.200 0.200 634.5 Ayala Corp `A’ 668 685 670 7.390 Cosco Capital 7.4 7.48 7.4 12.8 DMCI Holdings 11.82 12.22 12.00 2.6 F&J Prince ‘A’ 5.2 5.2 5.2 2.26 Filinvest Dev. Corp.

4.25 4.42 4.30 837 GT Capital 1290 1315 1296 5.3 House of Inv. 5.20 6.24 5.78 IPM Holdings 9.79 9.88 9.79 49.55 JG Summit Holdings 64.00 64.85 63.80 3 Keppel Holdings `A’ 4.01 4.5 4.5 4.84 Lopez Holdings Corp.

5.57 5.75 5.57 0.59 Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp. 0.56 0.56 0.51 12 LT Group 14.04 14.2 14.04 4.2 Metro Pacific Inv. Corp. 5.11 5.25 5.1 0.030 Pacifica `A’ 0.0290 0.0290 0.0280 1.23 Prime Media Hldg 1.030 1.000 1.000 0.550 Prime Orion 1.710 1.730 1.710 2.26 Republic Glass ‘A’ 2.7 2.56 2.56 59.3 San Miguel Corp `A’ 60.00 60.00 58.20 751 SM Investments Inc. 794.00 815.50 800.50 1.13 Solid Group Inc. 1.06 1.06 0.99 0.93 South China Res. Inc. 0.70 0.70 0.70 170 Transgrid 150.00 150.00 150.00 80 Top Frontier 64.350 65.900 64.250 0.211 Unioil Res. & Hldgs 0.2550 0.2450 0.2450 0.310 Zeus Holdings 0.235 0.230 0.230 PROPERTY 6.74 8990 HLDG 6.570 6.850 6.600 12 Anchor Land Holdings Inc. 7.39 7.38 7.38 0.65 A. Brown Co., Inc. 0.59 0.63 0.60 1.2 Araneta Prop `A’ 1.060 1.070 1.070 30.05 Ayala Land `B’ 30.300 31.200 30.600 3.36 Belle Corp. `A’ 2.3 2.37 2.29 2.5 66 88.05 88.1 45.45 1.97 1.68 12.02 19.6 6.12 0.225 78 17.8 58 62 88.35 52 276 41 118.2 1200 59 2.65

AG Finance Asia United Bank Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. Bank of PI China Bank BDO Leasing & Fin. INc. Bright Kindle Resources COL Financial Eastwest Bank Filipino Fund Inc. MEDCO Holdings Metrobank PB Bank Phil Bank of Comm Phil. National Bank Phil. Savings Bank Philippine trust Co. 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 19,121,787 79,270,071 76,167,496 96,912,679 163,422,618 299,815,102 736,219,423

2.05 45.85 98.00 84.55 35.5 2.45 1.20 14.78 17 6.50 0.440 70.8 15.60 22.00 48.35 95 100 268 31.25 144 1280.00 56.90 1.53

Close

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

2.1 45.1 98.00 85.25 35.1 2.41 1.19 14.76 17.04 6.45 0.430 71.7 15.50 22.00 48.50 98.75 120 259 32 139.5 1315.00 56.00 1.52

2.44 -1.64 0.00 0.83 -1.13 -1.63 -0.83 -0.14 0.24 -0.77 -2.27 1.27 -0.64 0.00 0.31 3.95 20.00 -3.36 2.40 -3.13 2.73 -1.58 -0.65

62,000 30,800 2,829,420 4,728,690 219,600 180,000 1,000 1,400 28,200 2,000 260,000 5,659,390 92,300 500 14,500 120 20 3,960 226,200 2,661,220 65 71,550 48,000

39.95 4.3 0.75 1.2 10 100.00 15.14 17.62 42 2.18 2.13 11.8 7.250 8.19 5.60 5.33 1.6 19.38 56.7 11.80 14.28 5.2 2.150 202.40 8.5 1.73 38.95 24.85 15.1 5.8 315.00 3.90 3.15 5.73 11.50 3.65 1.37 2.19 3.82 5.9 120 2.57 0.137 1.02 2.05 187 4.55 0.58 1.00

-1.24 1.42 2.74 -0.83 2.04 0.00 2.02 0.92 0.00 3.81 10.94 0.00 -2.03 -2.27 -0.71 0.38 0.00 -3.10 -2.24 1.72 7.37 0.58 -1.38 0.30 0.00 -0.57 0.00 3.33 -6.33 0.00 1.55 0.00 -0.32 -2.05 -0.69 -2.67 1.48 0.00 0.53 22.92 0.00 3.63 1.48 15.91 2.50 2.19 0.00 0.00 1.01

1,086,200 337,000 1,000 1,678,000 400 100 1,009,200 665,000 165,100 158,000 17,345,000 36,600 6,453,300 185,600 7,477,000 63,400 10,000 5,200,600 354,640 4,200 206,300 377,100 709,000 362,190 27,000 2,000 1,300 276,200 243,000 10,100 199,460 20,000 152,000 4,076,300 96,000 517,000 667,000 9,000 9,201,000 1,000 4,410 1,354,000 390,000 2,000 650,000 3,218,480 2,000 119,000 53,000

0.310 56.5000 14.62 6.12 0.200 670 7.42 12.12 5.2 4.42 1300 5.78 9.88 63.80 4.5 5.58 0.55 14.1 5.1 0.0290 1.000 1.730 2.56 60.00 809.00 0.99 0.70 150.00 65.900 0.2450 0.230

-1.59 0.09 0.14 1.16 0.00 0.30 0.27 2.54 0.00 4.00 0.78 11.15 0.92 -0.31 12.22 0.18 -1.79 0.43 -0.20 0.00 -2.91 1.17 -5.19 0.00 1.89 -6.60 0.00 0.00 2.41 -3.92 -2.13

30,000 1,036,090 3,203,000 21,800 250,000 201,180 1,534,000 2,882,000 1,200 27,000 87,035 209,100 1,756,100 1,724,180 1,000 3,889,200 479,000 963,400 15,058,400 39,000,000 11,000 46,000 1,000 1,110,240 186,110 1,292,000 100,000 20 3,390 430,000 140,000

6.800 7.38 0.62 1.070 30.750 2.3

3.50 -0.14 5.08 0.94 1.49 0.00

89,800 1,000 282,000 10,000 8,953,100 1,796,000

417,950.00 -46,429,611 27,818,514.00 14,050.00 14,760.00 -432,826.00 -80,000.00 -5,931,065.00 -169,386.00 11,000.00 -67,550.00 -98,800.00 -345,515 124,643,380.00 -85,475.00 -3,920,744.50 -9,805,300.00 245,070.00

8,344,516.00 1,055,056.00 100,800 1,304,560.00 -73,890.00 14,779,787.00 386,821.00 -14,648,729.00 40,436.00 -26,928,165.00 -6,498,768.50 -248,400.00 -265,727.00 -4,146,676.00 7,550.00 44,469,865.00 -110,042.00 -10,982.00 15,668,464.00 282,010.00 1,159,177.00 -104,880.00 1,370.00 3,800.00 13,250.00 -15,300.00 196,000.00 243,852,895.00 9,100.00

-9,245,796.00 -18,486,194.00 -47,736.00 59,890,530.00 3,182,980.00 -3,638,112.00 65,850.00 11,175,415.00 161,240.00 -2,140,426.50 -620,513.00 -2,083,166.00 -8,481,233.00 280,000.00

52 Weeks

Previous

High Low

STOCKS

5.59 1.44 0.201 0.69 10.96 2.22 2.1 1.8 5.94 0.180 0.470 0.72 8.54 31.8 2.29 4.9 21.35 1.06 7.56 1.62 8.59

4.96 0.79 0.083 0.415 2.4 1.15 1.42 1.27 4.13 0.090 0.290 0.39 2.69 22.15 1.6 3.1 15.08 0.69 3.38 0.83 5.73

Cebu Holdings Century Property Crown Equities Inc. Cyber Bay Corp.

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

Phil. Realty `A’ Primex Corp.

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

10.5 66 1.44 1.09 14.88 15.82 0.1430 5.06 99.1 12.3 2.6 7.67 1700 2720 8.41 1.97 119.5 0.017 0.8200 2.2800 5.93 12.28 3.32 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 4.8 830 1600 5.95 1.23 102.6 0.011 0.041 1.200 2.34 6.5 1.91 1.8 6

0.62 1.040 22.8 6.41 4 185 22.9 3486 0.760 2.28 46.05 90.1

0.335 0.37 14.54 3 2.28 79 4.39 2748 0.435 1.2 31.45 60.55

11.6 0.85 10 1.9

7.59 0.63 5 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. 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 Manila Jockey Melco Crown Metro Retail MG Holdings NOW Corp.

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

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

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Yehey

0.0098 5.45 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 0.021 7.67 12.88 10.42 0.040 420 9 0.016

0.0043 1.72 6.47 0.85 0.77 5.99 1.17 0.305 0.2130 0.2160 0.013 0.014 3.240 18.96 2.11 1.54 0.013 5.4 7.26 2.27 0.015 115.9 3.67 0.0100

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

70 525 118 515 12.28 111

33 500 101 480 6.5 101

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

Ayala Corp. Pref ‘B2’ First Gen F GLOBE PREF P Leisure and Resort MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred B PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F

-22,708,153.00 62,483,150.00 84.8

75

-32,837.00

215,525.00

14,070,690.00 -1,806,150.00

Close

6.98

0.8900 LR Warrant

15

3.5

12.88

5.95

130.7

105.6 First Metro ETF

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Xurpas

High

VALUE 1,635,420,242.40 1,387,026,413.74 910,188,441.95 823,690,841.205 812,667,577.835 396,833,323.646 5,624,305,211.78

FINANCIAL 1,478.73 (DOWN) 0.65 INDUSTRIAL 10,426.74 (UP) 44.34 HOLDING FIRMS 6,132.83 (UP) 41.82 PROPERTY 2,602.42 (UP) 22.08 SERVICES 1,381.37 (UP) 3.19 MINING & OIL 9,043.67 (DOWN) 108.97 PSEI 6,449.50 (UP) 40.74 All Shares Index 3,698.00 (UP) 22.24 Gainers: 88; Losers: 88; Unchanged: 39; Total: 215

Close

4.76 0.47 0.104 0.400 21.1 0.95 1.55 1.13 3.72 0.073 0.2020 0.350 8.44 23.70 1.4 3.18 19.90 0.75 4.08 0.750 4.200

%

Net Foreign

Change Volume

Trade/Buying

5 4.75 5 0.48 0.46 0.47 0.104 0.102 0.102 0.390 0.390 0.390 21.85 21.2 21.2 0.95 0.92 0.94 1.58 1.53 1.54 1.15 1.15 1.15 3.88 3.65 3.65 0.073 0.070 0.070 0.2000 0.2000 0.2000 0.35 0.295 0.295 8.45 8.45 8.45 25.00 23.20 25.00 1.4 1.4 1.4 3.08 2.9 2.92 20.55 19.90 19.90 0.77 0.74 0.77 4.21 4.21 4.21 0.810 0.750 0.780 4.320 4.150 4.160 SERVICES 6.4 6.4 6.35 6.35 58.5 60 58 58 1.12 1.13 1.13 1.13 0.410 0.400 0.400 0.400 10.9 10.9 10.9 10.9 3.24 3.31 3.08 3.08 0.0380 0.0390 0.0360 0.0370 3.16 3.12 3.05 3.05 78 79 78 78.4 9.48 9.48 9.46 9.48 1.49 1.49 1.48 1.48 5.55 5.83 5.60 5.83 956 955 955 955 1675 1750 1690 1695 6.57 6.60 6.50 6.50 1.13 1.13 1.13 1.13 58.4 61 58.5 59 0.0084 0.0082 0.0081 0.0081 0.122 0.125 0.122 0.123 1.3400 1.3400 1.2900 1.2900 1.92 1.9 1.88 1.88 6.70 6.80 6.63 6.80 4.46 4.57 4.35 4.40 1.9 1.95 1.9 1.95 1.48 1.54 1.32 1.33 3.52 3.56 3.51 3.52 0.290 0.260 0.255 0.255 0.640 0.650 0.630 0.640 17.54 17.52 17.5 17.5 4.35 4.35 4.30 4.30 2.65 2.42 2.42 2.42 101.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 20.30 20.40 20.00 20.35 1900.00 1920.00 1902.00 1904.00 0.405 0.410 0.395 0.410 0.445 0.475 0.450 0.465 31.80 32.10 31.90 31.95 64.00 64.30 64.00 64.00 4.86 4.95 4.70 4.75 2.44 2.61 2.45 2.56 0.390 0.400 0.390 0.395 3.68 3.69 3.65 3.65 3.210 3.350 3.300 3.350 MINING & OIL 0.0042 0.0044 0.0042 0.0043 1.70 1.65 1.65 1.65 4.00 4.01 4.01 4.01 0.52 0.52 0.5 0.5 0.42 0.42 0.34 0.35 5.88 5.90 5.78 5.78 0.47 0.495 0.475 0.475 0.245 0.250 0.225 0.245 0.147 0.148 0.138 0.140 0.180 0.188 0.180 0.188 0.0099 0.0099 0.0099 0.0099 0.012 0.012 0.012 0.012 1.5 1.55 1.5 1.5 4.33 4.4 4.15 4.15 2.36 2.36 2.2 2.2 0.9200 1.0400 0.8800 0.8900 0.0090 0.0093 0.0093 0.0093 3.29 3.25 3.25 3.25 4.06 4.06 4.00 4.00 1.20 1.21 1.19 1.19 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 0.0100 127.50 127.50 125.50 126.50 2 2 1.98 1.99 0.0070 0.0080 0.0080 0.0080 PREFERRED 57 57 54 54.1 530 530 530 530 104.9 108 108 108 534 536 535 536 1.06 1.07 1.07 1.07 110 110 110 110 1066 1066 1066 1066 103.7 104.3 104.1 104.3 106.5 107 107 107 82.5 83 82 82 78.9 79 79 79 79.6 79.6 79.2 79.5 WARRANTS & BONDS 1.480 1.480 1.320 1.410 SME 3.1 3.1 2.81 2.81 2.54 2.52 2.51 2.51 2.51 2.73 2.51 2.6 13.24 13.7 12.86 12.92 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 104.8 106 105.3 105.3

T op g ainerS STOCKS

Low

5.04 0.00 -1.92 -2.50 0.47 -1.05 -0.65 1.77 -1.88 -4.11 -0.99 -15.71 0.12 5.49 0.00 -8.18 0.00 2.67 3.19 4.00 -0.95

5,700 1,520,000 4,770,000 520,000 699,500 547,000 18,815,000 5,000 27,685,000 1,620,000 710,000 1,220,000 17,600 4,579,700 388,000 355,000 11,992,100 919,000 1,000 300,000 9,077,000

-0.78 -0.85 0.89 -2.44 0.00 -4.94 -2.63 -3.48 0.51 0.00 -0.67 5.05 -0.10 1.19 -1.07 0.00 1.03 -3.57 0.82 -3.73 -2.08 1.49 -1.35 2.63 -10.14 0.00 -12.07 0.00 -0.23 -1.15 -8.68 -0.99 0.25 0.21 1.23 4.49 0.47 0.00 -2.26 4.92 1.28 -0.82 4.36

2,000 33,100 14,000 30,000 800 20,117,000 11,700,000 3,184,000 441,490 2,000 116,000 354,800 300 83,465 21,200 30,000 2,784,690 6,000,000 250,000 278,000 5,000 1,816,800 1,292,000 51,000 15,400,000 793,000 390,000 1,176,000 6,000 20,000 3,000 3,100 30,200 80,630 250,000 79,410,000 809,800 1,327,270 775,000 12,415,000 460,000 72,000 16,000

2.38 -2.94 0.25 -3.85 -17.86 -1.70 1.06 0.00 -4.76 4.44 0.00 0.00 0.00 -4.16 -6.78 -3.26 3.33 -1.22 -1.48 -0.83 0.00 -0.78 -0.50 14.29

259,000,000 10,000 18,000 270,000 10,120,000 154,600 1,790,000 21,500.00 140,000 10,350,000 510,000 3,000,000 300,000 609,000 -4,650.00 2,297,000 -717,030.00 310,000 1,521,000 1,000,000 5,000 546,000 -1,848,790.00 390,000 6,200,000 10,000.00 123,260 479,841.00 51,000 1,000,000

-5.09 0.00 2.96 0.37 0.94 0.00 0.00 0.58 0.47 -0.61 0.13 -0.13

205,530 15,000 700 1,700 6,000 2,000 50 4,000 16,800 192,020 26,450 260,320

-4,804,229.00

-4.73

137,000

-210.00

-9.35 -1.18 3.59 -2.42

91,000 6,000 341,000 1,067,000

12,650.00 -3,906,636.00

0.48

4,670

-106,000.00

-446,100.00 3,201,250.00 18,600.00 -22,213,050.00 -64,735,930.00 2,000.00 148,720.00 14,578,180.00 533,400.00 -43,125,606.00 -27,360.00 -15,897,210.00

-26,049,850.00 -9,329,500.00 -23,771,103.50

-67,135,600.00 33,900.00 29,719,792.50

11,900,000.00 -1,208,660.00 -7,453,230.00 360,040.00

218,000.00 -64,705.00 -71,260,065.00 -16,010,550.00 21,442,945.00 -26,619,318.50 47,000.00 -4,662,020.00 66,300.00 -7,340.00

-208,600.00

-4,157,850.00

T op L oSerS Close (P)

Change (%)

STOCKS

Close (P)

Change (%)

Roxas Holdings

5.9

22.92

Coal Asia

0.35

-17.86

Philippine trust Co.

120

20.00

Phil. Realty `A'

0.295

-15.71

TKC Steel Corp.

1.02

15.91

MG Holdings

0.255

-12.07

United Paragon

0.0080

14.29

Melco Crown

1.33

-10.14

Keppel Holdings `A'

4.5

12.22

Alterra Capital

2.81

-9.35

House of Inv.

5.78

11.15

Paxys Inc.

2.42

-8.68

Da Vinci Capital

2.13

10.94

Shang Properties Inc.

2.92

-8.18

Holcim Philippines Inc.

14.28

7.37

Nihao Mineral Resources

2.2

-6.78

Robinson's Land `B'

25.00

5.49

Solid Group Inc.

0.99

-6.60

A. Brown Co., Inc.

0.62

5.08

Maxs Group

15.1

-6.33

SATURDAY: JANUARY 16, 2016

B3

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

Market rebounds; RLC leads advancers STOCKS rebounded Friday from another sell-off, following overnight gains on Wall Street, but investors remain on edge over oil prices and growth slowdown in China.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, rose 40 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 6,449.50, after falling to a two-year low early in the week. The gauge was also down 7.2 percent since the start of the year.

The heavier index, representing all shares, also advanced 22 points, or 0.6 percent, to settle at 3,698.00 on value turnover of P5.6 billion. Gainers matched losers at 88 each, while 39 issues were unchanged.

Twelve of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by developer Robinsons Land Corp., which climbed 5.5 percent to P25. Universal Robina Corp., the food manufacturing arm of conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc., picked up 2.2 percent to P187.

SM Investments Corp., the holding company of tycoon Henry Sy, rose 1.9 percent to P809, while property developer Ayala Land Inc. added 1.5 percent to close at P30.75.

Meanwhile, most Asian stocks also closed higher Friday, which followed a rally in oil prices, upbeat earnings reports and comments from a key Federal Reserve official suggesting it could hold off another interest rate rise.

Global markets have seen trillions of dollars wiped off valuations since the start of the year, hit by slumping oil prices as well as worries about a growth slowdown in China, and Beijing’s bungled handling of the crisis.

However, the past week has been less grueling that last week, when China’s decision to weaken the yuan’s dollar value several times sent markets into freefall.

Friday saw most regional bourses tick cautiously higher, with Tokyo up 0.7 percent, Sydney adding 0.1 percent and Seoul adding 0.2 percent. There were also gains in Singapore, Wellington and Taipei.

Hong Kong, however, slipped 0.5 percent. Shanghai was 1.2 percent lower after a near two percent gain Thursday with speculation that government cash was used to support key state-backed companies.

“Asian markets look set for a bounce today, but its sustainability is still an open question,” Angus Nicholson, a Melbourne-based market analyst at IG, said in an email to clients.

“The big unknown today is whether we have seen a sustainable bounce in Chinese equities and whether yesterday’s gains can be held onto,” Nicholson added. Witha AFP

Otto Energy quits PH oil, gas projects

By Alena Mae S. Flores

OTTO Energy Ltd. of Australia is leaving the Philippines to focus on oil and gas exploration in the US and Africa, a source said Friday.

“Otto is exiting from all its Philippine assets,” the source said.

Otto confirmed in its quarterly report that it “commenced structured exit from Philippine assets.”

The company plans to sell its stake in service contract 55 southwest off Palawan, after seeking a two-year moratorium in exploration with the Energy Department.

It is also exiting SC 73, or the offshore Mindoro-Cuyo prospect, which was awarded to the company in 2013, the source said.

The source said Otto Energy planned to develop other assets with “better potential” in other areas.

SC 55, which contains the Cinco prospect,

has a strong potential and requires investment from large oil and gas companies. The contract involves the exploration, development and exploitation of petroleum resources in the offshore area of southwestern Palawan covering about 9,880 square kilometers.

“Otto sold Galoc when oil prices were high and not long after, oil prices started tumbling down. This enabled Otto to buy better assets in the US, particularly in well-known oil regions such as Alaska and Louisana,” the source said.

He said Otto Energy had also acquired assets in East Africa “with better potential than its Philippine assets.”

“While it had discovered gas at the Hawkeye prospect in SC 55, it’s not big enough to be commercial. Nonetheless, the discovery of gas at Hawkeye is very significant for the Philippines because it enhances the prospectivity of the nearby Cinco prospect which was what BHP believed to be gas prone and was prepared to drill before it pulled out in 2013,” the source said.

The source said Cinco and other gas leads in SC 55 would be large enough to replace Malampaya, “but it will take major oil compa-

nies much bigger than Otto to effectively explore and develop these gas prospects.”

The source also said that with plunging oil prices, oil companies were not keen on asset acquisitions, including SC 55.

“The low oil price regime is good for consumers but it is indeed bad for the oil industry because oil companies stop exploiting,” he said.

Otto Energy earlier asked the Energy Department for a two-year moratorium in exploration activities under SC 55.

The consortium said it had already fulfilled its work work obligation under the current exploration sub-phase by drilling the Hawkeye-1 exploratory well in August.

Otto Energy plugged and abandoned the Hawkeye-1 exploration well after declaring it non-commercial.

The Hawkeye prospect contains best estimate of 480 million barrels of oil and best estimate net prospect resource of 47 million barrels of oil.

The Cinco prospect, also located at SC 55, is estimated to contain up to 2.9 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Matadi terminal’s opening. Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc.’s new terminal at Matadi on the Congo River, Democratic Republic of the Congo is on schedule to open for business in August 2016. Shown is the advanced stage of construction of the terminal. Matadi is the chief sea port of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the capital of the Kongo-Central province. The new terminal will deliver purpose-designed container handling capacity coupled with modern general cargo handling and storage facilities.

SEC warns public against two investment firms

By Jenniffer B. Austria THE Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday warned the public against two companies selling investment securities that are not registered with the corporate regulator.

SEC said based on its investigation, Jacama Sales and Marketing’s modus operandi was to sell “package schedule” to investors ranging from P1,800 to P1.8 million.

Upon payment of the chosen package schedule, an investor will receive a package product and six post-dated checks with different maturity dates. The amount of the

check is equivalent to 25 percent of one’s investment and will mature in an interval of 15 days.

SEC said in its advisory the company was not authorized to solicit investments from the public and had not secured necessary license or permit as required by the Securities Regulation Code.

“The sale of the product is merely a ruse to make it appear that the said entity is engaged in the marketing and distribution of product. The obvious fact, however, is that people are enticed to invest their money by the promise of huge profits,” SEC said.

“In view thereof, the public is

hereby advised to stop investing and recruiting other people to invest money into such scheme and to take necessary precautions in dealing with the said entity and its representatives,” it said.

SEC said it found another company, Jap Rattanco, also engaging in illegal activities.

SEC said Jap Rattanco was not registered with the commission either as partnership or a corporation.

“In view thereof, the public is advised to deal only with registered corporations, partnerships and entities, engaged in legitimate or duly licensed business activities,” SEC said.

SEC earlier said that several illegal investment-taking activities had proliferated in the country to dupe Filipino investors.

Some of these investment scams tapped the social media such as Facebook and Twitter to lure local investors and overseas Filipino workers.

SEC advised the public to check the registration and licenses of these companies by verifying with the agency’s registration and monitoring department, markets and securities and regulation department and corporate governance and finance department before making an investment.

SATURDAY: JANUARY 16, 2016

B4

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

Remittances up 3.2% in November to $2.2b

By Julito G. Rada

MONEY sent home by migrant Filipino workers Filipinos in November rose 3.2 percent to $2.19 billion from $2.122 billion year-on-year, on sustained demand for local skilled workers abroad, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Friday.

The November expansion was a recovery from an almost f lat growth of 0.2 percent in October, bringing cash remittances in the first 11 months of 2015 to $22.83 billion, up 3.6 percent from $22.031 billion a year ago.

Personal remittances, which include noncash items, improved from the 0.2-percent expansion a month ago, growing 3 percent to $2.416 billion from $2.346 billion a year ago.

This brought the year-to-date level to $25.249 billion, up 3.4 percent from $24.410 billion a year ago.

“The steady growth in personal remittances was supported by the sustained increase of remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more [by 4 percent] and from sea-based and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year [by 2.5 percent],” Bangko Sentral Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said in a statement.

The bulk of cash remittances came from the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and Hong Kong. Combined remittances from these countries accounted for more than 79 percent of total cash remittances that were reported by banks.

“The continued deployment of skilled OF workers remained a key driver of growth in remittance inflows. Preliminary data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration showed that for the period January to November 2015, total job orders reached 771,635, of which 44 percent have been processed,” Tetangco said.

The job orders were intended mainly for service, production and professional, technical and related workers in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

The presence of banks and non-bank re-

mittance service providers in foreign countries through tie-ups and remittance centers, as well as the introduction of innovations in their remittance products, provided support to the steady stream of remittance inflows for the period.

Remittances fuel private consumption and one of the backbones of economic growth. In 2014, cash remittances posted a record-high $24.308 billion, 5.8-percent higher than the $22.968 billion in 2013. They also accounted for 8.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2014.

Bangko Sentral in 2015 aimed for a 4-percent growth in remittances and kept the target this year.

British bank Standard Chartered said in a report a modest pick-up in remittances was expected in the latter part of 2015, in line with historical trends.

Tetangco earlier said the tensions between Middle Eastern countries Saudi Arabia and Iran could temporarily affect the volume of remittances from migrant Filipino workers.

But he said based on experiences from past regional conflicts, Filipino workers were able to find ways of sending back money to their families in the Philippines and work in other areas that are safer from conflict.

Mobile phones for farmers.

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Edilberto de Luna (second from right) hands over a mobile phone to a lady farmer from Barangay Paludpud, La Paz, Tarlac.

The mobile phones include preloaded SIM cards for the recipients-farmers, who will receive text messages on recommendations of the rice crop manager. The Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Training Institute, the International Rice Research Institute and SMART Communications Inc. joined forces to help more rice farmers increase their productivity and net income.

Also show are (from left) ATI director Asterio Saliot, IRRI senior scientist and DAIRRI coordinator Madonna Casimero, and Smart vice president for community partnerships Darwin Flores.

IN BRIEF Climate change plan THE government should intensify climate-change mitigation programs to save the agriculture sector from the adverse effect of El Niño, the Finance department said Friday.

“The government should intensify its programs to strengthen the resiliency of the country against climate change as this severely affects the agriculture sector which employs some 30 percent of the workforce,” Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran said.

Beltran made the comment in an internal economic bulletin after manufacturing output in November grew at a slower pace at 7.5 percent.

The Philippine Statistics Authority 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 year-on-year.

Beltran said public-private-partnership projects would also be key to sustain the growth trajectory of the economy. Gabrielle H. Binaday

Regus eyes provinces REGUS Philippines, a unit of London-listed Regus, is expanding its presence in the Philippines, venturing outside Metro Manila and into the urban centers of major provinces.

Country manager Lars Witig said in a briefing Friday Regus was moving into the provinces of Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro City, General Santos City, Naga, Bacolod, Iloilo, Clark, Subic and Baguio.

“In three years’ time, we’ll find out if these markets have matured. We have ongoing expansion in major urban markers like Cebu, for instance. And we’d like to go to Mindanao, of which the challenge being is that of security matters,” he said.

He said Mindanao had always been a “low-hanging fruit,” adding it would be easier to explore the market now that security efforts had been reinforced and the island had turned out to be more open than before.

Witig said the Philippine still had room for more virtual office space providers.

“We noticed that other players are placing their eggs in one basket, that is the BPO. For us, that is not the only way to go,” he said. Othel V. Campos

BDO wins awards

BDO Unibank excelled at the recently concluded The Asset Triple A Country Awards 2015, winning major honors for banking, finance and capital markets.

The Hong Kong-based financial publication named BDO the Philippines’ Best Domestic Bank, Best Corporate and Institutional Bank and Best Equity House, citing the bank’s strengths in key banking segments.

The Asset highlighted BDO’s achievement of a record net income in 2014 and its ability to grow further in the years to come.

“It was also able to take part in the biggest deals in the Philippines and took advantage of the appetite for preferred shares to lead deals for a number of top corporates,” it added.

The Asset Triple A Awards are Asia’s distinguished recognition for those that have shined in their respective industry. With close to 20 years of experience conducting awards programs, The Asset Triple A’s has gone from strength to strength distinguishing best in class organizations.

Wind power enough

Toyota initially investing P400m to boost output

By Othel V. Campos TOYOTA Motor Philippines Corp. is spending an initial P400 million to boost plant capacity and car parts production in the first few months of 2016, as it moves closer to registering with the Comprehensive Automotive Resurgence Strategy program.

Newly-appointed Toyota Philippines president Satoru Suzuki said Toyota Japan had given the Philippine unit the go-signal to register under CARS. “We at Toyota Japan have spent so much time to comply with the requirement for CARS. CARS

requires additional parts localization so we have to meet their requirement and that needs investment so we are willing to invest a lot of money. Now, we can say we are ready to apply,” he told reporters Thursday during an appreciation event at the Marriott Hotel in Pasay City.

The local unit committed to meet the requirements of the incentives program under CARS. New investments are required for big plastic parts such as door trimmings, bumpers, instrument panel and console mat to improve local assembly and generate the volume needed for the local and

export markets.

Under the program, each registered participant must produce 200,000 units of a single model of passenger car.

Toyota in 2015 produced 49,000 completely-knocked down units. It plans to increase local production by 10 percent to an estimated 53,900 units.

The company aims to sell 150,000 units in both CKD and CBU packs, up 20 percent from 125,000 in 2015.

The company will market the same line-up this year, including the all-new Toyota Fortuner, Vios, Innova, Corolla Altis, Wigo, Yar-

ris, Land Cruiser, RAV 4, Avanza, Alphard, Previa, Hiace, Hilux and the premier sedan Camry.

Toyota vice president for corporate affairs and Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. president Rommel Gutierrez said vehicle sales were expected to increase 10 percent to 14 percent to 370,000 units in 2016.

Total automotive sales in 2015 reached 323,000 units, exceeded forecast by 3,000.

Toyota aims to corner at least 40 percent share of the market for CKD and CBU units in 2016, slightly above 38 percent in 2015.

THE Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday said no wind developer will likely be able to get the remaining 6.1-MW excess capacity of the feed-in tariff under the second wave of installation targets.

ERC commissioner Josefina Patricia Asirit told reporters at a forum the regulator had expected no takers for the remaining 6.1 MW of the 200-MW wind installation target.

“By March 15, if no installation target by DoE, no review and no FIT will be set. We do not expect any to get the 6.1 MW capacity,” Asirit said.

ERC earlier said only three wind projects were eligible for the approved P7.40 per kWh feed-in tariff rate. They are the 54-megawatt San Lorenzo wind power project Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corp in Guimaras, 36-MW Nabas wind project of PetroWind Energy Inc. in Aklan and 54 MW-Pililla wind power project of Alternergy Wind One Corp. in Rizal.

The regulator granted a lower rate to the second wave of wind projects due to the recent developments in wind technology, such as the efficiency levels of wind turbines.

Alena Mae S. Flores

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CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD Indonesia probes attacks JAKARTA—Army trucks thundered through Indonesia’s capital Friday as authorities boosted security at possible terror targets and probed the suspected Islamic State cell blamed for Jakarta’s deadly militant attacks.

Private ceremony planned for Bowie NEW YORK—David Bowie’s family said Thursday it planned a private ceremony to celebrate the late rock legend, honoring his wishes to remain discreet about his death.

Bowie, one of pop culture’s most influential figures whose career took him from glam rock to soul to science fiction films, died Sunday after an undisclosed 18-month battle with cancer.

Few other details have emerged.

“The family of David Bowie is currently making arrangements for a private ceremony celebrating the memory of their beloved husband, father and friend,” said a statement on Bowie’s official Facebook page.

“They ask once again that their privacy be respected at this most sensitive of times.

“We are overwhelmed by and grateful for the love and support shown throughout the world.”

Representatives for the London-born artist declined to comment on a report in Britain’s Daily Mirror that said his body was cremated in New York, his adopted home, immediately after his death.

People close to him said that Bowie wanted to keep his illness away from the glare of 24hour social media.

He instead released a final album, “Blackstar,” on his 69th birthday on Friday in what in retrospect was an elaborate artistic statement on his death and nearly half-century career. AFP

Fashion show. Indian Bollywood actress Asin Thottumkal poses for a photograph during the Manish Malhotra ‘Regal Threads’ charity fashion show in Mumbai. AFP

Four of the five men killed in suicide and gun assaults Thursday had been identified, and a subsequent search of one of their homes found IS-related evidence, including the group’s flag, National police spokesman Anton Charliyan said.

The rapid-fire series of bombings and a shootout between gunmen and police erupted in a busy part of the capital, lined with malls and foreign missions, shocking moderate-Muslim Indonesians and leaving two civilians and five attackers dead.

Authorities in the world’s most populous Muslim country have blamed a network of Islamic State fighters from Southeast Asia that was forged in the radical jihadist group’s war in Syria and Iraq.

“An alert has been imposed throughout Indonesia,” said Charliyan.

“National police are on their highest alert, especially in areas considered targets of terror, like police stations, government offices, and embassies, with army backup.”

He did not elaborate on the army’s role but AFP reporters saw a convoy of a half-dozen military trucks filled with heavily armed troops in central Jakarta.

Stepped-up police security was also seen at some foreign embassies, and officers in Jakarta and on the resort island of Bali patrolled in riot gear and with assault rifles.

Indonesia’s worst terror incident in seven years killed five attackers, a Canadian and an Indonesian man, according to police.

Charliyan said the number of injured was revised upward from 20 to 24 three foreigners, six police officers and the rest Indonesian civilians.

The attacks spilled out in dramatic fashion on a bustling street at mid-morning, transfixing Indonesia’s hyperactive social-media world, as images and videos of the carnage went viral.

Police have singled out Indonesian extremist Bahrum Naim as behind the assault.

Naim, believed to be in Syria, is said to be a founding member of Katibah Nusantara, the grouping of Southeast Asian fighters there. AFP

Seoul, Beijing discuss N. Korea nuke test SEOUL—South Korean and Chinese defense ministry officials discussed North Korea’s latest nuclear test on Friday, as pressure intensified on Beijing to take a tougher line with ally Pyongyang.

The director-level defense talks are held every year, but were completely overshadowed this time around by the North’s fourth nuclear test last week, which triggered global condemnation and the promise of fresh UN sanctions.

“China expressed its willingness to take part in adopting a UN Security Council sanctions resolution,” the head of the South Korean delegation, Yoon Soon-Ku, told re-

porters afterwards.

“China reiterated that it thoroughly rejects the North’s nuclear development and nuclear testing,” Yoon said.

The talks came two days after South Korean President Park Geun-Hye urged China to step up to the plate and support genuinely punitive sanctions that would help bring Pyongyang to heel.

“I believe China is aware that if its strong determination is not put into actual, necessary actions, we will not be able to prevent a fifth or sixth nuclear test,” Park said.

China is North Korea’s chief diplomatic protector and eco-

nomic benefactor, but traditional ties have become strained as Beijing’s patience has worn thin with Pyongyang’s behavior and unwillingness to rein in its nuclear weapons ambitions.

But China’s leverage over Pyongyang is mitigated, analysts say, by its overriding fear of a North Korean collapse and the prospect of a reunified, US-allied Korea directly on its border.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has also urged China to take a stronger line with North Korea, warning in a call to his Beijing counterpart last week that it can no longer be “business as usual”. AFP

Festival. Indian Hindu devotees prepare a traditional sweet dish on open fires during an event to mark Pongal in Mumbai on January 15, 2016. Pongal, which coincides with the Hindu festival Makara Sankranthi, is a thanksgiving and harvest celebrated throughout India and specifically by those from the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. AFP

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WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

Car ban trial ends but New Delhi still choking NEW DELHI—New Delhi on Friday wrapped up a trial of draconian driving restrictions that has taken around a million cars off the roads and seen even judges and diplomats carpool, but made little obvious difference to air quality in the world’s most polluted capital.

Air quality levels remained “very unhealthy” on Friday, the final day of the two-week experiment in allowing private cars on the roads only on alternate days.

Delhi commuters were nonetheless positive about the scheme, which the government may adopt on a more permanent basis, although mostly because it freed up traffic on the city’s usually clogged roads.

“The traffic situation in Delhi has really improved. Earlier, it used to take me nearly one hour to commute to work and back [home], but now the time has cut to half. It’s such a relief,” said Rohit Srivastava, a 32-yearold bank executive who had been carpooling with his colleagues and taking the metro every second day.

Autorickshaw driver Tej Bahadur Patel, meanwhile, said the reduction in traffic at least meant he was breathing less car fumes as he plied the roads.

“Less cars means less traffic jams, which in turn means we inhale less pollution,” the 38-year-old told AFP, calling for the restrictions to be imposed on a regular basis.

In a city where road rules are routinely flouted, most drivers appeared to be obeying the restrictions and many said they viewed the scheme positively.

Violators faced a fine of 2,000 rupees ($30), a large sum for most Delhiites.

The Delhi government said the trial resulted in a “more than 50 percent drop in air pollution primarily caused by vehicular traffic” at 18 locations in the city it had been monitoring.

It was not clear, however, how the measurements were carried out and the figures did not include pollution levels from other sources.

Figures from the US embassy in Delhi showed PM2.5 levels were lower than on the first day of the trial, but air quality was nevertheless still “very unhealthy” on Friday morning, with PM2.5 levels at 156—six times the World Health Organization safe limit.

PM2.5 refers to microscopic particles that penetrate deep into the lungs and are particularly harmful to health.

The Delhi government introduced the scheme after a court ordered authorities to act on pollution levels that sometimes reach more than 10 times the WHO’s safe limits.

It is part of a wider anti-pollution drive that will also include shutting some coal-fired power plants and vacuuming roads to reduce dust. AFP

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Comedian takes office as head of Guatemala GUATEMALA CITY—Jimmy Morales, a former TV comic elected Guatemala’s new president on a wave of public revulsion against widespread graft, took office Thursday in a ceremony attended by leaders from the Americas.

The invitees to the swearing-in included US Vice President Joe Biden and the presidents of Mexico, Ecuador and most Central American nations. Spain’s former king Juan Carlos also attended.

“Not tolerating corruption or theft, that is something we can do and what we are going to do from the first day,” Morales, 46, said as he accepted the presidential sash.

Morales was previously best known for a television role as a country bumpkin who nearly becomes president.

Elections on October 25 elevated him to the of-

fice of head of state for real, by a landslide, despite having no political experience beyond an unsuccessful run for municipal office in 2011.

His victory was attributed to widespread public disgust with corruption, especially after his elected predecessor, Otto Perez, was felled by a major graft scandal.

Yet his political support is weak, with his conservative party holding just 11 seats in the 158-seat Congress.

No members from his party sit on the incoming congressional steering committee, and an opposition figure was chosen to be the new speaker in congress.

Morales’ party is also fending off charges that some of its founders, former military officers, are linked to atrocities committed during Guatemala’s 1960-1996 civil war.

Morales has given few concrete indications of how he intends to make good on his vows to fight corruption, or to combat the country’s high murder rate and poverty.

His cabinet was expected to be unveiled hours after the inauguration ceremony, which

was delayed more than two hours because of congressional wrangling over its top posts.

Ahead of the swearing-in, Biden met with Morales to congratulate him for vowing to fight corruption in his nation of 16 million people.

He also stressed that Guatemala should attract more investment to counter emigration.

Morales asked for Guatemalan migrants in the US to be given “temporary protected status” that would preclude them being deported. Biden said he would analyze the proposal.

Biden and Morales then went into a closeddoor meeting with the presidents of Honduras and El Salvador.

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez said after the meeting that the three Central American nations would hold a technical meeting on migration and security in two weeks, then another meeting would be held with Biden in a month’s time.

The United States this month launched raids to round up and deport mostly Central American migrants who have court orders to leave the country. AFP

Pose. Actress Chloe Grace Moretz poses during the AwesomenessTV special fan screening of ‘The 5th Wave’ at Pacific Theater at The Grove January 14, 2016, in Los Angeles, California. AFP

Activists targeted as workers unite in China PANYU, China-Around a dozen police barged into Wu Rongpu’s apartment in the early hours and dragged away his labor activist wife, leaving their one-year-old daughter screaming.

“They came into the room and tore through everything they could” looking for evidence of Zhu Xiaomei’s work for a small Chinese workers’ rights organization.

Last week, just over a month after she was detained, authorities formally arrested her on charges of “gathering a crowd to disturb social order,” which carries a maximum sentence of seven years in jail.

Zhu, 36, came to Chinese authorities’ attention for her role as a labor activist in Panyu, in the southern province of Guangdong.

The region’s bustling ports and factories have made a huge contribution to China’s transformation into the world’s second-largest economy.

But as the country’s growth slows and factories shut at an alarming rate, they have become ground zero for an explosion in strikes and worker protests.

According to data from Hong Kong-based rights group China Labor Bulletin, there were 2,774 across the country in 2015 more than the previous four years put to-

gether with unpaid wages the most common grievance.

As China’s manufacturing hub, Guangdong has been hard-hit by the country’s growth slowdown and had almost twice as many strikes and protests last year as any other province.

Unions represent one of the government’s greatest fears: that economic dissatisfaction, a widening crack in one of the key pillars of the ruling Communist Party’s claim to legitimacy, might lead to an organized political movement.

“Labor unrest is one of the things that keeps the Communist Party up at night,” said Eli Friedman, an

expert on labor relations at Cornell University in the US. Beijing, he said, has closely studied how Poland’s Solidarity union movement contributed to the fall of its communist government.

Authorities have spent hundreds of billions of dollars trying to prevent a similar scenario, by propping up failing companies to avoid mass unemployment.

They also tightly control tools such as social media to stop people organizing effectively and have cracked down on groups that threaten to gather in large numbers, whether in front of a factory or in Tiananmen Square. AFP

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PROPERTY jdlacsamana@gmail.com

JOEL D. L ACSAMANA EDITOR

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Cavite refuge NorthPine Land Inc. (NLI) recently launched Primrose Place, a sub-community inside Greenwoods Village in Dasmariñas, Cavite. Featuring reasonably-priced Mediterranean-inspired homes, the project trundled out newly built units, namely: Nolana, Parsley, Peony, and Tarragon, all upgraded versions of previous Primrose houses Neilia, Poplar, Periwinkle, and Thyme, respectively.

All the units are ready for occupancy.

NLI’s portfolio include projects such as Kahaya Place, Greenwoods Village, Wind Crest, Kohana Grove (Cavite), South Hampton (Laguna), Forest Ridge (Antipolo City), and Lexington (Pasig City).

Its shareholders count HongKong Land, BDO, Metrobank, and San Miguel Properties, Inc. among them. In the photo, NLI executives and staff highlight the Peony, an enhanced adaptation of former model unit Periwinkle.

another ‘Munti’ infra underway. Mayor Jaime Fresnedi (second from right) recently broke ground for a project which will add more vocational institutions in Muntinlupa City. The construction of the City Technical Institute Annex in NHA Southville 3, Poblacion is now ongoing with no less than DOST-NCR regional director Dr. Teresita Fortuna (left), helping in getting it off the ground last week. Fortuna later lauded Fresnedi for his initiatives to expand such institutions for the city’s youth. Fresnedi is known for his educational reforms in Muntinlupa. Also at the ceremony were : (left to right) former Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon; MCTI director Francis Santella; Bong Cruz; Allan Camilon; and Councilor Patricio Boncayao.

if QC is your Cup of tea¼ .Move in to a new home this year at Victoria Tower D, New San Jose Builders’ latest residential project, in the second quarter of 2016. The condominium is along bustling Mother Ignacia Street in Quezon City, and is perched atop a commercial center that has restaurants, coffee shops, retail stores, a fitness gym, a bank and a supermarket, all connected to Victoria Towers ABC. Units’ size ranges from about 40-80 SQM with price starting at 2.5M up to 5M. The tower is close to St. Mary’s College of Quezon City, Capitol Medical Center, St. Paul the Apostle Parish, and malls such as Fisher Mall and Trinoma.

yolanda reCovery. The Social Housing Finance Corporation recently renewed its partnership with United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat) to facilitate faster reconstruction of Yolandaaffected areas in Luzon and Visayas. The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), held in Pontevedra, Capiz, marked the expansion of the “Post-Yolanda Support for Safer Homes and Settlements Project.” Under the MOU, SHFC and UN Habitat will continue to advocate the community-driven approach in their shelter responses in Palawan, Tacloban City, Leyte, and other Yolanda-hit communities. At the signing were : SHFC vice president for Visayas and Mindanao Atty. Rosalie Taguian; UN Habitat’s country programme manager Christopher Rollo; and Capiz vice governor Esteban Contreras. The communitydriven approach is an alternative way of implementing housing programs which enables communities to lead their housing projects. This approach results in faster delivery of housing needs especially in postdisaster areas, as illustrated in the experience of Sri Linka and Indonesia.

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JOEL D. L ACSAMANA EDITOR jdlacsamana@gmail.com

PROPERTY Ph reaL esTaTe To grow in 2016

More active. Major players will explore affordable horizontal developments and strategic commercial infrastructures as demands for low-cost housing continue to swell all over the country.

BPO sectOr, lOw cOst hOusing tO helP fuel surge By roger M. garCia

T

he year 2016 will be a very challenging yet exciting year for the country’s property sector as real estate developments shift its focus on catering to the specific needs of investors, as well as end users.

The challenge lies on several factors such as the current “over supply” of inventories as property investments and developments flooded the market over the past few years.

Andy Manalac, former chairman of the president and Chairman of the National Real Estate Association (NREA) one of the most active executives in the field of real estate sales and marketing, remains optimistic despite persistent predictions of some economic experts about the impending glut in the residential property section of the industry.

“Yes, there may be some locations that may have more than enough supply of residential units and may take a few years to have these absorbed by actual occupants, there are still a lot of areas not only in Metro Manila but actually all over the country that presents a lot of potential”, he said.

Manalac told The Standard that investors are currently starting to realize that the actively growing market for tenants to lease their units are the BPO workers and no longer limited to the expats, although they are still the ones patronizing the high-end and luxury condominium projects.

The industry is now generating almost the equal amount of dollars as our OFW and the number of their employees is multiplying faster than originally expected, he explained.

Manalac, a prime mover of “Think

Invest”, also stressed that these new breed of condo dwellers are now appreciating the convenience of living within walking distance from their place of work.

“Now, there are actually projects where these workers can live, work and play within the same building thus making traffic, flooding and security concerns practically irrelevant” he said.

Developers will also be offering more practical projects with lesser amenities to keep not only the selling price low but the monthly dues as well.

Other industry experts said that major players will definitely be more active this year in affordable horizontal developments and even low-cost housing all over the country.

Rick Santos, founder, Chairman and CEO of leading real estate advisor C.B. Richard Ellis (CBRE) Philippines supported this claim as he cited that “from Clark up north to Davao City down south, the playing field is becoming more exciting especially for the BPO sector which will sustain the momentum and drive for the coming years” “We are very positive on the way things are going for the real estate market,” he said. “As we have noted before, the transformation of areas outside of the central business districts are continuously creating more investment opportunities.”

On the residential condominium projects that continue to mushroom particularly in Metro Manila other industry players shared that there will be a lot of RFO (ready for occupancy) units that will be available in the market not only from resellers but

also from the developer’s inventory as well.

But despite the supposed “over-production” the residential condominium will still remain “very attractive” to foreign investors particularly to those who either have the funds to pay in cash, or are qualified to get housing loans.

Low CosT housing Demand for low cost and socialized housing is actually increasing faster than what the Developers can deliver. Thus, expect more major players, especially the top developers, to have more projects in this sector while they are slowing down on the middle to high-end developments.

“The demand is so big and still growing that it will be very difficult for them to catch up even with their combined production.

However, buyers’ financing for these will be another story” Manalac said.

For the office spaces, developers will remain prudent in their approach and preleasing has been proven to be a working formula that has kept the vacancy rates at very low levels. But from all indications, the demand for office spaces, mainly from the Offshoring & Outsourcing companies are expected to continue to rise.

The current and forecasted strengthening of the US Dollar may be another motivation for our OFWs to invest in Philippine properties.

ChaLLenges NEDA chief Arsenio Balisacan despite predicting “a steady and continuing growth” for the country’s real estate sector, at the same time pointed out late last year that

“major challenges” needs to be addressed to maximize the property sectors full potential.

Weak public infrastructure, low property market transparency, and restrictive ownership rules continues to hound the country’s property sector’s otherwise steady and upward growth trend, Balicasan said.

The socio-economic chief has said that “there is a constant need for the infrastructure system to keep up with rising demands in the “fast-growing economy, especially these days as new property investments flood the market.”

He said that stable laws and regulations surrounding the investments of developers and real property investors remain wanting.

And as a result, property buyers face high transaction costs, petty corruption and red tape, and substandard building practices.”

Balisacan also cited the country’s “underdeveloped” financial markets just like a few other countries in South East Asia.

ForeCasT Balisacan believes that the growing population of the country’s young professionals will be a source of future demand for residential properties, “as population projections point to an increasing share of the population aged 3049 in the next couple of decades.”

“The property sector in the Philippines is at the forefront of Philippine growth in the medium and long term. Rapid urbanization plus the accompanying rise of the residential sector are key sources of growth for the property market,” he added.

Down souTh, where The Living is easy.

Property developer Elanvital Enclaves Inc. (EVE) is opening up a suburban enclave for families who want to settle south of Metro Manila. Because of the success of their 13 hectare flagship project Nostalji Enclave, EVE launched this week Tradizo Enclave in Imus Cavite. Spanning a total of 8.5 hectares, the project boasts some 500 units worth approximately P1.3 billion.

Elanvital Enclaves Incorporated is part of a conglomerate with which includes Asia United Bank, Republic Biscuit Corporation (REBISCO) Oakwood Premier Joy-Nostalg and Crystal Jade. Shown in the photo are the project’s home premium and duplex units.

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TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

P OP CU LT U RE

LIFE SM Youth X Star Wars

The Globe GEN3 store in Greenbelt 4

I Funko POP BB8 Vinyl Figure

Spotify Star Wars

Folded and Hung Polo Shirt with Vader print

Funko Star Wars The Force Awakens POP Stormtrooper Vinyl Figure

Pottery Barn Kids Star Wars™ bed

STAR WARS MANIA

f you haven’t seen Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens yet, well it is not yet too late as most of the cinemas in the Metro are still playing it. Worldwide, the box office movie already hit roughly around $1.5 billion and the amount has yet to include the 2016 earnings.

Though it is currently still #4 on the all time world box office gross record, the franchise’s estimated worth is at $20 billion in terms of licensed goods, and that doesn’t even include the partnerships and paid royalties with so many brands and companies, including home entertainment and game apps, and the earning for the new movie’s release. The movie earnings has already reached gargantuan proportions but the main pot is coming from the gazillions worth of merchandise attached to the movie.

Last year alone, we saw so many products capitalizing on the trend – food packaging, kitchenware, home products, kids’ and adults’ apparel and accessories, and toys, lots and lots of them, which even included a crochet Star Wars pack, imagine that. Merchandise related to Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the first year alone is expected to reach almost $5 billion in sales.

According to data released last year by research firm Nielsen, Star Wars fans spend more money than the average American, blowing an estimated $4,300 every year compared to the $4,100 spent by non-fans annually.

In Asia, the toy industry has sparked increased demand for Star Wars products especially now that the new film The Force Awakens has spawned hundreds of new toys including the Millennium Falcon and Jedi Master Lightsaber. In the Philippine market, we’ve seen a lot of foreign and local brands capitalizing on the Star Wars mania even before the movie began showing in cinemas. Funko Star Wars: The Force Awakens POP VinylFigures were a hit in toy stores, Lego was an all-around star especially with its ultimate collector’s item the Millennium Falcon set.

Kids and adults alike also went gaga over the Disney Infinity 3.0 release that had Star Wars games combined with the actual action figures.

There were a lot of apparel that hit the malls even in the beginning of last year. Local brand Folded and Hung started to sell shirts and clothing based on major characters like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Stormtroopers, Yoda, R2D2, and C3PO. SM Youth also did a Disney tie-up to sell statement shirts featuring iconic

Star Wars characters and movie lines. Skechers also launched its Star Wars-inspired footwear.

“When it comes to iconic properties, there’s nothing in the entertainment world bigger than Star Wars,” says president of Skechers Michael Greenberg. “For nearly 40 years, this franchise has spanned box office successes, animated TV shows, books, and video games to build a dedicated fan base. Skechers is the second largest footwear brand in the US, and for two decades, our kids’ character footwear has been an important part of our strategy.

Now Star Wars will further grow our presence in this space.”

Foreign brand Debenhams has kitchen and bath wares like Star Wars Salt and Pepper Shaker, stackable mugs and wash bags. But one of our favorite hubs for merchandise was from Pottery Barn Kids as it overwhelms with beds, beddings, table top wares, and backpack complete with the sounds of R2D2, Chewbacca and Darth Vader, among so many other products for kids available in its stores.

Other industries were also in on the game.

Even Globe Telecom offered a complete Star Wars experience in and beyond the cinema last year by transforming its Generation 3 (GEN3) stores nationwide into a Star Wars-themed hub with creative installations. Exclusive Star Wars: Battle Pod arcade games, premium collectible accessories, toys and gadgets were set up for movie fans. Spotify, the award-winning digital music service, also celebrated The Force Awakens in its fun interactive site where you can actually match with your Star Wars personality based on the music you often listen to. Appbased car with driver service GrabCar also jumped in on the bandwagon, well, actually the company allowed its passengers to jump into Star Wars-themed GrabCars featuring the timeless Imperial Stormtrooper and BB-8, the astromech droid belonging to Resistance pilot Poe Dameron as part of GrabCar’s regional marketing campaign in collaboration with Disney Southeast Asia.

According to Nielsen’s report, the Star Wars fan base is 17 percent more likely to be composed of Gen-Xers (aged 35-49), and now with the recent release of the movie, the force has definitely spawned new troopers from the Gen Z market. With the billion dollar Star Wars mania, we wonder what the movie will transcend to next.

Pottery Barn Kids Star Wars™ Millennium Falcon Quilted Bedding and Shams

Millennium Falcon™ by LEGO

Star Wars Crochet Kit

Folded and Hung Luke Skywalker Graphic Tee

Debenhams Star Wars wash bag

Pottery Barn Kids Star Wars™ Backpack

Debenhams Star Wars Salt and Pepper Shaker

Star Wars-themed GrabCars

Skechers Star Wars shoes

S AT U R D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

That thing called soul-searching THE GIST

BY ED BIADO

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any will say that they’re not bandwagoning when they go to some trendy out-of-town destination to do some “soulsearching” or some other solitary activity that basically means the same thing. Mankind has been soul-searching since forever, with people going off to exotic places to be alone and re-calibrate their lives.

But if you really think about it, that doesn’t quite hold true among us Filipinos. We’re a clannish people and function best in groups.

We are built for companionship and rarely embark on solo ventures and adventures – though that’s not to say that we can’t and haven’t done anything by ourselves.

However, leaving everything behind if only for a few days is now something that’s getting increasingly popular among the millennial set – and I would argue that it’s driven by the insanely pivotal movie That Thing Called Tadhana, which is, at least in the minds of anyone under 35, the story of our lives. Of course, Tadhana isn’t really a tale of self-discovery and being alone (that plot is more Eat Pray Love) but it does make us see domestic locations as places conducive for sorting out our internal issues and conflicts. And don’t we all sometimes feel like we’re weighed down by a whole lot of emotional baggage?

Suddenly, the prospect of doing exactly what the film’s two leads did seems so attractive. And by doing it alone, you’re asserting your independence, your adulting skills, your individuality, and your personal sense of self. Besides, what are the chances that you’d find a charming and completely

trustworthy stranger to go with you on the fly? And that’s where the line between reality and fiction is drawn, but I digress.

My theory is that even before the movie came out, we’ve all had thoughts of going on a solo vacation but most of us don’t go through with it because of a whole spectrum of fears.

But the movie perhaps helped in giving us courage – that it can be done, that we can do it, that we won’t look stupid or lonely doing it, that other people are doing it as well.

And so we do it.

Being one of those foolish people under 35, I decided to take a week-long out-oftown trip alone beginning New Year’s Eve – arguably one of the most social of holidays. I didn’t plan or book anything in advance because that would defeat the

purpose. So I just took off, chartered myself to a beach (I’m not much of a mountain person) and looked for accommodations on the spot. Accompanying me were Paulo Coelho (the novel Adultery) and Troye Sivan (the album Blue Neighbourhood).

(It’s an odd combination, I know, but I’m quite odd. Haha!)

My purpose was quite simple. I know that 2016 will be an extremely busy year and I just wanted to clear my head and rejuvenate my brain cells in preparation for all the impending craziness at work. So I grabbed the opportunity by the balls and went with it. It was my first personal trip alone and like Alma Moreno, I had a lot of reservations. But I figured that if I don’t do it now, it will be a major what-if for the rest of

the year. And doing it on a holiday that’s all about togetherness and spending time with family and friends ups the ante because it exaggerates the being alone part of it. Which, I guess, was my challenge to myself.

I’m not going to get into details of my trip but all I can say is that it was worth it.

Did I find my proverbial soul? I have no clue. However, I was able to do things that I never thought I could and it did give me a lot of drive, confidence and positive thoughts and emotions to hopefully tide me over in the next 12 months. It was a great and truly enriching experience, and if you have the time and opportunity to do the same, I highly recommend that you go for it.

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram @EdBiado

Uniqlo's Hana Tajima Spring/Summer Collection features vibrant prints and an innovative cut that can be seen in items like hijab headscarves, jeans, rayon blouses, and long dresses

UNIQLO introduces Hana Tajima Spring/Summer Collection

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ontemporary Japanese clothing line Uniqlo partners with young UKborn fashion blogger/designer Hana Tajima, of Japanese and British descent who turned Muslim and has been a role model for young women especially modern Muslim women around the world.

Tajima’s designs push the boundaries of traditional Muslim clothing, making them stylish and sought after in today’s modern times. Inspired by her Japanese roots and English upbringing, her modern, functional designs, which are both culturally sensitive

and extremely comfortable, continue to garner international attention. As part of the 2016 Spring/Summer Collection, Tajima’s new line is tailored to complement Uniqlo’s LifeWear concept – making fashionable, high quality products to enhance everyone’s lifestyle.

The designs feature new styles for Uniqlo and explore vibrant prints and an innovative cut that includes items like hijab headscarves, jeans, rayon blouses, and long dresses. It also features AIRism hijab inner wear headscarves and headbands, and versatile

baju kurung that can be used as a tunic paired with trousers or as a dress – something fresh in Uniqlo shelves.

“We are particularly excited about the update to our AIRism Inner Hijab and High Neck that ensures coverage without compromising comfort in tropical countries,” says Hana Tajima. Her collection already launched in other Asian countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, and has been patronized by young and modern Indonesian Muslim women. Though they might be thought of as a Muslim wear, Uniqlo

explains that Tajima’s design aesthetics is in line with Uniqlo’s philosophy and its LifeWear concept. “Our collaboration with Hana will introduce essential pieces that reflect her style combined with our LifeWear concept.

Every item from this collection is designed with quality, comfort and style in mind,” says Katsumi Kubota, Uniqlo Philippines COO. The Uniqlo x Hana Tajima Collection is already available at Uniqlo Large Store – SM Mall of Asia, SM Aura, SM Megamall, and SM North Edsa.

S AT U R D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

The 2016 Black History Month collection is inspired by Serena Williams, Kobe Bryant, Sanya Richards-Ross, and Chris Paul

Nike’s 2016 Black History Month collection is finally available in the Philippines

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or years, Nike has celebrated Black History Month and has been honoring phenomenal black athletic individuals who have carved their mark in history. Since its debut in 2005, the annual collection has evolved from a single Nike Air Force 1 to an extensive product assortment that pays homage to the achievements of black athletes worldwide.

For 2016, the collection features a vibrant cascade of 28 products, spanning tennis, basketball, football, running, Nike iD and Jordan Brand.

The 2016 Black History Month collection is inspired by exceptional individuals like Serena Williams, Kobe Bryant, Sanya Richards-Ross, and Chris Paul, whose performances and breaking sports records have redefined and rewrote the history of sports.

The collection kicks off with Basketball footwear releases including the LEBRON 13, KD8, KYRIE 2 and the KOBE 11.

Signature models from Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant will also be offered in youth sizes. Other category launches include: Air Force 1, Nike Air Footscape Magista and Nike Roshe One (including an additional BHM-themed Roshe One Nike iD offering) from Nike Sportswear; NikeCourt Flare footwear

from Tennis; Streak LT 3 footwear from Running; and the Air Jordan 1 Nouveau and AJ1 High for girls from Jordan Brand.

A BHM-themed Magista Obra FGboot and Jordan Spike 40 follow in February.

BHM apparel comprises hoodies, T-shirts and shorts.

The Black History Month collection will also be providing financial support to Nike’s Ever Higher Fund, a charity created to help underprivileged youth become leaders through sports. This year, Nike will be supporting numerous national and local organizations that provide services to underrepresented youth, including African American youth, through community development, coaching, city league sport programs, and early childhood development programs.

Long-time partners include the Jackie Robinson Foundation, Boys and Girls Clubs, National Head Start and Coach Across America.

The collection will be available this January at Nike Park SM MOA and The Fort; Nike Stadium Glorietta and Rockwell; Forum Greenhills; Titan Glorietta 5, Uptown, Ronac, Shangri-la Mall, Taft, Two Parkade, Molito; and online sites www.titan22.com and www.zalora.com.

The 2016 Black History Month collection kicks off with Basketball footwear releases including the LEBRON 13, KD8, KYRIE 2 and the KOBE 11. Signature models from Lebron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant will also be offered in youth sizes

Nerf N Strike Mega Rotofury with this long-range blaster that launches darts up to 90 feet

Disney Infinity Starter Pack PS4.

Play without limits and have fun creating your own stories and play experiences with the classic Disney Infinity 2.0 Marvel Super Heroes pack

Toys for all at SM Toy Kingdom

LeapFrog Epic Tablet. The latest custom tablet has an Android-based operating system that lets kids design their own playable world while building their skills and imagination. With exclusive access to educator-approved* kid-favorite Android™ apps and LeapFrog games and apps

Ride in style with JML Scooter Board from Toy Kingdom. Safety gear in the photo not included

Star Wars RC Lead Hero Droid. This interactive remote controlled BB-8 figure rolls in any direction and makes expressive droid sounds

Crayola Frozen Inspirational Art case. Relive the Frozen magic with magical tools from Crayola’s all-in-one case that contains over 150 pieces

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o one really outgrows the love for toys.

Regardless of age or gender, toys have this timeless appeal that brings out the kid in anyone. The good thing about it is that there is always an excuse to buy toys for oneself; whether for Christmas, or birthdays or pasalubong or even as a simple reward for a job well done, you’ll never go wrong with toys because they have this magical appeal that never fails to please the child in us.

In fact, you can even play Santa any time with the amazing variety of toys available at all Toy Kingdom Express outlets in SM Stores and Toy Kingdom Stores in most SM Supermalls. There’s always something to suit every kind of preference for every type of personality, like scooters for fun loving and active kids or dolls for the dainty darling. Or what about the latest Star Wars hottie like the BB-8?

Visit www.toykingdom.ph. Also type ToyKingdomPH for more amazing updates on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Barbie Rock ‘n Royal Lead doll. Girls will love playing with this singing Rock ‘n Royals Courtney Barbie doll that magically transforms from royal to rocker

Shopkins Season 3. Collect all these mini and adorable supermarket-themed toys that are now popular among many kids

Lalaloopsy Girls Cake Fancy.

Create cool and endless designs on her dress with Frost ‘n Glaze with fondant and glitter. Comes with a parasol umbrella and a purse

Adorable and cuddly My Little Pony Plush

S AT U R D AY : J A N U A R Y 1 6 , 2 0 1 6

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LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

IG SPY

NEW YEAR’S DELICIOUS BEGINNINGS

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ew Year is one of the most awaited days by many primarily because it marks a new beginning and symbolizes a fresh start.

But beyond the festivities and all the metaphors associated with the changing of the calendar, the other thing that makes this occasion special is the many delicious treats served in welcoming another 365 days (366 this time) of our lives.

The significance of the day is apparent in the meals we prepare to celebrate it.

Because it’s special, the food are tastier, more colorful, and, often, more sinful. We know it’s been weeks since 2016 started, but let’s spoil ourselves a little more and check out the sumptuous and “heart-worthy” photos of different kinds of food served on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s day. We picked three Instagram accounts that posted some of the most-liked #newyearfood photos. –Mae Masangkay

@africanfoodyummy It’s uncommon to serve yam and egg for New Year here in the Philippines but being a breakfast staple in some African countries, this Instagram account, which features cuisines of Africa, thought it was best to start 2016 with this iconic meal.

The dish is pretty simple. It is made of yam – a mashed and boiled orangefleshed sweet potato – and egg which adds another layer of taste to the dish.

It can be served in different ways depending on your style: with egg spread over the yam, side by side on the same plate, or on different plates.

The account treats its over 41,000 followers everyday to many yummy African food photos. According to the account manager, Africanfood Yummy will soon be selling African food to the public to let more people taste the delicious African cuisine.

@raw_manda Amanda Le sure knows how to start the year on a sweet and healthy note, as she posted the truly “Instagrammable” Vanilla Frosted Brownies on the first day of the new year. The Los Angeles-based self-taught raw foodist posts on her IG account plant-based food that can be enjoyed by vegan and non-vegan alike.

Le’s #newyearfood photo invites everyone to make some changes and try out the vegan lifestyle. And we have to agree, this raw dessert that probably tastes as delicious as it looks, is “a great way to start.”

Healthy and colorful desserts dominate her Instagram account, which currently has 199,000 followers. She also offers recipes for some of the food she posts.

@chef_kantrow Citizens of Instagram are introduced to a South Asian dessert gulab jamun, which was posted by Boston-based chef Gita Kantrow, on New Year’s day.

It is made of powdered milk, a pinch of all-purpose flour, baking powder and clarified butter, and is deep fried and soaked in simmering sugar syrup. This milk solids-based dessert is part of the holiday celebration in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The images of food posted on Chef Gita’s IG account, which has 310 followers as of this writing, are available on her Kantrow Catering Service. Apart from desserts, she also features a wide variety of dishes. Sautéed collard greens with bacon fat, anyone?

SAT URDAY : JA NUA RY 16, 2016

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

The most recognized trophy in the world, the Oscar statuette has stood on the mantels of the greatest filmmakers in history since 1929

HBO AsiA Airs 88tH AnnuAl AcAdemy AwArds

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BO Asia brings the complete Oscars® experience direct from Hollywood, across multiple screens on TV and connected mobile devices, in addition to red carpet exclusives and backstage interviews on the network’s website and social platforms.

HBO Original mOvie ‘all THe Way’ Following its critically acclaimed, award-winning Broadway run, All The Way, a riveting behindthe-scenes look at President Lyndon B. Johnson’s tumultuous first year in office in the wake of President Kennedy’s assassination, premieres same time as the US in May on HBO and HBO GO. Bryan Cranston (four-time Emmy® winner for Breaking Bad)

Last Thursday the Live Nominee Announcement of the 88th Annual Academy Awards 2016 were hosted

by Guillermo del Toro, John Krasinski and Ang Lee, together with Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs. The nominations of all 24 Oscar® categories were announced at a special two-part

reprises his Tony Award-winning role for the HBO Original Movie, which is directed by Jay Roach (Emmy® winner for HBO’s Game Change) from a screenplay by Robert Schenkkan (two-time Emmy® nominee and Writers Guild Award winner for HBO’s The Pacific), who has adapted his Tony Award-winning play of the same name.

Co-starring with Cranston are Anthony Mackie (Martin Luther King), Melissa Leo (Lady Bird Johnson), Bradley Whitford (Hubert Humphrey) and Frank Langella (Sen. Richard Russell).

Additional cast members include Joe Morton (Roy Wilkins), Stephen Root (J. Edgar Hoover),

live news conference in Beverly Hills, aired 9:30 p.m. on HBO and streamed live on HBO GO. The 88th Annual Academy Awards will be broadcast live on HBO on Feb. 29 at 9.30 a.m. with a same night primetime encore at 8 p.m.. The awards show will also be streamed live on HBO GO. Host-

Marque Richardson (Bob Moses), Aisha Hinds (Fanny Lou Hamer), Todd Weeks (Walter Jenkins), Mo McRae (Stokely Carmichael) and Spencer Garrett (Walter Reuther).

The HBO Original Movie follows Johnson during his early administration, as he sacrifices his past, his ties with the South and all that brought him to power in order to pass the landmark Civil Rights Act, and focuses on his efforts to secure his legacy, control his demons of insecurity and win the presidency on his own terms.

ALL THE WAY is produced for HBO by Amblin Television, Tale Told Productions, Moonshot Entertainment and Everyman

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

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Chris Rock is back as the Oscar’s host

ed by Chris Rock, who previously hosted the awards show in 2005, the 88th Oscars will be held at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood.

For the week leading up to the awards, HBO honors past winners with a recap of 2015 Oscar-winning movies, airing every night at 9 p.m..

Pictures, with Steven Spielberg, Robert Schenkkan, Bryan Cranston, Jay Roach, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey (The Americans) executive producing, and James Degus (Sneaky Pete) co-executive producing.

“I am pleased that, thanks to HBO, Robert Schenkkan’s Tony Award-winning play will now reach television,” says executive producer Steven Spielberg. “With Jay Roach directing and Bryan Cranston’s brilliant portrayal of LBJ, audiences will be able to share in this largerthan-life president’s role in a crucial turning point in American history.”

The 2014 Broadway production of All the Way, starring Cranston, swept the awards season, winning

Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League and Tony awards, as well as the Steinberg/American Theater Critics Award, the inaugural Edward M. Kennedy Award and Boston’s Elliot Norton Award. The play also set Broadway box-office records twice for biggest weekly gross of a new play (non-musical).

All The Way was filmed in Los Angeles on sets designed by Mark Ricker, with costumes designed

by Daniel Orlandi. Jim Denault is director of photography. Carol Littleton is editor. The striking physical transformations of the actors into their characters were designed and supervised by Bill Corso along with Frank Perez.

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

JEan GaRCia LOOk-aLikE COmPEtES at mRS. GRanDma UnivERSE 2016

By EtOn. B COnCEPCiOn

Young looking grandma Babylyn Decena-Newfield is competing at the Mrs. Grandma Universe 2016 in Sofia, Bulgaria on Jan. 23. A widow and grandmother of four from Alabang, Muntinlupa, Newfield, a dead ringer for actress Jean Garcia, is anticipated to give other grandma delegates in the pageant a run for their money.

Newfield, a successful sales and marketing executive, was handpicked by Ovette Ricalde, local licensee of Mrs. Grandma Universe pageant, to represent the Philippines in the fifth edition of the pageant for 25 to 45 grandmothers from all parts of the globe.

Newfield said that joining the pageant is something new to her and accepted it as a challenge and opportunity as well as an honor to represent the country.

Strikingly beautiful, Newfield, chair and CEO of Cartridge World Philippines, is an avowed car and muay thai sport enthusiast. She

Newfield with her family

became a widow from her second marriage to American Bruce Newfield who died 10 years ago.

Newfield regularly visits the gym to stay fit and keep her shapely body which easily hides her status as a grandmother.

The Mrs. Grandma Universe pageant is owned by Mrs. Universe

Ltd., organizer of Mrs. Universe and Mrs. Europe pageants. Christine Kam of Singapore is the reigning Mrs. Grandma Universe 2015.

Others who won the title were Ivana Hamra of Sweden (2012), Marleny Figueroa de Reyes of Guatemala (2013) and Cynthia Ong of Malaysia (2014).

Easy aCCEss to a world of EntErtainmEnt SKY is giving more choices to match its consumers’ lifestyle with its new unlimited broadband plans - plan 16Mbps priced at P1,999.00 per month, and SKYbundles Super Saver Plan that gives you 8Mbps of broadband connection, plus a cable plan with 6 HD channels and 35 standard definition channels for only P1,599.00 per month.

With these fast and affordable Internet plans, you and your family can enjoy a wide array of content and highest quality of video-on-demand entertainment with no worries of consuming your data

Sky offers a new set of affordable Internet bundles

allocation and end up paying much more.

Subscribers of any of SKY plans above can enjoy exclusive unlimited access to various movie players - SKY On Demand and HBO GO. Our movie players give you the freedom to take control of your viewing experience by playing, pausing, and resuming your favourite shows and/or movies. Beyond the exclusive offering of SKY, subscribers can

CROSSWORD PUZZLE 39 40 41 43 44 45 46 49 52 53 55 57 58 59 60 61 62 ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Nightspot 5 Goal attempts 10 Chalky mineral 14 Earl — Biggers 15 Metric pounds 16 Opera’s — Pinza 17 Heroic tale 18 Gracie or Fred 19 Double over 20 Yacht race 22 “The King”

23 24 26 28 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

Turns right Syrup brand High gear Encroached upon Slacks material Whiskey bottle Philosopher — -tzu — Kong Watered silk Writes quickly Contour-line info

Gem measure Budges Put differently More congenial Festive nights 11th president Field mice Farm babies Go radioactive Antler tip Bored response 1899 Gold Rush town Prickly pears Peter Gunn’s girl Kind of prize Bill and coo Knight’s wife

DOWN 1 High-tech albums 2 Nonsense poet 3 Sudden impulse 4 Talking big 5 Chased the puck 6 Knife handles 7 Earthen pot 8 Single digit 9 W-2 info 10 Nonstick surface 11 Sea above the Black Sea 12 “Hi- —, Hi-Lo”

SATURDAY, JANUARY 16, 2016

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New England catch Prefix for dynamic Composer — Satie Retail giant Basilica area Oar pin Faint traces Old war story Hand warmer Hash-house client Rough bed Grill steaks Links warnings Husband or wife Maneuvered for position Cleveland ballers Pepper grinder Almost fall Head, slangily Bean or horse Hawk Melville title Airport vehicle A little, to Liszt Dramatic intro (hyph.)

Keep afloat HP or Acer wares Seance sound “Neigh” homophone

Babylyn Decena-Newfield

enjoy in high quality other online video players such as Netflix, with SKYbroadband’s high speed Internet access.

SKY On Demand also allows viewers to catch up on their favorite ABS CBN Kapamilya TV shows, cable TV channels, and watch the biggest local and foreign blockbusters on their computers, tablets or smartphones, or even on their TV sets using the SKY On Demand digibox.

HBO GO is an Internet streaming service wherein one can get to watch over 1,000 hours of HBO programs and movies. It has an awesome library of Hollywood motion pictures, series, shows and documentaries fir for TV enthusiasts. With HBO GO, subscribers can relive their favorite HBO Originals such as Sex and the City and Entourage or obtain premium access to

PhOtOS By JOnaS yU

Game of Thrones, Veep, Silicon Valley, and other new originals anytime, anywhere.

The recently launched Netflix service in the Philippines promises unlimited movies and TV show episodes which you can access via the internet and watch concurrently on multiple devices.

Unlimited and fast high speed internet, easy access to a wide array of exciting content, and top notch customer service is what signing up with SKY is all about. It’s everything you’d expect from the fastest growing broadband provider in the country.

For details on how to avail any of the home broadband plans and to know more about the services and promotions of SKYcable, SKYbroadband and SKYbundles, call us at 381-0000 or visit our website at www.mysky.com.ph.

SAT URDAY : JA NUA RY 16, 2016

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SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

James aNd NadiNe returN to saN fraNcisco

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ames Reid (Clark) and Nadine Lustre (Leah) are back in San Francisco, California, the place where their thrilling love story all started in the hit Kapamilya primetime series On the Wings of Love (OTWOL).

The engaged couple paid a second visit to the historical Palace of Fine Arts, which played a vital part in their love story as it was the place where Leah asked Clark to marry him so she could get a green card. Clark and Leah’s return to San Francisco is making fans abuzz on what will happen to Clark and Leah’s exciting love story when they finally tie the knot.

Avid fans of On the Wings of Love

from c8

should also anticipate Leah’s muchawaited reveal to her Tatang Sol (Joel Torre) that their Nanang (Isay Alvarez-Sena) is alive and well.

The big revelation of Leah and Manang Tiffany (Bianca Manalo) causes Tatang to break down in tears because of anger and leads to a confrontation between Leah’s parents after years of not seeing each other.

How will Tatang and Nanang’s meet up affect Clark and Leah’s highly anticipated wedding?

Meanwhile, fans in California also had the chance to witness James and Nadine perform live and spread love during the “On the Wings of Love Certified Kapamilya

Willl Ningning's operation be successful?

Ningning on her way to the operating room with Tatay Dondon by her side

Fans Day” at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. The stadium was filled with cheering fans who were very excited to see their favorite love team showcase their dancing and singing chops.

Solid OTWOL fans in the Middle East should also brace themselves for the coming of James and Nadine. TFC will bring the teen stars to Qatar and Dubai in March for the “JaDine in Love: The World Tour” for an unforgettable concert experience diehard fans On the Wings of Love airs weekdays after Pangako Sa’Yo in ABS-CBN’s Primetime Bida.

HHHHH NiNgNiNg fiNds PoteNtial corNea doNor Hope once more ignites in Ningning’s (Jana Agoncillo) life with the arrival of a potential cornea donor in the last week of the consistent top-rating weekday program.

Teacher Hope (Ria Atayde) receives a phone call about a potential cornea donor and immediately informs Ningning and Dondon on the positive development that could be the answer to help bring back the shine and light in the little girl’s eyes.

Although Ningning was saddened by Peter’s death, her cornea donor, she was touched that Peter promised to donate his cornea to her so she could see clearly again.

The news also lifted the spirits of Ningning’s family and friends who were deeply troubled when they found out that Ningning could not see anymore.

Ningning also continues to

James and Nadine in Palace of Fine Arts.

Photo from Dreamscape Instagram

James and Nadine during a dramatic scene in On the Wings of Love

inspire lives and teach viewers the importance of positivity and hope.

Last Sunday, the whole cast were at Starmall Alabang to spread happiness and love to their supporters. Led by Jana Agoncillo, John Steven de Guzman (Macmac), Sylvia Sanchez (Mamay), Ketchup Eusebio (Dondon), Nyoy Volante (Johnny), Vandolph Quizon (Otep) and Ria Atayde, the “Maningning na Pasasalamat” was a successful event. Ningning stars showcased their singing and dancing chops before their cheering fans.

BisroCk’s Brightest artists at Parkmall’s sinulog 2016

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arkmall, every Cebuano and Cebuano-at-heart’s favorite shopping and dining destination, joins the Sinulog Festival frenzy with Sugbo Fest. True to its being the best place for dining and celebrations in Cebu, Parkmall’s Sugbo Fest has everything covered from a Food Festival called Kumbira, the highlight of which is the Lechon Festival from Jan. 15 to 17 featuring actual pig roasting and lechon making, a plethora of exhibits including the St. Joseph and Sto. Nino Exhibit from Jan. 23-30, and lively entertainment extravaganzas from Jan. 14 to 31.

Sugbo Fest’s entertainment package includes Aerodance Tribal Beat Sinulog Party, a Sinulog-inspired Aerodance party organized by Parkmall Aerodance instructor Jo Teria, Festival Queen Sinulog Parade, a two-hour parade of festival queens in Lyndon Alfonso’s festival gowns, a Dance Jam Marathon organized by Cebu’s best Dance Jam instructors and the musical treat Tukar Sugbo.

Most anticipated is Tukar Sugbo happening on Jan. 16 which

promises to be a night of pure non-stop Bisrock music. Some of Bisrock’s brightest names, iconic and new, will delight audiences of all ages with rock and alternative musical pieces in the Sugbuano language. What can be more Cebuano than that?

Popular Cebuano rock groups like Phylum, Agipo, and more will bring the house down with songs that talk about social and political issues and yet brim with humor and romance. It will make listeners realize how much Bisrock has developed and persisted through the years. Bisrock or Bisaya Rock is a movement that started in the ‘80s and suffered a flatline in the early ‘90s. A subgenre of Pinoy rock propagated by the Cebu rock music industry, Bisrock had to fight its way through setbacks such as the fact that some local radio stations still favored Cebuano artists singing in Tagalog and English over true-blue Bisrock performers.

Like Parkmall itself, which had to prove its worth from its origins as a retail industry investment in what used to be a reclamation area in Mandaue City, Cebu, Bisrock

persevered and worked its way to be heard. The efforts have paid off with the resurgence of Bisrock that has led to the creation of clans of supporters from every part of Cebu and the proliferation of online chat channels and websites championing the cause of Bisrock.

Two of Bisrock’s foremost proponents are Phylum, an allmale alternative band whose “Palagot sa Kontra” is a perennial favorite among Bisrock aficionados and Agipo whose “Tamsi” was an instant hit. Phylum and Agipo will join a strong roster of Bisrock talents that will add color, fun, and a festive air to Parkmall’s speciallyprepared Sinugbo celebration.

At Parkmall, celebrations like the yearly Sinulog-Santo Nino Festival become more than just a mere cultural and religious pageantry.

With its commitment to championing homegrown talents and offering unique, well-thought out surprises, Parkmall’s Sugbo Fest becomes a magical, memorable, and truly irresistible chance to connect with friends, family, and loved ones while enjoying surefire dining, shopping, musical, culturally and historically resonant pleasures.

Parkmall at night

Coffee shop at the mall

Ample parking for guests

They are also encouraging Filipinos to become an instrument of hope by pledging to become a cornea donor to people who are diagnosed with eye related illnesses just like Ningning.

Interested donors may contact Eye Bank Philippines. For more information, visit www. eyebankphil.org.

Will Ningning’s cornea transplant become successful? Find out in the last week of Ningning, weekdays before It’s Showtime on ABS-CBN.

SAT URDAY : JA NUA RY 16, 2016

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ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ

Gabby Concepcion

Kris Bernal

Rafael Rosell

Kapuso drama sTars Join sinulog FesTiVal ISAH V. RED Kapuso celebrities add color and fun to this year’s Sinulog Festival as stars of high-rating GMA shows Buena Familia, Little Nanay, Because of You, and Destiny Rose meet with their Cebuano fans through various Kapuso Mall Shows .

Yesterday, lead actors of afternoon drama series Buena Familia – Kylie Padilla and Kenneth Earl Medrano, –joined the stars of Kapuso primetime family drama Little Nanay –Mark Herras and Kris Bernal – in back-to-back mall shows, as part of the annual festival celebrating the Holy Child Jesus or Sto. Niño.

Fans watached the four Kapuso celebrities at Gaisano Grand Mall

Mark Herras

Mactan at 3 p.m. and Ayala Terraces at 5 p.m..

Today, Because of You leading men Gabby Concepcion and Rafael Rosell are sure to sweep Cebuanas off their feet as the two actors entertain them during the Kapuso Mall Show in Gaisano Grand Fiesta Mall Tabunok at 5 p.m.

Joining Gabby and Rafael are Destiny Rose stars Ken Chan and Katrina Halili. Ken leads the said afternoon drama series as transgender Destiny Rose while Katrina plays the antagonist Jasmine.

The Kapuso stars are sure to have an energetic show as they express their gratitude to their Cebuano fans for their unwavering support to their high-rating shows.

Recent full year ratings data from the industry’s most trusted ratings service provider Nielsen TV Audience Measurement show

that GMA Network led in nationwide TV ratings for 2015.

According to Nielsen’s full year 2015 NUTAM (National Urban Television Audience Measurement) household shares (with the dates of Dec. 27 to 31 based on overnight data), GMA was ahead of other networks in total day ratings with 35.4 percent, leading ABS-CBN’s 34.9 percent and TV5’s 9.2 percent.

GMA overtook its closest rival in NUTAM in September 2015, and has since sustained nationwide ratings leadership.

“The Kapuso Network is always looking forward to connect with its loyal viewers across the country. We are happy and proud to bring some of the stars of our top-rating programs close to the fans who make our programs successful, and this is just one of the Network’s many ways of recognizing their invaluable sup-

Kylie Padilla

port. This series of shows is made extra special as we join our Kapusong Cebuanos once more in celebrating the Feast of our beloved Sto. Niño,” says Oliver Amoroso, GMA’s head for Regional Strategy and Business Development Division.

HHHHH Hero TV’s January line up There is never enough anime.

The more anime shows there are to watch, the better.

Otakus (anime and Japanese culture fan in English) can rejoice as Hero TV brings back titles that are both familiar and new to everyone without scrimping on any of the action, comedic moments, or even romantic ones this month of January.

As 2016 rolls, Goku is set to return and once more ask for the energy of the universe to defeat a foe that everyone is familiar with in Dragon Ball Z: Return of F while

Katrina Halili

the Power Rangers battle their own villains in Power Rangers: Samurai.

Otakus should also not miss out on Hero TV’s new offering, Date A Live II, which tells the story of Shido Itsuka, a normal high school teenager at Raizen High with the power to seal spirits that only knew death and violence in their lifetime. Old favorites like Gintama, Vampire Knight, Kuroko No Basket, Tiger and Bunny, and Haikyu also make a return to the channel to provide more action, laughter, and inspiring moments, as well as romantic in the case of Vampire Knight.

Not to be outdone, 90’s kids will also feel the love as Digimon Adventure Season 2 also makes a comeback this January on Hero TV, For updates, visit www.facebook. com/myheronation and follow their Twitter, @myHEROnation. ➜ Continued on C7

Ken Chan