The Standard - 2016 January 25 - Monday

VOL. XXIX NO. 347 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 MONday : JaNUaRy 25, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Palace: Police’s kin got P188m

A2

‘noy ABAnDonED SAF MEn For BBL’

By Christine F. Herrera

EXACTLY a year ago today, President Benigno Aquino III conspired with the military and ordered the Army to stand down while the 44 Special Action Force commandos were being slaughtered in the fields of Mamasapano in Maguindanao, a police general who spoke on condition of anonymity said Sunday.

The order to stand down was issued so as not to jeopardize the immediate passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the President’s pet peace bill, the lynchpin in the government’s peace agreement with the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front, said the police general who was privy to the investigation conducted by the police Board of Inquiry.

But this important piece of information was allegedly suppressed by the Palace and by then Interior and Local Governments Secretary Manuel Roxas II, President Aquino’s anointed standard bearer of the ruling Liberal Party, the police general told The Standard.

“You would never see in the BoI official report that the President had issued the stand down order.

In fact, despite the sparing of the President and the Armed Forces generals from being held directly liable for the crucial stand down order, which was a huge mistake that cost the lives of 44 elite forces, the Board was pressured by the powers-that-be to change its report. The Board did not budge.

The report was toned down as it was already,” the police general said.

Next page

Gridlock. In this photo taken on Jan. 11, 2016, Epifanio delos Santos Avenue is clogged with traffic as an overhead train passes by. AFP

Marcelino linked to Chinese syndicate

A4

Trapped in Metro’s horrendous traffic

By Mynardo Macaraig WEB designer Maria Zurbano kisses her three-year-old daughter goodbye and sets out in the pre-dawn darkness for a torturous commute through Metro Manila.

Her ordeal, a return trip of up to six hours every weekday, is expected to get even worse as the number of cars ex-

plodes in the mega-city of more than 12-million people.

Dubbed “carmaggedon” by locals, business leaders are warning Manila could come to a total standstill despite grand government plans to tackle its traffic.

“Physically, during these trips, I feel ill. My back is always hurting. It affects my health to have to sit down for so long,” said Zurbano, 36, as she waited

for a bus outside her home at 5 a.m.

After finally ending a cramped mini-bus trip of just 17 kilometers to Makati, Zurbano despaired of being trapped in a traffic hell.

“Traffic just gets worse and worse.

I just get more stressed and stressed but it doesn’t look like anything will change. I will just have to learn to bear with it,” she said.

Next page

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A2

news

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Palace: SAF 44 kin got P188m

By Sandy Araneta, Rio N. Araja, Francisco Tuyay and Macon Ramos-Araneta

THE government said Sunday that the families of the 44 Special Action Force commandos killed in Mamasapano last year have received more than P188 million in assistance.

Reacting to complaints by two widows that they have not received any government help, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said the support included P151.28 million in mandatory lump sum benefits, P10.18 million in monthly pensions paid out from April 2015 to January 2016, and P26.87 million in donations from Congress, the PNP Special Financial Assistance Fund and local government units from Dasmariñas, Cavite.

“This is contrary to accusations or reports that the families did not receive anything,” Coloma said.

According to the law, the immediate family members of those killed in action are covered by government assistance. This includes spouses, parents and children.

Upon the request of the families, the government also gave assistance to 261 extended family members, including cousins, siblings and in-laws.

On the eve of the first anniversary of the Mamasapano massacre on Jan. 25, support

‘Noy...

From A1

“The defiance had cost BoI chief Police Director Benjamin Magalong the PNP chief post even if he was the top contender,” the police general said.

Earlier, former SAF chief police director Getulio Napeñas said there was a “grand design” to put all the blame on the SAF for the death of the 44 commandos.

“The truth was already suppressed since Day One,” said the police general.

He said Roxas, who created the BoI, refused to grant the body, then headed by Magalong, the subpoena powers that the board needed to ferret out the truth.

“Without the subpoena powers, Magalong’s group had failed to compel the military generals to submit their cellular phones for forensic examination,” the general said.

However, he said, the field investigators of the BoI had gathered that the stand down order was issued to and received by Maj. Gen. Edmundo Pangilinan, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division.

“The field investigators had gathered that despite the repeated pleas to send artillery support, not one was fired, not one helicopter was sent or not one airplane took off to send cover so that the men in the field could have retreated to safety,” the police general said.

“The President micro-managed the Mamasapano operations. He was in Zamboanga City to see to the success of the operations and was promptly updated and when something went wrong, he was made fully aware that the SAF commandos were being massacred,” said the police general, who was the same source that told The Standard the President assigned the Mamasapano operations to then suspended PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima.

At the time, Purisima was suspended by the Ombudsman for

grew for the Senate decision to reopen its probe to pin down President Benigno Aquino III’s role in the botched operation.

“We support the reopening of the reinvestigation of the Mamasapano incident with the objective of uncovering additional evidence on the role of the principal actors in the operation, most importantly Aquino, [former police chief Alan] Purisima and the US government,” said Bayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes Jr. “To this day, truth and accountability remains elusive as the Aquino government has embarked on a massive and systematic cover-up of the incident,” Bayan’s official statement read.

“Despite these attempts to hide the truth, several reports have already named Aquino as being ultimately responsible for the failed police operation. Several reports have also verified the US forces participation in the operation, a fact that remains illegal under our existing laws.”

An official of the PNP Academy Alumni Association also expressed strong support for the reopening of the Senate investigation.

Retired Police Chief Supt. Tomas Rentoy III, the group’s chairman, said Senator Juan Ponce Enrile’s call to conduct an in-depth probe of the Mamasapano massacre was an honorable gesture to unravel the truth behind it.

“Justice has not yet been served to the 44 gallant SAF men and there is a need to ferret out the ‘whole truth’ by reopening and hopefully bringing closure to the case,” Rentoy said in a statement.

Enrile moved to reopen the case to show evidence of the President’s culpability, saying he was actively and directly involved in the

graft charges.

Four days after the massacre, the President broke his silence in an address to the nation to explain the role of Purisima.

Napeñas affirmed the police general’s assertion and said: “We exhausted all avenues to seek the President’s and the generals’ help. Even before the first shot by my men was fired, after they realized they were fatally surrounded by enemies, we already sought the help of the AFP from morning, mid-morning, noon, mid-noon until late afternoon.”

“We begged for our men’s lives but to no avail,” Napeñas said. “And now we’ve lost 44 of those brave men. We seek justice for all of them.”

Napeñas said the President was given “mission updates” since last year and the latest update given to him was Jan. 9 at Bahay Pangarap, the President’s official residence.

He said Purisima also informed the President that the SAF would jump off at dawn of Jan. 25.

“The President was fully aware the SAF commandos would enter the MILF territory and my men knew the chief executive and commander-inchief was informed of the operations.

With that thought, my men were expecting help when they got there but no help came,” said Napeñas, in a separate interview.

“I should know. I was the one who briefed the President,” Napeñas said.

“We only asked for basic leadership.

My men were denied that. They all thought they had his back.”

Napeñas challenged the Senate, which moved to reopen the Mamasapano probe on Wednesday, to summon Pangilinan and all the AFP generals to shed light on the President’s stand down order.

Napeñas also said the Senate should review the testimony made by then AFP chief of staff General Gregorio Catapang Jr. when he said on the first day of the Senate inquiry that the military’s inaction to the series of requests for a rescue operation was to not jeopardize the peace process.

“After that testimony, General

planning and preparation of the ill-fated Operation Exodus.

On Saturday, retired police chief superintendent Diosdado Valeroso said he had a digital audio recording between a ranking government official and a lawmaker trying to cover up the turn of events in Mamasapano, in an apparent move to avoid endangering the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the lynchpin in the government’s peace pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Last week, Rentoy sent a letter to Enrile saying that the whole truth was far from being unearthed, despite numerous high-profile investigations.

Officials of the PNPAAAI and Philippine National Police Academy will lead Monday’s wreath laying at the PNPA ground at Camp Mariano Castaneda in Silang, Cavite, to mark the first anniversary of the massacre.

Aside from the wreath-laying ceremony, separate rites will be held at Camp Crame, where President Aquino will bestow the Medal of Valor on Senior Insp. Gednat Tabdi and PO2 Romeo Cempron, who died in the operation—after the awards were withheld last year for reasons unknown.

A year after the incident, the Justice Department has filed cases against 90 members of the MILF and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters who took part in the massacre, but no one has yet been arrested.

In calling for new hearings, Enrile said Aquino did nothing to save the 44 SAF troopers when they were being slaughtered.

Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday said he was baffled by the delay in the filing

Catapang was already quiet about the peace process issue and it was Pangilinan who was made to justify the inaction, citing coordination [and] protocol as excuses in the second, third and fourth Senate hearings,” Napeñas said.

“Pangilinan should be made to explain to the public why for so many hours, he refused to send help. It was Lt. Gen. Rustico Guerrero, chief of AFP Western Mindanao Command, who intervened and sent help late afternoon or early evening after a day-long battle. The help came a little too late. The brave men who waited for rescue were already dead,” Napeñas said.

The Palace said Sunday if there were a cover-up in the Mamasapano massacre as former PNP chief Diosdado Valeroso said, he should present the evidence before the Senate investigation this week.

“In our opinion, the Senate would be the best forum to file testimony or evidence that could help out in presenting the truth regarding what happened in Mamasapano,” said Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., in an interview over state-run radio dzRB. “It would be best to wait for the start of the hearings in the Senate,” Coloma also said.

Veleroso, a retired police official on Saturday, said he has in his possession a digital audio recording of a conversation between a ranking government official and a lawmaker about the Mamasapano encounter.

Valeroso said during a press conference in Quezon City that he received a copy of the audio recording last Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Valeroso said that the alleged conversation took place “a day or two” after 44 members of the Special Action Force were killed in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.

He said it appears that the two persons in the audio recording were talking about an attempt to cover up the Mamasapano incident to avoid its possible effect on the passage of the BBL in Congress. With Sandy Araneta

of cases against those responsible for the death of the SAF 44.

“I don’t know why it’s taking the Department of Justice so long,” said Marcos who is running for vice president in the coming elections.

“There were eyewitness accounts, there were videos and other kinds of evidence so it’s really puzzling why until now we have not heard of any positive development in the Mamasapano case,” Marcos said.

He urged newly appointed acting Justice Secretary Emmanuel Caparas to make the filing of cases his priority.

Vice President Jejomar Binay echoed the sentiments of Marcos, saying a year has passed since the carnage in Mamasapano yet justice remains elusive.

“Despite the many inquiries conducted, we have yet to uncover the truth behind the sequence of events that led to the deaths of these gallant men,” said Binay.

He said the government’s promise to deliver justice remains empty rhetoric.

He also took the Palace to task for citing the benefits given to the families of the fallen commandos.

“To dwell on government’s purported generosity trivializes the deaths of the SAF 44. As families of fallen soldiers they deserve and are entitled to government assistance. It is something they need not beg for, and it is not proper to dispense it as favor that obliges the recipient to be eternally grateful to the authorities.

What adds salt to the wounds of their loss is the administration’s failure to extend to them until now additional benefits that were offered, not asked,” Binay said. With PNA

Trapped...

From A1

Traffic in the capital and its surroundings is already costing the country about P3 billion a day, or about 0.8 percent of gross domestic product, according to government figures.

And it is steadily worsening as an emerging middle class fuels an auto boom—car sales rose 23 percent last year with nearly 300,000 new vehicles hitting the roads.

Compounding the problem, decades of infrastructure neglect has left Metro Manila with a just a few major roads across the city and their gridlock “peak hours” often last for three or four hours.

Commuters have few other options with Metro Manila’s dilapidated rail network tiny in comparison with neighboring Southeast Asian capitals such as Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

A chaotic private bus and mini-bus network with drivers who regularly flout traffic laws by, for instance, stopping in the middle of roads to pick up passengers, is widely perceived as adding to the problem.

“This is going to be the most critical problem the next administration faces,” John Forbes, a senior adviser at the American Chamber of Commerce in Manila, said.

Forbes warned Manila risked becoming “uninhabitable” in the next three to five years—meaning people would simply be unable to get around the city—if urgent action was not taken to build roads and rail lines.

President Benigno Aquino III has been the target of fierce public criticism for a perceived lack of urgency in updating the nation’s creaking infrastructure.

He earned widespread condemnation mid-way through his term with comments that worsening traffic was merely a sign of a growing economy.

His aides have since sought to

project a sense of empathy and urgency, pointing to new expressways and an extension of a train line as planned projects that will ease the congestion.

They have also emphasized the adoption in 2014 of a “Dream Plan” to fix the urban chaos, which outlines $65 billion of infrastructure spending by 2030.

The plan envisages a wide range of massive and unprecedented projects, such as a subway, satellite cities linked to Manila by highspeed rail, relocating air and sea ports, as well as many new roads.

Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran, an economist who has studied the traffic problem, said the plan’s huge price tag is within the government’s reach.

“Financing should not be a problem because the funders are ready,” Beltran said, pointing to the nation’s improved credit rating that will allow cheaper loans, as well as expected help from the Japanese government and multilateral lenders.

But many experts believe there is little chance of many projects going ahead.

They point to the nation’s chaotic and corrupt democratic system, as well as a strangling bureaucracy, which prevent infrastructure development.

A glaring example is the construction of a 19-kilometer light rail line on the outskirts of the capital that was meant to have been finished by the end of last year—but it has not even been started.

Touting the project in 2013, Aquino joked he was ready to be run over a train if it was not completed by the end of 2015. But his government has not even finalized the tender process.

Gilbert Llano, president of the Philippine Institute for Development Studies, a government thinktank, echoed the ironic tones of many experts when talking about the government’s infrastructure plan.

“It’s called a dream plan [because] it will stay in the realm of dreams,” said Llano. AFP

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A3

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

CCT must have more recipients, says Binay

Sortie in Bohol. Vice President Jejomar Binay tells his supporters in Bohol that he will improve the government’s dole program once he wins this year’s presidential elections.

Politicians urged against st campaigning in 51 IEC CEBU CITY—Politicians are welcome to attend the 51st International Eucharistic Congress here but only as pilgrims, a priest said Sunday.

The week-long IEC, which is expected to draw 12,000 participants, is open to all but is not an occasion for electioneering, said Msgr. Joseph Tan, executive secretary of the IEC Communications Department.

“Although the IEC is open to everybody including politicians, we want to make sure that we will not change the

IEC to become some kind of political event for one party or the other, or one candidate or the other,” Tan told reporters at the IEC Pavilion.

“Of course we expect... some of the people running for office to be present, but they will be treated like any other person—as pilgrims.

“We are open to their presence but rest assured that this will not become a platform for their electioneering.”

The New Vois Association of the Philippines on Sunday called on both delegates and non-delegates to the 51st IEC to keep the event smoke-free.

NVAP president and Global Cancer Ambassador Emer Rojas said their group was hoping that the week-long event would be free from

cigarette smoke.

“We are appealing to all smokers not to light up during any of these public events in reverence to the religious event attended by international and local delegates,” Rojas said.

The 51st IEC kicked-off Sunday with a mass at the Plaza Independencia led by Papal Legate to the IEC 2016 Charles Maung Cardinal Bo. At least 12,000 delegates are attending the gathering taking place in several parts of Cebu including LapuLapu, Mandaue and Cebu City.

There will be heavy security for the 51st IEC, Malacañang said on Sunday.

“Just like what we did during the visit of the Holy Father Pope Francis, the government is closely coor-

dinating with the organizers of the International Eucharistic Congress in order to ensure tight security and order in this event,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told dzRB radio.

“The substance of the International Eucharistic Congress is important, because this is one major event of the Catholic Church.”

The IEC, a major religious event that promotes the centrality of the Eucharist in Christian life, features daily celebrations of the Holy Mass as well as catechetical talks. The theme of the 51st IEC is “Christ in You, Our Hope of Glory” taken from Colossians 1:27. Macon ramosaraneta and Sandy araneta

VICE President Jejomar Binay said Sunday he wants to include senior citizens aged 60 to 64 in the Conditional Cash Transfer program because only those aged 65 and above are included in it.

“Yung mga katulad kong senior citizens, alam n’yo ba na from age 60 to 64 hindi po kasama?” Binay said in a radio interview in Bohol.

“Sixty ang simula ng senior citizen. Bakit po sila nap’wera roon?”

Binay stressed the need for additional benefits for senior citizens because the value of their pensions deteriorates over time due to inflation.

“Until such time na nakukuha na nila ang pension nila, ang value ng peso pababa nang pababa.

Once they retire or after 10 to 15 years wala na ‘yon dahil mababa na ang value ng piso,” Binay said.

“Isa hong dahilan ‘yan kung bakit ko naisip na bigyan ng traditional benefits ang mga senior citizens namin sa Makati.”

Binay also reiterated the need to introduce reforms to the dole program after the Commission on Audit found faults in it.

“Mayroon lang po tayong dapat i-correct talaga rito. Dahil continuously, while laging sinasabi ni Secretary Dinky na na-liquidate niya, lagi pa rin pong lumalabas ‘yong unliquidated portion,” Binay said.

“Ang dami pong naipasok diyan sa 4Ps na hindi qualified, mga kapartido, mga kamag-anak, etcetera.”

Binay was in Bohol to meet with sectoral groups, local leaders and residents of the towns of Clarin, Inabanga, Danao, Sierra Bullones and Carmen.

Duterte, Cayetano vow to end power shortage ZAMBOANGA CITY—Presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte and his running mate Alan Peter Cayetano on Sunday said they will push for bold solutions and swift action to address Zamboanga city’s power and water crises.

“Sobra na ang gulo at hirap ng tao sa Mindanao. Hindi na pwede ang pa-teka tekang responde ng gobyerno sa mga krisis na kanilang pinapasan,” Duterte said in a statement.

The two said that, if elected, they would push for the expansion and improvement of the government’s crop insurance programs to cover more beneficiaries. They also called for the establishment of an Emergency Response Department that would focus on disaster preparedness and response 24/7.

“Tama na ang pa-patse-patseng pagtugon ng gobyerno sa mga biktima ng kalamidad,” Duterte said, referring to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council that was widely criticized for its slow response when the country was hit by Super Typhoon “Yolanda” in 2013.

“What we need is a strong gov-

ernment department that will respond to the people’s immediate concerns in times of emergency and disaster,” Duterte said.

Cayetano stressed the need for risk management measures in agriculture and a comprehensive rehabilitation program that will sustain farmers’ livelihood for the duration of El Niño.

“Mayor Duterte and I will ensure that the farmers of Zamboanga will have alternative livelihood opportunities and more than enough capital to start and sustain their own small businesses, so in times of calamity they will have other sources of income,” Cayetano said.

On the city’s power outages lasting 2 to 9 hours a day, the duo said the impending El Niño might worsen the crisis.

This was on top of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines placing Mindanao under “yellow alert” after a series of bombings toppled transmission towers, cutting off the electricity generated from the Agus 1 and 2 hydroelectric plants from the Mindanao grid.

New appointee. President Benigno Aquino III congratulates newly appointed Justice Secretary Emmanuel Leido Caparas in Malacañang. MalacañaNg Photo Bureau

M O N DAY : JA N UA RY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A4

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Colonel linked to ‘shabu’ ring

By Christine F. Herrera and Florante Solmerin

MARINE Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino was not assigned to conduct covert operations against illegal drug syndicates but he has links to an illegal drug syndicate run by a certain Atong Lee. “Colonel Marcelino was not on the target list. He was not on our radar.

He was not monitored. That’s why the raiders were surprised when they saw him when they were serving a search warrant,” Chief Inspector Roque Merdegia, chief of the Philippine National Police’s Anti-Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force, told radio dzBB in an interview.

The syndicate which Marcelino was supposedly linked, Merdegia said, was involved in the importation, smuggling, manufacturing and distribution of illegal drugs.

“This is a big syndicate. The syndicate had laboratories in Manila and

Valenzuela that we simultaneously raided. The laboratories yielded millions worth of shabu. But our confidential informant said some of the illegal drugs had already been released and sold at the time we carried out the raid,” Merdegia said.

Marcelino’s connection to Atong Lee was through Yan Yi Shou or “Randy,” a Chinese national who once served as interpreter in the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, where Marcelino used to be assigned.

Marcelino and Yan were arrested together in the raided house in Sta. Cruz, Manila last week, where more than P383 million worth of shabu

was seized.

Merdegia said Marcelino was given the benefit of the doubt by the raiders because he had a “mission order” supposedly to gather intelligence against the syndicate.

However, Merdegia said, 24 hours had passed and no one from the Armed Forces has come forward to claim Marcelino was given a mission order.

“The only thing we’ve got is a certification coming from the Philippine Army’s Intelligence Service Group certifying that he was tasked to share intelligence information about Philippine Army soldiers who were into drugs,” Merdegia told dzBB. “The house that was raided was a new target and Marcelino did not have the mission order to conduct surveillance on that target,” he stressed.

Merdegia said Marcelino was given all the chances to explain his presence in that house.

“We asked him to produce documents if he was indeed [conducting]

a covert operation when he was arrested. Had he done that, he would have been freed,” he said.

Merdegia said they have also received information that Marcelino was directly reporting to Malacanang, not particularly to President Benigno Aquino III but to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, the anti-crime czar.

He said they also received information that Marcelino had links to the Lee syndicate, which had been operating for many years now.

Meanwhile, Army chief Lt. Gen. Eduardo Ano said the integrity and uprightness of Marcelino as an officer and a gentleman was never in doubt when they were worked together at the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

“I’m vouching the good character and integrity of Lt. Col. Ferdinand Marcelino based on our working relationship when he was still under me. I can vouch for his commitment and resolve to fight drug syndicates,” Ano said.

Remembering Cory. President Benigno Aquino III arrives at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City to visit the tomb of his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, whose 83rd birthday is celebrated today. DANNY PATA

Japanese emperor arriving this week TOKYO—Japan’s ageing Emperor Akihito travels to the Philippines this week to visit World War II memorials, his latest pacifist pilgrimage which appears increasingly at odds with the government’s rightward drift.

Akihito, 82, has made honoring Japanese and non-Japanese who died in the conflict a touchstone of his near three-decade reign—known as Heisei, or “achieving peace”—and now in its twilight.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, meanwhile, wants to revise Japan’s war-renouncing “peace constitution,” seeing it as an embarrassing remnant of its WWII defeat and occupation by the United States.

In the Philippines, which saw some of the war’s fiercest fighting, Akihito and Empress Michiko will visit the Libingan ng mga Bayani and a memorial for Japanese war dead during a fiveday visit starting Tuesday.

“The emperor has been very consistent with the fact that Japan is apologetic about their aggression,” said Richard Javad Heydarian, a political science professor at De La Salle University in Manila.

Such contrition, decades of Japanese economic aid and the Philippines’ search for allies in a maritime dispute with increasingly powerful China have made Abe’s nationalist lurch – which includes strengthening his military—palatable in Manila. AFP, Sandy Araneta and Rio Araja

Arab nations reiterate call for passage of BBL

By Sandy Araneta THE Organization of Islamic Cooperation has reiterated its support for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, as well as its support for the Philippine government’s peace efforts with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The OIC said that the passage of the BBL is in harmony with the ongoing Tripartite Review of the 1996 final peace agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front. “[T]he OIC has maintained ongoing interest and engagement in this process since its inception. OIC member states have, in their annual Council of Foreign Ministers Meetings, welcomed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and viewed it as a first step toward the fulfillment of the 1976 Tripoli and the 1996 Jakarta Agreements,” OIC Secretary- General Iyad Ameen Madani said in separate letters to Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

“Allow me to reaffirm our support to the efforts of the Philippine nation in the

cause of peace and we remain committed to seeing a just and lasting solution that will benefit all the people of the Philippines,” Madani added.

Madani went to the Philippines last year to help oversee the activation of the Bangsamoro Coordination Forum, a venue wherein the MILF and the MNLF can harmonize their positions with regard achieving genuine autonomy as envisioned in 1987 Philippine Constitution.

Meanwhile, a ministerial meeting on the Tripartite Review Process has been scheduled on Jan. 25 to 26 and will be attended by top officials from the Philippines and representatives of the Misuari and Sema groups of the MNLF. Madani expressed grave concerns about the delay and the perceived watering down of the bill. “[The OIC] urges the Philippine authorities, in particular the lawmakers, who share the common goal at working for peace and stability not to let this historical moment become another lost opportunity,” he wrote.

The House of Representatives has set

the voting on the passage of the BBL on Wednesday, meaning it only has Monday and Tuesday to finish the “turno en contra speeches” and the period of amendments.

The Senate, meanwhile, has yet to discuss the BBL since it returned to work from the holiday break. The upper chamber has also scheduled a reopening of the Mamasapano probe on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the passage of the BBL will not only improve the Bangsamoro region but will also change the discourse on Mindanao by ending the armed conflict with the MILF, the largest Moro rebel group in the country, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Teresita Quintos Deles said on Sunday.

“What we need to see at this point in time is the big picture. This law is not only for the present but it will also affect the future of the Bangsamoro,” Deles said.

Deles reminded lawmakers that the BBL’s passage should not be affected by the Mamasapano probe re-opening and that the remaining session days would be used to focus on important bills currently pending for legislation.

For luck. As the nation gets ready for the Year of the Monkey, the streets of Binondo, Manila have started to fill with charms and other festive items sale like these artificial fruit that are said to bring good luck. DIANA B. NOCHE

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A5

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

‘Probe power tower bombings’

By Rio N. Araja

TWO lawmakers from Mindanao on Sunday pushed for a congressional inquiry into the recent bombings of transmission towers that resulted in rotating brownouts in the southern part of the country.

“Currently, parts of Mindanao are experiencing rotating brownouts ranging from eight to 18 hours per day,” Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

He and his brother, Abante Mindanao party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez Jr. jointly authored House Resolution 2603.

The measures is “directing the committee on energy to conduct an

inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the bombings of transmission towers of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines in Mindanao and on what the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police are doing to prevent further bombings and capture the perpetrators.”

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the NGCP has warned of more power

outages in Mindanao as it declared a “red alert” due to the limited power supply in the Mindanao grid.

“Mindanao is facing a possible grid collapse if the situation persists since there is only one line remaining to deliver power from the Agus Hydro Complex, the Maramag-Bunawan 138-KV line and if the said line is in any way compromised, no power will flow from the remaining Agus hydro facilities to south of Mindanao,” the resolution read.

The lawmakers cited the need to address the situation, especially considering that bombings of transmission towers is against Republic Act 9372 of the Human Security Act. So far, the NGCP has reported that a total of 16 towers have been

bombed as of November 2015.

“The NGCP issued the red alert status because contingency reserves are at zero megawatt due to the isolation of the NPC-owned generating facilities Agus 1 and 2 hydropower plants,” the proposed measure stated.

The Cagayan de Oro lawmaker said Agus 1 and 2 hydro facilities are connected to the grid through the Agus 2- Kibawe 138KV line which was affected because of the destruction/bombing of the NGCP Tower #25 along the Agus 2- Kibawe 138KV line in Ramain, Lanao del Sur. NGCP has been able to finish repairs on some of the towers but have not been able to repair other towers because of the alleged re-

fusal to cooperate by the land owners, such as Johnny Sambitori, Intan Sambitori and Naguib Sambitori who own the property where Tower 25 is located, he said “It was learned that negotiations with the Sambitoris allegedly failed because the owners alleged that the government failed to pay their claims for years now,” the lawmaker said.

Both the Armed Forces and National Police have yet to arrest those responsible behind the spate of bombings and to determine the motives.

“If these bombings continue, Cagayan de Oro City and the entire Mindanao area will suffer devastating brownouts,” the resolution said.

Legal eagles urge House to abide by SC’s decision

By Rey E. Requejo THE House of Representatives is mandated to carry out the Supreme Court’s order to swear in Lord Allan Jay Velasco and include his name in its roll of members representing the lone district of Marinduque, according to law experts.

Former Integrated Bar of the Philippines president Vicente Joyas and former University of the East law dean Amado Valdez said House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. should honor and comply with the high tribunal’s decision granting Velasco’s plea for mandamus.

“Since the SC ruling is final, Velasco can just take his oath and assume the position,” said Valdez, who is also chairman emeritus of the Association of Philippine Law Schools.

“Congress must follow the decision,” said Joyas for his part, stressing that “the officers of the House of Representatives are vested by law to implement the order of the Supreme Court.”

Agreeing with Valdez, Joyas warned Belmonte and other offi-

cers of the House that contempt proceedings could be pursued against them if they would insist on defying the SC order.

“A contempt proceeding is always a remedy available to an aggrieved party in cases of disobedience to a lawful order of the court,” Joyas stressed.

He pointed out that Belmonte and the others could be sanctioned to pay a fine or be imprisoned, or both, if proven they have refused to implement the SC order.

On Jan. 12, 2016, the SC ruled that the administration of the oath and the registration of Velasco as the duly-elected congressman for Marinduque “are no longer a matter of discretion or judgment” on the part of Speaker Feliciano R. Belmonte Jr. The SC said its decision is “immediately executory” as it granted Velasco’s petition for mandamus against Belmonte, House Secretary-General Marilyn Barua-Yap, and Reginal Ongsiako Reyes, his rival who had been disqualified as a congressional candidate by the Commission on Elections in the 2013 election.

PH gains fame as largest producer of wind power THE Philippines is now the largest and fastest-growing producer of electricity from wind power among the 10 countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, former Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri, an advocate of clean renewable energy, said over the weekend.

“Our wind farms now have an aggregate installed capacity of almost 400 megawatts (MW)—far more than our neighbors—and we expect this number to quadruple to 1,600 MWs in two to three years,” Zubiri, author of the Renewable Energy Law of 2008, said.

Proximity to a coastline and elevation make the country very rich in wind resources, according to Zubiri.

“We have plenty of potential wind farms because we are a

mountainous archipelago. Our many islands provide us an extensive coastline with good elevation,” he said.

The country’s “best annual wind resources” are in Batanes province; the north and northwest coast of Luzon; the northeast- and east-facing coasts of Luzon and Samar; the southeast coast of Mindanao; and the straits between Mindoro and Luzon, Mindoro and Panay, and Panay and Negros, according to the study.

The former senator said wind farms—a collection of wind turbines in one site used to generate electricity —actually use very little land.

“The lands between the wind turbines are still available for agriculture and other purposes,” he pointed out. Christine F. Herrera

Garbage river. Buildings are reflected in the polluted waters of a garbage-filled river in Manila on Jan. 23, 2016. Plastic rubbish will outweigh fish in the oceans by 2050 unless the world takes drastic action to recycle the material, a report warned Jan. 19 on the opening day of the annual gathering of the rich and powerful in the Swiss ski resort of Davos. AFP

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A6

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

Dinagyang snapshot. Senatorial candidate and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez (right) takes a snapshot of performers during the Dinagyang Festival 2016 street dance competition at the Freedom Grandstand in Iloilo City. VEr NoVENo

Romualdez bats for disaster preparedness in K-12 program “In a country threatened on a regular basis by natural calamities like typhoons and earthquakes, we need a populace that knows what to do when disaster strikes.”

This came from Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez who on Sunday called on educators to integrate disaster preparedness in the K-12 curriculum to ensure that all citizens are able to respond in the event that their locales are hit by a natural calamity.

“Given the climate and geological characteristics of our country, all our people are at risk,” stressed Romualdez, whose district was badly hit when Typhoon ‘‘Yolanda’’ struck the country in november 2013.

The most powerful storm recorded at landfall, Typhoon Yolanda claimed more than 6,000 Filipino lives. The majority of the fatalities were recorded in Romualdez’s home province of Leyte, where 5,370 people lost their lives.

Romualdez, who is running for a seat in the Senate, said that the painful lessons of Yolanda “should prompt us to take steps to ensure that our people are equipped with knowledge that can help them survive a disaster of this magnitude.”

“We have to act now to prepare our people before another Yolanda-level storm hits us. acting now could prevent future loss of life.”

Education, according to the UPtrained lawyer, is the key.

“Infomercials are helpful in educating the public regarding how to respond to disasters, but they’re not enough,” explained the solon from the Visayas.

“From a young age, students should be taught the basics of disaster preparedness so that it comes as naturally to them as their aBCs,” Romualdez said.

Romualdez added that this involves educating students on the possible scenarios when an area is hit by flash floods, storm surges and high intensity earthquakes and what to do when these occur; evacuation routes and possible shelter areas; and basic first aid and CPR, among others.

Conserve-water plea amid El Niño’s threat

By Anna Leah E. Gonzales EnvironmEnt Secretary ramon Paje on Sunday appealed to the public to conserve water as the El niño continues to intensify, threatening water supply in many parts of the country.

“Those of us enjoying enough water supply now should be more conscious about our usage, so that we do not put undue pressure on our water sources,” Paje said.

“We do not want to deplete our water supply before El niño eases up,” he said.

Paje made the appeal as water shortage hit several agricultural areas.

The shortage has led to

water rationing, cloud seeding and declaration of state of calamity in some areas in Mindanao.

The Philippine atmospheric, Geophysical and astronomical Services administration said the country is likely to continue experiencing the worst of El niño until February with drought expected to hit most of the countryside until april.

Experts from the US national Oceanic and atmospheric administration, however, have observed a “weakening” El niño and are expecting the dry spell to be over by midyear.

But until then, Paje urged the people to think about sectors suffering the brunt of El niño such as agriculture, fisheries, energy and the environment the next time they let faucets run continuously when washing their hands, shaving, and brushing their teeth.

“We need to think about how our actions affect everyone’s food supply and electricity,” he said.

He expressed concern about the setback that El niño could bring to the government’s massive reforestation program, as foliage dry up and become prone

INC mission.

Inmates of Antipolo City Jail receive packs of goodies from Iglesia Ni Cristo’s ‘Lingap sa Mamamayan’ on Jan. 17, 2016. Lingap sa Mamamayan is part of INC’s anti-poverty thrust.

to forest fires.

The Department of Environment and natural Resources and other government agencies have already issued separate advisories and tips on how to conserve water in anticipation of the dry spell.

El niño is the climate interaction between the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere and is linked to the warming of sea surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific.

The phenomenon influences weather patterns, ocean conditions, and fisheries across the world over an extended period of time.

El niño has a cycle span of two to seven years. The Philippines last experienced it between mid2009 and mid-2010.

Yellow-lane bus scheme violations still rampant THE Metropolitan Manila Development authority said on Sunday that a total of 131 private vehicles and public utility buses were apprehended for violating the yellow lane scheme along Epifanio de los Santos avenue.

MMDa Chairman Emerson Carlos said that 70 PUBs and 61 private vehicles along the Edsa southbound lane from Shaw Blvd. to Guadalupe were apprehended for violating the scheme which is being strictly enforced since Jan. 18.

Carlos said the scheme allows passenger buses to travel faster, thus, easing traffic congestion along Edsa.

He said the stricter implementation of the scheme allows high occupancy vehicles such as PUBs to move faster which can help ease traffic congestion in major thoroughfares.

PUBs violating the yellow lane scheme incur a P200 fine each and private vehicles, P500 each.

He said the smooth traffic at

the yellow lane prompted some private motorists to traverse risking penalty.

However, despite the implementation of the scheme, Carlos was surprised that PUBs still wanted to go out of the yellow lane.

Carlos said PUBs have no reasons to go out of yellow lane since no passengers are unloading at the inner lane of Edsa.

Carlos earlier said that they will revive the contactless scheme in penalizing traffic violators to avoid traffic congestion.

Under the contactless policy, violators will not be stopped by traffic enforcers but instead their plate number will be just recorded.

Later, the MMDa will then summon the erring motorists.

Earlier, Chief Superintendent arnold Gunnacao, director of the Highway Patrol Group, said the travel time of PUBs went faster with the strict implementation of the yellow lane policy. PNA

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A7

NEWS

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

‘Overcrowded jailhouse causes pollution in Lingayen Gulf ’ DaGUpaN CITY—an overcrowded Bureau of Jail management and penology facility in Barangay Bonuan Gueset here has been tagged as the main culprit behind the environmental pollution in the Lingayen Gulf.

This was the result of an inspection conducted by Edward Vergara, senior environmental specialist of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office at said facility in November last year.

Vergara said the facility has a capacity of only 250 persons but is housing 800 inmates.

“Due to overcrowding of the facility, to include the inmates, visitors, employees of BJmp, the facility’s septic tank is no longer capable of holding the waste and waste water of the entire facility,” said Vergara.

The BJmp facility is located 100 meters away from the shoreline of the Bonuan Tondaligan Beach.

The tourists and residents are complaining about air and water pollution coming from the BJmp facility.

Vergara said similar complaint has been addressed in 2008 by expanding the septic tank “but right now it cannot be done anymore.”

“BJmp authorities attested that the septic tank was already expanded to its maximum width and length virtually covering the whole area of the facility,” Vergara said.

To solve the problem, Vergara said they recommended regular siphoning and planting trees around the area to the BJmp. “We will monitor BJmp’s compliance or else we will be forced to ask the facility to secure a wastes water permit,” said Vergara.

“BJmp said they have no budget to bankroll the regular siphoning of wastes from their septic tanks but maybe we can ask financial help from the local government,” he added.

PNA

Harvest time. A worker harvests salt in Alubijid, Misamis Oriental. LANCE BACONGUIS

Reds ambush police car in Zamboanga; five hurt

By Florante S. Solmerin Communist rebels ambushed a police vehicle that resulted in a firefight before noon sunday wounding at least three policemen and two civilians in sibuco, Zamboanga del norte, Chief inspector Rogelio Alabata, public information officer of the Police Regional office 9, said. alabata said the ambushfirefight happened at around 11 a.m. in Barangay Sto. Niño.

“The police personnel were onboard patrol Car [mahindra] going back to their station from

mobile patrol duty. along the way, two civilians hopped in to report for work at the municipal hall.

Upon reaching Sitio paringan, they met a burst of gunfire. Our policemen were able to secure the safety of two civilians and even wounded they fought back against the rebels,” alabata said.

The cops sent a radio message to the station that in turn called up the nearest army camp for reinforcement. But before the combined police and military reinforcement arrived, the rebels had already withdrew to

unknown direction.

Senior police Officer 2 Ernesto ali, who was hit on his arm, pO1 Fahad atani, who was hit on the head, pO2 arilon Lakim who had bruises on his arms and body, and Rolly Rico Luyao and asmi Osama Naing were rushed to the Sibuco Hospital for medical attention.

The fourth cop, pO1 Edgar Luyao, was unhurt.

The three wounded cops were eventually transferred to Zamboanga City for further treatment.

NPA resorting to massive extortion, military claims

By Romeo Dizon

United we walk. Policemen, military, Comelec personnel and civilians join the Unity Walk and witness the peace covenant for a secure and fair election. CHRISTINE JUNIO

Camp aquino, Tarlac City—The New people’s army is now resorting to massive extortion activities to earn their living in Central and Northern Luzon as disclosed by Northern Command public information officer major Gina Daet yesterday.

Daet said the rebels are now operating in Ilocos Sur, Tarlac and other provinces in the area.

“They are victimizing mostly rich persons, businessmen who are forced to give money to protect their interests,” Daet said. according to her, the rebels begin with a letter drop at their victims’ houses or business establishments. They sometimes opt to see them personally.

When asked by the authorities how much they are giving, the victims are reluctant to divulge the amount, insisting they are only protecting their interests.

M O N D AY : J A N u A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA EdItOr

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

rendering justiCe BacK channEl alEJandrO dEl rOSarIO

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Our Own cOuntdOwn IN a speech before members and supporters of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom last week, President aquino began a countdown until the end of his term.

“Only 161 days remain before I am granted my own freedom to enjoy life as a private citizen,” Mr. aquino said, reprising his role as the reluctant president who must sacrifice his creature comforts for the benefit of the Filipino people.

This is a role Mr. aquino has played many times before.

On one occasion, he said he needed “to take at least a year’s break and recharge and recover from all the tensions, turmoil [and] concerns over the past six years.”

He also said he looked forward to staying in bed without having to wake up too early, and “laze around and get used to living” in his house on Times Street again.

Like the President, we look forward to June 30, 2016, for similar reasons.

We too, can use a break from the tensions, turmoil and concerns caused by an inept, unfeeling, vindictive and unjust president.

We look forward to the housecleaning that must follow, particularly in agencies that Mr. aquino has allowed his cronies to plunder. The Department of Transportation and Communications is a prime candidate—for all the pain and suffering it has caused to millions of motorists and commuters alike. In the last six years, the head of this department, Secretary Joseph Emilio abaya—an ally of the President—has allowed public transport services to deteriorate, letting commuter trains run late and even off the tracks, and making motorists wait more than a year for license plates for which they have already paid, all because of dubious maintenance and supply contracts he chose to sign.

We look forward to a government that has compassion for the working men and women, not one that rejects any form of tax relief for overburdened workers and denies elderly retirees even a measly increase in their Social Security System pensions, while granting the executives that run the agency obscene bonuses that run into millions of pesos.

June 30, we hope, will also mark the end of a president that applies justice selectively, targeting only his political enemies while sparing his friends and allies who have run their agencies into the ground. We certainly look forward to a just administration that will make Mr. aquino and his cohorts accountable for the damage they have done, and for the crimes they have committed in the name of “the straight path.” These crimes would include the corruption of our democratic institutions through the wholesale bribery of lawmakers to convict by impeachment an uncooperative chief justice of the Supreme Court.

This quest for justice, however, need not be done in the vindictive manner in which Mr. aquino has gone after and demonized his predecessor. The next administration need not sacrifice all the time, effort and resources toward persecuting its rivals or getting even, as Mr. aquino has done in his six years.

There are, after all, more important matters at hand—such as making this country more livable for the vast majority of Filipinos who have suffered under Mr. aquino’s term.

Only 158 days until we have a new leader. We can hardly wait.

Cebu and our selfishness pEnSéES fr. ranhIlIO callangan aquInO The Catholic world trains its sights on Cebu this week. It is the 51st International eucharistic Congress—a bundle of devotional and instructional activities centered on the eucharist. Representatives of different ecclesiastical jurisdictions from all over the

world are in Cebu now, as I am with my choir. Pope Francis will not be around himself. It is demanding too much to ask of Pope Francis that he return just one year after his visit last year that sent close to seven million to Manila’s streets in warm welcome. he will be represented by Cardinal Bo, his legate, who comes from Burma. The last International eucharistic Congress took place in Dublin. It still has to be announced, as far as I know, where the next one

will be held. The last time the Philippines hosted the International eucharistic Congress was in 1937. At that time, my mother, a toddler of five years old, tagged along with my grandparents to Luneta. At that time too, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop emeritus of Cebu, received first holy communion! I am almost sure none of this present generation will be around when next we host the International eucharistic Congress. “eucharist” is a character-

A9

Selfishness is the reason that politics is a bad word in this country.

istically Catholic term, coming from the Greek word for “thanksgiving” and well established in liturgical usage. For the Catholic, it is not only one among the many liturgical acts with which he is familiar. It is the supreme act of praise and worship. We be-

lieve that it is the sacramental actualization in our day and time of Jesus’ eternal act of self-offering to the Father, his filial submission that, because of his humanity, reverses humankind’s history of sin and idolatry and obduracy. It is the eternal “yes” that reverses

the “no” that our sinful history has written—and because Jesus’ own “yes” has irreversibly become part of our history, then it is salvific for all of us.

A eucharistic congress is especially significant in a Jubilee Year of Mercy, because it is the most excellent sacrament of mercy. There is a Latin hymn that has the lyrics: Panis angelicus, fit pants hominumm…..O res mirabilis, manducat Dominum pauper, servus et humilis. Bread of angels made bread of men… A wonderful reality, that the

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-

poor, they who serve and the lowly should partake of the Lord. These are sad times of arrant unselfishness: It is selfishness that makes regimes oppressive. It is selfishness that sends refugees fleeing for their lives, many losing them to the elements. It is selfishness that turns asylum-seekers away from borders with barbed wire and sharing hounds. It is selfishness that is the reason that politics is a bad word in this country. And selfishness is sadly the sin for which the Church must itself strike its breast and say Mea

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

Culpa…Mea maxima culpa.

By gathering in an international eucharistic congress, we are championing what, to the world, might be an impractical, starry-eyed, perhaps even foolish solution to our woes. But Archbishop soc Villegas preached a beautiful homily at the end of the January plenary session of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines at which the Coro de san Jacinto also sang. he reflected Continued on A10

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

IT’s just the opinion of one out of 15 justices. But the view expressed by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen that “the role of justices is to render justice, and be less legalistic” encapsulates the essence of senator Grace Poe’s defense in the disqualification case against her to run for president. Justice Leonen said foundling Grace Poe should not be faulted for the actions of her parents who abandoned her when she was a newborn. Leonen’s view expressed during the supreme Court’s oral arguments last Tuesday raised Poe’s hope as she received another boost when the Commission on elections announced her name and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will remain on the initial list of candidates despite the disqualification issues against them.

Former GsIs counsel estrella elamparo who filed one of the DQ cases against Poe wants Justice Leonen to inhibit because he has shown his empathy and bias in favor of the senator by admitting, he too, suffered growing up without a father. senator Poe’s legal team, on the other hand, wants senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Arturo Brion and Teresita de Castro Leonardo to recuse themselves because they have already ruled against her in the senate electoral Tribunal.

“Let her name [Poe’s] stay on the ballot and let the people decide, then it will be the Presidential electoral Tribunal to decide on her case if her win is contested,” said Leonen, adding the Comelec should be not the final arbiter of a highly legal issue.

Justice Leonen’s vox populi (let the voice of the people decide) suggestion is not without its perils. Our voters are not exactly known for their wisdom when choosing their leaders. Besides, tossing the issue to the people is like Pontius Pilate leaving the fate of Jesus Christ to the mob. We all know what the mob decided and what happened to Jesus. The Poe case if left to the people could have a Pilate result in reverse. It could be the people who might suffer from a post-election scenario that’s divisive and chaotic. The high court must resolve this case soon to head off such a consequence.

The foundling found in Justice Leonen a champion to her cause and all the abandoned babies of this world when he said foundlings can and should be allowed to aspire for the highest post in the land. This is the spirit and intent of the United 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

M O N D AY : J A N u A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A8

opinion

ADELLE chuA EdItOr

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

opinion

rendering justiCe BacK channEl alEJandrO dEl rOSarIO

[ EDI TORI A L ]

Our Own cOuntdOwn IN a speech before members and supporters of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom last week, President aquino began a countdown until the end of his term.

“Only 161 days remain before I am granted my own freedom to enjoy life as a private citizen,” Mr. aquino said, reprising his role as the reluctant president who must sacrifice his creature comforts for the benefit of the Filipino people.

This is a role Mr. aquino has played many times before.

On one occasion, he said he needed “to take at least a year’s break and recharge and recover from all the tensions, turmoil [and] concerns over the past six years.”

He also said he looked forward to staying in bed without having to wake up too early, and “laze around and get used to living” in his house on Times Street again.

Like the President, we look forward to June 30, 2016, for similar reasons.

We too, can use a break from the tensions, turmoil and concerns caused by an inept, unfeeling, vindictive and unjust president.

We look forward to the housecleaning that must follow, particularly in agencies that Mr. aquino has allowed his cronies to plunder. The Department of Transportation and Communications is a prime candidate—for all the pain and suffering it has caused to millions of motorists and commuters alike. In the last six years, the head of this department, Secretary Joseph Emilio abaya—an ally of the President—has allowed public transport services to deteriorate, letting commuter trains run late and even off the tracks, and making motorists wait more than a year for license plates for which they have already paid, all because of dubious maintenance and supply contracts he chose to sign.

We look forward to a government that has compassion for the working men and women, not one that rejects any form of tax relief for overburdened workers and denies elderly retirees even a measly increase in their Social Security System pensions, while granting the executives that run the agency obscene bonuses that run into millions of pesos.

June 30, we hope, will also mark the end of a president that applies justice selectively, targeting only his political enemies while sparing his friends and allies who have run their agencies into the ground. We certainly look forward to a just administration that will make Mr. aquino and his cohorts accountable for the damage they have done, and for the crimes they have committed in the name of “the straight path.” These crimes would include the corruption of our democratic institutions through the wholesale bribery of lawmakers to convict by impeachment an uncooperative chief justice of the Supreme Court.

This quest for justice, however, need not be done in the vindictive manner in which Mr. aquino has gone after and demonized his predecessor. The next administration need not sacrifice all the time, effort and resources toward persecuting its rivals or getting even, as Mr. aquino has done in his six years.

There are, after all, more important matters at hand—such as making this country more livable for the vast majority of Filipinos who have suffered under Mr. aquino’s term.

Only 158 days until we have a new leader. We can hardly wait.

Cebu and our selfishness pEnSéES fr. ranhIlIO callangan aquInO The Catholic world trains its sights on Cebu this week. It is the 51st International eucharistic Congress—a bundle of devotional and instructional activities centered on the eucharist. Representatives of different ecclesiastical jurisdictions from all over the

world are in Cebu now, as I am with my choir. Pope Francis will not be around himself. It is demanding too much to ask of Pope Francis that he return just one year after his visit last year that sent close to seven million to Manila’s streets in warm welcome. he will be represented by Cardinal Bo, his legate, who comes from Burma. The last International eucharistic Congress took place in Dublin. It still has to be announced, as far as I know, where the next one

will be held. The last time the Philippines hosted the International eucharistic Congress was in 1937. At that time, my mother, a toddler of five years old, tagged along with my grandparents to Luneta. At that time too, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Archbishop emeritus of Cebu, received first holy communion! I am almost sure none of this present generation will be around when next we host the International eucharistic Congress. “eucharist” is a character-

A9

Selfishness is the reason that politics is a bad word in this country.

istically Catholic term, coming from the Greek word for “thanksgiving” and well established in liturgical usage. For the Catholic, it is not only one among the many liturgical acts with which he is familiar. It is the supreme act of praise and worship. We be-

lieve that it is the sacramental actualization in our day and time of Jesus’ eternal act of self-offering to the Father, his filial submission that, because of his humanity, reverses humankind’s history of sin and idolatry and obduracy. It is the eternal “yes” that reverses

the “no” that our sinful history has written—and because Jesus’ own “yes” has irreversibly become part of our history, then it is salvific for all of us.

A eucharistic congress is especially significant in a Jubilee Year of Mercy, because it is the most excellent sacrament of mercy. There is a Latin hymn that has the lyrics: Panis angelicus, fit pants hominumm…..O res mirabilis, manducat Dominum pauper, servus et humilis. Bread of angels made bread of men… A wonderful reality, that the

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-

poor, they who serve and the lowly should partake of the Lord. These are sad times of arrant unselfishness: It is selfishness that makes regimes oppressive. It is selfishness that sends refugees fleeing for their lives, many losing them to the elements. It is selfishness that turns asylum-seekers away from borders with barbed wire and sharing hounds. It is selfishness that is the reason that politics is a bad word in this country. And selfishness is sadly the sin for which the Church must itself strike its breast and say Mea

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

Culpa…Mea maxima culpa.

By gathering in an international eucharistic congress, we are championing what, to the world, might be an impractical, starry-eyed, perhaps even foolish solution to our woes. But Archbishop soc Villegas preached a beautiful homily at the end of the January plenary session of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines at which the Coro de san Jacinto also sang. he reflected Continued on A10

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

IT’s just the opinion of one out of 15 justices. But the view expressed by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen that “the role of justices is to render justice, and be less legalistic” encapsulates the essence of senator Grace Poe’s defense in the disqualification case against her to run for president. Justice Leonen said foundling Grace Poe should not be faulted for the actions of her parents who abandoned her when she was a newborn. Leonen’s view expressed during the supreme Court’s oral arguments last Tuesday raised Poe’s hope as she received another boost when the Commission on elections announced her name and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte will remain on the initial list of candidates despite the disqualification issues against them.

Former GsIs counsel estrella elamparo who filed one of the DQ cases against Poe wants Justice Leonen to inhibit because he has shown his empathy and bias in favor of the senator by admitting, he too, suffered growing up without a father. senator Poe’s legal team, on the other hand, wants senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Arturo Brion and Teresita de Castro Leonardo to recuse themselves because they have already ruled against her in the senate electoral Tribunal.

“Let her name [Poe’s] stay on the ballot and let the people decide, then it will be the Presidential electoral Tribunal to decide on her case if her win is contested,” said Leonen, adding the Comelec should be not the final arbiter of a highly legal issue.

Justice Leonen’s vox populi (let the voice of the people decide) suggestion is not without its perils. Our voters are not exactly known for their wisdom when choosing their leaders. Besides, tossing the issue to the people is like Pontius Pilate leaving the fate of Jesus Christ to the mob. We all know what the mob decided and what happened to Jesus. The Poe case if left to the people could have a Pilate result in reverse. It could be the people who might suffer from a post-election scenario that’s divisive and chaotic. The high court must resolve this case soon to head off such a consequence.

The foundling found in Justice Leonen a champion to her cause and all the abandoned babies of this world when he said foundlings can and should be allowed to aspire for the highest post in the land. This is the spirit and intent of the United 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

A10 Are we sAfer with eDCA? IF oNly we had a crystal ball. But, because we don’t, we will have to wait rita linda a few or several v. jimeno years down the road to know the impact of the decision by the Supreme Court declaring the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, better known as Edca, as valid and constitutional. Will it make us safer and more secure?

The Supreme Court ruled that the President had the power to enter into the agreement without the ratification of the Senate because it was not a treaty but an executive agreement. The Court said that Edca is not the very instrument that granted entry to US troops in the Philippines because the Visiting Forces Agreement—a treaty ratified by the Senate in 1999— was what allowed their first entry. once entry has been authorized, the subsequent acts are thereafter subject only to the limitations of the rest of the Constitution and to Philippine laws, the Court said.

In sum, the Edca will allow US troops, planes, and ships increased presence in Philippine military bases and will allow the US to store fuel and military equipment in facilities or locations to be identified and agreed upon. The Philippine law remains in force in said places, the Supreme Court said. Thus, they cannot be considered as bona fide US military facilities, the Supreme Court explained, disregarding the claim that the Philippines will be We can only pray targeted by enemies of the United States. that we are not being It is this writer’s dragged into harm’s view that the way.

Supreme Court chose to look at the big picture and view the issues as inextricably connected to the brewing crisis that threatens the security of our territory and national sovereignty rather than rigidly apply constitutional doctrines. In fact, the Court said, in an event requiring a defensive response, the Philippines will be prepared alongside the US to defend its islands and ensure its territorial integrity pursuant to a relationship built on the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Visiting Forces Agreement.

In his separate and concurring opinion, Senior Associate Justice Antonio T. Carpio discussed the looming threat of China’s military power in the West Philippine Sea. China claims to own under its nine-dashed line theory reefs and shoals in the West Philippine Sea identified as either part of the Philippine territorial waters or belonging to its exclusive economic zone under UNCloS or the United Nations Convention on the law of the Sea. China was a signatory to this convention but now it even refuses to participate in the arbitration case filed by the Philippines in the United Nations.

Justice Carpio said that the Edca was necessary to attain the aim of the Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and the Philippines to “declare publicly and formally their sense of unity and their common determination to defend themselves against external armed attack.” For the US to successfully help the Philippines resist armed aggression rather than having no teeth, there is a need for the prepositioning of war materials in strategic locations, Justice Carpio said. This will also telegraph to the enemy that any armed aggression will be repelled, he added. The Philippines, acting by itself, cannot hope to deter China from enforcing its nine-dash lines claim, he added.

China, for its part reacted fiercely. Getting wind of the Supreme Court’s decision and the talks in Washington between officials of the US and the Philippines, China said that the Supreme Court decision would only escalate tensions in the region and “could push the situation to the brink of war.”

The editorial in the official Chinese Xinhua news

out of the box

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

OPINION

lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

Jeepneys ThE jeepney, that born-in-thePhilippines baroque art on wheels, celebrated its 70th birthday last year.

The celebration was quiet; there was no simultaneous blowing of horns recalling the year the US Army surplus was made into the unofficial national ride.

It began as the AC jeep, for auto calesa, when jeeps used by GIs to liberate Manila in late 1944 was repurposed into people carriers.

Instead of uneconomically shipping them back home, US Army jeeps were left here, one of the first reconstruction materials that a country pounded by war would use in rising from the ashes.

In a case of Detroit engineering meeting Pinoy diskarte, its body was lengthened, two parallel benches were bolted on its floor, a roof placed over its head. The roof was of iron sheet so it could lug cargo from bushels of vegetables to screaming pigs. Soon it became the king of the road.

To liven up the algae-green color of its body, Pinoy craftsmen soon bathed it with a riot of colors, transforming its panels into murals of scenes of local life, or whatever subject caught the fancy of the one wielding the paint brush.

Under the hands of these portraitists, jeeps became mobile canvases—tourist brochures showing a smoke-spewing Mayon, for example; or a Bible illustrated with scenes lifted from the Good Book; and textbook Amorsolo-like renditions of bucolic farm life.

Its interior got a makeover, too.

Ceilings aped the Sistine Chapel, and like Filipino homes, windows soon sported curtains.

And where once GIs with Carbines sat, the hood became a tableau of kitschy art. The favorite of course were tin metal galloping horses, antedating Mustang’s logo by two decades. This became its signature look that if there were a beauty contest among jeepneys, the number of horses on the hood, and not under it, would boost the chance for winning.

To complete the fiesta look,

cebu... From A9 on the Gospel passage about the people and his relatives thinking that Jesus was a fool. If people did not think us fools, that would be a dangerous sign, because that would mean a conformity to the moods of the world, and marching to its beat, betraying the Gospel that has always confronted the world and has been a sign of contradiction. The solution the Eucharist proposes

plumbline pastor apollo quiboloy buntings were festooned from the edge of the roof to the tip of the hood.

Soon enough, jeeps were wearing visors, not as a sunscreen, but to provide the surface with which to write the name of the jeep on. yes, jeepneys got names, usually after the Coo (child of the owner). They may have come from the same cookiecutter but customization made each jeep different and to complete the process of acquiring its own identity, jeeps were baptized with names, and people actually remember them. So you hear barrio folks then say that they’re waiting for “Pete” to bring them home, or “Betty” will pick up the sacks of rice later.

And also this: before bumper stickers became vogue, messages were inscribed on rear mudguards.

Even this, expected to be covered with dirt, was not spared in the bumper-to-bumper accessorizing.

Because jeepneys were extensions of the home, they soon offered in flight entertainment. First came AM radios, with the driver, now the kutsero reincarnated, giving his take on the blistering radio commentary of the day. later came booming stereos with cassettes.

Even until today some jeeps, and UVs, show movies on small TV screens so their passengers won’t miss their favorite telenovela. If a passenger wants to shift to another channel, the driver can always brush him off with the reminder that “budget airlines don’t offer movies on board.”

But it seems that colorful jeeps, sans for a few pockets in the country I was told, is a disappearing species on the road.

Gone are the PUJs with gaudy, over-the-top livery, that cornucopia of folk art, the likes tourists 20 years ago like to photograph with their Instacamera, the one immortalized in the hotdog song. is the selflessness of heart and the generosity of Spirit that allows one to make of one’s life bread for the nourishment of all, not because one is virtuous and holy and strong. Rather, this gift of self is also possible in imitation of him who, bloodied, wounded, defeated and scorned, nevertheless proclaimed that he had overcome the world!

It is the honor of the Coro de San Jacinto to sing for the opening Mass of the International Eucharistic

agency even called the Supreme Court’s decision a “stupid” move, revealing that the decision created an impact on Beijing. Whether China will, in fact, be deterred or inflamed remains to be seen, however.

There too is the alarm raised by Bayan Muna Representative, Neri Colmenares, that the presence of US troops and facilities in the Philippines is a magnet for attacks because the US is the target of terrorist extremists. This will expose Filipinos to a heightened danger of terrorist activities, he said. This brings us to ask, will terrorists even care to remember that the

In this age of the Instagram, rarely do you see a tourist take a selfie in front of a jeepney anymore. The image of a jeep screaming with rococo art is found only on yellowed pages of old coffee table books.

It seems they’ve made their last trip years ago. Even the toy jeeps sold in souvenir shops are not an honest rendition on those running on the roads.

Jeepneys today come in one color: 50 shades of grey, ranging from unpainted GI sheet silver to various hues of grey, the latter courtesy of accumulated sooth. Many PUJs are quilts showing a history of metalwork, one section gets dinged or rusted, a replacement patch is welded, never to be painted.

The horses on the hood have long gone to other pastures. The only colors that stain sidings were rubbed off by other vehicles it came in contact with.

Well, this is not a requiem for the once de facto national vehicle. This is more of a longwinded preamble to a challenge to the next leaders of the country on what they plan to do with jeeps.

They remain a workhorse on rural areas and, let’s face it, even a dirty-engine jeep which ferries 200 passengers a day inflict far lesser harm on the ozone layer than 200 brand-new SUVs which carry one passenger each.

Should their drivers be assisted to change their Jurassic engines into new ones? or totally ditch what they’ve got for e-vehicles? Must there be a moratorium on franchises issued or a freeze in new routes?

Must there be a national standard for the new jeep? Must specs be made uniform in the same way that US war planners in 1940 listed the traits they were looking for a General Purpose (GP) vehicle?

Is it time, for example, to benchmark “a people carrier that can ferry 20, with a fuel efficient body and engine?”

Whatever, but this is just one of the many mass transport headaches awaiting the next tenant of Malacañang.

Congress, accompanied by the Christ the King College youth orchestra of Calbayog, Samar, directed by a musician-friar, Fr. Marlowe Rosales, oFM. And we owe it to the generosity of our benefactors that a group of 60 choir members from Tuguegarao sing in Cebu for a wondrous, international event. rannie_aquino@sanbeda.edu.ph rannie_aquino@csu.edu.ph rannie_aquino@yahoo.com

occupied facilities or locations of US troops here are not bona fide US territories? Terrorist attacks carried out in various parts of the world tell us that they were not guided by either rhyme or reason favoring their targets but only by the agenda known only to them.

Are we then being unwittingly more dragged into harm’s way than being protected by Edca? We can only pray that we are not.

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

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A11

OPINION lettertotheeditor@thestandard.com.ph

DisorDer LASt Wednesday, Jan. 20, Manila Broadcasting Corp. and Rappler co-sponsored a forum for the major presidential tandems at the De La Salle’s Yuchengco Auditorium. From what we learned, Vice President Jejomar Binay immediately declined after receipt of invitation. His handlers must have told him, “why risk it?”

The likes of trillanes and Cayetano may just resurrect the corruption charges against you.

Binay’s snapshot numbers have recovered from the low twenties to the low thirties in the past two surveys, December 2015 and January 2016. This came about because the guns against him were silenced somewhat and the news focused on the DQ cases against Poe and Duterte. And, as his handlers must have “wisely” advised, “no talk, no trouble,” just move, move, move all over the country.

Meanwhile, expensive radio and television commercials did the talking for him.

Binay’s message reinforced his “hold” on the poor voters. The derisive adjectives “nognog” and “pandak,” used by detractors to describe him (and gleefully fanned by his own spokespersons and advertisements), were turned to an advantage. This is classic rich-versus-poor messaging strategy in the land of the benighted, and so far it’s

working.

The Poe and Roxas tandems initially accepted to attend, which was really less of a debate format and more of a Q-and-A forum. It was only on Friday, Jan. 15 that the sponsors got final confirmation from Duterte and Cayetano that they would participate. By then, the Miriam-Bongbong tandem had likewise agreed to participate.

But the following Monday, 18 January, one tandem declined, followed by the other. And on tuesday, Miriam and Bongbong likewise declined. So on Wednesday afternoon, only Duterte and Cayetano appeared at the De La Salle auditorium, where some 2,000 faculty, students and representatives from other universities were physically present, and much, much more, on social media, television (PtV-4), and radio (DZRH’s nationwide network of more than 100 stations).

We can only surmise the reasons for the no-shows. I can understand Senadora Miriam’s plight: she may be feeling under the weather. As for Senadora Grace, maybe she was not in the right mood, the Supreme Court justices having just conducted the first oral arguments on her disqualification cases. As for Mar, well, who knows why?

The three “major” candidates prefer their superexpensive tV ads to do the

rendering... From A9

Maria Lourdes Sereno, who at 56 is the youngest and first woman Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

With the lift from Leonen, Grace Poe might be able to recover lost ground. The specter of disqualification dragged down Poe in the last Pulse Asia poll survey which showed Vice President Jejomar Binay surging ahead to regain the top spot with 33 percent followed

by Duterte with 23 percent and Poe third with 21 percent.

Meanwhile, the brash, crass Rodrigo Duterte could be

Nations Convention on the Law on Foundlings that they are presumed to be citizens of the country where they are found and not remain stateless persons. The Philippines has not signed the UN Convention, but it should.

The youngest of the justices at 52, the former University of the Philippines law dean was named to the high court

by President Benigno Aquino III in November 2012 after Aquino in 2010 appointed

#failocracy

story-telling for them. Thus far, the trio of Mar, Jojo and Grace are estimated to have already spent close to 3 billion pesos for ads, while Duterte has coughed up around 40 to 50 million. Never mind the platforms, the “un-intelligent” masa do not care for them anyway, the three “major” candidates must have thought.

They want to confine the debate among creative advertising agencies, instead of among the candidates.

“Kathang-isip” instead of “tagisan ng galing at paninindigan.” The creative minds do their “kwentong kutsero” about “lumalaban pero may puso” for Poe; “daang matuwid” for a doleful Mar Roxas, and “kapwa n’yo nognog” for Binay.

Duterte chose to come. In an interview, he said “hindi ako anak-mayaman, at hindi ako nagpayaman sa serbisyo.”

And added, “hindi ko kaya makipagtapatan sa magastos na advertisement ng mga iba d’yan.”

So he and Alan Cayetano took the stage for an hour and a half, almost.

They talked about “disorder.” “Gulo.”

This, in a nutshell was the real state of the nation, Duterte perorated. Disorder.

Drugs are all over, even in the boondocks of Quezon and Mindoro. Crime prevails. Hardly anyone is afraid of the law and the legal process. Anyway, one can pay “kotong” to the cop and traffic enforcer; “padulas” to the prosecutor; “mas malaking padulas” to the judges.

Disorder reigns in the capital’s streets, with traffic all day and all night, whatever the day. Even in Cebu City, traffic has become unbearable. There is no longterm planning, coupled with delays in implementation of projects because “imperial” Manila is always “teka-teka.”

The NCR’s three “high-speed” light rail systems are not only disconnected, they get derailed quite often, the result of poor maintenance managed by incompetent crooks. Gulo.

As Alan Cayetano segues to the Duterte thesis of disorder, the ordinary Filipino has to wake up early at dawn, cursing his miserable life, because he has to line up at the MRt station to get to work. The train gets derailed, so he has no option but to take the bus, or if close to payday, the taxi. traffic gets to him. He goes to work already exhausted, physically and mentally. Then when he gets the paycheck, he finds so many deductions—Pag-IBIG,

PhilHealth, the “paluwagan,” and SSS (which can’t even grant a 2,000 peso pension increase).

“Paano na pagtanda ko at nagretire?” he asks himself. “Baka pabigat pa ako sa mga apo ko… p…i na buhay ito.”

“Look beyond my cursing, because at the back of it is the agony and misery of the Filipino,” Duterte says.

“At pagdating sa bahay, after another round of seemingly endless struggle against traffic, the wifey with a worried look says—wala pa si Ineng galing sa iskwela, gabing-gabi na.”

So poor husband and harried wife worry and pray—“huwag naman sana na-kidnap, o narape ng drug addict.”

Disorder. Day-in and nightout. Every single day for the suffering Filipino family.

We all have to put an end to this miserable disorder.

And, Duterte says, and repeats and repeats—drugs and criminality first, then everything will be in order.

He and his vice president, Alan Cayetano, have barely 106 days from today to convince the voter, all 50 million of them, that the rule of disorder must end, and the rule of order, of respect for if not fear of the law, will make life better for the suffering people of this benighted land. And that they can do it, something neither Binay nor Mar nor Poe, can deliver.

talking himself out of the race with one outrageous statement after another. After cursing Pope Francis, Duterte now wants to rewrite the Bible to include gays along with Adam and Eve. He then forays into the world of diplomacy with an offensive statement that if elected President he would not “feed those rich ambassadors.”

Without regard for the niceties of diplomatic protocol, the abrasive and uncouth Duterte may just make the Philippines a pariah of the diplomatic world.

I shudder to think what the

foreign envoys posted here are saying in diplomatic circles.

Heads of states and diplomats might even shun visiting Malacañang to call on “President “ Duterte because of the stench wafting from the Pasig River running alongside the Palace. The Pasig, after all, is nearer to ”President” Duterte than Manila Bay where he threatened to dump the bodies of criminals and feed the fish.

His idea of fattening the fish could result in fish kill instead and endanger all forms of marine life in the Bay.

“Dirty Rody” has gone overboard in painting himself as the scourge of criminals and pandering to the masa with his “shock-and-awe” talk. But there’s a line between street talk and proper language for one aspiring to be president who represents the country and the Filipino people.

Duterte’s handlers must be having nightmares on how to rein in their candidate.

I dread to think what a oneon-one exchange would go between “President “ Duterte and another head of state.

So i See Lito banayo

chong ardivilla

M o n day : Ja n ua ry 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A12

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Bulls spoil Lue’s coaching debut LeBron denies influence in firing of Blatt

LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers shoots over Taj Gibson of the Chicago Bulls during the first half of their teams’ NBA duel at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. AFP

WASHINGTON—NBA superstar LeBron James denied any involvement with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ decision to fire coach Dave Blatt, saying Saturday he was “surprised and caught off guard” by the move.

The Cavaliers dumped Blatt in favor of associate coach Tyronn Lue despite leading the Eastern Conference at 30-11.

Cavaliers general manager David Griffin said James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player, “doesn’t run this organization” and said his watching players and Blatt interact told him it was time to make a move.

“This was one choice I didn’t need to ask anyone about,” Griffin said. “I know what something that’s not right looks like.”

Griffin said it was “unfair” to imply James had any role in the choice.

James said he was not concerned that people might think he influenced the decision.

“That’s not my concern,” James said. “I found out about it just like every other player on this team at 3:30 yesterday ... I think (Griffin) was right on everything he said ... Like it or love it or hate it, we got to respect it.”

Blatt was hired as the Cavaliers coach in 2014 just weeks before James said he was leaving the Miami Heat to return to his home-region club with the goal of winning an NBA title. The Cavaliers reached last year’s NBA Finals but lost to the Golden State Warriors.

“For me, I can’t get caught up and worried about what other people are thinking,” James said. “I stopped doing that a long time ago in my career. AFP

Rio carnival goers celebrate Olympics, but...

RIO DE JANEIRO—Rio de Janeiro carnival goers celebrated the coming Olympics on Saturday and even turned fear of infection from Zikacarrying mosquitos into an excuse to party.

Participants at one of the many street parties popping up ahead of the official carnival, which starts February 5, honored the city’s hosting of the Summer Games in six months by dressing in ancient Greek garb.

Some came as Dionysus, others as

Aphrodite and Apollo. Rio will be the first South American city to host the Olympics and with the country facing deep recession, a vast corruption scandal and an impeachment attempt against President Dilma Rousseff, Brazilians can’t wait to lighten the gloom.

“We picked the Rio Olympics theme for the party because this year our magnificent city Rio will host the Games for the first time,” said Chico Nogueira, coordinator of the pre-carnival event known as

a “bloco.”

“This is the veritable Olympus of the gods here,” he said, looking around at the samba dancers. “The gods of Rio are mixing with the gods of the whole world.”

The bloco also had a serious health message for the carnival, now in its warm-up phase ahead of the five official days and their famously elaborate parades.

Authorities in Brazil are struggling to combat the rapid spread of the Zika virus, which is carried by

Garcia overcomes a game foe, wins vacant WBC welter crown

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

DANNY “Swift” Garcia started slow but swiftly picked up the tempo to outlast Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and win the vacant World Boxing Council welterweight title at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

With the win, the 27-year-old Garcia became a two-division weight world title holder as he outsmarted the more experienced 32-year-old Guerrero.

Guerrero started aggressively and won three of the first four rounds before Garcia settled down to connect with the far more accurate punches to take control and turn the tide swiftly in his favor, en route to a comfortable victory with all three judges, Rey Danseco of the Philippines, Max De Luca and Steve Weisfeld turning in identical 116-112 scorecards.

A 10-1 favorite, Garcia banked on his

mosquitoes and is believed to cause serious defects among babies born to women infected while pregnant.

Those fears are accelerating with the onset of carnival and mass tourist travel. So Saturday’s “bloco” did its bit to aid the anti-mosquito war, including with a song advising against leaving stagnant water around.

“If the water stops, the larvae come, the larvae give birth to the mosquito,” one verse went. “Chase away Zika!” AFP

accuracy as he rocked Guerrero a few times.

Miguel Maravilla at ringside reported that Garcia nailed Guerrero with crisp left and right hooks and an occasional right uppercut. And although Guerrero came on strong in the final round as the fighters went toe-to-toe, it was simply a case of too little too late for the former four-division champion.

Garcia improved to an impressive 32-0 record as he begins a second reign as champion, while Guerrero dropped to 33-4-1, having lost three of his last five bouts to further deepen his career crisis.

In the co-feature, Sammy Vasquez completely dominated Aron Martinez for six rounds before his opponent retired on his stool.

Vasquez improved to 21-0 and moved on to a WBC no. 2 eliminator, while Mar- Filipino judge Rey Danseco (left) displays the WBC belt that was tinez is now 20-5-1. disputed by Danny Garcia and Robert Guererrro.

WASHINGTON— Cleveland’s Tyronn Lue era got off to a rocky start on Saturday as LeBron James and the Cavaliers were beaten 96-83 on their home floor by NBA Central Division rivals Chicago.

Any energy boost for James and the Cavs in their first game since head coach David Blatt was abruptly sacked on Friday—to be replaced by associate coach Lue—was quickly snuffed out by the Bulls, who scored the last 13 points of the opening quarter to take a 21-14 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

The Cavaliers shot 37.2 percent from the floor and made just nine of 22 from the free-throw line -- and were booed by their home crowd.

James scored 16 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, and with 13 rebounds and nine assists fell one assist shy of his first triple-double of the season.

It wasn’t enough to get the Cavs out of the hole they had dug.

“I thought guys got open shots,” Lue said. “We just didn’t make them.”

Lue said the Cavs couldn’t cope with the faster-paced style he wants to institute, which he believes will make better use of James and Kyrie Irving.

“I don’t think we’re in good enough shape,” Lue said. “I think early, we wanted to push it, we wanted to open the floor and I think we came out and did that and then I think we just dropped off the map. I think we got tired.”

“Ky wanted to come out early, Kevin (Love) wanted to come out early. I just don’t think we’re in good enough shape right now to play in the style that we want to play.”

The defeat capped a tumultuous 24 hours in Cleveland, where Blatt became the first coach to be fired from a team leading its conference.

James insisted he had no role in the dismissal of Blatt, who had guided the Cavs to last season’s NBA Finals where they fell in six games to the Golden State Warriors.

But the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player indicated he agreed with general manger David Griffin’s assessment that the Cavaliers lacked the cohesion and spirit needed for a title run.

Lue met with players early Saturday to talk about changing their style, but cautioned that improvement wouldn’t be immediate. AFP

M o n day : Ja n ua ry 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A13

sports sports@thestandard.com.ph

Tomic: Federer’s no Novak

MELBOURNE—Outspoken Bernard Tomic has taunted Roger Federer over his struggles against Novak Djokovic after the Swiss great candidly told the young Aussie he had to knuckle down if he wanted to reach the top 10.

Tomic, who has made more noise off the court than on it in his career so far, said the 17-time Grand Slam winner was “nowhere near” the world number one -and insisted his own game was top-eight material.

“I think he’s also far away from Djokovic as well, if he wants to say that,” Tomic told reporters, after beating fellow Aussie John Millman to set up an Australian Open last-16 clash with Andy Murray.

“If he believes I’m very far away from the top 10, I also believe my prediction that he’s nowhere near Novak’s tennis right now.”

Tomic was reacting to Federer’s comments at this month’s Brisbane International when he said the 23-year-old needed to work hard all year if he wants to be a top-10 player.

Djokovic beat Federer, 34, in two Grand Slam finals in 2015, a season which was dominated by the Serbian world number one who only just missed out on a calendar-year Grand Slam.

“The year is not just one month long or one week long. It’s 52 weeks. It’s every day. That (is what) he’s been struggling to show, to be quite honest,” Federer, the world number three, told reporters.

“Many seasons now in a row we have seen or heard that top 10 is the goal, and he’s missed out on it by a long shot.”

Tomic, Australia’s top-ranked player and currently at a career high of 17, said that Federer’s criticism would serve as motivation to push up the rankings. AFP

6 cyclists hurt in road clash MADRID—Six cyclists from German cycling team Giant-Alpecin were injured in a training accident when a driver, understood to be on the wrong side of the road, crashed into them in Benigembla near Alicante, in south-east Spain, on Saturday.

John Degenkolb, Warren Barguil, Chad Haga, Fredrik Ludvigsson, Ramon Sinkeldam and Max Walscheid were all taken to hospital in Alicante and are said to be in a stable condition.

“During the training ride, a car coming the other direction rode into the group of riders head on. The riders were riding side by side on their own side of the road,” Giant-Alpecin said in a statement.

The driver of the car was an Englishwoman who was on the wrong side of the road when the accident occurred, according to the emergency services.

“Everyone on the team is in shock right now, and there are some major issues that we need to take care of, but we also realise that we have had some luck on our side,” said team physician Anko Boelens.

“Everyone is conscious, stable and approachable, but we are waiting for the latest information and consult the doctors in those hospitals about the treatments needed for the riders.”

Barguil was initially reported to be one of the most severely injured, but his uncle and agent Sebastien Michon believes he has escaped with just a broken wrist.

“Warren is suffering from a broken wrist although this remains to be confirmed,” he told French regional newspaper Le Telegramme.

“Fortunately, that is his only fracture. He also injured his knee, it is a flesh wound and the doctors prefer to think positively. AFP

Russia’s Maria Sharapova blows kisses to the crowd after her win against Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic during their women’s singles on Day 7 of the 2016 of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne. AFP

Serena, Maria set duel MELBOURNE—World number one and defending champion Serena Williams smacked down Margarita Gasparyan to sweep into an Australian Open quarterfinal against Maria Sharapova on Sunday.

The American top seed and 21-time Grand Slam winner wasted little energy in swatting aside the unseeded Russian 6-2, 6-1 in 55 minutes at Rod Laver Arena to set up the mouth-watering clash with her long-time rival.

Williams has won every game against Sharapova since 2004, including last year’s final at Melbourne Park.

Five-time Grand Slam winner Sharapova came through an epic 7-5, 7-5 battle against 12th seed Belinda Bencic immediately before Williams came on court.

Williams, who rarely

looks at the draw during a tournament, claimed she didn’t know who she was facing next.

“I had no idea,” she said, when told Sharapova was up next by a courtside interviewer. “I really have nothing to lose. We’re both just doing the best we can. It’ll be fun.”

The 34-year-old had schooled another Russian, Daria Kasatkina, in the earlier round, crushing her in just 44 minutes, and now it was the 58th-ranked Gasparyan’s turn.

It was a sluggish start by Williams, who was broken in the first game by the

21-year-old on her tournament debut, to gasps of shock from the crowd.

But it was a minor blip as the top seed found her range, breaking straight back as the Russian found herself on the receiving end of Williams’ powerful forehand.

Williams, with the great Margaret Court in the stadium watching, held serve and broke again for a 3-1 lead.

It wasn’t vintage Serena but even operating at 50 percent she was too good for Gasparyan and a rout was on the cards.

Gasparyan, who won her first WTA title last year, at Baku, gamely hung on and held serve to keep the score respectable.

But the six-time Melbourne Park winner, gunning to equal Steffi Graf’s Open-era record of 22 Grand Slam titles, was in full control, doing the necessary to take the set easily in 30 minutes.

She dropped just five games in her previous two matches and surrendered only one more against Gasparyan, breaking her on the fourth and sixth games with her phenomenal serve keeping her in command.

She wrapped it up with service winner down the line, clenching her fist in victory.

“I kinda knew she liked to go for a lot, to be aggressive, so I knew I had to play strong,” she said of Gasparyan, who she beat at Wimbledon last year.

Williams won three majors -- the Australian and French Opens and Wimbledon -- in 2015 which took her to within one of Graf’s long-time record of 22. Court holds the all-time Grand Slam record of 24.

The top seed claimed her first Australian Open title in 2003, beating sister Venus in the final, and reached her sixth last year when she toppled Sharapova. AFP

Messi rescues Barcelona MADRID—Lionel Messi scored a spectacular winner as Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga with a hardfought 2-1 win at Malaga on Saturday.

The European champions were handed the perfect start when Munir El Haddadi tapped home the opener after just 64 seconds, but were far from their best and Malaga deservedly levelled through Juanpi 13 minutes before the break.

Messi had been struggling with a slight hamstring strain in the past week, but the fivetime World Player of the Year made the difference once more as he volleyed home his 20th goal of the season to move Barca a point clear of Atletico Madrid in top spot.

Atletico and Real Madrid —who now trail Barca by five

points—are both in action on Sunday when they face Sevilla and Real Betis respectively.

“We started with a goal in the first minute, which put every- MeSSi thing on track, but then we weren’t good at all and perhaps 1-1 at halftime was undeserved given how well Malaga played and what we did in the firsthalf,” said Barca captain Andres Iniesta.

“In the second-half I think we returned to being solid and played as we normally do.”

And Barca boss Luis Enrique lauded the winning mentality of his side even when they are far from their best.

“I am left with the clear improvement of the team in the second-half and the desire the team has to get results,” he said.

“They say it is one of the most important characteristics of the big teams —to win when you play badly.”

Barcelona were without the injured Neymar and suspended Gerard Pique, but did have the luxury of welcoming back Messi and Luis Suarez after they missed the 2-1 win Copa del Rey win at Athletic Bilbao in midweek.

And Suarez made a telling impact after just a minute as he wriggled clear inside the area and although his

low shot was kept out by Carlos Kameni, the ball fell invitingly for El Haddadi to tap home his fourth goal in three games.

Despite a great start, though, Barca were completely outplayed by Malaga in the first-half and were only saved by some wasteful play by the hosts in the final third.

Charles headed just wide before Chory Castro’s effort was turned onto the post by Claudio Bravo.

Thomas Vermaelen was standing in for Pique, but had to be bailed out by a brilliant saving challenge from his central defensive partner Javier Mascherano as his slip allowed Charles to bear down on goal before the Argentine intercepted with a last-ditch challenge. AFP

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK M o n day : Ja n ua ry 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A14

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Wushu federation gets PSA nod FOR making its presence felt from the Southeast Asian region all the way to the world stage, the Wushu Federation of the Philippines is on top of the honor roll list of the Annual Philippine Sportswriters Association Awards Night, presented by MILO and San Miguel Corp.

Australia’s Simon Gerrans (center) celebrates as the overall leader following completion of stage five of the Tour Down Under cycling race from McLaren Vale to Willunga Hill in Adelaide. AFP

Gerrans claims record 4th Tour Down Under ADELAIDE—Australian Simon Gerrans claimed a record fourth Tour Down Under when he finished safely in the peloton after the 90-kilometre final stage on Sunday.

Gerrans finished the UCI seasonopening race nine seconds ahead of fellow countryman Richie Porte of BMC Racing.

Colombia’s Sergio Henao from Team Sky was third overall, 11 seconds behind Gerrans.

Gerrans’ Orica Greenedge teammate Caleb Ewan won the final stage in a sprint finish, adding to his victory in the opening stage on Tuesday.

The powerful Ewan surged for the line 80 metres out, winning by a bike length from Australia’s Mark Renshaw (Team Dimension Data) and Italian Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo).

However, the day’s racing belonged to Gerrans, whose nine-second overnight

lead meant he only had to stay out of trouble Sunday to ensure a win in the general classification.

Gerrans has been a dominant force at the Tour Down Under, winning previously in 2006, 2012 and 2014.

He staked his claim for this year’s race when he won the third stage to Campbelltown, then backed up with victory in a sprint finish in the fourth stage at the seaside town of Victor Harbor. AFP

Lyceum asserts might in national jungolf LYCEUM of the PhilippinesCavite asserted its might to rule the seniors’ division, while La Salle Zobel edged Centre for International Education for the juniors’ crown in the recent national finals of the ICTSI-JGFP InterSchool golf tournament held recently at the Player course of the Orchard Golf and Country Club in Dasmarinas, Cavite.

Rupert Zaragosa, Luigi Guerrero, Dan Cruz and Jelbert Gamolo conspired for 298 points for a runaway win

in the 36-hole culmination of the national series backed by the International Container Terminal Services, Inc. Foundation.

The La Salle Zobel squad of Kristoffer Arevalo, Nikolo Gatmaytan, Liam Cully, Aniceto Mandanas, Steven Ferrer) beat the Cebu squad CIE by just four points in the event also supported by Philippine Golf Foundation and Philippine Airlines.

Another De La Salle Zobel team made up of Ira Alido, Jolo Magcalayo, Marc Ga-

reth Nolasco, Francis Andre Lanuza and Chad Lazaro captured the Aspirants’ 1 plum.

The other winners were Xavier School (Jet Ang, Sean Young, Jacob Chua, Emilio Carpio) in Aspirants’ 2, while La Salle Taft, La Salle Zobel and Immaculate Concepcion Academy emerged as winners in the girls’ division.

The individual winners were Zaragosa, Arevalo, Zachary Castro of the British Academy, Alido, Sandra Nocum, Nicole Abelar and Burberry Zhang of

OB Montessori-Las Pinas.

The results: Seniors: 298 Lyceum of the Philippines –Cavite (Rupert Zaragosa, Luigi Gurrero, Dan Cruz , Jelbert Gamolo) Juniors: 309 De La Salle Zobel (Kristoffer Arevalo, Nikolo Gatmaytan, Liam Cully, Aniceto Mandanas, Steven Ferrer); 305 Centre for International Education (Wei Wei Gao, LK Go, Wei Yu Gao, Ryu Haga); 287 Ateneo (Carl Corpus, Aidric Chan, Adrian Romero, Marc Corrales, Karl Dela Torre)

The federation will be awarded with the National Sports Association of the Year award during the Feb. 13 formal rites to be hosted by well-known broadcaster and sports analyst Quinito Henson and the ever lovely Patricia Bermudez-Hizon at the One Esplanade in Pasay City.

The WFP capped a highly successful campaign in 2015 by winning two gold medals in the 13th World Wushu Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia courtesy of Divine Wally and Arnel Mandal.

Wally, the 19-year-old native of Baguio City, won the gold in the 48 kg division by outclassing Luan Thi Hoang of Vietnam in the finals, 2-0. Not to be outdone, the 20-year-old Mandal from Iloilo City, clinched the same honor in the men’s 52-kg sanda finals by beating Uchit Sharma of India, 2-1.

Both Wally and Mandal were in contention for the prestigious Athlete of the Year award solely handed out by the country’s sportswriting fraternity, and later given out to world boxing champion Donnie Nietes and Nonito Donaire Jr. and Asian Tour winner Miguel Tabuena.

The WFP has also been previously named NSA of the Year by the PSA during its traditional awards night also presented by MVP Sports Foundation, Smart, Maynilad, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Senator Chiz Escudero, SM Holdings, ICTSI, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Basketball Association, Accel, Globalport, Rain or Shine, and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp.

Daniel Parantac began the ball rolling for the Filipino wushu bets when he won the sport’s lone gold in the 28th Southeast Asian Games in Singapore by ruling the men’s optional taijiquan and besting entries from Malaysia and Indonesia.

The national team went on to stamp its class anew in the Asian Junior Wushu Championship led by Ken Alieson Omengan in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, China.

Omengan spearheaded the country four gold medal haul by topping the boys’ nanquan and nandao events, duplicating his two-gold medal output in the same meet during the 2013 edition held in Manila.

Agatha Chrystenzen Wong and Spencer Bahod then added two more golds as the Filipinos swept the boys and girls’ taiijian events, respectively.

The WFP shares the limelight with other top awardees of the gala night that also included Gilas Pilipinas (President’s Award), Alyssa Valdez (Ms. Volleyball) and the cage duo of Calvin Abueva and Terrence Romeo (Mr. Basketball). AFP

Nagai, Bjorkland share golf honors RIKO Nagai and Rowena Bjorklund turned in a pair of strong finishes to dominate their respective divisions in the Philippine Ladies Open Golf Championship presented by Champion Infinity at the Midlands in Tagaytay Friday.

Nagai, who took control with an 88 in the first round but reeled back with a 92 Thursday, saved her best for last, firing an 84 to turn back erstwhile leader Stella Barnes for the Class A crown while Bjorklund closed out with a second 90 to run away with the Class B diadem.

The Japanese shotmaker pooled a 264 to post a fiveshot romp over Barnes, who faltered with a 92 after an impressive 85 for a 269 while Marilyn Reyes rallied with an

88 to snatch third place at 272 in the 54-hole championship organized and conducted by the Women’s Golf Association of the Philippines.

Catalina Neish and Soon Hak Jung shot identical 93s to finish tied for fourth at 279 while Hee Sun Kim ended up sixth at 280 after a 98 and Karen Buenaventura fought back with an 88 for a 281.

Bjorklund, on the other hand, outclassed the Class B field, pooling a 283 for a whopping 16-point win over Sun Ok Park, who shot a second 97 for a 299 while Melody Trovag placed third with a 311 after a 99 and Maricel Galisim ended up fourth with a 319 after a 108 in the event backed by Filinvest Alabang, Inc., Metro Pacific, Shell, Philippine Daily

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

Inquirer, Taishan Insurance Brokers, Inc., MEC, Jewelmer, G&W Clubshares, inc. and Vermogen.

Nagai and Bjorklund thus joined amateur ace Princess Superal in the podium finish after the former US Girls’ Junior champion held off Yuka Saso and The Country Club teammate Pauline del Rosario to snare the Open championship.

Superal squandered an overnight four-shot lead but cashed in on her rivals’ miscue on the final hole to capture the crown with a 214 after a 73, her fifth straight after closing out the 2015 season with four victories abroad then opening this year’s campaign with an emphatic victory in the Hong Kong Ladies Amateur Open two weeks ago.

Ceremonial toast. Alaska Milk Corp. marketing director Maribel Fernando (left) and NBA Philippines managing director Carlo Singson make the ceremonial toast during the tip-off and open clinic of the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Philippines 2016 at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Makati City over the weekend. For complete schedule of the league’s global youth basketball participation program for boys and girls, visit www.jrnba.asia/philippines.

M O N DAY : JA N UA RY 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

A15

SPORTS sports@thestandard.com.ph

Pacman to go for Bradley KO

By Ronnie Nathanielsz

EIGHT-DIVISION world champion Manny Pacquiao will go for a knockout when he faces World Boxing Organization welterweight champion Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on April 9.

Pacquiao believes that the best way to end his career in an announced farewell fight would be to win by a knockout, although he concedes that Bradley is a vastly improved fighter based on his ninth-round stoppage of Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios, who went 12 rounds with Pacquiao.

Pacquiao told sportswriters in New York on his final stop to promote the fight that he will try to knock out Bradley if he gets the chance.

“If I get the chance (to knock him out), why not? I want to win convincingly,” said Pacquiao, a two-term congressman from Sarangani province.

Pacquiao, who is seeking

a Senate seat in the May presidential elections, is in the Top 10 of the latest survey results.

Although he lost a widely criticized split decision in their first fight which Pacquiao appeared to win handily and won by a lopsided margin in their rematch, he insisted in terms of the record, that it’s 1-1 and he wishes to set the record straight by winning their third encounter.

To Pacquiao, it’s a case of “unfinished business.”

“We still have an unfinished business, so, we need to settle this in our third fight. To me, he (Bradley) has improved a lot and that makes him a more

challenging opponent atop the ring,” said Pacquiao.

The ring idol of millions of Filipinos and fight fans around the world plans to begin training in his own Pacman Wild Card Gym in General Santos City in the first week of February, before winding up his preparation at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles over the last four weeks.

Aquilino Zonio, who travels with Pacquiao and reports on his activities, said Restituto “Buboy” Fernandez, the boxer’s assistant trainer, will take charge of the training in the first week of February until chief trainer and coach Freddie Roach arrives on Feb. 13.

Live the Spartan lifestyle LOCKER ROOM RANDY CALUAG

AT the heart of Mandaluyong City in Pioneer avenue, lies a newly built, sprawling sports and recreational training arena named Sparta.

It prides itself as being the only FIFA 1-start indoor football field in the country and just recently, it opened another first—a triathlon concept store named Maximus Athlete’s Shop Café.

The football field, according to Sparta owner Amanda Fernandez, is open 24/7 and will launch its first program called Sparta Football Workshop for Adults, with the help of Dream Big Pilipinas founder, Miguel Bermundo.

Dream Big Pilipinas is a football association in the Philippines that uses the sport of football as a catalyst for positive transformation among the youth in underserved communities.

The program intends to encourage adults to get into the sport of Football.

“It is never too late for adults

to get into football. The football field will be open 24/7 and one can just drop by at Sparta after work or even after a nightcap for a good football workout,” said Fernandez.

As for the triathlon concept store, owned by well-known coach Andy Leuterio, multi-sport athletes such as cyclists, runners, swimmers will now have a place to enjoy shopping for their gears and enjoy coffee under one roof.

They can also have their bikes washed at the bike spa.

Self-defense The Sparta also has a calisthenics and martial arts facilities, where students can enjoy Zumba and yoga and learn the arts of various self defense like capoiera, karate, jeet kune do and Kali or arnis. In the classes, students are taught how to defend themselves against knives and other weapons in street encounters.

“The program also allows them to unleash their inner warrior.

Everyone deserves to feel safe-whether at home or during a commute, and learning basic skills in our classes can do that,” said Fernandez.

What excites me more, however, is the forthcoming Boxing and

MMA gym.

Talks are underway for Sparta to house the Highland Boxing and MMA promotion owned by Brico Santig of La Trinidad, Benguet.

Santig, who has world International Boxing Organization flyweight champion Rey Loreto under his fold, and several international champions in the OPBF and WBC organizations, will have his boxing trainers offering classes for executives as well as to young boxing and MMA enthusiasts.

ONE Championship lady fighter Jujeath Nagaowa also belongs to the Highland stable. Santig has also been recently appointed as head of K1 Philippines. K1, which used to be the most popular kickboxing show in the world, is now being revived in Japan and Asia.

If plans push through, Santig also hopes to have his professional boxing and K1 fighters train in Manila and carry the HighlandSparta banner.

Fernandez said aggressive expansion of Sparta is line with its vision to “influence everyone to get into wellness and active living and aim to create bigger and sustainable changes within yourself.”

She aptly calls it the Spartan lifestyle.

Boxer Manny Pacquiao speaks during a press conference at Madison Square Garden in New York on January 21, 2015, to announce his retirement after the 12-round welterweight championship fight against Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas. AFP

Baby Tamaraws keep hopes alive

By Peter Atencio THE Far Eastern University-Diliman Baby Tamaraws kept their hopes alive in the race to earn semifinal slots in the 78th University Athletic Association of the Philippines Junior Basketball Tournament last Saturday at the Arena in San Juan.

They leaned on the big efforts of Kenji Roman and LJ Gonzales in the fourth period as they stopped the Adamson Baby Falcons, 60-55.

Roman had 15 points and 15 rebounds, joining hands with Gonzales for 10 points in the last canto to help the Baby Tamaraws move away from a 41-42 deficit at the end of the third period.

The Baby Tamaraws, led by Jun Gabane with 18 points, climbed to a share of fourth place with the Baby Falcons, with both sharing similar 6-5 win-loss records in fourth place.

Meanwhile, the National University Bullpups moved three wins away from an outright finals’ berth.

UST looking for new coach to replace Dela Cruz THE University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers are choosing from among three candidates, who could take over the Bong dela Cruz’s coaching job in the 79th season of the University Athletic Association of the Philippines men’s basketball tournament.

Sources said Dela Cruz is set to be replaced, several weeks after the Growling Tigers made it to finals and lost to the Far Eastern University in a title clash last season.

School officials are currently discussing the changes that will happen within the team, with UST Institute of Physical Education and Athletics, officials led by Fr. Ermito De Sagun leading the talks, according to sources.

Bal David, a former Barangay Ginebra cager, who played for the multi-titled UST side coached by Aric del Rosario in the 1990s, is said to be among the leading candidates.

David has reportedly applied for the post.

Former UST assistant coach Estong Ballesteros and Blackwater assistant coach Boy Sablan, a former team staff of champion UST coach Pido Jarencio, are also among the prospects.

Under dela Cruz, the Tigers took the no.

1 spot with an 11-3 record at the end of the UAAP eliminations.

Dela Cruz started handling the team in 2014. He replaced Pido Jarencio, who left to coach in the PBA afterwards. Peter Atencio

Justine Baltazar and John Lloyd Clemente showed the way again, as the Bullpups swamped the University of Santo Tomas Tiger Cubs, 82-58.

Baltazar tallied 13 points, 12 rebounds, and four blocks, while Clemente contributed 14 points for the Bullpups, who held the Tiger Cubs’ ace Carl Lacap to just seven points in the second half.

With their main scorers in check, the Bullpups had little trouble taking a 65-36 advantage going into the fourth.

De La Salle Zobel (9-2) stayed behind the Bullpups with their 85-74 romp of University of the Philippines Integrated School.

Aljun Melecio and Marco Sario fired 22 and 19 points, respectively, to push the Junior Archers to their third consecutive victory.

The defending champion Ateneo Blue Eaglets stayed at third place after winning over University of the East, 96-58, with Jolo Mendoza hitting 25 points

LOTTO RESULTS

6/49 00-00-00-00-00-0

P16M

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

CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK

A16

M o n day : Ja n ua ry 2 5 , 2 0 1 6 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

SMB’s JayR Reyes beats Alaska’s Noy Baclao and Eric Menk to the rebound in a PBA Philippine Cup game won by the Beermen, 110-104.

SMB takes Game 4, stays alive

by Jeric lopez NOT just yet.

Just when it seemed that San Miguel Beer’s campaign was about to end, it suddenly flexed its championship muscles to live for another day, pulling off a 110-104 come-frombehind overtime victory over Alaska in Game 4 of their best-of-seven finals series in the 2015-16 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup Sunday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Marcio Lassiter, Gabby Espinas and Chris Ross came up huge for the Beermen, producing on both ends of the floor to make sure SMB remained alive.

Lassiter scored a game-high 26 points, while Espinas was a monster down low, tallying a double-

double of 21 points and 14 points before fouling out, while Ross was all over the place as he nearly had a triple-double with his 11 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists.

The San Miguel win prevented a sweep by Alaska as the series will go on with the Aces still very much in

control even with a reduced 3-1 lead. ‘’We just had to win,’’ said Ross, whose defensive effort also boosted San Miguel in the crucial stretches. ‘’We’re still alive and we’ll keep fighting. It’s not yet over.’’

Game 5 will be on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum with Alaska once again having a chance to close it out and clinch the championship.

After Vic Manuel scored four quick points to start the extension to give Alaska a 102-98 edge, San Miguel responded emphatically.

Led by Ross, San Miguel suddenly erupted with a blistering 12-0 blast to take the exciting game away in the closing minutes. Ross scored that killer run’s first four

points as he jumpstarted the finishing kick.

Alaska wasn’t able to recover from there.

Cyrus Baguio was the one responsible sending the game into an extra session as he calmly drained a wide-open triple at the buzzer in regulation to even the count at 98all.

In scintillating finish, the defending champion Beermen dug deep in the final three minutes to produce one of the most memorable, season-saving runs in the league’s finals history.

Ahead by 93-82, with only 3:31 left after Jvee Casio’s triple, Alaska looked poised to sweep San Miguel and grab the championship.

bulls spoil lue’s coAching debut

pAcmAn to go for ko victory

turn to A12

turn to A15

Wesley still at 3rd spot in Holland by peter Atencio FILIPINO grandmaster Wesley So played Chinese GM Wei Yi to a draw in the 7th round of the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in Wijk aan Zee in Holland.

So and Wei halved their point in 70 moves of the Ruy Lopez Tarrasch Variation.

This allowed So to hang on to third spot in the 14-rounder event, which is considered as the “Wimbledon of Chess.”

He shares third spot with GMs Anish Giri and Li Ding.

GMs Fabiano Caruana and Magnus Carlsen are in front with five points.

Caruana won over Li in 83 moves of the Ruy Lopez’s Spanish Opening, while Carlsen prevailed over Pavel Eljanov in 34 moves of a Queen’s Indian Defense.

This year’s tournament consists of the world’s best with nos. 1, 3, 5, 10, 11, 12, and 13th-ranked in the world seeing action.

Carlsen, the defending champion, is aiming for his fifth crown that will equal Vishwathan Anand’s record of five victories.

Twelve of the 14 participants are FIDE rated at 2700 and over, and Carlsen, the world champion, has reached the magical 2800 figure.

B1

MONDAY: JANUARY 25, 2016

RAY S. EÑANO EDITOR

RODERICK T. DELA CRUZ ASSISTANT EDITOR

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

BUSINESS New Panasonic products.

Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corp. plans to double sales by 2018 and improve market share in the consumer durable lines, especially in the washing machine and air-conditioning segments. At the launching of new Panasonic products at the Makati Shanri-La hotel are Hiroyuki Tagishi (center), president of Panasonic Appliances Asia Pacific; Shinichi Hayashi (right), president of Panasonic Manufacturing Philippines Corp.; and Masaru Toyota, vice president of Panasonic Philippines for sales and marketing division.

LINO SANTOS

John Hay companies take sides with BCDA MORE companies and locators doing business in the John Hay Special Economic Zone have signed lease agreements with state-run Bases Conversion and Development Authority, which stripped Sobrepeña-led Camp John Hay Development Corp. of the right to manage the special economic zone in Baguio City.

“The firms have recognized that CJHDevCo has been divested of its authority to manage and administer the John Hay Special Economic Zone and want to merely protect their investments, thereby preferring to do business directly with BCDA,” BCDA president and chief executive Arnel Paciano Casanova said.

Inbound Pacific Inc., a former sub-lessee of CJHDevCo, which operates the Mile-Hi Center and Cantinetta, recently signed two lease agreements with the BCDA for a contract price of P60.52 million, according to Casanova.

Inbound Pacific’s first contract involves the lease of the 6,275-square meter Mile-Hi Center comprised of retail and restaurant facilities, while the second contract involves the lease of the 261-square meter Cantinetta Restaurant and Café also within the JHSEZ. Casanova said other firms had also expressed interest to sign and invest with BCDA. CJHDevCo said, however, it continued to have legal rights over Camp John Hay. It said it would remain business as usual in the camp until a final court order was issued for the camp to be turned over to any party.

CJHDevCo was also claiming a full payment of P1.42 billion from BCDA. BCDA is the owner of the Camp John Hay, a former military base, while CJHDevCo served as the private developer of the economic zone.

Casanova said CJHDevCo had no more authority over the John Hay Special Economic Zone and was operating without a legal basis. He said CJHDevCo could no longer avail of fiscal and nonfiscal tax incentives offered in the economic zone.

He said CJHDevCo had changed its status to a VAT registered enterprise and started passing on VAT charges to customers and sub-lessees.

PAL eyes 2nd route in Europe next year

By Darwin G Amojelar PHILIPPINE Airlines plans to fly to a second destination in Europe next year as it expects delivery of more long-haul jets this year.

“We are in the process of finalizing a decision to fly to a second destination in Europe.

So, we are not yet at liberty to announce it. The one that we are looking at for Europe will be operating out of Manila,” said PAL president and chief operating officer Jaime Bautista in an interview with Asian Travel Tips.

The second destination in Europe will be in 2017, Bautista added.

Before the Lucio Tan Group bought back PAL, the San Miguel-led management had planned to fly to Paris, Rome and Amsterdam in the fourth quarter of 2013. This was after the European Union removed PAL from a list of countries that fail to meet international aviation standards.

PAL currently flies to London and has entitlements to Germany, Paris, Frankfort, Spain and Amsterdam.

PAL had said it planned to fly seven times a week to the Leonardo da Vinci International Airport or Fiumicino Airport—the largest terminals in Rome.

PAL also said it planned to fly seven times a week to Malpensa Airport in Milan. Italy is home to 170,000 migrant Filipino workers.

MMCO and

MERALCO present

JOSE ARTEMIO PANGANIBAN III Pianist

THE AMAZING BRAHMS February 5, 2016 • 7:30pm CCP Little Theater Roxas Boulevard, Manila Brahms Concerto No. 1

A grand stellar series, featuring the best works of the great masters, performed by world class soloists, under the awardwinning conductor, Prof. Josefino Chino Toledo

For tickets, call MMCO Tels: 216-6487 / 0906-7777958 / 0917-5335747

MONDAY: JANUARY 25, 2016

B2

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

The STandard BuSineSS Weekly STockS revieW JANUARY 18-22, 2016 Close Volume 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. I-Remit Inc. Manulife Fin. Corp.

MEDCO Holdings Metrobank Natl Reinsurance Corp.

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

2.82 44.5 96.50 85.80 34.4 2.49 1.24 14.44 16 6.15 1.82 580.00 0.435 68.3 0.9 15.50 22.00 45.95 95 235.2 32.2 140 1250.00 54.60 1.5

Aboitiz Power Corp.

Agrinurture Inc. Alliance Tuna Intl Inc. Alsons Cons.

Asiabest Group C. Azuc De Tarlac Century Food Conc. Aggr. `A’ Cirtek Holdings (Chips) Concepcion Crown Asia Da Vinci Capital Del Monte DNL Industries Inc. Emperador Energy Devt. Corp. (EDC) EEI Euro-Med Lab. First Gen Corp.

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

LBC Express Liberty Flour LMG Chemicals Mabuhay Vinyl Corp.

Macay Holdings Manila Water Co. Inc. Maxs Group Megawide Mla. Elect. Co `A’ Panasonic Mfg Phil. Corp.

Pepsi-Cola Products Phil.

Petron Corporation Phil H2O Phinma Corporation Phoenix Petroleum Phils.

Phoenix Semiconductor Pryce Corp. `A’ RFM Corporation Roxas and Co. Roxas Holdings San Miguel’Pure Foods `B’ Splash Corporation Swift Foods, Inc. TKC Steel Corp.

Trans-Asia Oil Universal Robina Victorias Milling Vitarich Corp.

Vivant Corp.

Vulcan Ind’l.

40.55 4.23 0.69 1.21 9.6 110.00 15.9 36 19.44 42 2.13 2.77 11.18 7.500 7.07 5.38 6.13 1.79 17.9 52.35 11.50 13.52 4.85 2.110 198.00 7.1 27.20 1.86 3.05 40.65 24.7 13.78 5.57 307.00 3.90 2.9 5.56 2.25 11.50 3.60 1.35 2.18 3.70 2.64 5.14 119.8 2.58 0.136 0.90 2.08 184.4 4.55 0.58 22.50 0.99

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

Forum Pacific GT Capital House of Inv. IPM Holdings JG Summit Holdings Jolliville Holdings Keppel Holdings `A’ LT Group Keppel Holdings `B’ Lopez Holdings Corp.

Lodestar Invt. Holdg.Corp.

Mabuhay Holdings `A’ Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

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

0.290 54.4000 13.20 1.00 6.00 0.200 613 7.06 10.78 5.58 4.42 0.183 1225 5.60 9.50 60.00 3.35 5 4.99 5.04 0.53 14.62 0.48 5.24 3 0.0270 0.900 1.960 2.52 60.00 2.35 740.00 1.00 0.67 71.450 0.2300 0.1900 0.249

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

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

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

6.680 7.18 0.62 1.050 0.220 28.600 2.11 4.6 6 6.09 0.415 1.030 0.101 0.370 20.25 0.730 0.138 0.86 1.46 1.10

Value

FINANCIAL 23,260,030.00 4,411,895.00 870,655,467 604,535,242.50 9,853,165.00 1,473,390.00 1,398,830.00 2,638,814.00 7,966,142.00 166,043 61,500.00 94,050.00 387,350.00 1,387,350,416.00 144,000.00 1,896,922.00 387,200.00 85,809,015.00 239,920.50 5,635,602.00 55,467,200 1,048,133,941.00 1,101,230.00 3,258,173.00 54,350.00 INDUSTRIAL 4,738,300 190,009,585.00 763,000 3,200,760.00 109,000 76,770.00 2,004,000 2,407,760.00 58,400 540,898.00 1,500 156,850.00 1,342,400 20,239,564 400 14,300.00 2,029,400 38,673,744.00 2,022,000 84,923,545 2,321,000 4,666,370.00 81,084,000 215,029,780.00 549,900 6,138,586.00 74,875,300 527,754,658.00 6,792,500 48,643,148.00 47,534,300 258,810,874.00 2,262,000 13,006,255.00 12,000 20,480.00 21,835,100 400,219,290.00 4,896,500 258,087,901.50 18,000 207,216.00 10,900 151,388.00 1,307,400 6,444,167.00 11,937,000 25,045,500.00 4,366,350 871,067,086.00 192,100 1,405,026.00 1,400 38,190.00 193,000 334,820.00 49,000 142,720.00 10,700 384,940.00 8,492,100 204,470,495.00 1,482,700 20,682,770.00 4,496,300 25,038,432.00 956,150 292,146,504.00 16,000 62,560.00 1,664,000 4,905,340.00 20,107,300 110,550,960.00 3,000 7,470.00 36,500 403,840.00 2,805,000 10,094,200.00 1,132,000 1,504,240.00 1,039,000 2,220,140.00 2,700,000 10,245,390.00 11,000 26,360.00 9,200 45,943.00 120,250 14,361,979.00 3,732,000 9,676,870.00 4,270,000 578,190.00 96,000 87,560.00 5,421,000 11,245,180.00 10,947,740 2,000,028,008.00 1,049,000 4,772,950.00 3,634,000 2,185,510.00 8,000 180,000.00 120,000 118,530.00 HOLDING FIRMS 2,550,000 719,000.00 5,226,090 287,177,458.00 37,027,300 501,357,994.00 741,000 741,080.00 98,700 594,586.00 510,000 101,030.00 1,863,520 1,164,318,075.00 12,706,200 89,938,119.00 48,471,500 542,762,214.00 288,600 1,599,180.00 1,279,000 5,701,150.00 160,000 29,040.00 944,190 1,180,743,855.00 649,300 3,702,445.00 8,575,300 81,049,758.00 7,527,620 454,601,223.00 13,000 43,580.00 2,000 9,150.00 4,000 19,960.00 51,198,600 266,180,198.00 267,000 144,410.00 13,054,900 192,735,186.00 300,000 147,050.00 119,738,600 621,792,810.00 1,000 3,000.00 111,700,000 3,048,600.00 86,000 78,250.00 8,300,000 15,603,110.00 4,000 10,080.00 2,617,330 155,807,549.00 30,000 64,230.00 1,125,000 861,026,140.00 157,000 152,500.00 290,000 194,990.00 178,630 12,663,083.00 2,310,000 542,100.00 1,030,000 176,760.00 170,000 39,150.00 PROPERTY 2,355,000 15,253,325.00 2,900 19,184.00 2,385,000 1,449,860.00 233,000 246,990.00 1,170,000 257,100.00 75,880,800 2,179,150,075.00 17,620,000 37,951,460.00 1,034,300 4,642,967.00 200 1,200.00 130,100 729,199.00 15,760,000 6,817,050.00 1,000 1,030.00 12,490,000 1,243,530.00 6,760,000 2,466,200.00 5,327,900 110,375,135.00 92,000 65,730.00 380,000 52,280.00 10,528,000 9,247,480.00 151,786,000 221,632,700.00 754,000 892,940.00 8,999,000 98,900 9,180,190 7,165,190 289,400 612,000 1,040,000 183,200 493,700 26,800 35,000 160 930,000 20,189,950 160,000 123,900 17,600 1,900,100 2,500 23,530 1,714,900 7,307,680 865 59,250 36,000

JANUARY 11-15, 2016 Close Volume Value 2.1 45.1 98.00 85.25 35.1 2.41 1.19 14.76 17.04 6.45 1.81 620.00 0.430 71.7 0.9 15.50 22.00 48.50 98.75 259 32 139.5 1315.00 56.00 1.52

332,000 98,100 11,090,720 17,675,100 509,500 202,000 221,000 41,700 457,700 64,500 10,000 510 1,140,000 16,460,830 2,044,000 3,727,400 983,700 575,010 3,660 18,700 656,600 7,107,535 260 218,920 516,000

725,820.00 4,474,245.00 1,076,454,123 1,479,218,309.50 18,104,205.00 489,600.00 254,650.00 595,280.00 7,875,205.00 434,312 18,020.00 315,500.00 480,350.00 1,172,715,332.50 1,863,630.00 58,816,424.00 21,641,400.00 28,759,496.00 352,236.50 5,060,296.00 21,057,345 998,669,637.00 342,560.00 12,419,242.00 801,290.00

39.95 4.3 0.75 1.2 10 100.00 15.14 35 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 27.45 1.73 3.09 38.95 24.85 15.1 5.8 315.00 3.90 3.15 5.73 3 11.50 3.65 1.37 2.19 3.82

7,496,200 3,018,000 98,000 9,102,000 10,600 1,200 9,945,000 100 1,724,100 523,000 8,118,000 31,071,000 468,500 59,376,700 5,548,800 51,915,600 11,419,400 72,000 15,115,600 2,355,790 9,200 333,600 2,647,800 12,790,000 2,982,540 396,900 2,700 25,000 27,000 18,500 7,333,600 1,731,500 3,497,300 926,770 22,000 8,348,000 14,821,600 8,000 144,700 1,247,000 1,859,000 711,000 16,910,000

300,227,935.00 12,479,170.00 72,600.00 11,294,340.00 105,022.00 119,500.00 148,424,692 3,500.00 30,534,952.00 21,924,350 17,782,310.00 60,901,280.00 5,419,728.00 435,257,779.00 46,591,913.00 291,728,348.00 60,864,146.00 116,080.00 304,383,945.00 140,860,055.00 106,938.00 4,554,430.00 14,295,018.00 28,096,130.00 598,618,489.00 3,642,064.00 73,665.00 43,630.00 75,190.00 679,355.00 177,772,205.00 28,708,944.00 19,315,332.00 285,293,850.00 85,900.00 26,724,570.00 87,102,645.00 23,970.00 1,624,444.00 4,617,470.00 2,589,610.00 1,556,310.00 65,038,090.00

5.9 120 2.57 0.137 1.02 2.05 187 4.55 0.58 23.00 1.00

23,000 147,230 4,885,000 8,340,000 145,000 6,178,000 10,080,070 1,190,000 768,000 11,400 1,568,000

112,900.00 17,648,328.00 12,181,000.00 1,133,330.00 136,510.00 12,431,670.00 1,829,483,121.00 5,402,320.00 435,060.00 260,750.00 1,574,680.00

0.310 56.5000 14.62 1.07 6.12 0.200 670 7.42 12.12 5.2 4.42 0.193 1300 5.78 9.88 63.80

11,560,000 7,572,910 22,892,100 24,000 795,200 1,710,000 1,631,300 22,182,100 20,484,300 278,500 1,229,000 560,000 702,750 430,700 7,967,800 9,235,170

3,567,950.00 421,780,789.50 338,915,172.00 23,680.00 4,917,315.00 349,180.00 1,097,327,555.00 167,508,791.00 244,745,360.00 1,527,602.00 5,173,230.00 110,890.00 916,875,485.00 2,431,075.00 78,124,912.00 599,987,726.00

4.5 4.99 5.58 0.55 14.1 0.48 5.1

2,000 5,000 8,499,700 1,829,000 8,725,900 40,000 102,288,000

8,510.00 24,950.00 48,262,723.00 1,064,920.00 121,717,586.00 19,000.00 527,908,031.00

0.0290 1.000 1.730 2.56 60.00 2.38 809.00 0.99 0.70 65.900 0.2450 0.1690 0.230

223,800,000 123,000 4,378,000 46,000 4,185,380 32,000 936,780 2,101,000 233,000 143,800 3,610,000 4,390,000 740,000

6,423,200.00 126,270.00 7,475,540.00 121,510.00 237,776,230.50 76,160.00 740,923,840.00 2,179,300.00 163,100.00 9,115,380.50 912,650.00 799,960.00 172,100.00

6.800 7.38 0.62 1.070 0.200 30.750 2.3 5 5

391,700 14,100 3,804,000 122,000 2,340,000 82,092,100 21,587,000 70,000 1,000

2,647,239.00 94,985.00 2,350,750.00 131,860.00 465,700.00 2,499,770,640.00 51,882,300.00 334,835.00 5,000.00

0.47 0.96 0.102 0.390 21.2 0.740 0.137 0.94 1.54 1.15

13,756,000 4,010,000 19,960,000 1,500,000 8,665,800 2,177,000 870,000 13,233,000 106,677,000 347,000

6,566,850.00 3,849,600.00 2,137,040.00 593,750.00 182,937,381.00 1,487,030.00 121,900.00 12,252,160.00 168,349,360.00 382,590.00

STOCKS

JANUARY 18-22, 2016 Close Volume

Megaworld Prop.

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

3.27 0.070 0.2200 0.260 8.4 23.50 1.46 2.98 19.22 0.77 4.8 0.800 3.680

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

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

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

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

Pacific Online Sys. Corp.

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

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

SSI Group STI Holdings Travellers Waterfront Phils.

Yehey

6.46 53.9 1.13 0.400 10.5 3.42 0.0380 3.3 76 9.38 1.59 6.04 2.35 955 1718 6.35 1.08 58 11 0.0077 0.119 1.3500 6.90 3.99 2.20 21.95 0.500 1.97 1.33 2.95 0.260 0.620 17.42 4.11 2.65 9.24 100.00 20.10 1990.00 0.405 0.580 32.85 58.20 4.82 2.50 0.385 3.5 0.330 3.460

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

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

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

TA Petroleum United Paragon

0.0040 1.55 4.00 14.00 0.209 3.7900 4.9000 0.48 0.31 5.99 0.490 0.240 0.150 0.186 0.0096 0.012 1.45 3.55 2.1 0.4800 0.9600 0.0090 3.12 3.80 1.20 0.0096 120.00 1.8 0.0071

ABS-CBN Holdings Corp.

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

MWIDE PREF PCOR-Preferred A PCOR-Preferred B PF Pref 2 PNX PREF 3A PNX PREF 3B SMC Preferred B SMC Preferred C SMC Preferred D SMC Preferred E SMC Preferred F

53.55 529.5 530.5 112.9 113.9 500 510 6 1.1 111 1020 1065 1026 104 106.5 80 82 78.4 79 78.6

Leisure & Resort Warr.

1.300

Alterra Capital Makati Fin. Corp.

Italpinas Small Den. T-Bonds Xurpas

3.12 2.53 2.02

First Metro ETF

101.2

12.3

JANUARY 11-15, 2016 Close Volume Value

Value

559,389,000 1,818,858,540.00 2,510,000 174,460.00 60,000 12,950.00 800,000 230,000.00 330,400 2,780,467.00 13,919,800 329,583,955.00 23,482,000 31,797,320.00 99,000 287,230.00 63,319,200 1,210,885,438.00 5,281,000 4,007,560.00 40,000 190,560.00 853,000 647,150.00 58,827,000 228,732,850.00 SERVICES 41,565,800 247,445,988.00 127,640 7,018,775.00 105,000 118,690.00 1,560,000 633,150.00 3,400 35,820.00 113,118,000 351,971,760.00 37,200,000 1,412,900.00 1,384,000 4,444,100.00 3,217,550 242,982,223.00 4,800 45,138.00 248,000 363,120 2,414,800 14,482,442.00 3,000 7,050.00 1,980 1,890,900.00 345,325 584,445,220 334,000 2,130,876.00 473,000 521,240.00 6,494,830 370,533,983.50 3,800 40,278.00 27,000,000 210,700.00 8,120,000 943,270.00 746,000 964,010.00 541,400 3,760,848.00 4,052,000 16,698,050.00 266,000 532,730.00 10,500 232,215.00 27,000 14,290.00 34,000 64,770.00 123,457,000 159,764,820.00 14,810,000 46,000,510.00 1,910,000 480,500.00 10,822,000 6,558,280.00 2,331,200 42,436,130.00 113,000 483,150 11,000 29,080.00 2,647,800 24,485,800.00 10,300 1,031,600.00 223,700 4,475,173.00 474,955 726,770,980.00 1,500,000 604,600.00 274,684,000 141,848,510.00 5,591,800 184,994,980.00 8,488,520 504,870,073.50 9,445,000 45,099,940.00 29,107,000 74,415,500.00 185,890,000 67,968,800.00 1,440,000 4,990,660.00 400,000 126,450.00 293,000 957,240.00 MINING & OIL 895,000,000 3,653,300.00 172,000 280,450.00 649,000 2,596,560.00 12,800 151,144.00 1,090,000 227,000.00 500 1,887.00 3,000 14,750.00 609,000 286,450.00 14,260,000 4,322,150.00 26,500 153,208.00 14,880,000 7,031,050.00 2,120,000 488,850.00 17,510,000 2,545,120.00 80,000 14,880.00 212,000,000 2,056,500.00 250,500,000 2,821,000.00 972,000 1,396,980.00 28,644,000 108,692,410.00 1,974,000 4,216,740.00 183,000 90,740.00 2,817,000 2,553,030.00 53,000,000 487,000.00 45,000 143,660.00 2,619,000 10,111,210.00 1,253,000 1,495,640.00 63,600,000 629,830.00 2,389,970 291,307,580.00 264,000 483,760.00 2,000,000 14,100.00 PREFERRED 750,390 41,000,466.00 1,200 632,900.00 10,780 5,690,055 10 1,129.00 92,430 10,313,075.00 7,000 3,500,000.00 3,374 1,953,900.00 1,293,700 7,849,679.00 2,000 2,200 2,000 222,000.00 900 918,180.00 350 372,750.00 23,320 14,724,575.00 283,870 29,466,470.00 22,900 2,444,800.00 15,970 1,274,258.00 184,890 15,058,618.00 441,510 34,570,644.00 351,660 27,781,752.00 295,370 23,286,847.50 WARRANTS & BONDS 1,155,000 1,426,690.00 SME 97,000 297,380.00 32,000 80,340.00 1,232,000 1,772,400.00 992,480 11,673,600 139,691,022.00 EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 67,170 6,834,152.00

3.65 0.070 0.2000 0.295 8.45 25.00 1.4 2.92 19.90 0.77 4.21 0.780 4.160

294,196,000 2,700,000 3,400,000 1,850,000 534,600 19,853,100 1,183,000 370,000 122,493,300 6,093,000 13,000 1,835,000 32,059,000

1,082,832,810.00 194,520.00 731,440.00 609,300.00 4,547,433.00 471,461,985.00 1,629,970.00 1,090,080.00 2,463,895,197.00 4,508,650.00 59,470.00 1,377,720.00 140,368,740.00

6.35 58 1.13 0.400 10.9 3.08 0.0370 3.05 78.4 9.48 1.48 5.83 3.20 955 1695 6.50 1.13 59 11.12 0.0081 0.123 1.2900 6.80 4.40 2.28

229,400 167,920 264,000 4,440,000 8,000 78,098,000 53,300,000 3,453,000 2,919,800 16,700 875,000 1,775,800 8,000 1,520 464,500 377,300 596,000 8,853,100 3,500 59,000,000 7,880,000 2,815,000 19,978,700 4,352,000 70,000

1,447,767.00 9,987,932.00 297,750.00 1,833,050.00 87,530.00 261,806,680.00 2,223,700.00 10,749,250.00 226,343,738.50 152,274.00 1,331,190 10,103,029.00 24,660.00 1,452,290.00 788,053,680 2,451,616.00 676,490.00 521,491,844.50 38,708.00 501,000.00 979,840.00 3,710,340.00 139,702,720.00 19,105,120.00 143,380.00

0.480 1.95 1.33 3.52 0.255 0.640 17.5 4.30 2.42 9.35 100.00 20.35 1904.00 0.410 0.465 31.95 64.00 4.75 2.56 0.395 3.65 0.320 3.350

95,000 180,000 39,849,000 10,064,000 1,790,000 12,724,000 24,200 88,000 59,000 500,000 18,580 250,200 492,400 3,800,000 250,360,000 8,913,800 5,542,110 7,764,300 56,943,000 11,800,000 2,561,000 730,000 239,000

46,050.00 346,400.00 59,719,230.00 35,916,650.00 467,450.00 8,147,290.00 431,546.00 385,620 152,730.00 4,675,000.00 1,858,130.00 5,066,319.00 947,001,705.00 1,591,650.00 113,401,200.00 281,382,275.00 356,132,707.50 37,261,167.00 143,382,690.00 4,668,450.00 9,349,170.00 230,600.00 824,490.00

0.0043 1.65 4.01

5,390,000,000 23,587,000.00 104,000 186,590.00 795,000 3,143,710.00

0.193 5.0000 5.3200 0.5 0.35 5.78 0.475 0.245 0.140 0.188 0.0099 0.012 1.5 4.15 2.2 0.5000 0.8900 0.0092 3.25 4.00 1.19 0.0100 126.50 1.99 0.0080

140,000 400 1,000 2,733,000 14,050,000 754,700 17,792,000 2,250,000 34,970,000 3,800,000 357,300,000 324,400,000 2,318,000 15,430,000 458,000 400,000 4,764,000 9,000,000 38,000 2,435,000 1,597,000 493,000,000 1,415,790 460,000 20,000,000

27,470.00 2,000.00 5,330.00 1,430,980.00 5,502,525.00 4,287,596.00 8,639,770.00 411,050.00 5,349,250.00 680,170.00 3,563,990.00 3,366,700.00 3,613,920.00 67,912,910.00 1,037,290.00 204,570.00 4,752,120.00 83,000.00 119,820.00 10,141,380.00 1,936,790.00 4,935,400.00 180,587,253.00 902,630.00 141,000.00

54.1 519.5 530 108 113.9

481,010 100,440 20,240 10,820 522,820

27,461,164.50 52,216,235.00 10,614,500 1,119,834.00 58,017,765.00

536 6.3 1.07 110 1036 1066 1024 104.3 107 80.9 82 79 79 79.5

4,370 1,450,000 796,000 158,850 120 2,310 260 37,810 29,870 25,380 307,000 30,850 103,800 588,220

2,332,760.00 9,335,266.00 847,250 17,323,120.00 124,270.00 2,464,910.00 266,115.00 3,932,120.00 3,189,896.00 2,051,462.00 25,431,361.00 2,425,320.00 8,196,226.00 46,778,695.50

1.410

901,000

1,419,260.00

2.81 2.51 2.6

426,000 13,000 1,225,000

1,308,280.00 32,850.00 3,209,550.00

12.92

6,416,100

86,252,454.00

105.3

156,050

16,261,374.00

WEEKLY MOST TRADED STOCKS Abra Mining Megaworld Prop.

Premium Leisure Manila Mining `B’ Manila Mining `A’ STI Holdings Filinvest Land,Inc. Melco Crown Metro Pacific Inv. Corp.

Bloomberry

VOLUME 895,000,000 559,389,000 274,684,000 250,500,000 212,000,000 185,890,000 151,786,000 123,457,000 119,738,600 113,118,000

STOCKS Ayala Land `B’ Universal Robina Megaworld Prop.

Metrobank SM Prime Holdings GT Capital Ayala Corp `A’ Security Bank Jollibee Foods Corp.

Banco de Oro Unibank Inc.

VALUE 2,179,150,075.00 2,000,028,008.00 1,818,858,540.00 1,387,350,416.00 1,210,885,438.00 1,180,743,855.00 1,164,318,075.00 1,048,133,941.00 871,067,086.00 870,655,467

MONDAY: JANUARY 25, 2016

B3

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

Asean attraction.

Singapore River Safari is named Best New Asean Tourism Attraction at the 29th Asean Tourism Association or Aseanta Awards in Manila. Singapore River Safari, which opened on Feb. 28, 2014, is Asia’s first and only river-themed wildlife park and the latest addition to Wildlife Reserves Singapore’s portfolio of award-winning parks. Shown are (from left) International Group Singapore Tourism Board assistant chief executive Leong Yue Kheong, Wildlife Reserves Singapore director of sales Julie Yeong, Aseanta president Aileen Clemente and Aseanta secretary general Datuk Hamzah Rahmat.

MPIC fails to buy out hospital

By Jenniffer B. Austria

C ON G LOM E R AT E Metro Pacific Investments Corp. has failed to get a majority stake in the 315-bed Davao Doctors Hospital after conducting a general offer.

A final tender offer report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Metro Pacific’s hospital unit Metro Pacific Hospital Holdings Inc. showed only 3,383 Davao Doctor shares, representing 0.38 percent of the total outstanding capital stock of the hospital, were tendered and

accepted.

The general offer, which was launched in October, ended in December, after MPHHI sought a one-month extension.

Prior to the general offer, MPHHI owned 313,655 shares, representing 34.82 percent of the outstanding capital stock of Davao Doctors. MPHHI’s stake rose to only 35.18 percent, after the general offer. The shares were acquired at P2,300 apiece, or at a total purchase price of P7.8 million.

MPPHI in October launched the general offer to acquire the remaining 65.18 percent interest in DDH, a privately-owned hospital in Davao City.

The general offer was based on a tiered pricing, which stated that if MPHHI acquired less than 136,747 Davao Doctors shares, the purchase price would be

P2,300 per share. If it acquired at Center, Riverside Medical Center ing in the Sacred Heart Hospital least 136,747 shares but less than in Bacolod, Manila Doctors Hos- of Malolos in Bulacan.

286,881 shares, the purchase pital and Central Luzon Doctors Upon the completion of the price would be pegged at P2,600 Hospital in Tarlac. investment in SHHM, MPHHI per share.

MPHHI also signed an invest- will have a total of 11 hospitals It also stated that if MPHHI ment agreement in December to with 2,700 beds throughout the acquired at least 286,881 Davao acquire a 51-percent sharehold- country.

Doctors shares, the purchase price would be P2,750 per Republic of the Philippines share.

Depar tment of Environment and Natural Resources Metro Pacific acquired a COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES OFFICE 34.82-percent stake in Davao Office of the CENR Officer Doctors Hospital for around Masinloc, Zambales P500 million in 2008.

Aside from Davao Doctors, N OTIC E O F B ID D IN G MPHHI has nine other hospi(L e a se o f Fo re s h o re /O f f s h o re L a n d) tals under its portfolio, including Western Mindanao MediN o t i c e i s h e r e by g i ve n t h a t t h e D E N R - C E N R O a t M a s i n l o c , cal Center in Zamboanga City, s w i l l a c c e p t o r a l o r w r i t t e n b i d s n o t l a t e r t h a n (10 : 0 0) o 'c l o c k Makati Medical Center, Asian ZA a. Mm.boanl eM a r c h 0 9 , 2 016 f o r t h e l e a s e o f t h e t r a c t o f l a n d h e r e i n b e l o w Hospital & Medical Center, d e s c r i b e d: Cardinal Santos Medical CenLocation : Binabalian, Candelaria, Zambales ter, Our Lady of Lourdes HosDescription : B o u n d e d o n t h e N o r t h by S o u t h C h i n a S e a & pital, De Los Santos Medical u n o c c u p i e d Fo r e s h o r e L a n d; S o u t h by S o u t h C h i n a S e a & u n o c c u p i e d Fo r e s h o r e l a n d; We s t

by S o u t h C h i n a S e a; E a s t by S a l v a g e Z o n e

GDP data seen to support market SHARE prices are expected to move sideways this week, as plunging crude oil prices and anxiety over China’s economic slowdown continue to heighten investors’ risk aversion.

BDO Unibank chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas, however, said investors might get a respite from the market slide, with the release of the Philippines gross domestic product data later this week.

“BDO estimates a 6.3-percent [growth] for the fourth quarter, bringing the full-year GDP growth to 5.7 percent,” Ravelas said.

Ravelas said this week he expected the stock market index to trade within a range of 6,000 to 6,300 points. A break below the 6,000-point level could call for further losses to as low as 5,700, he said.

F. Yap Securities investment

analyst Jason Escartin said a better-than-expected GDP figure could douse off the overall pessimism.

“With the country still considered as one of the fastest-growing economies in the region, better-than-expected results could douse off part of the pessimism, but there are no clear signals in place yet to cap the ‘global volatility overhang’,” Escartin said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, closed lower by 3.7 percent last week to settle at 6,208.05 on Jan. 22, while the broader allshare index declined 3.3 percent to 3,577.92. The benchmark index was down 10.7 percent since the start of the year.

Except for the services sector, which gained 1.3 percent last week, all major sub-indices ended in the red led by holding firms

(-6.1 percent), property (-6.1 percent), mining and oil (-4.2 percent), industrial (-2.3 percent) and financials (1.6 percent).

Foreign investors were net sellers by P2.7 billion last week, as total overseas selling reached P16.47 billion while foreign buying amounted to only P13.74 billion.

Top gainers last week were tycoon Lucio Co-owned Da Vinci Capital Holdings Inc., which advanced 30 percent to P2.77; Premium Leisure Corp., which climbed 24.7 percent to P0.58; and EEI Corp., which jumped 15 percent to P6.13.

Heavy losers were property developer Italpinas Development Corp., which dipped 22.3 percent to P2.02; LBC Express Holdings which dropped 16.4 percent to P7.10; and Metro Retail Stores Group., which lost 16.2 percent to P2.95. Jenniffer B. Austria

Boundaries

:

P o r t i o n o f L a n d: L i n e 1- 2: S . 2 2 ° 3 6 ' E ., 87. 5 3 m .; L i n e 2- 3: S .

8 9 °19 ' W., 2 51. 07 m .; L i n e 3 - 4 N . 01° 41' E . 91. 2 8 m .; a n d L i n e 4 -1 S .

8 8 ° 01' E . 214 . 8 5 m .

Area

:

20,000 square meters

Appraised

:

Land

: P10 ,70 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 0

Va l u e o f

:

Proposed/Existing I m p r o ve m e n t s

: P39,80 0,0 0 0.0 0

A p p l i e d f o r by

:

B E N G U E TC O R P N I C K E L M I N ES , I N C R e p r e s e n t e d by : M r. L e o p o l d o S . S i s o n I I I P r e s i d e n t & C EO

A p p r ove d A n n u a l R e n t a l - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - P 719 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 The right to lease the land will be awarded to the person of fering the highest annual rental, which shall not be less than three percent p e r c e n t u m (3%) o f t h e v a l u e o f t h e l a n d p l u s o n e p e r c e n t u m (1%) o f t h e v a l u e o f t h e p r o p o s e d a n d /o r ex i s t i n g i m p r ove m e n t s . I n o r d e r t h a t a p e r s o n m ay b e e n t i t l e d t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e b i d d i n g h e m u s t b e a qualified public land applicant, and must, before the commencement o f t h e s a m e , m a ke a d e p o s i t e q u i v a l e n t t o a t l e a s t t h r e e (3) m o n t h s’ r e n t a l . O n l y d e p o s i t i n c a s h , m o n ey o r d e r, t r e a s u r y w a r r a n t , c e r t i f i e d check or manager 's check can be accepted. A person bidding in r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f a n o t h e r m ay d o s o u n d e r a d u l y exe c u t e d p o w e r o f a t t o r n ey. D u r i n g t h e b i d d i n g , t h e b i d d e r h a s t o m a ke a n a d d i t i o n a l d e p o s i t eve r y t i m e h i s b i d i s r a i s e d , t o c o m p l e t e t h e t h r e e (3) m o n t h s ' rental, other wise, such bid as raised shall not be accepted. The right i s r e s e r ve d t o r e j e c t a ny o r a l l b i d s .

R AY M O N D A . R I V E R A CENR Of ficer ( T S - J A N . 18 / 2 5 / F E B . 1/ 8 /15 / 2 2 , 2 016)

B4 Inflation to remain low, says BSP poll

By Julito G. Rada PRIVATE economists expect a lower inflation in 2016 and 2017 due mainly to declining oil prices in the global market and reduced domestic utility rates, a survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas last month showed.

“The average annual inflation forecasts for 2016 and 2017 declined to 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent [from 2.7 percent and 2.9 percent], respectively,” the survey said. The previous forecasts were done in the third quarter 2015.

“The analysts attributed their lower inflation expectations mainly to lower global oil prices and lower domestic utility rates,” it said.

These are likely to outweigh the upside risks brought about by the El Niño dry spell, typhoons, increased expenditure from the upcoming national elections in May, robust consumer spending during the holiday season, weakening of the peso, and possible adjustments in utility rates.

Latest data from Bangko Sentral showed that the average price of Dubai crude oil dropped further in the fourth quarter by 18 percent from a quarter ago.

“The continued decline in global oil prices can also be attributed to Opec’s [Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries] recent decision to retain current production quotas during its last policy meeting on Dec. 4,” Bangko Sentral said.

Inflation in 2015 averaged 1.4 percent, well below the government’s official forecast range of 2 percent to 4 percent. Inflation rose to 1.5 percent in December from 1.1 percent in November.

The manageable inflation environment prompted the Monetary Board to keep the benchmark interest rates steady on its last meeting for 2015 on Dec. 17. It was the tenth consecutive time since October 2014 that the rates were maintained.

Key policy rates were kept steady at 4 percent for the overnight borrowing and 6 percent for the overnight lending. The interest rates on term RRPs, RPs, special deposit accounts, and reserve requirement ratios were likewise left unchanged.

Lunar New Year. Marriott Hotel Manila ushers in the year of the Red Fire Monkey with an auspicious and distinctive take on ‘tikoy.’ Niangao, locally called ‘tikoy,’ is believed to bring good luck to both the receiver and the giver, making it part of the customs during the Chinese New Year. The koi fish is also a symbol of longevity, success and prosperity. As a norm, the ceremonial dragon and lion dance is set to entertain guests and chase away the negative energies on February 9, 5 p.m. at Marriott Hotel Manila and Marriott Grand Ballroom lobbies. Marriott Manila’s tikoy gift set is available from January 25 until February 13, 2016.

SM Prime readies ‘Paskuhan’ project

By Jenniffer B. Austria

SM Prime Holdings Inc. plans to transform the nine-hectare former Paskuhan Village in Pampanga province into a mixed-use development project.

SM Prime commercial properties group senior vice president David Rafael said the company was drawing up a master plan for the property’s integrated development with residential, commercial and office components.

Rafael said the SM Group purchased the property last year from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority, or Tieza, as part of the agency’s asset privatization program.

SM Prime expects to launch

the development of project over the next couple of years.

Opened in 1990, Paskuhan Village is a Christmas-themed park famous for being the only theme park in Asia where Christmas is celebrated year-round.

The park in 2012 became financially distressed, prompting all shops, restaurants and the Nature Sanctuary stopped operating.

Rafael said the SM Group was also on the lookout for more acquisitions for future develop-

ment. The company is interested in developing another huge property in Manila and Cebu.

Meanwhile, Rafael said SM Prime had already completed the integrated master plan for the Pasay and Parañaque reclamation projects.

He said the masterplan was ready for presentation to the local government units of Pasay and Parañaque and their approval before its submission to the Philippine Reclamation Authority and National Economic and Development Authority.

He declined to divulge the details of the integrated master plan.

SM Prime earlier said it planned to integrate the developments of the two reclamation projects, with a combined 600-hectare mixed-use community, into a “future city.”

The company has contracted AECOM, the world’s largest engineering design company to draw up an integrated master plan for the Pasay and Parañaque reclamation projects that could cost over P100 billion.

SM Prime is spending P4.2 billion to build its fifth office building called FourE-ComCenter at the Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City.

Rafael earlier said the company was bullish about the prospects of the office leasing business, despite the current market volatility.

Rafael said demand for office space from the business process outsourcing industry remained strong as the slowdown in Europe and United States was forcing companies to look for ways to reduce costs by outsourcing some of their operations.

Volkswagen mulls over sale of premium brands amid demand

By Othel V. Campos VOLKSWAGEN Philippines Inc. plans to bring in premium Volkswagen models to the Philippines this year amid a rising clamor from a special market niche in the country.

“The demand, clearly, is coming from a select group, mostly car aficionados since these are special cars. We’re still evaluating which of the current lineup we have the highest demand. From

there, we’ll know what models to bring in for the R-Line,” company president John Philip Orbeta said at the sidelines the Volkswagen Jetta launching over the weekend.

He said Volkswagen prices were higher than those of a base model unit.

“It can go as high as 50 percent of a base model’s price. For instance, we brought in the Golf model. There are several variants of this but the most expensive, the most high-end is the Golf R.

That’s the top of the line for the model,” Orbeta said.

The price depends on where the cars are sourced. Volskwagen has several plants in Germany, India, Mexico, the US and China.

Although China production is dedicated to serve domestic demand, the Philippine company is hoping China will soon open its market for net importers.

The recent global fiasco on rigging car computers to improve emission performance prompted

the local Volkswagen unit to secure supply from other, more reliable Volkswagen plants.

“Because of what’s been happening globally, there might be opportunities for us to source from other countries. But only if they have excess production,” said Orbeta.

Volkswagen Philippines said 2015 was a challenging year for the company due to the emission issue that caused a temporary blip in sales. Sales of the company re-

covered after reports showed the Philippines was not affected.

Volkwagen expects sales to increase by as much as 40 percent this year from 602 units in 2015, with Golf and Jetta driving the growth for the year.

Another volume model is the Tiguan, a compact SUV model that is fast gaining popularity.

The company in 2016 will establish four sales points in the Visayas-Mindanao region, Northern, Central and Southern Luzon.

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

B5

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

PH pursues Thai cigarette dispute

By Othel V. Campos

THE Philippines should try other avenues to force Thailand to comply with the decision of the World Trade Organization in lowering the valuation of tobacco imports from the Philippines.

Anthony Abad, chief executive and managing director of TA Trade Advisory Services, the Philippine legal advisor to the tobacco dispute with Thailand, said the Manila could work out bilateral discussions and dispute settlement talks with Bangkok to resolve the case as soon as possible.

“The next important move is for Thailand to comply. WTO has also decided that the new case of valuation and duties that the Thai government has imposed on Philip Morris Thailand Ltd. is in violation of agreement,” he said.

The Philippine legal counsel and Manila are providing assistance to the export operations of Philip Morris Manufacturing Inc. in the legal case filed by Thailand against PMTL. PMMI exports tobacco and cigarette products to PMTL. The latter distributes Philip Morris cigarettes brands like Malr-

boro to the Thailand consumer market.

Abad said the Thai government “should have issued a ministerial law that new values should be followed to be consistent with the WTO ruling.”

“The most diplomatic way is to talk to Thailand bilaterally. Although for all countries with diplomatic disputes, they can file a case under article 215 of the WTO to avoid the case from escalating further. The Philippines can file 215 case for implementation just to settle it,” he said.

Article 215 provides the adoption of a mutually satisfactory solution by the parties that leads to the termination of the dispute settlement procedure.

Abad said the case of PMTL should be resolved since tobacco exports of PMMI would be affected and that PMTL should pursue the case being the one registered for paying the taxes.

PMTL imports cigarettes from the Philippines. The Philippines is the top supplier of imported cigarettes to Thailand with a 35 percent share of the local domestic cigarette market.

PMTL said that case contradicted Thailand’s non-prosecution order made more than four years ago, as well as prior rulings of the Thai Customs Department, the Customs Board of Appeal, the Customs PostClearance Audit Bureau and the WTO. It has cooperated fully with all involved government agencies since the launching of investigation in 2006.

OceanaGold award. President Aquino

(second from left) awards OceanaGold (Philippines) Inc. the prestigious 2015 Presidential Mining Industry Environmental Award for the Surface Mining Operation Category. OceanaGold’s Didipio mine has been a consistent awardee of PMIEA—the PMIEA Platinum Award awarded in 2014, Overall Safest Mining Operation and the Best Mining Forest Program in 2011 and 2009. OceanaGold in 2015 was again named Overall Safest Mining Operations winner under the metallic category and the Safest Mines Award winner under Surface Operation Category. Also at the awarding ceremonies are (from left) Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, OceanaGold chairman Jose Leviste Jr. and Didipio operations general manager David Way.

The President leading SMBC and Philippine government officials in the symbolic opening of SMBC operations in the country. From left: Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima; Sen. Franklin G. Drilon; SMFG Chairman Masayuki Oku; President Benigno S. Aquino III; SMBC President and Ceo Takeshi Kunibe; Cong. Feliciano Belmonte and Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission Atsushi Ueno

The SMBC Opening Ceremony In Makati I HAD the privilege to attend the Opening Ceremony of the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (“SMBC”) held recently at the Rizal Ballroom of the Makati Shangrila Hotel and attended no less by the President, Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III. The event was held to commemorate the launch of operations of the Japanese bank here in the country.

To recall, SMBC first opened its doors in the Philippines last 2015, though in his Address during the event, President Aquino had said that the plan for SMBC to establish itself in the country had been way before that. In the same speech, President Aquino shared that it was during his visit to Japan in December 2013 that SMBC first broached the idea of liberalizing the banking industry in the country; that Republic Act No. 10641 was passed seven months later in July 2014; and that SMBC was the first in line to apply to operate in the country under this new law.

SMBC Chairman Masayuki Oku and SMBC President and CEO Takeshi Kunibe were both on hand to take part in the ceremony. Chairman Oku was the roommate of ACCRA Senior Partner Attorney Victor “Boy” P. Lazatin, known to us in legal circles as “BoyLaz”, who was my valued mentor during my days with the law firm. Speaking of ACCRA, Atty. Eusebio “Ebot” Tan was also present, and I do recall Ebot as already handling corporate cases for Japanese clients back in the day, so much so that he can easily be mistaken to be a representative of the Japanese Embassy here.

I was seated beside JG Summit Holdings Inc. President and COO Lance Y. Gokongwei, better known as the President and CEO of Cebu Pacific Air. No, we didn’t engage in lively conversations about Phil-

ippine Airlines, but about something more interesting to him which was the coming elections. We looked at various scenarios and what their impact on business were.

A number of government officials also attended the event, among them Senate President Franklin M. Drilon and Speaker of the House Feliciano Belmonte Jr. who were both instrumental in the passage of the new bank liberalization law. I had the chance to chat with the indefatigable Lilia B. De Lima, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) since 1995, probably the longest-serving public official now, having served under four presidents who belong to different political parties, which shows the kind of professionalism and integrity that she has brought to the service. I would suggest to the Japanese, who are known to be advancers of technology, that if ever they develop cloning, Director-General De Lima should be one of the first to be cloned so that her brand of governance and public service would never run out.

SMBC’s operations in the Philippines, according to the President, will open up opportunities for all; its vote of confidence having a multiplier effect. Truly, this milestone in our country’s economic history augurs well for us all at this time of instability in global financial markets and the impending ASEAN economic integration.

Mahindra Xylo AUV introduced INDIAN-made Asian Utility Vehicles are staging a Philippine invasion.

Asianbrands Motor Corp., the authorized distributor of Mahindra vehicles in the Philippines, is betting its big bucks on India’s most popular utility vehicle―the Xylo― expecting to get a big bang from the large AUV-hungry Philippine motoring market.

The Mahindra Xylo is India’s confident reply to the Toyota Innova, the Isuzu Crosswind and the Mitsubishi Adventure.

Rife with configurations that take it to the top of its class, the Xylo easily adjusts with ease to the needs of its intended user.

It is fitted with three rows of seats that can be easily stowed and folded, and can comfortably seat up to seven passengers with more room to spare for baggage and other cargo.

The Xylo’s driving dynamics easily

Former President Fidel V. Ramos sharing a light moment President Aquino speaking at with (from left) SMFG Chairman Masayuki Oku; President the SMBC Opening Ceremony Benigno Aquino III; SMBC President and Ceo Takeshi Kunibe

compare with its Japanese counterparts.

The driver’s bucket seat is as comfortable as the best of them with lumbar and legroom adjustments coming in handily.

A four-spoke multi-function steering wheel with cruise control, gives the driver absolute control of the power-assisted rock and pinion steering assembly that is both responsive and light.

Guests listen intently as the President delivers his address

SMFG Chairman Masayuki Oku welcoming His Excellency Benigno S. Aquino III

MONDAY: JANUARY 25, 2016

B6

BUSINESS business@manilastandardtoday.com extrastory2000@gmail.com

PSALM paid P80b worth of debt in ‘15

By Alena Mae S. Flores STATE-RUN Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., the agency which manages the assets and liabilities of National Power Corp., said it settled nearly P80 billion worth of debt in 2015.

PSALM president Lourdes Alzona said the agency serviced P78.751 billion worth of financial obligations in 2015, consisting of regular principal debt amounting to P22.721 billion, interest payments of P23.353 billion, debt prepayment of P6.32 billion and independent power producer lease obligations amounting to P26.357 billion.

“Funding sources were internally generated funds from operations of remaining plants and collection of privatization proceeds,” Alzona said.

She said another additional source of funding was the proceeds generated from the sale of Power Barges 101, 102 and 103 in July 2015.

PSALM sold PB 101, 102 and 103 to Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Corp. for P420 million.

The financial servicing for 2015, however, was 10 percent lower than the 2014 level.

PSALM said in an earlier report that it had been “effective and consistent in fulfilling its mandate to liquidate the financial obligations it absorbed from Napocor, amidst the impact of currency fluctuations and other market forces.”

PSALM is pursuing its privatization mandate this year through the bidding of the Unified Leyte bulk energy contracts and its 40-megawatt security asset.

PSALM is also conducting the second round of bidding for the structures, plant equipment, auxiliaries and accessories of the decommissioned 850-megawatt Sucat Thermal Power Plant.

The agency plans to privatize PB 104 located at the Holcim Compound, Ilang, Davao City this year through a negotiated sale.

GSIS fails to sell stake in bank unit

By Gabrielle H. Binaday

STATE-run Government Service Insurance System has failed to sell its stake in GSIS Family Bank for the third time, the fund’s top executive said over the weekend.

GSIS president and general manager Robert Vergara said the bank would seek a court decision to allow it to post bond in a bid to protect the minority shareholders, after three failed consecutive deals.

Vergara said the bank tried to convince a Makati regional trial court to allow it to post the bond.

“We’re trying to convince the courts to allow us to post a bond

to protect whatever interest the minority shareholder or claimer is being infringed by our sale, instead of taking a very slow process,” Vergara told reporters at the sidelines of the annual reception for the banking community at Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

GSIS in October failed to sell its 99.5-percent stake in GSIS Family Bank for the third time.

GSIS investment bids and awards committee declared the failure of the new round of negotiated sale for the thrift ban in Advisory No. 03-2015 posted on its Web site on Oct. 12.

“The committee declared the failure of negotiated sale of all GSIS shares in GSIS Family Bank since no party fully complied with the requirements, as published on Sept. 11, 2015,” GSIS IBAC chairperson Severina Resurrection said.

Interested buyers of the bank needed to submit a detailed plan in rehabilitating GSIS Family Bank. They also need to buy the remaining 0.5 percent of the bank belonging to private stockholders, represented by the heirs of for-

mer Cavite Rep. Renato P. Dragon through a separate transaction.

“Rather than continue a process that will not result in a viable buyer, then we’re thinking that maybe we should attack it from a different perspective and work with the courts to see what it is that the minority shareholder wants, and if they believe that there are some value there they will lose, for the courts to decide what the value is and put up a bond,” Vergara said.

The bank has been up for sale since 2006 and was targeted to be sold in the first semester of 2015, but a restraining order from the Makati regional trial court stopped the transaction. The order was lifted in March.

New Montero. Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. launches the thirdgeneration Montero Sport at the World Trade Center in Pasay City. The company is optimistic about the new model, despite reports of ‘sudden unintended acceleration’ allegedly experienced by some Montero buyers. A model poses with the all-new Montero. MANNY PALMERO

Climate change: Be the change you want to be JYM YURICK BALTORES

GREEN LIGHT

OVER the course of this term, I have become more sensitive to the reality of global warming. Initially, I thought that the earth was getting warmer, but that most of the temperature change was due to the earth’s natural warming and cooling cycles. From my perspective, the human contribution to global warming was relatively small, and I didn’t see cause for too much concern.

Main cause of global warming My perspective has changed this term.

Through the different cases we tackled and the discussions we had in class, I realized that the evidence pointing to human beings as the main cause of the recent change

in the earth’s climate is pretty conclusive.

The case of global climate change reminds us of the profound interconnectivity of all events in the physical world, including humans’ own activity. We are all interconnected—there is no such thing as an isolated incident. The entire sphere of life that we share will be profoundly affected as a result of the change we are effecting on the climate.

Impact of global warming Ocean acidification damages aquatic ecosystems, such as coral reefs and shellwearing animals, because the carbonate that makes up reefs and shells dissolves more readily in acidic environments.

Arctic and Antarctic life is also at risk due to rising temperatures—the polar bear, the poster child for the campaign against global warming, is indeed in danger because its habitat is disappearing.

Plants are also at risk in our warming

climate—trees sensitive to certain temperatures on a mountainside, for example, are little able to propagate up or down the side of the mountain to maintain a habitat at the temperature at which they thrive.

These are just a few small, direct examples of how a warming earth poses danger to our current environment.

Modify lifestyle choices Great. So, the climate is changing, you and I are the source of that change, and that change poses profound consequences on our current environment. So, how can I be more mindful of the larger consequences of my actions? Here are just a couple of lifestyle choices I can modify out of love for God. The way in which I travel (by car/bike/ bus etc.) and the frequency with which I travel (e.g. going to the store every day vs. once a week) The electricity I use at home;

The waste from materials I use; The food that I eat (meat in general has a much larger carbon footprint than plants); This is a journey, and I must continue to ask myself, how can I live more sustainably in other ways, too?

Let us encourage one another, striving to live as more charitable stewards of God’s creation.

The author is an MBA student at the Ramon V. del Rosario College of Business. This essay is part of a journal he kept in fulfillment of the requirements of the course, Lasallian Business Leadership with Corporate Social Responsibility and Ethics. Visit his blog at http://jymyurick.tumblr.com/.

The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty and its administrators.

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

WORLD

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

B7

Oasis in a violent neighborhood WASHINGTON—This is one place where Jamar feels safe, painting with other boys to escape from the gunshots that ring out through his Washington neighborhood, one of the most violent in the United States.

“Life Pieces is a good place.

You’ll always be safe at Life Pieces,” says Jamar, who is nine years old.

Ward 7 of the US capital is home to 70,000 people—95 percent of them black—and has an unemployment rate more than double that of national levels.

“I prefer to do my homework here. It’s not safe at Grandma’s,” Jamar, a bit shy at times, told AFP. Jamar says he wants to be a firefighter or a police officer when he grows up.

He is among 140 boys aged three to 17 who attend the Life Pieces to Masterpieces after school program each day.

The non-profit group, launched in 1996, provides an oasis of calm for young boys living in an area east of the US Capitol that is prone to gang activity and where the murder rate is among the nation’s highest.

LPTM “focuses on the development of black men using the concept of artwork,” explained executive director Selvon Malcolm Waldron.

“It’s a safe space to be, in a loving environment.”

That’s a sharp contrast with what many of these children experience on a daily basis. Most live in single-parent homes, where they are awakened by police sirens in the dead of night and shootings.

And sometimes, their reality hits even harder than that.

One of the LPTM “apprentices,” as the children are called here, was playing with friends when he saw his grandfather killed in a drive-by shooting, Waldron said.

Jamar says he once found a firearm abandoned in an alley near his home.

“When I hear shootings, I’m scared they will kill me, that they will shoot at me,” said Michael, 11.

Life Pieces aims to “connect, create, contribute, celebrate” through its art program—the so-called 4Cs. Students connect by choosing a theme after discussing it and meditating, create by working on a piece, contribute by working together on the artwork and celebrate by exhibiting the works. AFP

Cold snap. This photo taken on January 23, 2016 ,shows coastal waters frozen in Dalian, in northeast China’s Liaoning province. Much of China shivered on January 23 as a teeth-chattering cold snap broke decades-old records and snow fell in some parts for the first time in years, canceling flights and forcing many indoors. AFP

Story of abducted Koreans now at Sundance PARK CITY, United States—The stranger-than-fiction story about a famous South Korean film director and a glamorous actress abducted

by North Korea’s movie-obsessed Kim Jong-il has premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

“The Lovers and the Despot,” a documentary by British filmmakers Ross Adam and Robert Cannan, traces the bizarre tale of director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eunhee, the golden couple of South Korean cinema in the 1960s.

“We approached this project with an open mind but, like most people, when you first hear the story, it does seem too fantastic to be true,” Cannan said. “Essentially our opinion shifted that way and this way as we made the film.”

The famous couple were married and the toast of the town with their two adopted children until their divorce over Chin’s affair with another woman. They eventually fell from

grace in their country and ended up bankrupt.

As they struggled to revive their careers, both were kidnapped on the orders of movie-mad Kim Jong-il, who was bent on using them to make films that could compete on the international stage.

At the time, Kim had not yet succeeded his father as North Korea’s leader.

Choi was the first to be abducted in 1977, while on a trip to Hong Kong where she was lured to discuss a movie deal.

Shin was snatched soon after when he traveled to Hong Kong in search of his ex-wife, with whom he had remained close. He was held in a North Korean prison for four years before being reunited with Choi.

Realizing their predicament, the couple cooperated with Kim, producing a series of movies and winning his trust.

They were allowed to travel to Europe to attend film festivals and managed a daring escape in 1989 while in Vienna to sign a movie deal, and sought asylum in the United States.

Chin died in 2006 but Choi, who now lives in Seoul, provided much of the narrative in the documentary along with the couple’s son and

daughter and archival footage of the era.

Speculation that such disappearances were “voluntary defections” was common in the 1960s and 70s, and the Shin-Choi case was no exception. However, the initial doubts died down when Seoul officially announced the pair had been abducted.

Cannan and Adam said they became more and more convinced of the couple’s story as they researched the project and examined conversations with Kim that they had secretly recorded and smuggled out during their escape.

“There was no evidence to say that Shin and Choi did go willingly to North Korea,” Adam said. “The only real evidence we could find was these tape-recordings of the conversations with Kim Jong-il.

“And once we were aware of this, it became more difficult to construct a film around the mystery.”

Still, they said, it is clear from pictures of the couple during their captivity—in which they are portrayed smiling and attending lavish receptions hosted by Kim—that they had developed a sort of Stockholm Syndrome, identifying with their captor. AFP

Taming hardliners a long-term game

Car-free day. This handout photograph taken and released by the

presidential palace on January 24, 2016, shows two women taking a selfie in front of Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo (back L-in white shirt) as he takes a morning walk on Jakarta’s main avenue during a Sunday car-free day. AFP

JAKARTA—Life isn’t easy for convicted militants like Machmudi Hariono when they walk out of prison in Indonesia. Barred from most jobs, shunned by society, Hariono’s debts piled up until an outreach program working with reformed jihadists got him a kitchen job in a small cafe.

Today the 40-year-old manages several businesses, including a car rental service, and is “at peace” having found a new calling far from the violent jihad that derailed his life.

“It will erase the old you, the one who stayed in prison, no trace of it,” Hariono told AFP from Solo, a

city in central Java that is a hotbed for radical extremism.

“You will find a new life that is colorful.”

The programs aimed at deradicalizing hardliners have taken many forms in Indonesia, from gardening classes run behind bars to family reunions organized by not-for-profit groups.

But in the aftermath of this month’s deadly Jakarta attack, hard questions are being asked about the government’s efforts to identify and tackle radicalism in prison, after police revealed one of the gunmen was a previously jailed

militant lured to the Islamic State group while behind bars.

Afif, who goes by one name, was jailed for seven years for training at a militant camp but was released early in mid 2015 for good behavior.

Six months later he was dead, along with three other militants and four civilians, after perpetrating the first gun and suicide bomb attack claimed by IS in Southeast Asia.

“Afif managed to mask his radicalism inside prison,” Noor Huda Ismail, who has worked closely with reformed extremists and is an expert on Indonesian militancy, told AFP. AFP

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

B8

CESAR BARRIOQUINTO EDITOR

editorial@thestandard.com.ph

WORLD

Day 3. Convention goers watch the Legends perform during Day 3 of the 2016 NAMM Show at the Anaheim Convention Center on January 23, 2016, in Anaheim, California. AFP

Americans begin digging out Oil dependence a curse for Russia’s economy MOSCOW—Abundant oil and gas deposits have been a blessing for Russia, but they now feel like a curse as low prices propel the country into a deep economic crisis that shows no signs of abating.

The ruble fell to a record dollar low this past week as global crude prices slumped to 12-year lows, highlighting at once Russia’s vulnerability to changing oil prices and the fact President Vladimir Putin’s government has squandered opportunities to diversify the economy.

Although the ruble bounced back on Friday after a slight recovery of the oil market, the head of Russia’s central bank, Elvira Nabiullina, publicly called for “structural efforts to diversify the economy.”

“We should not expect to see oil prices return to high levels,” she said.

Calls to develop the long-neglected sectors of the economy come as the government faces increasing pressure to react to a crippling economic crisis that has seen inflation soar and Russians’ purchasing power shrink dramatically.

Booming oil prices in the 2000s when Putin came to power helped fill state coffers and ushered in an era of prosperity.

Oil wealth, which led to higher living standards after the country’s tumultuous transition to capitalism in the 1990s, also boosted Putin’s popularity.

But for the past decade, the International Monetary Fund has urged Russia to use its oil revenues to support revamping the economic sectors that have been overlooked since the collapse of the Soviet Union. AFP

NEW YORK—A massive blizzard that claimed at least 16 lives in the eastern United States finally appeared to be winding down Sunday, giving snowbound residents the chance to begin digging out.

The near-record snowstorm clobbered the eastern United States Friday and Saturday, shutting down New York and Washington and affecting some 85 million residents.

More than 4,400 flights were canceled, airports in New York, Philadelphia, Washington and Baltimore ground to a halt, the US capital shut down transport and America’s most populous city banned travel.

The 16 fatalities occurred in Arkansas, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Maryland and Virginia, while more than 200,000

people were left without power and 2,200 National Guard personnel were drafted in.

Forecasters said the storm— dubbed “Snowzilla”—dumped 22.2 inches (56 centimeters) in Washington. The 25.1 inches of snow that fell in New York’s Central Park was the third highest accumulation since records began in 1869.

With the storm tapering off overnight, officials in New York planned to lift a travel ban at 7:00 am Sunday (1200 GMT), restoring access to roads throughout the city, and in Long Island and New Jersey.

“You never like to disrupt transportation and commerce.

However, the storm was fast and furious,” said New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo. “This is a storm that is nothing to be trifled with.”

Strong winds raised concerns of flooding for much of the east coast, the National Weather Service warned, with the streets in some

New Jersey coastal towns filled with water and ice.

In New York, bus services were suspended and overland commuter and subway trains were shut as Broadway canceled performances, museums closed, shops shuttered and the region’s pro sports teams rescheduled matches.

Metro and bus networks were shut down in Washington for the entire weekend, and largely shut in Philadelphia and New Jersey.

Thousands of motorists were stranded for hours on highways further south.

The vast majority of flights were canceled across much of the region, but authorities said they were working around the clock to restore operations Sunday, with the first arrivals and departures expected at midday in New York.

Plows struggled to clear streets, where parked cars were buried under the snow and visibility worsened Saturday as night fell and howling winds created massive snowdrifts. AFP

Frost warning as cold snap grips HK HONG KONG—A cold snap gripped Hong Kong on Sunday, with residents shivering as the temperatures plunged to the lowest point in nearly 60 years and frost dusted the mountaintops of a city accustomed to a subtropical climate.

Weather officials issued a frost warning saying an “intense cold surge” was in place, coupled with chilling monsoon winds.

Morning temperatures dropped to 3.3 Celsius (38 Fahrenheit) in the urban areas of the southern Chinese city, where most buildings lack central heating, and below

freezing on the hills.

It is the coldest weather in 59 years, senior scientific officer Wong Wai-kin told AFP. “It is the coldest day since 1957.

The daily minimum dropped to 3.3 degrees Celsius; the previous record was 2.4 degrees in February of 1957,” he told AFP. While the cold snap is by no means on the scale of the weather now affecting the US and swathes of mainland China, such temperatures are a novelty for many residents.

“It is very cold and windy over Hong Kong. People are advised to

put on warm clothes and to avoid prolonged exposure to wintry winds,” read a note published on a city government website.

As the mercury dropped, curious residents flocked to higher ground in search of frost, according to local broadcaster Cable TV. “It’s very cold, my feet feel numb,” a young visitor to Tai Mo Shan, the highest mountain in Hong Kong, told the broadcaster.

Screen shots of flakes also swamped social media but weather forecasters said the precipitation was “rain with small ice pellets” rather than snow. AFP

Devotee. A Hindu devotee walks near the holy Shali River on the outskirts of Kathmandu on January 24, 2016. Hundreds of married and unmarried women in the Himalayan nation have started a month-long fast in the hope of a prosperous life and conjugal happiness. AFP

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

C1

TATUM ANCHETA EDITOR

BING PAREL

A S S O C I AT E E D I T O R

BERNADETTE LUNAS

life @ thestandard.com .ph

WRITER

@LIFEatStandard

E AT, DRINK , T R AV EL

LIFE Francisco ‘Paco’ Magsaysay

The secret of Carmen’s Best Ice Cream is the milk from Real Fresh Dairy Farm’s cows

THE BEST KEPT SECRETS OF CARMEN’S BEST

BY BERNADETTE LUNAS PHOTOS BY STAR SABROSO

Brown Butter Almond Brittle

Dark Chocolate

Madagascar Vanilla

Malted Milk

Salted Caramel

F

rancisco “Paco” Magsaysay, the founder and head honcho of the cult favorite Carmen’s Best Ice Cream, is used to people comparing his products to other more popular and cheaper ice cream brands. For a pint that’s priced at P370 to P420, his ice cream is admittedly not for the lower end market.

“When I’m being compared, I tell them we make ours different,” asserts Magsaysay.

Naturally, the ice cream entrepreneur is proud of his products whose primary ingredient comes directly from their family-owned farm.

“Eighty percent of our ice cream is made of dairy. And I know I have the advantage [against other ice cream makers] because we own the farm and we have the best milk,” he shares.

The said farm is his father’s, former senator Ramon Magsaysay Jr., who set it up with his friends in Bay, Laguna in 2007. According to the younger Magsaysay’s account, his father’s exposure to Philippine agriculture led him to envision that the dairy industry is an area that should be developed here in the country.

“He saw that we import 98 percent of our dairy products, mostly powdered milk, from New Zealand, Australia, the Netherlands and USA. It’s our second largest imported agricultural good after rice,” shares Magsaysay.

When his father and his partners found a viable place for a dairy farm, they imported 100 cows from New Zealand, which have now expanded to 264 heads of Holstein Friesian milkproducing cattle grazing in their 27-hectare farm.

In 2008, the former senator asked for Paco’s help in selling Real Fresh Dairy Farm’s milk. The son did so and to a high-end client, no less. “That was when I realized that if our milk passed their standards, maybe I can do something special with it,” recounts Magsaysay.

The following year, when his father handed over the reins of the dairy farm, Magsaysay started Carmen’s Best Dairy Products, during which

Carmen’s Best Ice Cream

Holly’s range of fresh milk

Holly’s Kesong Puti

they manufactured flavored milk, yogurt, cheese and pastillas.

Armed with baking know-how, Magsaysay eventually made ice cream using their milk. “It was then in the ice cream’s taste and quality that I saw a great potential,” he shares.

It was in 2010 when Magsaysay continually developed his recipe and conceptualized different ice cream flavors. Real Fresh Dairy Farm’s operations supervisor Jake Borja recalls how Magsaysay often brought a cooler filled with different ice cream flavors for them to taste test.

Finally in February 2011, he started serving Carmen’s Best ice creams, named after his only daughter.

Unlike other brands, Carmen’s Best started with a rather unusual flavor lineup. “Our first four flavors are Malted Milk, Salted Caramel, Brazilian Coffee, and Butter Pecan because I thought it was boring to start with chocolate, strawberry, vanilla,” says Magsaysay. The brand now has 38 ice cream flavors.

To help further grow his young company, Magsaysay took up a one-week ice cream short course at Pennsylvania State University in 2013 in a bid to learn the science of making the dairy treat. “When I saw our order volume was increasing, that was when I decided to learn the technicalities of it. When I finished the program, I tweaked my recipe and our brand really grew.”

With business proficiency (he has a marketing degree from St. Thomas University and runs their family-owned cable TV business), technical knowledge in ice cream making, and superior raw material, Magsaysay has no reason to shortchange his customers— not that he has plans to do so.

Carmen’s Best ice creams are made from pasteurized fresh Holly’s Milk sourced directly from the farm’s Laguna Creamery Processing Plant. The brand does not use powdered milk nor milk processed using the UHT (Ultrahigh temperature) or ESL (Extended Shelf Life) method like what, sadly, many ice cream brands do.

Magsaysay also proudly shares that his ice cream’s quality is better than other premium brands like Haagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry as Carmen’s Best’s milk—courtesy of the farm’s sustainably-grown herd—has a higher percentage of butterfat than the milk the former are using. Butterfat is responsible for the ice cream’s sweet and creamy taste and texture.

Carmen’s Best also has a reputation for not melting quickly mainly because “that’s the characteristic of high-fat ice cream, aside from the fact that we don’t pump air into the ice cream,” reveals Magsaysay. According to him, low-quality labels resort to pumping air into their ice cream to add volume. “So most of the time when you buy a gallon of ice cream, you’re getting one half gallon ice cream and one half gallon air.”

Even the other ingredients, such as pistachios, hazelnuts, and vanilla among many others, are sourced from the best, based on taste and quality and not on profit margin, according to Magsaysay.

The ice cream man and his entire team know quality means not taking shortcuts. Carmen’s Best ice creams don’t rely on prepared mixes, they are made in small batches (“we make when someone orders”), and they are void of air, artificial flavorings, thickeners, additives and bad milk.

“If people knew how much I spent in the whole process, they will say my ice cream is cheap,” he states matter-of-factly.

He adds that they strive to make the quality of their products as high as they can. “We’re not fooling around with ingredients and quality.

We’re expensive because people have high expectations for us.”

No wonder why Pope Francis loved Carmen’s Best Malted Milk and Brown Butter Almond Brittle, the two flavors he had on his return flight to Rome when he visited the Philippines last year.

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

C2

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

Cauliflower cream, chorizo tartare

Escoffier Indian Ocean Delegation’s Chef Serge Robin, Louise Mabulo, Fairmont's executive chef Wade James, Escoffier Asia president Chef Robert Fontana, Fairmont's Chef Nicolas, and Escoffier Indian Ocean Delegation’s Chef Pierre Barde

Chef Works’ Geo Ramirez, Escoffier Philippine Delegation’s president Chef Philip John Golding, and Wine Club’s Micheal Reyes

Les Disciples D'Escoffier

Philippine Delegation's first Epicurean dinner for 2016

Roasted duck foie gras, tuna sashimi, Granny Smith, ginger chutney

PHOTOS BY STAR SABROSO

I

f you are a food gourmand, then you probably have heard of or even tasted menus from the chefs of Disciples Escoffier International. The organization is a premier gastronomic society of master chefs worldwide and was created in 1954 in France in memory of the legendary Chef Auguste Escoffier. The main goal of Disciples Escoffier International is to promote and preserve great culinary traditions – especially the techniques created by the great Escoffier – and promote education to young apprentices in the field of culinary art.

Today, the organization already has 25,000 disciples around the world with each country represented by a delegation. United States, Italy, France, China, Hungary, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Canada, Mexico, Indian Ocean, Portugal, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, Russia are just some of the places where Disciples Escoffier International is present. In Asia, the organization is divided into eight delegations – Vietnam, Japan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Philippines which has 42 members. For six years now, the president for our country’s delegation has been British-born chef, Philip John Golding, who has spent over two decades in the country in the

Beef tenderloin, mushroom tart and salad and beef juice

The Escoffier dinner's menu

culinary art service and has created numerous restaurants and has apprenticed so many young talents for culinary service here and abroad.

Every year, the organization rolls out an Escoffier dinner series in different parts of the globe to showcase the master chefs’ creations as well as their collaboration with new and young talents. In the Philippines, Escoffier has already started to roll out epicurean dinners. To start the year, it recently held the dinner in Fairmont hotel attended by Escoffier members in the Philippines, with Escoffier Asia president Chef Robert Fontana and Escoffier Indian Ocean Delegation Chef Serge Robin and Chef Pierre Barde flying in in for the dinners.

M

75cl Black

75cl Gold

Backstage at the Escoffier First Dinner Series

75cl Superior

For its first dinner, Les Disciples D’Escoffier presented a five-course dinner paired with exquisite wines from The Wine Club.

Included on the menu are cauliflower cream, chorizo tartare; roasted duck foie gras, tuna sashimi, Granny Smith, ginger chutney; beef tenderloin, mushroom tart and salad and beef juice; lamb loin stuffed with herbs, Niçoise vegetable; lemon, lime, and brie cheesecake.

The next premier dinner will be hosted in Sage at Makati Shangri-La, Manila on February 18.

To get updates on the organization’s Philippine delegation and its epicurean dinner schedules, follow Disciples Of Escoffier Philippine Delegation on Facebook.

Lamb loin stuffed with herbs, Nicoise vegetable

Lemon, lime, and brie chieesecake

Bacardi unveils new bottle designs

illennials have been a growing market for brands, with their character and lifestyle has been reflected in how brands manufacture their imagery and their products. For the millennial generation, there seems to be a fascination for marrying the old and the new, and heritage becomes an important factor when consuming products.

Today, Bacardi rum has become a favorite bottle for the younger generation to consume. The brand has seized this opportunity by upgrading its bottle designs to reflect not just the heritage of Bacardi but at the same time showcase the brand’s passion with exquisite craftsmanship from the liquor to its bottle.

“The new bottle reflects the dynamism of Bacardi, and its passion to evolve along with the tastes and needs of its consumers,” explains Celine Louis, brand manager of Bacardi Philippines. “We want to excite them with the functionality of this new bottle, while letting them revel in the proud heritage of the brand.”

Founded by Don Facundo Bacardí Massó in 1862, Bacardi has been a pioneer in the rum industry with the creation of its light-bodied rum. Its rich heritage started with its Bacardi

Bacardi’s managing director Sanjit Singh Randhawa, brand manager Celine Louis and commercial manager Bobby Campos

white rum, and has since grown with a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. From its minimal packaging label, the current design tells the legacy of Bacardi with an image of Don Facundo featured. The new design also showcases its old logo style, with new hand-cut fonts inspired by art deco from the company’s old office, together with stories about the family history.

The bat, which has graced Bacardi bottles since 1862, has been reinstated to an older, truer, and more traditional design in the new bottles. The design includes the Royal Spanish Coat of Arms symbol alongside a selection

of medals that Bacardi has received over the years. The design not only upgrades the look but also at the same time improves weight distribution for better ergonomics.

The new look is an eye catcher by the bar, as it looks rustic and more expensive than the old design. The new design was created based on suggestions by different bartenders worldwide, hence making the bottle design also flexible for bartending use. Though the outside bottle design has changed, the liquid content retains the original family recipe passed down to the many generations of Bacardi’s lineage.

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

C3

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

@LIFEatStandard

A Little Lesson in Booze History (Part One)

Welcome, my dear imbibers, to your weekly column on ever ything related to one of the pleasures in TIPPLE TALES life: alcohol.

BY ICY MARIÑAS Alcohol and drinking culture have quite a long history. From the time humans fermented fruits and inadvertently produced the world’s first intoxicating liquid until today where you can find small-batch, organic, artisanal, fairtrade liquors, we, as a species, have always found ways to get buzzed.

While it’s great to look forward and innovate, it’s also good to look back every once in a while to see how far we’ve come. I’ve decided to take a trip down (alcohol-induced) memory(-loss) lane to over a hundred years ago to see how alcohol and our complex relationship has evolved.

THE CLASSICS

I’ve touched on the origin of the word cocktail before. As with things that weren’t extensively documented and whose details were only passed on through word of mouth, it’s difficult to determine the true origin of the term “cocktail.” There are many theories. It is said that it came from the term used for the leftovers in casks of ales, called cock tailings. The leftovers from other spirits would be mixed together and sold as a substandard concoction. Another horse’s tale tells us horse trainers would prepare and mix a concoction of spirits so strong, it would make their horses cock their tails and run faster. Another story (rooted in New Orleans) goes that Peychaud (yes, the bitters) used a French eggcup called coquetier to serve a mixed brandy drink. People called it coquetier and the term eventually became “cocktail.”

Now that that’s been covered, let’s move on to the classics. What classifies a cocktail as a classic? Wikipedia states that it is “any cocktail which appeared in the

publication of Jerry Thomas’ 1862 book, BarTender’s Guide, and most other cocktails created between then and the publication of Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail Book in 1930.” If you can’t wholeheartedly trust Wikipedia, then who can you trust, right?

(Insert sarcasm emoticon here.)

I suppose that definition is technically correct since the classic cocktails hail from this time period. For a cocktail to be called that, it has to be well known. You can hardly call an obscure drink coming from a secluded part of the globe a classic. It also has to be made pretty much in any bar in the world.

A classic has global reach and accessibility, and has a simplicity that is notably absent in most current cocktails that have too much going on. The staples like the Old Fashioned, Daiquiri and Dark ‘n Stormy fall in this category.

PROHIBITION

The bartenders of that time had a flair for the dramatic, especially the (considered) father of American mixology himself, Jerry Thomas, who made bartending a form of entertainment. His signature drink, the Blue Blazer, was a cocktail he’d light on fire and pass back and forth between two glasses to make a blazing arch, reportedly with two white rats on his shoulders. Talk

about showmanship. This kind of theatrics, coupled with the new tasty, intoxicating concoctions, helped the popularity of and demand for alcohol. But it was also blamed for the people going overboard on the boozing, causing people to view alcohol as a societal ill. This then led to a dark period (I suppose that depends on how you look at it) in the partying history of America: The Prohibition Era. Thanks to “dry” crusaders, who sought to cure the ills of society, the prohibition of alcohol production, transportation, and distribution was enacted by President Woodrow Wilson under the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution and the Volstead Act in 1920. It was a “noble experiment” aimed at reducing crime and corruption, solve social problems, and generally make life better for everyone in America. Spoiler alert: it failed.

Maybe that’s enough of a history lesson for this week. Let’s pick this up next week, when we discuss more about how The Prohibition Decree impacted people and how it shaped the way we drink today. See you then, my lush students. Cheers!

Add me on IG @sanvicentegirl or drop me a line at tippletales@gmail.com or visit me at my bar for a drink or two.

GARDENIA BOOSTS PRODUCTION CAPACITY WITH P1-BILLION PLANT

C

ustomers who can’t get enough of Gardenia’s loaf breads can look forward to more products from leading bread manufacturer Gardenia Bakeries Philippines, which formally opened its sixth plant in Biñan, Laguna. The new P1-billion facility can produce up to 6,000 loaves per hour or a total of 150,000 loaves per day, equivalent to a 50 percent increase on its current production capacity.

The new plant located at Laguna International Industrial Park in Biñan, Laguna features additional robotics and the latest available technology in modern baking which came from the best baking suppliers from all over the world such as Germany, the Netherlands, United

Gardenia breads are made and handled, not by human hands, but by modern robotics baking technology

States and Japan. Breads from Gardenia are “completely untouched by human hands,” with the whole plant computercontrolled starting from ingredient handling and makeup systems, the use of robotics in handling baking pans and a unique technology in the de-panning process which promises to be gentler to the bread.

According to Gardenia Philippines’ president and manager Simplicio Umali, they applied the best technologies on the new production line. “There are improved systems and technologies in the makeup, proofing and automated handling process that will help produce high quality breads,” Umali said, explaining that the slicers are more accurate. The facilities also include a tumbler where all four sides of the loaf are checked, while a tornado cleaner ensures that all baking pans are very clean and free of crumbs.

Environment-friendly liquefied petroleum gas will continue to be used by the new oven baking system, which

will eventually take in compressed natural gas once it is made available in the industrial market.

In the Philippines, the total value of the bread market is estimated at P18 billion. The market is divided into the packaged and unpackaged categories, with the packaged, branded segment accounting for P9 billion (with Gardenia having 50 percent market share), while the unpackaged bread segment has an estimate of P9 billion.

Umali also noted that despite the continuous growth of our bread industry, the Philippines has still a much lower bread consumption compared to neighboring countries like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

The company however is optimistic of increased bread consumption via intensified distribution efforts in the countryside. This will be augmented by the planned saturation of convenience stores and sari-sari stores in urban centers, with the new plant to serve consumers in Luzon from Cagayan Valley to Sorsogon.

M O N D AY : J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 6

C4

LIFE life @ thestandard.com .ph

The monastery

@LIFEatStandard

The amphitheater

The imposing façade of The Treasury, the most beautiful structure in the city

THE ROSE-RED CITY MERCURY RISING

BY BOB ZOZOBRADO

H

ave you ever tried to etch something on a piece of stone? No matter how sharp or pointed the instrument you use, it can hardly scrape or make a mark on the stone’s surface, right?

This is why my jaw dropped in awe when I first saw the City of Petra in Jordan many years ago. Also referred to as The Rose-Red City, many of its breathtaking architectural features have been carved directly into the red and pink sandstone cliffs that dominate the area, thus the name. Looking at all these structural masterpieces, one can’t help but wonder how long it must have taken for the residents, the Nabataeans, to finish one structure.

The Nabataeans were an Arab tribe known for their expertise in digging canals. In fact, they were able to create an artificial oasis in the desert, through the precise control of flash floods that would occasionally take place in the area, by building water

conduits, cisterns and dams. Because of their continuous supply of water, they thrived throughout long periods of drought and even made money from the sale of water to other tribes.

Originally called Raqmu, the city is believed to have been built in 312 BC and was once a bustling trading center as the capital of the Nabataean Empire between 400 BC and 106 AD. However, for some unknown reason, it was unheard of after that period and was left empty and almost in ruins for several centuries. It was only in 1812 when Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt announced to the world its existence.

Since then, it has been proclaimed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, declared

by Seven Wonders Foundation as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, chosen

by Smithsonian magazine as one of the “28 Places To See Before You Die,” and described in a prize-winning poem by John William Burgon as “a rose-red city half as old as time.”

The city has become a symbol of Jordan and is the most-visited tourist attraction in the country, especially after it was shown as the setting for the 1989 Harrison Ford and Sean Connery starrer, Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade. The movie’s fictional Canyon of the Crescent Moon was actually the eastern entrance to Petra, a 250-foot-

high sandstone canyon which leads to The Treasury, the most awesome among Petra’s dozens of architectural “wonders.” In the movie, however, the lead actors run deep into the labyrinths inside The Treasury in their search for The Holy Grail but, in reality, the beautiful Treasury is nothing but a façade with a very small hall inside, previously used as a royal tomb.

The architectural “wonders” carved into the sandstone cliffs in the City of Petra also include dozens of royal tombs, a Monastery, an amphitheater and several houses, all occupying a total area of approximately 260 square kilometers. The city is located southwest of Amman, the capital of Jordan, and is a three-hour ride from there on an air-conditioned car.

What gives this tourist attraction added dramatic appeal is that you have to walk or go on a camel ride through a long narrow gorge, the end of which opens into a wide area dominated by the imposing and beautifully carved The Treasury. When you come face-to-face with this breathtaking architectural piece, you get goosebumps and become speechless as you marvel at the fine architecture, down to the last beautiful detail, hewn into the rose-red sandstone cliff by the bare hands of the Nabataeans! Such an awesome sight it was!

As you approach the imposing facade, however, you will notice a giant urn carved above the entrance, covered with hundreds of

The gorge leading to the City of Petra

bullet marks! Our guide told us that the urn was the favorite target of Bedouin tribesmen living in and among the ancient ruins who thought gold and jewels were inside the urn, but it actually does not hold anything inside because it is made of solid stone.

Records show that, after visiting the City of Petra, US President Barack Obama said it is “pretty spectacular… amazing” and, on a separate occasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, “its unique architectural creativity has no parallel in the world.” As for me, I say, “To ‘carve in stone’ never looked better!”

For feedback, I’m at bobzozobrado@gmail.com

YOUR MONDAY CHUCKLE: When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity.

To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300°C. The Russians were easier on themselves¼ they used a pencil!

Some of the royal tombs carved on the sandstone cliffs

A Souper Sarap Food Trip from Nissin awaits shoppers in the Metro

N

issin is bringing a delicious kind of food trip to more malls in Metro Manila to give people a taste of its latest product line, the Nissin Souper Meal.

Guess the number of Nissin Souper Meal bowls inside this larger-than-life Nissin Souper Meal replica and take home special prizes when you visit Nissin Souper Food Trip at Trinoma Mall on January 30 to 31

Nissin’s Japanese-themed noodle alley, Nissin Souper Food Trip

Inspired by Japan’s most famous cultural icons — the cherry blossoms, lantern festival, Zen garden, and the torii gates from the Fushimi Inari Shrine — Nissin Souper Food Trip’s colorful food avenue was initially launched at Robinsons Place Ermita.

This noodle alley extended the souper sarap experience at Glorietta Mall last January 23 to 24, and will also be on hand at Trinoma Mall on January 30 to 31.

Enjoy Nissin Souper Meal’s large serving of noodles, vegetables and meat bits with four flavors to choose from: Seafood, Beef Brisket, Hot & Spicy, and Garlic Pork Tonkotsu.

Check out the larger-than-life Nissin Souper Meal installation and join the online guessing game for a shot at special prizes. You can also try your luck at the fukubiki game where you have a chance to draw a colored ball with certain colors representing a prize. You may also earn raffle entries with every purchase of Nissin Souper Meal for only P29 per bowl.

Lucky winners can win Robinsons gift certificates, iPad minis or a trip to Japan.

Nissin will also bring its appetizing noodle experience to offices in the Metro with its Japanese-themed food carts. Get the latest updates by checking out the official Facebook page of Nissin Souper Meal.

M ONDAY : JA NUA RY 25, 2016

SHOWBITZ

ISAH V. RED EDITOR

isahred @ gmail.com

C5

Mad Dogs is a 10-episode comedy crime series that premiered worldwide via mobile streaming app HOOQ

H

HOOQ up witH anOtHer exclusive premiere

OOQ, Asia’s biggest video-ondemand service, partners with Sony Pictures Entertainment to bring you the exclusive premiere of the critically acclaimed Mad Dogs, same day as the US telecast.

Mad Dogs premiered worldwide on Jan. 22 and HOOQ is the first and only digital platform in Southeast Asia to offer the series on the same day as the US. Catch this must-watch series created for the digital platform with all 10 episodes dropping in at the same time.

In addition to this latest action thriller, HOOQ customers can also indulge in a diverse and expansive selection of over

35,000 hours of movies and TV series with hot favorites and award-winning series such as Gotham, The Flash, Mad Men, Ash vs Evil Dead, Nashville and awesome blockbusters, Spider-Man, Kill Bill and Harry Potter.

“2015 has been a great year for us and we have promised our customers to deliver a host of new and exciting TV series ranging from in-season series to same day as the US telecast. What better way to start 2016 than to share with all HOOQ fans yet another world premiere exclusive to HOOQ! Mad Dogs promises suspense, lies, deception, secrets and murder! This dark comedy of wild adventures will definitely get you HOOQ’d! said Peter Bithos, Chief

The hilarious TV series is topbilled by (from left) Michael Imperioli, Ben Chaplin, Steve Zahn and Romany Malco

Executive Officer of HOOQ. Mad Dogs is a remake of a British TV series from 2011. Starring Steve Zahn and Micheal Imperioli, this mind-blowing thriller opens in a gorgeous Belizean villa where the gang is gathered to celebrate the early retirement of their buddy Milo, played by Billy Zane. Things quickly spiral into a labyrinthine of lies, deception and murder that will put the best of friendships to the ultimate test!

You can soon catch Mad Dogs and all your favorites on any Internet-enabled device. Simply download the HOOQ app from the Apple Store or Google Play, sign up or log in, and your device is ready

to access HOOQ’s library of Hollywood and local hits. Viewing movies and TV series on HOOQ is made even better with Chromecast support, now available on the iOS and Android apps.

Get a 30-day free trial to watch Mad Dogs and thousands of other movies and TV shows by signing up at www.HOOQ. tv. Once your trial expires, you can either pay the P149 subscription fee monthly through credit credit or charge it to your Globe bill by texting HOOQ149 to 8888.

Tattoo Home Broadband users can also get HOOQ’d for free on plans P1,299.00 and up, while new Globe GoSurf customers can get free HOOQ from 45 up to 90 days.

M ONDAY : JA NUA RY 25, 2016

C6

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

Everything About Her stars Xian Lim, Vilma Santos and Angel Locsin with movie diretor Joyce Bernal

Xian, Vilma and Angel during Everything About Her first taping day

EmOtiOnaL Xian SURPRiSES CO-StaRS, PRESS JOSEPh PEtER GOnZaLES Xian Lim got emotional when Batangas Gov. Vilma SantosRecto, Angel Locsin and director Bb. Joyce Bernal gave positive feedback on his work in Star Cinema’s latest offering titled, Everything About Her. It can be remembered that during the film’s principal photography, the Kapamilya star got flaks from bashers, questioning his inclusion in the project considering that it’s with two award-winning actresses and he hasn’t proven anything yet in the acting department.

“I’m really grateful to be part of this wonderful project,” says

Xian. “My heartfelt thanks to Star Cinema for the trust. The same goes to Direk Joyce, Tita Vi and Angel. Their encouraging words I will forever treasure. They’ve given me the chance to show everything I’ve got. It’s a huge honor to work with them.”

The appealing lad considers the experience as part of a learning process.

“Yes…if I really want to stay long in the industry. Tita Vi told me that I still have a lot to learn and discover to further hone my craft and I took her advice by heart. That’s why I’m appreciative of all those who expressed their concern on me at the height of the controversy. I’m grateful that they boosted my morale then despite all the criticisms from my detractors.”

Speaking of the bad press he got, Xian is clueless why he received such.

CROSSWORD PUZZLE

ANSWER FOR PREVIOUS PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Bea Arthur sitcom 6 Powder, to some 10 Soccer period 14 Block, legally 15 Rain heavily 16 Bouquet 17 Cruise port 18 Himalaya sighting 19 “— Lisa” 20 Dreaded phone status (2 wds.)

22 Torpor

24 26 27 31 32 33 36 39 40 41 42 43 44

Alley — Gets crowned Whole number Application Good buys Dog plaints Suffix for forfeit “My Fair —” Leaf junctures Oodles (2 wds.)

Um’s cousins Bolshoi rival Young person

MONDAY, JANUARY 25, 2016

25 Razor brand 27 Take a cue from 28 Chin tuft 29 Wheel track 30 Makes the rounds?

Rain forest parrots 34 Prowl 35 Hard mild cheese 36 Not even spoken of She, in Seville Go through carefully 37 38 Revise 40 Part of PBA 41 Detected 43 Alluvial fan 44 45 DOWN 47 1 Post-it message 48 2 C — — cat 49 3 Jazz’s home 50 4 Thank you, in Kyoto 52 5 Play wrap-ups (var.)

53 6 Eavesdrop 55 7 Eggnog time 56 8 Toward the edge 57 9 Reports (hyph.)

58 10 It may be paid 61 11 Deck the halls 12 Pines for 13 Donnybrook 21 Mother rabbit 23 Leak giveaway

45 46 48 51 52 54 59 60 62 63 64 65 66 67 68

“It came to my attention when we were already mid-way in shooting the movie. In case many don’t know, I read write-ups about me so I know what to maintain or improve on.

In truth, before I started filming, I already had a feeling that issues like this would crop up. In a way, I was really anticipating this angle to be played up.

“So what I did was to turn the negative into positive. Of course I got hurt with the tirades on my acting, but I didn’t let it ruin my disposition and whole being.

Instead, I gave my best in the movie. I used it as a motivating tool and I guess, it worked!”

Hearing the positive remarks from his illustrious co-stars and director is more than enough for the popular actor.

“It really feels good that Tita Vi, Angel and Direk Joyce came to my defense. Their nice words are

“Stir Crazy” star Groundless Close Youngsters Ron who played Tarzan Shoguns’ capital Crowbar Wrist-to-elbow bone Tree anchor Raison d’ — Congeniality Have a cold Toy on a string Changed drastically Masked superhero Shaggy flower Liverpool lockups Ph.D. exams Fisher or Murphy La — tar pits Under lock and key Tagged along Explorer — Tasman Custom — pop Geog. feature

an attestation that I did well. To reiterate, I’m very honored to be part of this huge project. Definitely, it marks another milestone in my career,” ends Xian.

HHHHH According to Heart Evangelista, she might lie low from showbiz in the coming days to give more time to painting.

“Well, let’s face it, your popularity in the ‘biz is not forever. You may be hot now, but tomorrow, it’s uncertain if you will still have that kind of following.

On the contrary, painting stands the tests of time. As you mature or as time passes by, the market value of your works become higher. People will remember you because of the impact that your paintings brought,” she avers.

For the beauteous Kapuso star, her paintings are a legacy.

“I want to think it that way. I

want something to leave behind, so to speak. I want to fall in love with something that would be precious and treasured by people. Then something that people will fall in love with somebody else, you know, with some other artists.”

Does this mean she will turn her back on show business?

“Of course not, since it’s my first love. It’s just a matter of dividing my time, I guess.”

On the home front, the pretty actress sheds light on the public’s query on her having a baby with senator husband Chiz Escudero.

“Given the chance, we want it at the end of this year. You know, I have contracts to fulfill and I don’t want to be unprofessional if ever.

I will finish all my obligations first then…presto! When that moment comes, I want to give my child a hundred per cent of my time and attention!” Heart states.

M ONDAY : JA NUA RY 25, 2016

C7

SHOWBITZ isahred @ gmail.com

BuSy Chiz and graCe find time for family

S

usan Roces and Fernando Poe, Jr. smothered Grace with love even if she were not their biological child.

This is the reason Grace is showering her children by husband Neil Llamanzares the same amount of love and care. Even if her schedule is hectic especially these days when campaigning will soon commence, the Senator makes sure she finds time for Brian, Hanna, and Anika.

Senator Poe related how she tried to be up to date with trends that her kids are into even if she has very limited time to watch television and listen to the radio. She listens to her children’s daily update on AlDub that’s why she seems familiar with the phenomenal love team.

Grace posted on Instagram last Sunday a photo in which she is helping Anika with her assignments and homework.

“As a parent, I always believe that no matter how busy our schedules are, we must always spend quality time with our children. Have a lovely weekend everyone,” the caption Grace wrote for the photo on Instagram.

Chiz went malling with Heart and his twins, Quino and Chesi.

“Sunday with family,” Heart captioned the “groufie.”

HHHHH PaintingS and PoemS After painting on bags and dresses, publishing her own beauty book, using her talent as a painter to help sick kids, and even sharing her knowledge in painting with children afflicted with Thalassemia, this time her painting will be on the cover of a book.

In a post on Instagram, the actress announced that her artwork would grace the cover of a book by AA Patawaran. It is called Hai/Na/Ku and Other Poems.

“Then my painting was printed on the cover... A collection of poems and pages of my paintings. A collaboration with my dearest @aapatawaran.

Thank you once again,” the post of the actress said to promote the book.

The author in his own Instagram account said,

Sen. Grace Poe

she wrote Heart personally and asked her for their collaboration.

“When one of @iamhearte’s new paintings struck me and I thought it would be a dream to have it accompany one of my poems in the book that Anvil is now publishing, I readily composed a text message to send to her, but I thought it would be too informal and disrespectful, let alone unpoetic,” posted AA. “So I wrote her a letter, by hand, in a special stationery, and snail mailed it to her. She received the letter in a day and called me with a resounding YES,” AA said.

Recently, Heart along with Mark Bumagarner had a show called Mark Bumganer X Love Marie. The two collaborated on creating fashion. Heart handpainted dresses and shoes and were auctioned off at Dusit Thani Manila on Jan. 18.

Meanwhile, Heart also held an art workshop at the Lung Center of the Philippines titled “A HeART for Thalassemia Paint for a Cause.”

Heart is busy preparing for her second solo exhibit at Ayala Museum on Jan. 30 to Feb. 9. It is titled Oceans Apart.

Sen. Chiz Escudero and wife Heart Evangelista

Leonardo Dicaprio

English actor Tom Hardy

Tom Hardy as John Fitzgerald in The Revenant

Tom Hardy is Leonardo diCaprio’s mark mirror in ‘THe revenanT’

t

he Revenant picked up 12 major nominations in the most awaited annual awards night, the 88th Oscar Awards, including Tom Hardy’s Best Supporting Actor nomination as John Fitzgerald opposite Leonardo DiCaprio’s Hugh Glass.

The Revenant walks us through the brief yet pivotal history of the American fur trade, full of tales of daring but also grave destruction. Though the fur trade forged the romantic image of the mountain man – idealized loners purportedly as rugged as the wilderness they felt beholden to tame -the fur trade was also very much a business.

In a sense it ushered in the first emergence of the archetypal Western entrepreneur, the visionary iconoclast who forges ahead answerable to no one but himself.

Academy Award®-winning director Alejandro G. Iñárritu brings the legend of Hugh Glass to the screen with The

Revenant an epic adventure set in the unchartered 19th century American Frontier. Immersing audiences in the unparalleled beauty, mystery and dangers of life in 1823 America, the film explores one man’s transformation in a quest for survival. Part thriller, part wilderness journey, The Revenant explores primal drives not only for life itself but for dignity, justice, faith, family and home.

“This era was the start of industrialism at play in the West. Even before the discovery of gold and oil, the fur trade was a massive, lucrative business,” explains DiCaprio. “You had trappers going into pristine landscapes among indigenous populations to extract resources – and the question that comes up is: at what cost? Glass is caught in the middle of that question and it’s a powerful theme in the film.”

The dark mirror to Hugh Glass’s journey of survival is John Fitzgerald’s journey

into paranoia, recrimination and haunted bitterness. To portray Fitzgerald, who both betrays Glass and becomes his spark for enduring, Iñárritu cast the English actor Tom Hardy who has come to the fore in vastly contrasting roles, from the dreamworld character of Eames in Christopher Nolan’s Inception to the one-man tour-deforce of Locke. Iñárritu says, “As Fitzgerald, Tom plays a man full of prejudice. Yet he’s a wounded soul who has fears of the other because he is not capable of opening up to and understanding otherness. Tom has a finesse to him that is difficult to find,” Iñárritu continues. He is so handsome, so well built, so powerful and strong, but at the same time, can be extremely fragile, and that is what makes him so unique.”

Hardy made for an incredible nemesis.

“Fitzgerald is a very interesting character because you understand his motivations so well. Here he is a man with nothing who

hoped to be in a lucrative business, and all his future plans disappear in one second.

So he goes into this ultimate survival mode where it’s kill or be killed – and Glass is the person in the way of that,” says DiCaprio.

“Fitzgerald is also a survivor, but he finds a very different way from Glass. He chooses to be cutthroat.”

He continues: “Tom is someone I’ve worked with before and I’m an incredible fan of his work. I think he’s one of the most dynamic actors out there, and his commitment to creating this character was incredibly exciting to watch. He has a raw savagery that is so genuine; and that was absolutely, fundamentally needed to contrast with my character. He’s not your typical villain. These two men show strength in two entirely different way Opening in cinemas and IMAX screens nationwide on Feb. 3, The Revenant is from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

M ONDAY : JA NUA RY 25, 2016

C8

ISAH V. RED EDITOR isahred @ gmail.com

SHOWBITZ 20Th CenTury Fox’s 2016 silver sCreen lineup

T

wentieth Century Fox fills the silver screen this 2016 with award-winning, inspiring and adventure-packed films featuring larger-than-life stories and characters best seen on the big screen.

Big hopes, big dreams and big heart are centric to the most unforgettable cartoon characters known in adventure family movies Snoopy and Charlie Brown The Peanuts Movie, Alvin and the Chipmunks 4: The Road Chip, Kung Fu Panda 3, and Ice Age 5: Collision Course.

One of the most successful animated franchises in the world returns with its biggest comedy adventure yet, Kung Fu Panda 3. When Po’s longlost panda father suddenly reappears, the reunited duo travels to a secret panda paradise to meet scores of hilarious new panda characters. But when the supernatural villain Kai begins to sweep across China defeating all the kung fu masters, Po must do the impossible—learn to train a village full of his fun-loving, clumsy brethren to become the ultimate band of Kung Fu Pandas!

From Blue Sky Studios, directed by Mike Thurmeier, Ice Age: Collision Course brings us to the ever hilarious and loveable Scrat in his epic pursuit of the elusive acorn that catapults him into the universe where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the Ice Age World. To save themselves, Sid, Manny, Diego, and the rest of the herd must leave their home and embark on a quest full of comedy and adventure, traveling to exotic new lands and encountering a host of colorful new characters.

This year’s Golden Globe winner for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor along with 12

major nominations at the 88th Academy Awards, The Revenant starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy by Oscar winning director Alejandro Inarritu, is an epic story inspired by true events of the legendary fur trapper Hugh Glass played

by DiCaprio. Driven by sheer will and his love for his Native American wife and son, he undertakes a 200-mile odyssey through the vast and untamed West on the trail of the man who betrayed him: John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). What begins as a relentless quest for revenge becomes a heroic saga against all odds towards home and redemption.

Also this year’s formidable contender at the Oscars is Brooklyn, starring Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen and Domhnall Gleeson that tells the profoundly moving story of Eilis Lacey (Ronan), a young Irish immigrant navigating her way through 1950s Brooklyn. Lured by the promise of America, Eilis departs Ireland and the comfort of her mother’s home for the shores of New York City. The initial shackles of homesickness quickly diminish as a fresh romance sweeps Eilis into the intoxicating charm of love. But soon, her new vivacity is disrupted by her past, and she must choose between two countries, two men and the lives that exist within.

2016’s Golden Globe winner for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy) is Jennifer Lawrence in her role in Joy, a modern day telenovela based loosely on the life and rise of inventor and home shopping star Joy Mangano. Directed by acclaimed David O. Russell, Joy also stars Robert De Niro, Bradley Cooper and Edgar Ramirez that follows the wild path of a hard-working but half-broken family and the young girl who ultimately becomes its shining matriarch and leader in her own right.

HHHHH Based upon Marvel Comics’ most unconventional anti-hero, Deadpool, starring Ryan Reynolds tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life.

HHHHH Following the critically acclaimed global smash hit X-Men: Days of Future Past, director Bryan Singer returns with X-Men: Apocalypse where Apocalypse, the first and most powerful mutant from Marvel’s X-Men universe, amassed the powers of many other mutants, becoming immortal and invincible. As the fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) with the help of Professor X (James McAvoy) must lead a team of young X-Men to stop their greatest nemesis and save mankind from complete destruction. X-Men: Apocalypse also stars Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Olivia Munn, Lucas Till, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp, Josh Helman, Lana Condor and Ben Hardy.

HHHHH Zac Efron, Adam DeVine, Anna Kendrick and Aubrey Plaza star in the hilarious buddy comedy Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates wherein brothers place an online ad to find dates for a wedding and the ad goes viral.

Leonardo DiCaprio in the multi awarded film The Revenant

Brooklyn stars Saoirse Ronan and Emory Cohen

Animated action film Kung Fu Panda 3

Deadpool

Independence Day: Resurgence

X-Men: Days of Future Past

Eddie the Eagle

Kodi Smith as Mcphee in X-Men: Apocalypse

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates

The Other Side of the Door

HHHHH The fight for mankind is upon us in Roland Emmerich’s extremely awaited Independence Day: Resurgence, where the movie delivers a global catastrophe on an unimaginable scale. Starring Liam Hemsworth and Jeff Goldblum, humans now use recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth, anticipating the invaders’ return, have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.

HHHHH A loveable underdog will emerge from the producers of the blockbuster action movie Kingsman: The Secret Service, the feel-good story of Eddie The Eagle is about Michael “Eddie” Edwards (Taron Egerton), a courageous yet unlikely British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself – even as his family and the entire nation initially counted him out. Persistently trying to perfect his skill with the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach, portrayed

by Hugh Jackman, Eddie eventually wins the hearts of sports fans round the globe when he performed a historic feat at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

HHHHH From television’s The Walking Dead, Sarah Wayne Callies stars in the chilling horror story The Other Side of the Door.

Grieving over the tragic loss of her son, a mother discovers a ritual that allows her to say goodbye to her dead child one last time. Mistakenly opening the veil between the world of the dead and the living, she must now protect her family against the evil that was once her beloved son.